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So, I have the second half of my pelvic pouch surgery tomorrow, where all my fears and hopes of the past year will be realized, the real work of recovery to begin. Today I consume only fluids in preparation, to slow my digestion and keep my insides clear. How much more misery must I endure, must I weather, before I learn how near I return to normalcy? I cannot help but contemplate the sequence of events that led here, and what, if anything, could have been done differently. I say this because I continue to believe that the outcome I fell into could have been avoided. Which is not to say I blame any one individual, or even any single event. Sure, my troublesome journey seemed to have begun with my taking of naproxen for my knee, prescribed by the sports fitness surgeon. And perhaps, as my Colitis ramped up, I should’ve made my worries more pronounced, demanded greater intervention, from my gastroenterologist, who in turn could’ve ordered more accurate tests sooner. How much responsibi...

MJ ended up taking a post-doc position in Winnipeg, so it's back to a bachelor's life for me. I helped her move last month, a couple of cold and rainy days there. I remember nearly nothing of my previous visit to Winnipeg, many years ago, on a drive to Vancouver. I didn't get to see much of the city last month either as moving and shopping took up nearly all of our time, the stress of moving stretching everyone's patience. I went back again last week and helped out with Thanksgiving dinner, which we had with her family. This includes her sister's cat, from whom I got some nasty scratches, he being young and easily excitable. MJ and I ate really well during the days following, trying out some of the trendier eateries, racking up the calories. I also got to see a presentation given by Kent Monkman at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, which was fascinating and sobering as he meticulously unwrapped the layers behind his work. MJ was able to get me a bicycle, so we saw a fair ...

Alive I remain, a little slower, a lot thinner. My recovery from the pouch reversal surgery took much longer than I'd anticipated, and it has had a lasting negative effect on my daily comfort. Sometimes it's an unexpected urgency to need to use a bathroom (though in actuality there is nothing "there", so to speak), and other times it's an aching in my groin, like a raw bruising. Sitting can help with the former, but I turn to acetaminophen for the latter. During my recovery I tired surprisingly easily, and stayed home for much of May and June. I am now back at work, and slowly does my mind seem to focus again, to clear away the fog of being away for so long. I try to pick up my daily good habits, though it is difficult, very difficult. I do play a lot of games, mostly Hearthstone, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars. I have gotten back into playing id's Rage, which picks up once you get past all the racing you have to do. I still marvel at the detail that went i...

Was it Easter already? Goodness how times does fly. My reversal surgery is only ten days away! Man I have so much to prepare. Is life nothing but swimming through bureaucracy and addressing e-mails? That's the real tax on life, these micro tasks that whittle down my days. Kites on the boardwarlk Yeah, the surgery... I'll be in the hospital for 5-7 days as my pouch heals and they monitor my condition. I'll be pretty tired and will stay at home for a few days afterwards, I think. There is a small chance that the surgeon will decide to perform the second surgery (which is normally done some months later), in which case my recovery will be much more involved, and I'll stay at home training my new bowels for several weeks. In any case, these are the last days of freedom. Thursday night I hung out with a couple friends at Betty's, drinking and talking about films. How the beer did flow, that familiar warmth enveloping me. The hockey game was on (Game 1 of Leafs ve...

So yeah, I got married. Months of careful, stressful planning paid off with a small ceremony at the McMichael Art Collection, out in Kleinburg. The weather graced us with snow for the day, so the outdoor pictures came out rather fine. Indeed all of our activities ran smoothly, an A+ crew making a plan come together: Having everyone polished and arriving on time, a Western ceremony, a change of garments and a Korean ceremony, another change for dinner, and finally drinks and dancing, with breaks in-between for photos. But I don't feel all that different. Sure, it's nice to have that someone, that special someone there, and to be done with all the coordinating, all the fuss, all the business that comes with a wedding. My life has otherwise leveled out to a normal state, with work and leisure passing the hours. I've not gone back to karate or archery, and indeed my body, while mostly recuperated, is still a mild version of what it once was. Certainly my knee is still weak, a...