Tooth Owie - Cont.

Today I went to have my tooth pulled out and an implant put in. Like most people, I really don’t like dentists and having needles and things stuck in my mouth. Today was no different and I told the surgeon that I was pretty nervous. I have to say, though, he was great. I can’t speak for his surgical ability, but his bedside manner, personality, and willingness to talk to me and keep me up to speed on what was going on was awesome!

He got my tooth out in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately the root on my tooth is slightly large and it left a larger hole in my skull than he would like to have seen so he couldn’t put the implant in today. Instead he did a bone graft and stitched me up. Now I have to wait about 8 weeks for that to heal up before he goes back in and puts the implant in. Then, I’m looking at another three months before I get a crown put on. Not happy, but at least I made some progress on it. On the positive side, I’ll probably be able to put together a good “crack addict” Halloween costume or something.

The photos show the progression of healing. The first photo was the day after it was done. The second one is about 5 days later. You can see my stitches are starting to dissolve and come out.

Vacation – Costa Rica

I just got home from a second trip to Costa Rica. We had a great time and for once we didn’t get too caught up in trying to do a ton of things. I think I slept and dozed most of the first day. We spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool or on the beach. Our house was kind of odd, but the main level of the house was open, like a tree house, which was really cool. Since it was built up on the side of a hill we got a great view and breeze off the ocean and monkeys would routinely come into the house looking for food or just to steal our stuff.



I also tried to learn to surf. I did OK, but it’s far more difficult than it looks when you are just learning. Mostly it’s exhausting fighting the waves to get out there and then trying to time the wave just right so that you catch it. I was pretty wiped out, but had fun and even caught a couple of waves here and there.

It Ain’t Cancer – Part 5

On August 29th I went in to talk to the doc and have some blood work done. We had a good conversation, and I told the doc that my stomach was still pretty upset from the medications. I also told him that at some point I’d like to be able to have an occasional cola, slice of cake, etc. He said that he thought that might be a possibility, but we would have to get things under control first. That is certainly understandable.

My labs came back and I was pretty disappointed with them. My blood glucose level was 143 (down from 229) and my A1C was 8 (down from 11.4). The good news is that they were both down, but it was disheartening that they were not better. In some ways, I felt like everything I was doing wasn’t good enough. The reality is that it’s a little bit of everything and it takes some time to get everything tweaked right. We decided to change my meds to something that wouldn’t upset my stomach so much and to add a new medication to help improve my insulin production.

I started my new meds the day before I went on vacation to Costa Rica. I could immediately tell a difference in my body chemistry and sure enough I had a mild hypoglycemic condition that day as I waited too long to have lunch.

I can’t help but be mildly depressed over the whole situation. It could be worse and in some cases I feel like a big pussy. Still, I want to get it under control. I want to be able to have seemingly “normal’ life without having to constantly be on extreme guard with regards to what I eat. When I was in Costa Rica it was a little difficult to find foods to eat. Remember that while I can eat some fruit, I can’t just scarf down on it like everyone else. I also can’t drink as much or snack on things like chips and cookies. A staple of Costa Rican diet is rice – which is also not that good for me. Combine all that together while you are on vacation and it’s a little depressing. We even went on some cruises and to bars where they had free rum-based drinks with fruit juice and I couldn’t have any of it. Rats. At least I had my first solid poo in over a couple of months. I know that may not sound like much, and is probably too much information, but it was a big deal to me.

So I am on my new meds, and I’m still paying attention to my diet. My workout routine has been interrupted by a number of things – got sick, went on vacation, had dental surgery, etc. – but I’m still working on that as well. My current weight hovers around 141lbs, give or take a pound or two on a day-to-day basis.

It Ain’t Cancer – Part 4

I’ve been struggling with my recent diagnosis of diabetes. I never ate too poorly, but I loved my Dr. Pepper in the morning. I don’t drink coffee or tea, so my morning DP is how I get my caffeine and get going. It’s also an enormous amount of sugar so I had to cut them out. Unfortunately that was my caffeine source and I have just never been able to stomach diet drinks. Lately I’ve tried Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Diet A&W Root Beer. I’m not sure that I understand the point of diet A&W as it doesn’t have any caffeine in it anyway and it doesn’t taste good enough to drink otherwise. Ick.

This pretty much made the first full-on week of meds, diet and no caffeine hell. I had absolutely NO energy, which is counter-intuitive to what I thought I should be feeling. That is, if my glucose levels are elevated because my cells can’t burn the energy and I start taking meds to allow my cells to take in the glucose and burn it, I would have thought that I’d have had a little more energy. It was so bad I couldn’t concentrate and I could literally have laid down in the isle at Home Depot and napped and I wouldn’t have cared that people were walking by me. I had trouble driving home one evening.

From Energy Fiend:
Top 10 Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms

1. Headache- A caffeine headache usually starts behind the eyes and then moves up the front of the head.

2. Sleepiness- This just isn’t your normal tiredness, this is sitting up straight but still can’t keep your eyes open tiredness.

3. Irritability- Everyone and everything gets on your last nerve. It’s best just to lock yourself in your room during this stage.

4. Lethargy- Forget about productivity at this stage because you’ll be unmotivated to do anything.

5. Constipation- Caffeine stimulates the bowel, so without its daily does the colon gets a little cranky too.

6. Depression- Caffeine withdrawal can take away all hope for living. Temporary blues are one thing, but if you already struggle with depression this could be a big issue.

7. Muscle Pain/Stiffness- If you normally have some caffeine prior to exercise then during caffeine withdrawal you could feel as though your muscles have weights strapped to them.

8. Lack of Concentration- Forget school, studying, brain surgery, or jet engine repair during this stage of withdrawal.

9. Flu-like symptoms- Stuffy nose, blocked sinuses and even vomiting have been reported by people withdrawing from caffeine.

10. Insomnia- Some people are strange and actually can’t sleep when going through caffeine withdrawal.

I pretty much exhibited all of these, except for the headache and constipation. If anything, my bowels are irritated by the medication and I have to go more than I’d like.

