Friday, January 28, 2011

Momentum

Whew.

Well, my daughter made it through the surgery ok, and she's healing well.  A little reconstruction of the inner ear by scraping off some of the mastoid bone and reshaping the eardrum, ouch.



Thanks to Sick Kids and Dr. Papsin for a successful operation and what's hopefully a fix for her severe infection.  And no evidence of a tumour, woohoo!  Or, as a colleague reminded me yesterday in her best Arnie impression, "It's not a tooma":


So I was watching "House" on DVD last night with the missus and I was thinking about how he cleverly diagnoses patients in the clinic so quickly, based mostly on observation and limited information.  It struck me that there are parallels with Sherlock Holmes -- has anyone noticed this before?

  1. He makes deductions based on visual observation of the patient (clues about their clothing, appearance)
  2. He's conceited and condescending
  3. He has an addiction to painkillers, like Holmes was addicted to cocaine
  4. His sidekick, friend, and consultant (who helps him solve the "mysteries") is Dr. Wilson - not too far from Dr. Watson
Not to mention that Hugh Laurie is a British actor.
Or is it just me?

Monday, January 24, 2011

Eventful

Wow.


Saturday afternoon I took my younger daughter to see "Tangled" and came home to a surprise birthday party with a couple dozen family members, including some who travelled a distance through the snow to get here. A blast for me and very touching. Plus more gifts, a ton of leftoverThai food, and more than a 2-4 to spare.


+

And then yesterday afternoon we learned that, while we were celebrating on Saturday, my wife's elderly uncle was dying of pneumonia in a hospital in California, near where he lived, and didn't survive the night.

Mike was a kind-hearted husband and father of three who had visited us a handful of times in Massachusetts when we lived there from 1998-2008. Always showed up unexpectedly, always stayed just a couple of days in the middle of some cross-country expedition, always by bus, and always plenty of conversation to be had. God bless you, Mike.

A touching tribute by my wife's Uncle John.  Nicely done, Lew.

And now tomorrow morning I take my older daughter to have surgery behind her right ear at Sick Kids Hospital for an infection that's spread from her ear canal to her mastoid bone. If we're lucky it's only an infection and the doc will clean it out without having to remove too much tissue. If we're unlucky it'll turn out to be a recurrence of the rare immune system disease that's been in remission since age 3.

Did I say that I wanted this year to be eventful?


Réquiem ætérnam dona ei Dómine; et lux perpétua lúceat ei.
Requiéscat in pace. Amen.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Best Gifts for a 40-Year Old Man

My wish list leading up to January 19th included:
  1. An e-reader (until the Bb tablet comes out)
  2. A huge supply of real maple syrup
  3. A gift card to Victoria's Secret or La Senza
  4. K-cups of my favorite coffees
  5. Dinner out with my wife and the two girls (individually)



I have to admit, I'm one of those "what do you get for the guy who has everything" kind of guys. 
Not that I literally have one of everything a 40-year old man could possibly want, but at my age I can either:
- buy it for myself (for most things), or
- do without (for the rest). 
Not to mention that just by virtue of years (ugh) I've accumulated the basics, and more than the basics, to live a contented life - nice clothes, furniture, electronics, etc.  Anything new is an upgrade, not really a novelty.

Of course, I would rather be surprised by that "perfect gift" just like everyone else, but in the last few years I've given up the game of hinting or hoping my loved ones will know me well enough to pick the "right gifts" for me.  You set up a test like that in your relationships, and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.



So I was pretty specific in my wishes for Christmas gifts (got the Keurig MiniPlus, which is awesome), and I made a list of things I wanted for my birthday.  In case you find that materialistic and greedy, most of them were actually intangibles or handmade items like "one day a week of no screen time so we can play family games together".  Awwww....

But I have to say that so far I've been delighted with the one "toy" I got this year - a Pandigital Novel, a colour e-reader that has wifi, photo/mp3 capability, and a bunch of little apps.  I was originally thinking of one of the bookstore-chain e-readers, but since I like to read magazines on my Bb I figured I should go for colour, and the colour e-ink is reportedly not great yet.  Besides, it's a stop-gap until the Bb tab comes out and I pass the Novel on to my wife or kids, so I wasn't going to push for high-end.

The Pandigital Novel and its Stylin' Leatherette Case!

I've been pleasantly surprised with the Novel - it has the battery life and capabilities of a tablet, but feels and can function simply as an e-reader.  At under $200 it's predictably slower and choppier than one of those "i-things" everyone's talking about (I refuse to add to the marketing hype by using its proper name). It is, however, light, portable, and pretty functional for something made by a digital photo frame company. 

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm still working out the dinner-and-movie thing and I haven't seen the syrup yet.  
On the other hand, I didn't need the gift card after all, since my wife picked out "something special" herself for my birthday - my second favorite gift!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

What's a 40-year old to do?

OK, so the big day came and went yesterday and I successfully avoided a lawn of pink flamingos (ha Ben!) or being given corny t-shirts or mugs. 


However, after noticing blogs, websites, and books devoted to doing life-changing things leading up to or on your 40th birthday, I started to feel inadequate.  On the one hand, what could I have done but take my boy to his daycare, put in my day's work, and meet the family for dinner at a nice restaurant?  Take the day off and do what?  Skydive?  Go to an amusement park?  By myself?

On the other hand, 40 does feel like it should be special, though a coworker of mine recently pointed out that he felt that 50 years was his life's turning point.  And I had in fact considered doing something memorable this month, though I've successfully ruled out:
  1. Getting laser surgery to correct my vision (after learning that it really is surgery, yo - see below!)
  2. Having an affair
  3. Taking motorcycle lessons
  4. Streaking through my workplace

Instead I've decided to come up with a short list of actions that will make this year memorable/eventful without risking my vision, marriage, life, or employment.  Not a list of 40 items, mind you - there are enough of those lists out there, with boring filler like "Enjoy the daisies" and "Love yourself".  And you may have noticed that "month" in the last paragraph became "year" in this paragraph, in order to allow for the scope of the accomplishments (read: my general laziness around self-improvement unless it involves buying new technology).

Remarkably, I've already made a few life improvements in the last year, including:
  1. Eating more berries and oatmeal (and liking it)
  2. No beer, soda, or desserts during the week (my New Year's resolution)
  3. Getting rid of our PITA beagle (see my defunct blog "Walking My Beagle" - no, actually, don't)
RIP Sammy
(No we didn't "off" him,
RIP is for "Rolf In Places-other-than-mine")


So my list for the year (so far) goes like this:
  1. Start a new blog (woohoo!)
  2. Take karate lessons
  3. Maintain the new blog (stupid list...)
  4. Start investigating how to get my PhD by age 50
  5. Get a Bb Tablet as soon as they come out (maybe even wait in line like the diehards)
  6. Copy those videotapes of our 2005 trip to Ireland
  7. Give my kids more hugs
  8. Say "I love you" more
Ok, ok, so the last two are kinda soft and fuzzy, but hopefully not filler...