Friday Night Vertical 2021

Friday Night Vertical 2021

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

A Marriage Proposal

Black Cap Mt
No, as hard as it is to believe, I wasn't proposed to (I know. Right?! Who wouldn't want this bundle of joy and kindness around 24/7?!)). I'M the one making the proposal! I really need health insurance so I can get an MRI on this hamstring tendon and might as well throw in the foot, too. So if there's anyone out there with really good insurance (and is single haha), "Will you marry me?" I promise a full divorce with no alimony asked for upon my complete healing. And I'm not picky; a cubic zirconia is fine...unless you feel like buying me a huge diamond/platinum ring that I can hock at a local pawn shop after the divorce is final. That works for me as well. Either, or. Haha. Obviously I'm not serious. I don't want to have TWO divorces on my track record. That would make me look bad. Hahaha.

In all seriousness, though, I had planned to get insurance through the Healthcare Marketplace so that I could have had these injuries looked at, as well as the intestinal issue (yes, still going strong!), but after applying, my only "affordable" option would be using the full premium tax credit of $278/month they said I "qualified for". Well, the last time I used that tax credit, I had to pay every cent back. Although I have the option to use however much of it I want, not using it makes it unaffordable. Haha. So if I used all of it, my cheapest plan would be $108/month. I could do that! No deductible. $10 copay for specialist visit...BUT I have to pay 40% of the cost of x-rays and MRIs (any electronic imaging). Well, that's what I need, and THAT is not affordable. Plus, if I have to pay back the tax credit with my taxes in 2020, then that's $3,336 I have to pay back. So, once again. Not affordable. So if I didn't use the tax credit, my cheapest plan is $314/month with a $6,500 deductible, Coinsurance for ED, primary care and specialists are all 40% after deductible. Plus, once again, x-rays/MRIs are also 40% after the deductible. WTF. This whole Affordable Healthcare crap is such a fucking gimmick. I paid for it for 2 years and was "fined" both years (one for a reason I never understood and the other was for the tax credit pay back like I mentioned before). It's cheaper for me to pay the fine for NOT having it and then pay $20/month on a hospital bill for the rest of my life, if I ever had a catastrophic event. Those of us who live just above the poverty line really are the ones who get screwed. Neither poor nor rich enough. And as far as my company insurance goes, they offer $181/bi-weekly payment for a plan with over a $7000 deductible. What's the point?!! Seriously!!

So off I go into another year of being uninsured, my 7th year since 2011 being uninsured. With my left hamstring tendon NOT improving so far, I'm worried it could be an avulsion of some degree of the tendon from the bone which means surgery if it's 5cm or more. But I'll never know. But it also may not be even injured anymore! I'm in a private Facebook group for this injury where most of the people have had full avulsions and surgical repairs. Reading their posts, I'm discovering that most still feel the same pain years after the surgery even though MRIs and x-rays show it fully healed . So could it just be pain I'll feel forever? Is it torn? I'll never know!! I'm SO FUCKING SCREWED. All I can do is just hope this starts feeling better. The thing is is that it doesn't feel like a tear. My former gluteal tendon tear felt completely different. But that doesn't mean much since this could be just a partial tear. UGH. Can you sense my frustration?

So, anyway, that's where that stands. For now, I'm just staying very focused on doing things that don't hurt the tendon. I will still have days where it's more sore than others, which could mean I'm occasionally overdoing it, but I'm really trying not to do exercises that hurt it. I still modify as needed with the Insanity Max 30 workouts. This is very little, though. Most exercises don't bother it which I still can't believe. It's been great, though. I'm really enjoying getting FULL body fit again. And some of  these workouts are really hard, even if only 30 minutes. My upper body has improved significantly over the last 4 weeks. Soooo....I do have some more posing photos for you. The progress is cool.

But first! I finally have to do my big (pun intended) ass reveal! And no, sorry, not unclothed. I meant to take a photo after I completed 21 Day Booty Core but kept forgetting. So instead, it's after 5 weeks of doing Booty Core. I've been doing Day 20 almost every day since I finished the 21 days. I remembered yesterday to take a photo. I knew there was some improvement. My pants have been fitting a bit a tight around the ass, and I could just feel that it was more muscular, but I was NOT expecting to SEE such a huge difference in the before and after. The lighting is different in the photos, but it doesn't really matter since it's the shape that is different. In both photos, I'm standing completely relaxed, not flexed at all. And oops. I made the collage photo with the after photo first. Haha. So I labeled it. I seriously cannot get over the difference. From flat to round! Yay! Haha.

After 5 weeks of glute strengthening
I'm offering free slapping of my ass for anyone who wants to feel how solid it is. Ok now, not everyone needs to line up at once. Geez! Plenty of time! Haha. Yeahhhh...not really.

As far as Insanity Max 30 goes, I can't believe I'm halfway through the 8 weeks already. This is when it gets switched up to harder workouts for the 2nd 4 weeks. Considering the progress I had with the easier ones, I'm hoping to continue seeing it with these more challenging ones. I haven't done pull ups in months now and the last time I tried I could no longer do one. I decided to try again over the weekend and was able to do 2! That's just with doing Insanity workouts and no pull-ups. My back was pretty ripped prior to doing these workouts, but only the upper back. While I've lost some of the pull-up muscle tone, I'm pretty psyched to see a huge improvement in the lower back, as well.

Pardon the hair, as this was post-workout.
And a few #lookatme posed shots. It's just cool to share the progress, and I at least keep it to my blog and not on other social media platforms, but it still feels a little weird doing this in EVERY blog post lately. Haha.

Look closely and you can see the flab on the hip.


Ok, so now I'll mention what you aren't seeing...my extra fat. Oh yes, there is. While I've been great about sticking to my workout schedule, I have let my diet get completely out of control. And I have put back on some significant weight. It tends to hang out on my hips, butt and love handles. The only reason you don't see it in these photos is because I'm purposely hiding it from you. That strong ass in the previous photo is not without its fat, cellulite layer. I'm being 100% truthful. I even have cellulite on my hips and below my ass. This is ALL due to diet. I always gain weight in December, but this is a bit much. I'm eating way too much sugar (and I don't mean the beer). But the main problem is that I'm eating like I'm still running. But all that said...I'm not ready to stop. I have to be ready, and then I can do it. Prepare myself by setting a date to detox from the sugar. If I'm not ready, I fail. I just need to get in the right mindset and focus. I am not naturally thin, though, so the longer I let this go on, the more chubby I'll get so the sooner the better. But this brings me to another issue. What do I eat?!

I'm learning that with this intestinal issue, I can't necessarily eat a lot of "healthy" foods. I can rarely tolerate whole vegetables. That's actually been an issue for a few years. So I tend to use my juicer instead so that it's pure liquid and easily digestible, but all of sudden, juicing is making me feel nauseous for a few hours after, and my body is not tolerating even that. Whole grain anything is a no-go, except some whole wheat bread, but that ALSO started prior to my current issue. Sadly, the thing I digest best is low fiber, refined carbs. I actually have no problem with meat or eggs so at least that's good. I was eating sweet potatoes for awhile, but those also started to give me issues. The healthiest, most digestible thing I can come up with is whey protein with almond milk, but that's really expensive on a daily basis. I'm very tempted to order some Shakeology anyway, though. I've used it in the past with great luck, but it is WICKED expensive. So I'm in a bit of a dilemma here, and that's one of the reasons I'm not ready to fix my diet. I can't come up with what to eat! So in the mean time, I might put on some more pounds and just be ok with it. Speaking of...going to get some chocolate. Be right back...

Chocolate, down the hatch...so on to the week! It was a much better week despite a blow out with Bryan, another 15+ inches of snow and working another overtime shift. I think my snowshoe hike up Black Cap on Friday and then buying winter tires on Saturday made it all better. Haha.

I wanted to cry when I saw the forecast for snow starting early while I was at work on Monday and continuing into late Tuesday afternoon/evening. Always. Without fail, our biggest storms always happen when I'm at work so that by the time I get home the next morning, the snow is so high that I can't do much with it. This would be the third Tuesday snowstorm in a row, so I was over it!! I couldn't believe we were getting another storm before I could get snow tires, but I decided to be more prepared so I dug out my wire chains that I used to use when I had bald tires during the winter of 2014. I was going to put those things on my tires at work so I could get home the next morning. I'd have to drive around 20mph the whole way, but I figured being that asshole would be ok on a morning like this. The chains went on easily; amazing the difference a warm garage and hands can make when putting those things on. I breathed a sigh of relief that I would be able to get home.



