Slashing Sandy

tomorrow, I'm gone

2011-07-03T06:47:45Z

All Done! All of my radiation have been finished. Sadly, they had another setback. I honestly wouldn't have beem bummed so much, except they made me go back come back to the hospital, and wouldn't let me leave for days.

After I had been here the full 17 days and endued many obscure
conservations, the hospitist on duty stopped my room this morning. He (Did I I mention he looked like Dr. Kildare?) was acting really nice about it, too. (Not everyone can say, "you're dying, and we love you.")

So, I tell B that this nice Dr seems to think I'm dying.
She tells me he's not god.
We agree he's not god, but damn I'd really like some sertanty about what he knows.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo in other news, if is a really am going to be death this time, I plan to do some traveling. though that will/depend on me being strough euough. Please let meknow if you think you'd like come to Seattle to see me; or for me to come to your town. If you'r cool with a visit.

Sweet lettermade to go my grave

Now let's see how long I can go from mentioning dead.

Too long don't read, or radiation is bad

2011-07-02T23:00:31Z

Actually written approximately June 25, 2011

On June 15, I had my first radiation treatment, and everything seemed to be going well. I lay down on the sofa to read email for a bit. At 6:30, I had an excruciating headache. I attempted to eat dinner at 7, and took my steroid pill (protecting my brain from swelling after radiation) - but immediately vomited. It was a hellish night, with pain and vomiting.

This next part I only know because Brie told me. Apparently, I had trouble communicating overnight and we both got very little sleep until 9 a.m., when I finally dropped into a heavy sleep. Brie woke me at 1:30 p.m. to get ready to go to radiation, because we needed to leave at 2:00. She tells me I was disoriented, had trouble forming sentences, and unsteady. As we got ready to leave and then walked to the hospital, I became increasingly confused, and Brie was concerned about my speech slurring - she feared I'd had a stroke, though my speech cleared by the time we got to the hospital. Brie told the doctors what had happened and we were whisked up to urgent care, where they did a CT scan and gave me pain meds and fluids. The CT scan showed no stroke, no bleeding in the brain - the lesions had increased in size slightly, but that was it and didn't explain what was happening. The medical staff suspected it had been a complicated migraine, and my radiation oncologist agreed, reassuring Brie that radiation would not cause this to happen again. And we walked home from the hospital, feeling relieved but still a little nervous.

Thursday night was good. With additional drugs for pain and nausea, I was able to eat some dinner and go to bed and sleep well. Brie was relieved that I was coherent every time I woke up, which wasn't often, and we were both feeling pretty good about 8:30 in the morning, assuming I'd have radiation that day. But by 9:45, my head was pounding, and I tried to nap. When I woke up, Brie couldn't understand anything I was saying, and I kept returning to bed. Finally, Brie got me up at 12:45 to see if I would regain coherence before going to radiation, and I didn't. Instead, my inability to communicate was clearly distressing both of us, and then I started vomiting and we headed to urgent care, and we ended up at the hospital.

Brie was overwhelmed and called gattagrigia to come support her. Gattagrigia and her partner both came and provided emotional and practical support - at urgent care, and then later at the hospital. Brie was able to ride in the back of the ambulance with me, so John drove our car to the hospital and Gattagrigia drove theirs. It was already 7 when we got to the hospital, and they informed Brie they wouldn't do an MRI until morning. Meanwhile, they started fluids with some nutrition and gave me pain meds that apparently calmed me a bit.

Even on pain meds, I was still uncomprehending and unable to communicate. Gattagrigia and John stayed with me while Brie went home to take care of the cats and grab a few things to take to the hospital for what proved to be a long, worrisome night.

I was a little clearer by morning, but still didn't seem to have any idea where I was or what had happened. My family had been coming to town for the weekend anyway, so my mom and sister arrived pretty early in the day, followed by my other sister and a whole slew of family members.

There were a few hurdles, but eventually they did an MRI, which showed cancer progression that the CT scan hadn't shown. Over the past couple of months, the cancer had been spreading, with multiple mets in various areas of the brain - all small, but the cause of the nausea, pain, neck pain, leg tingling, and other symptoms that had plagued me since I went off chemo. Among other things, the meninges were involved, which is why my neck had been so stiff. The oncologists recommended proceeding with brain radiation to alleviate those symptoms and restore lucidity - Brie and my family readily agreed, but I was still unaware of any of this.

Happily, I regained lucidity late Saturday evening and was much clearer by Sunday morning - and I have been pretty much myself ever since, though it's the cranky version of myself because I've still had a lot of pain and nausea. And steroids make you cranky, too - and hungry!

I started radiation on Monday and I'm over halfway through the treatments now. Each day, I've been at least a 7 on the 1-10 pain scale, and as far down as a 2. Sometimes it gets better and worse multiple times, which makes it very unpredictable. If I have the energy, I've got to write about this hospital - because it's whacked out.

So far I have no certainty when I'm getting home. I assume I'll be here for the entire ten days of radiation, which would get me out of here on Weds or Thurs. It is unbelievable the amount of pain meds I've had - Toradol, Dilaudid, morphine, fentanyl patch, compazine, ondansetron,reglan, ativan, liquid Tylenol, oxycodone.

Wah!

2011-06-06T04:06:48Z

Had my trip, and it was lovely...except for the fact I was in pain 10-15 hours a day, and the pain kept wandering around, so I never knew what to expect the next morning. I *think* I'm glad we went; we really did see some beautiful sites, but I more than once can close to just flying home, and letting B decide whether to come with me, or just drive the car back alone. (I want to post pictures, but boy that seems like work. We'll see.)

Since I got back, I've had a few days to try to find normal, but tomorrow I start @#^#$% full brain radiation, which comes with a list of possible side-effects that could make me sick even if I wasn't already.

I'm currently taking so many meds I can't possibly keep track of them. I feel like I've been a pretty good toaster so far (don't talk to much about being sick, etc.), but I'm running out of good spirits, or something. In other words, if you ask me how I'm doing, there's a horrible chance you'll actually hear.

Y'all, though -- I hope you're all doing well.

meta rec

2011-05-19T01:58:05Z

hradzka has a fascinating post about changes in fandom, and slash fandom, over the last few years. Agree or not, it made me think:

The death of the Western: and what it means for us

ETS: I removed a question after it was answered in lovely and quick detail. Thanks!

Hey, you wanna help fight cancer?

2011-05-13T04:50:58Z

I just learned about the Army of Women, a project of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, funded by the Avon Foundation, to help recruit both healthy women and women with breast cancer for research studies that aim to learn more about how to prevent or curtail the disease, or how to ease survivors' post-treatment symptoms. (Men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer or who have close relatives with breast cancer can also sign up.)

Here's the deal. You sign up on their website (www.armyofwomen.org). All they need is your name, contact information, and age. Then you'll receive occasional emails about studies that are recruiting volunteers to participate. Participation in the studies is free -- and each message will list the criteria for eligibility (might be age, whether or not you've had cancer, where you live, that sort of thing). Some studies just ask you to complete a questionnaire; others require blood samples or breast tissue samples; a couple of the current studies involve sleep studies; each one is different. If you want to participate, you log in to the website and click Sign Me Up - they'll talk to you to make sure you really are a good match for the study, and then they'll connect you with the researchers.

You may never see a study that works for you, but even if that's the case, you may be able to pass the word on to someone who does match the criteria. And some of these studies may be the ones that lead to real progress in ending breast cancer and in improving quality of life for those who have or have had it. I think it's an amazing project. They're aiming for one million women, and it's already got close to 350,000 people participating.
Let's nudge that number up a little bit, eh?

Thanks.

Vay-Cay!!! Road Trip!1!

2011-05-10T05:12:11Z

It has been more than a decade since B and I went on a vacation more than a long weekend, and this chemo break definitely calls for a Road Trip.

I have visited almost 40 states, but I've never seen any piece of the dry southwest, and I am asking for advice.

Currently we're planning 4,000 miles in a big circle:
* over to Eastern Washington (we're going to Maryhill and seeing the tiny Stonehenge)
* down through Idaho (any one know anything fun in/near Falls, or Pocatella?)
* Utah (Arches and Zion are definite -- anything else "must see" in Utah?)
* New Mexico for a few days (is Carlsbad worth the long drive? note: I have never seen a large cave of any sort)
* Arizona (Grand Canyon, hopefully without spending any money in the state)
* CA/Nevada (Scotty's Castle)
* CA (ride home fast up I-5 (though maybe stopping and seeing Morgan Dawn)).

I'm slightly considering: an 8-hour sidetrip to Yellowstone (which I've never seen), or a 10-hour side trip to Denver.

Advice? Must sees? Places to eat? Ladies and gents, bring it on!

State of me: mixed

2011-04-15T21:16:55Z

Gahhhh.

The goal is to stay alive until they come up with a cure. There are only so many chemo regimes for someone with stage 4 triple neg, so I need each one to keep working as long as possible.

But this first round of chemo (first round? I've been on it for 10 months, solid!) has stopped working. The tiny silver lining: I finally get a chemo break while they're deciding what chemo to try next.

And man, I need the break. Fatigue sounds like such a whimpy-ass symptom at first, but now, when I can get out of breath cutting onions, or putting on tennis shoes, it's taken on real menace. I'm hoping a full month without poisons will make me stronger, or at least less whiny.

[fwiw: I got the diagnosis May 13th, last year. They told me then that the average life expectancy was 18 months. Ha. I'm going to pass that without even trying.]

(as usual for State of Me posts, I would love to hear from people, but I make no promises about answering.)

If you're writing h/c, I give you this for free...

2011-04-14T04:00:31Z

So my hip just keeps getting worse (joy!), to the point that I can't cut my own toe nails on that foot. My partner now cuts my toe nails, just on that foot. She feels all awkward about it, and afraid she's going to cut off one of my toes, but she does it. Some days, when I'm at my stiffest, she puts on my sock on that foot. And (this gets her points in my non-existent heaven), some days, before bed, she rubs around and gets the sock fluff out from between my toes.

At least from where I'm sitting, that's romance with a capital R.

-=-

Currently I'm reading the new big three: Sherlock, Inception, H50; last year's cool things: White Collar, Dr Who, ST:Reboot; and a trio of old favorites: SGA, SPN/J2 and HP. Nine shows. That's not too much, right?

But something I've recently noticed is none of these wonderful shows are provoking much h/c in their fanworks.

Is anyone else still watching House?

2011-03-22T04:26:09Z

Can you tell me why? Cuz I don't know why *I*'m watching it.

I can't remember the last time I liked any of the major characters. I want to write the writers and BEG them to stop hurting me. (And yes, I know I need to woman up, walk away and let my partner watch it alone. But I rather it just got good again, or even just not SO FUCKING BAD.)

Seriously -- I would be so grateful to someone who could conceptualize this season in a way that would make it make sense to me. Even if I hated the idea, I'd love to believe they have one, and haven't just gone insane.

Just watched "Taken"

2011-03-08T04:42:22Z

The Liam Neeson movie?

Oh My God! I can't remember a clearer, more hideous obvious Marty Stu In My Life! Geez, beginning to end, I was continuously embarrassed for (the writer), Luc Besson. Poor guy -- no one understood how important his job was, how the world depended on him while he was away from his family, and how, if they'd just give him a second, he could fix all their problems and Save Their Lives!

Oy.

Perfect distraction movie, though.

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Killa is my personal jesus

2011-02-27T07:35:08Z

(x-posted, with more brevity, to escapadecon)

After putting together an awesome Vidshow at Escapade (one that I hope people post about, since it was deeply cool and had some fascinatingly unusual vids), she then put together a Media Cannibals Favorites collection, which the con showed after the vidshow.

OMG! It was awesome to see those old vids (average age: 14 years old) up on the big screen, and to have a chance to watch them with friends, and hear their laughter and howls as we watched. It was also fun to watch our 'old' guys again -- the vids were mostly from Pros, X-Files, Due South, HL and The Sentinel.

I can't imagine how much trouble it was to put together the show (since it had both older VCR vids, and newer remasters), but it was oh so appreciated. And having people ask "do you have a DVD we could buy?" afterward was flattering too, even though it reminded me of how much work it would be to actually do.

Anyway, a fabulous end to a wonderful con day -- I just wish I had the energy to upload the gorgeous pictures of the ocean outside our hotel, too.

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packing for Escapade...

2011-02-24T01:55:06Z

and going through all of my old fannish t-shirts -- should I bring them to wear, to put on the swap table...or just look them over again and smile at the memories and put them back in the box for next year?

I've got one that says "We're not gay we just love each other" (old fan wars never die); one with a million RayV/Fraser quotes on the back, Media Cannibals shirts, various cotton-depicted pictures of pretty men and women of my fannish past. I noticed I wasn't wearing them anymore, and thus stopped buying them about a decade ago, and I've given some away, but I've still got ten or more.

(I suddenly realize this post would be better with pictures, but I left my camera in Killa's car last week, and won't get it back until I see her at the con.)

Or a poll -- do y'all have fannish t's?

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public employee unions

2011-02-21T05:46:36Z

So, we have five states in our glorious union that prohibit public teachers unions:

They're the five states in white on the map: Virginia,
Texas, Georgia, North & South Carolina.

Their rank on SAT/ACT scores? 44th (VA), 47th (TX), 48th (GA), 49th (NC), and 50th (SC).

I understand that correlation isn't causation...but then I read that Wisconsin's rank is #2 in the country, and I want to cry.

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Ah, YA -- fic without the boring parts!

2011-02-02T05:55:35Z

Quick recs:

The Demon's Lexicon and Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan
Modern urban(ish) fantasy set around London based around two brothers, Alan and Nick, and a brother and sister pair that they befriend. I liked all four characters, and the details of their universe were fun and unusual: magicians are bad, but non-magicians can make their own magic (mostly to oppose magicians), and both groups use demons to raise power. The brothers' bond was fascinating (and non 'cesty [g]), and the plot twists surprised me more than once.

The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
This is three books (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia) set in a vaguely Greek fantasy kingdom, which is a nice change from vaguely German and vaguely English. These are just plain fun. The Thief is a wonderful character, and the reveals are carefully timed to keep you wondering throughout. (A fourth book has just come out, but I haven't gotten it yet.)

Graceling and Fire -- Kristin Cashore
These two aren't quite sequels; they're parallel stories in the same vague fantasy universe. Graceling is stronger -- maybe because the background is more generic, letting the viewpoint character stand out. Katsa has one blue eye and one green eye. The mismatched eyes are a mark of being superpowered; in her case, she's an unbeatable warrior, fighting against being a tool of her douchebag king. Katsa is a cool character, with a cool combination of awesome strength and plausible weaknesses.

Fire has another superpowerful teenage girl; this one's a redhead, of course, but her hair's not just red, it's "poppy, fuschia, sunrise and copper" and the sight of it can drive men (and monsters) mad. I hope she's making fun of the magical redhead, but I certainly couldn't prove it. Fire also has limited telepathy and the ability to control other people's minds, but of course, she's completely ethical about it, only using it to save herself or her kingdom. In other words, the story is completely OTT, yet bizarrely readable. If it were fanfiction, it would be one of those 54 parters that you'd read avidly until 3am and then hate yourself for afterwards.

And one cool non-fiction:
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey
I admit, I got this one because Casey seemed fun when she was on The Daily Show, but it was worth it. The book is roughly half about the science and scientists who are exploring it; and half about the idiot adrenaline junkies who surf these crazy waves. Fascinating stories throughout. Caveats: She was a little too married to a style of writing, where we're following along with each thing she learns, as if she was writing her autobiography. Sometimes it worked; other times it seemed awkward or even precious. And by the end? I was *done* with the surfers. Still, definitely recommended.

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The Kids Are Alright?

2011-02-02T04:49:23Z

Not my movie. Oy. I'd heard about the whole "why do lesbians always want dick" thing, so I was ready for that. But no one told me about how unrelentingly neurotic they were. How unendingly annoying. How embarrassing! Three actors I like a lot...and all I can think is, Man, I'm glad I didn't pay for that.

Though I will admit it had a perfect title. The 'kids' are the only watchable ones in the movie.

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I never do this...

2011-01-20T01:57:56Z

but geez, Amazon money pretty much is money -- it was worth the 45 seconds it took me to sign up for Living Social

https://livingsocial.com/deals/21336?ref=conf-jp&rpi=4822967

Go here, pay $10, get $20 (and yes, I realize it's probably a better than normal deal to get lots of people to sign up), and yes, if three people click my link, I get mine free. But still -- money!