Things seem to be getting better, which makes me think that I am getting over the caffeine withdrawals. However, today was a bit difficult as I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. I’ve been drowsy and tired all day. It’s also harder for me to get out of bed in the morning. I used to wake up and just be ready to go – even before I’d grab my morning DP. Now it’s a struggle to get moving and make myself breakfast sans caffeine.

I keep telling myself things will get better as my meds and body get more dialed in. As one of my friends told me “it took a while to get it out of whack, it will take a while to straighten it out.”

It Ain't Cancer - Part 3

I saw my doc yesterday and we had a pretty good conversation. When I had gone in for my physical my blood pressure was up a bit, but yesterday it was back to normal – 120 over 80. Almost textbook perfect.

I asked the nurse for a copy of my lab results from the previous test as I still didn’t know what my readings were for glucose, etc. She got me a copy of them and I had plenty of time to review them before the doc came in. It was not a good sign.

For starters, they had run an A1C test. I didn’t know they ran that one, and I was going to request it. An A1C test is a measurement of your hemoglobin and it’s relation to blood sugar (glucose). It’s not a direct measurement of your glucose but of your bloods ability to carry glucose. A normal reading is less than 5.7. Anything between 5.7 and 6.4 is increased risk of diabetes and anything over 7 is diabetes. Mine was 11.4!!!!

Also, my glucose level was 213 – it’s supposed to be under 105. And, they had found glucose in my urine. There isn’t supposed to be any in your urine.

The doc was real nice, but the bottom line is that even with a severe infection it shouldn’t elevate your glucose numbers to that extent and the A1C test wouldn’t have been affected by it. I still asked for another round of tests just to be sure, and prior to starting treatment. The doc agreed, but unless there is some bizarre fluke it certainly looks like I have diabetes.

So….the good news. The doc said I’m not as bad off as it seems, though I will need to start treatment as soon as the next round of tests are confirmed. As he put it, he has fat-bastards coming in with glucose levels well above 300 or 400. He said he even had guy that ran marathons that developed diabetes. That guy got lucky because he came in because he was urinating all the time (sign of diabetes). They tested his glucose level and it was almost 700!! He had a race to run in a week. Doc said if he had ran the race he probably would have died due to dehydration. Lucky guy.

The doc also thinks I am producing insulin – which means that my cell receptors are probably having problems. This is controllable via oral medication, diet and exercise. Unless my body is unresponsive to all the types of oral medication I shouldn’t have to take insulin. At least I don’t have to lose 200lbs or something and the doc is putting me in his handful of “skinny diabetics” category. I wouldn’t say I am skinny, but I’m not huge – I weighed in at 153.4lbs fully dressed @ 5’6”.

So what does all that mean? Well, it means I am going to have to watch my diet, exercise, take pills, and get stuck by needles every 3~6 mos. for the rest of my life. As long as I respond positively to the medication it shouldn’t be that bad.

As for diet - I don’t eat huge gluttonous meals too often, but I will have to curb starches and carbohydrates a little bit, which will be a bit difficult for me since I love pasta, rice, Asian and Italian foods, etc. I’ll have to stop eating chips for a snack and switch over to low-fat popcorn. I eat popcorn as a snack, but now I’ll have to eat more of it. Less on the fruit, more on the veggies, and anything with fiber is good. The Dr. Pepper is going to be really hard for me, though. I don’t drink coffee, but I like my morning DP to get me going. I need to try diet again, but I’ve never liked diet drinks – can’t stand the artificial sweeteners, but maybe I’ll grow to like one of them. And I can still have a drink with my friends, but I can’t get hammered.

It’s still a bit frightening because diabetes increases your risk for heart disease and other cardiovascular issues as well as an increased risk for all kinds of other health problems. Fortunately, and again, if you can get it under control those risks all drop to the same levels as people without the disease. Right now, I am in the paranoid stage (and perhaps still shock and denial) and every minor feeling of numbness or twitching muscle puts me on edge (all signs of nerve damage, or no problem at all!).

It also profoundly reminds me of my mortality. I never liked the idea of taking pills or medication to fix things. I always see “old” people as people having to take a bunch of pills every day, and that in itself can be problematic. Some people get to taking so many pills they actually cause more problems that they fix. Despite trying to take care of myself and staying in some semblance of shape I get to join that club.
It makes me wonder, though, if even 50 years ago a lot of people probably died from complications related to diabetes, but were often diagnosed with something else.

Right now, the first step is to confirm the diagnosis and then get things under control. We’ll see what happens after that.

It Ain't Cancer - Part 2

I’ve been doing a lot of research on diabetes. Last weekend, I relaxed a bit and did some more research on the internet. I discovered a few things that I thought were pretty important:

First, I learned that that elevated glucose levels were typically a sign of infection. I read multiple articles indicating that events such as stress, infection, and dental problems in particular will cause you to have elevated glucose levels. I also read there was some correlation of antibiotics and glucose levels, but since you typically are fighting an infection it is not unusual to be on antibiotics. In other words, there may be some correlation, but it isn’t a direct correlation. Well, I had just started treatment for an abscess (dental AND infection). I also had just had a root canal and was pretty stressed out about the whole ordeal (I hate dentists). Even after my tooth broke almost a week after my physical the x-rays showed that the abscess was almost gone, which means I still had it to some extent.

I also read up on things that cause elevated liver enzymes. While it’s true that diabetes and other problems cause elevated liver enzymes so does acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and narcotics. I was taking all three, including triple doses of ibuprofen within 24-48 hours of the test. I still couldn’t find out how long it takes your body to recover and expel all of that from your system, but I would suspect that 48 hours would be the starting point.

And everything I have read up on testing for diabetes indicates you need to have at least two tests with similar results before confirming a diagnosis. I only had one, and now I seriously question the validity of that particular test. I know I said it earlier, but I am now even more convinced that the test needs to be re-done as well as some additional testing, such as the A1C test (thanks mom!).

None of this means that I don’t have diabetes, but it does mean that we (the doc and I) need to re-evaluate the diagnosis before moving forward.

It Ain’t Cancer

Today, just after getting all the news about having to have surgery to fix my tooth I get call from my doc. I had a physical last week along with some lab work. They called to tell me I had diabetes and that I needed to come in and discuss treatment. It’s hard to explain exactly how I felt then as I was pretty much in shock and my mind was blank. I can’t say I’m doing much better now, either.

I’m going to ask that the test be re-done. I find it hard to believe that my diet and / or lifestyle directly led to it, but it’s entirely possible that I was predisposed to it due to genetics. Since I am adopted, I’ll never know for sure. I also think that the stress of having all the dental work done as well as the cocktail of drugs I have been on may have had some effect, though I could be mistaken.

I feel like I am being kicked in the teeth.

MF Tooth Fairy! Part 1

Right before the July 4th holiday weekend I was in Oakland, CA working on a project for an ice cream manufacturer. Not a bad gig as the weather is pretty nice in Oakland. It stays within five degrees of seventy more days out of the year than all but about one or two other cities in the U.S. So while it was a sweltering 100+ back in Texas, I was enjoying the “heat wave” of 70’s to 80’s.

Right before I came home I had a pretty severe pain in my upper teeth. It wasn’t any one tooth in particular and nothing I did seemed to make it any worse or better. It hurt pretty bad at the time, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. When I woke up the next morning it was gone. I finished up my gig and flew home. My pain returned once, but it never lasted very long. Heading into the holiday weekend it continued to happen more frequently and more intensely. I was pretty much screwed since it was the weekend and a holiday weekend at that. By Sunday it was hurting all the time and by Monday (the 4th) it was hurting so bad that I bummed some pain killers from a friend of mine just to get me through – it was either that or go to the ER as I was in so much pain I couldn’t concentrate anymore. After the drugs kicked in, it took the edge off but I wasn’t in that good of shape. The pain had also localized to one tooth in particular – my left maxillary lateral incisor, also affectionately known as #10.

I got a list of “in network” dentists from the insurance company and my g/f was kind enough to call them and find one that could work me in on Tuesday with very short notice. I appreciated that as I was apparently whacked out on hydrocodone and not functioning very well – she said I was listing to the side as I came back to bed and I wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. Even though I said I would get up and call the dentist she took it upon herself to do so.

The dentist took some x-rays and politely told me I was screwed. I had an abscess that was just forming up in my skull. My #10 had apparently suffered too much trauma at some point – probably after having a crown put on it years ago – and died. When the tooth dies it ceases to maintain good blood flow and an infection had somehow gotten in there and started having a party. He gave me a prescription for pain killers and antibiotics. He was dead on the money when he said the antibiotics would make me feel better after they kicked in due to getting rid of the infection. I immediately started a cocktail of lortab, a triple dose of ibuprofen, and antibiotics. I think I heard my liver scream somewhere in the background.

I called the endodontist and setup an appointment for a root canal the very next day. Now, I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories about root canals so I wasn’t too pleased with this, but an abscess can actually enter your brain through your sinus cavities and kill you so I wasn’t going to dick around with it.

I know a lot of people hate going to the dentist, but I gotta tell you that there is a good chance I’ve had more dental work done than a lot of people. I have gotten to where I really, really, really don’t like dentist and someone poking around in my choppers. I was pretty nervous going in to get the root canal but they were super nice and other than getting shot with anesthetic it wasn’t too bad. He gave me a little topical anesthetic, which doesn’t really do shit except make you think it won’t quite hurt as bad. Then they pry your jaws open and come at you with the syringe. As they are shooting the anesthetic in you, you can really feel it start to hurt. Not fun and it was hurting more and more as he kept putting more in. Then he says he wants to get the other side and that “it might pinch a bit.” Oh really? “You mean worse than that?” I asked him sarcastically. He didn’t get it and asked if I was ready. Um, yeah…let’s get it over with.

After he numbed me up they put some kind of funky tooth condom over the tooth to keep blood and saliva out of the area while they operated. They also stuck a piece of rubber in between my teeth to hold my jaw open at an angle I couldn’t otherwise naturally achieve. Between the two, I couldn’t have been more comfortable.

Once all the prep work was done it went pretty fast – maybe 20 minutes? It was a little odd to have them sticking tools up in my head and pulling out tissue (nerves) and wiping them off on a little napkin in front of me. But once it was all over I came home, took some more pain meds and crashed out for a bit.

Upon waking up I really wasn’t in any real pain, but I was a tad sore. I stopped the pain killers, but kept taking the ibuprofen through the next day. They had packed some medicine up in the now hollow root canal and told me to come back in two weeks to get it taken out.

Well, today, almost a week to the day, I was eating lunch and my tooth broke off at the gum-line. It didn’t hurt, but it was a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t bite into anything, it just broke off. I stopped eating just in case there was a chance of me getting food or something up in there, but it was a bit strange.

This photo shows my tooth - at least the part of it that broke off. The outer-most part is actually a crown. The darker interior part is what is left of my original tooth, which apparently died. The very white middle part is the medicine that they packed in during the root canal.



My dentist got me in right away and again took an x-ray and told me I was screwed, but worse this time. Because the tooth broke off so close to the bone they said they couldn’t get a post or another crown on it. I was supposed to fly out of town tomorrow, but I had to re-schedule so the lab could get my temporary to me. That way, I can go out of town on a gig for work with something covering the hole in my gums and teeth. I’ll also use it later on when I have to wait for the implant to heal. Oh yes. Implant. That’s right – they are going to cut me open to remove what is left of my tooth and then put a titanium implant in my skull. If I am lucky, my bone will be in good shape after they pull the tooth and they can put the implant in right away. If I am not lucky (which at this point I am leaning towards not gambling) they will have to do a bone graft, let it heal, then cut me open again to put the implant in. After all that, I get to have post sticking out of my gums for about 3 months while it all heals up, and then they can put a crown on it.

And it’s not cheap. Total cost? About $5,000 of which I’ll be out of pocket about $3,000. My insurance isn’t that bad, but all of this is maxing it out for the year and they don’t cover the temporary tooth at all. Keep in mind that my insurance already paid for a root canal, a dental visit, and a bunch of x-rays and drugs and all that. I guess I am lucky as I could be out a lot more and while I am very unhappy about the turn of events I keep telling myself “it ain’t cancer.”

But still….why couldn’t I just have a cavity?

Do you have kids?

I often get a mixture of responses when I tell people that “yes, I am 40 and I don’t have any kids” (that I know about).

The most common response by someone that has kids is bewilderment, as if they can’t fathom the concept of *not* having kids, or why anyone in their right mind wouldn’t have children. I’m not sure if it’s because they are envious or if they really just don’t understand the concept of not being a breeder.

Which brings me to the second most common response – again by those who have kids – envy. You can see that glassy eyed look in their eye. They are thinking about all the times that they couldn’t go out and do something because they had kids. They are thinking about the 1976 Les Paul that their five-year-old destroyed. They are thinking about what they could really do with that money that is going towards a college education for someone that tells them to fuck off every day.

Occasionally I get the high-five by someone that either never wanted kids, either, or by someone who has kids, but never really wanted them. They did it because they weren’t very lucky (i.e. read responsible), or because it was the right thing to do if you wanted to be “normal” in society. You know, 2.5 kids, a white picket fence and mini-van (hey man, soccer moms / MILFS are hot!).

And the last response I get is one of understanding that while that person may not agree with my lifestyle they recognize that people are different.

But no, I just never wanted them. I don’t hate kids. In fact, I often have a blast when I go play with all my other friends’ kids. We get into trouble and we have fun. And after I get them really wound up, I go home and have a beer. I’m a selfish bastard – I have my toys and my time. If I want to go out, I go out. I don’t worry about having a babysitter and I don’t worry that my guitars are sitting out.

I once heard that you know you are ready for kids when you don’t feel like going out anymore. I’m not there yet, and don’t think I’ll ever be.

You can Have Lapband, Now!

Or…you could just put the Twinkie down, get off the couch, and eat a reasonable diet.

Sunburned Head

I try to be careful with my head and not get sunburned. Often my friends argue with me:

Friend – you are sunburned
Me – no, I am not. Just a tad pink. It will be tan by morning.
Friend – no, you are sunburned.
Me – no, I am not.
Friend – Yes you are
Me - *sigh*

And that is pretty typical when I am not sunburned. But, this time. I’m sunburned. It was one of those days when it wasn’t hot out at all. In fact, most of the time it was quite cool and a jacket might have been nice. I was aware of the sun, but couldn’t do much about it. I don’t wear hats, and I couldn’t find any sunscreen. By the time I found a do-rag, it was too late.

Oakland Cabbie Slobs

Does this look like a guy that wants to earn your money?



Sorry for the poor photo, but I was trying to be inconspicuous. This is an Oakland cabbie. He’s not that unusually dressed. They ALL dress like complete slobs. WTF?

Riding Hot

I haven’t gotten to do much riding lately, and to be honest, I seem to come up with excuses. Time is a big factor, and of course I can’t carry much on the bike. It’s also gotten to be summer time in Texas which means it’s hot. Not your Northern “my pussy hurts because it’s 80” outside crap either. 99+ pretty much every day.

I also don’t ride without gear on, so it’s a lot of effort to put on all my crap just to go to lunch and be completely soaked in sweat. Still, I wanted to ride so I took the bike to my g/f’s house Friday afternoon. Now, it’s not an exciting ride slabing it down the highway, but it’s still nice being on the bike….or is it?

Well, I wasn’t 10 miles from my house and I got hung up in construction traffic, 4:00pm traffic AND two wrecks….. I finally got through all that and hauled ass for a few minutes before I hit downtown Dallas. Normally, I jump on the HOV and I’m gone….but there was another wreck on the HOV so it was closed. How in the hell do you have a wreck on the HOV? It’s one lane, all moving in the same direction with almost NO onramps. Morons. To top it off, there was another wreck or so on the main highway. So I was stuck in first and second gear almost the entire way…in all my gear…when it was 99 out…and idling down the highway. Soaked in sweat, not happy, but something keeps me riding…..

Recent Vacation

I recently got back from a vacation in Tennessee and North Carolina. My g/f had to go out that way for business, and I had to go to Minneapolis for training. She drove, I flew. First order of the day was trying to pack for both weeks. The first week was to be spent in MN where it was still cold and snowing. The second week was to be spent on vacation where it was sunny and mostly warm, and where I’d be doing some camping! Because I didn’t want to take a bunch of suitcases I balanced my clothing as best I could between the two and gave my g/f all of my camping gear to take with her.

I’ve been to Minneapolis a few times, but this time I stayed out of the downtown area. Not much going on except that I really noticed a lot more shopping malls than I ever have. My g/f says there are just as many in Dallas, but I am not so sure about that. I think there isn’t much to do up there in the winter except shop so there are a ton of malls. Those people are certainly trying to support the economy!

After my training I flew into Knoxville to meet my g/f. She was just wrapping up here business there and we spent the night in Gatlinburg. I had never been there before and it was a bit of an odd experience. Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains it looks like a miniature Las Vegas complete with a bunch of Neon signs and small wedding chapels everywhere. Apparently Gatlinburg is the second most common place to get married. The other thing they have there is mini-golf and pancake houses. It’s a bit surreal with all the neon, wedding chapels, mini-golf, pancake houses, and tourist shops. What I never really figured out is why it is such a famous destination spot. In some ways it reminded me of Paris Hilton who has no real talent and has never done anything to deserve being famous…..other than she’s famous.

We spent the next week driving mountain roads, checking out small towns, and just generally enjoying being away from Texas and not having to work. Everyone was very friendly, but we did notice that there are a lot of dry counties and you often had to go out of your way to even find a beer to have with dinner. I did get lucky, though, and found a liquor store that carries George T. Stagg. Stagg is a most excellent whiskey, but I pretty much can’t get it in Texas due to availability. I bought a couple of bottles of it to bring home. It should last a while seeing as how it’s over 140 proof and fairly expensive…mix it with coke in my house and we’ll have to have words.

The other thing we noticed about driving around out that way is that everyone gives pretty horrible directions. We’d be in small towns that have perhaps six or seven roads and people could not tell you how to get to the grocery store accurately. Mind you, these aren’t six or seven city roads and that makes it a bit more difficult, but still…. People would look right at an intersection and tell you to go right and after five miles you realize they were wrong and you should have gone left.

