So it all started the middle of April when I started to feel bad on a Saturday. Fever and a slight cough. Things got worse over the weekend but then they started to get better the beginning of the week. Still had the fever and was living on Tylenol but felling better each day. the one thing that kept worrying me was the gurgling in my chest. Never had that before, so off to the doctor on Wed to find out I had pneumonia.

He gave me a course of some powerful antibiotics. After taking my first pill, Robin read that one of the side effects was hallucinations. Well i never hallucinated but that first night things were a little strange. I spent the rest of that week on the couch trying to avoid coughing which was slowly developing a sharp pain in the right side of my lower back. I dreaded the cough as it would shoot sharp pains down my butt and outside of my right leg down to the outside of my calf.

The following week I started back to work feeling much better, but still week and i was starting to develop sciatic pain. Nothing that was too bad and over the course of the morning that involved some stretching and hot shower and heated seats in the Passat, i could walk okay with out pain by late morning.

Slowly but surely I started to get better but the sciatica continued and kind of started to get worse. Robin went away for the weekend to visit her dad and step mom in LA and next to my kidney stones, the morning walk for the dog was one of the most painful things I’ve felt. Still it would always seem to work it’s self out and get better.

Finally after a couple of weeks of things not getting better, Robin convinced me to see our acupuncturist. She had helped me with a similar thing a couple of years prior. So I went on a Wednesday night and the treatment felt pretty good while i was on the table, but when I got up to leave things actually seemed a little worse. That evening I iced a little but still it was not better but not too much worse.

Then came Thursday morning and the pain. I could not stand… I could not walk… I was in bad shape. Luckily I was able to get an appointment with my Doctor later that morning. I rested for a couple of hours and then the time came were i had to get to the car to get to the appointment. This was the start of 50 feet of pain and agony that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy as they say, but actually i probably would cuz it hurt like a mother fucker!

I crawled and part of the way out of the bedroom then used the table and chairs and walls to slowly limp out the back door and the stairs to the patio. Robin pulled up behind the house and I some how got to the car. When we pulled up to the medical building and she was going to drop me at the elevator so she could park, I knew there was no way I could walk to the office so I had to ask her to see if they had a wheelchair I could use. She parked and went off in search and I was praying that she could bring something back cuz there was NO way i was going to make it.

Thank the gods, cuz she came back with a wheelchair and I struggled to get out of the car and in the chair and then she wheeled me to the checkin. Luckily i could just go straight in and when the nurse asked if i could stand for a weight I said i’d prefer not especially since i was just in a week ago for my pneumonia check up. i couldn’t have changed that much.

Then the diagnoses, bulging and/or herniated disk. In fact it was a classic L5 disk based on the way the pain went and how I couldn’t keep my big toe up on my right side when he pushed on it. I was starting to get a little worried because Robin’s dad had just gotten surgery for the same basic thing and I didn’t want to have surgery.

Options that i had were course of prednisone, direct injection of something into my spine at the disc or surgery. The doctor recommended we start with the pred and go from there and we agreed. So they called in a prescription for the pred and also some Hydrocodone.

With the time on my back I started to search the internets for help . I actually found this guy, a chiropractor, Dr. Ron who’s side http://www.healyourbulgingdisc.com made a lot of sense. First I started with his advice on ice and that actually started to give me some relief. I also think the pred started to kick in and the Hydrocodon didn’t hurt either.

So now after a few icing sessions I can get around the house with my “walker” (chair with wheels that i lean on). At least I can sometimes put the ice pack back in the freezer and get it out for my next session.

I’ve now been sick for like 5 weeks and it is a drag on everyone especially Robin who has been great taking care of me. Thanks!

This along with ssh and of course Rhapsody and maps and kexp … The list goes on.

Welcome to the modern world old man.

It’s that time of the year when I update my “what you can get me for… ” post. It has been some time since my last one and things have changed a little but most of the items from my previous posts didn’t leave the list.

So again this year I’ve found a few items that seem reasonable for my birthday list, so I thought i’d re-purpose the list again for xmas and add a few things. Here we go… The list will probably change so come back often and it still includes some big things.

In no particular order:

• David Vantage Pro2 Weather station.  check out Ambient Weather and Provantage. You must request a price quote via email – an automatic response is returned with a new link promptly. They are not allowed to post to the public their discounted prices.
• cool new laptop backpack like this booqbag.
• One of these cool shirts: http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/
  I particularly like the “Wi-Fi detector shirt” and the “T-Qualizer Shirt“
• An ATHF Mooninites patch. Either both Ignignokt and Err or either one of them alone. I desperately want to cover up my Real logo on my computer bag. I think I have one of these patches but can’t find it.
• Beer Cozy for my Pabst cans!
• Been reading more so good books. Nothing too heavy now. I like fast, easy, with short chapters
• Washington State Liquor Gift Card - more info
• Home Depot gift cards are nice and help offset house projects
• I could use some more running shorts. I like the longer style, not the true runner’s shorts. Robin got me some Nikes called NikeFit and they are kind of longish like basketball shorts, but not too long, something above the knee but below the mid thigh. (can you say high maintenance?!) Oh and I like the polyester wicking fabric of course… no cotton. I’m a Medium or 33/34 waist.
• Running shirts that are short sleeved, white or light color, like gray or light blue. I’m a large and again the sweet wicking fabric.
• All-In-One clamp guide accessories. I recently got some great clamps at the Rockler T-Day sale and now it would be nice to have a couple of the accessories for them. Namely the Router Plate and Saw Plate for the clamps. Both can be found here.
• the winning lottery ticket
• The new MacBook Pro 15 inch
• If you are already doing the MacBook, why not go a little further and also get me a Cinema Display
• New Gas stove and range like the Dacor Epicure 48″ dual fuel. Along with that we need the Epicure Raised Vent also. We don’t want to have to put a traditional hood in.
• I think I’ve fixed the leak in the car, so now i just need the new driver’s seat for my CRX
• Maybe a new “CRX” like a diesel Jetta or Golf/Rabbit
• Or Maybe just a scooter

So again this year I’ve found a few items that seem reasonable for my birthday list, so I thought i’d re-purpose the list again for xmas and add a few things. Here we go… The list will probably change so come back often and it still includes some big things.

In no particular order:

• One of these cool shirts: http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/
  I particularly like the “Wi-Fi detector shirt” and the “T-Qualizer Shirt“
• An ATHF Mooninites patch. Either both Ignignokt and Err or either one of them alone. I desperately want to cover up my Real logo on my computer bag. I think I have one of these patches but can’t find it.
• Beer Cozy for my Pabst cans!
• David Vantage Pro2 Weather station.  check out Ambient Weather and Provantage. You must request a price quote via email – an automatic response is returned with a new link promptly. They are not allowed to post to the public their discounted prices.
• Been reading more so good books. Nothing too heavy now. I like fast, easy, with short chapters
• Washington State Liquor Gift Card – more info
• Home Depot gift cards are nice and help offset house projects
• I could use some more running shorts. I like the longer style, not the true runner’s shorts. Robin got me some Nikes called NikeFit and they are kind of longish like basketball shorts, but not too long, something above the knee but below the mid thigh. (can you say high maintenance?!) Oh and I like the polyester wicking fabric of course… no cotton. I’m a Medium or 33/34 waist.
• Running shirts, white or light color, like gray or light blue. I’m a large and again the sweet wicking fabric.
• My mighty mouse is starting to die. I’ve opened it and cleaned it twice now to prolong it’s life, but now it stutters and pauses every once in a while so I think it’s on it’s last legs. The good news is Apple has a cool new mouse – the Magic Mouse!
• All-In-One clamp guide accessories. I recently got some great clamps at the Rockler T-Day sale and now it would be nice to have a couple of the accessories for them. Namely the Router Plate and Saw Plate for the clamps. Both can be found here.
• the winning lottery ticket
• The new MacBook Pro 15 inch
• If you are already doing the MacBook, why not go a little further and also get me a Cinema Display
• The new iphone 3GS. In my birthday list I also asked for 6 months of service, but I think I need the phone more now and I’ll figure out the service fees.
• New Gas stove and range. One were the vent is attached and popus up from back. We don’t want to have to put a traditional hood in.
• I think I’ve fixed the leak in the car, so now i just need the new driver’s seat for my CRX
• Maybe a new “CRX” like a diesel Jetta or Golf/Rabbit
• Or Maybe just a scooter

Well, by the time we reached the middle of the next block a woman came running up with our bag of poop yelling at us. She did not appreciate us depositing our trash into her trash can. She also made a note that she didn’t have a dog. We apologized and gladly took the poop bag back continued on our walk. At first I could kind of understand were she was coming from but at the same time I couldn’t really understand the big deal.

Doesn’t it all end up in the same place? I know that we all have to pay for our trash but it didn’t seem like this small item was going to push her over the edge and cost her an extra fee for too much in her container. Was she worried that my trash was going to react some how with hers? Was the garbage collector guy going to judge her some way for having a poop bag in her trash?… “That’s funny, Mrs. Smith usually doesn’t have poop in her trash. I wonder if something is wrong?”.

Recently as I’ve taken my run and/or walked the dog on trash day or the day after, I’ve noticed that people will have their yard waste and recycling cans out in front of their house but not the trash. Personally we keep ours all together and couldn’t imagine having the trash can separate from the rest of the “waste”.

So what is it with people? What is so private about our trash that we have to hide it away and keep it untainted by other’s trash? Is it a security thing?

As far as the poop goes, we’ve recently purchased a in-ground dog waste digester from Dr. Foster Smith and I’m going to order some digester safe/Flushable poop bags. So from now on the poop won’t be going in yours or my trash and better yet it won’t be commingling at the dump.

Today marked my third, as I like to call it, rehab run. The Dr. said start off slow with 2 miles and do more walk then run and then a day off and no hills. So Sunday I started with 1.5 mile walk with a 1/2 mile light run on the flat parts only. Then ice and rest. Tuesday was my next run and I was able to up the running a little did about 1.25 mile walk with the rest run, but again I walked the hills and only ran flats or down hill. Today I did about a mile running, again all flat and walked the hills.

Things are feeling okay and I will slowly up the running each time out. I think if things go well all next week, I’ll start to ease back into a more regular training schedule, but probably will start my training program all over again. Starting with week one and 3 miles.

Robin packed up a little picnic and off we went. thank god the weather was not as hot as yesterday, but still summer. We waited in the long line, but not for too long as we got in about 45 minutes before the show started.

To our surprise, the Cowboy Junkies opened or played first. I thought it would have been the other way. It was good tunes and nice weather and of course great company.

Son Volt at Zoo Tunes Woodland Park Zoo

I iced it when I got home and will do more but it is still uncomfortable to walk some. I”ll have to see how things are tomorrow but I might need to take a short break to hopefully mend.

Yesterday’s 4.5 mile run was fine and I had the usual tightness in the calves, but it actually felt much better then it has over the past couple of weeks.

I just hope I’m not going to be laid up for many days and get off the schedule.

Instead of Greenlake loops, I decided to do another new course along the Burke Gilman trail. Ususally I do better if it’s new as I’m not familiar and before I know it I’m done. If i do this run again, it probably will be a little harder. I enjoyed the course very much and would love to take the dog down for part of it for a nice walk, especially along the canal in Fremont area. Also found some good spots to watch the Gasworks 4th fireworks. So might be heading down that way this year.

I started on the trail at the Fred Meyers in Ballard and ran through Fremont along the water front park, by Gasworks park and around the top of Lake Union to the edge of the UW and then back. You’d think going from Ballad to the UW would be more then 3.5 miles, but according to Favorite Run Google mapping it’s not. The course was pretty flat and easy and definitely had nice views of the canal and lake. I think I’ll try to plan more long runs along here.

Next week, week 8, is basically a repeat of week 7, 4.5 Tues/Thurs., 3 on Wed. but then a step up on the Sunday long run to 8 miles. That should be interesting. I think I’ll do the same run as today and add the extra 1/2 mile into the UW.

Well this year I’ve found a few items that seem reasonable, so I thought i’d get the list out there for everyone. Here we go… The list will probably change so come back often and it still includes some big things.

In no particular order:

• One of these cool shirts: http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/
  I particularly like the “Wi-Fi detector shirt” and the “T-Qualizer Shirt“
• An ATHF Mooninites patch. Either both Ignignokt and Err or either one of them alone. I desperately want to cover up my Real logo on my computer bag. I think I have one of these patches but can’t find it.
• A nice but not expensive digital camera that uses SD so I can use it with the item farther down the list . The camera on my phone is okay, but I want to start taking nicer images. I’m talking a little basic one, not one of those full cameras where you can changed the lenses etc.
• Beer Cozy for my Pabst cans!
• David Vantage Pro2 Weather station.  check out Ambient Weather and Provantage. You must request a price quote via email – an automatic response is returned with a new link promptly. They are not allowed to post to the public their discounted prices.
• Been reading more so good books. Nothing too heavy now. I like fast, easy, with short chapters
• Washington State Liquor Gift Card – more info
• Home Depot gift cards are nice and help offset house projects
• I could use some more running shorts. I like the longer style, not the true runner’s shorts. Robin got me some Nikes called NikeFit and they are kind of longish like basketball shorts, but not too long, something above the knee but below the mid thigh. (can you say high maintenance?!) Oh and I like the polyester wicking fabric of course… no cotton. I’m a Medium or 33/34 waist.
• Along with shorts, I could use some new running socks. I like the short ones that just cover the ankle, not the really short ones ala “bobby socks”. Again, the sweet wicking fabric. I like the ones from The Walking Company. Shoe size 9.5.
• Running shirts, white or light color, like gray or light blue. I’m a large and again the sweet wicking fabric.
• the winning lottery ticket
• The new MacBook Pro 15 inch
• If you are already doing the MacBook, why not go a little further and also get me a Cinema Display
• The new iphone 3GS, but if you get me this, you also have to pay for at least 6 months service cuz I can’t afford it right now.
• New Gas stove and range. One were the vent is attached and popus up from back. We don’t want to have to put a traditional hood in.
• someone to fix my leak in my CRX before the rains start.
• New driver’s seat for my CRX
• Maybe a new “CRX” like a diesel Jetta or Golf/Rabbit
• Or Maybe just a scooter
• #1 I guess would be a job, but not starting until like September . Something fun, cool, cutting edge that pays well with good benefits, flexible work schedule, open environment, lets my dog come to work, has perks like free parking and paid cell phones, game room, Macs, little or no commute and something I can retire from after 5 years. Woodworking, Renewable Energy or Computers… something creative where I can build and create be it a software app or fence or electricity.