Sunday morning
Almost all the hair on my head has stopped growing, just quit, said Man, if you’re gonna keep taking that shit, we quit. I didn’t shave my head for five days, and it didn’t look like I needed to, and then I looked at the back of my head in the mirror and realized I had tufts. Tufts are out, according to People and Elle, so I shaved.
This blog is going to get boring recounting my health, because my health is so good it is boring. I am back to being a 50 year old with a bad back, bad elbow, sciatica, etc., a little more out of shape. Pills only, yippee, I can live with detufting, and gym time, and walking. I have to wonder what the heck happened to my golf game though. Awful week. I have to go way back to basics, start over, as though I had a new body. It kicks my butt too, because I have been practicing, and have the magic new putter.
It was really depressing on Wed, into the teeth of the wind at Dairy from the golds, the tips. I was just off the 1st green in reg, three-putted, and it was downhill from there. Stopped counting at the 6th hole. By Friday, when I got spanked by MG and John K, I had gotten over myself and was realizing I needed to get in shape or find a whole new swing. My old swing with my new physique was not working. And Jack told me my putting stroke was way too bent over, stand up. All this means one thing. Crunches. I have to work on the core. Dang.
Dana is in Santa Barbara; she went there yesterday with a friend to have a women’s weekend at another friend’s. She needs to rest up because she will be busy this week making sure we are all going to be well fed and entertained at the BBQ on Saturday. I need to go out there and see if we can scam electricity somehow, get Mikey to play the Hendrix Star Spangled Banner for us.
The stupid photo thing is really annoying. When I went to DSL I changed to a dynamic IP, meaning my IP address changes all the time. SBC/Yahoo is trying to tell me that is why the IP address of photos on their server changes. ??????? Huh? I am looking for a free solution, but Shutterfly works the same way, dynamic IP. Anyone? Charter storage worked great once I figured it out, I may have to see if they ever closed it.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Live Oak Music Fest
It was Live Oak weekend, meaning we all went to the Live Oak Music Festival for 3 days, along with a bunch of family and friends. All the old hippies from SLO go to Live Oak! I didn’t see one drunk or completely wasted person all weekend; that is how old these hippies are.
This festival is near Lake Cachuma, about an hour south of here, so easy to get to. It was a little weird this year because some guys on one of the work crews set up in our standard spot before we set up on Wednesday, and they messed with the feng shui and the karma, but what can you do? I suggested paying them off. We kind of horn in on Dana’s sister’s good friends, so what can we say? Anyways, 3 days and 2 nights of no showers, lots of dust, porta-potty challenges, and pretty good music. The music was not as good as last year, too mellow, but there were some standouts – Bettye Lavette, Eric Bibb, Joe Craven. The porta-potties were better than ever, with hand sanitizer even!
Young John disappeared as soon as we got there; he loves the freedom he gets at Live Oak. Young Mike had a couple of girls hanging around, but he ditched them ASAP. We only cooked breakfast on Sunday, and otherwise ate from the concessions, so not too much work. Mikey left his suitcase sitting on his bed, so he didn’t worry about changing into clean clothes. Saturday morning I went over to the Chumash Indian Casino and played in a Texas Hold’em poker tournament. I was doing alright; got spanked with AQ suited by pocket As, came right back and won large with pocket Ks, then got taken out with AK suited by another pocket AA! Grrrr. Gotta learn how to smell those pocket As. Lost $40. Stopped at a stupid nickel slot machine and won $40 in 3 minutes. Go figure.
I had my last spinal tap on Thursday, and that went pretty smooth, no click. My lower back is finally protesting all this abuse though. No more cranial radiation headaches either, so all in all I feel pretty damn good. I ran into a few people at Live Oak that didn’t know I was sick (with leukemia), and they were pretty surprised when I told them because I don’t look sick. Then again, I didn’t spend any time dancing with Fabio and the other beautiful people. I was going to try hula hooping this year, but never did.
The Rancho San Marcos golf course is right next to the camp, so I went over on Sunday to see if I could use their driving range. This is a great course, really tough – Fred Couples loves to play here. Not that expensive at $75, greens like lightning, pretty tight, I played it back in ’99 or so, got spanked. They wouldn’t let me practice though, as I forgot my collared shirt. $20 all-inclusive fee to practice, and that included driving area, chipping area, huge putting area. Really not pricey if you want to practice for a few hours, and have a collared shirt. I putted anyway, but decided it was going to ruin me for Morro Bay and Dairy Creek, way too fast, so me and my t-shirt left before anyone was offended.
