February 26, 2014

I'd like to dedicate this to whoever reads this. And it's almost Spring Break. Remember those days? I remember driving up to a hotel in Daytona Beach at the beginning of Spring Break. There were 2 football players holding a naked girl over a pool. She was naked except for a football helmet. Just as we pulled up. They threw her from the 3rd floor balcony into the swimming pool. I thought, is this our hotel? And that was just the beginning of an endless Spring Break. But that's a whole other story. So, check this out. I got my power chair, right? Well, all I need is a white cat, monocle, shave my head and an Armani button up suit jacket, and I'll look like Dr. Evil. As a matter of fact, feel free to call me Dr. Evil for a while. I'm feeling like Dr. Evil, I'll tell you. First of all, I'm trashing my parents house with this power chair. And second of all, I feel like hell. I'm telling you, I'm tired of this shit. My body is definitely going through some changes. Let me just tell you something; when I was in a coma, I remember people talking to me. I could hear. I was only aware of things about 2 feet from me. It was like being in a white out situation. I was only aware of things that were like a foot to feet away. In other words, you could stick me in the broom closet and I wouldn't care. Now, if you stuck me in the broom closet I would say, "What the hell did you stick me in the broom closet for?" In other words, I'm more aware of my surroundings. i guess it's a good sign. It makes you a little more depressed though. It makes you realize that ignorance is bliss. Anyway, I don't want to get too profound on you, so I'll continue with some other stuff.

One of the first things I notice is I get up, I sit at the edge of the bed and I feel like I'm gonna fall. Everything is spinning. But, you know, it's a good sign because I had a really difficult time even sitting up before. I hope the vertigo goes away. The other thing I notice is my hands and feet are real numb. It's more difficult to talk, and my vision is not so great when I'm tired. But I am having no "moments" as I call them. All of this seems to be a sign I'm healing, very slowly healing. I'm happy my vision is getting better. My eyes are starting to register, or, in other words, line up together. I'm very happy about this. You know, because, HELLO! I'm a photographer! Anyway, you know, I'm gonna go to the old blog. My friend here will share the link. I'm gonna tell you a couple of fashion confessions. You know, the old blog is dedicated to the past. See you over there! Love, B. NIce

February 19, 2014

It's a stare off. My dog has my napkin. And I need it because I'm drooling. Every time I try to get my napkin he just growls and runs away with it. But, you know what the saddest thing is? It's the highlight of my day. Man, I gotta get out of the house. My friends came by and brought me to lunch. It was cool and a great break from being at home. I do therapy at home 24/7. It's been like that for like 3 years now. I have one therapist tell me I have to do something that will give me a break. You know something recreational. I tell her I do photography and drawing. That gives me a break. Actually, at 5 o'clock almost every day I do a heart for my daughter. I did a little film of it. Here's the link. http://vimeo.com/86992667 Check it out. My friend, Adam Hall, did the photography and his wife, Erin, did all the production. It was actually a big shoot. It was a fun day. Anyway, check it out.

This traumatic brain injury stuff can be a real drag. You have really bad days and really good days. Just like everyone else I guess. But the bad days are bad, believe me. Right now, my body's going through some weird neurological stuff. I sit on the porch naked screaming like a howler monkey. Just kidding. I am going through some weird stuff though. I would like to just benchmark how I am. It's good for me to look at. I'm having more moments, as I call them, at the end of the day, you know, when I'm tired. I keep getting a weird numbness in my face that moves around. Also, my tongue is numb. It makes it difficult to talk. I'm also very dizzy when I sit up at the edge of the bed. Of course, this is with the help of one of my health assistants. Overall, my body is going through some changes, for sure. I'm convinced it's for the better. Remember, you gotta think positive.

My friend here reminded me that my two photo assistants came by. They were on my trip with me. They did a short film of the trip. It looked real good. I'll share with you guys later. But it looked real good. I'm proud of them.

I've also been working a lot with the Up n Go again. I had taken a little break from it, but I'm back to it. It's a machine that helps you stand up and walk again. It's real good for you, but man, it's tough. I feel like taking a nap after doing that. But it helps. I walked down the hall for the first time in a while. It gives you confidence. It makes you realize, yeah, I'll be walking again one day. One other thing that's been happening to me is I wake up every night around 2:00. I can't get back to sleep. Remember, never think too much. I've been doing too much thinking. It was weird. I couldn't figure out why I felt so strange. Then I realized my legs were out of the bed and asleep. Not a comfortable feeling. At least I didn't fall out of bed.

You see, I have no fashion story to tell today. I think I'll just leave it with traumatic brain injury. But I'm going to leave the link for the other site right here. (http://briannice.blogspot.com) You can read about some other stuff. We'll leave it at that. I hope you guys have a good week. Go sit in a cafe for me. Love, B. Nice

February 11, 2014

Hi everybody. Guess what! It's gonna be Valentine's Day pretty soon, so happy Valentine's Day. I hope you have a great day. I'm gonna attach a heart for you.

My friend here came over to blog and I was driving around my new power chair. It's another milestone. I couldn't have driven it before. It's kind of bittersweet because I never thought I'd be driving a power chair, but it makes me a little more independent. It'll be great for going over to my sister's, and down to the local bar (just kidding about the bar…). Anyway, don't get hung up on the tools. I think I said that before, but it's important. Remember the tools are only stepping stones to help you get better. I mentioned here, to my friend, I'm having what I call "moments." I guess you could say they are kind of like anxiety attacks. They've been happening in the afternoons. It only lasts about 5 seconds, but it could be from the stress in my life, like the power chair, our family friend getting sick, my personal life. You know, boring stuff like that.

