Anyone Have a Can of Raid?

Roadkill: Who Would Win?

I'm guessing your car would lose.

That's a big damn moose.

God's New Slavic Doctor

I think we'll all remember where we were when we heard that actor Henry Gibson had died. For those ignorant few, Henry Gibson is the talented actor who portrayed Dr. Werner Klopek in the supreme 1989 movie, The 'burbs. You may also remember him as Ike Roscoe, the guy who was supposed to be executed but memorably hid in a photocopier while on the lam in the movie Switching Channels.


The 'burbs is one of my favorite movies of all time and never gets old. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but HBO has been running it over the past week or so. I'm assuming it's a coincidence that it's around Gibson's death because it's not like they've been airing Road House or Next of Kin lately.

New Music

I'm going to add a new artist to my "recommended listens" section on the right side of the blog. It's for CosmoBrown, a new artist I found randomly on the internet yesterday. I really enjoy the one song, "I'm Only Playin' With Ya." I haven't really heard the rest of the album except for snippets on Amazon but they don't grab me the same way. I've been listening to it a lot and it doesn't get old. Let me know if you also like it. Finding new music is fun.

ps - those who complain that I suck too much by not posting on my blog anymore can feel free to eat me.

Reader Warning!!

READERS BEWARE!!

I've recently received notice from Virginia Tech that my filebox which I utilize to store certain files for personal use and this blog is going to be deleted soon because I am not a current student. Apparently the only things they give alumnus are emails every other day about golf tournaments and "get togethers" and requests for donations. Thanks, alma mater!

When the files are deleted my blog will take on a new look. The new look won't be radically different but some source files for the layout as well as photos for some posts will be missing. I will have to find some alternative to store files online or just redo my posts altogether. Such a sad day. Perhaps that's why it's been raining so much.

Long Time a'Comin'

A lot of changes have happened in the past few months, all of which I did not document at all on this here trustly blog. I know I've disappointed my one's of fans but I've been busy. And by busy I mean lazy. It's not from a lack of desire, it's more from doing things that don't involve the computer. The few times I'm around the computer I've just chosen not to log in and write a blog entry. What are you gonna do about it, continue to not read my blog?!? I'm not threatened or intimidated. But if you're not careful I may just not post anything here again...ever. How would you like that? ...just kidding. I'll keep posting things here from time to time (and by that I mean semi-monthly).

I'll fill in some details of the past few months at a later time but for now I'll explain the current goings on. For the past few weeks I've had a slight pain in the right-hand joint for my ring finger which has slowly gotten more sore. The other morning I woke up and the joint and ring finger were noticeably swollen and extremely painful. I had previously gone to my family practitioner and he gave me a prescription for an x-ray to have my hand checked out for damage. I hadn't had time to get the x-ray performed when the major swelling and pain kicked in. On Saturday night I went to the emergency room and had them take a look at it. They took an x-ray and determined that there was nothing physically wrong with my bone structure. They then gave me information for a follow up with a hand specialist. It's actually a doctor I've seen once before for a hand injury. Hopefully I can make an appointment and he can remove whatever it is out of my hand so I can get back to work.

I'll post more later (probably).

Last week was officially my first day back to work from my knee surgery. I haven't returned to my normal full "heavy" duties but instead, I am what is unofficially called "light duty." It's a restricted, temporary assignment officially known as TRD, or "temporary restricted duty." I would prefer to call it bitch work, but I don't make the rules.

Just to give you a tasty sampling of what you might have in store should you be forced into "light duty," I'll give you a run down of some of the grueling tasks I've been assigned for the past week. (Editor's Note: for those faint-hearted, continue with caution.)

- I had to research and locate a trailer for purchase. This is no ordinary trailer. This one had to have wheels on an axle, be able to be towed by a sport utility vehicle, have a door on the side, and be capable of containing large items.

- I had to complete some files from six months ago that I was unable to complete because I was out of work due to my injury.

- I had to place prepaid postage stickers onto approx. 100 envelopes. This is tougher than you think. In your mind you may be thinking that these were stamps. You'd be wrong. These were self-adhesive strips about 2.5 times wider than traditional stamps and 1.5 times thicker. To help your feeble mind grasp the conversion, imagine placing 250 stamps on envelopes...if you dare.

