Monday, August 18, 2008

[8-18-08] Moving!

[12:49pm]
     I got discharged from the hospital at around 9:00am! One of the nurses I'm more familiar with, Janette, walked me out and got me a taxi...the hospital even paid for it! Quite nice. It was really sweet: She told me to "not come back, get a good pet scan, and go straight to Stanford." Then she gave me a hug.

     So then, I got some 7-11 nachos (which I've been craving tremendously), stopped by Liz's place, and began moving out!
Despite a strange taste in my mouth and a lot less energy, this was, perhaps, even easier than the first ICE session. Rock on! Of course, my nadir is in about 10 days, so we'll see how I'm feeling then. But for now, I feel great!

     Moving Out:
     It's sort of a tradition for me. I like to live simply, and move efficiently. So, here's my refined step-by-step guide to moving out, Austin-style:
     1:Throw away all trash.
     2:Put all your dirty laundry large garbage bags. Put all your clean laundry in different large garbage bags. Make sure you know which is which.
     3:Take all your books you have finished reading (and don't use for reference) and sell them. Take all your CDs you've copied to mp3, or don't listen to anymore, and sell them. Sell all your xbox360 games you've already played.
     4:Arrange your: "I'll need this immediately where I will live" section. Label this #1.
     5:Arrange your: "I'll need this nearby" section. Label this #2.
     6:Arrange your: "I'll need this at some point, but I'm willing to drive to storage for it" section. Label this #3.
     7:Throw away everything that doesn't fit in any of those three sections -- basically anything you don't need.
     8:Sort items into the three sections. If delicate, put in banker's box. Else, just put in a labeled trash bag.
     9:Computer always goes last.

     And that's it! You've moved out in 3 hours, and move-in will be even easier. Just put #1 in your room, #2 in the garage, and #3 in storage. Plus, you've gotten rid of a lot of useless stuff and simplified your life.

     So now I'm just going to waste time on the internet until Dan get's here. And, yeah, I'm not driving my motorcycle to Aptos. We'll pick it up later.

8 comments:

Veronica said...

Great news on your early release for good behaviour :0p

And thanks for the tips on moving - we're moving house in a couple of months and I'll be sure to follow your advice........although there may be 2 puzzled little girls who wonder where all their toys have gone and a furious husband who wants to know WHO exactly told me that I should sell all his CDs and his numerous games and gadgets.......I shall direct him your way ;0)

Enjoy your freedom......am I right in thinking that you have a scan tomorrow or is that all in my confused little head??.........Vx

Unknown said...

Hey Austin! Congrats on getting sprung! 711 nachos almost as good as Malomars, but not quite. Enjoy your new place!

Read your earlier ICE posts--don't worry about spotted-hair loss...it's all the rage in Europe. It grows back, and I'm sure you're still handsome! Be well!

Skymist said...

Wow, the hospital paid for your taxi! That's amazing. I wonder if that is how they treat anyone who has multiple insurance carriers paying. The hospital is getting at least $25000 for each of your 4-day chemo inpatient stays, so I guess a taxi ride is not going to put them into bankruptcy. The many other considerations, special food, favors for guests, etc can only be explained by exceptional niceness.

As I recall, your PET scan will be in a week or so. We will all be in suspense until we know the results. With 50% or more reduction, you may skip the last two ICE treatments and go right into the Stanford BMT. It's impossible to guess how likely that is. On the one hand, this tumor is big, old, and tough, and it probably has physical limits on how fast it is capable of shrinking. On the other hand, it's never had ICE before, and shrinkage is usually fastest for the first sessions, so perhaps the results will be quite good. We will know soon enough. All we can do is maintain a positive and action-based attitude of determination to aggressively move forward with your treatment at every opportunity. Hmm, that needs an acronym. How about ABADAM FWYTEO! That works. I promise to maintain my Abadam Fwyteo at all times! Sounds a bit like one of your rpg characters too...

Adva Ahava said...

Hooray for freedom from the hospital!

And your moving-list sounds good...we'll have to use it to decrease moving stress in the next couple days.

Let me know if you're up to a visit at any point. It would be really great to see you.

Austin said...

eek! i don't want your kids and husband angry at me, Veronica! I should've put a disclaimer in my moving list :P A lot of people don't like "minimizing" that much.

Thanks, Cate -- though it ain't spotted anymore. it's all gone. Kinda nice :P

Austin said...

...ABADAM FWYTEO for the rest of your days... it's my trouble-free, philosophy, ABADAM FWYTEO!

Silly, silly, silly... :P

Anonymous said...

Aw man! I can't beleive you!

SELLING!?!

I don't know if you're aware of this, but I'm a HUGE packrat. I collect things.

But one thing you need to keep in mind, is that you never know when you'll get the urge to play some old games... If you sell them, how on earth would you be able to play them later?

Although, it probably depends on your lifestyle. I mean, for me Video games and Movies would fall under the "Label #1" variety.

Oh well, to each his own.

-TJ

Austin said...

Heh heh, well TJ... When you have too many video games to play them all, it's not very likely that you'll play them twice. CD's are too cumbersome nowadays. I prefer things in digital format.

But, yes, to each his own.