That's SICK

Hey everybody! It's Vasculitis Awareness Week!

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while, or actually knows me, or both, knows that I have vasculitis in the form of Wegener's Granulomatosis. I've blogged about my experiences with it before (click here to read my previous posts) and right now I don't really have anything new to say. I've been in remission for a little over three years (go me!) (knock on wood) and doing great. I have every intention of making it to five and throwing the biggest party ever to celebrate.

Even though I have blogged about some aspects of my Wegener's, I haven't really gone into what it is in general, or even how it specifically manifested for me. So that is what this post is going to be about.

Wegener's is a form of vasculitis that affects... well, it can affect just about everything. Mostly it goes after the sinuses and lungs and often will involve kidneys, ears, eyes, throat, skin and what the text books like to call "other body organs." Like I said, it can affect just about everything. I was lucky enough to only have it affect my lungs and nose, and only in a minor way. The last chest x-ray I had showed a little scar tissue, and my nose has gone a bit funny, but no other perminant damage.

So what happens in the affected areas is this: the blood vessels get inflamed and little clusters of granulomas may occur. What the hell is a granuloma? Good question. A granuloma is *ahem* an inflammatory tumor or growth composed of granulation tissue. I like to think of them as little clumps of yuck.

The symptoms of Wegener's are really fun because they are normal everyday kinds of things (at least at first). Some symptoms include: runny nose, nose bleeds, cough, fever, fatigue, joint pain, ear aches. So really, things that could easily be just a cold or flu. The trick is that they don't go away or respond to normal treatment (like antibiotics). There are also a slew of blood tests that can sometimes indicate that the disease is present. Often a biopsy is needed to make a diagnosis, but even that is only about 50% indicative.

Treatment is where is really gets fun though. Generally it involves chemo-therapy and steriods. There are many variations and combinations of different drugs that patients get, so I'm just going to tell you about me. My treatment lasted about two years. I started out with intravenus cytoxan and a corticosteriod (I don't remember what it was exactly. It made everything I ate taste really bitter though) while I was in the hospital. After I was released, I had to take massive doses of Prednisone and anti-biotics. I also had to go back to the hospital overnight every so many days for more chemo.

Eventually I moved on to taking cytoxan orally. As I got better my doctor slowly tapered my meds. About six months after the initial diagnosis, I had a little flare up and had to do a few outpatient IV steriods. Finally, I was able to move on to methotrexate- basically a matenence drug.

Well, this post is probably long enough. I'll post again tomorrow and tell you all more about my particular case. Anyone who read this is encouraged to share with everyone they know. Vasculitis is rare, and rarely diagnosed. A little awareness wont hurt anyone.

For further reading, check these out:
V.F. very dry explaination
Wiki entry

FAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLING

Well, it's no use denying fall anymore. Never mind that the autumnal equinox was yesterday, we're having fall weather even... sort of. Gone are the insanely hot days of summer. I say good riddance.

Today in SLC we're having someone else's winter weather. It was cold and raining this morning. It hailed where I work and my brother claims snow. Actually, when I left the house this morning I did notice a fine white dusting atop the mountains.

The trees are turning (brown mostly, but some lovely reds and yellows), the heat is dissipating. Welcome fall!

Gawd, who blogs about the wheather? Apparently, I do.

Avast Ye Scurvey Dogs!

Ahoy maties, today it be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It be a sad tale, lads, but if I were to partake in this here joyous occasion, I would be forced to walk the plank (so to speak, that is, I'd be fired). So I'll make up for it by typin' like a pirate and sailin' the high seas o' the internets.

