Play Your Part (Pt.2)

So the next step, rehab, is in some ways more important than the surgery itself. Been about 3 weeks since the surgery and I got another 3 weeks left on crutches. Still a bit swollen but the stitches were taken out last week. Almost no pain! Just a weird feeling when I raise it straight out a little below the kneecap. Like someone taking tape off my skin, only on the inside.

I had my meniscus repaired on both the medial and lateral sides. And also cartilage debridement. So I got to go in for rehab 3 times for 2 weeks then 5 days a week for 4 weeks.

The therapist checks general knee flexibility. Then it's iced for a bit and I do the arm bike (don't know the official term for it) for 15 minutes. Stretch to warm up then it's about 90 minutes of stuff all focused on the muscles around my knee.

Weighted leg raises lying down in all four directions. Pushing out with a band around the knees. Pressing in with a ball between the knees. Pressing down with a ball under the knee. Some other stuff and time flies by. Ice it again after. It feels better after I do all the rehab than before, actually.

The therapists don't speak English that great but they can use body language and I'm following along with a bunch of pro and college atheletes, mostly soccer players. It's a great environment, everyone motivated and working together to get back out there... Feels great cuz I think I made the right choice getting my knee fixed up at this place. Drop me a line if you need details for the place.

I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)

Not being able to walk yet gives me time to write about something I said I would a while ago. Knee is still a bit swollen but the nerves down there are getting a little better every day so I can feel pain more! Yea!

The Foreign Service Officer Test is taken by people who know they have a 5% chance of actually becoming a FSO. When I took it in Yongsan, Seoul the test takers came from a bunch of different backgrounds and age groups as one might expect. Had a little trouble finding the test location but a nice Korean Army guy pointed me in the right direction.

I would've done better to have brushed up on high school social studies stuff and all the hot topics in the news these days. I took it on the computer and everything was smooth.

The test moderator said if it were up to him, he'd hire me on the spot simply because I was on time, organized and friendly. Too bad, I didn't pass the test and will have to try next year if I'm still looking for direction in my life.

Money Maker

I need some new clothes that fit and aren't too tight (ie not small Korean style) so I got to turn to the internet.

I got a couple shirts from cafepress with no problems, I'm a bigger guy and it's tough to find even tshirts here that fit decently. I got this one cuz I'm thinkin about moving there and needed to be banging in my white tee.

I don't know when or why one has to pay import tax on stuff sent to here from out of the country but my cafepress order was under $60 and I wasn't taxed.

I'm tryin Foot Locker next. There's a base $50 fee to ship but again it's a matter of finding something I like. And stuff in the Adidas and Nike stores here are more expensive than back home anyway so payin the fifty bucks is something I can handle.

Abercrombie finally got cargo shorts for sale again on their website and they ship to Korea too.

Where Is My Mind?

I had a torn meniscus in my right knee that I got fixed in a Korean hospital last week. Followed by a weeklong hospital stay where I'd be woken up at 7am, given a shot and have to try to speak Korean to the nurse while I'm still fighting off the cobwebs. I'm expecting good results from the surgery but can't really tell until I finish all the rehab. It will take a few months.

Shared a room with 5 Koreans, 4 in for getting hurt while playing a sport and one for getting hit by a taxi. Because we were all there because we were just injured, not sick, the atmosphere was better than one might think. If any of us could jump we would've been bouncing off the walls to get out of there, though.

It was my first overnight hospital stay anywhere, and I had no complaints. They did stick needles into my arms countless times but that's just a personal phobia. I felt much more confident about getting surgery done here than I did a few years ago. The medical care has probably gotten a bit better than 4 years ago and I've gotten used to life here so it made the whole hospital stay a bit better.

I'll be on crutches for a while so should have ample time for posting.