[personal|cancer] Stuff and things, a/k/a the state of the Jay

In no particular order...

I did something I rarely do anymore, which was go out to dinner last night. Early and quick. e_bourne was down from Seattle on a business trip, and that was the one time we had. My house was full of Lisa Costello, the_child and tillyjane (a/k/a my Mom), and it was better for conversation to go elsewhere. I was quite pleased to see her and catch up.

the_child is off to Seattle today with her art history class to see the King Tut exhibit. So last night I emailed her YouTube links for "King Tut" by Steve Martin, as well as a slow bluesman cover of "Dead Egyptian Blues", since I couldn't find a good video of either Trout Fishing in America or Bernice Lewis doing it. She'll be back late tonight, then tomorrow after school she and her mother are headed for the coast for the weekend. So I won't see much of my kid until next week, after today.

Meanwhile, Lisa Costello has been here for five weeks as of today. She comments briefly here. She's still looking for a house with Jersey Girl in Portland, but I've been enjoying having her around Nuevo Rancho Lake every day, as well as having her around in general.

Yesterday I got 2,400 words in on my METAtropolis 3 novella, "Rock of Ages", to 11,200 words. I'd originally budgeted 15,000 words, but going by the shape of the plot, I think this will be a bit more than 20,000. At the worst, I'm about halfway done. Unfortunately, I'm racing the chemo clock, because after this afternoon's writing session, I'll lose 7-10 days. I get 4-6 days out of every two week cycle when I can write, thanks to chemo brain fog, and even that window is closing. I'm pretty sure I'll pull this out, but I'm equally sure it's the last new wordage I'll write until next May or June. So, a small win in the face of a huge impending setback.

Chemo side effects this round have been more muted than last round, for the most part. GI continues to be cranky, but that's about like saying water continues to be wet. More to the point, my skin problems from Vectibix and Doxycycline have become more complex but less intense. I'm still absolutely averse to sunlight, which is why I rarely leave the house any more, but the breakouts and pain on my face has been reduced to occasional discomfort on a par with dry, irritated skin. The heavy coverage of acne and rash on my chest and back is less intense but more widespread. I'm also seeing significant dryness and soreness on my elbows, a rash and peeling on the palms of my hands, and scattered acne on my limbs and lower body. Plus this week a pimple inside my mouth. On the other hand, I had three day of Neulasta pain to remind me of my lot in life.

Tomorrow is chemo session four of this third series. My primary caregiver for the weekend, Marta Murvosh, arrives this afternoon, to be picked up at the train station by Lisa. Looking forward to seeing Marta, as I haven't since last summer. Workie bits today, as social an evening tonight as my energy permits, then we're off to the infusion center tomorrow. Assuming, as always, that I pass my blood tests today.

Life, she continues unabated.