Dr. McBreakfast

What have I gotten myself into?

2011-07-19T09:56:00.004-06:00

I started a gig dog sitting for a woman that has 4 large black labs. Last night was my first night and it was, ....interesting. I will post about that more later when I get some pictures of them.

But I wanted to post a few more derby pics. We had a scrimmage last Thursday and I was on the black team. It was a great game. My derby Mama England told me that I was doing awesome jamming which made me feel great. Here is me with a few of my mates, Mal, Manna, Scarlett O'Hairpulla, and Launchpad McCrash.

Derby Mamma Mannarama talking with me about strategy. Manna formerly played for the Salt City Derby Girls on the Leave it To Cleavers' team. She is an amazing player and funny as hell.

Anna, Mom and Nina came to watch. There are not many spectators at our games so they were quite obvious and ridiculous. They were all cheering me on every time I was in a jam. Even when I wasn't the jammer. My derby mates were getting the biggest kick out of it. Here is a pic of me and my little cheering section. Nina wanted to do a sign which was cute. It is now hanging on the wall in my bedroom.

We won with a score of 130 to 110.

I'm sure it was due to the positive mojo from the crowd.

Go Black!

Yorkshire Terror #K9

2011-07-11T13:00:00.003-06:00

That is Cecilia's Derby name. She comes to lots of practices and loves the attention. I will have to get her a jersey and some fishnets. Here are some more pics from last Thursday. Lots of falling. Lots of laughing. A little vaudeville?

Skating turned into a little bit of dancing.

Drew Fairywhore, Mal and Launchpad McCrash.

Immediately after Launchpad and I had agreed that

we are extremely effective blockers.

Leaning drill with FairyWhore.

Attempting to push the other girl off the track.

We were practicing "Method Skating" to get into character for scrimmages.

(I was pretty much faking this drill.

I could have knocked her across the warehouse she's so small.)

This was entirely on purpose.....yeah... entirely.

Helmets are a great invention, otherwise I would have kicked

Lauchpad in the head with my skate.

Photos courtesy Jason Santti. A.K.A Mr. Ego

Make new friends. Knock them down.

2011-07-07T13:20:00.013-06:00

So a few notable things to update since last years post.

1. I have a new nephew. His name is Emmett and he was begat of Allison. He's cute of course. Actually he is a much cuter newborn then I have ever seen. Newborns are generally ugly little creatures to me until they are at least a month old. Here he is over 1 month so you can't really compare, but he was cute fresh out of the womb too. Allison had him at home. She thinks she's bad ass. I agree.

2. I started Roller Derby. My name is Mal. For a few reasons, one of them french, and one of them Nathan Fillion. My number is 23th. Mainly because I find typos humorous. Also could have been 22rd or 24nd. But 23th was easier to say.

I heart Roller Derby. It has been an amazing experience that I am loving. I joined a rec league in Salt Lake called the Red Rockettes. It was a 12 week session in which you learn to skate and learn the skills needed to pass a minimum skills test which enables you to play in scrimmages. I learned. I passed. I play. We completed the first 12 week session and we started the second last week. Every Thursday I go to Derby with the Red Rockettes and every Tuesday I go to an endurance/strategy/hitting practice that the Wasatch Roller Derby league so graciously invited us to attend. I love these girls and it is odd for me to say that. I am generally an anti-social creature and I don't make friends quickly so it is odd for me to instantly have this huge support system of women that are so welcoming, so interesting and fun as hell. I gained 40 facebook friends in a month and I do not add facebook friends unless I have at least had several great interactions with someone. I am having a great time.

See...

I am in grey skirt in this one. Going for a block to Ruby Rocket.

Going to try to block Primrose Wrath. Bandita had already had it covered.

Hip whip drill with Sugarplum Scary.

Learning valuable nuggets of wisdom from Derby Mama England.

And my favorite derby photo so far. The epic fall. That's me, on the ground in the black helmet. Margie Ram went down with me. I got right back up, but you know it is a good one when all of the spectators and players let out a huge gasp. I love their faces.

That being said, I am having a bit of a dilemma figuring out how to reconcile my derby time and new friends with my family and old friends. They don't have much in common and wouldn't be in the same circles. I can't imagine putting my mom in the same room as "Drew Fairywhore" who I adore.

Anyway....

Today is Thursday. Thursday Derby Day.

Here are some of my mates. Some in the group include, Kick Sass, Launchpad McCrash, Gyro, England's Glory, Scarlett O'Hairpulla, Drew FairyWhore, Rubber Raw, D.D. Diamond, Bruiser Ego, Temper-Edict and Mannarama.

Dr. No

2010-06-28T18:12:00.008-06:00

Anna reminded me that it is time for my annual blog post, so you can blame her.

Warning: Political propaganda to follow.

I long for the days when I couldn't care less about politics. Damn you Ron Paul for making me give a crap! I voted for Ron in the 2008 primary and wrote him in for the General Election. I even registered as a Republican in order to vote for him. That is huge for me. I have never registered with a political party and cringe with affiliating with the GOP for sure. (I also refuse to sign a 2 year cell phone contract.)

Fox News/Shawn Hannity/Bill O'Reilly HATE him which is about the best endorsement I can think of. Jon Stewart respects him and has praised his consistent principles which is the 2nd best endorsement I can think of. He is against the "war on terror", "the war on drugs", the IRS, the Federal Reserve and in favor of withdrawing from the UN. He voted against the war, against the bill to Define marriage, he believes in legalizing marijuana, and is friggin' educated about foreign policy. He has never voted for an unbalanced budget and he will not support legislation which is not consistent with The Constitution (Want to change it? Okay, they're called Amendments). Hence his nickname as Dr. No. Whether or not I agree with his personal social views (he is pro-life and is not a supporter of gay marriage) doesn't matter, he would not make a vote that gives the Federal Government the right to choose for you.

So at the risk of being labelled a Paul-tard, a Paulite, or heaven forbid a "selective libertarian" I will publicly endorse Ron Paul for ANY damn thing he runs for. I drive my RP bumper sticker with pride.

And just cuz I love me some lolz,

"I'm seeing that she doesn't like going to the Vet....."

2010-01-24T18:23:00.004-07:00

Finally Non? Several months ago I had an appointment with a "doggie communicator." Brandy and Casey had done it with Serena and some interesting things came out so with all of Cecilia's medical issues in September I wanted to know what she would say. First off there were very few things that seemed eerily right on. A lot that could be guessed by logic and even more that was completely off base.

First thing she says is "where is the little black dog?" Implying that Cecilia is thinking of this dog and wondering where it is. I do not know of a little black dog. She goes on to say that she thinks it i a Yorkie just darker than Cecilia. Hmmm, even more Nope!

This appointment was a few weeks after Cecilia's surgery and I told her that the surgery had happened and that I wanted to know what she had to say about what was wrong. So throughout the appointment she kept saying that she was seeing all of these medical things, she kept talking about an issue in her intestines. Perhaps a kink in an intestine? Things are flowing much better in her digestion. She can swallow easier. Puss or Mucous in the stomach? I ended up telling her what was wrong with Cecilia and she then attempted to connect the things she had said previously to the liver.

A lot of the appointment was filler comprised of her talking about Cecilia needing good stomach flora and nutritional issues that could use attention. She talked a lot about MY nutrition as well. Apparently my "guides" were telling her that I had immune system issues, my blood system needed to be cleared, I am missing even more Stomach Flora then Cecilia and I may possibly have an issue with my Appendix. That I needed to eat lean meats and leafy greens. Also my guides are pointing me to a profession in the medical field. All humans have 2-5 guides that are with us our entire lives. Crap! I forgot to ask whether any of mine were single.

It was an hour appointment so I can't go over everything so here are some of the things that were interesting to me.

1. "Do you chew food and then give it to her?" Hmmm. Kind of...It was a routine before Cecilia was sick that on the way to work we stopped at the gas station for a Diet Coke and I would get her a hot dog. She could/would not bite the hot dog directly and I would bite off pieces and them give them to her. Apparently she was missing that. We had to stop as soon as I found out she was sick. (this was more impressive to me until she added that she does the same with her Yorkie)

2. "Cecilia wants you to sing again." Hmmm. I sing alot. To myself or at home, not in public or anything. I love to work late at night when nobody else is in the office and just belt out terrible singing. When she said this I realized that when Cecilia got sick I had stopped singing. Apparently Cecilia wants me to sing again because it makes me happy. Honestly I just assumed that I was annoying the hell out of her all the time.

3. "Where is she seeing the Easter Eggs?" Hmmm...What the hell? She says Cecilia is describing Easter Eggs and wants to find them and get one in her mouth. I wrote this one off as nothing until later that night. I had been thinking about it and asked Anna if there had been any Easter Eggs around the house. Apparently they had been cleaning out a bunch of storage areas and Nina had found some Easter Eggs and was playing with them.

4. "She is describing you having headaches or tightness in your forehead." Hmmmm... Is my scar really that visible? I had a bump form on my forehead that was an vein/artery malformation and had terrible headaches for many months. Enough so that I had a hard time getting to work. I ended up having a procedure on my forehead to fix it which completely helped the headaches. I have a scar on my forehead and am trying to figure out if this was deductive reasoning. She says Cecilia was talking about how both of us were having medical issues.

Really what came out of it all is that I NOW know that Cecilia wants to eat mashed potatoes, is attracted to masculine energy, really wants to catch a butterfly in her mouth and of course she loves me a lot.

Which tastes better? Turkey or Sleeping?

2009-11-30T12:08:00.003-07:00

Fo' So' the answer is sleeping. Generally on weekends I am in my pajamas from the minute I walk in the door from work on Friday until the minute I walk out the door for work on Monday. With the exception of 3 hours on Sunday and I am looking into some silky pajamas that could pass for dress pants to avoid that inconvenience. So the super long weekend was all kinds of awesome-ness. I had to get dressed quite a few times to go to the hospital with Bev and for the first hour that the guests were over for the Turkey eats but the increased pajama time was heavenly.

Mom Bev had her second knee replaced and is well on her way to becoming a bionic woman. She was in the hospital over Thanksgiving and thrilled to be there. I am glad she was there as well since there is no way we could have kept her in bed if there was cleaning up to do.

On Sunday we discovered that there was no water. Nothing. Apparently there was some prepared answer the city gave out for the inconvenience. When the water started to come back it was a lovely shade of orange. It was like we had hit the orange juice jackpot.

We were washing the dishes with bottled water. Very eco-friendly. But ask anyone at my work, I am nothing if not environmentally conscious. (snicker, snicker, snicker). So check me out, an entire post without my dog mentioned once. Oh...oops. BTW due to the 50% of readership desire (2 of 4) I will make a post about Cecilia's visit with the doggie psychic. I just have to find a tape deck to re-listen to the session to ensure I remember all the goods.

Lame, Lame, Lame

2009-11-20T20:46:00.007-07:00

I suck I know. Although nobody really cares, I look at my blog to see updates of other peoples on the sidebar and everytime I come here I am bothered that I haven't updated.

So. My Cecilia had her surgery. We flew to Tennessee and her surgery was 9/18/09. Surgery went well but recovery not so much. She had a hard time keeping her blood pressure and blood sugar up and had to stay in the ICU for an extra day. I went to visit when they would let me. They let me in for 15 minutes. She was so drugged and sad looking. I know she doesn't understand and just knows that I gave her to people that hurt her.

When we were discharged 2 days later and went back to the hotel she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. I went to pet her and she would get up and walk to the other side of the bed. Definitely feeling betrayed I'm sure. We flew home after a hellish attempt due to flooding in Atlanta that messed up flights. And guess what, if your flying standby, you are much more screwed than the paying screwed people. Actually paying isn't the right word because you still have to pay to fly standby, just not as much as a last minute flight would have cost. So I was more screwed than the people that paid more, or booked early. Ultimately ending up buying a ticket on another airline to get home. I knew it was a risk. I have worked for the airlines before, I knew the drill. So I got my filleted puppy home.

She has done well. She seems to feel much better than before surgery but about the same as several months before surgery. So she is good again. FYI, doggie "communicator" (don't ask) says that Cecilia feels better than she ever has. That is a whole other post that probably won't get written.

Surgery, Ba-LETED!

2009-09-08T18:32:00.002-06:00

So I cancelled surgery. The surgeon hadn't gone this surgery on a dog as old as Cecilia and after more questions I have decided to look elsewheres. There is this awesome surgeon in Tennessee and before y'all are like "wha? going to Tennessee for a dog surgery?" I will have you know that it will still be cheaper with travel than the price here. I can have the pre-op testing, blood work, Surgery, meds, aftercare, etc. Everything for about 65% of the cost of just the surgery here and go to a facility that does 12 of these surgeries a week, or stay here for more money, where they have done 12 in the last year. Also there the surgeon has experience with older dogs. It is so weird to be referring to her as an older dog. She is only 5! It is just that it is rare that it was not discovered before the age of 1.

