The Bad, The Good & The No Longer Needed

On New Year's Eve I made a resolution to try something new in each month of 2012 and then blog about it. In January I wrote about joining an all-female bootcamp... and what follows is my entry covering February, March and April.

FEBRUARY

Wednesday, February 22nd - almost 6:00 at night and I was at a local Chamber of Commerce reception across town. I was making my way towards the doors, saying my goodbyes, when suddenly my cellphone started flashing/buzzing/dinging/howling/whistling/shaking out of control. Phone calls, text messages, Facebook postings - all from people wanting to make sure I was alright. Befuddled, I called my wife for answers, which is when she told me: there was a shooting at my hospital... at least two employees were seriously injured... it was all over the local news.

Actual picture of the SWAT Team (via Hartford Courant)

I felt like I was kicked in the stomach.

For the next six hours I was immersed in a sea of SWAT teams, news cameras, neighbors and colleagues as the entire mess was sorted out. We huddled up against a patrol car with the Police Chief and the Mayor, getting updates as they came through; and once the suspect was caught and the victims transported to a local trauma center, we headed back inside and started to try to put things back together. For the days that followed we met with employees, met with prosecutors, met with police; we prepared press statements, edited press statements, delivered press statements. We fielded calls from the Governor's Office and from Congressmen; we read police reports and arraignment notices. And we prayed for our two colleagues who remained in critical condition.

There is a lot more I need to write about all of this, but I'm still not ready. The will to get back on track has come and will continue to come over time. But for now, I'm counting the management of this crisis as something new... something I've never done before nor every care to again.

MARCH

BEFORE

I'm the type of guy that always has to be doing something, even more so in stressful times - which is why the primary beneficiary of my post-shooting neurosis was my wife (and, more specifically, her master bathroom).

AFTER

When we bought our house four years ago, we hated the decor. In fact, we actually walked-out of the house the first time we saw it. Pink walls, peach walls... tons of gaudy wall paper. And a powder-blue master bath. Over time I have removed all of the wallpaper, painted all of the walls, removed a bunch of rugs, polished the floors, et cetera, et cetera - but never had I taken on a full-scale project like an entire bathroom.

Over the course of four weeks I completely removed the tile, toilet, sink, shower and drywall from the bathroom and then re-constructed the entire thing. Yes: My father-in-law did help with the shower install; and yes: I did have to hire a plumber to weld a new shower control pipe thingy in there. But by and large I did the entire thing myself. It was and is hands-down the biggest home improvement project I've ever undertaken... and the first full re-model I've ever done myself.

APRIL

Save twenty or so pounds, I'm a rather healthy guy. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke and I don't ever ever ever eat McDonald's (because, let's be honest: its gross). But my one vice? Soda. And not even regular soda: diet soda; namely Diet Coke (which I do prefer to regular Coke) and Diet Dr. Pepper (which tastes more like a dessert than a drink).

Every day, I usually treat myself to either one Diet Coke or one Diet Dr. Pepper with lunch, surmising they are not the regular high-fructose corn-syrup infused quaffs that are almost single-handedly causing the obesity epidemic in America. They're "diet" - it even says so right on the can... but that's not good enough for my wife who likens diet soda to poison. She cites study upon study that (apparently) proves diet soda is just as bad - if not worse - for you than regular soda.

I, of course, dismiss this as pure poppycock - noting that I walk past doctors every day who drink Diet Coke after Diet Coke. (Granted, I also had a chain-smoking pediatrician when I was a kid who used to treat my asthma, but that's no really relevant.)

Eager to at least try a life without soda, though, I prepared a challenge: one week without it. Every time I wanted a soda, I'd simply have an unsweetened green tea (which I don't think anyone disputes is like the single most beneficial drink ever created... or something like that). One week, I told myself. I can make it one week.

I am now on Day 13 and still alive; soda is no longer a necessity to survive. I've also lost six pounds and am in a much better mood... but I will admit: the ice-cold Diet Dr. Pepper in the vending machine downstairs does occasionally call my name.