Bits

[serene]

1) It was a hellish week. First, my kid's parents sprang a surprise visit on her. She kindly kept them out of my path, but it was hard on all of us. Then, school and work were both hard, and all things considered, it was one of the worst weeks in recent memory, and that's saying a lot. But you know, it ended, as all things do, and today was productive and peaceful and much appreciated. I got my taxes filed, my financial aid application renewed, and my zine ready for printing. Not bad.

2) There's a class I have to take for my major that's only given at night. It lets out around 9:45pm. It takes me roughly an hour and a half to get home on public transit (at peak hours), so that means probably reaching home at 11:15 or later if I take public transit home, and it also means changing from BART to bus in the middle of the night. I do not like this idea. So I'm thinking I may rent a car once a week and drive; it's only a half-hour drive. Not my favorite idea ever, but it could work, especially if I do most of my other classes online and fix my work schedule so I don't have to be at school the morning after the night class. (The cost is not really an issue; I'm getting financial aid, and I think that's a legitimate thing to spend that money on.) Thoughts? Ideas? I will look and see if there's a carpool resource at my school.

3) My mom got her surgery date (she's getting both knees replaced). I'm going down there next month to help her for the first couple of days. I'll be back the day before finals, so that'll be fun.

4) The heel thing is probably plantar fasciitis, says the doc, and it should go away on its own, but it's been a couple weeks now and I am sick to utter death of not being able to walk without pain. Bleah.

5) I've been reading and not commenting much, as is my habit when I'm overwhelmed. Please accept my apologies.

Comments

[wild_irises]

2) Given your issues with being out at night, I think renting a car is super sensible. Go for it.

3) I was wondering what that surgery was. She'll probably feel a lot better after she recovers, but still ...

4) Plantar fasciitis does go away on its own, but it takes forever. Want a list of things that help it go away sooner?

[serene]

Sure, I'd love it. The doc recommended ice and ibu and the mayo clinic's website. I haven't taken time to look at it.

[wild_irises]

The biggest thing is orthotics, which you can buy over the counter for about $30; you want the hard-soled ones. I hope they fit in your new shoes.

Second is getting a tennis ball to roll the arches of your feet over when you're sitting around.

Finally, flex your ankles as often as you can, bringing the foot up more parallel to the leg.

All of these things shorten the painful time considerably.

[serene]

Thank you! My deformed foot is unlikely to fit OTC orthotics, but I'll try the rest, thanks!

[janetmiles]

May I also offer a suggestion, from personal experience?

[serene]

Please!

[janetmiles]

What finally worked for me was yoga -- I think it was the Downward Dog stretch specifically, but I can't say for sure since we were doing a variety of different poses.

[zdashamber]

In terms of transport, would it make sense to use taxis in addition to BART? I think there are cabs at MacArthur all night, though I could be misremembering. There were certainly a couple there 20 minutes ago.

Other thing to consider: ZipCar? I was hearing tonight it's $30/year and then $7/hour, free gas, trucks available if you also want to occasionally pick up free furniture.

Third thing: car renting: Rent a Relic at 45th and Broadway: nice people, cheaper. If it works for you. I did get a car there once that didn't have power steering (it was built that way), which was interesting (and unexpected in the first turn).

[serene]

The issue for me is the getting off the bart in the nighttime and walking to the [bus | cab | whatever]; also getting off the bus in hayward and getting on the bart. It's the being-out-by-myself-at-night thing. I can do it, but I hate it. It might be less of an issue at the Hayward end, since I'd likely be in a crowd of other students doing the same thing, but I don't know. Might just try it for the first week and see how it goes. If I could afford it, I'd just take a cab home from school, but even I think that's a bit excessive. :-)

I have Zipcar, but a day's rental is about $75. If I rented at 5pm and took it back at 7am (what I'd have to do to avoid walking/busing home at night; the nearest spot is about a mile away), it would be too expensive. Enterprise is about $20 a day, so I may do that, but I'll check out rent-a-relic, thanks!

[kalmn]

In my experience, the second week post surgery was the hardest. I felt like I should be doing better and really wasn't. I didn't expect that.

Past that, do the PT. doooo eeeet.

Er, please pass the above on to your mom?

[serene]

Will do; thank you!

[tachyon]

I've gotten the plantar fasciitis a few times ... what helped was (1) wearing the more heavyduty Teva sandals with a lot of arch support and kind of spongy heelbed, even in the house when I would normally go barefoot or wear slippers, (2) not sitting cross-legged right on top of my feet as I do a lot, and (3) that thing where you sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you and stretch your feet by trying to point your toes back towards you as far as you can.

Good luck on everything!

[merielle]

Jeez! Hope things are settling down and that y'all are getting some time to recharge and renew.

In my experience, it costs way more to take a cab a long way than it does to rent a small car for a day. And getting a cab may involve being out by yourself for some time, unless there's a cab stand nearby? Renting a car sounds like a very sensible solution and investment in your peace of mind.

Hope your mom's procedure and recovery go very well and that you are pain-free very soon. *gentle hug offered if it is welcome*

[firecat]

Water exercise helped my plantar fasciitis.

Renting a car for the class seems like an excellent idea.