Life Update

Wow, so things have been happening, despite my being too tired to deal with them appropriately.  Here’s are some of said things:

• Carrie’s Papaw passed away last Friday (the day before his dearly-departed/now-reunited wife’s birthday FTW), and we spent much of the weekend and this week with her family.  I’m fucking exhausted as a result, so I can only imagine how tired Carrie must feel (though, to be fair, I haven’t had a good night of sleep in weeks now, while I think she’s had at least 2).
• My Brother got engaged on a beach in El Salvador while the sun was setting, and they’re getting married 25-July this year.  Carrie & I aren’t engaged.  Yet.  (In other news, how in the fuck does one “top” the aforementioned beach proposal?)
• Finally got to meet Adam’s squeeze, Heather.  She’s awesome.  Nice, smart, funny, easy-going and just quirky enough to fit in.
• I think my inability to sleep well has really been catching up to me.
• Carrie & I saw The Watchmen, and thought it was incredibly entertaining, though a bit too long.
• I’m getting a new phone, finally.  My RAZR has been pretty much fucked since I tried to do an OTA update last year, and upon shutdown, discards any and all settings.  I’m getting a Blackberry Curve 8330 in the vibrant color of Titanium (aka “silver”).  Having a smart phone is gonna be fun… I think.  Which reminds me – how many porn sites are optimized for mobile browsers?
• My Parents are taking Carrie and I to The Masters this evening, where I will most likely order the filet.

That is all.

I’m Sick of Being Sick!

OK, so maybe I haven’t technically been “sick”, but I’ve certainly not been well lately, and its really starting to wear on me.

It started last year with my switch to new meds for my heartburn, which caused occasional side effects like headache, nausea and stomach pains.  Of course, as my body adjusted, the side effects subsided and everything was fine.

In a follow-up visit to my doctor, after having an upper GI to ensure I was ulcer-free (I am), he noticed that I had an umbilical hernia.  Its not a big deal, but it did require surgery, which I had over 2 weeks ago.  Of course, the recovery from that was pretty brutal, but overall not a big deal.  One of the problems I encountered during recovery, however, was that I carried myself strangely, so as to avoid causing pain to my abdomen.  In doing so, I ‘effed up my back pretty good.

When I mentioned this back pain to my doctor, during my recent surgery follow-up appointment, he checked out my back, and noticed that a few of my vertebrae (in my thoracic region, whatever the fuck that means) are turned slightly, which was causing back spasms.  Normally, he would’ve simply “adjusted” these vertebrae, but didn’t, so as to avoid possibly tearing the stitches in my abdominal muscles.  So, to alleviate the problem, he put me on a steroid which act as an anti-inflammatory.  Of course, the steroid comes with some nasty side effects, most notably headache, nausea, heartburn and dizziness.  I’ve felt like shit since last night, slept terribly and feel VERY hung over.

So, while things could certainly be worse (this stuff is happening when the weather sucks, so at least I’m not wasting valuable outdoor time, for example), I’ve felt pretty miserable in one way or another for weeks now.  Its getting old.

B is Back to Blogging

Over the last month, I stopped blogging.  I suppose it was sort of an experiment of sorts, in that I started blogging as nothing more than an online journal that helped me vent or whatever, and also kept friends and family up to date on random goings-on in my life.  When I stopped, I guess it was to find out if there was any value in it, from the viewpoint of whether or not it made me feel better.  As it turns out, it is helpful in getting things off my chest or simply to keep a log of what’s going on in my own life.

While on my hiatus, I wondered if blogging was a narcissistic act, and whether or not it mattered whether it was or not.  I think that yes, it can be narcissistic if you have expectations for your blog or journal or whatever, but if you’ve got no expectations, blogging is no more narcissistic than a diary – that is, not much, if at all.  That said, I’m a narcissistic person, so it doesn’t much matter, does it?

43.2%

Over the next 22 weekdays – through January 16th – I’m working only 43.2% of them, due to our holiday break and a few days off in January for my hernia surgery.  Put in even more awesome context, that’s 10 days that I need to get out of bed over the next 29.

B is a happy boy.

That is all.

People Suck

Well, specifically, our neighbors suck.  In the 8 months we’ve lived there, we’ve put up with quite a lot from them, including their late-weeknight loudness, shitty hair band music blaring from their Harleys as they warm up on their front lawn and their excessive quantity of vehicles that force anyone who visits us to park a hundred yards away.  And through all of that, we’ve been incredibly cordial, even excessively so, as we’ve waved to them and said “hi”, sometimes not getting a response.  But, whatever.  No big deal.

Yesterday evening, Carrie and I went out to eat and as we were leaving, a young, though large, dog came running through the front yard.  Being dog/animal people, Carrie and I pet the dog and what-not, which may have been our biggest mistake.  Upon returning, the dog was still running around outside, which was a bit problematic as I tried to avoid killing it with my car.  As I was getting out of the car, the damn dog jumped right inside, getting his muddy paws all over the upholstery.  Now, that pissed me off quite a lot, but whatever.  It was becoming obvious at this point that it was the neighbor’s dog (using process of elimination), and while that was irritating, it wasn’t a big deal.  Seemingly, the dog had just gotten loose, and I’m not going to bitch about that – shit happens, right?

So, this morning I go outside to start my car.  Upon opening the door to come back into the house, the dog, from out of nowhere, runs right inside the house – again with muddy paws.  I yell at it to stop, which caused it to pee on the carpet.  So, at 5:30 AM, as both Carrie and I prepare to leave for work, there’s mud and piss on our carpet.  Awesome.  I drag the dog outside, and chase it into the neighbor’s yard.  Obviously, at this point I’m fuming.  But, whatever – I’m willing, once again, to give the neighbors the benefit of the doubt and assume the dog got loose again.  And while its inexcusable, I understand that shit happens, and I’m not about to make a big deal about it.

Then, as I go to get into my car, I see the neighbor let the dog back in.  So, now its totally obvious that they’re letting the dog out into the neighborhood to do its “business”, rather than letting it into their back yard, presumably because they have another dog (or dogs), and they don’t get along or something.  I’m not sure of the reason, but its clear that they’re choosing to let the dog out into the wild to piss and shit wherever.  Not only is this illegal, but its also not cool, considering their dog is absolutely untrained.  I don’t mind loose dogs, so long as they’re mindful of commands and so forth.

So, because I know the neighbor is awake, I go up to her door:

Me: Hi.  Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk, and I don’t want to start a war or anything like that, but if I see your dog running loose one more time, I’m going to call the cops.  Yesterday, I had to clean mud from my car’s upholstery and this morning we’ve got mud and piss on our carpet, from your dog.  So please, please, please keep your dog inside, in your yard or tied up or whatever.  Please.  I do not want to have to call the cops, but if I see the dog outside one more time, I absolutely will.

Her: (in an incredibly snotty voice) OK.

OK?  Oh kay???  No “sorry”?  No, “oh my goodness, I had no idea”?  Not even an apologetic tone to the “OK”?  What the fuck?  And here I was, actually feeling guilty for saying something to them, even after all the bullshit we’ve graciously put up with from those mindless, self-centered fucks!

Now, I hate being “that guy”.  I actually felt embarrassed and guilty for taking such a strong, angry stance in the situation.  So, I suppose I should thank that stupid bitch for being such a stupid bitch, because now I don’t feel guilty anymore.

Fucking people.

Death is in the Air

With the passing of Sebastian, as well as the recent anniversaries of the passing of Carrie’s Grandmother (“Mamaw”) and my Grandfather, it shouldn’t come as too much of surprise to hear about this now, though it did happen July 28th.

Erin Grace (Bradsberry) Domagalski, 28, a former resident of Houghton and presently of Farmington Hills, passed away Monday morning, July 28, 2008, from injuries received in an automobile accident in Livonia, Mich.

Obituary link

My college friends will no doubt remember my ex, Erin.  I mean, how could anyone forget a psychopath of that magnitude? 

All joking aside, this is shocking.  While there’s certainly no longer any attachment in the romantic sense, there’s obviously the attachment of knowing (or, rather, having known) someone pretty well, and the shock that comes when they die so suddenly and unexpectedly, and at such a young age.  And, of course, there’s the very real and very sad fact that she’s leaving 2 kids behind.

I suppose this should serve as a reminder that life is precious, fragile and sometimes incredibly short.  You just never know when something could happen of this magnitude to those that you’re close to.  This is the second person from the college era that has died, and that’s shitty, considering how young we still are.

I’m thankful that my close friends, new and old, are still here, and still in my life to varying degrees, though I simultaneously feel a sense of guilt that its often so easy to take that for granted.

Life’s short – don’t fuck around.

Time Flies

Its crazy – just a few days ago (or something), I remember getting ready for Halloween, and now we’ll be eating turkey in two weeks.  Where the fuck does the time go? (Insert overused Bueller quote here.)

Its been a rough couple of weeks, for various reasons, and I’m glad for the approaching holidays.  People have already been putting up decorations so as to beat the cold, and I think we’re going to do that ourselves this weekend, as it looks to be in the 50’s, which will likely become a rarity rather quickly.

Here’s hoping the upcoming holiday season is a pleasant and relatively uneventful one.

Sebastian

It’s Time

I wrote a while back about Sebastian’s illness, and how weighing the situation is both difficult and emotional.  For about 2 months now, we’ve been pureeing his food, with Carrie sometimes hand-feeding him from a spoon.  And up until very recently, his life has been decidedly more good than bad.

A few days ago, things changed for the worse.  He hasn’t eaten in over 4 days, and has been sleeping non-stop for 3.  Its fairly clear that he’s no longer doing anything except dying, and while its incredibly difficult for us, we know that its time to say goodbye.

Surprisingly (given that he’s a complete…  pussy), he’s been a trooper throughout all this.  Despite the incredible tooth and mouth pain he’s endured, and almost never being nourished in recent months, he’s maintained an upbeat attitude.  Up until this recent turn, he’s been playful, affectionate and basically himself, all things considered.

And really, that’s probably why this is so much harder than anticipated.  I think I expected a more gradual decline, though there’s no doubt that this is the better outcome.  Watching him suffer as much as he has is far better than a more prolonged decline, and we’re grateful that the latter part of his life won’t be more bad than good.

As I said just over a month ago, its important to maintain perspective.  Though now, its so much more difficult than even I had anticipated.  Its probably because I’m almost as much a pussy as he is.  Almost. 

We’re glad that we were able to give him a chance at life that he wouldn’t have had otherwise, even if it was only a few years in total.  And pardon the cliché, but he will be missed.

Feeling Shitty

On Sunday, in the midst of one awesome, crazy weekend for Miss C and I, I coughed, and thought for a quick second that it was an… odd (ominous?) cough, rather than one caused by… whatever.  Yesterday (Monday) afternoon, I could feel a tingle in my throat – the unmistakable tingle that indicates impending illness.  By the end of the night, I felt feverish with a sore throat and generally just pretty shitty.

Sleep was fleeting, as I awoke probably 5 or 6 times in various levels of agony, and when morning came, I felt full-on sick.  I’ve been feeling mostly shitty all day, with intermittent bouts of really shitty.  I suspect symptoms of really fucking shitty are around the corner.

I’m such a pussy when it comes to being sick, though I feel worse for Carrie, as she has to deal with me like this.