Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Life Update - 072606

It's been a very odd week. I guess usually it is good to start from one end of the spectrum and work to the other (bad news then good.) Back some time ago, I figured out that one of the biggest problems that I had with the master bathroom (other than the need to have it gutted and redone) was that it needed storage space. So I added a little cabinet on the only wall that was available. It keeps up with the wood look that is already going on in there.

Anyhow, it was a regular Monday (meaning that I was trying to get the newsletter done before heading off to work) and planned to save a little time by shaving off the weekend stubble growth. So, I grabbed my shaving cream from inside the shower (view of the shower and the cabinet from inside the shower.) I headed to the sink and started lathering up. I then returned to inside the shower to grab my razor. I headed back to the sink. If you ever had an obstacle around the house that you normally avoid out of habit, you know what happens when for some reason you break that habit... you trip, slip or hit something. I hit something -- the edge of the cabinet... right in the middle of my forehead.

So I firmly held a towel to it for about 15 minutes to cut down on the gushing blood and promote clotting followed by the application of Neosporin. It hasn't been without that salve and a band-aid for longer than 3 minutes since then. Doesn't look like it's bad enough for stitches (kinda made an L shape... can anyone say loser?) but should be interesting to see it if leaves a scar (hence the optimistic abundant use of Neosporin.) So far so good. The photo was taken just moments ago (it's almost 3:30 a.m.)

I also wound up returning from dinner with Kerry, Teri and Lloyd on Saturday night and found something interesting. That new front door that I had installed had a nifty foot print on it placed high in the middle (must have been at least a size 12+.) It wasn't long until I was out in the yard clipping the bush that obscures the door from the street by over a foot. With all the weird things going on around here in the neighborhood, it does give me more of a reason to consider placing a loud alarm at the door. Maybe, I've just seen too many home security commercials where the thief throws himself at the door and it opens with the alarm blaring.

After returning home that night, I lined up all the books on my headboard in cue for my reading pleasure. (You can also see the new $49.99 iPod stereo to the left and new Peter Kitchell print above it which I picked up at a yard sale for $12.00. The owner had a tag on it that said $35 and before I left she offered to sell it for $10. I felt guilty and added $2 more so she can proudly say she got more than she asked.) This book list was extended quite graciously by Teri and Lloyd who shocked me with a bag of books and a load of chocolate chip cookies (Teri used Alton Brown's recipe and they are great!) Yes, I don't say it often enough but I'm very lucky to have friends like them.

Lastly, I returned home this morning to an answering machine message from Mom. I believe that it is worth placing here verbatim for me to remember and for her possible future embarrassment:
"I'm looking at the clock and it's 11:56 p.m. 35 years ago, your Dad and I were traveling to the hospital at Sutter Memorial. And we checked in at 12:04 -- to avoid having to pay extra for the day before we had to wait until the A.M. And of course, four hours later my first beautiful baby was born. I'm so grateful for that. You are such a special special son to me. I'm so grateful to have you. I'm just want to let you know now, so I won't be calling you at 4:30 a.m. I'll see you tomorrow." Who says that text messages are all that fabulous when I can get an answering machine message like this? Love ya, Mom. Anyhow, I took today off for a change and am going to try to have lunch and/or dinner with the family (Mom is heading to her high school reunion this weekend which doesn't work with the standard Sunday dinner thing for family birthdays but it's all about enjoying your time together, isn't it. B)

8 comments:

Teri said...

Happy Birthday!!!!

I hope you enjoy your day off, you deserve it :)

LoraLoo said...

Happy Birthday!

Strange about the footprint on the front door. Guess you installed it quite well! Perhaps you could add some light (i.e. motion lights) to the front walkway?

Love the message from Mom. Stories like that are great... enjoy your day off!

Lily said...

Happy Birthday Martin.

Guffawing over "can anyone say Loser" Good luck with the Neosporin. :)

Unknown said...

Happy birthday old guy! I can't believe its been 20 years since you and I started hanging out...

Lucy Stern said...

The message from your mom reminds me of the scene, from City Slickers, where Billy Crystals mom calls up and does her yearly routine with her happy birthday message. Ha Ha. Happy Birthday BTW. Motion sensor lights around the door and windows would be a good idea. Advice: Don't hit the cabinet in the bathroom again. OK?

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to you! I can't believe you got that iPod stero for $12!!! GET OUT OF HERE!

Sorry about your forehead! OUCH. Maybe "L" stands for Lucky?

Martin said...

Thanks for catching that Barbara. The wording gives the wrong impression so I edited it. $49.99 on sale at Fry's Electronics. Cheap but it actually is an alarm clock too.

I also want to thank all of you for the birthday and well wishes. 35 will be a great year. B)

Ken said...

Martin, hope you had a great birthday. That story about falling into cabinet totally sounds like something that I would do.