Got my MRI results earlier today. Thought I'd share them with you, given I said I would.
"There is no suggestion of progression" = good :)
Translation: It ain't getting bigger. = Sweet deal!!!
The report went on to state "The appearance of the remainder of the brain is unremarkable"
Not sure if I should be thankful or insulted on that last bit.
In the end, today was a good day. TGIF indeed. Cheers to ye all, and to all a goodnight!
--
Tom
Friday, October 19, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
TGIF? Maybe?
Hello readers!
Some of you might have heard that this week has been a rough one. I had a seizure on Monday the 15th while waiting for the bus. I had a sense I had a seizure coming on, and for some reason thought I could possibly "will myself" into not having one. I remember thinking "Maybe if I walk up the sidewalk and get some fresh air I won't have one" which is a ridiculous thought looking back on things, but in my defense having a seizure implies my brain isn't quite firing on all cylinders (or perhaps is firing on too many at once). My point is that I don't think too clearly when I'm having a seizure. I also tend to lack any memory of my seizures and/or any period in the short time after it has occurred. In this case I remember deciding that I could not "walk off" my upcoming seizure so I should get back home (to my apartment across the street from where I was standing). I couldn't tell you if there were cars coming or not, as I can't remember crossing the street. What I can tell you is that I remember people standing over me (only be the fact I heard their voices) one of which asked me if I had someone they could contact. I gave them my wife Nicole's phone number, as she was still at home back at the apartment. The next thing I knew there was a fire truck and paramedics (firemen) helping me into their truck. They took my stats (blood glucose levels, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, and after determining that my oxygen levels were low, set me up on an oxygen line, and called Nicole after I gave them her number as well. Nicole had the pleasant surprise of waking up to our landlord banging on our front door and a call from a paramedic saying that they had found me lying down on the median between the north & southbound lanes of St. Anne's. I had chosen to wear a brand new pair of leather shoes that particular day, which were significantly damaged on the front of the shoe. We figure I must have tripped on the cement portion of the median (as I can't judge distance or depth well when I'm having a seizure... go figure) which caused me to trip & fall onto the grass and possibly into a tree on the median. This is based upon the paramedics assumption I had run into the tree as well as the fact I have a slightly bruised forehead and received a few scratches to my nose. My glasses were a bit dirty, as well as was the left side of my jacket and backpack. After any seizure I've experienced I feel completely drained of energy and extremely tired. In this case (seizure plus potential face-plant into a tree or the ground) left my body feeling quite out-of-sorts. I'm still a bit sore from it all.
But my lovely wife, as always, took care of me. She brought me back home, got me into bed, and I enjoyed some much needed rest. Her Dad swung by our place later that day to check on us, and brought some medicine for me in the form of an order of a Teen Burger and some Onion Rings. Thanks Steve!
I still feel run down from the whole thing, but I'm feeling better now. I have to say the whole ordeal shook my confidence as I had been feeling pretty good after having gone since July 27th since my last seizure. If I can go at least ONE CONSECUTIVE YEAR without having one I can find myself back in the driver seat of a car, instead of being dependent upon my wonderful wife to drive me wherever the Winnipeg Transit System tends not to service. Unfortunately this seizure shook even my confidence in taking the bus to work, something I had previously took pride in. Being in my situation leaves me feeling dependent upon others for a lot of things. Anyone who has been without a license for any extended period of time can appreciate just how much of an inconvenience it truly is. I can't just up and go out for food or go shopping on my own. I have to either take the bus (if / when the schedules & routes permit it), or get Nicole to drive me. Taking the bus to work each morning made me feel independent. It made me feel good not only take a burden off of Nicole's shoulders, but also give me my own time & space. I could (and often did) listen to my nerdy podcasts each morning. I could sit among the rest of society leaving for work or school living their normal lives. Since Monday I have not taken the bus. I haven't had the guts to get back on for fear that I could have another seizure and be on my own with no one around to help me. Nicole was right to point out that we were lucky I had my seizure when I was still so close to home. I know it worries her at the best of times to have me out there without her to watch over me and ensure nothing bad happens to me. She worries too much and takes on too much responsibility for my safety. I wish she didn't, but I can see why she does. I'm sure if I were in her shoes I'd be doing the same things and feeling the same way. I'd just like to be able to say "No worries love! Nothing bad is going to happen to me today!" And be able to say it with the sort of absolute (perhaps naive) confidence I once did.
We go for my MRI results tomorrow afternoon (hence the title of this blog entry). I'm hoping it will be a Friday worth saying TGIF! I just want good results and then the weekend to relax and unwind with my wife. It is the same thing each and every time we have my "Friday after" (MRI results) visits. We stress and worry all the way up to the appointment. We will try to sleep tonight (I'll probably succeed better than Nicole will at this). We will wake up in the morning, probably feeling like we haven't slept at all. We will head to the HSC, park the car in the underground, head on over to get my bloodwork done (a process I'm all too familiar with), then wait forever just to get the bloodwork done. Next we'll head over to "Clinic 2" at CancerCare. There we'll sign-in and wait forever to be called in. There I will be weighed in, and we'll be sent to a room to sit and wait (forever) for the doctor to come see us. We'll likely see a nurse first. Then my oncologist will come in and give us the results. We'll try to judge the look on his face, the movements he makes, and interpret them as any sort of indication long before he utters his first words. Then he'll speak and our lives will change. Either we'll be cast from our current world of unknowing into the wonderful (but often short-lived) world of temporary relief, or the other world... that of fear, unknowing, and panic.
Regardless we'll be there together, as we always have been, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm still the luckiest guy I know. If I could change having a terminal illness in the form of a cancerous brain tumour... I would. If doing so meant changing any part of my life outside of that, and losing any of the people I have closest to me in my life (my wife being at the top of that list) I would not change a thing. My life is seriously awesome. Tomorrow might not be seriously awesome, but it might just be. I think I kicked ass during that MRI last week, so I can't see how the results could be anything less than awesome. That and I have all of you thinking about me and sending me your best wishes, thoughts and prayers. I will post before the day is done at least a brief post describing my update. Thanks & Cheers!
--
Tom
PS: I'm too tired to check this one over for spelling and/or grammar. It's all yours Luke!
Some of you might have heard that this week has been a rough one. I had a seizure on Monday the 15th while waiting for the bus. I had a sense I had a seizure coming on, and for some reason thought I could possibly "will myself" into not having one. I remember thinking "Maybe if I walk up the sidewalk and get some fresh air I won't have one" which is a ridiculous thought looking back on things, but in my defense having a seizure implies my brain isn't quite firing on all cylinders (or perhaps is firing on too many at once). My point is that I don't think too clearly when I'm having a seizure. I also tend to lack any memory of my seizures and/or any period in the short time after it has occurred. In this case I remember deciding that I could not "walk off" my upcoming seizure so I should get back home (to my apartment across the street from where I was standing). I couldn't tell you if there were cars coming or not, as I can't remember crossing the street. What I can tell you is that I remember people standing over me (only be the fact I heard their voices) one of which asked me if I had someone they could contact. I gave them my wife Nicole's phone number, as she was still at home back at the apartment. The next thing I knew there was a fire truck and paramedics (firemen) helping me into their truck. They took my stats (blood glucose levels, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, and after determining that my oxygen levels were low, set me up on an oxygen line, and called Nicole after I gave them her number as well. Nicole had the pleasant surprise of waking up to our landlord banging on our front door and a call from a paramedic saying that they had found me lying down on the median between the north & southbound lanes of St. Anne's. I had chosen to wear a brand new pair of leather shoes that particular day, which were significantly damaged on the front of the shoe. We figure I must have tripped on the cement portion of the median (as I can't judge distance or depth well when I'm having a seizure... go figure) which caused me to trip & fall onto the grass and possibly into a tree on the median. This is based upon the paramedics assumption I had run into the tree as well as the fact I have a slightly bruised forehead and received a few scratches to my nose. My glasses were a bit dirty, as well as was the left side of my jacket and backpack. After any seizure I've experienced I feel completely drained of energy and extremely tired. In this case (seizure plus potential face-plant into a tree or the ground) left my body feeling quite out-of-sorts. I'm still a bit sore from it all.
But my lovely wife, as always, took care of me. She brought me back home, got me into bed, and I enjoyed some much needed rest. Her Dad swung by our place later that day to check on us, and brought some medicine for me in the form of an order of a Teen Burger and some Onion Rings. Thanks Steve!
I still feel run down from the whole thing, but I'm feeling better now. I have to say the whole ordeal shook my confidence as I had been feeling pretty good after having gone since July 27th since my last seizure. If I can go at least ONE CONSECUTIVE YEAR without having one I can find myself back in the driver seat of a car, instead of being dependent upon my wonderful wife to drive me wherever the Winnipeg Transit System tends not to service. Unfortunately this seizure shook even my confidence in taking the bus to work, something I had previously took pride in. Being in my situation leaves me feeling dependent upon others for a lot of things. Anyone who has been without a license for any extended period of time can appreciate just how much of an inconvenience it truly is. I can't just up and go out for food or go shopping on my own. I have to either take the bus (if / when the schedules & routes permit it), or get Nicole to drive me. Taking the bus to work each morning made me feel independent. It made me feel good not only take a burden off of Nicole's shoulders, but also give me my own time & space. I could (and often did) listen to my nerdy podcasts each morning. I could sit among the rest of society leaving for work or school living their normal lives. Since Monday I have not taken the bus. I haven't had the guts to get back on for fear that I could have another seizure and be on my own with no one around to help me. Nicole was right to point out that we were lucky I had my seizure when I was still so close to home. I know it worries her at the best of times to have me out there without her to watch over me and ensure nothing bad happens to me. She worries too much and takes on too much responsibility for my safety. I wish she didn't, but I can see why she does. I'm sure if I were in her shoes I'd be doing the same things and feeling the same way. I'd just like to be able to say "No worries love! Nothing bad is going to happen to me today!" And be able to say it with the sort of absolute (perhaps naive) confidence I once did.
We go for my MRI results tomorrow afternoon (hence the title of this blog entry). I'm hoping it will be a Friday worth saying TGIF! I just want good results and then the weekend to relax and unwind with my wife. It is the same thing each and every time we have my "Friday after" (MRI results) visits. We stress and worry all the way up to the appointment. We will try to sleep tonight (I'll probably succeed better than Nicole will at this). We will wake up in the morning, probably feeling like we haven't slept at all. We will head to the HSC, park the car in the underground, head on over to get my bloodwork done (a process I'm all too familiar with), then wait forever just to get the bloodwork done. Next we'll head over to "Clinic 2" at CancerCare. There we'll sign-in and wait forever to be called in. There I will be weighed in, and we'll be sent to a room to sit and wait (forever) for the doctor to come see us. We'll likely see a nurse first. Then my oncologist will come in and give us the results. We'll try to judge the look on his face, the movements he makes, and interpret them as any sort of indication long before he utters his first words. Then he'll speak and our lives will change. Either we'll be cast from our current world of unknowing into the wonderful (but often short-lived) world of temporary relief, or the other world... that of fear, unknowing, and panic.
Regardless we'll be there together, as we always have been, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm still the luckiest guy I know. If I could change having a terminal illness in the form of a cancerous brain tumour... I would. If doing so meant changing any part of my life outside of that, and losing any of the people I have closest to me in my life (my wife being at the top of that list) I would not change a thing. My life is seriously awesome. Tomorrow might not be seriously awesome, but it might just be. I think I kicked ass during that MRI last week, so I can't see how the results could be anything less than awesome. That and I have all of you thinking about me and sending me your best wishes, thoughts and prayers. I will post before the day is done at least a brief post describing my update. Thanks & Cheers!
--
Tom
PS: I'm too tired to check this one over for spelling and/or grammar. It's all yours Luke!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Thanks eh?
Of all people, I should think I have the most to be thankful for. Okay, at least more than most people. It isn't hard to guess what falls at the top of my list...
I am still alive!
Now that's pretty cool. Especially given I was told I'd have 3 months to 1 year to live... almost 2 years ago. Things are still as unsure as they were at the beginning of my journey, but for one key difference. How I view life and all contained within it has changed dramatically. Getting a terminal can do that to a guy. I am thankful for the friends I have. Though I may have fewer friends than I did prior to my diagnosis, the friendships I do have are so much more meaningful than any I had prior. I am thankful for the amazing amount of support I experience on a daily basis. I cannot explain fully just how much support I have. It comes from all sides. It comes from those members of my family who have stayed close to me throughout this process, it comes from those friends who have stuck around from the day of my surgery to this very day, and it comes above all else from my wife, who I might have mentioned before. Nicole O'Leary-Sontag is the best thing to have happened to me without a doubt. I could not manage my daily life without her, of that I am sure. We go through the good times and the bad together. As you might imagine, the bad times can be overwhelmingly bad, and occur just a little more often in our lives than either of us might like. This being said, she always finds a way to keep me going, to keep me positive, and keep me fighting. What I do, I do for many people and many reasons, but without a doubt I do it for her above all else.
Those of you closest to me probably know I am very upfront and unafraid to discuss my cancer. I'm sure some people would find it odd that I am so direct about such a sensitive topic. I am because I have to be. It is my life and I deal with it every day. If I were afraid to approach to topic with others it would mean I was afraid of my every moment of every day. I am thankful that my wife not only understands this, but is right on board with me... going along with my dark inappropriate jokes, and throwing others right back at me. If we didn't find those moments to laugh together it would be a sad life for us both for sure.
I am thankful for friends that understand my situation and have no problems going right along with it. Having friends that aren't afraid to ask me questions because they don't want to upset me. What upsets me is people who I can see purposely keep their distance from me because of their lack of comfort with the situation.
I am thankful that I have little health concerns (other than the whole "brain tumour" thing) going on right now. I still don't have headaches, haven't had a seizure since late July [sound of wood being knocked on], and experience no pain other than the daily injections I must give myself (and bi-weekly CancerCare blood exams). For a guy who has such a bleak health outlook, I feel pretty damn good almost each and every day! I find that being so 'healthy' in appearance gives people the false impression that I am ultimately "fine" and that "I will beat this thing". This is ultimately my plan, however the reality is that without advances in medication I will not likely live more than a few years. I will be ending my two-year chemotherapy treatment in December. After that it will be up to my will power, diet, and the hopes, prayers, and wishes of others to keep my tumour from growing. There are many options beyond this. If my tumour starts to grow back after being taken off the chemo, I could be put back on (with the hopes it works), another surgery could be performed (if it is growing back in only one place), or of course some combination thereof. If it starts to grow back in multiple places... I will need a lot more of your thoughts & prayers.
Speaking of which, I am more than thankful for the thoughts, wishes, prayers, and words of support I've received from so many people. Some close family members, some close friends, some distant friends & family, and some complete strangers. I can't thank any of you enough, and can only point to the fact I'm here writing this blog as proof you must be doing me some good ;)
I wish typed up words could convey the amount it truly touches me how much some of you have been affected by my situation. I could never have dreamed that I'd have received as much support as I have. I should say that Nicole & I have received, as both of us have been the recipients of so much (very much needed) love and support over the past 22+ months.
I am thankful for my in-laws who would be my family even if there were no laws stipulating such. You guys have meant so much to both Nicole and I and I can say with absolutely certainty that we would not have been able to make it this far without you.
I am thankful for my medical team who I would claim to be the best medical team there is. From my oncologist to my head nurse to my pharmacist to my social worker & the entire CancerCare team. You might think I dread going in to CancerCare for my frequent visits & appointments, but with those people there to help us through everything, things aren't as bad as they might otherwise be.
I am also thankful that none of the crazy Winnipeg drivers have taken my life prematurely (though try they certainly have), which leads me to thank my amazing wife once again, who has managed to keep both of us out of the ER from the many people who have tried (for some reason) to take our lives via vehicular manslaughter.
I'm thankful for my wife Nicole for making me hot chocolate... from scratch... without any sugar or unnatural ingredients just so that I could avoid missing out on one more thing. While I'm at it I thank my wife for making amazing dinners to make up for my severe cooking ability deficiency (it must come about as a side effect of one of the meds).
I thank Nicole for putting up with the fact I am a man who can be stubborn, lacking the ability to multitask or listen, all ON TOP of dealing with the whole cancer thing.
I thank you all for reading my endless rant, and Google for creating the means by which I can post my thoughts online for you all to read. I thank Samsung for creating the monitor which has allowed me to see what I have typed what I was thinking on this HP keyboard (who I thank for making said keyboard... despite the fact they seriously made the left shift key too small). I thank Al Gore for inventing the Internet to begin with, and I guess gravity for keeping everything pinned conveniently down to this computer desk (thanks Steve for letting me use your computer eh?).
THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING (is I think what I was trying to say). I must now go off to eat Thanksgiving dinner #2 prepared by Steve & Pat (who I thank for making and inviting us over for). I must not forget to thank my Aunt & Grandma who prepared and served Thanksgiving dinner #1 (which means I must thank my Uncle for providing the house in which it was served, and thus the Queen, who somehow made it all possible?). CHEERS!!!
--
Tom
I am still alive!
Now that's pretty cool. Especially given I was told I'd have 3 months to 1 year to live... almost 2 years ago. Things are still as unsure as they were at the beginning of my journey, but for one key difference. How I view life and all contained within it has changed dramatically. Getting a terminal can do that to a guy. I am thankful for the friends I have. Though I may have fewer friends than I did prior to my diagnosis, the friendships I do have are so much more meaningful than any I had prior. I am thankful for the amazing amount of support I experience on a daily basis. I cannot explain fully just how much support I have. It comes from all sides. It comes from those members of my family who have stayed close to me throughout this process, it comes from those friends who have stuck around from the day of my surgery to this very day, and it comes above all else from my wife, who I might have mentioned before. Nicole O'Leary-Sontag is the best thing to have happened to me without a doubt. I could not manage my daily life without her, of that I am sure. We go through the good times and the bad together. As you might imagine, the bad times can be overwhelmingly bad, and occur just a little more often in our lives than either of us might like. This being said, she always finds a way to keep me going, to keep me positive, and keep me fighting. What I do, I do for many people and many reasons, but without a doubt I do it for her above all else.
Those of you closest to me probably know I am very upfront and unafraid to discuss my cancer. I'm sure some people would find it odd that I am so direct about such a sensitive topic. I am because I have to be. It is my life and I deal with it every day. If I were afraid to approach to topic with others it would mean I was afraid of my every moment of every day. I am thankful that my wife not only understands this, but is right on board with me... going along with my dark inappropriate jokes, and throwing others right back at me. If we didn't find those moments to laugh together it would be a sad life for us both for sure.
I am thankful for friends that understand my situation and have no problems going right along with it. Having friends that aren't afraid to ask me questions because they don't want to upset me. What upsets me is people who I can see purposely keep their distance from me because of their lack of comfort with the situation.
I am thankful that I have little health concerns (other than the whole "brain tumour" thing) going on right now. I still don't have headaches, haven't had a seizure since late July [sound of wood being knocked on], and experience no pain other than the daily injections I must give myself (and bi-weekly CancerCare blood exams). For a guy who has such a bleak health outlook, I feel pretty damn good almost each and every day! I find that being so 'healthy' in appearance gives people the false impression that I am ultimately "fine" and that "I will beat this thing". This is ultimately my plan, however the reality is that without advances in medication I will not likely live more than a few years. I will be ending my two-year chemotherapy treatment in December. After that it will be up to my will power, diet, and the hopes, prayers, and wishes of others to keep my tumour from growing. There are many options beyond this. If my tumour starts to grow back after being taken off the chemo, I could be put back on (with the hopes it works), another surgery could be performed (if it is growing back in only one place), or of course some combination thereof. If it starts to grow back in multiple places... I will need a lot more of your thoughts & prayers.
Speaking of which, I am more than thankful for the thoughts, wishes, prayers, and words of support I've received from so many people. Some close family members, some close friends, some distant friends & family, and some complete strangers. I can't thank any of you enough, and can only point to the fact I'm here writing this blog as proof you must be doing me some good ;)
I wish typed up words could convey the amount it truly touches me how much some of you have been affected by my situation. I could never have dreamed that I'd have received as much support as I have. I should say that Nicole & I have received, as both of us have been the recipients of so much (very much needed) love and support over the past 22+ months.
I am thankful for my in-laws who would be my family even if there were no laws stipulating such. You guys have meant so much to both Nicole and I and I can say with absolutely certainty that we would not have been able to make it this far without you.
I am thankful for my medical team who I would claim to be the best medical team there is. From my oncologist to my head nurse to my pharmacist to my social worker & the entire CancerCare team. You might think I dread going in to CancerCare for my frequent visits & appointments, but with those people there to help us through everything, things aren't as bad as they might otherwise be.
I am also thankful that none of the crazy Winnipeg drivers have taken my life prematurely (though try they certainly have), which leads me to thank my amazing wife once again, who has managed to keep both of us out of the ER from the many people who have tried (for some reason) to take our lives via vehicular manslaughter.
I'm thankful for my wife Nicole for making me hot chocolate... from scratch... without any sugar or unnatural ingredients just so that I could avoid missing out on one more thing. While I'm at it I thank my wife for making amazing dinners to make up for my severe cooking ability deficiency (it must come about as a side effect of one of the meds).
I thank Nicole for putting up with the fact I am a man who can be stubborn, lacking the ability to multitask or listen, all ON TOP of dealing with the whole cancer thing.
I thank you all for reading my endless rant, and Google for creating the means by which I can post my thoughts online for you all to read. I thank Samsung for creating the monitor which has allowed me to see what I have typed what I was thinking on this HP keyboard (who I thank for making said keyboard... despite the fact they seriously made the left shift key too small). I thank Al Gore for inventing the Internet to begin with, and I guess gravity for keeping everything pinned conveniently down to this computer desk (thanks Steve for letting me use your computer eh?).
THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING (is I think what I was trying to say). I must now go off to eat Thanksgiving dinner #2 prepared by Steve & Pat (who I thank for making and inviting us over for). I must not forget to thank my Aunt & Grandma who prepared and served Thanksgiving dinner #1 (which means I must thank my Uncle for providing the house in which it was served, and thus the Queen, who somehow made it all possible?). CHEERS!!!
--
Tom
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
{Insert Title of Blog Here}
NOTE: Somehow I managed to delete a blog post (I blame you Blogger App!!!) so I am reposting it below having salvaged it from an old notepad document. Thank you iMac! The date on this post is a complete guess. I couldn't let my random nonsensical rambling be lost from the Internet after all!
<Insert Blog Entry Here>
The title and above line are both jokes. They are designed to make you laugh, possibly out loud. If you laugh inside your own head that is okay too, just don't type "limoh" in the comments. Actually, don't leave anything in the comments as I don't read them. Seriously. Ok, maybe at some point I'll go back and read over past comments, but I usually don't. I log in to my Blogger account to write the posts, not track the comments. I've had people before say "Did you see the comment I left you?" only to see their disappointment as I explain to them I never check the comments. I DO however look at the posts left on my Facebook Page below the link I always post to this blog, so putting a "comment" on Facebook ensures I will see it. So I suppose you could post a comment on the Blogger page, however you would then need to leave me a message on Facebook in order to let me know I had to check my Blogger account to view your message, so really... you'd just be making work for us all. Am I making sense yet? No? Good! Limoh.
So on the "staying alive" front I am, as Charlie Sheen would put it, "WINNING!" Now I must explain to any of you who were cryogenically frozen in the mid to late 90's, as you'll be thinking "Hasn't he chosen the wrong Estevez brother? Surely a reference to a winning member of the Estevez family must be in reference to Emilio and his dramatic portrayal of Gordon Bombay. Surely Tom's fight is equivalent to the use of a technique known only as "The Flying V"? Why is he comparing himself to someone who last starred in "Hot Shots! Part Deux"? Let me tell you my still defrosting friend, you have some time to spend on Charlie Sheen's Wikipedia page!!! "What's Wikipedia???" Oh right... basically the place where you can find out anything/everything with at least 62% confidence that it is correct! Who can argue with those odds? In the end, I think with the amount of drugs Charlie has taken, the two of us might be more comparable than you'd think! At least mine come with a doctor's prescription. That and the key difference that mine are being used to extend my life, not risk shortening it.
I think I've wasted about an hour trying to say nothing so far (most of that time was spent on Wikipedia, I'm not going to lie). I did have to spell check a couple of things as well. In schools, how long will it be before teachers instruct their students as follows:
"Ok kids, now before printing your essays make sure to right click on any of the words that are underlined with a red squiggle. You'll then want to choose the word that most likely matches what you were trying to spell. Unlike your iPhones the words do not change all by themselves. I know I know, English sucks. As for the things with green squiggles you can pretty much ignore those. I find it is usually the case that the computer simply doesn't realize that you don't intend to have perfect grammar as met by some 1800's standard of English formed before computers were invented. If I want to start a sentence with an "and" I'm going to. And I'm serious about that! Ok, Jimmy, I can see you're just liyoh so just stop it. You're making everyone around you lol."
For the readers of my blog, I highly suggest reading the above paragraph in the voice of Mr. Mackey. If you don't know who Mr. Mackey is, you should really invest some quality time in an educational program I like to call "South Park". Just my tip for the day.
Now, I wanted to address something very important in this blog: you should most certainly NOT live each day like it was your last. Think about it. Why would this ever strike anyone as a "good" idea? Boom, it's my last day. Am I going to brush my teeth? No. Will I do the laundry? The dishes? Any chores at all? Will I go to work? No, no, no & no! I'd probably eat buckets of Ice Cream while watching non-stop Dr. Who episodes with my wife... but that's just me. My point is that you should live your live as though time is a limited and precious gift that we must not waste. Now I realize I'm suggesting people get more out of life in a motto that takes several more seconds to say, but I think it the end, it is worth it. Pay your bills, go to work, do the laundry & the dishes, but don't forget that one day your time will run out (Did it just get dark in here, or was that just me?) Don't be like me and fail to keep that blog updated just because you were too busy watching episode after episode after episode of Dr. Who with your wife. Ok, never-mind, I take that last part back. I regret nothing about the last several days & weeks of Dr. Who watching with my wife. We've almost caught up watching re-runs in time to start with the all-new season!!! Something you might not have previously known about me? I'm a huge Dr. Who fan/nerd. My iPhone case is a Tardis. Don't know what a Tardis is? Phone me and I will spend half an hour explaining it to you!!!
In other nerd news, I've recently decided to take on the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. Thanks to a gentleman by the name of Kevin I will soon be up to do on all things middle-earth and Hobbit related. I have already watched the first part of the first part (if that makes sense?) and look forward to the many parts (and parts of parts) to come!!!
I have much more to blog about, but before I blog all over this computer desk (and make quite a mess in the process) I must post it to the interwebs (otherwise it shall become much like the many many (MANY) post that have never made it to the magical iterwebs as, after writing various entries I have worried about how things sounded and thus never posted them and ultimately they all became obsolete. NO MORE I SAY! From now on I shall try to post what I've got, and worry about whether there is any theme or sense of logic to my post after I post it online.
This one is for you huddled masses and roommates I have never met! CHEERS!
--
Tom
PS: To you masses who are not huddled... you just don't get it do you? In order to be a "mass" you must be in one large group, hence the "huddled" part. You non-huddled masses are just regular people, though I will let you read the above as well.
<Insert Blog Entry Here>
The title and above line are both jokes. They are designed to make you laugh, possibly out loud. If you laugh inside your own head that is okay too, just don't type "limoh" in the comments. Actually, don't leave anything in the comments as I don't read them. Seriously. Ok, maybe at some point I'll go back and read over past comments, but I usually don't. I log in to my Blogger account to write the posts, not track the comments. I've had people before say "Did you see the comment I left you?" only to see their disappointment as I explain to them I never check the comments. I DO however look at the posts left on my Facebook Page below the link I always post to this blog, so putting a "comment" on Facebook ensures I will see it. So I suppose you could post a comment on the Blogger page, however you would then need to leave me a message on Facebook in order to let me know I had to check my Blogger account to view your message, so really... you'd just be making work for us all. Am I making sense yet? No? Good! Limoh.
So on the "staying alive" front I am, as Charlie Sheen would put it, "WINNING!" Now I must explain to any of you who were cryogenically frozen in the mid to late 90's, as you'll be thinking "Hasn't he chosen the wrong Estevez brother? Surely a reference to a winning member of the Estevez family must be in reference to Emilio and his dramatic portrayal of Gordon Bombay. Surely Tom's fight is equivalent to the use of a technique known only as "The Flying V"? Why is he comparing himself to someone who last starred in "Hot Shots! Part Deux"? Let me tell you my still defrosting friend, you have some time to spend on Charlie Sheen's Wikipedia page!!! "What's Wikipedia???" Oh right... basically the place where you can find out anything/everything with at least 62% confidence that it is correct! Who can argue with those odds? In the end, I think with the amount of drugs Charlie has taken, the two of us might be more comparable than you'd think! At least mine come with a doctor's prescription. That and the key difference that mine are being used to extend my life, not risk shortening it.
I think I've wasted about an hour trying to say nothing so far (most of that time was spent on Wikipedia, I'm not going to lie). I did have to spell check a couple of things as well. In schools, how long will it be before teachers instruct their students as follows:
"Ok kids, now before printing your essays make sure to right click on any of the words that are underlined with a red squiggle. You'll then want to choose the word that most likely matches what you were trying to spell. Unlike your iPhones the words do not change all by themselves. I know I know, English sucks. As for the things with green squiggles you can pretty much ignore those. I find it is usually the case that the computer simply doesn't realize that you don't intend to have perfect grammar as met by some 1800's standard of English formed before computers were invented. If I want to start a sentence with an "and" I'm going to. And I'm serious about that! Ok, Jimmy, I can see you're just liyoh so just stop it. You're making everyone around you lol."
For the readers of my blog, I highly suggest reading the above paragraph in the voice of Mr. Mackey. If you don't know who Mr. Mackey is, you should really invest some quality time in an educational program I like to call "South Park". Just my tip for the day.
Now, I wanted to address something very important in this blog: you should most certainly NOT live each day like it was your last. Think about it. Why would this ever strike anyone as a "good" idea? Boom, it's my last day. Am I going to brush my teeth? No. Will I do the laundry? The dishes? Any chores at all? Will I go to work? No, no, no & no! I'd probably eat buckets of Ice Cream while watching non-stop Dr. Who episodes with my wife... but that's just me. My point is that you should live your live as though time is a limited and precious gift that we must not waste. Now I realize I'm suggesting people get more out of life in a motto that takes several more seconds to say, but I think it the end, it is worth it. Pay your bills, go to work, do the laundry & the dishes, but don't forget that one day your time will run out (Did it just get dark in here, or was that just me?) Don't be like me and fail to keep that blog updated just because you were too busy watching episode after episode after episode of Dr. Who with your wife. Ok, never-mind, I take that last part back. I regret nothing about the last several days & weeks of Dr. Who watching with my wife. We've almost caught up watching re-runs in time to start with the all-new season!!! Something you might not have previously known about me? I'm a huge Dr. Who fan/nerd. My iPhone case is a Tardis. Don't know what a Tardis is? Phone me and I will spend half an hour explaining it to you!!!
In other nerd news, I've recently decided to take on the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. Thanks to a gentleman by the name of Kevin I will soon be up to do on all things middle-earth and Hobbit related. I have already watched the first part of the first part (if that makes sense?) and look forward to the many parts (and parts of parts) to come!!!
I have much more to blog about, but before I blog all over this computer desk (and make quite a mess in the process) I must post it to the interwebs (otherwise it shall become much like the many many (MANY) post that have never made it to the magical iterwebs as, after writing various entries I have worried about how things sounded and thus never posted them and ultimately they all became obsolete. NO MORE I SAY! From now on I shall try to post what I've got, and worry about whether there is any theme or sense of logic to my post after I post it online.
This one is for you huddled masses and roommates I have never met! CHEERS!
--
Tom
PS: To you masses who are not huddled... you just don't get it do you? In order to be a "mass" you must be in one large group, hence the "huddled" part. You non-huddled masses are just regular people, though I will let you read the above as well.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A note on optimism & positive thinking...
Good day to you all!
I just thought it was a good time write a post about positive thinking and optimism. Why? WHY NOT?!?!? There is a common expression that goes something like this: "Some people see their glass as half full, while others see it as half empty" This expression is meant to symbolize one's general outlook on life, given that the same situation can be viewed from two equally correct, though opposite viewpoints (the positive and the negative). Some people tend to be "glass half full" people in that they always look at the good in a situation, while the "glass half empty" will always focus on the negatives the situation offers. I do believe this expression is assumed to involve a glass half filled with water, though in my situation I might make the argument that my glass is half filled with sulphuric acid complete with a stick of trinitrotoluene (TNT) floating around in it, being carried through a crowd of people during an ill-timed candlelight vigil. I might be dramatic, but rest assured my glass is still always half full :)
A few thoughts to share with you that I might have already touched on in past Blog posts. Firstly I have seen first hand that while I might have things "bad", there are so many more people out there who have things worse than I do. I am surrounded by caring loving people who would do anything for me. I have not gone a single day without food or shelter, I have not been abandoned and left to deal with my situation on my own... I have an amazing wife who is there for me on a daily basis, helping me physically and emotionally wherever and whenever I need. I have a job that I find challenging and stimulating in all of the best ways. I may have unfortunately unfavourable odds when it comes to living beyond the five year mark, however the very fact I'm alive to type that sentence into my blog is enough to remind me I should not take such things for granted.
There have been moments in my life when I have been particularly touched. I recall having to read a poem or short story in elementary school around Remembrance Day about young boys growing up in Germany. They moved away and went on with their lives only to both join the army on opposing sides. At the end of the story one brother in battle charges over the trenches and stabs his enemy in the chest with his bayonet. As he looks down he sees the dying man call out "My brother! My brother!" I recall getting choked up at that moment, thinking about the senselessness of war and conflict. I'm not sure this really has to do with optimism or positive thinking, but it was on my mind, and this is my blog... so there!
There was a film that impacted me far more than anything else (including the above story) It was the 1997 Italian film "life is beautiful" starring Roberto Benigni. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I don't want to spoil the ending in case you haven't watched the movie, but I will say it very much reflects what positive thinking can do, and how looking for ways to find the best in even the worst situations can make a world of difference!
Another moment of reflection finds me going back to a close friend's wedding back on July 31st, 2010 when Tim & Jasmine Zurbriggen were married at the OakBank Baptist Church. At the reception that followed another good friend of mine (a man those of you who were at my wedding will remember as "the guy who gave the most hilarious wedding speech ever" and a man who had the honour of being one of my "Best Men", but you may know better as "Nelson") gave another amazing speech. I'll obviously butcher the details if I try to quote him word-for-word, so I won't. But essentially he said something to the effect of "Try to think of the last time Tim ever said a bad word about anybody". He then left what I can only describe as the most meaningful pause I've ever experienced in my life, and then said... "If you're like me you probably couldn't think of a single time." And so right he was. I could tell by looking around I was not the only one to stop and realize this. It was a moment of pure awe, and a moment I will never forget. I have now, and have always, had much respect for both Tim, and Nelson. I think it takes a special person to live the sort of life Tim has lead in being the amazing person he has always been, but it also takes a special person to see that trait in someone and point it out for all to see. How many of you can honestly say you have not spoken badly about anyone (be it a friend, family member, coworker, or a complete stranger) either to their face or behind their back?
I recall in working my many many days in retail at the one... the only... MCP!!! (greatest store on earth, and "Best Second-Hand Clothing Store" in Winnipeg for 9 consecutive years [when I last worked there as the guy who did the marketing] as voted by the readers of Winnipeg Parent Newsmagazine, that at the end of a long Saturday shift I would remember those customers who really got on my nerves. If someone was particularly rude I would remember that customer at the end of my shift. If someone was particularly kind, I generally let it slip into the generic "things that happened today" part of my brain along with "the colour of shirt that guy I saw in line ahead of me at the Starbucks yesterday"... in other words stuff I will never remember ever again. We need to learn to make a conscious effort to see the positive things that happen around us each and every day, and just as equally, learn to play down those negative events that occur (or try to see the goodness in them). I have found that doing so has made me a far more positive and optimistic person.
I mention this because I believe my positivity and optimism has played a very large role in my dealing with having such a terrible terminal illness. I will continue to keep a positive optimistic outlook on my life & my medical situation in the hopes it helps me in whatever way possible. It can't hurt afterall now can it?
This blog post was somewhat rambling and lacking a solid coherent theme... But they say "Do what you know best", and anyone who knows me knows I know my incoherent endless rambling!!! Hope you all have a good day eh? Cheers!
--
Tom
I just thought it was a good time write a post about positive thinking and optimism. Why? WHY NOT?!?!? There is a common expression that goes something like this: "Some people see their glass as half full, while others see it as half empty" This expression is meant to symbolize one's general outlook on life, given that the same situation can be viewed from two equally correct, though opposite viewpoints (the positive and the negative). Some people tend to be "glass half full" people in that they always look at the good in a situation, while the "glass half empty" will always focus on the negatives the situation offers. I do believe this expression is assumed to involve a glass half filled with water, though in my situation I might make the argument that my glass is half filled with sulphuric acid complete with a stick of trinitrotoluene (TNT) floating around in it, being carried through a crowd of people during an ill-timed candlelight vigil. I might be dramatic, but rest assured my glass is still always half full :)
A few thoughts to share with you that I might have already touched on in past Blog posts. Firstly I have seen first hand that while I might have things "bad", there are so many more people out there who have things worse than I do. I am surrounded by caring loving people who would do anything for me. I have not gone a single day without food or shelter, I have not been abandoned and left to deal with my situation on my own... I have an amazing wife who is there for me on a daily basis, helping me physically and emotionally wherever and whenever I need. I have a job that I find challenging and stimulating in all of the best ways. I may have unfortunately unfavourable odds when it comes to living beyond the five year mark, however the very fact I'm alive to type that sentence into my blog is enough to remind me I should not take such things for granted.
There have been moments in my life when I have been particularly touched. I recall having to read a poem or short story in elementary school around Remembrance Day about young boys growing up in Germany. They moved away and went on with their lives only to both join the army on opposing sides. At the end of the story one brother in battle charges over the trenches and stabs his enemy in the chest with his bayonet. As he looks down he sees the dying man call out "My brother! My brother!" I recall getting choked up at that moment, thinking about the senselessness of war and conflict. I'm not sure this really has to do with optimism or positive thinking, but it was on my mind, and this is my blog... so there!
There was a film that impacted me far more than anything else (including the above story) It was the 1997 Italian film "life is beautiful" starring Roberto Benigni. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I don't want to spoil the ending in case you haven't watched the movie, but I will say it very much reflects what positive thinking can do, and how looking for ways to find the best in even the worst situations can make a world of difference!
Another moment of reflection finds me going back to a close friend's wedding back on July 31st, 2010 when Tim & Jasmine Zurbriggen were married at the OakBank Baptist Church. At the reception that followed another good friend of mine (a man those of you who were at my wedding will remember as "the guy who gave the most hilarious wedding speech ever" and a man who had the honour of being one of my "Best Men", but you may know better as "Nelson") gave another amazing speech. I'll obviously butcher the details if I try to quote him word-for-word, so I won't. But essentially he said something to the effect of "Try to think of the last time Tim ever said a bad word about anybody". He then left what I can only describe as the most meaningful pause I've ever experienced in my life, and then said... "If you're like me you probably couldn't think of a single time." And so right he was. I could tell by looking around I was not the only one to stop and realize this. It was a moment of pure awe, and a moment I will never forget. I have now, and have always, had much respect for both Tim, and Nelson. I think it takes a special person to live the sort of life Tim has lead in being the amazing person he has always been, but it also takes a special person to see that trait in someone and point it out for all to see. How many of you can honestly say you have not spoken badly about anyone (be it a friend, family member, coworker, or a complete stranger) either to their face or behind their back?
I recall in working my many many days in retail at the one... the only... MCP!!! (greatest store on earth, and "Best Second-Hand Clothing Store" in Winnipeg for 9 consecutive years [when I last worked there as the guy who did the marketing] as voted by the readers of Winnipeg Parent Newsmagazine, that at the end of a long Saturday shift I would remember those customers who really got on my nerves. If someone was particularly rude I would remember that customer at the end of my shift. If someone was particularly kind, I generally let it slip into the generic "things that happened today" part of my brain along with "the colour of shirt that guy I saw in line ahead of me at the Starbucks yesterday"... in other words stuff I will never remember ever again. We need to learn to make a conscious effort to see the positive things that happen around us each and every day, and just as equally, learn to play down those negative events that occur (or try to see the goodness in them). I have found that doing so has made me a far more positive and optimistic person.
I mention this because I believe my positivity and optimism has played a very large role in my dealing with having such a terrible terminal illness. I will continue to keep a positive optimistic outlook on my life & my medical situation in the hopes it helps me in whatever way possible. It can't hurt afterall now can it?
This blog post was somewhat rambling and lacking a solid coherent theme... But they say "Do what you know best", and anyone who knows me knows I know my incoherent endless rambling!!! Hope you all have a good day eh? Cheers!
--
Tom
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Best Day Ever!!!
...then again, there was that day I was married. Okay, second best day ever!
It would be fair to say my wife Nicole & I have had our share of "bad news" & "tough times" over the past couple of years. Things don't generally tend to "go well" for us. 50% of us have a terminal illness, our vehicles tend to end up written off or falling apart on us...
RIP: Nicole's '94 (Literally flooded while parked in front of my Mom's house in Transcona)
RIP: Tom's '00 Hyundai Tiburon (Pretty much rusted away / fell apart on me)
RIP: Steve & Pat's '02 Chrysler Concorde (Taken out by an errant driver on Corydon)
...etc., etc., (please read former posts for more).
When we have a day when things don't go badly, we consider it to be an amazing day. When things go well, we nearly have heart attacks while running around with excitement laughing aloud with glee. If I go shopping and cashier forgets to charge me for an item, I nearly wet myself... that's all I'm saying. Well, today I should have been wearing a diaper because IT WAS AN AWESOME AWESOME DAY!!! This whole weekend has been pretty darn good, likely a direct result of it having been my wife's birthday on the 29th. She must have emanated "birthday luck". That is the only logical explanation. We went to her parents' on her actual birthday after a day of running around and just "being regular people". Okay, not really, as we had my blood work appointment at the HSC at 9:30 am, and my monthly "exam" (which is pretty much just a day to weigh me, and give me my next month's medication calendar and speak to a nurse... this last visit was "71 kg, no seizures since last time, see you in a month"). After that we started our day of "being normal". We hit up George's (Burgers & Subs) for a breakfast special, where Nic's eggs were a little runny. Keep in mind that they were still eggs. The fact that the plate didn't come out with a chicken fighting a gopher on it means we were still on track for a good day. Even when we went to Starbucks and her green tea frappuccino had waxy bits of chocolate mixed in (obviously from the last drink they made) it was made out of mostly what she ordered, which for us is amazing. The evening at her parents' was fantastic (as always) as Steve made more food than any of us could eat if someone forced us to with threat of physical harm. Jen may have had raw meat thrown in her face by her fiancé, but Nic & I officially had NO RAW MEAT thrown at us!!! (clearly this was a great weekend already)
Nic enjoyed her gifts and we went home for a good night's sleep. The next day we got to SLEEP IN!!! It got even better for me when my wife (who should have been celebrating her day after birthday, woke up before me and made me pancakes with fresh fruit which she then brought me IN BED along with a hot cup of coffee. Paradise. She puts up with my bad jokes and brings me breakfast in bed? I married the right girl :)
Afternoon saw us go to the Farmer's Market in St. Norbert. Just being able to walk around with my wife in the nice afternoon sun without having a seizure or facing any other medical issue was a real joy. There was an ambulance and firetruck that arrived to help someone else in need (as if to point out "this is usually you guys!")... though I hope the other people were not in any serious harm.
A quick stop off at Winners was enough to cap off our excursion, as we headed back to our apartment. We were incredibly productive... getting laundry done, sorting through bins and boxes that someone (unbelievably one might say) that we STILL have not unpacked since moving to our current "home" in late April of this year. I think we only have 10-15 of such boxes & bins to unpack before we can remove the quotation marks and call it a home! Then we can invite family & friends over without having to say "this is where we almost live!"
In our productive bin/box unpacking Nicole came across a lottery scratch ticket that had never been scratched. Again, the fact that it wasn't an envelope filled with anthrax would have been enough to keep me happy, but an unscratched lottery ticket? It had to be too good to be true. I told my lovely wife that it was probably expired and to check the date. The ticket expired TODAY!!! Ok, I could feel my body pulsing and adrenalin pulsing through my body. After scratching the ticket... it couldn't be... double check it... YES! IT WAS A $3 WINNER!!! I nearly had a heart attack while peeing my pants! We had to cash it in by the end of the night or it became a worthless piece of paper. So, we found a wonderful convenience store that is sure to be a hit. It was called Seven Eleven, though I'm not sure why the name (I can only assume it is meant to reflect the class of the joint, much as the name "529 Wellington" does). The well dressed Seven Eleven "customer service representative" scanned my ticket, and the screen above him shouted "WHOO HOO!" as the word "WINNER!" appeared just above the "$3.00 payout" line. This was the best day I had had in... well probably since my wedding. I raced to the car where my day-after-her-birthday-girl was waiting for me. It was time to treat her to a proper meal. I took her to Sydney's at the Forks, where (after taxes and gratuities) we had a meal that went over the $3.00 we had won. It was well worth it, as the food was simply amazing. Not that I'm saying it in any way compares to the food one might enjoy at any WOW! Hospitality Concepts restaurant, but it was certainly up there. After our four course meal we enjoyed a nice walk along the river walk where we were not stabbed or mugged or even bitten alive by mosquitoes! Surely this was a dream. If so I'm still dreaming, because it hasn't ended yet.
We went to the Casino's of Winnipeg "Club Regent" (named as such because of it's close proximity to the "Regent Mohawk" I can only assume). I had been mailed out a card notifying me that I had been awarded $10.00 of "Gold Play" to use by a certain date. Since we had overshot our lottery ticket winnings on our meal, we figured the best place to come to make up the difference would be the casino (pretty much a no-brainer), and with a free $10.00 to burn through, how could we go wrong?
After walking around a casino we clearly had not been to in a while (as EVERYTHING THERE IS DIFFERENT NOW!) Except the fish tank that is, as I suppose that would be hard to move. They'd even upgraded the free coffee/hot chocolate/mocha dispensers... so we had already won. Putting in my player's card into a $0.01 slot machine of Nicole's choice we proceeded to put in $5.00 CAD to try to figure out how to access my $10.00 of "Gold Play". The machine was not as simple as we might have thought, as we had not taken any courses in University that covered the operations of slot machines. After losing the $4.90, and being no closer to figuring out how to use our $10.00, we decided to cash out. Pressing the cash out button lead to an interesting course of events...
The machine did not "cash us out". Instead it made a lot of annoying sounds and did a whole lot of nothing. We pressed the "CALL HELP" button (button may or may not have specifically said "CALL HELP"), and waited for an attendant to arrive. After some time one did walk by clearly unaware of our situation. I flagged him down and he came to service our machine. After 10 minutes of clearly having no idea what he was doing, he called for help. After 10 minutes the help came, only 5 minutes after the Help gave up, she called in what I can only assume was the Backup Help. Backup Help managed to reach in and remove our "cash out slip" which had simply been jammed in the machine. We now had our $0.10 cash out slip and the WORLD WAS OURS!!!!
I asked Nicole which machine to choose next, and she said that having waited so long on that machine, it was pretty much ours, and we should just wait for Backup Help to put it back together. Upon regaining the machine Nicole took her Birthday Luck and went to town. Lights & Music & Sounds OH MY!!! She worked it up to a nice $65 (okay, $64.90... but who's counting?), which was all based upon having put in a $20.00 bill and using only the $10.00 free "Gold Play" (Meaning we had won $45.00!!!). We cashed out our ticket without issue and took it to the cash out machines. There was one free on the left side, which Nicole put our cash out slip in to and a few seconds later the machine was giving us a combination of paper and metal money that added up to $60.90, a mere $4.00 short of the $64.90 that we had actually won. I grabbed an attendant (Not physically! I don't know why you think I would do that. I'm not a violent person) and she opened up the machine. After looking over it and seeing no reason why our $4.00 never came to be she called her Help (though not the same Help as we first encountered). The two of them eventually found out that the $1.00 dispenser within the machine had jammed and actually had what looked to be around 10 unclaimed loonies stuck in it. The Help handed me my $4.00 and we were off!!!
It is about 2:00 in the morning, and I have five times promised my wife that I'll "only be 5 more minutes", so I think I should actually go to bed, being that it has been over an hour since I first started promising such. I just wanted you (the world) to know that Nicole & I had an AWESOME DAY in which we broke not one, but two Casino machines, found an old unscratched scratch ticked... which was a winner... on the last day it could be claimed, and weren't both killed by bears!!!
Hard to believe even for me, but I was there and saw it happen. If this trend continues tomorrow my incurable brain cancer will be cured. One can never give up hope, even if that hope is a single electron in a single atom of a single molecule of aluminum in a single needle of a single haystack, assuming that haystack was the size of the entire known universe. I might even buy a lotto 649 ticket tomorrow???
Cheers everyone!!!! & HAPPY CANADA DAY :)
PS: There is no way I'm proofreading the above, being that it has been 12 minutes since I said I would stop.
It would be fair to say my wife Nicole & I have had our share of "bad news" & "tough times" over the past couple of years. Things don't generally tend to "go well" for us. 50% of us have a terminal illness, our vehicles tend to end up written off or falling apart on us...
RIP: Nicole's '94 (Literally flooded while parked in front of my Mom's house in Transcona)
RIP: Tom's '00 Hyundai Tiburon (Pretty much rusted away / fell apart on me)
RIP: Steve & Pat's '02 Chrysler Concorde (Taken out by an errant driver on Corydon)
...etc., etc., (please read former posts for more).
When we have a day when things don't go badly, we consider it to be an amazing day. When things go well, we nearly have heart attacks while running around with excitement laughing aloud with glee. If I go shopping and cashier forgets to charge me for an item, I nearly wet myself... that's all I'm saying. Well, today I should have been wearing a diaper because IT WAS AN AWESOME AWESOME DAY!!! This whole weekend has been pretty darn good, likely a direct result of it having been my wife's birthday on the 29th. She must have emanated "birthday luck". That is the only logical explanation. We went to her parents' on her actual birthday after a day of running around and just "being regular people". Okay, not really, as we had my blood work appointment at the HSC at 9:30 am, and my monthly "exam" (which is pretty much just a day to weigh me, and give me my next month's medication calendar and speak to a nurse... this last visit was "71 kg, no seizures since last time, see you in a month"). After that we started our day of "being normal". We hit up George's (Burgers & Subs) for a breakfast special, where Nic's eggs were a little runny. Keep in mind that they were still eggs. The fact that the plate didn't come out with a chicken fighting a gopher on it means we were still on track for a good day. Even when we went to Starbucks and her green tea frappuccino had waxy bits of chocolate mixed in (obviously from the last drink they made) it was made out of mostly what she ordered, which for us is amazing. The evening at her parents' was fantastic (as always) as Steve made more food than any of us could eat if someone forced us to with threat of physical harm. Jen may have had raw meat thrown in her face by her fiancé, but Nic & I officially had NO RAW MEAT thrown at us!!! (clearly this was a great weekend already)
Nic enjoyed her gifts and we went home for a good night's sleep. The next day we got to SLEEP IN!!! It got even better for me when my wife (who should have been celebrating her day after birthday, woke up before me and made me pancakes with fresh fruit which she then brought me IN BED along with a hot cup of coffee. Paradise. She puts up with my bad jokes and brings me breakfast in bed? I married the right girl :)
Afternoon saw us go to the Farmer's Market in St. Norbert. Just being able to walk around with my wife in the nice afternoon sun without having a seizure or facing any other medical issue was a real joy. There was an ambulance and firetruck that arrived to help someone else in need (as if to point out "this is usually you guys!")... though I hope the other people were not in any serious harm.
A quick stop off at Winners was enough to cap off our excursion, as we headed back to our apartment. We were incredibly productive... getting laundry done, sorting through bins and boxes that someone (unbelievably one might say) that we STILL have not unpacked since moving to our current "home" in late April of this year. I think we only have 10-15 of such boxes & bins to unpack before we can remove the quotation marks and call it a home! Then we can invite family & friends over without having to say "this is where we almost live!"
In our productive bin/box unpacking Nicole came across a lottery scratch ticket that had never been scratched. Again, the fact that it wasn't an envelope filled with anthrax would have been enough to keep me happy, but an unscratched lottery ticket? It had to be too good to be true. I told my lovely wife that it was probably expired and to check the date. The ticket expired TODAY!!! Ok, I could feel my body pulsing and adrenalin pulsing through my body. After scratching the ticket... it couldn't be... double check it... YES! IT WAS A $3 WINNER!!! I nearly had a heart attack while peeing my pants! We had to cash it in by the end of the night or it became a worthless piece of paper. So, we found a wonderful convenience store that is sure to be a hit. It was called Seven Eleven, though I'm not sure why the name (I can only assume it is meant to reflect the class of the joint, much as the name "529 Wellington" does). The well dressed Seven Eleven "customer service representative" scanned my ticket, and the screen above him shouted "WHOO HOO!" as the word "WINNER!" appeared just above the "$3.00 payout" line. This was the best day I had had in... well probably since my wedding. I raced to the car where my day-after-her-birthday-girl was waiting for me. It was time to treat her to a proper meal. I took her to Sydney's at the Forks, where (after taxes and gratuities) we had a meal that went over the $3.00 we had won. It was well worth it, as the food was simply amazing. Not that I'm saying it in any way compares to the food one might enjoy at any WOW! Hospitality Concepts restaurant, but it was certainly up there. After our four course meal we enjoyed a nice walk along the river walk where we were not stabbed or mugged or even bitten alive by mosquitoes! Surely this was a dream. If so I'm still dreaming, because it hasn't ended yet.
We went to the Casino's of Winnipeg "Club Regent" (named as such because of it's close proximity to the "Regent Mohawk" I can only assume). I had been mailed out a card notifying me that I had been awarded $10.00 of "Gold Play" to use by a certain date. Since we had overshot our lottery ticket winnings on our meal, we figured the best place to come to make up the difference would be the casino (pretty much a no-brainer), and with a free $10.00 to burn through, how could we go wrong?
After walking around a casino we clearly had not been to in a while (as EVERYTHING THERE IS DIFFERENT NOW!) Except the fish tank that is, as I suppose that would be hard to move. They'd even upgraded the free coffee/hot chocolate/mocha dispensers... so we had already won. Putting in my player's card into a $0.01 slot machine of Nicole's choice we proceeded to put in $5.00 CAD to try to figure out how to access my $10.00 of "Gold Play". The machine was not as simple as we might have thought, as we had not taken any courses in University that covered the operations of slot machines. After losing the $4.90, and being no closer to figuring out how to use our $10.00, we decided to cash out. Pressing the cash out button lead to an interesting course of events...
The machine did not "cash us out". Instead it made a lot of annoying sounds and did a whole lot of nothing. We pressed the "CALL HELP" button (button may or may not have specifically said "CALL HELP"), and waited for an attendant to arrive. After some time one did walk by clearly unaware of our situation. I flagged him down and he came to service our machine. After 10 minutes of clearly having no idea what he was doing, he called for help. After 10 minutes the help came, only 5 minutes after the Help gave up, she called in what I can only assume was the Backup Help. Backup Help managed to reach in and remove our "cash out slip" which had simply been jammed in the machine. We now had our $0.10 cash out slip and the WORLD WAS OURS!!!!
I asked Nicole which machine to choose next, and she said that having waited so long on that machine, it was pretty much ours, and we should just wait for Backup Help to put it back together. Upon regaining the machine Nicole took her Birthday Luck and went to town. Lights & Music & Sounds OH MY!!! She worked it up to a nice $65 (okay, $64.90... but who's counting?), which was all based upon having put in a $20.00 bill and using only the $10.00 free "Gold Play" (Meaning we had won $45.00!!!). We cashed out our ticket without issue and took it to the cash out machines. There was one free on the left side, which Nicole put our cash out slip in to and a few seconds later the machine was giving us a combination of paper and metal money that added up to $60.90, a mere $4.00 short of the $64.90 that we had actually won. I grabbed an attendant (Not physically! I don't know why you think I would do that. I'm not a violent person) and she opened up the machine. After looking over it and seeing no reason why our $4.00 never came to be she called her Help (though not the same Help as we first encountered). The two of them eventually found out that the $1.00 dispenser within the machine had jammed and actually had what looked to be around 10 unclaimed loonies stuck in it. The Help handed me my $4.00 and we were off!!!
It is about 2:00 in the morning, and I have five times promised my wife that I'll "only be 5 more minutes", so I think I should actually go to bed, being that it has been over an hour since I first started promising such. I just wanted you (the world) to know that Nicole & I had an AWESOME DAY in which we broke not one, but two Casino machines, found an old unscratched scratch ticked... which was a winner... on the last day it could be claimed, and weren't both killed by bears!!!
Hard to believe even for me, but I was there and saw it happen. If this trend continues tomorrow my incurable brain cancer will be cured. One can never give up hope, even if that hope is a single electron in a single atom of a single molecule of aluminum in a single needle of a single haystack, assuming that haystack was the size of the entire known universe. I might even buy a lotto 649 ticket tomorrow???
Cheers everyone!!!! & HAPPY CANADA DAY :)
PS: There is no way I'm proofreading the above, being that it has been 12 minutes since I said I would stop.
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