Mike Experiences The Internet

Author: Michael

  • Friday Night Lights

    Since the cancer diagnosis, I haven’t really been able to have any real time to myself. So when the school my granddaughter Kaylee goes to asks for chaperones for a school event, you gotta answer the call right?

    Fall football in Texas is a religion unto itself, with generations of residents cheering for their local school teams. The town we live in is no exception, with crowds consistently traveling to games at home, as well as away from our beloved Eagle Stadium.

    Another religion unto itself is that of the high school marching band, and it would be remiss to not mention the Pride of Lindale High School Band, and their 51st consecutive trip to the Texas State Military Marching Band competition, which recently completed at Waco’s Baylor University.

    Kaylee is in her first year of band in high school; and to have that type of experience and work ethic in 9th grade, shows that she’s growing not only as a student; but as a person.

  • Trying Times

    Today’s the first of thirty-five days of radiation and chemo for Chandra. There is no going back. I am gonna need everything in the world to see this through.

  • Broken Possessions

    When I buy stuff for my gaming computer, I expect it to last for a while. This was definitely NOT the case for a recent monitor purchase I made, a gaming monitor from LG’s UltraGear line. I don’t exactly understand what has taken place in recent years, but the build quality of items like this have gone downhill significantly. Also of note, warranty periods for items like this have gone downhill too. What used to be a three year warranty is now a one year one.

    What’s annoying to me about this is that LG is one of the noted makers of screen panels for this segment. Their panels are used in countless other monitors from brands up and down the price bracket. This monitor was also not cheap ($400 that had to be paid out over time), but the amount of time the monitor was in service is just outside of their warranty service. It is incredibly frustrating to have something like this break, just after a year of active use; and not be covered by any warranty.

  • Things Are Looking Up… Somewhat


    There was a blog post I wrote a week or two ago that truly seemed desperate, at the time anyway. Fast forward about the same amount of time, and for the first time since the cancer diagnosis; things seem to be coming up Milhouse. The car is fixed and we’re able to travel again with (mostly) no problems, and we’re preparing for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays respectively.

    Normally for Thanksgiving, Chandra will stay up for a insane amount of time cooking for the day. This year, I’ve forbidden her to do just that due to her treatments; passing those responsibilities to my daughters instead. As is a recent tradition, I also will participate in the local Turkey Trot with my grandson. This will be the second to last 5K for this year, with one more scheduled for next month before my winter break (I completed a 5k today, in case you’re wondering).

    Have a great weekend!

  • A Semblance of Things

    “You have to do something. You can’t just sit or stand there and do nothing.” – the angel that sat on my shoulder

    So, we’re talking routines again today.

    Before the oncoming deluge of appointments and procedures over the next 10 days and beyond, I forced myself to take stock of how bad I let things physically get around me because of my current mental state. All this time later, and I’m still trying to process my feelings not only regarding said diagnosis, but facing fears over my mother passing from cancer last year. They are the same thing (as it’s cancer in both cases), yet they’re different (mum passed from cancer of the kidneys, and she’s suffering from cancer of the throat).

    As much as I try to put a good face on, and a positive step forward; it’s incredibly easy to backslide into old habits; especially on bad days. Never the less, we must press forward.

    I think the following image is most fitting (I know by using this image, I have most likely dated myself):

  • The AI Conundrum

    “A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.” – Alan Perlis

    As a precursor to today’s entry, I will be discussing Artificial Intelligence to a large extent and its uses to help map out what my wife is going through regarding her cancer diagnosis. If you are decidedly against AI in its current form, stop reading here.

    Commenting will be turned off for this entry as well.

    In my attempts to further understand what she is going through regarding her diagnosis, I’ve leaned on using AI to interpret her test results, from her initial screening to the present.

    Now that we know what chemotherapy drugs she will be on, along with her schedule for treatment; I am able to try to understand (in plain and somewhat simple English) what her lab results are; and notes from the oncology team that’s treating her. AI has also been helpful in understanding what modifications will need to be made to things like what she eats; things that she may need for work. It has additionally been helpful to me, for planning times when I need to step away from the role of caretaker and enjoy life, and you know not going insane.

    I know that I will eventually need to find some kind of part-time job that will help with things that my Social Security benefits may not pick up, and with a little bit of luck; some spending money too. That will come with time I suppose.

  • Afraid of Change

    “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” – Kurt Vonnegut

    Around this time on Friday, we knew a lot more than we did on Thursday pertaining to her treatment. This week, we have not one, not two, but three doctor’s appointments and procedures. The appointments bookend the beginning and end of the week; but Wednesday is continually proving to be the most concerning of all, even in the face of a 7-week treatment schedule.

    The procedure on Wednesday is for the installation of a “port” for administering her chemotherapy medications on a weekly basis. Her oncology team has been more than accommodating of me, my daughter; and all of the questions we have asked about what’s to come during this round of treatment. We also have a procedure scheduled for Friday, for her to have a feeding tube installed; in the case we need it.

    On Friday, I wrote in the aftermath of a series of events that not only led my granddaughter Kaylee to have to walk to school in the rain; but as a direct result of that, it left me with some very bad emotions and was depressed for a lot of that day. I can only hope that I have some form of guidance; whether it be otherworldly or not that will help me see this through, regardless of what happens.

    On a similar note regarding cancer, I remembered there was a YouTube video of known game critic and social media person Greg Miller; and it showed the process he went through during his treatments and his five year story. I’m gonna link that below. (The video may have some NSFW language; so please exercise caution while viewing … or not. I’m not your dad!)

  • The Passage of Time

    “Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality.” – Emily Dickinson

    With her having the last two weeks off work, time doesn’t seem to pass as quickly as it normally does. This seems to be related to a post earlier this week I made regarding how routines are hard, in which I outlined a normal daily schedule that was followed, and will be started up again in a week and some change. My normal schedule outside of that remains the same, and is boring 90% of the time.

    It is also very difficult to be effectively shut in, with a barely functioning vehicle. There is a update on this though, as we’ve bought the necessary parts and the car is being worked on as we speak! It should hopefully be fixed this weekend!

  • The Reliability Complex

    I had written an entire post yesterday in regards to the fighting game community, and had linked a video by a good friend (who just so happens to be a very good YouTube content creator). That post went into the garbage this morning; and this post is taking it’s place.

    When you buy a new or used vehicle, you buy one for a variety of reasons; but mostly it’s what fits your unique situation. But a lot of said focus is specifically towards reliability. When you buy a traditional vehicle (not a electric one), there’s a certain percentage of the vehicle’s price that’s paid over it’s lifespan to fix broken things that happen. That’s not to say that electric vehicles are any better.

    We had a friend of my daughter’s visit this week, and part of the reason he came was to look at, and subsequently work on both our cars. Despite being from two completely different manufacturers, they both exhibited the exact same problem. Both are older vehicles, with above average mileage on each. He was able to get my daughter’s car fixed no problem (at least that’s my understanding anyway), and he worked on our car last night, but it still had the same symptoms; and they manifested in a even worse way.

    Today started with my grandchildren missing the bus for the second time in as many weeks. I was able to get my grandson Ju to school just fine, but had to come back and pick up my oldest granddaughter to take her to school. And the car broke down at least a dozen times, to the point where I had to let her out on a side street and she ended up walking to school. I felt so ashamed, and I knew she was disappointed in me. So I hobbled the car back home, and here I am; writing this. I feel that in light of everything recent (the cancer diagnosis, money troubles; and now transportation issues); that I should back away.

  • Routines Are Hard

    After remarking in yesterday’s post about what my daily routine currently is, and how it most likely will change in a couple weeks when the missus starts radiation and chemotherapy treatment. I decided to dig a little deeper about how my routines have evolved over our many years together being married, while taking our three dogs out for their morning potty break.

    When we first met in 2007, we really didn’t have any routines together outside of going to each other’s houses (I was living at home with my mum, she was living at home with her dad), and spending time together. Over the years, our daily routines changed in the context of spending as much time together as possible, to going to college every day for classes; going to work at multiple jobs in both our cases; to spending time with our daughter and grandkids. Now our routines will once more have a invocation of seismic proportions once more, once we know the treatment schedule and settle into it.

    For both our sakes, I hope that this upcoming round of treatments is the only one we have to do for the foreseeable future.