- I had to take some pre-filled out documents, write a date on the top, and then place them in document savers. The plastic kind. Then, to make matters worse, I had to place those filled document savers into a three-ring binder. And before you think it was a cake walk, I'd like to iterate that those documents had to be in alphabetical order.

- I had to send two emails to two separate people in order to get more information about two separate products. I emailed people who deal with those products all the time and they emailed me back with the information. They were quick to respond because they saw it was from me and they knew I meant business. It's not everyday that I send just anybody an email. I also used the phrase "pretty please" in order to ensure a speedy response.

- I had to drive from one location to another to deliver envelopes or folders or files or other super top secret items that I cannot fully disclose here. They wouldn't entrust any Joe Blow to see that these items were successfully united with their intended recipients. They sent me because they knew I knew where the other buildings and offices were. Which is kinda funny because I had never been to the new offices and it took me a while to find each office. I didn't tell them I wasn't familiar with the new offices...and I never will.

- I also had to drive to two separate places to drop off fliers. It sounds pretty easy but I had to drive on the roads while listening to music or talking on my phone. Not the safest endeavors but I made the best of it.

There are other tasks I have been given and I will be getting more in the future. It would be a vain attempt for me to describe the brutality and rigorous nature of all of them but if you promise you'll control your anxiety and not totally freak out on me I will share the rich and fulfilling experiences with all of you. Try not to lose sleep knowing that my scary daily activities are hiding under your bed.

The Devil's Playthings

I've been trying to think of ways to occupy my time now that my spanish class is over. I am still at least a month or two away from going back to work and until now I've been content with my activities for the most part. It's only been recently that I've become somewhat bored. It is this lack of time-fillers that has led me to decide on a few things to keep things new.

One thing I've done is clean and revitalize my aquarium tank, prepping it for some Fire Bellied Toads. I've had one before that I inherited from Scott because he was moving to Portland but it died over a year ago. I let the tank sit empty up until recently but I managed to keep the water plant alive the entire time and I'm sure it's grateful in it's own plant way for the better light and the circulating fresh water. I am planning on having two or three toads this time so they can have some toad friends. These toads are social animals who will rest and cling to one another in and out of the water. I'm sure I'll have to make runs to the pet store to purchase crickets and mealworms on a regular basis to keep up with them. I'll entertain any name suggestions you may have.

Another way I've decided to stay busy is begin taking guitar or banjo lessons. I own one of each thanks to some family members who surprised me with the banjo a few Christmases ago. It remains one of the greatest presents I've ever received. When they gave it to me I wasn't quite sure what to say and I actually had to fight back a few tears. I don't know if they noticed that or not, but I was very touched.

While I've tooled around with both instruments, I've only recently taken them out of their cases full time and am using them in part as decoration. When I was in eighth grade I took a few weeks or so of banjo lessons from an extremely talented and well-respected banjo player named Jim Bowman. I enjoyed the lessons but decided to discontinue them because I didn't think the lessons were worth the ten-dollars-per-hour fee. Looking back, I wish I had stuck with it. As it turned out, Jim thought that I had more talent than he did at that age. I wish I had known that then or that my father had been more pushy. He contends that he never wanted to be one of the pushy parents -and he never was- but I wish he made that one exception. My feelers are out and I may go back to Jim for lessons again, assuming he still gives them and if the cost isn't too outrageous. If it's anywhere near the ten buck range I'd go five times a week!

I'm kicking around a few other ideas to stay busy. Some are artsy. Today I purchased a drawing pad and some charcoal sticks. I thought I'd try some charcoal drawing and see if I couldn't turn up something half respectable. I'm also brainstorming on a story for some animation I'm going to try and whip up. Who knows how successful that will be. My only fear is that I will try to do too many stimulating things at the same time and end up losing my motivation for all of them. I'll probably get into a groove just as I have to go back to work.

These are some of the things I'm working on to stave off boredom, all while following up with my spanish. I want to remain current and not forget what I've learned so far. I am still trying to work on the immersion trip to Costa Rica as well as a work-related trip to Eugene, Oregon.

I want to take a personal trip out to Portland, Oregon again this winter (whether I can snowboard or not) as well as another trip to New York City.

Keep checking back. I'll be sure to keep you up to date with where I don't end up going and which projects I abandon.

¡Mi clase de español es acabado!

It's official: My spanish class is over!

