Razor Burn

The other day I was looking in the mirror, when I decided to assess my baldness. I used a couple of mirrors at different angles so I could see the back of my head, and GOD DAMN am I bald. I mean BALD. Think of a cue ball...or perhaps an oversized slightly lumpy white bowling ball with a scar across the middle and freckles on it, et VOILA, that's my cranium. So...I decided to embrace it. Who needs hair anyway?? How nice it is to wake up in the morning and have to do NOTHING to your head! And just think of all the money I am saving on combs and other hair products!

As most of you know, I have been buzzing my head with an electric hair clipper for years now. So, I decided to take it a step further...

...that's right! I AM SHAVING IT! I figured that tonight was a good time to do it as we have 3 days in a row off from work, so if I don't like it, some will have grown back by the time work resumed.

Let the shaving begin...

The finished product! It feels pretty weird not having sideburns for the first time since I was 16 years old, but I think it looks pretty good. Anyone else care to share their opinions? Be honest!

Bowling anyone?

How cute, they are sleeping in the exact same position!

Run Forrest! Ruuuuuun!

The weather here was pretty nice today, so I decided to take it to the streets - that's right, rather than run on the treadmill, I decided to hit the boardwalk. I figured I can easily run 3 miles on the treadmill, so the boardwalk (which, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is 2.2 miles long, thus "running the boardwalk" = 4.4 miles) should not be that much harder, right?

Wrong.

I hadn't done any running other than on the treadmill, and it certainly was harder than I thought it would be...you don't have the treadmill to keep your pace, you need to do it yourself. You don't have the shock-absorption of the treadmill to protect your knees either - and admittedly, the boardwalk is surely better than concrete, but still...I was feeling it.

However...I did it. Ran the whole thing - it took me around 45 minutes, which wasn't super fast, but I ran the whole damn thing. Kinda cool. When I got to the end, it was a very strange feeling - my legs were kinda on auto pilot, so it was difficult to make them stop. Once I convinced them to do so, my left knee started to ache, as well as my left hip joint. Yikes...I started having visions of strained ligaments and physical therapy and pain and....and....and....and then, about 2 minutes later the pain stopped completely. Guess the ol' joints just aren't used to such abuses. Perhaps running 3 days in a row didn't help matters.

All in all, quite the accomplishment if I do say so myself. It hurt, yes, but I will continue to do it as the weather improves. Maybe if I do it on a less windy day (I forgot to mention that I was running into the wind on the initial half of the run), as well as after having rested my limbs a few days, then it will hurt less. Either way, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I could run the whole boardwalk...and in 45 mins no less. Pretty damn cool.

Fossils, Fossils, Fossils. I win.

I was reading this month's Playboy (yes, I actually read it!), and came across a big series of articles on Creationism vs. Evolution (yes, Playboy actually contains many intellectually stimulating articles amongst the T & A). My favorite of these articles was from a comedian called Lewis Black - I laughed all the way through. This guy tells it like it is, and I happen to wholeheartedly agree with every word. So...I scanned it and cropped it...and here it is. Feel free to have a read, it is definitely worthwhile.

On To Happier Things...

Here I am, today, waiting for Angela to come home with her new Jetta! Here she comes...

What a beauty! I will be driving it later, but I am assured that she drives like a dream. And we got a hell of a deal on it!
Here we are, happily gesturing in front of the new car.

And, so as not to be left out, my freshly washed little girlie...she knows I love her the best. :)

R.I.P. Garfield

Geezus, it seems that most of my posts in the last month or so are titled "R.I.P. someone," which obviously means that this hasn't been a great month. The latest casualty happens to be one of the nicest cats EVER - Garfield.

Garfield was like a dog in a cat's body. Ever since we adopted him 12-13yrs ago, there was something special about this little guy. He started out skinny as a rail, seeing as he was mistreated by his previous owners. Upon being brought into the house, he proceeded to eat anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) edible. Pebbles (mom and Marty's other cat) never really liked Garfield, but they co-existed peacefully. Occasionally they would chase each other around, and these episodes usually ended in Pebbles smacking Garfield in the face and hissing at him. Garfield, very non-chalantly, would ignore her display of aggresion and turn away from her, tail held high, and strut off down the hall.

He had his share of problems - at around 6 yrs old, tipping the scales at over 21lbs, he became diabetic (when I said he would eat, believe me I meant it). We were, however, able to control his diabetes solely with diet, and over the last few years since I qualified and took over as his vet, I actually got him to lose weight - he was a healthy 11 lbs before his latest illness. He would chase his treats around with vigor once we thinned him down, he was loving life.

Unfortunately, right around the time of my grandma's passing, mom and Marty noticed him drooling excessively. I had a look at him, and I knew as soon as I touched him that it was trouble - his jaw was swollen, and he was drooling. We lifted his lip and saw it - a growth in his mouth. This is ALWAYS trouble in cats. Even in dogs it is bad, but cats it is usually very big trouble. Basically, around 3 days later the mass had tripled in size and he was having trouble eating. I knew it wouldn't be long, but we decided to try to debulk the mass to give him some comfort for a while. We removed it with a laser, and sent it off for biopsy. By the next day, it was back at full size. The biopsy came back as expected, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and I knew then that his time was short. We attempted some last resort homeopathic remedies which did nothing but stress the poor boy out as it was poured down his throat. I went to see him yesterday, and all he did was lie there, dehydrated and sad, and I knew it was his time. We put him to sleep today at 1:26 pm, right on his favorite couch where he spent so many hours in comfort and joy.

All of this happened within 2 weeks - from diagnosis to euthanasia. Did I tell you tumors in cat's mouths were bad or what??

G-man was a supremely sweet boy, and to say he will be missed is an understatement. I feel the final gift I could give him was relief from his suffering. We will remember him always for the joy he brought to us - he is, of course, irreplaceable...but I will see what I can do to liven up mom and Marty's lives with a kitten or two soon. Of course, Pebbles might have something to say about that...

Rest in peace, G-Funk. We will always love you.

R.I.P. Kirby Puckett

Well, they say bad news comes in 3's - and although this one doesn't really affect me personally, it is the 3rd shitty thing to happen this week: 1) Grandma Phyllis passes away, 2) I find an inoperable tumor in my mom's cat's mouth, and 3) Kirby Puckett dies. Why do I care about Kirby Puckett you ask? He was a professional baseball player - 10 time All-Star, World Series MVP and Hall of Famer...and look at him - you know he was able to throw back a 12-pack of Budweiser along with a whole pizza pie. He gave lots of hope to all of us chubbo's out there. He didn't have it easy either; he was forced to retire when he developed glaucoma and went blind in one eye. Then, he really blew up in weight around the time he was inducted into the Hall of Fame a few years back. Finally, he had a stroke yesterday, and died. He was only 45 years old.

What a sad week. *Sigh*

Ultrasound Part 3!

Today we went for Angela's third ultrasound to get a better idea of what the little amazing kicking creature looks like. First thing I saw was this view here, which led me to worry that my wife had been impregnated by aliens.






Next, though, they did a close up of the baby's face, which I saw immediately and couldn't believe what I was seeing - you could see his/her little eyes, nose and mouth.



Angela, however, was not able to see the baby's face as clearly as I was. She, of course, blamed it on several things, including not having her glasses on, her pregnancy affecting her vision (???), and finally, me being a "smarty pants." So, I attempted to sharpen the image and play around with the shading to clarify the image a bit.




Still not convinced, so I made it as plain as I could for her...looks like his/her pop, doesn't it? Egg headed and smiling...:) But honestly, what a cool experience - we saw the little one moving around, kicking its real live feet (which are, coincidentally, just over an inch long) and teeny little hands. Its heart was beating away at 138 bpm, and it is currently sitting backwards (i.e. breech) but the tech assured us that is nothing to worry about. The tech did not tell us anything about the sex of the baby, but when I saw her looking, I certainly did not see any dangling bits, so I am putting my money on a girl...we shall see! All in all, an amazing day.

Time for the next belly shot - here we are, almost 20 weeks pregnant. You can definitely tell now, eh?? :)

R.I.P. Phyllis Rubenstein

Grandma Phyllis (pictured here at my wedding with my little cousin Lauren) passed away after a long bravely fought battle with cancer this past Wednesday, March 1st 2006. Although she and my Grandpa Sonny moved to Florida when I was young, she was an extremely caring grandma who loved her family very much. If it weren't for the ridiculously high cost of living here on Long Island, I am sure they never would have left.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 uterine cancer which had spread extensively through her body back in May of 2004. She had gone through several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy over the past 2 years (almost), and fought like a champ. Recently, as things took a turn for the worse, I know her discomfort increased and she was at peace with the fact that there was nothing more to be done. Luckily, she didn't suffer for long. She passed away at home. She never fell into the coma that most patients with terminal cancer do. She left us quickly and painlessly. And I am thankful for that.

When she was diagnosed in May '04, her goal was to make it to my wedding in February '05. She made it.....and more than a year beyond that. It is amazing that she was with us as long as she was, and again, we are all thankful for that.

I leave you all with my Grandma's favorite poem that I will be reading at her funeral in NYC this sunday:

Trees

(For Mrs. Henry Mills Alden)

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

- Joyce Kilmer