Hives - Day 2 Part 1

This is my second day with hives and they're miserable! I've been able to reduce the outbreaks with two Benedryl every four hours. I had an apple for breakfast again and skipped lunch. I wasn't hungry at all. My stomach wasn't even growling. I'm thinking that it has something to do with the Zantac I took the day before but I'm not sure.

I had an offsite meeting that wrapped up at about 6:30 p.m. I got in my car and it was dead so I had someone from the firm drive me to a coffee shop up the street and called my wife to come and pick me up.

I felt obligated to purchase something from the coffee shop so I picked up a slice of banana bread with chocolate chips. I finished the slice just as my wife pulled into the parking lot. As we neared home, I had a warm, flush feeling come over my face and my arms. When I got home--which was about 20 minutes after I ate the banana break--my face was covered in hives. I'm convinced now more than ever that food is my trigger. The rest of my body followed. I developed 7-8 inch wheals over my stomach and splotches everywhere else. My thighs were almost completed covered. Ten minutes later, I started to feel wheezy and I felt that my airway was becoming restricted. I hopped in the car and jetted up to the hospital again. The wife stayed home to take care of the kids.

Hives - Day 1

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling quite normal. I went through the motions of my getting-ready-for-work ritual and drove to work with my breakfast in hand—a nice, delicious apple. I got to work, spoke with the team, devoured my apple, did the e-mail thing and co-hosted our radio show. The show wrapped up at noon and I headed to Sicilian Pizza with a friend. While I was there, I had a couple of tall glasses of Diet Coke and two slices of pizza—one slice was a spinach tomato and the other slice had almost everything on it except for black olives and mushrooms which I don’t care for any way.

We finished our meal and were talking shop. About 20 minutes after, I developed a sudden cough onset that wouldn’t stop. And this wasn’t a typical cough. Every time I barked, I would get a strong metallic taste in my mouth. I asked my colleague if it seemed like there was something in the air and he said no. We decided to head back to the office. During our walk back, I continued to have a strong urge to clear my lungs and the metallic taste continued. When we got back to the office, I headed to the bathroom to see if the metallic taste was blood. My spit test resulted in no blood. At this point, I was starting to feel wheezy, as if I were having a small asthma attack. I considered going to the hospital and asked a colleague for his opinion. He agreed and we bolted up the U of U hospital.

As we approached the ER, my cough subsided but I developed an excruciating pain right below my sternum. The pain radiated from the front to the back of my spin and made me feel like I had to pop my back. This isn’t the first time that I had experienced this but it had never been a pain level of seven out of ten. It was typically a two out of ten. I got checked in at the hospital, they took my vitals and I met with the doctor. I explained my case and he immediately ordered an EKG. I thought this was a little silly because the pain I was experiencing was too low to be heart related. Plus, I know what heart-related pain is like as I have had the pleasure of experiencing pericarditis twice in the last ten years. Just to be safe, they did the EKG and, as I suspected, everything looked great. The doctor was now convinced that I was experiencing acid reflux and he was convinced that aspirated stomach acid was the reason for the cough I developed at the pizza place. My chest pain was still strong so he ordered a numbing, GI cocktail and a Zantac. At this time, it was about 2:30 p.m. I took the Zantac first and followed it down with the cocktail. The numbing agent kicked in quickly and the back part of my tongue, my throat and esophagus and stomach were numb. Unfortunately, the chest pain persisted. I clearly articulated to the doctor that something else was going on but he discharged me with a prescription for Zantac. I left the ER at around 4:30 p.m.

I came back to the office, finished up a couple of things and headed home. Dinner time came and went but I wasn’t hungry and only had a large glass of water. At about 9:00 p.m. I noticed three small hive wheals on the crease of my left arm. They itched like crazy. Moments later, my bottom lip swelled significantly. I showed my wife and she thought it was just a canker sore. I wasn’t convinced as cankers don’t come on that quickly and cankers don’t look like what this looked like. This large bump had a smooth, clear surface. Within 15 minutes, the back of my neck, my scalp and my waist began breaking out with hives. Convinced that this was related to the Zantac I took six hours prior, I called the hospital and asked what I should do. They suggested that I take Benadryl. I popped two, was feeling drowsy and headed to bed. 

Yuk

Thankful

What's the best way to realize what you're most thankful for? When you're staring down the barrel of those things that you're least thankful for. Cynicism's driving so watch out...

1. Health. You don't think of your health until you're faced with a life-changing or at least extremely painful, health-related event. I just recently had a blasty blast of an opportunity passing a kidney stone. Holy hell pain.

2. Anything With Electricity Pulsing Through It. I love technology and am bored without it. It doesn't really matter what it is as long as it requires at least 9v.

3. Little Ones. Noah and Ashton are the shnigy. I love every moment with them even when they're balls of shit.

4. My AG Fam. I know you're not supposed to love work but I love my gig and all my colleagues. I call them my fam because what else would you call a group of people you spend most of your waking hours with? : )

5. Storms. I love horrific and terrifying storms. Utah storms can't touch Michigan storms. This is probably one of the few things I miss about MI.

6. Swears. You can't beat appropriate, but most importantly, timely use of swears. They're just great.

Okay, there's more but I'm bored now.

Tomorrow, My Friday

It's funny how sometimes you spew out a phrase that seems completely obvious to yourself but is completely foreign to everyone around you. At the office today, I mentioned that tomorrow's my Friday and how I can't wait for my long 10-day break to begin. In actuality, tomorrow is Thursday but I'm done working for the week tomorrow so I look at it as being my Friday. Apparently I'm one of the few that looks at it this way.

And to an image that sums up my feelings very eloquently...

Synth

Does synth mean anything to you? I was attempting to describe the genre of a music group to an associate of mine today. The best way I could describe it was as synthesized-pop. I'm pretty sure he was just as lost with the term.

synth (snth)
n.
1. Informal A synthesizer.
2. A style of light popular music made with synthesizers. Also called synth-pop.

Bite Me Kori

Okay, this is going to sound super nerdy but Kori finally won at Catan tonight. And not just once but twice! I really, REALLY hate it when she wins but I guess it's only fair since she hasn't won squat in a VERY long time. I seriously think it's been at least a quarter of year. Doesn't that sound like forever when it's put that way. Any way State's, good job!

What I'm Listening to Right Now

So, I didn't make it home on time tonight for a five o'clock pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner so I'm all alone at home, just me and my computer. BTW, who the hell schedules a dinner at 5:00? With nothing better to do, I thought I'd sort through my gobs of music files. Right now I'm listening to the The Echoing Green. Joey is amazing. Here's a taste:





Lyrics

Flame (Joey B., Chrissy J.)

It's a dark and lonely winter
you say "this hell's never felt so cold."
yet there's the faintest smell of cinders
and a truth yet to be told

and a sound surrounds your secret
someting I've heard, but can't yet see
like whispers in the twilight
the secret now revealed to me...

it's a flame...
burning just behind your eyes
I'm praying for rain
but nothing will put out these fires
that burn and blaze

wait
let's not forsake all these years
if you'd just stay...
there's so much truth still to hear

and I'll listen all night
to your hopes and every fear
I won't say it's alright...
these things always end in tears.

you're fanning the flame
and everything is catching fire
the things that you hate
and everything that you desire...
are one and the same.
running to escape this pyre
and cover the shame
hiding just behind your eyes
through green and grey.

we turn turn with hearts on fire
we feel it inside, we're steeling to die
to burn burn what we conspire
we cast it aside, to keep us alive

there's a flame
the things that you hate
the tears that you taste
we burn it away

there's a flame.

This Week's Conference Schedule

I just finished packing and scheduling all of my time for this week's conference in Chicago. As packed as it looks, the days fly by and its actually an exhilarating time.



I've had that sinking feeling, since I left the office on Friday, that I was forgetting something or multiple somethings. And I was. While driving home from the Symphony yesterday, I remembered that I hadn't packed current business cards. But that can't be it. There's got to be more. I'll let you know when I find out.

Family History Library a Bust!

Today at lunch, I hopped on a free-zone train and road it up to Temple Square to visit the Family History Library.



I was pretty excited to dig around and see what I could find with my bio-mother's birthday in hand. I walked in and spoke with the first available clerk. I explained what I was trying to do and was kindly told that they specialize in dead people. I was also told that my search was technically illegal. I was given a website to try but I had of course already been there and came up empty handed. My next stop is going to be Library Square. From what I understand, they're connected to a national newspaper archive system.

The 'Where I'm From' Document

I'm back on the hunt for my birth parents. I came across my background summary paper the other day and didn't realize the wealth of information that was in it. Take a peek...

BACKGROUND SUMMARY - JASON BRIAN KOL
Dated December 16, 1977

The young lady who gave birth to Jason was born on April 7, 1956. She was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 125 pounds, had medium brown hair and blue eyes. Her national background was Dutch and German and her religious background was Reformed. She was a high school graduate and was employed in the assembly line of a local factory up until the time of her delivery.

This young lady had known the alleged father of Jason for about three years. She met him through friends in her home town. Since her pregnancy, the relationship became somewhat more sporadic. She and this young man did consider marriage at one time, bus she then realized he was not ready to settle down and therefore could be a good father to the baby. She did receive quite a bit of support from him during the pregnancy. However, during her pregnancy she was able to see him in a more realistic light and realize the faults he did have. She then was no longer interested in continuing the relationship.

This young lady continued to live at home throughout her entire pregnancy. She was from a small close knit family, and received a great deal of support from her parents during this time. She considered keeping her child for a short time because of some family pressure, but then realized the she really wanted the child to have more than she was able to give him as a single parent. She also saw her work at the factory as being a temporary thing, and hoped to further her education or find a better job sometime in the future. She was a very mature, likable 19 year old who could easily make a good future for herself.

Her parents were both life time residents of her rural home town area. Her father was 45 years old, had an eighth grade education, and had been a farmer all his life. Her mother was 40 years old, had completed two years of college, and was a housewife. This young lady's mother was herself an adopted child. The young lady also had three younger sisters and younger brother. Their ages were 18, 16, 10 and 5. Her oldest sister was also a factory worker and the three youngest were all in school. The entire family attended the Reformed Church.

The alleged father of Jason was born on March 30, 1955. He was 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighed 175 pounds, has straight reddish-blond hair, and blue eyes. He was 20 years old, and also of Dutch and German background. Although he was not attending any church at the time of this pregnancy, he was also raised in a Reformed home. This young man has a ninth grade education and was employed at a packing plant in his home town area. Together he and the young lady decided that giving up the baby for adoption would be the best thing possible for all concerned. Although he did not offer the young lady financial assistance, he was fairly supportive of her and cooperative in the release.

The young man's father was 47 years old and was employed as a street commissioner. His parents were divorced and the young man lived with his mother. She was 49 years old, had a twelfth grade education, and was employed at a factory. He had three sisters and one brother, all younger than himself. One of his sisters was married and a housewife. Another sister was also employed at a factory, and the other two siblings were both students.

As to significant health history, on the maternal side, the young lady's grandmother had diabetes. There were no other significant health problems. On the paternal side, the young man was somewhat hard of hearing and also had a brother who had problems with anemia.

Jason Brian was born on November 28, 1975 in Iowa. At birth he weighted 7 pounds 9 ounces and measured 19 inches in length. His physical exam at the time of discharge from the hospital was entirely normal. He had medium complexion, lots of dark hair, and blue eyes. He was placed in one of our agency licensed foster homes on December 2, 1975 where he continued to grow and develop normally. On January 8, 1976, Jason was transported to Grand Rapids and placed in an agency licensed foster home where after a slow adjustment period, he continued to grow and develop normally. He was examined by one of our agency pediatricians on January 16, 1976. At that time he weighted 10 pounds 14 ounces and measured 21 1/2 inches in length. Jason was placed with his parents February 19, 1976

BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES

Deanna Eppinga
Caseworker

Date Night

Jason and I got to go and have a date night tonight. It was so nice and long overdue. My dad and Val came up and watched the boys while Jason and I got to go to dinner and a movie. I can't remember the last time that we have had time to ourselves without any children. We went and had mexican food then to see Bride Wars (my choice obviously) it was a fun movie and a much needed night away. Thanks Dad and Val.

Pictures

I wanted to go and have pictures taken with Noah and Ashton, today so while I was visiting my mom we decided to take the boys to kiddie kandids. I wanted some pictures with them together and separate. Ashton was not going to have anything to do with that. He freaked out he clung to me or my mom, anytime we tried to put him down. We even tried to bribe him with props but nothing worked. I finally gave up and just got pictures with Noah. Maybe someday I will get some good pictures of them together. While at my mom's house later that day I did get one picture of them together, not exactly what I had in mind but it will have to do for now.



Ashton was trying to take Noah out of the laundry basket so he could have it all to himself.

Dear Clinton Administration and McCain, Deregulate Me

In a recent interview on 60 Minutes (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/21/60minutes/main4463340.shtml), Scott Pelley asked McCain if he regretted that he was one of the senators that helped pass deregulation in 1999. McCain replied, "No, I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy." I was not only surprised by his answer but also surprised by his short response.

In 1999, the Clinton administration, along with key architects like McCain, repealed or deregulated part of the Glass-Steagall Act by enacting the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The Glass-Steagall Act, which was part of the Banking Act of 1933, was designed to prevent banking activities that lead to the Great Depression. This Act was designed to "(1) maintain the integrity of the banking system; (2) prevent self-dealing on other financial abuses; and (3) limit stock market speculation" (http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9065:1).
Yes, deregulation or minimal oversight is good for the economy but historically only pays dividends in the short term. The long-term impact has historically been disastrous. The Great Depression is an example of what can happen without regulation. We forget so soon that history repeats itself. Only 50 years later, those protections were effectively deregulated.

Other examples of deregulation that lead to disastrous outcomes include the energy industry (Enron), the savings and loan industry (The Keating Five) and financial industry (Leahman, Fannie, Freddie and Bear Stearns). All of these are powerful examples of deregulation gone horribly wrong.

I don't only believe that McCain is out of touch, I also believe that he does not have the best interests of the United States in mind. At this point, I can only speculate why he, to this day, after seeing what "his" deregulation has resulted in, still, not only supports deregulation but also believes that his decision in 1999 was prudent.

I'd like to end with an article that discusses McCain's plans to deregulate the health insurance industry (http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/7442/).

Gluten for Punishment

We received surprising but fantastic news and the office today and I'm happy to report that we'll be able to finally tear down and replace our rickety and potentially dangerous back deck and stairs. Seriously, this thing should have been torn down five years ago. In fact, my house inspector said that it should be condemned. Yeah, we still use it today.



Nice step huh? It's on par with the rest of the deck.

I'm gluten for punishment because I won't be doing the work. This means that I have to hire a contractor. I HATE CONTRACTORS! As with lawyers and politicians, they do their best work lying still at 72 inches below the surface.

We just happened to come across a killer deal on composite planks through friends of ours. The manufacturer shipped the wrong color and didn't want to deal with shipping them back (thanks fuel prices). We can get thirty-five, 20' planks for $15 a piece. The best part is the planks are exactly the right color for our home.

Here we go ...

Leaving All Torn Up

I'm off to Montreal in the morning and am feeling a little uneasy at what I'm leaving behind. We're right in the middle of a couple of outside projects and both will more-than-likely be completed while I'm gone. I'm not a control freak but I know how things go and I feel more comfortable when I'm in the vicinity of a project that has a price tag greater than a thousand bucks.

The two projects that are currently in progress are ProjectShed and ProjectCementStepHell.

Here's a peek at where we are with ProjectShed. Overall it's looking great and we're right on schedule for a July 30th installation. I'm actually feeling pretty good about this project and don't mind being gone for this one.




And then there's ProjectCementStepHell. This project was supposed to be completed on June 26. Today is July 28 and we're basically staring down the barrel of a pile of cement rubble in our driveway. Poor little cement railing never had a chance.




Here's a pic of our front steps. Inviting, no? I'm actually considering a third project called ProjectRockWall. Bring it sales dudes.




And while we're on the subject of projects, why not start a fourth. This here is ProjectGoneFishing. At least I can park a boat in the driveway.



I love contract work. See you next week yard!

Wall-E Anniversary

Sunday marks our second wedding anniversary. It seriously feels longer (in a good way). Kara's parents came by early on Saturday to pickup Ashton so that we could have a couple of days to ourselves. We kicked it off by going to a movie matinee at the Gateway. We both had been wanting to see Wall-E forever.

The next showing was at 4:20. We left the house at 4:00, got the Gateway at about 4:10 and spent about 30 minutes trying to find an open parking spot in the underground parking. We ended up 40 feet underground on the very last level. Apparently everyone had the same idea--get out of the hellish weather and go to a movie.

Wall-E was fantastic and had a couple of light underlying political messages that I happen to agree with. Messaging or not, it was still a killer movie and totally worth the price of admission.

Why Fran and Fred Make Me Nervous

I'm one of those people that looks at their 401K account on a daily basis. I realize that this is a bad idea and am told that I shouldn't but I can't help myself. I guess you could say that I've created a competition with myself and the game is to see if my portfolio sucks less the following day. I have also suckered in a couple of my associates to play the game. Sometimes it turns into a who-in-the-group-sucks-less match. What fun!

Over the past 12 months, I have literally watched tens of thousands of dollars fly out of my account. I contemplate parking my stash in a guaranteed portfolio but I know better. I guess that's why I shouldn't look at it as often as I do. My portfolio is light in real estate and heavy in energies but it is still taking a pounding. But I'm supposed to be OK with that because I'm buying more at a lower price and it will eventually rebound, right? Of course!

What prompted me to write this was the news I just read regarding Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two companies combined guarantee or own $12 trillion (that's with a T, not a B) in U.S. mortgages. Both companies are facing failure and possible government takeover and control. This is horrible news no matter the outcome. If both are allowed to fail, the housing market as we know it will face total and complete annihilation. The real estate pains we have faced over the past couple of years will seem like a walk in the park. But if the fed steps in and takes control, the dollar will be completely and totally worthless.

Bye bye American market and economy. Bye bye 401K. I'll miss you both! XOXOXO

On a slightly unrelated topic, I wanted to share the following video. I love the facial expressions on everyone's face as Matt Simmons tells it how it is. It happens 4 to 5 minutes into the clip:

Apple iPhone 3G

A small group of us from my office have been counting down the days to the launch of the second generation Apple iPhone 3G. The eve of the launch had arrived and we decided that we would meet in the lobby of our office at 7:00 a.m. and head over to the Apple store as a group. We arrived on the scene at about 7:20. A line had already formed in the front of the store and it was obvious, based on the gear that they had, that they had been there for awhile and had more-than-likely spent the night. We walked over to what we thought was the end of the line but low-and-behold it was only a break in the line to allow mall patrons to pass through. We followed the remaining line down the side of the building, around the back side of the building and, after a small hike, passed about 350 line waiters and arrived at the end. Our end-of-the-line status lasted only a second. People were coming out of the woodwork from every direction and quickly piled up behind us.

The store opened promptly at 8:00 and the first people moved in. The line moved forward in chunks as groups of people cycled in and out of the store. Apple employees made their way through the line offering coffee and bottled water. Other employees came through with 3G pamplets outlining the different service plans and prices. The line was making great progress since the store opened. At this point it was about 8:40 and we were certain that, at the current rate, we would have our hands on an iPhone within the next hour. From about 8:45 to 9:30, the line didn't budge. In 45 minutes, we advanced three feet. Bummer! As we were discussing whether or not we should stay, a guy came through and was counting the number of people waiting in line. Danette was number 193 and I was 194. With zero movement in 45 minutes and with 194 people in front of us, we decided to call it quits and make our way back to the parking garage. What a downer!

As we walked toward the parking garage, we passed the front of the store. Two apple employees were guarding the doors and applauding as people passed through with their shiny Apple bags holding their precious new 3G iPhones. Lucky bastards!

We'll try again later today for sure.

Fetal Foto Tummy Scan

Kara and I finally made it to Fetal Foto tonight. The ultrasound quickly revealed the baby's legs, face, arms and fingernails but was hiding the cash and prizes. After about 40 minutes of Kara drinking cold water, shifting her body and being prodded with the ultrasound wand, the baby finally stretched it's legs and revealed it's plumbing. We're having another boy!