Yesterday (Monday) I had my final regular class which was the chapter eight test. I failed it, miserably, but the class is over either way. I knew going into the test that I would not fare well but I buckled down, pushed my way through and received a whole 40%!!!!! I was grading it myself before I turned it in and I figured I would only receive a 50% at best, so I wasn't really surprised. The teacher also tallied up the final course grade and told each student if he/she needed to take the "optional" final exam. It's "optional" because anyone can take it if they want to, but some people have to take it if they didn't meet specific requirements set forth on the first day. Those include, but are not limited to, watching the out-of-class videos, correcting test scores, and attending class.

After I turned my test in and he graded it, my teacher told me that I did not have to take the final exam and showed me my final course grade. Now, let's take a brief moment to review the circumstances here. Of all tests, your lowest grade will be dropped with the exception of the chapter eight test. That test will count no matter what. So far, not so good because of my 40%. The previous test (test six, which is not posted because he has it. I turned it in after making corrections because I failed it also) was dropped. That left the chapter 7 test (posted on the right) 64% averaged along with 74%, 75%, 96%, 100% and 100%. There were some other factors involved with the grading but suffice it to say that those 100s and the other A saved me. My final course grade is a 80%, a B. The good news is that it's a B as any other, like an 89. It's all the same. What makes it more humorous is that when he showed me my grade he kind of made some sort of noise and showed me his calculator which displayed a 79.9. He rounded it up to an 80 and told me not to take the final implying that it may drag my average to a C if I did poorly. I wasn't planning on taking the final anyway. It's cumulative and there's way too much stuff to cover by this Thursday.

I may go in and speak with the professor on Thursday to review my test scores, retrieve my chapter six test so I can post it, and get some advice regarding traveling to Costa Rica.


* * * * *
more to come on life events as they unfold (or probably way after they unfold...)

Whatever

This is just a quick post to prove that I'm still alive and to illuminate and acknowledge that I'm losing motivation for certain things. Like blogging. I've had several ideas, trips or other goings ons that would make for wonderfully poetic blog posts sure to captivate and titillate but I haven't felt the desire to sit before this internet machine and type it up (which is kinda weird because once I begin typing I find it hard to stop). I'm also losing motivation for my Spanish class. I still enjoy it and still want to learn it as much as ever, but with the semester winding down and a poor grade on the last test (which, along with excuses, will be posted as soon as I get it returned to me by my instructor) I find it hard to take seriously anymore. I am ready to move on to Costa Rica and actually apply what I learned in a more practical and sink-or-swim format (also, today I had another test which I am expecting to do somewhat poorly, if not completely poorly on). It's not a lack of motivation for the Spanish, it's a lack of motivation to study for it. I sit down and try to study but always find a way to distract myself.

- On my way home today I stopped by my normal gas station and filled my tank up. I got a twenty-cent discount which dropped the price to $1.79/gallon. Paying thirty-eight bucks for a full tank versus the seventy-five it used to be is a welcome silver lining to a toilet bowl economy. Who says a recession and deflation are all bad?!?

- I feel as though I'm in a transitional phase of some sort. I just don't know what that entails or where I might come out after it's over. There's only one way to find out: keep a keen eye focused on my blog. Yep, that's how. I'm sure I'll post more about it...eventually.

Stay tuned.

Spanish Quiz and Exam

My Spanish class was recently given a geography exam in which we needed to label five countries and five capitals. I studied the night before and felt comfortable with all of the countries and capitals of the Spanish speaking world. After having taken the exam I thought I missed one. I was not sure of one particular country we had to identify and I was torn between Guatamala or Nicaragua. Naturally, I chose the wrong country, Guatamala. I was slightly surprised when I received my test back and saw a fat 70 written across the top. As it turns out, the other two errors were only technical. I neglected to put an accent in Panamá and I wrote "Dominican Republic" instead of "República Dominicana." I would have appreciated some partial credit because, technically, I had identified the countries as asked, but I am not going to fight the grade.

We also received our chapter five tests back today. This test felt slightly easier than the chapter four test and I finished it fairly quickly, both of which made me wonder how strong my results would be. I was anticipating a "B" because of my gut feeling and that I had some concerns over a few of my answers. After finishing I took an extra moment and went over my answers and ended up changing one. It's a good thing I did because had I not, I would not have received the 100 on the exam.

Chapter five test and the geography quiz are posted to the right.

