The Fake Tuesday...

In the online fandom world, we call this a SRS BSNS post.

All day today I have been thinking it is Tuesday, when it is in fact Wednesday.

Yesterday - the real Tuesday - I had half my day taken up by a visit to the hospital to have an ultrasound done. A couple of weeks ago, I had gone to see my doctor because my chronic back pain had returned with renewed vigor and he wanted to check it out before he changed my meds. He decided I needed to have an MRI done on the thoracic part of my back, which is where most of my pain radiates from. Last week when his nurse called with the results, she said that the MRI of my back came out normal...

BUT...

(don't you hate when they say that?)

BUT... during the MRI, the tech noticed something in the left lobe of my thyroid. This something measured about 2.3 to 2.6 cm. It is not glaringly obvious if you are looking at my neck. But you can see the lump if I lean my head back a certain way and when I swallow. There appeared to be just one abnormal nodule, which ruled out hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism - but he wanted blood work done just in case (all the tests came back normal on my blood). That left the possibility of it being a) a cyst; b) a benign growth/tumor; or c) a cancerous growth/tumor. He scheduled me to have an ultrasound done on my thyroid, which is what I had yesterday (on the real Tuesday).

Today on the fake Tuesday (otherwise known as Wednesday), I called in for the results of the ultrasound. Laying on the table and looking at the screen yesterday, I could see the growth and I could tell it was solid rather than fluid-filled, so I was prepared for her to tell me it was not a cyst - which is exactly what she said. It is solid.

That leaves the tumor option - the big question now being "is it benign or is it cancerous?" I am having a biopsy on Monday (9/28) to determine what exactly this is. I probably won't get the results from the biopsy until the next fake Tuesday, better known as Wednesday, Sept. 30th.

At this point, the Hubby and I have only told a handful of friends, family and co-workers. Now that it appears to be more serious than a cyst, I'm giving y'all the heads up - prayers and thoughts will be much appreciated.

Frank and I have decided not to tell the kids anything until we know what it is for certain. Matt has been pretty clingy since his own health scare a month ago, and Naomi does not handle the "C" word very well (for obvious reasons). No need to get them upset if it turns out to be benign, so we are waiting. It's strange to not be talking to them about this - I typically tell them everything. But in this instance, I want to be fully prepared to answer all of their questions - and I can't do that right now.

I'm not going to speculate about the what ifs right now - Frank and I are realists, but we're not going to start worrying about something until we know for sure that there is something to worry about. Either way, I will update the blog next week with the results and the next step.

I am becoming quickly addicted to the site http://www.weheartit.com - so much visual stim & a place to store my fave pics.

Another Test Post

This is where I spend about 40 hours a week.

Testing 1, 2, 3...

Signed up for mobile blogging so thought I'd test it out. Maybe y'all will here from me more this way!

Book Review: At Last Comes Love

At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The plot was much more involved in this book, which made it a faster read. But the romance was kind of lacking. The reveals regarding Duncan's past and the truth behind why he did what he did almost came too late for the reader to forgive him. I still enjoyed the writing and have picked up the 4th book of the series. Then I will have to wait a year before I can read the final book, which will suck. Of course, I have plenty of other books to read in the meantime.


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Book Review: Then Comes Seduction

Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I liked this second book of the Huxtable Quintet more than the first in terms of how well-written it was, though I think I enjoyed the storyline of the first book better. This one flowed much better with much less repetition. Best part is that the Huxtables and their stories are still intriguing me enough that I am starting Book #3 immediately.


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Book Review: First Comes Marriage

First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have only recently started to read Regency books. The handful I read before this one were not as good, and I was about to move on to other genres. But I'm glad I gave this one a chance. There was nothing spectacular about it, but I did enjoy the read and I want to read the next book in this series. There was some repetitive internal dialogue that could have been done better, but the characters had a believable progression. Each book of the series shifts to a different sibling, so I will be interested to see how much Vanessa (the sibling in this book) is mentioned in the future books - and whether we are allowed glimpses into how her story continues to play through the other books.


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Book Review: Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The book was good. It didn't rock my world, but it was enjoyable for the most part. Not sure if I'll read the whole series, but already picked up the second book so I'll probably at least read that one - but not really in a hurry, which is another sign that I wasn't necessarily enthralled enough with the book to NEED to read the next book NOW. I admit that constantly comparing the differences between Season 1 of True Blood with the book was a distraction to the reading experience. As a Southerner, I felt comfortable with Sookie's dialect and colloquialisms, but I'm not sure if the average reader would enjoy it quite as much. For me, it reminded me of my grandmother's way of talking - which is a good thing.


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Trek with a dash of Potter...

Now that it has been a few days since Star Trek opened - to deserved big numbers - I've had a chance to read a bunch of reviews and have received a bunch of e-mails about the movie. For me, seeing the movie was an incredible, memorable experience. Because I had no canon to fret over, I was able to watch the movie completely open-minded and I saw it for what I still believe the movie truly is - an otherworldly and massively entertaining movie.

On the other hand, I now get why some of the more hardcore, long-term Trek fans are having issues. I can be sympathetic, and even somewhat empathetic to their plight. It is the same way that I have felt as I watch each of the Harry Potter movies for the first time - amplified, I would assume, for the Trekkers because there are many more years and incarnations of their show to consider. The first time I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the theater, I left feeling deflated and not just a little peeved. So much of the book had been left out or altered that it didn't feel like I was watching a true adaptation of the book - it felt more like a hacked-up abridged version, and I just couldn't enjoy the movie as I watched it because I spent my entire time comparing what was on the screen to what was on the page. It was miserable for me. A few days later, after I really had a chance to think about it, I realized that the movie wasn't as awful as I kept telling myself it was - it was mainly my skewed expectations that clouded the entire experience for me. I went to watch it again, this time intending just to watch it like I didn't know what happened in the book, and I did enjoy it much more. My experience was still tainted by my penchant for remembering every small detail from the book, but I forced myself to be open-minded.

When the next HP movie - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - came out, I did not reread the book before I went to see the movie, like I had for SS. I wanted my memory to be murkier. I also walked in without the expecting the movie to fulfill any insanely high expectations based off the book. I resolved myself to watch it just as a movie, rather than as a movie adaptation of a book. It changed my experience tenfold. Of course, I couldn't help but pick it apart in rewatchings, but allowing my heart to let go of the much loved book before I entered the theater and giving myself a chance to watch "just a movie" kept the poison at bay. I've employed the same tactic with each new HP movie, and I now view them as a separate entity from the books. I understand better the sacrifices they've had to make so the movies would be an acceptable length and give them a more movie-manageable storyline.

Which brings me back to Trek. When the Trekkers I know would ask me why they should trust J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot with their beloved franchise, I told them I could not promise that J.J. and BR would make them 100% happy - and that they would not try to. What I knew J.J. and Co. would do - and what they DID do, IMHO - is make an entertaining-as-hell movie, while being respectful of the canon they had to tamper with on occasion to make that possible. My advice now would be - go see it again, but check your Canon Police Badge and expectations at the door. Try to watch it as "just a movie" and see how that tastes by the time the credits roll.

Boldly going...

About an hour ago, I got home from seeing a 7 p.m. showing of Star Trek. I should be working diligently on my book right now, but I can't go to sleep - not before giving my review of the movie. Please keep in mind that I am not a Trekker, so there will be no ad nauseum breakdown of everything they did right or wrong with relation to series canon. I have to say that because with MOST shows and movies, I am a canon harpy. I have only seen a handful of Trek (TOS) episodes and I saw the first three movies when they aired in the theaters, so I am by no means any kind of an expert on Trek. Any comments about my lack of Trek knowledge will be ignored - just like the 50 e-mails in my j-j-abrams.com fansite in box regarding William Shatner.

What I am an expert on is Bad Robot and, by extension I guess, J.J. Abrams - well, his projects, at least. The majority of people going to see this movie this weekend are going to see a Star Trek movie. I went to go see a Bad Robot movie. I have a deep abiding affinity with the people at Bad Robot - there are people who work there that I have an exorbitant amount of respect for, and even a few whom I am lucky enough to consider friends. Most people who come to this blog already know about my unique relationship with Burky. And this review is partly for him, in lieu of the email that I would typically send after seeing something put out by Bad Robot. This review is also partly for my "BR Buddy" Dave, who I mention on occasion. He is one of the nicest, most humble, most insanely uplifting people I have ever known, and I hate that I typically downplay who he is when I mention him, but I do that because he is just not a bells and whistles kind of guy. But between you and me, when you are watching the end credits for Trek (and the same goes for the end credits of Cloverfield), you'll see the big producer names flashing on the screen - Abrams, Burk...and then the last big fonted producer credit goes to some guy named David Baronoff. That is my BR Buddy Dave. He's kind of a big deal, though he would NEVER agree to that phraseology.

Back to my movie experience this evening, when I left the theater, I did what I had promised to do for months now - I sent a text to Dave with my immediate, post-viewing reaction. And yes, there is nothing cooler than leaving the theater of an awesome movie and being able to text or email one of the producers to tell them directly just how awesome the movie was. That is a privilege that I will never take for granted. By the time I got home tonight, I had already promised a more complete review to Dave and then found I had an email from Burky requesting my review as well. But I didn't want to do my typical email reviews this time - not for this movie. Not for something that has been in motion for YEARS and for something so many people seemed determined to want to fail.

I am not going to give out spoilers, but the first thing I mentioned to Dave in the texts I sent him and the thing that is still sticking with me the strongest post-viewing is how extraordinary the pacing was. That sounds kind of lame, but it is something that affects me every time I see a movie - if it drags at any point or if the pacing goes up and down like a roller coaster, it ruins the movie for me. The pacing of this movie was incredibly consistent and kept just under frenetic. I loved it. It made the movie go by so fast - which in turn makes me want to go see it again right away.

I thought the storyline was tight - the character introductions were fun and, in the case of Scotty, unexpected. I hate when things are too predictable, and this movie skillfully avoided that - unless it was played to comedic effect. Speaking of - the humor was one of the best things about the movie for me. Even better than the jaw-dropping effects by ILM. Chris Pine has some of the best facial expressions - he totally floored me with his performance. And Zach Quinto nailed the notoriously expressionless and stoic Spock - which made any showing of actual emotion that much more provoking. I knew Pegg would be hilarious as Scotty, and he did not disappoint. The Scotty/Kirk interactions were definitely high on my list of favorite scenes. Actually, any character interaction scene with Pine exceeded my expectations. I expected Zach and Pegg to nail their characters; I had heard beforehand that Karl Urban was a ringer for Bones and found that to be true. But I didn't expect to be dazzled by Chris Pine - and he ended up dazzling my socks off.

I suspect that there will be plenty of Trekkers who are going to pick this movie apart. There was quite a bit of whispering going on during the first 15 minutes or so of the showing I attended. It only lasted about 15 minutes because that is when a guy in the audience said, quite loudly: "Shut the fuck up!!" (Sorry for the language, but it had the desired effect, so I'm not complaining). I get why the complaints are going to be made, but I am hoping there will be some open-mindedness among the devoted Trek fans. J.J. was presented with an impossible situation, and quite possibly has pulled off the impossible by reinvigorating a beloved series that was in serious need of a boost. Walking into that theater - I was not a Trek fan. But I sure as hell walked out as one.