Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Contemplations of Food Poisoning

My wife was out of town, and I usually ate dinner after an hour and a half of Aikido practice. On my way home I bought some spices, nuts, strawberries, yogurt, and milk. I spent a good bit of time in the kitchen making a mix for a test coffee to try in the morning when I realized it was well past dinner time. I planted a few of the strawberry seeds and sliced up the rest on top of yogurt: quick dinner.

I woke up just before midnight and barely made it to the toilet in time to empty my stomach. Confused and a little dazed, I cleaned up and went back to bed--only to return in a few minutes. I called my wife, and after hearing me dry heave a few times she called a friend of ours to be there (and take me to the hospital if the situation didn't improve).

Mike arrived in time for another hour and a half of puke (water and any remaining bile) and diarrhea. He encouraged me to keep drinking water, and eventually the dry heaves were more than 15 minutes apart--I was so exhausted that I slept on the bathroom floor between vomits.

I switched to Gatorade when I knew some of it would be ingested, and around 2:30, I went to sleep for the remainder of the night.

I called in sick Wednesday. The day was filled with sleeping, watching environmentalist documentaries, and trying to get food and liquid to stay down. Fortunately, I only lost my lunch once. I had a few mostly lucid thoughts throughout the whole ordeal.

Strawberries. My first thought is that strawberries shouldn't cause such long lasting pain and suffering. They're a very tasty treat that I purchase rarely due to price and availability.

Breathing. It's amazing how little control you have over anything when you're dry heaving into a toilet bowl. First I tried to stop the heaving--no luck. Second, I tried controlling my breathing (ie. actually taking breaths) with only a little success. Helplessness is a harsh teacher.

The ER. We decided that it'd be ok to go to urgent care, but they close at midnight. We decided to wait and see if I came near death before going to the ER (I was anyway). I went there last summer from a major concussion and received very sluggish and unhelpful care. I suppose their definition of emergency is a bit different than mine.

Loneliness. Human interaction is vital to recovery. Talking to Becca on the phone was helpful--I didn't feel like a sickly man dying alone in a house. I had more hope when Mike arrived. We didn't talk much, but just knowing that if I went unconscious--he would do something--was reassuring.

Monday, March 7, 2011

How to make a bed frame

1. Make a list of supplies

Slats (full size 54"): 50" x 10, 1x3s
Width bar: 42" x 2, 2x6s
Length bar (full size 75"): 70" x 2, 2x6s
Legs: 24" x 4, 4x4s
Screws: 3" #10  x 8 and 2" #10  x A_lot

2. Get the supplies from Home Depot

Make sure to have the guys at Home Depot do all the cutting and measuring, it makes everything else easier. Explain what you're trying to do and ask for suggestions on improvements while keeping the cost low. Remember, you can do it, they can help--thanks John.

3. Put the pieces on the floor


4. Put together the frame


5. Measure to make sure it's square


6. Screw on the slats


7. Flip it and add legs


8. Admire your handiwork


9. Sweep, put away tools, and put the bed on the frame


10. Sleep.

Enjoy your new bed frame.