Aw, that's great, sj, enjoy!

I'm glad you had some good times in among all the anxious moments and your stepmother's death, Trudy. That was a hell of... just one week? Geez.

Writing workshops sound like fun, erika. Good present!

That does sound good, Trudy. It's totally weird that Victor and I have been friends for so long and never met physically. I'd say he should come here, but that's not really a nice thing to do. Much as I might like it. Cool about your old friend, sj.

My childhood BFF, T, is going to be in town this weekend!

Have a wonderful visit!

Trudy, that is one hell of a week, birthday or no.

yeah, damn. lots of ups and downs, a lot, period. Had lunch with my parents and didn't make the news-- that's something.

Not making the news is good. Perhaps more so now than usual

yeah...well, you want to do it for the right reasons.

Oh wow Trudy.

Things around here are odd. No National Guard thank dog, for so many reasons. But a lot of ICE sightings including one incident where someone was killed.

The community is pulling together - lots of networks to share sightings. Many of us have Mexican flag magnets on our cars to deflect and support, especially with all the Mexican independence celebrations this past week. As usual they’re targeting working people and working class neighborhoods. Including apparently trolling for beat up work trucks and surveilling them to see who appears. A neighborhood tow truck company is offering to relocate people’s work trucks for free if they are have concerns about going back to it at the end of the work day.

This timeline fucking sucks.

Jesus, Brenda, it really does

This timeline fucking sucks.

It both sucks and blows.

Week 2 of Tim's cancer treatment is done; 5 weeks to go! Earlier this week he noticed that food is starting to taste weird, so side effects are starting to creep in. He can still eat normally, which is great, so he's eating as healthy as he can and also still trying to add some pounds. He does have really minor nausea from the chemo that is easily controlled with ginger candy and/or ginger chews. The radiation oncologist said that the radiation would make Tim's neck look sunburned, and that happened this week. It's not painful, and Tim has topical stuff to use for that, so it's under control.

We're hoping Tim gets at least one more good week of being able to eat normally — the radiation oncologist said week 2 or 3 is when different side effects (sores in his mouth and/or throat, difficulty swallowing) might make it harder to eat normally. That said, since day 1 he's been doing the PT exercises for his swallowing muscles/throat/mouth in general; that doesn't mean he'll avoid all side effects, but it should definitely help. He also uses 2 different products that are meant to prevent/delay/minimize mouth sores — one is a supplemental drink that he takes 2 times a day, and the other is a mixture of baking soda, salt, and water that he rinses his mouth with after meals and at bedtime.

Things still feel surreally normal most days, because he goes to work after radiation in the morning, and because he's still eating normally and exercising and puttering around the house like always. I'm trying to appreciate these days, because the side effects are definitely coming. But still: cancer-free by Halloween! And, as always, fuck cancer.