True American Independence

On July 4, 1776, our nation's forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, severing ties to England and ending their oppression at the hands of King George III.  To commemorate that fateful day, we as a nation eat flame-cooked meat and blow stuff up.

The first part of the traditional celebration was handled by my good friend Mark Simcik, whose grill-roasted chicken recipe was perfected over the course of a decade.

 That sauce is a homemade recipe and it's awesome.

Me with Lori and Mark.

As for the blowing stuff up portion of the day, I left that to the professionals while I watched from a safe distance with Jenn, the woman I met at temple on Friday.

The rain had left the ground wet, but we made do with a jacket and a backpack.

You know it's a good fireworks display when the crew lighting the rockets are in danger of smoke inhalation.

This was a great holiday, spent with both old friends and new.  My only regret is that I didn't have more time with both parties, but there's only so much time in the day.

The Weekend Where Everything Happened

My weekend was long and full of adventure:

• I reduced my medication and was full of energy again starting Saturday.
• I met Ian, Sherlin, and the kids for lunch and playing.  The younger kids still make sure that I take turns flipping them around and fulfill my duties as the Fun Uncle.
• We went to a barbecue hosted by Jimmy, the guy who plays lead guitar in our not-a-band.
• We had a jam session in front of everyone (the only people who were really invested were the ones we brought).  We were missing our drummer, Joe, and his absence was really felt, but it still felt so good to play with a group again.  And I don't know if the others could tell, but my lessons are really paying off.
• I got home late because I stopped for groceries on the way home and my neighbor asked for some help moving a dresser into his upstairs apartment.  After the dresser was in its new home, he offered me money as reward, but I refused (as I did to his offer of beer); I did, however, accept a box of high-quality chicken breast -- the man works as a delivery man for a meat company and was allowed to use some product for his own purposes, so he used one box to pay me. I may have to help him again.
• I attended a Linger Longer after church on Sunday and stayed the whole time and talked and met new people -- it's amazing what happens when you're not depressed and have energy to do something about it.
• I cleaned up my dining room that had been messy for months due to my depression.
• I baked a loaf of whole wheat fig bread, a strawberry cake, and a double batch of cream cheese cookies.  I took them with me for my visit with my good friends the Simciks.  It was so good seeing them again.  In fact, when I got there, my arms full of goodies, I went right in their open door so I could put the food down before turning to see Mark and suddenly I was giddy with excitement.  Based on how he and Lori reacted, they were too.  It was just like seeing family that you haven't seen in a while.  It was so wonderful talking with them and sharing a meal (the loaf of bread was intended for Samuel, my old roommate, which they promised to pass on).  When it came time for them to leave for a dinner engagement, Lori started debating if they should flake out to stay and continue visiting, but I made their decision easy for them by making my way to the door.  Hugs were exchanged and we agreed that we needed to meet again sooner and not go so long between visits.
• On my way home, I stopped by a clothing store to return some pants that I decided did not fit as well as I had thought in the store.  When I was parking, I noticed a set of missionary Elders walking around.  I made sure to say hi them and ask how they were doing.  I told them what ward I attend and they named some of the Elders serving there, though I had trouble confirming all of them (we have four companionship in my ward).  It was about 5:30, so I asked them if they had a dinner appointment that evening.  They admitted that they did not, so I told them to wait while I handled the return and then I'd take them to dinner.  I had them pick the restaurant because I didn't know the area very well (I knew the store I had gone to and not much else), so we went to a Chinese buffet.  We talked about where they're from and what they're plans are for careers and education, but they mostly asked about me.  After they were sufficiently fed (I had a few pieces of sushi, but I was mostly full from my visit with the Simciks), I paid the bill and I drove the Elders back to their car in the parking lot where I had seen them earlier.  As they got out of the car, they asked for my name because they want to talk me up to the Elders in my ward when they see them at the next Zone meeting.
• I came home and made banana bread to take to work tomorrow.

Like I said, my weekend was busy.  Busy, but great.

New Recipe

On Saturday, I went and visited with my good friends the Simciks.  As I often do, I brought some baked goods to share.  My sister Margot had suggested cookies with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries as a fun fall flavor, so I looked for such a recipe online.  I decided to go with this one, though I left out the macadamia nuts since I think of that as more of a summer flavor.

