The butcher's bill.

My post this morning got me thinking about all the injuries I sustained playing rugby for 12 years. so top to bottom here they are (this list does not include stitches or any "owie" that did not require medical attention of some sort).

Concussions (3): Three that were verified by a doctor and ended up with me getting a cat scan. There were several other knock outs, black outs and times when I got my bell rung.
Mandatory 2 weeks out.

Broken nose (twice): the first time I broke it in Aspen, CO. Damn thing bled for 36 hours. I set both of these myself, and so didn't technically require medical attention.. got it pretty straight too. No time lost.

Chipped teeth: my dentist, not happy about my rugby career. No time lost.

Dislocated Jaw (3x): see above. No time lost.

Torn Middle Trapezius: I considered myself lucky to tear a muscle here. I got High-lowed at a practice, and ended up landing on the left side of my head and rolling forward. So that my nose touched my right pec. I thought I'd broken my neck. Out for a season.

Seperated AC joint: Hit a steel sprinkler head with my shoulder during a game at KU. They have better fields now, but in the old days, this kind of stuff happened all the time. missed 3 full weeks.

Seperated SC joint: One of the most painful injuries I've had. This is one of the reasons my time in Chicago was so miserable. Took six weeks before I could do much of anything.

Torn Rotator cuff: this one ended my career.. once I decided to see a Doc about it. I played with the torn cuff for 2 years, mostly because I knew it would be the end. It's been 3 years since the surgeries to repair it and I'm still dealing with it. Two weeks out with in initial injury, end of career after repair.

Broken ribs: 2 or 3. Quoth the doc "Looks like you've broken a few ribs here." I didn't ask for a count. The pisser of this one was that I couldn't leave the game. I played 10 odd minutes of rugby with broken ribs because we didn't have any subs left. Luckily this happened in the last game of the year, so I had plenty of time to heal.

Torn Hammy (grade 2): Would that I discovered foam rolling when this happened. Missed 2 weeks.

Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain: This one was down right stupid. I rolled my ankle playing ultimate at a summer practice. I woke up the next morning with my ankle purple with a knot the size of a grapefruit on the outside of it. Spent 2 weeks on crutches.

Achilles Tendinitis: painful and annoying. See below.

Plantar Fasciitis: one of the most annoying injuries ever. Never hurt so badly that I missed practice let alone a game, but always hurt. I ended up taping my feet for the last two years I played.

September morn..

I am fighting off a cold.. but otherwise, it's fall in the northwest, which is a good thing.

Weekend recap:
friday:
Morning: I got up and rowed the triple with two women from the boathouse. It was actually pretty fun. I am a little gun-shy about rowing. I am genuinely afraid to hurt my back again. I have made so much progress. I am healthy for the first time in... 10 years? and I really am afraid to jeopardize that, it has taken me just on 3 years to recover from my shoulder injury. Part of me feels like I'm just being a baby, and to suck it up and get back on the water, but that part of me tends to sleep late, and the big baby part of me turns the alarm clock off while he's still sleeping. I have to get over that. I am hoping that the mobility work I'm doing to improve my squat will translate to the boat, so my back won't be in danger, but who knows. Maybe I just need to find something else.

That night:
Went out to sushi with my darling wife, that was fun.
Came home and watched The New World. Well written, well acted, and the absolute worst editing job I could imagine. It was awful. Two hours of my life, and several good performances RUINED.

Saturday: Slept in. Cleaned house, and watched Hoodwinked. Good story, funny bits, some good characters (I loved Twitchy the squirrel), piss poor animation. Worth putting on your netflix queue, but don't pay money to see it.
Did speed squat workout:
10x3@185+chains.

6x singles @ 315 deadlifts (technique)
I worked on getting my hips into it, pushing my heels into the floor instead of "jerking" the weight. Felt really smooth by the end, should help me move some more poundage.

Saturday night: Met some friends out for Thai food in Fremont. then went to the Wurst Festival in Wallingford. Which is really just a small church fair near my house. Loads of fun, we're going back next year for sure.

Sunday: The wife raced at the Row for the cure. I slept in. Watched some Survivorman. I was going to have a picnic with some friends, but it rained. So the wife and I went to cafe Ladro and read and had some of the best Punkin pie ever.
We bought some groceries. I baked some chicken for the wife, some salmon for myself, and roasted some pumpkin, some mushrooms, onions, and asparagus for supper. It was a nice winter meal. We were/are both a bit under the weather, so it was pretty quiet around the old homestead.
I hope you had a good weekend.
Mahalo.

short one.

Was in Vegas yesterday, lots of blog fodder there, and I have a few book reviews to do, but work is insane, as is the job search. More on all of that later.
Mahalo!

Choices.

About 9-10 years ago, I got my first real "grown-up" job. I was working for a financial data company based in St. Louis. Right after I was hired my company bought a New York based company and sent me up there to learn what I could and bring the support of that company's products back to the river city. I lived in Jersey City and got on the train at harbor Pointe, and got off at the World trade center. I ate breakfast, and lunch there from time to time, even got my hair cut at the WTC. From there I'd walk a few blocks to the office. I lived out there for several months, and loved it. I got to go to a ticker tape parade when the Yankees won the series, I had my first sushi in NYC, my first falafel, and Thai food. I went to CBGB and spend god knows how much money on records, and fred perry shirts. It was a great experience. I went back to STL, and after a year or so was offered a promotion. I could spend two weeks a month in New York and two weeks at home. I wanted a more technical job. I wanted a job that didn't involve direct customer interaction, or a button-down shirt and tie. I turned it down even though it would mean less money. I got the job I wanted after a few more months. The guy that took the first job, Jason, is a great guy. He's much more of a salesman than I ever was, but a little flighty. The account I turned down was Cantor Fitzgerald.
6 years ago today, the account manager for Cantor Fitz had a 9 am appointment at their offices in the World Trade Center. Jason overslept, and it probably saved his life. If I had taken that job, would I have overslept? That one choice probably saved my life. I think about that choice every September 11th. I guess it goes to show, take the job you want.. the money's not worth it.

Next stop recipe-ville.

Roasted Tomato and Crab soup.

tomatoes (I used about 18-20 golf ball sized tomatoes)
2 bell peppers
Crab stock 2 quarts (I made mine the last time we had crab)
apple cider vinegar and/or honey
beer or white wine 24oz
Plain greek yogurt 1 medium container
tomato sauce
1 large shallot
crab meat (a small handful per bowl)
Paprika (smoked is better than not) a good half dozen shakes.

Inspired by T-rif's tomato pasta I decided to do a tomato soup.
Roast the tomatoes for 4 hours at 300. Then set the oven to broil for about 1-2 minutes or so. Pull the tomatoes and put the bell peppers in to roast.
Put the crab stock and beer/wine (I was going to use white wine, but we were out) on the stove on medium/low in a stock pot, and add the shallots (chopped fine) Let this cook down for 20-30 minutes.
Add the tomatoes.
peel the bell peppers, coarsely chop and add to pot.
Add the tomato sauce, and paprika.
Take the immersion blender to this mix. ( strain if you want.. I didn't bother)
Add the yogurt (or sour cream if you can't find greek yogurt)
stir and taste.
add S&P to taste.
If it's too sweet add some apple cider vinegar, if it's too tart add some honey. If it's just right you can add a little of both, or neither.
When serving add a good handful of crab to the center of each bowl. You can also add a small glob of yogurt.
I made grilled cheese sandwiches with Gouda that went really well with this.