Nice Tunes

The ever evolving experience. That's what this is. Sometimes it feels like I adjust to everything about this situation, then I get punched in the gut with anxiety over the seriousness of everything. This week has been a punch-in-the-gut-week. Contemplating the meaning of "hope" and stuff. It's just really weird.

In other news, Katirose and I practiced our next group of songs for the next open mic. Went very well, some nice tunes in the future :)

Results Show

So I had another CT scan on Tuesday, the "results show" with Dr. T was yesterday. Everything seems to be holding stable still, so it'll be business as usual. Jeannine came with me to this appointment, it was nice having her along. These "result show" appointments can get a little stressful, but Jeannine did a great job. Thanks J9!


In other news, Tuesday I went to the Capitol Club with some friends (a place here on Capitol Hill, about 20 minutes walking from my apartment) to see a free Flamenco performance. It was astonishingly beautiful. Eric and Encarnación (a married couple), Eric played the guitar and Encarnación danced, sang and played rhythm guitar. Very, VERY professional quality show, the guitar playing was extraordinary. It was the kind of guitar playing that will make a guitar player want to sell (or smash) his guitar. I highly recommend checking them out sometime. They play every Tuesday night at the Capitol Club for free. Eric and Encarnación are professional musicians who play with some world renowned musicians, they play the Capitol Club for free because they just love the music. Really, it's an amazing show. 

The Distorted View Show

So, there's this awesome podcast I listen to called "The Distorted View Show". If you have delicate sensibilities you probably shouldn't check this show out. It is comedy, but the host operates like his goal is to violate as many FCC regulations as possible (per minute). That's the great thing about podcasting, there are no regulations about content or language or anything, it's purely up to the whims of the creator of the podcast. Tim Henson, the host of this ground breaking (sorta?) show, traipses all over convention and decency.

This being said, he has a segment of the show where he plays voice mail messages his listeners leave on a special voice mail line. Henson doesn't listen to the messages before he plays them, he just takes ten or so off the top and those are the calls for that days show. If people call in often enough they force themselves to become a character on his show. People come up with cleaver little names for themselves and comment on other shows, other callers, or life in general. Some calls are you-know-you-are-a-freak-when moments. Have you ever had a you-know-you-are-a-freak-when moment? I have.

Anyway, I started calling in to this show on a regular basis, and making it onto most episodes. I thought it would be fun to treat my cancer situation with a shade of what this show is known for (among those who know the show) and be very matter of fact about it, or "distorted", if you will (will you?). Today's voice mail segment had a guy who called in using my name and saying that I really wasn't in this situation and I was just saying that to get attention. I e mailed Henson explaining that I was, in fact, who I said I was, and that other guy was an imposter. He totally straightened it out for me on the show and said he's going to plug my blog even. Thanks Tim!

It's incredibly entertaining hearing my voice on that show. Go ahead and check it out, if you dare. It. Is. Offensive. You've been warned.

Woo-Hoo!

If you would like an exhilarating experience, I would encourage you to arrive at my apartment at 4:30am on a 32 degree morning and ride to work with me. Sometimes, as I'm riding to work on mornings like this, I think to myself "What am I thinking". My left foot was literally shaking on the highway peg through long curves on I5. My hands are still a little shaky from the adrenaline rush. Weather.com is reporting the weather in Everett right now at 32 degrees (but they say it "feels like" 26). I would make it through a long curve and actually give a "Woo-Hoo!!" into my helmet.

Cricket Bat

So here's a good question along the same lines as the Foreman proposal: If I were to go one-on-one with a great fighter, say Mike Tyson in his prime, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, someone like that, what kind of weapon would I have to use to even the score? I mean, I could just have a gatling gun and saw him in half as soon as "Big" John McCarthy says "Let's get it on!", but that's not exactly evening the score. What would it take? Brass knuckles? A cricket bat? A yard stick? I could always sling the excrement I would be evacuating right then, could be an effective deterrent, he might just tap...

Goliath

Is it just me, or does it seem like the stereotype of person who uses a blue tooth head piece is becoming narrower and narrower? Pretty soon they will be worn exclusively by Caucasian males between the ages of 47 and 61 who have pony tails.

Anyway, it's kinda funny how there's certain things I can't really write about on this blog because of the drama that would unfold if I did so. There's one situation in particular that doesn't involve me at all, but I'm bearing witness to it, and it would make for some awfully compelling blogging. It's developing into a nice little saga, but the parties involved only might read this, and for that reason, I have to steer clear of the topic. That's all I have to say about that.

One more quick thing, then I'm out. Many know that I love the band "The Mars Volta". They're one of those bands that you don't like right away, it takes a few listens to get used to it. Do you like any bands who you didn't appreciate until after a few listens through the album? Volta's lead singer has a squeaky voice reminiscent of Geddy Lee, and their music is chaotic and energetic, often times bordering on experimental. Two of their albums are "stand outs" in my extremely humble opinion, they are "Deloused in the Commatorium" and "The Bedlam in Goliath". Specifically I'd like to discuss The Bedlam. This album is like something else. It feels like it tickles a sense you don't know you have, not quite audio, not quite visual. It's hard to describe. It's like something else. It is beautiful, haunting, melodic and chaotic. Some parts play out like "big-tent" revival rock. It moves my emotions. It's so cliche, but listening to this album is a journey. It has standout tracks (like "Wax Simulacra" and "Goliath"), but it should really be listened to from start to finish. It is like an abstract painting that is made to resemble something that only the artist knows. However, the form is so beautiful and has so many perspective points, it could mean anything to any observer, which makes it truly universal. I wish I could give everyone a copy of this, but Itunes will only allow a certain number of cd's to be burned off of certain albums. I think The Bedlam in Goliath could only be burned 7 times. Highly, highly recommended. It might take you a few listens though...

Surprise Attack

I wonder if I could beat up George Foreman? In his current condition, I mean. It seems like he's got quite a bit of snap left in him, but that's based on George Foreman Grill commercials where they have him looking his best. He might have to slur through ten takes before getting one that's usable. We really don't know what he's like in a day-to-day way. 

 

I think we need to classify what kind of fight we're talking about first. As I see it, there are three classifications of fights. First is the kind where I would rush up onto George Foreman at a commercial shoot or something and just start swinging. Totally surprise attack. The second is where we would have an argument that escalates until we are taking it into the parking lot. The third would be in a boxing ring, by boxing rules.  

 

In scenario number one I think I could really deliver a beating to George Foreman, providing his handlers don't pounce me. For that reason, lets place the scenario somewhere he'll be alone, like a dressing room or a bathroom stall. In a situation like this, I think I could seriously hurt the man.

Scenario number two might be a toss-up. I'm pretty sure I could take him. How old is George Foreman anyway? It would be easy enough to just look that information up, I mean I am sitting here at a computer terminal that is connected to the internet, but I'll just speculate his age at sixty-seven. It also depends on how much he's been drinking.

He might have me in the third scenario. I'd have to resort to a little "dirty boxing", or maybe I could just bite his ear off.

I would kick Muhammad Ali's ass in any of these situations. Is he still alive even?

Pill Caddy

Today I finally broke down and bought one of those pill caddies with the separate compartments for the days of the week (and sub-divided into am/pm). I felt like such a senior citizen, but whatever. I was in Walgreen's to pick up a prescription for some ointment anyway, so it seemed fitting. What I also thought was funny was that my dosage for a given compartment in that pill caddy almost exceeds the space available. This is going to really help me not to lay awake at night trying to remember if I took my dosage from that morning. I'm 99% sure I haven't missed a dose yet, but as more medication becomes required to manage side effects, I'm needing another method of organization.

