The Crave!

Being a resident of south Louisiana, I sadly live in a world deprived of one of my favorite fast-food treats, the White Castle Slider. While I was on my job interview a few days ago I was delighted to discover that right next door to the hotel I was staying at there was a shiny brand-new White Castle. I felt like I had stumbled into the realm of a lost but much more advanced civilization, that just happens to make small hamburgers. This must have been like what Howard Carter felt when he found Tutankhamen's tomb. As soon as I checked in I hot-footed it over and ordered a sack of sliders, and no fries, since they are just empty filler. I managed 8 before I had to stop and they were exquisite.

My only regret was that I couldn’t share the experience with Ann. She's an even larger White Castle fanatic than I am. In fact those little sliders rank among her most favorite things ever. The thought of her missing out on something she loved led me to explore several ideas after my interview on how to transport a bunch of sliders back to Baton Rouge. Sadly, none were workable. Almost every idea I could think of ended with botulism and a emergency trip back to MDA.

However, I did hit on a plan, which I put into action yesterday. While I couldn’t bring Ann to the sliders or the sliders to Ann, I could make my own for her. And after a quick trip to Wal-mart and a little research on White Castle via Youtube, I had everything I needed to crank out two dozen of the tiny but tasty little burgers. I know they aren't the "real thing", but I love her so much I wanted to get as close as possible. Sadly the operation was too large for it to be a surprise, but Ann was over the moon about them. She gobbled 4 at dinner and another 2 for breakfast this morning. So I think she likes them.

Still no word about the results from the job interview. Never fear, if it doesn’t work out I have a couple of irons in the fire still.

Eek!

My niece, with whom I'm living, just got the official word that she has pink eye. Insert paranoid scream here. According to the doctor she'll be contagious for the next two days. This means that we'll be isolated from each other for the next few days. I can find humor in this since we just had a lengthy conversation with each other from the relative safety of our rooms. Imagine the two of us yelling across the house to each other. The neighbors must think we're insane.

I've sent an email to my transplant nurse to see what further precautions the team wants me to take, if any. On the cat front, there appears to be a lack of squiggly little parasites, so I'm going to assume that the shots worked.

I'm currently working on a knitting project for myself and it's making me feel like Sisyphus. The whole project should have taken less than a week and yet it keeps dragging on due to mistakes on my part. I keep getting to the same point and having to rip back an inch almost daily. This morning I was feeling pretty smug about being almost done when I noticed a dropped stitch that was slowly unraveling down the side of the hat. Now I have to fix it. Grrrrr. At least I'll have something to do while I'm on lock down.

After one missed flight, a mechanical problem with the plane, and some lost luggage, Chris is back safe and sound. He's currently ensconced on the couch watching Sponge Bob and fending off Etsuko who has worms. That's right, she has worms.

I made the discovery yesterday while home alone and thought, "Of all the times for something like this to happen." I know how the worms are transmitted, so I knew the likelihood of me contracting them was low, but nonetheless. I have the unfortunate distinction of being the slowest moving thing in the house, so you can usually find either Pez or Etsuko draped over me or in my lap. The cats in my lap, I don't mind. The cats plus their wiggly little passengers, I do.

Chris, Dixie and I brought the two girls to the vet this morning to take care of business. I stayed out in the car just to be safe. The vet assured Chris that the cats should be worm free in 24 hours.

I've recently realized that I haven't been writing about some of the side effects that I've been experiencing since this last transplant. I suppose that they've become so ingrained into my daily life that I take them for granted.

Some days, my hands shake uncontrollably. It gets to the point that I can't write legibly or hold knitting needles. Most days, it's just a fine tremor. If I try to hold my hands still, I can feel the muscles in my shoulders begin to shake as well. It's a surreal feeling not being able to control your fine motor skills. My transplant doctor says it's a combination of Prograf and steroids.

For the most part, I find the side effects funny in a ha-ha sort of way. My face, neck, and abdomen are puffy from the steroids and to be absolutely honest, it doesn't bother me. I know it's not permanent and will go away once the steroids stop. I've also run into a little steroid induced acne which I don't love. I feel like I've already been through that phase in my life. The do over isn't so bad, but who really likes to deal with a pimple.

My most favorite side effect of this medication is the luxurious hair growth. The hair on top of my head is coming in much more quickly than it did with the last transplant. I almost have a head full of quarter inch long hair. Unfortunately, the luxurious hair growth doesn't stop on my head. I've developed quite the man-stache and I suspect that my sideburns/beard will be the envy of many a twelve year old boy. I am not exaggerating and know that there are others of you out there who are experiencing the same thing. Chris was calling me "Fuzzy P" for a short period of time. It was that bad. Past tense since I got my hands on some cold wax strips.

With all of that being said, I know I have it easy. I'm doing well and staying out of the hospital. Chris just got back from his job interview and maybe something good will come of that. Since I promised to reveal all, it was in Kentucky.

I took another step toward normal today when I dropped Chris off at the airport. Of course I couldn't go in with him, but I felt well enough to drive there and back which is a small victory. I won't say where Chris flew off to, but will say that it was for a job interview. He comes back tomorrow night and I know he'll be exhausted with all of the flying and driving that he'll have to pack into two days.

While he's away, I've promised to stay out of trouble. No running with scissors or licking door knobs for fun. This is the longest that we've been away from each other since this entire cancer saga began and I know it's hard for him not to be able to "see" that I'm well. I'll do my level best not to instigate an internal coup against my graft while he's gone. I'm staying hydrated and taking my temperature at intervals. I've done all that I plan on doing of significance today, so he can rest assured that I'll be taking it easy. He's left me in good hands with Dixie. She's already checked in. Pez and Etsuko are keeping me company while studiously pretending the other doesn't exist.

Just another lazy day around the Gregory household.

As an aside, can you believe how puffy the steroids have made my face?

I was up at 3am with another episode of knee pain. I'd had a little accident earlier in the day that caused the knee to get compressed. The accident involved someone sitting on my bent leg a little forcefully. In their defense, it was a legitimate accident. I managed to get an ice pack on it and after a few hours was able to go back to sleep. Today, it feels like preschoolers have used my leg like a pinata.

I'll also confess to feeling the cumulative effects of too little sleep. I've been staying up past my normal bedtime the last few nights and sleeping too few hours during the night. I'd hoped to remedy the situation last night by going to be early, but you know how that turned out.

I had a few projects planned for today, but in light of how my knee is feeling, I think I'll have to take a pass.

Dawn of the Songsmith

For those of you who don't know, our pals at Microsoft have released a new program called Songsmith. It allows the user to "sing", and I use that word lightly, lyrics to his/her computer, which while running the program will "construct" music around them. In effect it's sort of a reverse karaoke.

The net effect is hilarious. Regarde'



Ann and I were gasping for air after this

Microsoft -1 Sting - 0


Ohh the pain!



Microsoft - 1 Oasis - 0



Microsoft - 1 The Beetles - 0

And finally the best for last...



When the slide whistle went off at 1:59 Ann and I nearly choked to death.

Microsoft - 1 Van Halen - 0

It seems that Dr. Clayton Forrester is heading up Microsoft Research now.

We just got back from a visit to my local oncologist and I can report that my numbers are fine. My white blood cell and absolute neutrophil counts are elevated but that's still due to the steroids. It was really nice to see Jennifer and Dr. Bienvenu again after so many months away. As usual, the waiting room was packed and I was odd man out wearing a surgical mask. It still amazes me that there are people in there actively undergoing chemo and not taking precautions. Do their doctors not warn them or do they choose to ignore the advice?

I managed to finish the beret that I was knitting for a friend's little one. I even blocked it so that it looked less like a smurf cap and more like a beret. Pictures will be forthcoming after I mail it off and have comfirmation that it's been received.

There were one or two episodes with my knees last week, but they were so minor, I didn't think that they bore noting. Besides, I brought it on myself by staying on my feet for too long.

Chris is in charge of dinner tonight, so I plan on taking a small nap and expending the minimum amount of energy required of me today.