Ship's Blog: January, 2007

I just came from an appointment with my surgeon. This is the follow-up appointment that was mistakenly scheduled for August, but then couldn't be done then because I was in the middle of chemotherapy. I had to wait until after radiation and the re-check with the oncologist, blah, blah, blah.  Read more »

Yesterday I closed my small business consultancy, The Small Business Operative. It was a sad decision to make as I have put enormous amounts of effort into the business over the years, but it was the right decision at the right time. I have new adventures that I am moving onto and I need the freedom to explore them.

I haven't talked about my business on my blog, partly because I've been on hiatus while going through cancer treatment. Small Business Operative (SBO) grew out of a business I had before that, called Compass Point Solutions. I rebranded the business in 2003 to add more style, flair, and content. Tapping into one of my alter egos - the spy - made doing business a lot more fun; at least, for me!  Read more »

Yesterday, I had a dental appointment to have a crown put on. I know that I promised to rest for a week to help myself get over the bronchitis/asthmatic thing, but I reasoned that it was a quick appointment that I had already postponed twice already, so it was best to get it over with. Because it would be so fast (maybe 30 minutes) I decided to forego lydocaine and do it without any numbing. I thought it would make it easier to have lunch with a friend immediately afterward if I wasn't doing embarrassing things like biting my cheek repeatedly or drooling.  Read more »

Being geek girls, Kathy and I have equipped are home with a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm system that is very cool. Or, at least, it is supposed to be.

Here's how it works. We have three alarm units that are networked together. Each one is programmed with its location, such as "hallway" or "kitchen." When an alarm goes off, it states the nature of the problem and its location (through a voice alert) followed by an alarm sound. Then, the other two alarms get a signal and they, too, repeat the message.  Read more »

I've been sick too long with this flu and the weird cough that accompanies it, so today I went to see my primary care physician. I hadn't seen her since she diagnosed me with cancer and so I looked forward to the visit, in a weird way. Also, I never got a photo of her for my tentative collage project, so now was my chance.  Read more »

Last night, at 4 am, I was awakened out of a fussy, feverish sleep to hear a strange voice saying, "Mwa-mwa-mwom-mwa-mwa in KITCHEN!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I knew it was our talking smoke/carbon monoxide alarm telling me to change an alarm battery or that that it was defective or that I should do the hokey-poky, so I rolled out of bed, ran up the stairs, and pulled a stepladder out of the closet. I was setting it up under the kitchen alarm (which I mounted to the ceiling) when Kathy said she could do it. I waved her away, climbed the stepladder, took the alarm off the bracket, and then...realized I was about to pass out.  Read more »

I went to lunch with my friend Sue yesterday, had a lovely time, and headed out afterwards to run errands. At Trader Joe's, I turned toward the display of Airborne (that stuff to ward off the cold and flu) and had an spooky feeling. I decided I didn't want to run any more errands and headed home. Two hours later I started coughing, out of nowhere, and I had a fever. Voila!

Alix, meet Mr. Flu.  Read more »

Yeah, that's me. HD ho.

Ever since we had the prize-won plasma TV put in the studio - where I often hang out during the day with my laptop - I have descended to new levels of high-definition sluttish behavior. Pretty much, if it's in HD and you turn it on, I will watch a show. I wouldn't be surprised to find that my eyes turn into black-and-white spirals that rotate.  Read more »

Kathy's youngest boy, Skeeter (he's the one with the dove fetish) is hooked on something bizarre: the disc tray on the DVD player. Apparently, it is a form of cat crack and he will do anything to make us eject the tray.

We used to laugh when we would eject the tray to put a movie on and Skee would run from some distant corner of the house to watch it go back inside. He'd then sit expectantly in front of the DVD player, waiting for it to come out again.  Read more »

Today I took both my cats to the vet, in the same carrier. It was part of my plan to nip Lola's veterinary antics in the bud.

You see, whenever I come home from taking Tilly to the vet, Lola starts hissing at her sister. Because Tilly smells like the place that Lola hates the most, she decides her sister is evil. Actually, I think she decides Tilly is not her sister. I had to go through this last January and it was frustrating. Tilly felt pretty sick and Lola just kept hissing at her meanly, for over a week! It doesn't matter what I try to do to thwart her nose, Lola insists on this behavior.

So, this time I took them together. Lola needed a check-up, anyway.  Read more »

Happy New Year, everyone!

In hopes of having a better chance at a good year, I have made the radical decision to discontinue Tamoxifen treatment. The past several weeks have been a descent into hell thanks to my body's personal response to the drug. What good is it to lower my risk of breast cancer recurrence if I cannot enjoy my life? The anxiety was edging me toward suicidal thoughts and that is where I draw the line.  Read more »