Part 3 of I Guess My "Fast & Loose" Youth is Catching Up to Me

Wednesday - Gamma Rays and More Bad News Just in case you need to catch up - here's a link to Part Two The Allergy Doctor - Tuesday hh Wednesday, March the 22d. A day that may remain forever etched into the whorls of my mind. Another vacation day. Not that I intended it to be, it just worked out that way. My mouth awoke me early - 4:30 or so...Time to eat another handful of advil and shower. Steroids and nasal spray for breakfast. Yum! I was feeling alright by the time it was time to go and get my chest X-Ray done for the Allergy doctor. Still unsure about this Asthma thing. One thing I'm not unsure of though, is one of my upper left teeth has a serious problem. Luckily this will be addressed today, I'm hoping. Get to the clinic where I'm to have the X-Ray done by 9:05. So much for 8:45! 'Take that! you pushy receptionist!' Answer all five thousand questions for the third friggin' time this week! The technician comes to get me and takes me somewhere in the back and asks me to have a seat. So I do. She goes away. She's gone for like maybe ten or fifteen minutes. Coffee break?! Smoke break?!? I don't know, but I'm beginning to get a little steamed...Couldn't do me yesterday and now I'm left to cool my heels sitting next to this big Magnet! MRI machine. What kind of outfit is this anyway... The tech finally comes back and we head off to the XRay suite. "Mr. Hynds, please remove your shirt and any jewlery" So I do. She takes me over to the Gamma Ray Sprayer and poses me this way and that. Takes a few shots. You know the drill. Tells me to have a seat while she checks the XRays. We do one over...Goes away. Comes back in a few, "Okay we're done!" So I get dressed and head over to the business office, where I expect to pay at least my co-pay. I stand around for like 10 minutes while people ignore me. I get perturbed enough that I go back out front to the receptionista and stand in front of the desk until she looks up at me. "Okay that's it!!" "What! No-copay??" "We bill the doctor. You are finished. Have a nice day!" So I bail out to my car. Cruise back to the house to await my next appointment with the Endodontist in the afternoon. Eat another handful of advil and a steroid with my lunch. Yum! Manage to sleep, just a little. Till it's time to drive over there and the pain is starting to get impressive! I roll into Dr. Garza's office, sign in, and sit down. I'm really expecting him to chew my ass out today for not finishing the work that was begun last year. And I deserve it! In the mean time, these steroids are making me go to the bathroom. A LOT! I was warned by the allergy guy about this. So I'm called and escorted back to the 'Chair'. The Doctor's assistant, pretty though she is, is prattling about, annoying me. Gotta be the pain(!). The advil is wearing off and I hurt! She takes a couple of X-Rays. Digital, but still more Gamma Rays(!) and Doctor Garza ambles in. We exchange pleasantries as much as I am able, through clenched teeth and get down to business. Dr: That tooth we did last year has decayed even more. That isn't the one that's causing you pain though, I did a root canal on that last year. But I'm afraid it will need to go. Me: Waht!? Dr: Yes it's too far gone. Me: Waht?! Dr: Let's get you numbed up And he does so. The he gets his implements of destruction out and goes to work. The guy is generally very gentle. But he hit ALL THREE of the nerves in that tooth in quick sucession and that almost brought me up and OUT OF THE CHAIR! He numbed them up, of course, each in turn. But STILL! After about half an hour, he stops. Dr: Tom, we need to talk... Me: Waht?! Dr: This one is too far along too. It needs to come out of there. Me: WHAT!?! TWO TEETH!! I'm a little upset...But those teeth are like my friends. I don't want to lose them. Dr: I've got to see if we can get you an appointment with an oral surgeon while you are still numb. Me: Waht?!? Dr: I'll be back in a few... So I'm left to contemplate the loss of two teeth in the immediate future. It nearly brings me to tears. It is one of those moments in life you hear about, but think, it'll never happen like that to me...My eyes well up. But I fight the tears back, almost. One escapes and rolls down my left cheek. I am clearly distressed about this. And I should be. But I've got no-one to blame except myself. Doctor comes back. Okay the surgeon is waiting for you right now. I'm sorry Tom. Me: Not your fault. You did your part. I didn't do mine! He gives me directions to the Oral Surgeon's office. This is the same fella who took out my kids wisdom teeth. Good man. I walk out to my car. Next: This Is Gonna Hurt You Alot More Than It Does Me!

