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I went to an orthopedist today about my wrist.  Still no answers.  They took more x-rays, they felt around my wrist and hand for a while, and told me all the same things the first hand specialist had said.  "The x-rays show no bone damage, and your pain is not consistent with any injury."  It hurts like a motherfucker if I try to put weight on my wrist, or bend it backwards, but those are the ONLY things that cause it to hurt.  The doctor poked and prodded my wrist in every way he could, and nothing else made it hurt.  The idea is that if it is ligament damage, it would be sensitive or tender to that pressure, too, but it wasn't.  So this doctor, like all the others before him, gave up and sent me on my way with nothing but another bill.  I did get referred to another hand specialist for MRIs, but that'll have to wait until I get back from Montana and Wyoming, so my appointment is June 29th, and that's probably just an initial consultation rather than an actual MRI that day...but I'm hopeful that they can do it all in one visit.  I'm just so frustrated about all this, and I'm so tired of not having good use of my dominant hand.

 

I've started looking at car lots nearby.  There are about a zillion dealers within a mile of my place, so I just walked to a couple of them yesterday.  I talked to a salesman at the Kia lot for a while, but I wasn't impressed with what he showed me, and the more I let that visit sink in, the more offended I feel that this guy tried to show me SUV's when the first thing I said to him is "I want a little car with great mileage."  Nothing he showed me got better than 26mpg in the city, and I'd be doing mostly city driving, so I'm going to need something better than that.  Seriously, who in the world thinks that 26mpg is good mileage?  My first car got close to 40mpg.  I loved my shitty little Corsica, but they don't make them anymore.  And it wasn't a great car, really (the brakes constantly failed), but it was the devil I knew.  Having done very little research, my first choice is a Honda Insight.  This is mostly based on the fact that other people I know who HAVE done lots of research have chosen that car.  It's a hybrid and I have driven one before, which I loved.  I love all the Hondas I've driven, actually, so I'd be really happy to get one of those.  The question is how affordable will it be.  And what does the sticker price really mean, anyway?  When I bought my Grand Am, it had all of 7 miles on it, and I paid less than half of the sticker price.  It was over $21,000, and I paid cash and got it for $10,455.  I don't expect to have that kind of luck again, but I do know that paying in full up front is worth a hell of a discount.  I also know that being a girl means I'm more likely to get ripped off, or at the very least, disrespected at the dealership.  I need to be better about speaking my mind and standing up for myself there.  It's just so hard not to be super polite, because salesmen are always super polite.  But I need to remember that they're just being phony and my politeness could end up costing thousands of dollars.  

 

On the job front, I have two interviews this week.  Both are promising, but I have a strong preference for one job over the other.  Of course, that's the one with the slower hiring process.  But I can be patient.  For a little while.

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Despite my annoying doctor's appointment this morning, I'm feeling really great about so many things.  First, I heard a little bit more about some potential jobs, and everything seems very promising.  So that's good.  I'm still impatient and anxious but feeling good about the eventual outcome.  

Then I went outside to enjoy the day -- and to look at cars.  I walked to the Honda dealership about a mile away and checked out their hybrids.  The Insight was great -- I test drove it and loved it.  41mpg...now THAT's decent mileage.  And the brand new one on the lot was cheaper than a bunch of used ones I've seen advertised.  Still not ready to buy yet, but I'm pretty sure this is the car I want.  I'll only actually need a car if I take the full time job, and I'll only be able to afford it if I take this job, so...it works out nicely, I guess.  

 

When I got back from my car shopping, the sky had cleared up and it was a beautiful day, so I decided to take my bike for a spin.  There are bike lanes all around my neighborhood, so I thought it would be good to ride out to a spot in Beaverton where I know there's a view of Mt. Hood.  It's less than a mile away, and I figured that would be a good test for my bike's tires.  I had pumped them up this afternoon, but wasn't sure if they were just flat or if they had holes.  So anyway I rode out and looked at the mountain, then rode back.  My bike kinda sucks.  I bought it for $90 at Fred Meyer a few years ago, and it's just a 7-speed --  my short little jaunt today told me that this is definitely not the bike for a 9-mile commute.  I'll take it out some more and see how I feel after I've put some more miles on it, but I think I'll also be looking to invest in a better bike if/when this new job comes through.

 

A friend saw me bitching about my wrist frustrations and put me in touch with a friend of hers who has had success dealing with chronic pain.  The methods are a little unconventional, but it's not like conventional medicine has helped me so far.  So I'm open to it.  One really interesting thing he mentioned to me is that chronic pain tends to be more of a problem in people with obsessive, perfectionist personalities.  Who, me?  So that definitely got my attention -- maybe my tailbone pain is linked, too.  So he's sending some materials to me and I'll see how well this works.  

 

Then another job offer fell into my lap.  I love it when that happens.  My friend Matt owns the jewelry store where we used to work together in Harrisonburg (he was just a bench jeweler then).  He is hiring me to do some buying for him here in Portland.  I'm going to be paid to buy jewelry.  How awesome is that?  So I'm really excited about that and just feeling generally awesome and optimistic tonight.  Yay.