Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day, spent relaxing with your family & friends, and of course, you all get what you want.

Unfortunately for me, Payton has come down with strep throat & most likely won't be able to spend Christmas with me. Fortunately, we both are on vacation all week, so we'll get together soon.

Now go watch A Christmas Story!

Happy Festivus!

Watch the Festivus episode!

Payton's sleepover was a resounding success. We had a blast & she slept great. I can't wait to do it again.

I honestly have no idea what I'm getting for Christmas & I like it. I honestly don't need or want anything, but of course it's always nice to receive. I'm just going to enjoy watching Payton open her gifts & then relaxing.

Abomination

SoI attended Old School Reloaded's game last night, even though I couldn't play. I left more motivated than ever before.

It was another disaster, with the other team winning by over 60 points & posting over 100. If that wasn't bad enough, their players were the biggest bunch of classless morons I've ever seen.

I hit the treadmill last night at 10 PM. I will continue to make sure I'm in unreal shape once I return. I can't wait to play these clowns again.

Anticipation

Five days until Christmas, two days until my vacation starts. Once I leave work early on Friday, I don't return until 10 days later. I CANNOT wait.

To top it off, Payton sleeps over for the first time on Friday as well. During the 10 day vacation, she will be sleeping over several nights, with the next one coming Christmas night.

She is even more excited than I am. She started packing a few nights ago & is just as excited for sleeping over as she is for Christmas.

I never seem to run out of things to look forward to. Every time something I'm looking forward to comes & goes, there's always something there to replace it.

I realize that this vacation will be over in a flash, but I plan on savoring every wonderful second.

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Another event that I'm looking forward to besides Christmas & Payton is my doctor's appointment on 12/26. If I'm not at least 90% cleared by then, I'll be stunned. The arm feels fantastic & has improved every day. There's a game tomorrow & if all goes well with the doc, it should be the only game I miss. Now I just need to get myself in shape.

Random Ramblings

Over the past few weeks, I've had numerous thoughts & ideas I thought would be perfect to post here. Hopefully I can remember most of them.

• My arm is rapidly improving. I hardly ever wear the brace anymore & I have most of my range of motion back. I still feel some pain, but every day it gets a little better. Even better news is that our games have been canceled the past two weeks due to events at the school. Assuming there's a game next week & I'm given the go-ahead at my next appointment on 12/26, I will only miss one game. Sweeeet.
  
  
• The tree is up, but not decorated yet. At least the lights are on. Hopefully, my faithful readers all have real trees.
  
  
• The Office is an hour long tomorrow night. It's the Christmas Party episode, so it should be outstanding as always.
  
  
• I really, really like that Vanessa Hudgens song, "Come Back to Me".
  
  
• My fantasy football season was a draw. In the league that matters the most to me, my league, I finished a disappointing 6-8. I would've done a lot better if I didn't trade Ladainian Tomlinson after four games because I had no quarterbacks. Little did I realize that Tony Romo would be the starter a few weeks later (he was on my bench waiting) & that LT would score weekly what he had done for me all season the rest of the way. The team I traded him to never lost again. I made the playoffs in another league & in a league where I share ownership of a team, we're in the playoffs as well. Hopefully it will all balance out financially.
  
  
• For years, my buddy John & I have had an idea that we thought was genius. Taco shells that are flavored by Doritos. You could have original Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch or any other of their eight flavors they've unleashed on the public. Well today, while looking for taco shells, Old El Paso has introduced two new products; nacho & salsa flavored shells. I tried the nacho ones & they are HORRIBLE. Don't bother.
  
  
• I'm watching the NFL's Greatest Games on The Deuce right now. 1995 AFC Championship Game between the Colts & Steelers. I forgot how close the Colts were to winning that game. What a finish.
  
  
• I should be adding a couple new links soon. Keep your eyes open.
  

12/12/06

Happy December 12th! Happy Our Lady of Guadalupe Day!

For those that don't know me, twelve is my favorite number. Check out the aforementioned link for more info on the power of twelve.

**Expect a much longer post in the next day or two.

Try This At Home

I went to the specialist today. My fracture is very subtle, which is good. I'm no longer wearing a splint & sling. I have a removable brace. I need to wear the brace most of the time to prevent me from banging my elbow & making it worse. I also need to remove it as much as possible & start some range of motion exercises. Apparently, the elbow is a nasty place to have scar tissue build up, so this is important. This also means I can finally take showers again.

I touched on how difficult some routine tasks can be with using only one hand. I'm now going to list some examples. I'm asking you, my faithful two readers, to try attempting these tasks using only your right hand.

• Brushing your teeth
• Putting deodorant on your right armpit
• Putting in your contact lenses
• Putting on your belt
• Buttoning your shirt
• Buttoning your pants
• Putting on your socks
• Tying your shoes
• Shutting your car door
• Putting on your seatbelt
• Starting your car

Good luck!

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In an unrelated story, I had my volunteer orientation tonight at the Connecticut Humane Society in Waterford. It was heartbreaking to see the amount of cats & dogs up for adoption, but I know it will be a very rewarding experience for me. I can't wait to get in there & help bring some happiness to these animals until they find loving homes. I will be sure to share any & all heartwarming stories.

Radial Head

I picked up my x-rays yesterday. There's no visible break, so it's only something a trained eye can pick up. Apparently I have a radial head fracture.(More info here & here.) I'll find out tomorrow morning how long I'll be out of commission.

My arm is feeling a lot better & I'm able to move my hand more & more. It's amazing how many things you do in the course of a day that utilizes both hands. I don't take that fact for granted anymore.

After Further Review

I just received a call from the ER & the radiologists spent some time looking at my x-rays today. It turns out I have fracture in my radius bone, near my elbow. I'll most likely be in sling for 4-6 weeks & maybe a cast. I'll find out on Tuesday when I go to the orthopedist. Damn.

Grrrrreat

Not too much good news to report from Oldschool Reloaded's first game last night.

First & foremost, we got spanked. The game was tied 6-6, but that was as close as we'd get. I think the final was 75-28 or something like that. A much bigger, faster team with a full bench. We had six players & four of us are not in shape at all.

I did okay considering my poor conditioning. I think I scored 13 or 15 points, but that's not important. I shot better than Tuesday, but I was way off the mark on some shots.

My knee held up great. No issues there. However, I did spend all of Thursday night at the emergency room thanks to an arm injury.

Early in the game, I attempted to take a charge. No call made, but when I landed, I landed on my left elbow. It hurt a little, but not bad at all. As the game progressed, it became more & more painful to move my hand, raise my arm, etc.

After the game, I drove home & Mary took me to the ER. It was ridiculously busy & once I finally went in for ten painful x-rays around 10:30, I was hurting.

The x-rays didn't show a break, but there is something seriously wrong with it. I couldn't make a fist, spread my fingers out or squeeze my fingers. I'm in a cast, taking Percoset & am home from work.

I have an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday, so we'll see what happens. It does feel a little better today. Hopefully it's nothing more than a strained muscle or ligament.

Wednesday night, at the UConn/Sacred Heart game, I joked with my buddy Gerald that I should get one of those compression sleeves for my arm like Jerome Dyson wears. (Dyson is a player! The nation will take notice of him soon. His defense is amazing, his smoothness reminds me of Ray Allen & he plays far beyond his freshman status.)

Hopefully I'll be back on the court in a week or two.