Author: robertjames1971

I'm wicked tall.

One Year Ago Today

Every now and then I use this blog to play “this day in history” by looking back at past posts from today’s date. I did that a few minutes ago and the posts from last year were all about the upcoming surgery. At midnight on May 3rd, 2022 I switched to a liquid diet for a day and then had to fast the following day so my stomach would be empty during the actual procedure.

My last meal was a glorious piece of chicken and a huge pile of quinoa. I posted a picture. It looked so freakin’ delicious.

It was my last supper. Everything since has been tiny and simple. The plate I dished out for myself on this date last year would feed me for days now.

I’ve had a few weird moments food wise recently. Jen and I were in a store on Saturday and they had candy next to the check out. I very nearly, impulsively, grabbed a bag of Reece’s Pieces. I couldn’t believe I almost did it. One year ago I would have and I never would have thought twice. I expected that after a year of this new lifestyle I wouldn’t be relapsing anymore like that. I guess I was wrong. Weird.

The anniversary is two days away. I wonder what will happen next?

Lunch Break Project

I set up my desk in the cellar before my surgery last year, at some point in April 2022. I had been thinking about changing things up for a month or so and today, without really planning to, I did something about it.

I now have a work computer desk and a personal computer desk. Sure this is a cable spaghetti mess, but I threw it all together during my lunch break today so it’s as good as you can expect on short notice. The monitors are my wife’s. Actually, the keyboard and the mouse are hers too. The webcam is too. Also the stand the laptop is sitting on. So… I guess it’s sort of my wife’s desk and I’m just using it. Oh yeah, the desk was hers too. So… yeah.

NHL Second Round Predictions

Who the hell cares. Why do I bother? This sucks.

First round recap, starting in the East:

Bruins vs Panthers: Fuck you. I’m 0/1 and so is the coin flip.

Maple Leafs vs Lightning: I picked the Leafs so I am 1/2. The coin flip (aka Siri) picked the Lightning so it’s 0/2.

Whalers vs Islanders: I picked the Whale even though it hurt my soul. I am 2/3. The coin flip picked New York because it has no soul and is now 0/3.

Devils vs Rangers: The coin and I both picked The Devils. I am 3/4 and it is 1/4. I mean… at least both New York teams lost. We’ve got that to be happy about, right?

On to the West!

Avalanche vs Kraken: I picked Seattle because I thought it would be funny to pick a zero chance underdog. I was right. I am 4/5. The coin picked Colorado and is 1/5.

Stars vs Wild: The coin and I both picked the Twinkies and we were both wrong. I am 4/6 and the coin is 1/6.

Golden Knights vs Jets: The coin and I both picked Vegas and we were both right. I am 5/7 and the coin is 2/7.

Oilers vs Kings: The coin and I both picked Edmonton and we were both right. I am 6/8 and the coin is 3/8.

Are you fucking kidding me? I only missed two series and one of them was Boston’s choking on their own ass? Screw you, universe! My winning percentage is 75%. The coin flip is at 37.5%.

Who really gives a shit about the second round at this point? Aw, fuck.

In the East…

Maple Leafs vs Panthers: Fuck you. I hate the Leafs but I am picking them because fuck Florida. Fuck them right in their fucking ears. The coin picks Florida because it has no soul. Remember, the coin flip is me asking Siri to flip a coin and heads means the higher seed while tails is the lower seed. This time it was tails.

Whalers vs Devils: Go Devils. Even though I am still pissed that you moved your AHL team out of Lowell. The coin picks the Whalers because it has no soul.

On to the West…

Stars vs Kraken: Okay, Dallas should own this but I’m sticking with Seattle. The coin agrees.

Golden Knights vs Oilers: I would have preferred this matchup in the third round but what can you do. I am picking Edmonton because I want to see an Oilers vs Kraken match up next round. The coin also picks the Oilers.

And there you have it. Traditionally my picks are awesome in the first round (fuck you, Bruins) and awful awful awful in the second round so take this at your own risk, m’kay?

I am so pissed off at the Bruins that I may never watch a single game for the rest of the year. This sucks.

Stuck

At 7:10pm I took a bite of chicken and either didn’t chew it enough or ate it too quickly and my stomach became very unhappy. It felt like it was stuck outside, waiting for the digestive doorman to let it into my stomach pouch thingie.

It’s 9:40, 2.5 hours later, and it still hasn’t cleared. The fuck, chicken?

At least I didn’t set the NHL record for wins in a season and then blow a three games to one lead and get bounced from the first round of the playoffs though, right? I’ve got that going for me.

Fuckin’ Bruins.

Frets

Last night I started googling “luthiers near me” to see if I could find a shop that will replace the frets on two of my guitars. I’ve been sending out emails asking for info on whether or not the shops handle jobs like that, and if so about how much can I expect to spend.

Most have not responded. The few that have said that they don’t do fret replacements. You know, I really do not want to ship these guitars back to Gibson, but I will if I have to. Jen used to work for a company that had an office in Tennessee. If she still did I could maybe weasel a trip down there somehow. That would be preferable to shipping, right?

I expected the most difficult part of this process would be coming up with the money. I believe I did that yesterday. Now I find that finding someplace to do it is the hard part? I really don’t want to go to Guitar Center again.

Ugh, stress.