People are Strange

The folks that ride the Park and Ride from my location in Katy can be just a little... Strange When it comes to riding the bus. On more than one occasion, I've been standing in the line, waiting to board the bus (Now this is for the commute into downtown Houston) when the line stops dead, even though it appears there are still plenty of seats on the bus... What's going on? you might ask... Some folk won't get on a bus if it's more than two thirds full. Some will wait for the next bus because someone is in "their" seat and they won't sit anywhere else. A lot of folks waiting in line behind them will stand there and let one weirdo dictate that the bus is now full... That old VW commercial comes to mind, "Another pathetic sheep, following the herd." Then there are the people who run at full speed from the parking lot, only to stand in a long line to get on the bus. Or the ones that run to board the bus, like it's the last train to Clarksville. People are Strange...

You Should be Careful What You Say...

I was coming into the building this morning @ 0630. Stopped outside to have a smoke before making my way to the 15th floor. Happened to be standing next to this guy in an expensive and foreign suit. We talked a little bit about the weather. I initially thought he was from England, but then I realized he was from Holland. We talked about the differences between Holland and Texas weather. 180 Degrees. Then we (he) started talking about Chemicals. Told him I was in Chemicals IT. He was a Chemicals guy. Had worked in HR, Finance and other parts of the business. Dropped all these big names. I suddenly realized this guy was a... Big Wheel! Asked me what I was doing now and I told him I was one of the Global Security Admninistrators for Chemicals GSAP. He asked me my name and I told him - He looked thoughtful for a second or two, and said, "I've heard of you!" I was like, "Oh Hell!!" He said, "No, it was only good things! Really!" Well that is certainly good news! I have no idea who this guy is. But we must have a friend in common...God only knows who that could be...

Movie: Failure to Launch

Failure to Launch, about a thirtysomething man who lives with his parents and falls in love with a woman he suspects was hired by his parents to get him out of their house. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, and Terry Bradshaw. Directed by Tom Dey. Saw this flick this weekend...I'm not going to have to much to say about it other than... It was funny and kind of cute. And Football great Terry Bradshaw was one of the best things in it. Loved his part. He's the dad of the thirtysomething guy played by Matthew McConauhey. Texas T's Rates it: TTt Not sure I should be using the "C" word in public...

We All Like to Think of Our Selves

As Suave and Cool. I know I do, BUT...<=big but(!) I was walking into Chipotle this evening to pick up dinner for the three of us. I hit the curb with a toe and lurched forward, wind - milling my arms wildly. I nearly busted my ASS! "I meant to do that," I told the guy walking up beside me. Debonair and cool - R-i-i-i-i-g-g-h-h-h-t-t. NOT! I was probably just foolin' myself about that cool crap. I mean how cool can a 6 ft, 245 pound fat guy be cool? 'nuff said!

Technology Bytes!