While the Simciks were very appreciative of the cookies, I wasn't terribly happy with how they turned out.  There was too much sugar, with nothing to cut through the sweetness but some also sweetened cranberries.  Lori is a very skilled baker (her first job was working in a bakery while she was still in high school), so she asked me some questions about the recipe and what I wanted from it when I baked the cookies.  As we talked through some changes, I realized that we were making an all new cookie recipe.  While it's not exactly from scratch (we used the first one as our starting point), it's its own thing.  Here's what we came up with:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 baking soda
1/4 salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the zest, egg, vanilla, and milk. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and combine. Stir in the oats. Add the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans and stir to combine.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and, using a cookie dough scoop, drop the dough on the sheets. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the cookies sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

I haven't had a chance to try the recipe yet, but I'm really excited to.  I've got an office luncheon on Thursday, so I'll let you know on Friday how things turned out.

Tuesdays with Media: FPS Games

On Saturday, I visited with my good friends, the Simciks.  It had simply been a while since we'd had a chance to hang-out, so I contacted them and we made arrangements.  We all had a lovely time and shared many laughs and even some food together.  Near the end of my visit, the youngest in the family, Johnny, asked his dad and I to play a video game with him.  I honestly wasn't in the mood, but I acquiesced.  I can't remember the title of the game we played, but I do remember that it was a first-person shooter, or FPS, game.

I'm absolutely terrible at FPS games.  I'm not great with modern controllers anyway -- there are two joysticks and way too many buttons -- but I can do okay when I can see the character in front of me.  I actually played the first Assassin's Creed game all the way through during my last six months in Oklahoma (I'm sure the stress of being newly separated had something to do with it), so clearly I can manage given the right game.

The problem with FPS games is that I never know where I'm looking: one joystick controls my feet, while the other controls where I'm pointing the gun and I get them confused.  I'm sure if I took a few Saturdays to play through the single-player game a little bit, I'd develop some muscle memory and get a better handle on the controls, but since before Saturday I hadn't played an FPS game on my own since around the turn of century, I'm really clumsy and slow.

As you might expect, I played terribly.  Johnny even went easy on us and had Mark and I on one team against him and he limited himself to only using a tomahawk-style hatchet while I had a shotgun and Mark had an assault rifle.  Even with our advantages and his handicaps, Johnny still easily won.  Again, he was well-prepared since he's not only played the single-player game a lot, he's also played the multiplayer game with his friends as well as online.  This was literally the first time either Mark or I had played this particular game before, so our loss surprised no one.

Fortunately, I don't need to win to have fun, so I was still able to enjoy myself.  Yes; despite not being in the mood to play a video game, I was able to get into it.  Johnny was really disappointed when I had to leave for the evening and asked that I come and visit again soon so we could play video games again.  I made no promises, but it's nice that he enjoyed my company enough that he wanted to engage in activity that he thinks of as fun.  Though if there is a next time, I'll try to see if he has something more my speed, like Mario Kart.

Small World

This past Friday I attended a game night hosted by a family in my new ward.  The family's adults are Dave and Naomi, the latter of whom I wrote about a couple of weeks back.  It was a lot of fun and I got to interact with plenty of people I hadn't met before by playing lots of weird and silly games.

At one point during the night, Naomi referenced the area from which I just moved and asked which ward I had attended.  I told her and she asked if I knew a family that also attends the ward in question, the Simciks.  I told her that I was very close the Simcik family and that I still stayed in touch with them since moving from that area.  I asked her how she knew them.  Apparently, Mark and Lori's daughter just married Dave's cousin.  He and Naomi had attended the reception a weekend or two prior.

In most circumstances, I would brush it off as being a coincidence or at most serendipity, but this feels more divinely organized than that.  Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but it was a loving connection and I was glad to make it.

The Big Move

I guess I've put it off long enough.  So, how'd the move go?

I stayed up late the night before, packing.  I didn't quite finish, but I was ninety percent done, so I figured I was close enough.  I then slept fitfully, probably due to the stress of moving the next day.

The morning arrived and I realized that I hadn't planned for picking up the U-Haul, so I made a few calls and found someone who could give me a ride so I wouldn't have to leave my car at the rental place.  Picking up the truck was a little weird: there were no signs that this place rented out trucks other than half-a-dozen trucks parked out front, the building looked like it was abandoned, and I signed a hand-written contract.  If that wasn't strange enough, I made it half-way to my apartment when I got a call asking me to come back since they had rented me the wrong truck.

When I finally got back home, I made it just as the first mover, my friend Mark Simcik, arrived.  We started moving some things, but with my left arm still out of commission from my seizure, we mostly just planned things out.  Soon enough, the missionary Elders arrived and moved the four major pieces of furniture for us, before they had to leave.  Luckily, that's right when another family from the ward came to help with the rest.  Ian showed up towards the end, but he brought pizza, so he was heartily welcomed.

When it came time to drive to my new place, the father of the other family asked if we would need any help unloading.  We accepted his help and drove to the new place.  After some traffic issues, we made it and started unpacking.  The unloading went much faster and right at the end, the first two Elders from before showed up to lend a hand one more time -- apparently, they were in the area to help out with a baptism, so I'm certain they got tons of extra blessings for all of the work they put in that day.

One problem that I discovered when we first got to my new place was that the power was off.  I had planned ahead and had contacted the electric company, asking them to start the service in my new place.  They assured me it was all taken care of, but such was not the case.  And, because it was the weekend, my power stayed off until I could call and talk to someone on Monday, which is when it was actually activated.  I asked Ian if he would mind me staying at his place over the weekend, which he was happy to accommodate.  I packed a bag, threw it in Ian's truck, and we went to deliver the moving truck.

The first place that we went to (address provided by Google) was just a gas station with a drop box for the key.  With only my hand-written contract, I decided to try for something a little more official.  There was an actual U-Haul center not far away, so we set off again.  When we got there, they had no record of me renting the truck.  They had the truck on file, but not my rental agreement.  I showed them the contract (actually, a carbon-copy of the contract), which they didn't know how to process.  After a few calls to managers were made, they figured it out and gave me an official, laser-printed receipt saying that I had paid my balance and that I owed nothing.  Happy with the result, we drove back to my old place for me to pick up my car (and to drop the other Brother off).

My weekend at the Larsen's was enjoyable, as expected.

On Monday, I got to have a long commute again, since I was driving from even farther away than I was used to when living at my old place.  I called the electric company as soon as their office was opened and I was promised that the power would be turned on as soon as a technician could get there.  I went by my apartment on my lunch break to see if the power was indeed on, which it was.  I set the A/C to something reasonable so that everything would be nice and comfortable when I got home from work.  That was a good plan, since it was particularly hot and humid that day.  Unfortunately, maintenance had done a lousy job of preparing my apartment, because when I got home, it was hotter inside than out.  The thermostat said it was 92 °F and what little air was blowing out of the vents felt only slightly cooler than my skin temperature.  I called emergency maintenance to come take a look and when the technician arrived, he discovered that my apartment was equipped with a "manual override" on the heater, which had been left on.  So the A/C was on, but so was the heater.  He also found that the air filter was filthy and in desperate need of replacing.  With these issues taken care of, the place finally started cooling down and was a comfortable 75 °F when I went to bed that night.

So, I'm all moved in.  It wasn't as easy as I was hoping for, but it was still mostly straight forward.  Now I just need to learn the area I'm living in now and I should be all set.  With my sense of direction, that should only take a year or two.

Seize, Again

On Sunday, I had a seizure.  This one wasn't has severe as the first on, but it was still pretty bad.

Sunday was Stake Conference.  I felt sick, so once it was over, I asked for a blessing from Samuel and Mark.  When it was over, I stood up and shook their hands, and then woke up lying on the couch in the foyer.

Earlier in the week, there had been some trouble getting my anti-seizure prescription refilled, so I hadn't taken my meds in two or three days.  I wasn't too worried since in the past if I missed a round of medication, I experience aphasia, which isn't fun, but it also isn't dangerous like a seizure. Well, this time I seized.

After I came to, Samuel drove my car home and Mark took me to the pharmacy -- the medication had only come in the day before, so the earliest I could have taken it would have been if I had picked it up that morning.  Once I was home, I ate some lunch (which took me 45 minutes just to eat a sandwich and an apple) and undressed so I could lay down.

When I woke up a few hours later, I could barely move my left shoulder.  When I last had a seizure, I tore my rotator cuff, so I think I may have done that again.  My thighs, neck, right shoulder and knees are sore as well.

Since yesterday, I've gain some mobility back, but I've still got some healing to do before I'm back to normal.

Rain, Rain, You Can Stay

After my knee problems on Monday, you'd think I'd hold off on running again this week, right?  No, sir or madam, I did not.  My knee made an audible "pop" sound Wednesday evening and nearly all of the pain I'd been feeling disappeared.  And since Thursday's weather looked so nice, I decided to go for another run, this time wearing the knee brace.

Just as I was starting my run, I noticed that the sky looked a little darker than I had first noticed.  I remembered that I had seen that there was a chance of showers that evening, but only 50%.  So I ran.  My knee felt fine and once again, it felt great being outside pounding pavement.  When I was a little past the halfway mark, it starting lightly sprinkling.  My fastest option home was just to finish, so I picked up the pace a little.  The rainfall increased to the point that by the time I made it home, the front of my shirt was damp all the way through, though I wasn't actually dripping.  I also wasn't in danger of hypothermia since the rain didn't really get heavy until right at the end.

I had barely stepped inside when I got a text message.  My friend, Lori, asked if I could come by to administer a priesthood blessing to her husband who was having an asthma attack.  I immediately turned around to head out the door, but first, I told Samuel to put on his shoes and come with me.  Even though Samuel hadn't been invited, I thought that bringing him would be appropriate and it would give him a chance to participate in a blessing for the first time (he only recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood).

We arrived, me in my wet running clothes, and were warmly welcomed.  After a quick explanation from Mark on what was ailing him, we administered the blessing, with Samuel anointing and me sealing.  Mark was clearly grateful and gave us each a big bear hug.  Not wanting to get in the way of his recovery, we soon left to go home, with Samuel talking excitedly about how he got to be involved.

These stories are connected in more than just their sequence.  My original plan had been to run two loops again, like last time, which would have taken me over an hour.  I did have my cell phone on me, but with my earbuds in and my legs constantly moving, the chances that I would have either heard or felt my phone (I have it set to both chime and vibrate) are low.  If the rain hadn't come, I probably would have lost the opportunity to exercise my priesthood and help a dear friend.  I was annoyed at the rain when it first started, but now I'm grateful it came.

Real Friends

Last Sunday, my good friend, Mark Simcik, experienced some severe pain in his left shoulder.  It was intense enough that he asked a member of the ward that's a nurse about what could be the cause.  After explaining that the pain had migrated up into his jaw, she said that to be safe, he should go to the emergency room because it might be a heart attack.  After lots of tests (and even more waiting) he was told that he wasn't experiencing any cardiological abnormalities and scheduled for even more test.

When I heard what had happened, I stopped by the family's home the next day to check in and drop off a pie.  While he and Lori were out, their son gave me a brief update that his dad was fine and thanked me for the treat.

After no additional updates, I emailed Mark on Friday to share my concern about his wellbeing and to see if he needed any help the following day.  He said he could use a hand and we made arrangements.

The next day, I was updated on his state of health: we don't know for sure what happened, but it looks like it was probably a torn shoulder or something similar.  The pain has come and gone since last Sunday with no real pattern, but it's been manageable.

After he told me what had happened, we did a few things around the house (prepared the lawn mowers for the season, replaced some air filters and made sure the AC still worked, etc.), but mostly we hung out.  We shared stories about being frustrated about going to the ER, I gave him some advice about his AC system (even though I'm still really new to the HVACR industry, I still know more than an average person off the street), and we just enjoyed each other's company.  Lori said that after the ordeal he had had, having a relaxing Saturday was probably exactly what Mark needed.

This was a great experience for me.  For the last two winters, I helped Mark winterize his pool and he paid me for my time.  I was unemployed both times, so I was there as an employee, at least in part.  This time, I was purely there as a friend.  No payment was offered and none was required.  I was merely there to help out a friend in need and it was a great experience.

Birthday 2015

Today is my birthday, but if you're reading this blog, you probably already knew that.

On Saturday, I celebrated by taking Ian to lunch.  That's right, I asked to buy lunch for my brother.  I've been living close to the edge of my ability to cover my expenses for so long that now that I have the means to pay for someone else's meal, I wanted to give it a try.  It wasn't bad; I'll have to do it again some time.

After lunch, we picked up Clara and Henry from their playdate and, after some running around outside with the dog, we went bowling.  I have to admit that it was kind of funny that, even with the bumpers up, Henry and Clara beat both Ian and I (for the record, I got last place).  It was a nice reminder that games, while competitive, are fun because of the people you're with, not because of your final score.

Finally, we had dinner back at their place followed by birthday cake.  Ian had asked me to make my own cake since I'm the baker, but that seemed a bit wrong; instead, I asked my good friend Lori Simcik to bake it for me and she enthusiastically agreed.  It was a delicious German Chocolate cake with old fashioned icing that's much better than the stuff you get from stores or restaurants these days.

Thank you to everyone that has, and surely will, send well wishes my way.  This birthday is during a transitionary time for me, which makes it all the more appropriate: after all, what is a birthday if not a transition from one year to the next?

More Than Friends

I stopped by the Simciks' home last night to drop something off and was invited inside.  I'm invited in pretty much any time I stop by for any reason, so I wasn't really surprised by it this time.  What I was surprised by was the fact that they had other members of their family over visiting and they were all sitting at the table, having just finished dinner.

I was really embarrassed for interrupting their time with family and said that I would be on my way, but they insisted that I sit down and join them for dessert.  I protested a little more, but before I knew what was going on, I was sitting at the table and meeting the other members of the family.  My simple drop-off turned into a nearly hour-long visit.  One of their daughters, who was visiting from college and I've talked with several times, even told me that she thinks of me as her brother.  I have never had any friends before where I was so welcomed by every member of the family that I'm practically a member myself.  And the best part is that the feeling is mutual.

I don't get see too many members of my actual family very often, so it's nice to know that I have another one so close by.