Ages 14 and 15
I love Sambro.
I clogged, yo. And I was good at it. Right up until I gave someone a bloody nose with one of my highkicks…..
And then I became anorexic and almost died. Pictured here at my sister’s wedding. That was a fun year. Ah, memories.
The Crows
I just want to know what they’re saying to each other
Hundreds of them, circling, cawing loudly.
Each one with his own story, excited to scream it
Over the others – must be the first
And loudest.
It must be pressing
6 O’clock news worthy
To wake me up so early
And make me think
Before I’ve had my coffee.
Thats Mr. Flash Anthony to You
My youngest son, Anthony, age 11, took to Flash MX like a duck to water. Here is his first Flash creation called Red vs Blue. It took him 6 hours to create.
South Sevier High School, Utah
This caught my eye. Not just because it happened in Utah and not just because it’s about Mormons calling a non-Mormon a witch, although those are both entertaining. To see what I really loved about this story, you need to click on the video link on the top right of the page and watch the news broadcast clip. About halfway through, there is an older gentleman in a mask, talking about an alleged witch. And you have to see it to understand.
Electrodes and Hiccups
I’m wearing a variety of electrodes, which are attached to my chest with the help of some ultra-sticky substance that smells like cinnamon potpourri going on the stove. It comes out in whiffs and punches me in the nostrils. I’m not generally a cinnamon-smell fan, even at cinnamon appropriate times like Christmas, and now is no exception.
This little, portable, ECG device I’m wearing is recording all the electrical impulses my heart is sending out. Like that one. And that one. And that one. And especially that one, which is the kind they are looking for, where my heart surges and fills my chest with a feeling of sudden adrenalin. It happens now and then. Sometimes it goes on for an hour or more every few minutes. Sometimes I won’t feel it for days. A few times it’s woken me up from sleeping but that isn’t hard to do so I wasn’t thinking this was a problem. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or rhythm to the whole thing. It happens at all different times when I’m doing all different things and because I’ve already cut out caffeine, (8 months ago) smoking, (2 years ago) drugs, (4 years ago) alcohol (4 months ago except red wine every now and again) the doctors aren’t quite sure why it’s happening. But it’s a party in my chest, I’ll tell you.
Tomorrow, I’ll rip a few layers of my skin off at 2:50pm and hand the whole contraption back to the office for them to read. I found out I won a round-trip ticket back the cardiologist for an Echocardiogram on Tuesday of next week. And if I’m really lucky and pass that test, I get to do an exercise-heart-stress test. And if I pass that test, then I get to exercise again. Yes, that is the prize. And I hope, wish, and pray that it comes true. First it was my lung and now it is my heart and it’s been so LOOOOOOONG since I got to raise my heart rate that it’s ridiculous. I mean, I love Tai Chi and swimming but it would be nice to do something else, like sweat.
On a funner note, the other day I was at the lab for 3 hours for an insulin-resistance test. That wasn’t the fun part. And either was getting my blood drawn 4 times on the same arm during those 3 hours. Or drinking the fake-orange flavored ‘soda’ they gave me that smells like the orange gas you got at the dentist office way back when, although that was fun. Or the being nauseated and throwing up everything I ate for the rest of the day. No. The fun part was that the woman that drew my blood those 4 times had chronic hiccups.
Her: -Hic- Hi. How are you -Hic- this morning?
Me: Fine, thanks.
Her: You’re fasting -Hic- right? ’xcuse me.
Me: No problem. Yes. I am fasting.
Her: Good. Try to ignore the hiccupping. It’s chronic.
Me: Chronic?
Her: Yes. Documented and everything. It comes in spurts of -Hic- threes. Damn.
Me: Oh. Ok.
Her: -Hic- It’s a serious problem. -Hic- I just live with it.
Me: Well, I guess you don’t really have any choice, right?
Her: Exactly! If I did, don’t they think I would choose to stop doing it?
I don’t know who the ‘they’ are, but apparently, they had suggested that she was doing it on purpose. Anyway, it was entertaining and kept my mind occupied for hours as I thought about what that would be like, what people would say and how I would feel.
Me: -Hic-
They: Why are you doing that?
Me: -Hic- It’s chronic. I can’t help it! -Hic-
They: Ya right! You are totally doing that on purpose.
Me: Step back, dude! -Hic- WTF? -Hic-
They: If you really wanted to, you would stop. Have you tried holding your breath?
Me: -Hic- (in anger) -Hic!--Hic!- Of course.
They: What about drinking water upside down?
Me: Dude! -Hic- I’m not a novice! -Hic- I’ve tried everything! -Hic--Hic--Hic-
They: Then we will just choose to laugh at you and make fun of you.
I decided I was glad I didn’t have chronic hiccups. People die from having hiccups or hiccups related problems.
*cinnamon whiff*
Life could be worse.
Three Versions of Alison
Here she is giving me the fingers.
And here is the link to the 2 movies where she picks her nose.
Numa Numa Dance
I know this has gone everywhere and seen everything, but when I’m in love, I’m in LOVE.
Aim For Success, not Perfection
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.
Dr. David M. Burns
Ages 11 and 12
Ah. 2 looks in one. This photo is how my secret identity of Super Clarinet Player was found out. If only I hadn’t allowed them to take a photo with my glasses off.
More great looks here.
Alexandra's 15th Birthday Party
It was all dress-up Halloween style and what-not. And dance under the blacklight etc. And have a cake made out of guts, made with love from Joe. That cake looks like 100% love, man.
The Beach with Alison
My niece is here. We went to the beach together. There was a dude with a dog. And a bird was nearby. And the water was real pretty. You can see a small movie here if you want.
Praying Mantis
This guy was on the front lawn yesterday.
Click on them to go to Flickr and see the large size.
Simi Valley / Topanga Fires September 2005
These were taken off the balcony of my house.
That is some good sized flame.
My Weekend in Quotes
Just a minute. Let me set my liquor down on the Ensign and I’ll get right on that.
Me: If you don’t come in with me, how will I know if the hair color is the right color?
Joe: Oh. Are you planning on coloring my hair?
Alex: What kind of a nerd has a periodic table on his coffee mug?
Me: My kind of nerd.
Joe: You can’t make a drink with Gatorade and vodka.
Me: Yes you can, it’s called Gatorodka.
Me: If I was going to write her, I’d have asked 1. are you in love this time with a man or a woman and 2. is your disease life threatening and worse than mine. If you want to know the real answer, you have to ask the real question.
Joe: Then I think we can all agree: good thing you didn’t write her. That must be the Gatorodka talking.
Me: Oh no. This is that sad ghost whispering show, isn’t it.
Joe: Why don’t you like this show? It just started. You haven’t had time to hate it yet.
Me: Did you know they took Joan of Arcadia off the air so they had room for this crappy show?
Joe: What? I like Jennifer Love Hewitt. She’s kind of cute. Like in a Dixie Chicks kind of way.
Me: Oh my hell don’t say that. It makes me want to pull out my hair!
Joe: Is this before or after we color it?
He kept telling me how to make the cheese sauce like he knew what he was talking about but he was wrong. It drove me crazy so I made a plain white sauce, told him I did it just like he told me to and he said it was the best cheese sauce he’d ever had. And there was no cheese in it. I used food coloring to make it orange.
Rhoda: We’re going to 2 movies tonight. One for us and one for dead people.
Me: Which ones?
Rhoda: Flightplan and one about Adam and Eve.
Me: For or about dead people?
Rhoda: Yes.
Me: I haven’t heard of an Adam and Eve movie coming out.
Rhoda: You know. The only real one about Adam and Eve.