Mostly though, it’s green. REAL green. Trees, vines, flowers, and other forms of vegetation grown naturally all over the place. I’ve been in NC before and it’s one of the things I always liked about it. You could be 100 yards away from a Wal-Mart and not even be able to see it through all the trees! Because of all the hills and mountains you pretty much have to drive slowly and wind your way around to get anywhere. Always plan on it taking longer than you think because you’ll be in the twisties before you know and reducing your speed down to about 30mph. Due to this fact, it is a mecca for motorcycles and we saw a TON of them out there. I really wanted to have my bike, but it just didn’t work out for this trip. Nonetheless, we went to check out The Tail of The Dragon since I had never seen it. The Dragon is often acknowledged as the most famous motorcycle road in the entire U.S. People travel from all over to ride the 11 miles and 318 curves. As I said, I didn’t have my bike but we did manage to have a good run at it in my g/f’s mini cooper – that car sticks like glue! Unfortunately, as often happens on this road, there was a pretty bad motorcycle accident in which a couple of Harley baggers had gotten tangled up and both of them ended up in a ditch (one on top of the other) and a guy was hurt pretty bad.

We stopped at the lodge, had a beer and some fries, and bought a couple of souvenirs. I was reluctant to buy anything that said “rode the dragon” or “dragon slayer” on it as I didn’t really get to ride the dragon. We also checked out the Tree Of Shame which my g/f thought was pretty interesting.

We spent a few days camping while we were in the area. The first night we camped was in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Not a bad place to camp, but the campgrounds were pretty typical – a winding road through a slew of parking spaces with enough space for a tent and firebox. We managed to grab a spot by the river despite showing up late due to trying to find a grocery store and some wine for the evening (see above with regards to bad directions and dry counties). We never did get a fire going very well, which I attributed to some green wood that we picked up. It smoked a lot, but that was about it. One guy had a freaking huge fire and I jokingly suggested that we go sit with him. Even after it started raining his fire was still going strong. Bastard.

The next time we camped it was at Mt. Mitchell State Park. The park is not very large, but it is the highest peak east of the Mississippi at roughly 6,700 feet. The campgrounds are not “typical.” There is a parking lot and then you hike up a fairly easy trail to get to the camp spots which are spread out and fairly secluded. It’s not that you couldn’t see your neighbor, but you did have to make an effort to do so. This was nice as it gave you the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere.





It’s worth noting that up there you are in black bear country. The park ranger even warned us to cover up our suitcases as the bears had learned to recognize “cooler-like shapes” and would tear into the car to get to them. I had never heard of this, but we took his warning to heart. He also said to put everything that had a scent, including toothpaste and chap stick, in the bear-box at the camp site!!! This is a bit of a double-edge sword. Put it in the bear box and it might attract bears to your camp site, but put it in the car and they might break into the car and tear it to pieces. We elected to go with the bear box, but this also lead to us being completely paranoid at any little noise outside the tent during the night. It didn’t help that we had the rain-fly on the tent to help keep the tent a little warmer and the breeze would blow it around and you couldn’t ever tell if what you were hearing was a huge bear outside the tent, or the rain-fly brushing the ground a little bit. I never had a thermometer, but it got fairly chilly about 4:00am. I was guessing in the 40’s to low 50’s. Fortunately my sleeping bag is fairly well insulated and I was OK as long as I had some jammies on.

The second night we stayed there I asked the park ranger what the forecast was for the evening and he said there was a thunderstorm watch in effect until about 11:00pm. Sometime during the night, that obviously changed into a thunderstorm warning and it hit us about 11:30pm. It’s one thing to experience a thunderstorm at ground-level when the storm is above you. It’s entirely different to be at over 6000 feet and IN the thunderstorm. This was the second time I had been in one, but the first time I tried to camp through one. It was pretty intense. The lightning was so bright it was blinding even with your eyes closed and the thunder would ricochet off all of the mountain peaks. Very cool, and very frightening. The rain and wind would pound the tent and then it would lightning and thunder. You could hear the wind coming from a long way off, building speed and intensity. It would start as a little roar, then build into a whisper, then it would keep building into a shriek and just when you thought it would rip the tent right off the ridge it would shift and go off in a different direction. It was the most bizarre thing. Dolby Digital has nothing on this. Due to the side of the ridgeline we were on we didn’t get hit with the really bad winds even though there was a time or two when we weren’t sure if the tent was going to make it, but it did just fine. One guy, on the other side of the ridge said that it pulled half his tent off the ground and ripped up four of his tent-stakes. He had to curl up in a ball and ride it out until the storm died down enough for him to run outside and re-stake the tent. During all of this, I was thinking “at least we are dry and it’s not hailing.” I had already decided that if it hailed we’d have to make a run for it. There were two storms that night and while the first was the most intense the second one lasted much longer. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep!

When we woke up in the morning we learned that a bear had broken into someone’s new mini-van and ate all their food. We went down to check out the car and talked to them for a bit. They were nice, and were obviously not happy as the bear tore things up pretty good. It busted out a side-window on the back and crawled in. They said it got everything – a few pounds of hamburger meat, a couple of pounds of peanuts, some peanut butter, etc. Pretty much everything a little black bear would love. They had even been so nice as to crack the windows so the scent would escape and the bear could get its claws in and pull the window out. How nice of them. My g/f and I wanted to ask them “what the fuck were you thinking?” but they were already having a bad day.

It was a long drive home, but it was a good vacation and a much needed break from work.

The Death of Bin Laden

Yesterday everything in the news was about the death of Bin Laden. I’m personally glad to hear that we finally got him, but I do not believe we should be celebrating the man’s death. It reminds me of when there is a tragedy in the US and we see Muslim’s celebrating our death. When we get to the point that we are celebrating the death of others, we have lost our way. There is nothing wrong with celebrating a victory, but we shouldn’t revel in the deaths of others.

FTW Ride Along

Last Friday I went with a friend of mine on a ride-in. He’s a Fort Worth Police Officer and invited me to come hang out with him and see what his job is all about. When I was younger, I had some friends that always liked to do ride-in’s. I had never done one, so I thought I would see what it was all about.

He has a night shift so we thought Friday night would be more interesting than a weekday night. I showed up a tad early and after a brief shift meeting and Monster Energy drink we were on the road by about 8:15pm.

We had a fairly new patrol car and he started off by showing me his status screens and things that he was keeping track of – mostly the calls coming out of dispatch. There was some really cool information and toys at his disposal! One of the first things we did is run a plate on a random truck going down the highway. As luck would have it, the guy had a warrant out for his arrest and was currently running without insurance. He had about 4 convictions of no insurance and the warrant was for not having insurance. My friend doesn’t like writing tickets, but this was one of those things he couldn’t let go. He did, however, give the guy a choice between going to jail or getting another $800 ticket for no insurance. The guy took the ticket. That was the only ticket written all night.

The next big task was hooking up with a Tarrant County Sherriff to serve a warrant to a convicted felon (sexual assault, sexual assault to a minor, etc.). That turned out to be a wash, but we went to go find him and ended up in a couple of people’s homes during the process.

A bit later, we had to go to another home when a lady was being taken away by EMTs. We had to escort her young daughter and a friend to her grandmother’s house, etc.

My friend served a warrant to a guy that had tried to commit insurance fraud so we went to the jail. Trust me, it’s not a place you really want to go if you can ever avoid it, but I did managed to get a cat-call whistle from one of the guys while we were walking by his cell. I suppose if I ever go to jail, I’ll get “lucky.”

The last big thing that happened was arresting a guy for beating his girlfriend. The guy was hammered and had hit her a few times. He couldn’t seem to remember what had happened even though he had blood on his clothes from hitting her.

During all this, we constantly ran plates and checked people out. We made a few traffic stops, but everyone was pretty much let off with a warning. Going to jail took a while because there was so much paperwork that had to be done. Driving fast was the order of the night, but only when we had to assist another officer for the guy beating his g/f did we really fly down the highway (no lights). I found that highly entertaining and wished I could also haul ass all over the place with impunity.

Because I was doing a ride-in, the officer in charge has sole discretion of the amount of involvement. My friend pretty much gave me the option to come along on anything unless he specifically said otherwise. For the most part, I didn’t get out for traffic stops, but otherwise went with him at all times. It was a little odd going into people’s homes, and that made me a little uneasy, but I also had an obligation to let my friend know where I was at all times. I pretty much just kept my mouth shut and didn’t say anything. Only one time did a lady ask me for my id and badge number, and I told her I wasn’t a cop and that was the end of it.

It could be a function of my friend’s area of patrol, but I also think that the people who need the help of the police are the same people that are really struggling. Most of our stops / calls were in pretty seedy areas and in some cases the people had cat shit right on the floor – no litter box required. It was fairly disgusting and I felt sorry for most of the people even if they had put themselves in those situations due to poor life choices. It’s one thing to be aware of, and to know about, poor people and the problems they have in their lives. It’s entirely another to be thrust into their lives and see it and experience it first-hand.

Nonetheless – I had a great time even if I was really struggling to stay awake by 3:00am. We rolled in slightly before 6:00am and I took off. Got home by about 6:15am and it really wiped me out for the rest of the day. I’d like to do it again, but it will probably be some time before I go again. My friend said he hopes it would be more exciting. I thought it was great and a good way to show someone what it is all about.

Felt up by the TSA

I recently had to travel to Rock Springs, WY. It’s a trip I’ve made quite a few times. If you fly on United you leave from an E-gate out of DFW. The security checkpoint recently put in one of the see-you-nekkid scanners. The last time I went through the checkpoint they diverted people away from the scanner right before I got to it. This time, it was just the opposite and I was the first one up. I politely said to the TSA dood that I’d like to opt out. He tells a TSA chick that I’d like to opt out and she proceeds to yell across the entire area “WE HAVE AN OPT OUT. NEED MALE ASSIST.” Seriously? WTF? There were about 10 TSA agents standing around and a bunch of people. I wasn’t embarrassed for me, but for the dufus that felt it was necessary to yell at everyone.

I had to go stand off to the side for a few minutes while they found someone to molest me. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad. The guy was really quick about it and explained the procedure. I stood where I could see all of my belongings, which they never so much as looked at beyond putting them through the x-ray. I found it kind of amusing that he must have checked out my legs about six times each – front of hand, back of hand, from the front, from the back, on each side, etc. I wanted to tell him if he didn’t find anything the first two times, he wasn’t likely to find anything the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth times, either. He felt around the inside of my waistband, but was never particularly invasive beyond that. Of course, if I had suddenly had a stiffie he might have felt more than he bargained for. But….he never felt me up. Not once did he feel around my crotch area. I don’t know if it was just him, or if the TSA has gotten so much heat over that particular procedure that they’ve relaxed it a little bit. I almost felt like I had been cheated out of a good scandal or something.

Let me be Clear

That I am sick and tired of people using the phrase “let me be clear” or any variation of the phrase. I’m not sure when it started, but it seems like Obama is probably the worst offender and I often think people started using the phrase after his campaign kicked off. Regardless, it’s annoying that everyone now uses the phrase. You shouldn’t have to say “let me be clear.” If you aren’t “clear” enough it’s because you aren’t articulating your thoughts well enough – not because the person listening thinks you are trying to be vague and difficult to understand.

How I Celebrated Turning 40

Today, I turned 40 years old. I had a few people either ask or comment that they thought I might have had a problem turning 40. I’ll admit that 30 was a breeze, but 40 definitely prompted me to think a bit more about my mortality. That’s not to say I dwelled on it or was really even upset about turning 40, but I could see how someone might think I was upset about it.

I had originally planned a trip to Spain this year, but since we elected not to go I treated myself to a few things. For starters, I bought a new Trijicon TA31RCO-M150CP scope for my M4 early in the year. I had been wanting one for a while and finally decided to buy it. For those of you that know me, I’m a cheap bastard and have problems letting go of my money. Expensive purchases aren’t very common for me.

The next thing I bought was my new guitar:
http://invioletlight.blogspot.com/2011/02/bought-it-music-mann-family-reserve-bfr.html
This was really my 40th bDay present to myself and I’m really glad I picked it up.

