Mikes Blog

Yeah its been an extremely long time since I have posted.  I tried to fight twitter, and facebook for as long as possible.  However, I got sucked in, and have not been able to break free.  For those of you who have not heard of Twitter, its a microblogging site where you are limited to 140 Characters or less, and EXTREMELY addicting.  Another I have gotten hooked into although not so much is Facebook.  The social media outlets for me have become part of my life.  Connecting with new and old friends, and in general staying connected to my interest’s in new and exciting ways.

However, in updates, School is going great!  I am really enjoying it so far, but I haven’t gotten into my degree program yet.   I have learned that I really love to learn, I soak information up like a sponge.  Where did this skill come from.  I don’t remember it presenting itself in Highschool, or maybe it did I just didn’t see or recognize it.  I am very proud of myself in Algebra so far.  I was totally the WORST math student in school.  Now I am one of the best in the class, and I enjoy it!  I actually love being given hard equations to solve, and sitting down and solving it.  How amazing is that?  I have actually discovered that I AM smart.

Other news; it seems that Mary and I will be bussiness owners sometime this year.  More information on that as it becomes available.

Am going to be writing a glowing review of a recent transaction I made as soon as its complete on here, so keep an eye out for that.  I will be posting it on twitter also, see how we can affect this transaction, and future consumers transactions.  Lets see how powerful the Web trully can be in the real world.

Uhhh tha is really about it.

Follow me on twitter @beowulf1877

Sorry for the delay I know some of you are waiting to here what has happened with the Mayo, and it has been almost three weeks since my last post.  With the new year it has been extremely busy, with trying to finish my basement office, the Mayo, and just stuff.  The winter break has flown by,  it seems like just last week we still had a few days till Christmas.

So what has happened, obviously Christmas, it was great this year the time spent with family was awesome even though I spent most of Christmas Eve working, it was still awesome.  New Years was equally as good, as we typically let Tony pick what he wants to do as it is his birthday.  We went to Hunan’s had dinner then back to Steph and Jeremy’s for the rest of evening for drink and games.

I am extremely close to finishing my office.  Monday carpet is coming, Jeremy and I finished painting last night.  Today I will head over to Hoods to find a door, and look at trim.  Pictures will come as soon as I take some.  I am very proud of my room, it really is probably the first thing I have built from start to finish on that type of scale.  I framed, wired, hung drywall, mudded, painted, sorry no carpet for me, had people do that, but I will do the trim work and finishing touches.  For me its a great feeling, and thank you to all who have helped, Jeremy, Tony, and Dad who have all helped along the way at key points to help it keep going and get finished.

And finally the Mayo,  Well this will be fairly short as we still don’t know what is happening.  They want to run some Genetic testing and see what the problem is.  They have retracted the Polymiositis diagnosis, but have gone back unknown diagnosis.  Best way to explain is that she presents with a little of a lot of things, but nothing really nails it down to one dystrophy or Myopathy.  So on to Genetic testing, and hopefully through Genetic testing they will be able to identify whats going on.  So in a nutshell that’s basically where we are at.

When I get into my office next we I promise to write more, I am working on a series of Articles to post here about collecting art, the Art Collector, and Artists that I think you will like.  My first article will also be featured on Natasha Wescoats website so look for that, after she posts up on her website I will be linking here.

Okay all of you that read this blog, please sign up for twitter, and DM me @beowulf1877.  Simply goto Twitter.com.  It is free and I promise you get hooked!  Or if you need toss me an email at beowulf1877@mchsi.com and I will send an invite.

Here a little more creative writing for you all.  Please any feedback is greatly appreciated, even if you HATE it.  Thank you.  As with any story, I bear no witness to such events or similarity there of.  8>)

Heather

She was my pride and joy, Heather was her name and boy was she fast. Completely Black 1991 Isuzu Impulse, with tinted windows, All-Wheel-Drive, Turbo, 17” Lo-Pros, Racing Rims that weighed less than seventeen pounds a piece, Suspension that was designed by Lotus then enhanced by yours truly, Recaro Seating, Air Intake and every other possible engine modification I could possibly make. She was a true Wolf, 280 Horsepower of street burning madness. One of the few cars in the country at the time that could honestly do a four-wheel burnout, she was mine, and we were one.

On one of my trips back to Atlanta from Jefferson City, where I lived at the time, I was passing through Nashville. I had just stopped to fill Heather up with premium, checked the fluids, and tire pressures for the next few hours of driving. We were taking it easy tonight, a nice leisurely drive during the evening hours. It’s when I preferred to do my traveling. Heather ran better, got better mileage, and ran cooler, all in all its better to drive at night, its easier on your car. About thirty miles outside of Nashville a Black Trans Am blew by me. At first I paid no attention, another American Muscle that could run really fast in a straight line, but had no chance of staying on the road in the twisties. Another 30 miles down, the same car blew past me again skirting between me and another car I was passing. This time it was a dare, and Heather felt it too, as he missed my front bumper by inches, I felt Heather lurch forward. She was begging to take this guy on, the mountains were coming, and I knew I could take him there. I dropped the clutch, shifted from fifth to third, blipped the throttle to bring the RPM’s up before releasing the clutch again and hit the gas. Within a few minutes we were caught up to the T/A, and without even slowing I dived onto the shoulder and passed him as he passed another car on his right, his dare was matched by my threat, and the run was on.

For forty-five minutes we battled on Interstate 24, through the mountains, on the straights, passing with a careless recklessness that would make the devil shutter in fear. My adrenaline pumped through my veins, and sweat ran down my cheek as Rob Zombie “Dragula” cursed through the stereo. Heather never missed a beat; every downshift was met with the hiss of the blow off valve, up shifts brought the roar of the exhaust. Finally in one of the last stretches of extreme down hill curves I pulled the maneuver of all maneuvers. As we approached a pair of Semi-trucks side by side, there was only one lane left, and my opponent was occupying that lane. I was about to lose, and both of us knew it. Moving close to a 115 MPH I had to slow down or risk running into the back of the semi. For only reasons I can guess, the semi on the right started to float onto the right shoulder, leaving just enough room if I was fast enough, to buzz right in between the two haulers. With out thinking I took my opportunity and slid my foot to the floor to downshift back into fourth and hit the gas. Heather screamed forward and the sides of the trucks became a blur, as I approached the end of my tunnel the truck on the right began his move back into his lane. I felt my ass pucker as I popped out in front of both trucks and slid to the outermost left lane in front of the T/A. I had enough it was time to end this fun I looked down ten miles outside of Chattanooga and realized I needed fuel. I think my nemesis realized this also and backed off as I lost his headlamps in the distance behind me. I pulled onto the next off ramp and stopped to feed the monster that was Heather. After checking her fluids, temps, and pressures, I walked inside to pay the bill and grab some refreshments for myself. As I walked back outside my opponent was parked behind me fueling his ride and walking around Heather scratching his head.

“Nice Run! That was the most fun I have had in a while!” I shouted out as I strolled back to my car. Thinking to myself “I almost died tonight”

“Your one crazy SOB! I have not driven that hard in a LOONG time, that was some beautiful driving! What sort of car is this, I have never seen it before?”

“Thank you, I didn’t think I was going to make it between the semi’s” I said, trying to keep a calm voice. I then answered his question and the conversation moved to the events of the evening.

As our conversation continued, two police cars pulled up and stopped at the Gas pumps across from us. One officer got out and explained he had gotten complaints of two Black sports cars, running in excess of a 120 MPH through the mountains and asked if we had seen them. Both replied “no” and got in our cars and left.

A few weeks later, I was on a job interview with Cotton States Insurance, as I sat in the receptionists office waiting for my prospective new employer to walk through the door to begin the interview process, I looked up and saw my nemesis from a few weeks earlier. He was to become my new boss; I guess the world really is small. The entire interview consisted of cars, driving, and driver stories, never once talking about the Job or the Job requirements.

Saturday we leave for the Mayo in Pheonix.  Hopefully the Doctors there will finally be able to have a stable diagnosis of Mary’s condition, and provide a solid treatment plan.  At the very least give us a new direction to go.  It should be fairly exciting on other fronts as neither one of us have ever been in Arizona before, so I hope we do get a chance to drive around and see some of the sites.  One thing I know I would like to stop and see is the Meteor Crator that is on the way there.  Hopefully we will get the oportunity to stop and see, probably pretty boring for Mary, however, for me it would be extremely interesting.

Other things, well…My mouth is still killing me, I have not had hardly any food in over a week now.  Protein shakes, and lots of Milk.  Let me tell you, Milk in massive amounts does NOT do a Body good.  I have not pooped in three days!!  Today I was in SO much pain I went back in to figure out what was going on, and found out that I have “Dry Socket”.  I guess that is where the socket that is left actually dry’s up and starts to scab over.  Normally not a bad thing if it was anywhere but your mouth.  But since its in your mouth, it is tremendously painfull!  I don’t wish this on anybody.  I am SOOO hungry just for a piece of meat right now. And I am actually afraid to brush my teeth now!  This sucks so bad! No pun intended…

Other notes, we got the Christmas card done!  Thank you Kody!  Wait ’till you guys start recieving them in the mail.  This year’s card is great, it turned out awesome.

My office is turning out very nicely.  I think if I actually got about two or three days solid to work on it, it will be done.  I just gotta get those days.  Very exciting to see it come together, also very satisfying knowing that I have done most of the work myself.  I have had a lot of help though too, via my dad, Tony, and Jeremy, so many thanks to all of you.  I am anxious to get done with this room so I can move onto the next room, which will be the bathroom.  Loads of fun for me, and it gives me something to do when I am bored and looking for something other than watching TV to do.  The only real thing stopping me from moving a lot faster is money.  But its good, because I get to take my time on everything and get it just right. So it works out in the long run.

Anyways, I gotta get showered for my english exam.

Sorry I hadn’t written much this week.  Its been one of THOSE weeks.  I had oral surgery wednesday and I just have not been able to do much.  Been pretty doped up for the last few days.  When you dont go to the dentist for almost 13 years things tend to pile up until it just becomes necessary to do it.  That finally happened, it was time to have a couple of wisdome teeth pulled, with about six fillins, and a cleaning.  About four hours of dentistry all under sedation.  I have to tell you, if you are like me and HATE the dentist, the Concious Sediation is the way to go.  I really didn’t feel a thing and cant remember a thing about the whole ordeal.  Just dealing with the pain afterwards.  They had to cut one tooth all the way down to the Jawbone so that side is fairly sore.  The other side is okay.  Its just weird not having any teeth there.

So anyways, that was my week how was yours?

This is only picture I have left of my families lake home in Minnesota.  This was taken the last time Mary and I were there, before it got sold off.  I wish I could have saved the place.  But oh well, hopefully someday I will be able to buy it back, if not something that means just as much to me as this place did.

As your looking at the picture to your left would have been the “Boat” house, to your right would have been the dock, and right behind you would have been the house.  All around you would have been surrounded by HUGE White Birch trees.  Oh it was so Beautiful…

A general sense of Melancholy usually hits me around this time year.  Not that anything is wrong, but two of the people that meant most in my life passed during this time of year.

First my Grandmother, then my Grandfather; both meant a tremendous amount to me.  My grandmother because she was the proverbial Matriarch of the family.  Always caring, sensitive, and willing to hug whenever you needed it.  She always had that look of love on her face, even when upset, and did whatever she could to make you happy.  I miss her so much…in many respects she was also my mother.  I know it sounds weird, but if you knew my family dynamics it is easier to understand.  During Christmas were really her time and the some of the happiest moments of my life.  Really aside for moments with my wife, times with my grandparents are the happiest moments of my life.  My grandmother passed just a couple of days before Christmas; she first collapsed right after Halloween.

My Grandfather passed a couple of months after her.  The things I remember most about my Grandfather is how well spoken he could be.  He was a man that could look at you, speak a few words, and totally shut you down while still telling you that he loved you.  He was eloquent, intelligent, and distinguished all at the same time.  Hardly rose his voice, but when he spoke, his words could shake the world.  Not only could he speak very well, but also when he met people he was able to read them and know exactly how to interact with that person to get exactly what he needed or wanted from them.  He gave respect to everybody until a reason to take that respect away was given, was generous, and treated everybody equally.  I hope I become half the man he was.  To be honest I don’t know that even this description of him does him justice.  He was that great of a man.  There is so much I wish I could have talked to him about.  Especially now that I am an adult in my thirties.  As a young man I couldn’t have spoken to him as I can now, reason being I wouldn’t have understand what he was saying, and I don’t think I could have talked on his level.  There is so much I would love to talk to him about now.  A lot of advise on certain events in my life, and questions on how to handle other events and people in my life.

Every year I think about them come this time of year.  Just until the recent couple of years around the Holidays have they become enjoyable again.  Being able to spend time with my wife’s family, the grandkids, brothers and sisters.  It reminds me a lot of my family.  The dynamics are very similar.  Five children, three boys, two sisters, a mother that can be extremely protective with love and care, and a strong father.  Being able to produce my Grandmothers Banana bread for them is wonderful.  I know Grandma would have a smile on her face if she could see Mary and her family.

I miss you Grandma and Grandpa, you’re always in my heart.  You guys shaped me, and who I am.  I just hope that I can live up to your standards, and do you proud.

There is a war at hand, we all need to pick sides and go with our gut instincts. Get prepared it will be ugly, this war will pit brother against brother, father against son, friend against friend, and will literally split the country in half.  There will be lots of casualties, emotions will run high, and at the end of the war will be a clear victor.  This war will be like no other that has ever been fought on this planet before.  For almost thirty years we have been preparing for this war, little battles here and there, but now an all out full-scale war will rage.  Now it is time to choose your side…which side do you choose?  I myself choose Apple.

November is officially here, the time change has taken place, the air is getting snippy, and its getting close to ‘Naner bread time.  So here is what I need.  I need everybody would like one or two to PLEASE PLEASE comment on this post so I can get a running count on how many I need for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I know not everybody in the family and friends circle reads this,  but I need some sort of count.  Thank you very much.

Start looking for our christmas card soon.  We are coming with some ideas on the card, and will be shooting soon.  Last years card was hit, and still talked about it seems wherever I go.  My vets offices’ still have it hanging on their picture boards.  There will be a few changes in the Animal line-up.  Brandy passed away earlier this year, Brandy was Mary’s baby.  And the gliders are gone this year.  Mary decided she didn’t want to deal with them anymore.  Then we added Kendall and Bella the twin Golden Retrievers.