Checking in for 2024-01-01:

First off, Happy New Year. Hope you have an amazing year filled with wonder, excitement, and good things.

This morning I was in a bit of a funk. Tomorrow I have my Epoetin alfa (nee: Procrit) and on Thursday I have my appointment with Dr. Jaiyesimi. I was feeling an intense amount of uncertainty about my new treatments and what lies ahead. But I also realized that nothing is certain. I could live to be 100 or I could die in six weeks. I'm disappointed that my treatment options seem to be shrinking but I literally don't know what lies ahead. And at the beginning of last year I didn't know what lie ahead. And the year before, where I hadn't been diagnosed yet. We don't know what the future will bring. So I did the one thing that one needs to do in these situations and got over myself. I'll just keep showing up every day and make the best out of whatever comes ahead. I'm still mobile, and I still have my health. That's all that matters.

Last week I didn't do as much because it was the holiday. I did do some work on the Hearsay engine to try to get it ready for porting a storyworld from SweepWeave. We'll see how that progresses. I'm also working with getting more fit. I have to say that most of the exercise advice out there is either too vague (is it any surprise that exercise is good for you? No shit Sherlock.) or assumes that you're so steeped in the culture that they can prescribe a set of exercises and expect you to nod along sagely (do 10 fribblesticks, 10 schwifties, 5 plonks, and 10 twiddlebomps for week 1. Week two you do ...). It reminds me of every single time I was at the gym. They'd give you the admonition not to kill yourself on the machines and then let you loose in the hopes that you'll just figure out how to use some equipment that hearkens back to medieval torture devices. I've decided that I'm going to focus on what I can do, which is playing drums, walking, and riding our exercise bike, and be done with it. I'm tired of trying to navigate this space. If it hasn't clicked then the likelihood of it clicking now is remote. I know this is going to get folks in the cult of fitness riled up where they will feel the need to share their rituals, glossaries, and tips. Know that if you do that I'll likewise share my 40+ years of computer experience, which includes all of my tips on how to reformat your machine with Linux, learn Python programming, and come to appreciate the beauty of the Atari 8bit computers. Proceed at your own peril.

(And if the above sounds like a good time please seek help.)

Ever onward.