And I'll hold onto you while I can

I'm sure people have already heard about this. I'M SUPER EXCITED YOU GUYS.

So yesterday I went to the doc for a follow up (love this one, btw) because last time I went for a specific purpose but had mentioned that my legs and asthma weren't so great.

Quick background on my legs: My muscles are super tight. When I do anything more than a casual amble, the fronts of my shins become incredibly painful. It's a "oh jesus this needs to stretch out" muscle pain, but of course any stretching or avoidance just makes it worse. Pretty much we've decided that something is preventing the blood from circulating properly so it just ends up hanging out and building up in there, or the tendons/muscles flare too much to let much oxygen get to the area. SO IT'S SUPER PAINFUL and I want to cry a lot. It makes things like recreational walking nigh-impossible.

For my lungs, it's pretty much just that I could breathe so long as I didn't push myself too hard. Walking a bit quickly to the bus? Taking a flight of stairs two at a time? No way, José. So I was surviving but not really thriving.

FAST FORWARD TO YESTERDAY my doc gave me a referral for physical therapy that I'll start in a few weeks and a new asthma medication to supplement the other ones.

You guys, it's only been one day but I'm so hopeful about this cocktail. I didn't have as much tightness this morning, I didn't have any symptoms when I hurried to my bus, and I jogged. Granted, it was like 100 feet but that would've sent me into a dizzy, fish-like state before, gasping for air. I was winded, yeah, but I could still (and can still) fill my lungs the whole way without using my rescue inhaler. I can't remember the last time I felt this way, and that's not an exaggeration. Just. SO EXCITED. Maybe I will go to the gym tomorrow and ride the stationary bike! TAKE THAT.

On the flipside, the drug has the potential to make me moody/nervous/aggressive which I can be pretty sensitive to, so if you note that these behaviors are above and beyond the norm, (maybe wait a bit but) please let me know... carefully XD I want to be able to note things accurately for my doctor but I don't always have that perspective!

ANYWAY. fweeeeeeee I think all this extra oxygen is infecting my brain :D

Note!!

DO NOT finish book about Nazi Germany before going to bed. IT WON'T END WELL.

That being said, The Book Thief is a good book. Not quite as well paced, plotted, or executed as the last one, The Blind Assassin (seriously. Read it. If you're in the Seattle area, I'll loan it to you). Before that was A Wizard of Mars and even before that, A Killing in Comics.

BUT!! I don't have any new books to read, and I would like to start a new one on Monday. So, I beseech you for recs.

Criteria for recommendations:
+ Must be positively or optimistically oriented (please, no more mass murders. My heart can't take it at the moment. Tragic irony is not high on my list of things to look forward to right now)
+ Must have an engaging narrative style.
+ Must be something I can read on the bus (Yes, I do think people are judging me at all times from all angles when it comes to stuff like that)
+ Must be available in paperback. THOUGH IF YOU LIVE IN SEATTLE AND I COULD BORROW IT... I still like it to be purse-sized.

...God I'm so demanding. BUT I KNOW YOU, YES YOU, ENJOY SHARING YOUR OPINIONS. :Db

The degree to which me exercising this morning was an unmitigated failure is really disheartening.

( cut for whining and woe-is-meing )

On the other hand, I'm going to try to get out and just walk since the weather is supposed to be so nice.