Washington DC is a quick 4+ hour drive away from 'lil Endicott NY, so the night the nation elected the first African-American president I decided I had to go. This was something not that long ago I was quite certain I would never see happen in my lifetime, but thanks to a superstar candidate and a "perfect storm" of national circumstances... it happened. And thankfully I've got a good friend in DC willing to provide the floor of his very nice condo and an air mattress for a few days, so on Jan 18th I headed down, with a stop in NYC to pick up my big sister who wanted to come along too.
I could go on for a while detailing all I experienced at the Inauguration, but one thing (among several) that struck me was the crowd. We headed out at 7:30am on January 20th to get a spot by a screen on the Mall and ended up midway between the Capital and the Washington Monument. Friends that left around the same time we did were all the way back by the monument so we got a decent spot considering. (I found out later I was close to a NY Met player who showed up without a ticket and stood in the crowd.) Once we settled in our spot, I looked around and was blown away by all the people. The largest crowd I've ever been in up to that point that I was able to quantify was at the Lousiana Superdome, which holds close to 100,000 people, which seemed HUGE to me. And here I was standing in 20 superdomes worth of people. To look forward, back, and around and to see nothing but shoulder to shoulder people for a mile is something else. And with all these people, there was this incredible vibe... a vibe of hope and optimism. It was like nothing I have ever experienced or will probably ever experience again. And to experience it with SO MANY people was just so frickin' cool. Looking around seeing everyone waving their little American flags with joy, seeing broad smiles and eyes filled will tears from the emotion of the moment. It was like the biggest rock concert on earth and more. And something I can recount with pictures and stories to my kids and grandkids, and say, 'I was there'.
This president has inherited a mound of considerably difficult tasks and I don't think anyone there forgot that, but it was incredibly to have a moment where people were able to celebrate history and the hope of a better tomorrow.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Campaigning for Change
This is the most important election of my lifetime, and essentially the lifetime of anyone alive. And because this is so important, I feel that it's my responsibility to do what I can to help determine the result I want. I don't want to wake up on November 5th disappointed with the result and feel like I could have done something and didn't. The states that are currently the most crucial are the "battleground" states: the states that will make or break the election for either candidate. While I will be placing my vote in NY for Obama, NY is a state that is pretty much in the bag. Campaigning here is a bit pointless. But Scranton PA is a quick drive to the south, so I looked up the campaign center there and decided one Saturday a couple of weeks ago to make the trip.
I had to run a 5K in the morning and I had plans in the evening but I was determinined to go to Scranton for at least a few hours in between to do whatever needed to be done since the registration deadline in PA was that Monday. Turns out one thing they really need help with there is "canvassing". I didn't really know what that would entail until I got there. Here's the agenda of my day...
9am Run a 5K
10:15am Head to Scranton
11:30am Arrive at Scranton campaign center
The place was PACKED. It was quite exciting to see.
11:45 am Begin Training Session
The training session was very interesting. First, the group in my session (~30 people) was from all over, only 2 people from PA. (Overall, I'd say 200 volunteers showed up all day. Also interesting to note I only saw 2 other black people.) Most people came from NY. Second, the training itself was quite informative as far as learning a few things I didn't know about Obama's background and a few additional disturbing flaws in McCain's policy plans. I'm pretty well-educated on both candidates but this training was pretty thorough. Aside from talking about the candidates, we learned exactly what canvassing involved. Basically you are given a neighborhood, names, and you knock on doors. If someone is strongly in support of Obama or McCain, you don't say much (other than to make sure the Obama people are registered and definitely voting), but if they are undecided or only leaning toward either candidate, you break out the listed strategies. These strategies were basically to be positive about Obama, talk about how his policies are relevant to my situation, and discuss how his policies are relevant to their situation. The only discussion of McCain was to be in terms of 1. he's more of the same failed Bush policies and if you haven't been happy the last 8 years, you need to vote for real change... McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time, so he's no maverick, 2. McCain claims to put America first but picking a VP candidate like Palin who wasn't his first choice but a choice based on pressure from republicans is not putting America first, and 3. McCain is out of touch and has countless houses and cars, while Obama was raised by a single mother, put himself through college with scholarships and loans, and JUST finished paying off his and Michelle's loans 3 years ago. We had plenty to work with.
