Coffee with friends!

I went out with Sal today for coffee at a great bakery near my house.  It was nice to catch up with her.  She brought her roommate, Jihye.  She is from S Korea and is here studying for a semester.  She heads back next month.  Sal works for a company that places foreign exchange students in the US.  She always has at least 2 renting rooms at her place.  It is always fun to hang out with them and see where everybody is from.   Last year she had a girl staying with her that was a big pop star in Korea.    Sal is having a bbq for Labor Day.  I attached a photo of our day at Essential Baking Company.

Working out

Here are some pictures from working out yesterday.  It was hard dragging myself in yesterday after the party on Thursday.  I have become addicted to working out and would kill myself if I missed it.  Can you believe I actually drag myself out of bed by 8:30 or 9 twice a week--I know--shocking.  It helps that I really like the people.  My favorite is Muffy--she is from Wyoming.  She owns a ranch there and is here waiting for a transplant.  She comes in with her makeup and jewelry perfect.  She is very amusing and keeps us laughing.  I am including a picture of her with our therapists.  Also some of me working out--just to prove that I was there!

Enjoy!

PJ

Saturday night

I am relaxing today---doing some laundry and watching lots of tv.  I am also addicted to scramble on facebook.  It is kinda like that old boggle game where you find as many words as possible in 3 minutes.  

Thursday night I went to a volunteer appreciation party for Kexp--the radio station where I spend my Wednesdays.  The party was alot of fun with free food, drinks and bands.  They also had some door prizes and I am happy to say that I scored a grab bag during the raffle!  My prize included 2 cool t-shirts, a cd, a gift certificate for a cool video store-5 free rentals, and a gift certificate at a local bakery--2 loaves of bread.  Plus two passes for the college musuem.  I was very excited about that!   I enjoyed seeing a friend and fellow volunteer play in one of the bands.  I was so impressed--I had no idea how good he was.  He reminded me that he has been telling me this for months--I was shocked!!  His name is Blake and he is the lead singer for a band called the Hotels--I am including some photos.  The party was exhausting so I didn't last long but I enjoyed it.  My friend Jim was my chaffeur so that was great.

The first two pictures are of Blake's band the Hotels.  The next one is Melissa and I.  Then Deb and her adorable daughter Izzie.  Last is Tom--the boss at the radio station.  He is very cool.

Thanks for all the comments---I am so glad you all are reading.

PJ

breathing tests

Today I had my breathing tests at UW.  The first one was an xray test of the diaphragm--it was cool to watch the xray when I did the breathing tests.  You could see the diaphragm and chest moving.  Then I went to respiratory for pulmonary function tests--lots of breathing and holding your breath.  Luckily I didn't have to be shut in the box for this one.  I did have to wear the nose clip--always a treat!   Sorry I forgot to have pictures to document the occasion.  Tomorrow I am going to a volunteer party for kexp so I will take lots of pictures.

Tuesday

So nothing too exciting going on.  Today I got my haircut--very happy about that.  Then I came home and chilled out.  Yesterday I went to the gym at UW and worked out with my group.  Then I went to Bartells and ran some errands.  Afterwards I walked down to Mr Spots Chai House for some soup and then an iced mocha.  It was a rainy day so the soup was tasty.  Gwen met me there for coffee.  

Tomorrow I go to the doctor for some more breathing tests.  Hopefully this will give them some sort of clue about the transplant issues.  They also want me to meet another doctor that is on vacation for two weeks.  So it keeps dragging on.

I am watching the Olympics---just saw a Russian girl win gold at marathon swimming.  What a grueling event.

Wednesday

I just got home from Sunset Tavern where I saw Theo playing with Britain Ashford.  It was a great show and it was so fun to see Theo onstage.  He looked like he was having so much fun!  This was the first time I've ever seen him perform.  He is in town for a couple more days so we are going to hook up tomorrow for coffee.  I ran into Cyrus, Margaret, Kim and her boyfriend Andy.  Bob also met me up there so that was good to see him.

