Another Family Reunion and Adelaide Reunion

I had a busy week with Paul arriving and we had another big family reunion.  I have a great family so I always enjoy seeing them all.  I felt very drowsy that day from my medication and most of the week was also like that.  The last two days have been much better though.

Igor came down from Mullimbimbi on Tuesday after flying back with Paul who went up there to visit him.  

I will post photos and say a bit more in a few days but I can't upload photos right now as I am using dial since I'm back in Cabrini doing my third chemo session.  

So far it has been easier than the last two chemo sessions because the pain from the surgery is better.  Now my biggest concern is the nausea and I can manage that to some degree with medication.  The chemo dose is heavier this time so I am hoping it won't be too bad.  I just had my hair coloured too so I hope that it hangs in there too.

Last night I had a great time.  We had an Adelaide reunion of friends from when I used to live in Adelaide where I grew up (so that explains it then...).  There was Michelle, Lisa, Julie, Viv, Igor, Paul, Jack and myself and it amazed me how much trivia we remembered from back then...over 28 years ago.  We all still all remembered how to say a Czech phrase (a language that none of us speak except 'perhaps' Igor) that was written on a calendar stuck on the fridge at Igor's parents house.  The English translation is something like 'Hello, this is the cultural calendar for the year'.  The Czech sounded something like 'Ahoy, spolokenski alkaturni plannerok.'

The other day Paul told me the age of a friend of ours and I said 'She looks fantastic, I didn't realise she was that old'  ... and then suddenly realised that she was the same age as us.  That made me laugh a lot. 

Update:  I have added the photo from the Adelaide reunion and the family reunion

Card Game

I just came back from a card game.  For those of you that don't know, I have been playing a fortnightly card game with a group of friends for over fifteen years now.  We play every 2nd Friday a game called FYB and we play for a trophy cup which the winner gets to keep for the whole fortnight.   Tonight there was a draw between John and myself.  I've attached a photo of us both accepting the cup from Viv who was the last fortnights champion.  It is the 3rd time John has won in fifteen years.  The second time he won was 4 weeks ago so even though it was a draw, this was a pretty big deal for him (There are only 8 of us who play).

Earlier this week John and Fiorucci organised a dinner at the London Tavern which was like a big reunion and everyone including myself really enjoyed it.  I caught up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in ages.  The photo on the left above is from that evening.  

Tomorrow we are having a big family get-together so that everyone can say hello to Paul who is down here for only 2 and a half weeks.  I had better go to bed now so that I can help Mum prepare for it tomorrow as it is already 2am here.  

Paul Arrives

I haven't updated my blog for over a week because I have been having problems connecting to the internet in the evenings when I usually blog.  It seems to be working late during the night so I won't say much but I thought I'd stay up late to update my blog so you all know that I am ok.

My twin brother Paul flew in on Saturday from Israel via China and it has been fantastic seeing him again.  Tonight we all went to see the movie 'Knocked Up' which I highly recommend for some good laughs.  Very educational too.  Apparently you can get pink eyes if someone farts on your pillow.  Who knew?

Tomorrow I'm going to see the lung specialist who has results from some lung function tests I did recently so I will find out how my diaphragm is performing.  There seems to have been some damage done there during the surgery and I am hoping it is not permanent and that there are exercises I can do to improve my breathing because I get short of breath very easily.

On Thursday I'm going to Peter Mac hospital to get a second opinion on the treatment I'm getting an also they are doing clinical trials on some new treatments for mesothelioma which I would like to try if this chemo doesn't work.  Hopefully I won't need to do that!!

Well that's it for now and I'll try to find out tomorrow what is going on with this internet connection so I can post a bit more frequently.  

Andre's 21st Birthday

I went to a Melanie's son Andre's 21st last night. I spent the day getting ready for it because I wanted to look and feel good. I went to get my hair blow-dried straight in the morning and then bought a new pair of pants and some make-up.   I think I looked really good and everyone said I looked really well but it was so cold I felt frozen to the bone.  Melanie rented out a community hall and the remote-control for the air-conditioners were lost so they were not able to be turned on.  I found it hard to believe that they don't operate without remote-contols but that really was the case.  I've spent so much of my life looking for the remote-controls so I'm glad more things don't rely on them so much.   Mind you I can only operate my TV through the DVD player because I accidently threw away the remote-control for it (don't ask).   Well actually the battery was flat and since the buttons kept getting stuck and I was sure that I could use the TV without it, I threw it away.   One of those moments I wish I could have hit the rewind for.

