So, some time among Bob's trials, I was participating in the first
Comics Jam War. The Jam War is sort of an organized follow up to 24-Hour Comic Day.
The 24-Hour Comic is an exhausting excersize - creating a lot of comic book in a very small span of time. 24 pages in 24 hours, compared to professional industry standards of about a page a day (and thats just the pencils - no writing, lettering or inking).
Jam War takes the basic premise and relaxes it, then turns it into a competition with cash prizes. Eight pages in 12 hours, and you get to work in teams. Compared to a 24-Hour Comic, this is a leisurely pace. But still crazy fast.
Anywho, I had the good fortune to partner with a writer who I think is going to be quite the up and commer and an artist who is amazingly fast, talented, and doesn't like inking his own work, so I did that part, along with the lettering and digital compositing.
So, April 1st, our team and 7 others gathered at BuyMeToys.com in Mishawaka. Only teams working out of offcial (fee paid) host stores could enter (over 100 teams entered from US and Canada... I think Canada, Maybe Mexico? I forget, but it was over 100). We had a blast. 12 hours of blood sweat, tears, giggling and ink. In the end, 5 of our location's teams finished, and two of the books looked especially promising.
And in the end... One of those books took first place honors. The other, my team, recieved honorable mention this means that of the 100+ teams, our will be one of the seven chosen to be published in the upcoming (July) Jam War book. That, and 10 copies each of the book, is our award. And the joy of the experience and pride in the accomplishment.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Not ready to die yet!
I got the update from Dr. Warzee this afternoon. Bob is doing great! She was able to pull his thoracic drain tube this morning. He is eating. AND he's sulking because he has a bandage on his chest. That sounds like my boyo!
According to my source on the inside (thanks Jess!)the lung lobes are being processed today and will be set for evaluation tomorrow. I'm excited to see what type of nastiness was removed. I'm also a little bummed that I won't get to see the mass itself. I'd look to go eye to eye (or eye to tumor as it were) with the bugger and do my best squinty-eyed glare. Of course, I'd also kind of like to stomp on it but that's not professional. Or really very helpful. Yes, perhaps it's best left in Jessica's hands now that Dr. Warzee's have extracted it.
So, Saturday Tony and I will be driving up to E.L. to pick up our skinny little guy. Then we'll start fattening him back up in preparation for chemotherapy or the next surgery. I'm not going to worry too much about that now. I'm just thrilled that he's decided to be with us for at least a little while longer.
According to my source on the inside (thanks Jess!)the lung lobes are being processed today and will be set for evaluation tomorrow. I'm excited to see what type of nastiness was removed. I'm also a little bummed that I won't get to see the mass itself. I'd look to go eye to eye (or eye to tumor as it were) with the bugger and do my best squinty-eyed glare. Of course, I'd also kind of like to stomp on it but that's not professional. Or really very helpful. Yes, perhaps it's best left in Jessica's hands now that Dr. Warzee's have extracted it.
So, Saturday Tony and I will be driving up to E.L. to pick up our skinny little guy. Then we'll start fattening him back up in preparation for chemotherapy or the next surgery. I'm not going to worry too much about that now. I'm just thrilled that he's decided to be with us for at least a little while longer.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Big Day
Yesterday Bob and I arose at 5am and set out for East Lansing at 5:50. Bob's sedative again worked well and this time I remembered to order caffiene from the 24 hour Starbucks. I was actually able to feel the intestinal mass on Sunday and was a little worried that once again the plan would have to change.
Things were not looking so hot when we got up to M.S.U. Bob was down to 6 pounds, 10 ounces. This is more than a pound lost since his first visit last month. It's also just about half of what his normal (slightly pudgy) weight is. What was extra scary is that he has actually had an appetite over the last 10 days. Dr. Warzee could also feel the intestinal mass. When I left the plan was to repeat the chest radiograph to check for metastasis, repeat the abdominal ultrasound (I wanted to know how much the intestinal mass had progressed) and repeat a CBC. CBC stands for complete blood count. I had run one, with a chemistry panel, last week but he looked a bit anemic to Dr. Warzee and because of the resolving abscess his white cells were a bit high on my CBC. Pending any disasterous findings, surgery would be today.
I was all done by 9:20 and left Bob to Dr. Warzee. After some aimless wandering around downtown, I decided to just head for home. I stopped for some additional caffiene and hit the highway at about 10:30. It was gloomy, rainy and cold. The temperature had actually dropped from the very early morning. Not a pleasant 2 and 1/2 hours, but I was very thankful for the heater and the windshield wipers. And, I got home in time to take a toasty warm shower before work.
I go to work and had a message from Dr. Warzee. The ultrasound showed no change in the intestinal mass (must just be easier to feel because he's sooooo skinny now), but the radiologist felt that the chest mass might actually be in the lung rather than the mediastinum. The mediastinum is the structure that supports the heart, the trachea and the major blood vessels and lymph nodes within the chest. Different surgical approaches are needed for the lung (usually cutting ribs) versus the mediastinum (midline sternotomy - going through the breastbone itself). Would it be OK to perform a CT scan to confirm where it is? Yes.
This morning, I got the news: the mass is in the right cranial lung lobe, but given the size a sternotomy will still be the best approach. Anesthesia will start at 9:00 with the thoracic mass removal first, followed by debulking the leg mass if Bob is still stable.
As soon as I arrived at work I got the second call. The mass was indeed in the right cranial lung lobe. This was removed along with the right middle lung lobe because there were some suspicious nodules there. The mediastinal lymph nodes were too small to locate, but there was adherence to the mediastinum and the cranial vena cava (very major blood vessel). He's recovering from anesthesia and so far is doing well. The debulking was not performed because he was getting cold and there had been a blood pressure drop, but that's perfectly OK by me.
So, Bob's down 1/3 of his lung tissue but also down a very nasty tumor. Not certain yet when he'll be returning home. That's going to depend upon fluid accumulation in the chest, but he's made it this far!
Things were not looking so hot when we got up to M.S.U. Bob was down to 6 pounds, 10 ounces. This is more than a pound lost since his first visit last month. It's also just about half of what his normal (slightly pudgy) weight is. What was extra scary is that he has actually had an appetite over the last 10 days. Dr. Warzee could also feel the intestinal mass. When I left the plan was to repeat the chest radiograph to check for metastasis, repeat the abdominal ultrasound (I wanted to know how much the intestinal mass had progressed) and repeat a CBC. CBC stands for complete blood count. I had run one, with a chemistry panel, last week but he looked a bit anemic to Dr. Warzee and because of the resolving abscess his white cells were a bit high on my CBC. Pending any disasterous findings, surgery would be today.
I was all done by 9:20 and left Bob to Dr. Warzee. After some aimless wandering around downtown, I decided to just head for home. I stopped for some additional caffiene and hit the highway at about 10:30. It was gloomy, rainy and cold. The temperature had actually dropped from the very early morning. Not a pleasant 2 and 1/2 hours, but I was very thankful for the heater and the windshield wipers. And, I got home in time to take a toasty warm shower before work.
I go to work and had a message from Dr. Warzee. The ultrasound showed no change in the intestinal mass (must just be easier to feel because he's sooooo skinny now), but the radiologist felt that the chest mass might actually be in the lung rather than the mediastinum. The mediastinum is the structure that supports the heart, the trachea and the major blood vessels and lymph nodes within the chest. Different surgical approaches are needed for the lung (usually cutting ribs) versus the mediastinum (midline sternotomy - going through the breastbone itself). Would it be OK to perform a CT scan to confirm where it is? Yes.
This morning, I got the news: the mass is in the right cranial lung lobe, but given the size a sternotomy will still be the best approach. Anesthesia will start at 9:00 with the thoracic mass removal first, followed by debulking the leg mass if Bob is still stable.
As soon as I arrived at work I got the second call. The mass was indeed in the right cranial lung lobe. This was removed along with the right middle lung lobe because there were some suspicious nodules there. The mediastinal lymph nodes were too small to locate, but there was adherence to the mediastinum and the cranial vena cava (very major blood vessel). He's recovering from anesthesia and so far is doing well. The debulking was not performed because he was getting cold and there had been a blood pressure drop, but that's perfectly OK by me.
So, Bob's down 1/3 of his lung tissue but also down a very nasty tumor. Not certain yet when he'll be returning home. That's going to depend upon fluid accumulation in the chest, but he's made it this far!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
General updates
I went to the dentist this week! The alarm did not go off on Monday morning so I woke up in a half-doze and thought, "Wow, it's light out and Tony's alarm hasn't gone off. I wonder how much longer I have to sleep?" I rolled over, looked at the clock, read 7:25, yelled a few expletives. Yelled something about getting up to Tony. Then, grabbing my robe so as not to flash the neighbors, rushed to the kitchen and downed my four capsules of amoxicillin. The directions were to take it an hour before my 8:00 appointment. Fortunately, our alarm clock is a little fast. I actually enjoyed the appointment. I like having my teeth cleaned. The dentist was quiet and focused, but not in an unfriendly way. I did have to a have a couple of fillings and he was very thorough in making sure that my bite was comfortable and there were no sharp edges afterward. So now, after the initial exam and echocardiogram and consultation with my physician I can finally say that I have clean teeth!
Bob is doing OK. He's still skinny (lost 2 ounces over last weekend), but he surprised me on Tuesday by chasing Colfax away from her dry food. If he wants to eat dry diet food instead of fatty canned food, more power to him. He's not been so good about the litter box so he's been shacked up in the cafe room with the doves when Tony and I can't supervise him. It also keeps Colfax out of the aforementioned fatty canned food. This prevents further butt bites as well. Tuesday is the next trip up to East Lansing. Hopefully Bob can have the surgery and all will settle down for a bit!
Bob is doing OK. He's still skinny (lost 2 ounces over last weekend), but he surprised me on Tuesday by chasing Colfax away from her dry food. If he wants to eat dry diet food instead of fatty canned food, more power to him. He's not been so good about the litter box so he's been shacked up in the cafe room with the doves when Tony and I can't supervise him. It also keeps Colfax out of the aforementioned fatty canned food. This prevents further butt bites as well. Tuesday is the next trip up to East Lansing. Hopefully Bob can have the surgery and all will settle down for a bit!
Friday, April 14, 2006
So Far ...
Bob is eating OK.
Colfax has been behaving herself.
No inappropriate urination or defecation.
Only one bout of vomiting.
Things are peaceful since the abcess burst.
I hope that it lasts until Bob's appointment on the 25th.
Colfax has been behaving herself.
No inappropriate urination or defecation.
Only one bout of vomiting.
Things are peaceful since the abcess burst.
I hope that it lasts until Bob's appointment on the 25th.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Bob and Colfax
We have another cat. Colfax is the queen cat in our household. Colfax is not pleased that Bob is getting canned cat food and yummy baby food to encourage his appetite. This means that I do a lot of chasing her away from Bob whe he is eating and removing his food when is done eating. Why? Because he will not stand up for himself. If she comes by he will stop eating and wander off to the nearest pillow to lie down. Colfax has gotten quite fat over the past few weeks. Bob has not seemed to lose more weight, but he is still between 7 and 7 and 1/2 pounds. Skinny skinny skinny Bob. Oh, and when Colfax eats canned food she vomits. Often on the furniture.
Sometime over the weekend the hostilites intensified. Bob was feeling very dumpy yesterday. Didn't want to eat, didn't want to follow Tony around the house. He wasn't even concerned that Tony and I were eating ribs within feet of where he was sleeping. "Crap", I thought, "he's thinking about dying again". So this morning I was super excited to see him wandering around and hear him complaining to me about something (lack of food? noisy birds? his assessment as to the best and worst non-litterbox places to urinate and defecate?). I picked him up and noticed that the fur over his right hip was really unkempt. Since this illness began he's been known to sit in the canned food, so possibly that was it. I looked closer. The skin was red and inflammed and there was a small amount of pus draining. I see a lot of cat fight injuries. Colfax had actually bitten him in the butt over the soft cat food!
Animals don't have a lot of correlation in their long term memories. The bite probably happened 2 or 3 days ago. So, I couldn't yell at Colfax. No, I just had to take Bob to work, restart antibiotics and ask Katie to clean his purulent butt up. Oh, and I've had to cancel his Thursday M.S.U. appointment. So, the tumors get a little break. Also, Colfax threw up a large part of bob's morning meal on one of the couches. Again, not a very good long term correlative memory.
Sigh .
Sometime over the weekend the hostilites intensified. Bob was feeling very dumpy yesterday. Didn't want to eat, didn't want to follow Tony around the house. He wasn't even concerned that Tony and I were eating ribs within feet of where he was sleeping. "Crap", I thought, "he's thinking about dying again". So this morning I was super excited to see him wandering around and hear him complaining to me about something (lack of food? noisy birds? his assessment as to the best and worst non-litterbox places to urinate and defecate?). I picked him up and noticed that the fur over his right hip was really unkempt. Since this illness began he's been known to sit in the canned food, so possibly that was it. I looked closer. The skin was red and inflammed and there was a small amount of pus draining. I see a lot of cat fight injuries. Colfax had actually bitten him in the butt over the soft cat food!
Animals don't have a lot of correlation in their long term memories. The bite probably happened 2 or 3 days ago. So, I couldn't yell at Colfax. No, I just had to take Bob to work, restart antibiotics and ask Katie to clean his purulent butt up. Oh, and I've had to cancel his Thursday M.S.U. appointment. So, the tumors get a little break. Also, Colfax threw up a large part of bob's morning meal on one of the couches. Again, not a very good long term correlative memory.
Sigh .
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
More of Bob
Sorry about the delay. Our computer at home has been down.
The ride home on Sunday was pretty good. I was planning on trying it without sedation, but Bob vomited before we'd gone four miles, so out came the ace. He's been happy to be home, wanting lots of attention. His appetite isn't great, but he'll nibble on baby food and seafood flavored cat food. He apparently enjoyed tuna and sardines at M.S.U. so I'll have to pick up a can on my way home. He is pooping, too, so no intestinal perforation!
I actually had the chest rad taken this morning while I was in surgery. It hasn't gone away. In fact, it seems a little bigger to me. I'm going to give Dr. Warzee a call this afternoon and we'll move to the next plan. Most likely the chest mass is a thymoma and surgery is going to be the option. Since Bob is on prednisolone, I probably won't be taking him up for surgery until I can wean him off. Probably next week.
I just looked up thymoma in the magical Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine by Ettinger. Go figure, true thymomas are uncommon :). However, outlook is good with surgical resection, especially in well-encapsulated, discrete tumors. We definately have well-demarcated on the rads, so I'm going to consider that discrete. Thymomas also tend not to spread, so that leaves the origin of the intestinal tumor open. I think I feel good about the thoractomy, though. Bob's weight loss, lack of appetite and depression could also be attributed to a thymoma. Won't know for sure until pathology comes back, but it sounds like a probable diagnosis.
The ride home on Sunday was pretty good. I was planning on trying it without sedation, but Bob vomited before we'd gone four miles, so out came the ace. He's been happy to be home, wanting lots of attention. His appetite isn't great, but he'll nibble on baby food and seafood flavored cat food. He apparently enjoyed tuna and sardines at M.S.U. so I'll have to pick up a can on my way home. He is pooping, too, so no intestinal perforation!
