Tuesday, July 31, 2007
San Francisco Photo Update
For those of you too lazy to scroll down to my other post, I've finished uploading the San Francisco pictures. You can see them here.
Sad news
With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person which almost went unnoticed last week.
Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at the age of 93.
The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in.
And then the trouble started.
Shut up. You know it's funny.
Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at the age of 93.
The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in.
And then the trouble started.
Shut up. You know it's funny.
I'm home!
I had a great weekend with the kids out in San Francisco. It was my first time out there and my first time on the west coast since a trip to Las Vegas 10 years ago. The first thing that surprised me is that I wasn’t jet lagged at all. I had to get up at 5am to head out there, which was equivalent to 2am Pacific time and I felt fine throughout the whole weekend.
The next thing I noticed was it really was cool there temperature-wise. I didn’t believe everyone when they said it wasn’t going to get over 70. C’mon now, it’s almost August. But they were right and I was wrong, and it felt fantastic!
My flight got in right at noon, and Barbie picked me up at the airport. Since the kids didn’t get out of camp until 4:30, she gave me a tour of the coastline. We drove up from the airport and stopped at the Cliff House for a bunch of photos (See link at the end) then continued over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito. We had lunch at a place called Horizons, and then went to get the kids.
After picking them up and hanging out for a while, we went to Chevy’s for dinner. Yea, I know it’s a chain restaurant, but it’s always been one of my favorites and the one in Raleigh closed 5 years ago. I missed it! After dinner we wandered around in San Mateo for a bit.
The next morning we drove up to Pier 33 to pick up the ferry for our Alcatraz tour. Besides being a tourist attraction, it’s also a bird sanctuary and smells every bit the part. I enjoyed it quite a bit. We wandered the grounds for a while, and then when we got to the cellblock, there was an hour-long self-guided audio tour which was fantastic. It walked us through the entire place, documenting everything and even included the spots where the famous jailbreak took place.
Once we finished in Alcatraz, the ferry took us to Angel Island. Angel Island is often called the Ellis Island of the west, but that’s not entirely accurate. Initially it was used during the Civil War as a base for the North. But mostly it was used as a holding station for people being exported. And then when it was no longer used for that purpose, it became the spot where they sent people with non-curable contagious diseases to live until they died.
After returning from Angel Island, we headed to Pier 39 to wander around and check out the shops and the all the sea lions hanging out on the docks.
From there we went to Fisherman’s wharf to visit Boudin’s sourdough factory/bakery/restaurant and picked up some bread. By that time we got hungry and went into Chinatown to a Sushi Boat restaurant, which was excellent.
Then on Sunday, the kids and I headed down to Paramount’s Great America in San Jose. That was a lot of fun, and the only thing the kids didn’t want to go on was the “Drop Zone” which was very similar to the ride in Ohio where that 13 year old girl lost her feet when a cable snapped. That wasn’t the reason they didn’t want to go, but I wasn’t complaining. We did however hit every rollercoaster in the park, most of them several times. And if you want to see how scared (or not!) DQ was, check out the video…
Then when we got back we went to a Brew house called BJs (Hold the jokes please) where I had a couple of microbrews to help soothe my back, which took a beating because I was dragged onto the wooden rollercoaster… several times. I love them, but my butt really could have used a shock-absorber. It all went directly into my spine. I probably set myself back a week or so, but for the kids it was worth it.
Yesterday was all travel since I lost the three hours I gained going out there, plus my shuttle jump from Charlotte to Raleigh was delayed. Anyway, that was my trip. Here are the pictures I promised! (If you don't have a free KodakGallery account, you may need to create one.)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
San Francisco, here I come!
I'm heading out to San Francisco for a long weekend tomorrow so I can see the kids. For those of you who didn't know, my kids are staying with their mom for 6 weeks this summer before returning home just in time for school.
If my flights are on time I'll be arriving around noon tomorrow west coast time, and am going to have to bolt to catch the kid's rocket launch. They are spending part of the summer at a science camp and this week's theme is rocketry. Apparantly they've been building rockets all week and are going to some park to launch them all. If I don't hit any delays, I should make it in time to watch.
Regardless of whether I make it or not, I'm hoping to get to Chevy's for dinner. It's one of my favorite "chain" restaurants. We used to have one in Raleigh but it closed down for some reason. I have no idea why since it was always packed. From there, I'm sure we'll find something to do the rest of the evening.
On Saturday, I'm going to be taking the kids to Alcatraz in the morning. (So if you hear of someone accidentally locking themselves in a cell, that would probably be GB. And I probably did it.) After that, we're going to be heading over to Angel Island for the history tour there. And then after that, I'm hoping to hang out the rest of the afternoon at Pier 39, then hit Chinatown for dinner. Depending on how much energy we have after all that, we'll possibly go see a late night movie.
Then on Sunday, the kids have informed me I'm taking them to Six Flags so we can ride the rollercoasters and spend time at the Water Park. It's not quite sightseeing, but I'm sure I'll suffer through it! My only disappointment is that I won't have time to take them to the Redwoods. (Then again, that's just me being selfish, I want to see those!)
I'll be returning home on Monday, so you guys are going to have to survive without a few days of posts from me. But if you behave yourselves, maybe I'll post some pictures!
If my flights are on time I'll be arriving around noon tomorrow west coast time, and am going to have to bolt to catch the kid's rocket launch. They are spending part of the summer at a science camp and this week's theme is rocketry. Apparantly they've been building rockets all week and are going to some park to launch them all. If I don't hit any delays, I should make it in time to watch.
Regardless of whether I make it or not, I'm hoping to get to Chevy's for dinner. It's one of my favorite "chain" restaurants. We used to have one in Raleigh but it closed down for some reason. I have no idea why since it was always packed. From there, I'm sure we'll find something to do the rest of the evening.
On Saturday, I'm going to be taking the kids to Alcatraz in the morning. (So if you hear of someone accidentally locking themselves in a cell, that would probably be GB. And I probably did it.) After that, we're going to be heading over to Angel Island for the history tour there. And then after that, I'm hoping to hang out the rest of the afternoon at Pier 39, then hit Chinatown for dinner. Depending on how much energy we have after all that, we'll possibly go see a late night movie.
Then on Sunday, the kids have informed me I'm taking them to Six Flags so we can ride the rollercoasters and spend time at the Water Park. It's not quite sightseeing, but I'm sure I'll suffer through it! My only disappointment is that I won't have time to take them to the Redwoods. (Then again, that's just me being selfish, I want to see those!)
I'll be returning home on Monday, so you guys are going to have to survive without a few days of posts from me. But if you behave yourselves, maybe I'll post some pictures!
My "I'm tired" update
A few words of advice when you're tired and need a nap:
#1 - It's not a good idea to go out and have a big lunch, even if it's because everyone went out to celebrate a co-worker getting married. Food Fatigue is a nasty bugger, and combined with being tired I was ready to fall asleep at my desk.
#2 - It's also not a good idea to go to the bathroom when you're tired and suffering from Food Fatigue. The desire to simply fall asleep while sitting on the throne was almost too much to overcome. In fact I can't be positive that I didn't fall asleep and the walls of the stall held me up...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Another Back Update
I had an appointment with the Ortopedist this morning, and now finally I have a possible diagnosis. After taking a new set of x-rays and reviewing the results of my previous MRI he said it looks like there are two small things in play. The first is that he said he sees a small amount of arthritis in my spine where the thorasic cavity meets the lumbar section. He said it's relatively minor, but combined with what looks like a few benign "blood clots" (He used a medical term that escapes me at the moment) in those specific arthritic vertibrae is what is probably causing the pain. Not those problems specifically but the muscles around them. He thinks I strained my back at some point unconciously favoring the area and has scheduled me for a couple of physical therapy appointments even though things have been feeling much better. He also asked me to go back and restart on the Naproxin and Norflex for 2 more weeks to keep the muscles relaxed.
