Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Yes, yes, it’s been a while.
Got to visit my Grandparents this weekend. It was a pretty terrific time. My sister came over from college too, with her fiancé, and we all spent a great deal of time hanging out, being silly, chatting, and socializing.
Here’s the adventure of the weekend:
My grandfather, B, is allergic to bee stings, yellow jacket stings…pretty much anything with wings is supposed to be able to knock him out. He got stung a few years ago and fainted, and he’s been on a ‘resistance regimen’ meant to reduce the strength of his allergies, but we’re still pretty cautious about these things.
Well Papa was out trimming some hedges (slowly, but they were getting trimmed) and I was sitting nearby and chatting. At some point I noticed a bunch of big, black critters flying around that I assumed were some of those shiny, huge, flies you get stuck inside your windows during the summer. That is, until I noticed that there were a lot of them, and they were all hanging around Papa. Well about 10 seconds after I stopped to consider whether we were looking at a more dangerous breed of critter, Papa smacks the back of his head and says “Oop, one of them stung me.”
Ack!
Well Papa moseys over to the front porch and I ask him if there’s anything we’re supposed to do now. And he tells me he’s supposed to take some medicine that’s on his downstairs desk, in a box. So Papa keeps moseying and I run downstairs and rummage around looking for the stuff. My grandparents are old, though not really ‘infirm’. They don’t run anywhere, though, so I was really Mr. Johnny-on-the-spot, that day. Turbo mode!
So I find the downstairs desk and look around and there, right where Papa said it would be, is an EpiPen. Some of you may have heard of these things, some not. I was introduced to them a couple of months ago while I was eating cookies with my friends. One of them asked, “Do those have coconut in them?” We check, and yep they did. “Well then I can’t have any. I’m terribly allergic.”
So we get to talking about all of her weird, awful allergies, and she introduces me to her EpiPen. It’s meant to be carried around by people with allergies, especially life threatening ones. It’s essentially a self-administering shot of Epinephrine, which is sort of an ‘emergency anti-histamine’. It, essentially, gets you to the hospital alive. You take this thing, jab it into your thigh (right through your pants) and a needle shoots out and gives you the required dosage. I’ve been told it can puncture a cell phone if it needs to.
So anyway, I come back and Papa’s sitting on the stairs and I hand him the EpiPen. Papa’s looking over the instructions, and I’m getting a little worried. I mean, he has to, essentially, stick himself in the thigh. The needle comes out on its own, but you have to hit it with enough force to activate the thing and then hold it in. Papa’s getting on in years, he’s not exactly ‘Dr. Steadyhands.’ Well as I’m worrying about this, Papa looks up at me and says. “Well, you want to do this?”
Oh, great.
So I grab this thing, glance over the instructions, say, “Sorry”, and then stab my grandfather in the thigh. Woohoo! Papa was a trooper, though, just let out a ‘Woah’ at the force of my blow. (Hey, I wanted to make sure that thing activated!) So I finish the injection, pull out the needle, and the last step on the instructions is to go to the hospital. And far be it from my grandfather to disobey *instructions*. So I wheel around to the back of the house to inform my grandmother that we need a ride to the hospital.
“Hey, Nana, Papa got stung.”
“Oh, all right.”
[Awkward Pause] Nana’s a little hard of hearing.
“Wait, did you say Papa’s done?”
“No, Papa got *stung*.”
“Oh!”
Well Nana was quite glad that I had already done the injection (I believe the word ‘hero’ may have been spoken), so she fires up the vehicle and we wheel off to urgent care.
They ask questions, take readings, check to see if the bite is swelling up, all that sort of stuff. Papa’s fine. Passes with flying colors. Looks like that anti-tox stuff did the trick at least this time. The doctor wants to give Papa some Benadryl, but evidently it can cause problems with prostrate swelling. So they’re wary of that, but he takes it anyway.
So we’re about to leave, and the Doctor is giving us some last-minute instructions. “If you have any problems urinating, that means you have prostrate swelling, and you should come back in. As for your allergies, if you have any tingling, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, that sort of thing, come back in. You should also have your wife or grandson check for swelling, just to be safe.”
My grandmother, a very proper, very respectable lady, says, in her most dignified tone. “Well, all right, but I’m not sure how to check for prostrate swelling.”
