The truth is out there

Prologue
Every night when I go to sleep I turn the radio on to Coast to Coast. I listen to the weird program and drift off to sleep (unless there is a particularly scary topic being discussed). While I was traveling the country it was the one constant in my constantly changing lifestyle. A reminder of home if you will. The show was started by Art Bell to bring light to paranormal topics usually skipped over by mainstream media. C2C covers everything from highly scientific findings to UFO abductions, conspiracy theories, psychic experiences, bigfoot sightings - if it's weird or new age chances are Art is going to do a story on it. In 2001 Art took a lighter schedule and George Noory became the host Monday through Friday. Don't get me wrong, I know that 85% of this show is BS but it is good entertainment and some of the guests are really intelligent and have interesting ideas.


About a month ago I read that George Noory is going to be in Austin. I did some research and found that 590lbj - the radio station I listen to at night is hosting a "Talk Fest" and joining George is Neil Boortz and Clark Howard. So last Saturday even though it was a gorgeous warm and sunny day in Austin, Tx I went to the Convention Center to listen to these guys do live programs. It was an interesting experience. Neil Boortz did his program first and although I have never listened to his show he had some great things to say about the Libertarian party and the Fair Tax plan. I guess I was put off a little by his attitude which seemed to me a little pompous and if there is one thing that turns me off it is a self important, egotistical radio host.

Next to do his 2 hours was Clark Howard. I also listen to Clark's show nightly because he precedes C2C. Clark's motto is "Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs". He deals with getting people out of debt, into good investments and other general financial help. My favorite idea of his is to keep from running up your credit card (in lieu of cutting the sucker's up) is to place the card in a glass of water and putting in your freezer - the next time you are tempted to use the card it's a block of ice - and hopefully you leave it there but if you think you HAVE to use it you'll have to wait for it to thaw out and by that time maybe you can talk yourself out of the purchase.

Last but not least to grace the stage was George. He got a standing ovation from about 400 people (although I heard him fib last night and say that "thousands of people showed up") and one alien who may or may not have been just a guy in a painted rubber suit. George is a very intelligent and soft spoken man. He admitted to the audience that most of his guests and callers were probably delusional but it wasn't his place to make that judgement and he wanted to show everyone the same respect.
At any rate - I highly recommend the show - I know I have at least one fellow faithful listener out there reading this. I wish he could have met George with me but I took this crappy picture just for him:

Heart to Heart

Today I experienced my first ever (but first of many, I'm sure) heart transplant surgeries. It was SO AWESOME! I was not able to get much history about the person who received the heart, however, I know that this day will change her life forever. This woman had been implanted with a ventricular assist device in October. Although the new pumps are more mobile than they were in the past (the device is implanted into her body and a cord runs from the device and into a machine that is in a rolling suitcase) it must be such a heavy burden to not only be chained to a machine that is doing the work of your heart but also to be waiting for a chance to get a new heart and not knowing if and when that will happen.
I was on the team that got the recipient ready to receive the new heart. Another team flew on a helicopter to the city where the organ was harvested. I also do not know the history of the donor of the heart but believe that this person had been in a car accident. Our two teams kept in close contact through phone calls so that we could time each step to insure that as soon as the heart was brought to the OR we would be ready to transplant it. Getting the woman's old heart and VAD out took about 3 hours. We went on cardiopulmonary bypass to do this. When the team came in with the heart we packed it in ice until the doctors were ready to inspect it and begin the 5 anastomosis that would give this woman a brand new lease on life.
The recipient was in her 40's and the donor was 23 years old. The donor heart was beautiful and after all the tissues had been sewn together and we let it start to beat it took off just like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I was really amazed at how adaptable our bodies and organs are. The doctors I worked with were aware it was my first time and took extra care to tell me exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. They were very patient with me and it was evident that they were excited to be doing this type of work and cared very much about this woman's outcome. I just love my new job and the people I work with.

