After
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Another update
Biopsy is done. It was actually a piece of cake. The only hard part was lying still on my back for that long. The tumor is big enough that many sitting/lying/standing positions are uncomfortable because they exert pressure on organs or muscles. Today's lesson? Flat on my back with my arms held above my head for 30 minutes is extraordinarily painful. I never even felt any of the needly goodness.
Now for the waiting. I get to sweat it out until Monday. Yay.
Now for the waiting. I get to sweat it out until Monday. Yay.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Quick Update
Hit 217 on Saturday. W00t! It's been years since I was that light.
I'm feeling pretty good, just really tired a lot of the time. I'm sure it's mostly due to the food thing but it's really a pain. It's like I have 2 hours a day where I'm up to the task, whatever the task may be. The rest of the time, I'm fighting the urge to crawl off somewhere and take a nap. Also, I get edgy when I'm tired. For someone who isn't known for his even temper, this is not a good thing. It's kind of a struggle to be patient and understanding, especially with people who need me to repeat things or explain them slowly. Who knows, maybe I'll get better at it?
Little bit of pain from the squished kidney, but nothing too bad. As long as I drink lots of water and don't get my heart rate up for too long it's fine. Even when it does hurt, a couple ibuprofen and I'm all set.
Biopsy is Tuesday. Basically, I lay in the scanner while a dude sticks my belly with a long needle. I don't know about you, but I can smell the awesome in the air now! Then I get to wait a week to find out what's next. I'm sure that week will just FLY by!
I'm feeling pretty good, just really tired a lot of the time. I'm sure it's mostly due to the food thing but it's really a pain. It's like I have 2 hours a day where I'm up to the task, whatever the task may be. The rest of the time, I'm fighting the urge to crawl off somewhere and take a nap. Also, I get edgy when I'm tired. For someone who isn't known for his even temper, this is not a good thing. It's kind of a struggle to be patient and understanding, especially with people who need me to repeat things or explain them slowly. Who knows, maybe I'll get better at it?
Little bit of pain from the squished kidney, but nothing too bad. As long as I drink lots of water and don't get my heart rate up for too long it's fine. Even when it does hurt, a couple ibuprofen and I'm all set.
Biopsy is Tuesday. Basically, I lay in the scanner while a dude sticks my belly with a long needle. I don't know about you, but I can smell the awesome in the air now! Then I get to wait a week to find out what's next. I'm sure that week will just FLY by!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Staying positive
I think this process is going to be about finding small rays of light in a dark sky and focusing on them until the sun comes up (wow, that's flowery).
The tumor is large enough that it's acting in much the same way as a gastric band right now, among other things. This morning, I ate a little container of yogurt not because I was hungry but because I knew I should. A little later, I ate a bagel for the same reason. I now feel a little over full, and eating lunch is kind of out of the question. With luck, I'll have room for a small salad and/or a couple handfuls of cashews tonight, which I will try to eat not out of hunger but out of realizing that you can't keep a guy my size going long on a bagel and yogurt. Oh and water. Trying to drink lots of water, but that's not as easy as it was before either.
The ray of light? Operation skinny John has been given a boost. Though Shannon wont like it, I'd probably be a little healthier 20 or so pounds lighter than now... Now being the lightest I have been in years (my "fat" scale read 220.5 today). Losing that last 10-20 should be a cinch. Hell, the tumor itself should be a couple. As a celebration, I walked down to the shoe repair place by Pioneer Square and had them put two new holes in my belt. One for now (I needed it) and one for later. Who knows? I just might splurge and by a whole new belt!
The tumor is large enough that it's acting in much the same way as a gastric band right now, among other things. This morning, I ate a little container of yogurt not because I was hungry but because I knew I should. A little later, I ate a bagel for the same reason. I now feel a little over full, and eating lunch is kind of out of the question. With luck, I'll have room for a small salad and/or a couple handfuls of cashews tonight, which I will try to eat not out of hunger but out of realizing that you can't keep a guy my size going long on a bagel and yogurt. Oh and water. Trying to drink lots of water, but that's not as easy as it was before either.