This storm did not disappoint. Woke up to over a foot of snow already, but I was stress-free. Getting home would be no problem. You know where I'm going with this, don't you? Haha. Take a closer look at those chains in the photo^^. Just a wee bit rusty, huh? So, I pull out of the lot and make it about 1/4 mile before I start to hear a loud clang with every rotation of the passenger's side tire. I wanted to pull over, but a huge tractor trailer was literally riding my ass. That alone was so wrong and so unsafe, but anyway. I'm just hoping it hangs on until I can get off the road. I turn right at the light, the clanging got worse....then silence. Dammit! It fell off! So I turn into the next plowed lot I find to take a look. The chains on that tire are gone so I get back in and decide to drive back to find them,..but they weren't there! How the hell? I had to continue pretty far in the opposite direction until I could find a place to turn around. Ugh. At least I still had one set. I immediately had a long line of cars behind me, but there was nothing I could do about that. I made it a mile, then, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG... Noooooo. The other one was about to fall off. I barely made it into Conway Village and pulled over at Cumberland Farms. That's when I realized the clip on the outside of the chains wasn't staying on. The rust had caused the metal to stretch so much that the rubber tightener wasn't tight enough. So I put it back together. Fell right off. Hmm. Meanwhile, a tree above me is dumping snow all over me. Haha. I had to get some gloves from the other side of the car so I walked around and noticed that I never lost the other chains. I had been dragging them the whole way. Hahaha! When I stopped it must have been covered in snow so that I didn't see it. I attempted to put it back on only to realize that a piece was broken. So it was now useless. I took its rubber tightener and put it on the other chains so that it now had two on there. Proceeded on. Made it 10 yards before the clip came loose and the clanging started again. I was less than 2 miles from home! Finally, it got so bad that I knew it was going to fall off so I pulled over at the Mobil station, only .6 miles from my road, the one thing I needed the chains for. Put it back together. Clanging started immediately, but I kept going. No ability to get any momentum since my hill is sharp right turn, but I gunned the fucking thing. The hill hadn't been plowed or sanded in probably over an hour. I never would have made it without that chain, but just as I was about to clear the top, the chains fell off. I had enough speed to keep going. I'd made it!! I had to stop and walk back for the chains and found the metal completely shredded. Time from work to the end of my driveway: about 45 minutes. Normally 10-12. Haha. And then the blowout with Bryan began...

As I got to my driveway, I see a wall of about 2 feet of wet heavy snow blocking it. Bryan's van was there just before the end of the driveway. Looked like he was still sound asleep in it. You'd think that since he's allowed to camp there FOR FREE, he could have shoveled the driveway the night before to lessen the amount I'd have to shovel today. Or you'd also think he would get up and start shoveling his way out, but nope. Didn't do a fucking thing. So I was irritated. This snow was so wet and heavy that clearing the whole driveway would be beyond me, so I messaged the plow guy and said I'd definitely need him to clear the driveway. He said he'd be there shortly, but I really needed to get my car out of the road so I walked through the snow to Bryan's van to grab the unused shovel that was leaning on it so I could start clearing the end of the driveway to at least move my car in a bit. Bryan decides to get out and as I'm shoveling asks if he can borrow the shovel. Are you fucking serious right now? I tell him that I'm using it, but he insists. Takes it, walks back to his van and starts shoveling around it. That's when I lost my shit on him. That was probably the biggest screaming fight we've had since the winter of 2015. You could tell we were a little rusty on our insults since I actually had to pause before I came up with "moron" and then as I finally walked away, the best he could end it with was, "You're a dufus," after I made fun of him for believing in UFOs and aliens. Haha. He deserved that after mimicking my voice every time I said anything, just like he used to do every time I tried to talk to John the last year of your marriage. I had to get a dig in there somewhere so I chose the aliens thing. It was bad, though. He started telling me to get back in my car like he can tell me what to do. Ha! I told him he could get the fuck off my property. I finally went to the house so that I could get a check for the plow guy who showed up just as I came back out the door. After watching him plow my driveway this time, I can see why he charges me $50 instead of the smaller driveway $30. It was actually a big job and took awhile. I have to say he plowed it very well, and I was SO thankful to have the plow service. I honestly think that shoveling over a foot of wet, heavy snow from my huge driveway might have actually been beyond my physical ability. $50 well spent. I knew once he plowed it, I could shovel whatever else fell in the afternoon.

The end of my driveway when I got home, complete with two downed trees. 
The snow was so heavy that my birch trees were literally touching the ground. I took this photo after I freed them from the snow.
Since John didn't have school, he was going to leave with Bryan to go to Frontside Grind. I thought this was going to be the end of it until I heard Bryan screaming at John from inside the house. Oh come on!! So I had to go out. Bryan wasn't being overly horrible, believe it or not, but he was talking to John like he was a dog which set John off. Bryan was doing it in a Bryan humor way so he really wasn't trying to be a dick, but John ended up in tears and back in the house. And...that commenced Bryan coming into my house again for another HOUR long conversation. I have to say this one actually went better than others. We were able to talk like human beings and let the anger go. I wouldn't support John going with him until he assured me he wouldn't yell at him at all. He said he wouldn't and ended up following through on that...FOR ONCE. So man, that was my morning. Haha.

I enjoyed the peace and quiet with a cup of coffee and then got to my workouts. I only left the house to walk the dogs briefly. With the heavy snow, trees were snapping and falling like crazy so I didn't want to spend too much time in the woods. The snow turned to a rain mix that lasted until about 8pm. I went back out around 3pm to shovel the 2 inches that had fallen since it had been plowed. Took just under 2 hours. It's great exercise when I'm stuck at home all day, but I still hate it. Haha.




That night with John and Phoenix

She's never lied down on the back of the couch before. 
Oh so in response to my "anonymous" creepy stalker letter that I received in the mail in September about me not having big boobs, well, guess who's hitting my blog on a daily basis?

Looks like I made the cut...



Other fun shit from the week. On hour 33 of a 34, my partner and I had just brought in a patient. I teched the call so my partner was in charge of cleaning the truck. I made my way out into the doorway where the EMS coordinator at Huggins has snacks and a Keurig set out for us. I was about to make coffee, when out of the corner of my eye, I see something moving outside. I turn and see our stretcher that my partner had put outside in the gusting wind moving to the right, it then immediately starts spinning in circles until it hits the hill. I immediately busted through the emergency door hoping to catch it, but down the hill it went with me running after it at a full sprint. But I was too late. The stretcher hit a snow bank and did a complete flip! Haha! I was pissed at first because my partner is physically incapable of doing this job and couldn't get the stretcher before it got loose so I had to run after it. But then, I took a step back and thought, "This is actually really funny," so before I picked it up, I snapped a photo. Thankfully, there was no patient on it!




Workouts for the Week

Monday, 11/26 
21 Day Booty Core Day 20 + 5 min abs. 35 minutes total
Spin Bike before work. VO2 Max workout. Love this one. 30 minutes.
Ambulance Bay Walk- circles and stairs. 30 minutes

Christmas tree in the bay
Tuesday, 11/27
-21 Day Booty Core Day 20 (yep still doing the same workout). 30 minutes.
-Insanity Max 30: Max Cardio. 30 minutes. I wasn't supposed to start this one until the next week, but Cardio Challenge was getting too easy.
-Insanity Max 30: 360 Abs. 15 minutes. I love this one since it works the back as well as abs.
-Snow Shoveling- 1:57:12.

In the rain/snow
Wednesday, 11/28

-Insanity Max 30: Tabata Strength. 30 minutes
-21 Day Booty Core Day 20. 30 minutes.

One of the reasons I'm getting fat. A former co-worker brought this to us. 

Booty Core selfie at work.
Thursday, 11/29

-Insanity Max 30: Sweat Intervals. 30 minutes.
-Insanity Max 30: Ab Attack. 10 minutes.

Did both workouts early at work before I had to shower and drive down to Tamworth for the rest of my shift. Skipped Booty Core since I was out at 5 and had errands to run in North Conway. Wasn't home until after 7pm since I drove all the way up to Intervale after getting dog food to buy beer at the only good beer store in town. Vista Bev has a small, yet awesome selection.

Friday, 11/30

-21 Day Booty Core Day 20. 30 minutes.
-Insanity Max 30: Tabata Strength. 30 minutes.

