Life Juice

I love coffee. Loooooove it. So it makes total sense that I quit caffeinated coffee on July 1. O_O

I've had a soda and maybe two iced teas since. My reasoning was that caffeine was probably, at best, not helping with recent anxiety problems and, at worst, amplifying them. Additionally, caffeine doesn't really make me feel more awake; sometimes it just makes me knock things over.

I managed to implement this hair-brained plan when I had daily access to a café in Grand Cayman called The Greenhouse. They made some great decaffeinated iced coffees and lattes for me. In other words, they gave me hope that I could survive decaf.

Yesterday's attempt at brewed decaf was drinkable, but I used too much half&half. Today, Day 2, I tried more liberal scoops of grounds than the recommended 1 tbsp/6 ounces and was more careful with the half&half pour (judging by color of the solution rather than height on the mug). It's better. I haven't killed anyone yet.

Going forward, I want to get one of those Nespresso doohickies and a decent cocktail shaker this weekend. If I'm stuck with this dirt masquerading as life juice, I might as well get some joy out of it.

A harsh mistress

The moon was in the sky over the Rocket Garden at around 10am on Monday. It was frustrating to see those images juxtaposed. Hardly reminiscent of 38 years of abandoning greatness.

If the moon could talk, it would probably say something like "Hey guys, I'm still here. Come hang out sometime?"

We really need to be less myopic about science and exploration.



More photos.

The Wrist Saga in crappy phone photographs

Here's how it all started, on February 21st, in a box of foam, in the emergency room in Laconia, NH.

But then I went back to look at it and noticed something interesting about the birthmarks on my arm, so I took this new photo today...

Click on the image to see larger versions. Notice the four birthmarks slightly distal of the halfway point of my forearm and the respective positions of my hand in the two images. In the first image, these marks are between the two proximal velcro straps, and in the second image, the marks are roughly in line with the edge of the laptop. Not a scientific comparison by any means, but yeah.

Anyway, back to the timeline. This next one is probably the day of or after surgery. I was properly camped out on the sofa with the offending appendage propped up on a yellow crab. The suspicious orange bottle on the table is exactly what you think it is.

Aaaand the scar soon after the steri-strips came off. The bandaids were to cover the two suture ends that were sticking out. I was worried about snagging them on something before they were ready to fall out. The scar is all lumpy in this photo, but that feature has faded.

My arm is positioned over the Goldtouch ergonomic keyboard that I bought so I could start typing with two hands before I had enough pronation to use a flat keyboard. Very handy.

Here we are at approximately the present. Powerbook screws appear to be suspiciously sized.

My last x-ray and orthopedist appointments were yesterday, but I'm going to keep up with physical therapy until I don't feel any limitations. I also asked for a CD of all my x-rays so I'll have that to play with in a few days. :)

Less broke.

I had my second X-ray/orthopedist follow-up today. Conveniently the last of the two suture ends came out this morning, so I am now band-aid free. The suture ends were so annoying. I had no idea what to expect, and when I pulled the first one, about a centimeter pulled out from inside! The second one was still creepy, but I didn't feel either of them at all. When they were ready to come out, they did. I'm glad they are gone.

I'm slowly regaining flexibility in my hand and forearm, but there's still a lot of weakness and stiffness to defeat. The doctor says I'll be able to start with weights in about 2 weeks and that I should be back to normal in about 4 weeks. I also start physical therapy on Monday morning, and I'm really looking forward to it. I am ready to be back to normal. I'm ready to be back on the brute squad. rawr.

I broke my damned fool wrist

Basically, I rapidly ceased to snowboard.
I broke the distal end of my right radius clean through. It was not my favorite day ever. I went to an ER near the ski area in Laconia, NH. They took x-rays, stuck me in a splint, gave me too many IV opiates, and told me to see an orthopedist in 3-5 days. That was Sunday, February 21st.

February 24th: expecting to be put in a more comfortable cast, I was told, *surprise*, I'm getting surgery to install a titanium plate in two days! Begin two-day solid panic attack.

February 26th: I arrive at Lahey North Shore still properly panicking up until the nerve block went in. That was when everything became interesting and fluffy for about the next hour. lol fentanyl.

I was shivering badly when I got to the OR. They gave me these FABULOUS heated blankets that were interesting for about 10 minutes. The anesthesia guy was also very interesting. The insides of my eyelids were interesting for a while. Someone asked for a T-handle screwdriver and I considered giggling. I asked for chap stick at one point. A doctor remarked that she was amazed that I hadn't been taking pain medicine.


I was fixed! Someone's arm kept being moved around off to my right side and was then placed in a block of yellow foam for me to carry. It was weird to think I knew where my arm was and then look over and realize I was wrong. Later that day the nerve block wore off and I hated everything. I even hated ice cream. I hated cheeseburgers (see, this was serious business). Puking really gets on one's nerves after a while.

February 28th: It was Sunday night before I felt like a human again. A grouchy one-armed human, but still human. I even ate some food successfully.

March 5th: I started learning Spanish.

March 8th: Great joy! The cast was removed! I got a velcro brace thingy in its place.

Today, March 11th: My arm looks really atrophied and fragile after just two and a half weeks; I get nervous about taking it out of the brace for showers. I am practicing bending my thumb and trying to look cool with a wrist brace. My next appointment is the 17th for x-rays and follow-up. It will be cool to compare the post-op x-rays with the new ones they will take. I am curious whether I'll be able to see evidence of healing.

Cooperstown, NY

On our way to Cooperstown, NY last weekend, we stopped for the night in Albany since it was a lot cheaper to get a hotel there. Using my usual strategy of searching Beer Advocate ratings for places in a given city/area, I found a place called The Gingerman. We thought this was somehow related to a such named place in NYC and the ratings were good, so off we went.

Turns out this The Gingerman was not related to the other(s) and was instead privately owned by some Irish dude. I had a super amazing sesame seared ahi tuna and a 5 glass flight of American ales. Surprisingly, the two I liked the best were ones I had not heard of before: Seranac Pomegranate Wheat and Switchback Unfiltered Ale. I also had a Seranac Pale Ale that I found unremarkable, but still ok, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that was kind of dull, and a 90 minute IPA that tasted like it had aged. I am not a big fan of the aged stuff when it tastes too much like alcohol, but it was alright.

Next morning: onward to Cooperstown, NY, which is located 30 miles from civilized highways. The Baseball Hall of Fame was a lot of fun as expected. I liked the historical exhibits and the section on women in baseball the best I think. I ended up buying a shirt in the gift store with a chica player on it. :D

While we were taking a food break at a local bar-type place, we noticed an unusual amount of Ommegang brews... Ommegang is in Cooperstown too! Of course we went there right after we finished touring the Hall of Fame for a free tour and tasting. They had some cool cheese dips and mustard to go along with pretzels. We bought some of the spicy horseradish mustard to take home.

Overall, Cooperstown made for a fun weekend trip.

Grab your peanuts and crackerjacks...

We're goin' to Cooperstown!!