Pictures!

It's another crazy week with school keeping me busy but here are some pictures from last week's visit. We had a blast and it was a great break from school. Peace...Mark

http://tinyurl.com/2q4dn3

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~- Danny Kaye

I went to the University Center today to hear Eleanor Smith speak. Eleanor heads up Concrete Change and she is this country's guru/expert on the concept of visitability. Visitability is a movement to mandate that every new home built has one no-step entrance, an accessible half or full bath on the main floor, and 32+ inch doors throughout the residence. Visitability has worked great in the parts of this country where it's been made law. Eleanor was great to listen to and hopefully we can be successful here in Missoula with adopting visitability.

School continues to roll on and I have an exam in Poli Sci. Wednesday. I've studied hard and hopefully that will translate into a good score. Everything else is routine in the school department.

Thursday will be a great day as some of my family will be flying in for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a fun and enjoyable weekend. My dad has to stay back in North Dakota to keep up with tax season but he'll be out here after the rush is over.

Before I close I'd like to ask for prayers and positive thoughts for my friend MJ in Ohio. She's having surgery tomorrow to get a trach and here's hoping that things go great. Take care and I'll be back soon.

Peace,

Mark

Concrete Change: http://www.concretechange.org/

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. ~Thomas Henry Huxley

It's been 10 days since the last post and wow how the time flies! Things are well and school continues to keep me pretty busy. The results from my first math test came back yesterday and I managed a 94. Hopefully this means I'll continue to survive this dreaded subject. The other classes have been uneventful but the next few weeks will bring more exams.

Wednesday I went out to Community Rehab and had the chance to meet Tom (co-owner) of Ride Designs. Ride Designs is based in Denver and they specialize in wheelchair seating. We talked about what I was looking for in a backrest and Tom took a mold of my upper body. The molding process involved putting a bag full of styrofoam pellets against my back. Then they massaged the pellets into the places I need support. When we were satisfied with my positioning, an air compressor was used to tighten down a mold that could be casted. The casting will go to Denver so the backrest can be manufactured. I'm excited that finally we may have a cushion that will make me comfortable. A big thanks to Tom, Mary, and all the others who helped out with this process.

That's it for now and I'll try to get another post out soon. Some of my family is flying into Missoula next week and I can't wait! Will be fun to hang out for a few days and catch up.

Peace,

Mark

Ride Designs: http://www.ridedesigns.com/index.html

“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” --Walt Disney

I'm hunkered down in my bed tonight juggling studying with watching the Super Tuesday returns. There's a sense of optimism with me as I hope that our country can finally get back on the right path. I was happy to see my home state (ND) won by Obama! It looks like a long race to the finish but that's not a bad thing for political junkies like me.

School continues to go fine but I can't remember when I've read so much :-) On Thursday I'll be taking my first math test and I'm actually feeling pretty good about it. I like not being rushed to get to class in the morning but going everyday sure makes the week fly by. The weekends sure are appreciated.

In Pug news, our gang of brats was selected to grace the homepage of the Pug owner group that we belong to. I had to put their picture on my post this week! Words can't describe how much joy they all bring to our lives.

Well time to wrap it up so I can go eat and watch more returns. I'll try to be back soon with a little lengthier update. Take care until then!

Peace,

Mark

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy