I lost touch with this site for over a year, and thought I should update some of the major things that have happened to me since then. I’ve got a cold today so I figured it was the prefect time to sit down and write.
PICTURES HERE DUDE
Lets see, after my last post I came back to PDX from a great time in Texas visiting my brother and his family. A ton has happened since.
Probably the biggest life changer for me was open heart surgery in May of 2011. Shortly after coming back from Texas I found out my aortic root had grown to a large, dangerous size and it would be a matter of time before I would have to have a major surgery. More info on the condition can be found at www.iheartandy.com, a site I used to inform friends and raise money to pay for my surgery.
PICTURES HERE DUDE
I guess the next biggest thing to happen after that was a major recovery cycle. I was given strict parameters that I followed and I made sure I was working hard to get better. It seems the new theory on recovery is to get up and be active. At 24 hours I walked and at 72 hours I was out of the hospital. I had a lot of things on my side: great doctors, a great family, and great friends. The support they showed was incredible it got me into a perfect mindset to recover. My mom remade their guest bedroom to be a recovery area with a lowered bed I could get in and out of. She also brought in a bench and chairs for people to visit on. Some friends helped build a platform in my folk’s woods called Outpost 502. It is a spot to relax and recover and was perfect over the summer. At 6 weeks I got the ok to run and I never looked back. I had already been walking 3+ miles and I was ready. From the 6 week point, I set my sights on the Portland Marathon and followed a shortened training program in Hal Higdon’s book. At 5 months post op I was able to complete the marathon, and do it in under 4 hours to reach my goal. Since then, I have been running intermittently and I spoke for an hour at a heart surgery seminar about my experience and recovery. My perspective on life has certainly changed and I try to take nothing for granted. It was easy to say that before, but now I am taking action.
PICTURES HERE DUDE
The next biggest steps I’ve made would be to simplify my life. In a way, this will allow for more chaos, albeit controlled and focused. I sold my brown Land Cruiser and bought a Honda Accord in Houston. The trip back was incredible and I got to see some old friends and make new ones. And now I have a car that needs very little attention, gets good mileage and allows me to focus on things I am more interested in.
PICTURES HERE DUDE
When I got back I took out a loan and purchased an office. It is similar to the old office trailer I operated out of, however I will own this one. That is a huge distinction, in that I am able to set this one up exactly how it needs to be. The new office had been tailored to work with my current businesses (Guncoat Northwest, Hash Goods, Etc) and should have the capacity to create new ones. More and more I am moving towards a small scale production/ prototype facility. Some of the ideas that are refined at 502 Global can then be taken to a company that specializes in large scale production.
PICTURES HERE DUDE
New Guncoat Northwest site and work www.guncoat.com
Socks! www.hashgoods.com
