Knee Drama Lacks Drama

So. My left knee. The one I trashed while running in church, because evidently one should not run in churches. I had the MRI a week ago Friday, and talked to the doctor about the results on Tuesday. It turns out that I don't need surgery, which is excellent.

It turns out that what I have done is something that surgery isn't likely to do much for. Not quite so excellent.

They think that when I fell, I landed so hard that it shoved my kneecap back against the end of the femur behind it, and tore a chunk of cartilage off the back of the kneecap. So there is now a "big defect" (according to the doctor) in the cartilage*.

Also there is a lot of fluid in the joint, and the lateral meniscus is "frayed" at the edge, but not completely torn. And my kneecap does not track in the groove of the femur, which I already knew. I have that issue on both sides: my kneecaps are off-center, which contributes to wear and tear, damages the cartilage, gives them that rice crispies sound when I bend them, and will ultimately give me crippling arthritis. This particular injury just sort of hurries that process along.

So anyway, now I get to do PT! I'm supposed to go twice a week, but the office only had appointments once a week for the next couple weeks, so I've only been to one so far. The therapist was nice and it didn't hurt too much. I'm out of the knee brace and regaining my ability to bend it, which makes getting dressed way easier. I'm also, as of yesterday, off crutches. And was told not to limp. She said it was better to take tiny short strides than to limp — like not whispering when you have a sore throat, maybe?

Therapy so far consists of applying heat to try to get the fluid out, electrical stimulation to get the muscles to hold the kneecap in place better, and then I ride the exercise bike with NO RESISTANCE for 10 minutes. She was very clear about the NO RESISTANCE. And then I ice it and take more ibuprofen.

My shin still hurts and feels swollen, but they are still saying that's all from bleeding in the muscle, plus nerve irritation from the injury. And the bruises are still there and tender, but fading. So now it's rehab, rehab, rehab.

*as a side benefit to all this, I have finally learned to spell cartilage.

Nezu (re) Joins the Modern Age

When I was a kid, way back in 1976, my little brother¹ was born. And my dad and step-mom² got this amazing new device that allowed us to heat baby bro's bottles with a push of a button: a Radar Range™ microwave oven. Boy was it cool. And modern. And space age. The legacy of NASA in my kitchen, along with Tang® and Space Food Stick®.


1975 vintage microwave, ageless Tang

My mom didn't get one at her house. Her kitchen still had the original 1941 electric stove. It was retro before retro was cool. But I moved in with my dad several years later, and therefore had a microwave oven throughout high school.


I really loved these things when I was a kid

No microwave in college, but that was college: things are always a little sketchy when you're in college. Then I graduated, moved to California into an apartment with a microwave, and was back in the modern age. I got married, moved to a house with a microwave, got divorced, and four years ago, I moved to an apartment again. This apartment has a postage-stamp-sized kitchen. With no microwave.

I sort of intended to get a microwave for a while, but never got around to it. I made do with a toaster oven and the stove top, my awesome fuzzy logic rice cooker, and occasionally the actual oven. I ate a lot of cereal and sandwiches. And I am disorganized, so my kitchen got more and more cluttered and really there was no place to put a microwave even if I had one.

But then I found one on sale at Target and bought it, full of good intentions. That was something like six-to-nine months ago. The microwave sat around in its box, waiting for me to get my kitchen organized enough that there would be a place to put it.

Well, Friday, it finally happened! Behold, my kitchen!


To the right of the stove. That's my awesome Japanese electric water heater for tea there.³ Don't worry, safety monitors, I've unplugged the range element under it so I won't start any fires.


There's the stove itself. To the left is the Tower of Tea. All that stuff piled up on the left? Tea. Glorious tea. Did I mention I like tea? A lot?


Look how adorable my rice cooker is! It's baby blue! It has fuzzy logic. You can also see my knife block, my booze, and way in the background in the living room, the television playing classic Dragon Ball Z.


And here it is: the microwave! With the toaster oven, some bread, the bowl with my keys and change, chopstick rests, and a random box of baking soda on top. And the dish drainer.

Better Homes and Gardens this ain't, but dudes, I have a microwave! So far the thing it does best is heating up frozen Tennessee barbecue that I brought back with me from my last trip to Nashville. I've eaten barbecue for dinner two days in a row, because it's so convenient! I have some frozen edamame and frozen yaki onigiri to try next. Also popcorn. Microwave popcorn. I know it's anathema to popcorn purists, but dude, convenient popcorn! I should probably get a microwave steamer thing, and then, you know, eat veggies. Which I could have on top of rice from my awesome rice cooker.

But anyway, kitchen! Microwave! Oh the wonders of the modern age!

¹ Technically he's my half-brother
² Not my current step-mom, this was my previous step-mom
³ Water heaters like that, which stay plugged in and keep your water at perfect tea-brewing temperature, usually cost $100 or more. I fell in love with the one my Japanese friends had, but didn't want to spend that kind of money. Then I found mine in the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop (second hand stuff) for $10! Only it was lacking a cord, so when I went to Japan a few years ago I bought a replacement cord. It is love.