Done Since 2024-02-11

[mdlbear]

A fairly eventful week, not particularly bad, but strange. Monday Habitat for Humanity came by with a truck and, under s"'s supervision, hauled off filing cabinets, plastic drawer units, and some (but not all) of the building materials from the garage. Friday Sno King Hauling Junk Removal hauled off most of the remaining clutter (though they didn't have time for everything -- they'll come back Tuesday for the rest, including the e-waste and some of the furniture.

The house looks very weird now. And Friday I took my mattress down to Seattle, because it's more comfortable than the one I'm using down there.

Also on Monday I spoke with the radiation oncologist, to get that process started. It will take about ten weeks, with actual radiation beamed at my prostate on weekdays for the last five of those. The first weeks will be mostly waiting for preperatory things to get scheduled. The first, not until March 11th, is getting gold beads installed in my prostate as markers. (I expect that to be unpleasant, but somewhat less so than a biopsy, which involved making roughly four times as many holes.)

Tuesday I had not one but two support group meetings by zoom - my usual grief group in the morning, and a new "living with cancer" group in the evening. (That one ran late -- they have an earlier one that I may switch to.) Wednesday I had a zoom call with Susanna M, the ARNP who's my contact for "Integrative Medicine" -- she's the one who referred me to accupuncture. She confirmed that my iron numbers are low enough that I should be taking a supplement. I think Wednesday was also a minor holiday that I don't celebrate anymore.

Thursday I drove up to the island for Friday's junk haul. That was the last night I'll ever sleep in that bedroom, which is just plain weird and the last time I'll sleep in a room that I shared with Colleen. Which is sad. Friday -- I've already mentioned Friday. The $G fit app said I walked over 8000 steps that day. None of it a proper walk.

Welcome to Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, which starts today. Music for today's post is Libba Cotten's Freight Train, which I just learned on Monday is public domain (written somewhere between 1906 and 1912). First or second song I learned to Travis pick on.

Notes & links:
0211Su
  & awake 2:40; night sweat
    -> took over an hour to get back to sleep.  The tea probably didn't help
  & awake 5:30ish?  -> night sweat
  * up 8:10; S=8:32, ; exercises, 
  * abiraterone 8:15; prednisone+rest of am drugs+fiber 9:25
  : the problem with ssh instability that's been preventing git pulls etc into
    /vv/mm/books turns out to have been due to having both wired and wireless connections
  @ Lessons from the Most Profitable Independent Bookstores
  : the problem with ssh instability that's been preventing git pulls etc into
    /vv/mm/books turns out to have been due to having both wired and wireless connections
    -> except it still didn't work.
    -> ssh'ing from sable and _then_ cloning from sable, _did_ work.
  * grocery run to Freddie's
  @ Step Inside Middle Earth: Epic Hobbit Home Tour! - YouTube
  * 15min:  dishes
  % how the frack did it get to be 11pm?

0212Mo  * litter boxen
  & awake 5:30; 
  * up 6:40;
  * 06:42 abiraterone; 08:06 prednisone, pills, fiber
  * 15min: some work on getting Nova back online -> boots, but need route
  * Habitat pickup at RE (g" and s")
    -> called 9:45; s"'s number is 425-534-3819
  * guitar: Bad Guys
    : TIL:  "Freight Train" was written by Libba Cotten between 1906 and 1912, so it's PD  * 2pm leave for 2:45 checkin radiation oncology re-evaluation - Dr. Liao - Montlake
    had to park in Triangle garage.  Extra time was useful.
    -> total ~10 weeks -> end of April.  actual treatments every weekday for 5 weeks.
       First thing is getting markers placed in my prostate -- exactly when depends on
       scheduling.  Abiraterone will continue afterward; depends on what Dr. Sunkara
       thinks is needed; total is usually around 18 months.
    -> Skip the eclipse trip, then, probably.  If I can be back by the next day...
  * 15min:  side trip to Bartell to pick up k's prescription.  They didn't have its
    insurance info, but on N's suggestion I asked -- only $7.68.  Or about 1/400 what my
    abiraterone would go for without insurance.
  * start: bottle of Bombay Sapphire (purchased at Bartell - see above)
  * set up treadmill -> 20:31 together but not plugged in.  I'm tired.
    -> 21:30 plugged in.  Maybe I'll test it tomorrow
  * sleepytime extra tea
  @ Iron - Health Professional Fact Sheet keep dosage under 25mg iron.  RDA: 8mg
    Iron Supplements for Anemia (Ferrous Sulfate): Types, Benefits & Side Effects
    Although the supplement works best on an empty stomach, you may want to take it with
    food so it doesn’t upset your stomach.  You shouldn't take iron supplements with milk,
    caffeine, antacids or calcium supplements.  Try to take your iron supplement with
    vitamin C (for example, a glass of orange juice) to increase absorption.

0213Tu
  & awake 4something
  * up 7:30; S=8:16, BP=139/80, P=69; exercises, Dutch
  * 08:03 abiraterone
  @ Neolithic Bread (andrewducker)
  * 10am Memory Keepers grief support group - zoom
  @ Updated COVID shots 54% effective at preventing symptoms, CDC study finds
  @ synecdochic | COVID antihistamine protocol
    You've Got COVID! Minimize Your Symptoms and Reduce Your Long COVID Risk - RTHM
  * 6:30-8:30pm Living with Cancer Support Group - EvergreenHealth see email
  * trying to unscramble the consonance-2004 DVD.  looks like it starts at chapter 2 and
    wraps around, but I can't figure out how to make any kind of encoder do that
    Set list in mdlbear | Consonance report: Friday
  * load drugs

0214We  Valentine's Day  * litter boxen
  & awake 3ish
  * up 7am; S=7:02, BP=133/.86, P=84; exercises, Dutch
  * abiraterone 07:10, am pills 8:30ish
  * singing: Bad Guys
  * walk:  1.4mi, w=35m,20hp, 43mm Bartells (to buy iron suppl.), back via Monkey Grind
    28mg iron as iron glycinate; Mexican mocha and a bagel with salmon cream cheese
  @ CDC plans to drop 5-day COVID isolation guidelines | The Seattle Times
    " Under the new approach, people would no longer need to stay home if they have been
      fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication and their symptoms
      are mild and improving, "
    " The plan to further loosen isolation guidance when the science around infectiousness
      has not changed is likely to prompt strong negative reaction from vulnerable groups,
      including people older than 65, those with weak immune systems and long COVID
      patients, CDC officials and experts said. "
  * 15min:  bring in file cart.  Fit is marginal;
  * noonish take k (with stuff) to Lake City house, then down to s" and g"'s on Cap Hill
  : 14:26 call from UW scheduling for marker placement -- scheduled for 3/11 at 10am
  -> from S. Meyers: - last appointment 0117Tu -> next 0214We
    -~ walking 30m 5/week.   * set up treadmill
    -? increase fluids -- 2-3l/d; drink a full cup with meds (for an extra 750ml/day)
       coffee 500-1000ml; tea is probably another 250ml.  Dragon cup is 12oz=341ml.
    -~  *play guitar, sing 3x before next meeting;  x add something to bandcamp
  * 4pm telehealth with Susanna Meyers - integrative medicine
    *- Iron supplements: check dose (what I could find was 28mg; also includes
       8mcg B12, 60mg C, and 400mcg folate; B12 and C small compared to current doses)
    *- have been walking more, though not every day.
    *- link to https://steve.savitzky.net/Albums/20080214/ in chat
    -* update ../../medications and mychart:  iron daily, docusate as needed, D3 dosage
    -> take iron every other day if constipation becomes a problem
    -> she seems to think I'm doing very well, and noted that my mood has lifted as well
       (the morning walk may have had something to do with it)
  * sign and return insurance/HIPAA/customer satisfaction forms.  added link to rant
  @ Opinion | Most people don’t know how to get free Paxlovid to fight covid - WaPo
    paxlovid.iassist.com or call 877-219-7225
  : clicking around in old concerts, doing the occasional fixup.
  @ *privacy not included | Shop smart and safe | Mozilla Foundation 
    ‘AI Girlfriends’ Are a Privacy Nightmare | WIRED

0215Th
  & awake 3:30;  nightmare -> reading -> back to sleep ~5:30.
  * up 8ish; S=7:28, W=189.6; minimal exercises ... ... Dutch (thought I'd done them in
    the morning, but chedked around 8pm anc I hadn't)
  * 08:15 abiraterone + iron; 9:20? rest of am drugs
  % feeling a little off, so took a COVID test.  negative, of course.
  @ Backdoors that let cops decrypt messages violate human rights, EU court says|Ars 
  @ The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion - File 770 The 2023 Hugo Fraud and Where We Go From Here | Whatever
  * pay AX  $3000 from USB checking
  * pack extra shelving to take up
  * pack: coffee grinder
  * 15min:  dishes.  There are at least a load and a half left; maybe two.  not my circus
  * 2:30 up to Whidbey.  -> 5pm 
    % a little sleepy on the way up.   Bladder okay
  % very strange seeing the house like this.  Still a fair amount of food left
    % something that's either cold, anxiety, depression, or some combination -- my stomach
      is all tied up in knots.  But it was definitely cold when I came in.
      I think I need to cry, but I don't know how
    % also, it's a disaster area, but we knew that would would be the case.
  % 21:13 flaked out for a while.  Need to take a hot bath, then crash
  * Start separating stuff between stay, store, trash, and Seattle
    -> found a _lovely_ light-weight tie-dye skirt that _fits me_
  x Pack Molly for final storage run

