Thursday, October 28, 2010

Odds and ends...

Today's post will be a number of random items that I thought you might find interesting/amusing.

First, when I got in my car to go home from work yesterday, I felt a spider web cross my face and settle around my head. I was not happy about that. Some damn spider had gotten into my car and set up shop there. Admittedly, I think that spider bit off more than he could chew when his web crossed my path, but still my car is my space only. I wouldn't have even mentioned this event, had I not recently learned about the Utah Hobo Spider, whose bite you can't feel and can cause this to happen.

Today I will finish my last PhD School application. I started this past weekend and have so far applied to 9 programs. These programs are all over the country and I won't hear back from any of them until late February at the earliest, so the waiting game begins tomorrow. I don't much like that game, let me tell you.

As one chapter closes (PhD apps) another begins, that next chapter being my thrid attempt to successfully finish Nanowrimo. For those of you who do not know what Nanowrimo is, it's a 30 day challenge where you attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. What I've always heard is that the third times a charm, so we'll see if I can make it happen this time around. Last year was almost a total bust, as I was busy being a newlywed and writing wasn't anywhere near the top of my list of priorities. This year, I've used every ounce of extra energy I have to get everything else done so I won't have anything getting in the way of the time I'll need to accomplish this challenge. I have at least one friend willing to attempt this with me, if you are game too let me know. Wish me luck by the way.

Last, I have a new dilemma I've never had before. Here's the situation: Have you ever been really good at something, but you really didn't enjoy it? Particularly something they will pay you good money to do? Yeah, I know it sounds like the dilemma of a character in some novel. It's not, it's the problem I've having at work right now. According to my boss, my boss's boss, and his boss, I'm pretty damn good at my job, like top 10% they've ever seen. In fact, I'm so good that I'm in the running for a promotion to Plant Manager (the next rung on the corporate slave chain...I mean ladder) in Chicago (a job that comes with a 20k a year increase in pay). The main problem is, when I'm at work I feel like I'm watching the paint peel. Yes, it's that boring.

You gotta remember, I used to work in the IT industry, doing technology stuff. I was working on stuff that sometimes I barely understood myself, but damn if it wasn't intersting. Here, I'm working in the textiles industry and most of the product innovations we have here (polyester blends, washing machine formulas, chemistry) were old when my Grandmother was looking for her first job. Not a whole lot of interesting going on. "But the money!", you say. Yes, yes, the money. I couldn't care less. I mean that last part.

Let me know what you'd do if you were me...(you already know what I'm doing, see paragraph 3 above).

Friday, October 15, 2010

T.K.O. SHATT 2.0

Welcome to the redesign! So I noticed today that Google had completely overhauled the Design portion of Blogger, and since I was bored out of my gourd today at work, I decided to give my blog a new (and hopefully refreshing) look.

It's most assuredly brighter if nothing else. Being that I was at work while I was doing this, I got interrupted several times and it took most of the day to finish what should have taken no more than an hour tops. If you notice any discrepancies with the color scheme or boxes or anything like that please let me know in the comments section so that I can fix it.

Enjoy!

The Pain that Keeps on Giving...

Not many of you know this, but I have had a hurt back for the past fourteen years or so. It started as a sports injury that hurt for a while then went away after resting and didn't bother me again for five or six years. Then I re-injured my back, thankfully after I came home from Panama, in another sports accident. Since then, it has been an on again, off again recurring pain. In 2009 however, it stopped doing the "off again" portion and became a continuous pain that only wavered in level of relative pain.

So I finally decided to do something about it. First, six months ago, I went to a general family doctor and he prescribed me Gabapentin. This is a medicine for Epileptics to control seizures. It is also used to control nerve pain. The most interesting thing about this drug is a sentence from the medical information page that comes with the drug when you pick it up. It reads, "It is not known how Gabapentin controls seizures or reduces nerve pain." This sentence is printed directly after the paper tells me that this medicine is used to control seizures and nerve pain. Damn, I love modern medicine.

Last week, after switching insurance from my company's sucky one to Vanina's amazing insurance, I got an MRI and went to a back/joint specialist (all covered). He reviewed my MRI and told me that I have Herniated Nucleus Pulposus (Spinal Disc Herniation) with nerve impingement in my L4.5 disk (my sciatic nerve). Basically this means I am in pain all the time but my pain spikes and shoots down my leg when I bend over forward or lift objects weighing more than a few pounds.

The doctor has prescribed me to get a Spinal Injection (yes think Epidural) of Cortisone, and go to Physical Therapy afterward. Hopefully, the injection will reduce the inflammation (and pain) in my back allowing me enough time (months) to complete my physical therapy regimen and strengthen my core muscles so my back won't return to the way it is now.

I'm scheduled for this spinal tap on Thursday. Wish me luck.

Friday, October 08, 2010

1st Anniversary!

It's hard to believe that it has been one year already, but it has! Vanina and I were married one year ago this sunday (two days from now). We will be celebrating this momentous occasion privately, at the Waldorf-Astoria here in Utah.

We are SUPER excited about this weekend! I hear wonderful things about this Hotel, and will be sure to report on it after the fact.

It has been getting colder and colder here, and raining alot this past week. We are hopeful that Saturday will prove an exception to this though, as we would very much like to hit up the Mountain resort to play on their Zip lines and slider coasters during the day. If it is raining this won't happen, as wet and cold don't mix very well at all.

No matter the weather, Park City has much to offer. In fact, I have yet to visit that city during the warm months but have been there numerous times during the winter (for film festivals and snow activities mostly).

I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful weekend planned as well.