So you had a bad, um, couple of weeks...

Ok. It sounds a little better if you sing it. Well, maybe not. hehe...

But seriously, things have not been "hunky dory" for me as of late. Aside from my back and leg problems (which I've discussed in previous blog entries, and on air), both my expensive mp3 player and my high-capacity MMC card were broken just recently.

Add all of that up and you've got one irritable camper. I've been trying hard to see the bright side of things (using The Beatles' song title "Let it Be" as my mantra), but it has been really hard to focus. The physical pain, in particular, has even been affecting my work.

Maybe I need a vacation. I haven't had one in a while.

Dr. House wannabe?

I got fed up with the lack of progress with my back and leg problems, so I went for a 2nd opinion with another Ortho. The first one didn't even examine me and ignored my request for an MRI on my spine.

I have to say that I'm really happy with this new Doctor. I still have to undergo PT, but I've already had an X-ray and I'm scheduled for and MRI next Friday. Now, I have more faith that I'm on the right path to wellness.

Unfortunately, things got worse before I saw the new Ortho. My dad lent me his back brace, to help my posture, but my foot and leg still continued to hurt so much that I'm now walking around with a cane.

I don't want to imagine myself as an old man, so I'm hoping that I'm somehow pulling off a Dr. House imitation. I've got the cane, limp, sneakers, and even stubble (i have a hard time standing to shave). Too bad I haven't been able to think of any good sarcastic one-liners. Damn!

Dr. House wannabe?

I got fed up with the lack of progress with my back and leg problems so I went for a 2nd opinion with another Ortho. The first one didn't even examine me and ignored my request for an MRI on my spine.

I have to say that I'm really happy with this new Doctor. I still have to undergo PT, but I've already had an X-ray and I'm scheduled for and MRI next Friday. Now, I have more faith that I'm on the right path to wellness.

Unfortunately, things got worse before I saw the new Ortho. My dad lent me his back brace, to help my posture, but my foot and leg still continued to hurt so much that I'm now walking around with a cane.

I don't want to imagine myself as an old man, so I'm hoping that I'm somehow pulling off a Dr. House immitation. I've got the cane, limp, sneakers, and even stubble (i have a hard time standing to shave). Too bad I haven't been able to think of any good sarcastic one-liners. Damn!

The downs and ups

Thanks to Medislim, I was able to bring my weight from 220 to 198lbs in 3 months (with very little effort). But due to my back pain treatments I've been forced to go off the program. It's been a week now, and I'm back to the line of 2 again. Sigh... Just another reason for me to hate this damn back problem.

Not good

The pain in my leg and foot has become too much. It hurts so bad that I can't seem to think straight sometimes. The whole day I'm irritable, and on-air I try to compensate by being a bit to wild and crazy.

I went to my Ortho for an early follow-up (because the meds weren't helping at all), and he orderd some PT for me. Tomorrow is my first session.

I hope that this somehow helps improve my condition. I hate how it is affecting my personal life and our show. Sigh...

The Pain of an Old Man

OK, 31 isn't really that old. Although advertisers would like to convince you otherwise. But anyway...


I've had back pains since I was a teenager. I guess it's genetic since my dad has them too. I could also blame bad posture and a big belly (though, I've lost a lot of weight recently).

Every few years it gets aggravated and I get "crippled". This time it happened during Holy Week, my back started acting up again. It got to the point where my left leg was affected.

It feels kind of weird that my foot and leg were in pain, but my back was the problem. It was so bad that it even affected my on-air performance; I was trying to mask the pain by going hyper saying crazy things.

So I saw a doctor who ordered some tests done. OH MY GOSH! They stuck me with needles and ran electric currents thru my back and legs!

Now it hurts even more, but the Doc gave me meds that should help improve my condition. Unfortunately I wasn't able to work that evening because the meds didn't kick it yet.

I hate missing work. "Nightlife: the Rick and Patti show" is starting to take off, plus I don't like the feeling of abandoning a workmate. Sigh...

Sorta doing an "Edu"

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that a few people were posting songs from my CD "The Blend" on Multiply. So I sent out some messages asking them to take down their posts. I'm thankful that most of those I contacted responded well.

It turns out that many people don't know that this type of music posting is not just wrong but also illegal. I guess society has gotten so used to piracy and file sharing that we just tend to accept it.

It just makes me mad when I think of music genres like a cappella that suffer because of this, or of promising bands that don't get signed because record labels can't earn from CD sales.

I'll try to contact those that still post our music illegally. But sending all those messages is so time-consuming that I'll probably just report the abuse to Multiply.