The Daily Shrug

Arrogance diminishes wisdom

2010-03-25T02:41:00.005-04:00

Back for real.... spent the past several months in a deeply unconscious state. So much has changed and so much more remains the same... but there have been some significant events that have forced me to the surface of reality.

The most recent (and significant) event was the unexpected death of a dear friend. About a week ago, he died alone at his home... he was an amazing guy... I had the extraordinary honor of speaking at his Memorial Service. I initially balked when asked to speak, but then realized this opportunity to honor Kevin, wouldn't come again... this was it. So I committed... and to be honest, his death hit me hard... and is why I find myself back here... writing again. At the core...I haven't changed... but my level of consciousness has... I'm "here" now.

So where do we go from here? I am no longer on this journey alone... my squad is here and I'm 'right' now.

I have also found my sanctuary... surfing has become for me a time for healing in the truest and purest sense - it transcends simple sport. And God knows I need it... A few weeks ago my brother Muncko and I surfed the North Shore. Wasn't his first time, but for me it was... he's far more skilled than I am but our Sunday morning sessions have become not merely routine or tradition... but necessary for my survival. It's not simply about the surfing... that day at the N Shore it was cosmic and nearly impossible to articulate. First of all... simply being in the water/waves of Hawaii's North Shore was an incredible feeling. Nine out of 10 days, I have no business surfing the N Shore... but this day was chill. It started to rain, the clouds were low and from the break you couldn't see the shore... the rain was hitting the water so hard it made the water look like a beaded blanket... Muncko was about 50 feet from me and at one point had about 4 or 5 sea turtles around him... then the Sunday morning church bells began to ring. The moment will forever be etched in my mind... was as close to being in a dream that I've ever been.

Surfing forces me to be present... completely. My very large and out of control ego is in check... and I'm at the mercy of Mother Earth...

So... as I said... I'm back.

dog days

2009-06-06T04:14:00.003-04:00

the process is in motion... today, the girls put the dog on a plane and sent him this way. I was a little nervous for the poor guy. Imagine putting a two year old on a plane and sending him half way around the world with no real idea what the hell was going on. But he made it here ok and seems to be doing pretty well. he took a few seconds to figure out that he knew me... but just as quickly, he started to wag his tail and lean against me thru the kennel fence trying for a rub.

in one week, almost a year and a half of separation comes to an end... i get the girls back. not even sure I'm prepared for how excited I'm going to be to get them here and to be able to touch them and hug them.... everyday! whenever I want to... reminds me... you watch these reality shows... survivor, biggest loser, big brother, you name it.. and the people complain and whine about missing their families and all that.. makes me ill. my family has been separated for the better part of three years. not even something i can explain... unless you've had even a taste of what separation is, you wouldn't get it. i honestly want to punch these people that sob because they've been away from family for 30 days... seriously, I'd KILL for my next separation to be 30 DAYS... that's NOTHING, a JOKE... my 5-year-old could do 30 days without batting an eye... i know, everyone's different and we don't all chose the life that I have... ok, i get that... still think these people suck but ok

I am so tired i hurt all over... and i have a headache.

The state of hawaii made an enemy of the wrong man today... those of you who know my other half, I'm completely different from her. No heart and a venomous SOB. I know my short comings...

One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested

2009-06-04T05:18:00.002-04:00

fairly slow day. not entirely post worthy but i made a commitment.

had a dental appointment today, got the teeth cleaned.

after work i came back to the "room" Bob and I are sharing... sat and watched sportscenter and got ready for a run. bob was at his house cleaning (he's moving to the mainland next week) so he can turn his keys in and be done with his house. so i got good and stretched and got the iPod situated... ran to the Chili Peppers tonight... was in a Chili Peppers' mood all day in fact.

so i headed off down the street toward Pearl Harbor... the Officer's Club sits right on the water and there's a walking/running path behind it that follows lazily along the water behind the houses. as i was running i could see Ford Island off to my left... the water was so still, almost like a lake... so as i'm running i drift off to thoughts of the attack here on Dec 7, 1941... you do that a lot here, especially when you are a military guy working and meeting in buildings that were standing when the base was attacked... some of the buildings have bullet holes in them still. it's a surreal thing to see. then i also see the USS Missouri and the Arizona Memorial everyday as I drive to work right past them... but anyway, back to the run... so I start think about being in that exact spot on the day the attacked happened. it's a weird thing to do... i did the same thing in NYC at the site of the World Trade Center. I imagine it's a normal thing to do... we see so much of the images growing up and in movies... and in the case of 9/11... we watched it unfold. wasn't thinking anything specific... just how insane the whole thing had to be... the fear for families as guys ran to work and to help. one moment you're in paradise, the next you're in hell.

anyway, as i reach roughly the 2 mile mark of the run... the sky opens up and it begins to pour, and i start laughing... i'm no where near shelter and I'm not going to stop... so i just keep going and and actually enjoy it... why do we run from the rain... why don't we ever stop and enjoy a good drenching... i'm not going to melt and it feels good, makes you feel young again.

so the last two miles of the run I'm drenched to the skin... every inch of me... only bad thing is my shoes are soaked and probably will take a day or two to dry completely but i had a blast. got back to the room, took off my shirt outside and wrung it out... then realized my Jeep was sitting out there with no top on it... completely soaked so I grab the keys and jump in and drive it around to the covered parking in back... JUST AS THE RAIN STOPS.

Damn the luck... but it's a Jeep, supposed to get wet.

More tomorrow... nothing exciting on the schedule but who knows what tomorrow will bring... i have a meeting with people that drive me insane so maybe that will inspire me

Technology... is a damned thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other

2009-06-03T05:27:00.003-04:00

let me start by saying the failure to post was not my fault at all. let me explain... and if enough of you still think I failed then i guess i'll shave the head and keep my word.

i've been stayin g with some amazing friends since i arrived on the island... most recently i've been shacking up with a friend who is moving back to the mainland. his family left a little early and he stayed behind to close some things out at work and to get the house packed and moved. on sunday, my first failure to post... i was unaware that the internet would be turned off. I DID write a post (not very exciting one) but never posted it. i thought i could do it monday morning from the office but that didn't happen... then monday i moved into a hotel for the night... and they didn't have wireless only hard cable internet and NO loaner cables. so i was stuck. this may sound like excuses and i respect that it does... but it's just full up honesty.

i'm back and will quickly wrap up a relatively uneventful couple of days

sunday, woke at about 6 am.. dressed and hit the golf course for a round with bob.. a buck a hole skins... was even until we made the turn at number nine and somebody bought beer (at 9 am) and put it in my hand... AND they kept pouring it down my throat... very rude. so the back nine didn't go quite so well for me... but i had a good time and it was nice to be outside. then drank some more beer at the beach and then dinner... that's it... a wasted day? nah... needed the mind vacation.

yesterday was work... then i moved into the hotel for a night and watched tv and read since i had no internet... my favorite show was on so i was excited to be able to catch it...Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Great show. he is without question my favorite tv guy around. ever.

that's it... today was one very long painful meeting... from 7 am until around 5 pm. was out of the office most of the day so that was nice but was toe-to-toe with some ill-informed and stubborn types... exhausting. tonight i went to dinner with some friends to celebrate bryan's birthday. a very nice time... he and his family leave for the mainland tomorrow as well... will definitely miss them. wonderful people who were so incredibly gracious to me over the last few months. they helped me through some ugly stuff (MRSA!) and made the time with out my family a little more bearable... thanks for that... can't say thank you enough.

i think i have the posting/Internet thing worked out... leave me a message and let me know if the events of the past two days are excusable or if i need to hit the barber... majority rules.

more tomorrow

hunger is the best sauce

2009-05-30T23:15:00.014-04:00

today was all about food, sort of... at least as far as the "tasks" are concerned. and it was fun... if not a little strange. it might be a member of the union, but this place honestly feels a little more like a foreign country to me... not completely but in some ways.

day started out (late) with a search for the "original pancake house" and my mission to try Poi Pancakes... you might be asking what Poi is... a quick explanation: Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesia Staple food made from the Corm of the kalo plant (known widely as Taro). Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm (baked or steamed) to a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and again just before eating, to achieve a desired consistency, which can range from liquid to dough-like. I liken Poi to grits. not in flavor but in consistency. Anyway... i found the place pretty easily (thanks for the address Marassah). it was a little hole-in-the-wall joint in the industrial/rough part of town. the shopping center had some asian grocery stores, a karaoke bar, and a hair joint. pretty non-descript area. i walked in and instantly knew the food was good. not because of the smell, but because the patrons looked overly "healthy". it was obviously a place these locals come to on a regular basis. saw at least three families walk in and see other groups they knew and walk over and exchange kisses and hugs... so the very short asian lady seats me, asks if i want coffee then scurries on her way. she comes back and takes my order... two eggs over medium with bacon, and a side of POI PANCAKES.

