Tuesday afternoon

was my last day at pulmonary rehabilitation. I did pretty well, and I finally got to the top of the inspiratory resistance inhaler in terms of difficulty. It was four sessions early, but they felt pretty good about my progress. They took a selfie with me and gave me sheets with goals on them and a nice t-shirt as well.

Afterwards, I went downtown to the revenue office and applied and paid for my business licence. So now I am duly licensed and in compliance with local ordinances while doing this contract work. My boss is going to see if they can reimburse me for the unexpected expense.

A was downtown, too, getting ready to take the bus home, so I gave him a ride. I took something over to another friend's house for him, and I took that friend to the library, where they were having movie night (Metropolis). I stayed at the library working on the game notes, as I'd brought my laptop with me. I got home about 9 pm and then relaxed until about midnight, trying to keep awake longer than I have been, with success, although I'd woken up tired yesterday, and I lingered in bed a little too much this morning, as I got to work with only five minutes to spare after taking the shuttle in. On the other hand, I couldn't believe my eyes when I got the very first space as you come into the parking lot. It was a little weird that it was free. But, still, it made it easier to find the car when I left for an appointment. I walked this afternoon, afraid I'd missed the shuttle and in a hurry. Three shuttles passed me on the way, so I needn't have worried about that issue. I knew that fewer shuttles run during off-peak times, so I walked. But it was good exercise. Later I took a friend to get something, then we ate at Captain D's (I had my usual grilled wild salmon salad, but added fried green tomatoes this time to my order). After that, I went out to Costco to get some 100-watt-equivalent LED light bulbs for him. I also picked up some Edward Marc Chocolatier Coconut Almonds with Dark Chocolate, which I love, and he pointed out that perhaps because I didn't get 'goodies' much growing up, I tend to get something for myself whenever he gets something. It's a valid point. Then we went to Kroger to pick up a partial prescription for A, who had his ADHD medicine stolen out of his locker at work the other day and who had filed a police report, which was needed before they could replace it. He really needs it and was feeling awful. So after that, we went and dropped it off to him. Then I took my friend home and came home myself. Now I'm listening to Pandora and trying to get caught up on my blogging. I'm using a tool developed by Grammarly that examines your typing/writing not only for spelling errors (and I was able to set it to British English since I use that in my personal writing) but also grammatical ones as well. It's free at https://app.grammarly.com/. It works really well at alerting me to errors which I normally only catch after hitting 'publish' and proofreading on the page. Yay!

Okay, I think that's enough for now. I'm going to go eat the puffy pierogis I just baked. Maybe I'll write a little later.

I kicked butt today

First, I think I handled the normal busy pace at work well and any of the weird stuff that crops up, too. Then I went to pulmonary rehab and went up to a 39 on the inhaling resistance gizmo (it only goes to 42, I think), 2750 on the spirometer, and 45 seconds on the pursed breathing, my best yet for any of them. They put me on a heart monitor while I exercised to see if my heart remained normal in response, with the idea that when I'm exercising on my own I have an idea for how high to get my heart rate up. The good news is that my workout was at higher watts, higher resistance, and more duration than normal on the Nu-Step, the bike, and the hand bike (I did treadmill for cool down), and my heart responded exactly as it should, going back down to normal within two minutes of exercise cessation at each piece of equipment. She said I should be safe going up to 120-130 beats per minute, so I have that as a goal. The equipment takes heart rate, as does my phone, which also takes the oxygen level. So I'm set to work out on my own. Also, although technically I have four more visits approved, I'm going to cut that down to Tuesday being my last day, my fifteenth visit, so that it will work better with the schedule and coverage at the hospital. I think graduating early is okay in my case--I don't have COPD, and I'm doing much better. Anyway, that's the plan. I got one planned for Tuesday approved to make up for this Tuesday.

After rehab I took YKWIA to a couple of doctors' offices he goes to using the bus route and pointed out the correct stops. He's going to have to go on his own. Then I took him by the grocery for a quick stop and looked up the bus times for his appointment. Now I'm home, I've eaten, and I'm looking at how much needs to be done around here, none of which I really have any energy for at the moment. I'm going to try to rest for a little while and then tackle things. Barring that, I'll see about getting up early and doing what needs to be done before work. We'll see how successful I am in that endeavour. :)

What a day!

