photorama

Yeah, this economy is pretty wack, but hey.. even if it wasn’t why wouldn’t you want to save a few dollars when shopping at the already cheap yet wonderful Ikea? I was out on Thursday buying some lights for my room as well as two new desks. Having two desks 29″ deep is horribly inefficient for how my room is designed. I had a few strict requirements which sort of limited my options since I am shopping at Ikea. But I was determined to find something so hit the jump to see how it all turned out! (plus pictures, since this is a photography blog)

Continue reading ‘Hacking Ikea to save a few extra dollars.’ »

I went to Atlanta recently to shoot photos of T.I in his studio, during an interview for Desi Hits. It was a good shoot, and the results are of the best I’ve done I feel. At least as far as capturing the moment goes and that kinda thing. Also, T.I is incredibly nice and humble. Something I really enjoy seeing in a person with his professional status.

Yep! Not Morton’s Neuroma, not a stress fracture. Bursitis. What’s that?

Bursae (one is a bursa) are fluid-filled sacs that cushion areas of friction between tendon and bone or skin. Like air-filled bubble wrap, these sacs reduce friction between moving parts of the body, such as in the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, and heel.

The number varies, but most people have about 160 bursae throughout the body. Bursae are lined with special cells called synovial cells, which secrete a fluid rich in collagen and proteins. This synovial fluid acts as a lubricant when parts of the body move. When this fluid becomes infected by bacteria or irritated because of too much movement, the painful condition known as bursitis results.

It’s painful. Annoying, but manageable with anti-inflammatory medication. However, in my case it’s been here for long enough that I’m considering surgery to remove the nerve. See, since it’s in my foot.. the room between the toes is pretty minimal so the bursa sac presses on the nerve that runs between toes, thus the intense pain. Since I know what it is now, I can stop worrying that my foot is going to fall off, that my bone is broken, or that I have neuroma. Hopefully that helps, since so much of the body is affected by the mind.

I’m still walking with a cane though and it’s somewhat embarrassing. I’m 29 and less than a month ago I was beating Ayres at tennis, now I’m walking with a freakin’ cane. Maybe I should take up smoking again, ha ha.

I did a shoot for Desi Hits a couple of weeks ago for Bayje, who is an up and coming singer on Atlantic Records. Since most of the shoots I do for Desi Hits involve a video interview, my job is mainly to capture the interview, and if possible, do some portrait type shots at the end. This shoot was a lot of fun as Bayje is a quirky and fun 19 year old who LOVES her pets. Which was cool, because during the shoot we all talked about our love for our cats. I feel weird calling her Bayje, but maybe that’s just the spelling that makes my brain think.. this is wrong. We talked briefly about a possible shoot with all of her pets, but who knows. That’s be fun.

I woke up the morning of January 12th thinking to myself how it was my second week of going back to work, and also one week since I had stopped smoking. Stepping out of bed I entered a world of pain I’ve not yet experienced. It was like stepping onto a prairie of razor blades, not that I know what that actually feels like, or could postulate what it would feel like but if I had to, that is the pain I felt. I screamed “F*@#*$KKKK” in my head and sat down on the bed and looked at my foot.. “Did I step on something?” I asked myself. Of course not, as my floor is spotless, except for the stray amount of cat fur that manages to clump up and blow around the floor. I stood up again and took a step and the pain shot up into my calf and thigh. Sitting down at my desk I thought about the things I did the night before.. I carried cat litter home, almost slipped on some ice and slapped the ball of my left foot on a brick that surrounds a tree on the sidewalk. That must be it.. I bruised my foot! So I composed an email of “WFH.. hurt foot” to my boss and the rest of the team and went and got a shower. Inspecting my foot again in the shower, I couldn’t see any markings on the bottom or the top and so I went about my day, limping here and there until the pain disappeared by mid-afternoon. How strange!