Here be some stuff for ye:

You scored as Mary Read, You are very unconventional, you defy the rules as often as you can and like to take as many risks as possible. You will probably end up living happily under a bridge somewhere laughing at all the unsavory deeds you once instigated. Mary Read 92% Captain Jack Sparrow 75% Captain Barbosa 75% Black Beard 75% Dread Pirate Roberts 42% Morgan Adams 33% Long John Silvers 33% Captain James T. Hook 33% Sinbad 33% Will Turner 25% What kind of Pirate are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You are The Quartermaster

You, me hearty, are a man or woman of action! And what action it is! Gruesome,
awful, delightful action. You mete out punishment to friend and foe alike
– well, mostly to foe, because your burning inner rage isn’t
likely to draw you a whole lot of the former. Still, though you may be
what today is called “high maintenance” and in the past was
called “bat-shit crazy,” the crew likes to have you around
because in a pinch your maniacal combat prowess may be the only thing
that saves them from Jack Ketch. When not in a pinch, the rest of the
crew will goad you into berserker mode because it’s just kind of
fun to watch. So you provide a double service – doling out discipline
AND entertainment.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

My pirate name is:

Iron Bess Flint

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person.
That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person.
Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp.
But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky.
Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Pretty and Witty and Bright

I while ago I sort of mentioned flirting with the FedEx guy. It's totally cliche, I know, but he's kind of cute, and I have to amuse myself somehow when I'm at work, right?

Today when Cute-FedEx-Guy came in to pick up a package he actually hung around and talked to me for about twenty minutes. We talked about school and movies. Not a deep conversation by any means, but enough to move him from random-delivery-boy status to someone-I-actually-know-something-about. I can't decide if this makes him more or less fun to flirt with.

I'm curious though about what made him decide to stop and talk today. We've had short chats before, but nothing really more than small talk. What made him decide to stay and have an actual conversation today? I haven't seen him in a few weeks (he only picks up packages later in the day) and the last time he came in, I think I was kind of busy and didn't talk to him much.

Maybe next time I see him I'll ask his name.

All Right, Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Close Up

Have you ever asked yourself, "If someone were to make a movie of my life, what would it be like?"

If you are one of my friends, there is a possibility that I have asked you, "If someone were to make a movie of your life, who would play you?"

One of my favorite sites for wasting time (Pajiba) posed more of less the same question to its readers which made me think about the subject. I have most of the people in my life cast already, but I never really thought about what movie it would be. There haven't been too many movies that really make me think of my life. And a lot would depend on what part of my life they made the movie about- the saga of my getting sick? My life as it is now (what a boring movie that would be)? My life in high-school? The summer of "The Book" (best summer EVER)?

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that it will be all of the above. An epic movie about the last decade or so of my life. It would start out like Mean Girls, then throw everyone for a loop by suddenly turning into something like an episode of House, but with a nicer doctor. Add a dash of angry teenage rebellion (White Oliander style?), but without drugs or alcohol, and a little bit more medical drama. Fold in a John Hughs type summer, the beginning of Two Weeks Notice and end with The Spanish Apartment (well, I'm not quite there yet, but a little flexibility with the plot is allowed). Spice the whole thing with as much High Fidelity as you can stand. Blend. Serve over ice in a chilled glass.

Was that complicated enough for you? Good.

I would be played by Maggy Gyllenhaal
Supporting roles would go to: (as some of my friends) Sara Silverman, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Rodriguez, Diedrich Bader (as arch enemies) Julia Stiles, Rachel McAdams, Heath Ledger (as family) Ashton Kutcher, Glen Close, Robert Redford, Angela Landsbury, Albert Finney, Maggie Smith. And I'll throw in a completely fictional romantic lead played by either Ryan Gosling or Bret McKenzie.

I hope they don't make this movie. It can't possibly be very good. And I imagine it would be slightly less than flattering to me. Great cast though, eh?

Tell Me All Your Thoughts on God

On my way home from work today I saw a bumper sticker that read like this:

GOD BELIEVES IN YOU - Count of Monte Cristo
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

I'm not mentioning it to get into some religious battle. I just want to point out that the Count of Monte Cristo is not exactly the best literary spokesperson for any religion. Do you really want to promote your faith with an egomaniac who became completely consumed by his desire for revenge? I certainly wouldn't.

As a side note, I saw this bumper sticker just before I heard the Manamana song on the radio ("mashed" with Jet's Are You Gonna Be My Girl). How's that for synchronicity?

Word, Everybody, Word.

I love Fridays. Yes I do. Especially beautiful fall Fridays like today (although it's not technically fall yet, but we're having nice fallish temperatures today in SLC, so I'm calling it fall, so there). Especially especially beautiful fall Fridays when I get paid. Nothing is better than a weekend when I have money.

(Now I want to parenthetically argue with myself about when fall starts. I guess you could say that fall starts after Labor day, in which case it is indeed fall already. Or, as I am wont to do, you can say fall doesn't start until the Autumnal Equinox, which isn't for another week or two. Or you can say that it isn't fall until the leaves start to turn, and who knows when that will be. I'm going to stick with the astronomical version, so my previous parenthetical statement stands)

I only wish I could get out and enjoy the day sometime before 5. Ah the burden of a regular, full time job. I might not mind so much (and actually, I don't really mind all that much anyway) if I had a little more to do. Or if I had a job that I really loved. Maybe I should start looking for another employment. I could just casually apply at the places where I think I would really enjoy working. Like indie bookstores and maybe the library. Getting a job at a library is complicated for me, but that's a whole other blog!

Well, I've gotten so off topic that I don't even remember what I set out to write in the first place. Oh well.

To celebrate the especially wonderfullness of today (being a lovely fall, Friday and pay day), I'm going to post an amusing video.




I couldn't find it without the subtitles. >shrug<

Farewell to Summer

Labor day is the unofficial end of summer, right? Even though school started (for me and many others) two weeks ago, thus ending Summer Vacation, and the weather continues to be impossibly hot, it's time to start thinking autumnal thoughts. So now is the start of swimming pools closing, summer concert series' ending and sweaters showing up in department stores. Labor day isn't really much more than a long weekend. A very good long weekend.

I took advantage of the free day away from work by trekking down to Durango, CO with my dad. It was our convertible/beer trip that we've been meaning to take since I turned 21. We just haven't managed to find the time.

Durango has a couple breweries that make very delicious beer. You have to understand that the beer part of the trip was all about quality, not quantity. We only had three pints each the whole trip. I brought quite a lot of beer home with me though. You can't really get good (not 3.2) beer in Utah. Just don't tell anyone in charge here, it's only slightly illegal to bring foreign beer into the state.

Besides studying the brewing arts of Colorado, Dad and I narrowly missed a meteor shower near Moab, wandered around Mesa Verde for most of Sunday, nearly froze to death (we had the top down and it was about 48°) going from Durango to Silverton and Uray, ate a lot of food and got a little sun. It was a long weekend well spent.

Sometimes a Hippo is Just a Hippo

I had a strange dream last night. I don't remember most of it. It was sort of like one of movies where there are several story lines that you follow. They sort of parallel each other, but are actually related (like Love Actually). Anyway, I just remember bits and pieces of most of the stories, but one scene really stuck in my head.

A small child was eaten by a large hippopotamus.

It was a lot like Jaws but without the shark.

So tell me, Dr Freud, what does it all mean?

Wonderful World of Webnets

I'm not totally sure I'm all that fond of this game. It seemed like a good idea when I started, but I'm kind of not so into it anymore. Mostly because I realized that the stuff I find online is all really dumb. And half the stuff is on the pages over on the left side of this page anyway. I'm not totally sure, but this may be the last installment. Enjoy.

Why go to college when you can just watch the movies?

I seem to have a fondness for stupid people doing really stupid things. In fact, I'm pretty sure this baby would have given a better answer.

I hate it when my shrink forgets to check with the "Sun God "

G&R's editor goes picks apart Sweet Child O' Mine . It's a little grammar joke. I'm a geek. Sue me.

Finally, Pajiba is setting aside their usual snarkiness and raving about classic movies this week. They start with Double Indemnity which is one of my favorite old flicks.

Heartbreaking Tale of Unspeakable Woe

I was sort of half listening to Talk of the Nation on my way back to work from lunch this afternoon when I heard this:

A new poll shows that book sales are flat and that one quarter of Americans don't read books at all.

This makes me so very sad, but it doesn't really surprise me. I read an exorbitant amount, I know. It's possible that I read more than all my friends, but I've never really paid much attention. Reading is not a competetive sort of sport. Several of my friends are certainly avid readers; a book geek like me can't survive without a few other book geeks in their life. I also have many friends who never read, or who have been reading the same book for years (meaning they pick it up every few months and read a chapter or two). Other friends never read fiction at all, and while I am glad they are getting their noses into books, I feel like they are really missing out by sticking to biographies, essays and text books.

There is something truly amazing about reading a good novel. There is nothing quite like picking up a book, cracking open the cover, and then losing yourself in a world completely unlike your own. I sometimes get a little too into the book I'm reading, actually. I'll take on certain characteristics of the protagonist, or pick up mannerisms from the characters. I also find myself relating things in life to "a book I read once" several times a day. I tend not to mention it to the people I'm with though because it makes me sound even geekier than I already do.

Not only are the people who don't read missing out on a truly wonderful experience, but they are contributing to the general downfall of out nation's intelligence. Reading does wonders for a persons ability to express ideas, thoughts and feelings. It opens your mind to situations you might have never thought of and experiences you otherwise would never have. I know that Americans have tragically short attention spans these days too and I wouldn't be shocked if reading helped lengthen those as well. It makes sense- it takes much longer to read a story than it does to watch the same story on TV. Especially if said story is well written and detail-rich.

In the words of Jane Austen: The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid

Now, excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall for the illiteracy of my nation.

It's About Time

Finally, the blog you all have been waiting ages all week for! Let me tell you about riding 111 miles last weekend:

The ULCER route starts at Thanksgiving Point, goes south through Lehi and Provo then veers west around the south-most point of Utah Lake. The last leg of it is north, more or less right along the lake, and then back to the Thanksgiving Point.

There were about 2,000 doing the ride so, as I'm sure you can imagine, the start is a little crowded. Everybody bottle-necks though the starting gates; since we were somewhere near the back of the pack, the start of the ride was very "ready, set, stand around for a while until you can actually move." The first thirty miles or so we bikers completely engulfed the road. I feel sorry for anyone trying to drive anywhere along the route at that point. It was actually a little frustrating riding in such a crowd, it makes it hard to get a good stride. At some point Aaron and I managed to get ahead of Dad and then Aaron got sick of the crowd, took off and left me behind.

Dad caught up to me after a while and then we met up with Aaron at the next rest stop. The three of us stayed together pretty well from then on. Occasionally I would fall behind a little, but the boys were super nice and would wait for me when I did.

One thing that can really throw off your groove when doing a ride like this is wind. More specifically, a head wind. That's exactly what we turned south into about 50 miles out. Around Utah Lake the wind can get pretty strong (10 or 15 mph) and it really sucks all the energy out of a person. To make things even more fun, around mile 56 the biggest hill (around 3 miles uphill. yuck) of the ride popped up. We were still riding into the wind. That may have been the only part of the ride that I absolutely did not enjoy.

60 miles is the distance that I tend to run out of energy. Without fail, even on the training rides, around 55 or 60 miles I just crash. The ULCER was no exception. Fortunately it was right about that time that we turned west, so the wind was coming from the side. That didn't really make the it any easier to ride, but the turn meant that the lunch stop (read: really long nice rest) was just 8 mile away. 8 miles is nothing, right.

Aaron said he was about to pass out by the time we got to lunch. The food was good- they had stuff to build your own sandwich: a couple cold cuts, cheese, rolls, sandwich veggies. And lots of chips, cookies, crackers, granola bars, candies, and fruit. Anything a hungry and tired biker could want was there. They even had a Coke truck with soft drinks. I think drinking soda at that point would have killed me. There was also a shuttle at that point for people who decided that they couldn't make it the final 40 miles. Lunch was a very happy occasion.

After lunch Dad got slimed. We rode a block or two and his tire exploded for no obvious reason. He had slime in his tire (green goop stuff that will plug up small punctures so you don't get so many flats) that got all over everything. When he took the tire off to there was a good three inch gash in the tube - not exactly something you can patch. So he put a new tube on, pumped it up, and then we were off again. We had about 5 miles with the yucky wind still to go.

A strong tail wind is as good as a head wind is bad. Once we finally turned north we had the wind at our backs for the last 40 miles. That combined with the fresh energy from lunch made the last leg of the ride extremely possible. The west side of Utah Lake is very sparse vegetation wise and has a lot of little rolling hills. After already riding 70 miles, hills are not fun at all so having the wind pushing us along a little bit was really helpful.

All in all it took 9 1/2 hours to do the whole thing. By the end of the ride there were very few body parts that didn't hurt. My feet felt like I had been standing on them all day. I butt was numb from being on a bike seat all day. My arms and my hands and my shoulders and my back just ached. My right leg and both arms were sunburned. I was totally wiped out. Despite being exhausted for a good portion, I really enjoyed myself though the entire ride (with the small exception of the hill, perhaps). Besides that I was (and still am) really proud of myself for finishing. 111 miles is no small feat. Go me! Kudos to Aaron as well. It was also his first century, so he and I both kick major ass for finishing. Oh, and Dad. It was his second century of the summer, that's hardcore.

Wild World of Wombats

I really will blog about the ULCER. I promise. Probably this weekend. I simply haven't had much time this week. I was in New York without internet for a while and since then... I just haven't managed to sit and write anything. In the mean time (mostly last week), I have collected a few links for the "Tales from the Wonderful World of Web" thing I started two weeks ago. By the way, it's not going to be weekly. It's going to be however often I feel like doing it. So there.

I bang my head against the desk for the stupidity of people . Seriously, if you're going to go out of your way to be an assbutt, at least check for cameras first.

Hear that? That the sound of me making $$monies$$. I already did step one, check it out: Liquid That Will Make You Think You Have Energy For a Little While .... It may need some work.

Coffee Jello Eew.

This site amuses me endlessly. Well, not just by itself. If you follow these simple instructions though, it suddenly is super-fun:
1. Pick a phrase to translate. ("I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts")
2. Translate it into Japanese. (私はココナッツの美しい束を持っている)
3. Take that (私はココナッツの美しい束を持っている) and translate it back to English. ("I have the bundle where the coconut is beautiful")
You try now!

Bikes

I just finished (an hour ago. Started at 7, finished at 5. I have since come home and showered).

All 111 miles.

I'm exhausted, but really proud of myself.

Sing my praises, minions!

Go me!

Details later.

Utah Lake Century Epic Ride

Tomorrow is the big day! The big ride! I'm a little bit nervous. Mostly I'm kind of excited. Last Sunday I rode 85 miles and that went pretty well. It was a really good ride and, even though I was pretty tired by the end of it, I think another 30 miles will be very doable. Especially since we'll actually get to stop and eat lunch somewhere in the middle of it.

We finished on Sunday around 1 so we were pretty hungry by the time we got home. We had, of course, stopped a few times to munch of power bars and the like so we didn't completely run out of energy, but lunch was a very happy event. The nice thing about the ULCER is that it is a supported ride so there will be rest-stops and lunch provided for us.

Well, everybody, wish me luck! I don't know if I'll have time to post about the ride before we head off to New York tomorrow. If not, you'll just have to wait until wednesday because there is no internet where I'm going. I will try to do at least a quick post though, just so my phantom readers will know I didn't die.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged

I went to a sneak preview of Becoming Jane last night. As a story by itself, I rather enjoyed it. It was maybe a little sappy and some things were a little incongruous with the time period, but it was a great little romantic story. And James McAvoy has amazing eyes.

As a representation of Ms Austen though, the movie was quite disappointing. There is not, I believe, a huge amount of information about the famous authoress' life and the film is an exaggerated account of a flirtation she had with Mr. Lefroy over one summer. The character of Jane herself is not at all what I would have liked. In the movie she came off as a little insipid and romantic. I personally think of Jane Austen as more of a mix between Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) and Elinor Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility). Instead she's portrayed as more like Emma, one of the silliest of Asten's protagonists.

I could be wrong about the writer, of course. It just seems a shame to make a woman who was so astute with her social commentaries and who was one of the least romantic writers of the romantic era (this could open a whole new can of worms, but her books are really more about social commentary than they are about romance. In fact, the classical sense of romance, as it applies to the movement, involving rash, emotional, behavior is often disastrous in her novels) should be presented as such a romantic sap.

Wonderful World of Web

I'm going to try a new game! Once a week (or so) I'm going to gift you all with a list of links to super cool things I've stumbled across on the interwebs. This is a game (so it's not actually a game, but I'm going to call it that anyway) that a lot of other bloggers play. Am I conforming? Selling out? Eh, maybe. That's ok though, dear reader, because it means I get to bring some extra joy to your life in the form of internet silliness. So, for the first time ever I bring you:

Tales from the Wonderful World of Web:

A question that has plagued us all at some point is finally answered: Which is better: Pirates or Ninjas?

An extremely excellent list of the books my generation is reading. I've read some of them, and the most of the one's I haven't are now on my "to read" list.

Manic makes me happy that I'm not the only one who is a little uptight about grammar.

Sex anyone? 237 reasons to do the deed!

For any who are not already familiar with it, and thus totally missed the allusion in the Pirates/Ninjas thing: Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

This is an older post on Impulsive Buy, but it's one of my favorites. It's a sad tale of processed meat. Ladies and gentlemen... Jalapeno Spam

Ridin' My Bicycle

I'm starting to get a little anxious about the ULCER. It's coming up in less than two weeks! I fully intend to do the 111 mile leg, but I'm less sure about it as it gets closer. True, I've been training all summer (maybe not quite as hard as I should have) for it, but I'm not sure 111 miles is something I can really do. That's a long time on a bike.



The longest training ride I've done was 55 miles (it was going to be 60, but I crashed 5 miles from the end and cut it short) which was no small feat. It may have been easier if I had gotten more than 3 hours of sleep the night before. Hmmmm. Anyway, this weekend we (my Dad and my friend Aaron, who are both doing the big ride with me) are going to ride 80 miles. It's the final big training jaunt. It's crunch time people.



I think my ass has been sore all summer.


To make everything more fun, on the 11th, after the ride, my dad, brother and I are catching the red-eye to New York. We're going out there for my grandmother's birthday party and to help her pack - she's moving out to SLC to be closer to us.

H to the Pizzle

Until today, I was very purposly making a point of not blogging about Harry Potter. I pre-ordered the last book weeks before it came out, recieved it in the mail Saturday afternoon and spent 14 hours straight on Sunday reading the whole damn thing.

I didn't blog about it because everyone was blogging about it. I didn't (and don't) have much to say that hasn't been said a billion times all over the internets. I'm still not going to put my two cents in about the book.

I'm breaking my silence on the subject now because of an interview Rowling did that explains a little more about what happens to the kids after the end of the book. The epilogue was vague and left much to be desired. I certainly don't want to know every single detail about what happens to every single character, but I was upset that the epilogue didn't cover what the kids (exept for Neville) were actually doing. So here's a link to the interview for any of my devoted readers who are interested. There are not any surprises, really, but it's interesting anyway.

Update: The Leaky Cauldren has even more answers here

I Wonder

Is it wrong to write when one has absolutely nothing worthy to write about?

Of course, that prompts the question: What qualifies something as worthy to be written?

I would say that this quandary does not qualify. But my fingers are desperate to type something and I have no amusing anecdotes to record, or any particularly deep thoughts to throw out into the universe.

A fly just landed briefly on my ring. That was odd.

I think, in lieu of anything personal to blog about, I'm going to talk about . . . SPACE!

How 'bout those dust storms on Mars, eh? As bad as it is for the rovers, I think it's kind of exciting. I mean, it's not unusual for Mars to have big wind storms, but we haven't had two rovers up there for any other ones (have we? If we have I give you permission to call me a schmuck). Not that the little guys can do much, what with low sunlight and everything, but it's sort of almost like being there. Only much more comfortable. No one likes getting sand in their panties, and I'm sure sand would be EVERYWHERE if a person was actually up there.

The Phoenix looks pretty flippin' sweet too.

Finally, (this is old news, but I haven't mentioned it before) New Horizons got some really wicked pictures when it flew by Jupiter. Please, don't judge me too harshly when I say that I'm totally turned on by the volcano pics on Io. And the pics of the Little Red Spot are just freaking hot.

This concludes my geek-out of the day. Thank you for your patience