Thursday, January 10, 2008

Results show

Well I guess I never posted a follow up. Surgery went great. I went home late Friday feeling no pain. I had a catheter with a pain pump and lots of meds. I was also sent home with what I'm calling my torture device. It's a continuous passive motion machine. Shots with blood thinners and lots of other goodies.

I've been doing really well. Went to PT yesterday and she was pleased with where I was comparatively. I've been home all week. At this point I'm going a little stir crazy. But otherwise doing well.

2:07 PM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Friday, January 04, 2008

It's go time

My mom, Dezi and I are sitting in the waiting room. Today is my knee surgery. I'm nervous, but ready for this part to be over with. Clint (our youth minister) should be here to pray with us shortly. Wish me luck.

5:57 AM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Cool Yule

It's been a busy couple of months. As we're looking at wrapping up 2007 it's amazing to think back on this year with quite a few changes.

Let's look back on some of the things that happened this year:

• We started the year in London on our first trip to Europe
• We bought our first house
• We got a dog (Roxie)
  
• Dezi and I celebrated 2 years of marriage (I still think she got the raw end of the deal)
  
• I turned 30 and we celebrated all the dignity of the occasion with a good romp of Whirlyball
  
• Dezi switched graduate schools
  
• I changed jobs yet again

While it's been a busy and challenging year 2008 is already gearing up to be at least as interesting. I'm scheduled for surgery on January 4th to repair some torn cartilage in my left knee as well as a partially torn ACL. This is my first big injury. My mind races with what could happen, but I want to get back to doing the things I enjoy... particularly jiu-jitsu and this is the only way that can happen. I've also been instructed to lose weight to help my knee and will be making more of a concerted effort this year to make that happen.

For the time being we are in Abilene for a few days to visit with my parents. We go back home on Sunday since I was supposed to work on Monday. We were given Monday off after all, but the holiday plans had already been made in advance.

There are a few things that I would like to accomplish this year. Surgery and recovery may delay it, but I'd like to try to find the time and money to go to either Disney World or Paris this year. Dezi and I have been talking about taking steps for future Rollins. You can never really be ready for things like that, but I'd like to feel like we've done some of the things we want to ahead of time.

9:53 AM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

This will be brief

Day two down. Continuing to field questions from old job while trying to wrap my mind around the new one. I have the coolest wife in the world because she went to the store and bought me the two-disc collector set of transformers that folds out into a 2 foot tall robot. Lot's going on, but things are good.

7:41 AM Posted by Big Dave | 1 Thoughts

Friday, October 12, 2007

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was my last day at a job that I loved, but came to hate. Ironically I'm still going to be doing some work for them, but as a contractor and on my own terms. I start a new job on Monday.

I have given heart and soul to the product I was working on. I learned an awful lot. As dumb as it sounds, but it was my baby. I took pride in what I was able to accomplish and what it had done. But there had been changes and it wasn't a good environment for me any more.

I wanted to work today, but it just wasn't happening. We went to Toys 'R Us for lunch and I got some PlayDo. I was looking for something like the squishy ball that I'd throw at people around the office. I put little notes on the PlayDo and gave one to everyone.

I walked out just as happy as I could be. Probably as stress free as I've been in a while. On to bigger and better things.

7:27 PM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Phoenix Tears

I've been chastised by several people for not updating this site. Truth is I've found few things that I want to share with the world. I've been unhappy with myself and the world around me. That's really ironic because things are better now than they perhaps have ever been.

Dezi and I moved into our first house in April. In June we got a dog, a little 15 lb. silky terrier dubbed, Roxanne Cyrano Rollins (Steve Martin reference in there somewhere) that answers to whatever we call her. We have a new youth minister at the church that is terrific with the kids. I'm continuing to train Jiu-Jitsu 4-5 times a week. Work has been steady, but not the best environment.

I've been questioning a lot of things in my life. I've been upset with certain aspects. I've come to realize work is a toxic environment.

While training in February I managed to tweak my knee. It was the first time I'd been hurt. Since then I've worked to lose weight and rehabilitate my knee, but I continue to aggravate it every few weeks. I wrap it up like a mummy with two ace bandages and a sleeve before I train, but I still manage to do stupid things. When I do I'm out for at least a week. And I know it sounds stupid to be upset that I can't train, but it's so much more than just the physical exertion. It's the competition, it's the fellowship, it's the growth and learning. It's crazy to be that wrapped up in something, but Monday through Thursday for two hours a night it's what I want to do and when I have physical limitations it's frustrating.

Since December the office has been its own melodrama. I think the common term is a culture shift. Management has brought in some new people at the top and completely changed the atmosphere. In some ways it's been good, but more often it's been bad. Now there seems to be a mass exodus.

Dezi walked in to see what I was working on and had her own requests to add to my blog. She wanted me to talk about my 30th birthday party and the poster she made for me. August 6th marked 30 years of terrorizing the world. And how would you expect to mark such a dignified occasion? Well we played Whirlyball. If you're not familiar with Whirlyball imagine two teams riding in bumper cars with wiffleball rackets in a court the size of a basketball court aiming at a plate sized circle high on the wall. It's ridiculous but a lot of fun. Dezi spent a lot of time and effort putting together letters from friends and relatives. She and my mom conspired to find pictures of me. Dezi put together a poster with pictures including many of my friends and family members. She brought it to the office, but I'll admit I was a little embarrassed and sent it home with her. Still it was very sweet and I appreciate it.

8:18 PM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts