You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2011.
Thank you very, very much!
Once again my online presence has become a little rare, as I haven’t been in top form. There’s something I don’t want to delay any further, though, and that is telling you, my friends (and total strangers even!), a heartfelt thanks for supporting me and my blog! You might have noticed that the ‘Donate’ link on the left disappeared pretty quickly; that’s because within a couple of days I had enough funds to renew my web hosting account for three whopping years! I could now add another item to my pre-Christmas post, Stuff that makes me cry: your generous contributions, many accompanied by lovely comments, moved me to tears!
I’m also very grateful to my host, Lunarpages, for a really great offer, which worked out at just under 180 Dollars for 39 months. I don’t have to worry about my blog’s demise for a very long time to come! Oh, and I mustn’t leave out Lunarpages’ billing specialist Randy Tarpley, who I had the pleasure dealing with before. (At the time he had gone faaaar out of his way to present a friend with a birthday gift while he was supposedly enjoying his day off!). He restored my belief in genuine customer care – and I’m also very happy to say that he has become a friend in the process! Randy, you certainly rock, too!!
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Well, and on other fronts (or should I rather say the front), I’m still labouring with the aftereffects of last Friday’s chemo. Occasionally it’s been so bad that I was wondering whether they’d given me an overdose. But to sweeten things a little, we have a very dear house guest this week, my sister is visiting for a week from Germany. It’s a pity that this turned out to be one of my worst weeks so far, but there’s nothing one can do. I’ll just have to enjoy it as much as I can. – and I do!
Next Friday will see my last treatment in this first cycle. I can’t wait to get a break and hopefully regain some of my strength and energy. And of course I’m anxious to learn whether all the torture has had any effect…
The time since my diagnosis (exactly 75 days ago) has an almost surreal feel to it. Two and a half months don’t sound all that long, but they seem like forever to me. Even so, every single day passes awfully quickly although I would expect time to crawl with all the slouching I’m doing. Really, really strange…
Posted on January 31, 2011 - 7:56 pm. 1 comment
In the two months since my diagnosis my husband and son have transformed a generous space of our living room into a haven of comfort for a couch potato…
A folding table on my left holds the telephone and generally does just what you’d expect an ordinary table to do: there are snacks, drinks, letters, papers, more papers… Sometimes neat, sometimes chaotic.
To my immediate right, things get a little more interesting. The very large window sill is home to a provisional bookshelf with many hours’ worth of reading fodder, a lampshade, a box of medicines whose variety and quantities easily compete with those of a small pharmacy. There’s also quite an assortment of office paraphernalia that you’d expect to find in a home office, including PC & printer.
Right in front of me a small cabinet is crowned with a 21” widescreen monitor that also serves as vehicle to feed my addiction to watching crime thrillers (online) on German TV.
And there, right in the middle of it all, reigning over this little two meter radius, you’ll find the lady of the house: I, the Couch Potato. Oh, and I’ve even got a throne! This rather luxurious piece of furniture, a reclining armchair, was given to me on loan by the Friends of the Sick and the Elderly in Gozo (FSEG). It allows me to spend my time in the comfortable surroundings of our living room, rather than lying down in bed all day.
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Like any other charitable organisation, the FSEG depends on the public for help. You never know (I certainly didn’t!) when you might be the one in need of help… so please consider supporting the FSEG by joining their case on Facebook, or by becoming a member or sponsor.
The FSEG’s official website usually contains information about the organisation’s activities; however, it seems to be undergoing an overhaul of sorts at the moment.
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To be continued, one of these days, with: Welcome to my world: (2) My time
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Update 22:00 hrs:
After a rainswept morning that looked like it would last for ever, incredibly bright sunshine proceeded to flood my above-described little kingdom. How could I possibly ignore my beloved 5D any longer? So out came the camera, tripod, and extension tube!
Some time ago, while I was preparing the assorted pills that I was about to take, I placed them – without any thought or intention – on the screen of my mobile phone. That’s when the idea came for this shot. I never went ahead with it but kept thinking about it every day! Unfortunately I had to abandon the action after a handful of shots, as bending over the camera to focus proved just as painful as I’d anticipated. But it was a start – and worth it, too!
Posted on January 26, 2011 - 12:43 pm. 3 comments
…to my blog!
A blend of boredom and curiosity led me to sign up for a Blogger account in 2006. In those days I always checked out the latest fads on the internet; I was quite the geek back then. (I even used to have a separate category for my geeky mutterings, would you believe it!)
When I wrote my first blog post on Monday, 9th January 2006, I had no idea that five years and 954 posts later I would be still at it, but well… here I am! To facilitate my work as a freelancer, I set myself up with my own domain name and hosting space a couple of months later – a great opportunity to afford my blog the escape from rigid Blogger confines to creative independence!
The only downside to a self-hosted blog is that once you stop hosting it, it evaporates into thin cyber-air. It’s possible to import the text parts of the posts to another host, but all the photos that are stored on my server… *poof* – gone! When that realisation came to me last week it sent me into panic mode; I don’t want my blog to die! Perhaps it’s just the underlying wish for immortality? I don’t know. But the sad reality is that this year I cannot afford to extend the hosting agreement on my own steam. And I’m telling you all this to explain the ‘Donate’ button on the left. I’ll understand if you think I’m a freeloader who’s trying to make a quick buck. But if, on the other hand, you would like to support my blog and can spare a couple of euros, I’ll be forever grateful! I pledge not to use the funds for anything else but the hosting account. And if there’s anything I can give you in return… please do let me know! (A couple of high-resolution photos of Gozo, perhaps? Or a signed copy of Angelina’s Ghost?)
PS – I already received a couple of contributions, thank you sooo much!! (Arlene, your book will – finally – be on its way tomorrow morning!)
Posted on - 12:43 pm. 3 comments
For decades I have only ever taken fleeting notice of the name in obituaries, which would feature Malta’s “cancer hospital” as the place where someone had passed away. Thus, for me the name Boffa – not one of those common Maltese surnames that you hear all the time – has always had a sinister ring to it, although it should be stressed that Sir Paul Boffa was anything but a sinister man but Malta’s Prime Minister between 1947 and 1950. 
Since the end of November, Sir Paul Boffa Hospital has become the destination of my chemotherapy pilgrimage, approximately three times a month. The hospital was built just before World War II – and indeed, on the inside it does carry that typical dated government department aura. The first thing that usually greets us upon arrival at ca. 8.30 in the morning: brutal traffic and parking chaos, which however is handled very sensibly and in a surprisingly friendly manner by the security and reception staff. Here, all the staff at Boffa deserve to be mentioned and commended, really. All of them are doing sterling work, but what I admire most is how cheerful they remain throughout the morning, no matter the stress level, which is usually on the high side! I guess it takes a very particular dedication to your profession that lets you choose that kind of career and be able to carry a genuine smile for each and every patient – even grumpy ones!
Well, it’s time to come to the actual purpose of this post, which has been a long time coming. On my second trip to Boffa, having conquered parking chaos and about half the length of the long, long corridor leading to the Day Ward, we encountered a “traffic diversion” through the hospital garden as the corridor was being renovated. And discovered what a little gem of a garden that is! It took me several attempts to bring my camera, fully functional (yep, on Christmas Eve I even did that idiotic booboo of bringing it without a CF card!!), be fit enough to use it – and last but not least, find time for it!
My Boffa trip this last Friday (a wonderful spring-like day, too!) was finally the day it came all together. Well, almost, anyway; unfortunately I hadn’t reckoned with facing the morning sun straight-on and I was also missing my wide-angle lens…That I can (and will) bring another time, but I don’t see myself taking photos later in the day. After chemo, as soon as the drip is out it’s always a race back to the ferry. Until now we’ve never managed to leave the hospital with time to spare!
I couldn’t resist to catch a little of the early morning atmosphere on the ferry, I just love the light!
And here’s finally the garden – and its view – at the hospital. There will be a few more photos in the hopefully not too distant future!
Posted on January 9, 2011 - 12:41 pm. 3 comments
While over the past week or so I’ve been wasting astonishing chunks of time with simply staring out into the garden, my mind busy composing blog posts and facebook comments, there was no point in spoiling everyone’s happy celebrations with obnoxious outcries of “hey, I’m here and I’m miserable!”
You might argue I could have tried feeding my mind happier vibes by joining the general merry-making. Well, at times I actually tried to do just that, only to be brought down again by a bout of nausea here or an attack of vicious stomach cramps there… I was pretty miserable indeed, both physically and mentally. At most, I succeeded in wistfully recalling memories of the few highlights that marked 2010 for me: our fabulous Ireland holiday at the turn of the year; my MIPP photography course early summer (the most useful thing I did all year!); and last but not least, meeting up with my dear friends in Munich for Roger’s Tollwood gig in July. But except for those few happy occasions, 2010 was a downhill all the way sort of year, and that impression isn’t helped by the fact that many of my friends also had more than their fair share of burdens and heartache to endure.
So let 2011 be a good year for all of us – and let us all be blessed with the wisdom to recognise and appreciate the little things that make life beautiful!
Posted on January 2, 2011 - 12:12 pm. 4 comments