I also volunteered at Kexp today so I am a bit tired.  I have tomorrow off so I will be relaxing all day!

Kexp bbq

Yesterday was the Kexp Bbq---lots of great bands,beer and food!  Unfortunately it also came with rain.  It hasn't rained for months in Seattle and yesterday it hit us during the bbq.  I had the option of a ride or staying in the rain--wet and miserable.  So I sadly left and missed Joseph Arthur and the Dandy Warhols.   I did have a great time while I was there and am posting some photos.  The first two are of Joseph Arthur--one on stage and one with me(thanks to my friend Jim who introduced us).  Also some various shots of the bbq including the Kexp jug band with my friend Levi on banjo.  There is also a candid photo of my friend Chilly with his friends and a rainbow that we took later after leaving a cafe.

I went over to Gwen and Pats--for dry clothes before we went for coffee--and got to see some of their sovenirs from their trip to France.  They just got back last week and had an amazing time.  They brought back some great books and french cds.  They brought back some killer French chocolate for me!

Chris--thanks for the phone call about the Olympics---opening ceremonies were so beautiful! 

I hope you all have a great week!

thursday

I had a nice relaxing day today.  I met Tina and Michaela at Victrola in Capitol Hill for coffee.  It was nice to catch up with them.  

Yesterday I volunteered at Kexp--busy day.  The kexp bbq is coming up on Saturday--I am looking forward to that.  We have some great bands--Common Market, Helio Sequence,Dandy Warhols and Joseph Arthur.  I got a vip wristband so I will be able to sit down in that area if I get tired.  Melissa made that happen--she is so great.

Tomorrow I work out at UW and then I am running errands in Ballard.  I am also meeting my friend Madeline for coffee in Ballard.  I haven't seen her for such a long time since she is now living in Portland.  She was so great when I had my surgery 7 years ago.  She came in and gave me massages every week.  She was also a very supportive friend.

I am watching Hopkins--a great reality show about John Hopkins Hospital.  They have alot of transplant patients.

I posted pictures from Kexp yesterday.  One is of John and Cheryl--dj's and the other is Rischel---she is the one I work with at the front desk.

tuesday--doctor day

Today I went in to see Melody Music--yes that's her real name.  She deals with all of my pulmonary issues.  I've known her for 10 years and she is really amazing.  I had an xray and blood work and she said everything looks great.  We talked about the transplant and I explained all of their concerns.  

Tomorrow I am going into Kexp to volunteer.  I always enjoy my time there--everybody is so friendly.  We are having a huge bbq Saturday so I'm sure it'll be hectic in the office tomorrow as we come down to the final days.   As long as there is an iced mocha involved in my day---I will be fine.

I am watching The Daily Show with John Stewart and then off to bed.  It was so hot here today--85 degrees.  Thank goodness for the fan and ice cream!

I am attaching a photo of Melody!

Saturday

I am finally started to feel better after my news from the transplant team last week. I am going to deal with the new tests and not worry about things that I can't control. Hopefully I can convince myself to stick to that!

So yesterday I went back to my rehab class and worked out my frustrations. My group was very supportive and understanding and it was fun to see them and hear their struggles. I am not the only one with problems--gotta keep reminding myself about that sometimes.

Today I hung out with my friends Kat and Jim--amazing friends! First we went to Kexp(the radio stn where I volunteer) and checked out a great musician. His name is EEf Barzelay and he used to play with the band Clem Snide. He plays kinda alt-country music. Jack was interviewing him for his show today so we got to hang out with the engineer while he performed and talked to Jack. I will put a link up with some of his music. Also a picture of me posing with him--he was really nice. Next we headed to Lighthouse--my neighborhood coffee shop for an iced mocha. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside and soaked up the sun!

I am also posting some pictures of EEf Barzelay(posing with me) and Lighthouse coffee shop.