In no particular order

I guess I have all sorts of mish mashed thoughts jumbling around in that lump 3 ft above my ass tonight.
I had a fun filled weekend of the arts of a variety of sorts, many delicious brews and deciding, "ya know what, I'm not gonna go to work and that's a-ok."

Bright and early this morning my dad had cancer surgery. The good news is - the doctor said it went as well as it could have. The bad is that he's doped up on morphine and in funky levels of pain. It was a 3.5 hour surgery, which isn't so bad I'm told. Mid today, Kim and I decided to go visit his recovering self in the hospital and see if he was up and coherent. Luckily for us he was. It was depressingly positive, if such an emotion exists. You're happy to see that your dad is still around. The surgery intended to remove him of a life threatening cancer is potentially removed and the road to good health and recovery should be all we see from here on out. Any other option is one I refuse to consider at this point. The oddity was walking into a hospital room to see your dad all hooked up like he's an extra in the Matrix. There's one wire for morphine. There's another for blood pressure. Another for saline fluids. He 's got these tubes that go to these devises on his feet to keep the muscles moving to prevent blood clots (which was pretty cool, actually). In front of him is a tray of unappetizing hospital liquids (clear only) that he's got to pretend are bearable while trying to get Mr. Stomach to play nicely.

But with the unfamiliar site came some humor.
As I learned, one of the perks to visiting a man doped up on morphine is you have no idea what he'll say or talk about. So, when he was awake he was a riot. He told us the ins and outs of poker strategy for a good 20 minutes. We knew the drugs were flowing like a riv er when the stories hit repeat. A good sign to tell us he needs his rest and it's time to head on home. My favorite conversation he had was with the nurse who tried to seem empathetic to whatever he wanted, which was solid food. After checking for him, she informed my dad that only liquids could be consumed. He bargained for some juice and she thought about it and said, "how about a sierra mist? You can choose from diet or regular." Oh goodie, a kid in a candy store. Nevertheless, it was really funny to see a 50 something old man sort of pout for not getting what he wanted. But who could blame him? He just had his prostate removed and holes put into his abdomen for life threatening reasons...after having to fast for 48 hours. I think I'd want a little something to make me happy too, but that's just me...and my dad, ha, right?

But on any note - he's doing well. He'll be stuck in the hospital all day tomorrow and hopes to go home Wednesday, where he gets to stay bed ridden for a full week. That won't be too much fun, but at least he gets the comfort of home and not the overly clean yet deathly smell of the hospital. Blech. So, here's to him, his health and the hope that cancer stays the hell away from him again. It's become too much of a trend in my families and I'd prefer it to be a fad that fades away as fast as it's come around.

What else?
Oh - Saturday - day 1 of the fasting for dad - we were able to check out The Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo Theater in Chicago. Well worth the money paid. If you're a fan of Elvis, Johnny Cash or Jerry Lee Lewis then it's worth checking out. The theater is intimate; I don't think there was a bad seat in the house. From the moment the house lights went down to the time they went back up it was nonstop music. The storyline was a tad weak but anytime you thought, "well, this seems a bit far fetched..." there would be more music and good music at that. I looked around throughout the show and people were always singing along or tapping their feet. It was almost like a show for people who don't really go and see shows...if that makes sense.

From there - off to the south end of Grant Park to check out Adam's entry to the snow sculpting com petition. It was really, really cool to see all of the sculptures. I think Adam was robbed for 3rd place but hey - he still placed and now I can say I know someone who does something like that. For it and his upcoming birthday we were able to celebrate with him at a local bar. I had hoped many more folks could come play because I knew we'd have fun and we almost got ourselves into a whole world of trouble, but the photos turned out well. It's always a good time when Adam works his way back home. There's always plenty of funky stories and Budweiser for everyone.



Today was covered. I decided earlier in the weekend that I wouldn't work on Monday. It's been stressful and with my dad's surgery, I would've rather been work stress free in case something went off track and to make it easier t o visit. And, with a lot of PTO, I did just that. Not working always provides a great opportunity to slow cook food. So, I made some braised beef short ribs. It was a hearty meal and the wine (3 squared) was delicious with it. Or as Rachel Ray says, d-lish.

Kim and I now have a new closet, which is going to take a little getting used to. I walk in expecting to see a dresser and now it's floor-to-ceiling Elfa closets. It's nifty and provided a lot more space. Al and I worked to install it. Not as easy as they make it out to be but a lot easier to install than what was there before. It's worth checking out.

I'm also working on selling off a couple of things. Kim calls this "me growing up." I call it "aaaah, come on..." I have a surplus of speakers around the house that need a good home. I also have a 15", yeah a 15" subwoofer that may go to a new home. It's so good. So loud. So awesome, but doesn't get the love it deserves here. I wish it did though cause MAN can it thump with ease. Same with a receiver. Just don't have a need for it. It'll do me some good, I guess. I can move my better speakers downstairs for TV/Music/Video game use and get some better than average computer speakers up here for something more consistent and wire free. Then again, until I find me a taker they'll stay connected because what's the point in taking it all down if it'll just go back up later? Growing up sucks sometimes. Kim's trying to convince me that a subwoofer looks tacky as an end table. I disagree...sort of. hehe.

Growing up isn't all bad. In a month or two we'll get our government money for buying the house and in comes a new kitchen, or so we plan. I'll need to enlist the help of Leo - the only man I know who sounds excited about installing new anything. It's good to have someone like that because I would stare at the new cabinets or appliances and try to will them with my mind to install themselves. It should be a whole new kitchen when we're done with it...I hope. Appliances, counters, cabinets. If there's leftover we could be smart and save it...OR put it towards other fun house fixing ups such as making the master bathroom more of a master bath experience or faux wood blinds around the house because the metal ones are so damn hard to clean. Who knows. Right now it's all in my head trying to be sorted out. I have no idea how we'll redo the kitchen or what we can do...more on that to come.

Anyway - a lot's been going on. Good stuff but a lot of stuff.
This week should fly by. Then the weekend again. PHEW. There'll be my mom's birthday celebration, another dance competition, the Superbowl (anyone have plans for that yet?) and...who knows what else.