Entry Sixty-Nine.
Sunday, 2008.04.13, 7:38 AM CST.
A health scare and a birthday.

Well, the last couple of weekends have been eventful.  There have been some times that were wonderful, and some moments that I gladly would have taken back to the manufacturer if I had the option.  Here's the scoop...

My big health scare.
Occasionally, things happen in one's life that make one re-evaluate how much one's life means to, um, one.  Such a thing happened a week ago today.

Without being too graphic or specific, I found a kind of "bump" - a small, almost cyst-like formation - under my skin in an area not known for such "bumps."  Knowing that I have a family history of cancer, this was obviously quite frightening.

Luckily, I managed to get an appointment with a doctor and had it checked out.  It was just a minor sweat gland infection, and I am taking care of it with some antibiotics.

Still, it was enough to make me wonder...  What if something had gone wrong and I suddenly was dying?  I mean, every day to some extent I realize that I'm going to die someday, but this was scary.

I won't go further into sappy sentimentality, but let's just say that I'm glad I'm doing okay insofar as the "not having cancer" department is concerned.

X turned one.
A little over a week ago, my son X had his first birthday.  So, last Saturday, we had two birthday parties for him - one in the afternoon for family and family friends, and the other in the evening for our social circle (which, after X fell asleep, devolved into a late-night Apples To Apples gaming session).

Things went well.  Here are a few pics for those who are interested.

X got his own little birthday cake...

...which he then proceeded to destroy.

X in his high-chair, in anticipation of said cake.
(Yes, that is an Edgar Allen Poe bib, which I purchased before he was born.)

X with one of his gifts.

X tearing open said gift.

X offering me part of the wrapping paper.

X received more presents (toys, clothes, books, and DVDs) than a one-year-old probably should, and, of course, being one year old, didn't have the cognitive capacity to really understand anything that was going on.  One-year-old birthday parties are, of course, mainly for the parents to show off their kid... not for the kid to enjoy personally.

But, I'll admit...  It was fun.

I want to extend a major "thank you" to all of our friends and family who showed up and/or sent presents or cards for X.  Obviously, he's not able to say thank you himself, but both Lanna and I really appreciated all the gifts that were given to him.  So, thanks very much.

In other news...
I did some more mixing practice yesterday.  I spun a decent set ranging from the mid-90- to mid-100-BPM range.  It was fun.  I have a rather large shipment of remixes on the way from an online dealer... and they'll include a great number of extremely rare remixes that managed to "slip through my radar" several years ago, including versions of Inner City's "Good Life," Robin S' "Love 4 Love," Culture Beat's "Mr. Vain," and even VIM's old club hit, "Maggie's Last Party."  I should hopefully receive them within the next week or so.

Anyway, I need to take care of some stuff around the house.  I'll post more later.

Badger