seriously, socialism?

Its no secret that I support Barack Obama. I almost always vote democrat because I believe that being an American, everybody should have the same opportunities I did. I had a leg up on many because I had a great and supportive family growing up that afforded me a good education and support along the way - why should only a select few of us have a fighting chance at living the American dream.

(disclaimer, I will be voting for our GOP governor in Indiana this year because of a good track record and keeping his nose out of Roe v Wade, Church/State and Gay rights issues - he's just cleaning up a messy state that can blamed on both parties throughout the last 15 years).

I read a lot about Barack, McCain and the election process as a whole. Some of this is from credible sources, some not - but I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of what is true and what is not. Lately, I've been making the mistake of reading random user comments - more often than not, these people are idiots who like to use phrases like:


NeoCons
Democraps
McSame
Barack Osama
Liberal/leftist

you get the idea. However, I get so tired of seeing the word Socialism.

Seriously, socialism. Here's what the first paragraph of Wikipedia says about it:

Socialism - refers to any of various economic and political concepts of state or collective (i.e. public) ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods and services, some of which have been developed into more or less highly articulated theories and/or praxis.

OK, I'm not sure what all that means but certainly there have to be some good things about Socialism. For example, how about Police and Fire Departments? These are publicly owned entities that benefit everybody. We all pay for them and we all reap the rewards. How about public schools? Again, access to everybody and for minimal additional cost than your property/state/local taxes. I guess what I'm getting at is - why are people so quick to label Democrats as Socialists when in fact it seems like the entire country has had these types of services for centuries.

Don't get me wrong, I recognize that Socialism can certainly go far beyond what I'm talking about and in directions that even the staunchest Leftist (I couldn't resist) would shy away from. I'm just tired of seeing the Socialist label thrown by people who attended public schools, have used police/fire services, or currently collect some sort of aid (social security or medicare for example).

I want to institute a new rule. You use the world Socialism to describe the Democrats again - you forgo your rights to Social Security, Medicare/aid, Police and Fire Protection.

The Data.

I don't have it.

I got the results of my PCR-ABL test yesterday. In short - everything sounds good. However, because I got them over the phone and from the NP (nurse practicioner) I really didn't get much feedback other than "the levels are very low". What levels she was referring to is anyone's guess. I asked that she send over a copy of the results so at least I can see the whole picture. My guess is the "very low' levels are probably the number of active Philadelphia Chromosomes (the 9/22 translocation that triggers the abnormally high white count growth). I had been off my Gleevec at the time so that my explain why there were any at all.

I am waiting for a call back to find out if I should still go in monthly for bilirubin checks and it doesn't sound like I'll be getting a complete blood counts for six months (at my next appointment). I think I'm OK with this since my counts have been pretty stable for quite some time hovering in the low to low normal range for pretty much all categories.

Been a pretty busy week around our house. We are currently in the process of moving Kristin's office back upstairs and have been building furniture, decorating the room and getting the technology all figured out. I expect that we'll get it all wrapped up in the next week and start the process of purging the basement for our next project.

Just 10 more days until our vacation!

My top 3.

Here are my three favorite things.

It was a fair day (pun intended).

I took the kids to the fair with my mom and dad yesterday morning. We figured getting there early on the last day of the event would probably make for the best trip. It was nice, small crowds, cooler temperatures and limited amounts of rednecks. Sadly, Maris was too small for most rides but Eli seemed to really enjoy the three he could go on.

I'm a better dad because of it...

So I picked up our new car today...a minivan. I guess its kinda a parental right of passage...one that was a little tough to stomach. As it turns out - I love the damn thing...Kristin on the other hand is more than a little embarrassed.

Since diagnosed, I started nesting a little more. Protecting things around me with a renewed vigor if you will. I certainly never threw any caution to the wind in the past, but now I like the idea of holing up with my family in our home and spending time together. The van is just an extension of that - side curtain airbags, lower chances of roll-over, four wheel ABS and traction control. Its like driving your sofa clad in armor.

It certainly is not cool, but a nice vehicle at a fair price. I was sad to see the Yukon go, but more in a sentimental way. I was delighted to unload that thing before anything else went wrong with it (and its 12mpg average fuel economy) Admittedly, I'm a little curious how Maris and Eli will respond when I pick them up from school today in a different vehicle than I dropped them off in.

Coming to a theatre near you...

Needed, Neutrophils.

My counts have actually been pretty good for a leukemia patient, but sadly I've been down since last Friday. I tried to use the weekend to recover but it looks like whatever I've got has reared its ugly head again.

I am home from work this afternoon so I can rest up. I feel like I have enough fighter cells (neutrophils) to keep any illness from really taking me out, but not enough to finish it off so things tend to hang on a long time.

I am going to the oncologist on Thursday just to make sure there's nothing else going on that we're missing. It's probably nothing more than a virus but I've learned to expect the unexpected and not ignore my body.

Hemo Update.

Still on Gleevec holiday and my counts remain pretty solid.

Whites - 3,400 (stable)
ANC - 1,700 (stable)
Hemoglobin - 13.9 (stable)
Hematacrit - ? (forgot to ask)
Platelets - 159,000 (relatively stable)

Since these results were processed by a different lab (and immediately), I am curious if the results are directly related. I know that platelet readings can vary based on how long the samples sit.

Oh yeah, my liver. So my bilirubin at its high point 2 weeks ago was 4.9, last Monday it was 4.6 and on Monday it was 3.9. In short - its heading the right direction. It sounds like they'll keep me off the meds for another 2 weeks. They expect my PCR-ABL test to be back by then and we can talk about continued therapy.

I'll take it.

Sorta safe for work.

I'm a pretty big fan of the Comedy Central roasts, most are a mix of great talents and no talents. The Bob Saget roast is no different, however Cloris Leachman kills.

It's just not working out...

How do you break up with a doctor? I need to know by tomorrow because I cheated on mine today and I'm guessing my blood results are going to show that I met with Dr. Cripe today. For those of you coming in late to this dialogue I had set up an appointment with a Leukemia specialist a couple weeks back, and - today I met with him.

The practice was busy, active but surprisingly much more organized. I was whisked away almost immediately after sitting down. This new place has a lab on site and the first thing they do when you arrive is take a CBC. Pretty sweet gig if you ask me - one stop shopping. They did the normal stuff - height, weight, bp, pulse, etc and sent me to an exam room. Next up was about 20 minutes with a med student - its a good primer for meeting with the doc and really gets your mind thinking about all the questions you want to ask.

I did clam up a bit when the doc arrived. He was a little intimidating, but mostly in that teachery sorta way. He explained things very clearly and even left a sheet of notes behind for me. On my way out they decided to take another couple blood samples and even did the test Dr. Dugan sorta did but this time with numbers (not a pass/fail like last time). I should hear back in a couple weeks and we'll probably revisit my bilirubin levels as well.

All in all, a good visit at a good practice with people who seemingly really know their stuff.

Now I need to call Doc Dugan's office tomorrow and let them know that it's just not working out.

Whole damn family.

Been a while since I've added any artwork to the site. In this photo we have Grandmother, Grammadaddy, Bubby, Poppa, Eli and Maris on the front stoop.