0216Fr
  * up 6:40; S=7:05, 
    % note - do not appear to have woken up all night.  No nocturia!
    % getting up off the floor, however, was non-trivial
  * abiratirone 6:45;  rest of am drugs 7:45
  & pull health-care items out of junk room and get pieces together - should be donated
    and don't want them to be incomplete
  * continue separating stuff between stay, store, trash, and Seattle
  * btw. 12 and 1 junk hauler (Danny et. al.).  MASK
    *- Get them to help move my mattress to Molly's roof.  x Tarp if necessary.
    -> they'll be back Tuesday pm to finish (eWaste, adj. bed).
  ~ start packing Molly for return trip (rest of list moved to Tuesday
    * k's stuff in back bedroom, orchids, hanging planter(s) -> leave stored stuff for Tu
    * -see if anyone wants the safe.  if not- leave safe in closet.  Attach both keys
    * retrieve one of the REI backpacks, partly for family memories
    * hanging flower pot on front porch, orchids (for k)
    * clip lights -- there are still some left
  * disassemble chairside table, box+board shelves in S's room
  % pretty bad backache (p=5+) by the time I left.  Molly's heated seats helped a lot.
  * 15min:  unload, install mattress (with N)
  * 15min:  dishes.  There will be _at least_ one more load in the morning
  * out to Lair a little late -- around 9pm.
  * 15min:  make bed.  As it turns out I don't seem to have _any_ clean top sheets.
    (because I left the bedding up on Whidbey.  :P)  Made bed w/o top sheet, which is the
    way Colleen and I always did it before she got sick.
  % I do not like the Twinings "pure peppermint" tea
  % 21:59 tired.
  % according to $G's fitness app I took more than 8300 steps, though none of it counted
    as actual exercise as they define it.  But I was on my feet a lot.  I'll take
    it.  So s=8300    

0217Sa
  & awake 3:30ish.  night sweat
    % I may need a different mattress pad -- this one seemed a bit clammy
  * up 7:30; S=7:28, W=192; minimal exercises, Dutch
  * abiraterone+iron 7:44; rest of am meds 8:44 -- appear to have missed yesterday :(
  * tried to reconfigure Nova.  stupid Ubuntu is going to make me use a mouse, because I
    don't remember how to do it manually.  Doesn't seem to work with the mouse either --
    network app doesn't see ethernet.  Weird.
  * 15min:  laundry.  unload/load dishes - mostly pots this time
  * 11:36 take k's planter & orchids to Lake City, then take it to s"'s and g"'s on Roy St.
  $ $518 to Sno King Junk Removal from AX.  Probably a similar amount on Tuesday
  *- do I need a tetanus shot for the puncture on my thumb (from yesterday)
     -> NO.  Previously done: 11/24/2015, so less than 10 years ago.
     -> Your provider may recommend a tetanus booster shot if you have a cut and you
        either: ...Got your last tetanus dose more than 10 years before the wound.
     -> there doesn't seem to be a designated advice phone line at UW: 206.744.5000?
     -* video visit (third attempt) -> for small, apparently clean wound, should be okay
  * short walk to park, w=0.4mi, s=1000, 10min, 5hp.  Also wiped off Molly's seat, took
    laundry out to the Lair, and dropped off two books at the Little Free Library on 88th.
  @ An Immense Mystery Older Than Stonehenge Göbekli Tepe - Wikipedia
  * more time wasted on Nova.  Somehow the network has been set up unmanaged, which would
    be fine except that I don't know _where_ it's set up.  Foo.  If it were Debian that
    would be /etc/interfaces, but that doesn't exist.  Simple thing is just to install a
    fresh OS, possibly Mint, but possibly one of the tiny ones.
  * bedtime tea: genmaicha

0218Su-0224Sa  Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week
  @ Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week –
    A Celebration of Aromantic Spectrum Experiences and Identities | Feb. 18–24, 2024

Comments

[azurelunatic]

I like the song that the beam machine sings. It sounds like a stepper motor that only knows two notes, and slightly crispy.

There are a lot of lasers (green) in the treatment rooms. I used a sleep eye mask to keep me from accidentally staring into them; you can also ask for a drape over your eyes. The treatment rooms are themed with Bert and Ernie, and there's a Futurama magnet on the "patient nutrition" refrigerator.

I saved a little time by wearing clothes where I could just pull off a quick layer or two rather than needing to change into a gown.