Wednesday, October 22, 2008
What Was THAT All About?
By midafternoon today I was feeling pretty poopy at work -- headache so bad I felt nauseous, kinda dizzy, that sort of thing. I ended up leaving a little early. My 45-minute commute home was not a lot of fun. I got home, took Tylenol, and crawled under the covers about 5:15, just to rest a little. Next thing I know, it's 8:30. Most unusual. Anyway, after eating a little something I'm feeling a bit better now. I just hope I'm not sick...the Marathon is in just 5 days.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
What a Great Summer It Was
Hanging out with Stan Monday (we visited the Newseum) I realized just how much had happened over the summer. Sure, according to the calendar we still have some summertime left, but really, the 101 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are what really count. Thinking back to where I was, where we were, back on Memorial Day, it's wild to think about how much has happened.
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
Labels: Friends, Health, Life, Olympics, Relationships, Running, Travel
Sunday, August 03, 2008
You Want to Put That Where?
Earlier this week I had to get a physical exam. The physician's assistant (I'm not cool enough to get a real doctor) looked at the basics: blood pressure (107/56), sitting pulse (46 beats per minute), my lab results, reflexes, and so on. Then it was time for more "hands on" stuff.
Did I mention this was a woman examining me? A really good looking woman?
Of course, that doesn't do anything for me, but she's looking at me as a regular straight guy, not knowing all my hidden details, and so she's treating me like a nervous straight guy might need to be treated when being felt up by a hot female medical professional, making sure I'm not bothered by anything. First she does the hernia and testicular cancer check ("turn your head and cough") and everything is cool. Then comes the "well, you're over 40, so we really should do a prostate exam" part, what I like to call "the fickle finger of fate."
Yes, she's going to finger me.
This is totally nonsexual, of course, so I don't give it a second thought when she tells me to lean forward on the table on my elbows and just relax. She figures I'm some straight guy who's never been touched "up there." She has no idea who she has in her exam room.
"OK," she says, "you're going to feel a cold glop of something first, just relax." I'm thinking "she's using KY instead of Wet? Hmmm, old school." Then she says, "OK, just relax, I have small fingers." And very quickly, she's in and she's out. I hear her stripping off the glove and it was all I could do to keep from saying "oh, have you already been in there? I didn't feel a thing."
I swear, if she only knew.
I should add that the exam was normal, which was good to hear, as a friend had to deal with prostate cancer and that's no fun. Even though my lab results were normal, she tells me that 25% of prostate cancers don't show up in blood tests. Scary. (I am making this public service announcement about prostate cancer because I think everyone should be aware of it as they get older, and also in the hopes that this will keep my physician friends from giving me crap about not being "out" to her. Yes, I know I should be, but there are reasons not to.)
By the way, later that evening I went out and ran 15 miles/25km as part of my marathon training. Despite having fallen behind during my Asia trip I'm not getting caught up to where I should be. And yay for that.
Did I mention this was a woman examining me? A really good looking woman?
Of course, that doesn't do anything for me, but she's looking at me as a regular straight guy, not knowing all my hidden details, and so she's treating me like a nervous straight guy might need to be treated when being felt up by a hot female medical professional, making sure I'm not bothered by anything. First she does the hernia and testicular cancer check ("turn your head and cough") and everything is cool. Then comes the "well, you're over 40, so we really should do a prostate exam" part, what I like to call "the fickle finger of fate."
Yes, she's going to finger me.
This is totally nonsexual, of course, so I don't give it a second thought when she tells me to lean forward on the table on my elbows and just relax. She figures I'm some straight guy who's never been touched "up there." She has no idea who she has in her exam room.
"OK," she says, "you're going to feel a cold glop of something first, just relax." I'm thinking "she's using KY instead of Wet? Hmmm, old school." Then she says, "OK, just relax, I have small fingers." And very quickly, she's in and she's out. I hear her stripping off the glove and it was all I could do to keep from saying "oh, have you already been in there? I didn't feel a thing."
I swear, if she only knew.
I should add that the exam was normal, which was good to hear, as a friend had to deal with prostate cancer and that's no fun. Even though my lab results were normal, she tells me that 25% of prostate cancers don't show up in blood tests. Scary. (I am making this public service announcement about prostate cancer because I think everyone should be aware of it as they get older, and also in the hopes that this will keep my physician friends from giving me crap about not being "out" to her. Yes, I know I should be, but there are reasons not to.)
By the way, later that evening I went out and ran 15 miles/25km as part of my marathon training. Despite having fallen behind during my Asia trip I'm not getting caught up to where I should be. And yay for that.
