Personal Update

from the desk to the chest

8 March, 2006 (15:05) | Personal Update

alright, i have a chance to fill you in on everything since the last update. It’s been a busy few weeks. so finals for classes sucked, but i got through them with an 88% and an 84%. kinda sucky about the 88%, because I thought for sure I was going to get an A in that class, but I slacked and i get what I deserve. The 88% is the class with the same professor that I had last semester, that cancelled class 3/8 times, and I skipped twice on my own. This semester, I thought it’d be a little more organized, but it ended up the same thing, I skipped twice and he cancelled three times. pretty ridiculous. but another 6 credits closer to the degree, and that’s all that matters. Now i have a writing class that meets on monday nights from 6-8 for 8 weeks. I –assumed–this week was spring break, just because pitt was on spring break, but just found out on friday that I was actually going to miss my first class since I was going to be in colorado…oops. I emailed the professor to let them know that i was going to be out of town as well of my recent job changes. I’m going to get hurt on the attendance/participation grade, but i should still be alright it seems. I don’t know what I am going to do for future classes with my new work schedule. which leads me to work… So i worked my first week in my new position and i really like it. It’s definitely a challenge, and something new. on my old shift, i was surfing, working on code, IM’ing Colin from the UK, and just random stuff, and still taking more calls than anyone else. Last week i didn’t touch anything but work related stuff, i was honestly busy all night, every night. Now a lot of that is just me being inefficient, taking time to get things right and learning new things, and even doing more than what i’m expected to for now to get a handle of what my job deals with, so it should clear up a bit. I’m definitely excited about it though. I fell terrible that I was only there for a week, then on a week vacation, but what was I supposed to do? The tickets were bought before anything of the job was known. So trip colorado. I barely got any sleep before my flight, i was up all night packing and finishing up school junk. I had figured I would have had time to do that friday afternoon, when I used to work that shift, but I was all screwed. Jordan (my flatmate) dropped me off the airport and i got on the tiniest plane. It sucked, I couldn’t stand up in it and my head almost hit the ceiling when i sat. When i got to Minneapolis, I was planning on just getting online for the 4 hours that I had before my next flight, but I saw signs for the mall of america, so i called deirdre up to see if she knew where it was. Turns out it is only a 10 minute lightrail ride from the airport, so i hopped on. Pretty huge place! 3 stories, a concert going on, roller coasters and other rides, and tons of people. I don’t have my camera with me at this second, or i’d be uploading some pictures. SO I met Chris and Curtis back at the airport and we flew into denver. kev and jordan met me, chris, and his brother, curtis, and we all went out to eat and then drove up to Steamboat Springs where jordan’s boss owns a place that he let us stay in. Sunday, Jordan, Chris, and Curtis hit the slopes, while kev and I went for a hike to Fish Creek Falls, which is apparently the same falls that appears on the Coors beer logo. It was a good time, and just hanging out with kevin is a great time. While we were hiking, kev’s brother drew called me, he had no idea i was out in colorado. I thought that was very funny. One thing i certainly noticed was how hard it was to breath with the altitude! I can’t be that out of shape! after kevin left, we just watched the oscars and went to bed. Monday, we woke up, rented me a snowboard, and hit the slopes after the $75 lift ticket. I’m not going to lie, I sucked pretty bad, MUCH worse than I thought. I think after a few times of getting my snowboarding legs back, i would have been better…but i didn’t get that chance. the second time down the slope, I apparently bit it pretty hard. I say "apparently", because, again, I had a concussion and don’t remember it at all. Curtis and Chris saw me bite it and Chris called for medics while Curtis pulled out his video camera. Good boy:) Chris had time to go down to the bottom of the hill, tell jordan what happened, get back on the lift, and come back down to me and i still hadn’t come out of it. We tried getting the video off Curtis’ camcorder, but fricking sony doesnt have the drivers for it available to download, and i can’t find them anywhere, so, we’ll have wait for him to get it on his own. It’s a pretty funny video of me being totally out of it. So they get me on the board, and i’m slowly coming back. they drag me on a snowmobile down to an ambulance, and by the time i’m on the ambulance, I’m pretty straight and remember everything, and feel fine. I’m thinking we’ll just go to the hospital, make sure all is well, then I’ll be on my way. The thing i regretted most about when i had a concussion at nemacolin was not going to the ambulance, just in case. So i get