Found this today and had a gay ole time watchin. Enjoy!

9/9/09

2009-09-03T19:32:00.004-06:00

Are 9's supposed to be lucky? Like 7's? Surgery to close the nasty shunt is scheduled for next Wednesday. I thought that I would feel better at this point. Not knowing what was going on and whether anything could be done was making me crazy and I thought I would feel....not better, but less stressed when I had a plan. I don't. I wish surgery were tomorrow.

Incidentally 9/9 is "D" day. The day my parents were divorced. Mom says she hopes it is luckier for me than it was for her. I say she is MUCH luckier than she things she is. Love ya dad!

2009-08-31T20:56:00.001-06:00

Although my last post about Cecilia was written and posted in the middle of the night, hours after finding out about her illness. It is still all true and relevant. No matter how melodramatic it may sound. I am waiting to hear from the surgeon about options and risks. Hopefully soon. I feel like I can't get anything accomplished and move on until I make decisions.

Today I clasped a Swainsons' Hawk to my chest while someone else took a dremel to his beak and talons. Interesting view of his insides as he tried to maim my face.

My poor sessy

2009-08-27T22:42:00.003-06:00

I know nobody even knows this blog exists so this post is mostly for my own therapeutic benefit. My love my Cecilia is sick. She has what is called a portosystemic shunt. It is basically an additional vein that formed while she was in the womb that is causing her blood to bypass her liver. This is causing her liver to be damaged because it is not getting the nutrients that it needs to form and it is currently only half the size it should be and is putting toxins into her system that should have been cleaned out by the liver. She has been sick her entire life and I haven't known it. This condition is normally discovered as a puppy because there are more symptoms. The only symptom she exhibited is the fact that she is so calm and good natured. I have just been proud that I have such a well mannered pup and of course there were no signs of anything wrong to the veterinarians either. The fact that it has gone this long (she is 5 and a half years old) is apparently a double edged sword. 1. She has been suffering from it for 5 and a half years, but 2. Since she hasn't shown more symptoms it must not be as severe inside as most. It is getting worse though which is how it has now been discovered. She is having neurological problems and parts of her body are seizing. The first episode she was walking and falling over on her right side, getting up again and falling over and repeat. Externally all was fine when I got to the vet so it was only after the second episode that they decided to do a blood test and they discovered that there was a problem. So I have 2 options. I can begin a medication routine 3 times per day and limit her to only a low protein wet food for the rest of her life in hopes of limiting the toxins in her blood and help the symptoms. She would not get better but hopefully not get worse either. Or I can have her undergo surgery to close off that additional vein. If all went well she would feel so much better and her body would heal. Her liver would hopefully thrive and grow and she would no longer be poisoned every time she ate. That is the ideal outcome. Unfortunately sometimes the liver will not accept the increased blood flow and she would die within a week. They use a method of closing the shunt that does it slowly to avoid any rupture and limit the risk but there is risk. So what do I do? I am scared that she hurts, that she is sad and lately it seems like she is. If I choose to manage this without surgery her life expectancy will surely be decreased. I don't know how much. If I choose surgery there is no fix if it goes bad. She will die and for a long time I will die with her. She has provided for me what so many anti depressants haven't and no matter what anyone else thinks, she is to me what children our to their parents. All parents that I have met want sometimes to get away from their children, to have a break. I want her with me always and anyone that knows me knows that she is unless it is not possible. I want what any parent wants. I want what is best for her. I want her to be healthy and happy. I am sad. I am confused. I am petrified with fear.

Ah, the sweet spot.

2009-08-25T21:24:00.007-06:00

Cecilia likes to hang out standing on her back legs while laying her front end on the ground. She has done this for years and I always thought it was odd, but I turned around at work to find this modified version. Cecilia seems to have the weirdest sense of what is "comfy." She always sleeps on the hard desk, next to the comfy bed and wants to lay inside Anna's purse in the van. Yet somehow she still knows to run for the warm spot every time I get up from the bed or couch.

Grey Poop

2009-08-25T21:19:00.005-06:00

Lots and Lots happening at my house. Okay not really lots but there is new baby Grey. You know how they say that newborns only eat, sleep and poop? Here he appears to be sleeping and dreaming of eating. Maybe he is pooping too.

2009-04-11T17:44:00.000-06:00

Wow, 2 posts in one week!

Here are a few vids of my Ceci at work. She likes to roll over her monkey and doesn't always make it.

Also this is when I tried to have a staring war with her. She won. I know she blinks but that fact that she actually looked at me this long is amazing.

And just because I am bored, here is Kitty Nina.

icanhascheezburger.com

2009-04-10T14:03:00.003-06:00

This is my favorite website for wasting time, which I am currently doing at work. Don't tell ;) Here are a few of my favorite LOL's. It's hard to choose. kthxbai!

My Mony

2009-02-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

I say My Mony because although I am not her parent I claim ownership as I have been with her and lived with them off and on for her entire life. She is the sun in any room and any one the she meets is changed by her spirit. I am worried about my Mons tonight. She will be having very serious surgery tomorrow. Currently her spine is curved and continuing to do so and will soon be crushing her vital organs. So intervention is needed. Her recovery will be long, and painful. She already lives everyday of her life in pain and so when she cries ( and sometimes screams) you know it is much worse. It has been bad lately. Her seizures are getting worse and medication is not managing them the way they had before. Many nights she has been crying and screaming all night and we can do nothing to help. If she survives this surgery and recovery, she will then be going in for hip surgery, again. Her hips are being pulled out of socket due to her spastic muscle tone. This will be the second of this surgery. After that brain surgery to attempt a procedure that will end her seizures. Watching this angel in this horrid pain is heart breaking. She is so much braver than I and I am in awe of her everyday. She has an infectious laugh. She bursts with laughter at farts and when people drop their keys or stub their toes. She is so unique and amazing. Tonight I laid with her and just basked in the spirit that surrounds her. We had a giggle fest and cuddled as she repeatedly tried to backhand me which is one of her favorite past-times. I will never forget the time that we were in a loaded elevator and Ramona smacked a stranger in the crotch repeatedly. We did not catch her in time to stop it. Needless to say the man exited the elevator as quick as possible. She will take a large part of my heart if she leaves us. And as of late it seems that it will be, when she leaves, not if she leaves. I fear that it might be my last giggle fest and the last backhand I receive from my Mons. But I believe that she will return to our heavenly father when she is finished on this earth. I just don't know what trials she could possibly have left to overcome. She is the most important aspect of my life and I pray for her to have the peace that she deserves. I love you chicken butt.

By Calvin Klein

2008-11-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I have allowed my obsessive nature to overcome my otherwise boring life. There is a reason for that. I let an obsession invade every part of my life without exception. It is extremely unhealthy and in the past I have alienated myself by cutting off friends and family. It would be nice if I could obsess about things like getting my degree or exercise or improving my church activity which are all things that I would like to HAVE done. I don't want to do them. I just wish I wanted to. I actually have a fleeting period of wanting to start working out. It lasted for about 15 minutes. It's a start huh? Oh well. I guess it could be worse. It could be White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. In other news, I have passed an amazing and extraordinary milestone. I have held a job for over 1 whole year! Very rare as I get bored and find some very good reason to move on. Now I start pushing for 2. Wish me luck.

2008-07-24T23:21:00.000-06:00

Today I have gone in to have a few procedures done. And so far so good. I am beginning to remember what it felt like to not be dealing with the pressure headache every second. They began about 4 months ago and I was beginning to get used to them. They hurt like hell and continually interfered with my ability to work. But it was a matter of how bad my head hurts today. Not whether or not it hurts.

I am seeing a bit of relief from the pain and don't want to speak to soon as it may just be a coincidence or a short lived thing. The top of my forehead is numb though and I am wondering if that is a temp thing. I will find in 10 days when I go in 2 get my stitches out.

Doda

2006-10-22T17:32:00.000-06:00

This is dedicated to Spencer's Blog . I believe it is fitting. http://scifinerdblog.blogspot.com/

Mc Cheese please

2006-10-22T16:54:00.000-06:00

Anybody know how to fix a 2002 Mini Cooper that just is sucking the lifeforce out of me, like a big giant leech. Cooloing fan will not turn off when the vehicle is off and depletes the battery to the point that not even the remote key will work to unlock the doors. Why? Don't know, Anybody want it come get it and pay what I owe. Haha that will happen. I absolutely hate this car. BMW my ass!