• Did laundry very early in the morning.
• Went to my meeting at the career centre/unemployment office, handed in my paperwork, went through a seminar on job searching and résumé-building, and asked some questions I needed to know more about.
• Went to Lowe's and got a 2-foot stepladder that is rated for my weight, some swag hooks to hang plants from, and some knobs to try on the floor lamp, since the one that came with it fell, hit something, and disappeared somewhere under the bed or in the aether, for all I know.
• Came home and tried a knob, but unfortunately it doesn't fit.
• Forgot my rehab equipment and had to drive back to get it--but I just got out of the parking lot, and if I'd left the spirometer and the other thingy, I do live practically across the road.
• Had a kick-ass session with pulmonary rehabilitation; I pushed myself, and oddly enough, did much better than normal (maybe it's the steroids).
• Got something at McDonald's and watched nearby geese with their goslings.
• Got a temporary job offer finalised that I accepted (and I think will work out for both me and the employer).
• Sent my e-mail address to the folks I sent the computer back to. They sent a $15 credit to Amazon to me for my trouble. :)
• Called UK parking to get some clarification on their tags.
• Picked A up from work, took him to the doctor, went home (I'm across the road), found a job to apply for, started working on it, and then picked him up from there.
• Took my friends to the credit union, the grocery, to pay a bill, and home.
• Helped my friends pay a bill online (I do the techy part, but they pay the money).
• Texted with a former co-worker.
• Applied to a job which was posted today at a local university.

So here's the deal. My former workplace is really busy, someone is on maternity leave, and they need someone to help, so they changed the offer to full-time for about twelve weeks, via contract work, for a much better pay rate than I was previously offered. I was willing to take on the duties given that offer. They will work with my appointments and any interviews I need to go on. I start Monday, working a normal schedule, starting at 8 am. The parking is at the University of Kentucky, and they thought the single-use scratch-off tags might work, but I called UK Transportation Services and explained that I would be a contracted employee working full-time on a temporary basis, and she said that they do offer regular tags at a monthly, rather than yearly, deduction, which would be almost half the price of those scratch-offs, and I'd just have to go ahead and come down and set up an account with them. I need to call tomorrow to find out 1) can I get one before I get my badge, so I'm ready to go on Monday, and 2) where on earth do I park if I need a tag, as I don't see a visitor section to the garage that the main office is in, and the actual visitor garage is a good deal away, so it would behoove me to check. As far as the unemployment goes, I would simply stop filing for benefits after this week and then re-activate the claim after the temporary position ended. I have a full year to actually claim benefits, but I'm limited to 26 weeks of actual benefit payments, so they'd resume (assuming I haven't found another job by then), and that will get me almost to the end of the year in better shape than I would have been.

In the meantime, I'll continue to look for jobs. I've applied to eight so far, since being on unemployment (two this week alone, and I've only been required to apply for six so far). All but one was library-related, and both of this week's are. One is a public librarian in Owen County (an hour's drive away), one is at Transy, here in Lexington.

So what else to do today? Our inspections were put off till tomorrow, and the house is about the same as it was the other day, but not too bad. I might move a few things around, but no major rearrangement. Mainly I want people to be able to walk through without causing issues--so I need to move the hand truck with the cursed cinder block (my toe did partly turn black) away from the middle of the living room. There are also a few things that can go in the walk-in closet. And there are those plants to hang, but I don't know if I should do that just now, or wait till tomorrow when there's a lot of light in the window. That may very well depend on whether I can find a 1/8" drill bit for my drill. I think they're in the closet with the drill, but I'm not sure. The plan is to hang three plants in the living room window (and there's already been a hook in the middle before) and one in the bedroom. The stepladder should allow me to do it, as I think I have eight-foot ceilings (except the hallway, which is shorter), and I'm 5'4" tall, so that gets me close, anyway, although I have those short Tyrannosaurus arms, so close may not work. If that's the case, A may need to help me later.

Tomorrow there's the parking office, an appointment with a friend, and otherwise I think I'll just hang around here and work on the apartment some. Maybe I'll try to go to the pool early in the day so that I can enjoy it with some peace and quiet before all the kids come out, and start exercising in the fitness room as well, now that I know I can kick butt with my breathing techniques on the equipment. Okay, I think I'll go look for that drill bit.

It's a little sad when

you have to take a knife to open up a 20 oz. bottle of soda. I got one at Thornton's on the way back from my unemployment review and class, because I was very thirsty, and couldn't get into it, so I came home and tried a jar opener, a case knife, and finally I was able to make a bit of a perforation with a sharp paring knife (without hurting myself, always a plus) where apparently it didn't make one. But I feel somewhat puny. I also had a light in the kitchen flare out when I got home, and had a light bulb, and got on my little step stool only to find that I barely can change a light bulb, given my short height. I need a taller step stool. There is a reason most of my overhead light fixtures' actual covers are carefully put away, as I can't put them on or take them off at all, without an actual ladder.

The class and review were fine. I got to see three former co-workers, all from different departments. I gave in my list of jobs for which I've applied, and the lady went over the various services they offer and things we have to do to keep our benefits. I have to revise my system résumé, at their request, to take off two old jobs and my references, and have that printed out and ready, along with a packet, by Thursday at 9 am, when I go in for a small-group résumé review. I'd brought everything today, because I wasn't quite sure what was expected, and I was one of the better-prepared job-seekers. I hope that means there's a job out there for me.

After I came home, I opened the windows (it's 77 with a breeze right now, but it's supposed to be humid and close to 90 degrees later), pulled a few things out of the walk-in closet, and called about the air conditioner and the toilet running. When I talked to the leasing agent, I found out that the inspections have been put off till Friday, which gives me some time to vacuum, mop, and go through some of these boxes that are stacked up. This morning I got up at 6:45 am, later than I planned, but it was good, cleaned one little bit of wall that had something on it (I think it had a little mould from where I keep a hamper there, and I thought I'd need bleach, but it turns out Citrasolv works well, as that's what I had), did the dishes, and took the trash and recyclables out. Then I got ready for my review, and I was there 15 minutes early.

I called pulmonary rehab and cancelled for the day, and they were very understanding and told me to call Thursday if I still needed time, since it's an upper respiratory thing, and even if I could breathe better, stop coughing, etc., by then, she said she didn't want me wiping myself physically with the exercise programme if I'm not up to it. I have a sinus infection, cold, and bronchitis, and of course, bronchitis sometimes takes awhile to get over. I'll try to do the actual breathing exercises tomorrow if I feel up to it. I could have worked this past week, but on the other hand, I'm glad I could get some rest. I just would have had to push it a lot more, and rest in the evening more.

That leaves me the rest of the day to look for a job, go through some things here, and maybe go get some medicine for YKWIA if he needs it, later. We talked on the phone briefly. He's still hacking, too, and there's a medicine they gave me but with his insurance I think they were more expensive, so he'd held off. But they do help with the coughing, although I wish they lasted all night. I'm waking up early each night with coughing. This morning I was awake from 3 am to 4 am because of it. The coughing subsided after awhile, and then I couldn't get back to sleep for almost an hour. I'd also like to start The Glass Magician (and I need to check on my library books and when the next ones are due) and maybe watch a couple of things sometime today.

I got a call from my former workplace. They really want me to come in and help cover for the maternity leave, and she wanted to know what they could do to have me come in. YKWIA told me to tell them a full-time job with benefits and the same salary I had before. :) I'd like to help out, but I don't think it's viable. It would take quite a bit of time from the job search, not pay more than unemployment (unless they change that drastically), and make things more complex with the parking and the like. I'll call her back and hear what she has to offer, but I just don't think it'll work. They were saying before that they needed me for eleven hours a week for about twelve weeks. But I need to focus on getting a full-time job, soon. My unemployment benefits are only good for six months, and we're six weeks in. Also, soon I'm going to have to pay for the medical end of COBRA, and between that and the dental, it's about $750 a month. The sooner I get a new job, the sooner I get benefits, including health care, and can save money.

Oh, and I need to go back to that one post, a few down, and review my agenda for today. It is one reason I do that, it's sort of my way to make lists that I'll remember to go back to.

Hope you're having a great day.

I've gotten a lot of rest today

broken up by terrible bouts of coughing. I tried to do some simple things like rearrange the TV table in the living room, and it got hard to breathe through the mucous (yeah, isn't that lovely) and I had to sit down. So today I'll just rest. I've got the Bastille station (although, really, it's played a lot more Mumford and Sons in the last hour than anything else) on Pandora on right now. I may watch something later, but really, I think I'll read. I still need to finish The Paper Magician and I have five days left on the loan. I am really enjoying it, it's just I only now have a good light (I put an LED bulb in) over by the couch, and if I read in bed, I tend to fall asleep. :) I think my doctor would definitely say it's time to rest today, and I can work at other things as I feel better.

