Being in cool in the MINI

Being cool in the MINI
I went to see JOHN CARTER at the bargain matinee today. I’ll write about the film maybe tomorrow.

I got into the MINI and put the top down. A man followed me out of the theater and was parked next to me.

“Nice car. Do you like it?”

I said, “Thanks. I love the MINI.”

“I just got a new car.” He was standing next to a new Prius.

“There’s something to be said for economy,” I said. He was starting to smile now. “But I like fun more!” and drove off.

I think he stopped smiling then.


Be well and stay happy.

Holy Irony

Holy Irony
I was talking with the Princess yesterday about my visit with Dr. Kim [see below].

We got around to her new job and how different it is to be working in a city like Atlanta compared to Seattle. She has more responsibility and better visibility with the partners in the firm.

The Princess told me that she had run into a classmate from her University of South Carolina Moore School of Business MBA program. He had been one of the members of her accounting study group. He remarked on the irony of her working for a national accounting firm doing human resources work.

Her two least favorite subjects at MBA School were accounting and human resources.

Seeing Dr. Kim
I saw Dr. Joseph Kim at the City of Hope on Wednesday. Doug came along for the visit. This was a six month post-operation checkup. I had some blood tests and a CT scan before the visit.

My blood tests were all fine. That made Dr. Kim very happy. I pay attention to two tests. One is the CEA cancer marker test. The other is for my liver and measures something called bilirubins. I’m fairly certain I’m spelling it wrong but that is phonetic spelling.

The CEA cancer marker was very low. It has been very low since I first started my cancer treatment in 2007.

The liver test was fine. This was a major concern for me since Dr. Kim had operated on my liver in September last year.

The CT scan found a small very growth around a left over metal blood vessel clip near where the first operation was performed. Surgeons normally will clip a blood vessel when they have to cut it during surgery. Normally, some are left in the patient’s body with no harm.

The growth could be logically one of two causes. One is scar tissue from the earlier operation. The second cause is cancer reoccurring.

I am going to have a PET scan on this coming Thursday to determine specifically what is causing the growth. If it is cancer, I am looking at another operation in the next few months. I am more inclined to think it is scar tissue since my CEA cancer mark test was so negative.

If it is cancer, then I will have an operation and another scar. Since I have three scars and two are over six inches long, one more scar is not so bad. Doug and I discussed the possibility of surgery with Dr. Kim. We are both favorably inclined towards the surgery.

March in number
The blog continues to still draw visitors. March saw 549 visitors to the blog; they viewed 1,106 pages. This was down slightly from February’s results where there were 633 visitors who viewed 1,232 pages. I think the drop off may be explained by visitor distraction from March Madness since most of the visitors are likely males.


Me in my South Carolina Gamecocks hoodie and the MINI

The MINI turned over 31, 648 miles in March. My top down driving wasn’t much to write home about. I had only 14.0 hours of top down driving and a total of 40.50 hours for the year. March wasn’t a rainy month by any measure. It was a cold month and I don’t feel like driving with the top down when it is only 62F/16C. April seems like a warmer month so far. I am hoping to do better this month.


Be well and stay happy.