Troubles McSteans

Here are some pictures I had forgotten I took (sorry Nicole!) from Nicole's birthday brunch at Threadgill's. So very full Me and Ryan Jason, Juan, and Nicole

Perhaps it is Olympics: Day 1? It's the first day of competition, second day of Olympics. We watched the opening ceremonies from Beijing last night and almost made it through the entire event. The performance portion was amazing, with thousands of Chinese citizens participating. Things slowed down when they got to the parade of athletes. While it was interesting to see all the countries, many of which I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of, that part took about 2 hours. It was amusing to note the slow decrease in enthusiasm of the bouncing girls whose job it was to line the marching path and cheer on the athletes. Also hilarious was the shot of George Bush checking his watch. We sadly didn't make it to the torch lighting, but it was impressive: That's alotta fireworks This morning I'm switching channels between NBC, MSNBC, and USA. NBC is showing women's volleyball, with team USA doing unsurprisingly well against Japan (sorry, Japan). We have a...

Sounds like the stay-at-home wife phenomenon is growing in popularity. This article , detailing the lifestyle choice of non-working childless women, hit close to home. There are probably situations (I'd like to believe) where the man is the chosen homemaker, but this article focuses on women. In most cases, couples are in enough of a financially stable situation that one of them can stay at home to focus on household chores. This frees up the working half of the couple from having to deal with laundry, groceries, etc. when they come home. Granted, my situation is a little different. Although they do mention health being one of the reasons for not working, most times this a deliberate lifestyle choice to relieve stress for both parties in the marriage. When I quit my last job three years ago, I had every intention of seeking new employment. I had spent 7 years on and off working as a software engineer and had concluded programming was not my life's calling. I was in the...

She & Him is the musical collaboration of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward and until yesterday I had never heard any of their music. I'd heard Zooey sing before in Elf and thought she had a remarkably different sounding voice. Intrigued by a good review of their first single, I looked up the video. Most times I don't have the nerve or money to take a chance on an album I've not heard most of, but on the strength of this song alone I purchased their debut, Volume One, off of iTunes. What I've heard so far is a refreshing mix of a gorgeously playful voice and fantastic laid back guitar. It's great to hear a band that sounds so relaxed - like they are playing for the pure joy of making music.

About a month ago I went to see my cardiologist to hear the results of my nuclear stress test. My cardiologist is a nice guy and I respect his opinion, but he always looks at me with a twinge of pity like I'm going to keel over right there in his office. I was already not looking forward to this appointment for this reason, so I wasn't surprised when he solemnly advised it was time for me to look into getting a defibrillator . Feeling apprehensive about meeting with the electrophysiologist , I enlisted my mother to accompany me (Ryan would have gone with me had she not been available, but she really wanted to come). It sounds like my situation is not as dire as my cardiologist would have me believe. Yes, he has reason to be concerned, but the surgeon seemed to feel that 1) he's not entirely sure he can easily insert a defibrillator with my veins and small frame and 2) he's not even sure I need one right now. Apparently the next step is to go in for some testing t...

I'm a sucker for the Olympics and am looking forward to what has traditionally been exciting television. The games have admittedly had a rocky history, with politics occasionally interfering, but the idealist in me loves watching the world attempt to set aside differences for two weeks every two years. I was lucky enough when I was 12 to be able to attend the 88 Winter Olympics in Alberta, Canada. My Aunt and Uncle (hi Helen and Hans!) at the time lived in the host city, Calgary, and were gracious enough to invite the McBrides up for a visit. We went to a couple of hockey games, attempted to see skiing (which was postponed that day due to weather, but my brother and cousin and I still had fun sliding down the snowy mountain), and attended pairs and men's figure skating. The highlight for me was seeing the much advertised " Battle of the Brians " between Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser from our nosebleed seats. What would Brian Boitano do? I will watch pre...

Tomorrow, July 27, is a very special day. It is the birthday of two classy ladies, my mother, and my good friend Nicole. I'm happy to say, my mom and I have a great relationship. I've detailed a little of my medical history here, but that didn't just affect me. My mother went through a lot of that with me, especially in the beginning. She took me to all of my nephrologist appointments which were an hour and a half away in Oklahoma City and was there when I was first diagnosed. I've been fine with all of this for years, but it was a scary day for a previously healthy 17 year old as words like "transplant" and "dialysis" were suddenly thrown around. We were so depressed that we took a detour to the mall on our way home for shopping and about a pound of chocolate each from the Godiva store. Mom took charge of my health, from altering our diets to doing her own research on kidney disease. She even took me to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for a s...