Boggy Blogging

It is always a little uncomfortable for me when I talk to someone and they say that they read my blog. I'm not too comfortable with people praising my work, though fortunately, that is seldom an issue. Instead it is that all of my worthwhile stories and anecdotes end up either here or on Twitter (http://twitter.com/aristeos). What little wit I can muster I pour into my posts (yes folks, this is the best I can do), so I'm forced to try to come up with some new and interesting topic that I haven't blogged yet. Not easy; even though I update rather rarely, bloggable topics are even rarer in my life.

Twice now I've started expounding about my quest to dine upon sea urchin (see: I'm coming to eat you, you spiny little bastards) when I find out that my audience has already read all about it. Don't mis-understand me, I love my audience, and am flabbergasted that it even exists. The problem though, is that I will soon have to start leading some sort of interesting blog-worthy life before I totally run out of topics.

Health Update

Still dealing with prostatitis (the spell check wanted to correct it to "prostitutes"--which is an entirely unrelated problem...and blog post). The nasty infection has come back three times so far and I'm now taking my fourth course of Levaquin because things still didn't seems to be as pain free as they should. After the last digital prostate exam the doctor said that my prostate was "boggy" from the infection. Not sure how that sits on the continuum between marshy and swampy. I'm just hoping that after the next exam it hasn't progressed to brackish.

I also still have this adrenal adjacent tumor. It turns out that it isn't an active tumor (i.e. I won't develop Cushings or a related hormone imbalance), but we can't tell if it is cancerous. I went in for a needle biopsy to find out what sort of tissue it is, but typically for my luck lately, they couldn't get a needle into it without puncturing my lung. I'm tall enough that my torso is elongated in such a way that my lungs extend lower than an average persons and block needle's path. The tumor is right on the edge between too small to bother with and big enough to take out no matter what it is. The radiologist said that he has seen many of these and they're never cancer, my regular doctor (whom I trust more) says its 50/50, and the urologist who read the first CT scan I had said that he hasn't ever seen a tumor of this size and shape in anyone who hasn't been treated for lymphoma (which of course I haven't). So, given the decision between watching and waiting (four CT scans over the next two years) and laparoscopic surgery to get the offending tissue out, I'm strongly leaning towards the surgery. I still think it probably isn't cancer, but I've never had any relative closer than cousin who hasn't developed at least one cancer, so I'm a little gun-shy. Ruth and I have decided that if it is in-fact cancerous then at least I'll have gotten the first time out of the way early.

Why is it that every post lately seems to be about health? It is starting to make me feel a little old. At this rate, by this time next year I'll be sitting around reading obituaries and gloating over the people I've outlived.