Normal Oddity

  Back in March 2021, my backpack was stolen, along with my Chromebook, a small collection of pens, two notebooks, and a pair of prescription sunglasses. I filed a police report, knowing the odds of getting my stuff back were slim. Fast-forward to Friday, April 30, 2021, when I received a call at nearly 9 pm from an officer from Eugene PD. He said that he may have my Chromebook in his possession, and to prove it, to send a screenshot with the serial number. I replied to his call with a text that included a screenshot. He then told me that I could pick up my laptop the next week from the evidence unit. The plot thickens... Wednesday, May 5, 2021, I received a call from my boss at about 8:45 am. He said an officer from Eugene PD was trying to contact me due to a subpoena. I wrote down the number and called the officer. He informed me that I was being subpoenaed by a grand jury the next day, for the suspect who was found in possession of my Chromebook when he was arrested. I showed up...

I hope to make this a new direction for my blog. I plan on covering my many interests, my family, my life with Crohn's Disease, my work, and my mental health. If there is anything you would like to see in particular, let me know, and I will get to work on posting about it.

Here's Lucas getting a bit of a trim at Momo's house this afternoon.

Well, I am currently on day two of the viral gastroenteritis that is ravaging the Eugene-Springfield area. I believe our branch on this tree of sickness started on Sunday, where my son was most likely exposed to it at church. He fell ill two days later, then two days later, Danielle succumbed to its unpleasantness. I began to feel nauseated and chilled yesterday, but thankfully my nausea has only been a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Well, the first week of winter term has started, and has been thankfully uneventful thus far. The only difficulties with my schedule are that I have to hustle from the Longhouse all the way to the top of the Center Building in 10 minutes, and that I only have 10 minute breaks inbetween classes.

Well, last night was my last night of working security in West Eugene. It was a lot of fun, and I am going to miss a lot of the associates on overnights. Even though I wasn't technically an associate, they treated me like one of the team. I liked it so much that I applied to work there...

Well, nothing greatly profound from tonight. Maybe the high winds blew the thoughts out of my mind...

With me working nights, a few questions popped into my head: There are santa hats and christmas tree hats, but what about hanukkah hats? Would Christians find a backpack in the shape of a cross offensive? Who determines where fire lanes are placed? Why is there nothing on the vehicle indicating that Corvettes are made by Chevrolet?

To give you an idea of how slow it is, I have decided to do some basic statistical analysis of the parking garage I am patrolling. Between 6:15 & 6:30 PM, there were 27 different makes of vehicles in the garage, 9 domestic, or 1/3, and 18 foreign, the remaining 2/3.

Well, I haven't really updated this blog in a while. Becoming a parent can zap that thing known as free time. I will resolve to post a new blog at least once a week in the new year.

How is it equitable in this society that people I know have no trouble receiving government assistance, either honestly or through deceit, yet my wife and I are struggling with the specter of me losing my state-provided health insurance because we make too much money? Of course the state says our income is over the threshold for the Oregon Health Plan, but how do they expect us to exist in this society when my medicine costs upwards of $1500 for a month's supply, and our combined incomes are in the vicinity of $2000? I am doing all that I can to talk to my congressional representatives to pass Obama's health care reform.

Hello again everyone, or lack thereof. I am gathering all of my notes that I scribble down for more blog material.

In every description I have seen on the Internet about Crohn's mentions the fact that surgery can be expected. I have had two major surgeries, small bowel resections, and at least five minor surgeries, abdominal abscess removals via CT scan. Recovering from the small bowel resections takes about a month, as after both of mine, I developed scar tissue from the surgery, creating either a partial or full bowel obstruction. Since the surgeon just cut into you, they often treat the scar tissue with some heavy duty IV medicine. Recovering from an abscess removal depends on the size of the abscess. I have had a JP drain in anywhere from a few days to 6 weeks, for a particularly nasty abscess that was connected to a fistula.  That's about all I can think of to talk about the procedures I have had done thus far...

For those of you who don't know, Crohn's disease is an auto-immune disorder, where my immune system is attacking my digestive system... I have lived with Crohn's disease for over 6 years now. I was diagnosed in January 2003, but I had been feeling symptoms of the disease as early as September of the previous year. For the unknowing, the definitive way to diagnose Crohn's is through a small-bowel follow-through, followed by a colonoscopy. Living with the disease has actually turned into an educational opportunity. Since I have had four colonoscopies, I can educate others on what to expect. The best advice I can give someone who is about to have one done is to wear sweatpants, stock up on good quality toilet paper, and keep a book in the bathroom while doing the prep for the procedure. The sweatpants are a necessity, as you will not have enough time to unbutton your pants while you are cleaning out your system. The procedure itself is relatively painless, as you will be g...

One of the jobs I have is working as a security officer at the Eugene Public Library, in Eugene, Oregon. Following is a collection of my thoughts about this job that came to me on Thursday, the 25th...  I have learned to never say that it is quiet around the library. As soon I utter that phrase, I will receive a call that trouble is afoot. For instance, on Sunday, it started out as a quiet afternoon shift. At about 2:00 PM, an episode of downtown, teenage drama decided to spill into the library. It ended with a young man being told by the police to go catch his bus, and my having to write a novel of an incident report.  It stinks being a contractor working for the city. In return for making sure the library is safe for patrons and staff, we get paid well below what an actual city employee would make for doing the same task. On the upside however, our jobs are not subject to the mood swings of the city's budget. Also, even though I work at the library, I am unable to check out any o...

Something tells me that a runny nose is not a common side effect of the pain killer Percocet. And for me, Percocet is not a pain killer, it's more of a "forget you were in pain" medicine. Short posting I know, but so far, I don't think anyone reads this blog...

After watching the movie that the television series is based on, I am left wondering why they didn't include the lyrics from the song "Suicide Is Painless" on the television series. The only reason I can think of is that network executives saw the song as way too much of a downer, and only used the melody.

Welcome to my new blog. I hope to update this as often as possible, with my musings, random thoughts, pictures, and god knows what else.