Anyway, that's my back update, which also includs an all clear from the ultrasound last Thursday...
Nielsen TV Ratings
Yep, that's right - we've been asked to be a Nielsen home. They are coming next week to hook up whatever it is they have to on all the TV sets. How it works is that from now on we use a special remote to switch channels, and it saves that data and ships it out every night at 3am. Supposedly it can track what we DVR and watch at a later date too since much of what we watch is recorded so we're not stuck to having to be at home any specific time or day to watch our favorite shows.
What I didn't know is that we get paid to do this. It's not much, but everyone gets a check every six months that we stay with it including the kids. Anyway, I guess it's not a big deal, but if you see a big spike in the popularity of Battlestar Galactica reruns coming out of Raleigh, that'd be us!
What I didn't know is that we get paid to do this. It's not much, but everyone gets a check every six months that we stay with it including the kids. Anyway, I guess it's not a big deal, but if you see a big spike in the popularity of Battlestar Galactica reruns coming out of Raleigh, that'd be us!
The Worst Week in Sports ever?
Jokes about Alexi Yashin returning to Russia aside, this really was a horrible week for sports - perhaps the worst in history.
A look at the headlines will make you absolutely cringe. If you turned on SportsCenter last week, you would have been lucky to find any talk of actual sports.
For a while there it seemed impossible that a story could possibly upstage the Michael Vick indictment, but by last Friday a story emerged from the NBA that may well end up being the biggest sports gambling scandal since the Black Sox in 1919. In case you haven't yet heard, the FBI is currently investigating allegations that NBA referree Tim Donaghy bet on games (including those he officiated) over the past two seasons. Donaghy allegedly was approached by "low-level mob associates" after getting into some gambling-related financial problems. This story is about as bad as it gets for the NBA. For any of you hockey sports fans, think back to the Rick Tocchet saga and multiply it by about a thousand. The whole integrity of the NBA is now question and this will be extremely difficult to recover from.
Then we have Michael Vick, one of the biggest faces of the NFL. He represented the Falcons and the league not only on the field but also in commercials for some of the most prominent brand names in the world - Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft, etc. And now on the day that his team starts training camp, Vick will be appearing in court to answer to multiple dog fighting charges. Yet to just call this a dog fighting case is to completely understate what really happened -- on top of the dog fighting and cross state illegal gambling, a multitude of dogs were allegedly brutally killed by Vick and his associates.
Moving to Major League Baseball we have Barry Bonds, a player who is just two home runs away from the all time home run record -- one of the greatest records in sports history. And while he sits two shy of 755, the FBI has extended the grand jury for another six months on the charges of perjury stemming from the 2003 BALCO case. On top of that, baseball's commissioner is doing everything he can to distance himself from Bonds, mostly because Bonds is about to top this hallowed record as a result of pumping himself full of steroids to do so.
The NHL hasn't escaped unscathed either. Jim Balsillie, one of the founders of RIM, the company that invented the Blackberry is accusing commissioner Gary Bettman of interfering with their dealings with Craig Leipold, the owner of the Nashville Predators regarding the sale of the team. Jim would plan to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario which goes against Bettman's plans of expanding the league throughout the US, including teams in Kansas City and Las Vegas. So Bettman is blocking him. Can you say collusion?
There were other scandals as well that normally would have gotten a whole lot more play but simply got buried. Those include possible steroid abuse in the PGA of all places, further reports on the Chris Benoit murder/suicide deal showing he drugged his kid before he killed him, more positive doping results in the Tour de France, reports that McLaren has stolen the plans from Ferrari on their Formula One race cars, and Chile's under-20 National soccer team got into a post-game brawl with Toronto police.
This all makes it so I can't wait for my daughter's soccer season starts up next week. At least the biggest issue there is whether the halftime snack is going to be oranges or bananas...
A look at the headlines will make you absolutely cringe. If you turned on SportsCenter last week, you would have been lucky to find any talk of actual sports.
