We’re sitting around at dinner, eating our pasta, and Claire blurts out, “My friend, Hannah’s name is a palindrome!” Then Mama asked her if she knew what a palindrome even is, and she said matter-of-factly, “Yes, since Hannah has two Hs, two As, and two Ns in her name.” Yes, Claire, of course. Of course.

Monday I got a text from a friend Tuesday: “Can you get to Glendale tonight?”. Such an odd text, but this is me and of course I wrote back. “Sure, why?” Turns out a colleague had two tickets to see the U2 360tour with the Black Eyed Peas as the opening act. The wife loves BEP and I dig U2 and respect Fergie’s music and Will.i.am’s politics, so I called her up. On a whim, she agreed.

I bought the tickets for half price, and I was pretty stoked because back in the day I followed U2 beginning with The Joshua Tree before following them on and off for a decade before Zooropa, which came out at midnight where we all stood in line outside the closed record store (remember them?) to get the disc. Saw that show in Pittsburgh probably 15 years ago now, and even though I don’t listen to them daily, you can’t deny that Bono is one of the most talented male vocalists alive today.

The wife thinks Fergie’s the bees knees so she was ready to roll. I picked up the tickets, and as soon as she got home, we dropped Claire off at a friend’s house for a sleepover and hit the highway. Our friend, Liza, said the highway through town was slow so we took the Loop 101 around downtown Phoenix. The difference (for those of you who don’t know the city) is 34 miles through the city or 43 around it to the venue. We chose to go around. We left our neighborhood at 6:00pm for a 7 o’clock show. We got 10 miles into our journey and hit red brake lights, which we thought was just for rush hour or something but it wasn’t. Those lights didn’t stop for the next 30+ miles all the way to the stadium. It took two hours! We got there, parked like a mile away and was in the stadium by 8:00pm. The music was blaring and obviously the Black Eyed Peas were rocking it. Donna had to stop in the bathroom, so I stood and listened to a song before we ran to our seats while they were playing “Boom Boom Pow”. We were rocking out in our seats and they sounded great. After that they thanked U2 and moved into “I Gotta Feeling”, which I hadn’t heard until that day. I love the song now and was grooving and Donna was excited. After it was over, Will.i.am thanked the audience and left stage. WHAT?! We were flummoxed. I know we were an hour late but we didn’t realize we’d missed almost all of the set. They played 7+ songs before we got there, and we just looked at each other.

We shot some photos of the 40million dollar, infamous 360tour stage and waited for U2. Donna knew most of the old stuff, so she was cool with it. She shot several photos while waiting, since she brought her little camera. The rules said no “professional camera or lenses over 6 inches”. I measured my 28-135 and it was way too long, so I left it at home. I brought my 50mm, but I was worried about the whole “no professional cameras” and, by this point, I did NOT want to have to walk back to the car (felt like a mile away). So I left the camera under the car seat. Donna’s pictures turned out pretty well as did some videos she shot (especially the sound!). She shot this one of the whole band, and it’s one of the best she shot.

After U2 took the stage, after four songs, Liza, who was sitting in a different section, texted me the set list from the show before with a note, “looks like they’re playing the same songs”. She was right. By the end of the show, Bono had played all of the songs in the same order as the October 18, 2009 show. These included some old school faves like “With Or Without You”, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, and “Where the Streets Have No Name”. They played some standards like “Mysterious Ways” and “Vertigo” and then some Horizon songs, intermixed with some newer, unrecorded songs.

We had a rocking time, and the drive home was only 45 minutes. Of course that was at 12:30am and believe me, my alarm went off way too early the next morning for work.

My wife and I decided to take Claire, our 4 1/2 year old, and her 6 year old friend to see Where the Wild Things Are today. Wow, I think I would’ve rather stuck hot nails in my eye sockets. I won’t posit to suggest I am not about to give stuff away; read at your own pace. The whole opening sequence was really hard to watch and disturbing. The mom, played by Catherine Keener (who I can barely stand in anything), works long jobs and seems clueless, except when she has Mark Ruffalo over to dinner (for frozen corn?!) and to snog with. The only mention of Max’s dad is a globe that’s engraved from him, but there’s nothing about him at all except that this kid comes from a broken family. The sister, named Claire, and her friends have a snowball battle with Max (who by the way instigates it). He loses the battle and cries about it, as Claire leaves with her friends. Big deal. Then kids freaks out because Mom is snogging Ruffalo and bites her on the shoulder. You know what he needs? A spanking and maybe a therapist. Instead, he runs away.

