This just in:


After a *minor incident* in WoW last night, my guild note may be being changed to "My cat wipes raids."

Oh, and my raid leader is referring to me as "Autorun".


That is all...

Got my test results in for the biopsy yesterday. Diagnosis: sclerosing adenosis (benign glandular tissue). No treatment necessary. They'll just want me in for another ultrasound in 6 months.

Thanks to so many of you for all the love and support!

...and now it's back to work!

<3

Kaiser's got a timeline for periodic checkups, so I went in for my first mammogram a few weeks ago. They asked me to come back in for a follow-up ultrasound, but didn't specify why. So Turkey Day Eve, I worked a half day and went in. After the ultrasound, they asked me to wait and brought a couple of doctors in to take a second look. Two cysts, first one all fluid and they weren't concerned. The second is a 3cm long fibroadenoma, most likely benign, but they wanted to biopsy it just in case. [about 5% of these lumps are diagnosed a malignant tumour, and not as a fibroadenoma.] I agreed, and what I thought would be a 15 minute visit turned into an hour and a half, including 40 minute outpatient surgery and a post biopsy mammogram (um, ouch!).

A 25 minute bus ride later, I was home and reeling from the experience. No shower for 24 hours, no bath for 48. No Advil or aspirin in case of bleeding. No lifting anything more than 2 lbs with my right arm. With the exception of a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with friends, I spent a very insular weekend at home with my cat, just taking it easy. Ironically, I didn't really feel sore until today, 5 days later.

I'd like to reassure you that there is no history of breast cancer in my family, and I feel confident the results will be benign. That being said, it was a lot to handle after an hour long commute on the train. They also have a no cell phones policy in the treatment areas, so I was pretty much out of contact with my loved ones til after it was all over. I kept them in my mind though, and that helped. I didn't freak out or cry. I have always been fascinated with anatomy. Heck, I aced that section of my EMT finals when I was 19. So I was able to distract myself from any anxiety by taking a clinical interest in the whole process.

And then just before we started on the biopsy, with the ultrasound screen in front of me, I started to giggle. The doctor smiled and I asked him, "Have you ever seen Dune?" He said yes, so I told him, "I'm sorry, it's just that to me, the cyst looks like a guild navigator from that movie." And then I burst out laughing. A couple of very dear friends told me I'm quite the nerd for thinking about it like that. But I'm pretty sure they knew that beforehand... :)

And I've even got the sound on. Come visit for a few...

http://ustream.tv/channel/latchkey-artist

'til about 5pm

http://ustream.tv/channel/latchkey-artist

I need trapping and ArtPro training that's not on the east coast. Does anyone have any suggestions? Interactive media, maybe?

Please to be visiting the nifty new http://steve-hamaker.com/ He's far too talented for his own good, and apparently needs to get out more.

!Come watch and chat with me ustream.tv/channel/latchkey-artist

Lettering live. Come visit. http://ustream.tv/channel/latchkey-artist

Off to Comic Relief in Berkeley, then lunch with Todd. Had a few friends show up on ustream and it was great fun! Will do it again tonight.

Thanks to all who stopped in!

Watched a very very close friend in this play tonight, and broke down in tears when I heard this song. Where did all the time go, and what did I do wrong?


Aida Lyrics

I Know the Truth Lyrics

Complimentary "I Know the Truth" Ringtone

Amneris:
How did I come to this?
How did I slip and fall?
How did I throw half a lifetime away
Without any thought at all?

This should have been my time
It's over, it never began
I closed my eyes to so much for so long
and I no longer can

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of shift in a star
But I know the truth and it haunts me
it's flown just a little too far
I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
It's flown just a little too far.

Why do I want him still?
Why when there's nothing there?
How to go on with the rest of my life
To pretend I don't care
This should've been my time
It's over-It never began
I closed my eyes to so much for so long
and I no longer can

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
But I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little too late

Oh I know the trth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
I learned it a little too late
Too late

Here's a link to this week's craigslist ad:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/roo/296691493.html

$1000 with garage parking/Storage
$950 without

19th century fisherman's cottage in the hills of Sausalito.
View of Richardson Bay
Dishwasher
Washer/Dryer
Central heating
Huge back yard
Huge garage
Cable w/ HBO
Hi speed internet

The house is animal friendly. We have two cats and a dog presently, but all but one cat are going away during the sublet time. I work from home in the back office and am usually gone on the weekends.

Ideally we'd like to fill the room by/before March 4th, but we're willing to be flexible.

I mourn last weekend's loss of my Sager laptop. $2200 and 25 months later, the motherboard and memory are likely both fried. Being 100% freelance, and a bit light on my lettering schedule this year, this could not have come at a worse time.

But I am fortunate in my family. I have taken out a loan with the Bank of Mom® and am purchasing a brand new iMac at the end of this weekend. I'll be making payments for the next year and a half, but what price, job security?

In the meantime, I'm trying to wade through a hefty project for Dark Horse due on Monday. No rest for the wicked...

His body was found at 12:03pm today. I cried while I watched the news conference. I didn't know him, but I've been rooting for him all week. Maybe the fact that he was a San Franciscan and a tech geek made me feel closer. And hearing how he and his wife used the limited resources available to them made me admire them both even more. I don't know what else to say, really. I'm incredibly saddened by the bittersweet end of this story...

To artemis_rich

Epidemiologic study of relationships between consumption of commercial canned food and risk of hyperthyroidism in cats

I'm in mid-research here, so I can't provide any absolutes. But the information I'm seeing so far is disturbing. I'll try to post regularly as I find out more. Obviously this issue is topically crucial to me, given my cat's recent health issues. Any corroborating or contradictory input would be greatly appreciated.