Not for the faint of heart

Ok, this posting is a bit personal, but since I am one not to be shy about revealing my life to others and ultimately can laugh at situations, here it goes. On Tuesday evening, for some reason, my left testicle starting to throb. I went to sleep thinking that it would get better, no worries. On Wednesday morning, it was hurting more, but I went to work anyway. All day, it hurt and was getting worse. It was best when I was sitting down and hurt most when I tried to stretch the legs or do anything that made that area of my body have to bounce around. By the time I got home yesterday afternoon, it was really hurting and the testicular area was really swollen and hot to the touch.

Having learned from the car experience to not avoid dealing with issues, I called Kaiser around 5:30PM to try and schedule an appointment for the next day, but lo and behold, they had an appointment available at 7:45PM that evening. I went to Kaiser on Geary and the place was EMPTY. I checked in and was shown to my room 10 minutes EARLY. I had a very nice meeting with a doctor and she gave me a prescription for antibiotics/anti-inflammatory and also a painkiller and was sent down to the pharmacy. I was in and out of the Kaiser facility in two hours. It must have been a record. A double bonus was that after 7PM Kaiser doesn't charge for parking.

I feel much better today. I am well on my way to good health.

6AM is for sleeping

Mom and Dad-

Please know that when you call me at home at 6AM in the morning, the chances of me answering my phone (a cell phone at that) are slim to NONE. I know that you are in China and getting to a phone and coordinating it with the time changes is difficult but please know that here are a couple reasons: 1) I am SLEEPING 2) I generally keep my cell phone in the charger which is NOT in my bedroom 3) If I happen to hear my phone go off in the other room, at 6AM I am generally NOT going to rush to answer the ESPECIALLY if the call ringer indicates it comes from a restricted or call ID unknown number. I ask you not to leave voicemails in which you sound annoyed at the fact that you didn't get my live voice. The car is fine, I got it back last week. Hope you are having a good trip. I look forward to hearing about it and seeing pictures from it.

Ernie

Zachary Jon M. turns 30 and 2 days

This past Saturday, Kelly M., Zac's girlfriend arranged a surprise birthday party for him at a Moroccan tapas restaurant called Baraka, located at 18th and Connecticut on Potrero Hill. Here are some photos that actually turned out decently. It was dark in the room in which we were seated and I often times just pointed the camera and shot the picture. It was totally an act of faith that what I wanted to take a picture of actually turned up on the preview screen.

The Birthday boy, Zac and Kelly

Myself with Pilar and Jeff

The glamourously tall Eric S.

Jeff and CHB3

It is my fault that major players in the evening, such as Carlos and Zac's parents, were not captured on camera. But they were there. Happy Birthday Zac!