Been there done that...

Well, I'm back after a brief hiatus. I had a very interesting experience that validated my humanity. It turns out that some of the meds that I'm taking for my pneumonia can take a toll on your digestive system (stomach and/or intestines). I don't know much about the medical reason, I just know that at about 12:30 am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I was awakened by what I would describe as an excruciating pain in my abdomen. I can say that I had never felt such a pain before (or maybe I have but this one is more recent so I perceive it as worst).

Humanity 101: I figured it was indigestion so I thought that I needed some water, but I don't like water, so I had a diet orange soda (I didn't have any diet Coke)...well you can imagine...it got worse.

Humanity 102: Even thought the pain was getting worse and worse I figured that all I needed was Mylanta, so I had some. Didn't help. So I finally asked my mom to drive me to the emergency room.

Humanity 201 (upper division): I was admitted to the ER at around 2:00 am (I'm guessing at this point for I was pretty much out of it)... They ran an IV, took some blood, some urine, the whole drill. And then it happened, my doctor walked in, my doctor was a girl (I don't mean to be un-pc but you'll see why I use that particular word). All of a sudden, this unkept, unshaven, unwashed, slightly (I use the term lightly) overweight mass of half-naked pain, turned into a boy. I was barely conscious and all I cared about was finding out if she had a ring on (a task that was made more difficult due to the fact that I wasn't wearing my glasses), and I wanted to make a good impression. Isn't that curious? It's kind of funny in a way, I mean, I was in a very raw state, and yet there she was, taking away a part of my pain, just by being her. That's as human a response as you can have. Of course the mind later rationalizes the episode, as a whatever the psych term is today. Thankfully, she wasn't only a girl, but a capable doctor and so by 6:00 am the pain was gone and I could hobble out of the ER, as if I was just in a 10 round bout with the pre-biting Mike Tyson.

Humanity 599 (graduate seminar): As I was walking back to my mom's truck, I had one thing on my mind (well two, the doctor was pretty attractive and a couple of years younger than I am. Perfect, oh and no ring by the way): breakfast.

Warning biohazard!

Like most of the people I know, I had a terrible cold/flu about five weeks ago. Well the darn thing never went away completely. It started to turn into a really, really, really bad cough. The darn cough persisted and yesterday I ended up in the doctors office. I wouldn't have gone if another doctor that I am seeing for something else insisted that I go see my GP. My GP told me that I should be very thankful that I had gone to see him. It appears that I have a bad case of pneumonia that could have gotten much worst if untreated. So I'm quarantined for at least a day. It appears that I am not only a biohazard but that I have lost my ability to walk in a straight line due to the meds (can you imagine me driving?) (actually I am writing this entry "under the influence", so be kind). Anyway that's what I get for spending my day around cootiefied teenagers. OK it's time to get back into bed (and not in the fun way).

Shout out to Dr. Malone and Dr. Markman!

Main Characters (1): The Morales

I met Ana when I was in High School, well I technically met her when I was in the sixth grade, but I can't remember that I did (sorry!). We went to visit the President of Mexico, because we were very intelligent children (or we scored very high on a general knowledge test). Anyway, there was a bunch of us from our state and boys and girls stayed in different dorms, so we didn't socialize that much. To this day I only remember the pretty girls (ouch!). If I find the picture I'll post it. Well, after I recovered from my snobish amnesia, we ended up being the bestest of friends.

I met the J-man on Thanksgiving day (sorry I can't remember the year. In my defense I have been really ill) when Ana took him to my house to meet "the family". All I can say is that dinner was interesting (snip, snip, snip): think Meet the Parents only we weren't THAT mean.

Anyway, they got married some time after that, and they became my model for true love (until my last birthday when the bicker-meter was full tilt. Does the seven year itch include pre-marriage years?). Just kidding (maybe).

So why are the Morales (aka J-man & Granny) the first characters I introduce? Because I told Ana to take a look at my blog, that's why. It appears that she will probably be the first person ever to look at it from a computer other than mine (cool!). Plus I'm affraid that if they didn't go first they would eat me.

Interesting

Well, I put up my picture, I updated my profile, and I am now an official member of the blogger world (Is that how one says it?). When I viewed my blog I noticed the "next blog" button on the top of my screen, and I pushed it. I went from site to site looking at pictures of people, reading their day to day activities, and I sort of got lost a bit. Some of them haven't updated their blogs in a year, others have very deep and probing thoughts that nobody read or bothered to comment on. I don't know, I felt like the third word in the tenth line of page 37 in a book by Jane Q Writer on the bottom shelf of a two story Borders. I'm there, I know I'm there (a self-aware word, philosophical implications: twak amongst yourselves), but will anybody read me? I guess this blogging thing is kind of a popularity contest, I noticed that some sites have "lots of stuff": videos, pictures, cute cartoons (maybe they are intended as social commentary but I just think they're cute), and others have lots of words. How to captivate an audience, how to have them come back? Are those the questions one should be asking? Or is this blogging thing a kind of self-aggrandizing theraputic excercise. I mean, in a sense, we are all published writers at this point, althought, can we say we earned it? Is our voice heard or read because it is worthwhile, or is it because we are computer literate and took advantage of a service that is offered for free?

I don't know.

Hello World!

Hello world!

Faced with an empty window I am unsure that this is such a good idea. Nevertheless, I guess, I have this need to communicate or at least to be acknowledged as someone who exists. It is odd that I chose this medium to do so. Words, pictures, sounds...fine...but also distance. There might be some comfort in that, but then again, humans need touch to be complete (or so they say).

As you can see (the hypothetical you), I need to get the hang of this. I am confusing blogging with babbling. I don't even keep a diary, so I am not used to creating wishful monologues that might or might not be read. Anyway, I shall stop now.

Hasta whenever,

Memo.