Tuesday, December 23, 2003 :::

well, nearly 4 weeks and a kidney stone later, i'm finally finding time to update this beast. don't feel like going too far into the description of the hell that was my kidney stone attacks/surgery - most of you already know enough details to satisfy your curiosities. For those that do not, it all started on the Saturday of the FSU game:
kidney stone attack --> trip to ER --> wonderful drugs --> sent home
4 Days Later:
kidney stone attack --> trip to ER --> wait forever while uncontrollably vomitting --> trip to less-crowded ER --> wait forever again --> drugs relieve pain but turn me into Lucifer --> sent home
Next Day:
constant, extreme kidney pain --> 9-11 --> rescue unit --> drugs at ER --> incredibly frustrating racist black people on other half of my room at ER --> admittance to hospital
While admitted at Shands, I had my kidney stone blasted by a little laster that was inserted through my peehole; a stint placed in my ureter to keep it from swelling shut; a catheter shoved up the same hole, which delivered the WORST pain I have ever felt in my life; and enjoyed the morphine and various other painkillers that were served to me through my IV. After being discharged, the 'rents took me back to Orlando to recover. That night was possibly the worst night of my life. Pain, dizziness, constant vomitting, and an absolute lack of strength kept me up all night. I shit you not - I was so weak that I could hardly raise my head, nevermind walk. When morning came, mom and dad took me to the kidney stone center at Florida Hospital (I could probably drive there while blindfolded at this point) where they treated me amazingly well, took excellent care of me, and admitted me to the hospital. 2 days and much pain medication later, I had the stint removed, and almost immediately, all was well with the world again. If you would have seen me, you would have sworn that a different person had been in that hospital bed just a day earlier. Speaking of "you," I can't thank the few of you who visited me, whether in Gainesville or in Orlando, enough. Laura, Kevin, Will, Nicole, Juan, Leslie, Grandma, Miss Doreen, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Cindy, and especially mom and dad; words can't express the love and appreciation that I feel for each of you. I pray that none of you ever has to experience the sort of thing that I went through, but know that if you did, I would be there for you in a heartbeat - even if only to hold your hand.
SO, there are a few lessons to be learned from my little story, from which we can all benefit. Lesson 1: Kidney stones cause more pain than any person should ever have to experience. Lesson 2: DRINK THE RECOMMENDED DAILY AMOUNT OF WATER. Lesson 3: Emergency rooms suck - especially Shands'. Shands as a whole is pretty shitty. Stay away from there if you can help it.
In conclusion, I was told that I still have 3 small stones...so I'm hoping that they'll either disintegrate or pass without much pain. What can I say? I guess I'm a stoner for life.

SO MUCH TO SAY. Christmas, as always, was excellent...the main prize was a digital camera, which I returned for a different one...which was itself returned for yet another one. Anyway, the camera I wound up with is supergreat. I look forward to taking some carayzay pictures of all you kids in the near future...and then posting them on the net for all to see...so be sure to check the site regularly. Okay, fine...I'm half-kidding. Half.

Return of the King was, of course, sensational. I'm not going to say anything else about it - go see it if you haven't already...and if you want to read about it, visit Frank's blog and look for his review. Very nice work...always high-quality penmanship from my #1 dawg.

New Years Eve is upon us. Pretty nutty, eh? 2004. I feel like 2003 was a pretty full year, though...what do you kids think? I mean, I'm usually quick to say "man, this year flew by," but I'm hesitant this time around. Here's hoping that this feeling becomes a trend. If I don't see or talk to you, have a safe, ass-kickin' welcoming into the New Year!

And now, the time has come to get a little more serious than usual. There are times in every person's life when he or she must accept certain truths...truths that, when accepted, can change one's life dramatically. I know that this truth will be difficult for some of you to accept, but I feel that it is only right to be open and honest with you all, and trust to hope that after sharing this with you, our frienships will remain intact, untarnished - perhaps stronger, even. My friends, the truth is...
Alan is no longer single.
Take a moment to allow this to sink in...then recompose yourselves.
L to the A to the U R A has filled the position, so to speak. We're the best of friends, as most of you know, so it works out beautifully. I'm one lucky kid... - I feel that whenever I spend time with her, I become a better person. She's an amazing girl, whom I admire in many ways, and I'm grateful for anything and everything that the future holds for us. I'll be missing you hardcore tonight... - good luck with everything on Friday. See you soon!

What else, before I close this thing out... - bought the "Waking Life" dvd yesterday for $5.99 at Best Buy - what a movie, what a movie. Nothing else like it. Let's see...I'm SERIOUSLY digging the new single from Lost Prophets, entitled "Last Train Home." Do yourself a favor and download this rockin' track. The record comes out February 3rd, if I'm not mistaken. February 6th = Anberlin at the Social with Further Seems Forever, Watashi Wa and a couple others - CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS SHOW! Let me know if you want to come along...and if you don't...well...you're stupid. That's all there is to it, really. But I still love you.

Alright...I totally left out any details regarding my 4 day stay at Disney World... - to sum it up, I had an awesome time with the family...the fireworks were incredible...and overall, I felt like a little kid again. All 4 parks were excellent. Despite the corruption and whathaveyou surrounding Disney, I am and hopefully always will be a huge fan.

That about does it for this year in posts... - it's been a decent year, wouldn't you say? Visit again soon for some sort of year-in-review...if not wholistically, then at least regarding music and movies. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

love,
aj

::: posted by AJBrotz at 3:47 PM

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