I finally have internet access again! I disconnected my service last Thursday because we were moving, and Aliant just got around to connecting it this afternoon. I was starting to go a bit crazy because I kept getting emails on my BlackBerry telling me there were comments on my website and messages for me on Facebook. I like my BlackBerry, but it gets a bit tedious surfing the web on a small screen.

The move went well. I didn’t lift a finger the whole day. We hired movers, and I don’t think I’ll ever move myself again after seeing how painless this process was. It only took 7 hours from when the movers showed up at the old place until they left the new place, and they came in below budget.

We’re really happy with this place. It’s in great condition, we have 2 acres of property, and it’s really quiet here. I think we’re going to have trouble filling the place too. It’s almost double the square footage of our old house.

Anyway, I wanted to say thanks to everybody who sent along well-wishes, good sentiments, and offers of help. They’re definitely appreciated.

Man, is it ever nice to be out of the hospital. I was only there for 6 nights, but it felt like a month. It wasn’t so bad at first, because I wasn’t feeling too bad, but as soon as the chemotherapy started, things took a turn for the worse.

Aside from being tied to an IV pump 24/7, and having to measure my urine all the time, the chemotherapy causes nausea, that makes the stay seem even longer. Although, there’s always something that helps you keep perspective.

I shared my room with an older guy who was not expected to live too much longer. He was there undergoing radiotherapy just to make his last days a little more bearable. His cancer had caused him to go deaf, and to lose the ability to swallow. It was quite unsettling, but as I said, it gave me some perspective.

Anyway, enough of that. I’m a free man until the end of June. Time to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.

P.S.

Thanks to all of you who stopped buy to keep me company. It certainly helped lots.

Sitting in the hospital all the time leaves me plenty of time to think. Oddly enough, all I think about are mundane things.

For instance, some people when they get married, hyphenate their last names together. I think this fine, but sooner or later this is going to be a logistical problem, don’t you think?

Here’s an example. John Smith and Sally Jones get married. Now it’s Sally Jones-Smith. They have a boy named Bob Jones-Smith. Fine.

Now, Jeff Black and Mary Johnson get married, and she changes her name to Johnson-Black. They have a girl named Becky Johnson-Black. Again, fine.

But, what happens if these two children get married? Do we have a Becky Johnson-Black-Jones-Smith?

Where does it end? I need something to keep me busy, don’t I?

I checked into the hospital yesterday to start my chemotherapy. I have to be admitted as an in-patient for 1 week out of every 3 for the next 3 months or so. That means a lot of down time because the treatment consists of laying in bed all day long.

Luckily, they’re pretty relaxed here regarding what you can and can’t do. For instance, nobody seems to care that I use my cell phone here when everywhere else in the building you see these signs warning you that the signal from your cell phone can mess with the sensitive medical electronics in use. Makes you wonder.

I can have any visitors I want at whatever hours I want. One nurse even told me I could have a visit from my dog if I wanted. It’s obvious that they’re putting patient comfort pretty high on their list of concerns.

Despite these comforts, I would probably go insane without my laptop. I don’t have access to the internet from my room though, which is a bit annoying, but I can get online in a library room they have set aside for patient research.

I kind of figured this would be the case, so I just brought about 30 movies, and the first 2 seasons of The Shield with me to keep me occupied when I was awake and tired of reading.

Anyway, gotta go. My IV pump is just about done, and is going to start beeping any minute to signal the end of my treatment for the night.

Will write later.

I’ve been trying for a while to decide whether or not to post this, but I figured I might as well. It’s easier than explaining everything over and over again to everyone.

A couple of years ago I had a testicular seminoma. That means cancer for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the medical journals. Anyway, I got through that after some surgery and some radiation therapy.

Recently, however, the seminoma has returned. This time though, it has metastasized to a couple of different places in my bones. This means that radiation therapy isn’t an option. I have to undergo chemotherapy.

My therapy is a moderate one as far as chemotherapy goes. I have to spend one week out of every three in the hospital while they circulate some drugs through my body that should attack any fast-growing cells, such as cancer cells, and unfortunately, hair cells. Yes, I will go bald in a couple of weeks.

Hopefully by the end of August, I’ll be rid of this cancer once and for all. It certainly did pick an inconvenient time to reappear though, didn’t it? I mean, I have a new baby on the way, and we’re moving in just 2 weeks. Funny how things work out.

Anyway, wish me luck. I’ll post more as I know more.