For a while there it seemed impossible that a story could possibly upstage the Michael Vick indictment, but by last Friday a story emerged from the NBA that may well end up being the biggest sports gambling scandal since the Black Sox in 1919. In case you haven't yet heard, the FBI is currently investigating allegations that NBA referree Tim Donaghy bet on games (including those he officiated) over the past two seasons. Donaghy allegedly was approached by "low-level mob associates" after getting into some gambling-related financial problems. This story is about as bad as it gets for the NBA. For any of you hockey sports fans, think back to the Rick Tocchet saga and multiply it by about a thousand. The whole integrity of the NBA is now question and this will be extremely difficult to recover from.
Then we have Michael Vick, one of the biggest faces of the NFL. He represented the Falcons and the league not only on the field but also in commercials for some of the most prominent brand names in the world - Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft, etc. And now on the day that his team starts training camp, Vick will be appearing in court to answer to multiple dog fighting charges. Yet to just call this a dog fighting case is to completely understate what really happened -- on top of the dog fighting and cross state illegal gambling, a multitude of dogs were allegedly brutally killed by Vick and his associates.
Moving to Major League Baseball we have Barry Bonds, a player who is just two home runs away from the all time home run record -- one of the greatest records in sports history. And while he sits two shy of 755, the FBI has extended the grand jury for another six months on the charges of perjury stemming from the 2003 BALCO case. On top of that, baseball's commissioner is doing everything he can to distance himself from Bonds, mostly because Bonds is about to top this hallowed record as a result of pumping himself full of steroids to do so.
The NHL hasn't escaped unscathed either. Jim Balsillie, one of the founders of RIM, the company that invented the Blackberry is accusing commissioner Gary Bettman of interfering with their dealings with Craig Leipold, the owner of the Nashville Predators regarding the sale of the team. Jim would plan to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario which goes against Bettman's plans of expanding the league throughout the US, including teams in Kansas City and Las Vegas. So Bettman is blocking him. Can you say collusion?
There were other scandals as well that normally would have gotten a whole lot more play but simply got buried. Those include possible steroid abuse in the PGA of all places, further reports on the Chris Benoit murder/suicide deal showing he drugged his kid before he killed him, more positive doping results in the Tour de France, reports that McLaren has stolen the plans from Ferrari on their Formula One race cars, and Chile's under-20 National soccer team got into a post-game brawl with Toronto police.
This all makes it so I can't wait for my daughter's soccer season starts up next week. At least the biggest issue there is whether the halftime snack is going to be oranges or bananas...
Friday, July 20, 2007
Hey! Guess what?
My back isn't hurting!
After getting home last night, my back wasn't feeling all that bad so I skipped my evening and nighttime doses of my pain meds. And then this morning it wasn't bad either, so I've skipped yet another dose.
Who knows, even without a proper diagnosis maybe whatever was wrong is simply getting better on it's own. After a month of being drugged up and limited in mobility, it's a nice feeling. Granted, it's not perfect but it's far better than it's been in weeks. This makes me smile!
After getting home last night, my back wasn't feeling all that bad so I skipped my evening and nighttime doses of my pain meds. And then this morning it wasn't bad either, so I've skipped yet another dose.
Who knows, even without a proper diagnosis maybe whatever was wrong is simply getting better on it's own. After a month of being drugged up and limited in mobility, it's a nice feeling. Granted, it's not perfect but it's far better than it's been in weeks. This makes me smile!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Raleigh Radiology - Take 3
Today I had my third trip over to Raleigh Radiology. This time it was for an Ultrasound on my bladder, kidneys, and aorta. My only instructions were to show up 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork, and to drink at least 32 ounces of water in the hour prior to the appointment without going to the bathroom.
Now my advice for them in return is that if they are going to ask me to drink massive quantities of water and then hold it for my appointment, please have the common courtesy to be running on schedule. It's bad enough having to pee very badly, it's another thing to know there is a bathroom 5 feet away but I can't use it.
