Feeling great!!

This has been a great week!!
I went in for an interview for a server position at Cheddars on Tuesday - it turned into orientation. I am sooo excited to have a new and full time job!! The general manager is very knowledgeable in the industry and the staff seems typical of a restaurant. Today was my first day training on the floor. My trainer had about an hour of sleep and was slightly hungover so as soon as I felt comfortable, I jumped in. It felt great! I forgot how much I really do enjoy serving. The key is not getting wrapped up in social BS.

As for my health - remembering to chew for 30sec is still the hardest part. Spacing out each bite is getting easier. I think once I'm on full solids, the chewing will be easier as well.
Yesterday, I did have a minor oops that resulted in some pain for awhile. I ordered Shepherd's Pie at Cheddars (amazing BTW!). I'd eaten about 1/4 of it and was chewing my last bite. If you don't know what Shepherd's Pie is - it's basically ground beef and mashed potatoes. I had no trouble at all until that last bite. As I was chewing, I could tell I needed to chew longer b/c it wasn't mushing very well. And I could feel a little gristle as well. Gristle is a BIG no-no! Even though I had the thought "I should spit this out", I ended up swallowing anyway. Almost instantly, I had sharp, tight pains at my band. Because of the texture, my esphagus was having difficulty squeezing the gristle through the band-funnel. It did eventually pass and hurt for about a 1/2 hour. And I am glad I experienced it. It sucked at the time, but I learned something new. "If you think 'spit it out', then spit it out!"

Overall - I still feel great! My clothes are fitting looser. And I'm not hungry. Very happy that I decided to do this!!