Restoring my faith in our youth and in humanity in general

Fellow blogging cyclist (or is it cycling bloggist?) Ed W over at CycleDog has raised a great kid. This story proves it.
Bring a tissue.
Thanks Ed, thanks Jordan, I needed that.

Had to go to the ER today

I don’t know what the deal is. In my wild and criminally stupid youth I found myself in the ER at least once a year, some years much more.

Now I can only recall my last 3 visits, off the top of my head. Nearly 9 years ago I crashed my bike, broke my collar bone, and needed surgery for my leg. Then… nothing until this March, when out of the blue I nearly bled to death at work. Which brings us to today… I managed to give myself a knot (hematoma) the size of the prototypical goose egg (seriously, this ain’t no sissy-ass chicken egg!) on the top of my right wrist. Initially I’d decided to wrap it up and ignore it, but it hurt like a, shall we say, melon fever.

So, I go to the ER. Not the one half a mile from my house, where they’ve elevated incompetence to an art-form, but another (slightly less) nearby one where I was treated extremely well after my crash ~8 years ago and where the Orthopedic Surgeon who treated me practices.

They took some X-rays and after some consultation decided that nothing’s broken and no surgical intervention is called for at this time. If it gets any bigger or starts impinging on any nerves it will probably come to that. Actually I was almost hoping for surgery, recovery would’ve been a matter of days. History and experience have shown that this thing on my arm is going to take considerably longer than that to reabsorb.

So, probably no bike riding for a week or two, no work this weekend and… They gave me Vicodin. Well I must wrap this up, the Vicodin’s telling me I should bake a pie and watch a movie, and when Vicodin speaks, I listen.

What’s up with the UPS guy?

Anyone who’s spent any significant amount of time around me has heard me complain about the USPS/UPS/DHL/Fed-Ex person. I swear sometimes it seems like they’re just fucking with me for their own entertainment, what with their stealthy ninja delivery techniques and what-not.

Anyway… yesterday I was expecting UPS to deliver a package. When I came home there was the dreaded InfoNotice™ stuck to my door, with the “Signature required on delivery (in person)” box checked. OK, that’s not a huge deal, I can be home from 2:00 to 5:00 Wednesday (today) to sign for it.

So, today I’m ready and waiting when I see the UPS truck pull up out front. And what happens? He sets the package at the bottom of the steps, knocks on the door, and makes a run for it, apparently having changed his mind about requiring my signature. I open the door just as he’s about to leave, so he turns around, picks up the package and brings it up to me. I sign, thank him, and he’s on his way.

I really should have asked why he (or whomever) couldn’t have left it yesterday like he was attempting to do today. No need though, I know why. They’re fucking with me.

This is why I don’t like to talk politics

The day after Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate, I found myself involved in a conversation about his choice.

The person I was chatting with could have been a co-worker, an acquaintance, or a stranger on the street, it really doesn’t matter to the story so, in the name of anonymity, you can select whichever you prefer.

Anyway, this person says to me, quite contemptuously (about Joe Biden):

“That man looks more like a Republican than he does a Democrat.”

I walked away from the conversation at this point, shaking my head and thinking:

“Jesus! And your vote counts just as much as mine does.”

Nothing like having an informed opinion. Honestly! S/he doesn’t like him because he “looks like a Republican.”

Wow.

Who’s that outside my window?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photo, so here you go. This little fella was waiting on the outside of my kitchen window the other morning.

I’m Still Here

In case anyone was wondering, I didn’t get eaten by bears, or fall down a well, or anything like that. I’ve simply been neglecting the blog while other more pressing matters took precedence.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

This generally seems to indicate that it’s time for a flurry of new posts, so stay tuned, or something.