I am getting less and less interested in watching the CBS show "Jerico." Now they're appearantly planning a "Jericho" promotion in Lawrence. Lawrence? What the hell? Because Lawrence is a small town, just like Jericho? Hello, Lawrence has about 80,000 people! Hardly a representation of small-town anywhere. Not to mention it's in eastern Kansas, so definatley NO MOUNTAINS in sight.
If they wanted to promote the feel of the show, why not choose a town that could be Jericho? There's plenty of small towns in western Kansas that would welcome the publicity and fit the bill (even if you can't see mountains). The town of Speed (population between 30 and 40, depending on who you talk to and if you count dogs and cats) recently hosted an event with Mattel's Hot Wheels that brought around 10,000 people to town.
So there.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Flashback
One year ago today:
It was two weeks after my first chemo, after they took my first CBC (blood test) at the cancer center and were shocked at how low my white blood cell count was (near zero). I had to stay home from work for a week, and that was probably the lowest time I had through this whole journey. I felt fine, but here was the first indication that something was seriously wrong with me, that something as simple as a cold could endanger my life! Of course, I spent the next four months or so in the "isolation chamber" at work, which got kind of depressing at times. But that's another flashback.
Also on this day last year:
Fortunately, my hair has now grown back nicely. Maybe a bit grayer. I liked having curly hair (it was more wavy than curly), but the last week or so it seems to be going back to its original straightness. I'm just glad I have it.
Maybe a dye job is in order.
I can't begin to describe how great it was to get back to work today
It was two weeks after my first chemo, after they took my first CBC (blood test) at the cancer center and were shocked at how low my white blood cell count was (near zero). I had to stay home from work for a week, and that was probably the lowest time I had through this whole journey. I felt fine, but here was the first indication that something was seriously wrong with me, that something as simple as a cold could endanger my life! Of course, I spent the next four months or so in the "isolation chamber" at work, which got kind of depressing at times. But that's another flashback.
Also on this day last year:
I stepped out of the shower only to find I had a bit of a hairy chest. Only it was hair that had formerly been on my head. And all morning, I was brushing hairs off my shoulders.
Fortunately, my hair has now grown back nicely. Maybe a bit grayer. I liked having curly hair (it was more wavy than curly), but the last week or so it seems to be going back to its original straightness. I'm just glad I have it.
Maybe a dye job is in order.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
No more rain
As in we didn't get any more rain after Friday, other than maybe a few sprinkles. The creek is pretty well dried up again, just a puddle left. At least the weeds are green!
Not much else going on, just a quiet weekend. With gas prices the way the way they are, I kind of prefer to not do any extra driving. So whatever I need to get done in town, I'll try to do during the week when I'm there for work anyway. If we need groceries during the weekend, we can shop at the store here. Makes me wonder how many other people are doing the same thing, and if this little town's businesses are seeing a boost.
Besides, right now, it's back to school time, and who want to contend with all the newbie college students crowding Wal-Mart all the time?
Not much else going on, just a quiet weekend. With gas prices the way the way they are, I kind of prefer to not do any extra driving. So whatever I need to get done in town, I'll try to do during the week when I'm there for work anyway. If we need groceries during the weekend, we can shop at the store here. Makes me wonder how many other people are doing the same thing, and if this little town's businesses are seeing a boost.
Besides, right now, it's back to school time, and who want to contend with all the newbie college students crowding Wal-Mart all the time?
Saturday, August 19, 2006
A river runs through it
Well, I don't know that it's actually running, but there is water in the creek that runs by my house! It dried up this summer, until there's been just a few puddles or pools here and there. But that changed last night, after we got 2 inches of rain in about an hour. Total for the night was 2.75. That's more rain than we've gotten in the last three or four months!
But the bad news with the rain was I found out the roof still leaks in the kitchen. In fact, it started dripping in a new place last night. Not for very long, thankfully, but it makes me worry that there's more damage up there that you can't see, like mold, rotting wood, etc. I hate to think how much it will cost to fix that.
More rain expected later today (ETA: just after I posted, a shower started) and other places upstream got heavy rain, too, so maybe the creek actually will run. I'll have to take Nipper walking and check out the rest of town.
But the bad news with the rain was I found out the roof still leaks in the kitchen. In fact, it started dripping in a new place last night. Not for very long, thankfully, but it makes me worry that there's more damage up there that you can't see, like mold, rotting wood, etc. I hate to think how much it will cost to fix that.
More rain expected later today (ETA: just after I posted, a shower started) and other places upstream got heavy rain, too, so maybe the creek actually will run. I'll have to take Nipper walking and check out the rest of town.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Setback
Monday I had my regular MUGA scan, and got the results today. It wasn't great.
My ejection fraction was at 49 percent. It has to be at least 50 percent for me to continue to receive the Herceptin. There was also a slight enlargement of one of the heart's chambers.
But, heart damage is an expected side effect of Herceptin; that's why they do the MUGA scan every eight weeks. The plan is to just stop my Herceptin treatment for about a month. I'll have another MUGA scan on Sept. 5, and then follow up with my doctor the next week. I'm scheduled to continue the Hercpetin through December, but this could extend my treatment a bit longer.
The good news is that in most cases, heart damage caused by Herceptin is reversible. That's why my doctor is taking me off it for a few weeks. Keeping up with the exercise should help, too.
But on the bad news front, there's an increased risk of coronary heart disease for women who receive radiation for breast cancer on the left side (see more about halfway through this article). Which, of course, is the side I had it on. Even more reason to get off my butt and keep exercising, I guess.
My ejection fraction was at 49 percent. It has to be at least 50 percent for me to continue to receive the Herceptin. There was also a slight enlargement of one of the heart's chambers.
But, heart damage is an expected side effect of Herceptin; that's why they do the MUGA scan every eight weeks. The plan is to just stop my Herceptin treatment for about a month. I'll have another MUGA scan on Sept. 5, and then follow up with my doctor the next week. I'm scheduled to continue the Hercpetin through December, but this could extend my treatment a bit longer.
The good news is that in most cases, heart damage caused by Herceptin is reversible. That's why my doctor is taking me off it for a few weeks. Keeping up with the exercise should help, too.
But on the bad news front, there's an increased risk of coronary heart disease for women who receive radiation for breast cancer on the left side (see more about halfway through this article). Which, of course, is the side I had it on. Even more reason to get off my butt and keep exercising, I guess.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
I'll watch, but ...
Check out CBS' info page about one if its new shows, "Jericho." Look closely at the picture on the left side of the page. What's wrong with it?
Don't get it? Read the first part of the show's description:
Now, look at that picture again. Get it? No? Here's a small clue:
Was that subtle enough for you?
The producers, in a video interview on the CBS Web site, say they were going for a sense of reality for this show. Well, then they should have done some homework. Or come to Kansas, stood on the freakin' border and looked with their own damn eyes.
Yes, I am a bit peeved about this ... does it show?
Still, the premise of the show is interesting. So I'll watch, and I'll grit my teeth whenever there's mountains on the horizon. Or whatever uneducated bunk or hick cliche shows up.
As long as there's not a girl named Dorothy with a dog named Toto, I'll give it a chance.
Don't get it? Read the first part of the show's description:
JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they're the only Americans left alive.
Now, look at that picture again. Get it? No? Here's a small clue:
YOU CANNOT SEE THE DAMN ROCKY MOUNTAINS FROM KANSAS!
Was that subtle enough for you?
The producers, in a video interview on the CBS Web site, say they were going for a sense of reality for this show. Well, then they should have done some homework. Or come to Kansas, stood on the freakin' border and looked with their own damn eyes.
Yes, I am a bit peeved about this ... does it show?
Still, the premise of the show is interesting. So I'll watch, and I'll grit my teeth whenever there's mountains on the horizon. Or whatever uneducated bunk or hick cliche shows up.
As long as there's not a girl named Dorothy with a dog named Toto, I'll give it a chance.
Fall TV
So the days are getting shorter, the kids will be back in school next week and that turns one's thoughts to ... the new fall TV season!
I watched the pilot of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the new show from "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin (courtesy of Netflix), and I liked it. If it keeps up that quality, I'll probably stick with it. I haven't watched the pilot for "Kidnapped," which is on the same disk, yet. The preview for "Heroes" looked interesting, too. Not a football fan, so "Friday Night Lights" is out for me.
So looking at the networks' fall lineup, here's what will probably be my viewing schedule, at least in the beginning:
Monday
7 p.m. The Amazing Race, CBS. Can't do without my Race fix!
The rest of the night kind of sucks.
Monday
7 p.m. The Class, CBS. I'll give this one a shot.
7:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother, CBS. Better than most sitcoms that have come along in the last few years. But this hour might be my Web-surfing-while-watching hour.
8 p.m. Heroes, NBC. The preview looked interesting. If it tanks, I stick with CBS with Two and Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine. I didn't watch these often last year, but what I saw was good.
9 p.m. Watch Studio 60, tape CSI: Miami.
Tuesday
7 p.m. NCIS. Mark Harmon. Need I say more?
The rest of the night looks dull. Maybe House, on Fox. Maybe a movie night after NCIS. Unless CBS gets smart and puts Amazing Race back here.
Wednesday
7 p.m. Jericho, CBS. Depsite the fact the producers are too dumb to know geography, I'll check this one out.
8 p.m. Lost, ABC. Seven episodes will air in the fall, then the series will resume with 15 new episodes in the spring. That episode No. 7 better be DAMN good.
9 p.m. Probably CSI:NY, CBS, unless I get hooked on Kidnapped on NBC. Then tape CSI and watch later.
Thursday
7 p.m. Survivor, CBS. Hopefully it hasn't jumped the shark. Or maybe it has, but I'm just still hooked.
8 p.m. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS. I'm starting to get tired of CSI shows on about every other chanel all day, but at least they don't change the cast around like Law & Order.
9 p.m. Maybe Six Degrees on ABC or Shark on CBS. Don't know yet.
Friday
Except for Numbers on CBS at 9 p.m., looks like Friday will suck this year again.
Saturday
College football and reruns? Who's in charge of programming this crap? Not everyone goes out, you know.
I watched the pilot of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the new show from "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin (courtesy of Netflix), and I liked it. If it keeps up that quality, I'll probably stick with it. I haven't watched the pilot for "Kidnapped," which is on the same disk, yet. The preview for "Heroes" looked interesting, too. Not a football fan, so "Friday Night Lights" is out for me.
So looking at the networks' fall lineup, here's what will probably be my viewing schedule, at least in the beginning:
Monday
7 p.m. The Amazing Race, CBS. Can't do without my Race fix!
The rest of the night kind of sucks.
Monday
7 p.m. The Class, CBS. I'll give this one a shot.
7:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother, CBS. Better than most sitcoms that have come along in the last few years. But this hour might be my Web-surfing-while-watching hour.
8 p.m. Heroes, NBC. The preview looked interesting. If it tanks, I stick with CBS with Two and Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine. I didn't watch these often last year, but what I saw was good.
9 p.m. Watch Studio 60, tape CSI: Miami.
Tuesday
7 p.m. NCIS. Mark Harmon. Need I say more?
The rest of the night looks dull. Maybe House, on Fox. Maybe a movie night after NCIS. Unless CBS gets smart and puts Amazing Race back here.
Wednesday
7 p.m. Jericho, CBS. Depsite the fact the producers are too dumb to know geography, I'll check this one out.
8 p.m. Lost, ABC. Seven episodes will air in the fall, then the series will resume with 15 new episodes in the spring. That episode No. 7 better be DAMN good.
9 p.m. Probably CSI:NY, CBS, unless I get hooked on Kidnapped on NBC. Then tape CSI and watch later.
Thursday
7 p.m. Survivor, CBS. Hopefully it hasn't jumped the shark. Or maybe it has, but I'm just still hooked.
8 p.m. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS. I'm starting to get tired of CSI shows on about every other chanel all day, but at least they don't change the cast around like Law & Order.
9 p.m. Maybe Six Degrees on ABC or Shark on CBS. Don't know yet.
Friday
Except for Numbers on CBS at 9 p.m., looks like Friday will suck this year again.
Saturday
College football and reruns? Who's in charge of programming this crap? Not everyone goes out, you know.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Has it been that long?
A couple days ago, I got a call from an old-high school friend. She was collecting addresses and contact information of all our class members to help plan our 20th class reunion next year. "TWENTIETH?!? No, way!" was my first reaction. But, yes, it will be.
She e-mailed me a list of all our classmates, with addresses and phone numbers. About half have e-mail. I remember at our 10th reunion, whenever I talked to any of my friends and eagerly asked "do you have e-mail," hoping to build up my address book, all I'd get is a blank stare, like they were thinking "oh, that's for geeks ... like you." Now, I bet they can't live without it.
Just under half are still living in town, which is kind of surprising. Another 10 live within a couple hours' drive. There's a handful around Kansas City. Only about half a dozen live outside the region, and there's one overseas.
Six of us are dead.
One is now the principal of the high school we graduated from. Two are married to each other.
I haven't even been back to my hometown for about five or six years. Once in awhile, I see someone here when they come up for shopping or something. Or I see their parents. And their lives all seem as ordinary as mine. I'm sure we all had big dreams of where life would go. And then reality happened. We grew up, got jobs, started families, whatever, and now we shake our heads at the youngsters around us who think they will achieve Great Things and listen to that godawful music too loud ...
But we're not old or anything. I'm just sayin'.
She e-mailed me a list of all our classmates, with addresses and phone numbers. About half have e-mail. I remember at our 10th reunion, whenever I talked to any of my friends and eagerly asked "do you have e-mail," hoping to build up my address book, all I'd get is a blank stare, like they were thinking "oh, that's for geeks ... like you." Now, I bet they can't live without it.
Just under half are still living in town, which is kind of surprising. Another 10 live within a couple hours' drive. There's a handful around Kansas City. Only about half a dozen live outside the region, and there's one overseas.
Six of us are dead.
One is now the principal of the high school we graduated from. Two are married to each other.
I haven't even been back to my hometown for about five or six years. Once in awhile, I see someone here when they come up for shopping or something. Or I see their parents. And their lives all seem as ordinary as mine. I'm sure we all had big dreams of where life would go. And then reality happened. We grew up, got jobs, started families, whatever, and now we shake our heads at the youngsters around us who think they will achieve Great Things and listen to that godawful music too loud ...
But we're not old or anything. I'm just sayin'.
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