He gets to a land Where the Wild Things Are, and they have cute human names like Carol and Donald. They also sound human. He arrives as Carol is having his own temper tantrum and tearing down everyone’s houses because his girlfriend left the community. (Wouldn’t you if your man threw temper tantrums?). Max brings a new element to the group and of course he pretends to be almighty, so they elect him “king”. He runs around with them for who knows how many days (there are more sunrises and sunsets in the film than stars in the sky; the beat each other, rip trees out of the ground, and are annoying. KW, the girlfriend comes back, and everything is all happy-like for about half an hour in the film. Then Max is paranoid that Carol is going to discover he’s not really a king, so he wants to make a secret compartment where he can hide while sleeping, away from his “friend”. Of course Carol gets pissed off and rips Donald’s arm off!! Yes, a kids movie, everyone. I sure bet the kids love that part. In this big fight KW decides to leave again (sure, sure, she’s said that before), and in the morning Max decides to go home. He leaves a heart made from sticks for Carol (which I suppose means, it’s ok that you’re an abusive asshole). He leaves the group and they just stand there as he floats away (no, there is not any resolution with the group). He goes back across the “seas”, lands, and runs home to his mother. She, of course, is waiting. She cries, feeds him, and she falls asleep at the table while he’s stuffing his face. The end. Ugh.

Side note. Later in the day, my daughter threw her own temper tantrum, bit a huge hole in my wife’s wrist, and yelled that she was going to run away from home to where the wild things are. Great, Spike Jones. Awesome. Thanks a lot.

Hi everyone. It’s been a few days since I wrote. Tomorrow will mark the 2 week anniversary of my surgery and while I’m not perfect, let me talk to you about the last few days.

By this past weekend I was doing “ok”. Friday night I came in the house and Donna had made a scrumptious beef veggie soup that was mostly corn, kidney beans, green beans and small chunks of beef. I grabbed and small bowl and said what the hell. I sat down and ate very slowly and chewed everything. It tasted like heaven. There were a few times when the left side where the incision pulled open more than the right bugged me, but I ate a two small bowls. It was bliss.

As I mentioned last time, I had two conference presentations this weekend. Friday’s was ok and I had to stop a few times for Lisa (my co-presenter) to take over while I had a drink. By Saturday I had to present myself and I did just fine. After my presentation Saturday, it was lunch time. I just shrugged and got in the lunch line. I took a few slices of lunch meat, some cheese, and a small spinach salad. I sat down with some friends and began to eat. I made sure to stay on the right side of my mouth and actually did well. I was please with myself and by Saturday night I had a light dinner of shredded pork, chicken, and several sorts of beans for protein. I’ve not been hungry really yet, which is great, and I kept the portions small.

Today’s been good. I won’t lie. My throat’s still feeling a little odd. The stitches (which should dissolve anytime now) feel like threads tickling the back of my mouth. Today I left the house for two hours without my water bottle and barely needed it. I also keep taking my painkillers until everything is A-OK.

Tomorrow I return to work bright and early. I think all will be well, but you never know. There’s always that scary idea of bleeding out, and all but I think I am over and out. I even plan to camp in the woods by Friday, carrying heavy stuff, and not worrying about anything except starting a fire. Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and if I don’t write again about this, then all is well. I see the ENT in two weeks, and I have a sleep test in two months. I plan to report back on those, and I hope anything who reads this thread in the future is mollified. If I can do it, and I am feeling great, then you can to. It’s way better than dying early in life with heart attacks and strokes.

Well here I am. Back again. I will begin by saying that all will be well. Claire and I went to the ENT today and I had my list of questions for him. He asked how I’ve been doing and I had my spreadsheet with the schedule for the last week including meds, consumption or food (can you call it that?) and water, and other fun stuff. He began by checking my nose, and I told him about seeing the intubation tube coming out and how my right nostril has bothered me. He pulled out a large pair of tweezers that he stuck into my nostril. He slowly pulled out what looked like a 4 inch long skinny earth worm covered in snotty goo. It felt like he pulled it from my stomach. It was so cool! My nostril felt so much better. He said it was mucous build up from the tubal irritation and that I should use some saline spray until it feels all better.

Next we discussed my throat. I told him day 3-5 were pretty good but then after that I was sorer than usual. He said this was all typical and not to worry. He next looked into my throat and asked me where I was having most of the pain. Was it on the sides, he asked? Yes, I said. He said I had dehiscence, which means that the incision spacing between my sutures are pulling apart a little. He said this is typical in 30-40% of the cases, and there’s nothing I did or didn’t do that caused this. He said it won’t affect the healing but it will delay it by about a week. Sucks.
I am still restricted in terms of carrying (nothing over 10lb.), which includes lifting my daughter into or out of a car seat or buggy. Ugh. He said talking won’t hurt anything so do as much as I feel comfortable with. He continued my painkiller script, but I forgot to ask for anything topical, which was a thought of mine earlier. Much of the healing process I am going through is typical but the dehiscence does put me back a little.

