i_rabbit

Evie surprised us with a trip to the circus yesterday - It was Polly and Nate’s first such experience! - and we all enjoyed the show. I particularly enjoyed the wide ranging talents of percussionist Kit Chatham, who was an integral part of the show. Such an inspiration - Thank you Evie!!!

You, perhaps more than any other, taught me how to explore the mind, by providing a simple framework whereby my imagination could know no bounds.

Thank you for your life’s work sweet man.

…These rules are strictly fantasy. Those wargamers who lack imagination, those who don’t care for Burroughs’ Martian adventures where John Carter is groping through black pits, who feel no thrill upon reading Howard’s Conan saga, who do not enjoy the de Camp & Pratt fantasies or Friz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pitting their swords against evil sorceries will not be likely to find that these rules are the answer to their prayers. With this last bit of advice we invite you to read on and enjoy a “world” where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!

E.Gary Gygax
TSR Hobbies, Inc.
1 November 1973
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

so much potential this year!

where do YOU want to go?

Today was a dream come true- I got to play a gig with fellow Sangha musicians MEL WATSON, her partner Jen, and Linda Fane on percussion, as ‘The Migrators’. It was great to get out the brushes and play simple grooves on the traps. I look forward to playing with Mel again in the future!

“I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature,
Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
The dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy on my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain…”

~ Shakespeare, Richard the Third, Act I, Scene I

I had a PET scan today. That is a pretty impressive implementation of particle physics and computational technology. What was more impressive though was the compassion that the attendant demonstrated with his genuine smile and concern for how my experience was going. He remembered me from last January when I had my first scan and the prognosis wasn’t so good. I should hear the results tomorrow and am praying that they are as normal as the blood tests. I remain positively positronic in my relationship with this disease and practice daily purification meditation.
Om Vajrasattva Hum

This showed up in my inbox today xP

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on
envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that
needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown)
who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the
$15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating
in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out
for me, and St.  Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant
freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water
buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward
an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove
toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car
so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr.  Pepper since the people who make these
products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans .

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave
anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked
with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume
sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al
Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our
American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number
for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore
, and Uzbekistan .

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their
recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown
African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it
bites my butt.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I found in the
parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting
underneath my car to grab my leg.

I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas
companies!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70
minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this
afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to
grow a hairy hump.  I know this will occur because it actually happened to a
friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's
cousin's beautician...

Have a wonderful day....

As you may have noticed;

i_drum…

stay tuned!

This past weekend Evie and I took the kids up to Nason Creek Campground near beautiful Lake Wenatchee. This is the view from our tent! Eve’s father was going to tow his trailer up and join us but his truck broke down the day before and he couldn’t make it so we had to improvise a little with the supplies. Nevertheless, things went well and our good friends Rod and Francesca joined us on Saturday. We all got to spend lots of time tubing in the creek and lake, identifying bugs, and lounging around camp and bathing in mosquito repellent! Nate has become quite the accomplished fire starter and Polly a budding camp chef. Sunday we spent the day taking the scenic route home via Leavenworth and I taught the kids how to tell direction based on the sun and shadows. Good times…

Eve and I got hitched this weekend at Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island! It was perfect. Perfect family, friends, weather, location, ceremony, and all the fun had afterwards! Sunday we meandered back to Seattle with the Reverend Michael in tow. We stopped for a stroll through the tulips and I grabbed this shot of the two happy newlyweds.

Thank you to all of our family and friends who came out and celebrated with us. Because of you, it was perfect!

Yesterday, my surgeon cleared me for returning to work on Monday. I’m looking forward to a new routine and getting out of the house more. I plan on returning to 8 Limbs soon too and reengaging with my yoga sangha. Currently tying-up loose ends and studying for a test next Wednesday at Vajralama, on the Intermediate Scope.

Today, after 31 days in the hospital. I was supposed to be released yesterday but insurance aprovals for home meds/supplies got in the way. It wasn’t too bad though because the last three nights I have actually been getting close to eight hours of sleep. Still, it feels incredibly good to be home and in my own bed. I still have 4-6 weeks of recovery until my wounds heal and I am able to work full time agian. Fortunately I may be able to begin working from home on a more part time basis earlier than that.

I returned home, IV free and with only a very light MED-VAC to carry. I also have no less than 12 meds/vitamin/suppliments that I need to stay on top of. I will be visited by a home care nurse three times a week to change dressings and do blood work. It beats a whacked out airbed and ten IVs by miles.

I am still at a loss as to what to say about this ongoing experience so I may start a new category for posts related to fighting the good fight.

One thing I am clear about what I want to say is a huge THANK YOU to all the kind nurses and doctors that tended to me during my stay at Swedish.

Purification

This weekend was all about purification. It started with a long walk with my spiritual guide Gen Jangsem. We talked about negative karma, impermanence, and the importance of meditating on emptiness. He offered that the two most important things for me to focus on right now are renunciation, and purification of the negative karma that has ripened, manifesting as these tumors in my body. And, not just renunciation in the sense of now, like ‘I think I’ll stop drinking coffee because it’s bad for my digestion.’ but, the renunciation of conditions that give rise to future suffering at a karmic level. This is the work of a bodhisattva, to prepare for future lives, future learning, teaching and enlightenment. He shared with me the Vajrasattva Sadhana and taught me the shortened version of the mantra. This will help insure a beneficial rebirth, so that the work can continue in a future lifetime. Meanwhile I have a lot of purifying to do in this lifetime.

On Saturday a host of friends, family, and sangha came over to help with the work of clearing out old things, making dump runs, sorting Goodwill donations, and pouring old paint and other hazmat into barrels out back. Dirty work for sure. I want to thank all that showed up to lend a hand and help lighten the load; Eve, Peter, Mika, Stuart, Greg, Brian, Maggie, Angela, Macy, Hannah, Will, and Jeanette. You are all very much loved and appreciated! And a big thank you to the guy that came and towed away my old flatbed for free - w00+! Now there is room to park out back.

Now I have a ton of space in the garage and the house feels much less cluttered. Just a little more cleanup tonight in preparation for the Medicine Buddha puja that the sangha is performing here (in my living room!) Tuesday night.

Out with the old, in with the new!

I met my oncologist for the first time on Friday and had a biopsy that afternoon. He basically said that from looking at the first CT scan films and bloodwork that I likely have stage three pancreatic cancer and that it has spread to my spleen and perhaps colon. He thinks it is inoperable based on the first look and has ordered a PET scan for this week which along with the biopsy results will determine my treatment options. Not good news… I am seeking a second opinion of course and also planning to do a lot of work with my spiritual guide, yoga teachers, and naturopath. There are a lot of treatment options that western doctors do not consider when making their prognosis and diagnoses. I am relatively at peace with this process and have been feeling much better over the past week since first learning about the tumors. Evie has been a tremendous source of optimism and strength and I know that I can rely upon her for the duration. We have decided to go forward with the wedding plans that we had been considering prior to learning about this. I am really blessed to have her in my life!

:)