So here's my week ahead:

1. Tonight. Read. Listen to music. Relax. Pick up A from his job at 1 am and deliver him to his house. Give my (now bimonthly) libation, as I'm doing so at dark of the moon and at times I have my period. This one is the latter. It sucks to be on your period and sick, let me tell you.
2. Sunday: Request my benefits check. Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Maybe do laundry over at YKWIA's. I need to, as I didn't last week. If not, I may do it over here at the complex, as I have detergent and softener here. It's just a matter of getting quarters from somewhere on a Sunday. A lot of places get a bit stingy on that front. If I'm feeling up to it, I should work on the bedroom while I'm at it and do a bit of excavation of most of the horizontal surfaces. The bath and kitchen are in good shape; I just need to do a few dishes and touch up the bathroom. The bedroom is the worst room in the apartment. Light a candle for my mother.
3. Monday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Send back the extra computer, as they got the return labels to me. They're crediting me $15 with Amazon for my trouble. I need to work on the apartment, especially straightening up in the dining room, living room, and anything else in the bedroom. Try to rearrange the plants in front of the living room window so they won't get crushed if they try to open the windows--they open fine, but I always have to move a plant or two, with the orchids blooming, and the freesia bulb pots are on the sills. If I move things around, and they open them, as I think they're required to check, then I can minimise any damage. The African violets in the bedroom are never a problem, as they're pretty low to the pot.
4. Tuesday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. My eligibility review with the unemployment office, a class related to that, my pulmonary rehab, and of course the walk-through/inspection is that day. Go through my life insurance portability and AFLAC paperwork and send them in.
5. Wednesday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Do some more de-cluttering and de-hoarding. I've got two boxes of books ready to go from the entertainment centre that is between the living area and dining room; I need to finish the rest, find a room for the books I'll keep, break down the centre, take it to the Dumpster area, and then move one of the other two shelving units over so that the one is back to back with the other and the space between the two areas is more open. Right now, the space has the centre on one side (going towards the hall), with two shelving units back to back with it, dividing it completely. I want to change that. I also need to take a friend in for a blood draw.
6. Thursday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Pulmonary rehab, and I may be taking a friend to an event. I can't remember if he said he wasn't going after all, or if he's checking on it. It's where a mah-jong group takes over a local restaurant and plays for about four hours. :) He's been playing at the library and learning the game. It sounds very complicated.
7. Friday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Take a friend for a shot. Work on the game notes.
8. Saturday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Take a another friend to work at an ungodly hour (for a Saturday) for the first of two jobs, then pick him up at 1 am that night.

Today is potting/re-potting day!

First time re-potting orchids. The tiny cup was what the smaller one was in. Hopefully they'll like it. I hope they do okay--the orchid medium I got was good for several different orchids, including phalaenopsis, but not specific to that type, because the smaller one looks different when blooming and I think it's a different type. Both were in peat moss, whereas this is soaked bark, activated charcoal, and pellets for drainage. So I'm hoping they'll do okay, but they should get more air to the roots, which is good. In fact, the larger pot has holes on the sides for that purpose, and the smaller orchid went into the former pot of the larger one, and there's a shorter cup inside that lifts the roots from the bottom of the actual pot. I obviously didn't re-pot the other two because they are actually blooming. I have more medium for that when it happens.

The lavender was sagging every other day from being potbound. The Christmas cactus had very dense dirt. It had been in a bigger pot that was 40 years old and split at work, so I had to put it in an emergency pot from Recreation Therapy that was smaller. Both should do better now. Thanks to Brenda for the advice on the lavender.

Three of the African violets got re-potted [the one on the upper right, and the ones on the lower left and the center left.]

The window boxes are back! This time there are sweet potato plants, light purple petunias, and dark purple calibrachoas.

Same thing at the bedroom window.

