I’ve found a condo I love and I’m buying it. I’ll upload some pictures I’ve taken soon, but for now that link to the listing will have to suffice.
It’s at 1406 Harvard Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, which is a super urban neighborhood, yet it feels very private inside. It’s got a fair bit of space, a few cool skylights, and one super awesome tiny room that has like a 30 foot ceiling of all skylight.
The only 2 downsides are a lack of parking nearby for visitors and no real view of anything out of the few windows. The place still has a good bit of natural light because of the skylights, so I don’t really mind the lack of windows and it adds to the feeling of privacy.
I’m sure I’ll post more about it later. But I need to get back to work!
This past Friday was hopefully my last dose of chemo. It was the 6th total dose and the end of my 3rd cycle. So now I’ll get a PET scan next Friday and, assuming the results say I show no cancer, I’ll stop chemo and move on to radiaiton for 4-8 weeks starting mid November. If the PET shows I do still have cancer, which, by all accounts is extremely unlikely, it’s back to the chemo drawing board. Got to get ‘er done before sealing the deal with rads.
Each time at chemo definitely gets harder. I have a ton of anticipatory nausea these days (that is, a Pavlovian response just to going into the place or thinking about the therapy that makes me want to throw up). It was great having Heather with me there yesterday to take my mind off of things. Would have been much harder alone. This morning, so far, though, so good. I have head and stomach aches, but much of that just means I haven’t had anything to eat or drink yet today.
As for weekend plans, I intende to watch all of season 1 of Lost.
Today was my 5th chemo infusion. Everything went relatively well. They found lots of good veins, but had trouble penetrating my steelskin, so they ended up trying 4 times before they finally got something to work. They were really pretty upset about the whole thing and profusely apologetic. Only one of the attempts really hurt. On that one they managed to penetrate the skin, but not the vein.
It really is embarrasing when I forget to toggle off my invulnerability powers.
Anyway, that’s down. So now I’ll feel like crap for a few days and it’s back at ’em.
My dad’s in town for this round, so that’s nice. We’ve had some nice meals. And he got a chance to meet a couple more of my friends: Heather tonight and Geeven and Ali tomorrow when he comes with me into the U district for my usual gyro/bubble tea/comic book excursion.
After that, it’s off to look at some more condos with Lyn. I wonder if the one I didn’t buy has sold yet. I’m starting to have a bit of regret (not financially, though) about it. I looked at rental places today at Harbor Steps. Summary: Crap!!
Bleh. Well, this weekend is the last scheduled visitor for a while. The next thing I know I have to do out of town is Ed’s pseudo-wedding on Nov. 12th or so, so that’ll be good to have some time to just settle down for a bit.
My dear old friend Veronica (aka Sweet Tits) came to visit me (and Seattle) last weekend. It was a great time. It was a non-treatment weekend for me, so I was feeling pretty good (albeit tired) and we were able to do a bunch of things like: pike place market, space needle, emp, sci fi museum, see a movie, arboretum, japanese gardens, go for a swing ride, have a tasty brunch at Salty’s on Alki, go book shopping, discuss the MIT glass pumpkins, etc.
My media center’s network card is fux0r at the moment, but when it pops back up I’ll post pictures from the weekend.
I met my radiation oncologist, Dr. Kenneth Russell, today for the first time. He immediately recognized my Brass Rat, so I definitely have a good feeling about him.
Radiation sounds like a pain. They basically strap me down in a Hannibal Lechter mask, attached to a board I lie on so I can’t move my head or neck, and they hyperextend my head so it’s like I’m looking straight up. Then they bombard my neck with X-rays for about 10 minutes. Insaaaane.
Looks like the main complication (long term) is likely to be that my major salivary glands on the right side of my neck are obliterated. So I may have less saliva in the future. Hopefully the ones on the left can pick up the slack.
As for the emotional distress, that’s mostly resolved. I’m thinking of buying a condo. It’s probably too expensive, but it’s pretty freaking sweet.
I was leaning alot more heavily towards it until today when my team of trusted advisors weighed in almost uniformly in opposition. It’s good to have a group as talented and deliberate as 5th West around.
A few months ago, my doctor told me that during strenuous exercise it is biochemically impossible to experience stress. This morning I put that to the test. After 3 hours at the gym (1.5 on the treadmill, 1.5 weights) I can report that this is either not the case or among the various emtions I am experiencing, stress is not a major player. When my heart was up at just over 200 bpm, I felt like I was going to collapse and die right there on the floor, but it did nothing to change my emotional state.
I had my 3rd chemo friday yesterday and so far things are going along just fine. Dave came along with me to the treatment, and it was once again nice to have someone there for moral support.
I had a bit more fatigue last night than the previous time, but today was back up to going into the city for gyros, comics and bubble tea. Mmm good.
Now I’m watching the 4400 with Dave and we plan to see a movei afterwards.
I waa goign to do a Lost Season 1 marathon with Heather, but she got sick. Ordinarily my immune system would brush aside whatever she has without any dificulty, but since my immune system is presently on vacation in Fiji, I figure it’s best to stay away from the most flu-ridden of my friends.
Last Thursday, after a fine Rockstar evening, Heather, aided by Dave, tricked me into getting a mohawk:
Either everyone engaged in a massive conspiracy to deceive me by telling me they all loved it or I’m the only person that thinks I look absolutely ridiculous with a mohawk.
In any event, you can find more pictures of it here. And this is really the only chance you’ll get. On Friday evening, about 20 hours after getting the mohawk, I shaved it all off. So now I look more like a traditional cancer patient.
