tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30908775470631239252024-03-05T16:50:43.366-05:00Something mildly wittyRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-89889584523295698302012-01-17T14:55:00.001-05:002012-01-17T14:58:15.442-05:00He's Free<div>1/08/2012, 1:19am.</div><div><br /></div><div>No more chemo, no more tumor pain, no more hospitals, no more nasty drugs. </div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-57737203974304904702012-01-04T21:22:00.002-05:002012-01-04T21:30:47.566-05:00Another UpdateNot a large update in words, but a large one in other ways.<div><br /></div><div>Ryan had several more CTs this morning. Two radiation oncologists as well as a medical oncologist came by to see us after looking at the scans. The cancer is taking over his organs, and while there are technically things that they could do, nothing will give the result that any of us want.. they'll only lead to more time in the hospital, and more pain. </div><div><br /></div><div>So I signed paperwork again to have hospice take over his medical care. It was scary the second time, too. I'm not ready for this, but I know that he is. Soon he will be free.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-37565539906154473582012-01-04T10:38:00.002-05:002012-01-04T10:52:25.316-05:00FloridaThe past few days have been a whirlwind. Sunday, I called to book transport for Ryan to get to Florida. We decided to go with <a href="http://medic-trans.com/?gclid=COSej4Patq0CFWHatgodMUEkQg">ACC Medlink</a>, an air and ground transportation service out of Florida. When I called on Sunday afternoon, I was told that they could pick us up that night! Of course, that was far sooner than I'd expected, so we opted for pick up at 7 the next morning.<div><br /></div><div>Ken, my brother, had flown up to help me with things around the house the day that Erin, my sister, flew back to Florida. I'm so thankful he was there, because he helped me scramble around and get everything together for our trip in the morning. He also stayed at the house to organize packing what's left, load it all onto a moving van, and get it to Florida. I honestly don't know what we'd do without family and friends....</div><div><br /></div><div>The trip down to Florida was stressful on Ryan's body, and the nurse on the van supported me in the decision to take him to the ER at Shands rather than straight to our rooms at a wonderful friend's house in Newberry. His electrolyte balance was way out of whack, and there is a possibility that he also has an infection. Both of these things could be responsible for the change in personality, confusion, and loss of coordination that Ryan had been experiencing. So, the past few days he's been on broad-spectrum antibiotics as well as IV fluids. He's looking better, but his spirits are down. I think he's ready to be done with all of this. </div><div><br /></div><div>The oncologists here at Shands want to do a few more CTs to check things out and see if there's anything else they can do to relieve his pain. Then hopefully we'll be able to get him home and comfortable. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-81930319193651247712011-12-30T08:40:00.003-05:002011-12-30T08:47:45.207-05:00WassupI am rememering how annoying it can be to type on these nebook keyboards. i give up its too hard. im home finally. Emily has been ; everyone hae been great. moreRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-1821870572806340812011-12-29T10:45:00.002-05:002011-12-29T11:04:10.602-05:00Coming Home?Sorry for the several days lapse in posting! Ryan is still at Hopkins, but there's talk of him being discharged today. I've spent the last 2 days talking to all many many people, trying to sort out all of the details.<div><br /></div><div>He's recovering very well from the brain surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer is a whole 'nother issue. His swelling is worse, and while he has a good appetite, he can't fit nearly as much food into his stomach as he'd like. Small meals throughout the day help a bit...</div><div><br /></div><div>As terrifying as this sounds, we've signed him up with <a href="http://gilchristhospice.org/">Gilchrist Hospice</a>. Really, it's been an amazing thing thus far. Now I'm not taking him home to an empty house, trying to figure out for myself how to deal with everyday life and his new limitations. The hospital could have helped with some things, but hospice covers much more and gives us a sort of safety net. Once we're home for a few days, if all goes well, we'll transport him to Florida.</div><div><br /></div><div>So many people have stepped up to help us out with things that honestly I'm just flabbergasted. I don't even know where to begin thanking people for their kindness and hard work. This is such an incredibly difficult time, but we have amazing friends, family, and even strangers who have been standing in the wings just waiting for us to say "please help!" It is so comforting. So, if you're one of those people.. you have our sincerest heartfelt thank yous. And everyone else who is reading, offering thoughts and prayers - thank you to you as well! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-46836117878199594372011-12-26T10:54:00.003-05:002011-12-26T11:10:43.806-05:00Day After Christmas...Yesterday was pretty uneventful here at the hospital. I gather weekends are quiet here anyway - Christmas didn't help with that. <div><br /></div><div>We did get to talk with a nutritionist yesterday, as well as another GI doc. The abdominal pain and bloating has several causes: liver tumor pressing on the exterior covering of the liver, tumorous lymph nodes blocking drainage from a kidney (which causes it to swell and be painful), fluid build up in the abdomen from the tumors (ascites), and then of course full bowels. We have the last cause under control at the moment, but there is unfortunately not much to be done about the others. There was talk of a kidney study and then insertion of a stent (like he had after his colon resection), and also possibly of draining the abdominal fluid, but Dr. Diaz is pushing for us to get home and then moved to Florida. So...</div><div><br /></div><div>The doctors on the floor consulted with the pain team, and have upped Ryan's dosages. He seems to be more comfortable now, but the Dilaudid definitely makes him loopy and sleepy.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's about where we are today.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!</div><div><br /></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-30974444737528889102011-12-24T15:54:00.002-05:002011-12-24T16:01:36.911-05:00Out of ICUThis afternoon, Ryan was moved from the neuro ICU floor to a regular neuro floor. He has a private room, which is nice.. means I can stay here with him! <div><br /></div><div>He is still very bloated (perhaps more-so than yesterday) and that gives him lots of pain. The reaction of the nurses and doctors is just to throw more pain meds at him, but I think that is the absolute wrong way to approach it. So, I've asked to see another GI doc to hopefully get this sorted out. The neuro people are superb with brains, but not good at much else, it seems. I won't take him home before he feels better, even if it means getting discharged and then wheeling straight to the ER. ;) Hopefully we won't have to do that..... </div><div><br /></div><div>Merry Christmas, everyone! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-36144791490587267492011-12-24T07:19:00.002-05:002011-12-24T07:25:32.636-05:00A Few Pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnHfrxFVAr1SL8lXxKdrkdYObXdnie_-TotUi7FZNTbxmUJ5T4vJ1NvHGxS_2LbP-osjq7Ggbr3ryFZkcB7F5HEdYVf6jO_w5RtyDngYlw5qL691n2DQ9pr4S58xOecYTP_oLoNpCJ2Z2/s1600/ryan1222_1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnHfrxFVAr1SL8lXxKdrkdYObXdnie_-TotUi7FZNTbxmUJ5T4vJ1NvHGxS_2LbP-osjq7Ggbr3ryFZkcB7F5HEdYVf6jO_w5RtyDngYlw5qL691n2DQ9pr4S58xOecYTP_oLoNpCJ2Z2/s320/ryan1222_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689669026075561746" border="0" /></a><br />I'd say he looks great for a couple days out of brain surgery......<br /><br />I also took a shot of his surgery site. Be warned - it's large and not-so-pretty. (Not bloody or gory, just Frankensteinish? Sorry Ryan! :) Incredible, really.) It's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21027436@N04/6563795487/">here</a>.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-31661258157026967282011-12-23T20:31:00.002-05:002011-12-23T21:15:51.920-05:00Post-surgery Update, Day 3Today was another busy day. Ryan has started to feel a little abdominal relief, and I think he was more talkative because he was feeling better. This seems to have caught up with him now that it's the end of the day though - he's pretty tired. The transport guys have just whisked him off to get a post-op head MRI, which is something he's resisted since the surgery because of the abdominal pain. We'll see how it goes.<br /><br />We didn't see the flurry of doctors again, but did see a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. They were both impressed with how well Ryan is doing. He's much stronger and more mobile than they're used to seeing in this ward, I think. Dr. Diaz (his oncologist here at Hopkins) also came by, and we're working on a plan for the next steps of cancer treatment. Unfortunately, the disease is progressing faster than they'd expected, so Dr. Diaz would like to get him back on lower doses of chemotherapy as soon as possible to try to slow this down some. I think that all of this will happen in Florida - we need to make some appointments next week.<br /><br />Today was also the first day that he was allowed to eat. He's been put on a liquid diet, but only wants Ensure, prune juice, and the Odwalla smoothies from the cafeteria. At least it's something!<br /><br />So.. I think that's all for now. We might be home for Christmas, might not.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-68938203184601763182011-12-23T08:47:00.002-05:002011-12-23T09:09:03.848-05:00Post-surgery Update, Day 2I cannot believe it's only been 2 days since Ryan's surgery. Three really, I guess, but I don't count today since I haven't yet been to the hospital. Visiting hours in the Neuro Critical Care Unit are noon-6, then 8-10pm. <br /><br />I will do another update later today, but wanted to do a quick one now since the last few days have been eventful. <br /><br />The original plan was to have Ryan transferred out of the NCCU after the first night. However, he still has swelling and fluid in the brain, and the doctors want to keep him under close observation. The nurses in the NCCU are amazing - the ratio of patient to nurse is 2:1, so he gets lots of their attention. I think they like having a younger, mostly lucid (if somewhat cantankerous) guy around.. his nurse yesterday was very excited to have a patient who was interested in eating. She brought him an armful of goodies to consume, but he only ate some Jell-O. <br /><br />Anyway, getting back on track.<br /><br />Ryan went into surgery complaining of abdominal pain and distension. When he came out, that was still his biggest complaint. The NCCU doctors know nothing about bowels, and their primary concern was for his brain. We felt like they were ignoring his abdominal issues. Wednesday was spent fighting with everyone to get the GI people to come in - an x-ray, a CT, and a bunch of angry post-midnight phone calls later.. and Thursday morning I came in to have the Customer Care rep waiting for me, and teams of doctors headed our way. The NCCU doctors still didn't care about Ryan's bowel problems, but the GI guys were great, and gave their recommendations to the NCCU team. Ryan and I feel like we're on the right track, now. <br /><br />The abdominal pain and distension has at least 2 causes: 1) a very full, somewhat impacted bowel; 2) fluid in the abdomen from the tumors. They're treating #1 with lots of laxatives, stool softeners, and enemas. The GI oncologist that came by told us that he's not too worried about #2 yet because there's not much fluid there. (Of course, Ryan's not a big guy.) If most fluid accumulates, they'll be able to drain it off.<br /><br />Ryan's been having a rough time, but he's doing better. I tell him about every email, phone call, and Facebook message I get inquiring about him. We really appreciate your love, prayers, and support. Thank you!Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-67530801043365399992011-12-20T20:57:00.002-05:002011-12-20T21:01:16.486-05:00Out of surgeryRyan had his brain surgery today. We got to Hopkins at 5:45 this morning, and they just finished closing him about an hour ago. Long day.<br /><br />His surgeon seemed happy with the surgery - said he was able to get ~90% of the tumor, and that they should be able to get the rest with radiation. <br /><br />I haven't seen him yet, but hopefully will soon. He's in the Neuro Critical Care Unit for tonight - if all goes smoothly he should be transferred out tomorrow, and be home by Thursday.<br /><br />Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248744911934789086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-1022637345926863872011-12-12T14:33:00.002-05:002011-12-12T14:59:35.284-05:00Ugh.Emily has been asking me to write something here for weeks now. If anyone is still following this you are no doubt likely aware that many significant things have transpired the past few weeks/months.<div><br /></div><div>The EGFR/Irinotecan therapy I was trying last, which was the last "traditional" option available to me, did not do a good job at all. You could say it was a complete failure. It also had lots of side effects. I won't do that again. I don't remember when I got that news, maybe October.</div><div><br /></div><div>I went back to looking at purely surgical interventions for things that are worryingly growing inside me and also at clinical trials. I decided to participate in a phase-I clinical trial for another fancy genetically engineered monoclonal antibody. I am told that it has shown promise in some patients in my case by providing some systemic treatment benefit. So that took a while to get sorted out but I did it for 3 infusions. They had varying levels of goodness. I was hospitalized after the first one with bad side effects, the 2nd one I was fine, and the 3rd one I wasn't doing so hot. After the 4th one I was going to be re-scanned to see how things were going. That got moved up because of all the complaining I was doing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out things were going badly. My cancer really has taken off since I've stopped the 5-FU/Irinotecan treatments. Those treatments sucked I thought from a side effect point of view and they were not stopping or retreating the cancer but it does seem clear that they were slowing things down. Unfortunately I don't think I'm willing to do them anymore - I want to try to get an oral dosing of 5-Fu (Xeloda) sorted out that I can handle.</div><div><br /></div><div>So no more clinical trial anymore either.</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case my insides are just riddled with metastasis. I haven't even read the whole radiologist report but I know there are several large abdominal lymph nodes (7x4cm ish), a huge tumor on my liver (10x7cm last time they looked - it keeps getting bigger), several other smaller ones on my liver, a number of small lung lesions in both lungs (none of these are causing me issues, yet). The kicker is that I also have a brain metastasis. It was really messing me up. I have neurogurgery scheduled to have as much of it physically removed as possible -- followed by brain radiation to knock it back some more.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm on steroids that reduced the swelling in my brain so now I don't really have any/many symptoms but it is very serious. I could die of "sudden death" if the swelling got worse or the tumor kinked off this "drain pipe" that it's near, I'm told. So I'm taking it very seriously.</div><div><br /></div><div>My liver function is somehow miraculously still normal but the main tumor is very large. I want it gone.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have significant issues with abdominal pain. I can control it with significant use of pain-killers, which I am not all that happy about. No one (doctor) wise really knows what exactly might be causing it - but I personally suspect some of those big lymph nodes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somehow I have to try to get all of these obviously egregious things under control, hopefully get a good dose of Xeloda sorted out, and just sit around and watch/scan/re-treat for the rest of my life, basically. I don't think it's going to be that long, sorry to report. If I can manage to force the tide back to where it was maybe 6 months ago surgically and then keep it somewhat at bay with more active intervention I think it actually might go well. It's just really hard trying to get it knocked back -- it's all different doctors and most of the treatments cannot be done in parallel. And of course no one is as concerned/worried/in a hurry than Emily and I.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh yeah, Emily and I are moving to Florida. In fact, we were planning on being gone this Wednesday. Now it's more like the end of the month. We have been in complete limbo land because of this brain tumor thing. It looks like I'm probably (well, I'm definitely) having neurosurgery here at Johns Hopkins Hospital but I will do all of the other treatment in Florida, maybe at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa? I don't have any relationships or appointments there yet - another thing that still has to be done.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moving is a huge deal and this certainly hasn't made things any easier. I got another job where we're moving to, which I am excited about. It's also a little scary because it has been so long since I've felt like a "normal" "productive" person. I want to feel that way again though and this is what I'm pressing ahead with. At this stage in my life I believe what I really want is to just be back closer to all of my family. We had already made the decision to move away from Maryland and all that that really meant, which is a lot, and this whole ordeal just threw a 2x4 in the spokes. After much soul-searching though I think moving is still the best thing to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's warm in Florida. It is not warm here in Maryland.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-7202682248307949802011-06-12T22:21:00.002-04:002011-06-12T22:42:31.943-04:00I wish I wrote more oftenI wish I wrote here more often. I probably have things to say. For some reason taking the short amount of time out of my otherwise copious amounts of down time never happens.<div><br /></div><div>Oh well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since last February when I wrote my last post I guess a few things of note have happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did three months of FOLFOX+Avastin and had another PET/CT. It wasn't good. Things hadn't gotten any better. Maybe they were a little worse. So that meant that the Oxaliplatin wasn't having the desired effect. I took stock of the situation with my Oncologist and we decided that the best thing to do was to try an eGFR-inhibitor based therapy (which I am eligible for as I have wild-type <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KRAS#Colorectal_cancer">KRAS</a>). There are two candidates for colorectal cancer in general use: Erbitux and Vectibix. As far as I can tell they are nearly the same. Except you get Vectibix every two weeks instead of once a week. I'm on Vectibix now.</div><div><br /></div><div>eGFR-inhibitor based therapies are known to cause an acne-like reaction in people. I happened to go to Florida to visit family several days after starting therapy. I ended up with what would definitely be described as "above grade 3" side effects from the medication. It was awful. Definitely not like "just having acne" again. Just a few days ago I got my second dose (I took 5 weeks off to get over the first one). We halved the dose in an attempt to keep the side effects down. So far I am not having any major issues. If I'm clear by the end of the week I guess that'll be great news.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Tuesday I am going to see <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/vascular/staff/physicians/geschwind.html">Dr. Jeff Geschwind</a> at Johns Hopkins Interventional Radiology about surgical options to treat my liver metastasis. For people with localized metastasis or stage III colon cancer surgical techniques can be very effective for curative effects. Unfortunately I am not in that category. As far as I know the extent of my disease has been a small (~2cm) liver metastasis, a ~3cm lymph node, and maybe possibly two nodules in my lungs. Most of it seems to be pretty slow growing. Indeed, the greatest danger to my long term health in liver failure. Thus I am interested to see what the surgeons think about doing something about the liver itself. There are several interesting procedures that can be used to likely eradicate the liver mass (including some super fancy yttrium-90 "microspheres" that have to be overnight shipped from Australia or something which directly irradiate the mass from the inside).</div><div><br /></div><div>Like I said though, I am not an "ideal" candidate for this sort of thing since even if the liver mass is completely removed it's not going to be curative. We'll just have to wait and see what the surgeons things. Personally, I'm all about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I try not to think too hard about the statistics for all of this expensive treatment. It's depressing. You could spend $200,000 on treatment that, using ensemble statistics, might increase your life expectancy by a month or two. I'm really looking for the 5-25 year range here. I dunno, there's nothing more that I think I can do than what I am. Hopefully I continue to be a statistical anomaly in many senses of the phrase.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a completely unrelated (to my health) note, Emily and I recently returned from our first real vacation. It was great. We went to Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. We saw many sites of the desert west. Maybe I'll write another post about it sometime.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-633804396261122272011-02-15T15:01:00.008-05:002011-02-15T15:40:03.979-05:00Maybe it's just the chemo talkingI'm pretty bored, homesick, and depressed today. I have been out of bed for a total of maybe 3 minutes. I don't think there's any good reason for it. I feel alright. I just know that I have literally nothing to do except get cold should I put on some clothes and go downstairs. So instead I choose to stay under the covers and wait for Emily to come home bearing food.<div><br /></div><div>The Oxaliplatin definitely is easier on me than Irinotecan. I felt pretty good yesterday. I still couldn't sleep for crap but I attribute this to the Dexmethasone that I get. The peripheral neutopathy is back, it seems to go away in like 7 days from Monday, so now at least. It is not too intense and is mostly in my fingers and a bit in the back of my throat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been contemplating abandoning our lives in Maryland and moving back to Florida. This what I think is the chemo talking. It would be a huge deal. There are several large corporations headquartered or present in Florida where I'm pretty dern sure I could get a job should I want one. I'd have to talk to their HR people first about my situation and make sure everything is A-OK with that. I don't think my federal "pension" or indeed any survival benefits kick in until 10 years of service (I need to check this). I'm not so sure I'm going to make it to 10 years. Also by an annoying fluke of paperwork and misunderstanding I am not part of the federal group life insurance policy so there is no lump sum of money hanging around to entice me to stay. Honestly, other than the fact that I just really like the particular bits that I do at work, I don't know why I'm here. I get to deal with lots of paperwork and stupid bureaucracy and I get to deal with Maryland winters and Maryland traffic and Maryland parking. Florida I would be close to all of my family members, especially when it's going to count. Oh yeah, and I would expect I'd probably get a pay hike by switch to a private company followed by the 0% Florida State Income Tax rate, followed by a lower cost of living, followed by Publix.</div><div><br /></div><div>Emily would of course have to make big changes too. Move Addie back to Florida, quit her job, find another one in a really tough market.</div><div><br /></div><div>I would probably have to engage in "strategic default" (or a shore sale, I don't even really know the different) on my house mortgage here which is something completely anathema to my personal system of integrity. But I guess difficult times call for difficult measures. The bank will be in the same place when I die anyway, so I guess I would just be moving the date up for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then we'd have to pack our entire house into a big moving van and go.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I'd have to find a new hospital and suite of doctors and ongologists. I like my oncologist a lot, so that is a bit deterrent to leaving as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>It all seems like so much. But when I have all day to lay in bed and think about it, it becomes appealing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh yeah, lastly, don't get too excited family. This is purely stream of consciousness writing.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-41124369803423895722011-02-06T09:30:00.002-05:002011-02-06T09:33:40.647-05:00A public service announcementAlso,<div><br /></div><div>Here is a hilariously distasteful video that I think of often:</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6M17aG_Po2Y" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a segment from Don Hertzfeldt's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuOvqeABHvQ">Rejected</a>" series of cartoons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't let this be you, see a doctor!</div><div><br /></div><div>:)</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-43741851392637148522011-02-06T08:23:00.004-05:002011-02-06T09:26:12.526-05:00I never write here anymoreIt really is a shame I don't write here anymore. I'm not sure why. It just never occurs to me. It's not like I don't have a bunch of down time now and again!<div><br /></div><div>But here I am, three months after the last post and life has continued moving along.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had my regular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET/CT">PET/CT</a> scan a few weeks ago. It was the final scan after six months of chemotherapy (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOLFIRI">FOLFIRI</a>+<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avastin#Colorectal_cancer">Avastin</a>). Unfortunately, it wasn't very good. It showed that there was another lymph node that is likely to be malignant and another lesion on my liver. While that isn't a "dramatic" progression, it's certainly not good given that I spent six months on chemo trying to keep it at bay. Thus, it was decided to move from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irinotecan">Irinotecan</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxaliplatin">Oxaliplatin</a> and see how that goes. The treatment is exactly the same as before but just with that one switch. This is course not good news on the whole as it represents (to me, at least) one more step towards the inevitable. I did however misspeak in a previous blog post. There are no issues with lifetime dosing limitations on Oxaliplatin. However, continued use generally leads to increasingly worse <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_neuropathy">peripheral neuropathy</a> and most people eventually have to stop taking it for some time until the symptoms subside.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have had one treatment so far on this new regimen. On the whole, I think it is easier on me than the Irinotecan. I have always supposed to had sometimes severe diarrhea but have actually never had this problem (the opposite has occurred, in fact, thanks to the large doses of anti-nausea medication). Lately though my bowels have been all kinds of unhappy about five days after treatment. I did not have much of a physical feeling of exhaustion after the last treatment. One thing that Oxaliplatin definitely does do is a weird sort of peripheral neuropathy. It causes a very strange sensitivity and sensation to cold things on your hands and throat (presumably feet, too). It feels like little ice shards are digging into your hand if you touch anything cold within about five days of getting it. If you breath really cold air or drink something like a milkshake, it feels a bit like your throat is closing. I haven't yet had the sensation of feeling unable to breath completely, but I definitely see what they're talking about. It's only a feeling however, there is actually nothing wrong with you physically. I was surprised how fast this happened (immediately). Right now I think the side effect is gone, but it will generally accumulate to being worse for longer I gather. </div><div><br /></div><div>One issue that I am needing to continue to sort out is my mental health. If I'm being honest with myself and others, I would have to admit I have some issues now and again with depression. I seem to get over it fast, but there are days where physically I feel fine but I just cannot bring myself to even get out of bed. This is clearly a problem. I'm not sure if I just "need to talk to someone" or if I just want some drugs to "make me happy". I suspect the latter. I've never been one to resolve anything by just talking about things since I feel that I already fully understand the situation. It's just not a particularly easy situation to deal with.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, seriously, how is one supposed to take the situation? If you didn't find it depressing, you should probably be committed! I know every year probably tens of thousands of teenagers and 20-somethings die prematurely, which is of course sad. I suspect most of them die in a spectacularly unexpected and quick manner however. It's another thing to have this gradual slide towards it over the course of years. You don't really have to think about it if you're killed by a small airplane crashing into your house while you sleep, for instance. I don't really think about dying as the first thought in my mind. But it's always there, sort of like some low-grade ongoing back pain or something. I am definitely a bit bitter that this has happened to me and that I'm not going to be able to do many of the things that I wanted to in life. I'm also very upset that I'll be leaving behind a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I'm not really expecting to live to be 30. I'll be happy if I do. I know that the statistics say that I have about an 8% chance (on average) of living five years beyond 25, which isn't very good. Thus far, things have gone pretty much according to average. So, yeah, I'm not really expecting any miracles.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the most agitating things to me personally is that I feel that I could have prevented this all from happening. The initial reason for the discovery of this latest disease was a constant low-grade back pain which felt exactly like what I had leading into Lymphoma. I've been told that there isn't a good medical reason for why having active cancer would cause a weird pain in my back/belly, but it's been a 100% predictor so far. The other concerning thing to me was blood in my stool. See, the thing is though, I had had this problem on-and-off since I was about 19. It was really bad when I was 19 too. It scared the be-Jesus about of me. But I never told anyone and never saw anyone about it. I just didn't want to talk to anyone about it nor did I want a slippery scope exploring the nether-regions of my bowels (I have since found that this is surprisingly not that uncomfortable). It eventually mostly just went away only to come back every once in a while for a short time. I think when I was 25 and diagnosed with this, it had been nearly two years since it had happened. I did mention it two or three times to my Oncologist in Gainesville during the lymphoma treatment. I remember he did say that I should probably get "scoped" but it just never happened. I didn't push the issue. I'm certain it was all one and the same. That little tumor in my colon probably started out as a polyp when I was 19. I never did anything about it until it was (much) too late. So yeah, I'm very upset with myself and I'm going to reap the punishment for it. If you're reading this and you've had/have blood in your stool: trust me, go see a gastroenterologist and don't let him/her brush you off as probably being OK because you're young. </div><div><br /></div><div>Dealing with a disease like this (that is, an incurable, chronic, and nearly always terminal disease) as someone in the prime of their life is difficult. It would be one thing to be the average colorectal cancer sufferer: in my 60s+, retired, and probably with a litany of other health problems. It's another to still feel like you should be living a vibrant life, that there are wonderful thing still ahead for you, and the need to continue working. It is difficult to balance the needs of my personal life, my treatment, and work. My employer happens to be one of the best I could have possibly had in my situation. I've been given more than 1000 hours of paid leave so far for treatment. That's nuts, that's like half a year of work. I work as much as I can (which ends up being about 70% of full-time). I love my work and wish I could do more but alas I cannot. It also provides one of my few mental outlets, the ability to fully occupy myself for a long period of time. These amazing benefits are finite, however, and I have about 1000 hours left to go. Once I've expunged them, I'm not sure what I'll do. It's hard to complain really, but I will anyway. I don't think anything in the world is designed for someone like me: someone who can only be productive part of the time, unpredictably, and is on a slow path to expiration.</div><div><br /></div><div>I would love to be able to travel and see other parts of this country (and indeed other countries). But it's so hard to do. I don't really have any personal time to speak of at work, so really any vacation would be unpaid for me. Emily's employer in general has been very flexible as well. She takes off every other Monday to go to chemo with me. That's 26 days a year right there. Any remaining days off we manage to scrape together are usually spent visiting or being visited by family. Then there is the need that what I do slot in with my treatment schedule. I can't really be gone for more than a week at a time and when I do go there are certain times that are better than other from a "feeling good" perspective. This is another unfortunate aspect of the situation we find ourselves in. But we've been here for a couple years now and are doing alright.</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems increasingly likely that for the rest of my life I will be in an outpatient clinic receiving some form of treatment every other week. I would like to try <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeloda">Xeloda</a> again in the hopes of not having to be connected to an infusion pump for 48 hours as well. I feel like this would improve my quality of life. But only if the side effects are not the same as the first time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nonetheless, I continue to generally be healthy and happy otherwise. I want to actually get out and do some cycling and other physical activity this year. Over the last two years my ambition and willpower to do such things has dwindled dramatically (other sign of some form of depression, I guess). After the last round of bad news earlier this year, I didn't get on my bike again. So hopefully I can rectify this in the coming year. I'll make the best of what time I do have left.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-50707520980173789602010-11-18T12:25:00.002-05:002010-11-18T12:28:01.043-05:00I have been informed that my last post was "depressing"Emily has informed me that my last post was "depressing".<br /><br />It wasn't mean to be, really. It was more an effort to reflect the reality of the situation to everyone.<br /><br />I know that many of my coworkers, who I interact with more frequently than most anyone else, don't really understand. It's easy to see why not. I just disappear for a few days every couple of weeks, and then come back to work. I still have my hair (though I have lost quite a lot). I don't "look like I'm dying" or anything. But one day for some random reason I got into a one hour conversation with a coworker about it all and he was rather surprised at how serious the situation is.<br /><br />So, hopefully everybody knows now.<br /><br />It sucks, but hey, what am I going to do about it?Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-30098078999477743582010-11-14T22:55:00.003-05:002010-11-14T23:08:38.556-05:00Another long hiatusThis post is going to be short since I want to go to sleep in the near future.<div><br /></div><div>It's been another long hiatus. I should have some kind of resolution to write more often here about my comings and goings. I feel like I lead a fairly predictable life so I feel like there's not a whole lot to say!</div><div><br /></div><div>After my last post, I had another scan 3 months later and it was not good. I went back to my FOLFIRI+Avastin regimen. I did consult with several other oncologists again, but decided to stick with what had been working rather than try anything new. I did that for 3 months, and had another scan maybe 3-4 weeks ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was sort of so-so. Things didn't seem to get worse, though they didn't get amazingly better. Certainly not the "complete" response I had the first time. This is of course not good news, but not the terrible news I was expecting. I am constantly steeling myself for the worst possible news because it then makes anything else good news. I'm getting another 3 months of the same therapy to see how it does.</div><div><br /></div><div>Essentially the goal of my treatment is to keep the disease from getting worse. There is no cure for it. The best anyone can really hope for is to keep it at bay and not killing you for as long as possible. Of course, "as long as possible" for a 27 year old has a different meaning that that for a 72 year old.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the interim 6 months or so I've had to deal with the unfortunate realization that I wasn't "in remission". It was sure nice at first to greet the total radiographic response as evidence I was another wonder case. But it wasn't meant to be and it ended up being painful having to re-accept that indeed I (and Emily) would be dealing with this likely for the rest of my life.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am constantly thinking about all the bad things that are just waiting around the corner for me. Right now I am on the 1 of 2 possible chemotherapy regimens that are broadly known to be effective against my cancer. It's also the one of two that you can take indefinitely, so long as you can put up with it. The other one has a sort of lifetime dosing limit; eventually, you just have to stop taking it because you will be unable to deal with the side effects further and/or it will kill you on it's own. So, when/if my current chemotherapy regimen ceases to work, I'll have to switch to the other one. And even if it would work forever, I'd eventually have to stop. Then we're in clinical trials territory, I would assume. Anyway in my head all of these logical lines mostly end up with my untimely death. Kind of sucks really, but at least I've accepted it. I'm not sure everyone else is as okay with it as I am, though!</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, I'm not looking to die anytime soon and will be willing to subject myself to way more than most people with this disease would think of, much less be physically capable of handling. And of course I'm hopeful that the current course of treatment continues to be effective for the long haul. It sucks, but if I have to spend 40% of the rest of my life getting chemo, it's definitely worth it for the other 60%. Broadly, I'm happy about all the things in my life. It's just that damn thing called one's health that I'd like to change a bit.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-31900249008537761582010-06-02T21:27:00.003-04:002010-06-02T21:34:40.520-04:00Doing wellI feel a little bit bad that I never update this anymore. I guess my sense of urgency is gone? Well, in case people are still checking it:<br /><br />I'm doing just fine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60RzJvWZumO1IBg6Ka3zrB_MJPslaYjVPROVdD9VkQnVhFkYezbMETStcj-aocx5zqGfdjld3H6XFObUJ1FIYLpbttMy-a9xqiLByihQS2OtiZlw5YhzFZvgIgNoI2RnsZtN7jHucARR2/s1600/ryanhammock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60RzJvWZumO1IBg6Ka3zrB_MJPslaYjVPROVdD9VkQnVhFkYezbMETStcj-aocx5zqGfdjld3H6XFObUJ1FIYLpbttMy-a9xqiLByihQS2OtiZlw5YhzFZvgIgNoI2RnsZtN7jHucARR2/s400/ryanhammock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478353059147109138" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a couple of months now that I've been off of all treatment and we're basically just playing a "wait and see" game with it to see how things go. My last PET/CT was pretty much fine. There were a couple of possible future trouble spots in my right lung, but they were so small nothing definitive could be said. Maybe they'll be gone next time, maybe not.<br /><br />I've been very happy that I've been free to do basically whatever I want. I've been working full time and having a grand old time doing it. My energy level has returned. Emily and I went camping last weekend (or the weekend before? I can't keep track).<br /><br />I've been trying to exercise more. I've been doing alright at keeping a weightlifting schedule, though it's slipped over the last week. I finally got out and rode my bike last weekend. The route I took you can explore <a href="http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3769443+">here</a>.<br /><br />My back has been hurting strangely for a while now which sure doesn't make me feel really positive about things. I had the PET/CT though after it started and they didn't see anything wrong and certainly nothing that would explain the weird pain. So I've just been ignoring it and waiting for the next scan to see if things are still normal. If they are I guess I'll have to go see some other doctor about what is wrong with me otherwise. I'm really not all that gung-ho to go subject myself to more doctor visits. I'm also pretty pessimistic about things but I'm happy that I'm enjoying myself now and hope that it stays that way.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-65695882721710886412010-04-18T19:38:00.004-04:002010-04-18T20:39:58.323-04:00Another long breakIt has been a long time since I've posted on here. I don't know who still checks it. RSS readers are great for people like me.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>John Scofield, whom some of you may recognize by mention in some of my blog posts and his comments here, <a href="http://scogotabug.blogspot.com/2010/04/john-passed-away-today-at-225pm.html">passed away today</a>. He was in his mid-30s and had metastatic colorectal cancer as well. He switched oncologists a month or so ago to try some more research-y treatment and he seemed optimistic at the time. I never had the chance to meet him in real life. I'm not sure if it actually was, but it sure seemed sudden to me. It's really very depressed, sad, and scary for me personally.</div><div><br /></div><div>Emily knows his widow from knitting. I hope she has time to post details of when the memorial would be. I would very much like to go.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Things have been going pretty well for me. I've been working a whole lot more and it has been very rewarding to not be stuck around the house so much. My main computer died a week or so ago and I built up a new one but it has been very annoyingly unstable. I don't feel like writing a whole lot more about myself right now, since really what I wanted to do was just reflect on John.</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-74772165944034083352010-01-23T23:28:00.004-05:002010-01-23T23:40:57.665-05:00A month gone bySo it's been more than a month since my last post!<div><br /></div><div>Things have been pretty normal, which I guess is good for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had another PET/CT at the beginning of January and it was perfect once again, which of course is good news. Also my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CEA</span> level has been very low for some time now.</div><div><br /></div><div>The new car is very nice, though is have given me a few troubles. For some reason lots of fluids in the car seem to get low. This car is fancier than my last in that it actually has sensors to tell you when something is low, rather than completely gone and damage is being done. The engine coolant light came on and I took it in. They said there wasn't any leak and topped it off. Why was it low all of a sudden? Who knows! Recently the brake fluid light has going nuts, and indeed the fluid was at about the low line. I topped it off myself, though I'm taking it in this week to make sure there isn't anything amiss.</div><div><br /></div><div>Erin and Perry (sister and brother-in-law) came up and visited last weekend. It was good to see them and spend some nice quiet quality time with them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Emily's 28<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> birthday was this week. She opened presents from various relatives and one from me (she figured out what it was! Though, she was there when I bought it.). Then we went out to eat at the Dogwood Grill in Baltimore, which recently reopened after like a 6 month hiatus (don't know why they were closed). The food was very good. We'll have to make it a point to take visitors there in the future!</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday (Jan 22<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">nd</span>) was my one year colon resection anniversary. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Yay</span>! I can't tell if it feels like more or less than a year. Time seems to go by quickly in general even with the chemo and what-not.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today Emily and I went to the Red Canoe and ate lots of food and came home with many muffins.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chemo has been catching up with me, 10 months in. My hands and feet started to peel rather badly again the last time I had a dose. I took a one week break because of it, which tossed my normal 2-week schedule off kilter. It was <i>really</i> nice to have another week in there without the chemo. I had forgotten how nice it was to have a sense of normalcy. I've been doing some pretty interesting things at work and am a bit sad to have to stop again for 3 days. That one week break really reminded me what I'm missing out on. I'm trying to stay with the 2-week schedule for at least a whole year of treatment, but come a year or so I think I'm going to push the schedule out to every 3 weeks or something. I'm in no-mans-land statistically, so I'd rather have a higher quality of life and see how it pans out with the cancer. I still won't accept the fact that I'm "better", after having come to terms with a reality (which seems to have been avoided) which was significantly less nice. As much as I wish I were, I have to try to keep things in perspective and remember that even though it sucks a lot, I've got to do everything I can to stay healthy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've got another chemo dose this coming week, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ick</span>!</div><div><br /></div><div>The week after this coming one I'm planning to visit a friend from high school and his wife in Raleigh, NC. He's getting his PhD in Materials Engineering at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">UNC</span>. I've never been there, and though the dead of winter is probably not the best time to visit, I think it will still be nice. I hope Emily can come, but I don't think she'll get the time off work.</div><div><br /></div><div>We still have our foster greyhound. Emily wants to keep her. Too bad I don't want a dog! I like her a lot, but I definitely don't want the long term commitment she represents. I hope someone adopts her before Emily absconds with her or something!</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-20026839572816877232009-12-20T18:30:00.006-05:002009-12-20T18:47:22.547-05:00omg snow<div style="text-align: left;">We got about two feet of snow last night. I spent pretty much the whole day today shoveling it. Baltimore County has not deemed our street important enough to plow, so I'm not sure I'll be able to get my car out when it eventually turns into ice. Here's a bunch of pictures:</div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhz7uX7IHcKJ2ohTx6S8DQz0NSitqWjj-k_pTj_sMnrhGJEjmDu20JCKEWC5vPCz3osU1MnO0FOlqkqb_2bi27pNdeemOdKKZekc3Hh3EuKUijE2LM8KR6QyRPuT0z63IwXobNebDFfLk/s400/golftdi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465366558983970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-1GDn3h0K_Z8UCTVuVwr1frt6mPwTkqQrwEKBiyPfjrjWkFqoPW2Nuge2ZzmyWNkputi-idZdvYrHqSPN_JtHPL1Oo8nSS1IytD0HWuSw1CbcdGvavMcxrr3XySafgzEeEpmfobW1otF/s1600-h/snowvw2.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></span></div></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjABw2bOYzSzlDgihLZyJMq81uDRJgc92Vn4amV-w1u4g66A4qrpGKhVD2OOj1AeEF5Q0laf7xxpGNKFuzYxHr7sWGK4lBCOzJ27u5PieixGtsYeyOyvTMao-5o4FPWyv6jP0L28twbLTr/s400/snowvw1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465376238541170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjABw2bOYzSzlDgihLZyJMq81uDRJgc92Vn4amV-w1u4g66A4qrpGKhVD2OOj1AeEF5Q0laf7xxpGNKFuzYxHr7sWGK4lBCOzJ27u5PieixGtsYeyOyvTMao-5o4FPWyv6jP0L28twbLTr/s1600-h/snowvw1.jpg"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-1GDn3h0K_Z8UCTVuVwr1frt6mPwTkqQrwEKBiyPfjrjWkFqoPW2Nuge2ZzmyWNkputi-idZdvYrHqSPN_JtHPL1Oo8nSS1IytD0HWuSw1CbcdGvavMcxrr3XySafgzEeEpmfobW1otF/s1600-h/snowvw2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-1GDn3h0K_Z8UCTVuVwr1frt6mPwTkqQrwEKBiyPfjrjWkFqoPW2Nuge2ZzmyWNkputi-idZdvYrHqSPN_JtHPL1Oo8nSS1IytD0HWuSw1CbcdGvavMcxrr3XySafgzEeEpmfobW1otF/s400/snowvw2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465382092121314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtATJsmighJxUc5xKzvEs34wsgDtavVc4VaglbhRW30HA9ey7xdqNMhPEGATfv9-g4iJ-iaXfD1XBxNl5snBZiuhu6t-4yWqh4kUZJ-RPiP-4QCyq7MujTtjhDtZuwnCY4a0Nf0xYBC-th/s1600-h/snowvw3.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtATJsmighJxUc5xKzvEs34wsgDtavVc4VaglbhRW30HA9ey7xdqNMhPEGATfv9-g4iJ-iaXfD1XBxNl5snBZiuhu6t-4yWqh4kUZJ-RPiP-4QCyq7MujTtjhDtZuwnCY4a0Nf0xYBC-th/s400/snowvw3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465384834332386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD5wc59PQqpE2cXCYOQyrSAAL15_TxwFortSQ0DMEOfF-9OvTfU4tO9oMn7n_wqF3KtHZhNPA1zzCWOyYB0H2ExqstfBSI_PtLNyHd9tG5cr6-qeUGUlPgSPQJLLImhUz0JjhIuHzZxh4/s1600-h/snowvw4.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD5wc59PQqpE2cXCYOQyrSAAL15_TxwFortSQ0DMEOfF-9OvTfU4tO9oMn7n_wqF3KtHZhNPA1zzCWOyYB0H2ExqstfBSI_PtLNyHd9tG5cr6-qeUGUlPgSPQJLLImhUz0JjhIuHzZxh4/s400/snowvw4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465385873684898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhz7uX7IHcKJ2ohTx6S8DQz0NSitqWjj-k_pTj_sMnrhGJEjmDu20JCKEWC5vPCz3osU1MnO0FOlqkqb_2bi27pNdeemOdKKZekc3Hh3EuKUijE2LM8KR6QyRPuT0z63IwXobNebDFfLk/s1600-h/golftdi.jpg"></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZJ-Z9zSM_jeAHqOPAzPJzGSm9VF9OOFdTvL1gYKEcfNcW3NZMT9IpsYeFZgixdJeU-ndHMPvB1y98NeOSSokBJSuKpMCTmAMpRvErsChZ6_KvbcPiUXQ7T2WusUJt-I5U6nu3HP-zLID/s1600-h/snowvw.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZJ-Z9zSM_jeAHqOPAzPJzGSm9VF9OOFdTvL1gYKEcfNcW3NZMT9IpsYeFZgixdJeU-ndHMPvB1y98NeOSSokBJSuKpMCTmAMpRvErsChZ6_KvbcPiUXQ7T2WusUJt-I5U6nu3HP-zLID/s400/snowvw.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417465441805419730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOYrXrWtgljEVD06SxWMY00SFXNmJEeHtihKZh6CKKKta3EMLdGtRUWtqfT7emlkL74R3x6jl2CfyYCnGZ7G_8EKn0PDnI_roXMS_PGzbJHPg2AFcQW0C-9sqPZ2freZ-EG-QAircSI8r/s1600-h/flamingosnow.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOYrXrWtgljEVD06SxWMY00SFXNmJEeHtihKZh6CKKKta3EMLdGtRUWtqfT7emlkL74R3x6jl2CfyYCnGZ7G_8EKn0PDnI_roXMS_PGzbJHPg2AFcQW0C-9sqPZ2freZ-EG-QAircSI8r/s400/flamingosnow.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466781083255778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iHSWXDHbtdmpXz3UZAbWvXMNBvQezxc9cr5xSVCs_oQA407DFKC4LTSo1kU7QehyoyI3gCul73oNYztOE1AGNpmmm8Aa_2j3e6mRWjoF-6AqyqC-9an2CkkeKeR1axrjtnLJQbMzq1Ul/s1600-h/snowbirds.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iHSWXDHbtdmpXz3UZAbWvXMNBvQezxc9cr5xSVCs_oQA407DFKC4LTSo1kU7QehyoyI3gCul73oNYztOE1AGNpmmm8Aa_2j3e6mRWjoF-6AqyqC-9an2CkkeKeR1axrjtnLJQbMzq1Ul/s400/snowbirds.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466499373206050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxkCv6Uuo8LzMh9BYFSY5-yB0xpTnFZLsWO57WyLtNbDKQeRWlNSkRKhYGdEM5eouVo2fhDIdD_pSnCOVkTYFtywO89htpiUPsGKNOFZafx7ZJgWyiCySVJ37AlAN1KdDwBiZBRTUuQNP/s1600-h/snowhouse.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxkCv6Uuo8LzMh9BYFSY5-yB0xpTnFZLsWO57WyLtNbDKQeRWlNSkRKhYGdEM5eouVo2fhDIdD_pSnCOVkTYFtywO89htpiUPsGKNOFZafx7ZJgWyiCySVJ37AlAN1KdDwBiZBRTUuQNP/s400/snowhouse.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466495671037666" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-06qtYuYL0hUdSaVHQWpBIACn2eqELn6k3280cohCMyJdce6nO2cqIac0hYmtdPJNc2ljg7R-7So-Lx35DskR_INV_o6Li_NVbwlj4Dk6_2Biok_MZNiB7tRGDgKUU29vEmxoPWMGfObu/s1600-h/snowpath.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-06qtYuYL0hUdSaVHQWpBIACn2eqELn6k3280cohCMyJdce6nO2cqIac0hYmtdPJNc2ljg7R-7So-Lx35DskR_INV_o6Li_NVbwlj4Dk6_2Biok_MZNiB7tRGDgKUU29vEmxoPWMGfObu/s400/snowpath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466491471489570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1q3uA7xPGL8B4h0s-ti1ZfuzAqLahLxrgHHG0eFBGr9M1ZtvrtfTLr_PesU11eC6-wxJ8ZObHKca-sNLl3Zog4X9uY1Nagr9cn3T0UuAJyXQcRrKubpKQt97xT2rA6LDwTTC-GPlY0dG/s1600-h/snowstreet.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1q3uA7xPGL8B4h0s-ti1ZfuzAqLahLxrgHHG0eFBGr9M1ZtvrtfTLr_PesU11eC6-wxJ8ZObHKca-sNLl3Zog4X9uY1Nagr9cn3T0UuAJyXQcRrKubpKQt97xT2rA6LDwTTC-GPlY0dG/s400/snowstreet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466488376880578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugMbKz021hnJnMUWqky2lQavl78Eo3OKcBioBmc6J_Lqj0bCcYpdKaaj2SJAGqVlTojMn7k8iC35t0VJohjJMcCSHkMy6KOTK57PbSHHXt7HEkIcR07xzAd5pt7A84-kr8jp4FWW_i8PP/s1600-h/snowtuck1.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugMbKz021hnJnMUWqky2lQavl78Eo3OKcBioBmc6J_Lqj0bCcYpdKaaj2SJAGqVlTojMn7k8iC35t0VJohjJMcCSHkMy6KOTK57PbSHHXt7HEkIcR07xzAd5pt7A84-kr8jp4FWW_i8PP/s400/snowtuck1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466484585574802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SqJpwlx6N_nlqi-H0-dcpODmNcwZ1arF8UXnJVS5LQtT-b9v6o-91FXl2JWUvtP54xzHYcTwb1lA_Oy27hEgIAiuftm1GRYlgK8yU3NP7CoxPoMRWoiEg6PpuEtMgJy6A_5Mp0j1leqy/s1600-h/ryanshovel.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SqJpwlx6N_nlqi-H0-dcpODmNcwZ1arF8UXnJVS5LQtT-b9v6o-91FXl2JWUvtP54xzHYcTwb1lA_Oy27hEgIAiuftm1GRYlgK8yU3NP7CoxPoMRWoiEg6PpuEtMgJy6A_5Mp0j1leqy/s400/ryanshovel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466793144827650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuMDZICmhSpK272Fe00GL-BxebzaQ6m98aLu8COlUq1hOhhOiQUFmeyzW1FOVfumq4Tct79f3hbDgnZ20_tVkrqDuML3Cv0IvzhL7qwxYWi3_lw3207181TSycLoNcnfaOEuY6i5iiYMi/s1600-h/jediryan.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuMDZICmhSpK272Fe00GL-BxebzaQ6m98aLu8COlUq1hOhhOiQUFmeyzW1FOVfumq4Tct79f3hbDgnZ20_tVkrqDuML3Cv0IvzhL7qwxYWi3_lw3207181TSycLoNcnfaOEuY6i5iiYMi/s400/jediryan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466791136780050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbdeiSdkZU8E_WXEz70sy7NxlHoK6sh4wJfJtntw5r50sulJJuyZ_bpSTaeA3Z932O2htUlUNrdpG2DIT9ZIM45y7kEqA720ROSx4rAfJ5aEQpB-mqzORSnp6_ocvgmYtDlMQ02ur_LkB/s1600-h/iciclesryan.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbdeiSdkZU8E_WXEz70sy7NxlHoK6sh4wJfJtntw5r50sulJJuyZ_bpSTaeA3Z932O2htUlUNrdpG2DIT9ZIM45y7kEqA720ROSx4rAfJ5aEQpB-mqzORSnp6_ocvgmYtDlMQ02ur_LkB/s400/iciclesryan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417466785292327122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a></div></div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-50610730619976148392009-11-29T11:54:00.004-05:002009-11-29T12:02:03.970-05:00New carSo I bought a new car, a 2010 Volkswagen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Golf_Mk6">Golf Mk6</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbocharged_Direct_Injection">TDI</a> with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox">DSG</a> transmission and the "cold weather package" (heated front seats, heated side mirrors, heated washer nozzles). It's a diesel and it gets good gas mileage (I averaged over 46mpg on the way home). It certainly is nice to drive. It'll be hard to ever go back to a "lesser" car now! Of course I'll probably live to regret it when the warranty ends and I have to pay to maintain this extremely complicated vehicle.<br /><br />Apparently there are only about 400 of these particular vehicles on the country right now, and I had to drive 130 miles to New Jersey to get one that I wanted.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7WLmfVompVdu_QSQotPSFAe3Mvf_5ipj7f2v3dsEJmsMQ7Zbb7blrA3IvEo7W8ZGE1gNrvlP59rxkE9yCJzH-Fcmb8r0RtIOW40X-zO3OcgCZph5QhX7njJggCJtSFI6BU3GclNhNsvY/s1600/ryangolf1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7WLmfVompVdu_QSQotPSFAe3Mvf_5ipj7f2v3dsEJmsMQ7Zbb7blrA3IvEo7W8ZGE1gNrvlP59rxkE9yCJzH-Fcmb8r0RtIOW40X-zO3OcgCZph5QhX7njJggCJtSFI6BU3GclNhNsvY/s400/ryangolf1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409570167056549330" border="0" /></a>In the parking lot at the dealer. It was a cold and dreary day.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BiAXrZ3hb2lyn1GllRterup6GamFvVOsV1poAxkI3lAmLgulAhJv1Jj64FSk2Bl41XXpZHhp4XpEt5BgBCyyFDwRuvm3V5s00ZHPumLe9TgV3Rr-eKmV3vqgCnhRIcIUgxfjADekgcXi/s1600/ryangolf2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BiAXrZ3hb2lyn1GllRterup6GamFvVOsV1poAxkI3lAmLgulAhJv1Jj64FSk2Bl41XXpZHhp4XpEt5BgBCyyFDwRuvm3V5s00ZHPumLe9TgV3Rr-eKmV3vqgCnhRIcIUgxfjADekgcXi/s400/ryangolf2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409570170048078418" border="0" /></a>Emily took this while she followed me home from New Jersey.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaDvHKsh6KFHt6dgGUTaMJb8BWLvjVuYVEyew1EtIrmq4Oks1FTzP9LikyYepperHvYmx2uyPuUCecocGI9U2cFSeaFzgXePRnPiFVLIapHWdTFBSKdNS0cPb6vn1FL8ovHRn7AfOkevY/s1600/ryangolf3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaDvHKsh6KFHt6dgGUTaMJb8BWLvjVuYVEyew1EtIrmq4Oks1FTzP9LikyYepperHvYmx2uyPuUCecocGI9U2cFSeaFzgXePRnPiFVLIapHWdTFBSKdNS0cPb6vn1FL8ovHRn7AfOkevY/s400/ryangolf3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409570173747096962" border="0" /></a>The steering wheel, with multifunction controls and paddle shifters.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MIJjRDFZML7HhoVlMF_-4hskXjwitrg1ZrJlashuspZmNdF3q5PI5eWk2nGkkZv3XKRUAg8pWRR4a4byF_RjcRdh-kXmt3Yel9Y9gQhVvygoV5ADYfGB-aJVpEOL5HEQBTjYwZHrva17/s1600/ryangolf4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MIJjRDFZML7HhoVlMF_-4hskXjwitrg1ZrJlashuspZmNdF3q5PI5eWk2nGkkZv3XKRUAg8pWRR4a4byF_RjcRdh-kXmt3Yel9Y9gQhVvygoV5ADYfGB-aJVpEOL5HEQBTjYwZHrva17/s400/ryangolf4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409570179639539314" border="0" /></a>The rear TDI badge.<br /></div><br /><br />Emily is the official picture taker and she didn't take any pictures of the whole car, oh well!Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-35117245237815545022009-11-22T22:37:00.001-05:002009-11-22T22:37:11.350-05:00A productive weekendI've had a decently productive weekend.<br /><br />On Saturday: I had blood drawn and then went grocery shopping. We didn't too much groceries, so that was nice.<br /><br />Then, I raked a ton of leaves out of the yard and cleaned up the gardens a bit. I also drilled some holes in the side of the house and attached a hose holder and actually secured the faucet we use (it was just sort of sitting a whole, so the lateral force of turning it on/off was being borne by the copper pipe). Then I swept off the deck.<br /><br />I worked out on "the machine" for the first time in recent memory and my muscles were certainly sore afterwords.<br /><br />Emily was out at the barn with Addy since about 12:30. I was hoping to get out and do some Christmas shopping for her, but she was home by the time I was ready to go.<br /><br />Saturday night we went to Trader Joe's and bought some more yummy food and got some Creme Brulee coffee things from Starbucks that Emily discovered. They were really sweet, but yummy. There is this "challah bread" at Trader Joe's which is just extremely yummy bread. I never actually use it for anything other than just eating for bread's sake.<br /><br />Sunday we went to Red Canoe and got some yummy soup and lots of muffins. So now we'll have breakfast the next few days too. Something to look forward to when waking up! Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. We didn't really do very much out there though. We took Radar to an open house for a few hours which was entertaining. She really got along well with the other dogs. She seemed happier than she has been since we've had her. She'd be a good second dog, I think. After we got home from the open house I fell asleep for a couple of hours and squandered all of the good weather.<br /><br />Tonight we made Indian food with some masala simmer sauce, various kinds of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and chicken. Very yummy stuff. After we ate that we walked to dog, then watched the second Top Gear episode of the season.<br /><br />Tomorrow is another chemo day which sort of sucks. Oh well. I don't think I'll be working at all this week. Hopefully I remember what I was doing when I make it back.<br /><br />Oh, also: I bought a car. Or at least I put a down payment on one so it has my name on it. It's a 2010 VW Golf TDI 2-door. I wanted one with Xenon HID headlights, but there are actually none in the country yet and I don't feel like waiting. I'll get the $1700 tax credit and the sales tax deduction on my federal taxes, so the federal government is giving me a sweet deal to buy a German car. This will be the first new car I've ever bought, or for that matter the first at all that I've ever bought. I suspect it will be nicer than my Saturn. The dealer guy was supposed to call me on Saturday and give me a final figure so I could deal with the bank this week, since I'm planning to pick it up the day after Thanksgiving. He didn't call me though so I'll have to hound him tomorrow (I swear I get the impression they don't want to sell any cars) so I can get the bank stuff done before the bankers leave on their holiday.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3090877547063123925.post-27528252463986612392009-11-15T21:30:00.004-05:002009-11-15T21:41:39.730-05:00The weekendRob and Barb came over on Saturday for a lunch. Though it was a pretty big lunch and ended up being dinner. The day started off drizzly but it cleared up and ended up being pretty nice. We grilled some steak out on the porch, had some salad, and some yummy potatoes. Rob and Barb brought brownies for dessert. It was good to see them again. I've pretty much lost touch with most of my old coop friends even though we all live near each other. They just celebrated their three year anniversary which is pretty crazy too!<br /><br />Today was a gorgeous day. It was sunny about 70 degrees outside. Emily went out and rode her pony and took pictures in the morning. I took her car to have new tires put on, balanced, and aligned. Finally, her steering seems to be mostly normal. I went to Advance Auto Parts to try and get stuff for some routine work (new distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires, etc.) but they didn't have most of it in stock. Shortly after that we went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Patapsco</span> for a short little hike. There were tons of people who had the same idea. Most of the free entrances were jam packed with people parked all over the place but we found a spot on the Landing Rd/Cascade Falls entrance.<br /><br />My tummy hasn't been feeling good all day. I kind of want to suspect the steak since I never eat it, but who knows.<br /><br />Also, we got a new greyhound Saturday morning. Her name is Radar. She is pretty cute. She had already been in a foster home in Florida so she seems to be totally acclimated to life outside the track. She's not much of a walker though, you almost have to drag her out the door just to get her to go potty.<br /><br />I decided that I definitely want a 2010 VW Golf TDI though it is proving difficult to find one that I want. They're rather in demand and most of the dealers around here don't have many in stock, and none have one that I would buy. There's one in New Jersey that is getting one that I would want but I don't really feel like messing around with getting one out of state. I need to call some more local dealers tomorrow and see if any of them are expecting some more.<br /><br />Lastly, the new season of Top Gear started today. I managed to already get and watch it. It was pretty entertaining, though certainly not one of the best episodes I've seen. At least we have something fun to look forward to for some number of coming Sunday nights.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11566451718504022420noreply@blogger.com3