School is finally out here. The boys are computer gaming heaven, but tomorrow they start guitar and basketball, and John might have some kind of job lined up. I know I have work in the yard for him, but I am waiting for the right moment. Tomorrow is Mike’s birthday, 14, and he is getting a new 30 watt amp, so it will be louder around here this summer.
I do have some photos to get up here that people have sent, but I have some kind of glitch. Let’s see what happens.
Jeanne and Pat
Lesbian Couple 1 plus Alan M.
Pat is astonished at Randy's new 'do
Earl and Kris with Jeanne
Paul and Maurice
Mac with some Ho-spice
This festival is near Lake Cachuma, about an hour south of here, so easy to get to. It was a little weird this year because some guys on one of the work crews set up in our standard spot before we set up on Wednesday, and they messed with the feng shui and the karma, but what can you do? I suggested paying them off. We kind of horn in on Dana’s sister’s good friends, so what can we say? Anyways, 3 days and 2 nights of no showers, lots of dust, porta-potty challenges, and pretty good music. The music was not as good as last year, too mellow, but there were some standouts – Bettye Lavette, Eric Bibb, Joe Craven. The porta-potties were better than ever, with hand sanitizer even!
Young John disappeared as soon as we got there; he loves the freedom he gets at Live Oak. Young Mike had a couple of girls hanging around, but he ditched them ASAP. We only cooked breakfast on Sunday, and otherwise ate from the concessions, so not too much work. Mikey left his suitcase sitting on his bed, so he didn’t worry about changing into clean clothes. Saturday morning I went over to the Chumash Indian Casino and played in a Texas Hold’em poker tournament. I was doing alright; got spanked with AQ suited by pocket As, came right back and won large with pocket Ks, then got taken out with AK suited by another pocket AA! Grrrr. Gotta learn how to smell those pocket As. Lost $40. Stopped at a stupid nickel slot machine and won $40 in 3 minutes. Go figure.
I had my last spinal tap on Thursday, and that went pretty smooth, no click. My lower back is finally protesting all this abuse though. No more cranial radiation headaches either, so all in all I feel pretty damn good. I ran into a few people at Live Oak that didn’t know I was sick (with leukemia), and they were pretty surprised when I told them because I don’t look sick. Then again, I didn’t spend any time dancing with Fabio and the other beautiful people. I was going to try hula hooping this year, but never did.
The Rancho San Marcos golf course is right next to the camp, so I went over on Sunday to see if I could use their driving range. This is a great course, really tough – Fred Couples loves to play here. Not that expensive at $75, greens like lightning, pretty tight, I played it back in ’99 or so, got spanked. They wouldn’t let me practice though, as I forgot my collared shirt. $20 all-inclusive fee to practice, and that included driving area, chipping area, huge putting area. Really not pricey if you want to practice for a few hours, and have a collared shirt. I putted anyway, but decided it was going to ruin me for Morro Bay and Dairy Creek, way too fast, so me and my t-shirt left before anyone was offended.
School is finally out here. The boys are computer gaming heaven, but tomorrow they start guitar and basketball, and John might have some kind of job lined up. I know I have work in the yard for him, but I am waiting for the right moment. Tomorrow is Mike’s birthday, 14, and he is getting a new 30 watt amp, so it will be louder around here this summer.
I do have some photos to get up here that people have sent, but I have some kind of glitch. Let’s see what happens.
Jeanne and Pat
Lesbian Couple 1 plus Alan M.
Pat is astonished at Randy's new 'do
Earl and Kris with Jeanne
Paul and Maurice
Mac with some Ho-spice
Monday, June 13, 2005
Belmont!
Congratulations to Jeanne for making it, Zowie, end of treatment, feeling good, looking good, Man I wish I coulda made that party! Send the pics! I think some of the dance moves from 8th grade were named after Red Sox, because I remember Foy! I think we had to tone it down after some of the gangs took offense at having dance moves named for them. There were some negotiations in there, I remember, involving me and the parking lot and some Belmont-types. Thank God for quick hands and feet.
Pretty smooth week, if we ignore young Mikey burning his feet so bad at Wednesday’s end of school picnic that he is still laid up. Poor kid’s feet looked like the sausage they made in Colminares for the annual festival, all swollen and red. This is not the first time, and I have to reevaluate the ability of pain to teach a good lesson; it usually worked for me, but now that I think about it and look at the scars on my head, I suppose I missed a few lessons too.
Cindy Steen came all the way from DC to visit, popped in on us for a few days, and Rita and her girls and friends came from Atwater, and young John was in heaven for a while. Surrounded! We BBQ’d, had a bonfire on the beach, had a great time. Happy Birthday Cindy! How gutsy do you have to be to go to Uganda for 3 weeks, then move to Nicaragua for 4 years, as a single female? Such courage. Uganda was Idi Amin, remember him?
