FAO Schwartz Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Health & Fitness: The Road to 40 (Final Week)

Well, it’s only a couple of days until I reach that big Four-Oh.

December was a disaster in the fitness category. Not only did I have the whole emergency room crap from November carry over into physically not feeling well at all in December (I still think I severely pulled several core muscles), but I also was rather weak in resisting the sugar and fat that the holidays bring in the way of food (desert specifically).

January faired a little better but I still fell way short of the mark. This brings us the February. Yep, no more time left on the Road to 40. I am definitely in much better shape than when I started several years back. However, I’d have to say I was at my peak physically in November and have gone down hill just a little since then. It's too bad that I did not obtain the six-pack I want but there is still time in life I guess. Besides, if my body was perfect now, where would I go from here?

My goal for this year (the big Four-Oh) is to get back into five days at the gym every week. On top of that, a six-pack by summertime would be cool. We’ll just have to wait and see now won’t we.

One of these days, I’ll put up “before” and “after” pictures to show how far I actually have gone.

"The universe is simply making the changes for you since you didn't initiate it."

- D L

From a conversation regarding my topsy-turvy life.

Moon Phases

Prop 8 - The Musical

Written by Marc Shaiman, the Tony-winning composer of “Hairspray” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.”

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Saturday Night 'Fun'

It seems like it's always something these days to keep me from the gym. First I got that little bitch of a bug that was going around. Usually I can win the fight in a day or so but this time, the bastard hung on and it took two weeks to get rid of it; all the while, no workouts. I finally kicked it to the curb and was trying to get back into the whole gym thing and then bam, this weekend threw me a major curveball.

Saturday night around 10 pm, I started to have abdominal pain. This has happened on and off for over a year now but I assumed it was just bloating since it'd go away after no more than an hour. Unfortunately, this night was different. The pain continued to get worse to the point that I figured I'd best get the professionals to look into it.

I got in my car (yeah, I know, shouldn't have driven myself) and went to the emergency room at the University of Washington Medical Center. Well, that was my second mistake of the night. It turns out that they are rather busy the night of a football game so there was no room at the inn. I checked in and spent the next two hours in the waiting area moaning in pain.

I couldn't sit for any length of time nor could I stand because the pain would hit me hard in any one position. At one point, I was crouched on the floor rocking back and forth moaning when some guy who was also waiting walked by and asked, "Are you alright dude?" Hahaha, am I alright? Of course you idget! I just love to go down to the local emergency room and moan my heart out for two hours straight just for fun! Am I alright! The only thing I could muster was an icy stare.

The problem I have with pain isn't so much the pain itself, it's the needed self control. I'm like a wounded animal. The best anyone who doesn't have some pretty potent pain killers can do is just stay out of biting range; and lord knows, I'll bite.

As time ticked away, the pain got worse and I was the only one there making a scene. I knew I wouldn't be able to sit quietly waiting for my turn so I was standing, crouching, and pacing by the entrance a little away from the actual seating area. However, I'm sure they could all hear me from there.

No one else appeared to be in pain yet I got to "politely" wait my turn. After each person’s name was called (none of whom looked to be in any pain mind you), I let out a little moan of defeat. Tick, tock, tock and tick, time slowly moved forward until there was just me and the guy who came in after me left in the waiting area.

They finally called my name after two hours of waiting. True to form, they show me to a room, gave me that little hospital gown to change into, and left.......... for another (what seemed like) ten minutes. When they did come back, they start to actually realize that I was in pain so they gave me Morphine which did absolutely nothing to help. It took them another five minutes to figure that out at which point they brought out the good stuff and solved the whole pain thing in one injection. A little side effect with this stuff was that I got real dizzy (combine that with the fact that it was now almost 2 am).

Over the next couple of hours, they took x-rays of my chest and abdomen, shot me up twice more with that pain killer (it kept wearing off), and took a CAT scan of my abdomen. Their conclusion, it’s a good chance I have an ulcer. I was released around 6 am and drove home (the third mistake of the night). I was so tired and groggy from the drugs and being up all night that I'm surprised they even left me drive. And yes, they had asked earlier how I was getting home; out of sight out of mind I guess.

Well, I made it in one piece and slept the rest of Sunday. I tried to go into work on Monday but only survived one hour before I went home sick since I had left the pain killers they prescribed to me at home. I saw my regular doctor on Tuesday and didn't even bother going into work. The doctor took some blood to test for the ulcer and will let me know. In the mean time, I get to pop a damn pill every day for 3 months now. And here I thought I was doing so well on the whole health thing. Bah!

So Wednesday I went back to work but found it hard to concentrate since my lower back, butt, and legs were hurting something fierce (probably strained them by overcompensating for the abdominal pain). And this brings us to today; feeling much better now, thank you. Even the muscles are starting to play nicely now (though, they still hurt). Hopefully this will all be history come next week so I can get my fat ass back to the gym.

Update (2008.11.21): I got the blood results back and everything was normal so no ulcer. That's good news but annoying because I still don't know what caused the pain intense enough to send me to the emergency room.

Update (2008.11.25): I just love the medical industry; it's like trying to pull teeth to get any information out of them. I was finally able to talk with my doctor's assistant today. She was the liaison between me and the doctor (guess my doctor had her ‘people’ call my ‘people’, problem is, I have no ‘people’). After two separate phone conversations, it turns out that even though the blood work was normal, it’s still a good chance I do have an ulcer. Combine that with the acid reflex issues I’ve had for many years and, according to the doc, that would be what caused the intense pain. I’m skeptical though.

Coldplay Viva La Vida

Right on Target

Over the weekend, an old friend of mine was visiting from out of town. He used to be a sniper in the Singapore Army and over the years, we've talked about going to a gun range. I've never shot a gun (with real bullets that is) so it has been one of the many things on my to-do list.

Well, Saturday, that all changed. We went to Wade's Eastside Guns in Bellevue for a bit of target practice. I was rather nervous because most everyone I've spoken to over the years commented on the recoil and how is makes your hand sore after awhile. Well, it turns out, the sound was worse than the bite. I didn't have any problem with it.

We (well, my friend actually) picked the SIG P220 which is a semi-automatic pistol that fires 9 mm bullets; very cool. If I had a local friend who wanted to shoot a lot, I'd actually look into buying my own gun (not necessarily the P220 though).

Anyway, I did rather well for my first time and yes, I brought a spend casing as well as my target home. So does this make me a God fearin', real-American, patriotic Republican now?

Tōrō Nagashi (灯籠流し), From Hiroshima to Hope

Last night, I attended the Tōrō Nagashi (灯籠流し) ceremony From Hiroshima to Hope at Green Lake. This is a Japanese lantern floating ceremony to commemorate those lost at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lanterns are a way to guide spirits of the departed back to the other world and some believe that they represent our bodies returning to the water from which we came. The ceremony was a solemn yet beautiful occasion.

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"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

- Mahatama Gandhi