It's a living

I'm back at work. It's a little jarring, frankly, and now I'm home feeling a tad shell-shocked at the end of a long day. But I'm happy to see some semblance of normalcy gathering on the horizon (or are those storm clouds?)

The only disappointing thing today was the discovery that the entire staff at the Starbucks downstairs has turned over. I now have to retrain a completely new crew to have my grande latte ready by the time I get to the front of the line. Do you know how long it takes to do that? A very long time. There are always new folks folding in to the mix, but once you get that machine up and running, the new folks catch on quick. Now I have to start from square one.

Speaking of catching on, it seems an appropriate time to share some of the things I learned during my three month hibernation:

1. Brain tumors really suck. Truly.
2. People are compassionate by nature.
3. The Stick Up Bulb is awesome.
4. My cleaning lady is an ambitious entrepreneur, a Jehovah's Witness and does not particularly like my building Super.
5. I have chosen friends really, really well.
6. My husband will never divorce me, and he responds to tough situations with humor and patience.
7. The pull out bed in my living room couch is exceptionally comfortable.
8. If I had all the free time in the world, I would not re-read all the Shakespeare plays. I would read TMZ.
9. My health is more fragile than I realized, and it's completely worth guarding with diligence.
10. The ladies on The View are surprisingly knowledgeable.
11. Dr. Phil is surprisingly entertaining.
12. The hallway carpets in my building get vacuumed twice a week and the mail gets delivered at 3:00 ish.
13. There is an invisible population of handicapped and sick people in Manhattan that only comes out during the day when the rest of us are at work. Some of them are compromised not for three months, but for years and maybe for the rest of their life. They deserve respect for their perseverance and courage.
14. White paint comes in a dizzying array of shades.
15. The skin around my eyes doesn't sag because I don't get enough sleep - it sags because I'm getting old.
16. I am gutsier than I thought.
17. It's never too late to write a thank you note.
18. My metabolism is not super-human after all. After sitting on the couch for three months, guess what? My clothes no longer fit.

I'm sure the next three months will bring a whole new set of insights. The one I'm really interested in figuring out: how can I get Google to give me a million dollars for this blog?