A Breath Of Fresh Air

What's the Spanish Word for "Pathetic"?

I was speaking with two classmates as we were walking out of the most recent test. They both remarked how hard the test was while I was thinking the test was pretty easy. I also thought that my thoughts on it's ease would foreshadow a lower grade. I was right. I found it hard to study for this test and this is the test I should have studied for more than others. This chapter had more information than most and the teacher told us it was more involved. Aside from lack of proper studying, I had a little confusion on the test itself but our teacher was not present on test day. He had another instructor fill in for administering the test while he was gallivanting about doing who knows what. Either way, I'm not terribly happy with the result which was a "C". Could have been worse, I guess.

We just had a geography quiz on countries and capitals of the Spanish-speaking world. I believe I missed one out of ten. We'll get that back soon, maybe Monday, but we have the chapter five test then also. Those will be posted when I get them back. Try to hold back your excitement.

Fair and Balanced

I am not really one to watch Fox News, but as of late I've been logging more time with them to see how they are putting their conservative slant on the Presidential campaigns and other current event topics. I feel it's good to get a balance of perspectives although Fox News is anything but balanced. It's interesting to note that Fox News holds themselves to a "higher standard" and give off the impression that they are more civilized and intelligent than other people.

I was watching CNN a few weeks ago and Barack Obama was being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer. It was a short interview and I cannot even remember the subject matter although I think it may have been related to the economic crisis and the bailout, etc, etc... After the interview was over I turned over to Fox News and Brit Hume was doing his best to speak clearly about whatever nonsense was before him on the teleprompter. Brit Hume appears to have some disorder in which he mumbles and also talks as though his mouth is full of food. Whenever I am unfortunate enough to watch him I always anticipate him accidentally spewing food or drink out of his mouth and onto the table. Watch him and see if I'm wrong.

Back to my story - Brit Hume was talking about some non-memorable issue and mentioned that Barack Obama would be coming on in a few moments. Having just heard him speak on CNN, I wanted to see how different his interview was going to be on Fox. Brit Hume continued with his current story and transitioned to another one. This one caught my attention. Brit Hume, on Fox News, the nationally broadcast news channel, featured a story on an Hispanic man in South Charleston, West Virginia who was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated. Brit Hume continued explaining the story with intermittent chuckling. He said the man was arrested and while in the police station to take the breathalyzer exam the officer noted in his report that the man had "broken wind" in his face and that he had "detected a strong odor." The intoxicated man was then charged with assault on a police officer. Brit Hume could barely control himself or his mouthful of food during the entire story.

That's not much of a story especially considering that this was national news. Seems like such a small story and it came at such an odd time. Or so I thought. As soon as Brit Hume finished his story and swallowed more mouthjuice he announced that they were going to Barack Obama for the interview. There was no tangible break between the stories. Brit Hume went straight from farting in a police officer's face to Barack Obama with barely enough time for Brit Hume to clear his throat.

The funniest part of it all was Barack Obama's comment. As he was being introduced by Brit Hume he was visible on the splitscreen with a genial smile on his face. Then, first words out of his mouth in his typical composed self, Barack Obama told Brit Hume that he was "enjoying listening to the lead up" and began smiling from ear to ear. I laughed out loud. Seems strange that a national news broadcast would preface an interview with a candidate they don't support with a fart story. And I think that is very telling of Fox News and those who watch it as their primary news source. They feel they are more sophisticated or refined but they get their kicks from fart jokes. They are perpetually in sixth grade.

I thought maybe this was a fluke of some sort. That maybe they had a slow news day and had to fill their air with small town non-stories of people farting. That they were compelled to broadcast coverage of tispy tooters due to contractual obligations between Fox News and small municipalities under the Flatulence Agreement of Rural Towns (F.A.R.T.). But since I just made F.A.R.T. up, I have yet to see any of this documented anywhere so I am left to believe that they honestly believe fart jokes are funny (which they can be, in the right context. Not in news coverage, just in middle school gym class or in blogs).

So maybe it was a one time deal. I didn't think too much more about it until about six days later. I caught Brit Hume on again at the exact same time, six-thirty in the evening, on the dot. They had just finished some Obama story and it was followed by another unconnected story, this one from Australia. Brit Hume mumbled that some people in Australia were pushing for the use of kangaroos in place of cows as a source of meat. Brit Hume began chuckling again and continued stating that some people believe kangaroos are a better alternative for various reason including an environmental one. Brit Hume explained through his swampmouth chuckling that kangaroos emitted less methane than cattle. Brit Hume laughed again and that was the end of the story. How sophisticated.


* * * * *

A quick note, Obama was born in Hawaii and is going back later this week to visit his ailing grandmother. There was a photo of him attached to the story in which he appears to be wearing Maui Jim sunglasses, a company based in Hawaii. It just so happens to be the kind of sunglasses that I wear and they appear to be the same style. If he didn't have your vote before, he should definitely have it now.

ACL Reconstruction Surgery

My knee surgery was a simple procedure by today's medical standards and I equated it with a visit to the dentist: you check in, go to the work room, the dentist does his stuff, you leave and he goes about his business for the rest of the day. While my procedure was slightly more complicated than a tooth cleaning or slapping on some porcelain veneers, the basic idea held up.

Upon arrival I checked in with the receptionist and had a seat in the waiting room where one other patient had already taken a seat. I noticed at least one other person come in after me and sit down before my name was called and I was whisked away to the back rooms of the surgical suite. There I was given my gown and was told I could keep my shorts on and they gave me a bed to lay in. Various nurses and doctors came and went all verifying what the procedure was going to be and which leg it was going to happen on. I had to point to the leg being worked on and a nurse drew a large neon green circle on that leg that the doctor later initialed. They started an IV on me and after having the area around my knee shaved they gave me a few pills to help start the anesthesia process. They wheeled me into the surgical suite, had me transfer to the surgical bed and told me to lay back and relax. By now the pills had begun to work pretty well and I was feeling light headed. They were still asking me questions which I fully remember still but I could tell I was getting loopy. A lady held the oxygen mask over my face and before she set it down over my nose and mouth she told me to just take a few deep breaths and relax, that it was "just oxygen." Being a little loopy, I didn't quite believe her and I thought this was the moment that I would be put under completely so I asked her, "Is that code for knock-out gas?" I remember taking two breaths and thinking I should take another one. That was it. Next thing I know I am waking up, freezing my ass off and shivering like I took the Polar Plunge. I knew immediately where I was and what had happened but my body didn't intuitively know that it took two to two-and-a-half hours to complete. They put me in a chair and put some blankets on me and maybe my fleece. After a very short time they wheeled me to an exit door where my ride had already positioned the car. I easily got up and entered the car and was transported home. That was it. In and out, assembly line style with the casualness of getting a dental check up.

Beginning that night I was supposed to begin using two devices. One is a fancy (and expensive) ice pack-like machine that pumps ice water from an insulated container (resembling an Igloo Cooler) through some tubes to a bladder designed to fit around the target body part. The ice water then circulates through and continually cools a large amount of area without having the aggravation of traditional ice packs. The blue bladder around me knee in the photos is the bladder. The other machine is a Continual Passive Motion machine (CPM). You strap your leg into the machine and it will slowly and quietly bend your knee over and over for a doctor-prescribed six hours a day. The purpose of this machine is to keep your knee flexibility so the scar tissue doesn't shorten your range of motion. This machine was only needed for about six days.

On the seventh day I had my follow up appointment. I went back to the doctor's office and was examined by a few medical personnel and had my sutures removed. The doctor took a look and thought I was progressing nicely. They also provided me with a few photos taken on the inside of my knee with their arthroscopic camera. Just as a reminder, I had a portion of my patellar tendon removed to replace the missing ACL. Here's a basic idea of how they remove the tendon:

When they took the brace and bandages off I was met with a bruised and shriveled leg. Blood from normal bruising had been pushed away from the knee by the bandages and had surfaced on my lower leg and mid-thigh. It was very dark and colorful but basically residual "bruising." I was too busy looking at my sutures and bruises that I didn't notice my quad muscles (the ones on the front of your thigh). Or I should say, I didn't notice where my quad muscles had been. I was told they would atrophy but I wasn't expecting it to happen within the first week. Apparently, it happens quickly because once some of the nerves are cut, as they would be with any knee procedure, the muscle dwindles away and "falls asleep." Through physical therapy you are able to reawaken some of the remaining muscle tissue but you will need to build some also. In the below first and second photo you can see the bruising or discoloration of my lower leg. In the third photo you can see the sutures, the entry point they used to remove my patellar tendon, and you can get a feel for how emaciated my leg now looks. My thigh is to the bottom of the photo, leading up to my knee, with my calf in the upper portion. And while my calves were small to begin with, the right calf is now slightly smaller than what it was. The striations you see on my leg were left from the bandaging.



