28th July 2019 – Sunday
Some side effects are becoming more pronounced, extreme and longer lasting. Most noticeable, is the sensitivity to temperature and change in taste. Washing my hands for 3 seconds in cold tap water on the hottest day of the year resulted in painful pins and needles for 45 minutes.
But it is also the other end of the scale – I used to be renown for my asbestos hands – baked potatoes out of ovens, bowls of boiling soup from microwaves, teabags from the bottom of fresh tea – Not Now – Gone – these things hurt.
Warpigs in the old Copenhagen meat market. A famous carnivore and craft beer heaven, sell buffalo wings in 3 heat options – of course – like Man vs Food – when I visited last year, I had to have the top one – “Death”. A couple were shared around the group for tasting, my local colleague just put it to his lips and burst into flames and screaming agony. My Indian colleague, with national pride at stake managed a whole one over half an hour, but complained bitterly throughout. I finished the other 10 wings, along with the steak, while being branded inhuman, a machine, an android, etc, etc.
However – last week I had a new hot takeaway pizza – I could only manage 3 slices before panting, puffing, fanning my mouth and all the usual problems I’m told normal people experience. It also turns out that my spicy tolerance is not only seriously degraded on the way in – that pizza was painful double action.
My voice is also hoarse, my jaw aches immediately to chew or even swallow.
BUT THIS IS NOT SLOWING ME DOWN
Wednesday, before Chemo and bloody hot, was my evening shuttle run exercise moving 1 ton of pool coping stones from the neighbours drive to my garden.
Thursday was chemo in the hospital and my takeaway bottle of poison that pumps for another 2 days.
Friday to Sunday morning activities
- Designed, printed and installed an inline pool hose filter. The builders are in danger of dropping cement and stone into the pool, it will be fatal to have that caught in twists of the underground pipework. Installation was painful – more pins and needles.
- Designed and printed a replacement for the 20 year missing “plug hole” cover at the bottom of the pool. I now need a volunteer to swim down and install it. No child labour seems willing until the pool heating is turned on.
- Freezer fan motor replaced – not easy wearing ski gloves to avoid the cold.
- Saturday morning, head in the freezer, one of our tenants called to say the electric shower won’t stop. Luckily the property is 10 minutes from my chemo hospital, so popped in their before going to be disconnected from my pump.
- While Clare was cleaning the now working fridge/freezer, she asked if I could manufacture a new shelf support – the old one broken for a while. Now, designed, printed, and installed.
For the remained of today – Sunday:
- Kitchen drains blocked – again – out comes the Vax.
- Wasps nest under the tiles, outside our bedroom window – job for the Vax again at dusk. You suck the buggers up – this is a multistage process and started earlier in the week.
- Plumber due Monday to start our bathroom – parts ordering to progress. Which also mean our bathroom needs emptying of 20 years of crap (my lovely wife will I expect do most of this).
- The old garage armoured electricity cable needs further digging out and re-routing to the new shiny garden room we’ll be getting.
- Video game designing with Stella if she even gets out of bed.
The fun bit – new shiny parts for the Mustang arrived Friday – chrome replacement hazard switch, (fitted) new chrome front side light screws (fitted), and new ignition leads and front shock absorbers both in red of course (as soon as I can).
Work is not letting up:
- Joint launch event with SAP on Monday of our new London Cloud computing labs.
- Cease and deist legal proceedings launched against our alleged trademark infringement to manage.
- Response to bids due in.
- And then, daily business.
NEXT WEEEKEND – FUN
- Saturday – wakeboarding practise for kitesurfing in Tarifa later in the year.
- Sunday 0600 departure for Goodwood Classic breakfast car meet.
Up the Back Passage 