Afternoons are the best...

When I go to my volunteer job in the morning, I get to the downtown area before 9 am. This means I can ride my bike through the shopping area and I don't have to make a detour through the various little streets around it. The timing is perfect and I don't break the law. I don't get to do this on the way home but I know my way better on the way out than I do on the way in. I am getting good at finding my way around and figuring out how all the crooked little streets are connected and where I'm allowed to ride my bike. There are various ways to get where I want to be and I try to find the shortest one.

When another volunteer and I make our rounds with the beverages cart, I'm actually starting to find my way around the various wings of the Help Care Floor too. At first I got turned around and lost but it's starting to make sense now and I don't think I will forget any patients and leave them dry without anything to drink. We've got lots of all kinds of beverages and when we run out of something halfway through our rounds, I have to dash to the kitchen and get it so I do have to be able to find it.

I still have sore feet at the end of the morning and it takes me all day to get over that. I want to take my shoes off first thing when I get home but I have to take Tyke for a walk first. He greets me very happily when I wheel my bicycle into the hallway and I do have to give him the proper amount of cuddles and assurances before I can do anything else. I am sure that he's not very concerned with how sore my feet are. It does feel lovely to be greeted so gladly by him but I hope he isn't too miserable while I'm gone. I don't know if Gandhi keeps him the proper amount of company.

I've got a bit of a luxury problem in that all of my skinny jeans are now too big on me and even the smallest ones are starting to slide down my hips. This means that I have to wear long tops so my underwear doesn't show. I saw the obesitas specialist the other day and made an appointment for next Monday to have my gastric band emptied just a little bit so I will be able to eat a little more at one sitting. It is not my purpose to gain weight but to be a bit more comfortable when I eat. As far as I'm concerned I'm the perfect weight now.

I got complimented on my coffee this morning. A patient came in search for company and a cup of coffee and I had just made some and she said it tasted as good as what she made at home. I spent some time talking to her because she was bored. She was a very feisty and intelligent woman and really wanted to be home and not in the hospital recovering from a hip operation. Those are the kind of people who will do well in physical therapy and go home quickly. All the physical therapists are relatively young people and very cheerful and patient. I think that must help a lot too.

Tyke is going to have his fur trimmed tomorrow and he will look like a strange dog again. It will take me some time to get used to his appearance. He always looks so different. He looks like a cuddly stuffed animal now. Of course he's totally oblivious of the change and just knows he's more comfortable when the weather is hot. I will do nothing but look at him all day.