Don’t think about bears

Flickr – Furryscaly – Not a Hypnotoad (Photo credit: Wikipedia)  This has no connection to my post but WordPress thinks it is.

Note:  I showed my scans and the report to someone.  I do not have a tumor or cyst.  I still need a CT to rule out some scary options but the things that were causing my panic attack yesterday are off the table.

 

I dare you to try it.  For the next five minutes, don’t think about bears.

Hard to do isn’t it?  The minute someone tells you not to think of something, that’s all you want to think about.  At least that’s how it works with me.

If you think it’s hard to not think about bears, try that exercise with brain tumors.  That’s been my challenge since yesterday.  Last week I had an MRI (with and without contrast) and MRA (same) done on my brain.  The initial report was that the MRI was normal but the MRA too unclear so more testing needs to be done.  Then I got a call from my neurologist.  She said in her message that it was “critically important” that she speak with me.  When we talked she said she saw something on the MRA that “probably isn’t a tumor” but more testing needs to be done.  I am getting a CT angiogram next week.

Someone told me, “Just don’t think about it.”

Yeah, that’s going to work.

You won’t want to miss this

Tonight, some of the best DC area comedians will perform at the Velvet Lounge.  They include:

Emily Ruskowski – will also host
Valerie Paschall
Mariya Alexander
Tyler Richardson
Alyson Chadwick
Pete Bergen

You won’t get to see this much talent for $10 any other time.  Seriously.

The Velvet Lounge is at 915 U Street, NW — across from the U Street Metro.  This starts early (at 7) but probably won’t start on time so if you can come but will be late, no worries.

The money is going to a good cause, you can read about that here: http://www.facebook.com/events/367174039967984/

Super Tuesday part two and the importance of time

“Super Tuesday” part 2 and the importance of time

 

It looks like the Democratic primary may be decided on a Tuesday, just not “tsunami Tuesday.”  Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.  Conventional wisdom and most pundits got it wrong.  While there really is no surprise there, I think this year’s primary has put the last nail in the coffin of polls.  The only one that matters is the one taken election day.  And exit polling on that day cannot be trusted.  The winner cannot be known until every vote is actually counted.

 

Having said that – and I mean no disrespect to Vermont or Rhode Island but this race will come down to a few key states like Ohio. For all the whining people like me do about giving so much time and importance to places like Iowa (Could it look less like the US?  Yes, I get it that if the system was different no campaigns would care about it or the voters there but honestly, that would not break my heart.), Ohio is another game all together.  It is much more diverse state and deserves to play an important role in the process.  One other consequence of the prolongation of the primary campaign means hopefully will force states to rethink and retool the primary process. Having 22 states vote on the same day is just ridiculous.  The adage that “when everything is important, nothing is” applies here. There is no way for any campaigns to really focus on so many states, and they shouldn’t have to.  I have said this before but the idea of having regional primaries a month apart seems to make the most sense to me.  It would be good for the process and everyone involved.

 

As the day approaches, and caveat here is that I currently work on a campaign so this subject is near and dear to my heart, the fact that there are two things a campaign always needs more of are time and money.  People focus a lot on fundraising and money but you can – at least theoretically – raise more money.  The one thing you cannot get more of is time.  There are never enough hours in the day or days before the primary.  You would be surprised by how much people will put themselves through during a campaign cycle and as one of these crazy people, my hat is off to everyone – on all sides – who do it.  It’s a hard job and someone has to do it but it can be great to work for something and with other people and feel like you are a part of something bigger and more important than yourself.  It’s the main thing that keeps me coming back.

 

And while I am waxing nostalgic, at the office, we often talk about different times of fatigue but the original, like Law & Order, is the real one.  By that I mean the fatigue that accompanies long work hours, bad food and sleep deprivation.  As a college student I said, and am sure I took the phrase from someone but have forgotten where I got it, “Sleep is no substitution for coffee.”  Others say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”  I now think that people who like to live that way should but they will reach death sooner and cannot wait for Tuesday to come and go so I can take a nap.

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Thank you, Senator and Mrs. Edwards

Again, thank you, Senator and Mrs. Edwards

 

Every woman on the planet knows they may get breast cancer.  In the US, events like the Race for the Cure have increased the awareness of the disease, its prevention and treatment.  According to www.breastcancer.org:

 

• Every three minutes a woman in the is diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2006, an estimated 212,920 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 61,980 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. And 40,970 women are expected to die in 2006 from this disease.
• Breast cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. African American women are more likely to die from this disease.
• Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.

To me, it is a sign of strength and commitment to their ideals that caused the Edwardses’ press conference and their decision to keep campaigning.  Rush Limbaugh, who just last fall accused Michael J. Fox of exaggerating his Parkinson’s symptoms for political gain, made the same claim this past week about the Edwardses. 

 

On the March 23 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh told listeners that former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and his wife Elizabeth are "political people [who] are different than you and I." Referring to the couple's March 22 announcement that Elizabeth Edwards has Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, Limbaugh said: "[M]ost people, when told a family member's been diagnosed with the kind of cancer Elizabeth Edwards has, they turn to God. The Edwards turned to the campaign. Their religion is politics and the quest for the White House." Limbaugh later asked: "If you're [Sen.] Barak Obama [D-IL] or [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY], how do you now attack John Edwards?" Limbaugh added: "Not a problem for Hillary, the [inaudible] will find a way. But Barak, it's going to be a challenge."

            (http://mediamatters.org/items/200703230015)

 

Rush Limbaugh is no more of a journalist than Stephen Colbert, though Stephen Colbert has talent where the former has none.  The only reason this means anything is that he is right about one thing, the Edwards family is not like everyone else.  There are some people like them but when most people confront personal adversity, they deal with it differently.  They look inward and bunker down.  The differences between the Edwards family and the majority of the country does not end there.  Elizabeth Edwards has something that about 40 million people in this country do not: health insurance.  During the course of their campaigning she has met numerous people who didn’t have access to the resources she does and whose outcome when faced with the same illness, or when diagnosed with an earlier stage of cancer, would be either far less certain or just far worse.  She has also made it much easier for people who may have been scared to go in and get that lump tested or come out and tell their families and friends what they are going through.  Her bravery and dignity become all of ours.

 

This is why Senator Edwards’ campaign is so important.  His background is not that different from that of a lot of the country who grew up as poor as he did.  His family has faced tragedy before and some say that is the reason he is so passionate about helping people now.  The same can be said about their family’s reaction to the news about Mrs. Edwards’ health.  Everyone close to the Senator has said that he would end his candidacy immediately if it would hurt his wife and all media reports indicate their marriage is rock solid.  None of that is really anyone’s business except to show what troopers these people are and how far they are willing to go to make a difference.

 

The Edwards campaign has been considered a populist one.  His website highlights helping the poor, improving education in this country and getting health care to those 40 million people who do not have access to the best care, the care Mrs. Edwards will get.  These are good people who despite facing the same personal problems so many other women face, have decided to move forward.  Senator Edwards is also the first presidenial candidate to explain how he would fix our health care system.

 

From where I sit, they are heroes for this decision and regardless of how anyone votes next year they deserve our respect and prayers.

 

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