Ship's Blog: September, 2006

My father's wife (they just married in January) was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She went to the doctor about three weeks ago to find out why her breast was red and swollen and why she had stabbing pains in it. Ever since then, it has been a roller coaster of tests, scans, and doctor appointments.  Read more »

Yesterday, I wore a wig that is remarkably like my old hair (before chemo). It's not purple, but it is dark brown, long, sleek hair with bangs and some slide cutting to frame my face. I call that wig the Faux Alix wig.

Believe it or not, when one of the technicians saw it, the first thing she said was, "You know, this one is not really you. The copper hair you wore yesterday, that's you."

This can only mean one thing: I've spent six or so years not looking like myself. Uh-oh!

Last week I listed my computer for sale, online. You know, the one that I thought was broken but wasn't, and so then I got a super-cool new one when I didn't really need it? Yeah, that one.

One guy wanted to come see it this afternoon and I made arrangements for him to come by. He had a distinctive name, so I did a quick search online and ended up finding his MySpace page. As a result, I learned what high school he had gone to, about how old he was, saw that he had a pierced eyebrow, likes rap, and I even learned his girlfriend's name.  Read more »

Yesterday, at radiation, a new team worked on me. Well, they are probably not new, but they've never worked with me before. I wasn't worried because there are notes on the chart so that everyone knows the same way to position me on the grid, and even how to prop up my knees while I balance on the plank-like table.

This time, though, everything was just plain weird. They did not prop up my knees. They didn't adjust my body posture. They took the longest time positioning me, scooting my body this way and that, and when they finished, I felt like I was about to fall off the table because I was so far right.  Read more »

Our latest batch of fledgling doves is providing me with all sorts of entertainment of late. Today, the baby doves are sitting under a bush below their nest. Mom is sitting under the eaves, next to the nest, leaning down to watch them. She looks for all the world like she's saying, "Come on kids, you can fly back up!"

The kids, however, appear to be responding with, "Noooo, that's too hard! We don't know how to fly UP!" So they curl up together on the gray rock, beneath a bush.

The kids look sad. Mom looks exasperated.  Read more »

The radiation center has certain guidelines that patients need to follow during treatment, such as not wearing antiperspirants that contain aluminum salts and not wearing underwire bras. To conform, I am wearing Tom's of Maine deodorant and the micro-fiber leisure bra that I got for recovery from surgery.  Read more »

Today was the anniversary sale at our favorite shop. Each year, they have sales, craft demonstrations, and even prizes on anniversary day, so we headed out there first thing this morning to see our friends and have fun.

I decided to wear the long blonde microbraids , my new favorite. I though it would funny. But because it was a hot day and that particular wig is prickly, I tossed a second wig into a tote bag.

When we came in, we immediately saw our friends who worked there and said hi. We shopped for a bit and watched several demos. Then we decided to go grab lunch at the Chinese restaurant in the same shopping complex.  Read more »

Okay, so I got up my nerve to wear this wig:

Previously, I had thought it would require a shot of whisky and an exotic moniker to carry off this microbraided wonder, but given that I have to drive a 40-mile round trip and hospitals panic with name changes, I skipped the confidence boosters.  Read more »

I don't know why, but I am tire-impaired. I unintentionally neglect my tires, procrastinating about filling them with air (in fear that I'll make them explode) and forgetting to check the tire tread regularly. I'm just plain lucky I've never had a blow-out.  Read more »

I've now had two radiotherapy sessions. For those curious, I'll describe how it works.

When I arrive at the radiation department, I go to a touch screen, find my name, and check it off. Then I go through a door to a dressing area. After stripping from the waist up, I change into a gown and putting my things in a locker. Then I wait in an inner waiting room with other radiation patients.

A radiation therapist comes out to get me when it's my term. Her or she escorts me to one of the two radiation rooms. I lay on a narrow, plank-like table, slipping my left arm out of the gown and putting it over my head in this thing that holds it in place. A therapist props up my knees so that my back doesn't hurt.  Read more »

Last night on "Justice," the new TV show staring Victor Garber (SpyDaddy from "Alias"), they did a thing on Los Angeles vs. Orange County. The show is about a high-profile L.A. law firm and Victor Garber plays Ron Trott, the media-savvy lead attorney. Okay, I don't think they call him the lead attorney, but I can't remember the term right now.

Anyway, in last night's episode, a case for a client they were defending was going to be tried in Orange County. Ron wanted to try it as first chair, but his partner Luther advised against it, because it's Orange County, not L.A.  Read more »

Today, I achieved a fabulous victory. This one ranks up there with the eight-month battle to get my broken lamp part. In this case, it was a struggle with the realtors who sold us our house.

The deal is that when we were hunting for a house, we did not yet have a real estate agent. I had done the research on the MLS house listings to find all the houses that matched our criteria. We visited a number of open houses on Father's Day weekend and ended up finding this one.  Read more »

For some reason, when the previous owner of our house upgraded all the windows from aluminum to dual-pane vinyl, she neglected to replace two windows. As luck would have it, they happen to be the two most visible windows to visitors. Also for an unknown reason, she had one of these windows sealed shut, tight enough that three different handymen couldn't get it open.

After living with this for a year (poor Kathy was sweltering in her office) we decided to replace the windows. Given that the 30-year old front door had its own issues - with a non-functional deadbolt we couldn't replace and a one-inch bottom gap that invited in the wildlife - we decided to replace that, too.  Read more »

It's possible that I' misinterpreted what "Labor Day" is supposed to be about. You see, this morning, tired of tripping over things and being unhappy with how things were arranged, I decided I was going to get on top of things no matter what.

It started out with some re-arrangement in Kathy's office. She wanted to swap out the drafting table that was holding up a laser printer with another table. The drafting table was meant as a stop-gap and it was starting to be unstable. We needed to move the 70 lb printer out of the way, disassemble the drafting table, and move it to the garage. Then we needed to bring a box with a heavier-duty table inside, assemble that, and put the printer back.  Read more »

The new fall season is upon us and for those us unashamed TV-aficionados, it's time to review new offerings to consider what we want to make space for in our precious free time. (Not to mention our DVR hard disk or TiVo box.)

This year I am cynical and find myself resisting the allure of new shows. I can't help but look at each prospect and think, "Yeah, sure, you look good. But are you going to hook me in for three seasons of rampant loyalty and then turn on my ass with embarrassing plots that make me want to disown you, only to con me into watching a finale that betrays everything I ever loved and believed?"  Read more »

Kathy and I ran errands today and I was driving the car. On the way back, while starting to turn onto a street, my head jerked to one side and I said, "Hey, that's money! Looks like a large bill!"

I pulled over (this was on a residential street) and asked Kathy if she could hop out to see. She said, "It's probably play money," but she humored me anyway.

The bills were blowing down the street, toward open space, when she grabbed them. She got back into the car and showed me: three bills totalling THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Oh my!  Read more »

Now that I'm 3 weeks out from my last chemo infusion, I decided it is the perfect time to grab a razor blade and shave my head.

Okay, you're probably thinking, what?!? Don't you want hair? Yes, I do, but hear out my reasoning.  Read more »

I began today in the radiation therapy department where I had a 9:15 appointment for the 3-D planning session. The goal of this appointment is to determine how best to position me and angle the radiation beams for maximum benefit and minimum impact to my heart and lungs.

They had me change into a gown and they took me back to the 3-D planning room, which is equipped with an open bore CT scanner. They had me open my gown, taking my left arm out of the sleeve, lie back on a narrow table, and put my arm over my head in an arm support. Then four women moved around me, taking measurements and making marks.  Read more »