But the thing I’ll probably remember most was throwing myself out of an airplane. Ever heard the phrase “why would anyone throw themselves out of a perfectly good airplane?” Well, I can tell you for a fact that no such thing exists, but that’s not why people do it.

My g/f and I were talking a few weeks before my bDay. I was out of town at the time and she asked if I had been thinking about what I wanted to do for my bDay. I don’t think she was quite expecting me to say I wanted to go skydiving.

Her: have you been thinking about what you want to do for your bDay?
Me: Yeah. Yeah I have. I’d like to go skydiving.
Her: what?
Me: skydiving.
Her: really?
Me: yeah.
Her skydiving….

I had been thinking about going for years, but it always seemed like there was an excuse not to go. The two big ones being my schedule and I really wanted to go with a friend or two. We sent out a few feeler emails and got some responses back. My g/f took the time and effort to pick it up from there, look into going and taking the time to coordinate a date and time for everyone. I’ve gotten where I hate doing that kind of thing and that really meant a lot to me that she did that.




She picked Skydive Dallas and while I can’t say I’ve ever been anywhere else she made an excellent choice. Again I wasn’t involved in the scheduling process and what not but it was pretty evident from when we first showed up and the web site that they had really taken the time to put a top-notch facility together. They were very enthusiastic, professional and ran the organization in a most excellent manner. In short, they had their shit together. As Jenny said, she never felt like she was about to get on a ride that was put up at the carnival by someone making $3.50 / hr.

Once we had all the takers my g/f locked in our reservations by securing our deposits. We had a few people that really wanted to go, but just couldn’t afford it. It’s about $220 for your first jump. Once we were locked in it was a matter of looking forward to going. I have talked to a lot of people about skydiving and most people immediately say that they’ll go, or they would never go, but once you get someone committed it’s a whole different story. You could tell right away that everyone was pretty excited, and scared all at the same time. Personally, I would get really excited just thinking about it. Imagining being on the plane and jumping. Could I really do it? Would I chicken out? One night I made the mistake of thinking it through and got my heart rate up high enough that I couldn’t sleep. I’ve since decided that part of the whole experience is mind-fucking yourself until you actually jump out of the plane. As Grasshopper said the day before – “did a week really pass already? Can we wait a few more days?”

We had to get up early to be there for the 8:00am class – that means you are really there at 7:30 to sign your legal rights away and fill out all the paperwork. My g/f and I left at about 6:10am and neither of us are morning people. The night before I didn’t once get worked up over skydiving, but I did think someone was breaking into my g/f’s house at about 2:45 so I proceeded to patrol it with a loaded .45. This pretty much kept me from sleeping the rest of the night so I was exhausted by the time we got there.

Our group:
· Me – nervous, excited and admittedly scared. Hey! If you aren’t scared about jumping out of an airplane for the first time there might be something wrong with you.
· Jenny – nervous, excited, and perhaps more scared than I was.
· Bling! – pretty mellow. He had jumped in the military, but this was his first civilian jump. He was looking forward to it, but wasn’t getting too worked up.
· Grasshopper – pretty scared. He had drank the night before and wasn’t looking so good that morning. I thought he was going to yack before he even got on the plane.
· Jason – more like me. Lot of nervous energy but really looking forward to it.
· Shawn – he started jumping last year and now has somewhere around 50 jumps in. We were all really glad he was there so we could pick his brain.
· Crackula – was originally going, then chickened out. Now wishing she had gone. Still good that she was there and hanging out with us.




Sean getting ready for a jump:



...and we don't know what he's doing here:




We had to sit through a quick class learning about what was about to happen, how to position your body, and things to not do. Then the instructor worked with us a bit to see if we could get our bodies positioned correctly. Everyone was a bit nervous at this point and Hopper and Jason were nervously laughing the entire time. Hopper was white as a sheet.



After class we sat around for a long time waiting for the weather to improve. There was some gusty winds and constant cloud cover preventing anyone from jumping. Skydive Dallas has a great place with a Ping-Pong table, benches, hacky sacks, etc. In retrospect this was probably good as it allowed us all time to calm down. Even Hopper started showing some color, and some spine!!

And finally, the plane was drug out of the hanger and everyone started getting stoked! There were plenty of noobs taking their first jumps, and plenty of experienced jumpers. They usually only take up to two tandems up on the plane on any one trip. Fortunately, three of us got to jump together. Bling! Was to go first and so he got suited up and ready to jump.



The plane was a pretty good sized plane and they clearly were taking care of it. Way overpowered it could climb pretty quick and was good at hauling a bunch of people up at one time. The door is a very simple roll-up type door made of Plexiglas. You can see out of it the entire time. When they pack you in, the last people go in first. This pretty much meant the noobs!



The plane pretty much does a constant take-off, climb to altitude, throw people out, then race down to do it all over again. When I say race down, I mean a full on nose-dive towards the ground. You do not want to be on it. With the exception of the experienced guys it always beat the jumpers down and was pretty much taking off again before the tandem jumps had a chance to land and walk in.



When it's at altitude you can barely see it:




Where are they?



After a few minutes:



Bling! Made it down just fine and had a big grin on his face. He seemed to really enjoy the experience and that got me even more excited. Soon, it was Hopper’s turn to go and he had to go in and get ready. He was looking better, but he still looked really nervous and I couldn’t tell if he was going to be OK or not. Unfortunately, the rest of us had to get suited up for our flight so I didn’t get to see him climb in the plane and take off.




About that time they called the rest of us (me, Jenny, and Jason) to get ready. I had ordered a video package since it was my first jump and my bDay. Gotta go big, right? As we were suiting up Jason got really quiet, but I could tell he was mentally preparing to go. Still excited, but getting himself in the zone. I was just the opposite. I was getting more stoked by the minute. Jenny seemed kind of neutral and I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. After a short interview it was time to go wait for the plane!!

Since the plane took off before Hopper made it down we didn’t get a chance to see him and find out if he was OK or not. Too late, we were loading up! When you get in the plane they are very specific with where and how they want you to sit. Most of this is to get the experienced folks out of the plane and allow your instructor to secure your harness to the chute and to get everything nice and snug.

