September 11th Memories

Today I would like to write about my memories of 9/11.....For my generation this is similar to the JFK assassination. I will always remember where I exactly was as I heard of the terrible news.

It was my junior year of high school and I was on my way to early morning seminary (I was in San Diego so it was sometime between 5 and 6 a.m.). The words streaming out of my radio transformed into horrible images in my mind. Was this the start of World War III? to be honest previous to that day I had never heard of the World Trade Center and was unaware of the massiveness of the buildings.

I walked into Seminary and told my teacher about what I had heard on the radio about terrorists flying into building and the carnage and chaos that resulted. I will always remember her reaction....She turned to me with a very stern face, the similar face you get from a scolding mother, and said that is not something to make a joke of. Being 15, I just looked at her and said I am not joking and then took my seat and was quiet.

After seminary I walked to school, I walked into my first period class and the T.V. was turned to CNN.  During seminary the Pentagon and other plane in P.A. had met their demise.

That entire day we did not follow lesson plans, we did not read textbooks, we did not turn in homework, we were glued to the television. The bell would ring we would move to the next class and just kept watching the horrifying images on the tube.

9/11/01...is a day I will always be able to vividly recall from the recesses of my horrible memory. I just wanted to put them into text and write about them today....

My Mother's Day...I mean Labor Day weekend

Last Friday I went home for my routine three months scans and everything was relatively stable and it was a good visit with my doctor.....unfortunately the medical fun of the weekend did not end there.

I woke up in the middle of friday night with HORRIBLE side pain. I did my usual routine when I am awoken with bad pain; I took some Oxycodone and a long hot shower. This usually alleviates my pain allowing me to drift back to sleep. However, after repeating this process three times I could no longer handle the pain and was pacing around my room taking deep breaths to occupy my mind.

So around 1:30 a.m. and awoke my parents and told them that I needed to go to the E.R. because I was near tears due to the amount of pain I was in. My dad woke up and drove me straight to the Children's Hospital E.R. it was a very LONG ride as I tried not to pass out due to the amount of pain.

Once in the E.R. I could no longer hold in the tears and I started to break down and go into some form of early shock (this is a non-medical diagnosis)....the E.R. people, realizing what I was going through put me in a room right quick and within a half an hour I had Morphine flowing through my veins. This dulled the pain and allowed my body to relax.

After watch reruns from the Republican National Convention on FoxNews I was discharged and was home sleeping in my bed around 6 a.m.

The Story continues....

SATURDAY

Often times my extreme side pain has been caused as a result of constipation. Trying to eliminate this as a cause for the pain I awoke around 8 or 9 a.m. and drank about 8 ounces of prune juice and went back to sleep. Around 3 p.m. there was still no bowel movement and so I got out of bed and drank ANOTHER 8 ounces of prunes juice (by this point the "High" from the Morphine had worn off and my taste buds could better discern what it was tasting and drinking....not very enjoyable). Prune Juice is some nasty crap.

Anywho, after sleeping some more I pooped up a storm that a mother potty training their youngster would be thrilled with (and concerned due to the amount deposited into the "John").

The Story continues....

SUNDAY

I woke up and my mother informs me that my wonderful doctor (she is always aware of my situation) had called and said I could come in a do a intense Chemo treatment in hopes of shrinking the cancer in hopes of reducing the pain. (All the time spent on the toilet the previous evening didn't solve me pain...although I did feel 50 pounds lighter).

I decided against my better judgement to go get some I.V. chemo. I have not had I.V. chemo for at least a year and a half so I knew my body was not use to it and that my world was going to be rocked once again this weekend.

I got chemo, Morphine, and watched hours of diners, drive-ins, and dives to pass the time in the hospital.

The Story continues...

MONDAY

I awoken from my drugged induced sleep to see my mother on her ipad by my bedside....this is when I turned to her and wished her a Happy Mothers Day....(I had been under the influence of Morphine for the better part of the weekend). She informed me that it was only Labour Day and we laughed about it.

The Story continues....

Fast forward to today...Saturday...I am nearly pain free (no side pain just bone and joint pain synonymous with I.V. chemo), but things are improving and I am back at school getting caught up and living life!

I meet with my Utah doctor on Monday to set up the new treatment game plan from here on out....

The Story will continue....

A concert I will always remember!

This past Wednesday 8/22.....I attended the Mumford and Sons concert and it was absolutely fantastic.

The energy, performance, and everything was awesome. I went with Brandon, Jenn, and Lauren. Simply amazing.


Here is a video made of the concert....as my friend brandon described it....at 3:20 is a truly transcendant moment.....It gives me chills every time I watch it. Simply Epic.

If you every have the chance to see Mumford & Sons go and do it.

Summer Travel Totals

Since my midsummer travel update I have traveled to Calgary, Canada; Vista, CA; Providence, RI; Hartford, CT; Boston, Mass; and Newport, RI.

My complete traveling totals are:

Driving: 5, 938 miles 

(This does not include my 20 min. commute to BYU campus/Provo which I have driven many times. It also does not included travel time to and from airports)

Flight Distance: 21, 485 miles

Flight Time: 39 hours 27 minutes



All-in-all I would say that is has been a very fun, busy, eventful, and memorable summer!

I will be blogging about all the events, food eaten, and experiences experienced during these travels.

Steak & Bungee Jumping

While I was in Canada it was required that I try a steak. The Alberta Beef is very famous and Canada gloats abouts the amazingness of their steak. We spent my first weekend in Edmonton. (approx 3 hours north of Calgary).

So at a steakhouse called the Moose Locker I order a filet mignon, truffle oil pasta, and green beans.

Rating: 2 out 5 Bald Heads 

The meal was rather disappointing. It was not even in my top 10 of steak eaten in my life. 

The next day we went to the West Edmonton Mall to go Bungee Jumping.

106 feet of falling. It is the highest indoor bungee in the world.

It was awesome, but I admit it was more intimidating than Skydiving.

One Less Dave Chalk....

This Past Monday (Aug. 6, 2012) I had the honor of attending the funeral of my grandfather. His name was David Chalk and I have the wonderful honor of being named after him. He was a Air Force Vet and therefore received the burial ceremony of a Military Hero. I also had the honor to be a pall bearer of such a wonderful man. Here are some pictures of the service.

Flag draped casket in horse drawn carriage to the burial ceremony 

My grandma receiving instruction of ceremony

21 gun salute!

During the funeral service my grandpa was repeatedly described as larger than life which he exactly was. In the program was a quote I will always keep with me. ..."when you are experiencing life and eating good food think of me..." So, from now on as I go on my foodie adventures I will think of my wonderful grandpa!

I will do my best to carry on his name! I am proud to be a DAVE CHALK. 

Burgers and Parades

The First Friday I was in Calgary was the Big Stampede Parade that kicks off the beginning of fun. We arose rather early in order to get decent seats. (Not super early like some of them crazy folk).  The Parade had a feeling similar to the Rose Parade in Pasadena, but not quite as big and extravagant. The parade lasted for about 3.5 hours.

Once the parade ended the three of us were very hungry. So my good buddy Sam took us to Boogie's burgers.

Here is a picture of what I ordered:

I ordered a single bacon cheeseburger, added with a slice of ham and swiss cheese, and topped off with two hot dogs sliced in half. It was a very hearty hamburger, but it was also super delicious. This meal was in the top three favorite meals I had throughout the entire three week trip in Canada.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Bald Heads

The only reason that it does not receive a 5 blad head rating is because the fries were so-so. They were just slightly above average and nothing to write home about.