Nasal Passages

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January 30, 2003

Sammy...dogs...and an anniversary

I heard a disturbing thing on the way in this AM. I was listening to "Special X" on XM channel 30 and they played Sammy Davis Jr. singing the "All in the Family" theme song. Very VERY strange!!

I'm reading a great little book. If any of you are dog lovers this is a must!! It's called A Dog Year and it just awesome thus far (I read about half of it last night). About a guy, his two labs, and a "problem" border collie he adopts. Very cool testament to the communication between man and dog.

Not much else to talk about...I'm burnt out by the whole father-in-law thing. I can't IMAGINE what it's like for Maryellen and Karen. I'm to the point now though where I just don't feel like talking about it, ya know?

One year ago today I quit my job as Operations Manager for Airpath Wireless. A very strange and difficult time in my life. That decision though...it made me feel better so I've got no regrets!

Oh yeah...and it's pretty damn cool that the girl from Toledo on American Idol who got almost NO press in this town, made it through to the round of 32!! She's a real cute girl, works as a waitress at J. Alexander's here about a block from where I work. She really sings great and has an awesome look! I think she's got a chance. It's funny though, leading up to this new season of American Idol, the boy from Perrysburg who made it through the first round got all the pub. He came from a charmed life and his parents probably put the PR machine into full swing for him. He didn't make the cut though, while the girl who is working her butt off in T-town makes it! I just wish her the best! Candi Coleman is her name.

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2003

Dad Lee update...and ramblings

My father-in-law had an MRI on Monday that was inconclusive because he was moving and also because the doctor only ordered a scan of his lower back and pelvis (b/c it's just a back strain....riiiiiiight). He's been wandering around the nursing home I guess, he fell the other night. Things just aren't good.

Now the decision is on the two daughters as to whether he should be treated for the metastatic disease and schizophrenia (which would mean transferring him to St. Charles...which adds another twist to the picture because that's where Maryellen works as an RN) or do they get hospice involved? The oncologist has already said he's a hospice candidate and that he's terminal, but with an inconclusive MRI and a quack as a family physician, no one REALLY knows what's going on inside him or how long he has left. They're concerned that treating him might end up just making him miserable short term and he might not respond favorably to it...but they're ALSO scared b/c what if they put him in hospice and he really isn't that bad off right now, or that he would respond to treatment but in hospice, he wouldn't get it? At least he wouldn't be suffering though... It's really hard...

We just really need a good doctor on the case, and unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet.

So that's what's new on that front. Elsewhere...I'm really sick of politics. It's great because since I got my XM radio I'm not forced to listen to Toledo radio. I'm not bombarded with Right Wing second ammendment talk nor am I overwhelmed with Leftist peace rallies and the like. I can just tune in my channel 8, or 104, or 51 or 150 (my favorites thus far) and be in my own little world.

I've always felt that politics are kind of futile. I have my set of beliefs and I practice them. If I am the best person I can be with those beliefs, others will see that and will make a judgement based on that. You can affect more change by being the best person you can be to as many people as possible than by sending $25 to any party or PAC...

"But G...Don't you want to make a difference??" Yes, gentle-reader, and I believe I already do.

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:59 AM | Comments (3)

January 28, 2003

One of the finest lyrics ever written...

From the Alan Parson's Project, "Eye in the Sky"

The sun in your eyes
Made some of the lies
Worth believing...

I just absolutely love that line!!

Posted by Pepperguy at 03:58 PM | Comments (1)

January 27, 2003

Another Monday...

Well, another weekend has come and gone and really just FLOWN by. Saturday we went to a basketball game and then out to dinner with Ravi and Chris. It was a laugh-filled event. Anytime I get together with Chris I laugh my ass off. I think that's all we did for 2 or 3 years when we lived together in college. I was the straight man and he was not. LOL...

Yesterday we went to Wauseon in the AM and met Maryellen's sister at the nursing home. Her dad was REALLY out of it. It's hard to even describe what it's like, but there is a different person in there, that's really the only way to describe it. He couldn't hold a thought, he'd start saying something and just stop and have to be "Restarted." He was pretty well drugged up for the pain of his metastatic cancer, but this was more than just dopey-sleepyness. He spoke of inappropriate things and mumbled and muttered to himself. It was very hard to see. Maryellen and Karen were amazing though. They seemed almost unphased...they've been dealing with his mental illness all their lives though.