The Queen and I have gotten some major technology upgrades over the last couple of weeks with more to come. For me at any rate a couple of upgrades are necessary. And Besides, I'm tired of writing about my medical issues. I'm sure I'll get back to those...Later... New Cell Phones at the Castle! So we needed to sign up with a new cell Plan as the Company is going to take mine away and give me one of their "new" plan phones with a per minute charge as opposed to the 200 minutes (whoopee!) I got previously for some ridiculous price like $29.95 US/month. Needless to say personal use will be strongly discouraged. So I went shopping last week! The Queen has been saying she wanted one of these new Motorola Razr phones. She has not liked the Moto phones she's had in the past. But she seems to like this one! "I wonder if we could get away with just cellular phone services and get rid of the old land-line. I'll have to discuss it with the Queen. Probably not. Something to think about at any rate. We don't use dial-up anymore..." But I digress...And why is it I only think to write about this stuff after midnight? You can see the Queen got the Cool "Pink" Razr and I got the Black as they didn't have any of the ones with the Stainless finish. No matter! As you can see in the picture of the open phones, my Queen is a Caribbean Queen! They are the new v3 phones as well. Camera w 3X digital zoom, video, web access, Instant Messaging, SMS, email, Hundreds of ring tones, etc. They've got all the bells and whistles, man...Finer than frog hair, they are. And reception as clear as a bell too. I just wonder if they'll work in the various places all over the world like my old SamSung Flip phone did. On a sadder note my old IPAQ appears to be about to croak. The Queen bought this wanger for me several years ago after my last Palm gave up the Ghost. I think I sat on it! Well actually I had it in a back pocket when I fell on my ass in the parking lot at work one day. Don't ever do that! They cannot take it! Plus falling down (at work) is embarassing! At any rate it was bought when the name "Compaq" still meant something. It's a model 3635 with 32 megabytes of Ram with an expansion pack. Bought a 32 MB card to go in that but it always drained the battery so quickly that I didn't use it much. It won't hold a charge much longer than a day anymore. Seems to be a few hours at this point. It seems to be dropping a lot of the entries I make now unless it's hooked up to a charger at the time of the entry. It's looking pretty beat up too. It should because I was HARD on this unit. I've dropped it more than once. I even think the dog chewed on it once! Ornery little shit we had before we got our boxer! I keep my life and my work in this thing! If it died on me I'd be lost! So I did some shopping today and found one of these puppies and bought it! It's a Palm Life Drive Mobile Manager! 4GB hard drive and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, It will read Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs right off the bat, with support for POP, IMAP and Exchange email accounts music, photos & video. Plus, a voice recorder, MP3 player, and photo viewer. Plus it's Palm OS, which I always liked better than Windows CE anyway. (Don't ask me why...Maybe because the Palm was the first one I owned?) It should ship next week. I'm Psyched! Woot!

Part 2 of I Guess My "Fast & Loose" Youth is Catching Up to Me

The Allergy Doctor - Tuesday s I said...Or maybe I didn't...(Must be the drugs - Hee Hee!) I'm of an age now that means I am supposed to be more concerned about my own health. Especially if I want to keep hanging out with the Queen! My other referral from my MD's office was for an allergist as I have not been able to breathe properly for at a minimum of 15 years and now seemed as good a time as any to get tested because my sinuses were really giving me hell. I'd had a sinus headache going on two weeks straight. (or so I thought) And nothing was giving me relief. N-O-T-H-I-N-G was working. Not the stuff my MD was prescribing and nothing from over the counter either. So off I go to the Allergy Clinic. Go through the usual 5000 questions. The attending nurse has me blow into this tube to test my lung capacity - Three times - Obviously she does not like the results. After the 5000 (or so questions) they send in a technician(?) who will be performing the allergy tests. The old fashioned way - little pricks to the back. But before that let's go do the REAL Lung test. Blow into this tube please. The doctor comes in to explain what will be done. "By the way he says, I do think you have asthma. So we'll be administering some medicine for that first in a mist form. Takes about 10 minutes and then we'll do the lung test again and then we'll do the allergy thing. Is that Okay?" "You're the Doctor." I say. So I do the breathe this medicine in thing and we go out to do the test again after about 15 minutes. And we do it several times because the machine is fucking up. I don't think we ever got a conclusive result, but Dr. Kline is clearly not happy. Back to the exam room where the techie is setup with her samples. Laying on my stomach she pricks me with all these samples and then goes away for 10 minutes. Comes back to check goes away for another 5 minutes. I don't really care (I've brought my own reading materials - Model Train Mags) except it's cold and my back is itching pretty good by now! She comes back with Dr. Kline, who is not happy with these results either(!) "Well Tom, either you are allergic to EVERYTHING or for some reason your skin is really sensitive. We'll have to try the arm test." 'Great!" I'm thinkin' "But not today," he continues. "Let's see if we cannot get you stabilized first. Now I want you to take all this stuff for 2 weeks and then come back. And I'd like you to get a chest X-Ray." After all is said and done, I've got the following: 10 days worth of steroids to take Stuff called Nasarel to spray up my nose (This shit WORKS!) two to four times a day Another steroid in an inhaler to do nightly (Oh yes - you need to rinse your mouth out after) And a rescue inhaler in case of an attack! I don't think I've even ever had an attack! Hell I didn't even know I had asthma until Tuesday But I smoke and I have for over 30 years (hard to believe and really sad in a way) I thought I was supposed to be short of breath. I pay my co-pay and leave with more luggage thasn I arrived with. Stop by the X-Ray place they've recommended, HealthSouth - right up the block and request a chest X-Ray. I'm asked, "Do you have an appointment?" "No I don't. Do I need one?" "Yessir - the earliest appointment I have open would be 9:15 in the morning. Could you be here by 8:45?" What ever stuff they've given me at the allergist is really working. My sinuses have stopped hurting and I can breathe. But now the left side of my mouth is really throbbing. Did I mention I've been eating and drinking with one side of my mouth? No? Well I have...For about six months. Right about the time I had one of my crowns come off on the right side. Went to the dentist immediately for that. Asked them about the left side being sensitive to cold. Dentist said I needed to talk to the Endodontist that did the work over there last year. THAT guy was going to be chewing me out for not getting the additional work done that he said I needed. So I blew it off and ate increasingly on the right side of my mouth. I knew something was very wrong because drinking water shouldn't hurt! Fast forward to Day before yesterday - Tuesday - I decide to call him and set an appointment. "Yes Mr. Hynds, we can see you, Tomorrow afternoon." Part 3 tomorrow - More Gamma Rays and More Bad News

Part 1 - I Guess My "Fast & Loose" Youth is Catching Up

o me finally. Just feeling sorry for myself, I reckon. Let me tell you a story. T'was the night before surgery And all though the house Not a creature was stirring Except for myself. Probably not that big a deal, but I'm losing two teeth in the morning...So it's Oral Surgery. More medical shit going with me than anything else. Starts like this: The last time I was at my regular MD (to get some scrips renewed), I asked for a couple of referrals. One for my allergies - and one for my freakin' feet. I figured the guy for the allergies woiuld be able to help me to breathe well enough to use the CPAP machine I was supposed to get from the sleep clinic that diagnosed me with sleep apnea. Still don't have the fucking machine, but...that's another story. And my damned feet have always hurt, but in the last few years, they've really gotten bad. First - The Podiatrist I wore corrective shoes as a kid. But of course, as soon as I could get out of them, I did. What child of the 60's wanted to wear those saddle shoe lookin' things on their feet as a teenager or a preteen? Not this one I assure you. But in the last year based on what other folk have told me I thought I developed a bone spur on my right heel. If you had seen me rolling out of the rack in the morning, you would have thought I was about ninety years old...Feels like someone is sticking a hot needle in my heel. So off I go to the podiatrist - Dr. Moscowitz. Has a nice, amiable manner. And as far as I can tell he has a pretty good staff too! Has a good look at my feet both sitting (or laying) and standing. Says, "Man your feet are flat. They should hurt." Examines the bottom of my right for a while. "Let's get some x-rays, but I don't think you have a spur." Autumn (the nurse) takes me across the hall, where she shoots some gamma rays through my foot. Digital X-rays - Man, How cool is that! At any rate the doc comes in and says, "Just as I thought - no spur there, son." I ask so what the hell is it then? He then explains that I have torn the ligament in the bottom of my foot that connects all the bones there. And apparently I keep re-injuring it...Or at least keep it from healing properly...IN MY SLEEP! By extending my foot for prolonged periods. Prescribes a right angled boot to sleep in and advil. Not for the pain, but as an anti inflammatory. "Oh yes, and we need to make casts of your feet so you can get some inserts for your shoes. This will help your other constant pain. They should be ready in about ten days" So Autumn makes casts of my feet (Hey! That tickles!) Then I'm off to the business office. $$$CHA-CHING$$$ Four hundred and eighty dollars is MY part! Holy crap! Insurance pays 80% and this is my part??? I know this doesn't go with oral surgery so...but this is how my week started... Stay tuned for Part 2 - The Allergist and more!

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Just finished this. An interesting take on Heaven and Earth. The narrator of this novel is a teenage girl who has been brutally murdered and dismembered and transcended into Heaven. The story centers around her and her family's reaction to the crime. And oh yeah...Let us not forget the sick bastard who murdered her...Brrrrrrrr(!) Kept me up for a night. Texas T's rates it: T T T T t!

New Design Finalized

Finally got my template formatted the way I wanted on my test site here... Used one of Thur's Templates which I modified heavily. Thur Broeders runs several blogs and sites, one of which he has a pile of nice templates in 2 and 3 column formats. Anyway, here is a quick summary of the changes I made to Sound Off by TexasT's Installed new template on the test blog Added My Links on the right. This list should grow! Tweaked some pictures so they would work with the new template Changed left side content titlebars from something and something else to Books I've Read and Films I've seen Added flickr badges one on the upper left - one in the footer Added email link under my profile Added Blogroll to the left Added the picture to my header and changed the font color and sizing. Added some coding to make it look the way I want it to look. I've since converted my NScale site to a 3 column template by Thur, Texas T's Forays in 1:160, which I modified. My two sites are similiar, but not identical. Been practicing my mad html skills can you tell? Just a hobby, but I'm getting a little better.

I am so SICK of dealing with the CABLE COMPANY!!!

Yesterday I spent my entire morning dealing with the friggin' Cable Company. Believe me, I HAVE GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO!!! I am sooooooo fed up with dealing with ineffectual Customer Service people. 5 phone calls (starting Friday evening) and a visit to the local service center (to pick up a "new to me" cable modem), a cancelled service call, and the best they can do is "intermitent" HS internet service... I finally asked to speak with a supervisor....After 5 MORE minutes on hold, the supervisor come on the line...No wait...It's... EFFING VOICE MAIL!!! I'd had it. I blew a friggin' gasket all over this woman's voice mail! Hung up and called them back because the new time set up (monday between 10.00 and noon was NOT Acceptable. I mean, I don't know how it is in your house, but everybody in mine WORKS for a living! Page thru their freakin' phone system to get back to the service dept. Spend 10 MORE minutes on hold. Get yet another technician on the phone. Get red in the face while he explains their policy on service calls...As I was about to explode all over him. The friggin' supervisor beeps in on my other line. Also at about that time the internet connection suddenly blooms. Holy crap! It's a connection! Quick!! Super tries yet again, to explain service policy... "Save it Maria - Just explain to me WHY I've had 19 service calls to my house in the last quarter!! And why you can't seem to figure out what the Heck is wrong here!" No good giving them an utlimatum - they are the only game in town! And while I was typing this message, My connection went down AGAIN! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

New Look Coming to This Blog

Been thinking about going to a 3 column format here. 3 column templates (GOOD ones) seem to be kind of hard to come by...But...Found some nice ones at Thur's Templates. Thur Broeders runs several blogs and sites, one of which he has a pile of nice templates on. In 2 and 3 column formats. I've converted my NScale site to a modified 3 column template by Thur. Also created a test site here. Once I've got it looking the way I want I'll be moving that template to Sound Off By Texas T's. In other words, right here. Learned a bit of code from Thur's website. Like how to put pictures in the Title block. So I've created a few backgrounds for that. I'll be switching them out on an irregular basis. Samples: The Freemont Experience (Las Vegas) : Chinese Junk in Singapore: Singapore Skyline: Picture Conversion: Daisy: Downtown Skyline: