September 2009- by Derek Liu

Early September, we drove up to Danville, where my parents live. They were doing well and my dad is excited about all the trinkets he purchased on e-bay. It was quite amusing sorting through the vast amounts of oddities he accumulated. I resumed my therapies on the next day. Then, on the weekend, we got to go to a college football game. Not the ordinary Stanford games we go to. We actually went to a Cal(Berkeley) game. It was very disappointing that Maryland didn’t put up much of a fight. Our next big event was a potluck thing at Alfredo’s new place. They got a townhouse in the same housing community that we live in.

We then had “belay” lessons at Planet Granite. I’ve been practicing rope-tying and other rope work. Nicola quite enjoys the rock climbing and is pretty good at it. It’s all mental for me as I moderately enjoyed the experience, as I’ve always been terrified of heights. I believe that I’m short because I don’t like heights. Thankfully, Nicola is supportive of my decision to forgo wall climbing. One weekend, we decided to play tennis on the tennis courts in Moffett. It was merely an exercise in futility as we both were incapable of rallying the ball.

I then went to Deanza College to check out their accommodations for disabled students of which I am one. It was strange being back in a school environment. It’s even stranger to do this in this country. Most of my schooling was in the English education system. I altered my writing and style to adjust to that system. I am fairly apprehensive about beginning this idea of schooling, but I want to try it out.

As for the VA, I had two home visits on Friday. My occupational therapist came to my house. I demonstrated I could microwave a frozen meal safely. I performed well and made only minor mistakes. The next home visit was the recreational therapist, Kayla. We discussed activities I could do in my “home environment. Hopefully, they’ll begin the kayaking program that I was interested in. It’s the sport I’ve been most interested in that I didn’t do before my injury. I find it more enjoyable if it is a sport or something I never did before or wanted to do but never had a chance to. I find it gratifying to participate in some form of recreational activity. It is hard for me to imagine what I would do with my time. Well-intentioned people often make suggestions, but often times, it is quite frustrating. Often times, I just keep the negative thoughts out of my mindset. It is tough though, when I’m trying my hardest at something, but it doesn’t work out the way I intended it to be.