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JANUARY 2008 BLOG ARCHIVE

For current and ongoing blog entries: http://www.thrillfactory.com/

JANUARY 20, 2008

While I typically don't feature Annamae videos here in the main blog (preferring instead to direct users to the VIDEO link at right), this was too special a clip not to spotlight for the family and friends who care:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URRjmziIBcs&eurl=http://www.thrillfactory.com/

I'm crazy about this kid!

JANUARY 18, 2008

SAT 01.12.07

I develop a mild but annoying toothache. Later in the day, I am overcome with what I can only feebly describe as a case of "The Blahs". That night, Am and I drive the baby to Nana's house for a pre-arranged sleepover. I feel relieved to have the following day off from child care -- but strangely guilty for needing it. I have an odd sense that it's for the best, but can't put my finger on why. The toothache keeps me from sleeping more than 30 minutes at a time.

SUN 01.13.07

The left side of my face looks like I'm storing nuts for the winter. The "toothache" was a phantom. The real issue is in the gums, and nothing relieves the pain. Hoping it will work itself out, I shower, pick up the house, do some laundry, and finally collapse into my easy chair for a nap punctuated by bizarre, feverish dreams. My temperature climbs, exacerbating my MS. I become semi-paralyzed.

Am returns from a 12-hour shift in the emergency room, and in minutes is on her way right back with my swollen head in tow. It is clear to the oral surgeon on duty that I have a massive abscess. Cutting it open to drain the puss will be a necessity -- along with extracting the tooth that caused it. It will involve my being admitted to the hospital (a first for me, unbelievably) with surgery set for the morning.

[ And, of course, a blizzard is due to hit in the middle of the night. If someone had yelled "The whole hospital is being held hostage by high-tech terrorists -- you know, the fun kind that just want to hack into the Credit Union's computers and transfer funds offshore!!!", my night would have been perfect. ]

The whole notion of what is about to happen suddenly dawns on me... and I have a massive anxiety attack. My blood pressure plummets. In seconds, I am on a stretcher, while an army of strange people in scrubs draw blood from my left arm while pumping the right full of Ativan, Valium and fluids. A catheter is snaked into my penis so I don't piss myself. Although off duty, Am acts as my advocate, my psychologist, and (interestingly) my oral surgeon's assistant. You haven't lived until you've had someone slice open your gums while your wife suctions up the pus. Sublime!

By this point, the sedatives are really kickin', and I drift in and out of consciousness. Apparently, I have a CT scan of my face done, and all my clothes become a hospital gown. How this happened I can't say. And then everything goes dark and stays that way.

MON 01.14.07

Where am I? Am is talking on the phone, in street clothes, not scrubs. She must have gone home and changed. Is it the next day? Pancakes? Sure. Oh, there's my nurse, she gave me ice cream last night... didn't she? I can't seem to... she must have, because I know her name... and now she's putting something in my IV. More Ativan to calm my nerves. What for? And Morphine? She says it will help with the pain. Pain? Oh,shit... that's right... they have to pull my tooth out...

Then the darkness comes again.

And I wake. And my tooth is still there. And that's when Am tells me that the oral surgeons can only remove the tooth in their office, which means I have to somehow get myself into a wheelchair. The MS prevents me from doing that if I'm flying on sedatives and Morphine -- - which means I have to go forego the sedatives and the Morphine. Great. And, of course, if I have another anxiety attack in their office, there's no support equipment on hand to stabilize me, so I can't be anxious about this AT ALL. Great. And it's actually TWO teeth that have to come out, FYI. And the blizzard, etc etc.

Two blasts of Novocaine, and they're at me. Back and forth, back and forth, baaack and... YANK! I am holding Am's hand and keeping my mind focused only on an image of my daughter that I've burnt into the ceiling tiles with my heat vision. I am NOT having an anxiety attack. In fact, I feel... removed... indifferent. When they start on the second tooth, I am fully out of the moment.

The mind is amazing. No wonder people can be religious. The mind can make any bullshit into reality, and (luckily for me) any reality into bullshit. YANK! Vicodan cocktail, and Bob's Your Uncle!

By the time I get back to my room, the darkness is creeping in again. I manage a few bites of nasty cafeteria pizza, and I'm gone...

TUE 01.15.07

The nursing staff kept me up to my neck in ice cream and Pepsi all night, and now I am very ready to get out of here.

It is Katie's lucky day. She's a nursing student, and mine will be her first catheter removal. I am nude while she and her nursing instructor assess my penis. And still no anxiety. I must be cured.

EPILOGUE: THREE DAYS LATER

Extraction site healing well. Swelling gone. Feeling pretty terrific. Score another one for medical science.

Thanks to all the folks @ MGH, Dr. Beth, Dr. Evan, Dr. Vanderpool, Lizz, poor Katie, and of course my wife, Edie & Bill for being there with Annamae, and Anthony for making sure nobody stole my stuff or abducted me while I was unconscious.

From: Sharon

Lol! Love the commentary about the catheter and katie the nursing student. .haha.

JANUARY 17, 2008

Just a quick post to say...

ANNAMAE WALKED!!!

We unfortunately did not capture the magic moment on video, mostly because we were caught completely off guard by it. She was on the floor between Am and I as we talked. All of a sudden, we notice this beautiful little head bobbing along between us! The baby was just going about her business, moving from one toy to the next on her own two feet. They were five steps that made us very proud. I'll get video online at the first opportunity.

Check back later today for the full story of my weekend in the hospital. I am home now and recuperating, but damn!

JANUARY 11, 2008

By request, this week's Duran Duran track is "Late Bar".

The song was only the second one the band ever wrote (the first being "Sound of Thunder") and was featured only as the B-side of the "Planet Earth" 7- and 12-inch singles.

The performance I've uploaded is from a December 1981 show in London. The number was also included in the band's 2000 Pop Trash tour setlist, much to the satisfaction of fans. Enjoy!

JANUARY 10, 2008

Heads up!

The American Jewish University recently presented a debate between best-selling author Sam Harris (The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation) and Rabbi David Wolpe. The subject, of course, was the existence of God and the role of religion and faith in society. It is a lengthy video, and you may consider brewing a cup of something before settling in, but I absolutely could not let this one go unlinked.

Sam Harris has been somewhat erroneously described as the "American Richard Dawkins". In fact, while Dawkins is a biological scientist, Harris attacks the issue of religion mainly from historical, sociopolitical, moral and ethical directions -- although, he too can be very scientific when the question of the universe and how we got here is raised. It is, after all, a scientific principle, not a religious one.

The debate is HERE and Sam Harris' site is HERE.

JANUARY 2, 2008

Happy New Year to all denizens of the Factory! How did your 2007 work out for you? I can honestly say that it was The Best Year of My Life So Far (thanks to a certain baby -- and a certain wife), but I have high hopes for 2008.

Let's take a quick look back, eh? In no particular order, these are my favorite things about 2007:

- Annamae!

- My fifth wedding anniversary

- Duran Duran (finally!) released Red Carpet Massacre

- The Police (finally!) reunited -- and played Fenway

- Al Gore won the Nobel Prize

- A new Indiana Jones movie started -- and finished -- shooting

- Am and I got to hang out with Tom, Steph, Geoff, Sandra, Vin and Luz in Las Vegas

- The growth of Bill Moyers' Journal on PBS

- Michael Moore's Sicko

- William Friedkin's Bug

- thrillfactory.com found it's look, it's character, and it's audience. The mission for '08? Make it profitable.

Anyway, there are new Annamae shots in the gallery, and a new Duran Duran mp3 from 1982. Balls!

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