the speed with which they knock you out with an anesthetic is truly astounding. one second they're telling you that you're about to pass out. and then you think about it. and then you're gone. when i woke up, i just felt some pain in my leg and extreme tiredness. i couldn't see (i had no contacts or glasses) so everything was fuzzy, adding to the disorientation. i kept on shivering and i couldn't stop. i also was overwhelmed by loving emotion. like i wanted to call everyone up and tell them that i loved them. i'm not sure if this was a side effect. but that feeling wore off before i could get to a phone. so nobody got a call. even though i love everyone anyways. i just couldn't mumble it to you in my stupor.



this whole surgery thing is not really as bad as one would imagine. it sucks to be immobilized but i'm used to crutching around and i'm used to having some pain. and i decided not to take the pain killers. mainly because a side effect might be constipation. and really. who wants to induce constipation willingly? the hospital gown they gave me was like twenty sizes too big. it's probably one size fits all so the sleeves have to fit an NFL lineman. and so my little body pretty much disappeared into a fluorescent wave of light blue. except for the back part of the gown, which was left open to flap in the breeze. and my hat was too large, so i'm sure much of it hung over my head like a big mushroom cloud. i really should of gotten a picture. it would of been humiliating. i have pictures of the insides of my knee. although putting them up might be a bit tacky.



the socks they give you to wear have little tread marks on the bottom. with some sticky rough stuff sewn on. it was actually quite cool. i felt like a big floppy blue cloud. held down by grippy soles. oh. they took out the meniscus. it was too beat up to repair. so i won't be recovering for too long. that's good news i suppose. i can't really say much else about surgery. except that i'm glad the american medical system is so advanced. everyone was incredibly nice and polite. they just know how to take care of you here. trying to imagine the complications that might arise from getting surgery in taiwan is too scary.