I actually had the chest rad taken this morning while I was in surgery. It hasn't gone away. In fact, it seems a little bigger to me. I'm going to give Dr. Warzee a call this afternoon and we'll move to the next plan. Most likely the chest mass is a thymoma and surgery is going to be the option. Since Bob is on prednisolone, I probably won't be taking him up for surgery until I can wean him off. Probably next week.
I just looked up thymoma in the magical Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine by Ettinger. Go figure, true thymomas are uncommon :). However, outlook is good with surgical resection, especially in well-encapsulated, discrete tumors. We definately have well-demarcated on the rads, so I'm going to consider that discrete. Thymomas also tend not to spread, so that leaves the origin of the intestinal tumor open. I think I feel good about the thoractomy, though. Bob's weight loss, lack of appetite and depression could also be attributed to a thymoma. Won't know for sure until pathology comes back, but it sounds like a probable diagnosis.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Bob
Anyone who has visited our home, even if only to deliver a pizza, has met Bob. Bob is quite possibly the coolest cat ever. Without a doubt he is the sluttiest . He loves everyone. Bob also has a mass in his chest. Right in front of his heart. Right cranioventral lung lobe about the level of T3 to T5 for the other medical nerds out there. I discoverd this about 2 weeks ago when I was running preanesthetic tests so that I could remove a tumor on his leg. On a whim, I took chest rads. I am so glad that I did because much as this sucks it would have sucked that much worse to have him die on my surgical table.
So, what do you do when you are a veterinarian and your sweet boyo has a mass in his chest? Well, you show the rads to your boss, just in case maybe your eyes are on the fritz (I think that this would count as denial in the stages of grief). You discuss performing a thoracotomy at your practice to remove the mass. You realize that a) you don't have a ventilator so someone will have to breathe for your pet the entire time and b) there's that ugly dying on your table fact rearing its ugly ugly head. So, you e-mail your husband and ask him to meet you at work to go over the films.
What happens next? Oddly enough, with Tony there I went into discussion-with-client-mode. I showed him the rads, explained what I was seeing and what the options were and realized what I offer a client. Not surgery by me without a ventilator. Not kitty hospice. No. I would recommend my client go to see an oncologist. I broached the topic, along with an estimated price tag that I will not repeat here and Tony, bless him, simply replied, "But it's Bob."
Tomorrow morning Bob and I will be up at 5:00 so that we can leave at 6:00 (hopefully with him well-sedated). Our appointment at Michigan State is for 9:00. What happens next? I don't know. If it's not surgical then I guess we'll consider chemo or kitty hospice. If it is surgical, then we'll give it a chance. I guess worst case we lose him on the table of a specialist where everything can be done. Best case we get our happy Bob for a little while longer.
So, what do you do when you are a veterinarian and your sweet boyo has a mass in his chest? Well, you show the rads to your boss, just in case maybe your eyes are on the fritz (I think that this would count as denial in the stages of grief). You discuss performing a thoracotomy at your practice to remove the mass. You realize that a) you don't have a ventilator so someone will have to breathe for your pet the entire time and b) there's that ugly dying on your table fact rearing its ugly ugly head. So, you e-mail your husband and ask him to meet you at work to go over the films.
What happens next? Oddly enough, with Tony there I went into discussion-with-client-mode. I showed him the rads, explained what I was seeing and what the options were and realized what I offer a client. Not surgery by me without a ventilator. Not kitty hospice. No. I would recommend my client go to see an oncologist. I broached the topic, along with an estimated price tag that I will not repeat here and Tony, bless him, simply replied, "But it's Bob."
Tomorrow morning Bob and I will be up at 5:00 so that we can leave at 6:00 (hopefully with him well-sedated). Our appointment at Michigan State is for 9:00. What happens next? I don't know. If it's not surgical then I guess we'll consider chemo or kitty hospice. If it is surgical, then we'll give it a chance. I guess worst case we lose him on the table of a specialist where everything can be done. Best case we get our happy Bob for a little while longer.
Friday, February 24, 2006
All I Wanted ...
So I decided that with the new year I would act as a responsible adult and go to the dentist. I have no problem with dentists, no phobias or panic attacks in the chair. I love the feeling of nice clean teeth. I just never took the time to get set up with one. I made an appointment for an exam and went in promptly on time. While I did not enjoy the radiograph process (the inside of my mandible was tender from the film for a few days), I was happy with the results and ready to schedule my cleaning and the couple of fillings I need because I'm an erratic flosser. However, in filling out the paperwork I remembered that my physician had heard a heart murmur years ago (I can't hear it myself), so I checked heart murmur on the medical history form. Dentists are thorough and responsible people, so he wanted to contact my physician about antibiotics before the cleaning. No problem. I love my physician. She's incredibly thorough and she takes my weird self-diagnostics concerns into consideration without patronizing me (it helps that I really enjoy seeing what my blood tests look line - as long as I've got insurance I'm game for diagnostics). I spent about 2 weeks playing phone tag with her office, though. Turns out she wanted me to have an echocardiogram. OK, no big, I'd talk to her about it at my general female well-being appointment on Monday.
Well, Monday comes and other female matters eliminate the possibility of the general female wll-being appointment. I called the office to reschedule and mentioned that I'm supposed to set up an echo and can someone call me back. Monday night I have a message saying the echo is scheduled for today (Friday) at 12:45. I work at 1:00. Not going to happen. I was able to reschedule the echo for this morning and have now gotten to see my heart from many different views as well as a bonus peek at my liver and sludgy gallbladder (the sludgy is my interpretation, not the technician's as she cannot even interpret the heart stuff and has not been trained on abdominal ultrasonography). I'll have the results on Monday. Then, at long last, I might be able to get my teeth cleaned.
Count down of about 32 hours to the PJ Party by the way!
Well, Monday comes and other female matters eliminate the possibility of the general female wll-being appointment. I called the office to reschedule and mentioned that I'm supposed to set up an echo and can someone call me back. Monday night I have a message saying the echo is scheduled for today (Friday) at 12:45. I work at 1:00. Not going to happen. I was able to reschedule the echo for this morning and have now gotten to see my heart from many different views as well as a bonus peek at my liver and sludgy gallbladder (the sludgy is my interpretation, not the technician's as she cannot even interpret the heart stuff and has not been trained on abdominal ultrasonography). I'll have the results on Monday. Then, at long last, I might be able to get my teeth cleaned.
Count down of about 32 hours to the PJ Party by the way!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Beyond PJs
Plans are rolling right along for the Pajama Party, but other things are happening, too.
Tony went to a practice session for Comic Jam last weekend. Comic Jam is similar to 24-Hour Comic Day except instead of one person writing, drawing and inking a 24 page book (1 page per hour) a team works on a book. I think that it's still a 24 hour process, but I'm not certain about the length of the book. He had a great time and it sounds like his team is set for the real thing. The real Jam is scheduled (appropriately enough) on April 1st.
My parents are visiting my brother in Ecuador right now. I have heard anything since they left, so I'm assuming they got there intact. All three should be in the Galapagos Islands right now. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures and hearing the stories when they get back.
My friend Michelle is moving to Alabama on Monday. I don't get to see Michelle very often, but she's just an amazingly fun person with a huge heart. I didn't realise how sad I am about her leaving until after her goodbye party last night. The world is a better place because she's in it and I'm really lucky that I got to work with her after I finished school. Happily, she and her husband, Jerry, have to return their rental trailer to South Bend, so they might be crashing the PJ Party!
Right, PJ Party ... It looks like we could have as many as 30 people this year. We're really going to have to finish the basement or get a bigger house. Tony's busily making more floor pillows and planning on moving furniture around. I'm happy because now that winter is back I can try making ice lanterns. Also, the pajama party isn't quite as meaningful when it's 50 degrees outside. Countdown of 8 days left!
Tony went to a practice session for Comic Jam last weekend. Comic Jam is similar to 24-Hour Comic Day except instead of one person writing, drawing and inking a 24 page book (1 page per hour) a team works on a book. I think that it's still a 24 hour process, but I'm not certain about the length of the book. He had a great time and it sounds like his team is set for the real thing. The real Jam is scheduled (appropriately enough) on April 1st.
My parents are visiting my brother in Ecuador right now. I have heard anything since they left, so I'm assuming they got there intact. All three should be in the Galapagos Islands right now. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures and hearing the stories when they get back.
My friend Michelle is moving to Alabama on Monday. I don't get to see Michelle very often, but she's just an amazingly fun person with a huge heart. I didn't realise how sad I am about her leaving until after her goodbye party last night. The world is a better place because she's in it and I'm really lucky that I got to work with her after I finished school. Happily, she and her husband, Jerry, have to return their rental trailer to South Bend, so they might be crashing the PJ Party!
Right, PJ Party ... It looks like we could have as many as 30 people this year. We're really going to have to finish the basement or get a bigger house. Tony's busily making more floor pillows and planning on moving furniture around. I'm happy because now that winter is back I can try making ice lanterns. Also, the pajama party isn't quite as meaningful when it's 50 degrees outside. Countdown of 8 days left!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Chez PJ - Party Menu forecast
With head-colds breezing through the home, work towards party prep is off to a slow start.
But we have figured out the vittles.
The list includes some old faves, some news one, and one of probably many dishes coming with one of our guests:
"Gutless" Rumaki (Rumaki minus the liver)
Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon wrapped, Parmesean Stuffed Dates
Sweet Satan's Seed (sweet/spicey nut mix)
Igor Bars (geek-treat supreme. sweet-tooth indulgence heaven)
Jalepeno ice cream frosted chocolate cupcakes (yes, you read that right)
Pink Squirrel (ice cream + liquors + frilly name = one sweet buzz)
More alcohol than can safely be consumed
Misc. chips, dips, veggi-trays and the like.
AND...
Cast your vote now! Which would be the better use of our crockpot:
A) Hot Buttered Rum
or
B) Spiced Plum Soup (also suitable for drinking)
If you don't add a comment wiht your opinion, we just might not let you have any.
