I checked out the YMCA gym this morning as my workstation was being rebuilt again. It’s really close to my office. I realized that I haven’t been to a gym in almost a year.

I spent thirty solid minutes on the elliptical trainer then ten minutes cooling off on the treadmill. The machines face large open windows that look out on to the Bay. The water and sky were equally blue.

I’m feeling super proactive about my pain and my injury. I made enough noise at work that I am now going to get workman’s comp coverage for it, including an x-ray and so on. I am practically demanding that they give me a kneeling chair, which is just what I need. And finally I got a prescription for Vioxx, which is an anti-inflammatory painkiller, kind of like super-Advil. I’ll give it a few days to kick in.

I have this fantasy of a few months from now when my pain is gone and I have this awesome, toned, strong body. What seems MOST important to me right now is my goal of being able to move (or be still) freely and easily with no pain. Like most people.

Also May is here, my favorite month, which leads into late spring and summer, my favorite time of year. Last night I made a peanut butter banana cheesecake from scratch and it ruled. It’s so rich it can only be eaten in small squares.

Yet another goal: make food from my cookbook recipes. Actually follow recipes to make new things, instead of always making the same dishes over and over. I kind of stole this from Leonard, though his ambition is far greater than mine.

Tonight we’re going to the A’s game. We being myself, Brian, Leigh, and Bill. A perfect example of how this leg thing has fucked with me: I dread being in those seats for three hours. But I can walk around or whatever as needed.

SORRY I KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS god it must be boring for you all. But actually it’s a good thing I have talked about it since it is now kind of documentation for the workman’s comp claim — that is, when they ask me to remember what date I noticed this or what date I started being treated for it.

The good news in all of this is how much I have learned about my physiology and that it has gotten me to stretch more and rejoin the gym. I was starting to get sedentary, and that is not the direction I want to go.

AND FINALLY: I quit drinking coffee. WHO KNOWS how long this adventure will last, but at least I am on hardcore painkillers for when those headaches kick in, right?