Saturday, 12/1

-21 Day Booty Core Day 20. 30 minutes.
-Insanity Max 30: Friday Fight Round 1. Last time doing this workout and the first time I was able to get through the whole thing without taking a break. Onto Round 2 next week!

Sunday, 12/2

-Insanity Max 30: Pulse. 20 minutes. Low impact recovery workout.
-Insanity Max 30: Max Out Abs. 15 minutes.
-Spin Bike- Climbing Intervals. 30 minutes.
-Snow Shoveling. 1:48:21. In the POURING rain. Shoveled about 2 inches of snow slush that fell overnight.

CycleOps video

I don't sweat as much in 58 degrees and no humidity.

Halfway to go

Halfway done
Had a comical encounter with Bryan while I was shoveling. He came by to drop off Chill and was obviously very stoned. But, I'll take stoned Bryan over mean Bryan any day. Stopped to talk about my financial future, told me to let the snow grow and live at the top of the driveway and let the house burn down. When I couldn't demonstrate that I understood what he was saying (this has always been a thing with Bryan), he drove away to leave Chill at the house. Then he yelled at John. And on the way back out, he stopped the car and said, "Not to be mean, but your poncho sucks," and then drove away. Cuckoo. I actually laughed at that and then carried on with shoveling. Seriously, stoned Bryan is annoying but it could be worse. By the way, I was completely dry from the rain under my poncho. Bryan is obsessed with his "poncho system". My poncho is just for taking the dogs out in the rain and shoveling in the rain. Haha.

Hikes

Friday, 11/30
Friday's hike up Black Cap Mt probably made my week. It was such a beautiful day and I could finally get out. I was unsure of conditions, but I really wanted to break trail in my snowshoes and figured Hurricane Mt Rd would be mostly untouched. I was partly right. Only one skier had been through as well as one snowshoer. This left a whole 1/3 of the road free for me to break trail. It started out icy to where I was walking on top of the snow, but within about 1/4 of a mile, it became pure powder. It was very slow going and an insane workout. Phoenix traveled in the other snowshoer's tracks which were mostly frozen. By the time we got to the top of Hurricane Mt Rd, only the skier's tracks were left as we took the right up to the summit of Black Cap. It was insanely pretty! The skier stopped and turned around about half a mile from the summit so I had all the fresh snow to myself to break. Once we got out on to the open summit, the snow was crazy deep with huge drifts in places. I was psyched to be the first one up there since Tuesday's storm. There's something peaceful about being up in unbroken snow. We didn't stay long on the summit since I was running out of time to get back to pick up John. From the summit, I decided I would bound down the fresh powder but forgot I wasn't in running snowshoes and only took about 3 steps before I fell into the snow. It was pretty funny. I had been calling for Phoenix to follow me, but she just showed me the paw and went back down the way we came up. Haha. I thought the way down would be quick, but I was still breaking trail. I had forgotten to start my GPS until about 1/2 mile in so I don't have accurate mileage or time, but it was about 2hours45min and 6 miles total. I was actually pretty exhausted after that. That was definitely more of a workout than a mountain running on clear trail. Photo overload....Sorry!



After I fell haha



















Saturday, 12/1

John and I drove down to Concord to buy some used snow tires (finally!) from someone on Craigslist. The tires had only been used one season and were in great condition. $180 for all 4. $320 brand new so that was worth it.

After we got the tires, we drove back north a few exits to Oak Hill Hiking Trails. I had never heard of this place but found it on Google Maps. I was surprised at how hilly it was. And no leash rules! I did keep Phoenix leashed and also leashed Chill when we saw people coming, but it was nice to let Chill be free when no one was around. We had tried to make it to the Oak Hill Fire Tower but ran out of time before dark so we turned around. John talked to me about Fortnight the entire way. I'll never remember all the details specifically, but it is actually an interesting game. Just as we were getting back to the lot, we ran into a worker replacing all of the old signs with new metal ones. He asked if we wanted an old sign, so we took one. Pretty cool. About three miles total for our hike. I would really like to come back and run here sometime.




After our hike, I decided to try a nail place in Concord. I just had TWO nails break within a week of getting them done at the place here in town. One nail even broke in half in my sleep! No idea how that could happen, but I swear, every time I use Nail Envy, I have no less than 2 nails break within 2 weeks. They are either skimping on the amount of acrylic or using really cheap product.

So I looked on Google for a salon with the best reviews and came up with Jade Nails which happened to be right near Five Guys where I bought John dinner. This nail salon was awesome! First off, they did the gel polish for the same price as the regular so I finally decided to try it. And wow! I get it now. I'm not sure I can go back to the regular polish. They also served free wine! I was the only one in there who opted for red wine. What is up with women and white wine? Plus the nail tech was so nice! He showed me pictures of his 4 small dogs and then when their credit card machine didn't work, they trusted me to leave and come back with cash. That was a bit of a pain, but the machine didn't work. What were they going to do? I didn't mind since they had provided such good service. Why can't we get good places here? Grr.

My "new" winter tires!

Nice new nails

The look when she's on alert waiting for me to grab that yellow ball behind her and throw it



Sunday, we literally went nowhere because it was gross out. I got plenty of exercise between workouts and shoveling. John didn't, unfortunately, but it just wasn't a good day to go out with it pouring rain and temps in the 30s. He had a shit ton of homework anyway. He had to correct his math quiz which he got every answer wrong on. I still can't figure it out. It took only a few minutes to explain the concept to him and then he blew through the rest with very little help. He has a lot of trouble focusing, though, so I had to keep redirecting him, but he got it done. I left him to the poetry and then his Spanish class research on his own.

So definitely a much better week than last week. And it's just going to get better since I don't have anymore extra shifts on my schedule for awhile. The money has been good, but not getting outside has been depressing me so I need the break. I miss my free Thursdays. I will definitely miss the money, though! I can't wait to go for a hike tomorrow! Yay!

I did have some moments of missing running. Some days, I just wanted to go out for a run. But I'm definitely not depressed by not running since I've filled that void with something else in the mean time. It's crazy, though, looking in the mirror and seeing how much I've aged from not running. This happened my last injury. It was so sudden. Crazy how youthful looking running keeps you. I'm not looking forward to getting back in shape (if I can ever run again at all). That was the part that had me in tears last time, and this is going to be much worse since I wasn't in good shape when I started the time off. Last time, I was at my fastest when I had the sudden injury so getting back took no time at all. This will be different and frustrating, but it is what it is. I'm trying not to add much to my 2019 calendar. Everything I have added is mainly just a wish list...except Boston. That's the only one and true definite. This is kind of how I approached 2016 with my last injury and it worked out well for me. Hopefully, it will again.





5 comments:

  1. Really!?! My wife has been working hard to correct a bad Achilles, and as part of that has been working on...her glutes. With lots of "Can you see the difference?" questions. So at home and on this blog, I get to follow butt obsession. And for husbands/friends of runners, gives another possible right answer to the age old question "Does this dress/outfit make my butt look big?"

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    1. Hahaha. Too funny! I think you're in the clear to answer "yes" as long as the butt is big in the posterior direction. If it's large in a bilateral way when she asks, then quickly change the subject or compliment the woman's smile. Haha.

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  2. Nice progress!! I'd love to pay for insurance for someone who will use it. Although Dave says I use enough of it lately for the both of us that I'm getting my moneys worth... In all seriousness, I'm sorry that really sucks and health care for all was as big of a farce as I thought it might be.

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  3. "Those of us who live just above the poverty line really are the ones who get screwed."

    Always.You need to find ways to cheat. You have the right idea with fishing for a temporary husband for strictly practical reasons, but that's too honest and also somewhat labor-intensive. There are easier ways to quietly jimmy the system in your favor, none of them legal. I advocate any and all of these, though not openly.

    You look skinnier than usual to me in that gray shorts pic. Actually I don't gawk enough to have a real sense of what your baseline is, though I probably should; all I can say is that the person in those photos does not need to lose any weight for either aesthetic or functional reasons.

    Finally, in terms of the prognosis of your injury, understand that when you join one of those special online groups for specific maladies, you are selecting for the most extreme cases. Yeah, you might get some good info and empathy, but without trying to, those people will have you convinced that you will never run another pain-free step. That's just how it is whether the group is about stage IV lung cancer or a minor manscaping injury.



    ReplyDelete