to the hospital, and they say they want to take a catscan. So i lean up, take off my shirts, and lay back down. And they say they want to adjust my bed up a little. So i lean up again, and all of a sudden POP goes my chest, i fall back, gasping for breath and in terrible pain. It’s almost impossible for me to breath. I’m taking very short breaths. So they want to take Xrays of my chest now to see if i broke some ribs or something. They get me into the x ray room, the nurse helps me stand next to this xray board on the wall, leaves the room, takes the picture, then comes back in and repositions me. She does this 2 more times, and on the 3rd, I start feeling light headed, start losing my sight, and i’m like, "umm, i can’t see, I can’t see anything." she runs back into the room screaming "you’re going to pass out!" and throws me back on the bed. heh. so then they take me in for the catscan and then back to the ER. after a while they come in and say no ribs are broke, but that popped that happened was the cartilage that holds the sternum and ribcage together. It apparently snapped or cracked. They said it’s as painful as breaking your ribs. I’m not really feeling pain, just can’t breath deep and it’s hard to find a comfortable spot. They ended up giving me some morphine even after i told them i didnt need anything for the pain. so after a while, they want to see if i can stand again. after some work, i get my body up so i’m sitting on the bed. I’m telling the nurse it’s really hard to breath and find a place where my chest/ribs feel comfortable. She asked if i was sure i didn’t want anything for the pain. I told her that i think they just gave me morphine. So she says she’s going to go check my chart and leaves me sitting on the bed. about a minute later…I start feeling dizzy, and my sight starts going. I’m like…."nurse? nurse…I can’t see again" some guy comes in and helps me lay down gently, and i feel terrible. very flushed and very light headed. So now the doc is worried it’s something with my organs, my liver mainly. Now, this scared me imparticularly, because about a month ago, i had 2 days where i had gray stool. Gross, I know, but i looked it up on the net and they said it could be your liver failing or something. So i’m officially freaking out like the paranoid person that I am. They take the catscan of my mid section and leave me to drive myself mad with worry for my life in the ER again. about an hour later, doc says all is well, and I try to get up again and i can. So the guys pick me up, and we go pick up my prescription for Lorcet (my cousin adam, the pharmacist, says this stuff is the good sheeeet) and then back to the rental shopt to drop off our crap. I’m in the truck with Jordan, and I feel something under my right arm under my shirt. I say to him, kind of still drugged up, "i think i have something in my arm." So i roll up my sleeve, and wham, the fricking IV hook up thing is still there. This inch long blue plastic cap connected to a tube that ultimately leads to my internal veins. OMG. WTF. TAKE ME BACK TO THE HOSPITAL! Good ol’ curt takes some more footage:) so they take it out at the hospital and i go on my merry way. When i woke up today, I felt like I was beaten by 100 african midgets. I couldn’t get out of the bed because anyway i tried to lift my chest hurt, and anything i tried to do with my legs, my right knee hurt extremely. It hurt a little yesterday, but not enough that I thought it would impede me like it did today. After a long time and struggle, i get my self out and take some mad pain killers. Apparently, this stuff is a narcotic….Did i ever tell you I wanted to be a junkie when i grew up? anyway, pain, pain, and some more pain, and we clean up and do some sight seeing at Garden of the gods and such as we head down to canon, where Jordan lives now. So, here I am, high on narcotics, really tired, wishing i could upload some pics and video. Tomorrow i think we’re going to do some more sight seeing on our way back up to denver to catch our flight at 6am thursday. I’m having a blast, and really enjoyed the natural hot springs we went to last night. Clothing optional. sweeet. So when i get back, I’ll post some pics, and then head back home to do some work at the park for the weekend and then back into the swing of work. joy. and on another topic…when i was up late one night last week, I got on ebay. Bad -financial- decision. I just found out today that I won a $450 bass. oh well. And i was the high bidder on an auction for a 2002 dodge ram, but i didn’t break the reserve. So, I’m not tied into buying it, but it’s mine if i want to contact the seller and work out something. Still undecided about that. it’s not 4×4, but it is 4 door. kelly blue book has the value anywhere from 11,500-13,500, and my bid was 11,800. We’ll see. I think that gets you pretty much up to speed. financially hurting, physically hurting, and hurting in a few other ways that i won’t get into. Nothing out of the norm. I’ll try to get the vids and pics up soon. btw, wrote a new song the weekend before valentine’s for my friend Kim. Josh Hall – Me to You. Enjoy!

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