To update the status of the eHarmony meeting, since I’ve been asked about this more than once… I went out to dinner with Kelly last Wednesday before my surgery.  It was a good time and we went out for sushi (something both of us could enjoy).   Afterwards, we went to a local bar that brews there own beer and had a couple glasses while talking. 

Otherwise, I was pretty much a pile throughout the weekend, and couldn’t really do much.  We ended up going out tonight, just to burn some time, again went to a bar and sat around having a couple drinks and talking about everything.  It was fun, but I still had the nagging pain occasionally which sucked. 

I just got back from spending Saturday night in Princeton, NJ.  The campus is absolutely beautiful there.  I went there with Rob to meet up with our friend Hann-Ah.  Hann-Ah had just helped his sister drive her car over from Chicago, during the day Friday.  So we got to Hann-Ah’s other sister’s home (confusing, I know) around five o’clock on Saturday.  After playing a game or two one the PS2, we ventured out and walked around the Princeton campus.  Two things to note that were blatant to us.  Everyone drives luxury cars there… if you’re looking to buy a luxury car, go to a campus like this to see all of the differences.  Also, what other campus has a Rolex store, a brokerage house, and a store just devoted to women’s makeup on campus? 

Later that night, we went to a brew pub called Triumph Brewery.  They had a small cover band play (heh, I’ll let Rob quote the exact description of them) which was a nice background filler.  The place had a very retro/modern look, but in some way, it was inviting… I’d recommend getting a beer there, if you’re around those parts. 

As a side note, the cicadas are getting louder and louder… I’ll try to post some pictures in the next couple weeks…

If only to just give myself a personal record of when this went down….

I found out, earlier this week, that I have a minor inguinal hernia.  I noticed a small bump in the groin area and had some discomfort, about two weeks ago.  I brushed it off as just pulling a muscle (groin) from running.  Then last Sunday (May 9^th), I was removing some waste from my body and felt a strong pain in the groin area (to the upper left of my cock).  I’m still not quite sure what that pain was specifically, other than being related to the hernia, but it was very uncomfortable and I debated about going into the emergency room.  After talking myself out of it, I laid in bed and massaged the bump until it felt better.  Ok, that just sounds bad…

So, I went to a doctor on Monday (beauty of PatientFirst and no appointments) and the doctor was unsure if I had a hernia, so he referred me to a specialist.  I saw the specialist this past Monday (May 17^th) and he knew just by looking that it was a hernia. 

As I stand, I have surgery scheduled for next Thursday (May 27^th) to fix my little bump.  I went for my physical and blood work yesterday & all was good.  Other than having the hernia, I am in excellent shape, which is surprising considering the large amount of cheese and tortillas that I have been eating lately.  I was told that I can start running again (yep, I’m looking forward to that) after just a few days.  The majority of my recovery is short (about a week or two) and I should expect a full recovery (ability to lift large objects again) within 3 months.  I’ll only be on the narcotics for a couple days, after surgery.  Surprisingly, I was told that I can lift weights before the 3 month deadline since that is a focused activity and it’s not an awkward motion. 

I chose to go with surgery so soon because of two reasons.  I am going to Las Vegas in the middle of June and after talking with the specialist, he made it clear to me that I would be healed by then and much more comfortable.  The other reason is that there is a chance that the bladder can go through the muscle wall and get trapped.  A side-effect of that is that the bladder gets strangulated (loses blood).  If that happens, surgery should be performed as soon as possible to reduce complications.

A nice thing that I found out is that the risk of getting another hernia in the future is only 5%.  The other nice thing as a result of this is that I now know what a hernia is.  I would have rather discovered what it is through some other means, but hey… take ‘em as they come, I guess.

I went to the Preakness this last weekend.  I think it (the infield) is as close to a NASCAR event that I can get, without actually attending one.   The whole day was pretty much one big ass party and really made me feel like it was spring break again.  We got up and got out to the track around 10:00am or so.  That was a perfect time to get there, since we had to wait about 45 minutes in line.  The even coordinators wouldn’t allow metal chairs and basically had to go through every cooler, so it took quite a while for everyone to get in.  We got there with enough time to make a little area for ourselves (and that area got smaller as the day got longer).  Note for the next time, bring rope & tie it around the chairs/objects that make up your area.  That way, it’s less likely that you’ll lose a chair or space for sitting.

So there were 12 races total, with the main event last.  You can bet on any race that you want, but you have to follow strict guidelines to do so.  Buying a program for $3 was well worth it, as it went over all of the horses and the rules for betting.  Other than that, pretty much anything went.  Beer was the choice drink among people, since bottles were not allowed.  Surprisingly, they had no problems with people bringing in beer bongs, slip & slides, and even inflatable pools.  As an added bonus, there were girls who were willing to show their assets, every so often.  Oh, and the girls… so many beautiful girls wearing little else than a short skirt and a bikini top.  Like I said, it reminded me quite a bit of spring break.

Other than that, drinking pretty much began around 11:00am and continued till about 7:30 or 8… I would recommend that you bring food, snacks, and your own beer for this event.  They sold things there, but the prices were quite high, from what I remember.  Anyway, it was just starting to get dark out, as I walked home.  Yep, I decided that the best way for me to get home was to walk the 4-6 miles… by myself… carrying two chairs… Along the way, I made some friends, got some numbers and managed to forget what the people looked like and the conversations had.  Ah well, there’s always next year.

The porta potti situation at the track was pretty decent.  As long as you made an effort to go towards the center of one of the 5 rows of toilets, the lines were usually short and painless.  Unfortunately, each porta potti was like its own little oven.  Couple that with the shit smell and the occasional puke splatter made for some very unattractive experiences.  I’ve heard that the last 3 years it has rained.  This might have been better to reduce the humidity, but I kind of liked getting burnt.

Anyway, I’ll post pictures when I can scan them.  Yep, I gave in and got a disposable… I figure documenting events like this with some pictures is better than none.  Also, DON”T get a picture disk from Kodak.  I though I’d get a CD with decent quality scans… I got a 3.5mm with shitty quality JPGs…

I have opened a (one of many?) Pandora’s Box…  The one that I led myself through was love.  I opened my world up and with that came all sorts of the joy and happiness.  I have been going through the opposite for longer than I want to, lately…  Now, don’t get me wrong… the joy and happiness outweigh the misery come-down many times over, but I feel like the depression of winter has not yet been lifted from me.  Each year, I feel as though winter slowly shuts me down and I generally feel depressed (most of the time without knowing it).  Towards spring and summer, I start feeling more alive and come out of the “darkness” of depression.  It’s possible that I’ve just been in a general state of depression for about the last year or so, though. 

Being away from so many people who cared about me, how I felt, what I was doing, what I was going to do, etc probably made my feelings that much more intense.  The positive thing that I’ve gotten out of being away from everyone, is that I now have a strong feeling of what I want in the coming years of life.  I can’t say that I want this for the rest of my life (but hey, why not), but for the next 10 to 30 years or so, it seems like the right path to take.

I have decided that love (be it from a lover or from just close friends) is many times more valuable than any money, job, or “way of life.”  It has taken me quite a long time to get to this decision, even though I heard other people talk about it daily.  I really don’t think that I listened to those people and, as many before, thought that with money came joy.  Now, I’m not saying that I’m rich or that I don’t want to be.  I know I will be… I’m just saying that my drive has shifted to wanting to be around those who care.  To go through this life without having someone there to share experiences with seems like a waste to me.  If you have more money than you know what to do with, then what?  Most people in that position try to get a little more… to try to out do themselves.  To me, they’re missing more than they know and probably avoiding something more illusive.

So, I think from now on, I’m going to do things that only make me (and as a side effect, possibly those around me) happy.  I figure that if I do that, the money will follow… I’m not worried in the least about having money or meeting someone else’s expectations, so I might enjoy my days… I would just rather have money take a backseat to joy/happiness for once.  I suppose I’ll be labeled a terrorist for this sort of thought, now 😉