the pancakes come first and look just like regular pancakes. then the eggs and bacon and i'm set. my curiosity is on fire so i dive into the pancakes... let me try and articulate how they tasted, but it's a little easier to articulate how they felt. they weren't horrible tasting by any means, different but not bad. had an earthy taste to them. like when you lick the side of a tree, unless you don't do that... then it's like chewing a dead leaf. not disgusting but different. the tough thing for me was the weight of these things. when i think pancake i think light and fluffy. not these things, they were heavy. and the consistency when you chewed them was pasty... not awful, just like a goo in your mouth. i ate about half my order so i could fully appreciate what i was dealing with, i also picked up a pancake and felt it, sniffed it, and held it up to the light. all so i could better report back. my big takeaway was they were heavy, thick... and if you ate the entire order you'd gain no less than five pounds and not have to eat for a week. the eggs and bacon were good.

so after that, i got a ticket for not having my seatbelt on... nevermind that I was putting it on as i backed out of my parking space... cop said your wheels can't be moving at all. jerk. i hope he gets a splitting headache tonight.

then i was off to the other side of the island to fulfill the other portion of the day's tasks. this one also had to do with food... SPAM. Hawaiians have a love affair with spam. go to this link to read why... pretty interesting actually. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29301750/ ... so my daughter got on the internet and found "the best musubi" on the island (Spam musubi is a very popular snack and luncheon food in Hawaii. A Spam musubi is composed of a block of salted rice with a slice of Spam (cooked or uncooked) on top, and typically nori (dried seaweed) surrounding it to keep it in shape. sounds nasty? i was a little concerned to be honest.

love the drive to the other side though. you go through the mountain and emerge under massive volcanic cliffs shooting thousands of feet straight into the air. breathtaking views of the bay right in front of you too. just awesome.

I found the place pretty easily (thanks Nanny). apparently it's a Hawaiian landmark. imagine an old school 7/11 before there were 7/11s. very cool place... the folks that own it were awesome. young guy up front said they were out of musubi but he'd ask his mom in back to make me one real quick (told him it was important, my girls would be upset). he came back and chatted me up about my Jeep (everyone loves her) and then went back to check on my musubi, his mom yelled at him to get out of her kitchen. then she comes out and hands me this block of rice and meat wrapped in plastic. she said she makes hundreded (yes she really did say hundred-ed) of these everyday, best on the island.. i will like. it was now or never, so i tore off the wrapper and jammed it into my pipe. the stuff wasn't bad, but was salty as all hell. i like meat to give a little resistance (that make sense?) this "meat" didn't, it just fell apart... so from a textural point of view it freaked me out. the taste wasn't bad though, it almost tasted like meat, sort of. i couldn't make sense of it. almost like limp bacon, i like my bacon crispy, but this stuff was limp and didn't fight back.

all in all a good day... some good people... minus the cop who I'd like to congratulate on making his quota.

tomorrow i'll be surfing... thanks kara for the suggestion... a day in the salt water is nothing short of amazing.

When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is.

2009-05-30T02:00:00.002-04:00

much better day....

i appreciate the suggestions for the weekend adventures. while i have been surfing since i got here... i figured i'd take that suggestion and surf somewhere new. hopefully i don't get killed... thinking maybe the north shore. timmy and kara... expect a full report tomorrow. i'll also be exploring this little dive market the girls pointed me to so i can eat a local "treat", SPAM musubi... the Hawaiian's are in love with SPAM.. apparently this little place serves the best stuff on the island. we'll see.

quick look at today... spent most of the day with the lawyers. other than me, they're my favorite people. they work hard and simply don't get caught up in the "game". realized that i've never met a lawyer i didn't like... and that's not me being funny... really. in my line of work, you meet a lot of sycophants doing everything but working hard and being the best at their respective jobs. not these guys... they do their jobs, and say it like it is regardless of who they're talking to. my kind of cats...

I'm excited for tomorrow... can't wait to share the day with you. again, thanks to those who take the time to comment, just so you know... those of you who leave comments make me smile.

be well... see you tomorrow

We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality.

Existence exists

2009-05-29T04:01:00.004-04:00

Day three and it wasn't much better, but not for the same reasons. I don't think I've been sleeping well... woke up today looking for a fight. Angry, tired, and ready for it to be over before it began.