12:45pm Find a canvassing partner
After we finished the training session, we were supposed to find a partner, get our paperwork and location, and head out. I found a group of 3 people from Albany who needed a forth. They were very cool people who had all done canvassing in NY before but like me wanted to make a difference in a battleground state. They were also very useful as far as explaining some strategies they would use.
Interesting note: Once we hopped in the minivan, we passed the McCain campaign center. The lights were off and not a sole was there.
1:30 Arrive in Wilkes-Barre neighborhood and start knocking on doors
The neighborhood we got was pretty swank: huge houses with manicured lawns and bushes cut in shapes and all that type of crap. So I knew it might be a tad hard to talk to some of these poeple about tax cuts when they might actually be ABOVE that income line. But anyway, the way it works is you have a partner but your partner works one side of the street and you work the other so I was pretty much by myself. I was a bit nervous but my Albany friends made it seem pretty easy. So I spoke to the first person. As it turns out, the woman on my list wasn't there but her husband was. She's a registered democrat but he's a registered republican. I sat on that man's porch and we spoke for a good 20 minutes. While he was sure his wife was voting for Obama, he was undecided but hates Bush. We talked about everything from his uncertainty that Obama's campaign plans will end up being empty promises to his fear of what a possible assassination would do to the country to his decreased faith in McCain after his question VP choice. The man was very educated (he and his wife are doctors) and I really enjoyed talking with him, even though he wasn't even on my list and talking to him didn't help me fill out the response form I was supposed to fill out, other than writing down his wife wasn't home and she might vote for Obama. It was still a great way to start off.
The next house I went to was an older woman who was very pro-Obama. She talked about how she cried for a year after her grandchild died in Iraq. She talked about how she hosts debate parties at her place. She talked about how she thought Palin was an idiot (though I couldn't really joined her as we were specifically told not to talk on that, despite enormous amount of material). She talked about how she couldn't wait to vote and even named her voting place. The next house was a woman who was a registered democrat but was going to vote for McCain because she liked Palin. Mind you this woman doesn't even like McCain, but she likes that Palin is a relatable and she thinks McCain will listen to her. I asked her what issues were important to her and she said, "I'm not big on issues." Oy. So I went another route and mentioned how the VP doesn't have much power at the end of the day and if you don't like McCain, that's who you'll be getting if you vote for Palin. That actually seemed to sink in with her, so I'm hoping she might change her mind.
I won't go into every person I spoke to but I spoke to every type. I also now know what Jehovah Witnesses feel like. I had houses where there were 5 cars in front, 3 TVs on, and I still got no response. I had 1 or 2 people who were flat out mean to me or a bit short. I had people who claimed they were voting for Obama but I think it was just in order for me to leave them alone. I had McCain supporters who would work in references to black friends just to show me them not voting for Obama had nothing to do with race. I got it all. But the best conversations were with undecided voters and feeling like I may have swayed them.
5pm Done canvassing
So we hopped back in the minivan and began to share our experiences on the way back to the campaign center. A lot of stories were exchanged but the most interesting story was about how some people can hear all the reasons about why Obama is the better candidate and you can knock down every reason why they say they won't vote for him but at the end of the day, they still say there is "just something about him" that won't let them vote for him. And that thing is that he's black. These people aren't overt racists; just people who aren't ready to vote for a black man. And this topic was brought up by my co-canvassers, all white, but they still noted having to combat that subtle racism.
5:45 - 6pm Tally the responses and head home
When we got back, my partner and I had to fill out a form noting people who were not home and who people were voting for (Certain, leaning, or undecided). After that I said goodbye to my friends for the day. My Albany crew was actually staying overnight so they could go back out the next day.
I have to say the campaign center was incredibly efficient and organized. In the past few weeks, Obama has been gaining a lead in Pennsylvania according to polls and seeing how they are campaigning there, it's clear why. Since Gore had a double-digit lead in polls 8 years ago and still lost, I hope people don't get too comfortable and think anything is certain. I plan to go back and canvass again. I was hoping to help by doing something other than knocking on doors, but honestly, it wasn't bad at all and ended up being a great experience.