Anyway the food was fantastic - typical Sri Lankan smorgasboard which I just love. And the music was great.  Melanie comes from a family of musicians so lots of people jamming.  Keith was on drums and it was great to hear him play again.

Today I met up with my brother Jack and Naomi for lunch and then we went to Oakleigh for coffee and cakes. I've never been to Oakleigh before but it is just 15 minutes away and it's like being in another world.   It is a Greek suburb and it really feels like being in Greece.  I would like to go back there during the week when more things are open.  It looks like a fantastic place to food shop.

I keep thinking about Friday when I met up with my work mates at the bowling. Because there have been heaps of people finding other jobs lately there was quite a bit of negative feelings by everyone about the reasons for it and a lot of anger at management. 

I think it is really unhealthy for people to stay if they are not happy with what they are doing at work and for years a lot of people stayed because there weren't the jobs out there and now that there are, many are leaving.  Now there seem to be an above average amount of people leaving after having no-one leave for so long.  That makes it seem much more like all is not well at MYOB than actually is the case.  I mean comparing our work environment to other workplaces, I think ours fairs pretty well.  Of course I'm not saying that there aren't problems that need to be addressed but it's possible too that the problem is being overstated because everyone is leaving at once.  MYOBians, what do you think?

Busy Day Today

I had a busy day today.  First off I went to a public lecture at the Melbourne Town Hall on the latest cancer research over the last year. We drove to the city because my white blood count is supposed to be low now and I thought it best not to go on public transport where I could get trapped on a train with people coughing and splattering with colds. I parked for only 2 hours and it cost me $28. I had no idea parking in the city was so expensive but it made me not want to hang out there any longer which was a shame.

We then went to Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre 10 pin bowls to catch up with my department who were taking the afternoon off for a couple of rounds of bowling. As I think I might have mentioned yesterday, Patrick bowled for me as I wasn't quite up to it. It was fantastic to see everyone from work again. First time I'd seen them since my operation except for some I saw at lunch one or 2 fridays ago. Bernard had organised a 'Get Well' card for me that was signed by heaps of people at work and the card had even travelled across the globe to get signatures from my collegues in the US. I was hugely touched by the gesture.

One of my work mates apologised to me for not visiting and told me that it was because he didn't know what to say. I fully understand that. Before I got cancer I never really had much contact with anyone in my postion and I think I also would have felt the same as him if the roles were reversed. I know there are many people who reacted like him because I know a lot of people I haven't heard from and I just know that they are thinking off me and it really doesn't matter because I know them well enough to know they really do care.

Mark and Julie had us over for dinner and it was really fantastic being there and the food was excellent. I'm pretty exhausted now but just wanted to get this new post done.

Best I've felt since second chemo session

Today is the best I've felt since my second chemo session.  Each day I have been feeling a bit better but today I actually had a lot of energy.  So much so that I feel like I'm buzzing.

I got a phone call from Chuck today who has just arrived in Australia form Israel and is visiting for 3 weeks.  I hope to catch up with him on Saturday.  Also my twin brother Paul has delayed his arrival by one day and is flying in from China on Friday the 13th. Oh I just realised as I typed that, that if I was superstitious that would not be a good thing.

Tomorrow I'm going to meet up with my work buddies.  My department is going 10-pin bowling for the afternoon.  I won't be able to bowl but I am really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Well that is all I'll say today.  I just wanted to write and tell you all how well I was feeling today.  I think I will have a lot more to say tomorrow after I catch up with everyone.

Electricity Blowout

I've been away from blogging for a few days due to an electricity blowout in our apartment block and also I wasn't feeling that well.

We stayed at my parents the last couple of days due to the problems with the electricity here.  Now it is temporarily back on with a portable generator until the real problem is resolved.  I'm back home too.

I wasn't feeling so great the last couple of days due to nausea and pain from the port insertion so I wasn't really up to blogging while I was gone but I hope to get back to it tomorrow as I am feeling a bit better now.

Last night we went to see 'Black Book' - a Dutch movie at the Classic Cinema which I happened to win tickets too (due to too much time spent on the internet).  Best movie I've seen in a very long time but I'm not about to do a review of it.

Anyway I hope to get back to more regular blogging.