Latest News for the Month of
December 2006
I guess I could start this December update off with a " better you then me " stab at all my friends located in the cold climates of the North, but will try and behave myself. After all, Tis the season to be jolly". Instead I will not comment on your weather and will just say how lovely the weather has been in Florida recently. Sunny, low to mid 80's and very little rain. :)
Last week was a long one with Ally being home sick. She did manage to go in and teach two full days but spent the rest of the week in bed battling a horrible strep infection. The infection spread throughout her mouth, into her gum's and caused her a great deal of agaony. She wasnt able to eat hardly anything last week and is just now back onto some soft foods. Her temp sky rocketed several times last week only to come back down and go back up again. I fed her allot of Tyelnol and gave her a cold compress when the temp really spiked. It's the sickest I have ever seen her and thankfully she started feeling better today ( Monday ). She is back at work today and feeling a bit better but her throat and mouth is still sore from the infection. Thank God the antibiotics finally kicked in and started helping her. Hopefully she will be much better by mid week.
I haven't been able to start the Interferon treatment yet because of Ally being sick but will start my first injection soon. I am waiting till she feels better so we can switch roles, her being the caregiver and me being the sickee. I did get a round of great news last Friday. All of blood tests came back great and my entire blood cell line was stable and looking good. Even my INR ( clotting factor ) was good. That was great news for me and I was a happy camper as its been a miserable battle with fluctuating cell lines and counts.
I got an e-mail from a buddy of mine that included a picture of a Christmas gift he is asking Santa for. I looked the picture over well and have moved this gift to the top of my " Must Have List ". If any of you out there have been wondering what you can get me for Christmas this is it. If you can find this for me, I would love to receive it under my Xmas tree. Maybe you can buy two, one for me and the other for your hubby, boyfriend or significant other. Here is a picture of it so you know exactly what to look for. ( click here ). Steve obviously has to much time on his hands. Just retiring from Delta as a 767 pilot, he has more time now to entertain me and his other friends and I believe he has found the routine in retirement can be fun and stimulating. :) Being new to retirement I thought I could give Steve some great hints on retired living, but I see he has the routine down to a science which is to harass your friends and family every chance you get.
On the family front, every one is doing good except for Natalia. She underwent surgery last week to remove several ovarian cysts and they found that endometriosis had grown into her colon and intestines. ( This was the reason for her constant stomach pain. ) The surgeon removed as much as he could and she will later have to undergo another surgery to clean up more of it. The only way to stop the spread of it and to keep it out of the lungs is a full hysterectomy. I believe her and Matt wanted to first try and have a baby before selecting that option. But sooner or later she is going to have to face this surgery and have it done. She is recovering nicely from the surgery and will be back to work soon and has taken the news very good.
It's been a pretty good week for me. I have felt good and Ally is pretty much over her strep throat. I puttered around the coach a bit checking things over, airing tires, etc. getting ready for our trip north on the 22nd. I will have lots more to do the week before we leave.
Bruce ( my resort buddy ) and I took a ride on our motorcycles up to Hooter's for lunch the other day. They have some great food and of course the waitresses are as good as the food. As always I took pictures for everyone to see. I guess there is nothing like watching two grown middle aged men day dreaming about being 20 yrs old again. Here are the pictures ( click here ). We took a nice ride back to the resort on a back road that headed out towards the Gulf Coast. The road is very winding and has little traffic and is scenic so its always a great ride.
I have been back into the stock market and after taking a beating and losing allot of money two weeks ago I have recovered and back on top again. The stock market has just been wacked out lately so I have been really cautious with my trades. Its hard to make money in this kind of market unless you figure out the daily cycles of the stock. For those wondering I trade only in oil and transportation stocks, mainly Fed Ex, UPS and Chevron. Now and then I will do a quick buy of Yahoo stock but it can be volatile and I rarely hold it for more then a day. Most stocks I buy and sell all on the same day starting in the morning. Sometimes I will buy and sell two or three times a day. I try and watch my trades as doing 4 buy/sells a day will trigger a SEC ruling that will require me to get licensed as a day trader. Regardless, I do well at day trading and building our nest egg. It's also a great way for me to keep my brain exercised and working.
