E.R.

Ugh.

I went to the ER today.

I started having chest pains that were mild, but they were restricting my breathing. They lasted for about 15 minutes. Then, I started feeling all tingly all over, like I had been hyperventilating.

My day started off well, Laura and I went to the Rennaissance Festival in Harveysburg! This was my first trip to the Ren-Fest without Sarah…..Ever. I'd never been to one without her until today. So today was a big deal for me in some ways. But today was fun. It was new, and it was different from what I was used to, but it was fun in it's own right.

So on one level, this meant something grand for me!

MY FIRST VACATION! LOL!

I was so stoked to be on the open road again that I took this picture!


This was my first non-business related trip since Sarah left, and I relished in being on the open road again! It's a thrill for me to just get behind the wheel and be one with the highway, and be with someone I love. I'd missed that, and it was long overdue!

And it was already shaping up to be a good day anyway, because I was able to get my iPhone turned back on! I'm no longer a slave to that piece of shit little Nokia I'd been using after my job loss! If I didn't think it would be smart to keep it as a backup, I'd love to smash that little piece of shit! LOL!

But it was on the way home from Harveysburg that the trouble began.


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A little south of Grove City, I started feeling weird tension in my chest. This tension didn't intensify, but it was a dull pain that was constant. It would get sensitive when I breathe in deeply, so I was avoiding breathing past a certain point. After about 15 minutes, it went away, but I was left with a tingling feeling in my upper extremities and my head that didn't go away.

Laura and I decided it would be best to go to the ER when I got to Marion. So we picked up her car, then caravanned over (it's about 1/4 mile, so it wasn't far). When I walked in and told them my symptoms, I was adding light headed-ness to the list. I was standing there in the ER at the desk, and it wasn't as though the room started spinning, but rather that I'd suddenly had almost 2 beers and was feeling the effects of a buzz starting.

I guess they don't fuck around with chest pain at the ER. They grabbed me a wheelchair, and whisked me away to a room, where they removed my shirt and stuck a bunch of sensors on me. I had about 5 people buzzing around me, I felt kind of dumb causing that kind of fuss. lol. Next thing you know, they were messing with getting an IV started, but they lady couldn't tap the vein. So after trying both arms, she gave up and sent someone else to do it.



Let me be clear.

I

HATE

NEEDLES!

I received allergy shots in my teens, and after a while of going to the doctors office to get them administered every week, my Grandmother decided to have them show her how to give them herself! Now, I love granny, but her eye sight is far from what it used to be, and her hands aren't steady. She'd use alcohol on my arm, then miss the area she used the alcohol on with the needle! Her arms weren't steady! She'd stick it in quick, squirt in the medicine really fast, then pull it out and leave a big bump on my arm that would take a few days to go down! NEED I SAY MORE?

So getting stuck in the arms 3 times was a pain in the ass, and in the arms! LOL!

They ran blood tests, monitored my blood pressure, had me hooked up to electronic sensors for a couple of hours to keep an eye on me, and even took chest x-rays! It looks like it all came back clean, so I was advised to reduce my stress level, reduce my caffiene intake, and check in with a general practitioner about my acid reflux.

But there's just one problem with trying to reduce my stress level.

While I sat there in the hospital bed after Laura left to go home, I started watching The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King on TV. The landscapes I saw reminded me of Colorado, and that started me thinking about the mountains. I had decided to stay in bed for the night, even though I was wide awake, and just take it easy so I could relax. But as I laid there, I started looking on youtube at videos of Kings Valley Colorado.

I saw a home listing that was around the corner from my old home in Kings Valley! I recognize this house!



Here's how close this house is to my old place in Conifer!


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I found a video of a snowstorm in Conifer that took place on September 21st, 2009. I WAS THERE during that storm, and I remember it vividly because it was the first snow of the season! It was also Olive's first snowfall….EVER!

(Here's a picture of Olive after having just discovered snow for the first time on the same day, in the same city, that the above video was shot!)

You can see pictures we took of Olive romping in the snow that day at this link.

This all got me thinking about something that would really take a lot of stress off of me........to be able to see my mountains again. I know, we're back to that old song and dance, but fuck off. lol. But seriously, this got me feeling restless, and now instead of resting for the night, I feel motivated to get back to work. I wanna finish some projects I'm mixing so that they can help drive more business to me, helping me cast aside my day job ties, and allowing me to build my business to a self sustaining entity in Columbus Ohio. Once this is done, my transition from local studio owner to independant producer can more easily happen while I collect an income stream from the studio. Once I've established myself as a producer, and am collecting an income stream from Skyline Sound Studios as it operates in Columbus, I can seek residency in Colorado where I will be based 1/2 the year. I'll work 1/2 the year in Colorado, and wherever else my producing duties take me, and keep ties in Columbus as the owner of Skyline. I'll return to Ohio to help keep things running at Skyline, and essentially work out of both locations.

This is rather ambitious, I know, but I am feeling restless tonight and I want to get back to work to make this happen. I know I should take it easy tonight, but here I sit in the control room about to fire up Pro Tools. These records aren't going to mix themselves!

I'll take it easy, and Laura's going to help change my eating and fitness habits so that I can stay healthy. I'm kinda glad I stopped going to the bars rather recently, cause at 30 it might not have been the best idea to try to recapture my early 20's. I was developing a bit of a problem, and I recognize that now in retrospect. Evidently, Laura was balking at my blood pressure readings, so it's time for some things to give. I'll keep an eye on my health, and not overstress myself...

...But tonight, I'm going back to work.

(P.S. - Thanks everyone on facebook for all your concern. It means a lot. You really have no idea how much.)