Went out on Ex-Girlfriend again, usual loop.
I was coming up Levee Rd toward Bottom Rd and to the west, about 25yds off the road, I saw two adolescent deer. I'm fairly certain they are the same two that ran alongside me back over the summer.
One started swishing it's tail, I would like to think with happiness to see me, much like a dog, but more likely there was a fly or something to shoo.
I had just been thinking about these two just a minute prior when I pedaled by the field (which has not been harvested) where they ran alongside me before.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Unspecified Surgical Procedure, By Report
Last week we removed a mucous retention cyst from the right maxillary sinus of a 50yo male. We went in through the lateral wall and sucked the cyst, which was a liquid, up into a 3mL syringe and expelled it into a glass dappen dish. By the end of the procedure, it had "jellied" and was quite jiggly, a weird mix of solid/liquid. It took the shape of the dish and was about 17mm in diameter and bright orange. 
I was super excited about this procedure and had been looking forward to it since I saw the CT last month. Then today, my afternoon patient shot himself in his own eye...TWICE...with his own arterial bleeding. I nearly died!!!!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Grandpa How-Do: 1923 - 2012
My mom texted me on Sun 9/2 at 230am to call her. I was at a bar in San Diego seeing bands and didn't call her back until the next afternoon. But I already knew.
Grandpa had died on Saturday at around 10:30pm.
The funeral was on Wednesday in their small town outside of KCMO. All the cousins and aunts and uncles were there. So was nearly everyone in town. It was overwhelming how many people came out for the visitation, mainly because since the Labor Day Holiday, the newspaper offices were closed and the obit was never put in prior to the service. So this was all via word of mouth.
Since grandpa served in WWII, he was given a full military burial with a 21 gun salute. I nearly lost it when the bugle started playing TAPS. There were three enlisted soldiers near the grave site, two of whom presented my grandmother with a folded flag.
The 21 gun salute came from 3 round each of 7 old men from the American Legion.
After, we went back to the church for lunch, then to the house to socialize before heading home.
It was kinda weird being in the house because all of grandpa's stuff was there...toothbrush, walker at the top of the stairs, pillow on the recliner, just like he had never left.
At the service, the pastor told a story:
He had been to the house several times over the past year to visit with my grandparents. My grandmother would often stay downstairs next to the cot where my grandpa slept. He would wake up and say, "Go to bed, Marilyn." And she'd go upstairs to bed.
The night Walt died, the pastor was at the house, and Marilyn was sitting next to Walt, holding his hand. He was in a lot of pain and the hospice nurses were trying to get his pain under control. When it was under control, my grandma said, "I'm going to go upstairs to bed now, Walt." And she did. And then he died shortly after.
I teared up in the church when the pastor told us this story, and I am tearing up a little bit now typing this out.
At the funeral, Uncle Fred was the only one who spoke, and he told a funny story about the first time he met Walt, which was at a Mizzou football game back in...'76?
A lot of nice things were said later on at the house, and there were several collages of photographs spanning his lifetime. The funniest being one of him sunning on a lawn chair in red swim trunks and a white shirt. Funny because he NEVER went out in the sun and was actually extremely pale for as long as I can remember. He did, however, until the end, have the hairline of a 30 year old. Thick, white, smooth hair that hadn't receded a single inch.
Grandpa had died on Saturday at around 10:30pm.
The funeral was on Wednesday in their small town outside of KCMO. All the cousins and aunts and uncles were there. So was nearly everyone in town. It was overwhelming how many people came out for the visitation, mainly because since the Labor Day Holiday, the newspaper offices were closed and the obit was never put in prior to the service. So this was all via word of mouth.
Since grandpa served in WWII, he was given a full military burial with a 21 gun salute. I nearly lost it when the bugle started playing TAPS. There were three enlisted soldiers near the grave site, two of whom presented my grandmother with a folded flag.
The 21 gun salute came from 3 round each of 7 old men from the American Legion.
After, we went back to the church for lunch, then to the house to socialize before heading home.
It was kinda weird being in the house because all of grandpa's stuff was there...toothbrush, walker at the top of the stairs, pillow on the recliner, just like he had never left.
At the service, the pastor told a story:
He had been to the house several times over the past year to visit with my grandparents. My grandmother would often stay downstairs next to the cot where my grandpa slept. He would wake up and say, "Go to bed, Marilyn." And she'd go upstairs to bed.
The night Walt died, the pastor was at the house, and Marilyn was sitting next to Walt, holding his hand. He was in a lot of pain and the hospice nurses were trying to get his pain under control. When it was under control, my grandma said, "I'm going to go upstairs to bed now, Walt." And she did. And then he died shortly after.
I teared up in the church when the pastor told us this story, and I am tearing up a little bit now typing this out.
At the funeral, Uncle Fred was the only one who spoke, and he told a funny story about the first time he met Walt, which was at a Mizzou football game back in...'76?
A lot of nice things were said later on at the house, and there were several collages of photographs spanning his lifetime. The funniest being one of him sunning on a lawn chair in red swim trunks and a white shirt. Funny because he NEVER went out in the sun and was actually extremely pale for as long as I can remember. He did, however, until the end, have the hairline of a 30 year old. Thick, white, smooth hair that hadn't receded a single inch.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Burn Down the House Move to San Diego
So last weekend (Labor Day Weekend) I made my second annual trek out to San Diego for Awesome Fest 666. I was excited to get down on delicious veg food, party with friends, see west coast bands that don't play here too often, and surf, which is something I have never done. Surfing didn't happen because of a southern swell and subsequent crazy huge waves (huge for a first-timer, at least). But Alf and I did go snorkeling in La Jolla. There were seals, too!
Bryan and I rode our bikes to the Ballroom on Thursday evening and closed the place down. Back at his house, we made out for a long time, then we banged out, which was the first time we've done it since we started hanging out six weeks ago, which has got to be some kind of record!
He drive me to the airport on Friday morning and I left for San Diego, with a layover in KCMO. I was hoping that in KCMO I would have had a chance to swing by my grandparents' house to see Grandfather Halferty since he had been super sick, in hospice, and probably was going to die while I was away for the weekend, which would have been the last time I would have had a chance to see him. I was unable to go to the house.
20 minutes into the flight from KCMO to San Diego, the dude in front of my OD'ed. He was boozed up and ate a Xanax and the flight attendants were on the intercom asking if there were any doctors on board. They were having a hard time taking his vitals because the engine was so loud and his pulse was so faint! Dude survived and we didn't have to make any emergency landings.
Sam Bot picked me up at the airport in his new painting van! We ran a few errands, got some delicious veg food (faux ham fried wontons! WHAT!??!). Then we headed to North Park to get the party weekend started. We picked up our packets at Soda then went to LIVEWIRE and LaFayette to meet up with other STL people. Biff was there, and I asked him if he had fallen in love yet. "Of course!" HAHAHAHAHA!
Long story short....Bands and friends all night Friday night!
Here with Paul and Lew:
With everyone's favorite evening bird:
Beach/snorkeling (with seals!) in La Jolla with Alf! First time in Pacific Ocean. Surf was huge!
Beach/adult bevs at private military beach on Coronado!
Bands all day Saturday night!
Bands all day on Sunday!
I was actually sick of seeing bands by Sunday night and wanted to just chill at home and watch tv. So I did, and it was everything I wanted it to be!
I ate delicious burritors, veg pizza, and southern friend vegan.
My allergies have been going crazy in STL, but after being in San Diego for only five minutes, my sinuses opened up and I could breath easily the whole weekend!
I was very excited to see friends and have a great time, but I was also ready to come back home.
Bryan picked me up at the airport and we went to got some food on South Grand.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Take it Outside!
Last night Bryan and I rode our bikes from Cherokee to Firebird for Dear Landlord. Show was 'aight. Mostly I was excited that so many friends were in attendance and had a nice time socializing. Positive vibes all around all night.
Prior to the show, we swung by Pardon My Reach Closing Reception and after the show, we rode around the city, down Market to the the Arch Grounds. We stashed our bikes near a pond and talked for a while and admired the night. Then we made out, for a long time. No clothes came off, but Bryan unzipped my fly and was fingering me. I was soaked all the way down to my knees in the front and the back. I had my hand up the leg of his shorts.
We made out for over an hour, then suddenly I saw a bright light very near us and I said, "There's a cop right there!" Three park rangers/policemen on bikes busted us! They asked us what we were doing and where we had been earlier. They ran our IDs and let us go after telling us that the park closes at 11pm. I still had my fly undone and pulled my shirt down over it; I didn't want to zip up in front of the cops, even though I suspect they knew exactly what they had come up on. We grabbed our bikes and trotted up the hill and left the Arch Grounds, laughing out loud the whole way!
The whole experience is humorous to me for two reasons:
1. The cops busted two 30+ year olds for making out in the park after hours!
2. The cops busted us literally five seconds after I came. We were curious if they heard us when that was happening or if they had been watching the show from the shadows prior, waiting until we were finished, or until the situation escalated!
I am thankful that we didn't have anything out and get cited for indecent exposure or lewd conduct!
Prior to the show, we swung by Pardon My Reach Closing Reception and after the show, we rode around the city, down Market to the the Arch Grounds. We stashed our bikes near a pond and talked for a while and admired the night. Then we made out, for a long time. No clothes came off, but Bryan unzipped my fly and was fingering me. I was soaked all the way down to my knees in the front and the back. I had my hand up the leg of his shorts.
We made out for over an hour, then suddenly I saw a bright light very near us and I said, "There's a cop right there!" Three park rangers/policemen on bikes busted us! They asked us what we were doing and where we had been earlier. They ran our IDs and let us go after telling us that the park closes at 11pm. I still had my fly undone and pulled my shirt down over it; I didn't want to zip up in front of the cops, even though I suspect they knew exactly what they had come up on. We grabbed our bikes and trotted up the hill and left the Arch Grounds, laughing out loud the whole way!
The whole experience is humorous to me for two reasons:
1. The cops busted two 30+ year olds for making out in the park after hours!
2. The cops busted us literally five seconds after I came. We were curious if they heard us when that was happening or if they had been watching the show from the shadows prior, waiting until we were finished, or until the situation escalated!
I am thankful that we didn't have anything out and get cited for indecent exposure or lewd conduct!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Fabulous Afternoon in Frankfurt: Recap
On Tuesday, August 7, Yvonne, Elizabeth, and I drove to Frankfurt for the afternoon.
I was excited because going in to the trip, I wanted to eat a huge pretzel, and Frankfurt was the place to do that!
We also went to Museum of Modern Art aka Kunst. It was pretty sweet. Several exhibits really stood out to me. The first was an photo exhibit with photos of polluted abandoned mining areas. The ground was literally grey and red and smoking. The second was an install of various mixed media, and the part the stood out of the most was written on the wall "Buying nothing is the real luxery". The third that stood out to me was a bunch of loaves of bread with forks in them like bird wings. The exhibit was in a glass case and the card said it was from the late 60s, so that was so old bread!!!
After the museum we walked around and window shopped. There was an old (anciet Roman times) public pool that was being renovated. I was amazed to learn that there were even structures like that built during that time. I knew about the aquifers, but not pools.
This is the Frankfurter Dom, officially Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus.
Visitors can pay 3Euro and climb over 320 steps to the top for a spectacular 360 degree view of the city! The staircase was a narrow sprial set and it was exhausting! There were electrical lights installed now in modern times, but originally, it was pretty dark in there! There were small windows to let light in, but it was still pretty dark.
View from the top: That is the Rhine!
I wanted to take a boat ride on the Rhine, and we did that, too! We cruised by Museum Row (didn't have time to go to any other museums, would have liked to see the German Film Museum...guess I'll just have to go back...) We also cruised by a building nick-named the Apfelwien Building because it looks like the traditional glass in which that beverage is served.
Other things that happened in Frankfurt: Sorbet! I hadn't had any treats in a loooong time! I chose a scoop of banana and a scoop of strawberry.
Chocolate shaped like little mice for sale at the market! There was so many fresh and colorful items in the kiosks! It was pretty cool.
There were several street performers in Frankfurt. Musicians, some guys "floating" in the air with their hand only holding onto a walking stick, and then these creepy characters:
After our day in Frankfurt, we drove back to Gedern. I was exhausted from the excitement and also was still jet-lagged. I slept in the car most of the way. We did stop off in Wennings, which was the original village from where the founders of my hometown came. We wen to the remains of an old church. It was pretty much just three stone walls. Yvonne told me there used to also be an old wooden cross, but it was not there anymore. The surrounding scenery was beautiful. I really liked being in the country.
My last night in Gedern was spent with the Reekers. Lilo and walked to the house and we all played Yahtzee. Then Yvonne, Michael, and I went to bar nearby and I ordered some Apfelwein and we played Yahtzee some more. I really enjoyed the Apfelwein! We had great conversation, too. I was a lot of fun talking about various animals...trying to describe to them armadillos, porcupines, etc!
I was excited because going in to the trip, I wanted to eat a huge pretzel, and Frankfurt was the place to do that!
We also went to Museum of Modern Art aka Kunst. It was pretty sweet. Several exhibits really stood out to me. The first was an photo exhibit with photos of polluted abandoned mining areas. The ground was literally grey and red and smoking. The second was an install of various mixed media, and the part the stood out of the most was written on the wall "Buying nothing is the real luxery". The third that stood out to me was a bunch of loaves of bread with forks in them like bird wings. The exhibit was in a glass case and the card said it was from the late 60s, so that was so old bread!!!
After the museum we walked around and window shopped. There was an old (anciet Roman times) public pool that was being renovated. I was amazed to learn that there were even structures like that built during that time. I knew about the aquifers, but not pools.
This is the Frankfurter Dom, officially Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus.
Visitors can pay 3Euro and climb over 320 steps to the top for a spectacular 360 degree view of the city! The staircase was a narrow sprial set and it was exhausting! There were electrical lights installed now in modern times, but originally, it was pretty dark in there! There were small windows to let light in, but it was still pretty dark.
View from the top: That is the Rhine!
I wanted to take a boat ride on the Rhine, and we did that, too! We cruised by Museum Row (didn't have time to go to any other museums, would have liked to see the German Film Museum...guess I'll just have to go back...) We also cruised by a building nick-named the Apfelwien Building because it looks like the traditional glass in which that beverage is served.
Other things that happened in Frankfurt: Sorbet! I hadn't had any treats in a loooong time! I chose a scoop of banana and a scoop of strawberry.
Chocolate shaped like little mice for sale at the market! There was so many fresh and colorful items in the kiosks! It was pretty cool.
There were several street performers in Frankfurt. Musicians, some guys "floating" in the air with their hand only holding onto a walking stick, and then these creepy characters:
After our day in Frankfurt, we drove back to Gedern. I was exhausted from the excitement and also was still jet-lagged. I slept in the car most of the way. We did stop off in Wennings, which was the original village from where the founders of my hometown came. We wen to the remains of an old church. It was pretty much just three stone walls. Yvonne told me there used to also be an old wooden cross, but it was not there anymore. The surrounding scenery was beautiful. I really liked being in the country.
My last night in Gedern was spent with the Reekers. Lilo and walked to the house and we all played Yahtzee. Then Yvonne, Michael, and I went to bar nearby and I ordered some Apfelwein and we played Yahtzee some more. I really enjoyed the Apfelwein! We had great conversation, too. I was a lot of fun talking about various animals...trying to describe to them armadillos, porcupines, etc!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Radtour to Hoherodskopf
Going in, I wanted to see a shield volcano, and on Monday, August 6, Michael and I rode bikes to the top of Hoherodskopf in the Vogelsberg Mountains. It. Was. Awesome.
I rode Johann's bike, and we climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. There was really nice bike paths that used to be RR Tracks. The whole ride was incredibly scenic. We stopped halfway up to have a rest:
Once at the top, we kind of walked around and looked at the nice scenery. There was a youth hostel there, and Michael told me that he had stayed there before when he was younger.
There was also a TV Tower, and once a plane crashed into it. Allegedly, the wreckage could not all be cleared out, so some of it is still up there and the inside of the tower was just rebuilt around it. Weird.
There was a man with a herd of Schafe. He had two dogs patrolling the herd and keeping them in line! The Schafe were grazing.
This sign atop the volcano pointed in the direction and listed mileage of other well known volcanos. Mount St. Helen's was over 8000km away!
On the way home, we were pedaling through the forest and there were signs posted to not the path/stay out of the forest. Michael told me that there used to be a bomb factory in the forest here during the war but it was firebombed by the Americans. There are still land mines in the forest and it is really some peoples' job to comb the forest looking for the land mines. Every year, they find two or three. Amazing!
After the radtour, we went back to the house, where a birthday party was happening! There was all kinds of traditional German food (and even veg potato salad for me!) including five different types of cake that were made from scratch. A lot of friends and family came over to the house and ate, drank some beers, socialized, played cards. I ended up winning 1.50Euro in the card game. I felt badly since I was the guest, but they insisted that I take my winnings! A nice end to a nice day!
I rode Johann's bike, and we climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. There was really nice bike paths that used to be RR Tracks. The whole ride was incredibly scenic. We stopped halfway up to have a rest:
Once at the top, we kind of walked around and looked at the nice scenery. There was a youth hostel there, and Michael told me that he had stayed there before when he was younger.
There was also a TV Tower, and once a plane crashed into it. Allegedly, the wreckage could not all be cleared out, so some of it is still up there and the inside of the tower was just rebuilt around it. Weird.
There was a man with a herd of Schafe. He had two dogs patrolling the herd and keeping them in line! The Schafe were grazing.
This sign atop the volcano pointed in the direction and listed mileage of other well known volcanos. Mount St. Helen's was over 8000km away!
On the way home, we were pedaling through the forest and there were signs posted to not the path/stay out of the forest. Michael told me that there used to be a bomb factory in the forest here during the war but it was firebombed by the Americans. There are still land mines in the forest and it is really some peoples' job to comb the forest looking for the land mines. Every year, they find two or three. Amazing!
After the radtour, we went back to the house, where a birthday party was happening! There was all kinds of traditional German food (and even veg potato salad for me!) including five different types of cake that were made from scratch. A lot of friends and family came over to the house and ate, drank some beers, socialized, played cards. I ended up winning 1.50Euro in the card game. I felt badly since I was the guest, but they insisted that I take my winnings! A nice end to a nice day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)