On the plus side, hot MRI doc was there and recognized me first. "Hey Joe, how are you?!" she said with a smile. "I gotta piss like a race horse" would have been the honest response, but out came "Good, you?" instead. The conversation ended there because they called me back at that point.
Now I've seen ultrasounds given a couple of times on my pregnant ex and they seemed harmless enough so I hopped up on the table and let the woman go to work. Unfortunately I didn't realize she would be pressing down on my quite full bladder to do so. (And I thought I had to pee beforehand...)
Thankfully this part only lasted a few minutes and then I was permitted to use the bathroom to releave myself so that she could re-check the area and see how well I was emptying my bladder. (How much was left in there when I was done.) After that, the rest was a piece of cake.
Once finished, on the way out they told me my ultrasound results would be available on Monday and they handed me my X-Ray and MRI results. The good news is both were negative. The bad news is that means they still have no idea what's wrong. I have a friend who's thinking it may be a kidney infection, which tends to make sense -- except that my doctor didn't mention that at all. I guess it gives me something to ask him about at the next appointment, and it would be a GOOD THING (TM) if all it would take to fix this was some anti-biotics... anyway, that's getting ahead of myself here.
That's it for now.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
No News Yet
Still no call from the doctors regarding the results of my MRI. However, I did get a call from my regular doctor letting me I need to go back over to Raleigh Radiology for an ultrasound tomorrow at 3:30. My guess is that's to look for kidney stones.
That's actually probably a good thing, since now I can hit them up in person for my results as I'll be over there anyway...
That's actually probably a good thing, since now I can hit them up in person for my results as I'll be over there anyway...
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
My first MRI
I had my first MRI today when they went in to scan my back. I've never done it before so I really had no idea what to expect.So, I'm sitting there in the waiting room for about 10 minutes until they call my name. I get up and walk with this nurse through a couple of hallways through the office and end up at the back door. She opens it up and say "Here we are!"
Huh?
We step outside and there is a semi-trailer parked right up against the back of the building. The nurse hits this button and some stairs appear out of the side of the trailer and a big wall opens up revealing this really attractive doctor sitting there at a computer terminal. We sat and chatted a bit, (mostly about whether I had any foreign metal objects stuck in my body somewhere she should know about.) I assured her if she found something, she could keep it. While the nurse ran off to get some paperwork left in the main building, the doc and I made some small talk. Then much to my delight, the doctor got up and walked behind me and unclasped my necklace. I liked where this was going. Then she walked around in front of me and asked me to take off my belt. Bonus! This was going better than I expected! (Except that she was wearing a wedding ring. And she didn't take anything off herself. And the other nurse came back.)
Anyway, they opened this door in the trailer and there was a really thin table in front of a giant cylinder. She had me lay down on the table and put in some earplugs and then left the room. Over a microphone she said the were starting and the table slid me right into this cylinder. I kind of felt like I was being inserted into a hot dog tube. Or if she had slid me in and out a few times it would have been sort of phallic. Once inside it was kind of cramped so I can see how some people get clausrtriphobic, but honestly it was sort of nice to get a half hour in the middle of a work day to do nothing but lay down and relax.
It lasted just about 30 minutes, and then the nurse got me back out. I got to put my belt back on, but the doctor grabbed my necklace right from my hand to put it back on. Did I mention she was hot? And had a great smile. And a wedding ring...
Well, that's about it. I get the results tomorrow or Thursday and maybe they'll finally have some idea what's going on with my back. I'll keep you posted.
Huh?
We step outside and there is a semi-trailer parked right up against the back of the building. The nurse hits this button and some stairs appear out of the side of the trailer and a big wall opens up revealing this really attractive doctor sitting there at a computer terminal. We sat and chatted a bit, (mostly about whether I had any foreign metal objects stuck in my body somewhere she should know about.) I assured her if she found something, she could keep it. While the nurse ran off to get some paperwork left in the main building, the doc and I made some small talk. Then much to my delight, the doctor got up and walked behind me and unclasped my necklace. I liked where this was going. Then she walked around in front of me and asked me to take off my belt. Bonus! This was going better than I expected! (Except that she was wearing a wedding ring. And she didn't take anything off herself. And the other nurse came back.)
