typical rowdy Rowdy awesomeness

a text i recently received. recently like 30 minutes ago....

"can you guys bounce out of the lot and way out of the area!!!! our crooks think ur cops!!!!! we r trying to catch these guys....."

So I requested information today for an online program that would result in a Masters of Diplomacy focused on International Terrorism.

It can be completed in 18-24 months. Hmmm.......

In other news I am having a considerable number of appointments in the next two weeks in preparation of my surgery.

And I've almost finished my whole big container of fortune cookies!!

tis the season....

April through October is beach season in SD while November through March is desert season. Not being able to ride my motorcycle right now I settled on a hike.

Killer and Maximum were sleeping so it was just me and Monkey. She liked me sliding the truck around and was great conversation for the drive. She takes pretty great pictures as well.

The memorial placards are from an overlook off of the Sunrise Highway looking into the Anza Borego Desert. It looks to be a popular spot for hang gliding. And spreading ashes.

PHOTOS!! The full set of them can be seen on my FB page if you want to see all the awesome shots.

Black Friday on Wednesday

"Foggy" the autobiography of motorcycle racer Carl Fogarty. Might be out of print...

"Arte Suave 1" dvd. A brazilian jiu jitsu lifestyle dvd. Find it on budovidoes.com

2010 Pan championships or 2010 Mundials on dvd. Also budovideos.com

White Koral "Light" size A1 gi.

Black Vulkan Superlight gi, size A1. jiujitsuprogear.com or their respective manufacturer websites.

Glock 19 9mm pistol. Discount Gun Mart.

Brazzo Portuguese lessons. As long as they don't interfere with jj practice.

Gift card to any good clothes place. Banana, Gap, J crew, Express, Macy's ect.

3" lift for my 2009 Tacoma. Off Road Warehouse on Balboa.

Vans shoes. Size 8.

There ya go, a more realistic and affordable list of things for Xmas. The most expensive thing is the pistol at about $600. Most of these things were on my other list but this is still accurate and reflective of my wants.

Wednesday Delivery Extravaganza!

1. Brand new natural latex mattress. All natural latex, bamboo and such.

2. Brand new washer and dryer with all the bells and whistles. A confusing amount actually! Beautiful looking platinum Samsung ones.

3. Two different medical supply deliveries. And they both better show up!

4. Last but not least, two family members from out of state! Here is hoping the blizzard doesn't delay them.

With my weight lifting limitation and K's broken right hand and D at work I'm totally glad these people are gonna haul the old stuff away and put the new stuff in, especially as both of these things need to go down a twisty flight of stairs in the house.

Idle Hands

Idle hands play Mrs Pac Man at the laundry mat!!


Idle hands get out the clippers and give you a mohawk!

Read it!

Most people write better than I do. 95% of people at least type better than I do. So when I see something that really says what I am thinking in a way I can't well, I've just got to link it. So read it!

http://dagneybjj.blogspot.com/2010/11/november-11-2010.html

+ and -

Assign each statement a value, either "+" or "-". The "+" denoting something of positive value and the "-" something of negative value.

1. Rowdy now has his hair cut in the original warrior style, mohawk.

2. Rowdy can no longer ride a pedal bike until February of next year.

3. Rowdy has not had a Slurpee in over 3 months.

Poll dancing.

First, the plastic surgery poll.
2 for yes
3 for no
2 for maybe
3 for tell me more.

Looks to me to be pretty split evenly. I voted yes. I can think of like 3 things I would do, easily. Maybe I'm that vain. Or silly...... I'd get a laser face treatment to deal with a few scars and veins and just the degradation of having lived a life outside with no sunscreen and being fair skinned. I'd get my bottom rib taken out for a slimmer mid-section. I'd get my longer second toe aka Morton's toe shortened. And something to fix up all my surgical scarring and try to even out my stomach again. Maybe one other thing as well.

This week's poll is hopefully a little easier for people to answer. Should I get a mohawk for my next haircut? It would just be for through surgery and recovery. And maybe one jiu jitsu tournament.... hehehe.

Here is when I did it previously.....VOTE and let me know what you think in the comments.

No officer, I can explain...

Things I never thought I would do, but did.

OK, so this list is not a "oh, I never thought I would see the sunset from the beach in Hawaii and I finally did" kind of a list. This is more of a "no way am I gonna do that" and then 4 years later.....you did!

1. No comment.
2. Censored.
3. You have no proof.
4. Spend $2,000 on a washer and dryer. And it's not like they are some futuristic Jetsons kind of thing that folds your clothes as well!!
5. Vote for a Democrat or Libertarian. I voted for one D and three L's this last election. Of course you can infer then the rest were R's.
6. Enjoy watching football. Either on TV or in real life. It is only within the past two years I even learned how many points you score for a touchdown. And the only position I can point out on the field is QB. But I like watching the better college teams on TV, some NFL games and am actually going to a live game tonight. Utah versus SDSU. And this time I know enough to know who is good and who is not soo good in this match up.
7. Enjoy eating brussel sprouts.
8. Own a suit. I made it until I was 30 without one. Now I have two! And cuff links!

warriors, come out and plaaaaaayyy!

Last year I didn't get to register in time. This year I registered 6 months in advance! If you want something, well..... to quote Master Shake, "A true warrior would have jumped on it. Like a beast."

So I am in the first wave on Saturday of the Warrior Dash up in Lake Elsinore this April!!!

You get a big furry hat with horns. Run and jump over hay bales set on fire, crawl under barb wire, swim through chest deep mud pits, scramble up a small cliff in the hot sun for a little over 3 miles.

YES.

I already have my costume idea ready! And I'll do it too. I wore a speedo and a cut off half t-shirt for a mud run so I'll do this too.

I am gonna wear tennis shoes, duh. My costume will be a home made leather skirt type thing, wrist bands and black body paint like the thief version of Conan. Oh and maybe the hat with horns they give you.

So if you think you got the stuff to hang and bang, then meet me there!

www.warriordash.com

Me. Almost naked.

I opt out of the new 'back scatter' style full body scanners at the airport. And having had the hand search it really is not as invasive as the wuss from Oceanside makes it out to be.

Why do I do this?

1. I've worked around radiation for years, I don't need anymore. Especially as I don't think they are figuring the exposure for this equipment correctly, as it is a skin dose.

2. I feel it is an appropriate form of protest against the nanny state.

3. And most importantly they do absolutely nothing to increase my security. Every single attempt on a airplane cited by DHS, TSA and others as the reason for this type of "increased" security since 2002 did NOT originate from within the United States. These scanners would have changed absolutely NOTHING at all if they had been in place for the past 8 years.

So I will continue to say "I'd like to opt out" to the TSA flunky. Give it a try yourself and see what you think.

28 days later

No, not the awesome zombie movie. But 28 days from now I get my final surgery!!!! Then I can be a real boy again!

Friday December 17th, I can't wait to meet you!!!

Human Capital

Listening to a report about the economy, unemployment and human capital got me thinking about myself......

What is my education? I have a Bachelors of Science in Radiologic Science/Nuclear Medicine option from OIT. I'm an Eagle Scout. I've taken a week long certification course in being a Radiation Safety Officer. I also took and passed the course for Emergency Medical Technician-Basic.

I also applied to Physician Assistant school at the University of Utah. I made the cut from 900 applicants to 100 people taking a test and interview. From that 35 people were given firm offers and 10 people on stand-by. I was on stand-by but did not progress. In looking at my weaknesses in this process it was determined I needed to go back to school and update some of my sciences, organic chem and bio chem. To do this would have then had me not starting work as a PA until almost 4 years later. To me it did not seem worth the time. Though I do really wish I would have made it the first application.

What did it cost? I still owe about $22,000 on my student loans for my BS degree. The RSO course was paid for by my employer at the time, SAIC. I took the EMT-B course on my own and paid cash for it. So I am still paying for college, 8 years after graduating.

What do I make? I will answer this totally truthfully for the major jobs I have had. Right now I don't work, so my current income is $0.
Journeyman Produce Clerk: $13.86 hourly in 1999.
Nuclear Medicine Technologist: $22 hour in 2001 and $49 hour in 2005.
Bicycle Mechanic: $7 hour in 1996 and $10 hour in 2010.
Radiation Safety Officer: $11,500 a month in Iraq, $4,500 a month in San Diego.

What have I done? Before college the only things I really did with any regularity was working on bicycles and the produce department of a grocery store. After school I worked as a nuc med tech for years. When I moved to San Diego and couldn't find a job doing that the only thing I did for any time, and at that only 3 months or so were radiation safety jobs. So wrenching on bikes, stacking fruit, nuc med and reading a Geiger counter. I also tried to start work as a personal trainer but did not receive the support I was promised from a partner and that fell through.

So look at what I have done the longest employment wise, produce clerk and nuc med. Nuclear medicine has reliably paid me the most, provided the most benefit to society and uses the schooling I'm still paying for. For me to not be doing this is a huge waste of human capital.

Previously from 2001 till 2005 I had my choice of nuc med jobs wherever I wanted to move. When I moved to San Diego it took me 4 months to find a job doing registry work for a local staffing company. For $20 less per hour than I made in the San Francisco Bay area! I had one HR person down her tell me "We pay you in sunshine." Really? Really.

When the staffing company I worked for lost contracts and cut hours, Tc99m was in short supply and reimbursement for nuc procedures decreased I was let go. That is when I went to Iraq and also did various radiation safety jobs here in San Diego, none of them successfully. In that time I did get a job offer at SONGS as an entry level Health Physics tech. I turned it down for the UCSD job. I look back on that now as possibly a career mistake but I am unsure about my personal life.

People are always surprised to hear I have such a specialized degree, in the health field and it is impossible for me to find a job in San Diego. I have seen one full time opening in 4 years. I have seen 3 part time and 2 per diem openings in that time. I applied for all of them. I did not receive one email, phone call or anything expressing interest in me. I even applied to be an assistant, doing step and fetch work in a nuc med department and couldn't even score an interview. I applied to be the manager of the nuc med department at a local hospital, at the behest of two people one of them a physician, who worked in the department. I made it to the interview stage but was not extended an offer.

In my experience the problem with nuc med jobs here is that UCSD graduates students into the community each year, Navy techs from Balboa moonlight the weekend and call spots, techs come here to retire and work longer equaling a low turn over rate. From my experience temping nuc med I would also say this is very much a "who you know" place to get a job. I am too new, though many people know me I'm further down the line. Or I suck at nuc med and don't know it but everyone else does.

So to an economist I am currently a huge waste of human capital. I have a skill, education, a specialization, possibility of good income but am not employed at all in a way to take advantage of that.

What's left? I don't know.......

Following my motto, what am I going to do? 2011 is going to be the year of my best jiu jitsu. It's all I have..............

lights, camera, rowdy!

Out and about. Driving. Riding. Hiking.









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To clarify on the poll about cosmetic surgery. If you had $10,000 that could only be spent at the plastic surgeon would you get anything done? No insurance issues, no money issues (well if you spend more than 10k you will). Would you do it? Or are you ethically against it? Morally? Afraid of complications? Wouldn't be able to stop?

I voted Yes. There is nothing I need but some stuff I would want done.

For Sale

Brand new stationary exercise bike. I bought it last week and used it once. Body Fit from Sports Authority.

$150 delivered if you live within 20 minute drive of my house.

More information here: http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3879659&cp=710956.863229.1382082&view=all&parentPage=family

Oh wow!

I have been driving this week, all by myself.

I have changed my ileostomy bag all by myself twice.

I have showered and changed my dressing all by myself this week.

I have been released from Home Health and now go to weekly appointments at the clinic for my checkups and changes.

I rode my mnt bike on the street at a very sedate pace for 20 minutes. It felt great and caused no problems.

I weigh 130lbs some days now.

I shaved off the gay Mo-vember mustache I was growing.

I got my garage cleaned and reorganized with couple people helping.

Wow oh wow. From only 4 weeks ago, what a change........

Renoir? No. Rowdy.

Eh, I don't know.... how do you say in English...

I can say "good morning" or its equivalent in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian and Arabic. But I also know how to say "AWESOME morning" in any language. Yes, that's right. Bacon.

And this morning I also said it with homemade apple turnover, english muffins, v8 jiuce and an over easy egg.

How do you say frustration? Having this be your view of jiu jitsu class. And still paying for it.With so few people showing sometimes it would be like getting a private lesson if I was there!

Ingenuity?Priming my TPN line takes 4 tedious minutes of holding one button down. I was dreaming of making a button pushing machine till I realized I had one. A c-clamp.

holding my gut hard!!

Ok, if you do not smile watching this kid you are a heartless ice monster and you should totally move back to your misfit iceberg! I'll help you pack.

Huh...

Still no call on my surgery date....

Still 127 pounds...

BUT I loaded the Brazo Portuguese language lessons on my laptop today and listened to some of it.

And I plan on going and getting a stationary exercise bike tomorrow. Gotta get my cardio started.

So while my days seem to blur together on the couch some new things are still happening.

3 odd new realizations just from tonight.

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I feel like a total creonte.

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Out of 30 t-shirts only 4 of mine are plain solid colors.

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I have just over 400 books at my house.

well boys, i reckon this is it

1 .45 automatic.
2 boxes of ammunition.
4 days' concentrated emergency rations.
1 drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills.
1 miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible.
100 dollars in rubles.
100 dollars in gold.
9 packs of chewing gum.
1 issue of prophylactics.
3 lipsticks.
3 pairs of nylon stockings.

"A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

If you know the movie, we should be good friends.

Hulk smash!

I consider myself a "finesse" guy. I don't fix things with a hammer, I don't over torque bolts, I don't walk into things, I don't slam the car door. I'm about technique.

But yet somehow in my rowdy way there are certain things I seemingly can destroy at will. At one time it was clothes. Always needing a patch, fixing a zipper, belt loop torn off, something would happen to the garment.

Then I had about a 6 year run of it being watches. No matter if it was a $300 Bulova stainless steel, armored up extreme sports plastic Freestyle, or the simplest Timex I destroyed at least one watch a year. Broken cases, buttons, screens, glass, crystals, bands. If it was a part on a watch that could be cracked or torn off it happened.

I wonder what would have happened if I really did get the Rolex I wanted for college graduation at the time...

Now for the past 3 1/2 years it has been digital point and shoot cameras. In that time frame I have had 5 of them and not a single one still functions. They have all fallen prey to too much hard use. Strapped to motorcycles, mountain bikes, guns. Fallen on the dirt, the grass, the pavement and sand. Oh and snow too. From zero miles per hour to 40. I've held them in my hand taking pics and video at 10F snowboarding to flying around in a helo in Iraq at 115F.

Each one has been some $200 Sony or Cannon. They were good cameras. For the 8 to 9 months they functioned. And now with the holidays coming up and more travel again in the coming year what am I to do? I'm sick of using my cell phone as a camera but I don't want to buy another camera I'm just going to destroy in 5 months....

What to do, what to do......???

two words

super. feather.

orange. crush.

yes. please.

hurry. up.

One goal for 2011 already

I have made an early decision on one of my goals for 2011. About half of my goals from 2010 will have to carry over as though I may have accomplished them in letter, I am not totally happy with how I did.

But the new goal for 2011 is that I am going to do one jiu jitsu tournament per month starting in March. With a special emphasis on making it to the International Masters and Seniors tournament in Rio in July.

Right now it looks like this until I get a more complete schedule of tournaments for 2011.
Jan-recovery from surgery
Feb-begin physical and jj training again
Mar-? maybe a small local think, like Grappling X
Apr-Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships in CA, aka The Pan-Ams
May-?
Jun-World Jiu Jitsu Championships in CA aka The Mundials!
Jul-International Master & Senior Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Brazil, aka the mundials for athletes over 29.
Aug-Las Vegas International Open BJJ Championship
Sep-American National JJ
Oct-Pan JJ No-Gi Championship
Nov-World No-Gi Championship
Dec-?

2011 is going to be the year my jiu jitsu takes off!!!! If it is not family or church my focus is going to be 100% on jiu jitsu.

all type and no pics makes my blog a a dull thing

San Diego in November, I <3 U!
16g of sugar. See post below for context. Delicious.
Yes, I am getting 100% of what I "need" through my arm but as you can see I am not getting all I "want". Hooked up and cooking, so I better be careful. Nah....

Dr. Wantsum and Inspector Shugarlots Holmes

Ileostomy, sugar, osmolarity, transit time, science, blah blah blah, science again. What is all boils down to is that I eat or drink something especially high in sugar then there is an immediate increase in the water output into my "appliance".

As that water will not be making the fun trip to my colon it is just getting stripped from my body. Big deal you say? This little venture has put me back in the hospital once for 24 hours to correct the dehydration. Just two nights ago I was "obviously faltering" and needed to get more fluid in as well. (Sadly my PICC line was clotted and I barely got my TPN in, fluids waiting for the next day when my line was replaced.)

Even short time readers, fan club members, groupies, stalkers, imitators and secret crushes will know that I am powered by two main things. Sunshine and sugar. Sunshine + sugar + sports + speediness = super sweet superior satisfaction. Comprende?

Having solved the mystery of rapid 0-bag filling and emptying now to determine the most egregious culprits! Sugary drinks!

Great Scott man! Do you have any idea? Other than water everything is ppppppacked with sugar. And at this stage I'm not differentiating between HFCS, fructose, glucose, sucrose, lactose, Splenda and its devilish clones. Just reading the simple grams of sugar per serving and reporting the results.

Minute Maid Fruit Punch 34g
San Pellegrino Lemonata 32G (this was a huge shocker to me. i thought i was getting just mineral water with lemon. it hardly tastes this level of sweet)
Coca Cola Caffiene free 38g
Ocean Spray Fruit Juices specifically labeled having no HFCS all ranged from 28g-34g
Lactaid fat free milk 12g
Treetop 100% apple cider 28g
V8 veggie drink can 6g

But if I want something sweet what am I to do? There is not sugar difference between downing a Coke versus fruit "juice" even with no HFCS. Which in my ranking of evil things it goes like this:
Worst: ANY artificial sweetener.
Worse:HFCS or other syrups and sugars made from things not sugar cane or sugar beet.
Bad: regular old just over refined 'white' sugar. Which in this case being merely "bad" makes you the best!

In my grief I began searching for an appropriate sugar fix for the condition I'm in. And I think I found it!

Green Granny Smith apple, sliced and skin peeled off. (I am not allowed to eat things with skins or casings currently.)
A BIG FREAKING TUB OF CARAMEL DIP. That's right. Just like you see in a McD's pseudo-Happy Meal where the kids can get milk and apples with caramel dip to feign healthiness I can do the same thing and call it what it really is, feeding my sugar addiction at a manageable level.

Yes.

Two tablespoons of caramel equal 16g of sugar. Wow! I can eat basically a whole caramel apple and get half the sugar of drinking a glass of juice.

Mystery solved, case closed and mouth open.

My MegaMind Moment

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. I was more active and went more places than I have in almost two months!

One of the fun activities was getting out into the wild early enough I didn't need my TPN and back pack and stuff with me to go to the movies. (though I couldn't have any of the treats)

Megamind in 2D was the choice and I really enjoyed it. I am such a sucker for personal redemption stories. I actually choked up, in a cartoon! I'd probably cry if i saw Old Yeller again. The reviews I read were critical of the movie, but it worked for me on a level so I like, some of the legitimate criticisms aside.

Walking out of the theater I stepped on something. I thought it was my phone as I had my hand on mine in my pocket. Nope, it was someone's iPhone. I must admit than when I picked it up I looked around to see if anyone saw me and thought "sweet, $200 on Craigslist for me." Then almost instantly I squashed that thought, the feeling rising strongly inside me that I should be the good guy!

As I was waiting at guest services to turn in the phone it rang and I just answered it simply, "I have your phone, I'm at guest services right now turning it in."

Funny, I don't see a resemblance.......

ok, a few more

Alright, here are the last I am going to post for a while. Even I am feeling overloaded by the retro cuteness.

How far we gonna go back? Way back!

And it goes a little something like this..... Ok, Sherman, hit them switches and fire the retro rockets on this computerized way-back machine for some retro Rowdy!

Christmas morning, Darth Vader jammies, new Darth Vader toy and a huge gleam in my eye! Yes!
Why am I hesitant to ride horses now? I've done it plenty of times.... Canvas shoes, baggy jeans, t-shirt. The uniform was set early on....
Oh how I miss the house on Lombardy Lane. There is soo much in this pic to love, from the hair, the guns, the t-shirts, the overalls, the dead ducks. This is my early childhood summed up in one picture.
Can't decide what to be for Halloween? Why not be both of the original monsters!! Behold, FrankenstienDracula!!