I learned tonight that people do actually read my blog. Hmmm.. now if only I could get those people to click on my ads, I might be able to retire.
Intolerant
February 25th, 2010 by Brandon No comments »I am going to be short and to the point regarding a recent Reuters article about the latest findings on Lactose Intolerance:
People who think they must avoid all dairy products may not need to, the researchers said in their report.
“The available evidence suggests that adults and adolescents who have been diagnosed with lactose malabsorption could ingest at least 12 grams of lactose (equivalent to the lactose content found in 1 cup of milk or 1 cup of yogurt) with no or minor symptoms,” the report reads.
I would like to invite the researchers that worked on this report to stay with me for a few days after I have consumed 1 cup of milk to experience the disastrous toll it takes on my life.
The Tattoo
January 26th, 2010 by Brandon 2 comments »For over ten years I’ve wanted a tattoo. I’ve wanted to get something that not only signifies who I am, but something that I will always appreciate. I’ve always felt that having something permanently etched into your body is an important decision and for the longest time I was leaning towards getting my name tattooed in hebrew. I felt this was appropriate as it was two things that would never change: My Judaism and my name.
While I liked this idea, I was never excited about it enough to actually get it done. In light of all that I went through in 2009, I finally came up with my idea for a tattoo. In continuing with the Hebrew theme, I’ve decided to get “Never Forget” or more specifically “Never Will I Forget” tattooed in hebrew.
There are many reasons for my decision, but mainly I never want to forget all that I have learned in the past year. I’ve learned about myself, relationships, the importance of your health, and most importantly, I’ve learned who I am. Additionally, the concept of “Never Forget” in Judaism relates to the importance of never forgetting what happened to the Jewish people during the Holocaust. I really like the dual meaning and I’m very excited to get my new tattoo this coming weekend.
While I haven’t finalized my decision on the font / design, I have yet to decide where I want to get it as well. Originally, I was thinking that I wanted to get it centered between my shoulder blades — however I’ve started to lean towards my right arm, as I feel as though it’s important to get it someplace I can easily see it, considering the message.
I’m getting it done at Black Heart Tatto, in San Francisco by Juan Puente. Before I get it, he said that he could do a stick-on stencil so I could see what it looks like on me before anything permanent is done. I may need to see it before I decide. I have narrowed it down to one of the following three fonts, but fortunately, I still have a few days to figure out the details.
The Return to Normalcy
January 12th, 2010 by Brandon No comments »As many of you probably know, I spent all of last week on vacation on The Jam Cruise. For those not familiar with the cruise, it’s basically a music festival or Jazz Fest on a cruise ship. This particular year, most of the artists are of the Jazz, Blue Grass, or Jam variety but there were a few electronic-style musicians as well such as Pretty Lights, Sound Tribe Sector Nine and Lotus.
FFrom the moment that I got to the airport, I started meeting fellow Cruisers. Pete and I managed to meet at least a dozen people before even setting foot on board the MSC Poesia, as everyone was super-excited. As soon as we got onboard the ship, we had a blast. We quickly set up our door decorations and were off to explore the ship. Much like last year, the main venues were the Pool Deck, the Theater located in the bow of the ship, the Zebra Lounge (similar to the Leopard Lounge from last year), the Jam Room and the Disco (both of which were located in the very rear of the boat).
The Recovery: Part Deux
December 24th, 2009 by Brandon No comments »After my discharge from Beth Israel hospital in New York City this past Monday, I quickly flew back to California to rest and recover. The parting words from the doctor went something like:
You will probably have some pain for the next few days, but as long as it progressively gets better you will be alright. Within a week, you should probably be feeling back to normal.
With that advice, I resumed a semi-normal life back in San Francisco. For some reason, though, yesterday I started to feel almost worse than I had in several days. Throughout most of the day while I was working from the confines of my comfy bed, I noticed that my pain level was increasing. Additionally, I was pretty much in constant pain all day long — no matter what I did.
Sunday night update
December 20th, 2009 by Brandon No comments »I saw my attending physician an hour ago and she was very happy with my progression. She ordered me a clear liquid dinner which went down really really well and that means that I get a real breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
If I can tolerate them with mild pain, I will be able to be discharged tomorrow afternoon. She expects me to still be in pain when I eat for the next week, but I am already 75-80% better and am out of the danger zone.
Looks like I’ll be staying in NYC tomorrow night at a hotel. Good news!
Sunday in the Hospital
December 20th, 2009 by Brandon No comments »After talking to the resident doctor today, my lipase levels are around 1100 and are still elevated. She insisited that I shouldn’t pay too much attention to the levels, though as long as they are going down — it’s more important to see how I feel. Pancreatitis is treated clincally rather than through tests (and I’ve heard that before).
That said, I have felt pretty good today. I got up and walked around a bit, cleaned myself up and shaved. After all that was done I was pretty much pain free, which is a great sign. It’s laying in bed that, for some reason, makes me in a little more discomfort.
The doctors (and the GI that the resident spoke to) follow the same school of thought as all of the other doctors I’ve talked to about pancreatitis in that I should start on clear liquids as soon as I am feeling hungry as that will not impact my recovery. Unfortunately, I am so tainted by my first case of this, and I really felt I was rushed too quickly to eat — and that may or may not have contributed to my lengthy recovery.
So, I asked her if anyone else came in here with pancreatitis if they would start me on clear liquids by now — and she said most likely, depending on how I felt. So, I might try some broth and jello for dinner tonight and see how I feel. I want to give myself a little more time to rest before I rush to eat, but I am definitely starting to get more and more hungry.
The fact that my first recovery took so long and I had such a bad case has really tainted my view of this condition and makes me extremely skeptical of everything.
On the roommate front, the guy next to me has some serious ulcers on his feet. He is extraordinarily overweight and the doctors flat out told him today that he’s more or less on a death sentence if he doesn’t clean up his act. He has 3 holes in his feet that are leaking (and smell absolutely disgusting) and the doctor said it’s not going to get any better unless he starts today to never “eat anything that tastes good again.” Regardless, he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention as he ordered two of every dessert when the nurse came to take his menu tomorrow. He’s definitely a character.