So that pretty much did it for the weekend. My mom came over for some SuperBowl pregame and about the first half of the game I guess. Then it was time for bed. It seemed like the weekend lasted about, oh...6 hours maybe. I really need a vacation!! I'll have been at Savvy one year at the end of February and that's when I'll finally get some paid time!! It'll be nice to take a day here and there!

Blech...I just feel like blech. Exhausted...physically, mentally and emotionally.

Oh yeah...and as an addendum, now that I'm here at work. It's freaking COLD out!! -6^oF here this AM. I drove all the way to work with my heater on full-blast and my windshield STILL never defrosted!

Posted by Pepperguy at 06:48 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2003

Ok, it's a little chilly!!

I'm one who likes the cold...I'd much rather have it be 20 than 90 degrees, but this morning, I'll admit, it's just downright COLD!! The TV this morning showed the current temp being -2 and on my way in, the bank in Genoa said it was -1. My truck though, man...it sat out in it all night long since there was no room for it at the inn (or our garage) and it fired RIGHT up!! 155,000 miles, almost 9 years old and STILL like a rock! (Insert Bob Seger music here).

I thought there was something else I wanted to write too, but I'm not remembering what it is...

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:26 AM | Comments (1)

January 22, 2003

All kinds of stuff...

I haven't really felt like updating this with anything of substance lately. My father-in-law is in a nursing home and he's doing really badly. He's in terrible pain and can't sleep and that's affecting his underlying condition of schizophrenia, so it's just a mess. :-( His doctor doesn't seem to be treating him for the cancer that's causing him SO much discomfort, so a NEW doctor goes on the case today, along with his psych doctor too. I just wish he was comfortable so he could sleep. I don't want this to be a long, slow, terrible death like Maryellen's mom had to die.

On another note, Savvy laid off 20% of our workforce on Monday. Leslie was let go because of lack of programming work. Thom told me about it Monday when I got back from an on-site visit. He was pretty upset that he had to do it. I feel a little bad that I didn't get to say goodbye to her. We weren't the best of friends or anything, but I definately liked her. I know she reads this sometimes, so if you're reading this Les...Good luck to you!

I didn't sleep last night. All the stress of the recent events had me kind of wound up I guess. Finally got sleepy around midnight and then the phone rang at 1 am, and then again 2 more times after that until 1:45. It was a damn fax machine that calls our house occasionally. That pissed me off and got my heart pounding so that it was well after 2:30 when I finally got back to sleep, then I woke up at 5. GREAT!

I guess that's about it for now...there's more going on, but it's just more of the same...annoying and depressing. I don't mean to sound whiney or anything, but we've had 4 years of shit luck now...isn't it about time for something GOOD to happen???

Posted by Pepperguy at 06:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2003

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Ok...I just got to work and it's 60 degrees in here. We're trying to get the furnace to run, but it only goes for a few seconds at a time. Not good. Cold....so cold....

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2003

Drempels!!

This is one of the coolest things ever!! It's not only a screensaver, but it makes your desktop all swirly and shit. Check it out!! http://www.geisswerks.com/drempels/

Posted by Pepperguy at 09:13 AM | Comments (1)

January 15, 2003

This is pretty cool...

This guy has a crawler that goes out and sees what books/music/etc people are talking about on their blogs and then lists them by popularity. Check it out!

Posted by Pepperguy at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

The Essence of Destiny

I'm not sure who to attribute this to, but it appears in the current issue of Jagriti which is the "Official Publication of Hindu Temple and Heritage Hall of Toledo." It just struck me as really cool...

Posted by Pepperguy at 02:32 PM | Comments (2)

January 13, 2003

Ugh...

Maryellen's dad was admitted to Fulton County Hospital today. He was having extreme pain in his abdomen and didn't sleep at all last night. We have known he had kidney cancer for almost 2 years now and he had one kidney removed right after diagnosis, but we've also know that there was much lymph node involvement and that there was probably quite a good deal of metastatic involvement. Well, turns out the pain he was experiencing was indeed caused by a tumor in his belly/chest. They're deciding what to do now. He's not going to get any better, so anything they decide to do will be a quality-of-life/comfort decision.

