So, what's been up with Ven these last few years.
Well, I killed a deer with my moped September 6, 2010. Damn near killed me. The injuries were such that I could have been a zombie on Walking Dead without makeup. Almost lost my right eye from it. Snapped the ACL in my left knee and had reconstruction surgery December 10, 2010 and started PT December 13 2010. Totaled my moped. Surprisingly, Chuckles was not hurt in the accident.
I lost Chuckles two days after Thanksgiving 2011. That was devastating as she was my constant companion for 14 years. I couldn't bear to bury her in a place I knew wouldn't be mine, and even though I couldn't afford it, I had her cremated and she now sits on my mantle. I still miss her. I now have a Grunt and a Jellybean as my service dogs. Still sticking with Chihuahuas. I have a total of six now.
I've taught myself laptop computer repair and make a little money on the side with that. Not much, but it helps with the bills.
Two years ago I had to finally break down and ask for pain medication for my back. It has gotten progressively worse over the years and I was moving to a new house by myself using grocery carts to get stuff moved from one house to another. It got so bad my left leg wouldn't work anymore for days afterwards. To illustrate, 3.5 years ago I had an MRI done. Still showed L4 and L5 as bad. Actually much worse than they were just 2 years prior. Fast forward to 3 months ago and a new MRI. Now all 5 lumbar disks are compromised. I just finished going the epidural route and those made it worse so now I'm having a Myelogram and a nerve conductivity test being done to see if surgery is the only option. Of course that isn't counting the four compromised disks in my cervical spine.
Also two years ago there was a mass detected in my neck. Had a needle biopsy done and it was full of fluid. It was drained and diagnosed as a Brachial Cleft Cyst. A year later another mass was found in a chest x-ray on the right side, so I was sent for a ultrasound. While the tech was looking at that I had her check the left side. Well that whatever it is was sitting there waving at me like it was saying "Hellooo-ooo. I'm BACK!"
That ruled out the cleft cyst. And it was nearly back at it's original size when it was drained the first time. No one still has a clue as to what it is. The mass on the right side is thought to be enlarged lymph nodes.
I was given a car (1991 Cadillac Sedan deVille) and it served me well until about 3 months ago, even though it had some major problems. It finally kinda started going belly up on me two days after I put a water pump in it. She developed a bottom end knock and anyone who knows cars knows that's a death knell. So I pondered for several days on my options and it ended up *I was going to spend as much getting the parts to fix the Caddy as it would to get something newer and more reliable, so I now have an 04 Honda CR-V. The savings in gas alone has been a boon.
I'm raising chickens now. Just got a batch of chicks from Meyer's Hatchery. Ordered 25, got 31 for some reason. Lost 2 in the first two weeks but the rest are growing like weeds. By spring I'll have a lot of eggs coming is. I have 3 hens and a rooster right now but I'm trying to jumpstart the egg production by increasing my flock now rather than trying to rely only on raising chicks from my adults. I've already lost 2 clutches due to storms.
And I just rescued a kitten. Got her after my second epidural and she was in bad shape. More dead than alive really. But I've pulled her through and you wouldn't think this is the same skin and bones I brought back to the house a short month ago. Her name is Thesaurus and she's my Study Cat.
I'm back in school. That was a trial in and of itself. It took 5 months of battling the system for me to get back in. Every time I knocked down one stone wall, two more took it's place. But I finally got in and made a 4.0 for my Summer Quarter classes. I'm taking a full load this semester. I'm going for an Associates Degree in Computer Information Technology with a concentration on Computer Forensics and Cyber Security. My goal is to get off disability so I can once again support myself and be a productive member of society again. I'm hoping that when I show a prospective employer what I have done on my own to get to that point, that maybe, just maybe, they will look beyond my disabilities and give me a shot.
And I was adopted come Thanksgiving 2 years ago. I had been courting and tutoring a young lady in her Criminal Justice classes since the summer before and we were kinda hitting it off. Her kids love me to death, even the youngest one is saying I'm her other daddy. Anyhoo, Thanksgiving two years ago I had a fire in my house. Burned out some wiring in the ceiling and had a 65 foot hole in said ceiling. So there I was in a house with no power and no heat. Nichole's step dad heard about it and called "Mom' and Nichole in the kitchen and told them "That man does not need to be sitting alone on Thanksgiving, Especially with what he has been through. Nichole, you go get Tim and bring him here. Now."
Now her dad is a very taciturn individual. I had met him once before and I walked away with the feeling he didn't care for me. Apparently he changed a little. Maybe because I wasn't going around begging for help or anything. Anyway, they adopted me, gave me my first family Christmas and have included me in all family holidays since. They even got a tree ornament with my name on it.
It still feels strange to have a family now after being alone all my life.
Something else that has been totally blowing my mind. I had an Art History and Appreciation class over the summer and one of our assignments was to do a critical art analysis. Well I'm not much for deconstructing a picture or painting so I asked if I could do my paper on a movie instead and Mr Morgan allowed it. I did a critical review on the movie "Whiplash". This is the email he sent me July 4th:
Quote:
Timothy:
I enjoyed reading your paper. You have writing skills, and I am so pleased with your paper. It makes me really consider turning this writing assignment into a "movie review" and asking all students to review a movie in the future, or critically analyze a movie. Great job.
I have posted the works to identify. I kept the number down again. If you need me, email me.
Mr. Morgan
Art 101
Ummm...writing skills? Hardly. I suck at it. And to consider changing the writing assignment to a critical movie review based on my paper? Incredulous! (the last line was because I had to leave class early that last day of class for a Dr appt) I made a 100 on the paper but he had to deduct 5 points for it being late.
I've been cultivating Muttonchops to audition for the part of Scrooge in Scrooge: The stingiest man in town. Auditions are September 15th. I think I have a shot at it, especially since I do an English accent.
Anyway, there's a bit of whats been going on with me last few years
EDIT: My sig comes from another board who has been kept abreast of the happenings to me these last few years.
It sorta feels like I am...
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
