so the short version is that they messed up my Median nerve when they attempted a Median nerve block. I woke up in much more pain than I was supposed to and so they pumped me up with a whole lot more drugs. a couple days later I had some major muscle spams caused by the nerve block. my surgeon prescribed a drug called Gabapentin. the side effects of this drug are really not fun. i'm having mood swings and lots of noise in my head. the biggest problem is that i'm being mean. i've been a complete asshole to Shannon multiple times. i have to keep taking this drug, which increases in dosage every week until i'm done with the 6 week cycle, but i want to stop because i'm not myself. i hate being this person. i'm angry and i don't know why and i can stop it.

today i woke up with part of my hand and arm completely numb. turns out it's normal-ish for now and i should expect more things like this.

today was also registration day for school. shannon was, again, a rock star and helped me make a scedule that will allow me to have a job. i was, again, an asshole to her while we were doing it, but she stuck with it anf helped me finish.

i don't deserve my angel.

My gimpy self will be walking over to butt today.

maybe I'll see some of you there?

I have 15 invitations to Google Wave left and I was wondering if any of you would like one. Google Wave is a new form of email that is more than just email and it 's currently in it's beta stage. Please send me your email address if you would like an invitation. I will make all replies private so that people snipe your address and stalk you.

If you already have an account, add me strigois@googlewave.com

I think think this could be an interesting new toy.

After dinner and a quick trip to visit a friend, Shannon and I are going to end up at Atomic. Please feel free tp come by and say hi. I'm not really drinking because of my meds and I might be a little tired, so we might not stay too long, but it would be great to see some of you folks.

DISCLAIMER!!!

DO NOT TOUCH MY ARM OR SHOULDER. BOTH ARE STILL IN PAIN AND I WILL NOT RESPOND KINDLY, EVEN IF YOU MEANT IT IN JEST.

SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL. GENTLE HUGS ARE OK, JUST LET ME KNOW THEY'RE COMING.

I hope I see some of you there. :)

Today I turn 33 today.

Shannon got me new footed PJ's, slip on shoes(since I can't tie my other shoes with one arm), and a new heating pad for the muscle spasms. Shannon is the best girlfriend/nurse a guy could ever hope to have, :)

Oh and the PJ's are fantastic!!! They're black and super soft.

I'm a little sad this will be the first year in 6 that I haven't had a celebration at the rialto. My surgery and subsequent complications are keeping me from parting like a rock star.

Thank you everyone for your birthday and get well wishes. I hope to be in better shape sooner than later.

Anyway, have a drink for me tonight, just don't get into too much trouble, unless you take pictures you plan on sharing.

Shannon is the most fantastic girlfriend in the entire universe.

Nothing unexpected happened other than the neural block not performing as advertised.

Everyone at the hospital was great.

Oxycodone and I are friends. Oxycodone and my tummy are not friends.

Tomorrow is my SLAP repair surgery and I'm a little nervous.

Shannon is taking me and bringing me home, so I'll have her hand to hold.

Tonight is the last time I'll be able to use my left arm for the next 9 weeks.

Wish me luck.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the night Shannon and I drank lots of Drambuie and took the plunge into what has been the greatest year and relationship of my life.

I almost don't know what to say. Everything about our time together is fantastic. We enjoy each other so completely and communicate so effortlessly, it's just hard to put it all into words.

Saturday we went to the symphony, with Nicole and several others. The seats were fantastic and the show was wonder. Thank you again Nicole! After the show we had a cozy dinner at the farm and some drinks at B-Side after that. It was the most time we could get together because of school and it was a wonderful way to celebrate.

Tonight we're going to celebrate the actual day with some dinner and drinks, and then other stuffs. ;);)

I love you Shannon! You are the most amazing woman I know!!

I just made the appointments for my shoulder surgery.

Some of you know that I fell on some stairs at my last apartment way back in November, but you may not know that I busted up my shoulder at the same time as my back. Well after seeing a specialist and getting an MRI the decision has been made to do surgery to fix the SLAP tear. I will be very gimpy for about 9 weeks after the surgery and then going the PT for months after that.

I'm not happy that I have to have surgery, but I'm glad that something is finally happing to fix the issue and that Shannon's AWESOME health plan not only allows me to be covered, but also makes all of this very affordable.

I'm a student!

YAY!!!

I'm having trouble coming up with the words to describe the event that happened last night. It was by far one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed.

