curtis' blog

A new year is about to begin.  Big whoop.

I’m terribly sorry.  I still have a gallbladder.  I know you were all looking forward to hearing about an exciting surgery, but I really have no story.  They couldn’t find any gall stones.  Seriously.  They thought there must be some, but I don’t have any.  And I don’t drink.  And my weight-to-height ratio is so low, I’m almost underweight.  It must be from all the steps I climb every day to go to work or classes (literally hundreds) and the hours of volleyball I play.  And I’m 19.  So, my severe acute pancreatitis is now ideopathic severe acute pancreatitis.  Woohoo.  That means they have no idea what caused it.  I just love modern medicine.

Merry Christmas to all!

With final exams through tomorrow, then the long trip home, then the holiday plans, etc., etc., we will not have any more Alistair Watkins videos for you until after we are back in school.  We may post a video today or tomorrow of our room (the ACTUAL room 2593).  We are going to clean it first until the glare almost damages the camera.

I found out at our Christmas concert that I Cantori (my college choir, of which I am a part) will be going to Brazil at the end of the school year for a 2-3 week tour!  It has finally been confirmed.  If you would like to help me out with that, just go to my donation page.

We apparently have fans.  We haven’t found out who these fans are, but we are happy that people enjoy our videos.  Perhaps at the end of the year we will distribute a DVD.  Or tee-shirts.  Or something.  Perhaps you can come up with some good ideas.  So far we’ve thought of having tees that say, “Does eating an ice cream cone exercise your brain?  I think not!”  The DVD would be fairly easy.  Now, the only problem with shipping these things is privacy.  Many of you haven’t even given your real first names.  Giving us your addresses too might be a little much.  If it is a problem, please help us solve it.  We do have an entire semester left for videos, but it doesn’t hurt to plan ahead.

Ah, yes.  I remember.  We need ideas for more videos.  We just need some strange (or just potentially funny) occupations for Bret to have had.  We have only a couple of ideas right now, and it’s easy to make a video after we get through the original idea.

We did sing a Thanksgiving carol for you, but we have nothing for Christmas.  Sorry about that, but there is no familiar Thanksgiving tune we can turn into a Christmas song.

As a special Christmas bonus, you can contact us through our blogs, especially in the forums, for free help with anything.  Wait… we always do anyway.  I’m just reminding you that we enjoy helping others, especially with anything technological.

Sign up!!!  You get special treatment if you do!  Well, you can have an avatar that shows up in comments on some blogs, you can post in the forums, and you may eventually get even more privileges if we think you’re worthy.

I shall be trying to learn French (again, ugh) starting next semester.  I want to take a French course next year, and I want to be somewhat prepared.  If any of you speak French, speak away!  I would love the practice.

This paragraph is not an announcement at all.  In fact, the only point is to see if you have actually read this far.

And this is the end of my post.  It might be a bit long and boring, but it’s mostly informational.  Enjoy your Christmas.  Happy early 2009.  Have fun and eat unhealthful things over the holidays.  Enjoy your pancreatitislessness!  Au revoir!

Well, we’re so sorry that this week’s video is so late, but I was kinda in the hospital for a week there.  Robby’s explanation for my absence was that I was slowly morphing into Cher.  Yes, the celebrity Cher.  No, I haven’t actually done that.  However, Robby has starred and starred again in this week’s episode.  He is Bret Thompson, and me… Cher… Alistair Watkins.  I mostly sat back and offered advice in post-production.

In “Days of Yore” we learn of Bret’s past.  It answers many viewers’ questions.  Next week, Alistair will be back to normal (if it can be considered normal) asking Bret about even more strange occupations.

This is also the FIRST FULL EPISODE IN WIDESCREEN!!!  Enjoy!

Oh yes, and I let Robby borrow my awesome “Curtis” shirt.  I don’t know where it came from, but I have a shirt with my name on it.  It’s amazing, isn’t it?!

On Saturday morning of Thanksgiving break, I went to a hospital in Iowa, near where we were vacationing with family, for nausea and extreme pain.  After extensive tests, doctors concluded I had pancreatitis, caused by gallstones.  Pancreatitis is considered one of the most painful afflictions one can have, so I was given doses of narcotics to keep the pain to a minimum.  Treatment began right away, but nobody can ever predict how long recovery will be.

Most patients with pancreatitis are older than 19, and some have said it takes about 2-3 weeks to recover from.  My youthfulness may be a reason I was able to go home (to Missouri) after six days in the hospital.  However, I am not completely better.  I still have some pain and other problems, and I still take antibiotics to finish off the pancreatitis.  I may be back at Southern on Sunday, but I can only be hopeful right now.

I’ll be getting my gallbladder removed during Christmas break so this doesn’t happen again.

I would have written while I was in the hospital, but they didn’t have internet access for patients!  That’s always great.  I kinda felt a little disconnected from the world.

Anyway, keep me in prayers!  I shall keep you updated.