So now everything is cleaned up, and I gave all the plants, not just the ones I potted, a good drink with the aquarium water I'd saved, so there's some fertilizer courtesy of my goldfish. I am so sore, though, even though I did it all sitting on a metal chair while potting on another. Plants are back. I've called pulmonary rehab to let them know I'm not coming today. I have another appointment at 4 pm, so I have awhile to do dishes and pull out a few light things from the hall closet. And of course I need to shower and get ready. Brenda suggested going to Petsmart for fish. I must confess, I totally forgot about them. I usually avoid them because they have cats and dogs up for adoption and I'm afraid I'll see one and try to get it (I do not need to do that right now), but the fish are on the opposite side of the store. :) There's a Petsmart in Hamburg that is closer to me than going all the way over to Southland. There's also Animal House nearby, an independent pet shop, and they're excellent and knowledgeable, but I'm not sure they sell feeder goldfish, and I tested the tank and while the nitrates are down, I'm not sure I want to put anything else in there right now.

Okay, time to check my list and see what else to do right now. I may stretch out for just a bit, listen to some music, and then work on the dishes, closet, and do the job application and do some job board searching. going to PetsMart after my appointment with my counselor. I'm really aching.

I spent the evening with a friend

Looking at things on the computer and eating a lovely fennel casserole with zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes, basil, and (of course) fennel, with cheese over top. It was so good we both had seconds.

As a result, I didn't quite get everything on my list finished, although I did go to Lowe's and got everything I wanted. I'm going to repot several houseplants, and fix the window boxes up with sweet potato vine, light purple petunias, and dark purple calibrachoa. I think that'll look nice.

So the plan is to get up early tomorrow and:

1. Re-pot and pot the plants.
2. Set the window boxes out on their ledges.
3. Pull out the things from the walk-in closet.
4. Call in the air conditioning and toilet issues.
5. Go to pulmonary rehabilitation. [Cancelled due to soreness/pain]
6. Go to counseling.
7. Unload the dishwasher.
8. Load the dishwasher and run it.
9. Do the mountain of non-dishwasher-safe dishes.
10. Apply for a job.
11. Get the goldfish.
12. Take a friend to and from a meeting.

In addition to everything else I said I'd do today, I went to the library, paid my fines, and picked up a couple of interlibrary loans for a friend. Now I'm tired and I think I'll head on to bed. Good night!

So it's been a difficult few days

Lots of stress, lots of little things, lots of running around, lots of phone calls. I won't go into all of it, but suffice to say most of it it financial, and things should get better in the next few days, and in the meantime I'm moving heaven and earth trying not to overdraw my bank account.

And, although the game was very good Sunday, and it was a particularly difficult adventure that the game master really had to rework, I lost a character. Now most of you who roleplay do short bouts of adventures, with a dungeon crawl here, or a single story, and then things happen and sometimes your character gets killed, and you roll up another and go on. But when you play an ongoing story, in which the characters take on life, for nearly twenty-six years, you get a little attached to them, and it kind of bums you out for a day or two. In all the time I've been playing Call of Cthulhu, I've lost three characters. One was stomped on by Shub-Niggurath and became toe-jam, just two months after she had a baby. The second was a guy who sacrificed himself in Antarctica to save the world (and a beloved non-player character), and I felt very good about that one, really, and hadn't been playing him very long at all. This one I've played for about 5-7 years; she had a baby 10 months ago in game time, and was killed by being cooked from the inside out when she missed her saving throw by none other than Nyarlathotep himself. I suppose I should be honoured by the fact that I've had characters killed mainly by major manifestations, but it still hurts. Also, the woman's husband had to be killed because he was turning into a Cthulhoid thing (and he was already a necromancer), just mere hours before her death. So the child is an orphan, though fortunately the family curse was thwarted, and he will not be doomed for all time.

You've got to love Lovecraftian roleplaying.

On the good side, I had no less than three characters on this adventure, and one was my very first character--the one I've been playing for 26 years or so--the one who usually survives by going insane, getting pregnant--she actually spent two game years inside Yog-Sothoth. If that's not devotion to avoiding death and mayhem, I don't know what is.

In this one adventure--'The Burning Stars'--we had seven characters (two for Brenda, three for me, and two non-player characters). Two went insane, two died, one barely survived having her heart squeezed by a spell by Nyarlathotep, and one was left standing to hike back into Port-au-Prince (we were in Haiti) to find help. That was the one who'd been around all these years, and she had an interesting discussion with Nyarly (as we call him) where she was basically tired and mourning and wasn't up to being terribly afraid of him. Of course, she should be.