Yoga class

I love yoga. I have been doing it now off and on for 5 years. I first began by signing up for a class through Amarillo College. It was held at the Polk Street Methodist Church and when I went in for my first day I realized that, not reading the fine print, I had signed up for a 55 and older age group. A lot of the people did the poses in a chair. But, the teacher, who was an older woman herself let me stay and I learned a lot in that class. I loved those old people and I didn't mind their farts or their veiny wrinkley legs. Eventually, though it was time to go. Then I moved on to a group who predominately held classes at the Downtown Athletic Club. I loved that teacher, too and really learned a lot about proper alignment and the reasons for each pose. But then I began to feel like I needed a more advanced class because I had been going for a couple of years and these classes were still geared toward beginners. So I moved on to Terry Rudd who is a naturopathic doctor and teaches tai chi as well as yoga. I loved his classes the most. He had a way of working you out hard but leaving you energized instead of tired like you would think. I think I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing his style of yoga. But around that time in my life I started traveling with my job. I was so excited to be able to go to actual yoga studios instead of church meeting rooms or health clubs. I tried one studio after another, advanced classes, kundalini, hot yoga, ashtanga, ayurvedic and I never found a studio I liked in Albuquerque. Worcester, MA had a wonderful studio right down the street from me and that has probably been my favorite of any place I've gone. The teacher was very kind spirited and you had such a good feeling when you left there. I also went to a very well known yoga retreat center in the Berkshires while in that area and had a great time. It is so beautiful in that area.
So, on and on I'm searching for the perfect class but it's so hard to find. I just finished a one week trial at a yoga studio here in Austin. It is a style (Baron Baptiste's power yoga) I've liked in the past and it's a "hot yoga" class which means they heat the room anywhere from 90 to 100 degrees and it seems as if you can get more into your poses if you are well heated. I went to 4 classes in 7 days. Each class was harder and harder. Not because of the physical exercise but other factors. Such as: the person next to me ALWAYS has a cold and they sniff and clear their throat or get up to blow their nose a million time leaving tissues between my mat and theirs. There always has to be one loud person who breathes loud and grunts to show that he is achieving a higher level of enlightenment than the rest of us. There are always a few people but at least one person right next to me who doesn't know what personal space is - so maybe they are in front of me and when you lay down their feet are in my face or when you are kicking your leg up you have to dodge to not get kicked in the head (incidentally, I have had someone fall on me in Tacoma, Wa). The heat and the workout make a tiny room so stuffy and smelly. You never know from one pose to the next what you are going to be inhaling. Maybe you think that yoga is supposed to make you more open and forgiving of these little annoying traits that people bring to class. I say give me a Fellowship Hall with the Senior Citizens any day of the week because yoga studios are on my bad side today.

Good News

I spent good time with a lot of friends and family over the holidays. One of my very best friends, Andy Hopkins (that's Srgt. Andrew Hopkins officially) was visiting from Germany where he is now stationed after spending a year in Iraq. I have known Andy since the 2nd grade in Dalhart, Tx. Then, when we were in high school, Sierra moved to town and we've all been best friends ever since. We call ourselves the triangle, mostly because we are dorks. This visit marked the first time in 6 years we 3 have spent time together and it was as much fun as I had anticipated. However, what I did not see coming was an engagement of 2 out of the 3 of us. Andy and Sierra, finally after 13 years of friendship came clean and are now waiting for Andrew to get out of the service and come home so they can start a life together.

It's just one more detail that has fallen together so perfectly these past 3 months. I've never felt this way in my whole life. A perfect contentedness that every little thing is exactly how it is supposed to be. I am 100% certain that I am in the right city, living in the right little apartment, working in the most suitable job. Life is so grand and I could wax philosophical about how timing was everything here......was it karma, is it destiny, is it dumb luck....but WHO CARES about the cause , I just want to enjoy the effect. All I'm really thinking is "It's about damn time."

Happy New Year

2007! Around work during the first week of January I heard many people saying "oh, I just can't believe it is 2007 already!" My thought was "Why?" Didn't those people go to the same math class I did. The 6 always seemed to precede the 7 (not that I claim to be a mathematical wizard) so a new year didn't come as a surprise to me. Then one night last week I was laying in bed thinking of that exact subject and it dawned on me....."7, hmmmm 7 I was born in a 7, 1977...oh my gosh that makes me 30...crap I'm 30!" And then I joined the ranks "I can't believe it's already 2007"