Yo, yo, yo! Merry Chris"sizzle"!

Yeah, that's my best attempt, whatever.
I guess it's been a week since writing so I thought I'd put up another post for your viewing pleasure.
Starting with recent events, I woke up this morning at 5 AM. This was not just any wake up, it was an "eyes wide open, brain fully functioning, you're not going back to sleep" wake up. I don't know what happened but I decided to get going. Now that I've almost put in a full day (getting in at 6 AM will do that by 11) I'm taking a break to write a bit, you can thank me later!
Let's see...I had Jarom this past weekend for the last time. I know I said that last weekend but Kara called and there was no way I was turning this down.
We didn't do much. We went over to Jim and Kathy Hunt's to visit them one last time. They are so nice. They are going to miss Jarom almost as much as I am. They are almost like another set of grandparents to him. I'm so glad to have friends like that. They are wonderful people.
It was 70 degrees so we went to the park and played for a while but that was about the extent of our weekend.
Sunday my stomach was just turning over and over while I thought of taking Jarom back, and it didn't stop until I dropped him off. I'm really torn up about this. He's such a huge part of my life that not having him close is just going to tear me up. It's going to be a big adjustment to not have him on the weekends. This kind of means I have to start attending the singles ward <>! The good news is I'm going in armed with a girlfriend! That dark and lonely wilderness will have a bit of light because I don't have to face the "meat marketeers". Okay, it's not really that bad. I know a lot of people there and they are great so it'll be good. Plus they just got a new bishop and that can only breathe more life into the ward.
On the personal side, things with LaRee are going great! She's a real sweetie. She's as into me as I am her and we each know where the other stands so there's no (or less) insecurities about hanging out with other people. Okay, that's enough about that, ya'll don't want to know any more than that.
School's out and I pulled a C in calculus which I'm disappointed about but I'll just say I passed and move on. I did get an A in my civil engineering class so there ya go! Next semester doesn't start until Jan 12 so I've got a month of evenings all to myself (any guesses where those are going?) I'll be taking Physics for Engineers and Calculus II next semester. It's 7 credit hours as opposed to the 4 this semester (they were equivalent to 5 or 6). The other difference is that the physics is from 11:30-1 4 days a week which means evenings at the office. I'm a bit concerned about that but I'll adjust I'm sure. On the bright side (if you can call it that) I'll have my weekends to recover!
Alrighty, that's all I got. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (that's probably when I'll write again)

Arms Up, Pants Down! You Know the Drill!

Okay, so the title, although true is simply to get your attention. I felt I needed something a little snazzy to get this party going.
It's that time of year again. The time of year I get scolded for not having made my checkup appointment. For those of you that wonder why I put this off, let me tell you my experience thus far and then let you contemplate that question.
Last week I went to a new doctor here in OKC (just think SLC with OK instead of SL) just to get him to order the C/T scan. His name is Dr. Rodney Miles. He is an OU graduate and has been practicing for 20+ years (all this was in the profile that my insurance gives of doctors). Other than this information and the fact that his office was close to my work, I had no reason for choosing him over any other Dr in the area. Everything was going fine, my appointment was for 2:30 and I arrived at 2:15 knowing that I had a lot of paperwork to fill out. I got the paperwork, scanned the room and estimated that I should be in this waiting room for no more than 20 minutes.
I filled out my information (DOB, SSN, IGN, DOA, CYA, SOB, LOL, etc.) and watched several people go back. I made it to the finals, just me and one other person, and I was right on track for my estimation. This was when things came to a grinding halt! We waited and waited. It was like a staring contest except instead of staring at each other we had to stare at everything else (BTW I'm sure I won)! The clock ticked by, it was 3 o'clock and finally that mystical portal to the wonderful world of wisdom opened. We, the two finalists, sat up in our chairs in great anticipation of whose name would be called, who would win this contest we had never signed up for, who would get to GO SEE THE DOCTOR!
Alas, in the end there are no winners and losers at this office. Only those who are sick and the rare hypocondriac desporately trying to be ill. Once more I wait, but now I wait alone. Once again I attempt to practice my skills of staring from floor to ceiling and wall to wall without moving my head. The clock ticks.
Another half of a century goes by in waiting room time (this equates to roughly half an hour normal time) and finally, one hour after my scheduled appointment time, I go back to see the doctor. Once again I judge amiss. It is not to see the doctor but the Physicians Assistant. She speaks with me for a moment and then leaves me. Once again alone and having lost the epic battle in the waiting room I again practice my staring skills. Side to side, up and down I look keeping my head and neck rigid. Just as I'm getting good the door opens and the doctor enters.
We spoke about something, probably the reason I was there, and he babbled about all that he had seen in the last 20+ years and how whenever he sees something new like this he can't wait to examine it, I don't remember if he said it word for word but in summary he said, "You are a laboratory rat that I will poke and prod and examine until I am satisfied!"
After looking at the scar and pretending to actually feel for any lumps he finally ordered the C/T scan and sent me on my way.
Well, today was the day of the scan. I went to the hospital knowing what to expect having done this 5 or 6 times now.
I went to admissions filled out paperwork and waited. Then I went to imaging, filled out paperwork and waited. Finally I got back to the C/T scan and the first thing I'm told is, "Lie down, arms up and pants down to your hips!"
Aparently the nurse had seen that I had done this before and thought she would be a drill seargent and bark out orders. This didn't phase me becuase there's not much that can make the experience worse. The whole ordeal consists of first a mixture of saline solution and iodine being injected into my bloodstream. This mixture causes everywhere that has a high blood flow to feel warm and to tingle. My face feels flushed, head and ears feel hot, hands and toes tingle etc. Next, with the IV in I had to place my arms above my head and bend them so I can be slid back and forth through a little hole, all while being asked to hold my breath for 30 -45 seconds at a time. Needless to say, the nurse almost made it an inviting experience!
All this said, nothing compares to the waiting of the results. The "what could be's", the analyzing of all my bodily functions for any abnormalities. It's enough to drive someone to write about it all on a blog so that others would understand! :)
Whew! What a long entry. Oh well, the scan is done and the doctor will have the verdict in by the end of the week. I'll let everyone know what I find out.

Weekend With Jarom

This weekend was a bitter sweet one. Since Kara is moving to Utah I realized this would be my last weekend with him before coming to Utah and leaving him there. I had myself all psyched up and ready for that. I had run through all of the emotions and was ready to accept it when Kara called and asked if I could take him this coming weekend. Of course I will but man, I've gotta go through another week of torture!
Anyway, on our way back from Gainesville we stopped in Ardmore to see the outdoor light display they have. Jarom LOVED it! We drove really slow for about 30 minutes through a great display, then hit the road back to Norman. We didn't get back until after 9 so it was straight to bed.
Saturday morning was watching Superman cartoons, courtesy of LaRee, then we went to the Museum of Natural History. This has become a tradition. Unfortunately so has leaving with Jarom kicking and screaming because he is acting up. It starts out small but then quickly escalates.
The good news is once we got home he calmed down, did his time in time-out and was good to go for the rest of the night. We took what turned out to be a 2.5 hour nap and then we made some dinner and then made chocolate chip cookies. They weren't the best but it was just the experience that we were after anyway. Jarom is the sweetest and most thoughtful 3 year old I have ever known. He says and does stuff that is so beyond his age. Compliments and timely comments are so out of character for a kid his age.
So Sunday rolled around and we went to church and then had some lunch. He then asked to watch the "Joseph Smith Movie". It's called The Restoration and it's what we watch on Sundays but usually it's a compromise because he wants to watch Superman or Toy Story. This time it was by his request.
After this we headed back to Gainesville, reluctantly. After dropping him off I had a nice conversation with Chris (Kara's fiance) and then Kara called me and asked an interesting question, "Did Jarom tell you he swallowed a penny?"
I was pretty sure I took the change off of my night stand in the bedroom because when he's not sleeping, Jarom gets into a lot of mischief. Like yesterday I was climbing into bed and found on the bed a pen missing a cap, 4 books from the bookshelf and ALL of the pillows curiously stacked as high as they would go. Not to mention the cord on the horizontal blinds tied in knots! He did this all without a peep to indicate that he was awake.
Back to the penny thing, Kara told him not to ever do that again and threatened to "take away all of his 'money's' and go to the hospital"! She said he really didn't like that! Hard to say what he liked least, the hospital threat or losing his change. Well, do what works I guess. He's a funny kid.


I really like this picture of us


He's a Cheese!


He just wants me to leave him alone


LaRee, in case anyone wants to know what she looks like.

Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is finally finished. LaRee and I went to Wally World last night and got the packing tape I needed to finish my tree. Jarom did the faces of the snowmen and helped put them on the tree. LaRee and I did the little balls and put them on last night. I'm pumped to have a tree. I also got those pine cones that smell like cinamon and put them in my place so now it smells like Christmas when I walk in. I'm not sure what Sazurak thinks of it all but she's good to leave the tree alone so that's all I can ask for.



Here's the tree



LaRee made this in the snow we got last week. It was a lot of snow!


This is my crazy cat!

All Work and No Play...?Whatever!

Well, somehow between work, school, Jarom every other weekend and life in general I managed to do it! I now officially have a girlfriend. I know, I know, I was the first one saying this wouldn't/couldn't happen, but somehow it did. No worries, it's not like I'm going to go off and get married or anything rash like that, I'm not ready for that. I'm taking baby steps. It took me a while to get back on the horse, then it took me a while to get used to getting bucked off of the horse, now I'm on a new horse and I'm just going to ride this one at a nice and slow stroll. Wow, that horse analogy went way too far! I'm sure if she reads this I'll be hearing about it.
You probably want some juicy details so I'll tease you with a few. Her name is LaRee. She's a blonde. (not sure why I decided that was a juicy detail but whatever) She's a very good artist, painting and drawing. She has a pretty heavy crush on Superman, but I'm okay with that. Everyone has to have something they are moderately obsessed with, for some it's shoes, for other's sports yet other's with getting into others' business, hers is Superman. Could be worse, right? She is from Arizona but moved out here to live with her brother who is attending OU. We met playing volleyball on Wednesday nights a couple of months ago. She's got a great sense of humor but she can also get serious (but not too serious).
I'll be honest, getting to this stage was tough. You don't get much practice at almost being a couple. Now that we're over that hump it should be smooth sailing. I feel pretty comfortable with "Relationship JD" and "Independent JD" is doing well for himself too. As long as I can keep the two worlds from colliding I'll be just fine.
It's really nice to have someone who thinks your special, someone to think about in dull moments, a shoulder to cry on (metaphorically of course, I don't cry...ehem, uh can we change the subject?) I had almost forgotten how nice it is. Because of the divorce and because I took some time to be away from women I think I got my head right and I'm in a good, healthy relationship. It's been a long time in the making but it's great!

Winter Wonder Wha...???

Living in Norman, Oklahoma, the weather capital of the world, I have come to understand a few things about weather. First is, when they say "chance of rain" it usually means torential downpour in some locations but sunny skies for most. When they say "sunny and warm", they mean no clouds with gale force winds. More recently I have learned that when they say "BLIZZARD CONDITIONS" you had better stock up on groceries, get a couple movies and bust out the cribbage board cause you're stayin' home. Oh no, no, not because you couldn't get to where you wanted to go, but because all of the other people that are out are out for blood! I don't know exactly what they are thinking but I'm sure it's something along the lines of, "Awe gosh darn fiddlesticks, I got me this hya fo-wheel drav, I'll git er done!"
I can understand that for someone of this level of intelligence it would seem logical that because you can accelerate on any surface with relative ease, you would also be able to decelerate on any surface. However, I feel it my duty to tell anyone living in an area that has yet to discover the chemical reaction that salt has on ice (hint: it's not a chemical reaction), you still have only the same four wheel brakes that anyone out there has, and if you're going 300 mph you will need much, much more room to stop!
I also discovered another thing that fascinates me, in these blizzard conditions bars can still legally be open! Oh yeah, this is what we need, idiots adding liquid courage to there arsenal of cold weather driving gear! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe we should allow the bars to stay open during winter blizzards. We should even give everyone that goes in gets the keys to a brand new, two-wheel drive, half-ton pickup. "Yeah, you get your choice, the one out back in stuck in the snow drift or the one turned sideways on the hill side just outside of town!"
Anyway, the point is that without even knowing it, the National Weather Service, while trying to predict the weather, is actually predicting human behavior. Next time they call for blizzard conditions I'll understand completely. It's not a blizzard of snow and ice, it's a blizzard of complete morons!