But we have figured out the vittles.
The list includes some old faves, some news one, and one of probably many dishes coming with one of our guests:
"Gutless" Rumaki (Rumaki minus the liver)
Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon wrapped, Parmesean Stuffed Dates
Sweet Satan's Seed (sweet/spicey nut mix)
Igor Bars (geek-treat supreme. sweet-tooth indulgence heaven)
Jalepeno ice cream frosted chocolate cupcakes (yes, you read that right)
Pink Squirrel (ice cream + liquors + frilly name = one sweet buzz)
More alcohol than can safely be consumed
Misc. chips, dips, veggi-trays and the like.
AND...
Cast your vote now! Which would be the better use of our crockpot:
A) Hot Buttered Rum
or
B) Spiced Plum Soup (also suitable for drinking)
If you don't add a comment wiht your opinion, we just might not let you have any.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music reviews
You really need to check out this groups reviews sections. Really. Now.
They may not all be winners, but I don't think there's a loser in the bunch.
They may not all be winners, but I don't think there's a loser in the bunch.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
Watching my language
Probably the final installment of the" male half of the blog" mini-series:
I have lately at work taken on some copy-writing. Despite my lackluster presence on this blog, I like writing, and feel that, when I'm not just rambling on the keyboard (like, say, now) I can be a fairly effective writer. If not polished or experienced. Anyway, our writer was backed up, I had nothing to do, and one of the account reps said he had a radio spot that needed writing. The boss man said go for it. And I don't think I did a half bad job. Nor did the account rep, nor Mr. Boss-man. Unfortunately, The client is not so easily impressed. So I had to write a second, not-nearly-as-good-but-pleased-the-client script. Apparently reminded of my knack for creative writing, I shortly thereafter wrote a second radio spot, a couple ads and punched up some headlines. It's nice to be able to grow ones experience in different directions.
More recently, I bought myself a lecture series on tape about language. It's history and structure and the like. Interesting stuff. Very engaging lecturer. Keeps me intellectually entertained on my drive to and from work. For those interested in learning about a variety of fascinating subjects on their way to and from work, check out www.teach12.com. The language tape series that has me currently enthralled is "The Story of Human Language".
I have lately at work taken on some copy-writing. Despite my lackluster presence on this blog, I like writing, and feel that, when I'm not just rambling on the keyboard (like, say, now) I can be a fairly effective writer. If not polished or experienced. Anyway, our writer was backed up, I had nothing to do, and one of the account reps said he had a radio spot that needed writing. The boss man said go for it. And I don't think I did a half bad job. Nor did the account rep, nor Mr. Boss-man. Unfortunately, The client is not so easily impressed. So I had to write a second, not-nearly-as-good-but-pleased-the-client script. Apparently reminded of my knack for creative writing, I shortly thereafter wrote a second radio spot, a couple ads and punched up some headlines. It's nice to be able to grow ones experience in different directions.
More recently, I bought myself a lecture series on tape about language. It's history and structure and the like. Interesting stuff. Very engaging lecturer. Keeps me intellectually entertained on my drive to and from work. For those interested in learning about a variety of fascinating subjects on their way to and from work, check out www.teach12.com. The language tape series that has me currently enthralled is "The Story of Human Language".
Stone-walling
Next in our mini-series of mundananity from the life of Tony...
Over a year ago, I bought some very attractive stone tiles for Amy's bathroom. (Amy's bathroom because she gets creative control over decorating it. Likewise, we have Tony's kitchen, which I expect to be thoroughly updating soon). These stone tiles, made of dozens of roughly 1 inch round stones mosaiced onto mesh tile, were promptly "installed" in the storage area of the basement (which is a bit of a redundancy, as that is what the entirety of the basement is). For almost a year, they waited for me to find (a) the time, (b) the knowledge and (c) the motivation to put them up above the shower in the bathroom. Sometime around about Christmas, I found all three.
Well, at least two of the three. Knowledge would come with experience.
It was knowledge that had kept me from the task for a year. I'd find a good, sturdy book on tiling. Filled with helpful illustrations and blue boxes with important notes and clarifications off to the sides. And without fail, it would omit explanation of how to do a step, make assumptions that one knows things that one resorting to this type of book wouldn't know, or offer instruction that went contrary to the previous books instruction.
Finally, I sat down with 4 different references, cross-examined and compared the information, and was confident I had constructed a workable plan for my project. So off to Lowe's I went for supplies. I've found Lowe's to generally be filled with people who are neither helpful nor knowledgeable, and have had many frustrated experiences there. This was not one of them. I found a salesperson who, before I knew it, had corrected half of my misguided 'plan', picked out my supplies, and given me a clear, straightforward to-do instruction list. Which worked very well.
Until the end.
For those who don't know, once you've got the tiles stuck to the wall, you have to mix the grout and smear it over the surface, getting it all between the cracks. The grout sets quickly (20 minutes, I was told) so once you start, there isn't time to waste. So, I mixed double the amount of grout I expected to need, just to be safe, checked that I had everything I might need on hand, stepped up onto the ledge of the tub, and set to work. Scooped a good pile of grout on my trowel, lifted it over my head to the wall above, and watched as gravity took hold of the grout and plopped it toward the tub's floor.
And it sets quickly remember. So I couldn't just say 'bah, I'll clean it up later'. I might risk having a permanent concrete-like lump in the middle of our bathtub. So I set to cleaning it up. Returned to, more carefully) spread the grout on the wall, occasionally dropping bits and slightly larger bits along the way. And, having lost so much grout to gravities seductive call, I got halfway done and had run out of mixed grout. Now panic was setting in. I'm mixing, I'm cleaning, I'm trying in vain to smear this cake batter-mixture from hell on the wall above me rather than below me, and cursing like a pirate with turret's all the while.
Amy choose this moment to treat herself to some coffee. Someplace far away from home. Smart girl.
In the end it looks very nice, with some incidental grout splatter on the joining walls and ceiling. I may get around to sanding them off before next year.
Over a year ago, I bought some very attractive stone tiles for Amy's bathroom. (Amy's bathroom because she gets creative control over decorating it. Likewise, we have Tony's kitchen, which I expect to be thoroughly updating soon). These stone tiles, made of dozens of roughly 1 inch round stones mosaiced onto mesh tile, were promptly "installed" in the storage area of the basement (which is a bit of a redundancy, as that is what the entirety of the basement is). For almost a year, they waited for me to find (a) the time, (b) the knowledge and (c) the motivation to put them up above the shower in the bathroom. Sometime around about Christmas, I found all three.
Well, at least two of the three. Knowledge would come with experience.
It was knowledge that had kept me from the task for a year. I'd find a good, sturdy book on tiling. Filled with helpful illustrations and blue boxes with important notes and clarifications off to the sides. And without fail, it would omit explanation of how to do a step, make assumptions that one knows things that one resorting to this type of book wouldn't know, or offer instruction that went contrary to the previous books instruction.
Finally, I sat down with 4 different references, cross-examined and compared the information, and was confident I had constructed a workable plan for my project. So off to Lowe's I went for supplies. I've found Lowe's to generally be filled with people who are neither helpful nor knowledgeable, and have had many frustrated experiences there. This was not one of them. I found a salesperson who, before I knew it, had corrected half of my misguided 'plan', picked out my supplies, and given me a clear, straightforward to-do instruction list. Which worked very well.
Until the end.
For those who don't know, once you've got the tiles stuck to the wall, you have to mix the grout and smear it over the surface, getting it all between the cracks. The grout sets quickly (20 minutes, I was told) so once you start, there isn't time to waste. So, I mixed double the amount of grout I expected to need, just to be safe, checked that I had everything I might need on hand, stepped up onto the ledge of the tub, and set to work. Scooped a good pile of grout on my trowel, lifted it over my head to the wall above, and watched as gravity took hold of the grout and plopped it toward the tub's floor.
And it sets quickly remember. So I couldn't just say 'bah, I'll clean it up later'. I might risk having a permanent concrete-like lump in the middle of our bathtub. So I set to cleaning it up. Returned to, more carefully) spread the grout on the wall, occasionally dropping bits and slightly larger bits along the way. And, having lost so much grout to gravities seductive call, I got halfway done and had run out of mixed grout. Now panic was setting in. I'm mixing, I'm cleaning, I'm trying in vain to smear this cake batter-mixture from hell on the wall above me rather than below me, and cursing like a pirate with turret's all the while.
Amy choose this moment to treat herself to some coffee. Someplace far away from home. Smart girl.
In the end it looks very nice, with some incidental grout splatter on the joining walls and ceiling. I may get around to sanding them off before next year.
Lights! Camera! Inaction!
Incredibly slow day at work means you get several postings from the silent partner today.
Since I've not been bloggerly of late, I'll take this time to catch up on recent events in my life with a mini-series of recent amazingly mundane adventures. First up:
Lights! Camera! Inaction!
Back in November I auditioned for an independent film. Just on a whim. Saw a poster making an open casting call and noted they needed a couple "male 20-30" types. Acting isn't something I've ever really put myself into - but I've enjoy what little experiences I've had (acting class, high school plays and the like). And, as there was a casting call poster in the Mishawaka Border's, and the auditions were taking place in on of the meeting rooms at the local library, the intimidation factor was pretty low.
Surprisingly, though it's a no-budget film, it has a decent script and seems to be pretty professionally thought out and structured so that it actually CAN be filmed on weekends and evening - around people's real life schedules. I did not get the part they had me read for (20-something Yale grad) - but I did make enough of an impression to get a call back for a second audition, and heaps of praise, with a lot of "I'm really not just being nice. I really mean it" thrown in. Right off the bat the mentioned that my lack of experience was actually refreshing, because they'd auditioned a lot of people with stage acting experience, and acting on stage and on camera are two very different things. It surprised me that anyone with actual acting experience wouldn't be aware of that and adjust for it. Seems obvious to me. Anywho, didn't get a speaking part, but depending on need and scheduling, they may call me in as an extra. We'll see. Regardless, it was a fun leap to take.
Since I've not been bloggerly of late, I'll take this time to catch up on recent events in my life with a mini-series of recent amazingly mundane adventures. First up:
Lights! Camera! Inaction!
Back in November I auditioned for an independent film. Just on a whim. Saw a poster making an open casting call and noted they needed a couple "male 20-30" types. Acting isn't something I've ever really put myself into - but I've enjoy what little experiences I've had (acting class, high school plays and the like). And, as there was a casting call poster in the Mishawaka Border's, and the auditions were taking place in on of the meeting rooms at the local library, the intimidation factor was pretty low.
Surprisingly, though it's a no-budget film, it has a decent script and seems to be pretty professionally thought out and structured so that it actually CAN be filmed on weekends and evening - around people's real life schedules. I did not get the part they had me read for (20-something Yale grad) - but I did make enough of an impression to get a call back for a second audition, and heaps of praise, with a lot of "I'm really not just being nice. I really mean it" thrown in. Right off the bat the mentioned that my lack of experience was actually refreshing, because they'd auditioned a lot of people with stage acting experience, and acting on stage and on camera are two very different things. It surprised me that anyone with actual acting experience wouldn't be aware of that and adjust for it. Seems obvious to me. Anywho, didn't get a speaking part, but depending on need and scheduling, they may call me in as an extra. We'll see. Regardless, it was a fun leap to take.
Cheesiest Update Ever
OK, I know the male half of this blog (me) hasn't posted in ages. And I'm truely sorry. Hopefully this illustration Amy mentioned a couple entries ago (in a comment under the entry "New Year") will at least start to make amends for my absence.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Lives Within Lives
Yesterday I was showing some friends pictures of the spleen that I removed last week. Jason commented that I have this whole other life from the one that they know me in. It's true, but as I thought more about it I realized that everyone does. It's not that we're all paranoid and super secretive, though I will admit that there are parts of myself I protect from everyone but a very few. I think that it's simply that we need to be so many types of ourself to navigate the world. I have my lab-time life and my work life and my life at home with Tony and our friends and family. I like taking of my doctor face at the end of the day. Whether I like putting it on is another issue entirely. Anyhow, Tony has home life and art director life. I know that my friends also have their own lives that don't necessarily intersect with mine and it's easy to forget in our interactions that they go off and do these amazing and interesting things. I feel really lucky when I can hear the stories later. Even if the stories don't involve spleens.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Parents Are Amazing
Truly!
About a week ago Tony's family visited us. Tony's family is wonderful and this visit included his brother, Seth, our sister-in-law, Amanda and our niece, Morgynn. we really don't get to see them often and we were especially excited to see Morgynn as there aren't many children in our life right now. We forgot, in our anticipation, all that an almost-three-year-old entails. Morgynn did really well with the house and the cats. Only one thing got broken. I got to see Bob do a classic turn and run (yes, nonanimated cats can pull off this move). And, we were exhausted the next day.
So, I am in complete awe of those of you who are parents (particularly of toddlers). Kudos to you for having the energy to keep up with them day after day after day. You have the toughest job on the planet! And thanks Mom and Dad!
About a week ago Tony's family visited us. Tony's family is wonderful and this visit included his brother, Seth, our sister-in-law, Amanda and our niece, Morgynn. we really don't get to see them often and we were especially excited to see Morgynn as there aren't many children in our life right now. We forgot, in our anticipation, all that an almost-three-year-old entails. Morgynn did really well with the house and the cats. Only one thing got broken. I got to see Bob do a classic turn and run (yes, nonanimated cats can pull off this move). And, we were exhausted the next day.
So, I am in complete awe of those of you who are parents (particularly of toddlers). Kudos to you for having the energy to keep up with them day after day after day. You have the toughest job on the planet! And thanks Mom and Dad!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
New Year
We spent a really nice New Year's Eve with Megan, Guy and their dogs. Fargo and Dakota are very good houseguests and Bob, our kitty, was too under the weather to cause trouble. I made my first venture into stuffed poultry (rock cornish game hens) and will soon be learning the best ways to handle poultry and stuffing. Thanks Guy and Alton Brown! I think the best thing that I cooked that evening was Winter Plum Soup from Cooking Light. It tasted great and made the house smell good, too! We played a very spirited game of Candamir that night and enjoyed Settlers of the Stone Age on New Year's Day. I prefer Candamir with four players, but it's nice to have a two-player Cataan game out there.
I've decided that every year needs a theme. I think that 2006 may be the Year of the Pirate at our house.
However, it may end up being the Year of Cheese. Any opinions on this? (Megan and Guy, I think 2005 may have been the Year of the Pirate for you).
Tomorrow is the final day of Christmas for us. Hmm, that adds up to 15 days of Christmas. I think we need to add on 13 chocolate covered coffee beans, 14 kooky paper clips and 15 caramels to complete the song. Happy New Year!
I've decided that every year needs a theme. I think that 2006 may be the Year of the Pirate at our house.
However, it may end up being the Year of Cheese. Any opinions on this? (Megan and Guy, I think 2005 may have been the Year of the Pirate for you).
Tomorrow is the final day of Christmas for us. Hmm, that adds up to 15 days of Christmas. I think we need to add on 13 chocolate covered coffee beans, 14 kooky paper clips and 15 caramels to complete the song. Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)