[Author’s note: this is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek rendition of the last three weeks. While I am thankful for all the things listed, these weeks were in all seriousness pretty awful.]

I’m thankful that my company arranged for an intra-office soccer tournament for this summer. We got to be arranged into teams and play against each other in regular matches. Turns out my weekly pickup games are really very different from real full-field games. I played my last game a bit over three weeks ago.

I’m thankful that while my back felt quite a bit stiffer the week following that last game, I was still able to come into the office and get work done, though I did have to work from home on Wednesday.

I’m thankful that my back was well enough that Saturday that I was able to go take part in a boating activity in the morning, go mountain biking later that afternoon, and have friends over that evening. (Detailed in last week’s my previous post.)

I’m thankful that my work arranged to send me down to Mountain View for a couple days the following week, so I could meet the members of a team I’ve been working closely with the past few months.

I’m thankful that before heading out to the airport on Sunday afternoon, I was able to clean my apartment now that my roommate had flown the coop.

I’m thankful that when I arrived at the terminal, I was able to hobble to the gate agent desk just in time to snag a voucher in exchange for catching a delayed flight. Instead of my 3:30pm flight, I’d leave at 9pm.

I’m thankful that I was able to find a metal bench to lie down on near my new departure gate, so I could be within short walking distance of the plane when it was time to board, as walking was very difficult and slow for me at that time.

I’m thankful that, once the seats were full and it was clear that Delta had once again overbooked this new outbound flight, they were generous enough to offer $1000 to the first person to volunteer to take a flight first thing in the morning. I was thankful for the prior experience that told me that while I was in a great deal of pain in that chair, I’d certainly be well the next morning if I could just make it down to my hotel. (Spoiler-alert: I’m now not thankful I didn’t take the $1000.)

I’m thankful that my rental car had built-in GPS. My phone’s GPS has been obnoxiously sketchy, especially at night, and especially with cloud or forest cover. Successfully navigating to my hotel through a dark rain storm wasn’t in the cards for my poor device.

I’m thankful that I was finally able to find a parking lot to pull into while I figured out the horrifyingly complex user interface to my car’s GPS.

I’m thankful that the attendants of that airport parking lot were patient while I tried backing into a position that wouldn’t block cars trying to exit said parking lot. I’m thankful my car had a backup camera, as I was not gonna be turning around in my seat any time soon.

I’m thankful that when I made it to my hotel it was no longer raining, as the 300 feet I had to walk from my car to the front door took a very long time to traverse.

I’m thankful that my hotel room was on the first floor, so I wouldn’t have to navigate stairs. In fact it was the closest possible room to the front entrance.

I’m thankful that the next morning, while I couldn’t bend my back hardly at all, I was able to take a shower and finagle my way around the hotel room to get dressed. I had to be quite inventive, but I found a way to leverage the arms of the couch to get my socks on, even while I couldn’t touch my toes in any way shape or form.

I’m thankful that Google had a wellness center nearby, staffed by a team of doctors, that had an opening that very morning due to a late cancellation. I’m thankful they were able to prescribe cyclobenzaprine and naproxen.

I’m thankful the wellness center was attached to a cafe, where I was able to hobble over and get some hot breakfast.

I’m thankful I was able to make it to the office where worked the team I was there to meet, and that I was able to successfully mask the extent of my condition for the duration of that brief meet-and-greet.

I’m thankful I was able to find a couch to lie down on and work for a while.

I’m thankful that while my condition somehow worsened after lying down, I was able to puzzle out a way to rise from the couch and collect my belongings.

I’m thankful for the offer of assistance from a passing wheelchair-bound employee who noticed my slow and painful progress to the elevator. He was far more mobile than I.

I’m thankful there was a cafe on the ground floor of the building, where I was able to snag a lunch before navigating back to my car and heading off to a pharmacy.

I’m thankful that the pharmacy had a chair for me to wait in while they fulfilled the order, though that was hardly preferable to standing at that point. And I’m thankful it only took ten minutes.

I’m thankful for the bed I was able to finally crash on. I’m thankful that, prior to that point, I hadn’t fallen over, since I really think I would’ve had to parrot the famous commercial – “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

I’m thankful for the understanding of the team I had met when I had to admit that I wouldn’t be able to join them for lunch or any further meetings that day, due to my condition.

I’m thankful that I was able to order some great pizza delivery. I’m thankful that although the delivery man failed to follow my instructions to ask the front desk agent to let him in to my room, a quick call to the front desk got someone there right away.

I’m thankful that the front desk agent who arrived was gracious enough to acquiesce to my very awkward request to fetch me a glass of water from the sink, so I could continue taking my pills throughout the rest of the night.

I’m very thankful for my parents, who called around and arranged for local priesthood holders to come to my hotel room and give me a blessing.

I’m thankful that the next morning, while I wasn’t noticeably better, I was able to find the determination to get myself dressed and out the door. Putting on my socks only took 15 minutes of finagling. Getting the rest of my things together was equally puzzling. (“Lessee, I can kick this stuff on the floor over to the foot of my bed, flop down on the bed, then wiggle over and grab the stuff off the floor. Brilliant!”)

I’m thankful that I was able to get myself to the airport rental car return port. I’m thankful that once the staff there were made aware of my condition, they got someone to drive me to the terminal.

I’m thankful that while I lost my driver’s license, I happen to carry around my old-and-expired Utah driver’s license in my backpack, which the gate agent was happy to accept.

I’m thankful that I was able to find a horizontal surface to lie on within eyesight of the gate, as I was very early.

I’m thankful that once someone did show up, I was able to explain my situation and get upgraded to the row just behind first class, with gobs of legroom.

I’m thankful that this flight was sparsely populated, and the seat next to me was empty. This let me hunch over sideways and try and satisfy my back’s insistence that I straighten out.

I’m thankful that I was able to make it from the Seattle airport to an urgent care and rapidly admitted.

I’m thankful that I was prescribed some really heavy-hitting drugs – oxycodone, some steroidal anti-inflammatory, and a strong muscle relaxant.

I’m thankful that, at the pharmacy where I was to collect said drugs, it only took six or seven minutes of rifling through my belongings to find my insurance card, which I’d had to use not one hour prior to get admitted to the urgent care. I was also able to find my driver’s license, which I hadn’t actually lost.

I’m thankful that the oxycodone took rapid effect.

I’m so thankful that my family arrived in town the next day. They immediately set about putting my place back together, cleaning and doing dishes, the whole nine yards.

I’m thankful that I was able to stand long enough to play narrator for a game night at my place that evening.

I’m thankful that my brother’s childhood friend came into town the following day. While I was out of commission, they could go adventuring together. It was awesome hearing about Hayden’s 50-mile bike race.

I’m thankful that I was feeling well enough to conduct a tour of my office, which I’d been looking forward to for some time.

I’m thankful for all the food my folks left me. It was enough to subsist on while I was essentially bedridden for the following week. I made it in to one and a half days of work, but couldn’t sit long enough to be effective much more than that.

I’m thankful that my manager has been out of town this entire time, and has another half week of vacation. He’s a great manager and wouldn’t have any issues with the time I’ve been spending home, but it’s nice not to have this issue front-and-center. And I’m thankful that work has slowed down some, with not much to do that requires heavy coding.

I’m thankful that my bed’s padding is great. And I’m thankful for YouTube fail videos, to help pass the time. Though I ended up sort of envying the people in those clips – sure they got hurt, but they got right back up, no back pain! Superpowered, I tell ya.

I’m thankful that when I called to schedule a doctor’s appointment on Thursday after showing little improvement, they were able to get me in the same day. They nearly turned me away after I told them I’d been on hydrocodone – normally they don’t admit new patients currently on pain meds like that. But when I told them I’d stopped taking it four days prior, that did the trick.

I’m thankful that the doctor ordered an x-ray and referred me to a spine specialist, who I was able to see the very next morning.

I’m thankful that when I was gearing up to ask how to pronounce the doctor’s name – as it was some Asian name I’d heard a couple times but hadn’t internalized – I happened to notice his name printed on a piece of paper I was holding, and realized that I wouldn’t have to ask his pronunciation at all – I eat at a snack bar of the same name every summer in Grand Lake! Thanks for the visit, Dr. Miyauchi!

I’m thankful that I was feeling well enough to shuffle over to the imaging facility across the freeway. I’m thankful that their waiting area was swanky enough to have a nice couch I could crash on while I waited to be admitted, though I admit the image of a scraggly-faced dude lying on a couch clutching a plastic bag of pill bottles did affect the ambience.

I’m thankful that I was able to shuffle from there down to a nearby McDonald’s for lunch, though that proved to be a mistake – Wendy’s is the far superior option when going for grilled chicken burger.

I’m thankful that the specialist I saw Friday morning was able to interpret the x-rays taken the previous day. Though unfortunately they came back completely normal. So, still no idea what was wrong. The specialist listed a slipped/herniated disc as a leading theory, but since I wasn’t exhibiting any nerve-related symptoms – normal reflex response, no shooting pains – it wasn’t a sure bet. He prescribed physical therapy, and if in two weeks I showed no improvement, he’d order an MRI. (Whatever happened to CAT scans? Do they still do those?) I really really hoped physical therapy was effective, as I had to be on a flight back home in two weeks, where I’d hoped to be back to my normal, mobile self.