As you go up, the plane climbs rapidly and you hit your jump altitude of 13,500 feet in about 10 minutes – this isn’t Delta. Don’t expect a blankie and some warm cookies. On the way up they interviewed me a bit more. Jason and I were exchange high fives and getting excited. Since I was wearing an altimeter I watched it from time to time. At about 2000 feet I tried to get Jenny to look at me and she was white and sweating. Not good. I could tell she was really scared.

Once the door opens and the light comes on things happen pretty fast. My g/f was expecting a bit more time to force herself to jump but the guys in front of her all bailed out in a ball and so the back of the plane was suddenly empty….and here you are looking out of a door at 13,500 feet with the cold wind hitting you! Once the guys started bailing out the staff starts scooting you towards the door really fast. I think this is so that you don’t have time to think about it and freak out. I was just starting to get myself into position when my g/f bailed out of the plane – WOOSH! Gone. Just like that. And then there I was with my left foot right on the edge of the door strapped to my instructor and about to throw myself out of an airplane.

I think for everyone that is a slightly different experience and sensation. When you jump out of the plane they tell you to take a deep breath and then it’s “ready…set…ARCH!” (arching is your body position to skydive) and you are out of the plane between “set” and “arch.” For just a brief second, I thought “oh shit!” and then I was in freefall and rapidly accelerating. There is no stomach-in-your-throat sensation as with riding a ride at Six Flags. I could tell I was accelerating, but that’s not quite the same thing.



You hit about 120 miles an hour in your free fall. It’s incredible. Not only are you hauling ass, the wind is rushing by you and if you get a really cool instructor like I did he will do some spins and things. At one point he spun us so fast the earth literally became a blur. Seeing the ground rush up at you is also pretty amazing but again, it is incredible. I’m not sure there are any accurate words to describe it. Exhilarating comes close.



While we were in free fall I was caught between looking down and looking at the video photographer. It’s really bizarre that they are within a few feet of you the entire time. Close enough to give a high-five to (which I did)…. Now that I think about it, that’s a REAL high-five.

You fall 10,000 feet in that one minute and it seems like it lasts a very long time. Your adrenaline is going a zillion miles an hour and I screamed my head off the entire time – this was not your little girl scream either. This was a manly, adrenaline fueled, full on excited scream. FUUUUCCKK YEAAAAHHHHH!!!

My instructor spun us around a little bit and I think when he could tell I wasn’t freaking out he really sent us into a spin that was so fast that the earth blurred beneath us. Then he’d do the same thing in the opposite direction. AWESOME!



The chute popping is probably the most physically demanding part of the jump as your body pulls a G or two as you rapidly slow down. Once that happens, though, it’s very peaceful and relaxing. There is almost no wind noise and you can have a conversation with your instructor without even raising your voice.



He let me “fly” the chute a bit and we did some hard banking turns left, then right, then back left, etc. That was pretty cool because it sling-shots you from one side to the other and you can really get some g-force going. Fun times.



He brought us in for a just-about-perfect stand-up landing and I was still really excited. What a rush. The amount of adrenaline coursing through you is amazing. Everyone that went that day had a huge grin on their face afterwards and really loved the experience.








We all had a celebratory beer out at the car and all but one of us bought our next jump to be used at a later date. The skydiving was an incredible experience and even now, 2 days later, I am still pumped just thinking about it. I had a really cool instructor to jump with (Casey!) and all the folks at Skydive Dallas were great.

The quick stats for those of you that were skimming:
· Jump is from 13,500 feet.
· Free fall for about 60 seconds, at about 120mph. About a 10,000 foot drop.
· Chute pops at about 3,500 feet and is probably the most physically demanding as you pull a g or two slowing down.
· Once the chute is open, it’s very quiet and peaceful for about three to five minutes until you land.


It was a long drive home and I managed to grab about 45 minutes of sleep before getting up and heading to my bDay party. Hopper and his wife were gracious enough to host the party and really went out of their way to put together decorations, and great spread, and the most killer bDay cake I can remember (thanks again you two!).



I hadn’t told my folks about skydiving as my mom is a bit of a worry-wart. However, at the party we popped in the video of the jump and I just let them watch it. I could tell my mom wasn’t too happy, but I had a little trouble gauging my dad’s reaction. I think they were happy that I was back on the ground!!



The party was great. I saw some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. I also had some of my good friends there to celebrate with me. Some of them even took off work to be there!! I really appreciated everyone showing up that could make it.

We wrapped up about 3:45am and I headed home to crash out. Man was I tired!! About 4 hours of sleep, jumped out of an airplane at 13,500 feet and partied with my friends until the wee hours of the morning. I suppose there are better way to celebrate a bDay, but I can’t really think of any.

Crashing at Friend's

Saturday was a good, but fairly long day for me. I had gotten up early and went to the hardware store to buy a few things. I spent the next few hours doing yard work (getting ready for spring!) and then went to the Rahr brewery in Fort Worth. My friend is a fellow cheap bastard, and I actually out-cheap-bastarded him by talking him into driving so I didn’t have to pay for gas.

He took me to the brewery and we got there about a ½-hour before last call. We had to suck down the suds pretty quick, but at $7 for three pints of beer and a free glass it was a pretty good deal. We also went and had some nachos afterwards to put a little food in our stomachs. I hadn’t seen my friend in a while and we mostly talked about skiing / snowboarding.

Later, I went over to Grasshoppers to help them out with their network. They fed me some dinner and we had quite a few beverages while playing Xbox Connect with the kids. Good times.

I was getting tired and was ready to go home, but Hopper didn’t feel I was safe to drive. I am not sure I agreed with him, but my rule-of-thumb is that if I am out drinking and someone says they don’t think I should drive I don’t argue. He and his wife made up the couch for me, but I just don’t sleep well at other’s houses. I crashed out for a few hours and finally woke ‘em up at about 7:00am so I could go home (they had my keys and the house alarm was set!).

While one might chose to be upset about the situation I wasn’t. I may have been perfectly find to drive, but I appreciate that someone was looking out for me.