Waiting on Waiting...

The top floor suite, left side, is where Peggy and I spent the past few days celebrating our anniversary, the end of winter and enjoying some quality time before my upcoming surgery on March 2nd.

We spent a very relaxing past few days, albeit a couple of them were really plagued by some very intense pain in my right shoulder. I'm off several of my meds now in preparation for the surgery, so the pain has been increasing the last week and half or so.

Monday, I have to take an unexpected day off from work for a pre-surgery screening on the northwest side of Indy. Hopefully I pass this exam with flying colors and am able to go to work for the last time for a few weeks on Tuesday.

After working Tuesday, Peggy and I will head to Indy to a hotel room we rented for a couple of nights and then I have surgery on Wednesday morning at 9:30AM, head back to the hotel for a day of recovery, then up Thursday AM, a drive to Fishers to the OrthoIndy office for a day after follow up appointment, and then back home to start the healing and therapeutic process.

As the time grows closer, thoughts and worries begin racing thru my mind. I haven't yet decided whether this will be my last entry before surgery or not.

If it is, I'll be back with you all sometime later on, no doubt to be determined by the pain factor.

If not, I'll probably make one more entry to really lay out how I'm feeling.

I will just be glad when this is all over.

Daytona 500, 2011

Well, all I can say is congratulations to 20 year old Trevor Bayne on winning a caution plagued Daytona 500. The young man showed his ability all thru Speedweeks and proved he can indeed run with the big boys in just his second Sprint Cup race.

By no stretch of the imagination was this one of my favorite 500's. The new track surface and the new aero package with the cars has given the race a whole new look. Two car groups, bump drafting all around the track and lead pack breakaways tended to take a bit of the excitement away from the fans watching. While there were still large packs of cars, they were all split into pairs and the cars up front tended to be able to pull away from the field at will.

The good news was that Jimmie Johnson was involved in a 17 car Daytona "big one" and finished the race many laps down. That in itself will bring me back to the tv next Sunday to see just how he performs at Phoenix. I can only hope for more of the same.

As much as I would have loved to have seen my favorite driver, the Rushville Rocket, Tony Stewart win, I told Peggy with six laps to go if Tony couldn't win this year it would be great to see Trevor Bayne win.

And indeed it was!

I would give this race six and half out of ten stars.

Rushville, That's Where I Come From

A friend of mine, Brian Sheehan, has put together a video of our hometown that I find amazing. These pictures cover many, many years. I had to share this video, because it does indeed show that side of my hometown that most people tend to overlook.

Thanks, Brian.

Countdown

The countdown is on.

Less than two weeks now until surgery to repair the torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder. After work tomorrow evening I begin a week's vacation for a little R & R before the big day.

Hopefully my mind can be occupied next week with a very relaxing and enjoyable vacation, as the week after I plan on working a couple of days and then have surgery on Wednesday March 2nd.

Trying very hard to be optimistic but it's certainly a hard thing to do, having already experienced shoulder surgery once before.

Hopefully since eleven years has passed since the last one medical advances will enable the pain to not be as great as it was back then. After all, if you're going to dream, dream big, right?

Anyway, I can almost hear that clock ticking the minutes away...

...that I lived

Wandering, plundering
Confused, wondering
I never make you happy
I can't make you smile.

Deceiving, believing
Giving, receiving
I can never be enough
I'll never fit your style.

Staring, glaring
But always caring
This love we have together
Is like walking the last mile.

28 North a montage of pure fun at the Slippery Noodle Feb 3, 2011

It's hard to listen to a picture, and as luck would have it, a short montage was made of the 28 North appearance at the Slippery Noodle last Thursday night while we were there. This band is so genuinely awesome! If you get the chance, go see them next time they are in your area, and check out other videos of them at youtube.com

As always, before you start this video turn off the jukebox on the right!

Hope you enjoy these four young musicians.

Once again, Pittsburgh's own 28 North live at the Slippery Noodle!

The Moody Blues: Balance

Reminder: Turn of the jukebox on the right before starting this video.

Recently someone posted on Facebook that they have never known anyone who enjoys music the way that I do and how much it influences my life.

This song, decades old now, has always been a favorite of mine and one to which I identify myself.

Hope you enjoy it, not just for the melody but for the awesome recitation by Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues.

28 North Live

This past Thursday night, a brave group of us ignored the two inches of ice that had fallen on our area and ventured up to Indianapolis to the Slippery Noodle Inn to see Pittsburgh's own 28 North.

We had the pleasure of catching them back in October of last year and really enjoyed the show and the music these four young men put on. When I learned last year that they were once again coming back to the Noodle, it didn't take me long to launch plans for a group of us to head back and see them once again.

Since October when we first got to see them and meet them all, we have become Facebook friends and stayed in touch. It did our hearts good when they arrived Thursday night and came over and gave us the welcoming hugs and handshakes and then took the time out to visit with us off and on throughout the evening.

The members of the band are:
Michael Lindner - Guitar, Vocals, Rhodes
Tyler Bond - Drums, Vocals, Percussion
Jonathan Colman - Bass, Vocals
Taylor Netzler - Guitar, Vocals

They started their set at 9 and played until 1 AM, and let me assure you, it was a fast four hours with some sizzling rock being performed. They will be back in Indy in April at a different bar, and while hoping we can catch them, my biggest hope is that they come back to the Noodle once again, and an even larger group of us can attend this time. I would love to see this band play at Riverside Park sometime in the near future as well.

Check them out on you tube, Facebook, myspace and wherever else you can find them. So honored to have them as friends!

Hopefully this won't be my final night out before my surgery on March 2nd, but if it was, it was indeed a great way to spend the evening!