* * * *
Also of note, this upcoming weekend I get to go see the wedding of a couple good friends of mine in Vegas, which also means that I get to go visit my Aunt, who is a marvelous person, and my cousin, who is the daughter of an awesome person and therefore contains many of the same awesome genes. I'm also going to go see the Blue Man Group with my married friends. I've seen them before, but they're definitely a show worth seeing a few times if you can. Lot of interest. Very cool.
On a personal note, you started your latest 'experiment' this Monday, August 29. No, all of you aren't supposed to know what that means, its for *me*. Maybe I'll explain later.
Classes have also started up. Unfortunate, but not crippling. Just one class. One singular, final class. I've already submitted the paperwork for my masters degree graduation in december. I'm very, very excited by the prospect of actually being done with school. I'd like to take some more interesting classes, perhaps, next year, like massage or Japanese. There's also the possibility of an audio studio and some music creation. I have some ideas. We'll just see what the new year brings. Cause it's almost here!
Oh, and it's my birthday on monday. Turning 25. Woo!
Read the sequel to 'Eragon' last week, it's called 'Eldest'. My review: not a deep book, but an energetic, fun, simple read with lots of interesting characters, story development, and good hard action. A terribly fun read, if not, perhaps, the most *literary* book you'll ever consume.
I have two fears. One is Hell, the other is the end of civilization on earth. I'm convinced Oil will spark it somehow. With gas prices on the rise, I find myself...apprehensive. I'm not actually expecting society to come collapsing down around my ears, but it causes me a little bit of worry.
And if I had to name a third fear, it would be lonliness, but that's rarely a concern these days.
Little else to report. Things continue to rock. Ta!
-N
Got to visit my Grandparents this weekend. It was a pretty terrific time. My sister came over from college too, with her fiancé, and we all spent a great deal of time hanging out, being silly, chatting, and socializing.
Here’s the adventure of the weekend:
My grandfather, B, is allergic to bee stings, yellow jacket stings…pretty much anything with wings is supposed to be able to knock him out. He got stung a few years ago and fainted, and he’s been on a ‘resistance regimen’ meant to reduce the strength of his allergies, but we’re still pretty cautious about these things.
Well Papa was out trimming some hedges (slowly, but they were getting trimmed) and I was sitting nearby and chatting. At some point I noticed a bunch of big, black critters flying around that I assumed were some of those shiny, huge, flies you get stuck inside your windows during the summer. That is, until I noticed that there were a lot of them, and they were all hanging around Papa. Well about 10 seconds after I stopped to consider whether we were looking at a more dangerous breed of critter, Papa smacks the back of his head and says “Oop, one of them stung me.”
Ack!
Well Papa moseys over to the front porch and I ask him if there’s anything we’re supposed to do now. And he tells me he’s supposed to take some medicine that’s on his downstairs desk, in a box. So Papa keeps moseying and I run downstairs and rummage around looking for the stuff. My grandparents are old, though not really ‘infirm’. They don’t run anywhere, though, so I was really Mr. Johnny-on-the-spot, that day. Turbo mode!
So I find the downstairs desk and look around and there, right where Papa said it would be, is an EpiPen. Some of you may have heard of these things, some not. I was introduced to them a couple of months ago while I was eating cookies with my friends. One of them asked, “Do those have coconut in them?” We check, and yep they did. “Well then I can’t have any. I’m terribly allergic.”
So we get to talking about all of her weird, awful allergies, and she introduces me to her EpiPen. It’s meant to be carried around by people with allergies, especially life threatening ones. It’s essentially a self-administering shot of Epinephrine, which is sort of an ‘emergency anti-histamine’. It, essentially, gets you to the hospital alive. You take this thing, jab it into your thigh (right through your pants) and a needle shoots out and gives you the required dosage. I’ve been told it can puncture a cell phone if it needs to.
So anyway, I come back and Papa’s sitting on the stairs and I hand him the EpiPen. Papa’s looking over the instructions, and I’m getting a little worried. I mean, he has to, essentially, stick himself in the thigh. The needle comes out on its own, but you have to hit it with enough force to activate the thing and then hold it in. Papa’s getting on in years, he’s not exactly ‘Dr. Steadyhands.’ Well as I’m worrying about this, Papa looks up at me and says. “Well, you want to do this?”
Oh, great.
So I grab this thing, glance over the instructions, say, “Sorry”, and then stab my grandfather in the thigh. Woohoo! Papa was a trooper, though, just let out a ‘Woah’ at the force of my blow. (Hey, I wanted to make sure that thing activated!) So I finish the injection, pull out the needle, and the last step on the instructions is to go to the hospital. And far be it from my grandfather to disobey *instructions*. So I wheel around to the back of the house to inform my grandmother that we need a ride to the hospital.
“Hey, Nana, Papa got stung.”
“Oh, all right.”
[Awkward Pause] Nana’s a little hard of hearing.
“Wait, did you say Papa’s done?”
“No, Papa got *stung*.”
“Oh!”
Well Nana was quite glad that I had already done the injection (I believe the word ‘hero’ may have been spoken), so she fires up the vehicle and we wheel off to urgent care.
They ask questions, take readings, check to see if the bite is swelling up, all that sort of stuff. Papa’s fine. Passes with flying colors. Looks like that anti-tox stuff did the trick at least this time. The doctor wants to give Papa some Benadryl, but evidently it can cause problems with prostrate swelling. So they’re wary of that, but he takes it anyway.
So we’re about to leave, and the Doctor is giving us some last-minute instructions. “If you have any problems urinating, that means you have prostrate swelling, and you should come back in. As for your allergies, if you have any tingling, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, that sort of thing, come back in. You should also have your wife or grandson check for swelling, just to be safe.”
My grandmother, a very proper, very respectable lady, says, in her most dignified tone. “Well, all right, but I’m not sure how to check for prostrate swelling.”
* * * *
Also of note, this upcoming weekend I get to go see the wedding of a couple good friends of mine in Vegas, which also means that I get to go visit my Aunt, who is a marvelous person, and my cousin, who is the daughter of an awesome person and therefore contains many of the same awesome genes. I'm also going to go see the Blue Man Group with my married friends. I've seen them before, but they're definitely a show worth seeing a few times if you can. Lot of interest. Very cool.
On a personal note, you started your latest 'experiment' this Monday, August 29. No, all of you aren't supposed to know what that means, its for *me*. Maybe I'll explain later.
Classes have also started up. Unfortunate, but not crippling. Just one class. One singular, final class. I've already submitted the paperwork for my masters degree graduation in december. I'm very, very excited by the prospect of actually being done with school. I'd like to take some more interesting classes, perhaps, next year, like massage or Japanese. There's also the possibility of an audio studio and some music creation. I have some ideas. We'll just see what the new year brings. Cause it's almost here!
Oh, and it's my birthday on monday. Turning 25. Woo!
Read the sequel to 'Eragon' last week, it's called 'Eldest'. My review: not a deep book, but an energetic, fun, simple read with lots of interesting characters, story development, and good hard action. A terribly fun read, if not, perhaps, the most *literary* book you'll ever consume.
I have two fears. One is Hell, the other is the end of civilization on earth. I'm convinced Oil will spark it somehow. With gas prices on the rise, I find myself...apprehensive. I'm not actually expecting society to come collapsing down around my ears, but it causes me a little bit of worry.
And if I had to name a third fear, it would be lonliness, but that's rarely a concern these days.
Little else to report. Things continue to rock. Ta!
-N
Monday, August 15, 2005
It was a delightful weekend, all things considered. There were normal things, like playing of the video games and playing of the drums and writing and running and training and the like. All of that falls under the default heading of ‘awesome’. When I say I hung around at my apartment all weekend, that doesn’t mean I was bored.
Course, I didn’t stay in all weekend. I got to go out and meet T’s fiancé. They’d been dating about three weeks when they decided to get married. Evidently they knew each other for a few months previous, but that's still pretty quick. They’re going through marriage counseling, though, so that’s good, and they probably won’t be able to actually be married until next year. A bit rapid, perhaps, but it’s not my marriage. I met the guy; he seemed like a forthright, respectable, genuinely good kinda chap, so all I can do is wish my best. And I did.
I also went out to M’s birthday party, which happened at Union Cattle, a bar down near Hermosa Beach that has two things going for it:
1) It’s freakin huge!
