The Bonds Music Creates

Just about a month ago, my friends held a party for me to help raise money for my second brain surgery of the year. It was an elaborate gig in which my girlfriend and her sister really made something big happen.

They managed to get the following room for the party for free: http://www.parklaneco.com/roseroom/pictures.php

They got two musicians to play. One was, Aaron Brown, from the Invasion. They're a band that opened up at the Big Easy here in Boise during Pixies 2004 reunion tour, which was such an amazing show. Even though everybody at that Pixies show was only there to see them, most people seemed to enjoy the Invasion. Brown's music was very provocative with deep lyrics. I enjoyed the set very much and wish that I could have actually paid more attention. But that is hard to do when you have a hundred or so people who want to talk to you. Here's The Invasion's website:
http://www.the-invasion.com/

I apologize to the second musician because I'm not sure of his name. He's friends with my girlfriend's sister and plays a classical guitar. We really didn't have a big enough speaker system being that we were putting the show on, but a good sized group of people who really know music went right up front and listened intently. He was so smooth on that guitar that his transitions were almost silky. Thanks so much for playing, hope to see you play again.

Next, the girls lined up a silent auction and raffle. They had companies and friends donate items that would be put up in either the auction or the raffle. We had tons of beautiful art, knitting, bikes, gift certificates, hotel rooms, ski passes, Shakespeare tickets, and even a trailer. It just goes on and on. It really made me feel awesome that all these people were there to support me.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the night to me was meeting my friend Matt's sister, Andie. She's from Illinois, where I grew up and is also a big Uncle Tupelo fan like I am. As a matter of fact, the first time I met her brother, I found out that he was also very into Uncle Tupelo. I just happened to have their final concert from Saint Louis in the car, so I lent it to him to copy. At my party, Matt pointed that out to his sister and she told me about her interest in Uncle Tupelo and her boyfriend's website, in which he trades live disks. Andie later promised that she'd put together some shows for me and send them so I had something to listen to during recovery. Thanks so much!!! Rob's site is awesome, especially if you like Alternative Country, like I do. Check it out, I know that you'll be as blown away as I was:
db.etree.org/hamboneblivers

Anyway, that's what I mean about the Bonds Music Creates. It brings people together in times of joy or times of sadness. Music opens people up to one another. It can excite or calm you. But the greatest thing that it does is let people share their passions and interests.

Headcase Comes Alive

It's been a wild year thus far. I'm just about 37 but literally just about died this year. Toward the end of last December, I thought I was having migraines. There's almost never anything wrong with me. I can ride my bike all the way up the mountain, lift more weight than many football players, and hike for hours.

I went to the Doc in the Box (no insurance) to get some medicine for migraines. Sure enough, that's what he (a nurse practicioner) gave me, even though my one eye was blurry and the lid was partially shut. The medicine didn't do a dam thing for two weeks.

When I went back to the doctor on January 5th, I saw a different one. He was so concerned that he sent me immediately for a CAT-SCAN, then a MRI, and then a CAT-SCAN with dye. He then asked me to come to his office and explained to me that I had two tumors, both of which he thought were dermoids in my brain. One on each side of it. The one was pressing against my third cranial nerve, which was causing my eyelid to shut, the pupil to dialate, and the eyeball to actually look toward the side.

He had already set up an appointment to see a neurosurgeon the following day. I was so blown away. It felt as if I was walking around in a different body. There was a good chance that I could die.

The following day, my friend Chris went with me and we saw Dr. Little. We looked at the MRIs, and it was obvious that there were two tumors. They were big tumors, one being the size of a woman's hand, the other being about half that size. He told me that the one on the third cranial nerve had already burst inside my head so we needed to take it out the following day.

I'll eventually get around to all of the details about the operation, but I just wanted to let you know that in my blog, I'm going to cover a wide variety of subjects. I'll discuss music, traveling, sports, politics, and just about anything else interesting that happens.

I just thought that to start off, you should know what has been going on with me. It really has changed my life and makes me want to try as hard as I can to utilize my talents. Hopefully, this will be a fun experience!