Why?

I just don't get it. No clue.

Hiatus

As probably already noted, this blog is on hiatus and will continue to be so unless something major happens. Until then, enjoy going about your day without checking in...there won't be anything to see.

Country

So I guess I can officially claim to be a country fan. Having purchased the MegaTicket for the summer, I have lawn seats for seven country concerts. Last night was the fifth of those concerts with Kenny Chesney in town. I must say it was quite a show, one of the better overall concerts I have seen, though not quite the “show” as far as lights go as Rascal Flats, but still a great show. Thus far we have seen Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and the aforementioned Rascal Flats. We skipped the Montgomery Gentry/Toby Keith show due to my surgery. The concerts are a pretty good time. The seats are in the lawn, which is about all you want for the summer shows. Last night, however, we managed to pull a seat upgrade that moved us under the awning and half way to the stage in that area. With a pretty typical digital camera zoomed in, there was plenty of pictures and video shot with Kenny taking up the full frame. Of all the shows to get the upgrade, last night was the one to get it. Much props to Lilley and wife as they told us about the usher who was sporadically handing out a huge stack of tickets to fill the closer seats as the lawn sold out in a hurry.
Another thing about the shows, they have all been on Thursday, Friday, or Sunday, with most being on Friday. Always a bonus. With these nights, it makes tailgating prior to the show much easier. Just as a football game, tailgating is half the fun. Needless to say, the people watching is AWESOME. Take anything you could stereotype in the south, add alcohol and music, and you have the pre-game for most any of the shows.
The remaining schedule includes Brooks and Dunn with ZZ Top and Martina McBride. The first probably being pretty interesting, the other, so-so for me. All the acts have had big openers including Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Leann Rimes, and Jewel.
For those who have the option to catch a ticket package like this ($200/season ticket) I strongly recommend it if you like the music at all.
These aren’t Grand Ole Opry shows with some twanging and guitars. They are legit shows that rival most of the rock acts on the road.

