It's Quite Obvious, Really

9:26pm: Bionic Grandpa is a Go!
Hi everyone,

Dad had his defibrillator implanted this evening, and the surgeon said everything went about as well as could be. They're going to keep him overnight while observing pulse/oxygen, blood pressure, and other vitals. Then in the morning he'll get a chest x-ray to make sure all the wires stayed in their proper places. After final consultations and doctor's okays, hopefully he'll be able to come home sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening.

My plan will be to rent a car sometime after that happens, and drive home to C-U. Thanks for the offer of another monster round trip Mark, but I can't make anyone wait on an uncertain schedule. I'll keep in touch.

Thanks to all for the prayers and wishes, Dad really is doing well.

10:29pm: Update on Family Health Crisis
Hey everyone, it's dsjones ... Deacon is staying in Q-C at least until Tuesday, but he wanted me to let everyone know what's going on...

Dad has about 25% of his heart functional.  Apparently, he's had a silent heart attack (or many, the docs just don't know) in the past, because of the amount of scar tissue they found.  That's why they couldn't do anything about the 100% blockage.  When we arrived on Friday, he still looked gray, and they had him on a c-Pap to help his oxygen levels.  By Saturday, he regained some color, off the c-Pap (they have him on a cannula, and we still don't know if he'll have to be on oxygen once he's home)  and was maintaining well enough that they moved him from the ICU to Telemetry.  He's scheduled for surgery tomorrow (Monday) to get a pacemaker/defibrillator.  If all goes well, he'll be coming home on Tuesday.  He has been told that he will NOT be able to work again, this heart attack has left his heart too weak.  He's on liquid restrictions of 1500 ML/day (I believe) due to the strain it could put on his heart, has to quit smoking (duh) and has to cut out his salt and caffeine (these last two are the ones he's upset about).  But he was in good spirits by the time we left this afternoon.  Deacon will be staying with the family until Dad gets home. 

I know I speak for Deacon when I say we would like to thank everyone for their help, hope, prayers and thoughts for our family during this tough time.  We are forever thankful to you all!

12:03pm: Family Health Crisis
Hey everyone,

My father was admitted to the hospital this morning for superventricular tachycardia (Beats Per Minute of 180!) After they stabilized him, his EKG indicated that he had a heart attack, and he's going to CAT scan right now to determine the extent of damage and direction of treatment.

Any thoughts and prayers in this time would be appreciated.

********************************************
UPDATE: Friday 14th, 2pm
********************************************

They took him immediately into surgery, where they placed two stents to alleviate 50% blockage on that side. The vessel to the back of his heart is 100% blocked, and they were unable to clear it. He is on a C-PAP breathing assist in ICU, and they're waiting for a consultation from a cardiologist who knows more about the electrical systems of the heart. As the doctor who did his angioplasty said, "I'm just a plumber"

Dawn and Stephen and I will be traveling to the Q-C this afternoon as soon as we can get things together. Transportation is not a problem, as our dear friend Rob is going to loan us his car. I will be mostly out of touch, but my cell is (217)390-3845. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

12:06pm: The Conspiracy For Dawn
Re-posting this for the holiday week. Thanks to all of you who have already given, we're already up to 1/3rd of the projected amount needed.

We would like to invite everyone local to Champaign-Urbana to come to our house on Sunday, December 28th at noon, where we're going to have bagels and doughnuts, and give Dawn what we've raised so far as a birthday present. We couldn't have done this without all of you, and you have our deepest gratitude.

We're at 1506 Winston Drive in Champaign. Easiest directions are to go north on Mattis, turn right on Williamsburg, and then left on Winston. We'll be the house with the garage underneath. If you want to attend, please RSVP on this note, or via email to kubiak@imsa.edu

===============================================================
I'm making this post today to help do my part to make a dream come true for my wife, the love of my life and mother of my son.

Dawn has suffered her entire life under a burden of pain and ill health stemming from weak teeth and the complications following from that. As long as I have known her, she has always had to hide her smile, choose carefully what she may or may not eat, and spend the occasional night in such pain that she cries herself to sleep. This ailment dramatically increases her stress and blood pressure, and at times affects her general health as her body tries to deal with infection and inflammation.

Our dearest kin, Thai, has spearheaded an effort to raise money so that we can afford the treatment needed to stabilize Dawn's health, but it is a long uphill climb. We have already received an amazing outpouring of love from word-of-mouth, and now we hope to reach a broader group of people who would like to help touch someone's life for the better.

Dawn would never let herself ask for aid, no matter how badly it might be needed. I also personally am a lot more likely to give than to ask, but I am asking on behalf of someone who truly deserves the help. We're attempting to keep this a secret until we can raise the needed funds, but balancing that with reaching as wide as we can.

If you feel able, please follow the donation link below and give what you may. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and please keep Dawn in your thoughts and prayers. If you are a member of a community that might be willing to help, please email me at kubiak@imsa.edu, and I can send you the information. This post is locked to a specific friends list to keep Dawn unaware.

10:13pm: I'd really really miss the beard.
http://www.adultswim.com/promos/carlcasting/index.html

So, is there any way I can NOT do this?

5:36pm: "Only those who have seen someone die can see them"

Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Luna Lovegood You are Luna Lovegood. You daydream and often seem to be drifting off into your own world. You have very strong opinions that many agree are not logical. You place a lot of faith in these beliefs. Possibly, you see more than what meets the eye. You are very accepting of others. You may have only a few close friends because you refuse to sacrifice your opinions and true self for social graces. Luna Lovegood 75% Remus Lupin 72% Neville Longbottom 69% Hermione Granger 66% Bellatrix Lestrange 63% Ron Weasley 56% Albus Dumbledore 56% Harry Potter 53% Sirius Black 47% Severus Snape 44% Oliver Wood 41% Draco Malfoy 41% Lord Voldemort 22% Percy Weasley 22%

8:39pm: Ride it!
Interesting result, not that far off either.


Which File Extension are You?

12:29pm: The Official Seal of the Deaconate
I love tools like this.

12:05pm: Off-Label Pharmaceutical Bastardry
I come across a lot of articles in my daily reads. If you've ever wondered why we can't trust the FDA and Big Pharma companies, give this a read.

http://www.counterpunch.org/pringle02232007.html

8:00am: Quiz Pile-on
I need to get into this show, I'll leave it to friends to tell me if the quiz is accurate enough.

Matt Parkman You scored 75 Idealism, 33 Nonconformity, 37 Nerdiness

I don't want to be a chump. Congratulations, you're Matt Parkman! You're a great person: caring, hard-working, and honest. You might not have the best of luck, but you do your best in all areas of life. Your kind and responsible nature is rare, and you should be proud of it. Your best quality: Heart Your worst quality: You may take more abuse than you deserve

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Idealism You scored higher than 99% on Nonconformity You scored higher than 99% on Nerdiness

Link: The Heroes Personality Test written by freedomdegrees on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

12:59pm: Transmetropolitan Fans, Take Note!
It's not pure white, but I dropped my jaw.

http://www.nbc10.com/health/9515335/detail.html#

Now, where's our crusading journalist to help take down this corrupt administration?

9:08am: Been a while
Been a while again, but I had to jump on this latest blogthing.

You Are a Prophet Soul

You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone. Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people. Sometimes this faith can lead to disappoinment in the long run. No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way. You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle. Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings. A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning. You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

9:14am: Bliss Is Where Home Is
Things feel more complete than they have in, well, nearly ever. Dawn arrived early
yesterday morning, after being an amazing road warrior with her old roommate and one of his friends. They took the trip in two huge 20 hour chunks, then spent all of
yesterday recovering.

Many thanks go out to Kim and Al Kinsella for putting up the two drivers in their
luxurious guest rooms. They've still got another 900 miles to go, so they caught all
the sleep they could.

I'm still kinda pounding it into my head that she's here to stay. Before when we've been together it's always been part of a 'vacation' or 'visit' that we knew was temporary as soon as we got there. I'm really in kind of a dreamy bliss that there doesn't have to be another seperation unless we decide on it for a good reason.

Much thanks to Theo, Chris, and Arun, who came over and helped unload half of a 20-ft. truck into the basement. Your moving karma is fully charged, and I'm at your service when the time comes.

Now I'm going to go spend less time on the computer, and more with the lady.

9:24pm: Without a trace!
Once again, I've fallen pretty heavily into 'lurker' mode. I try to get around it, but I'm pretty much resigned to always feeling like my life is pretty trivial compared to my friends'.

So, I'll start plugging my circle of friends for advice. When is the right time to try and re-open communications with an ex? I keep getting this nagging feeling that I'm some kind of bad person, by my own standards, because I've totally ignored someone that used to be such a big part of my life. If one is afraid they didn't have a good enough friendship to make the relationship work before, how could one expect things to improve with that kind of history underneath it now?

Mostly it's got me down, because it makes me feel selfish. I try very hard to be on good terms with everybody, and it's only my personal pain connected with this that's kept me silent.

Anyway, pretty meandering, and I need to get out of my room and see some other people before I turn in for the evening.

11:42pm: Good food, good times. . .
. . . two of the things I love most in life. Throw in the good friends on top of it, and you have the trifecta.

Wonderful potluck at Arun's house tonight. Got to meet some cool people like Cyrus and had some cool conversations spanning topics from Monopoly strategy, Midwest linguistic traits and the ethics of corporate sponsored university research.

Delicious foods, I personally brought a pile of tortilla rollups that were attacked pretty decently. Lots of tasty sweet goods, and piles of spinach dip with assorted vehicles for conveying its delicious creaminess to the mouth.

Now for a nice sweet nap before I wake up for work at 5:30am. Pound for an ounce.

10:24pm: That Figures
Well, called her today to see about picnicing sometime over the weekend. Had a nice conversation about some random things, in which was mentioned, "I'm not really into the dating thing right now, and I draw the line at co-workers." So I'll see how much of friends we'll turn out, but don't expect to be giving it the attention a more romantic relationship would entail. I'll just keep on looking.

12:31am: Humble beginnings
Concert was wonderful, as Adam's always are. We caught him right around his midpoint, we were show number 23, and we all went outside afterwards to apply the Illinois sticker to the side of The Peaquod on the map.
The date aspect of the night went very well too. Wonderful and easy-flowing conversation and a nice stroll after the show just so we could keep talking. I guess I'll take the ball and run with it, and be prepared to be a gentleman if told I come on too strong.

Now to eke out a few hours of sleep before the 5:30am alarm. Still, I'll trade a little sleep for a ton of happiness any day.

8:19pm: I hate these useful tools
Well, I guess the luck balances out. I'm not sad with the half I got.

I have a date for Monday night, to the Adam Brodsky show. Her name's Amanda, and she works in the other end of the store from me. I pretty much said, "Hey, I really enjoy talking with you on breaks, I'd love to spend more time talking with you." And get this, it worked! I guess I just needed to be more confident.
The balancing came when my computer crashed last night, and the hard drive ate itself somehow. A friend kindly ran me out to the store, and now I'm spending most of this evening reinstalling everything. Fortunately no mission-critical kind of stuff, just a lot of media and some save game files. Oh, and trying to remember my lj password was fun for a bit, nice that they have a feature to email you.

9:43am: Woo-hoo
Laundry is tumbling away in the washer, trash is being bagged and put out in the cans, and it's payday. Nice to have things coming together. Now I just have to work up the guts to ask the girl at work I'm interested in if she wants to go to the Adam Brodsky show on Monday. My Free Will Horoscope for this week boiled down to, "Behave like you deserve it, and you'll be a lot closer to getting it." So I guess I'll just try to ratchet up my courage and explain to her I find her enchanting in conversation, and want to get to know her more and have some fun at the same time.

Wish me luck!

9:54pm: So. . . damn. . . lazy. . .
I've gotta toss off this lassitude that's been keeping me from getting my shit together. I've put off a major room cleaning for nearly two weeks now, and it's not gonna fly any longer.
I just want to find the room for a comfy chair, or a 2-seat couch, just enough so that I can entertain a friend or two and not make people have to spend an hour sitting on the bed.

Damn, reading Sarah's journal makes want to seriously consider getting a tattoo again. I've had the idea for what I want for a couple years now.

7:19pm: Lazy, lazy, lazy
Hey all, especially the friends out there in lj-land who signed me up on their lists and were promptly greeted with a metric crapload of silence.

Finally starting to make the concious effort to unpack, and arrange my room so I can have friends in it, instead of it being a solitary den. Also, I'm preparing (cross the fingers) to jump back into the dating scene soon.

The Deacon hasn't come out of hiding and taught me things as often lately. He needs more discussion time to put two and two together, and I've been a really solitary boy lately.

Song of the moment - Rollout by Ludacris

4:11pm: Voice in the Wilderness
Hello, everybody. Scott here, Deacon Obvious is my Church of the Subgenius handle.

Finally got around to using the code Zach so kindly bestowed upon me and started up at LiveJournal. It was actually mostly due to my
just ranting at my roommate Arun, and him saying, "Y'know, you should think about getting a 'blog on livejournal or something." So I grabbed the code, followed the rules, and here I am.

This is now officially my RantSpace (tm), so expect it to be populated with some of my frustrations. Don't fear, it'll also be a place I come to exhalt my victories over life too.

Pleased to meet you all, and now I need to spend some time building up a friends list and then kill some time reading their journals.

Don't let 'em get your Slack!