A Dose of Reality

Since I'm now able to enjoy soft foods (mashed potatoes, fish, tofu, et cetera), I've been feeling somewhat normal and the whole surgery thing has weighed less and less on my mind. For instance, when I wake up in the morning, I no longer feel overwhelming tightness in my lower face, and the first thing that comes to mind is no longer "I'm soooooo hungry! What can I eat, er, drink?"


But last night, I had a dose of reality. Doug and I spent the whole day walking around the city, strolling through the farmers' market, having lunch (here I was, at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant, opening wiiiiide), checking out charming local shops, and enjoying a cup of mocha. By the time we got home at 8 pm, I sat in bed and powered up my laptop, then promptly fell asleep. I could not keep my eyes peeled! Slept all the way till this morning. This almost never happens. I usually operate on 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night, and I'm usually very high energy. Now I realize that my body is still in recovery, and it just hasn't come back 100%. Oh well. At least, I don't stand up for 15 minutes and immediately feel dizzy (2nd and 3rd day at the hospital), or walk around in the house for an hour and already need a nap (first 10 days at home). It's definitely improving. I just need to take it easy.

Hmm....Something Is Different

I'm in Houston (my hometown) this weekend visiting some friends from college. Since my estranged parents refused to see me (long story, sigh), I'm staying with Jessica, a good friend from my school days. Thanks Jess! :) Here in this photo, we were at our favorite French bistro in town, La Madeleine. Jess kew about my jaw surgery, but did not make a big deal out of it. Somehow I think Texans pay less attention to appearances than Californians. Neither good nor bad - just an observation. Jess mostly noticed my weight loss (15 to 17 lbs), and joked that maybe she should consider jaw surgery, too. :P


Group dinner with old church friends tonight felt odd - most people showed up with at least one baby, even the only couple who didn't have kids in tow were pregnant. I was floored. San Francisco and New York RULE - for singles like me. ;)

Most of the folks at dinner hadn't seen me in five to seven years, so naturally they commented that I'd changed quite a bit. So did they. Only one girl said "SOMETHING is different about you, but I can't quite figure out what". Since I was never that close to her, I just smiled politely and didn't offer any details. Her husband, who was a closer friend, commented that my eyes look different. .... Sure, if you say so. :)

Fortunately, no one seemed to notice that my face was still slightly swollen. And no one noticed that I was eating weird - attacking only soft, mushy foods, and didn't touch any meat at all. It was such a big group thing I didn't want to tell everyone that I'm on a soft diet and have them act ginger around me (trust me, it happens....). Luckily, that worked great. Don't ask, don't tell. ;)