Following up from yesterday’s entry, I haven’t been bed ridden; in fact, I didn’t miss a day of work and still managed to force in some painful training rides (though I’m sure the exercise was counterintuitive.) Between work, cycling and the lady friend, I had zero energy to do much else. That said, life has been good, I won’t detail the past 6-weeks verbatim, but here’s a few happenings worth mentioning:
The Cleveland Cavs are absolutely killing round 1 of the NBA Playoffs… Whoop! Whoop!
The Longborder Cafe in San Diego is the best place for breakfast in SoCal, possibly the Universe
Wow! A nearly two-month blogging hiatus, how could I? I’ll tell you, it has actually been easy… Remember my last blogosphere disappearance when I joked about using illness as my excuse? Well, Karma got the best of me as soon after that statement a life altering (non-contagious) intestinal virus hit me like a home-run in the 9th inning, bases loaded.
Up until about a month ago I argued that I was invincible, or at least the healthiest human on Earth. Now I’m humbled and thrilled to be myself again. It’s a weird feeling to know something isn’t right, but have doctors and nurses tell you it’s just lil’ bug or indigestion… WRONG!
After three-weeks in Purgatory and countless hours explaining my symptoms, it took just 5-minutes on the phone with one of, in my opinion, OHSU’s/the World’s finest doctors to tell me what he thought was wrong. Two days, three blood tests and another less-pleasant test later and the doctor’s prognosis was confirmed, I had Giardia–a parasite which terrorizes the small intestine. Wait, that’s not all. This particular Giardia strain was so powerful it prevented my body from absorbing nutrients necessary to life (e.g. Iron and protein.) As a result I had become Anemic and protein deficient.
How did I contract such a parasite you ask. This is debatable, but I’m fairly certain I contracted Giardia while backpacking in Hawaii last fall. If you’re unfamiliar with Giardia, it’s a parasite humans can pick up from water contaminated with animal fickle… I know, I know… GROSS! Apparently Giradia can only be killed via boiling your water or by adding iodine to it; I did neither. Mario however used my water filter the whole time and did not contract the virus.
In the end what amazes me is that it took more than 4-months for the protozoa to come out of their dormitory state and wreak havoc on my body. Nonetheless, it’s good to be back and feel like myself again, just a few more days of uber-antibiotics and I”ll be “tip top.” Probably the hardest part of the whole ordeal was not being able to race or train well on my bicycle, not to mention family and friends thinking I’ve become lame. Oh yeah, explaining that Girardia is not a sexual transmitted disease was pretty hard too.
There’s my story. I look forward to getting back on the blogging bandwagon. Cheers!
Being a longtime fan of skateboarding and, occasional, moderately decent shredder myself, I’m really psyched on this footage of Rodney Mullen, one of the sport’s pioneers. Judging by Rodney’s garb, It’s obvious the video’s circa 1984 (around the time I was born… Just saying.) Though it was filmed in Japan, so you never know, thigh-high denim coupled with calf-covering socks might have been all the rage over there… Who knows?
Nevertheless, the skill showcased is like nothing you see anymore. Sure, there’s something to be said for a skater who can huck him/herself 40-feet into the air and land on a piece of wood, barely big enough to support two feet. But let’s be real! I mean, given the primitive nature of the equipment and the social standing of skateboarding at the time, Mr. Mullen’s forward thinking, fluid movements and precision foot work is, without question, incredible. Enjoy!
Today was unarguably Portland’s most beautiful day of 2008… Freezing cold? Definitely! But absolutely gorgeous to say the least.
Being an Ohio transplant by way of Montana made today’s freezing temperature pretty easy on me. Though not-so-much true for native Portlanders. Today I learned that ice sneaks up on you; especially when descending steep, rural roads on a bicycle. There’s a lot of water run-off in Portland and water freezes. Surprised? I was…
For those complaining about the cold, just remember, it could always be worse. Take Newfoundland for example, where oceanic waves freeze at mid-crest.
There’s nothing better than New York City during the holidays–chilled air, damp sidewalks, Rockefeller Center, a giant Christmas tree (cut in Oregon… pssst) and ice skating. Need I say more? Seriously, there’s nothing better than NYC this time of year, not-a-thing, honest. Well maybe world peace, but let’s be real.
In the midst of a week long east coast media tour I was lucky enough to get some R&R time and run a-muck in Manhattan this evening. Of course I did the tourist thing, there’s not enough time to take in NYC’s full flavor anyways.
There’s something truly charming about this city and it breaks my heart to depart tomorrow evening.
It feels good to be back in Portland, but come Saturday I leave town again, this time for work, not just play. However, the work should be so fun that you’d think I was playing. Why? Because it’s the 2007 Feast of the Seven Fishes (FOTSF) media tour. FOTSF is part comic book, part cookbook and tells the story of a traditional Italian American holiday celebration. The book’s a unique display witty humor coupled with graphical brilliance. So brilliant, in fact, that it’s an Eisner Award nominee and will soon become a major motion picture. It’s like the Italian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
What we’re doing with FOTSF isn’t part of our agency’s traditional offering, but it’s a friends-and-family thing and a fun brand, so we’re psyched to make it happen. During the week long media blitz, which kicks-off in my hometown (Cleveland) and ends in Boston–stopping in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and NYC–the author (Robert Tinnell) will appear in each city’s popular media, driving people to prospective bookstores and Italian bakeries, delis and markets for book signings.
If you can’t make it to one of the events, you can follow the tour on the Seven Fishes Blog. My job is to plan events and secure media, all while wearing a fish costume… not totally serious, but will jump into the fish on occasion.
