Monday, June 30, 2008

AAAND on a happier note...

After chatting with Hammer a bit tonight, I feel much better about cracking under the pressure of Fred the GD Tumor tonight. Especially after realizing that even Cindy Crosby the Human cracks from time to time... even though, as Hammer pointed out, he copes by extreme amounts of exercise and i cope by eating too much teriyaki and drinking copious amounts of splenda-sweetened iced tea.

Without further ado, I give you the "Quotes of the Night" from the 2nd Annual Maple Leaf Mafia Canada Day Celebration.

Quotes from the NHL Monopoly pre-party:

"It's the Ryan Getzlaf House of Hairy Teeth and Balding" - Hammer re: Anaheim

"He looks like Bob the Builder!" - McP
"I fucking love it." - Hammer
re: Drayson Bowman in the Yellow Hard Hat

"It's the no juice juice." - Hammer re: KoolAid

"No one else likes playing Monopoly because they're sucky suckholes." - Hammer

Quotes from the Party:

"Put that wang away!" - SlutBucket

"Guess we're going to Dairy Queen." - SlutBucket re: Hammer forgetting about the grill

"I took her under my stinky armpit years ago." - Hammer re: Glitter being one of her former students.

"We almost had to stay in the Dalles!" - The Lumberjack on the commute from Portland to the party

"Did you take the wrapper off?" - everyone
"Ok, it's officially funny." - VonHammer re:Canadian Pride tattoos.

"WHO SHIT?!?!?!" - Hammer Re: Pims and Jake leaving presents upstairs

"Fuck off with the CanadArm!" - Hammer during the Great Canadian Board Game

"We didn't even have alcohol at that party. It was just funny!" - Hammer re: 'it rhymes with muffalo!"

"Two words, it rhymes with Paint Johns." - Hammer

"Fuck off! ... neh... I don't owe you anything!" - VonHammer re: helping the Lunberjack win the game

"My favorite people are here with no underware." - Hammer re: the dogs and McP

"Schon of a Bitcsch." - Hammer & McP doing their best Bryan Murray

"WHO shit in my kitchen!?" - Hammer

"PIMS! That's MY snow cone! Now it has dog slobber in it! You're lucky I'm drunk and don't care!" - Hammer

"Did you have a nice shit on my floor?" - Hammer to the dogs

"I'm not sure..." - SlutBucket
"Oh come on, it's the internet, what could go wrong?!" - Hammer

Summer effing Vacation

I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm worried, I'm hopeful... I'm tired.

I hate hiding my feelings, but I'm trying to be really strong for McMan. Keeping a happy, cheerful face, while still being mindful and considerate of plans and things changing because of his tumor. I've grinned through all the jokes him and his friends make, coping with it, but I just want to hit them all. This isn't like his gallbladder, or his appendix. it's a TUMOR next to his BONE.

He's tired, he's frustrated, he's scared, even if he doesn't admit it to anyone but me. He's more than entitled to that... But I am too. And I'm sick of putting on the happy face about it. I fucking hate this damn tumor.

He's going over to Seattle on Monday with his mom to see the Dr. over there about treatments. My guess is they'll say, "ok, that's what it is, we're taking it out this afternoon/tomorrow."

I'm not even asking to go even though I'm going to be useless at work. I had to practically get into a fight with him to let me take him to the hospital in March and he wouldn't even let me stay until they took him in to prep him.

He's not sure now if he wants to take our trip this weekend for the holiday. I completely understand since it'll be 1o hours in the car round trip only to turn around and spend another 3.5 to Seattle on Monday.

I want to cry, but that doesn't seem very hopeful, does it? I want to scream and punch things, but that's not attractive or productive. I want to be with him right now instead of alone in my apartment, but I do wake up at an ungodly hour, and he needs his rest, especially if he's having surgery next week.

I effing hate being a big kid.

100th Post is a good one - My Miss Roomie!

Miss [Roomie] has a story she wants to tell
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer

Look behind the tiara and the sash, behind the perfect blond hair, the megawatt smile and the trademark wave, and there's a story.

For Miss [Roomie], the story began at the age of 12 when her mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Being on the cusp of adolescence, she thought that would be the end of the story, that a diagnosis meant the same as a cure. She didn't understand it was only the start of a long struggle she and her mother would share.

"We went through the rollercoaster together," [Roomie] said. "My mom is now managing her illness. One of the hardest decisions a person can face is continuing treatment. ... My mother finally reached the point that she realized long-term treatment is important."

More than a decade later, [Roomie]'s story still is being written as she prepares to compete in the Miss Washington program in Tacoma on July 11 and 12. She hopes to go on to Miss America in 2009.

[Roomie]in turn has become a storyteller, using her position as Miss [Roomie] to raise awareness about the realities of mental illness.

"She's been extremely outgoing and she never turns down an opportunity to teach people mental health awareness," said Melody Otness, president of the National Alliance for Mental Illness [Local]. "She's bubbly, she's fun, but she gets her point across and people leave knowing more than when she came in."

[Roomie], 23, of [town], said she didn't enter Miss [Pageant] with stars in her eyes. She needed the scholarship money for college.

"My mom struggled to make ends meet for herself," she said. "She couldn't pay for school."

Winning Miss [Pageant] earned [Roomie] $10,000 for her college education. She plans to earn a bachelor's degree in elementary education and teach kindergarten.

"Education ties in with anything that's happening in society," she said. "I hope to be a positive impact on childrens' lives. ... I think it's interesting how you can impact young children. You can really affect a child's life for good."

Teachers were a strong influence on [Roomie]'s life through her challenging adolescence. She said music teachers in particular helped her find an outlet for her emotions through performing. She'll play alto saxophone as her talent in the Miss Washington program.

But it's talking about her platform that truly excites her.

"I learned that it needed to be spoken about," she said.

She's spent her year as Miss [Roomie] speaking to community groups and getting active with NAMI to teach the community about mental health resources, and to try to erase the stigma attached to people with mental illnesses.

They're no different than anyone else who suffers from a chronic disease, she said. They're the people we know -- our friends, our neighbors, our loved ones.

"Everybody has a personal story," she said. "Everybody can relate it to their lives."

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

No Strings Attached?

NBC busted out a new show - Celebrity Circus. Anyone who was a fan of *NSYNC during the NSA days was taken back in some sort of time machine. Joey Fatone is the host and was wearing a jacket reminiscent of the "good old days". Even some of the performers were wearing No Strings Attached-ish costumes (Peter Brady, I'm looking at you.) AND there was a performance with green laser lights (ie - Digital Get Down).

I'm not sayin... I'm just sayin...

"Fred"

Like Molls had the ever-popular "Seamus" living in her digestive system, McMan seems to have a "Fred" living at the base of his right tibia. Fred is a Chondroblastoma (a large-cell tumor). He's most likely benign and his kind usually occur in young people aged 10-30 and in males at a ratio of 2-3:1.

They're sending McMan to a tumor specialist here (if they can get him in this week or the week after next). Or to Seattle/Spokane (if the dr. here is booked). Then we'll find out how (what kind of surgery) and when Fred will be put to death.

Here's to me trying as hard as I can to be "Supportive g/f McP" instead of "Medically Educated and Intrigued McP".

Fred is a bastard that is making my b/f worried and scrrrrd and ruining my summer plans. Die Fred, Die.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Marking a year...

McMan and I marked a year into our relationship. Boy, when we do something, we do it big. Why not ring in year 2 of the relationship with something that shows you what's really important?

What?! No, I'm not pregnant!

McMan had an x-ray 2 weeks ago and an MRI last Friday and got some news today. He's got a tumor next to his tibia in his right leg, at the bottom, by his ankle. They're pretty sure it's benign, but we'll find out more when he has his appointment on Wednesday.

Apparently this is pretty rare, as in the ortho that looked at his films for him hasn't seen anything like this in the 30ish years that he's been practicing. I'm hoping that he'll get to be on some kind of Medical Miracles show - I told him we're holding out for TLC so I can meet Jon and Kate plus 8 and he chimed in, "And Dwarf on a Farm!"

While I'm making light of it in some ways to keep myself sane and from going deeper into my medical mind, we'd both really appreciate any prayers, good vibes, thoughts and or juju you'd like to send our way.

Un An

Well, it's been one year since Carey's Calder Cup BBQ at the Williams' Residence where I discovered McMan didn't hate me (as I'd thought for as long as I'd been acquainted with him) and he discovered that I wasn't hitched (as someone had told him when he mentioned asking me out months before). The rest, as they say, is history.

So, here's to Carey Price and the 2007 Hamilton Bulldogs. Merci Beaucoup!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Coming out of the dark...

As the immortal Gloria Estefan, I am returning from a hiatus. The flying monkeys and I have had quite the spring. I started a new day-job... one that doesn't allow me hours upon hours for mindless searching on the intermanet and time to ponder and blog it. But it does pay really well.

People have been clamoring for my thoughts on a few things:

McP, your thoughts on the Spokane Chiefs Captain Chris Bruton drops the Memorial Cup?
Since the Ams were the last team to beat the Chiefs this year and they are the Highway 395 rivals, I do admit, I jumped up and down while watching it happen on YouTube with McMan at the lake. How embarrassing to have the whole arena booing you for a hardware malfunction! But they deserved the cup - they were determined and worked as a team throughout the playoffs.

How much did you love the touring company of RENT?
Oh holy night... For real, people, the flying monkeys had to carry me out to the car after the show. I can neither confirm nor deny that I wore my "Measure in Love" t-shirt with my character name of "Maureen" on the back. I can, however, confirm that 'Mark', 'Roger', 'Mimi' & 'Maureen' all smiled at me when I was singing at the top of my lungs during the finale. I mean... what?

What about the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup?
The what? Who? I completely have no idea what you're talking about.
Note from the monkeys: McP is still in a bit of denial, if you couldn't tell.

How's the new Casa McP?
WONDERFUL! I've just got a few things left to get done in the guest bedroom and to get a dining table to be completely happy with everything.

Excited about the Draft?
YES! Especially the goalies... Everything is better with Chetter.

What are your plans for Canada Day?
I'm heading south to the MLM-Milton branch for a WONDERFUL afternoon/evening of NHL monopoly, fun, games, prizes and dairy-free food! YESSSS!!!!

Speaking of the Mafia, any news there?
YES! I'm very proud to say that Hammer has not only been accepted into the wonderful sisterhood of HLOG, but has also been linked frequently by some bigtime bloggers in the blogosphere! YAY for famousness!

Shouldn't you be sleeping?
yeah, considering I'm now usually AT work between 6 and 630 (yes, that's am), I will very shortly be returning to sleepytown.