The following will include links to the arthroscopic photos. Each photo is actually four photos together.

Let's examine the first photo. In the upper-left corner is a general photo from inside, looking across the knee to the other portal (a "portal" is the term used for the site where the arthroscopic scope/tools are inserted). Through the other portal you can see another scope. In the upper-right corner you can see what I was told was knee "junk." Just stuff in the knee. I cannot remember if that is natural or related to the injury. I do remember that the darker color is due to bleeding from the intial injury. It is supposed to be more white, like in the photo in the bottom-right. That photo is of my knee and looks pretty good. The last photo in the bottom-left is damage to the bone from the injury. That chip-mark is damage caused from bone-on-bone contact.

Looking at the second photo you can see where my ACL used to be. It would normally be extending from the bottom-right corner to the upper-left corner, heading through the little tunnel. The fibrous strands are what's left over of the ACL and they were removed during my procedure. In the upper-right photo is more of the torn ACL. I don't remember exactly what the two bottom photos are.

In the two upper photos of the third photo is my meniscus. The upper-left photo shows the damage done in the injury. It's roughed up a bit. The doctor trimmed it up and smoothed it out. The bottom two photos are of my new ACL, made up of my patellar tendon. This is the same location as the shredded ACL photo but after they threaded the patellar tendon through. The doctor told me that when they removed the patellar tendon they remove the middle third including the segments of bone it attaches itself to at the top and bottom. The patellar tendon is approx. the same length as your ACL and it's a somewhat natural pairing. They drill holes in your bone at a diagonal of your knee (so, above your knee to the outside, and below your knee to the inside) and thread the patellar tendon through the whole length. To secure the tendon in place they wedge the piece of bone the tendon was cut out with inside the drilled hole with a screw. Think of putting nails or splints into the handle-portion of an axehead to keep the head from being too loose, with the handle being the patellar tendon.

Each day I notice an improvement with the functionality of my knee. It doesn't necessarily hurt, but it's very tight from the swelling, very warm, and the bones ache from all the trauma. I still have a limp but it gets better. The pain is also helped by percocet, my new best friend. I don't get a high feeling from it or any crazy sensation that would make me want to abuse it, but when my knee is hurting the most, the percocet certainly make it feel more comfortable. Speaking of, I think I might go take some now.

Capítulo Tres Examen

I had my chapter three exam Monday, October 6th and the class did not receive them back until today. We usually get them the following class but the interim two classes had been cancelled. One for the "fall break" including Columbus Day (el dia de Cristóbal Colón) and the other because the teacher was out of the country (He apparently went to Tokyo and Thailand for a friends birthday. Not exactly sure what kind of friend this is or why he would travel around the world for a birthday, but I have theories). After completing and turning in the exam I didn't have a good feeling about how I performed. I knew I had missed several questions and had mispelled at least three answers. I was hoping the teacher might give credit or partial credit because the word was correct even if the spelling wasn't. Today, at the end of class we were given our exams back. He went to hand it to me and noticed my knee. He asked me how it was and told me to do whatever I had to do in class to make myself comfortable. I took my test and walked back to my desk which is when I looked at the top. I first noticed the letter grade, an "A". I was fairly surprised. I figured I would get a "B" at the highest and had spent this past week and half coming with excuses and ways to explain here in the blog why I did poorly. I don't feel like I have a need to explain much with an "A". I then looked at the numerical score. It was "100". I knew that couldn't be right. The obverse was perfect, but I had known that. The issues I identified were on the reverse. When I flipped it over I saw five strikes of red pen. Three were slashes and two were slashes which were circled. I do not know if they are mistakes, the teacher making marks to identify the key areas he was testing for, or just highlights for some reason. One thing I do know is that I didn't bring it to his attention. If he wants to give me a better grade than I can figure I deserve, who am I to tell him otherwise. So, I got a 100. Super. I posted the test on the right like always.

Good day to you.

Distorted Rear View

It's now been almost four days since my ACL reconstruction surgery and the whole experience hasn't been terribly dreadful. Sure, I can't walk well or quickly, can't flex my leg so that it stretches the muscles which are screaming for contraction, can't drive anywhere and have to strap myself to a machine for six hours a day which flexes my knee for me, but it could be worse, right?