Typically I'm the guy that will talk to everyone and anyone. I'll joke during a meeting, talk to strangers in the elevator, smile at everyone, and when asked how I am respond with "extraordinary"... but not today. Was grunting at everyone and cut straight to the point in meetings and phone conversations. I hate being like this. Again, I'll blame it on a lack of sleep. And maybe the weather... nasty all day... NO sun what-so-ever. Paradise?

The adventure today was leaving work early for a few appointments. Fell asleep in the dentists chair while I was waiting for the doc to check a jacked up filling... then went and signed for a house.

My "healing" moment came later when the daughter of some friends graduated the 8th grade. I went to the ceremony and then dinner with some friends and their families. Was a nice night. A bit sad but very eye opening... we've known their daughter for several years and she's now off to H.S. She was just a little girl when we first met them. When I leave this Island, my oldest will be a teenager... so as I watched all these kids tonight, I saw my daughters and realized time is too short... Can't allow days like today to consume me. I tend, like a lot of people, to get consumed with things out of my control. Tomorrow will be a great day.

Was great to get another comment on the blog... hopefully tomorrow I'll get a bunch more as I head into the weekend. Two full days to execute whatever ideas are fired my way. So far I have one in the hopper for Saturday morning (Thanks Dre). If I don't get any I'll have to make due with some self-generated creativity... a scary thought indeed.

reason, purpose, self-esteem...

Day two: Sucked

2009-05-28T06:00:00.003-04:00

well.. day didn't go as well as I'd hoped. maybe my idea was better kept in my head. I'll stay with it because i said i would. Rained here tonight so any travel on my part was limited... no top on the jeep....

i only got one idea from two chicks on the east coast but it's a good one... was told to find this "famous" roadside market up on the North Shore and order spam musubi, apparently they have the best on the Island. It's a really small, quaint local joint. Hawaiians love spam... eat it in all sorts of crazy ways... more on that when I engage in this first adventure.

please send me your ideas.

weak post, I know... long day, crummy weather... not a lot to say... will make up for it tomorrow I promise

Your Own Personal Voodoo Doll

2009-05-27T01:25:00.008-04:00

Ok... here I am and this time I mean it. Have some thoughts and ideas I'm throwing down but need your help. But before we get into that... I should explain where I've been.

If you read one of my past blogs you'll see that I had MRSA (Staph infection) in my thumb. Well I was lucky enough to get it again... so awesome. This time I got it everywhere... the main spot that required surgery was the back of my right thigh. If I thought the thumb hurt, I was dead wrong... the thigh was just unbearable. And yes, I had surgery again... quite a bit of drama involved in this one. ER visits, narcotics, body scrub down with brillo pad-like devices, narcotics, surgery that sucked a lot, IV injected narcotics (wonderful stuff), open wound on leg, daily visits to hospital for a week, self-packing the open wound (causing me to take more narcotics), and on and on and on...

I then went through an "eradication period" because apparently the 'suck' caused by MRSA might be fun I get to have quite often from now on... I'm a "carrier", sounds like I have an STD. But I don't.

Alright enough of that drama.

HERE'S the DEAL:

I've decided to step outside my comfort zone and embrace this blogging thing on a different level... I'm challenging myself and attaching a "punishment" to the challenge for motivation. Hopefully I can get an interactive dialogue going with you and you'll find it at least mildly entertaining. Read on...

I will BLOG every day until at least June 15... if I fail just one day.... I SHAVE MY HEAD. I'll take pics and prove I'm a man of my word.

What will I BLOG about?... anything and everything... if YOU want me to do something... name it and it's done. I'll only caveat that with this... I won't jump out of a plane (skydive), I'm not made of money, and I won't do anything to embarrass myself or my family. I DO however live on an Island that apparently a lot of people want to get to... SO, if you're planning a trip and want someone to field test some things, let me know. I'm up for anything...

Hopefully this will be an interactive thing... and some good suggestions come through. I'll take pics and give my candid take.

I'd also like to see how many followers I can generate in the next few weeks. So PLEASE send your enemies (friends might get mad) my way and tell them to follow.

Help me save my marriage (shaving my head would be a buzzkill for the significant other)... give me fuel for the blog. I don't care if you find some randon thing on google and want me to go take a picture in front of a sign somewhere obscure. Send it...

Thanks for your help. This could be fun.