I’m thankful that the cold symptoms I started exhibiting that weekend never blew up into anything too bad.

I’m thankful that I didn’t have to wait *too* long to get into physical therapy, they were able to see me first thing Monday morning.

I’m thankful that I live very close to a real smorgasbord of medical facilities – none of the offices I’d visited thus far had been longer than a six minute drive from my apartment.

I’m thankful that the physical therapist who examined me on Monday was extremely proficient. He had me do a few physical exercises just to gauge my condition, then had me lie on my stomach while he prodded my spine. “Hmm, yes, I believe you’ve got yourself a herniated disc on… yeah, your L5-S1 vertebrae, the lowest one on your spine.” He ran me through a few stretches to do every day, then got me going on one of those electro-stimulator machines for a while. He set me up for six weeks of biweekly visits.

I’m thankful that after doing these stretches for a couple days, my back is So. Much. Better. I can actually reach my toes to put my socks on in the morning. In fact most of my pain is not from my back anymore, but from a hamstring that’s bothered me on-and-off for years, and which has been triggered by what I think is simply my abnormal walking from this condition.

I’m thankful that I was able to work a full day today, taking periodic breaks to just lie on my stomach and stretch. I’m not out of the woods yet, but the trees are clearing.

I’m very thankful for the food they serve at the office. While my stockpile has been great, you just need to spend a week cooped up in doors with not a ton of variety to really appreciate that perk.

I’m thankful I have a job that allows me the flexibility (hardy har) I’ve needed to deal with this issue. My team members have been very accommodating when I’ve run into issues getting around the office.

I’m very thankful for the friends that have dropped by with meals or simply company, to watch movies. A good bunch of peeps up here.

I’m thankful for the perspective this has given me on those who deal with this sort of thing on the regular. It’s remarkable what people end up powering through as our bodies degenerate. (And it’s a not-so-nice premonition for what my back might do to me when I grow up.)

Finally, I’m grateful for all the thoughts and prayers directed towards me over the last few weeks. Thank you all.

On Monday I was playing in one of our “office soccer league” games. It’d been a while since I’d played, since last time I pulled a couple muscles immediately after starting. Well, it happened again, though not as bad as last time; was at least able to finish out the game on the field.

After the game I was feeling a bit stiff. By the end of the work day I was having serious flexibility issues. My lower back was not cooperating. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and I recalled that it lasted on the order of three days or so.

On Tuesday I really wasn’t feeling like going in to work, but there was a training session being offered that I needed to take, and they only offer it every several months or so. So in I went, took the training, did some work, headed home to lie down.

On Wednesday I decided to work from home. Spent most of the day on my back. That day I learned that a team in Mountain View that I support would benefit from my physical presence, so I booked a ticket to head down and see them. Had no idea how long I’d be useful, so to be safe I arranged to head down Sunday afternoon and return Wednesday.

That evening my roommate had some people over for an acoustic jam session. One of the songs they played was Hero by Enrique Iglesias. It “struck a chord” with me and I knew I’d seen a video of that song somewhere, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was. Some kind of duet video that… featured missionaries? This bugged me like crazy, till I took a gander through my old mission videos and found a night where six of us were sending one of us off and had some fun with a guitar and impromptu choreography. The videos were ensconced in what we colloquially referred to as The Vault, where the records of all our… questionable antics were kept.

It was now midnight, but I had such a blast looking through these old vids that I put a few of them up on my server and sent a link out to the missionaries on Facebook. Hadn’t chatted with these guys in the seven years since I got back from the mission. Stayed up till 1 or 2, reminiscing like crazy. Ahh, good times, good times. In fact the chat has kept on going for the last several days, lots to catch up on.

(If you have Plex access the videos in question will be put up shortly, they deserve to be preserved 🙂 If not, and you really wanna see them, shoot me an email.)

Thursday was work followed by lying around, back still acting up. Friday I found out that the issue I was heading down to California to help resolve had resolved itself. I was about to cancel my flight, but my boss said I may as well head down and meet the team in person anyways, since I work so closely with them. Paying the ticket change fee was annoying – more than half the cost of the ticket itself – but it wasn’t my money I was spending, so wasn’t too bad.

That evening I worked pretty late in preparation for my flight down. Went straight from there to a friend’s place to watch We Bought A Zoo, which I’d never seen before, good flick.

Saturday was a real good day. My back was measurably better, so I was able to head out to the multi-ward boating activity. Sadly no pics, but it was a blast. Went out on a boat, but didn’t do anything in the water of course.

