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Below are the 19 most recent journal entries recorded in
chezsterno's LiveJournal:
| Monday, August 14th, 2006 | | 9:44 pm |
Sterno has left the building. But the celebration of his time with us is still to come.
Paul's family would like you to join us as we celebrate the way he would have. It's not the first day of a New Year, but that doesn't mean we can't have the buffet lunch at the Viceroy of India (2518 West Devon Avenue, in Rogers Park) and evoke the happiness of one more endless meal with Paul. Endless stories, endless pictures, and it will still go by too fast. Come to be with us. Be our guest. Come in a black Tee shirt. Send us a picture of Sterno (if you have a digital photo) that we can share with everyone. Bring a story (if you can stand it). Come with your good thoughts and a smile for the lunches that were. BUT: We need to know by Monday, August 21 if you are coming so we can provide the restaurant with a headcount. So contact us at: rsvp@sternospix.com | | Tuesday, August 8th, 2006 | | 9:01 pm |
Sterno has left us and will grace us no longer, but in memory.
Our son, our brother, our uncle, our cousin, our nephew, our friend (and,by the way, a world class spoon hanger) has died today. Nearly one year from the date of diagnosis, Paul succumbed to the raging cancer cells within him. He left us, just as he lived among us, uniquely and on his own terms. Today, at 5 PM, refusing to adhere to the predictions of the professionals who cared for him, he simply stopped being with us. For all of us who know you and love you, Paul, there is a hole in the fabric of our lives that will not be repaired. Paul's memory will live on in each of us, but as of today, Chez Sterno is closed. Sometime soon, his family will convene a celebration and remembrance of Sterno, nee Paul, to bring us together, to be sad, to be happy, to share tales of canoes and rain and bands and Mardi Gras and IHOP and Klingons and bad movies with big plot holes. Stay tuned to this location to find out more. | | Thursday, July 20th, 2006 | | 6:43 pm |
Party Cancelled!
It's official: I am cancelling (at least postponing) my Housewarming Party that was scheduled for this coming Sunday (23 July 2006). | | Monday, July 17th, 2006 | | 3:47 pm |
Probable Postponement
Due to on going worsening illiness, etc; and pending CT results; my upcoming Housewarming Party may need to be postponed (as usual, at the last minute). Look for updates, or phone first! | | Saturday, June 17th, 2006 | | 4:23 pm |
House Warming Party--about time!!
Won’t you please join us for: Sterno’s House Warming Party on Sunday, the Twenty-Third of July, Two Thousand and Six,
from Noon until Sterno needs to rest, at Sterno’s New Place! (Unless Sterno’s Chemo schedule changes.) Please bring a Pink Flamingo for the front lawn! (And a chair. Don’t have many chairs, yet.) Sterno PO Box 6030
Evanston, Illinois 60204-6030
chezsterno at hotmail dot com
How can you refuse? I’ve got cancer! Current Mood: PukeyCurrent Music: Amasong | | Saturday, May 27th, 2006 | | 11:29 pm |
Time to pick a date for Housewarming Party!