I think there's something to be said for lounging on the couch, watching television programming that you find completely uncompelling and tedious. On the flip side, at the very least, my daily activities are stress free. Unless you consider having to allot a few extra minutes to hobble down a fifteen foot hallway to the bathroom stressful. I find it more annoying than anything else. It's frustrating having to lift your leg up manually because it's too sensitive to lift normally. It's frustrating to be forced into what is essentially house arrest. And to add insult to injury I have no view out my window so living some fantasy a la Shia LaBeouf in Disturbia just won't happen (unless you count my fifty-something neighbor who has spoken to me twice in the past few weeks...which is also two times more than any other neighbor has spoken to me, but after seeing her you won't consider her a fantasy...).

The pain gets better each day and the Percocet helps take the edge off. I am having trouble sleeping through the night partly due to the leg and partly due to the medicine. I get tired easily at night and I'll go to bed only to wake an hour later, piss like a racehorse, hobble out and drink some water and then hobble back to bed or to the couch. If I choose the couch I strap myself into the medieval Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine and crank it to a light level. It helps me sleep because it keeps the leg from getting restless. Generally while I use this machine I am hooked to a cold water circulator. That helps with the swelling and whatever else. I'm supposed to use the CPM machine for a minimum of six hours and use the cold water circulator for twelve hours. Each day. That's a lot of time doing nothing. I have no plans until my follow up doctors appointment on Wednesday. Even then I can't drive there. I have to rely on someone else for chauffeuring or any higher task which I've thankfully been able to avoid thus far. The temporary loss of independence is certainly a different feeling. I'm not used to being slowed down or not physically being able to do something or anything for that matter.

In the meantime, between my passive leg movements and eating Percocet like Skittles, I'm gonna try to find constructive things to do. I just hope I can find my binoculars.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

But it is, so it's gonna be.

It's official: Surgery on my knee will be this Thursday, October 9th. I have elected to have my patellar tendon used to replace my ACL versus the other methods. There will be a long recovery but I don't have a choice. Let's just hope they get the correct knee...

Los Exámenes de Español

By now, if you're brain hasn't been diluted with all of the political sewage in the news or been dulled by the standards of No Child Left Behind, you've probably figured out that I am taking a Spanish class. In an attempt to share the successes and failures of learning a new language, I am making available my exams for your viewing pleasure.

I shall post each one here as I get them returned. I have already taken the first two exams and posted them to the right-hand side of the blog. Each thumbnail will lead you to a larger version to reveal my grade and excellent handwriting skills.

The class will be given an exam after each chapter has been finished. We should have a total of eight exams this semester and they should all be the same format. The exams are one page, front and back with fill-in-the-blanks or circle-the-right-answer type of questions. They remind me of early high school or middle school worksheets but I suppose the professor knows what he's doing.

I didn't do as well as I had hoped on the first exam, but I have my reasons. 1) This was the first exam given and I had no clue as to the format. It was deceptively simple looking and almost too easy. So easy looking that I overthought a lot of the questions. 2) I had been on vacation the week prior and was busy up until the day of the test. While I "studied" down at the beach, you can imagine how greatly embedded in my brain the material was. Suffice it to say, I was not in a Spanish mindset whilst taking the test. For example: the "plurals" section of the first test. As I was writing down my answers I knew and told myself the rule of plurals (if the word ends in a vowel add "s"; if the word ends in a consonant add "es") but ignored it out of brain fatigue and apathy.

The second exam seemed harder and it took me longer, but I emerged hoping my old pattern would hold true. Whenever an exam felt difficult I would end up doing well on it. If the exam felt easy, I would do worse. The pattern held.

HOORAY FOR LEARNING!!!

Keeping It Fresh

I've made a few changes to the blog and will continue to update and change things around periodically. I have a slew of new ideas to make it the bloggiest blog in the whole blogosphere!!!1

As I change the layout, format or color scheme, let me know if the changes are good or bad, better or worse. Any input you provide will be considered and you never know when one of your suggestions might make it through! But please understand that this is an autocratic blog so I'll probably just piss away your idea and do something less exciting and more inappropriate, but don't let that stop you! Post your ideas in the comments section and we'll see if, together, we can't make magic.