The next day was a repeat of the day prior, with me being a bit more annoyed yet more adept in dealing with the situation. I live like this for a few days and then the pain pretty much ceases to exist. That wasn’t it though.. because not long after that it was back with a vengeance. I had done some traveling to Atlanta for a photoshoot and had experienced some pain in my foot but nothing to really complain about.. just hobble along and keep focused on the tasks at hand. Sunday, the 25th was the dealbreaker. I went for a long photowalk with my buddy Eliz down to Bay Ridge. We covered 3 miles, which is nothing horrible but my foot was killing me. Worse than ever before. I had to stop and get groceries and carrying 30 pounds of groceries was no fun task while limping along. I popped have a percoset and let things be cool man. It was a groovy time for sure.

The next day, my foot was swollen, I could barely hobble without wincing in pain so finally I decided to see a doctor except none of them were cool enough to see a new patient for their first visit the same day. Makes a lot of sense. After calling about 7 doctors I gave up and walked to the ER. Why did I walk? I was in pain already, but was so frustrated with everything that the pain actually helped keep my mind off of it. I sat in the ER for 4 hours, had my foot x-rayed only to be told “Go see a podiatrist.” … wow. Really? That’s how you help me? I would’ve seen a podiatrist that day if any had let me!! So the humorless doctor.. (and really, I don’t blame her, she works in the ER. How wack.) she hands me a slip and says call the number to get a referral to a podiatrist. By this time it’s 6 PM and no one is open so off I go to wallow in more pain. Waking up early I phone the referral number and was given 3 numbers. One of them, was down on Avenue O I think, or maybe it was M. Either way, too far. The other 2? Didn’t take my insurance, even though the woman who gave me the numbers ASKED ME what my insurance was so that she could pair me up with one. The one podiatrist who was nice enough to ask me all the important questions and even said they could see me that day had to burst my bubble by telling me they stopped accepting Aetna. BLAM. Back to square one. Channeling the powers of Aetna’s “Find a doctor” feature which proved to be worthless the day before actually yielded a result that took my insurance, saw me that day and had a doctor who actually joked with me! The downside is, I got stabbed in the foot with a needle containing steroids and lidocaine. Morton’s Neuroma. That was my diagnosis but what the hell is it?

Morton’s Neuroma is an enlarged nerve that usually occurs in the third interspace, which is between the third and fourth toes

Treatment for this stupid affliction is:

1. Steroids injected into the nerve. OUCH
2. Alcohol injected into the nerve if previous step did not help. (really? get the nerve drunk?)
3. Surgically remove the bitchmade nerve if all of the above doesn’t work. (oh no, won’t be able to feel sand on the beach in between two toes)

I got #1 on Monday. It didn’t work, so I’m skipping #2 in favor of #3 because I’m sick of wasting time and being in pain. However to really make sure it’s neuroma, I had to get an MRI which was really cool, albeit incredibly loud and time consuming. Since I had answered “yes” to the question “Have you done any welding?” I also had to get my head x-rayed to make sure there was no metal in or around my eyes, because you know, welding without a helmet is a really sweet idea. I spent all day walking though and have been generally crabby as all get out since I left home. My doctor was nice enough to prescribe me some Celebrex, which sounds like a party in a pill, but it’s not a party at all. She was hopeful that it would provide me some relief but in fact, it didn’t do anything. Maybe I’m just insensitive to pain relief now? Where is Dr. House to diagnose me?! I bet he wouldn’t find my case “interesting” enough though.

Waiting for my movie to download tonight, I set up my softbox and put the film on it and took some pictures. Kind of neat, but seeing as how I’m not doctor, I can only look at them in wonder.

Click the above image to see it large and in charge, or check out the whole set.

I was also prescribed a cane, which is funny because House is my favorite TV show, and now everyone is teasing me saying I just need a vicodin addiction and I’m well on my way to becoming House. In reality he’s much cooler than me, so I’ll pass. Plus I don’t really WANT a cane. It hinders my blazing fast walking speed and my ability to do 4 things at once, like read email, walk, carry coffee and groceries.

That’s just a joke. Hermes doesn’t make canes. Do they?

I’ll be sure to write up what happens on Tuesday after my appointment. Until then, someone bring me painkillers.