As an update of sorts, Amy's grandfather's operation was successful and we did, in fact, receive a good phone call that evening. However, he is currently back in the hospital due to some spills that he has taken and supposedly they discovered that he was showing some symptoms of pneumonia as well. So, we're all pulling for his quick recovery.
So, I turned 30 recently and while I haven't had a whole lot of time to ponder the meaning of the event after the fact, a thought crossed my mind this morning that may prove to be accurate over time. Basically, I hypothesized that because the tens position on my odometer has rolled past "2" I will no longer think about my birthday in the same status-obsessed fashion. Even in one's 20's, there are a handful of birthday's that bear some rite of passage along with them. At 21, you can legally imbibe. At 25, your car insurance drops to its most significantly (and relatively speaking) low rate. Maybe I'm stretching a bit on that one, but it was a relief for me. Anyway, maybe at 30, seeing as though there are no more milestones until the number "4" rises to its haunches in attack, I won't really think about my chronological age. The anniversary will only be known as "my birthday" and not "my [blankieth] birthday".
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Friday, May 13, 2005
A Year in the Life
It's officially official: I have been keeping this blog for a year. Mostly mundane events of my life from the past year are parked on the web, gathering web dust. I picture a pixelated book on a bitmapped shelf, small 1's and 0's floating in the air, illuminated by digital sunlight, gathering in piles. I can grab the book, blow a puff of air across the cover, and watch as a cloud of numbers explodes and settles easily on the floor.
So, now that I successfully exhausted that shallow metaphor, I can get back to copying down my thoughts. Amy's grandfather is going into the hospital again today, almost 12 years having past since his last major operation. The doctors recently found that 100% of the carotid artery on his left side is blocked (on purpose, due to the botched operation of 1993) and now 90% of the carotid artery on his right side is blocked as well. Today, they will be opening him once again to put something in the artery to clear the blockage as well as keep it open. They say that there is only a 3% chance of the current blockage escaping and causing a stroke.
The numbers are, indeed, clear. As uncomfortable as the idea is to everyone in the family in light of the previous medical debacle, the risk certainly outweighs the inevitable outcome if the procedure is not carried out. We're hoping to get a good phone call tonight.
So, now that I successfully exhausted that shallow metaphor, I can get back to copying down my thoughts. Amy's grandfather is going into the hospital again today, almost 12 years having past since his last major operation. The doctors recently found that 100% of the carotid artery on his left side is blocked (on purpose, due to the botched operation of 1993) and now 90% of the carotid artery on his right side is blocked as well. Today, they will be opening him once again to put something in the artery to clear the blockage as well as keep it open. They say that there is only a 3% chance of the current blockage escaping and causing a stroke.
The numbers are, indeed, clear. As uncomfortable as the idea is to everyone in the family in light of the previous medical debacle, the risk certainly outweighs the inevitable outcome if the procedure is not carried out. We're hoping to get a good phone call tonight.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Carnivorous Squirrel
It was too hot in the bedroom. As I got out of bed to shut the window, I heard a fluttering just outside. It was a bird, quickly flapping its wings around a nest that had been built in a gutter that ran just over the top of the window on the outside of the house. But, I needed to get a closer look. So, instead of shutting the window, I opened it further. Leaning backwards, I edged my head and upper body outside. I seated myself on the windowsill and continued to lean backwards to get a better view of the situation.
By this time, the fluttering and the bird were gone. But because of my contorted position as I hung out of the window, my face was very close to the nest. I opened my eyes and sitting in the nest was a squirrel. He looked at me quizzically as he held something to his mouth and nibbled at it. As I sat frozen, staring at the squirrel, I realized that he was eating the eggs from the nest. He picked up another egg and bit into it. His teeth punctured the shell and I heard a crunch and a small squish as the albumen that surrounded the developing bird embryo seeped from the corners of his mouth.
As the squirrel continued to chew, I could see blood and small chunks of meat in his teeth. His bloodlust was frenzied further as he reacted to my horror and his teeth began to chatter, almost in laughter. As the squirrel revelled in his atrocity, he squeezed the egg tightly while he gleefully chittered, crushing the husk that was left between his paws as the bloody albumen splashed to the sides of the nest.
By this time, the fluttering and the bird were gone. But because of my contorted position as I hung out of the window, my face was very close to the nest. I opened my eyes and sitting in the nest was a squirrel. He looked at me quizzically as he held something to his mouth and nibbled at it. As I sat frozen, staring at the squirrel, I realized that he was eating the eggs from the nest. He picked up another egg and bit into it. His teeth punctured the shell and I heard a crunch and a small squish as the albumen that surrounded the developing bird embryo seeped from the corners of his mouth.
As the squirrel continued to chew, I could see blood and small chunks of meat in his teeth. His bloodlust was frenzied further as he reacted to my horror and his teeth began to chatter, almost in laughter. As the squirrel revelled in his atrocity, he squeezed the egg tightly while he gleefully chittered, crushing the husk that was left between his paws as the bloody albumen splashed to the sides of the nest.
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