While I'm on the topic of politics, I have also learned that the best way to watch debates is in a group. The first debate I watched with a few friends (and mostly strangers) at a bar in Ithaca. There were 30 people crammed around one TV in the back of the bar, shouting at the TV and drinking whenever words like "maverick" were said repeatedly. It was so fun to watch and have the instant reactions of an entire room, expecially in a place like Ithaca where the store next to the bar had an "Obama is Gorges" t-shirt in the window. Since that experience was so cool, I decided to watch the VP debate with a group too. This time I went to the Obama campaign center in Owego. This time instead of drinking games, I arrived to Palin Bingo. As funny as that is, it's even funnier that we were actually able to fill the whole bingo card with what she actually said that matched the card. Again, it was cool to shout out comments at the TV, and laugh at her silliness with a group. Too bad the debates are over because debate parties are awesome.
I had to run a 5K in the morning and I had plans in the evening but I was determinined to go to Scranton for at least a few hours in between to do whatever needed to be done since the registration deadline in PA was that Monday. Turns out one thing they really need help with there is "canvassing". I didn't really know what that would entail until I got there. Here's the agenda of my day...
9am Run a 5K
10:15am Head to Scranton
11:30am Arrive at Scranton campaign center
The place was PACKED. It was quite exciting to see.
11:45 am Begin Training Session
The training session was very interesting. First, the group in my session (~30 people) was from all over, only 2 people from PA. (Overall, I'd say 200 volunteers showed up all day. Also interesting to note I only saw 2 other black people.) Most people came from NY. Second, the training itself was quite informative as far as learning a few things I didn't know about Obama's background and a few additional disturbing flaws in McCain's policy plans. I'm pretty well-educated on both candidates but this training was pretty thorough. Aside from talking about the candidates, we learned exactly what canvassing involved. Basically you are given a neighborhood, names, and you knock on doors. If someone is strongly in support of Obama or McCain, you don't say much (other than to make sure the Obama people are registered and definitely voting), but if they are undecided or only leaning toward either candidate, you break out the listed strategies. These strategies were basically to be positive about Obama, talk about how his policies are relevant to my situation, and discuss how his policies are relevant to their situation. The only discussion of McCain was to be in terms of 1. he's more of the same failed Bush policies and if you haven't been happy the last 8 years, you need to vote for real change... McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time, so he's no maverick, 2. McCain claims to put America first but picking a VP candidate like Palin who wasn't his first choice but a choice based on pressure from republicans is not putting America first, and 3. McCain is out of touch and has countless houses and cars, while Obama was raised by a single mother, put himself through college with scholarships and loans, and JUST finished paying off his and Michelle's loans 3 years ago. We had plenty to work with.
12:45pm Find a canvassing partner
After we finished the training session, we were supposed to find a partner, get our paperwork and location, and head out. I found a group of 3 people from Albany who needed a forth. They were very cool people who had all done canvassing in NY before but like me wanted to make a difference in a battleground state. They were also very useful as far as explaining some strategies they would use.
Interesting note: Once we hopped in the minivan, we passed the McCain campaign center. The lights were off and not a sole was there.
1:30 Arrive in Wilkes-Barre neighborhood and start knocking on doors
The neighborhood we got was pretty swank: huge houses with manicured lawns and bushes cut in shapes and all that type of crap. So I knew it might be a tad hard to talk to some of these poeple about tax cuts when they might actually be ABOVE that income line. But anyway, the way it works is you have a partner but your partner works one side of the street and you work the other so I was pretty much by myself. I was a bit nervous but my Albany friends made it seem pretty easy. So I spoke to the first person. As it turns out, the woman on my list wasn't there but her husband was. She's a registered democrat but he's a registered republican. I sat on that man's porch and we spoke for a good 20 minutes. While he was sure his wife was voting for Obama, he was undecided but hates Bush. We talked about everything from his uncertainty that Obama's campaign plans will end up being empty promises to his fear of what a possible assassination would do to the country to his decreased faith in McCain after his question VP choice. The man was very educated (he and his wife are doctors) and I really enjoyed talking with him, even though he wasn't even on my list and talking to him didn't help me fill out the response form I was supposed to fill out, other than writing down his wife wasn't home and she might vote for Obama. It was still a great way to start off.