The ray of light? Operation skinny John has been given a boost. Though Shannon wont like it, I'd probably be a little healthier 20 or so pounds lighter than now... Now being the lightest I have been in years (my "fat" scale read 220.5 today). Losing that last 10-20 should be a cinch. Hell, the tumor itself should be a couple. As a celebration, I walked down to the shoe repair place by Pioneer Square and had them put two new holes in my belt. One for now (I needed it) and one for later. Who knows? I just might splurge and by a whole new belt!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Have you seen me?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Well, this may piss off a few friends of mine but...
I'm all over this. I'm a little bit tired of feeling like a second class citizen who's being asked to pay first class taxes. Second class citizen you say? But John, you're white and straight! How much more un-second class can you get?
A lot. My wife and I have decided not to have children. The reasons for that are many and varied and not part of this discussion. However, what is part of the discussion is the fact that people like us are paying a hell of a lot for benefits we don't get, or at best only get part of.
When people take maternity leave, who pays? Those of us who can and do stay. When we need that much time off, we have one option... ask HR how much PTO you have and take it... You're not too busy covering for someone who is out on maternity leave. When kids need better schools, or money is needed to pay teachers, or safety for children needs to be improved, who pays? We all do, whether we will be using the service directly or not. There are other more minor (but still burdensome) sacrifices we are asked to make in the name of breeding, but let's boil it down... Additional population means additional cost. If I'm not contributing to the first why should I have to be encumbered with the same (or greater) share of the second as someone who is?
Don't get me wrong. While I'm not part of the "children are our future" crowd (well I guess I am but no kids = no future so...), I do realize that breeding is natural. Some folks, hell most folks, are going to do it. I also realize that the future of humanity (something I really don't care about... once I'm dead you all can knock yourselves out) lies with our offspring and thus is important to some people. I'm a good citizen. I'll pay my share for things I don't agree with if the majority of the people in my society think its a good idea. My problem? My fair share is the same or more as the people that actually have children. Listen, having kids is a choice. So is hanging out with dancing girls and riding motorcycles. No one is asking parents to help me make motorcycle payments, why are parents asking me to help pay for their kids?
Anyway, the more militant part of me agrees with Ms. Etheridge. I'll pay my taxes, but I'll just go ahead and keep the part that goes to pay for a service I will never use. Yeah, I know that will do nothing but land me in jail, but the whole thing really pisses me off. How about a break for those of us who choose not to breed? We give more to the system and take less. Doesn't it make sense? I'm not asking anyone to subsidize my lifestyle, why do I have to pay so much to subsidize someone elses?
The tax system serves two purposes. One is to raise revenue. The other is to reward "acceptable" social behavior. I'm a bit tired of not breeding being unacceptable. In my opinion, it seems to be a bit backwards right now. We're rewarding people for producing something we could use less of.
Finally, no disrespect meant to my friends who have children. I don't hate children or parents. I actually love kids. They make me happy and fill me with wonder. I'm just getting tired to constantly being asked to help pay for children I will never have. Like I said, I'll pay my share but I'd like to see a world where those who choose to have kids take on more of the cost than those who don't.
EDIT: If you're a friend of mine who is a parent, and this pisses you off.... Let's talk about it. If someone can talk me out of the mad box I'm in then great. Anyway, I don't hate you for having kids and I don't want you to hate me for not having kids.
Also, please don't bring up the "Who will be staffing your nursing home" argument. There's tons of people I don't have to pay for who could do the job, and I intend to be dead first regardless.
A lot. My wife and I have decided not to have children. The reasons for that are many and varied and not part of this discussion. However, what is part of the discussion is the fact that people like us are paying a hell of a lot for benefits we don't get, or at best only get part of.
When people take maternity leave, who pays? Those of us who can and do stay. When we need that much time off, we have one option... ask HR how much PTO you have and take it... You're not too busy covering for someone who is out on maternity leave. When kids need better schools, or money is needed to pay teachers, or safety for children needs to be improved, who pays? We all do, whether we will be using the service directly or not. There are other more minor (but still burdensome) sacrifices we are asked to make in the name of breeding, but let's boil it down... Additional population means additional cost. If I'm not contributing to the first why should I have to be encumbered with the same (or greater) share of the second as someone who is?
Don't get me wrong. While I'm not part of the "children are our future" crowd (well I guess I am but no kids = no future so...), I do realize that breeding is natural. Some folks, hell most folks, are going to do it. I also realize that the future of humanity (something I really don't care about... once I'm dead you all can knock yourselves out) lies with our offspring and thus is important to some people. I'm a good citizen. I'll pay my share for things I don't agree with if the majority of the people in my society think its a good idea. My problem? My fair share is the same or more as the people that actually have children. Listen, having kids is a choice. So is hanging out with dancing girls and riding motorcycles. No one is asking parents to help me make motorcycle payments, why are parents asking me to help pay for their kids?
Anyway, the more militant part of me agrees with Ms. Etheridge. I'll pay my taxes, but I'll just go ahead and keep the part that goes to pay for a service I will never use. Yeah, I know that will do nothing but land me in jail, but the whole thing really pisses me off. How about a break for those of us who choose not to breed? We give more to the system and take less. Doesn't it make sense? I'm not asking anyone to subsidize my lifestyle, why do I have to pay so much to subsidize someone elses?
The tax system serves two purposes. One is to raise revenue. The other is to reward "acceptable" social behavior. I'm a bit tired of not breeding being unacceptable. In my opinion, it seems to be a bit backwards right now. We're rewarding people for producing something we could use less of.
Finally, no disrespect meant to my friends who have children. I don't hate children or parents. I actually love kids. They make me happy and fill me with wonder. I'm just getting tired to constantly being asked to help pay for children I will never have. Like I said, I'll pay my share but I'd like to see a world where those who choose to have kids take on more of the cost than those who don't.
EDIT: If you're a friend of mine who is a parent, and this pisses you off.... Let's talk about it. If someone can talk me out of the mad box I'm in then great. Anyway, I don't hate you for having kids and I don't want you to hate me for not having kids.
Also, please don't bring up the "Who will be staffing your nursing home" argument. There's tons of people I don't have to pay for who could do the job, and I intend to be dead first regardless.
Friday, November 07, 2008
My liver is worth MILLIONS!!!!!!!!
Or it could be, if transformed into a super heated gas. On a related topic, I can't see or hear the word "diamonds" without thinking of this.
And I'm having a crappy day so I am going to post a funny picture that has nothing to do with anything.
And I'm having a crappy day so I am going to post a funny picture that has nothing to do with anything.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Watch this...
because it's fun.
As I've said, the left and the right are just two wings of the same bird flying above me to shit on my head. You can vote for a speech reader from one side, or from the other. What you'll get is pretty much the same.
Enjoy your "democracy".
As I've said, the left and the right are just two wings of the same bird flying above me to shit on my head. You can vote for a speech reader from one side, or from the other. What you'll get is pretty much the same.
Enjoy your "democracy".
Why an Obama presidency will suck.
Comedy is about to get a lot less fun. Seriously, how the hell can you mock either Obama or Biden? Neither of them are funny at all.
Crap. We, long with the rest of the world, will have to find something else to laugh at for the first time in 8 years.
Seriously though, isn't the prospect of a President who can string a sentence together awesome? I know he's lying to me. They all lie. But at least when people like Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama lie to you, you kinda want to think that maybe they're not.
Crap. We, long with the rest of the world, will have to find something else to laugh at for the first time in 8 years.
Seriously though, isn't the prospect of a President who can string a sentence together awesome? I know he's lying to me. They all lie. But at least when people like Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama lie to you, you kinda want to think that maybe they're not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
