You know, here I am, sober I might add, thinking I have great friends. Yet I seldom call and talk to any of them. I then think I have got this trait from my dad, who would literally drive two hundred miles to see if someone he knew happened to be home rather than call them. As my father has been doing poorly and my uncle has just passed away, I have had a lot going on, and I am a bit overwhelmed. Yet, here I am thinking of my friends. I should be drunk, it would make more sense.

To all my friends out there, and you know who you are, thanks, you all mean a lot to me.

Hmm, I wonder if I am having a manic episode.... Nah,I am too lazy for for that.

Well, my dad never managed to get to his feet this morning. A friend from his church found him on the floor next to his bed, unable to get up and incoherent. This was around 5:00pm. My dads friend called me and the paramedics. I arrived seconds before the paramedics got there and helped my dad into his bed. The paramedics started an IV and I let them know about his pacemaker and that he has diabetes. They took his blood glucose level from the IV sight and came up with a blood sugar level of 34, which they didn't believe because my dad was alive and awake. The lead paramedic said to retake it with a sample from his finger, this time it was 21. The paramedic said that my dad should at best be in a coma.
Needless to say my dad is still a freak of nature whose purpose is to freak out medical professionals. They pumped him full of sugar and he snapped right out of it to the point they let him stay home. His level was now at 105.
I am contemplating staying with him for a while, at lease a few days until his diabetes is better controlled. Of course that is assuming he would let me stay with him, which I doubt, as he would think he doesn't need a keeper and that he couldn't stand having one of his kids inconvenienced.

Ouchie!ouchie!ouchie!

That is all....

OK, maybe not, had hernia surgery yesterday, got really good pain drugs, yet when I move there is still exquisite pain. Drugs seem to make me not write whole sentences (oxycodone/apap 10/325, which is percecet w/tylonal, and Ibuprofen 800) and oddly enough once again the bottle says "be careful when consuming alcohol". Somehow I think I will forgo booze for a few days.

Lets see, yesterday's surgery went well, Tuesday's epidermal injection went well, I didn't get the job I interviewed for but I know who did and she is very competent so I don't feel bad about it. Those are the bad to getting better things going on with me.

Flip side, I am finally doing something about all my injuries so I may be able to get on with life again.

The good things in my life (ie, I have a job, I have some of the best friends a person could wish for etc.) still remain steady. All in all I have to think life is a win right now. Being an pessimist that is odd for me to say:)

Current Location: Living room
Current Mood: sore

This is just me looking at the irony of my existence, nothing earth shattering.

Life: 01/17/09 through 01/23/2009 and beyond...

Good news, after 8 plus years of not going to the dentist, no cavities, no problems.
Bad news, I have a hernia. Surgery will be on 02/12/2009.
Good news, I know this guy... He came up with round trip air to Puerto Rico for $320.20 and a nice place on the beach for $40.00 a night. I have the vacation time, so I booked for 01/27/09 through 02/01/09.
Bad news, I have a herniated disk in my lower back (L5S1), I have to have a Epidermal Steroid Injection in my spine tomorrow and if it doesn't get better within 4 months, surgery.
Good news, I have been asked to interview for a job I wanted.
Bad news, yes, you guessed it. It is while I am away.

I will try to reschedule the Interview, if I can not do that, I will see if I can leave on vacation later. If neither, I have to make an educated choice based on odds.

Oddly enough, I am oddly optimistic, life is looking up:)

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Current Location: Living room
Current Music: Tran Siberian Orchestra

This day is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice in the Forest of
Campiegne by the Allies and the Germans in 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th
day of the 11th month). This signified the end of World War I and was
originally known as Armistice Day. President Woodrow Wilson signed the
Congressional Resolution on Nov. 11, 1919, the first Armistice Day.

However, after World War II, the day began to lose meaning and since there
were many other veterans to consider, the decision was made to change
November 11th to honor all those who fought in American wars. The United
States Congress passed an act to change the name to Veteran's Day and in
1954 President Dwight Eisenhower signed the act.

With that in mind, I would like to say "thank you" to all the men and women
with whom I served, and to especially remember those who aren't with us
anymore.

- Tom
(HM2 USN 1965-69)


WHAT IS A VETERAN?

(Attributed to a Marine Corp chaplain, Father Denis Edward O'Brian)

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged
scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them,
a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps
another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of
adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe
wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?

A vet is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two
gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of
fuel.

A vet is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose
overgrown
frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four
hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th Parallel.

A vet is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing
every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

A vet is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't
come back at all.

A vet is the drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved
countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account punks and gang members into
marines, airmen, sailors, soldiers and coast guardsmen, and teaching them to
watch each other's backs.

A vet is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals
with a prosthetic hand.
A vet is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass
him by.

A vet is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose
presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory
of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the
battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

A vet is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and
aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes
all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares
come.

A vet is an ordinary and yet extraordinary human being, a person who offered
some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who
sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

A vet is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is
nothing more that the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest,
greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean
over and say, "Thank You." That's all most people need, and in most cases it
will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

Remember November 11th is Veteran's Day

Supreme Court Meme (from Rufina)


As was demonstrated in an interview with Katie Couric, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court Case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic, to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.


Miranda VS. Arizona
This mid 1960's case (1966?) says you must read a suspect his rights. Now the common phrase "You have the write to remain silent" is on nearly all cop show's.

I am not sure I buy these results, they seem to be half hazard....

Your result for The Best Thing About You Test ...

Honesty
Honesty is your greatest virtue.



Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthfully. This includes listening, and any action in the human repertoire — as well as speaking. And you? You cannot tell a lie. Both loved ones and strangers should trust you, because you won't (1) lie, (2) lie via omission, or (3) sit there and let lies be told. (Can you even let a sleeping dog lie?) All 7 virtues are a part of you, but your honesty runs deepest.

Your biggest risk is hurting the feelings of your most sensitive friends. However, most appreciate you for your candor.

Honest famous person: George Washington, if you believe the propaganda.

Your raw relative scores follow. 0% is low, and 100% is perfect, nearly impossible. Note that I pitted the virtues against each other, so in some way these are relative scores. It's impossible to score high on all of them, and a low score on one is just relatively low compared to the other virtues.

YOUR VIRTUES

30% Compassion

56% Intelligence

38% Humility

67% Honesty

25% Discipline

29% Courage

42% Passion