( I realize I kinda left people hangingCollapse )
It’s 2023, and already I’m ready to tell this year to fuck off.
Actually it started on December 23 when HeadBoy got the results of the biopsy taken a few days before: stage 4 prostate cancer. Yeah. Hey, Merry Christmas.
It was caught very early by our internist who noticed his PSA score was elevated, not by much but enough to order a second test another later. It jumped 2 points. At that time the doctor flipped out and sent HB to an urologist, who ordered the biopsy the week of Christmas who called 2 days before. Getting through the holiday was a little hard. Despite his best efforts he was on edge. Stage 4 means the grade of the tumor, not how big it is or extensive the cancer. The tumor is very small. But the cancer is fairly aggressive. The urologist recommended skipping radiation and chemo and going straight to surgery to take the prostate out. They discussed options (there is a hospital in Florida that does nothing but prostate surgery) but they decided to stay here and allow one of the surgeons in the group who is experienced with this surgery. Finally met with a surgeon this past week. Good guy. He even admitted he had changed a few ways he was doing this surgery on the suggestion of another, and that the outcome was better. Huh, a surgeon who admits he learned something from someone else.
Now comes the waiting. His prostate needs to heal from the biopsy so the earliest the surgery can take place is the last of February. In the meantime he’ll get an MRI of his pelvis and a PET scan to see if the cancer has escaped the prostate.
I’m surprised at how calm I am at all of this. HB is the one with a doom & gloom outlook. I guess I’m letting him vent it and I’m just smiling and telling him it’s going to be all right. On top of all this HeadBoy’s first cousin has inoperable brain cancer. He’s got 6 months, maybe.
JFC, we’re off to a great start. To escape all this shit we’ve been watching a lot of tv and movies. I mean, what else do you do when you’ve got cancer hanging over your lives in the midst of a triple pandemic? I would do one of those life-memes but I’m m just so tired and uncreative these days. I go to work, move books around, come home, try to sleep. Suffice it to say the holiday wasn’t fab.
Some good things have happened. We adopted Boy1’s cats 6 months earlier than we planned. Isla and Alistair are a joy. They’ve quickly adapted to our life and a big dog. Celo has stopped barking at them and I think he’s just a little afraid of them. Neither has hurt him though Isla has whapped his snoot a few times. They now boop noses when they walk by each other. He’s not ready to take a nap with them on top of him but that’s coming.
So that’s the news from here. Hope y’all are doing okay.
Like, it's really been a year. I checked in today and saw that the last entry I wrote was this day last year.
( Here's the reviewCollapse )
( Thought I'd drop the annual updateCollapse )
Challenge #15: Make your own challenge
I would LOVE to get back to writing on challenge, like bridge2sickbay. I had so much fun doing that, and I felt like writing in the moment on something very specific was a good brain exercise.
Anyone up for that?
Challenge #14
In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (Or a few!) What makes it particularly appealing for you? What do you like in fanworks featuring that trope?
I love the friends-to-lovers trope that defined the Harry/Hermione, Harry/Ron & McCoy/Kirk ships. McCoy is a crabby bastard, but that's why Kirk loved him so: he kept it real. So that's probably a the most obvious theme that runs throughout most of my fanfic. Also, hurt/comfort in fairly mild forms.
I posted a couple of my favorite fics a while back. So here's a few more:
A Magical Life Harry/Ron--One of those post-canon, way-into-adulthood stories about Ron & Harry finally getting together. Everyone remains friends and life is pretty damn sweet. Because Harry deserves a sweet life after all the shit he went through as a child.
Another Day in Paradise Jim/Bones--Bones takes care of Jim all the time, but here, Jim takes care of Bones after a very long day.
Colouring Harry/Hermione--Another one that takes place in the future, ignores canon, and shows just a moment between Harry & Hermione.
Well. I kinda went AWOL there. Busy times.
So for challenge #13: Create a fanwork, I am posting photos of 2 things I've made that are fan-related.
( Photos of things I madeCollapse )
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Join us at  wipbigbang for the WIP Big Bang ChallengeDo you have WIPs that are too short for WIP Big Bang? Do you need a push to finish them? This challenge is all about getting short WIPs finished. Post your finished works between now and February 15th, when they will be revealed for International Fanworks Day. Any kind of fanwork and any fandom is welcome! |
This challenge thing has brought several new folks to me:
james, shipperslist, perspi, and spikedluv, who invited me to join their private health community. Thank you, all. It's lovely to meet you. And it's wonderful to see my long-time friends, too.
* I'm one of the main organizers of a community meal on Thanksgiving Day for the college and church communities, and we're trying to get the food to add up. We have about 16 students and 4 faculty coming, and about 25 church people. Most of our church members are pretty old and they aren't up for bringing more than one plate of deviled eggs, so it's up to the rest of us, about 5-6 families, to bring the bulk of the food. I'm making a triple batch of mushroom dressing; 3 bags of frozen green beans, 2 pies--one vegan, one conventional, and the vegan main dish. Oh, and one of the turkeys. We got a 22-pounder and we've never cooked a bird that big.
*To complicate things, I agreed to make dinner for a family in the church who lost their dad/husband in October tomorrow. Granted, I signed up for it weeks ago, and selected this day because I'd have the week off. And there are three sweet children whom I've taught in Sunday school, so I need to get it done.
* AND I agreed to take our college student to Atlanta on Wednesday, so that wrecks the ENTIRE day. I'll have to everything done tomorrow. Yay. I still haven't bought everything for the vegan pumpkin cheesecake.
* The college choir concert was Sunday and went better than I expected. We sang the Ceremony of Carols, which isn't terribly hard but the rhythms are tricky in spots. We blew just a couple of short sections in 2 of the movements. I missed several rehearsals because of mandatory meetings, so there was one movement I didn't know. I went over that one for a while on Saturday; I dreamed the entrance pitch the night before. Holy crap. I never do that. The Gershwin medley was a disaster. Eh, I didn't like it anyway.
So it's thanksgiving week, and I'm exhausted. My shoulder injury is still bothering me quite a bit, especially when I try to sleep. I think I'm going to sleep in a chair tonight. I fell asleep for an hour sitting on the sofa with Fred beside me. But he always has a calming influence.
The good thing about this week is that
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