Monthly Archives: March 2007

The Last Day

3 Replies | Posted by Patrick Calder on in health

Thanks to everyone who came out to RFD tonight, for the mini-celebration. I took my last pill over dinner.
Thanks to everyone who helped me and offered kind words or entertainment while I was less-than-optimal.
Thanks to Bryan and Sarah for rides to and from the hospital, and waiting for ridiculous hours.
Thanks to Shannon for bringing me groceries.
Thanks to whoever it was that brought me cat food and cash for the taxi-rides. (Hey… I was probably hopped up on Percocet when you came by).
Thanks to Drew for bringing me said Percocet.
Thanks to Percocet for making it possible for me to change the cat’s litter box.
I don’t know what to say about the illness itself. There was incredible discomfort. But no giant shooting pains like some overly melodramatic movie. Just an inability to do things. Like… walk or shower. But I got to make doctors nervous. Really cool, because so often it’s the other way around.
But it happened, it was found, treated, and went away. And other than an increased likelihood of it happening again, and a big hole in my bank account, it leaves no sign it was here.
The treatment was much worse than the disease. But I survived that just as well, if slightly slower. I learned my body knows more than the doctors do. And nobody really knows shit about how to react to embolisms. But like every other trial in my life, I came through stronger than I started, and even more motivated. And I was able to conquer a little bit of that fear every person living alone has, of being incapacitated and helpless. And anyone with back injuries or severe pain has my unending sympathy. I don’t know if I ever felt greater joy and freedom than when I was once again able to walk around the block.
And now I hope… I plan… I’ll try… to stop talking about it. I feel like it’s the only thing of interest in my life for… ever, now. I don’t want next year’s “year in pictures” to consist of lots and lots of pill bottles and bored looking people.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!

Photos, Copyright, and Independence

Leave a comment | Posted by Patrick Calder on in photo

World Press Photo recently posted a gallery of the winners from their 2006 competition. There are some incredible images there. I can’t even link to the ‘good ones’, because there are so many there. Just start anywhere and look at them all.
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I went to the DC Copynight this week, for the first time, over at RFD in Chinatown. From their website:

CopyNight is a monthly social gathering of people interested in restoring balance in copyright law. We meet over drinks once a month in many cities to discuss new developments and build social ties between artists, engineers, filmmakers, academics, lawyers, and many others.

In general, it was a positive experience. The moderator referred to it several times as a “salon”, which was a very apt description. The discussion was very intellectually-based. The people were fairly intelligent, (some of them consciously so). But it was very much a discussion group, with no thought, speech, or action given to remedying the problem they believe exists. It’s a small group, that still seems to be trying to find it’s feet. I’ll definitely consider going back again next month. And maybe offer them advice on what seems to have worked for Refresh DC.
I did get to meet the man behind the Command Line podcast. We didn’t really talk, but he seemed friendly. And listening to yesterday’s podcast, he brought up my name, which made my skin crawl in self-consciousness.
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Observation:
Independent workers — be they self employed or professional freelancers — seem to be much less emotionally invested in their work than people employed full-time by a company or organization.
It’s great when you can find people who are enthusiastic about a goal that’s not their own, But by being emotionally involved with a project that they do not control, it leaves those people open to a lot of personal conflict.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!