The CD shelves have been delivered. Family coming over tomorrow to help secure them to the walls. Time to pick a date for Housewarming Party! ( Pictures ) Current Mood: anticipatoryCurrent Music: The theme song of the Korean soapopera that I'm watching | | Friday, May 5th, 2006 | | 6:50 pm |
The new new plan
Just a short note ’cause the letters are swimming around on the screen from the lorazepam. My Oncologist’s new plan is irinotecan every other week (started today). Then, after a while, more CT scans to evaluate. (Yay—no desperate, ineffective surgery . . . yet!) I had mild nausea and dizziness, even with ondansetron tablets and dexamethasone intravenous prior to the irinotecan; so I was given lorazepam intravenous before leaving the clinic. Now the nausea is not noticeable, and the dizziness/light-headedness has been replaced by the lack of ability to concentrate/light-headedness of lorazepam. Oh, and I had to stop at the pharmacy on the way home to put in a supply of atropine tablets in case of severe, possibly life-threatening, diaorrhea. (I already have some prochlorperazine tablets on hand if the nausea returns.) (No going out to Beat Kitchen to see Deal’s Gone Bad/King Django/Hub City Stompers for me tonight! Not only am I too doped up to drive my manual shift/manual steering 10 year old Honda Civic Hatchback down there; but the loo is a swamp in the basement, down a long, steep, rickety flight of stairs—not a hurdle that I feel up to negotiating in a hurry in my condition.) And the irinotecan makes my nose run. Current Mood: slightly less anxiousCurrent Music: Slacky J's Reggae Vibes show on WLUW | | Thursday, May 4th, 2006 | | 10:53 am |
Mixed news
Had a CT (chest/abdomen/pelvis) on 24 April 2006, and a Bone Scan 26 April 2006. Discussed the results with my Oncologist 28 April 2006: The lymphadenopathy in my abdomen is better (the lymph nodes near my primary tumor are smaller); but the metastases on my liver are worse (bigger/more numerous). My Oncologist doesn’t know what to do! So, no taxol (chemo) for me last week (in case my regimen gets changed this week), and there has been/will be much conferring to figure out the best course of action. One possible option is RF Ablation of the mets on my liver, which had been discussed much earlier as an option—if the mets responded to chemo and shrank significantly. Now it is being discussed as a possibility to keep them from getting bigger (very sub-optimal). | | Saturday, April 29th, 2006 | | 3:16 pm |
Nicknames
From a review in "The Guardian" of Tim Parks' "Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence": Their bank, which opened in Florence in 1397, lasted less than 100 years. Its glory days were over even before Cosimo, its most capable head, died in 1464. As money ran out, Cosimo's successors, Piero the Gouty and Lorenzo the Magnificent, relied ever more on manipulating Florence's superficially republican constitution to hold on to princely influence and power. When enemies united to banish the Medici in 1494, their bank was already dead in the water, victim of mismanagement and a wider banking downturn.Wow! Piero the Gouty and Lorenzo the Magnificent! Nobody gets nicknames like that anymore! | | Saturday, April 22nd, 2006 | | 4:48 pm |
Tom Dundee dead
 This picture is of Tom Dundee and Kat Eggleston performing at Bill's Blues, Evanston, on 09 April 2006. Tom Dundee (born Tom Callinan), 59, died at St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, 18 April 2006. After what appeared to be successful surgery, he may have suffered complications from a stroke, said his girlfriend of eight years, Roni Perkins. He never regained consciousness after a motorcycle accident near his Rogers Park home three days earlier (15 April 2006). Hours before the accident he had been listening to live music at a North Side cafe. Mr. Dundee, an organ donor, is survived by several cousins. (Thanks to the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune obits for info.) A memorial tribute will be held 17:00-21:00 14 May 2006 US$20. at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago: "Remembering Tom Dundee: A concert featuring Bonnie Koloc, Corky Siegel, Michael Johnson and others". Tickets will go on sale (limit 4 per person) to everyone at 09:30 01 May 2006 through the Old Town School's box office only -- in person at both locations (4544 N. Lincoln and 909 W. Armitage) or by phone 773-728-6000. | | Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 | | 11:33 pm |
I ordered CD shelves!
Finally, finally, finally, I walked into 57th Street Bookcase & Cabinet today and put down a massive deposit on an obscene amount of CD shelving! And I promise that I will finally have a housewarming party after they arrive. (And then unpack EVERY SINGLE BOX!—even if it kills me!—and then have another party! And then scan all my photos! BTW, y’all can make a Paypal donation to the “Sterno’s 35mm Film Processing Fund” at SternosPix.com, the sooner, the better—there’s over 600 rolls rotting in my fridge.) It wasn’t the potential buyer’s remorse that kept delaying me. Although I do agonize over every major purchase; second, third, fourth guessing myself. But not this time! I had done all my research, and made up my mind months ago. And I should have placed this order months ago. But my twisted sense of precedence is what wouldn’t let me go ahead and order. I used to have the same problem in my apartment. I’d lived there since my divorce, but I hadn’t fully unpacked. Why? I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Or soon. Everyone knew I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And not just because I hate moving. And now that I have moved (into my beautiful, wonderful house), I don’t expect that I will ever move again. (I will probably have at-home hospice care when the time comes.) It’s because of what it represents (duh, well, obviously!). In my mind, unpacking leads to throwing away the boxes and arranging everything neatly on the shelves. And then tidying everything up and getting my finances together. And then getting my affairs in order. And you know what comes next! (Whether it includes writing a note, or comes on suddenly.) So, in my mind, any effort I made towards imposing order on my belongings was a step towards the light (ie: my own mortality). Which is ironic considering that I was suicidal then; and double ironic now that my mortality looms so large, unbidden. It’s almost my new mantra: The more order in my house, the more time can spend on the porch drinking in my underwear and waving my shotgun at the neighbourhood kids! | | Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 | | 10:05 pm |
Another Wasted Day
I had such plans for today! Instead spent the whole day on the couch catching up on the (way too many) RSS feeds that I’ve subscribed to. And watching Women’s figure skating while listening to mash-ups. (Cor, I enjoy a good mash-up! Or parody! Best find of the day: A spoof of The Dresden Dolls’ “Coin Operated Boy” called “Beer Activated Girl” by MoronLife.com) It is very disconcerting the way that random music can sync-up with random video! Chemo tomorrow . . . yay . . . | | Saturday, February 18th, 2006 | | 1:58 am |
| | Sunday, February 12th, 2006 | | 4:09 pm |
The Condition my Condition is in
I’d had several rounds of chemo (cisplatin/ebirubicin/5FU every 3 weeks), and was having good results; to the point where, after a CT scan for evaluation, my Oncologist actually used the R-word (“Remission”) as a possibility! But a few weeks ago, I noticed that I was having some mild dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), and complained about it. My Oncologist scheduled another CT scan. In sum, the Radiologist’s report said that everything was bigger, and that there were more of them (ie: progression of the cancer)! At our next appointment, my Oncologist poo-pooed the Radiologist’s report, saying, “they always make things sound more dire than they are!” My new chemo regimen is taxol every week. I just had my first dose this last Friday. Hoping for better results! (Not looking forward to a new set of adverse effects. Particularly, I’ll be at constant risk of decreased WBC counts. And peripheral neuropathy is no fun, either!) And, it seems that at least part of my tiredness can be attributed to my current anemia, documented in the CBC I had last Friday, prior to commencement of my new chemo regimen. My RBC count was not so low as to require an emergency transfusion, but I’ll be having a scheduled outpatient transfusion on Tuesday. (My first transfusion was quite a symbolic barrier for me, putting me further—and even more irrevocably—on the wrong side of the stethoscope.) More later. | | Thursday, February 9th, 2006 | | 11:29 pm |
Wish List
I hear that people want to buy me stuff, which amazes me! But thank you!
Thank you, very much!
If you want to buy me stuff (more exciting than paying my rent), but are short on ideas, here is something that caught my eye:
http://goldteethamerica.com/index.html | | Thursday, January 5th, 2006 | | 3:11 pm |
| | 12:58 pm |
| | Thursday, December 15th, 2005 | | 2:27 pm |
Won’t you please join us
for: Sterno’s Annual New Year’s Day Lunch on
New Year’s Day, The
First of January, from
11:30 till 15:00 at
Viceroy Of India 2518
W. Devon Ave., Chicago, IL, 60659, (773) 743-4100 Lunch Buffet about US$10. (includes tax and gratuity,
excludes beverages and a la carte) Sterno PO Box 6030 Evanston, Illinois 60204-6030 chezsterno at hotmail.com How can you refuse? I’ve
got cancer! | | Monday, September 19th, 2005 | | 7:38 pm |
I have Cancer! Let's Party!!
Been out of sorts, and out of circulation lately; just got diagnosed with the Big C. Just started chemo, and I'm gonna cut my hair before it falls out. I will be cutting my hair at Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman, Evanston, IL 60201 on Wednesday 21 September 2005, at about 21:00. All are invited! (Prairie Moon is a full restaurant and bar, so come early and buy dinner, food and drinks can be ordered at any time, all-ages.) (Everybody is yelling at me to LiveJournal! Like I have time!) |
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