Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Hospital - Day 2

It is pneumonia. And something else. Still not sure. Anyway, Ian was doing peachy until the afternoon when he tanked. Oxygen levels in the sixties. Lots of doctors scurrying. Couple shots of adrenaline and hours on the nebulizer. Ian turned into the Incredible Hulk, requiring four nurses to hold him down in order to poke him a few times to find his itsy bitsy teeny weenie veins for an IV.

He's in intensive care tonight so they can monitor him full-time. He was doing groovy when I left and Annie just called to let me know he's off the nebulizer. How he hates that contraption. Like Bush hates a two-part question.

Annie ran into a friend from our Down syndrome group; turns out her daughter has been there for nine days! Please, God, let that be the exception.

Hospital stay

Annie took Ian to the doctor yesterday to see how the antibiotics are helping his pneumonia. His oxygen levels were down around seventy percent so they sent him to Children's Hospital in an ambulance.

They've done a lot of tests on him and determined that it's not RSV and may indeed not even be pneumonia, but may be a virus and/or bacterial infection. He still needs constant oxygen to breath and they changed his antibiotic prescription last night. Annie stayed the night with him and Ian seems to be doing better today. He downed a bottle and a half of milk and is once again doling out his award-winning smiles.

Silvi and I will go visit in a bit; hope it's the last night he has to spend there. After all, I wouldn't want our cat thinking it's safe to sleep on the living room floor once again.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Merry hack, cough Christmas

We're all sick. Both kids have pneumonia; Annie and I have colds and fevers.

Christmas Eve Day and all four of us had fevers. Ian is doing the nebulizer every four hours. Two trips to Urgent Care. One trip for Silvi. Lots of lying on the couch and watching movies. Poor Ian is miserable.

That was also the day I shot a music video on three hours of sleep after Silvi had a reaction to cold medicine and spent the night tossing in our bed. I shot all day with 102 fever, then crawled into bed, aching. Had to skip the Christmas Eve party with my parents.

Christmas Day we made it to Annie's parents house - barely - and probably should have stayed home. Fevers and, well, you get the jest of it. Send Kleenex.

Yesterday I worked for five hours shooting for my new company, again with a fever. Salsa dancing and performance art.

Right now I'm down at my office, editing the music video, and yes, another fever. Wonder how it will affect the finished video? Did Lewis Carroll have a fever when he wrote Alice in Wonderland?

Friday, December 19, 2008

Beauty

I can't think of a better way to return to blogging than to begin with an image of my gorgeous daughter, Silvi.
She and I had a daddy-daughter date last night, going to our favorite place, The Global Market. Thursday nights are especially fun because they usually have live music, as they did last night. We always visit the fresh fish counter, look at the lobsters, eat Mexican tamales and rice and beans and spend time picking just the right sweets in the candy store. There's a mostly deserted hallway where we end up playing tag or stand on the walkway to watch the bicyclists pass below.

The last month and a half has been a walk through the refining fire. I'm not going to share here just yet - perhaps never - the details of my struggle. Suffice it to say that I am starting down a new path, one that I am ultra excited to be on.

I'm closing down my Narrow Ridge side business that focused on philosophy and training videos. In it's place I have created a new company called Latitude 81 (now Wanderview Films) that will work within the fashion and creative arts industry. I had my first shoot this past Tuesday night with a model that I hired to fashion various outfits. I haven't had a chance to edit the video yet, but you can find a sample of it here.

To switch from philosophy to fashion may seem to be a complete about face to many people. I don't see it that way. Part of why I loved philosophy - and still do - is because of the orderliness and beauty of the thought and language. Much like mathematicians find beauty in a proof or a poet in the rhythm of words.

Ian and Silvi have impacted my view of philosophy deeply. They have drawn me out of abstraction into the concrete world, though I still struggle with favoring fantasy over reality. The nature of the arts, I suppose.

This brings me to the title of this post - beauty. The fashion world is consumed with beauty and mostly with surface beauty. Surface beauty is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. The symmetry and orderliness of a beautiful face or body, as our culture defines such things, point us toward what we all aspire for - perfection. And the line between false beauty and true beauty is fine; the fashion industry is rampant with false beauty, fantasy and illusion.

But...

There is something in our hearts that longs for the beautiful. Just because many, if not most, fashion has as its focus the sensual (this is often sexual, but not always - I draw a distinction) does not mean we must abandon it. I love the union of style and clothes with the grace and elegance of a model's body. It calls to something within me. Reminds me of something lost. Makes me feel alive. Sparks my creativity, my passion, and yes, even draws me into the presence of God.

Yes, it is surface beauty. And Ian's smile and laughter strikes deeper into my soul than any walk down the fashion runway. I don't know how to merge these two world's yet. I am just beginning to walk, to learn, to make mistakes, to fumble my way through a fashion world wrought with pitfalls, yet where I desire to go.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the saying goes... the tagline for my company is "Beauty beyond the boundaries." The short clip I posted for you to see on my site is just a glimpse of a segment I'm calling simply - "Dance." I hope you do.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Partly foggy

The fog is finally beginning to lift. Stay tuned for more exciting weather news.

Monday, December 08, 2008

A little something

I met with a blogging friend last night who said I should at least blog a little something.

A little something.

Ha, ha. I crack myself up.