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It's Escapade Vid Deadline Day...

2011-01-16T01:49:46Z

which, yes, means we're still messing with it at the last minute, and yes, we need a vid beta!

It'd be great to have someone who's seen Imagine Me and You, but most of the people at the con won't have, so either way, it's good.

Drop me an email address, I'll send you a megaupload link in return (contents screened for addresses...) and THANKS!!!

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End of year donations

2010-12-29T18:47:06Z

You guys showed some interest in this part alone -- so here it is again, with links:

End of Dec is Yuletide, and making the final donations for the year. We always give to food security (in the PWN, that's Food Lifeline -- an umbrella org for all the local food banks), but after that, it's a battle every year. I'm more of a random giver; she's more organized. Finally we sit down and make a list. This year we didn't give nearly as much as last year, with me not having any money coming in for six months. But we're clear how much better off we are than so many others, and how much fucking NEED there is.

We finally ended up giving to Solid Ground (Seattle area self sufficiency/get people off the streets org), the EFF (net neutrality, fair use, you name it), Lamba Legal and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (DADT, bitches! And more seriously, I want marriage, and they're the ones that are going to get it for me)...and Haiti has been wearing on me. Our Country, and Others made promises that so far, we haven't kept. We gave money to the Clinton Bush Haiti fund at least partially so that our senators and reps would notice that people are giving, that we do care, and that they should live up to their promises. (I also sent letters to my congresscritters, but money always talks.)

I'd love to hear where you guys send your money!

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End of the year

2010-12-29T06:01:38Z

I have been LOVING Yuletide. I love the static pages, so I can just read, say, all of the Rizzoli and Isles. I loved my two (*2*) treats, and I'm so glad that Ces mentioned the Share button, which got me actually saving stories to rec.

Bitter and sweet historical:
The Casting of the Wine (7085 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
Summary: Even Antinous has to grow up.

Long, fabulous I SPY -- how long have we waited for another one of these!
Gino's Eleven (16771 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: I Spy
Summary: The Lions in exile

This one gets my vote for the fannish meta story of the year:
The Opposite Of Swarb (6633 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Bellwether - Connie Willis
Summary: Sandra and Bennett are researching fandom, but why is Bennett acting so strangely when Sandra wants to meet his mother? With guest appearances from Billy Ray, Gina and a colony of Argentinian vampire bats.</p>

And a Miles/Gregor that made me believe.
light from a lonely window (6617 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Relationships: Gregor Vorbarra/Miles Naismith Vorkosigan
Summary: "Miles," Raven says, "say something to prove your brain isn't scrambled. You're upsetting the Emperor. And your mother."

And my treats:
First, a short but *tight* look at Jason at work:
the things we think and do not say (1653 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Friday Night Lights
Summary: "I need an agent."
How fun to read this right before watching the episode with Jason showing up in Dillon.

Second: a genderswap look at Heyer; how does it change Satanus if Leon really is Leon?

'Twixt Blame and Blindness (1295 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: These Old Shades - Georgette Heyer

----
The other end of year ritual is much less fun: it's making the final donations for the year. We always give to food security (in the PWN, that's Food Lifeline -- an umbrella org for all the local food banks), but after that, it's a battle every year. I'm more of a random giver; she's more organized. Finally we sit down and make a list. This year we didn't give nearly as much as last year, with me not having any money coming in for six months. But we're clear how much better off we are than so many others, and how much fucking NEED there is.

We finally ended up giving to Solid Ground (Seattle area self sufficiency/get people off the streets org), the EFF (net neutrality, fair use, you name it), Lamba Legal and The Task Force (DADT, bitches! And more seriously, I want marriage, and they're the ones that are going to get it for me)...and Haiti has been wearing on me. Our Country, and others made promises that so far, we haven't kept. We gave money to the Clinton Bush Haiti fund at least partially so that our senators and reps would notice that people are giving, that we do care, and that they should live up to their promises. (I also sent letters to my congresscritters, but money always talks.)

Okay, gobs more Yuletide to read!

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Rankin/Bass xmas is like a fandom!

2010-12-25T05:37:51Z

Most of the stories have a Kris Kringle; most of the stories have a Summertown -- and even though they're all stories about Santa Claus, just about every thing else changes from special to special: it's a fandom where people only write au origin stories.

And one where they have a real flair with the OCs: Burgermeister Meisterburger (in Santa Claus is comin' to town) and the Heat Miser Snow Miser brothers (in The Year without a Santa), and others I can't remember now.

Mind you, there are moments of cringe (as in so many other of my fandoms) -- like when Kris Kringle tells a bunch of strange children, "Sit on my lap and give me a kiss, and I'll give you a toy." Um...

I'd write more, but I have to go and sing, "The first toy makers to the King."

ETA: I just went and peeked at my profile on A03 -- I have a gift! Even though I only put in a pinch-hitters ask about 9 hours ago. Someone out there is *very* fast, and very kind. Knowing that it's sitting there waiting for me tomorrow has made my Christmas.

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My pinchhit is in the bag!

2010-12-24T22:22:49Z

So, if someone out there is contemplating writing some treats this afternoon/evening, here's a link to my Dear Last-Minute-Yulewriter letter, just in case. :-)

(Both inspiration, and actual text stolen from kass)

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Hey, Yuletiders?

2010-11-26T04:36:16Z

After much backing and forthing, I finally decided not to do Yuletide (a decision which, argh, I'm still second guessing even though it's too late now, anyway).

But that means that I'm Ready and Willing to be *your* Yuletide Beta. Think of me for all your yuletide beta needs, ladies and gents -- my red pencil is standing ready.

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Escapade!

2010-11-25T05:21:25Z

It's only a few months away, and I'm already getting excited.

But geez, I hate flying more and more, and the current "porno scanners" vs "don't touch my junk" conversation is bringing back flashbacks of my stripsearch/missingflight/losing luggage fun of Escapade '07.

I just wandered over to the Amtrak site. I can get to LA and back for $200 bucks. Yay! It just takes *35* hours, each way, stuck in a chair. Ouch. Or I could spend $650 (gulp!), and take 35 hours, each way, stuck in a little teeny, tiny room (3'6" x 6'6" -- yeehaw!).

As usual, Amtrak is making flying sound attractive again.

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No Ordinary Family/Smallville...and GOTV

2010-10-31T04:17:35Z

I can't believe it, but we just had an impassioned conversation about how they were right not to let superpowered Clark play football in Smallville, but they should let superpowered JJ play football in No Ordinary Family.

Clark had no business playing football. But in No Ordinary Family, JJ's talent is mental, not physical, and I just can't see that as an unfair advantage in a physical game. Am I wrong, or just biased toward braaaaaains?

-=-=-
And a total change of subject -- everybody needs bodies for phone banking these last couple of days before the election. Please consider saying 'yes'.

As phone banking goes, GOTV is probably the easiest of all. You'll be calling people who have already been identified as on "your team", and your script will almost certainly be very clear. Depending on your area, you may be asking people if they need rides or whatever to make voting easier/possible. You're encouraging people to perform their civic duty -- that's worth a little nervousness on the phone, maybe?

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Voted! (and pizza)

2010-10-26T06:33:20Z

And it feels good...except most of WA state's initiatives are (as usual) TERRIBLE ideas, and will probably pass.

I believe in the initiative process -- sometimes the Leg needs a kick in the ass -- but initiatives should be HARD to get on the ballot. And if there was some way to make it impossible for a guy (*cough*Eyman*cough*) to make a living doing nothing but putting shitty and mean-spirited initiatives on the ballot? I would vote for that law.

(And just on the off chance there are people reading this still undecided on the two liquor initiatives? Please vote no. Sure, our liquor stores are the best in 1940s Russian design. But the two measures on the ballot are going to screw the hundreds of craft breweries and wineries around the state -- and the fact that we *have* hundreds of craft breweries and wineries in this state is one of the cool things about living here.

In non-political news, we made homemade pizza tonight, and as I took it out of the oven, the parchment paper ripped, it fell on the floor, and all of the topping slid off the crust. Oi! We quickly declared 5-second rule, decided to ignore the fact we *know* how long it's been since we washed the floor (and our two cats) and poured the topping/goo randomly over the crust. And it was awesome.

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