Some other updates. Diet. I am surprised by how not hungry I’ve been. Literally. Every now and then I will catch a smell and my stomach will rumble a bit, but seriously I’m not hungry and if my stomach shrinks some then that’ll be good. Of course, my mentality is still of someone who loves food. It’s the psychology of consumption that still needs to change. I’ve felt as active as ever, and I do not feel unhealthy in any other way. Some things I do enjoy eating include cold Jellos, some pureed soups, lots of water, some pudding occasionally, sorbet, and ice cream. I use to have a large range before the dehiscence because now certain things burn the back of my mouth like some sorbets, orange Jello, and Gatorade. Those are off my diet now. Doctor and nurse suggested finding ways to increase the fiber and protein in my diet, so I may be experimenting with some liquid drinks that include protein powders and/or Metamucil. I do know my pre-op weigh but the ENT does not have a scale so I can’t check my current weight until I return to the high school on Monday.

Yes, and as for Monday and high school. I am planning my week out so I can talk as least as possible. If I have lecture materials I need covered, I am going to video tape them this week so I can just play them. What I can write, I will write out. I will also talk to my classes about my needs, as well.

My attitude is great, and all will be very well.

Well I ain’t gonna lie. I was feeling so well Saturday and even went out (eating carefully of course) that by Sunday morning I was in so much pain. When I took my painkillers in mid-day my pain level was 9. I had tears in my eyes. I was sitting around a 5-6 most of the week until then. Sunday I spent a bit of time resting and trying to not talk (Saturday was more talking, too) and Monday was much of the same. I went from trying to eat Mac & Cheese back to jello, but for some reason now the acidic nature of the jello is burning my sutures, too. Every four hours like clockwork I am taking painkillers and Amoxicillin three times a day. I do not think I damaged anything and there still is no blood (Thank God) but I won’t speculate on anything until after my formerly schedule post-op appointment with my ENT on Tuesday morning at 10AM. I have two separate workshop conferences this weekend on Friday and Saturday where I am currently scheduled to speak 60 minutes for each of them. I also have to return to my full time teaching highschool gig in seven days. Wish me luck.

Today I sort of pushed myself. Donna woke me half an hour before Claire’s karate lesson and I dove into the shower. I’d not been in public since before surgery so this was a new test for me. I was still in glasses at this point (no contacts for surgery) but was able to get cleaned. Donna drove to karate, obviously.

I had woken with a pretty sore throat and need to remember to put on the humidifiers tonight. Grab my meds before running out the door to class and a coupe of people talked to me through class. I did my best and mostly they didn’t let on they knew anything was funny with my speech patterns.

After karate, we hit a few garage sales and then headed home for lunch. I was a little eager to get out a little more and knew SwimKidsUSA was open until 2pm. I asked Claire if she wanted to head up there to practice her strokes and she readily agreed. In hindsight I should’ve taken my suit and relaxed in the heavily humid pool. That might’ve been nice. Claire swam for almost an hour and then I showered her. We ran over to the local bookstore so I could pick up her Peter Yarrow tickets, and she spent a bit of time reading and playing.

I talked briefly to some employees while looking for a book of my own, and I saw a friend who knew I’d gone under the knife. After an hour, I was tired and wanted to go home, though. But it was nice to get out into the real world again.

Our friend was having her 30th birthday tonight, so we laid low until it was time for dinner. This was first real test eating out of the house. I introduced myself at the dinner party and briefly explained my situation to those who didn’t know me. When I took the menu, I knew I needed something soft and bland. We were at a Mexican place, and I found something that was a fancy mac & cheese. I figured it was safe. I ordered that and “luke warm tap water with absolutely no ice”. The guy gave me a look but followed my order.

While eating a meal I could’ve devoured in under 10 minutes pre-surgery, I took small bites and chewed twice as long. Many time my throat wanted to swallow but I forced it to wait a few more chews. After an hour and people asking me if I wanted a box twice, I gave up. I had eaten about half and it was really good. I got the box and ordered some vanilla ice cream for desert. My throat is definitely a little sorer between eating and also talking, which I did a lot of at dinner with these two new couples we’d not met before.

The driving didn’t bother me today and even though I will be the first to not recommend driving on painkillers (it’s actually like DUI), that didn’t bother me at all. I know Tuesday I have to drive to the ENT office downtown, so that will be the real journey. Beyond that, nice day. More beautiful weather and have been really active mentally.

Claire and I drove over to Changing Hands Bookstore today to pick up a copy of the new children’s book by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. He’s going to be at Changing Hands on Sunday signing and singing. This conversation below is a true story.

As we walked in the door:

Claire, “Dad, what’re we doing here?”

Me, “Getting you a book.”

Claire, “Awesome! I love books. Which one?”

