My World

I've been pretty scatterbrained the last couple months. There are things I have talked about, things I may not have talked about, things I thought I talked about and didn't, and so forth. So, for those that are interested, here's been the happenings in my world over that time. But, knowing me, I'll probably leave something out.

August 11-12: Spent the night on the Black Rock Desert playa with some friends. Wanted to stargaze and take cool pictures, but howling winds, dust, and a bright light at the Burning Man construction site spoiled our plans. I awoke in the morning with a very irritated uvula, probably from inhaling the alkali dust. It hurt to swallow for a day or so.

August 21: I got my chance to try some astrophotography with my new camera when I went to Boca to watch a total lunar eclipse. It was cool. I watched the moon go into the eclipse so carefully, that I fell fast asleep during the eclipse.

August 31: I went to my typical Friday-night gathering with my roommate and that circle of friends. We went to a intalian place in the Summit Sierra Shopping Center. I got home, and there was a message from Dawson on the phone. "Call me as soon as you get this." It was getting late, but I decided to call, just in case. Good thing I did. A young guy in our church had committed suicide. A sleepless night sitting with his wife, Beth, and various family and friends in a conference room in the ICU followed.

September 1: From ICU to my parents' home (once some other guys arrived to stay with the family) to watch the opening Nevada football game of the season (after a "nap" on the couch). We played with Nebraska for about 20 minutes. In the other 40 minutes of the game, we got pummelled. I went home sometime in the third quarter. I slept for a couple hours. Then, back to the ICU until the family said "We're going home. You go home, too."

September 2: The guy who shot himself was declared brain dead the previous day, but was still on a ventilator, as the family wanted him to donate as many organs and tissues as possible. This meant that they didn't really say goodbye until around 2am Sunday night / Monday morning. Church that Sunday was quite somber. Dawson was asked to do the funeral in Colorado, for family there. I told him I'd go if he needed company. When I get home, I talk with my roommate for a while. Then he gets a call - his mom was taken to the hospital with blood-sugar issues. I drive him there, he sits with her for an hour or so while I wait in the waiting room.

September 5: The Reno funeral. A couple in the church with a big yard opened it up for use. He was given military honors, and people stayed until well after dark. It was standing-room only.

September 8: Nevada plays football at Northwestern. Dominant first half, weak second half. Gives up a go-ahead score late in the game, only to come right back and reclaim the lead. This appears solid until the other team leads a 1-minute touchdown drive with no timeouts. We lose.

September 9: Church starts getting back to normal, as much as normal can be. Dawson and I coordinate to go to Colorado, since his wife is not feeling able to go.

September 14: We fly to Denver. Jokes come from both Dawson and Miriam (on the phone) about how they "thought the Rocky Mountains would be a whole lot rockier." Dumb and Dumber referenced are a dime a dozen. We make a wrong turn, and decide to visit Buffalo Bill's grave. I call my sister that night, wanting to get an update on the game. Silly me, the game's tomorrow.

September 15: The Colorado funeral. The good news is, this is the last "event" focused on the death two weeks ago. We get home, and I call my sister for an update on the game. What?! We're down 10-3. But wait... the crowd cheers... TOUCHDOWN! The game is now tied. I consider myself good luck. I hang up - unbeknownst to anyone, my dad's heart attack is happening right now. 30 minutes alter, the phone rings. I guess that it's my sister, calling with a game update. It is my sister, but she says an ambulance has taken dad to the hospital. It might be a heart attack. A little later, another phone call: it was a heart attack and they're doing a dye test to see how severe. An hour later, it was a Massive heart attack. "If he makes it" through the next 3-5 days, we'll go from there. I thank Beth's family for staying up with me, but I'm going to try and get some sleep - though I have a phone right beside me. A little later, "the next couple hours are very critical." A little later, he seems to be stabilized. I get a couple hours sleep.

September 16: We fly back from Denver to Reno. Dawson and I happen to be on the same flight as Beth. We ask the ticket guy to put us together, and for no charge he does so... and puts the three 6-foot people in the emergency exit row, too. Props to United's TED airline. Beth entertains all of us for most of the flight by reading random advertisements in the Sky Mall catalog. I head right to the hospital, visit with dad and family, head home for some sleep, eat dinner, go back to the hospital.

September 17: Hospital, home, hospital, repeat.

September 18-21: I go back to work, visiting the hospital on the way home. Unfortunately, that's right before shift change, so I don't stay for more than an hour. On Friday, my dad is moved out of ICU to a regular room, where he has a view of the Street Vibrations fireworks.

September 22: I go on a long drive with Rob and Heather to take pictures of fall colors. We get some, but not a whole lot.

September 23: My dad's released from the hospital to go home.

September 28: The Friday night crew gathers to play Halo 3 until the wee hours of the morning.

September 29: The UNLV football game. Coram Deo is hoping to have a tailgate in which we offer food to others, give them water for the game, and pick up their trash. #2 and #3 meet with marginal success. The best conversation of the day happens when we give away a parking space to a random guy. We then hang out, talk sports, share burgers, and act hospitable. My sister ends up putting the rest of us to shame, giving away most of the water herself by actually offering it to passers-by. Beth comes to the football game, where I run into a couple of old friends in the stands. We all watch a back-and-forth game that is tense until the final seconds have expired. I then head to the Sparks Marina for a birthday bash for a guy at church. I forget to tell Beth to take any street but Virginia to the freeway - she is stuck in an hour of traffic as a result. We all play volleyball at the Marina until it starts to get dark, and a collision between two players gives a pregnant girl a cut below her eye (that later requires stitches). We head to the Great Basin Brewery for dinner. I try a specialty beer with dinner. My non-love for beer in all forms is reinforced... but hey, I tried. Over the day, I get rather sun-burned.

October 2: A woman goes missing in Reno. So happens she's an old friend from church, and a former roommate of the wife of an elder in the church. Can we get two weeks without crisis? Doesn't seem like it.

October 3: She's found, without harm. On an unrelated note, Dawson calls a church in Montana looking to give away a $10,000 sound system. The pastor likes our story/vision/heart the most, and decides to give it to us. He doesn't want the hassle of shipping it. A U-Haul is $1,800 to go there and back. What will we do? Turns out Dawson's father was planning a trip to Montana anyway, a short distance from where this church is. He'll pick it up and bring it abck for free. Essentially, we got a $12,000 gift from God. Quite nice, quite unexpected.

October 6: Nevada plays Fresno State for homecoming. We get slaughtered. We lose our starting quarterback to a freak injury. We make the game look respectable at the end, losing only 49-41.

October 7: Amid the terrible football news, it's announced that Nevada basketball has gotten a commitment from it's second Top-100 high school player for the 2008 class. Yay! The future is looking bright.

October 11: It's today, and nothing fascinating has happened, except I have typed this blog. Snazzy!