There is really nothing else to report on my current medical status. Everything looks good at the moment. I plan on starting Interferon/chemo on January 1. I wont have enough time to start it now before heading North and this drug is something you do not want to start and then plan a long trip with. I am good to go anyways till January and will start it then.
I have been getting allot of e-mails lately from friends all over the world. Thank you for writing. I have really enjoyed all of them and I try and write back. But many of you know I am terrible about that. :) I did wan to share one e-mail sent to me by a buddy of mine who just retired from an Airline as a pilot. This video may stir some memories of this comedian and he was one of my Dad's ( and mine ) favorites. It is hilarious and sure to make you laugh. Check it out - ( click here )
It is colder then heck ( ok, cold for Florida anyways ) today - 58 degrees. The weekend though is supposed to be nice and warm back up into the mid 70's so you know what that means, more motorcycle riding. Bruce is planning on taking us up the Coast a ways and shop us a few sites. We will probably ride up there on Sunday as the traffic is always light Sunday morning. I will be taking my camera and will post some pictures sometime next week. Until then, be safe, be happy and enjoy your weekend.
For those of you who know me well, you know I love practical jokes, teasing people, harassing others and just plain making people laugh. I have a good friend that I am constantly harassing through e-mails and phone calls. Gavin is like a nephew to me and has been one of those friends that I know I could always turn to if I needed help in anyway. But with our friendship comes the constant bantering, jokes and e-mails that poke fun at one another. After sending him an e-mail last week of my trip to Hooters ( included in the e-mail was an explanation of the unusually warm temperatures we were having in Florida ). I should have known that over time he would wait patiently to get me back and OH BOY did he get me back. I felt that since so many of you have been victims of my teasing and harassment that I would share this with you. I know after watching this short video that several of you will want Gavin's address so you can send him a thank you card and a congratulations. Here is the link that will make your Holiday's even brighter and sure to give you some much needed laughter.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Well its travel time. The bus is loaded, everything at our resort site is stored, the motorcycles are tucked away in the trailer for a rest while we are gone and we are ready to roll. Actually, we are leaving in approximately 4 hours and will try and make the South Carolina Border by tonight.
It's been a busy week getting ready for the trip. To make it even busier we have had dinners here with friends as well as lunches and dinners out with friends. We took a beautiful motorcycle ride to Tarpon Springs on Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. Had lunch with some friend we bumped into there and toured the Greek shops as well. I finally found a Cannolli ( Italian pastry ) that was worth eating. I savored every bit of it as its my favorite pastry. On Tuesday, my riding buddy Bruce and I went to Hooters for lunch and then followed that up with lunch again on Wednesday at a restaurant close to the resort. I always enjoy my trips with Bruce as we spend our time laughing. He is a positive person and is good for the mind.
Ally has been up to her eye balls in school work with finals all last week and this week. I felt sorry for her enough to grade some of the exams ( using her cheat sheet of course ) and helped her get caught up. I had to laugh since I flunked every Math course I took in High School. I Hated Math but her tests were easy to correct with the answers right in front of me. :). Her students love her to pieces and showered her with gifts this Christmas season. I can see why she loves this school and the students. They are thoughtful, kind and very respectful as are the parents. They provided her with a wonderful Christmas memory through love and gifts and thoughtfulness. She really needed that as Christmas time is a tough time for Ally. She hasn't had a Christmas with her family in 8 years and really gets homesick at this time of year. Christmas Eve is always her crying time for her because she knows its Christmas day in Australia and her family is together. One of these days she is going to get over there for Xmas. I will force her to. :)
We talked with our granddaughter Ella on the phone twice this week. I cannot wait to see her as she has grown so much since the last time we were together. If your a Grandparent then you know how a grandchild can provide an eternal flame inside your heart that seems to grow stronger with time. Of course its going to be great to see Lindy, Natalia, Kim and Matt as well. We always have great Christmas's together and I do not expect this one to be any different. I just love my kids and cherish the close bond we have.
I am hoping and praying that all of you have a wonderful Christmas as well with your family and friends. Remember that this is the season for giving, gifts, love and respect to everyone who matters in your life. Make your Holiday a memorable one by enjoying each other through love, laughter and good times.
May God Bless all of you at this time of year and always. I wish you all the best during this holiday season,
Chris
( NOTE: I will not be updating the web site till after the first of the year. )