Anyway, they opened this door in the trailer and there was a really thin table in front of a giant cylinder. She had me lay down on the table and put in some earplugs and then left the room. Over a microphone she said the were starting and the table slid me right into this cylinder. I kind of felt like I was being inserted into a hot dog tube. Or if she had slid me in and out a few times it would have been sort of phallic. Once inside it was kind of cramped so I can see how some people get clausrtriphobic, but honestly it was sort of nice to get a half hour in the middle of a work day to do nothing but lay down and relax.
It lasted just about 30 minutes, and then the nurse got me back out. I got to put my belt back on, but the doctor grabbed my necklace right from my hand to put it back on. Did I mention she was hot? And had a great smile. And a wedding ring...
Well, that's about it. I get the results tomorrow or Thursday and maybe they'll finally have some idea what's going on with my back. I'll keep you posted.
The summer of the Third
As I was looking through the list of movies to possibly go see this weekend it dawned on me that everything I've seen this year or want to see this year is the third film in a series. My first choice for this weekend is Live Free or Die Hard, which is the Bruce Willis Die Hard movie. Of the ones I've already seen: Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End, Spiderman 3, and Shrek the Third. And of the ones I still want to see: Oceans Thirteen, Bourne Ultimatum, and Rush Hour 3. Strange, huh? Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one that thinks about such things...
My first MRI
I had my first MRI today when they went in to scan my back. I've never done it before so I really had no idea what to expect.So, I'm sitting there in the waiting room for about 10 minutes until they call my name. I get up and walk with this nurse through a couple of hallways through the office and end up at the back door. She opens it up and say "Here we are!"
Huh?
We step outside and there is a semi-trailer parked right up against the back of the building. The nurse hits this button and some stairs appear out of the side of the trailer and a big wall opens up revealing this really attractive doctor sitting there at a computer terminal. We sat and chatted a bit, (mostly about whether I had any foreign metal objects stuck in my body somewhere she should know about.) I assured her if she found something, she could keep it.
While the nurse ran off to get some paperwork left in the main building, the doc and I made some small talk. Then much to my delight, the doctor got up and walked behind me and unclasped my necklace. I liked where this was going. Then she walked around in front of me and asked me to take off my belt. Bonus! This was going better than I expected! (Except that she was wearing a wedding ring. And she didn't take anything off herself. And the other nurse came back.)
Anyway, they opened this door in the trailer and there was a really thin table in front of a giant cylinder. She had me lay down on the table and put in some earplugs and then left the room. Over a microphone she said the were starting and the table slid me right into this cylinder. I kind of felt like I was being inserted into a hot dog tube. Or if she had slid me in and out a few times it would have been sort of phallic. Once inside it was kind of cramped so I can see how some people get clausrtriphobic, but honestly it was sort of nice to get a half hour in the middle of a work day to do nothing but lay down and relax.
It lasted just about 30 minutes, and then the nurse got me back out. I got to put my belt back on, but the doctor grabbed my necklace right from my hand to put it back on. Did I mention she was hot? And had a great smile. And a wedding ring...
Well, that's about it. I get the results tomorrow or Thursday and maybe they'll finally have some idea what's going on with my back. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Seven Habits
I was asked to make a post of seven habits or facts about myself, so here goes...
1. At work, the first thing I do each morning is turn on the radio. I can't work without music. It's permanently set to Sirius 10 - The Bridge, nice mellow rock music that easy to work to.
2. I shave weird. I shave to left side of my goatee for three strokes, then do the right side. Then I'll go back and finish the left side of my face, then the right. Why I do this, I have no idea...
3. I'll get up at 5am to drive to Charlotte so I can start tailgating with friends by 8am for a Carolina Panthers football game, but I won't go to the game. I'd rather sit with a few friends at a nearby sports bar so I can watch with commentary and keep up with the other games around the league while the rest of the gang spends $70 a pop for their tickets.
4. I'm addicted to ice hockey. If I don't get to skate at least once a week I go through withdrawls. I also play because it lets me pretend I'm getting my exercise in this method so I don't have to go to the gym as much.
5. I love coaching my daughter's soccer team, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm just as competitive as the kids are. It bugs me these days that all the kids have to get the same amount of playing time, regardless of their skill level. I think it's good for the kids to learn that hard work and practice pay off and if they improve they will play more. And on the flip side, I think it's good for the kids to learn that life isn't going to hand everything to them, they have to earn what they get. I believe if they goof around at practice, they should sit on the sidelines during a game instead of knowing that the rules say the get to play regardless.
6. I'm a fantasy nut, and I enjoy getting on the computer and playing Lord of the Rings Online a couple of times a week. While years back I used to play video games all the time, it's still a nice occasional escape for me, especially this one. It really brings the books to life by creating an incredible backstory to the novels -- allowing us to imagine what everyone else was doing while the Fellowship was helping Frodo destroy the ring.
7. I find myself watching stuff on the History and Discovery Channels more than on the regular four networks. Shows like "Ice Road Truckers", "Cities of the Underworld", and "The Deadliest Catch" seem to hold my attention far more that stuff like "Law & Order", "Extreme Makeover", "Deal or No Deal", "The Batchelor" or whatever other junk is on these days.
1. At work, the first thing I do each morning is turn on the radio. I can't work without music. It's permanently set to Sirius 10 - The Bridge, nice mellow rock music that easy to work to.
2. I shave weird. I shave to left side of my goatee for three strokes, then do the right side. Then I'll go back and finish the left side of my face, then the right. Why I do this, I have no idea...
3. I'll get up at 5am to drive to Charlotte so I can start tailgating with friends by 8am for a Carolina Panthers football game, but I won't go to the game. I'd rather sit with a few friends at a nearby sports bar so I can watch with commentary and keep up with the other games around the league while the rest of the gang spends $70 a pop for their tickets.
4. I'm addicted to ice hockey. If I don't get to skate at least once a week I go through withdrawls. I also play because it lets me pretend I'm getting my exercise in this method so I don't have to go to the gym as much.
5. I love coaching my daughter's soccer team, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm just as competitive as the kids are. It bugs me these days that all the kids have to get the same amount of playing time, regardless of their skill level. I think it's good for the kids to learn that hard work and practice pay off and if they improve they will play more. And on the flip side, I think it's good for the kids to learn that life isn't going to hand everything to them, they have to earn what they get. I believe if they goof around at practice, they should sit on the sidelines during a game instead of knowing that the rules say the get to play regardless.
6. I'm a fantasy nut, and I enjoy getting on the computer and playing Lord of the Rings Online a couple of times a week. While years back I used to play video games all the time, it's still a nice occasional escape for me, especially this one. It really brings the books to life by creating an incredible backstory to the novels -- allowing us to imagine what everyone else was doing while the Fellowship was helping Frodo destroy the ring.
7. I find myself watching stuff on the History and Discovery Channels more than on the regular four networks. Shows like "Ice Road Truckers", "Cities of the Underworld", and "The Deadliest Catch" seem to hold my attention far more that stuff like "Law & Order", "Extreme Makeover", "Deal or No Deal", "The Batchelor" or whatever other junk is on these days.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Back Update
After writing about my back this morning, I decided to go see the doctor again before coming to work.After another examination, he still has no idea what is causing it. So he added a couple more drugs to my growing pile. The first is a steroid called Medrol, and the other is a pain medication called Ultracet. He also asked me to leave another urine sample, and then scheduled me for an MRI as well as referred me to an Orthopedic Surgeon. Both of those will occur sometime in the next couple of weeks. So that's my update, and now it's back to work!
My earliest post yet
It figures. This is the second time I've written this post. Just as I was about to post it the first time my browser crashed and I lost everything. So now you are going to get the cliff-notes version...