Yeah... I'm back

2009-03-13T16:59:00.009-04:00

ok... so the "Daily" part of this didn't quite work out. I've had stuff to do...

But I'm back... mainly at the direction of my bride. She, once again, is holding our family's world up (picture Care in an Altas pose but with me and the girls and all our baggage on her back). So thanks Uncle Sugar... appreciate the move out of cycle (most of you won't get that but I'm not concerned).

So... here I am in what they call paradise. The diatribe I'm about to break off is a snap shot of my last two weeks... let's go...

** Note: I'm starting this at the point AFTER my family dropped me off... way too emotional for me to share, and only three chicks will EVER know me that well.

So... I walk into the airport, no longer sad, I've learned to eat the sadness. Maybe that's a bad thing but I'm saying goodbye so much I've learned it. But I walk in and now I'm PISSED. Just because I enjoy that emotion and because I know the next 24 hours are going to suck.

I check in at the Delta counter... ask dude if I'll make my connection in Atlanta. Knowing full well I WON'T! I've traveled the world and I know that you can't get off a flight from Tampa to Atlanta and catch an International flight in 40 mins... But dude says "yeah, you'll be fine"... Ok man. You might be wondering why I'd schedule flights so close if I'm such a "world traveler"... again, Uncle Sugar planned this trip for me.

So, I get to the gate... start a little people watching... that was underwhelming so I scored a newspaper to kill time. Unbeknownst to me, I've been upgraded to first-class. Board the bird and we're off. Crazy chick sitting across the aisle... talking to herself really loud.. biz man sitting next to her wants to hurt her... but he won't. I read some and watch the little tv in the headrest in front of me... watched some Dane Cook HBO series... he and a few other comics do a tour and the show is the behind the scenes stuff as they travel.. actually pretty damn funny. I think I'd let that Dane dude into my circle, seems like a good dude. But on that tv you can also track the progress of the flight as your little plane travels towards the destination. I'm a bit antsy about making my flight (I have a friend picking me up and would really prefer not to be late and screw anything up for them). I look at the tracker and notice our plane has done a circle just outside Atl... sweet! I now Know I'll miss the flight. I learn later it was an "air traffic issue"... Atl airport is a busy one.

As expected, I miss my connection in Atlanta. Whatever... next flight is in a few hours... and Delta WILL make this up to me. We all (about ten have missed the connection to Honolulu) go to customer service. A crazy lady, a new one, completely snaps and becomes our "leader", speaking for all of us... the other jackasses are standing there nodding and giving her tacit power to make a deal for us. I couldn't stomach it any longer... so, I cut out of line, walked to the counter and grabbed a dude and said "Dude... give me 10,000 miles on my account and a voucher for some free grub"... he squared me away swiftly. Crazy lady was glaring at me as if I was burning the flag of her newly formed country of "Missedflightia" right in front of her. She continued her verbal assault of the agent as if he personally made us miss the flight. Now, I'm all about verbally expressing my disappointment when confronted with incompetence, but this cat had no idea what went wrong and he wasn't flying our plane... so he didn't deserve her crap. But she'll get hers one day for treating him like that... Karma's a bitch. Anyway, I got 5,000 miles (didn't get the 10k) and my voucher for $7.50... who the hell came up with that number? Why not $10... I walk away from the crowd to find some damn food and call the squad to let them know what was going on.

About 30 mins later I'm at my gate eating and watching people and I see the Nation of Missedflightia (all 9 of them) marching towards me with crazy lady on point. They're on my flights the rest of the way... guess they lost the battle.

So... instead of Atl to Honolulu direct... I'm now going Atl to Memphis to LA to Honolulu. We didn't crash and I ended up making it to the Island about 7 hours later than originally scheduled. Whatever... I get off the bird... knowing my friends will be greeting me (as well as the guy I replaced at work). I come down the stairs and I hear a loud "Welcome to fantasy island"... It's my good friend Bryan. In his typical jovial style Bryan's got a big smile and a Lei. Bryan's one of those dude's who's never in a bad mood. Just a great person... My bags made it ahead of me. But they made it. My life in three bags. Sad really...

A little background -- Bryan and Stacy lived next door while we lived in Washington... they have two incredible kids... Their youngest (a boy) and my oldest were great buddies for those years... had sleepovers all the time. And our families had some crazy good times playing poker, watching sports, you name it...

We get to my friend's house... Their kids are in bed but Stacy's up and we all chat for a bit. Tell some stories (can't share most) like the one where Bryan and I drank a case of beer while we built our kids these massive all-wood swing sets. We're talking a fairly complex thing where measurements and power tools are highly necessary. yeah, and we were drinking. The things went together but, man, it wasn't pretty. The main beam for the sets, which held everything together... had about ten holes drilled thru it because we kept measuring wrong, looked like swiss cheese... you had to see it. But no one ever got hurt on them so don't judge! Or the time we were installing lights in their basemenmt, again a case of beer involved... we didn't "need" turn turn the power off, Bryan asks " is that wire "hot" (meaning powered", so I grab it and get absolutely electricuted! He outranks me... I had to listen.

So here I am in Hawaii...

Next day is all about getting checked in... those in the military get it, for the rest of you... it's basically a lot of running around and doing paperwork for pay, security clearances, blah blah blah. I work on top of one of the mountain/hills. From the window at my desk I have a view of Pearl Harbor, it's beautiful. Stacy lets me borrow her car for all this running around. Need to start looking for wheels of my own. I've had it in my head since I got the assignment that I'm getting a Jeep... sold my car and carried a large stack of cash over the pond for my new Jeep. I'm a craigslist-aholic... on there five-ten times a day. Finally after two days... I find her. She's beautiful. A 1983 CJ7. It's orange but it works on her (Bryan calls it competition orange). Bryan and Stacy take me to look at it and I fell in love instantly... I had to have it. Dude says he has someone else coming later to look at it so I tell him I'm buying it. I sneak off quickly to call Care though... I ain't gonna lie - I had to get her buy-in. She said whatever I want... She could tell I was head-over-heels and it was useless to resist. And much to my excitement he hands me the keys and says take it... he trusts me.. we'll exchange money later! The planets were aligned, everything was going so right.

All is well, I'm cruising in my Jeep over the weekend and take the money to the guys wife on Monday... it's mine now. I own her! So I'm doing the work thing Monday and Tuesday... THEN WEDNESDAY COMES.... and stuff gets weird.

I'm in the shower on Weds morning just chilling... doin what I do. Something on my thumb catches my eye. Looks like a in-grown hair, it's a bump with a puss thing... so I pop the damn thing. Some puss comes out, I wash it off... and go about the day. It's bugging me and itching a little that day and night. I wake up Thursday and it's swollen and starting to look ugly. Stacy says go to the doctor, Care says go to the doctor, a chick a work says got to the doctor... But I'm not rolling into the doc foor a bug bite! So I don't... Friday morning I call and make an appt. It looks nasty! The doc walks in and as he's washing his hands and making small talk, he looks at my hand and says, "that's a very serious Staph infection! It's MRSA"... he's all sorts of upset, starts playing with it (IT HURTS so bad I have tears rollin)... he needs to take a culture so he has to squeeze some stuff out of it but "it" doesn't want to be squeezed. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Don't remember pain that bad EVER.. He heard some of my more colorful language and I questioned his credentials (I do that when I'm mad). He gives mke three antibiotics and sends me on my way but demands I return on Monday to follow up. I did some things I shouldn't have over the weekend... but took my meds as directed.

Monday morning I see the doc again. He walks in.. says "How is it"... I show him.. he says "you need to go to the hospital and see a surgeon"... WHAT?! Dude... seriously? Nice. He tells me to call a number in 15 mins, he needs to call first to ensure they get me in immediately. Within 10 mins my office already had my appt and doc... Stacy takes me to the hospital (who knows what was going to happen next).. Good thing she came because I had no idea what meds I was on, she remembered. I had some great dudes taking care of me... funny story. The first guy that brought me back gets me in to this "community" room and says, "ok, what are you here for".. I say I have a Staph infection that they're cutting out of me... He looks at me like I had antlers growning out of my head and say "ok... you need a private room, follow me"... he was great though... actually had a personality. Doc comes in, pokes and prods it, brings in 2 other docs and they all gameplan the proceedure. Then the tech who assits (has tatoos all over his arms) great guy also but looked a little "off"... gets all the gear for the surgery together. One of the itmes is this horrible looking scrub thing with huge teeth. He takes me to the sink to clean me and asks if I want to scrub myself or have him do it... I told him to do it. He says "right answer.. and wrong answer"... I'm sweating bullets now... this thing HURTS and now creazy tattoo guy is going to scrub the shit out of it? I ask about the teeth... he laughs and says "I'm not that morbid, we'll use the other side"... relief, the other side is a soft sponge. Next up... numbing the thumb... 5 injections into my hand... I cussed a lot and loudly... it flippin hurt! The doc was a little tripped out... but I wasn't enjoying this... but, it worked... I was numb... but not completely. I watch as he begins to cut, then turn away, I look back... it's wide open and he's squeezing... it hurts I tell him.. he tells me it's my hand, it won't get completely numb... too many nerves... he squeezes more then says.. "ah, there we go.." I look again as puss and blood and fluid pours out of me... NASTY! He starts pulling of my dead skin (yeah, the staph started killing my skin).. I can't look anymore... the entire time this is happening, hospital workers are walking by rubber-necking to see "the guy with a huge/nasty staph infection"... Stacy starts to invite them in, and they gladly do! I'm a freakin zoo animal now... but I'm happy cause it's almost over. Doc jams some packing into the wound and wraps my hand in a make-shift cast-thing. All in all a good experience with the people there...

So there it is... my first 2 weeks in Hawaii... Not too bad. I still have my thumb and I'm not dead.

Like it or not... I'm here

2009-01-04T20:49:00.000-05:00

OK... so after watching from the sidelines for some time now, I've decided to take my thoughts to the blog. Funny... as I sit here typing this I'm actually laughing... wondering how this all might unfold -- doing this is so freakin outside my comfort zone it's comical. I'm not even sure what brought this on but now that I'm here...

ok... I'm a husband and a father. I live with the three most amazing people on the planet... professionally I'm what we'll call a "publicist"... explaining it would take more time than I care to so go with that. ok...

so... some of you people probably follow my better half... let me apologize up front for, well... me. she's sweet, intelligent, and kind... I'm not. so if you're on the net, perusing blogs for cheerful, inspirational stuff... you might be a one-time shopper here on my site...

The person sitting on my shoulder suggests I tell you what you WILL find here.... as she giggles like a thirteen-year-old... (ok, that got her out of here!)... Here at The Daily Shrug you'll find one man's take on his own existence... my trials, struggles, successes, failures, and celebrations... things I see that I like and the things I see that piss me off... books, movies, food, whatever strikes me as important enough to go on about...

so... a quick look at my life (today anyway)... we're at the grocery store and the wife grabs this milk-carton-looking -thing of some kind of salt crap... she's all sorts of excited saying something about it being relaxing in a hot bath... of course, she's thinking about me because yesterday I cleaned the unclean-able (if that's not a word just go with it) garage... on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor...yeah, I went nuts! I'm paying for it today and she knew it... so we get home, make dinner, clean up... while I'm throwing the dishes in the washer she starts a bath for me and adds this life-changing salt crap... I'm going to admit... I'm a bit excited about the relaxation headed my way. and I'm not a "product guy"... hell, I use my daughter's shampoo (she's 4!) if that tells you anything... anyway, I get in, nothing earth-shattering takes place.. I complain to the woman and she says "just wait till you get out"... ok... here's my point to this diatribe... my muscles don't hurt anymore or at least I don't think they do... why you might ask? Because that salt crap sucked every ounce of oil/water out of my skin and I feel like a shammy left in the sun after washing the car... my skin is dry and hurts! so I just drenched my body in my daughter's Bedtime Lotion (lavender I think) says on the bottle

"helps calm and relax baby"... next time I'll skip the salt-curing and just go for the lavender!

One other rant while I'm at it... the other day I'm watching Ole Miss play Texas Tech... decent game but was pulling for Tech. But you know those PR commerials the schools run during the game? Yeah, so Ole Miss (The Rebels) a school who still flys the "rebel flag" runs their ad... It shows a very attractive and very blonde girl getting out of her very white and obviously very rich Daddy's Benz in front of the school with nothing but attractive white kids walking around... I didn't see one black kid anywhere (yeah, I'll say black and not African American)... but anway... maybe because I'm in that line of work it struck me as a very poor PR spot, but Good God... you're on a national stage and have an incredible opportunity to show the nation you're NOT a bunch of rich, white, rebel flag waving, ignoramouses, and you go with THAT? Jackasses.

oh... If you care or were wondering... "The Daily Shrug"... is a tribute to the greatest book ever written... "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I'll write more on that later... rereading the book for the umteenth time and have some thoughts we'll get to in a later blogthing.

Until tomorrow...

ps... I had to look up the word lavender.. I didn't know how to spell it.