A stitch in time

I stepped on a discarded brake cable strand on new year's eve (one strand of the braided cable). I thought it was just a splinter's length, so I didn't think much of it when I failed to remove it with a needle. It wasn't until the next day that the pain really became unbearable. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a doctor available to see me on new year's day. ARC has an after hours and weekend clinic, so rather than going to the emergency room, I decided to wait another day. X-rays confirmed I had a 3/4" wire embedded in the ball of my foot, and that the wire had traveled about 1/2 an inch deeper diagonally into my flesh in those 2 intervening days. First doctor tried unsuccessfully to remove it. They called in a foot specialist - who made a longer and deeper incision and finally found the wire after 20 minutes or so of digging. Some stitches later - and I was good to go.

MRI

Spent the morning getting an MRI (for some reason, I kept thinking EMI) of my cervical spine area (not to be confused with the cervix area, which I do not have). Anyway, my neurosurgeon wanted to check for any nerve issues as a result of my accident.



MRIs are always a lot of fun. I was offered a movie or music, but I chose to go commando. After spending 30 minutes in that tube, I've decided that spelunking is not something I would enjoy.

More enjoyable was Denise's birthday happy hour at the Hula Hut yesterday. Happy B-Day Denise!


Credit EmSue for the pix.

Btw, my former foster kitties have resettled back into life in Houston.

Where's Fergie?

I've been eating bagel burgers most of the week. They're not bad, but after the 5th or 6th one, I kinda got tired of them. Tonight, I was in the mood for some comfort food. So naturally, I think Black Eyed Peas. Usually, when I'm in this mood, I think Threadgill's. But they're typically pretty busy, even on a Wednesday night. I can always count on the Pea to be pretty empty most nights.


In neck news, it appears my physical therapist and my primary care doctor have given up on me. I got a call from my doctor today with a referral to a neurosurgeon. At my PT appointment last week, I was told maybe my spine is now stacked in a way that may never completely loosen up, so my neck and back will always be tight. It turns into a pain management issue at that point. She conferred with my doc, and my doc refers me to a neurosurgeon. The earliest appointment I could get is 3 weeks out. And no PT appointments in between. That sucks.

And finally, I went running for the first time in 6 months today. Just a couple of miles around the neighborhood. Felt awkward at first, but I started to settle in after a half mile or sot. Nothing huge, but it's a start. Now, I'm harboring delusions of the Austin Marathon in February.

Milestone

Made a delivery run to Killeen early this morning. When I got back, the weather was so inviting that I decided to go for a ride. Yes, my first bike ride (cue trumpets). I did the Spicewood Springs / 360 loop. 25 miles total. A little solo victory lap to celebrate this upcoming Monday's 3 month anniversary of my accident. The ride felt pretty good. I've been making really good progress in PT this week. The rotational range of my neck has improved 100% (which is a little misleading, since you don't know my original range). I still have a hard time tilting my head to the left and right. And since looking back for approaching cars is a compound angle move, I still have a little problem with that maneuver. All in all, it's a victory, and I'll take it. Hooray!



Btw, I was in Killeen to deliver a Titus Racer-X that I sold. Didn't need it anymore, since I purchased a titanium one in the same size recently (and for less money). If you look closely, you'll notice I snagged the original Fox fork and rear shock off of this bike.


This week also saw me shipping out my stainless steel IF and my Colavita Kelly.



Up next is a Merlin Solis and a DeSalvo Custom.

Tight

More x-rays today, this time extension and flexion views of my neck. PT followed. My back was really worked over. Maybe a little too much - my shoulders were twitching spastically as I drove off. But you gotta like a PT clinic that plays the Ramones (see below). And I was cleared to work out - but only on a stationary bike or elliptical trainer. No arm movement and no biking or running for now. Still, it's progress.

20-20-24 hours

Haven't really exercised since I got hit by the truck. Been feeling pretty antsy about it lately, so I signed up for a trial membership to 24 Hour fitness this weekend. Gaby, Chris and Megan from my street all work out there and give it favorable reviews. Starting out on the funky elliptical machines (where your arms and legs move independently) that are suppose to give you a better core workout. It's only been a couple of days, but so far so good.

Was listening to Vienna Teng on my iPod at the gym. She's a Taiwanese folk/soul/cabaret singer that reminds me of an Asian-looking and sounding Tori Amos (she does sing in English). I like her. You have to respect someone who gives up a sure gig as a software engineer at Cisco Systems to follow her dreams and try her luck at being a troubadour... (skip the first minute if you just want to hear the song - fyi, in case you're a hater, it's a song about the mayor of San Francisco performing gay marriages, not that it should matter)



While searching the web for some of her songs I was reminded of a couple of sites that I haven't visited in a while, the Internet Archive's Live Music Archive and Tapers.org. Both sites archive live recordings from artists that permit recording of their shows. There's a wealth of music here, with over 6000 recordings of Grateful Dead shows alone. All for your downloading pleasure.

Also spent the morning updating my Dad's web site with some changes he requested. The site is 7 years old and looks dated. It was OK when I first coded it, but it really does need a redesign. And besides, I know so much more about web development now after spending the last 2 years writing javascript and html. Photoshop and Illustrator, on the other hand, I haven't used in a while, so I need to bone up on those.

And lastly, got in an Independent Fabrication 953 SSR last week. Can't decide whether to keep it or sell it. It's pretty sexy, being made out of shiny stainless steel and all. I have a thing for bare metal frames - they're so naked, without any paint to hide their flaws or to mask their beautiful welds. Mine has the optional carbon fiber Reynolds rear end. I mated the frame to a Chris king headset and an Easton EC90 SLX fork. It's pretty light - it's suppose to be lighter than my ti Crown Jewel. We'll see after it's all built up. I have a spare Campy Chorus 10 group that I'm thinking about setting this one up with. As a rule, if I keep a new frame, I have to sell 2 old ones to make up for it - so I sold my Serotta Ottrot and Steve Bauer's Motorola team bike recently in anticipation.

Vox

Lots of blog posts lately about the impending sale of Borland. Here are two that I thought were interesting. One predicted our current situation. Another by someone who use to work in Ireland for Borland.

I started physical therapy yesterday. Ouch. Still need to get an x-ray to make sure my neck is healed before they start messing with that area, but lower parts were fair game. My therapist did try to manipulate my back a few times. After the 3rd attempt to pop my back, she noted that my muscles were pretty tight and that maybe we should try that another time. Yeah, good idea.

Alvin vs. Truck - Update 2

Wanted to show off the new baby smooth skin on my face. As you can see, my face is scab free now. Still have my shiner, but the overall look is a big improvement. My neck still hurts, but my doctor warned me about that when he prescribed more pain meds.


If you're wondering what this is a pic of, well, it's the last scab to fall off my face. If you look closely, you'll see the suture that was caught in it.


Unfortunately, the rest of the scabbing on my arms and legs are not healing quite as fast - although they are much better.



Here are a couple of pics of my bike. The top tube and down tube of my frame were crushed by my legs on impact and when I landed on them. The builder told me the frame was repairable, but may cost upwards of $2000 to do so. He recommended a new frame.



And let's not forget the helmet. It's hard to tell, but I apparently hit the front of my head and skidded a bit. The pics are kinda deceiving. If you look at the helmet closely, you'll see that almost every member was cracked, and the only things holding the helmet together are the internal skeleton and poly shell.



In case anyone is interested in helping me out with a new bike, one of the Vanillas I was lusting after at NAHBS has been listed for sale. The asking price is $7500, but I'm sure that includes shipping. Then again, maybe not.

The show must go on

Had my first match date today. Went to Maru for lunch. Had never been there before, but it turned out to be a nice place. My only requirement for lunch was that it be close to my house (since I have that neck brace thing). June picked me up in the morning to visit what I hoped to be my last lawyer to interview - a personal friend of hers from her briefing attorney days at the TX Supreme Court. He turned out to be a good guy, so I signed him up.

Afterward, June dropped me off at lunch to meet my date. I was a bit hesitant about the whole thing, since this person thinks my emails are hilarious. Nothing like setting expectations high. Also nothing like having your ex-wife drive you to your date to make for some interesting conversation. I guess lunch went well, since she agreed to drive me home (it was a nice day, so I wouldn't have minded walking). And to my surprise, she thought I was even funnier in person - go figure - it must have been the neck brace. Anyway, first meeting. We'll see how it goes.

Alvin vs. Truck - Update

I'm still healing from being t-boned by a truck while riding home on my bike last Sunday. It appears I landed on my head and slid on my face. Good thing I was wearing a helmet. Left eye is pretty swollen, and I needed a few stitches to close a cut over my eye. Here are a couple of pics from the day after the accident:



Here are a couple from mid-week, as I started scabbing up and the swelling started to go down around my eyes:



In the past week a lot of the scabbing has flaked off my face, and I'm more mobile now. However, my neck still hurts, and sleeping continues to be a challenge. And the black eye is still there. Seeing my doc in the morning for a follow-up. Stitches above my eye will probably come out then also. Here are some pics taken today:



Thanks for everyone's concern and support - My family and friends are amazing!

I'll post body shots and pictures of the bike and helmet soon. In the meantime, for some levity, if you've ever wondered what the lyrics were to Pearl Jam's Yellow Ledbetter... well, this may be as close as you'll get to an answer: