Outlook for the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico…
Hurricane Whodat is predicted to make landfall on the South Florida coast in the vicinity of Miami on 7 Feb 2010 at approximately 2300Z (5:00 PM EST). This extremely powerful hurricane is expected to produce damaging Shockey waves and Category 5 Brees'. Reports from shipping indicate that this unstoppable storm has blown a huge flock of Cardinals all the way to Arizona, and that it has sunk a large, replica Viking longboat, the Brettigfǻvren. Livestock, in particular young horses, will be in severe danger of being injured or decimated. Predictive damage estimates are unavailable at this time, but they are expected to be significant.
All interests in and near the Miami area are advised to prepare for a storm surge of catastrophic proportions as Hurricane Whodat begins to arrive in approximately 5 days.
Next advisory 8 Feb 2010 at 0200Z (7 Feb 10:00 PM EST).
I'm taking this week off from blogging as I need a rest. Things are progressing well, it'll be a chemo week (so I'll be somewhat bagged), and I just need a week to do nothing.
Meanwhile, Janine has her Krewe de Drew shirt all ready for next Sunday's Super Bowl to support family and friends in New Orleans. She got it from a friend in New Orleans who was here for the weekend. And she doesn't even like football!
I am a very, very fortunate person. I figure I have over 50 really, really good friends. Easily! Probably more. All over the world. Going back to age 4 (a next door buddy I'm still in touch with). Most from age 19 onwards. A lot from The Nighthawks, in Edmonton, where we curled for the 10.5 months of Winter and played slow pitch for the 3 weeks of Summer. We partied along the way, this Nighthawks pic below being from some good party at an old Victorian I rented in Edmonton in the mid-80s. I may be in the picture.
A lot from Friends Inc. in Edmonton (don't ask, it was a blast) in the 70s and early 80s. We partied along the way, too. Many, many more from Minerva Technology, where I worked for almost 9 years in the 90s and early 2000s in Calgary and Dallas. We partied along the way, too. And many. many more from neighbors and friends I have met through various relatives and other people over the years, especially with scuba diving and some old M-Streets neighbors.We partied along the way, too. And none of this counts all my wonderful family and relatives, either.
Most all, in one way or another, have told me how I am in their thoughts/prayers/good tidings/hang-in-and-fight thoughts. I have been truly humbled every time I get such. I have always been a choosy person when it comes to friends -- I won't waste much time with anyone I can't respect, or who can't respect me. And, we would do almost anything for each other, too. It is truly amazing. Even more amazing (for my wife) is this: Janine has met a lot of my friends and she has never met one that she did not like!
Do not ever forget your friends. Don't waste time on people who you think can't be your friends -- the opportunity cost can be quite wasteful. I am truly blessed, and I wish the same for all my friends!!!
PS... Still doing good but still fatigued and anemic. I am on chemo every second week and next week is a week off. My next trip to the NIH will be in mid-late March.
There's a lot of stuff out there about what to eat when you have cancer. Much of it is pure crap and some of it is good. Luckily, I found a good one and have been following it.
Things such as juicing (carrot & apple = YUM!), taking vitamins, eating fresh and lots of veggies, never eating meat/fish bigger than a deck of cards (that's an ideal portion for all), avoiding sugary drinks and limiting alcohol intake. Except for the juicing part, my Sweetie and I have been eating and cooking like this since we met. So, to hell with the experts... ;-)
For example, this week alone we had red beans and rice and homemade Italian sweet sausage, coho salmon w/ spinach salad and broccolini, meat loaf with smoked Gouda mac 'n' cheese and green beans (from a take-out gourmet caterer), and white beans with pancetta. Last night we went to Ziziki's and split calamari, a small Greek salad and salmon kebabs (all for 55 bucks inc. 2 glasses of wine!).All this helps me live!!! If I can't enjoy food, why fight to stick around longer?
Thus, eating to help me and keep my anemia in check is important, but so is enjoying what you eat! And, since I'm still alive and kicking and doing pretty damn well at 20 months survivor, what more could my Sweetie and I ask for?
This is a shrimp po'boy I had at Joey K's in New Orleans this past Thanksgiving weekend. Drool away....
I'm finding it a bit hard to believe that we are already 10 days into the New Year. We had Janine's sister Kayne, her husband John and daughter Holly here over the New Year weekend and it seems like just yesterday. The ladies had a blast shopping and John and I relaxed, for the most part.
He was also able to score 2 tickets to a silver suite (on almost the 40 yard line) for the final game of the Cowboys season on Sunday, January 3rd, from a client his company does work for -- they have the suite. Can you believe that the rights for this suite cost 3 million dollars?! Yikes! Jerry's World (AKA Cowboys Stadium) is a complete sensory overload and there was no better way to experience our first game there, even though neither one of us could be called Cowboys fans.
I was lucky it was the week off of chemo because it is really kicking me hard -- profound fatigue the first part of each chemo week and the cold outside really affects the neuropathy in my feet. Oh well... ;-)
The past week has been uneventful and restful and the break from blogging was nice. The bitter cold (for here -- highs of 28-34F and lows of 15-18F) of the past 4 days broke somewhat today and it got up to 42! Let's keep it going. Beyond that, I haven't much else to say tonight, except that I hope everyone is off to a great 2010 and keep those good thoughts for yourselves, your families and others in front of everything else.
I want to leave you with a song from U2. It's one of my favourites from them and the lyrics speak to me of those (thankfully) rare occasions when I'm feeling down and wondering how much longer this fight to win will go on. It's been 2 years this month since I started feeling "yucky" and that's a long time. However, compared to some others fighting cancers, I have been beyond fortunate, so I cannot and will not complain. It's also for Linda, a fellow NIH patient who is battling mesothelioma and who has the same wonderful Dr. Avital as I do. She left me a wonderfully uplifting comment on the post immediately preceding this one.
Key lines from the song: You've got to get yourself together You've got stuck in a moment And now you can't get out of it
And if the night runs over And if the day won't last And if your way should falter Along this stony pass
This will likely be my last post for the year, so I'll leave you with The Muppets performing one of my all-time favourite songs. Scary thing is, I still know every word to it! They do a remarkable job, especially them chickens!
The past week, since the chemo, has been a pretty tough one for me. It hit me quite hard after being off it for four months. I had profound fatigue most days and have only been coming into my own the past three days. But, we march forward anyway and will continue to beat this beast's mets in my liver.
Janine and I are both off Thursday-Sunday so will again enjoy the time off, with her sister's family from New Orleans visiting us, too. Happy New Year to everybody and see you in 2K10!
A semi-daily dose of miscellaneous treats that started out detailing the construction of Janine's and my new ICF home. It's now a series of disparate ramblings as they occur.
About Me
Name: Bill Kennedy
Location: Dallas, Texas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
