It's been a while since I've written a blog entry. I guess a lot has not changed in the past 6 weeks when I broke my leg on New Year's day. It's kind of crazy how a slip and fall can cause as much damage as it does. Not only did I break my fibula, but I also tore some ligaments. I had to have surgery in order to put everything back in place. This included putting in a plate with some screws.
Due to the swelling, I was first put in a splint and then told to keep my leg elevated in this special pillow. I am currently still using this pillow.
I am happy for what I do for a living, I am able to work remotely just as I would be if I were in the office. This really helps pass the time. I even volunteered to take all the on-call time and do any after-hours work that needs to be done. I might as well earn comp time while I can't use it and have a nice bank of it when I can. I currently sit and sleep in a lazy boy that is stationed in my brother's old room (since it was easier to get the lazy boy in there). I can put my work laptop on the arm rest and then work from there.
I am happy I also brought my Mac laptop. It is much lighter and easier to maneuver so I use that often to keep myself occupied.
I actually transitioned everything from my old PC laptop. It was getting old and is much slower than the Mac. It is also very bulky overall.
Since this is a Macbook Air, the hard drive space is limited. I store all my files on an external hard drive.
Now it's kind of interesting how people think I'm crazy for not going stir crazy, especially since prior to this I was putting on thousands of miles traveling. Between working full time, being on call the whole time (which really doesn't really entail much), doing my MBA class, and then working on some side projects, I keep pretty busy. I also got a subscription to Safari Books Online, which allows unlimited technical and business books. I have made myself a bigger list of projects that I have time for.
Currently one of the projects involves this blog. I am looking to take the GPS coordinates from the Garmin VIRB and insert them into the video with a Google Maps overlay. Right now I've got to the point where I can map the coordinates separately on Google Maps.
The above was my drive from Thunder Bay to Nipigon. I was able to overlay the map with the video I made:
To get this to work, I am learning JavaScript. One obstacle I am running into at my parent's house is their DSL connection sucks. I guess that comes with the territory of being out in the country. It'll probably be a much later time, when I'm back in Texas, when I'll get everything uploaded.
Besides working on my projects, Jordy, keeps me occupied.
And then just lays on the bed next to the lazy boy.
Occasionally, she likes her belly rubbed.
Sometimes when I get bored, I'll get out the RC Humvee. For some reason, it drives her nuts. Other excitement involves me trying to take a bath. I can't get my cast wet so I have to wrap it in a plastic bag to keep it dry.
I then sit on a lawn chair in the bathtub with it propped up so the water can't run to it. I get to use an old milk pitcher to pour water on myself carefully. This is obviously a royal pain in the butt. Although, when it's done, it is definitely a good feeling.
One thing is, I don't really have to worry about going out when it gets crappy outside.
I only get out once every other week for my checkups at the doctor. I do find it ironic how they have these feet things and tell you where to stand when checking in so the person ahead of you has privacy.
Going to the Clinic is the rare time I do get to see my other foot. I can definitely see the incisions from my surgery.
When asked for a color for a cast, I choose orange each time. One thing I notice is how close people get to it when I'm at the Clinic so I might as well use the same philosophy as we do hunting and make it orange so everyone can see it.
So right now I'm at the halfway point. It's kind of crazy it's already been 6 weeks, but also sucks there is another 6 weeks to go before I'll be walking and ultimately able to get back to Texas. I guess, out of all places for this to happen, it was probably best that it happened up in Wisconsin so I could be by my parents, who have definitely helped out a ton. The treatment at Marshfield Clinic has also been stellar so that definitely helps with the recovery process. I wish I could say the same thing about the health insurance company, but there is enough for its own blog entry there.
Being by myself in Texas would have been interesting. The one thing that sucks about the distance between here and Texas is I really miss my girlfriend. I'm happy we live in an age with Skype and text messaging because it helps, but I definitely want to get back to Texas as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I guess it's just a matter of keeping busy and growing out my mountain man beard.
