Been a while since I blogged. I’ve been giving and grading finals, meeting with students, meeting for the last time in the semester with various groups and committees. I have one more final to give. Tomorrow. So far I’ve only made two students cry. Better than some years. I hate this time of year. I hate flunking people. And yes, they have truly brought it on themselves, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
Lana has been having some issues. Her taste sensitivities have gone all to hell since the tonsillectomy. Many of the foods she loves to eat taste like crap to her now. We are hoping that will ease up soon. She’s also having some pain in the neck area where the cancer is, and we’ve already been put off once in getting an appointment for her treatment. It’s frustrating and upsetting. However, Lana did return to work today. I’m home alone for a few hours. I hope she’ll have a good day.
Outside of tomorrow, I should be more regular in blogging for a while now, and able to blog about some things other than work and health issues. I see my Google reader is up to 271 posts. I won’t make it through all of those, but I will start trying to do some visiting today. I’ve got a couple of ideas for decent blog posts coming up.
I will be signing books with several other writers around 4:00 this Saturday, May 5th, at the Barnes & Noble in Mandeville, Louisiana. I know very few of you live anywhere close, but you are invited if you would like. I also got in a shipment of some of my own books today. I got more copies of In the Language of Scorpions and of Bitter Steel. I now have copies of all my books except Writing in Psychology, and the ebooks, of course, Days of Beer, Killing Trail, and Harvest of War, so if anyone is interested in a signed copy, drop me a line at kainja at hotmail dot com.
And now, off to visit blogs.
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26 comments:
I know a little about what you and Lana are going through. Judy at one point lost all sense of taste and smell. Later, everything did indeed taste terrible to her. She lost a lot of weight. Now, some of her sense of taste is coming back, though it's not what it once was. Still very little sense of smell. It's a tough road, but there are some bright spots along the way, and I hope you find a few of them.
My mom went through some major health issues awhile back and it messed up her sense of taste too- fortunately it was only temporary. Hopefully Lana will be feeling better soon.
Glad to see you back. We worry...
I am so pleased with the good news anyway.
Book signing at Barnes and Noble, huh?
Nice.
From what i saw in the past, i can say a thing: The moments you are alone, keep yourself busy. Worst thing you can make is worrying beyond the normal limits in this kind of situation.
About the students, and fromm the side of a former one: Some can fake very well tears!
Hope Lana recover taste soon. My best wishes to both of you ;)
Bill, thanks, man. I appreciate it. I can't quite imagine what she's going through. I like it when we get to eat and enjoy food together.
SQT, I hope so too. Thanks.
Patti, Hopefully I'll be a bit more regular for a while.
Ivan, thanks, man. I appreciate it.
Real nice to see you "up" today.
They brought it on themselves, but there is a dis-connect. Locus of responsibility & anger MUST be Other than ME! How does a college instructor show students how much there still is to know, without discouraging them? And how many students care about more than 'getting through- getting on.'
But you seem fully engaged, which is a fit life for a warrior, and Lana is making progress, albeit with challenges. Bless you folks!
BTW, the blog-O-sphere is just TOO big to read every post of every blogger one cares about. goes with the turf. Release yourself and just enjoy a ramble through today's posts. . . . .
Fond Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
> < } } (°>
As always, I wish nothing but the best for you and Lana. Take Care.
It's good to hear from you.
I hope Lana is better soon!
Cloudia, that's just what I did!
Travis Erwin, we both appreciate it, man.
Golden Eagle, me too. thanks.
Congratulations on making to the end of finals. Ours start next week. Appreciate the invitation to the signing. Due to distance, I'll be there in spirit only. Will you be able to make it to Howard Days this year? You and Lana remain in my prayers. Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight.
I think tears are hard to read. I've learned to simply let them fall and keep calm. One young man who'd just left the swim team after swimming all his life, wept I think out of sheer loss of a sense of identity. Another young man wept when the class critiqued a very awkward oral presentation. He said afterward that he hadn't cried since he was in the 4th grade. That's a lot of unshed tears...As for smell, I've almost totally lost it. I envy my dog...I think about you and Lana all the time. Trust that all will be well.
Charles, I'm surprised that doctors in America put off appointments for treatment of illnesses like cancer. Here, in India, you can often walk into a specialist's clinic without an appointment except you might have to await your turn until all the other appointments are over. You can also see an M.D. in the OPD of hospitals free of cost or at subsidised rates. We have some brilliant medical professionals in India and foreigners are now trooping in for treatment of all kinds of problems. They call it medical tourism here.
Here's wishing Lana and you the very best always.
Neck pain...Lana trust me there is a shit ton of stuff a competent pain specialist can do to give you some relief. some temporary some permanent but find a good anesthesiologist who specializing in pain.
Taste well isn't taste generated in the tongue but perceived in the brain? Try food you hated and see if it now tastes good if it doesn't then i bet your altered taste will return to normal.
Charles I want to play at being the Donald i will fire those poor performing students for you...I haven't had any fun at all since the last surgery and OH YES BY GOD save me a seat at the book signing...Oh never mind Joann just walked in and said I couldn't go.
Take it easy Guys you've had a lot on your plate lately, breathe and walk those plank walkways through the park for a time.
Those students failing I'm sure knew well before the end of the period what they were doing wrong. The problem is in this day and age, they've been conditioned to believe no one fails by the self esteem police. Then they get into higher education and real world jobs only to find out they are indeed expected to produce or they FAIL. I pray the treatment and symptoms will soon be a thing of the past in better days ahead.
Keith, I'm pretty sure I won't be at Howard days. I'd like to go but it doesn't seem in the cards.
Ron, thanks. I never had a sense of smell, but I still have taste sensitivies, although probably not as specific as most folks.
Prashant, they have not gotten in any hurry, despite the fact that we have good insurance which is paying them a lot of money.
Mark, as soon as grades are in I'm taking Lana to the park for a long day walk.
Bernard, yes indeed. Thanks.
Best wishes to you both, Charles. I hope also your cinco de mayo goes well with the signing-- the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla!
May taste return, pain ease and all go well ~! As for students who fail, they may always try try again.
Good to hear from you. My best wishes to Lana and strength to both of you. Good luck at the signing!
Take your time. But know that everyone is hoping the best for you and for Lana.
Have fun at the book signing! Pick up a copy of All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers while you're there! It has an hilarious book signing deep in the warm hollows of it prose.
I recall not having much sense of taste after surgery. It came back after awhile. Oddly enough, when I did start to regain it, I found out that I actually enjoyed asparagus.
Go figure.
Not peas, though. Never peas. Peas will always be GACK.
Wish I could make it to the signing. I'll have to order Language of Scorpions.
I hope you have a lot of fun at your booksigning. Wish I could pop in and meet you. Take pictures to share with us!
Praying for Lana. Always sending positive, good thoughts your way.
Erik, strangely enough, we are actually going to put into place a policy limiting the number of retakes a student can have on our methods courses. Just because we don't want them to keep going and going when it's clear they are not going to get it and are wasting their money.
Sean, thank you very much.
eric1313, I'll keep an eye open for that one. I have some coupons!
Travis Cody, I can see that. Peas are not nature's tasty tots.
David J., I understand of course. None of us can make those kinds of long drives.
Jess, thank you. We both appreciate it.
Charles, I haven't been reading blogs for a while and I only now found out about Lana's illness. I'm so very very very sorry. I think it's good that she's seeking alternative treatments. I read articles about cancer being caused by a microbe, or being a fungus. cancertutor.com looks like an interesting site - I found it when I was looking for some information for a friend. I know this is unbelievably hard. I wish Lana the best of luck and I keep my fingers crossed for both of you.
Health issues tend to be challenges but perseverence can assist in overcoming them.
Charles, I recall my mother's teaching days of helping her mark papers for her grade 4 students.
Vesper, thank you so much. We both appreciate it.
Barbara, teaching and grading is often just plain exhausting.
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