The road from Rhode Island

My little stop-over in Rhode Island began about six months ago, the beginning of May. When I had my surgery, they made it seem like I'd be better in a few weeks so I didn't even pack that much stuff. I brought one roller bag with me, one pair of jeans, one sweater. I almost didn't bring my computer, which I really would have regretted.

When I got here I had lost 45 pounds and I had long hair and a scraggly beard. I threw up pretty much every day and alot of the time, I would wear pajamas. I couldn't go anywhere cuz I got dizzy in the car if I was in there for more than five minutes. Also, I could barely speak.

My dad used to drive me down to the beach and I would walk along the boardwalk. It was cold and windy and I could only walk for a few minutes at a time. I remember when I got to the point where I could walk from the pavilion to the end of the boardwalk, this was a big accomplishment for me. All in all, it was probably less than an eighth of a mile, round trip.

As time went on, I got stronger and a little less sick each day. It was really hard to see any progress from my point of view but other people told me I was getting better. I did have a scary few days where I went back in the hospital but that turned out to be a false alarm.

I also started blogging. At first I didn't write much at all but as time went on, my progress as a writer started to catch up to my progress health-wise. If you look back at my archives, you can see my entries starting out, sporadic and brief, begin to grow and become more frequent.

My computer was my lifeline to the world. The world of all my friends in LA and around the country. Not everyone has instant messenger but almost everyone could log onto my blog and see how I was doing. These are the people who supported me and kept me in their thoughts and prayers and I am forever grateful to them.

I started going out more. My friend Slappy came to visit me over Memorial Day. I shaved off my beard. I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I planned a trip to Disneyworld which hopefully will come to fruition in the next month. I even went out in a boat.

I also got to the point where I was writing at least once a day. I even invented an imaginary friend or two.

I can't pin it down to a single day, but I reached a point where I started to get noticeably better. When that happens, things start to move much more quickly. By the time I went to New York, I was well on my way to recovery.

Tomorrow, I head down to Florida to re-join my parents at their place down there. I'll still be online, so don't worry about me not bugging you anymore. This is a transitionary step before I return to LA for good, which should be sometime around the first of the year.

I guess this is why I'm getting so sentimental and looking back on everything. I'm going to miss this place. There are worse places to recuperate than a condo by the ocean. I will miss the friends I made here, even if they are all over forty. I will miss having a new kitten to play with every week and I will miss babysitting Max and Duncan and Riley. I will miss the Narragansett Bay and going to Burger King and eating my lunch by the water.

Today, I went back down to the beach, as I hadn't been there in a while. I walked that 1/8 of a mile that used to wipe me out. It seemed ridiculously easy to do. I guess it goes to show how far I've come.

I'll see you again, soon, Rhode Island. Here I come, Florida.