Shannon and I were at the 205 Target getting school supplies. We decided to check out the furniture section to see if they had an organizer for out new desk. On our circular path around the upstairs departments we got distracted by the toy section. During my investigation of some Transformers toys I heard Shannon calling me from a few aisles away. The look on her face was one of pure enjoyment and laughter, and she was pointing to something. I walked over just in time to see a guy, easily in his mid 20s, sitting on the floor holding a toy and exclaiming "OH WOW!". This was followed very shortly by "OH NO THEY DIDN'T!!". This was the breaking point for both of us. I started laughing and Shannon started laughing and proceeded to spit a stream of water all over the items we had in the cart. This of course caused an even greater amount of laughing. I went down one aisle, Shannon went down another and both of us laughed until we hurt. All the while this guy continued to talk to himself about the toys and how cool they are and how much he can't believe what they did to them.

We don't know if the guy was drunk, high, or retarded(that's right I said retarded :P), but damn he was funny either way. Both of us hurt leaving Target just the amount of laughter that ensued.

We have the best times ever!

I have an amazing girlfriend!! :)

This past weekend was interesting to say the least.

( Cut for photos and because long posts and lots of pictures are always better behind a cut. It make you curious. )

Shannon and I got back from our mini vacation to San Francisco very early Monday morning (1:30am). We had an amazing trip! We were on the go from the moment we got there, but it didn't catch up with me until the flight home.

( Read more about our trip... )

This was the first real vacation Shannon and I have taken together, longer than a weekend trip to the coast that is, and I think we make awesome travel companions. It really doesn't shock me at all, since everything we've done together has been amazing. I really hope we can get more chances to travel in the near future, even with school dominating our lives for the next few years. The last 8 months have been a roller coaster of events, a few bad, but those have been totally out weighed by the abundance of great things, Shannon being the best of all. I feel like my life is going in a direction that has so many possibilities and is filled with love and mutual admiration.

These are the pictures Shannon and I took on the trip. Click the picture to see the whole trip...

My little sister is getting married on Saturday in the San Francisco City Hall. She's asked me to do a reading as part of the ceremony. I am honored to be part of my sister's important day and I think it's really interesting that I will be reading the following in San Francisco City Hall when on May 26th "California's supreme court backed a ban on gay marriage on Tuesday, upholding a voter-approved proposition defining marriage as between a man and a woman..."

( Cut for length From Plato's Symposium )

I will see you all when we get back.

Oh and Henry is coming too.

PDX Zombie Prom 2009 was last night. Shannon and I had a great time with Amanda and Lee and all of the wonderful friends we saw. You all looked awesome.

Here are the pictures that Shannon and I took of her dress and make up and my Zombie Jellyfish.


Click for full set...

This past weekend consisted of a fantastic trip to the coast with my beautiful Shannon, Amanda, Lee, Andrew and April. Everything from the drive out there to the surprise birthday celebrations for Amanda went even better than I could have expected. Andrew found us a great house in Lincoln City and we all contributed to making different meals. The hot tub was great for my back and a great time for jokes and drinking. Even Henry got in on the action. The following is a small sample of the adventures of the following weekend...


Click for full set...

So I'm thinking of starting at the Shanghai at 5pm. I haven't been there in a long while. Where we go from there is up for debate.

I'm looking to be out for some drinks today.

You up for hitting a happy hour or two?

Let me know via LJ, or text and we'll figure something out.

Oh and that means you, yes you, the one reading this.

Last night I was treated to dinner and wonderful, thoughtful, gifts by three very awesome people. It was like my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.

The night started with me being whisked away to Sinju for some unbelievable sushi. I had never had the pleasure of eating there before and it was truly fantastic. Andrew distracted me with food and slyly picked up the tab. That was sneaky. After dinner we made our way to Colosso for drinks. This is where the super secrete gifts were unleashed. April presented me with a the clear umbrella that I've been talking about getting for a costume. A completely random find from what she told me. She knew I was looking for one and found it by chance. Thank you again April! The next two gifts were an idea Shannon shared with Andrew. They teamed up and went shopping for me. Two beautiful button up shirts. One, black with little textured circles, to go with the jellyfish tie Shanon gave me earlier this week. The second is also black, with stitched designs on both upper chest areas. I love them both!!!

My life in the last almost 6 months has been a roller coaster of events; from getting together with Shannon, losing my job, having Andrew move in, the ending VROOOM!, moving in with Shannon, exploring school opportunities. It's great to have such wonderful people around me during this obvious evolution in my life. All of my fiends are super and I'm happy to have them all around me.

Shannon I love you! Thank you for being my best friend and fantastic/intuitive/intelligent/loving girlfriend. :-*

Andrew. Thank you for being a great friend/coworker/pool partner/job coach. We can be room mates anytime.

April. Sometimes the world brings people back into you life because you didn't get a chance to know them enough the first time. I'm glad I'm getting that chance with you. I'm also happy that you and Andrew are such a great complements to each other.