Life is a tough teacher. It tests first then teaches.
We've all heard the axioms: When you have your health you have everything; You don't know what you got till it's gone; and other apropos phrases and lyrics. One of the many things I've learned through this particular journey is - I find these (sayings, axioms, lyrics) to be so true.
Like round two, chemo # 3 started out as expected - horrible. From the initial feelings of 'here it comes again', and for a good week and a half, I felt miserable. Absolutely no energy or desire to do anything but 'veg-out' in front of the TV. I had some in-house networking tasks to start (the setup of a NAS unit I purchased in June) which under normal situations would make me eager to complete, but I had very little interest in anything but being left alone. With very little appetite, it was the sporadic cravings that gave me sustenance. Even sleeping was a battle initially. However, after some days I was grateful to sleep for periods of up to 12 hours. Not that I wanted to sleep away the short summer, but sleep is what I needed and was the easiest route for me to take.
Also like round two, at mid point I developed a low grade fever. It didn't reach the 'you better call the doctor' level, but after an aspirin or two the following day I began to feel better. So much so, that I began to 'do things' again. I went on an island cruise to the Islands of Shoals out of Rye Harbor, NH.; went to the premier of Rogue Nation (Mission Impossible 5); ate at a few of my favorite restaurants and took some short rides while the nice weather persisted.
Last Thursday, Microsoft release Windows 10. For an early adopter like myself, I was anxiously waiting to get my notification that I could begin the upgrade. Like most Microsoft upgrades, there is a considerable amount of angst expected. There has never been any IT project big or small that hasn't hit some kind of 'snag'. I received a frantic call on Friday that a friend [who isn't that very computer literate] had installed Windows 10 and his 'f*cking computer isn't working right.'
More than a decade ago, I started a side business of fixing PCs and setting up networks, etc. If you recall the Sasser Worm was the 'big thing' that affected most users at the time. I got lots of business as a result of that malicious program. As time went on, I've always been the 'go to guy' for all things computer. Could Windows 10 be the next 'big thing/drama' - maybe.
Timing is everything. Not only was I feeling better and up for the challenge that I dub - PC Wars, I had the time. I spent many hours restoring his PC and reinstalling all his third party app/drivers, but not in time for Monday where he had planned to work remotely. By Monday morning I had things running at 100%. Of course this left him with a bad taste for Windows 10 to which he said, "I'll never upgrade. 8.1 works fine." I'm sure he'll get on the band-wagon eventually.
Feeling invigorated (from an IT knowledge and skills perspective), I ventured into setting up My Cloud (NAS). That took about a day, but I got it up and running. Just in time too. I got my notification that my Windows 10 was ready to be installed. I had three machines that will require this, but I always start with my 'science project'. If things go south, it's not critical that I have that machine up and running. As expected, the actual install was pretty rote, but running it and tweaking the settings took some effort. Beware those that decide to venture forth: make sure you have your third party logins, software keys, etc., handy. Microrsoft doesn't care about those third party apps - you are on your own, as I learned. I'm sure those third party vendors found this out too since the wait for phone support was more than an hour and chat help was closed due to high volume. After a day, I was able to get the machine running - OK. It is a new system and there are so many things to learn and try. I do like these projects and as I said, timing is everything. And while I'm feeling good and have the time I'm happy and appreciative of having good health. I haven't watched TV for a few days! Radical.
I'm basking in my 'good days' and am very thankful for them. Next chemo is scheduled for next Thursday. In the meantime I'll be seeing my primary care for a 'maintenance' visit on Friday. I hope he doesn't find anything to burst my feel-good bubble.
Enjoying life!
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