Today I finally returned to work. The drive over wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, unless traffic is very light, there are still too many adjustments for cruise control so I still have to use the foot pedals. The other part is that even when using cruise control, there's no place to rest my bad foot comfortably, so I just try not to put too much weight on it as it sits at a bad angle. Once at work, there is no nearby parking so that I park at the nearest parking garage a couple of buildings over.

The walk from the parking garage to my building was quite tiring, especially on crutches. By the time I got to my cubicle my arms were aching and my good leg was in a world of hurt. Usually when a limb gets tired and you stop to rest it, it immediately feels better. But if you push it, and then stop, it'll continue to ache and get a little worse. That's the point my leg was at. Push it more and your mind starts blocking out the pain so it's harder to tell just how badly off you are.

After being out almost three weeks, I look over the documents and such and I don't remember any of the details of my project. I need to refamiliarize myself with the specifics as I work on an API that needs to be done very soon. It is nice being back in the flow of things. I missed work and my coworkers.

Afterwards I drove home kind of late. Stopped by Safeway to restock my larder. Hobbled along, using the shopping cart to help me walk. I was out of just about everything, so this was one of my biggest shopping trips, somewhere over $110 of groceries. Of course, then I had to lug all that stuff up to my apartment, using my backpack. By the time I got the groceries put away it was already 23:30 and I was getting hungry. My foot felt ok, actually more like a dull aching from all the walking. I was getting used to the pain, which is probably not a good thing.

So I have a nice dinner. Salmon, corn and rice. Watch the shows I've taped today. Play Diablo. I finally finish the game as a mage sometime after 03:00. So now I've finished Diablo with all three classes, over the course of two weeks, and can put it away. It is a fun realtime NetHack with better graphics sort of game. I did have to check some web sites to find out item and monster specifics, since it only came with a small pamphlet and no manual on the CD.

I've also been reading "The Hunt for Red October" which is a good techno-thriller, one of the first. I read it once before when I was in high school, and the movie was great. The book is entertaining and relatively fact-based, as much as a fictional situation can be. Tom Clancy is good with the technology, but sometimes a bit lacking in characterization. I've also read "Red Storm Rising" and some short stories he wrote for a computer game. The characters tend to be a bit too one-dimensional and stereotypical, that is if you are a total American-booster.

Dale Brown has better characters, although not much better. Once again all the Americans are a bit too dedicated, self-sacrificing, and patriotic. And maybe that's how it is in the officer corps, but it tends to be a bit repetitive. Brown concentrates on Air Force operations as that is where his background is from. Clancy tends to focus more on the naval aspects.