45

I'm now up to 11 minutes on the stairclimber, and at a higher resistance than when I was first able to use it back in December. I have no idea what the unit of measure is, but it varies between zero and 100 with a default of 15. My setting is now 25.

Ascending stairs in general has also become much easier, and I can get up less steep stairs without someone helping. At this rate, I think within 3-4 months I may be able to ascend stairs without putting any weight on a crutch, using it just for balance.

People Watching

I went out for dinner last night with my family to a Mexican restaurant. Near the end of dinner, a couple was seated at the table next to us, in my line of site. They must have just met. I could see by the lines under the guy's eyes that he was older, perhaps in his early thirties. He was freshly shaven, his hair was styled without a hair out of place, and he was wearing a polo shirt that looked like it had just been ironed. It was quite obvious that he put a lot of time and preparation into his appearance. The girl had a Thandie Newton kind of look. For about the first 30 seconds after being seated, they seemed to be having a good conversation, and then it just ended. He started looking out the window; she crossed her legs and faced her body away from him and out toward the side of the table. It looked very awkward. They must both have been thinking, "when's that food going to arrive?"

I left before their food was brought out, but it would have been interesting to see if he grabbed the bill at the end or if he split it with her.

Risk

We're heading out to San Francisco this evening. Everyone in our office (except one who isn't going) is on the same flight. That's risky for the company, should something happen on that flight.

iPhone

I want one of these.

Observations

With what's happened to me, I can't always participate in certain activities when I'm out with friends. Usually, that means sitting out and observing the social interactions around me.

I went out two nights ago with a group of friends to an Italian restaurant that offers live music and a dance floor. I will post photos in my gallery shortly. Although I couldn't participate, our group was on the dance floor a lot and they were dancing much better than anyone else in the restaurant. It didn't go unnoticed. One of the women at the table next to ours said, "your girls look gorgeous," on their way out. I also noticed a couple dancing in a corner, and the guy did not look comfortable. The girl was trying to help him out, but he looked nervous and with no confidence in himself. It's frustrating to see people who can do better in life but won't venture outside their comfort zones to do so. Later that night, it occurred to me that any of the guys at our table could have walked up to any girl in that restaurant, invited her to dance, and be greeted with a "yes" and a big smile on her face.

Last night was New Year's Eve, and the final party of the night was at Rob's. I noticed this one guy with a goatee who seemed really out of place at the party. Later that night, I was talking to one of the girls who mentioned that he was creepy. "Creepy" is one of the worst labels to be given by a girl, along with "annoying" and "nice." He just lacked confidence. He would try to dance closely to a girl but never talked to any of them, and never stopped clinging to the drink in his hand. His physical appearance was also lacking (and this is something completely under his control). Putting extra time into looking good leads to feeling good, and reduces the feeling of self-consciousness. His glasses were way too big and out of proportion for his face; contact lenses would have looked better. He needed to trim both his goatee and his hair. His T-shirt and pants were a size too large. He would have been better off wearing a collared button-down shirt like everyone else there. I hope one of his buddies points these things out to him. Perhaps it seems offensive, but feedback like that is good and leads to self-improvement.

There was also a really drunk guy who wouldn't stop staring at Becca and I when we were sitting on the couch chatting. Then he got on his cell phone to invite his buddies to the party, but he was too drunk to figure out where he was and give them directions to the house. I thought that was hilarious. It's really interesting what I see when I sit back and watch people interacting around me.

44

Jojo held a blues party on Thursday night. I got tired of sitting and watching everyone else dancing, so I gave it a shot. Blues dancing is all about leading the follow with downward body motions. My leading was nowhere near where I used to be, and I couldn't sink too low for fear of falling, but I got through it. That's the first time I've danced since April.

In the gym, I started using the treadmill and stairclimber about 2 weeks ago. I'm only able to walk on the treadmill, but I crank up the incline to really work my quads. I can only go for about two minutes on the stairclimber, mainly because I'm taking a lot of weight in my arms. That's still a huge improvement, because I tried the stairclimber back in September and couldn't even go one step without feeling like I was going to fall backward.