Blog Rant, Health Update, Chia Pets, and Pet Rocks

I have to confess, I'm pretty frustrated with my blogging of late. Have you noticed that the last two times I went on a major trip — Thailand in January, and Switzerland last month — when I came back, some sort of crisis happened that caused me to forget all about writing about the travel experience until it was kind of too late to bother? After Thailand, it was cancer; after Switzerland it was the fires in California.

So yeah, I guess you'll never know how those trips went. How lame.

On the plus side, I am continuing to improve and recover more and more every day from the chemotherapy. In fact, these past couple weeks, I've felt pretty much back to normal, at least physically. I'm no longer beset by the fatigue that weighed me down for most of the summer. I've even started running again. (Okay, jogging. Okay, okay, jogging with lots of walking breaks! But still, that's a big improvement from even just a month ago.)

I had a followup appointment with my doctor on Tuesday, and all my blood tests came back in good shape. Well, except my red and white blood cell counts are still a bit low. But the doctor said not to worry about that, and that I'm doing great. I won't see him again til December, when I'll also be having a CT scan. I can't say I'm looking forward to that, because a) before the scan I have to drink this disgusting chemical-filled crap that is supposedly "vanilla-flavored" but is actually more like "gross-flavored" and b) when I let myself think about it, I get scared, wondering what I'll do if the scan finds something again.

To be honest, deep down I don't really think it will. But if there's anything I've learned this past year it's that one never knows. And that's, well, scary.

Anyway.

Oh! I thought I'd include a few pics of myself over the past two months, so you can see how my hair is growing. I'm like a Chia pet — every day there's more hair! (By the way, did anyone ever have a Chia pet that actually "worked"? As in, grew? Come to think of it, did anyone out there ever even own a Chia pet in the first place? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?)

But yeah, so here's the first pic, taken, oh I don't know, let's say sometime in late July probably:



Yes, I know I look a little nonplussed. Well, let me tell you, there's nothing like having just had cancer to make one feel slightly ambivalent about life, the universe and everything. Now, here's the next one, taken a couple weeks or so after the first:



You know you want that faux hawk. Don't even try to deny it.

Now here's one that I took a few minutes ago:



Ch-ch-ch-chia, baby!

OK, speaking of Chias (which I seem determined to do for some unfathomable reason), I have another confession. I kind of wanted a Chia pet once upon a time. But even worse? I wanted a pet rock. And yes, I realize I could have gone out into the garden and picked up any number of rocks, stones, pebbles, what have you, but no. I wanted one that came packaged in a cute little box that was filled with straw and included instructions on how to take care of my pet. My grandma had one (why??), and I desperately wanted her to give it to me, but she didn't. I know. I almost can't even write this story down, it's so embarrassing, but there it is. I was a weird kid. Is anyone really surprised?