2) They’ve got a mechanical bull.
We got M all liquored up and put her up on the bull, which was good fun for all, and a bunch of her friends went on it too. Some of them were wearing skirts. I’ll let you think that one through on your own. I went up too, and lasted about 30 seconds (they start you off slow and then speed you up.) That seemed about par for most of the casual bull-riding guys up there. I did see a few, though, that had obviously done it before, and some people were really good.
It was a great weekend, but a pretty nondescript one, so instead, storytime!
* * * *
I thought I’d told this story to pretty much everyone I know, but I came to realize this Sunday that my own Parents hadn’t heard it, so perhaps it is not quite as widespread as I would have liked to think. It’s the story that I tell whenever anyone asks me whether or not I’ve ever used the martial arts.
“Yes,” I say, “once I used it to stop a truck.”
Think about that while I tell the story.
I was driving to the airport to pick up my dad from an inbound flight one weekend while I was spending the summer up in Juneau. I was still pretty new at the martial arts, I don’t think I’d even settled on TKD yet, and I know I was taking Shorin-Ryu Karate at a dojo up there just to try some new things out.
We have several vehicles in our family, the least of which is the truck. We got the truck from my Dad’s father, who probably bought it when he was 2, if its state of repair is any indication. It runs all right, but it’s always sketchy, doesn’t run at all in the winter, and is quite temperamental. In order to turn it on, you stick in the key…okay, for one you don’t stick in the key, because it’s always in the ignition. If someone were to steal it that would probably be okay with us. We probably wouldn’t notice for a couple of months, either. But you step on the brake, shift the truck out of park, turn the key, and when you shift the truck back into park, the truck will, hopefully, cough and sputter its way to a start.
I’ve had some other issues with the truck, too. For one, the gearshift is pretty sticky, and the little needle doesn’t quite point at the gear the truck is actually in, so you might think the truck is in drive, but it isn’t. You gotta jiggle it a bit. Once it died on me while on the way to do…something. I was out by the Ferry Terminal, probably about 1.5 miles from the house, and it just sputtered, hacked, and died. I had to jog back to the house, report to my parents that the errand was a lost cause, and then call up a tow service to get the truck fixed. While they were servicing it, they discovered that gasoline had been dripping onto the engine. I suppose I should be happy the thing didn’t just blow up on me. Oh, and it’s yellow. It was probably a more ‘royal’ color of yellow back in it’s prime, but now its got the same pale yellow tint as, say, cheap beer.
It’s an old truck, that’s all I’m saying.
So I’m taking the old truck to pick up my dad from the airport, and I have to stop at the parking lot to get a ticket. It’s one of those deals where you have to push a button, grab your ticket, and then drive past the little arm as it raises up. Upon reaching this junction, however, I remember another one of the trucks little quirks: the windows don’t roll down anymore. So I realize I’m going to have to park the truck, jump out, grab my ticket and then drive under the arm real quick. It’s a slow arm, though, and I’m quick enough, so I figure I should be able to slide my way through. So I put the truck in park, get out of the cab, close the door, and am taking the step or two over to the ticket dispenser when I realize, to my dismay that the truck isn’t quite in park. It’s not really even a little in park. In fact, it appears to be in reverse. And rolling.
Here comes the martial arts part, you ready?
Karate reflexes well in hand, I dash back to the cab, execute an inside-outside block to open up the door and, while still in front stance (and with excellent form, I might add), I punch the brake. I jiggle the gear box a bit, get it in park, and manage to pick up my dad without further incident.
There you go. That’s using the martial arts, right there, and probably in the most perfect way I could have. What do I mean? Allow me to explain in parable.
“Three students of the martial arts are gathered and asked a question. How do you open a locked door?”
“The while belt student says: ‘I don’t know, but I would like to learn.’”
“The black belt student says: ‘I execute a side-kick next to the door handle, where the wood is weakest.’”
“The master says: ‘I knock.’”
-N
Course, I didn’t stay in all weekend. I got to go out and meet T’s fiancé. They’d been dating about three weeks when they decided to get married. Evidently they knew each other for a few months previous, but that's still pretty quick. They’re going through marriage counseling, though, so that’s good, and they probably won’t be able to actually be married until next year. A bit rapid, perhaps, but it’s not my marriage. I met the guy; he seemed like a forthright, respectable, genuinely good kinda chap, so all I can do is wish my best. And I did.