It's now almost 6:30am and I've been awake for the past hour and a half just staring at the ceiling watching the fan go around in circles. Never mind the fact that I didn't fall asleep until after 2am, and this has been happening every night for the past month. And it's all because my back is killing me. I've got this constant ache in the kidney area that has gotten progressively worse over the past four weeks. It's grown to the point where it's wrapped around to the front and makes my stomach feel like I've gotten some acid in there. And as a result I can't lay on my back because it amplifies the discomfort in the kidney region, and I can't lay on my stomach because the acid feeling gets worse. Laying on the side is the best of the bad choices because while I still feel both sides, they aren't quite so acute. But it doesn't help me sleep.
I really haven't told anyone about this because what are they going to do? The one person I thought would always have my back turned hers on me over two years ago. The guys I hang out with would say something like "rub some Ben-gay on it, it'll be fine," and my co-workers would tell me to take a couple of aspirin before my next meeting. So why bother? Instead when people ask how I'm doing, the automatic response is "Good", and when they ask what's wrong, the answer is "Nothing". It's just easier this way.
And before you say it, I have been to the doctor. He doesn't know what it is either. We were hoping it was just a pulled muscle, but the pain is constant and doesn't get better or worse when I twist positions. Still, he put me on some strong pain meds and muscle relaxers, but they haven't done anything to help. He's run some blood tests and urine tests that came back negative for whatever he was looking for. I've had an EKG done and chest x-rays taken and they haven't shown anything either. So he doesn't have any explanation for why my back is so bad, which doesn't really help me as I stare at this spinning fan. I just want to get some sleep, not that it matters now since I have to be up in 15 minutes to get ready for work anyway...
It's now almost 6:30am and I've been awake for the past hour and a half just staring at the ceiling watching the fan go around in circles. Never mind the fact that I didn't fall asleep until after 2am, and this has been happening every night for the past month. And it's all because my back is killing me. I've got this constant ache in the kidney area that has gotten progressively worse over the past four weeks. It's grown to the point where it's wrapped around to the front and makes my stomach feel like I've gotten some acid in there. And as a result I can't lay on my back because it amplifies the discomfort in the kidney region, and I can't lay on my stomach because the acid feeling gets worse. Laying on the side is the best of the bad choices because while I still feel both sides, they aren't quite so acute. But it doesn't help me sleep.
I really haven't told anyone about this because what are they going to do? The one person I thought would always have my back turned hers on me over two years ago. The guys I hang out with would say something like "rub some Ben-gay on it, it'll be fine," and my co-workers would tell me to take a couple of aspirin before my next meeting. So why bother? Instead when people ask how I'm doing, the automatic response is "Good", and when they ask what's wrong, the answer is "Nothing". It's just easier this way.
And before you say it, I have been to the doctor. He doesn't know what it is either. We were hoping it was just a pulled muscle, but the pain is constant and doesn't get better or worse when I twist positions. Still, he put me on some strong pain meds and muscle relaxers, but they haven't done anything to help. He's run some blood tests and urine tests that came back negative for whatever he was looking for. I've had an EKG done and chest x-rays taken and they haven't shown anything either. So he doesn't have any explanation for why my back is so bad, which doesn't really help me as I stare at this spinning fan. I just want to get some sleep, not that it matters now since I have to be up in 15 minutes to get ready for work anyway...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Six weeks of freedom
Well, the kids left with Barbie for San Francisco on Sunday. After reflecting on this for a little while, it dawned on me that this will be the longest period of time that I've ever lived on my own. I've gone from living at home as a kid, to a dorm in college, to a Fraternity house, to several apartments with friends, to getting married, and finally to the end of the marriage where I've had my kids every other week. Never before have I had this much time alone.
So now I need to come up with things to entertain myself since I think I'm going to be bored until the kids come back in Mid-August. Anyone have any ideas? *grin*
So now I need to come up with things to entertain myself since I think I'm going to be bored until the kids come back in Mid-August. Anyone have any ideas? *grin*
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