On Tuesday the younger boy underwent oral surgery, and, once again, I was in charge. I’m not a fan of all this medical stuff… I’m really not. But Toney is working Monday thru Friday for the next couple of months, so I get to wade chest-deep into things that give me the heebie-jeebies, like, all the time. Seriously, it’s every week: something horrible and medical.
But the boy is doing well. He was sore for the first day, and barely mentioned it after that. They gave him a prescription for some high-powered pain medicine, but I didn’t even pick it up. He took the antibiotic, and Motrin. And it was smoove sailing.
On Thursday I get to take him back, to have the stitches removed. And on Friday he and his brother have their yearly check-ups at the regular doctor. Do you think Toney is setting all this up on purpose, just to make me suffer? I’m starting to wonder. It’s freaking relentless.
I took a couple of vacation days last week, and had five days off in a row. I worked on the book project for what felt like millions of hours. I’m happy with the first half of the manuscript, and am roughly 75% OK with the second half. I think I can finish it in two more days, and have another five days off in a row starting on Thursday. So, I should be good.
Just like during the yurt days, back when I was writing Crossroads Road, I started to feel weird and disconnected from the world after a while. The first two or three days are great… then the feeling of isolation kicks in. By Friday evening it was coming on strong, and early Saturday afternoon I said fukkit.
I was at the undisclosed location, and called Toney. “Let’s go do something,” I said. “I can’t take this anymore. I’m about to lose it, man.”
She said she and the boys were going to do some back-to-school clothes shopping, and asked if I wanted to join them. “Yes!” I shouted. Even if she’d said they were going to tour the waste treatment plant, I would’ve been on board.
So, we went around to a half-dozen stores, and spent an astonishing amount of money. Well, maybe not for normal human beings, but it felt pretty goddamn astonishing to me. “Why American Eagle?!” I said. “What’s wrong with Target?” And they didn’t even bother to answer, since it was apparently such a ridiculous question.
It was demoralizing, and also a little boring. But I enjoyed being out amongst ’em again. It didn’t take long to reconnect to the current state of humanity, and I had a pretty good monologue going.
After that horribleness was completed, I asked Toney if she wanted to join me for a pitcher of Sierra Nevada, at a pub in town. It hit the spot, and we did some strategizing. We’ve made some of the biggest decisions in our lives over pitchers of beer. Sometimes it feels like the only time we can actually talk, without distractions.
That night I dreamed about living in the house where I grew up, probably because I’d been writing about it. Except Toney and the boys were there, and not my parents. Andy had been missing for two days, and nobody seemed to be concerned about it. I went out looking for him, walking the streets of Dunbar, and nobody else seemed to give a shit. That dream felt like it lasted for nine or ten hours, and I never found our beloved hound. Not that anyone else cared, mind you. It was super-stressful, and frustrating.
And yesterday afternoon I returned to work. My computer monitors were cockeyed, and both had been turned off. WTF? The computer was locked-out under somebody else’s user ID, my chair was lowered all the way to the floor, and the armrests were turned backwards. Grrr… Also, all my pens were gone. Every one of them. So, within two minutes, I was already whipped-up and mumbling to myself again.
Talk about reconnecting to humanity!
That kinda-sorta brings you up to date on my exciting life. What’s going on in yours? Use the comments link below.
And I’ll see you guys again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Now playing in the bunker
Use the Surf Report’s webhost: HostGator!
Uno.
The last week sucked ass. My dad passed away last Tuesday and it was constant stress overload the rest of the week, until we buried him on Saturday. Weird feeling, having your only remaining parent pass. We knew it was only a matter of time, but still the feeling is one of “you’re on the clock now” is in the back of my mind. I also live a short distance away from where he lived and drive by there twice a day, on my way to work. Gonna be pretty strange to see other people coming and going from that house soon. But, Dad had just found out he had terminal cancer on Aug 1 and passed away on Aug 20 and didn’t suffer much at all. I also ended up being the only family member with him when he took his last breath, which I find comforting. Other than that, I don’t know what happened over the past week.
Awwww damn, Bill. Sorry to hear that.
Sorry to hear about your loss–I have a brother in law that’s in the final stages of cancer as well…he’s only in his early 60s.
Sorry to hear it. My former MIL passed last week and if the Ex’s level of exhaustion is anything near yours, I’m very sorry.