Me, totally clueless, having no idea the name of the book. “Dunno. Can’t remember the name. Let me find someone to ask.”

Claire, stopping me in mid-aisle, “Is the book Day is Done? Is that the one, Dad?”

Me, floored. Finding my voice and suddenly remembering the title, “Why, yes Claire that is the book.”

Claire, “ok, there it is.” Pointing to the poster selling Peter Yarrow’s new book Day is Done.

Not only did she read the title, she then proceeded to get in line to go ask the cashier for a copy housed behind the counter.

My response to her mother when I got home. “How ’bout I just give her my wallet and car keys, too.”
Claire listening in and needing the last word, “Yes, and I already read it to myself in the store.

Working now after a relatively fitful night sleep and remembered the nurse in the hospital joking about painkiller dreams. Hydrocodone has been my painkiller of choice over the years, but I sure did have some odd dreams last night. I wasn’t in a ton of pain or anything and I slept pretty well from midnight until 9:30AM. As with every morning so far I woke with a pretty sore throat. Nothing meds and water couldn’t help. This morning I also decided to try teeth brushing. Nothing fancy, just cool water without paste. Front of my palette felt fine and my tongue felt ok, too. I do feel like I have a few of those sores you sometimes get on your tongue but I can deal with them. The brush didn’t bother my tongue or palette too much, but I also made sure I didn’t go back too far either. I took my Amoxicillin and painkillers and moved to the couch. After about two hours of lounging around there, I had to do something. Anything.

I grabbed my laptop and textbooks and made myself a work area out back on the porch. A soft top poker table worked perfectly and the temperature today has been wonderfully perfect. Claire’s spent some time out here playing and working on planting some green beans, too.

It’s about 1530 now, and I’ve not taken more meds (sorta seeing how my throat feels without them). I also was able to get a ton of grading done, commiserate with the other millions of people who still don’t have a Google Wave invite, and go through a 32oz Gatorade and some puddings. Not that you care, but I also successfully used the toilet today; I know the ENT will be happy about that since it’s been 5 days now.

Ok, more tomorrow then. Going to grade more this evening and probably move inside when the wife gets home from the day job. Tomorrow is the new test: leaving the house.

Hey hey, it’s Thursday. Actually, that’s what people tell me, anyway. I can’t even begin to tell you where my watch is, and by the tone of this post, you can see I am feeling better. Donna and I stayed up way too late last night watching random shows on the television, and I think I crashed around midnight. I don’t remember much between then and 8:30AM today, but when I woke up my throat was relatively raw and I needed a drink. I could tell I’ve been breathing through my mouth, and I am going to have to check with the ENT next week about that.

I dragged myself out of bed, got some meeds, and said goodbye to Donna who was running off for the day. Claire and I hunkered down in the living room for the day, and she watched way too much Dora and Diego, which I popped Mysteries of Pittsburgh into my MacBook Pro’s dvd player. I cannot even begin to tell you how terrible this film was. I had read the book circa 1998 and really enjoyed the characterization. I loved Phlox and found Jane the perfect description of heroine. It didn’t bother me that there we two characters with the same name, and the homosexual under tones didn’t bother me at all. Flash forward a decade and the film’s been made with Sienna Miler (as Jane), Peter Skaarsgaard as Cleveland. I’d been asking Donna to watch it with me for a month or two now, but she’s always had an excuse. I wish I had an excuse, too. Oh my God, it was terrible. Phlox was completely flattened as a character, Jane became boring, one of the Arthurs was cut completely from the film. The only thing I liked about this film was that it was filmed in Pittsburgh. Please skip this movie.

Anyway, back to the healing. I was able to eat cool orange jello and chocolate pudding. I also got about 32 oz of cool water down. Ice water is not a good idea yet, though. When I took the early afternoon painkiller and Amoxicillin does, Claire asked for a nap. I knew that if I laid down then I could also nap. We headed into my bedroom and crawled under the blankets. She was out for three hours and I was out another 90 minutes while she colored and made herself a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Around dinner time I woke up to make us some soup. I am ready to move up in the world to other challenges so I pulled out Red Lentil puree soup. Claire stuck her finger into her bowl before I microwaved it. She said “yum!” and I asked if she wanted it cold. She nodded vigorously and grabbed a spoon. I warmed mine and even though it was a little spicy I ate it all. At this point, I just need to remember to make small bites and lift my head when I swallow.

Later in the evening I felt well enough to vacuum and do dishes. Claire helped me clean up and we had sorbet for desert before she went to bed. We both brushed teeth tonight, which was something I was sort of scared to do beforehand.

If you’re reading this, and getting anything out of it, let me know. If you want to know more about pain or such, let me know. More about eating, etc… Let me know. I plan to update this until I return to work. This is Oct 22nd. We will see how that goes.