Birfday

So the birthday weekend was pretty great. I should really say my birthday week as things spread out over that time frame. I got home Monday evening to find birthday cards from mom, grandma, and my uncle all waiting for me. Normally I wait to open them but knowing I would be out of town went ahead that night. The next night Beth came to the house in spite of my completely crappy attitude from the previous work week and thus far that week and was determined that I would open my gift from her early, though I wanted to wait. Turns out she got me a Wii and wanted to set it up ASAP so we could practice for our trip to MD. More on that later. It was a great surprise as I thought she was maybe trying to get me one but had dismissed that idea for some other things that I figured her more prone to spring for. We did get a little practice time in that night and the next evening at her place. I found out two things real fast about it. The addiction factor is as great as anyone has described it to be. It is extremely portable and easy to set up. Maybe because TV inputs are easier to deal with our maybe because the last time I set one up I was 15. Who knows.
On to Thursday: We checked with USAir and found that at least 6-8 seats were still open on the early afternoon flight to Salisbury MD (Beth’s hometown, on the Eastern Shore and NO WHERE NEAR DC and NORTHERN VA) and with her frequent flier status we could bump up “standby” without any additional fees, so we both jetted from the office at lunch and were in the air at 2:45 instead of 7-something. That made Thursday so much more enjoyable as we were there in time for happy hour, which we took full advantage of with her parents and neighbor, then to a fantastic steak dinner with plenty of sides at her parents place. Remember, as I mention food, I haven't eatne normall for nearly three weeks, and not had some of these things for much longer, so they were big treats.
Friday (birfday) we headed out for a run with the rest of the neighborhood (I mean this literally as at least 10 people were part of this) that a neighbor had organized. There was another birthday person in the group so that was pretty cool. The rest of the day was hanging out and attempting to help her dad get the boat ready for the weekend while Beth took great care in soaking us both down with the hose…numerous times. Her parents gave me a pretty funny card and cool tie to go with the additional card Beth gave me so I would have something to open that day. We cleaned up and headed to the country/yacht club (Country club on the Wicomico River with several docks) for the traditional fare and fireworks. I gorged on fried chicken, ribs, dogs, burgers, and fixins’. The only downer was the 45 minute delay for the fireworks due to the omnipresent thunderstorms of the weekend. The delay was well worth it as the show was pretty awesome. Some of the best fireworks I have seen and we were very close to the launching area so seeing them fire from the bases was really cool. I found out that the person who has always done them was letting his license expire and this was sort of a farewell show for him. It was great and all the members talked about how it was one of the best he had ever put on. After we got back to the house around 10:30 Beth and I were sent to play with sparklers in the driveway while candles were being put on my surprise cake. It was a Smith Island cake which I highly recommend to anyone that gets a chance to have one. Think ten very thin layers of a pretty rich cake with icing between each. It was topped with three candles to signify the looming big 3-0 for next year. Needless to say they were the one’s that don’t blow out though I managed to get one all the way out prior to using any water.
Saturday we decided to ignore the overcast and somewhat foggy weather to experience Ocean City, MD. Think all things you associate with Myrtle Beach, dated 25 years older and crammed on an island less than a quarter mile wide. Beth was disappointed in the place we ate dinner but those things happen. We hit a place called Seacrets and I partook in a couple drinks known as Pain in de ass. If you’ve been to a Wet Willy’s think something out of the frozen drink machines with that kind of kick. I had a couple and switched to beer so I could stay upright the rest of the evening. Beth DD’ed so I could experience it and we left her fam back in Salisbury. After this experience we hit the boardwalk for Thrasher’s famous fries (dinner was at like 5) and to see the sights. Pretty cool to see where she spent most of her free time during the summer.
Sunday we headed out on the boat for a while though her dad was disappointed in motors performance so we stayed close to the put-in location and ran the river a bit without heading down towards the Chesapeake. That night we headed out for my first crab picking experience. Picking Blue crab is nothing like the Alaskan or Snow crab most are familiar with from your typical seafood joint. The crab house was all wood with long picnic table covered in brown meat packing paper and was all you can eat. They bring fried shrimp, clams and chicken, along with some hushpuppies and corn early to fill you up then the onslaught of crabs begin. I probably picked 8-10 and ate every bite of meat I could get out. Most of the meat being inside the main shell where the legs protrude. Anything else significant being in the claw.
Monday was pretty uneventful. A little lunch, handled some work calls, and saw Beth off as she is in PA for a few days and had to rent a car. Her mom was at the house with me and shuttled me off to the airport and saw me off as if I was part of the family, something they did pretty much the entire time I was there. It was a great weekend to say the least. Her family was beyond accommodating and nice, I got to see so much more about Beth, and had a fun and relaxing time the entire trip. Without my family around, I really couldn’t ask for more.


Addition: A friendly rivalry with her dad sprung up on Wii tennis. I seriously need to improve my game as he found out a way to wax me on teh return during my crummy serves. It was his home machine and he recently crossed the "pro" point plateau since our visit and I was playing as a lowly guest with no status. Don't know if that mattered but I may as well not had a front court player. We played at least a few matches every day. If I could only get him to box, I may have a chance as I am quickly approaching Pro status on my machine. I will most definitely being learning how to save my Mii so I can take my proven skills on the raod whether it's across town or cross country.

Surgery

So I finally went under the knife about two and half weeks ago to help remedy the sleep apnea I was diagnosed with back in February. The procedure lasted about the 2.5 hours as anticipated, without any known complications. It consisted of 5 or so smaller procedures rolled into one to help alleviate the problem. They were a rhinoplasty (I think this was for the minor deviation of my septum), turbinate resection (more nose work), UPPP (removal of tonsils, adenoids, and other stuff), a tongue resection (they shaved the “base” with some radio wave laser thing), and something else that may have included the pinning back of my uvula if that wasn’t part of the UPPP. Basically they gutted the inside of my nose and throat and realigned some muscles so I have more room for air to get in.
Coming off the anesthesia was interesting. I don’t think anyone expected me to be talking much if any for the few days, much less within an hour. I drifted in and out while they fed me a popsicle and I tried to talk. I stayed overnight in a recovery room, hooked up to an IV for fluids that they also used to keep me on main meds. They also had this forced oxygen/humidified air thing that blew in my face the entire night. It worked to keep my nose and throat moisturized to aid in healing but the it was a very noisy machine and would gargle up through the tube that fed the pseudo mask as condensate would build up. That was annoying as hell and I would have to call the nurse to come fix it periodically and never in tune with a pain med boost or fluid replacement. Fluids worked too. Didn’t know you could go every two-three hours without drinking anything but you can. Beth and my mom were both there through the entire surgery and up through most of the evening. Mom stayed and suffered through the noisy machines and sleeping on the one chair that pulled out similar to the airline seats they advertise on international flights. I did get to watch a little TV prior to falling asleep which was pretty early that night.
They discharged me after I ate/drank the required amount and noted the jogs I had filled up over the night. I was home by 11 the next morning after the procedure had started around 1 the afternoon before. The first two-three days involved a lot of sleeping and lying around. Needless to say, between a very loving mother and girlfriend, I was taken care of quite well. We had a shift change on Monday shortly before my follow up appointment as mom headed back to TN and my stepmom came in. They pulled my packing (think a 2” long tube about the size nice pen) at this appt and the ENT indicated I would not need to come back and see him unless I had seriously bleeding later on. This was important as I had 30+ stitches in the back of my throat and obviously some healing to do in my nose as well. Things were pretty eventless through about Thursday. I was able to move from only popsicles and water to Jell-O, soup and even some mac and cheese. Stepmom went back Wednesday and I spent the rest of the week on Beth’s couch as it kept me closer to town, doctors office, and hospitals, as well as the working folks I could call if need be. I stayed on my pain meds and antibiotics and things went pretty well until Friday and the 7-10 day pain came back. Basically I couldn’t and didn’t feel like eating. The pain was worse than anything early in the week, including the first couple days after the surgery. It sucked and I doubled up on pain meds for about a day (it was allowed) until it subsided last Sunday. Since then things have been improving pretty quickly. I started driving (aka off the pain meds) last Wednesday, worked pretty much a full week, less Monday morning, and have been fine since.
I can still feel some physical ramifications as I get tired a little more quickly if I do any physical activity. Still can’t tell any real difference in my sleep though. Still extremely paranoid about sleeping on my back as the scarring isn’t complete and therefore I still snore some. It’s definitely not like it was and the doc indicated to Beth that I shouldn’t snore in the future. Granted that carries a big asterisk as any significant weight gain will make this entire process null and void. I did have a set back last Thursday with a pretty bad nose bleed overnight but that was attributed to a scab falling off and the associated blood clot letting go in my sleep.
Here are a few things I learned during the whole process:
Cherry is my favorite Jell-O flavor.
Cookout (local Carolina chain) has the best milkshakes but Ben and Jerry’s has an ice cream, mocha-something that is the best cold dessert drink I have ever had.
Chicken noodle soup goes right down but pudding sticks to the roof of your mouth and tongue like a champ.
It’s easy to lose 10-12 pounds on a liquid diet.
Ensure is only good in chocolate. If you are depending on the vanilla for your protein, just let your muscles go for a while.
Don’t take Percocet on an empty stomach. If you take it with Tylenol or in a double dose, you will be loopy and make funny faces and expressions.
You can bleed a ton out of your nose or at least it looks so when you wake up in your own stuff.
Chips are your enemy. Stay away from Mexican joints that bring them to the table with salsa. The temptation is almost, if not more, than the will power to abstain.
Shopping in advance for any form of anniversary is a very, very good idea.
Even if you think you can go back to work and put in a full day and be as effective as you were, forget it. Accept that you will need at least a few weeks to be back to 100%

I am going to MD for the holiday weekend to see where Beth is from and grew up. It should be fun as there is a lot to see and do in just a few days. Just hoping I am back to 100% when I get on the plane in a couple afternoons so I can keep up.

Some random things from email

Laid up at home on Oxycodone and getting kinda bored with it so here is some banter off of email I received today. More on why I am home and doped up later;


.Subject: London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common SenseInteresting and, sadly, rather true.
'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.No one knows for sure how old he was,since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. '

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone



THOUGHT FOR THE DAY OPEC
Sells oil for $136.00 a barrel. OPEC nations buy U.S. grain at $7.00 a bushel. Solution: Sell grain for $136.00 a bushel. Can't buy it? Tough! Eat your oil! Ought to go well with a nice thick grilled filet of camel ass!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

So, the posts are getting a little more spaced out but much longer. Don’t know that I am keeping anyone in anticipation as the antics and rants have been on the decline but I am staying very busy so I thought I would give another update.
Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone and we kept to the plan of stopping by and seeing the Mouse. After the girl hooked us up with a first class flight upgrade (both ways) and huge discount on rental car we headed off to Animal Kingdom then possibly one of the other parks. The heat and humidity was ridiculous but the park was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed the Safari ride though I couldn’t convince her to do the Everest Coaster, though she offered to stay in line with me if I wanted to ride it that bad. I do recommend Yak and Yeti if you are there for lunch PF Chang-ish, about the same price, and I actually liked it a little better though the menu is tremendously less in total options. After sweating our way through the park, we decided to check in to our hotel for and get cleaned up for dinner and Downtown Disney for the evening instead of upgrading the already pricey tickets and trying to see part of Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Definitely the right call as it decided to pour down the typical Florida afternoon shower within 15 minutes after we checked in. We also had the opportunity to ride the free shuttles/monorail/water ferries around the park hotels and check them out. It was fun for the girl to relive some memories of past family vacations spent at these locations as we strolled around, especially at the Polynesian. Dinner was at a seafood place on “the water” at Downtown Disney with some excellent beachy drinks and some time in the Downtown Disney bars. Having gotten up around 5:30 that morning and being out in the Florida heat, midnight pretty much came as our time to call it a day/night.
The next morning we tried to score a ton of Hilton Honors points but had been suckered into something much more time consuming than we had been promised. We managed to get out of it having only lost about an hour or so of time and maybe a little extra sleep but no biggie. My advice if you didn’t already know…if you go to get the extra points at the Vacation Club desk, take the points for showing up at the desk and pass on the rest. After this little time detour we headed for the folks place in Venice by way of a little shopping/site seeing in Sarasota and the St Armand’s/Long Boat Key area. The girl had not been that far south on the gulf side before I think she really liked seeing Sarasota. It’s a pretty town, especially if you are into boats and that part of the coastal life. I know she definitely liked shopping at St. Armand’s though the weather was still extremely muggy though we had the ocean breeze to help. That night we met my grandfather and his lady friend for another seafood dinner, this time at an old time fishery in a little area known as Placida. It was great and was a perfect dinner.
Sunday we had intended to go to Siesta Key, regularly ranked as one of America’s top beaches but decided on a big sit down breakfast first. Turns out all the parking for the public beach, including multiple small access areas were full by noon or so. Honestly don’t know if we would have done any better grabbing breakfast on the way and going straight there that morning. We ended up back at a beach much closer to the house and saw some folks parasailing from where we were set up. Decided that was a great idea, so we cut the beach time short and headed around the jetty, 10-15 min by car, swim it in under 5 if you can handle the current and dodge the boats. It was a great idea and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Especially cool since we could go up together and talk, laugh, and take pictures as we sailed over the gulf. They even did the feet dip thing as we were probably 100 yards behind the boat. That night we had a very nice meal at a restaurant at the jetty and watched the sun go down over the gulf. While waiting on our reservation we spent some time on the jetty watching a small school (pod?) of dolphins chasing fish where the canals dumped out into the gulf. Very cool and we took a ton of pictures there.
Monday came around and it was time to head back to Orlando to catch our flight home. Not until we spent a couple hours on the beach and having one last nice lunch and a few drinks.
Getting back was a bummer as it always is after a great vacation. They are always too short but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Hoping we can get back down there later this year…hopefully without as much of an agenda so we can enjoy some of the simple pleasures after cramming as many of the fun options as possible in the long weekend.