I'm now taking my study medication (RO5185426) twice daily, 12 hours apart, Celebrex to manage the joint pain and tattoo inflammation twice daily with food (if I don't take it with food, it acts like an ex lax). Because it has to be taken with food, I can't put those pills into the pill caddy, they have to be taken with me to places where I am going to be eating. I'm taking prednisolone acetate eye drops twice daily to clear up the conjunctivitis. I'm using clindamycin phosphate lotion twice daily to clear up the in-grown hairs caused from the hair loss. Triamcinolone acetonide twice daily (just started today, this is the ointment I was picking up at Walgreen's) to help control the itching in my tattoos. That's pretty much it.

Recently I got a call from my dermatologist to let me know that they examined, at a microscopic level, what was going on with my tattoos. The tissue they removed from my back had a portion of a tattoo, so they had a chance to get a close look at it. He told me what it was, but it was a lot of medical jargon. He said that he contacted Dr. T to let him know the findings.

While I had him on the phone, I asked him when my very first visit to him was. I've lost track of a lot of the dates in this timeline, and my first visit to his office was what really started this whole process. He said it was May of '08. So the timeline looks something like this:

May '08 was my first mole removal and initial malignant diagnosis. This led to surgery number one in June '08. Then January '09 was when that lump in my neck was discovered. This was my "stage 3" diagnosis, followed by surgery number two in March '09. By April '09 I was in radiation treatments 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Then it was 4 weeks of chemo infusions (5 days a week), then 12 weeks of lighter chemo shots (self-administered 3 times a week). This concluded in November '09 with my grand mal seizure. By May of '10 I was having my third surgery to biopsy another lump in my neck. This is when they saw the metastasis in my lungs (stage 4). I started on my study drug in July '10. In December '10 I had surgery number four to remove that fillet of skin off my back.

I guess I just needed to type that out...

Blake plays bass

Welp, the open mic was pretty much a smashing success. Thanks to all my friends and family who made it out, struggled with parking, fought for seating, and stayed up too late for a weeknight. I really, sincerely, earnestly, genuinely, whole heartedly appreciate it!

KatiRose (my singer) and I are planning on picking out three more songs and doing another open mic soon. I've really enjoyed all this music in my life lately. My guitar has laid dormant for years until just recently. Did I mention that I'm also giving guitar lessons on Thursday nights? Also, My friend Blake plays bass (say "Blake plays bass" ten times as fast as you can) and sings lead in a local band called "Hotels" and has asked me to play bass (for one song only, but still...) at their CD release party in February. Hotels is "kind of a big deal" around Seattle! Exciting, exciting stuff! The funny thing is I'm not looking for these opportunities, they are landing in my lap. Rock! 

A Dream

I had a dream last night that I was looking at myself in the mirror and noticed little gobs of slime in the corners of my eyes. I was probably dreaming this because of my recent engagement with pink eye. In real life I've been getting little gobs of slime that, when I pull them out, they stretch like a nice long booger. They pull out from under my lower eye lid. It feels really, really strange. In the dream the gobs were a little more substantial then in real life, and when I pulled them out, they revealed the tail of a worm-like grub. When I got a hold of it with my fingernail and removed it, it was moving and had a small bushel of black hairs growing out the end. I threw it to the ground, then realized there was another one right behind it. This went on until there was a small scattering of squirming grubs writhing on the carpet. I went to grab a broom to sweep them up, but when I started sweeping I got distracted by something and the task was left unfinished. I returned back to that spot the next morning (still in the dream) and the grubs had grown into small creatures that could only be described as a rat mixed with a quail and made out of soft brown rubber, the consistency of fake dog-poop you would buy at the Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. They had very long tails that branched out like the roots of a plant. I poked one of them and it twitched against my finger, this is when I felt that "fake dog-poop" elasticity. Then the dream changed, I was crawling across giant boulders on some beach (or next to some river) in the dark. Then I woke up frustrated.

Anyway, the conjunctivitis (pink eye) is clearing up nicely, still a little slimy, but no grubs.

In other news, I'm playing the open mic at the Hopvine Pub tonight (http://www.3pubs.com/Hopvine.html) with my very good friend. If you're free, the show starts at 8:30, I'm going to try to get on the sign up list early. Should be a good time!