From there I drove with someone I’d never met to Duthie Hill, that bike park I mentioned a few weeks back. Someone had posted on our ward Facebook page asking for a biking buddy for a friend of his who’d only be in town for a couple weeks. I raised my hand and got put in touch with this person, who was on break between semesters from the University of Utah. She’d been biking for only a short time, but proved to be more comfortable on the crazier trails than I.

Drove from there back to her place to drop her off, then went back to mine to shower. I was just in time to help my roommate move out the last of his boxes.

From there I darted over to a friend’s house where she was feeding the missionaries. I guess our ward tends to be the place they put missionaries about to head home, so we we’ve had a long string of short-timers, and these guys were no different.

That evening I had nine or ten people over to my apartment to just chill and play games. The topic of Australia came up, which I think was the first time that had happened in my apartment, so I got to bust out my kangaroo pelt and didgeridoo. I also played a few of my mission videos I’d just recently dusted off, and was gratified to learn that it wasn’t just the memories that accompanied them that made them completely hilarious.

This morning I cleaned the apartment a bit before heading out to the airport. My flight was at 3:17, so like the procrastinator I am I left at 1:45, arriving at the parking garage at 2:15, making it to the gate at 2:45-ish. Just in time to hear the gate agent ask for volunteers to hop on a later flight in exchange for a travel voucher. When I bought the tickets I’d listed myself as a volunteer, and placed my bid at $500. I walked up right behind someone who balked at the 9pm departure time, and right before someone who turned away dejected once I claimed the last voucher. When I looked closely I noticed that the voucher was actually for $800, so that’s awesome. That’s Christmas and most of another visit all paid for.

So here I lie on a bench, without a book. Back’s still acting up, hopefully I can get my hands on some muscle relaxants tomorrow when I’m down in Mountain View.

That’s all folks!

We’ve been dealing with the smoke and heat from some Canadian wildfires, which has given Washington the dubious honor of the worst air quality in the nation.

So I haven’t written in a while. Thursday the 27th of July we had a going-away party for the Baxters, a senior missionary couple that’d been serving in the area for the past nine months or so. Sad to see them go.

The next day I got to host the Thomases! We had lunch and a long tour of the office.

That evening I went to a friend’s BBQ/pool party birthday bash – they’re actually either twins or just decided to celebrate their parties on the same day.

The next day was spent galavanting around Washington with the Thomases. We went to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, then drove off to Sammamish for a mini-hike, followed by a drive out to Snoqualmie Falls, and culminating in a trip to an old Bavarian-style chocolate shop.

I was pretty fried from all that, so I took a rest, then arrived late at a YSA block party at someone’s large house a half-hour drive away. I arrived just in time to hear about a friend in the ward who’d just been whisked away to the ER in Seattle for a busted knee, an injury sustained in the pool after someone landed on her or something. She needed a second person to give a blessing, so I went off with a couple friends and visited with her for a while. We then went off to do the Seattle ferris wheel, since it wasn’t quite midnight yet.

Sunday evening we had a few friends over to eat dinner and play games. Monday we had a portion of the ward over for FHE, where my roommate demonstrated the proper method of making omelettes, after which we chilled at our pool for a while. Tuesday was Institute. Wednesday I headed out with some friends to a showing of Dunkirk, and boy howdy was it amazing. Very stressful to watch though.

Thursday I went out with a friend to an art show in Seattle – tickets are normally like $100 each, but a guy at work offered free tickets to anyone who asked, as his wife ran the show. Sweet deal.

Friday evening I headed out for a cabin weekend. Someone in the ward invited a bunch of people over to her grandparents’ place. It was awesome, if a bit strange at first. When we pulled up, we were greeted with an imposing vast room of a building, very rectangular and lots of empty space. Turns out the entire structure was built to facilitate family reunions. The entire area is one big compound really, with the grandparents occupying the main cabin, and a few of their children having cabins of their own in the surrounding area. It’s a massive family – 12 children, 70 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren.

Here’s my last pic. I took it with a new toy I just picked up – very excited to be piloting a drone again. This is an entirely different beast than Andi’s machine, though. Very smart – almost too smart for its own good, at times. There is no way for me to exert full manual control over it – it’s always using sensors to adjust for wind speed and altitude. This very nearly resulted in me crashing the drone into a tree on my second outing with it. I’m good enough with the controls that I could guide it back to me through a relatively small gap in the trees. But it was having none of it – the moment I eased up on the altitude stick past a certain point it arrested its descent, interrupting its flight pattern and actually brushing against the tree’s needles. Very stressful moment. Definitely not suitable for close quarters maneuvering.

But, get it high in the sky and it’s a dream to fly.