Bill…so sorry for your loss. Xo
So sorry about your dad. Cancer really sucks. My mom passed away in April after a 4 year cancer battle.
My heart goes out to you, Bill. I lost both of my parents many years ago and I still miss them every single day.
Condolences from me as well. Glad you were there at the end. Missed my dad’s last breaths but was holding my mom when she took hers. It is comforting. Just be thankful for all the good times and cherish the memories.
Wanna hear something scary? After my last uncle died this spring I realized I was the oldest in the family. I am now The Matriarch. I hope to hold that title for a while.
My condolences Bill.
I’m so sorry I didn’t make it to the wake Bill but I was recovering from surgery.
Again, my condolences to your family. Sounds like you have a lot of wonderful memories of your dad.
Sorry about your loss, Bill
I’m pretty sure I deserve a reserved parking space at the orthodontist’s office, or at least my own seat in the waiting room for as much time as i spend there, so yeah, I know where you’re coming from on the medical madness front.
Charleston now has its own fancy-pants brewpub which we gave the inaugural visit last week. I think we could do some mulling, dreaming and scheming over a couple of pints there, but I don’t think we’re ready for strategizing just yet.
Bill, I am so sorry for your loss. My dad died 20 years ago and not a day goes by I don’t miss him…
On a lighter note, I became a Grandmother last Tuesday!
Congratulations, Laina.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Being a grandma is the best fun ever!
Squeeze em, hug em ,spoil em, give em a good sugar buzz and send em home!
BEST.THING.EVER!
Sorry about your loss. I got a call from my mom last night with that tone, but it was a neighbor and not a family member.
Life things.
Truck was towed, will cost too much to get it out and get it fixed so I’m gonna say fuck it. Was only a 1500 dollar truck (The Bottle Rockets come to mind).
New job is going well but not exactly in my field. The people are awesome and possibly the best company I’ve worked for. However…..
I’ve been getting calls about a job back in my field which is at the other side of the airport from current job.
Going to the hometown (Marietta, OH) to see the family this weekend, so that’s good.
Went to Deer Park in PA yesterday.
Things are looking up.
When you go back to work, you cease to miss human interaction! I don’t like people rummaging around my office either.
What’s the backstory to the photo at the top? I can only venture to guess that someone misunderstood the common nickname for Parmesan Cheese–“Stinky-feet cheese!”
I go in for gum surgery tomorrow. Right side upper and lower. It’s all done by laser now so it should be pretty pain-free (famous last words). I just want to get it oer with. Fucking thing is costing me over $2000 out of pocket. My dental insurance sucks but at least it’s soemthing.
Went to an excellent Farmers Market on Saturday.
Good Christ… gum surgery and farmers markets? It’s official, I’m an old fuck… Life in the fast lane, kids.
Past week? Had a death in the family as well, so the Things hung with me while their Dad went and did the dirty work of decision-making and planning. I avoided as much responsibility as possible, fetched Thing 1 from the local community college on an odd schedule, let Thing 2 hang out before school started today, babysat a dog, and tried to not screw up too bad at work. BO-RING.
The Big Angel should be out of her braces in December and the Wee Angel just got hers put on this week. I think I’ve funded a parking space.
The last two weeks all I have been doing is sitting around by myself doing nothing but surfing the net and watching tv. Had shoulder surgery for two tears in the rotator cuff and a detached tendon. All my sleeping has to be done sitting up and with the big ridiculous sling pad thing on 24/7 I can’t do shit. Even typing this sucks.
The pain is starting to subside and I have figured out after two weeks I’m not the sit around in a chair doing nothing kind of guy. It’s driving me nuts.
If I see one more picture of Miley Cyrus’ tongue, I won’t be held responsible for my own violent actions…
Ther are some pretty sad pictures of her ass out there too.
For instance:
http://imgur.com/r/funny/8NgHV0u
Ed, I must be in a really strange mood tonight because that photo make me howl with laughter. That is sick as hell!
Yeah. What was the deal with the tongue thing? She look ridiculous. Thats not sexy. Just vulgar, vile and gross. Another rich little puke that needs a good kick in the ass. And don’t get me started on Taylor Swift…
We just dropped off the kid back at WVU last weekend. Hauled 3 truckloads of shit to get her apartment set up.
Our house is finally back to normal. People are not coming and going at 3:00 AM, littering up my lawn with 5,000 cigarette butts, fifths of whiskey disappearing from my basement, and nobody is stealing all of the quarters out of my change jar.
Also, I got my sofa back. There has been a collection of every type of strange people sleeping there for the last 10 weeks, drunk girls in their underwear, guys with tattoos and/or pony tails, homeless people, hookers, zombies, and Tommy Chong one night, I think.
Finally, some peace and quiet (until Thanksgiving.)
You may want to have that sofa cleaned.
I may actually have a job finally…
Last week SUCKED ASS! While trying to recover from rotator cuff surgery, (I feel your pain Phil. They can shove that big ridiculous sling pad sideways and on a slant.) I got the death sentence. Surgeon sent me to neurologist for a barrage of tests. Came back ALS. Gave me 3-5 from start of symptoms, which translates to 2-4years. then had to drive oldest across 3 states to start freshman year of college. Get to go from workers comp to total disability. I’m not the kind to sit around all day either. Keep the updates coming Jeff, they are the only things keeping me sane.
Mike, that is horrible news and I’m sorry you’ve got this shit to go through and deal with. Hang in there and let’s hope Jeff’s new book is published soon so we can all have a few desperately needed chuckles.
Acupuncture. Seriously, Mike. It helps allay the symptoms.
Man Mike, this shoulder is nothing. I feel bad for even complaining since it is just a pimple in the big picture of my pretty good life. I hope you prove to be one of the persons who hang in there and keep us up on what is happening for as long as you feel like sharing.
Here I sit in a plastic surgeon’s office where, yesterday, someone came in complaining the botox she received made her smile lines under her eyes crooked. Yes. Those are the earth shattering problems we see. This definitely puts things in perspective. I hope you prove them wrong, Mike. We’re with you.
Did you uncrookedize them for her?
Nope. She’s insane. She looked fine. And it will wear off if she doesn’t like it….in about 3 months.. ha.
Thanks to all for the kind words of support and encouragement. I didn’t mean to start a pity party, just responding to our fearless leader’s query. @ Clueless, thanks for the suggestion, although I’m gonna avoid needles for a while since that god-awful EMG. I still feel like a worn out pin cushion.
Had a friend that lost her Godson yesterday to a drug overdose. Sad, sad situation. He was only 39 years old and had struggled trying to stay clean for several years. My friend is a recovering alcoholic (sober 17 years) and this has been heartbreaking for her. There’s nothing I can say or do that will ease her pain; I just try to be there and listen. Another one of my friends died of lung cancer last week. We were pregnant with our sons at the same time. I can’t believe she is gone; she was my age. Looks like a lot of death among us surfers recently. Makes me think about my own mortality a little bit.
On the up side, my son started a new job today and called me tonight to fill me in. His last day at his other job was Friday and he went straight to this one w/o taking any time off. He is IT Manager for a group of investors at one of their new start-up companies and he was really impressed with their attitudes and their welcoming him to the company. It had reached the point at his other job that he was so taken for granted and overworked that he almost hated going to work each day. He was in meetings all day long and has several more scheduled for the rest of the week. He said “Hey, I had a great day today. Who knows, I may screw up tomorrow, but today was awesome.” Gotta love his attitude. Any time things are going well for my kid, I’m on top of the world.
Just got back from Reading festival on Monday feeling tired and sore but mightily entertained. This was my first foray to this festival and it amused me that the standard uniform for all females under 30 looked like that Miley link up above. I’m off all this week too, so things are okay for me. Highlights: Skindred, Deftones, System of a Down, Green Day, Eminem, The Virginmary’s, Hacktivist, We Are Knuckledraggers.
Went to the Steeler’s preseason game Saturday night. It’s gonna be a loooooong season. Ugh.
Late to the party as usual.
Bill, I am very sorry! I have yet to face that myself, but it won’t be long and I’m dreading it.
Reefie, “taken for granted and overworked” sounds familiar. Is your son one of my co-workers?
And it seems like I need to try to get to Reading one year. Skindred!
.
I had surgery.
They took all my thyroid out so I get to take the fake thyroid juice for the rest of my life.
No cancer though so that’s a good thing.
I now have a cool scar across my neck.
No complaints.
I just want to give everyone a big virtual hug!
(and a reach around for a few of you 😉 )
Tease