July 29, 2014

Hi everybody. Man, I'll tell you, I feel like someone hit me in the face with a 2x4, or is it 2x6? Anyway I feel like hell. You see, when you have traumatic brain injury and you take a nap it's really tough getting started, but here we go.

My daughter came back for a visit. It's why I haven't talked to you in a while. I've been spending about two weeks with her. It's been great. I won't go through the whole visit, but one of the highlights was a trip to the Adirondacks. Man that was great. I'll tell you, hanging out with a kid is great therapy. We get to do puzzles together, paint, play with her toys. The stuff is almost too advanced for me. But it really does help. And it's kind of cool.

I'm still waiting on getting a new bike. You know, a recumbent trike. I'm waiting to get a grant to pay for the bike, but it's a cool way of getting therapy. The other thing that has been a bit of a challenge, but exciting, is I've been editing my film, you know, the trip across America and back. It takes time, but it's fun to see the images I shot across the country. Lots of good stuff. It's a challenge though, putting it all together. When you have TBI it seems you can't spend too much time with the computer. Looking at the screen that flickers is really difficult.

You know what's cool? The NY Times did a piece on me and my film. My assistant's Josh Klatt and Bryan Coppede did a short film on my trip. It was pretty cool. It came out recently. I'll give you the link. Here it is. They did a good job. Just thought I'd throw that in.

The other cool thing is that a friend of mine brought some of my favorite pizza up from the city. Two pies from Lombardi's Pizza on Spring STreet. That was very cool because my mother was away and I ate half a pie myself, (but don't tell her). You know, I guess I've been searching for things to tell you, but I had so much fun with my daughter, I don't have much to tell. It's gonna be a real short one this week. I'll include some images from my trip. I also have some stuff coming back to me shortly. You know, I keep shooting all the time. Remember, you gotta do what you love, and I love photography. Anyway, I'll talk to you guys next week. Here's the link to my other blog. Talk to you soon.

Love, B. Nice

July 15, 2014

Oh man, what a family! I was sitting here at the lunch table in the kitchen looking at my daughter who's hyper-active, my father who had pneumonia and heart failure, and me who had a massive brain bleed and brain surgery two times, and my poor mother who looks after all three of us. Oh yeah, and a crazy dog. Picture this: OK, so my dad can't understand me cause I sound like a burn out. I say, "Dad!" and he goes "What?" and the dog starts barking. My dad says, "Who's there?" And my daughter says, "Someone's here! Let me check the front door." And I yell to her, "No running in the house." And my father says to me, "What? She saw a mouse." And my mother runs in and says, "What mouse?!" You got the idea. Never a dull moment.

Hi everybody. Welcome to another interesting week of traumatic brain injury. I'll tell you, it's been really humid over the past few days. It seems to really affect me. Humidity is definitely not my friend. The other thing I'm looking forward to is getting a new bike. I'm gonna try and bike with my feet. Actually, it's really a trike. It looks cool and with my daughter being here, I can ride with her again. It looks really fun. It's all supplied by the hospital I go to for therapy. The other cool thing is I looked at the old family piano I had restored. It'll be good for me, you know, for my hands, and I can teach my daughter piano. Hopefully I'll take delivery on it in a few weeks. Good for the hands. With my daughter being here, I'm gonna take her to Storm King Sculpture Museum. It's basically an outdoor museum on top of a hill so it's just grass, sculpture and sky. She'll have fun running there. It's visually very graphic. I'll take photos. Kind of cool. It's great having my daughter here because it won't be until October that I see her again. She's really growing up fast. Anyway, I won't get started talking about her cause it kind of makes me sad.

I'm gonna make it a short one. I just include the photos I did on the trip across america. Oh yeah, my friend here and I have been working on our next trip, a ship to Europe. Should be visually really cool. Hope you have a good one. And remember, if you have traumatic brain injury, don't give up. Love, B. Nice

PS. Here's a link to my other blog.

July 8, 2014

Aren't moms great? Check this out. My mom's going to fly all the way to Texas to pick up my daughter and come back all in the same day. You see, I can't fly, nor do I have the time to drive down there. So she's gonna pick my daughter up for me. Just thought I'd mention that. You know, I'm gonna do a little public service announcement. I said it before, but you know, you guys can't be on the phone and drive. If you saw what I saw you would freak out. Especially, don't text and drive! I'm not gonna even mention what I saw.

It's been a crazy week. The other day I woke up about 4 am. I must have been having a nightmare because it triggered a major mini-seizure. I was kind of freaking out because I had to call my mom to basically talk me down. In other words, have her tell me not to freak out. It works. She calmed me down and I'm all right, but man, it was kind of scary. Other than that, it's been pretty normal. I've been doing a lot of painting. I'll show you some examples up above. It feels good. I guess if you had to pidgeon hole it, it would be abstractionist.

You know, I really believe the brain is rewiring itself right now. Some funky things are going on. You know, like my hand will go numb as if it's asleep and then it will go back to normal. It's one reason why I think these mini-seizures are happening. I keep saying it over and over but it's as if I'm more aware of what's going on and I'll tell you I'm aware that I'm highly pissed off right now. You know, I'm gonna leave it at that. I've got some stories to tell you. It's on my other blog. I'll talk to you guys next week. Check out my other blog. It's about the past. Love, B. Nice

July 1, 2014

A raging mongrel. A too torquer. Wand of lust. A boner. A hard on. You got the idea. I guess I had a boner this morning. It might not seem that big of a deal, but a morning visitor after five years, to a man, is a big deal. You see, it seems my neurological senses are reorganizing and coming back. My right side is cramping up and flipping out. It's as if the brain is re-organizing. Just something I thought I'd share with you. I'm kind of embarrassed, but it might help someone out there. Just reminds someone like me that things do improve over time. It's been five years, but come on! I'll take what I can get.

Hi everybody. Welcome to another week. Sorry I was delayed last week but my daughter was here and man, she wiped me out. Talk about energy! Anyway, I had a great time. I'm also kind of wiped out right now because it's exceptionally hot and there's high humidity. The combination of heat and humidity seem to really affect me. I was gonna bike today on my recumbent trike, but I fear it would have been too much for me.

I'm thinking of starting an image bank of my photos. I can't really shoot for anybody like I used to but I can organize the images I shoot into a photo bank. It got me thinking, you know, when I started photography, it was always my dream to just produce images I want. Eventually what happens is you end up shooting images for magazines or catalogues or commercial work. It's rare you get to do your own thing. I'm finally at the stage where I get to shoot whatever I want. Who would think it would take two brain surgeries to get to this place.

Going back to the biking, I found that I can get my own bike through a grant. That's pretty cool. I would get a grown up trike. I talked a little about it before, but it's pretty cool. Most trikes are operated by the hands, but I can get one that works by the feet. You see, I still have use of my legs. Anyway, that's about all to report for this week. They have the World Cup on so I'm going to go back to watching that. Have a good week and check out my other blog.

Love, B. Nice

P.S. I'll include some photos from my road trip.

June 27, 2014

Hi everyone. Let's dedicate this blog to my friend who's going through some pretty heavy stuff. She has a good sense of humor, so with her sarcasm I'm sure she'll do good. And let's call this blog "Three of Five." My daughter's here and I got three of five wishes correct. You see, when I was in hospital going through my heavy stuff I wished I was at the beach with my daughter in Montauk walking with her. Let's see, being in Montauk, walking with my daughter, oh yeah, and my dog. That's four, the fifth wish I can't remember. Well, maybe I'll wish I could remember it. Anyway, I got to be with my daughter at Montauk at the beach. Although they had to get me on the beach in the wheelchair, and my dog is dead. So, I'll take what I can get. It was a great weekend. I'll tell you though, when you have traumatic brain injury and you're met with a seven year old, it's like putting a nuclear reactor on a tug boat. But it was great to have her here. She leaves day after tomorrow. I survived the Lion King, a high school graduation, a fashion show, dinner at a very crowded Mexican restaurant with a table of secretaries next to us. And to finish it all - tomorrow we go fishing. I don't think we could squeeze anything more in.

I would like to say I found out that with traumatic brain injury and being in the sun, I got really wiped out. It seems when you have traumatic brain injury anything that attacks the senses, like the sun, it really affects you. Just being in the sun for 15 minutes really got to me. Just an observation. So if you have traumatic brain injury like me, be careful. Oh yeah, and if you have a seven year old that has enough energy to run the planet, be careful.

I'll tell you, that wheelchair that gets you on the beach, that's something else. That was great. You know, it's been a while since I've been on the beach in Montauk. Remember, after my first operation I went out to Montauk and my crazy surfer friends put me on a board and took me out to the line up with no life jacket on. I should have changed my name to Bob. It was crazy. I avoided them on this trip. Just a side note there. I went off on a bit of a tangent. That wheelchair that goes on the beach is amazing. I highly recommend it. You just have to make arrangements with the lifeguard when you go to the beach. They will help you out. It's pretty cool. It was a great day. I got to see my daughter play in sand. And my nephews were there with my niece. My daughter got to play with them in the waves. It was a quick turn around, but a lot of fun.

Back in the day, you know, before my brain bleed, I was an avid windsurfer. When you wipe out at the speeds we used to go at, man, it really hurt. Imagine this, imagine you're on a speedboat fast enough to pull a water skier. Now imagine someone puts you on a windsurfer. Straps you in, and then throws you overboard. Man, it hurts. I'll tell you. Anyway, I went past the house I built and that hurt about as much. You know, I'm more alert now, and more awake and when I saw my house I got pissed off. I really made that place. Most people don't realize how much work I put into that place. It's not like I gave a builder some money and said, "Build me a house." I got all the permits. I designed it. I oversaw the construction with a construction manager I hired. I was there pretty much every day they were building the house. I was pretty involved. So, to see it in someone else's hands really pisses me off. But, we won't go there. I'll practice what I preach and just let it go. Or, like my friend says, suck it up. I really missed it though, this past week when I was out in Montauk.

You know, I'm pretty wiped out so I'm gonna end it there. I'll include some photos from my trip across America. I'm here with my friend planning my next trip. I'm gonna go in the corner and collapse now. Have a good weekend. Love, B. Nice

I forgot, here's a link to my blog about the past.