Esther and I posted a couple of times from the lake, but they never appear. I think they are stuck in internet limbo… I hope that I can figure out how we can post before Saturday. I’m going to try G-cast. Check out podcast.jeredb.com for more information.
For real podcast update (on our backup system) check out: http://www.gcast.com/u/jeredb/main.
Make sure to click on the “posts” button in the player to hear all the audio.
For a while. I’m going to be on the road and on vacation. I will unwired, but podcasting. Check out here. I hope you will listen in and comment.
Signing off - Jered
Oh my god. By god, I’m probably refering to Floyd Landis. He has become a major cycling god today. Yesterday, in a major mountains stage, Floyd lost about 8 minutes. 8 minutes is nearly impossible to make up in the cycling world.
An awe inspiring performance.
Read all about it here:
Cycling News
TDF blog
TDF blog II
Cycloblogs.com
Yesterday I picked up our bikes from the bike shop and today I was back there to buy some of the last supplies for our trip including a bag and rack for my bike. I also got some new cycle shorts and they are amazing! They have “11 mm of padding”.
That will really make a nice ride. We also got most of the food for the car and started packing it up. I organized all the bike gear into a very organized system. Esther and I should have no problem getting everything ready when we get to WI.
Also had to rewrap Esther’s handle bar tape, not fun, but it looks a hell of a lot better now.
Reading is something that I plan on doing a lot of over my vacation, seeing I’m not going to have a computer or anything. I plan on reading On the Postal Bus, The World is Flat (about a 1/3 of the way through) and Battlespace. I’d be pretty happy if I can read all three.
I think its update no. 3.
John has been at the VA hospital for like 48 hours straight. He was informed that they didn’t get enough cells to type the cancer, although they know that it is cancer. After he spoke with an oncologist, she let him know that she thought it was most likely not metastisized melanoma, but more likely lymphoma. If it is lymphoma, his current state is actually very good, it would be classifed by most professionals (and all my website reading) as stage 1. That’s not definative, but *exhale* a little relief.
The oncologist is trying to work with the surgeon to get a larger sample from the lymph-nodes, but the surgeon is kind of being a punk. The surgeon thinks that he shouldn’t do the operation, but the oncologist (who I think has a better grasp on the cancer) becuase it will delay his chemo. Um… the oncologist should make that call. This is the same surgeon who wanted to google jockey the whole time. I have a feeling I don’t like this guy. He looks a little like the, Dr. Lucien Dubenko the ER (NBC) surgeon.
He might not get any kind of treatment or surgery until August 2 or 3. We will be gone… but he might not get treatment then… we shall see.
I’m T minus 3 days for our trip out to the lake house.
For those who don’t know Esther and I are heading out to my parents lake house on the Lake of the Ozarks. We are going to spend 5 (ish) days there before we head up to Kansas City and drive with my parents up to Wisconsin to participate in Bike Across Wisconsin, a 360 mile bicycle ride through the Door county area of Wisconsin. It’s going to be physically challenging, but I think that it’s going to be fun. We have gotten our rain gear in the mail and I’m picking up the bike from the LBS (local bike shop) tonight. We have to figure out our rack systems tonight. I am going to try and use some pre-existing racks that Esther and I have from other bikes, rather than going out and buy new ones. I think that we will need a trunk bag at least though.
While we are out at the lake and on the bike trip I will be computer less. I think that its the first time in a long time I will be “unwired.” I will however be podcasting.
How you ask? Good question, better answer.
I’m taking me cellphone and I have set up a phone recording thingy through Odeo. You can check out the podcast here. I plan on posting very regularly, during rest stops, possibly on the road (although cycling and talking on the cellphone can’t be safe…) and after every ride at night. I hope to interview my family and people we are riding with to give you a feel of what the ride is like.
I would love to have a post with wordpress or a page that would automagically update with all the new entries, but wordpress doesn’t allow < embed > tags. Oh well.
There is a problem being a print designer. I never thought I would run into this but here is the crux of the problem.
Everyone who has looked at a magazine, taken a photo, and used Microsoft Word is a better designer than I am.
You see, even though I work very hard to produce quality products for clients, I can only do what clients ask for. I do try to anticpate their needs, but I can only do that to a certain extent. I do have a degree mind you, I can definately get your job printed, but of course I have no idea about what it could look like. I have no idea about how to efficiently layout a brochure, how to draw the reader through the project. How could I with a degree and a … little … work experience.
Ugh.
Esther’s dad had his biopsy today. It was a pretty rough procedure. I got to the hospital a little after 10:30, having raced to get there at a descent time, and had to sit and wait. John’s appointment was scheduled for 11, but he didn’t get seen until 11:20 and that was after he bugged every person who entered the waiting room. It was weird the way he went into the appointment though. He just gave Marina his wallet and went around the corner. No hug, no “I’ll see you in a bit”, no “don’t worry, I’ll be fine”. It was just a little weird. I know that he was really stressed before his appointment. He was abnormally quiet, he’s normally a very jovial guy, but when I got there he was in a contemplative state.
Then we waited.
One nurse came out and said that it would only be a 30 minute procedure, then another came out and said that it would be a quick 45 minute procedure, and a little after that, another nurse came out and said it could be an hour. I don’t think they knew how long it could be.
Esther arrived a little bit after that and we were sitting in the waiting room, just waiting.
The waiting room started to fill up, so I vacated my chair to make way for the people who really needed. I grabbed my bag and went down the hall and continued to read “The World is Flat” and we waited.
I was really hungry. I had to try and get something. Esther and I walked around the hospital and after finding a vending machine and getting a chicken salad sandwich, we walked back to the waiting area. Esther’s phone was ringing on our way back up, it was her mom and she let us know that John was out of surgery.
We went to a different waiting room, I guess it was a recovery room. I had my sandwich which was horrible, John ate a granola bar, drank some pomegranate juice and winced in pain.
He looked like he was in a lot of pain. They had to go back in and take a second sample to get enough tissue. They also had to drain fluid from his lymph node, which sound wholly unpleasant.
Now finally, the ball can start rolling.
Today is John’s biopsy. I’m going to be there to support Marina (his wife) and it looks like it might be a long wait. Do hospitals have wi-fi? I have packed a bag of snacks for us, because Marina is a little bit of a health nut. I mentioned us eating from the vending machine and she turned her nose up.
His appointment is at 11, but they want him to check in at 10:30 because it is a real surgery kind of procedure. Last night they were talking about being to the hospital at 9. I guess that’s how they deal with the stress, but it’s just going to make more uncomfortable hospital time (I guess that’s just me though).
If the hospital has wi-fi, I’ll update as I can, but if not I’ll post later.
