"Today I'm handing out lollipops and ass-whoopins and right now, I'm all out of lollipops.”

The latest chapter in my cansur-vival book has been severe joint and body aches, to the point of barely being able to move or walk. Recently while walking through a department store, I thought to myself if I saw someone walking like I was, first I would probably be down at the Villages, but I would tell them how much I loved their performance in "Night of the Living Dead".

I contacted my Neurologist at Shand's and the Nurse explained how they could refer me to the Orthopedic dept. but they would need to see me first, and then wait for a consult with the Orthopedic dept so it could be months before actually getting to the heart of the problem. I decided to see my local practitioner, he ran blood work, he started to believe it was some form of neuropathy or even the possible on-set of MS because of the quickness and severity it had affected me. In the meantime, he sent me to a local Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Farr. So after a barrage of X-Rays, MRI's and blood-work....did I mention I don't have health-insurance...so John and my Christmas' gift to each other was an MRI of my right knee.

Yesterday was my follow-up visit to Dr. Farr and he went over everything with me, the extremely good news was that the ligaments and muscles he thought were damaged or torn were just fine, there was no bone on bone, or fractures, but I did have "considerable" fluid all around my joint, so without missing a beat he said he was going to drain the fluid (as if he was asking me if I wanted a lollipop).

Now I understand his job is to get me feeling better, not coddle or hold my hand, but some emotion would be nice. It reminded me of my Neurosurgeon from the past surgery to fix my forehead "Well, I don't see any incursion to the interior of the skull, so how 'bout a spinal tap?"

The procedure for this process is quite horrific, as soon as he said he was going to drain my knee, in my head,I started to hear "Ave Santani" the evil theme music from the original Omen movie. He leaves the room, leaving me to my thoughts and about 5 minutes later a nurse wheels in a small tray with gause wipes and bandages, alcohol wipes a small spray can and a single syringe in the center of the tray, like all the other items are surrounding the syringe in some un-holy ritualistic ceremony. Then I notice the needle attached to that syringe. It was longer, wider and bigger than my screw drivers at home. Then she just turns and leaves, leaving the tray behind. So it's me the tray, and the screw driver attached to the syringe (I swear I say the Black and Decker logo embossed on the needle) all alone in the exam room. I stare fixated on that needle, knowing that was going into my knee. The doctor finally comes in after what seems an eternity and tells me to lie back. He sprays this cold stuff on my knee to numb it. I will spare everyone all the details, he did however hit a nerve with the needle and I came off the table with an explisitive symphony of curse words. He apologized and continued.

In the end he drained roughly 18ccs of fluid from my knee. Sufficed to say I was completely and totally exhausted, not just from the actual procedure but from the anticipation of every possible horrid scenario running through my mind while I was alone with the syringe, to him hitting my nerve.

Today, I am able to stand-up, walk and function virtually pain and medicine free. It has been a long time since I have felt this good and now I know what people meant by that saying; "Well at least you have your health..." All things considered I am grateful to Dr. Farr for making me feel better, but he never did offer me a lollipop.

"Let Them Eat Cake . . ."

Videotronics will be attending Ms. Debbie's Sugar Arts 4th Semi-Annual "Night of Cake Tasting" at the beautiful Villa East in downtown Gainesville, FL Tuesday, February 9th from 5-8 pm.

Ms. Debbie is one of the few that can make absolutely stunningly beautiful cakes that also taste great. If you or you know someone that has an event coming up or just in need of an awesome cake you should RSVP for this event. Other wedding and event vendors will be on hand to provide info for their services, not to mention the main reason; to eat a bunch of cake, after-all that is one of the major perks about this job...wedding cake!

Dear Dr. Laura . . .

On her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate. Its in the Bible - end of argument! I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how best to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. Clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wriggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend. He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

Despite popular beliefs Photographers cannot walk on water

Meeting with Angel from Photography 35 today, we recently produced a webmmercial for them that they have on their web-site (www.photography35.com) and they need some more production work before the upcoming bridal shows.

Doing wedding videography, I get to work with a lot of people in the various wedding professions, especially photographers; Angel & Greg are not only amazing photographers but I consider them true friends. With the quality of work they do it would only seem natural that they would have the standard egomaniac attitude that seems to be a natural trait of most wedding photographers in the area, but nothing could be farther from the truth. They are truly humble people who truly love their craft and their charity work inspires me, doesn’t hurt either that Angel is an amazing cook.

It’s refreshing to work with friends professionally.

2010 New & Improved

OMG I cannot believe it is 2010 already, I still remember all the drama of Y2K. I find it fitting that I woke up Friday morning to a downpour of rain. I chose to symbolize it as Mother Nature washing away all the muck, and stuff from 2009 allowing 2010 to start with a clean, fresh slate. One of my many New Year resolutions is to get more dedicated and better about bloging. This past year I was introduced to Facebook by a very dear friend of mine from high school and within minutes of activating my account, I was inundated with posts, messages and comments from everyone trying to catch up with me.

Everyone was saying “I thought you were dead.” I felt a little like Snake Plisken from Escape from New York, they heard I had cancer and thought I died from it. Once I explained I was alive and well, they wanted to know the whole story. All my high school friends wanted to know if I had posted any of the End of the Year video from our senior high school year, it was then I started to make a “to-do” list for my blog. I have begun to document my battle with brain cancer and created a page dedicated to the End of the Year video from my high school senior year (1988). I will keep you posted as they are updated.