I've been visiting our family friend in a sub-acute hospital. It's kind of like a glorified nursing home. I would have been there if not for my parents. Anyway, all the beeping of the machines and the sounds of the hospital were a little much for me. I didn't think it would affect me, but I started getting real anxious. I had to get out of the hospital. Interesting. The other thing I notice is, man, if you have anyone in the hospital you love, you should have someone stay with them 24/7. You really gotta keep an eye on the hospital. It's not their fault. They are way understaffed and way overworked, you know, the nurses and the aides, but you've got to advocate for your relative. I saw them at the hospital try to put our family friend in what I'd call a broom closet. We were all like, "You've got to be kidding me!" Our family friend ended up getting a room with a window. But if it weren't for us, that wouldn't have happened. So, if you have someone you love in the hospital, make sure you stick around for them. At least, get someone to advocate for them. That's just my opinion, and it's also coming from someone that's been in that position many times. You know what? I get kind of bummed out thinking about it all, so let's go over to the other blog. My friend will put the link here, and talk about some fashion confessions.

February 4, 2014

Hi you guys. Hey, I'd like to dedicate this blog to all of my therapists. They've been so important. I'll explain more in a bit.

So check this out. I went to the hospital because a family friend was, well, very sick. I was in the hospital talking to the doctor when the doctor looked at me and said, "What's your deal?" I said, "Well…" I explained I had brain surgery. Mentally I'm all there but physically I'm messed up. I told him I had a slight cough because, you know, it's flu season. Mind you, I've had a flu shot and a pneumonia shot, but I still had a cough. He said, "Brian, OK, off to the ER with you." I said, "What?" He said, "Yup off to the Emergency Room for you to get a chest x-ray." Next thing you know, I'm back in the Emergency Room. Never a dull moment. Well, I had a chest x-ray and everything is OK. I was allowed to go home. Oh yeah, I did get tested for the flu and I did have the flu. Go figure. Anyway, that was a few weeks ago. I'm OK and my family friend is OK. You know, when you have traumatic brain injury, I said it before, but I'll say it again, it's so important to have good therapy. You have to work hard, but therapy is so important. And after spending time with my family friend, I also am reminded that it's so important to have a point person. Someone to look after you while you're in a hospital. You have to have an advocate. Otherwise, you just get lost in the shuffle. The hospital might mean well, but you still get lost in the shuffle. You really need someone there every day, from 7 am to 6 pm.

I'm not sure what to talk to you guys about so I'm gonna have my friend here go in the other room and get one of my journals. Maybe it will trigger a story or two. I know I was going to talk about the present and the future on this blog, but I couldn't resist.

So my friend here went in the other room. She pulled a book about, well, 1997. I was living between Paris and New York. The book went on and on about how happy I was when I lived in Paris. I'll have her include a cartoon or two. The book just reinforces the idea that you should chase your dreams. You see, I always dreamed of living in Paris. And voila! Then I did. Don't be afraid. Just chase your dreams. Even if they seem outrageous. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it there because I'm outrageously tired. I'll include a few photos from my trip. Remember, you're very lucky. This is B. Nice signing off. Love, B. Nice

January 28, 2014

Hi everybody. So, old Pete died today. Pete Seeger was 94 years old and he passed away this morning. He was a cool guy. He used to come to my grade school all the time and play for us. We also went on his ship, the Clearwater, all the time. It was a lot of fun. He was a good guy. Oh yeah, that reminds me. One time I was at the front of the ship with a friend of mine. We went out on the bow sprint. It's  basically a mast sticking out of the front of the ship. There's a chain from the front of the bow sprint down to the water line. A cable going up to the top of the mast. A few other cables here and there and no security net. There is one now, and I'll explain why now.

You see, my friend and I used to like to sit at the end of the bow sprint. It was pretty mellow sailing cause there were no waves, but one day a boat came by and well, the ship started rocking and rolling and next thing you know, my friend fell off and into the water. Next thing you know, I'm climbing down the chain and I see his one arm holding on to the chain, keeping him from going under the ship. I grab him and next thing you know, another shipmate shows up and we pull him up to safety. Not bad for a nine year old. We were both delegated to the center of the ship and we weren't allowed to go anywhere. Gee, I wonder why. Anyway, now there's a safety net. No one's allowed to go on the bow sprint.

Anyway, it was always great when Pete was there, singing as we were sailing down the Hudson River. Good guy.

Sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent there. And remember, this blog is supposed to be about the here and now and the future. I just  couldn't resist telling a story from the past. You know, this traumatic brain injury thing is kind of a drag. I've learned now though I can see better if I close my left eye and look at everything with my right eye. It's kind of like how I do pictures. You see, I look through the camera with my right eye. In the past I would spend weeks looking through the camera with my right eye. So the whole idea isn't so foreign to me. Once again, it's as if the past has gotten me ready for how I am now.

There's been some crazy stuff going on in my personal life. I'll explain more later, but I'll tell you, stress and the common cold can take a lot out of you when you're like this. I feel like telling you a few fashion confessions. Let's go over to my other blog. (Click HERE)