This is the first part in a series entitled To Better Know me. You will see all parts available in a special module to the left by the same title. The purpose of this series is to help explain who I am and perhaps why. Might just help you understand other individual posts by me. Perhaps why I see things the way I do or how I react to things the way that I do.

Enjoy!
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Part one is a list of things that may be important (and some may turn out to be unimportant) to know about me.

1) The week before my 16th Birthday I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and treated for it. However, the general rule is that being infected without treatment for 5 or more years will cause your symptoms to become chronic. BINGO! I have so many problems due to this. Some of those problems appear in this list.

2) I have Tremors (there is a more full name that I forget) which affect my hands and on occasions my vocal cords. The Tremors tend to make me seem nervous when I am, in fact, very much not. This makes it fun (sarcastically speaking) to type on the keyboard (generally leads to lots of typos which i've come to backspace before anyone watching would even notice the error) and playing guitar. That's why I play my guitar so often...to try to work out the tremors when it comes to guitar playing.

3) I had my top teeth removed in 2002(?. My memory sucks. Discussed next). Due to a condition whose name I forget the enamel of my teeth simply weakens and makes me teeth extra vulnerable to..well..everything. Plus sports damage over the years didn't help either. This is pretty embarrassing. But it's another part of me.

4) Short Term Memory Loss. I used to have a mind like a steel trap. I could remember anything. Times, dates, places, numbers..whatever. But my memory is quite bad now. I have constantly remind myself of important things at regular intervals or it's gone. I've written stuff on notes to be remembered and then have forgotten where the notes were. It's not always that bad. But it can be. And it's infuriating. Also leads to problems musically...being a lead guitarist when you can't memorize half of the notes that you play. So I generally have to go by feel.

5) I have bad luck with cars. My first one was the best one as far as problems with it goes. But a 70 year old man t-boned me and my poor car with his oversized SUV. That was, however, the only accident I've been in while driving since I got my license. Good to get it out of the way in your first few months driving(?). The rest of the cars I've bought have basically been lemons and end up costing me much more than they should in the long run. And I've bought from reputable places and have had them checked out beforehand. The key is that the problems show up later.

6) One Summer (I think it was 2001) I had, at the same time; a kidney infection, bladder infection, and Urinary Tract Infection. Between those and the incredibly high summer heat I had experienced some of the worst pains I can remember except for one to be mentioned next. This has caused a few long lasting problems that still bother me to today and beyond.

7) I dislocated my kneecap playing roller hockey. Which then ended my baseball career because it was right before the season and once I was out of it for a year and never really got back to the skill level I was beforehand. I can be a jack-of-most-trades but never a master of any and only through a ton of practice can I maintain a level of skill at anything. Well this time off ended my baseball playing. I had played for 15 years. Now don't get me wrong...I never, ever would have played in the Majors. But I could still be playing in some league somewhere.

8) Lastly for this segment... there is a kidney condition that runs in the males of my family on my mom's side. It killed her biological father and his brother atleast. My Uncle Larry nearly died from it about 5 or 6 years ago. And it has forever altered his present times. My Uncle John doesn't have to worry about because he is from my Grandmother's second marriage and it was her first husband's side that it had come down. It causes sudden double kidney failure. A flu-ish feeling leading to excrusiating pain in the back near the kidneys. Perhaps because i was born of a female offspring of his it will escape me completely. But I still try to keep myself in the best shape and health as I can so that if it does happen I will stand a better chance of surviving it. My Uncle barely did. They'd given him a zero percent chance of pulling through. But luckily they were wrong enough. He'd had to undergo dialysis for years until my Grandmother went through all of the tests and was approved as a kidney donor. I keep hoping for the best.

Well that's it for this installment. You've learned mostly bad stuff here but forthcoming parts should be cheerier than this.

Thank you for spending some time with me.

What is the name of the kidney condition? How did you know that you had lyme disease?
» kKAMa67 on 2007-02-27 12:02:15

holy crap! I think I'm amazed that you're still alive, but I'm glad you still are :)

It's nice having you around...even if you've got all those problems. They don't affect your personality, so keep on being who you are :) I'm sure that's why Jenn loves you so much!
» lazypuppy on 2007-02-27 07:09:56

Lyme Disease
I have heard of people being misdiagnosed because of lyme disease. Someone I knew had the symptoms of diabetes and they were treating him for it. He was even taking insulin shots. Come to find out later it was not diabetes at all. Unfortunately, they did not realize the misdiagnosis until they cut off his leg. So I consider you to be one hell of a lucky guy! :)

Glad you are still around buddy.
» KkaMA67 on 2007-02-28 01:11:30

Totally
No one goes around bugging other people to add their recommendations like he does... It only pisses people off even more.. Even worse than a baby
» Xboyz on 2007-02-28 01:48:57

Wow, that's really tough luck on everything.

I read your comment on X box and have saved you to my fav at work so I'll start using you instead of Kuri-chin to go to NuTang. Maybe it will help boost your cash flow. XD I know, it won't amount to much, but it's better then nothing...right?
» Katrina on 2007-02-28 06:40:25

I think Ang Moh must be Asian for "Well-Hung" according to your reaction to them hahaha ---> Actually it means Caucasians in Hokkien (Chinese Dialect).

And whether its something cheerful or sadd, always looking forward to your entries man.

Cheerio!
» laziewong on 2007-03-01 09:17:37

Good job in staying alive and please continue doing so.
» Nuttz on 2007-03-01 11:03:45

Daaaaaaaayum
Its a testament to your character that you can be so brave despite the various ailments you've over come and are facing in life. You're an inspiration, Emu-man.
» Dilated on 2007-03-01 11:39:10

Good God...
... you're officially the sickest person I *know* !! CONGRATULATIONS!
» LittleBrit on 2007-03-01 06:58:22

Best Wishes
You'll be in my thoughts and prays... hope for the best and never give up...
» gunnysgurl1993 on 2007-03-16 10:04:10

Laughs @ Mims
OMG She's such a rotten bitch. But I love her. Sadly I didn't learn much. I already knew most of it.
» allamericangypsygirl on 2007-07-06 12:48:52

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