Poor guy...he only slept about a half hour last night I guess...woke up at 2:30 this AM in terrible pain, sweating from it and just miserable, but he waited until morning to call Maryellen's sister because he didn't want to bug anyone. :-(

This really sucks...

Posted by Pepperguy at 04:26 PM | Comments (3)

NOSEBLEED!!!!!!!!!!

That's all...

Posted by Pepperguy at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2003

Mullets Galore!!!

Still feeling quite crapalicious, but I thought I'd go ahead and to a little self-laughing here...if you can't laugh at yourself, then you've got problems.

I'm in the middle here, BTW....click the photo for a full-fleged mullet fest!!

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:09 PM | Comments (3)

January 08, 2003

Crap

Man, I feel like crap!! We had Christmas at Maryellen's sister's family's house on Sunday night. Lexi was sick and had a "non mouth covering" cough....once she coughed almost directly into my face, so I'm guessing that's where it came from. Throat is killing me....eyes feel big and puffy and just feel like everything about me is made of lead.

I had a WEIRD dream last night!! Might be because I had a hot toddie before bed...who knows. Anyhow, we were out to dinner with a couple of friends, Sheila and her husband (who in the dream was someone other than her husband, Todd) and the waiter kept ignoring me, then he brought me an empty glass, and I got pissed, stood up and walked away. I was walking around this big, elegant hotel and finally found the bathroom. When I found it, there was broken china all over the floor outside and inside the bathroom. I looked at one piece and it cut my wrist just a little bit...like a centimeter or so.

So I went back to the table then and the dream kind of changed. I was at Well Park in Elmore and ran into 2 girls I used to work with at Schedel's. While talking to one of them about a lawsuit they were going through, I showed her, Kim, this handful of frog eggs I'd found. When I showed them to her, I squeezed them and some of them became VERY small tadpoles, but the freaky thing was that they squirmed into that little cut from the other part of my dream and started swimming and squirming around the blood vessels of my left hand. It was SO gross and made my wrist and hand ache. It was VERY X-Files.

Finally I ended up in Dr. Narra's office and interrupted an appointment he had with a patient. While I was showing him the, now bigger, tadpoles....Roodi got up and stretched and woke me up. I woke up with my wrist and hand aching too. My brain was messed up last night!!

Posted by Pepperguy at 06:42 AM | Comments (5)

January 07, 2003

Sweeeeeeeeet

Had a blast tonight!!! Jason used my camera to take this picture...

There are more photos at my Ay-ziggy-zoomba.com website.

Posted by Pepperguy at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)

Rockin' the house...

Well, sort of. Tonight I'm stepping back in time and playing my bass for the BG basketball game in an alumni pep band! Should be lots of fun. The whole rhythm section from when I was in school will be there, so the drummers and I will be laying it down tight!!

It was so much fun to play last year because it was the Toledo game and the arena was packed with 5000 people! Ball State this year, I don't think Dave Letterman will be there, and the students aren't back from Christmas break yet, so it'll probably be less of a crowd. On the 18th though, I'll be doing it again and it's going to be a nationally televised game. Yup...I know...I'm pretty damn famous.

Riding in this AM I was listening to the XM Comedy Station on 150 and they played some Steven Wright...another flashback to my college days. Pretty funny stuff. I had not heard this routine in a while, but it cracked me up!

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:51 AM | Comments (3)

January 06, 2003

Class Action

I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this site would fit into this class. Basically the "record companies" are being sued for price fixing. If you purchase a pre-recorded CD/Tape/Vinyl from a store between 1995 and 2000 you can sign up to be part of this class action. Check out the website at www.musiccdsettlement.com for more details. Sounds like it will be between $5 and $20 if the suit is successful...hey...it's better than nothing!!

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2003

Aww Dude?!?! Check this out!!!

It's 01/02/03....dude...can you believe that?! Hahahah...isn't that hillarious?! Wow...get it? 1-2-3? What are the chances?? Wow...I bet that won't happen again for a while. Hmmm...who'd have thought it would happen in my lifetime?! 01/02/03....Wow. I'll be telling my grandkids about this date!

Posted by Pepperguy at 08:17 AM | Comments (9)