Gaining Weight During Cancer

Throughout my wife's cancer episode, there has been a lot of discussion about her weight.  Via the treatments and surgery, she was told she'd gain some, then she'd lose some (and the impact of losing an entire breast needs to factor in as well).

Nobody said anything about what would happen to me.

Me?  I'm up about 12 pounds from our diagnosis of two months ago.  So what happened?  A lot, gentle reader:

• Too much schedule interruption due to doctors' appointments, surgeries, work obligations,and other running around
• Way too little sleep due to stress
• Way too much food, especially all of the incredible food that so many have delivered to us.  All of it was so delicious, and everyone was so kind.  Nothing was better at the end of a long day to know that we'd have a great meal ready for us.  
• Way too much alcohol, trying to address the stress and lack of sleep mentioned above

It is simple math: cutting back on working out + more calories via food and booze = pants not fitting that well anymore.  

Am I whining?  Perhaps a little.  But please know that I recognize that in the grand scheme of things, my woes are basically irrelevant compared on what my wife, and so many others, had and have to endure.  I know that for sure.  It still doesn't mean I have to be happy about what I see in the mirror.

Via our meeting with the oncologist two days ago, all of the cancer is gone.  Now we need to work on my gut.

No Smoking With CVS. Drinking? OK!

CVS is trying to take a lot of credit for their new health orientation by removing tobacco from their store shelves.  And good on them - as a health provider, it is the right thing for them to do.  

So imagine my surprise in seeing a recent ad for them in our local paper:

Check out the offer in the lower left.  Not only is it for tequila, but at a wow! price as well.

This so much reminded me of the routine that Kent Hrbek used to perform at every Twins home game.  Back then, PA announcer Bob Casey used to go through a pre-game admonishment that there was "no smoking in the Metrodome," (click on the link to hear a sample).

As Casey read through the script, Hrbek would stand at first base and pantomime the following:

Casey:  "No smoking in the Metrodome!  No smoking!"

Hrbek: Puffs an imaginary cigarette, then shakes his head and waives his hand "no."  Then hoists a massive imaginary beer to his lips and chugs deeply, while giving the thumbs up signal.  

If CVS needs some help in taking credit for their new health stance while still selling massive amounts of alcohol, I think #14 has some time on his hands and would be happy to help them out.

Stress and Age

In the past two months, the news of and dealing with Mrs. YDP's breast cancer has been pretty much all-consuming.  As happens when these events hit, the sole objective is getting through the crisis; all other responsibilities, distractions, and pursuits either take a big back seat, or are forgotten entirely.  Even work, with its massive stress in and of itself, is moved back to allow management of the crisis at hand.

That stress, well it comes with a toll.  For me, that toll is physical.  I'm shocked at how my looks have changed in just two months.  My eyes are beset with bags, regardless of how much sleep I get.  Wrinkles are more prevalent and more pronounced.  What little hair that is left is turning grey at a record pace.

Three months ago I wrote about the uneven aging I'm seeing with my age cohorts.  

I just caught up. 

Saturday Song Share: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - When We Swam

Horrible video, catchy song:

What the 2014 Midterm Election Looks Like

Since election night, everyone has been discussing how big (or not big) the win was for Republicans in the last election.  

They say a picture says a thousand words.  What words come to mind when you look at this:

Duffy the Dog

A yellow dog, a Go Pro camera, and a tennis ball all conspire to form your "yellow dog distraction of the day."

Enjoy.  Duffy sure does.

Liberalism Implodes. Thank Obama

The last two years of the George W Bush administration were among the darkest days for conservatives.  Never was the GOP brand so low, never was a sitting president so loathed, and never did the prospects for a return to power look worse.

Then came Obama.  Looks, speech, and an unprecedented level of sycophantic fawning  by the media and entertainment industries alike conspired for a political black hole, from which no light of conservatism could escape.  Liberals owned power - not only in politics, but in nearly all media, in pop culture, and most importantly for their longevity, in education.   And by education, I mean the whole Mary Ann - everything from kindergarten all the way through college campuses.  

Liberalism was poised to not only lead, but to dominate as a political ideology for decades upon decades.  The county could be reworked into a liberal wonder land, and dissenting voices would summarily be crushed by the powers that be under the guise of racism, hatred, bigotry, homophobia, or the ever popular "war on women."

It was perfect.  Absolutely bleeping perfect.  Except the man they put in charge was the furthest thing from a leader that has ever occupied the White House.  It turned out who was elected was truly Chauncey Gardiner.  The man has no discernible skills that would make a successful president, and in scandal after scandal and crisis after crisis, he has continually failed.  Indeed, even touted successes such as Obamacare, "leading from behind," the Russian reset, and unemployment are all massive failures.

As such, the veneer of liberalism wore off.  Despite having a monopoly on media and social touch points, the American public began to distrust democrats.  That distrust ultimately manifest itself in the resulting 2014 midterms, and the pummeling that was delivered by a suddenly resurgent republican party.    

The democrats had this thing locked up - for decades!  It was going to be the golden age of liberalism!  The only problem was that as a "leader," they chose a man that was anything but.  His incompetence, arrogance, and failure not only got republicans back in the game, it saved them.

Who would have thought that the best thing to happen to the republican party since Ronald Reagan would be Barack Hussein Obama?

Get Out There and Vote

Today is the day that your voice can be heard in the best fashion available.  Yes, its "only" a  midterm election, but with so much going wrong in our country right now - the economy, immigration, ebola, terrorism, war, race relations, a complicit media, and a never-ending stream of scandals and political abuses - the country needs you now more than ever.

You may very well be in a location or a district where your vote can be consider as "throw away."  Go vote anyway.  Be defiant, let them know where you stand, and let them know that while others may be complacent to be sheep, you are not.  

Today is the day.  Be heard.