The Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) is organizing Illuminaria Gozo - a photography exhibition in Gozo, exclusively for Gozitan photographers – and your last chance to participate is now! Choose your best (up to three) photos that you have taken in Gozo, and submit them by Thursday, 24th February 2011. That’s the day after tomorrow, so hurry up!!
Don’t let the entry fee put you off, because what you get in return is very valuable indeed: exposure for your photography in the attractive setting of the Banca Giuratale in Victoria; your photo(s) printed and professionally framed; the opportunity to sell your photo(s).
Participation in the exhibition is open to both, members and non-members of the MIPP. But if you aren’t a member, why not think about becoming one? Members don’t only profit from a cheaper entry fee, but also from a lot of attractive activities for photographers that are organised frequently throughout the year by the MIPP. And last but not least, you’ll meet a lot of nice people with the same passion for photography as you!
Click the graphic on the right to download a PDF file with further details and rules of entry for the Illuminaria Gozo exhibition.
Posted on February 22, 2011 - 10:58 am. Add a comment
One of Gozo’s numerous corroded facades (on the seafront of Xlendi) that have – so far – withstood the passage of time and rough seas…
Passage of Time
Posted on February 20, 2011 - 9:38 am. Add a comment
A few months ago, while in the midst of despair to find out what the hell it was that caused me so much physical pain, I made the silly statement that I wished my CT scan had shown something, anything, so I’d know what I was up against and could do something about it. And, as we all know, my wish was subsequently granted, and all too quickly so!
Last Wednesday I had another wish fulfilled, that of getting answers. My oncologist went in detail through my CT scans (the primary tumor measures just a tad over 8 mm) and the metastases showing up in my bone scan (scary!!). He explained that a very minimal improvement had been achieved with chemotherapy (but at least the tumor hasn’t grown either!).
And then there was my inquiry about the prognosis of my illness… It was the hardest question for me to ask, and I admit I nearly chickened out in the end – but only nearly.
Well. On average, someone in my condition won’t have years left to live… not an awful lot, eh? What do you do to add meaning to your life in such a short time? I guess it’s too late now for a bucket list of big adventures; however, should I win a lottery before my time is up, I might invest in some little luxuries like travelling in the most comfortable ways possible. (My fabulous friends have offered to pay my trip to the March meet-up with Roger Hodgson, which I sadly had to decline because I don’t have the strength to even travel there.)
But assuming that a lottery win is not going to happen, here’s my action plan for the immediate future and the rest of the year…
- Put a few pounds back on my bones. Must identify food that I like – I went off so much stuff I used to love…
- Work on becoming more mobile again. Together with some meat, there’s urgent need for muscles! Must get out of that armchair!!
- Celebrate my 52nd birthday, which is just 2 weeks away. No fancy party or 8 course gala dinner, just a nice get-together with family and friends. And the most wonderful news in that respect: my sister and niece are coming to join me for that weekend!!
- Prove that an average value is open-ended and may very well go years beyond the, um, average…
- Oh and why ever not: Win the lottery! As I’ve learned, stranger wishes have been granted, so what the hell!
What do you do when life throws you lemons? Personally, I don’t care much for lemonade, but there’s other stuff you can make from lemons… meringue anyone? Oh, and then there’s always a nice, refreshing gin & tonic that benefits from a juicy slice of lemon! And last but not least, there’s this rumour about citrus being beneficial in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Whether that’s true or not, I’m sure there’s no harm putting to good use all those lemons that have been thrown at me!
For now, I am on a four weeks’ treatment break, until my next appointment with the oncologist on March 16th. I will work on getting some of my energy back by then!
Posted on - 9:32 am. 2 comments
Last week would have been a pretty bad one if it hadn’t been for my sister’s visit. Sadly she could only stay for 6 days, and we were so darn unlucky with both the weather as well as my physical condition. This weekend’s bright sunshine is like a slap in the face; I don’t think this whole winter has seen another seven days with as much rain as we had through last week! Of course we still made the best of her visit and enjoyed being together.
After my treatment on the day before her arrival, I never recovered – and it’s still as bad now, after last Friday’s chemo. That one was – supposedly – the last one of the first chemo cycle. Supposedly, because I’d been told a few weeks earlier that after this one I’d be getting a “break”. (And boy, am I ready for a break!) Well, and then the doctor who saw me Friday said that the oncologist (who apparently is away this week) would be making that decision after seeing me on the 16th February. I’m confused. And angry.
Apparently this country has a policy of keeping cancer patients as much as possible out of the loop where her/his illness is concerned. I have actually known people who were never told that they had cancer before they died – I kid you not: if your family decides that you can’t handle the truth, you’re f*cked in the information department! (Very important note: this has nothing to do with my family; they wouldn’t dream of doing that to me!)
Now, obviously I know that I have a right to information. And in the beginning of all this shit, I was able to make that very clear to anybody I had contact with. But to be honest, it is a struggle to make up your mind about what questions to ask, and that struggle gets tougher every time you receive an unsatisfactory answer – or none at all. The doctor I see before a treatment changes almost every time; a typical policlinic situation. There is one contact person that is more of a constant, but I never know beforehand whether I get to see her or someone else. Sometimes I’d ask a couple of questions, then the junior doctor wanders off to ask a ‘superior’ and return with half the answers, or tells me something I already knew. Once, after I had enquired about the two different kinds of back pains I was suffering from, I’m sure she only went to confirm whether she was allowed to tell me that I had bone metastases. On another occasion the doc went to “check” – and never returned at all.
I’m not superwoman… Why do they have to make it so hard for me to ask questions? Shouldn’t the fact that I am asking be sufficient reason to give me an answer? This has been awfully frustrating to say the least, and that frustration has started undermining my resolve big time. I wish they’d simply put a note in the front of my file saying, ‘Patient Wants To Know Everything!’ – and then act accordingly.
So now, I’m going to make a list of all questions for the oncologist, on the 16th February. And keep my fingers crossed that 1) I’ll actually get to ask them, and 2) he’ll answer them… Wish me luck, ‘cos this status quo is truly wearing me out!
Posted on February 6, 2011 - 12:33 pm. 5 comments
Sometimes rain is just as beautiful as sunshine – not to mention sunshine after a cleansing rainfall! Early this morning I was awoken by thunderstorms with a heavy downpour that rid the greenery in our garden of all the dust and grime:
In the meantime, thick grey clouds are back, and it’s raining. But hey, it’s February, after all. And I had my photo fix! 
Posted on February 2, 2011 - 10:31 am. 2 comments
