[ music | Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - Monty Python ]

Oh crap. Actually, someone informed me earlier tonight, but I'm surprised that many people care. I'm on the case. News to follow as events warrant, i.e., as soon as I hear. Stay tuned.

[ music | Regina Spektor - Edit ]

Ok, so, I'm being a little lazy here. I meant to blog this for a while, but kept putting it off. I finally wrote out a quickie recap, and am just copying it here. That way I can't put it off anymore. :P

January through March, not much interesting happens. I finish a contract for a few grand and use that for moving expenses.

March, try to move to Boston. Apartment is NOT what it was supposed to be. The landlord was, umm, "high" is the word. The whole building smelled of dogs, pot, and cheap Glade carpet freshener. Moved back home a week later.

May, mom's gone so far downhill and she just can't see it. I'm thinking the depression and anxiety is just too bad to wait for her to see it on her own, convinced her to sign herself into the hospital for a little while. The convincing was that either she did it or I would. Turns out it's not depression and anxiety, it's early dementia. That sucks. But it explains a LOT. The meds have made a miraculous improvement. However, my future is immutably different now. Not worse, Just different. I can handle problems once they're identified.

End of May, started work for a local ISP, as working a regular full time gig is easier now that mom's much more stable.

June, new apartment. Mid June, got indigestion after a pizza. Two nights in a row.

August, indigestion again after another pizza.

September, got a used car. Nice 1990 Audi.

October 8, 11:30 pm, indigestion again. Again after pizza.

October 9, 1:20pm, I passed out crossing the street, from pain. The indigestion was horrible. ambulance takes me to the ER. I throw up in the ambulance. Cold sweat, nausea from hell, pain like I can't describe. ER docs shoot me with 10mg of morphine and something for the nausea. I fall in love with them, the angels of mercy. Exam of the vomit, some blood, urine, and sonogram of my abdomen reveal gallstones were blocking the cystic duct, backing up bile into the pancreas giving me a mild case of pancreatitis. The stone had passed, so I didn't need emergency surgery. The next week I saw a surgeon, we scheduled it for December 8.

December 8, I have my gall bladder out. In the hospital at 6:30am, into surgery at 9:00am, woke up about 11:20am. Sore for a few days, but I never have to worry about a fatty meal nearly killing me again.

Christmas, the year ends better than it begins. That's progress.

So, that, in a nutshell, was 2006. Cheers.

[ music | Nina Gordon - New Year's Eve ]

To all the little people out there, and the big ones too, Happy New Year! I raise a glass to all the people who have come and gone last year, the world wouldn't be the same without you, and I raise another to all who will come and go in this new year. For the first time in a long time the year ended better than it began for me, and I'm going to make damned sure it stays that way this year. So, party on people. We have 364 more days to live it up until 2008.