I also went out to M’s birthday party, which happened at Union Cattle, a bar down near Hermosa Beach that has two things going for it:
1) It’s freakin huge!
2) They’ve got a mechanical bull.
We got M all liquored up and put her up on the bull, which was good fun for all, and a bunch of her friends went on it too. Some of them were wearing skirts. I’ll let you think that one through on your own. I went up too, and lasted about 30 seconds (they start you off slow and then speed you up.) That seemed about par for most of the casual bull-riding guys up there. I did see a few, though, that had obviously done it before, and some people were really good.
It was a great weekend, but a pretty nondescript one, so instead, storytime!
* * * *
I thought I’d told this story to pretty much everyone I know, but I came to realize this Sunday that my own Parents hadn’t heard it, so perhaps it is not quite as widespread as I would have liked to think. It’s the story that I tell whenever anyone asks me whether or not I’ve ever used the martial arts.
“Yes,” I say, “once I used it to stop a truck.”
Think about that while I tell the story.
I was driving to the airport to pick up my dad from an inbound flight one weekend while I was spending the summer up in Juneau. I was still pretty new at the martial arts, I don’t think I’d even settled on TKD yet, and I know I was taking Shorin-Ryu Karate at a dojo up there just to try some new things out.
We have several vehicles in our family, the least of which is the truck. We got the truck from my Dad’s father, who probably bought it when he was 2, if its state of repair is any indication. It runs all right, but it’s always sketchy, doesn’t run at all in the winter, and is quite temperamental. In order to turn it on, you stick in the key…okay, for one you don’t stick in the key, because it’s always in the ignition. If someone were to steal it that would probably be okay with us. We probably wouldn’t notice for a couple of months, either. But you step on the brake, shift the truck out of park, turn the key, and when you shift the truck back into park, the truck will, hopefully, cough and sputter its way to a start.
I’ve had some other issues with the truck, too. For one, the gearshift is pretty sticky, and the little needle doesn’t quite point at the gear the truck is actually in, so you might think the truck is in drive, but it isn’t. You gotta jiggle it a bit. Once it died on me while on the way to do…something. I was out by the Ferry Terminal, probably about 1.5 miles from the house, and it just sputtered, hacked, and died. I had to jog back to the house, report to my parents that the errand was a lost cause, and then call up a tow service to get the truck fixed. While they were servicing it, they discovered that gasoline had been dripping onto the engine. I suppose I should be happy the thing didn’t just blow up on me. Oh, and it’s yellow. It was probably a more ‘royal’ color of yellow back in it’s prime, but now its got the same pale yellow tint as, say, cheap beer.
It’s an old truck, that’s all I’m saying.
So I’m taking the old truck to pick up my dad from the airport, and I have to stop at the parking lot to get a ticket. It’s one of those deals where you have to push a button, grab your ticket, and then drive past the little arm as it raises up. Upon reaching this junction, however, I remember another one of the trucks little quirks: the windows don’t roll down anymore. So I realize I’m going to have to park the truck, jump out, grab my ticket and then drive under the arm real quick. It’s a slow arm, though, and I’m quick enough, so I figure I should be able to slide my way through. So I put the truck in park, get out of the cab, close the door, and am taking the step or two over to the ticket dispenser when I realize, to my dismay that the truck isn’t quite in park. It’s not really even a little in park. In fact, it appears to be in reverse. And rolling.
Here comes the martial arts part, you ready?
Karate reflexes well in hand, I dash back to the cab, execute an inside-outside block to open up the door and, while still in front stance (and with excellent form, I might add), I punch the brake. I jiggle the gear box a bit, get it in park, and manage to pick up my dad without further incident.
There you go. That’s using the martial arts, right there, and probably in the most perfect way I could have. What do I mean? Allow me to explain in parable.
“Three students of the martial arts are gathered and asked a question. How do you open a locked door?”
“The while belt student says: ‘I don’t know, but I would like to learn.’”
“The black belt student says: ‘I execute a side-kick next to the door handle, where the wood is weakest.’”
“The master says: ‘I knock.’”
-N
Monday, August 08, 2005
Long time, no post. I guess I’ll give y’all some highlights.
-Went out to a church-based desert potluck and comedy/magic show with co-worker. It wasn’t my church, but hey, they combined three of my favorite things together. Comedy, Magic, and DESERT! It was good fun.
-Finally red Harry Potter and the half-blood prince. I refrain from speculation on pretty much anything, because it could all go either way, and I figure the only way to be sure is to just wait for the last book to come out.
-FINISHED ANOTHER FREAKIN’ CLASS! Image processing had its final last Friday, and I consider that puppy ‘stomped’. The final was pretty easy, I went in, did my thing, and left. I won’t get my grades for a few weeks, but I’m pretty sure I did at least all right, and this late in my student career, that’s all I’m looking for. One class left to go! I can taste the victory!
-Another chapter? Why yes. I guess reading a whole bunch of books over the past couple of days inspired me, but I rounded out chapter 8 last night (a bit late) and so you can view that here:
Chapter 8 Here!
As always, comments are appreciated, but do note that I don’t edit these things much before considering them done. This chapters pretty big, lot of stuff gets explained and the like. Go read.
-Work continues to be work. Except when its not. I have some time off to burn before August 30th, due to absurd company policy, and so I’m taking off much of the later half of this week as well as a couple of days later this month to visit grandparents. Hi grandparents! I’m very excited for that. I’ve only taken 10 hours time off all year, and most of that was a sick day or two. I’m ready for some vacation, and I suspect that I’ll end up burning most of in December, probably taking a week off just to not do anything…or to party…or just whatever. School almost done!
-Also, a brief salute to my sister. Several years ago she bought me a cd by a popular German rock band called Guano Apes. Last weekend I was going through some of my older music, looking for things to drum along to, when I stumbled upon their cd. I downloaded some drum tabs for one of their most rockin’ songs, ‘Lord of the Boards’ and *completely rocked out*. It turns out the drum part for that song is pretty easy to perform, and while I will admit that it’s great to be able to play complicated stuff well, it’s really satisfying to be able to play something *well*. I played through the song at least 5 times. It was great fun. So thanks, S.
-N
-Went out to a church-based desert potluck and comedy/magic show with co-worker. It wasn’t my church, but hey, they combined three of my favorite things together. Comedy, Magic, and DESERT! It was good fun.
-Finally red Harry Potter and the half-blood prince. I refrain from speculation on pretty much anything, because it could all go either way, and I figure the only way to be sure is to just wait for the last book to come out.
-FINISHED ANOTHER FREAKIN’ CLASS! Image processing had its final last Friday, and I consider that puppy ‘stomped’. The final was pretty easy, I went in, did my thing, and left. I won’t get my grades for a few weeks, but I’m pretty sure I did at least all right, and this late in my student career, that’s all I’m looking for. One class left to go! I can taste the victory!
-Another chapter? Why yes. I guess reading a whole bunch of books over the past couple of days inspired me, but I rounded out chapter 8 last night (a bit late) and so you can view that here:
Chapter 8 Here!
As always, comments are appreciated, but do note that I don’t edit these things much before considering them done. This chapters pretty big, lot of stuff gets explained and the like. Go read.
-Work continues to be work. Except when its not. I have some time off to burn before August 30th, due to absurd company policy, and so I’m taking off much of the later half of this week as well as a couple of days later this month to visit grandparents. Hi grandparents! I’m very excited for that. I’ve only taken 10 hours time off all year, and most of that was a sick day or two. I’m ready for some vacation, and I suspect that I’ll end up burning most of in December, probably taking a week off just to not do anything…or to party…or just whatever. School almost done!
-Also, a brief salute to my sister. Several years ago she bought me a cd by a popular German rock band called Guano Apes. Last weekend I was going through some of my older music, looking for things to drum along to, when I stumbled upon their cd. I downloaded some drum tabs for one of their most rockin’ songs, ‘Lord of the Boards’ and *completely rocked out*. It turns out the drum part for that song is pretty easy to perform, and while I will admit that it’s great to be able to play complicated stuff well, it’s really satisfying to be able to play something *well*. I played through the song at least 5 times. It was great fun. So thanks, S.
-N