Speaking of pain, last Thursday’s spinal tap and injection was as smooth as butter. All I ever felt was the initial local shot; I won the sciatic nerve lottery! In and out of there faster than Brad Pitt with a costar! Last one coming up this Thursday, and Phase III goes into pills only mode. I may be sick and tired of this chemo bloat and dead hands and feet, but it keeps getting easier, and my blood counts are all good if slightly anemic. It’s time to hit the gym and recover some of the strength I need to get in the water, and maybe drive a golf ball more than 200 yards.
Golfed Wednesday, shot 93 at Morro Bay from the blues. Eeeeennhhh. The new Happy Father’s Day Here I am at the Golf Store and Oh Look that is the putter I want on sale - I guess the kids are getting this For Me Putter I got, the White Hot 2-Ball Odyssey, did not save me. Turns out I still have to use my skill with it, and that tones the magic down, something about the lack of fingers and hands holding the club or something. Don’t the great putters say they putt with dead hands? Doesn’t work.
Played 14 holes on Friday – county courses here are $8 after 5:30, and you can play now until 8:15 or later, so Mike B. went out and played the Bay from the whites, 43 on the front nine, not bad. Then Sunday I went and played with the dedicated golfers, guys with 8 handicaps and 540 cc drivers, at Dairy Creek from the tips, the gold tees. Course kicks my ass. 4-iron all day for second shots. Enough wind at the 183 yard par-3 I am hitting driver and coming up short. Shot a 97, 1 better than the last time I played Dairy from the blues. Flat out ran out of gas on the back nine again, but made enough adjustment (played like a 75-year old) to weather it.
It was hard not to feel depressed, because at one level I am feeling pretty good and expecting things to come back. However, I am one weak-ass dude; Randy’s kids could beat me up. Vinnie could make me beg for mercy (don’t do it). I think I am starting to look like Kurtz at the end of Apocalypse Now, white and bloaty. I am pretty sure when I stop taking the steroid for brain swelling the bloat will go away (today I stop I hope). That is a bad combo reaction from steroids, they make you gas up and have you eating like a pig. Saturday was Dana’s schools end-of-year BBQ, and I had some of everything, twice. She sure works with a fun bunch of teachers, and they are good cooks too.
Speaking of BBQs, I will get an email out today saying July 2 is a go, now that I know Vinnie can’t make that date to beat me up. Too bad we had to lose Pat and Mo in the bargain, but the image of Mikey trying to defend me by hitting Vinnie with sausage feet didn’t jibe, something about all the juices popping out of his toes …..
I have always wanted to put a practice putting green in the backyard, and Dana has always said No Way, it’s too small. However, I realized recently that the land on the other side of the community fence line is ours, with a creek easement. This area was all overgrown, but has a couple of small oaks, a sycamore, and some other shrubs. So I started clearing it out, and it looks like it could fit the bill, a kind of secret garden area. I don’t know about a putting green, we’ll see. Anybody out there have one, any tips?
Pretty smooth week, if we ignore young Mikey burning his feet so bad at Wednesday’s end of school picnic that he is still laid up. Poor kid’s feet looked like the sausage they made in Colminares for the annual festival, all swollen and red. This is not the first time, and I have to reevaluate the ability of pain to teach a good lesson; it usually worked for me, but now that I think about it and look at the scars on my head, I suppose I missed a few lessons too.
Cindy Steen came all the way from DC to visit, popped in on us for a few days, and Rita and her girls and friends came from Atwater, and young John was in heaven for a while. Surrounded! We BBQ’d, had a bonfire on the beach, had a great time. Happy Birthday Cindy! How gutsy do you have to be to go to Uganda for 3 weeks, then move to Nicaragua for 4 years, as a single female? Such courage. Uganda was Idi Amin, remember him?
Speaking of pain, last Thursday’s spinal tap and injection was as smooth as butter. All I ever felt was the initial local shot; I won the sciatic nerve lottery! In and out of there faster than Brad Pitt with a costar! Last one coming up this Thursday, and Phase III goes into pills only mode. I may be sick and tired of this chemo bloat and dead hands and feet, but it keeps getting easier, and my blood counts are all good if slightly anemic. It’s time to hit the gym and recover some of the strength I need to get in the water, and maybe drive a golf ball more than 200 yards.
