more snow & a little exam

Today I woke up at 5:22 like I always do on a weekday. This day was different though. I was super tired even though I fell asleep at 9:45PM. I needed more sleep. So, I kept hitting the snooze. I had hit it 2 times, and was going for the third when I suddenly got a text message. SCHOOL WAS CANCELED!!!! Ohh I was happy that I got to sleep in more, but kind of bummed that I didn't get to get any money. Well, work or no work, I still had a UROLOGY appointment to be at come 9:15AM. Well, I was a little late. But I made it. Now, I have been having some issues with peeing for a while. They are of course M/S related, but not a super big deal, so I have been putting this appointment off for quite some time now. Then, a different "issue" (also m/s & [otherwise] related) came up, so I just followed through with it. As I was in the exam room with a really cool doctor, I was informed that it would be in my best interest to do a prostate exam.....after I was informed of that information, my face looked something like this.Yes, I was not exactly excited to hear that news. But, this guy did not look like a creeper, and so I agreed. Now I know what "older" men speak of when they refer to this type of examination. It was not pleasent by any means, but not as horrifying as I have depicted it to be in my mental considerations of the past.This is the exam bed where it all took place. I took this picture to commerate the day that I had MY FIRST PROSTATE EXAM. Something sweet came out of the deal though. I got my question answered, and turns out it was almost exactly what I thought it would be. That is the good news. The awesome news came after the doc. asked about my health history. I had an opportunity to explain to him how my M/S came about, and some of the difficulties associated with it. When we were talking about possible medication I could take at a future time, I mentioned this to him, "well, I am not worried in the least at any of the outcomes, God is in control, and I am at perfect peace with that." I had a chance to tell him about a guy I talked to from Arizona on Monday who I met through my web-site survivingMS.com, who calls me occasionally because he needs support and someone to know what he is going through. I told the doctor I am always there for people who need someone to listen, and possibly some words of encouragement. The Doc. told me this, "Ya know, it is really good to hear that from you. You are {a something something} "I forget exact words," but then he told me that I made his day. He said he was extremely glad that he had met me, and shook my hand. It made my day that I made his day. That is a beautiful thing right there I tell you what.

When I was finished with the exam, my mom called. She wanted me to clear the driveway. I said, "sure thing" and headed home. As I was about to put on some boots and get to work. A lady from work called and said she needed me to come into work. When school cancels, there is one location that still has childcare. I got to work from 12:15-6PM. I actually got more hours than I would on a regular day. THAT WAS AWESOME!!!This was a picture of me driving to work. SNOW SNOW SNOW. God is so good, I am always taken by how good God is. Even when life sucks, God is so good. A good God is what I have.

my toof feewls fuanny

Most of the morning after work took place in the Library, but I forgot to go to take my phone this morning, so I didn't get to take a picture from the library. But, there were books, and some desks, and people around being quiet and what not.

After the jam session a.k.a. study session, I had to go to the dentist to get a filling. I so wish I would have had my phone, because there are no pictures better than dentist pictures than I like to share. When I left the dentist, my eye looked like this>>>I don't know why the heck it does this every once and a while. It just gets extremely bloodshot in one confined area, and stays that way for an extended period of time. Doesn't hurt, isn't dry or anything like that. Just gets really really bloodshot...very strange Also, my friggin mouth hurt like crazy. Silly filling had me feeling numb and enlarged, although one couldn't tell just by outward appearance. I took 2 pictures to illustrate what I am talking about.

This one is how I looked>>This one depicts how I felt>>>

After dentist, I went back home for a little bit more study time. And then headed back to work. At work we got some snow finally. I stayed an hour later than I am supposed to because it took so long for parents to get to school ta pick up their kids. I had to get home because I agreed to be a servor for my moms Christmas party for her *stitch group*(group of ladies/close friends that have been meeting for "ages" to talk, eat, and do crafts and what not). They all get each other X-Mas gifts, and instead of my mom getting the gal's physical gifts, she made them one amazing dinner. I served the food, wine, and was just a very handsome gentlemen to enjoy looking at. ;o)I snuck this picture while my mom was praying over dinner. They had a grand~ole~time tonight.

And of course, the SERVER!! Yes, literally feet away from the room where my mom and her friends were having dinner, I sat my phone down, struck a pose, and snapped a picture of myself to share with the world. SOAK IT UP!! Kidding, but seriously, just lap this up because it is filling. I'm just playing, but in all honesty, immensely enjoy this.

When I was dismissed I went over to Chris's new apartment. I did this for a couple of reasons.

• I wanted to drive in the snow
• I wanted to play GTA 4
• I wanted to give Chris some food that my mom made for her party, because he friggin loves my moms cooking (as does the greater majority of anyone who can taste)
• did I mention I love driving in snow?

So, yea, it was a good day.

SKI TRIP

This is what it looked like when we arrived to BOYNE. It was rocking, and there was so much snow I couldn't hardly believe it. We skied hard all day, and it was amazing. It felt so good to get on the hills.When we were done for the day, we headed to my friend Garry's house. Well, it was more of a cabin, actually it was completely a cabin. It wasn't 4 star accomodations, but worked perfectly well. I was forever grateful for Garry and his roomies to put us up for the evening. 7 guys in a tiny cabin would be overwhelming for most people, but they did it.

We decided that BOYNE didn't have the right stuff that we wanted to SKI. Some of the guys wanted to really hit up some terrain stuff. BOYNE, just didn't have enough open yet. So, for the second day of sking, we went to Crystal Mountain. We had to drive for about 1 1/2 hours to get to Crystal, and on the way there, we stopped in Traverse City (the city I lived in for about a year when I was going to school up in Michigan). We stopped at a MC Donalds that was right accross the street from the Grate Lakes Maritime Academy.

It was almost a strange feeling to see the old city and school. Brought back a lot of memories, and what not. The picture above sure does show how much snow they get up there in Michigan. The picture above shows the GLMA building. Behind it is the 225 foot training ship, State of Michigan. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it, because of time. When we got to Crystal Mountain, it was such a perfect day of ski/snowboarding. Everyone was happy, everyone got a long.


Now here is a video taken while we were at BOYNE. It shows how much fun I was having, and I think it portrays the connection between my friends and I. Sorry for those of you who can not watch YouTube videos. :-( It was just so much easier to upload it this way.

We drove home then.This is Jeremy. He was the driver for the trip. It was my dad's van, but I am not allowed to drive my parents vehicles. When I was 18, I had to sign a paper from their insurance company that said I would not touch their vehicles. So, Jeremy said he would do the driving.This is what it looked like most of the way home. It was crazy icy, and we plugged right on through. That was my SKI trip. It was totally fun, and I am extremely glad I went on it. I felt it was much....not needed, but possibly deserved. After all the hard work I put in at school this semester, it was nice to take a break.