Thanksgiving 2005

Mellow thanksgiving this year. Ma had Matt, Cathy and the kids, Erica Soublet and Linda and I out to her place for dinner. It was a bit of a madhouse as we brought the dogs and they and Caity and Chris were a handfull.
Ma made an incredible turkey, poached pear and spinach salad, Linda and I brought the mashed potatos and the sweet patootie pie, Erica brought a huge cheese cake. Damn. I am just starting to eat solid food again so didn't do the damage that I wish I could have, but I will be eating tons of leftovers for a while.

Ta-da list from Backpack.

Sneakyfreak.tadalist.com

Clever and simple list building app.

Accupunture.

Is oh so good.
Now taking Mu Xiang Shun Qi Wan - Min Shan Brand 24/day.
Ate some food today. So far so good.

gut.

I am 3 weeks into my 2nd round of Leukine testing. Leukine is a drug produced by the Berlex company that is currently being used in connection with chemotherapy for cancer that shows promise for controlling crohn's disease. So, one week of injections of this stuff, three accupunture treatments (going in for my 4th this morning), about 8 weeks of Ensure and no solid food... and I might be starting to feel better. I kind of feel like it might be too early to say anything... because if I am starting to get better I don't want to curse it with a bunch of foolish talk... but I am not in pain 100% of the time, and thats saying something.

pokey pokey

I started to go to accupunture last week. my guts haven't been doing much better despite the nightly injections and the thick joints of calf and skins of wine that i have been laying upon the sacrificial fire. so be it. a comrade at work has been urging me to go see the Accupunturist that he has seen, so after much hemming and hawing I called Ursula and set up an appointment.

Before I went I read up on whatever google could give me about "accupuncture and Crohn's" and read some interesting articles about my hot liver and other diagnoses. whatever. i went. it works. Although I am not healed or anything, i do have spells of no pain, which is fricking awesome. she also has me eating some rabbit turd-esque pills (Plum Flower Brand: Shen Ling Bai Zhu Pian, Two Imortals Teapills). OK. mmm good.

so that is nice and i am going back. thank god heath insurance covers most of it.

oh and i just shaved my head.

Union des Singes Apprivoise:Growing up American

In 1977 my folks packed up my 3 siblings and I am moved from the Bay Area to Mali, in the heart of west Africa. My father had taken the position of Regional Security Officer for the region and would be based in Bamako the capitol. To move to Africa he gave up his job as body guard with the Secret Service, his work had been mostly for foreign dignitaries visiting the US : Imelda Marcos, Golda Meir, the prime minister of Australia. I believe my father's only employer, besides the pulp mill that he worked at as a high school graduate and some teaching positions while he was in school, was the US Government. He went into the Air Force, then the Peace Corps, then taught, then Secret Service, State Department. He was a career servant to the American people and he always made very clear to us that we were representatives of our nation of birth. My father had immense pride in his family and his roots. He was proud that he came from the earth, that his family was farmers and people that worked with their hands. He was also proud that he didn't have to, but that never let him forget his obligation to where he came from, and who he represented when he sat at the table of a foreign host. America needs to be a beacon of hope. America needs to be a leader. America needs to be the American Dream. America is Civilization.

These are things my parents taught their kids. They engrained these things into us. They operate in me like an extra innard. These are the organ of my guilt at what is happening to America under this regime. My father would have hated the son so much more than he hated his godforsaken father.

walking to work.

Three folks sniffing at a small baggie of pot they just found on the damp ground outside of a honeybucket at a public park.

Harry

Yesterday Sen. Harry Reid (NV, D) made me and the rest of America proud by demanding that the bush butt kissing senate actually exercise its duty of oversight. Checks and balances my ass. What a bunch of bottom feeders that lot is... (or should I say Lott is). I am watching happily as they appear to crumble under the weight of their own pride and selfishness.

In lighter news, I have created a new web site to post turtle related stuff. Duwumps Turtle Ranch News is currently being hosted over at blogger for the time being. Ok. I am a freaking geek, what can i say?

Health is still so-so. I am still basically on a liquid diet, although I have sneaked in one or two meals of chewables. The Leukine shots are leaving lovely angry, itchy welts on my abdomen and thighs and I thought I was going to hurl until about 11:30 yesterday morning. Ensure is my friend even though I am pretty much sick of drinking any of the abundant flavors besides vanilla and banana at this point.

Having Linda not working is nice. She has been volunteering with the lovely folks over at Megawatt , working on community organizing and such. She has also been going to yoga almost daily and is turning into quite a muscle. I would feel all fat if I hadn't just lost 20 pounds to Crohn's. The dogs are also pleased to have her home all the time. I wish some really big organization would try to sue the pants off of some other organization so she could go back to work, but things ain't too bad in the meantimes.

Snoqualmie + other area ski slopes are opening up on Friday... maybe I will actually get up boarding this year.