Looking back on 2014

This was a much better year than 2013, which was a rather stressful year. Graduating was the high point.

2014 led to many more improvements. I was finally able to get started with jobsearches in mid-January. A few interviews came up including one gov't interview. With this gov't interview which was 3 weeks after the surgery on the right hip, even though I asked for an interpreter, I didn't get one. Still wasn't quite the same even though all the questions posed me were on paper. But when the interpreter coordinator heard about it, she passed it on to a couple other people. From what I last heard, up pretty high. It was about 3 weeks later that I had a second chance at interviewing with them, and made the best of it.

I had an internship with Sprint from June to August, right after I went from walker to cane. Though I used the wheelchair to get to and from my workspace, I used the cane at times to get to a meeting room or someone's cubicle. That impressed my two supervisors and it showed on my final performance appraisal. I managed also to improve one of their badly-written documents by updating it with better descriptions and screenshots.

But it was also the entertainment industry where we lost a number of well-known people.

Perhaps our biggest loss was Robin Williams, what with his madcap style of comedy. We knew him from Mork and Mindy, and I believe it was his oddball audition performance that got him the part. Probably one of his best quotes, and he's right...

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

And probably one of his best - "O Captain! My Captain!" and "Seize the day!" from Dead Poet's Society.

Thank you, Robin, for being around.

2015 should be a better year for me, health-wise and my jobsearches.

Looking back on 2013

The year 2013 wasn't exactly a great year for me. It marked my graduation at Gallaudet and three surgeries.

While college graduation marks a joyous time for those graduates, it was tempered by my nearly not graduating due to a capstone team member miscommunicating something with the instructor (Teamwork in classes and on the job - Part 1 and Part 2) requiring us to change direction mid-semester right before Spring Break. That plus having to deal with the ever-increasing pain levels due to the degrading left hip joint as I got closer to graduation and surgery date. It did help to inform those I worked with about what was going on with me. My team had a second chance at finishing up our project that summer, but my hip had other ideas, including the team leader also having a health issue, so we were never able.

The left hip had other ideas in a way that required three surgeries within 5 months (June, July, and November). Just 5 weeks after I had the original joint replacement, I had to return to the hospital due to it being infected. The second surgery had the joint be replaced by a wrecking ball of a spacer (Surgery and the Hips - Part 3) which was painful and uncomfortable. I had to have pain pills before physical therapy while in Acute Rehab. Fortunately, that wasn't needed when I moved to the nursing home.

I've been infection-free since the last surgery (Surgery and the Hips - Part 5). I don't need another wrecking ball in me. Physical therapy is going along well. I still have a ways to go before I can walk with and without a cane.

2014 should be a better year. The next surgery on the right hip should be near the end of 2014 also, and should go well.

Looking back on 2009

It's been an interesting year for me. Going through two surgeries (well, one in December 2008 and another in November 2009), being in a rehab facility, and a few months worth in physical therapy will pretty much tire out people. But I needed these two surgeries. I'm already feeling a whole lot better than I was in the last 2-3 years leading up to the surgeries. The left knee's bone on bone condition didn't just hurt there, but caused me to be in pain all over.

I spent a lot of time in recovery, just trying to get back to how I was before the surgeries. That may take awhile, but I'm getting there. I still have at least some exercises to do, mostly getting the right knee to bend more. I'll still need to keep up the exercises here and there. Swimming does a great job, and it helped out in my not needing to go to a rehab facility, just head home with home health services. The physical therapist I worked with at the hospital watched me go from walking just outside my hospital room the day after surgery to the other end of the hall the day I was to head home.

The surgeries helped out in more ways than one. But of course, you're going to be a captive in your home, with people helping you out with some things. I was a growly and grumpy guy before the first one due to all the pain both knees were in. Now, if any pain, it's quite manageable. I'd like to walk to the grocery store up the road and back home. Getting back to classes is another. This one may take awhile, maybe a couple years - bowling. At least some of us have had that painful experience of having the ball swipe our knee on the downstroke just before release. Let's hope I don't crack the ball when that happens with me. While there may be some things I may never do again, like running or some sports like basketball, I can still do other things.

Sherlock and I want to lose some weight. I've got a weight set here at home that took me several days to assemble alone just before my second surgery. I've not been able to use it since I can't get down to where it is since those steps don't have handrails.

I still got my volunteer job. They know I've been out for the surgeries, returning from the first one a few months afterward. Someone will carry a computer to my workspace for me when I'm unable to do so. Computer distributions are tougher. I can't carry the computers or monitors from downstairs to upstairs as there's only steps. I help out in other ways, though.

2010 leading into 2011 should be good years for me in terms of doing what I couldn't do before the surgeries.

Drive safely out there. Use a sober designated driver or a taxi if you've been drinking. Drunk driving demolishes more lives than one.

9/11 Reflections

We, as a nation, including the world, will be remembering the 9/11 attacks. The question still pops up at times;

"Where were you that fateful day?"

I was still asleep, having spent part of the night doing some stuff on the computer. Vibrations from a neighbor's pounding on the front door woke me to let me know what was going on. It finally happened...

I turned on the TV... The Twin Towers fell after two planes were flown into it. The Pentagon had a plane flown into it. A fourth plane nosedived into a field in Shanksville, PA, after the passengers revolted against the hijackers.

I went into the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and checked in with friends on there and in email. I didn't logoff til late that night. They were all safe, those I knew in NYC and two who worked at the Pentagon, despite some getting home very late if at all or stayed somewhere. The local metro still ran, but the Pentagon station was closed. Traffic out of DC was gridlock. The area's Kiss & Rides in Metro stations were madhouses of foot and vehicle traffic. Air traffic was grounded for nearly a week.

One year later, on personal business, I went to NYC. I made a side trip to the former WTC site. Limited traffic around the area was allowed, and media cameras didn't quite show everything. Some of the buildings still had some frontal damage.

http://www.chameleon.net/~boogi/wtc/

Just yesterday, the Pentagon unveiled their memorial. I plan on visiting it sometime in the future.

Can we prevent another 9/11? Unfortunately, there's no one answer to that. More security at airports? Maybe not. Add on security and then some at bus and train stations? Going totally paranoid isn't going to do it either. Everyone needs to do their part rather than trusting the government and law enforcement for protection.