This collection of entries is from December 2006.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Wolves 3 - Americans 5
read more of this entry »
What a lousy game... the boys were outplayed big time... they were stronger, faster, more intense. I'm still not liking Fred Brathwaite in goal... in two periods the Wolves held Rochester to just 7 shots... but Freddie allowed 3 goals on those 7 shots (we out shot them 39 to 15).
There was another almost depressing thing... the league's Points Leader Darren Haydar looked like he just wasn't getting setup and taking shots all night. Then, with 8.8 seconds left in the game, he finally gets an assist on a shorthanded goal.
Why was this noteworthy? He leads the AHL with 53 assists and 75 points (the most by a player in Wolves history through 36 outings) and ranks fifth with 22 goals. He has more assists than any player in the league has points, (excluding linemate Brett Sterling.) His +24 plus/minus rating is also the best in the league. They guy is good, fun to watch... I thought he wouldn't get a point in this sloppy game...
(Game Summary - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
FordI always have a large assortment of emotions when I hear the news of someone's death... like former President Gerald R. Ford. You felt in coming some day... he was 93, and had been having health issues. I still remember his announcement of pardoning Richard Nixon... and the feelings that went along with that (should he have done it?) I love the phrase that he was tagged with - The Accidental President. He's the only guy this has happened to... appointed Vice President when the former one resigns in disgrace... and then assumes the office of President... when the former one resigns in disgrace. He was never elected into the White House - as Vice President or President.
But, I really liked this guy. He healed a nation, in a way... something, that "The Uniter" or "The Decider"... or whatever the hell Bush is calling himself... the only tag that seems so appropriate for that idiot is "The Divider". The nation is so friggin' polarized... I wish we had a guy like Ford to heal it again...
Update: I knew I liked this guy... Ford was interviewed by Bob Woodward in 2004, his comments embargoed until his death. (I always liked that press term - "embargo".) It turns out, that in that interview he said "[Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld and [Vice President Dick] Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq." "They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction. And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."
Here's another tidbit: Cheney was Ford's chief of staff, and Rumsfeld also was defense secretary in the Ford administration.
"I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."
posted at 01:41 PM | Link | Current Events | § |
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Nobody inThe only time of year that I truly enjoy going to work - the week between Christmas and New Year's. There's nobody on the streets on the way to work. There's nobody in the parking garage. There's nobody in the office.There's nobody in their offices calling this office. Quiet. Peaceful. Relaxing.
posted at 04:41 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas everybody!
It's hard to shake the feelings of Christmas Morning.. and the expectations when you were a kid... when you become an adult... and adult with years under your belt... Though you love every gift you get, somehow you feel like you're chasing the elusive excitement and joy of receiving toys as a kid on Christmas morning.
So... this year brought Jackson's first Christmas he could react to (last year, he was 14 weeks old, this year 15½ months). It's great seeing Christmas through his eyes... I can't wait 'till next year when he should be more excited.
An odd Christmas Day for us, part of the odd Christmas season I suppose - Diane, Melinda and Jackson took off after opening presents to drive to Melinda's family in downstate Illinois. The house was empty, except for me, Carol, and my mom. It felt... empty...
...except for my stomach, which feels bloated, tight, and cramping...
posted at 08:42 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, December 24, 2006
A smaller EveWe've always celebrated Christmas Eve with our extended family - aunts, uncles, cousins.
This is our first year together where - it's only immediate family. We went to Diane & Melinda's for just a buffet of appetizers, very low key, no present exchanges (that's tomorrow morning).
Still... it felt odd... small... something I wasn't accustomed to... and I'm not sure I like it. I don't see that extended family much,, and I just missed them somehow.
The concept of an appetizer buffet is very bad for me. The appetizers were all setup on an island in the kitchen, and we spent our evening in the back family room.
Me - I spent my time in a continuous slow walk... around and around the island... using just a napkin and no plate, I grazed for what seems like hours, taking a bite here and a piece there... over... and over...
I know I'm going to pay for this somewhere along the line...
posted at 10:43 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, December 22, 2006
Twitch?I had something happen today, that quite frankly... I'm not comfortable talking about.
Why? Because I can't believe I had this done...
A girl in the office came up to me this afternoon (after I was walking around trying to figure out what a loud noise was that we had heard... it was thunder!). We went into a larger, empty management-size cubicle and she asked me if I was having back problems. I explained my situation.. that for years my legs have been spasming... I had no pain, but the spasms can get severe... and it's not fun trying to drive if your right leg twitches, causing your foot to tromp on the accelerator...
She then told me that she is a practicing healer.. and that she can help me with a "treatment" as a Christmas Present...
read more of this entry »
We spent the good part of the next half hour to a nhour with her rubbing her hands together in a circular motion, as if to gather heat and energy.. she would direct her hands at me, occasionally stationary, occasionally sweeping over me as I stood in the cube. She never physically touched me. Yet, I did have sensations of cold, heat, and occasionally a movement somewhere inside of me.
OK, look... she's a very attractive girl, probably the best looking woman in the office. Who wouldn't want to spend private time with her in a cube? But.. this was different... she proceeded to tell me about what she does... and the people that she has helped over the years. How she is trained in 6 of the 9 healing techniques that are used at Children's Memorial Hospital. How the power of prayer works, even long distance over the phone.
I sat down for the last half of the session, and she continued to work on me... standing in front of me, behind me... to the side... she touched me once, to put her hands on my left shoulder to apply downward pressure.
I sat in that chair, one that should have triggered my twitching. It didn't happen. I went back to my cube. My legs were still the rest of the day. As I write this, I haven't even felt the slightest sensation in my legs.
WHAT THE HELL DID SHE DO??? HOW DID SHE DO IT??? WHY AREN'T MY LEGS TWITCHING?
Look.. I'm a geek... I believe in science... what the hell happened? What's going on?
UPDATE: 31 hours. It took 31 hours before I felt the slightest bit of a twitch, and then it was muted, subtle, no where near what I've experienced for years. I have NEVER had a 24 hour period in years without twitching... what is this???
UPDATE: One week later, the twitching has returned, no where near as severe as it has been, no where near as frequent.
She did something to me... what she did, how she affected me, I have no idea. All I know is that she did something and for me there was a change. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:44 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
...huh?... what did I need to do???The day after a myelogram, I was told could be hell, because of headaches. I had one last night, but I took Tylenol (not Advil, not aspirin) and it helped.
Today - no headache...
...but...
I really feel like I had a side effect. I was loopy - my short-term memory was shot. I couldn't remember things that I neded to do, that I thought about just minutes earlier. Let me give you the final example of the day...
I went to Walgreens to pick up a prescription and I bought 5 containers of Dibbs ice cream nuggets (mmm.. mint... love these things...) I came home, put the Walgreens bag on the counter. The first thing I do when I get home, is bunny-proof the family room and let the "kids" (bunnies) out o fthe cage so they can romp and exercise. I prepped the room, turned on the TV... and went upstairs to sit down at the computer and login to Second Life...
About an hour to hour and a hlaf passes when Carol finally came home, and I can hear her yelling at me downstairs. I cam edown to find 1) the "kids" ar still in the cage - I had prepped the room, but never opened their door to let them out, and more importantly 2) I never put the ice cream away in the freezer - it was still in the bag on the counter.
That's what my whole day was like.
posted at 07:18 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
A needle into the spine...My little medical journey to finding the reason why my legs twitch changed today from hands-off to my first "invasive" procedure.
read more of this entry »
I was downtown at Northwestern's Intervention Radiology department. Radiology? Yep. I had two procedures done - a spinal fluid draw (for testing the fluid) and a myelogram.
It all starts with a lumbar puncture - inserting a needle into the spinal canal. Yep. Needle. Into the spine. So, do do it accurately and hopefully pain-free, not to mention avoiding having to re-stick you, the insertion is done under the guidance of using a fluoroscope. I was face down on a table, with a doctor, nurse, and tech (an all female crew!) working on me. The worse thing was the local anesthetic. THAT hurt. After that, though, I didn't feel a single thing. So, they drew a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. That takes some time, since, it's not really drawn, but the container fills by itself i gathered. When the fluid flow slowed down, the table I was on tilts, so I was tilted onto my feet to get the fluid to flow better! When that was done, they injected a contrast dye into the spinal canal. The sensation was of cold filling your spine - a VERY weird feeling. Obviously, the sensation was confined to the spine, unlike contrast dyes that are used for MRI/CT scans, where they are injected intravenously the sensation being heat and it radiates through your body as it follows the arterial blood system.
The doctor was quiet, professional, and quick. When she was done, the nurse and tech took over to produce about a dozen reference xrays of my spine using the fluoroscope system, which required a bunch or table tilts and contortionist positions for me to flip into. The only almost-accidents that almost happened were due to... umm... the oversized parts of my body - my shoulders (I have really broad shoulders, even for somebody not as short as I am, so when I lay on my side, I'm a bit "taller" than regular-sized people) and my nose (yes, it's a bit oversized) and they tech didn't look when she swung the emitter around.
Then I had to roll onto my hospital bed and they wheeled me back to Intervention Radiology. Not the only time I had to roll. When back in my curtained space, somebody came to draw some blood. That's when I realized that I was in for some bad time. I was starting my stay in a hospital bed - flat on my back (well, I don't have to be on my back, but have to be flat - head even with feet. For THREE HOURS. Then.. it started. My legs started to twitch. it started pretty suddenly, and the twitches were severe
I was wheeled in for a CT scan (hence the spinal contrast dye) and I had to roll off my bed onto the scanner table. Found out something i didn't know about the GE Lightspeed CT Scanner - the scanner can tilt! Very scary to see this massive thing tilt. the tech put a cushion under my legs and taped them down to try to dampen the twitches. It was TERRIBLE. But, somehow, she was able to get shots that weren't blurred.
When I was done, I was told I could crawl back onto the hospital bed. Wait.. I could crawl? Why did I have to roll before? It turns out that they have you roll - to mix the dye in the spinal column!!! I was taken back to another curtained area and that's where i stayed until I was released. Carol was able to be with me when I was back in the curtained areas, which I was thankful for, because i was a mess. The twitching was worse, and I was so uncomfortable having to have my head flat against the bed. I was able to get a nurse to get me a folded-up blanket to put under my head. That half-inc to inch of material was just enough to change the way my head felt, and still kept it flat.
We had arrived at the hospital at 10am for a 10:30 appointment. The lumbar puncture was over by noon, the CT scan done by 1pm. I am flat on my back... and realize it's been 19 hours since I had something to eat. And I can't eat on my back. The next two hours were hell, and passed slowly.
When I was sprung at 3pm, we went directly to the cafeteria.. and I chowed-down (Carol had eaten when I was having the procedure done)
Then, I drove us home. 4pm. Rush hour. Downtown Chicago to the NW suburbs) my twitching was terrible.. I had started to feel bad, all because of me not eating. I pulled-over at the Des Plaines Oasis and we changed duties, with Carol driving the rest of the way home. When we got there, I went to bed for about an hour. I felt bad. It wasn't until about 9pm that I started to felt slightly better. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:58 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, December 18, 2006
FIVE YEARS5 Year Blogiversary!
I started "My Mundane Mid-Life" FIVE years ago today.
FIVE.
Looking back recently, I can see that I haven't been posting regularly... I guess I'm a bit of a funk, trying to come to grasp getting older, having more and more things to do at work keeping me busy, and the sameness of the everyday things... not much changing from day-to-day. I suppose the word "mundane" really applies to me now. It just feels more and more the same each day, which isn't very stimulating to come up with a post.
I think the other thing that's affecting me is, believe it or not, my twice-monthly podcast. When I consciously think of something, I now think of "how can I grab audio of that?" instead of "I have to blog about that".
It's feeling like work, now, to keep updating the blog... which means that I barely limped into my 5 year anniversary... oops... Blogiversary... how can it be that I'm viewing something that I've done for five years as hard work? Maybe I'm just too tired.. and not very motivated...
Maybe I can get into the swing of things at a better clip after the first of the year... get through the holidays... get some rest...
posted at 06:59 AM | Link | Blogging | 1 comment | § |
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Wolves 2 - Admirals 3 (Shoot-out)posted at 10:33 PM | Link | Wolves | 1 comment | § |
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Super Bowl MumbleThe Bears advancing into the NFL playoffs has got the city all giddy again. Chicago Magazine has posted the lyrics and a video for "The Super Bowl Mumble," this year's "smash-hit update" of the now famous (in Chicago anyway) "Super Bowl Shuffle."
Oh, yeah... not to mention that at the beginning of Monday Night's Bears game, Senator Barack Obama came on to address viewers
posted at 11:04 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Huge steaming piles of... snow?I had a doctor's appointment over lunch today, and it was just a short ride from my office.
I was driving down the road next to the WGN radio tower, when I noticed something I have never seen before.
There were large piles of snow along the banks of the road. They appeared to be steaming.
The weather has been so strange, with the temperatures in the 50's, that the cold piles of snow were generating a local fog (hence, the appearance of "steam"), that would roll off and collect on the road.
This weather is just out of control - It's supposed to be warm until Christmas, negating a possibility of a White Christmas.
posted at 12:23 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, December 08, 2006
Cold ScottIt's been bitterly cold recently... in the teens and single digits overnight... and yet we wound up traveling to Zanies in St. Charles (at Pheasant Run) to catch a comedian/story teller/great guy that we saw last May, TV's Craig Ferguson.
He was in-town to do 3 nights, one at each Zanies (Chicago last night, St. Charles tonight, and Vernon Hills tomorrow night).
He seemed to enjoy Chicago back in May... this time: not so much...
read more of this entry »
How Craig opened the show:
I am SO glad to be here, I cannot tell you... I don't mean St. Charles, I mean here, in the warm. Here...
I don't know you are still alive... any of you!
I never experienced anything like this in my... I KNOW cold! I nver been around anything like this in my LIFE!
I KNOW what cold is! I was married to a Scottish woman! I KNOW COLD! « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:22 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Scary MaryMashups are all the rage... audio or video...
Now, what would happen if...
Mary Poppins was recut into a horror movie???
posted at 01:03 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Wolves 5 - Stars 2
read more of this entry »
A typical weekday night - 4,028 people there... and Carol and I were talking that, we like it when it's empty. Oh sure, we love when there nobody sitting around us, so they're not standing up and trying to get something to drink or eat in the middle of play (Hey! Idiot! Wait for the whistle!). But even better is being able to hear more of what is going on during the game: the sound of the skates, the passing, the checks, the yelling from the bench...
A pretty good game tonight... we had 4 goals in the 3rd, one shorthanded, 2 within a minute of each other...
Oh, and the referee, Shaun Davis, was whistle happy with Interference calls, including one of Goaltender Interference against Nathan Oystrick when he hit Dan Ellis when he was out past the circles playing a puck! How is that interference? Did we not see something????
(Game Summary - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:23 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Wolves 5 - Rampage 4posted at 10:25 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
Friday, December 01, 2006
Winter StormOne week of above average temperatures, in the 60's... and overnight all hell broke loose.
We're getting hit HARD with a snow storm in the northwest suburbs. We've got about 6 inches of snow, that has sleet buried underneath (probably a few inches). The street looks like it was plowed hours ago. It didn't start snowing until after 11pm last night. I was worried that I wouldn't get out of the driveway, but I plowed through it (of course, the garage door didn't close, probably because of snow falling underneath the door and the door couldn't hit the floor.
The drive was slow, but not treacherous. The snow was coming down so hard that the rear defroster couldn't melt it, and the windshield wipers couldn't keep the window clean.
The commute was just under an hour (it's normally 15-20 minutes). The garage at work was empty. So is the office itself. There are a handful of people here. Quiet.
They're expecting another 6 inches by this afternoon (whoever "they" are...)
posted at 07:56 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
*nose wiggle* *nose wiggle*It's the last reminder of the year to say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck! (or, if you blew it, before you go to sleep tonight, you can still try to get some luck, your last words have to be "Tibbar! Tibbar!")...
And for other derivatives to this meme, check out the alternatives: "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!.
Now, if you're in Chicago... you're actually out of time and out of luck, 'cause it's time for the Chicago Winter Parking Ban.
posted at 06:36 AM | Link | Memes | § |
|