So I was down a little yesterday, kind of glum, actually. Today I feel better. Of course, I also had my rehab today and did lots of exercise, worked harder than I had, did my breathing exercises, and wound up pushing myself into the beginning of an asthma attack, so I had to use my inhaler. But things are improving on that front. I'm still holding at about 7 lbs short of where I was a month ago and 16 lbs short of my all-time high. So it's helping with that, as well.

Okay, I think I will go do some things around the house. I need to call in the air conditioner and our bimonthly pest control visit is Thursday, and those dishes aren't going to wash themselves (more's the pity).

Busy, busy, busy

Today I:

1. Did my laundry (three loads) at YKWIA's.
2. Took YKWIA to an appointment.
3. Discovered that today's mail carrier doesn't understand what the 'outgoing mail' sticky note taped to the outside of my locking apartment mailbox means. This is not normally a problem. But my payment for my librarian certification did not go out today for that reason.
4. Got some food from Captain D's and took it to YKWIA's. They got his order right; I got tilapia instead of salmon. Oh, well, I like tilapia.
5. Watched the season finale of 'Legion' with him on Hulu.
6. Came home and crashed for three hours, and feel like I finally caught up on rest from the weekend.
7. Came out and did some stuff on the computer.

Tomorrow I:

1. Need to go over about 10 am to help YKWIA with a project.
2. Have pulmonary rehabilitation at 1 pm.
3. Need to take YKWIA to an appointment and to his class at the library.
4. Should get YKWIA to go through the books in my trunk so that I can give any rejects to the library and clear out the four copy paper boxes that are in there.
5. Need to pay for and officially file my state taxes. Federal was filed weeks ago, but I have to pay for the state taxes, and they wouldn't let me take it out of my refund. Almost forgot to finish!
6. Should review my cover letter and apply for the job that closes on the 25th.
7. Need to check the various sites for new job openings.
8. Need to water all my plants.
9. Need to give the fish water.

So far there's just one thing on Wednesday, thankfully. Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty busy due to my rehabilitation, which last an hour and a half, so if anything else is scheduled, it can be hectic. But I'm definitely keeping busy.

One of the things I'm doing

with my new-found time (and through my COBRA benefits) is to go to pulmonary rehabilitation twice a week. That sounds ominous. I don't have COPD, but I do have some asthma issues that kick in with allergens but especially with exercise. Since it would benefit me to be more active, I would like to be able to exercise better. But I get pretty short of breath after a very short time, so I avoid it.

Turns out, that when we get short of breath, the air gets trapped in the bottom of our lungs, and that sets up a vicious circle where we continue to have shortness of breath, because we change our breathing and make it worse.

So pulmonary rehab consists of three main exercises I'm doing. One is that I inhale with a gizmo in my mouth that provides resistance, so I have to work harder as I adjust it up. The second has me blow into a tube and have my breath keep a plastic piece in a certain range for as long as possible. Both of these strengthen the muscles and encourage back breathing, so air doesn't get trapped in the bottom of your lungs. I come out of there actually feeling muscles I didn't know I had in my ribs and back area. The third is really important. You inhale through your nose and then purse your lips and let the air naturally flow (rather than blowing it out) through that smaller hole, trying to keep it going for as long as possible. Then it's put to the test while exercising--inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth, and while that sounds easy, it's not quite as easy as it sounds. At first today I was exhaling longer like when we're sitting, and so my inhalations were quite short, and I was getting very short of breath. But then they showed me how to adjust and I got much better. I did a warm-up on the treadmill, worked 10 minutes on a piece of equipment they call the beast, which is sort of like a recumbent elliptical but you're tilted back), and then 5 on another type of recumbent elliptical that was more normal, and 5 minutes on the treadmill for cool-down. That sounds pretty small, but it was a good workout for me, where I had decent oxygen and heart rate readings and felt tired without being exhausted, and it really felt like I'd done quite a bit. After awhile, the exercise became secondary to the actual breathing, and I wasn't nearly as short of breath as I am normally. The whole session is an hour and a half long, with the exercise being maybe half. So I exercised for about 45 minutes, and I do the session twice a week. It's certainly a good start, and as an added benefit, my weight is going down a bit even in the short time that I've been doing it (although that may also be a factor of not eating in a cafeteria every day and having very little in the house right now). :) Anyway, I'm enjoying it, I feel like it's helping, and I'm trying to remember to do my exercises every day, not just on the ones where I'm there.