Golfed Wednesday, shot 93 at Morro Bay from the blues. Eeeeennhhh. The new Happy Father’s Day Here I am at the Golf Store and Oh Look that is the putter I want on sale - I guess the kids are getting this For Me Putter I got, the White Hot 2-Ball Odyssey, did not save me. Turns out I still have to use my skill with it, and that tones the magic down, something about the lack of fingers and hands holding the club or something. Don’t the great putters say they putt with dead hands? Doesn’t work.
Played 14 holes on Friday – county courses here are $8 after 5:30, and you can play now until 8:15 or later, so Mike B. went out and played the Bay from the whites, 43 on the front nine, not bad. Then Sunday I went and played with the dedicated golfers, guys with 8 handicaps and 540 cc drivers, at Dairy Creek from the tips, the gold tees. Course kicks my ass. 4-iron all day for second shots. Enough wind at the 183 yard par-3 I am hitting driver and coming up short. Shot a 97, 1 better than the last time I played Dairy from the blues. Flat out ran out of gas on the back nine again, but made enough adjustment (played like a 75-year old) to weather it.
It was hard not to feel depressed, because at one level I am feeling pretty good and expecting things to come back. However, I am one weak-ass dude; Randy’s kids could beat me up. Vinnie could make me beg for mercy (don’t do it). I think I am starting to look like Kurtz at the end of Apocalypse Now, white and bloaty. I am pretty sure when I stop taking the steroid for brain swelling the bloat will go away (today I stop I hope). That is a bad combo reaction from steroids, they make you gas up and have you eating like a pig. Saturday was Dana’s schools end-of-year BBQ, and I had some of everything, twice. She sure works with a fun bunch of teachers, and they are good cooks too.
Speaking of BBQs, I will get an email out today saying July 2 is a go, now that I know Vinnie can’t make that date to beat me up. Too bad we had to lose Pat and Mo in the bargain, but the image of Mikey trying to defend me by hitting Vinnie with sausage feet didn’t jibe, something about all the juices popping out of his toes …..
I have always wanted to put a practice putting green in the backyard, and Dana has always said No Way, it’s too small. However, I realized recently that the land on the other side of the community fence line is ours, with a creek easement. This area was all overgrown, but has a couple of small oaks, a sycamore, and some other shrubs. So I started clearing it out, and it looks like it could fit the bill, a kind of secret garden area. I don’t know about a putting green, we’ll see. Anybody out there have one, any tips?
Saturday, June 04, 2005
CLICK
Saturday morning and Dana is laid out with a tweaked back, up since 4 am, watching John Wayne movies and munching Fioricet muscle relaxers. The steroids to keep the brain swelling down are really messing up my sleep, down at 9pm, up at 1am, down at 5am, up at 8am! I seem to have found some balance in last night’s pharmacopeia, hitting the right combo of steroids and sleeping pills to actually sleep for 8 hours without my brains swelling out onto the pillow! Monday will be the last cranial irradiation, and hopefully the end of these persistent headaches that have plagued me this week.
Thursday’s lumbar puncture/chemo injection went pretty smoothly. The doc got me on the table under the fluoroscope, numbed me up, warned me a couple of times for a push into the spine, then he said “1 out of 3 times this next push will hit the nerve for a second, and you’ll feel a big electrical click, then it’ll be fine, here we go.” CLICK. Like when you forgot to turn off the juice before changing that light switch, and then the breaker clicks. Less than a second, but HO CHI MAMA, the whole leg jumps, the sciatic nerve is vibrant, and the foot is doing the floppy. The rest of it went very smooth. He pumped in the joo joo juice like there were Krispy Kremes in the conference room. I went back to the recovery room for my one hour horizontal recovery, and met Mr. Stupid and Sad.
This guy is in the other bed, and instantly starts complaining about how he has to wait 2 hours to get his IV of antibiotics. I told him we got hung up an hour because of a car accident, but he railed on. Nurse came in and I asked for my standard lunch of pizza, doughnuts, and a masseuse, and he starts complaining that he can’t get lunch in this place. Somehow we get on the topic of costs, and I tell him my one-day stay in Feb. was $27K. This really sets him off; he’s going to have to file bankruptcy. Turns out this fisherman dude suffered a double hernia, drove to Mexico to get it fixed cheap ($2400), and they did a fine job but he ignored their recovery requirements. He gets in his motor home and drives for 2 days straight, only to be so sick that he has to get checked into Sierra Vista for ten days, then ten more days as an outpatient getting an IV drip for 3 hours. He really saved some money there.
The nurses bring me HIS lunch, spaghetti and meat sauce, key lime pie, coffee, not bad but hard to eat horizontally. I eat lunch, get dressed and go out to the nurse station, and shout “I’m cured!” I tell them I am ready to go, the needle came out an hour ago. They all start discussing that I am supposed to lie flat for 24 hours, I need a driver, I can’t go yet. I set them straight, tell them since I had joo joo juice put IN, it makes up for the juice they took OUT, no problem, I will be fine, it’s been OK for three weeks now. They make me sign the papers. The nurse explains that the sad sack in the other room actually HIT a nurse at another hospital, and that’s why he is here without his lunch, which they gave me.
This all confirms for me that, once you are in the system, govt., medical, school, whatever, you have to figure out the rules and the powers, and learn to navigate the whole deal. Knowing how to wait patiently in this world is a great talent, and doing it with some humor will really help.
Played 18 at Dairy Creek on Wednesday from the blues, and flat out ran out of gas at about the 12th hole. Putter killed me on the front, and all the other clubs joined in on the back. Played awful, couldn’t get off the tee, found a lot of ticks in the bushes, beautiful day, a lotta fun. Shot a 98 I think, ouch. Back to the gym and driving range. Blood counts are OK, slightly anemic but not enough to explain that back 9 holes.
It turns out I have a lot of room for photos, and I wonder if some of you BLOG commenters wouldn’t love to see your face up in lights? Anyone sends me their photo and I will post it, maybe make one separate post with all photos. Any takers? I at least want a picture of Pat’s backyard, and Mac’s first tee with his cats. Randy’s pond. Donald in a doctor suit. Mo in a TM state, Jeanne in a zen state. What say you all?
Thursday’s lumbar puncture/chemo injection went pretty smoothly. The doc got me on the table under the fluoroscope, numbed me up, warned me a couple of times for a push into the spine, then he said “1 out of 3 times this next push will hit the nerve for a second, and you’ll feel a big electrical click, then it’ll be fine, here we go.” CLICK. Like when you forgot to turn off the juice before changing that light switch, and then the breaker clicks. Less than a second, but HO CHI MAMA, the whole leg jumps, the sciatic nerve is vibrant, and the foot is doing the floppy. The rest of it went very smooth. He pumped in the joo joo juice like there were Krispy Kremes in the conference room. I went back to the recovery room for my one hour horizontal recovery, and met Mr. Stupid and Sad.
This guy is in the other bed, and instantly starts complaining about how he has to wait 2 hours to get his IV of antibiotics. I told him we got hung up an hour because of a car accident, but he railed on. Nurse came in and I asked for my standard lunch of pizza, doughnuts, and a masseuse, and he starts complaining that he can’t get lunch in this place. Somehow we get on the topic of costs, and I tell him my one-day stay in Feb. was $27K. This really sets him off; he’s going to have to file bankruptcy. Turns out this fisherman dude suffered a double hernia, drove to Mexico to get it fixed cheap ($2400), and they did a fine job but he ignored their recovery requirements. He gets in his motor home and drives for 2 days straight, only to be so sick that he has to get checked into Sierra Vista for ten days, then ten more days as an outpatient getting an IV drip for 3 hours. He really saved some money there.
The nurses bring me HIS lunch, spaghetti and meat sauce, key lime pie, coffee, not bad but hard to eat horizontally. I eat lunch, get dressed and go out to the nurse station, and shout “I’m cured!” I tell them I am ready to go, the needle came out an hour ago. They all start discussing that I am supposed to lie flat for 24 hours, I need a driver, I can’t go yet. I set them straight, tell them since I had joo joo juice put IN, it makes up for the juice they took OUT, no problem, I will be fine, it’s been OK for three weeks now. They make me sign the papers. The nurse explains that the sad sack in the other room actually HIT a nurse at another hospital, and that’s why he is here without his lunch, which they gave me.
This all confirms for me that, once you are in the system, govt., medical, school, whatever, you have to figure out the rules and the powers, and learn to navigate the whole deal. Knowing how to wait patiently in this world is a great talent, and doing it with some humor will really help.
Played 18 at Dairy Creek on Wednesday from the blues, and flat out ran out of gas at about the 12th hole. Putter killed me on the front, and all the other clubs joined in on the back. Played awful, couldn’t get off the tee, found a lot of ticks in the bushes, beautiful day, a lotta fun. Shot a 98 I think, ouch. Back to the gym and driving range. Blood counts are OK, slightly anemic but not enough to explain that back 9 holes.
It turns out I have a lot of room for photos, and I wonder if some of you BLOG commenters wouldn’t love to see your face up in lights? Anyone sends me their photo and I will post it, maybe make one separate post with all photos. Any takers? I at least want a picture of Pat’s backyard, and Mac’s first tee with his cats. Randy’s pond. Donald in a doctor suit. Mo in a TM state, Jeanne in a zen state. What say you all?
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