The next house I went to was an older woman who was very pro-Obama. She talked about how she cried for a year after her grandchild died in Iraq. She talked about how she hosts debate parties at her place. She talked about how she thought Palin was an idiot (though I couldn't really joined her as we were specifically told not to talk on that, despite enormous amount of material). She talked about how she couldn't wait to vote and even named her voting place. The next house was a woman who was a registered democrat but was going to vote for McCain because she liked Palin. Mind you this woman doesn't even like McCain, but she likes that Palin is a relatable and she thinks McCain will listen to her. I asked her what issues were important to her and she said, "I'm not big on issues." Oy. So I went another route and mentioned how the VP doesn't have much power at the end of the day and if you don't like McCain, that's who you'll be getting if you vote for Palin. That actually seemed to sink in with her, so I'm hoping she might change her mind.
I won't go into every person I spoke to but I spoke to every type. I also now know what Jehovah Witnesses feel like. I had houses where there were 5 cars in front, 3 TVs on, and I still got no response. I had 1 or 2 people who were flat out mean to me or a bit short. I had people who claimed they were voting for Obama but I think it was just in order for me to leave them alone. I had McCain supporters who would work in references to black friends just to show me them not voting for Obama had nothing to do with race. I got it all. But the best conversations were with undecided voters and feeling like I may have swayed them.
5pm Done canvassing
So we hopped back in the minivan and began to share our experiences on the way back to the campaign center. A lot of stories were exchanged but the most interesting story was about how some people can hear all the reasons about why Obama is the better candidate and you can knock down every reason why they say they won't vote for him but at the end of the day, they still say there is "just something about him" that won't let them vote for him. And that thing is that he's black. These people aren't overt racists; just people who aren't ready to vote for a black man. And this topic was brought up by my co-canvassers, all white, but they still noted having to combat that subtle racism.
5:45 - 6pm Tally the responses and head home
When we got back, my partner and I had to fill out a form noting people who were not home and who people were voting for (Certain, leaning, or undecided). After that I said goodbye to my friends for the day. My Albany crew was actually staying overnight so they could go back out the next day.
I have to say the campaign center was incredibly efficient and organized. In the past few weeks, Obama has been gaining a lead in Pennsylvania according to polls and seeing how they are campaigning there, it's clear why. Since Gore had a double-digit lead in polls 8 years ago and still lost, I hope people don't get too comfortable and think anything is certain. I plan to go back and canvass again. I was hoping to help by doing something other than knocking on doors, but honestly, it wasn't bad at all and ended up being a great experience.
While I'm on the topic of politics, I have also learned that the best way to watch debates is in a group. The first debate I watched with a few friends (and mostly strangers) at a bar in Ithaca. There were 30 people crammed around one TV in the back of the bar, shouting at the TV and drinking whenever words like "maverick" were said repeatedly. It was so fun to watch and have the instant reactions of an entire room, expecially in a place like Ithaca where the store next to the bar had an "Obama is Gorges" t-shirt in the window. Since that experience was so cool, I decided to watch the VP debate with a group too. This time I went to the Obama campaign center in Owego. This time instead of drinking games, I arrived to Palin Bingo. As funny as that is, it's even funnier that we were actually able to fill the whole bingo card with what she actually said that matched the card. Again, it was cool to shout out comments at the TV, and laugh at her silliness with a group. Too bad the debates are over because debate parties are awesome.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
A bump in the road...
There are certain things that are particularly worrisome for a woman, one of these things being the discovery of a lump in her breast. This worry can be magnified when there is a known family history of such lumps leading to a sad result. So as the daughter of a wonderful woman who died at an unfortunately young age from breast cancer, when I recently discovered a lump it's not surprising that I was a bit concerned.
It was a rather random discovery, not even intentional. Even with my family history, as a (till very recently) 20-something, it's not something I had been particularly nervous about in the near term as I'm very young. I mean, aside from the yearly checkup or self-exam after catching a report on TV, I didn't think of it much. So it came as a shock when I extended my arms upward in a stretch after my evening working and unconsciously reached toward my rib sensing something there. Sure enough, on my left side was a rather large, hard ball. My immediate thought was, 'oh sh*t, how did that get there?' It was nothing I had even noticed before and now from nowhere I was feeling a huge quarter-sized lump.
So mentally, I was concerned but not panicked. One... I'm a very positive person, and two... there's no need to be nervous about something I hadn't had examined yet. At the same time, I wasn't exactly sipping a margarita with my feet kicked up. Several things started going through my mind. As an educated person, I know the statistics, both positive and negative. I've had several friends in the last couple of years discover lumps and it be nothing; I've also known those rare cases of young women who weren't as lucky. I also started thinking about how ironic I'd make a discovery now when in the last couple of months I had become so healthy. I'm probably in the best shape of my adult life. I workout nearly every day, I run up to 3 miles each week and have started competing in 5Ks, and I eat a very healthy and balanced diet. I am noticeably more lean and toned, and even have an impressive 6-pack going. So it's odd that at the healthiest point of my life I would be having my most significant health concern.
Anyway, I made this discovery during the evening so I couldn't set a doctor's appointment until the morning. So the next morning I walked up to the doctor's office to set an appointment. As I'm at the front desk, I'm setting the appointment and I get to the obvious question from the nurse, "what's the purpose of your appointment?" It was odd but I kinda whispered, 'I found a lump'. Then she gave me this sad look of worry and tried to bump up my appointment. So the appointment got set, and even though we tried for a quicker date, the best that could be done was a week later.
So a week goes by and I finally get to see my doctor. My attitude was pretty upbeat during the wait, but I still had the lump and it still hadn't been defined. But overall, I have good instincts, intuition and attitude, and none of it was telling me to be overly concerned. And the little bit of concern that did creep in was saying that if the prognosis wasn't what I was anticipating, I would be able to deal. I was thinking about that as I walked into the exam room at the doctor's. She did the exam. Since it was a large lump (and I'm no Pamela Lee Anderson), it only took her a quick second to find it, at which time she says, "oh yeah, it's there." That, by the way, did not help my concern about how big it was. What did help is she immediately started talking about how it wasn't necessarily cancerous, but could be a cycle-related cyst, especially since it appeared so suddenly. She also told me to avoid feeling it as it may irritate it. So we finished up and she made an appointment for the next step: the mammogram.
I had to wait another week for the mammogram which was at another location. This was an interesting experience as I'm so young and everyone in that waiting room... wasn't. Most would qualify easily as my grandmother, even great-grandmother. After filling out my paperwork, I was given a certificate for a free pearl necklace, and I am eligible for additional pearls each year I get an exam. I thought that was pretty cool. Anyway, I was called and headed into the mammogram room. I have heard such horror stories, I was a bit concern about the pain. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. After taking full-on kicks and punches in martial arts, getting my breast extremely squashed wasn't horrible, especially knowing it was only for my benefit. And this lump was in a very hard to catch spot, so the poor technician did nothing but apologize as she tugged and pushed on my back. After all that, we only got one half decent shot as it was laying on my rib. Once she got that shot, she said, "Given your family history, we're probably going to need to take that out." 'Okay,' I thought. Since we did only get the one clear shot, she ran down to the ultrasound room to see if I could get that too. Ultrasounds allow for a far better view. Fortunately, someone showed up late to their ultrasound so they made room for me. Other than the cold gel and still walking around exposed to the world, the ultrasound was kinda cool. It was at this point I could really see it and my concerned significantly dropped. It looked like a really simple ball. Having seen shots of cancerous tumors, this looked far from it, but I'm no doctor. But 20 minutes later I walked into the oncologist's office and she told me the same and even matched my opinion. It was a "simple cyst". Basically, it's big round fatty ball showing now signs of cancer. That I could handle, and what remaining small amount of concern I had evaporated. But given my history and it's size she suggesting I get it drained a bit by another doctor.
So another week later at a different location, I arrived at the appointment for having the lump drained. I had been avoiding searching for it like I was told by my primary physician, but since I hadn't done so in a while, I decided to do a self exam. To my surprise, no lump. That's right, the huge quarter-size ball was apparently gone. But I'm no doctor. So I walked in to the room with a nurse and we quickly realize she lives in my apartment complex, and she sees me doing my run regularly. Funny. She also asked if it was cool if some interns observed my exam. I said it was fine. Then she handed me a robe the size of a mu mu, apologized for it's ridiculous size, and left only to return a few minutes later with the doc and 2 interns. I told him I was pretty sure it was gone. He proceeded to check. So here I was, totally exposed from the belt up, getting my chest felt up by a male doc I had known all of 3 minutes while 2 interns and my nurse neighbor looked on. (By the way, it made it a bit weird when I did see her at the complex the next day.) What was funnier was the doc and I are just talking and joking about various unrelated topics during this exam. For whatever reason, I was on a roll and had the interns cracking up. Apparently, breast exams bring out the comedian in me. Anyway, he finished up, came to my same conclusion, I paid for the appointment, set up an appointment for a following mammogram checkup in a few months, and I left.
So that's it. No lump for now. The whole experience was quite informative. It was probably the first time in my life when I truly thought about my mortality, and it put some things in perspective. So I guess the lesson is live life to the fullest, don't sweat the stupid stuff, and ladies and guys don't forget your regular self-exams.
It was a rather random discovery, not even intentional. Even with my family history, as a (till very recently) 20-something, it's not something I had been particularly nervous about in the near term as I'm very young. I mean, aside from the yearly checkup or self-exam after catching a report on TV, I didn't think of it much. So it came as a shock when I extended my arms upward in a stretch after my evening working and unconsciously reached toward my rib sensing something there. Sure enough, on my left side was a rather large, hard ball. My immediate thought was, 'oh sh*t, how did that get there?' It was nothing I had even noticed before and now from nowhere I was feeling a huge quarter-sized lump.
So mentally, I was concerned but not panicked. One... I'm a very positive person, and two... there's no need to be nervous about something I hadn't had examined yet. At the same time, I wasn't exactly sipping a margarita with my feet kicked up. Several things started going through my mind. As an educated person, I know the statistics, both positive and negative. I've had several friends in the last couple of years discover lumps and it be nothing; I've also known those rare cases of young women who weren't as lucky. I also started thinking about how ironic I'd make a discovery now when in the last couple of months I had become so healthy. I'm probably in the best shape of my adult life. I workout nearly every day, I run up to 3 miles each week and have started competing in 5Ks, and I eat a very healthy and balanced diet. I am noticeably more lean and toned, and even have an impressive 6-pack going. So it's odd that at the healthiest point of my life I would be having my most significant health concern.
Anyway, I made this discovery during the evening so I couldn't set a doctor's appointment until the morning. So the next morning I walked up to the doctor's office to set an appointment. As I'm at the front desk, I'm setting the appointment and I get to the obvious question from the nurse, "what's the purpose of your appointment?" It was odd but I kinda whispered, 'I found a lump'. Then she gave me this sad look of worry and tried to bump up my appointment. So the appointment got set, and even though we tried for a quicker date, the best that could be done was a week later.
So a week goes by and I finally get to see my doctor. My attitude was pretty upbeat during the wait, but I still had the lump and it still hadn't been defined. But overall, I have good instincts, intuition and attitude, and none of it was telling me to be overly concerned. And the little bit of concern that did creep in was saying that if the prognosis wasn't what I was anticipating, I would be able to deal. I was thinking about that as I walked into the exam room at the doctor's. She did the exam. Since it was a large lump (and I'm no Pamela Lee Anderson), it only took her a quick second to find it, at which time she says, "oh yeah, it's there." That, by the way, did not help my concern about how big it was. What did help is she immediately started talking about how it wasn't necessarily cancerous, but could be a cycle-related cyst, especially since it appeared so suddenly. She also told me to avoid feeling it as it may irritate it. So we finished up and she made an appointment for the next step: the mammogram.
I had to wait another week for the mammogram which was at another location. This was an interesting experience as I'm so young and everyone in that waiting room... wasn't. Most would qualify easily as my grandmother, even great-grandmother. After filling out my paperwork, I was given a certificate for a free pearl necklace, and I am eligible for additional pearls each year I get an exam. I thought that was pretty cool. Anyway, I was called and headed into the mammogram room. I have heard such horror stories, I was a bit concern about the pain. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. After taking full-on kicks and punches in martial arts, getting my breast extremely squashed wasn't horrible, especially knowing it was only for my benefit. And this lump was in a very hard to catch spot, so the poor technician did nothing but apologize as she tugged and pushed on my back. After all that, we only got one half decent shot as it was laying on my rib. Once she got that shot, she said, "Given your family history, we're probably going to need to take that out." 'Okay,' I thought. Since we did only get the one clear shot, she ran down to the ultrasound room to see if I could get that too. Ultrasounds allow for a far better view. Fortunately, someone showed up late to their ultrasound so they made room for me. Other than the cold gel and still walking around exposed to the world, the ultrasound was kinda cool. It was at this point I could really see it and my concerned significantly dropped. It looked like a really simple ball. Having seen shots of cancerous tumors, this looked far from it, but I'm no doctor. But 20 minutes later I walked into the oncologist's office and she told me the same and even matched my opinion. It was a "simple cyst". Basically, it's big round fatty ball showing now signs of cancer. That I could handle, and what remaining small amount of concern I had evaporated. But given my history and it's size she suggesting I get it drained a bit by another doctor.
So another week later at a different location, I arrived at the appointment for having the lump drained. I had been avoiding searching for it like I was told by my primary physician, but since I hadn't done so in a while, I decided to do a self exam. To my surprise, no lump. That's right, the huge quarter-size ball was apparently gone. But I'm no doctor. So I walked in to the room with a nurse and we quickly realize she lives in my apartment complex, and she sees me doing my run regularly. Funny. She also asked if it was cool if some interns observed my exam. I said it was fine. Then she handed me a robe the size of a mu mu, apologized for it's ridiculous size, and left only to return a few minutes later with the doc and 2 interns. I told him I was pretty sure it was gone. He proceeded to check. So here I was, totally exposed from the belt up, getting my chest felt up by a male doc I had known all of 3 minutes while 2 interns and my nurse neighbor looked on. (By the way, it made it a bit weird when I did see her at the complex the next day.) What was funnier was the doc and I are just talking and joking about various unrelated topics during this exam. For whatever reason, I was on a roll and had the interns cracking up. Apparently, breast exams bring out the comedian in me. Anyway, he finished up, came to my same conclusion, I paid for the appointment, set up an appointment for a following mammogram checkup in a few months, and I left.
So that's it. No lump for now. The whole experience was quite informative. It was probably the first time in my life when I truly thought about my mortality, and it put some things in perspective. So I guess the lesson is live life to the fullest, don't sweat the stupid stuff, and ladies and guys don't forget your regular self-exams.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Old.
On July 3rd 2008 I hit a milestone. I am now 30. Old. I have left my 20s and, what feels like, my youth. When the clock went past midnight, I actually felt it. This realization came over me that I had left one part of my life and entered a new and very significant one. It's probably the first birthday that really meant something to me. Anyway, it was great to spend the day with family (close and extended), and for friends (those close and ones I hadn't spoken to in a while) to remember the day and care enough to wish me happiness on my day. Really meant a lot to me. I have to say, I'm happy 30 has arrived at a time when I'm in increasingly excellent shape and have greatly improved my level of fitness, so I can hopefully have many more birthdays to come. I guess the next big one is 40... so I've got ten years to mentally prepare for that one.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hypermiling: thank you, geeks...
Yet another reason to appreciate geeks of the world. Hypermiling. As the gas prices go up, so does the growing community of hypermilers. Geeks of the world came up with a long list of things to do to extend the miles per gallon on your car. In general, if you can afford to "drive like an old man" and ignore the swearing you may get from other car drivers, you will save a lot of money. It's not that hard really. Doing things like taking your time, using neutral down hills, turning off your car a stop lights, driving behind semis, using cruise control, not riding your breaks, and the list goes... I have a co-worker who was able to stretch an additional 150 miles out of his tank. An old college friend told me this weekend he's been on the same tank since early April. And I used just a few of the strategies on a trip to NYC recently; based on my car indicator, I should have not been able to make it to the city but I did some hypermiling and made it not only to the city but back to NJ to buy some cheaper gas. :-) I wish people would have been talking about this years ago.
Some quick hits (so I don't have to do other small blog posts)...
Some quick hits (so I don't have to do other small blog posts)...
- I met the Stuff White People Like guy at the awards show. It went something like... 'Hey, I'm #31, snowboarding.' Him:"Oh my God! That was you?!" It was a pretty funny moment. He understandably thought he'd never meet someone from a random pic he took off the internet. Anyway, he offered to credit me in the pic but I told him no thanks. I prefer the anonymity, and the fact my friends think it's cool is fame enough. And I'll be sure to buy his book out July 1st.
- The Man has finally caught up with me. I'm starting jury duty in two weeks. I've never had to do it before. I postponed in April because I had a vacation planned. I called this morning to try to postpone again since I was worried if I got picked, I'd end up stuck for three weeks and I've got too many wedding/tournament/vacation plans in July. The woman on the phone was like, "You really don't want to postpone again. You're only signed up for 2 days. This is the one you want to accept. Trust me." So that's cool with me. :-) Two days and I'm set for a good 5 years. I'm actually kinda excited. I'm hoping to catch some Judge Judy-type drama.
- I'm on day 16 of my new fitness/eating plan. I've gone running every day, whether it's a few miles or a few minutes, and yesterday I started on this new crazy workout plan. I might be ready to sign up for American Gladiator in 90 days. Haha! We'll see...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Celeb Mingling...
So, for the past 6 years or so, I've been fortunate enough to do some seatfilling. Basically, I go to awards shows and fill seats for people who go off to the bathroom, get up to present, or maybe just didn't show up. I've gotten to do things like sit between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Coolest thing is I sit in these $1000 front-row seats for the low cost of *nothing*. Not a bad gig, especially when the only work is sitting on my ass.
Anyway, I've got another one of those gigs tonight for this award show appearing next week on Bravo. So when I went to check out online who would be at the awards, I came across an interesting name: Christian Lander. He's up for an award. This is the creator of the blog I am randomly pictured in. Not only is the blog at 30 million hits now, he's coming out with a Stuff White People Like book. The guy is huge now. I am hoping I meet him so I can say, "Hey, it's me... #31, snowboarding!" I think it'd be cool. It's just funny I'm not excited about any real celebrity encounter; I want to meet the blog guy. Haha!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Day 1...
I went running today, something I hadn't done in a while. Thing is, I pretty much hate running but I went and did it. I couldn't find my mp3 player so I had to run the way I hate most, in relative silence, and plus there was some crazy 99.99999 percent humidity. Sucked... during it. But I needed to. I've mentioned before that this year if something was really bothering me, I would force myself to work out to improve my mood. Today was one of those days. So I ran a few miles to get my endorphins (aka happy hormones) up quickly. Endorphins are my friends. I went as far as I could go after my body gave me a holler to remind me there's but so far it was going to go eventhough my mind was pushing at a different level. So I not only got the natural benefits but also a nice sense of accomplishment for going farther, running past the point my body was indicating I should. After I stopped, my bad knees were a little sore and I had to sit because my legs were wobbly and I was out of breath, but other than that I felt great. Once you get past the initial annoyances, it's such a beneficial act on many levels.
Anyway, during my endorphin high, I started thinking about goals, how I achieve them, and what new goal I wanted to set in terms of working out now that the weather is nice. So, I decided I'm going to go running every day for the next 100 days (shorter distances every 7th day for a "break" day). I'm also going to change my weekday morning habit. I usual use my mornings to lounge, but I'm going to make that my time for trips to the gym/track. I usually do that all in the evening but the effects are most beneficial in the morning so I'll give it a try.
I'm generally good when I spell out goals and timeframes, and especially after I've written them down. I'd be a pretty big loser if I posted this and didn't follow through. I guess we'll see come beginning of September...
Anyway, during my endorphin high, I started thinking about goals, how I achieve them, and what new goal I wanted to set in terms of working out now that the weather is nice. So, I decided I'm going to go running every day for the next 100 days (shorter distances every 7th day for a "break" day). I'm also going to change my weekday morning habit. I usual use my mornings to lounge, but I'm going to make that my time for trips to the gym/track. I usually do that all in the evening but the effects are most beneficial in the morning so I'll give it a try.
I'm generally good when I spell out goals and timeframes, and especially after I've written them down. I'd be a pretty big loser if I posted this and didn't follow through. I guess we'll see come beginning of September...
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