unreliable as usual

Sorry folks... I have been lax...

I have been very busy and distracted and unorganized, uninspired... you name it.

My last blog was back before Christmas. It's been kinda a blur but here are some highlights of what has gone on the past couple of months.

Michelle played on her school's soccer team. They play in the winter season, which we were not use to. Since she was one of only 4 or 5 girls who had ever played soccer, she got alot of playing time. Her team did not win to many games but by the end of the season the team was playing some decent soccer.

Michelle participated in a Solo and Ensemble Festival. Her trio received a Superior rating, the highest rating awarded.

Kyle has been participating on the school's Billiards team. Who ever heard of a high school billiards team but hey.... He is doing pretty well. He was awarded most valuable player a couple of weeks ago. Currently his school's team is in second place. The organizer has a really nice web page with all the statistics and standings and pictures and such: http://www.betterplaybilliards.org/

Other than that, Kyle sprained his wrist a couple of weeks ago. He was not feeling well so he stayed home from school. He took a shower he somehow slipped and banged his arm on the side. We took him to the urgent care place, the same one I had visited less than a week earlier (explained below) where he was x-rayed and his arm splinted.

The arm was sprained. It kept him from billiards and golf for a week or so but seems to be OK now.

Karen got a job (outside of keeping us all organized). She is working at "Tax Savvy" (http://www.taxsavvy.biz/), a tax preparation company. She is working full time through the end of the tax season then part time (hopefully) through the rest of the year. She seems to enjoy the work but does not like having to get everything else done in the nights and weekends.

I have been working hard at work. I have teamed up with another guy and we are commissioning a CS2100 from scratch. This switch will be used as a demo switch for one of our customers. This not normally in my job description but it has been a VERY good training experience; all be it very frustrating at times as well. There are more layoffs happening at work. Another 10% company wide. So far my group is being spared.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Michelle called from school and said she was not feeling well. So I picked her up from school and worked from home. That afternoon she was feeling a little better and her soccer team was getting team pictures taken that afternoon. So I drove her back to school for the pictures. It was a breezy day and while waiting for Michelle I watches a paper plate blow by. I felt kinda guilty for not picking it up. A few minutes later I saw a plastic bag heading my way. To make up for letting the paper plate blow by I decided to pick up the bag. Well as I was going to get it, a gust of wind took it. I chased... I ended up tripping and landing on my let hand. The next morning my hand was swollen like a balloon. I went to the Urgent care place that afternoon, primarily because my ring finger was turning purple. They tried everything they could but could not save my wedding ring. They had to cut it off. They took x-rays and did not seen any broken bones. The doc thought it was probably a sprain but thought it could be a hairline fracture or crack. So they splinted my hand and wrist and told me to follow up with an orthopaedist the following week. It got a little better but after a couple of weeks I still could not use it without significant pain. So last week I went to the orthopedist. He determined that I bruised some bones in my hand and also torn a cartilage in my wrist. They gave me a Cortisone shot in my joint (ouch) told me my hand will hurt for another 4-6 weeks and sent me on my merry way.

That's about it.... Moving forward... Tyler comes in for spring break next week. Michelle and Kyle are also off that week. Michelle turns 13 years old march 15th.

Talk to you again hopefully soon...

Land of the Free?

I am, as I have mentioned before, not a student of our constitution or of our government system in general. But it seems to me that starting in grades school our teachers drove into our little brains that the country was built on the premise of "freedom of religion", amoung others. To me that means folks have the right to pray to whom/whatever form of god or idol or tree or rock that they wish, or not. And they can do so without fear of persecution.

Yesterday evening, during my drive home from work, I listened to a story on NPR that just... just disillusioned me yet again about the people we have elected to run this great country of ours.

Incoming Rep. Keith Ellison intends to use a Quran at his unofficial swearing-in ceremony. But the Minnesota Democrat is being criticized by some who say he should use a Bible. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress.

One of the most vocal voices in this debate is from the esteemed republican from Virginia who apparently wants to stop this non-sence. He wants to stop illegal immigration in order to stop muslims from immigrating and thus Muslims will not be elected and then would not swear the oath of office on anything but the bible. He says it is "Un-American" ....

And folks think Muslims are fanatical!

Day 25 Update

Greetings all,

It's 5:00 AM and I just finished up my physical therapy regiment. I woke to a throbbing in my right ankle, and both feet. It has become some what of a ritual over the past couple of weeks. Waking up between 3:00 and 5:00 to one pain or another. I general take something for the pain and after 30-40 min I can go back to sleep. This morning however I got up and exercised instead.

The sore ankle is the same ankle I have sprained several times in the past. I do not have pain accross the lateral tendons, typical with the rolled ankle I am so proficient at. I mostly have pain near where the achilles attaches to the heal, mostly on the interior side, and in the joint where, to quote Ezekiel, "th foot bone is connected to the leg bone" in front. In addition I have crampy achy pain in the bottom of my feet and heels. It constantly feels like I have been walking for hours. I get this pain generally in the evening as well as in the wee hours of the morning.

But, if you notice, when I first started complaining about the various pains I was experiencing after surgery, it started from by buttox all the way to the bottom of my feet. Now it is limited, for the most part, to just my feet and ankles. Maybe a little still in my lower calfs. So there is some progress. My back does not generally hurt unless I do somthing stupid or I sit too long etc. and that goes away pretty quickly once I relax etc.

I started Physical Therapy on Tuesday. The practitioner and staff are really nice. So far she is prescribing the same type of exercises and stretches I have seen from my other PT experiences over the years. Though this time I have some that I do on a exercise ball that I have not done before. So I had to go out and by one of course. I scheduled 4 appointments. Hopefully after that I can just to the routine at home and perhaps check in with her after a month. The insurance co-pay hurts more than my back does.

Back to work

Today is my official first day back at work. I worked a couple hours yesterday after my Doctor appointment. He cleared me to work and drive and I can even pick up the cats...

The back feels fine. No significant or lasting pain. I can get it to hurt if I move to far in one direction or another but overall its good. I still am having leg pains however. Mostly at night.

The doc is not concerned about it. He is confident it will go away over time as I continue to heal and start doing some Physical therapy. In the mean time I take the meds as necessary, usually before bed and again around 4:00 AM.

Looking forward to the new year

I intended to blog every day or two to journal my recovery but ... well I can't say I have been busy. Much like everything else I seem to do I can't seem to keep with it. I am Just a little un-inspired I guess.

My back is overall better. I was hoping to be pretty much off the meds and chomping at the bit to get back to work. And I generally don't need any meds durring the day. At night, sometime around 2:00 - 3:00 it starts to ache. And I have to take the meds, and again sometimes after I get up for the day. My back generally feels pretty good, though I am not allowed to do much. I get some weird crampy feelings in my legs some times throughout the day but overall I am getting better day after day.

Christmas time is really not my favorite time of the year. I am getting stir-crazy around the house. Nothing about this move has gone as planned,every transaction, it seems requires 3 more phone calls to get it right. Things cost more here, taxes, insurance, utilities, window treatments.... My boss has been really understanding the past several months but I gotta get off my arse and be the high-producer I use to be I have been saying that for 4 months now... I am out of excuses.

Time to turn things around eh?