Thunderball and Kidney Stone

Not an overwhelming weekend. Youngest finished her third manuscript and rumor is that all of them are thousands and thousands of words long, which is amazing. The biggest thing I ever wrote was some papers for grad classes, so to be so proficient at such a young age....wow.

Did go to the gym yesterday and this morning, but sort of puttered around without really doing anything. I jogged a little for some variety and used some weights, plus did the usual 100 stomach crunches and 60 leg-lifts. Argh. Created a new game which I modestly call Thunderball. It involves throwing a basketball at a backboard above the hoop from a long distance amd doing that as hard as possible, and repeating many, many times. The point is not to make baskets but to make a loud noise and to have the ball come back at you at high speed. It is satisfying in a testosterone kind of way.

While on the court yesterday, I learned a life lesson. When shooting baskets for real, relaxing is directly proportional to the number of made baskets. The more I relaxed, the more "nothing but net" I got. It got me to thinking about life and achieving goals. Something to mull over some more.

One of my colleague's friends posted this to the Craig's List in Reno:

Kidney Stone for sale! - $20000

Here you go, a once in a lifetime opportunity to own your very own kidney stone.

I have one of these beauties stored away in my left kidney right now. It's an impressive 1.5" in diameter which makes loosing it impossible (it also makes it impossible to pass or even have it broken up by ultrasound). The only way I can part with it is by having a surgeon cut it out. While I have grown fond of the little guy and all the joy it's given me over the last year, I have decided it's time to sell it.

Here is where my loss is your gain.

Since I can't get insurance (pre-existing condition) and I don't have the 20,000 dollars needed up front to pay for the removal, I am selling it off for the cost of the surgery. Whoever pays for it will have this wonderful little gem shipped to them after it's removed.

Be the life of the party. Be the envy of the neighborhood. (If you are a heartless bitch, it's an added incentive to know that this thing has caused a man more pain than a butcher knife shoved into his back and twisted while at the same time having a pair of vice grips clamped onto his private parts).

Act now and I will even attach it to a keychain as an added bonus.

This is no joke. Thanks to our wonderful healthcare system, I am grasping at straws to get this thing taken out before it does any more damage. So if you are a Liberal, here's your chance to work out some of that guilt for being successful in life. If you are a Conservative, here's your chance to help out someone who's taking matters into his own hands.

In a word, eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww!