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heidiDid you notice how most of my posts in the past two weeks have been very very short things, except for my publishing rant, and things I've pasted in about politics?
I'll try to remedy that now.
1. My brother's girlfriend Remi got some bad news today - her mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Remi is Japanese, and has only been in the US about 4 years, and is just completely wracked with guilt about this. Is anyone here familiar with how aggressively breast cancer is treated in Japan, and/or how the social framework in Japan supports families who are dealing with a diagnosis? I'd love any info that anyone has, just to help Murray know what is ordinary and what to possibly expect.
2. We spent the past weekend at Disney's Vero Beach resort, about three hours north of Miami, with my best friend from college, her husband, and their two kids, who are almost-five and almost-three. We had an amazing time, I took Jon on the 160 foot waterslide at the pool, which he loved (yes, he is only 14 months, why do you ask?), we celebrated Harry's birthday on Monday (he is now five, so he now believes he can read, which he's been able to do for a few months now, but now he feels like he's the right age for it and can now admit to doing so) and ended that day with a porchside "campfire" with everyone else at the resort. We made smores with candy bars and marshmellow fluff and one of the counsellors who'd been with Harry's group on a 2 hours event they'd had that afternoon led all 150+ people in singing Happy Birthday to him. He bowed. He is very cute.
3. As I said before, POAIMAXFTL was amazing - it's terrific to be able to get about 300 people to something so fun (and with such blue cake!) on such short notice. And WB came through with posters, too - we have two, so expect one to be a prize in an upcoming FA contest or something.
4. I've had a few questions recently about how people can help with things around FA - other than submitting your own fics, and reviewing, we're always looking for more fic processors, and the application information is here. Anyone is welcome to apply, but the grammar/spelling/canon quiz is meant to be a little challenging - feel free to pass the url around, though, of course! And I know there is going to be another call for eMentors later this month...
5. Harry starts kindergarten a week from Monday. Any advice from parents who've been through it as to transitioning for a kid who's been in school for three years already, but will be starting with a new building and a new structure? Any books, other than the Ms Bindergarten ones, to recommend?
6. A quick thought about the terror warning of last weekend. A letter to the NY Times summed up my feelings pretty well:
In other words, I understand why the warning was made public, and why the threat level went up. I do not understand why they didn't explain, from the start, the timeline of the evidence they were relying on; were they trying to hide it or did they not think people would bother to ask, or did they not think it important enough to tell? And if the latter, then why was Ridge's statement about "Bush's leadership" so important that it was included?
There's something wiggy about it, and I don't *want* to say, like Dr Dean, that it was a planned action to remove the spotlight from John Kerry. I want to think it was really real, and that we'd better believe it, and it's a great big deal. I still want to believe the president; I just don't know how do do so unreservedly.
I'll try to remedy that now.
1. My brother's girlfriend Remi got some bad news today - her mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Remi is Japanese, and has only been in the US about 4 years, and is just completely wracked with guilt about this. Is anyone here familiar with how aggressively breast cancer is treated in Japan, and/or how the social framework in Japan supports families who are dealing with a diagnosis? I'd love any info that anyone has, just to help Murray know what is ordinary and what to possibly expect.
2. We spent the past weekend at Disney's Vero Beach resort, about three hours north of Miami, with my best friend from college, her husband, and their two kids, who are almost-five and almost-three. We had an amazing time, I took Jon on the 160 foot waterslide at the pool, which he loved (yes, he is only 14 months, why do you ask?), we celebrated Harry's birthday on Monday (he is now five, so he now believes he can read, which he's been able to do for a few months now, but now he feels like he's the right age for it and can now admit to doing so) and ended that day with a porchside "campfire" with everyone else at the resort. We made smores with candy bars and marshmellow fluff and one of the counsellors who'd been with Harry's group on a 2 hours event they'd had that afternoon led all 150+ people in singing Happy Birthday to him. He bowed. He is very cute.
3. As I said before, POAIMAXFTL was amazing - it's terrific to be able to get about 300 people to something so fun (and with such blue cake!) on such short notice. And WB came through with posters, too - we have two, so expect one to be a prize in an upcoming FA contest or something.
4. I've had a few questions recently about how people can help with things around FA - other than submitting your own fics, and reviewing, we're always looking for more fic processors, and the application information is here. Anyone is welcome to apply, but the grammar/spelling/canon quiz is meant to be a little challenging - feel free to pass the url around, though, of course! And I know there is going to be another call for eMentors later this month...
5. Harry starts kindergarten a week from Monday. Any advice from parents who've been through it as to transitioning for a kid who's been in school for three years already, but will be starting with a new building and a new structure? Any books, other than the Ms Bindergarten ones, to recommend?
6. A quick thought about the terror warning of last weekend. A letter to the NY Times summed up my feelings pretty well:
It certainly seems better to know than not to know. But Tom Ridge's original announcement neglected to tell the public that the information found was three or four years old; this became known a day after the press conference and has caused speculation as to the possible political motivation of the administration.
Why was this particular detail left unsaid? If pertinent information is going to be made public, shouldn't we be told as much as possible so that an informed judgment can be made about how to proceed?
In other words, I understand why the warning was made public, and why the threat level went up. I do not understand why they didn't explain, from the start, the timeline of the evidence they were relying on; were they trying to hide it or did they not think people would bother to ask, or did they not think it important enough to tell? And if the latter, then why was Ridge's statement about "Bush's leadership" so important that it was included?
There's something wiggy about it, and I don't *want* to say, like Dr Dean, that it was a planned action to remove the spotlight from John Kerry. I want to think it was really real, and that we'd better believe it, and it's a great big deal. I still want to believe the president; I just don't know how do do so unreservedly.
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 02:26 pm (UTC)I'd suggest Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. Wemberly is a girl mouse who is starting kindergarten and she worries about everything, especially what kindergarten will be like. It's a cute story and maybe Harry can relate even though Wemberly is a girl:)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 02:52 pm (UTC)The 9/11 attacks were planned years in advance too. The age of the information doesn't dissuade me from taking it seriously, assuming it's not carbon-dated.
I'm reserving my boundless skepticism and contempt until such time as Osama bin Laden is "captured" in September or October.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 03:16 pm (UTC)Are there slightly-older (say, age 6 or 7) kids Harry can talk to, who could tell him all about the cool new school, and what kindergarten is like?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 03:27 pm (UTC)Actually, I take that back. We started reading them the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park, which follows her year in Kindergarten and then continues on to the Junie B., First Grader series. Cute books. And the boys like her too.
Nate and Kellie's big thing this year is that they'll be in different classes for the first time ever.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 03:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 04:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 04:41 pm (UTC)WHAT?! When did he get so old?!
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 04:52 pm (UTC)I don't know if you've seen it yet, but Katy took the most adorable pic of Harry at the IMAX.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 05:01 pm (UTC)Much of the therapy in Japan is behind the US and rest of world by an average of ten years. Japanese people sometimes metabolize drugs very differently than Anglo-Saxons and the required studies to gain approval can be lengthy, the registration process tedious. But Japan is trying, really, to move ahead and speed things up.
We haven't had much experience with patient advocacy in Japan - I will email my colleague over there and ask him to see if there are any recommendations. It might take a week or two to get an answer, because that's the way it is with much of our business there. The culture shock has been quite a learning experience for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 05:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 05:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 05:17 pm (UTC)Breast cancer is a multifocal disease and there are many, many treatment options - if you don't have exact specifics, it's hard for me to predict what the exact therapy might be, but standard course would be surgery followed by 3-6 months of chemo of some sort (probably a cytotoxic, like a taxane).
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 05:55 pm (UTC)Eek, Tom Ridge. He used to be the governor, here in PA. He ditched us for the president. Now we have a Democrat, albeit a rather stupid one for repealing a law mandating motorcyclists to wear helmets, in office, and this state is going to Kerry. :-)
Signing off, V.M. Bell
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 08:29 pm (UTC)The people who work in the Citicorp building on Wall St and have to walk to the office every morning through a phalanx of soliders with machine guns think it's pretty wiggy too--especially the part about If It's So Serious, Why Wasn't This Mentioned Three Years Ago. What were they for the past three years, chopped liver?
Hard not to be v. skeptical.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-04 11:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-05 05:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-05 06:07 am (UTC)Will have at least by december, yes, precious, I do hope.
Harry
Date: 2004-08-05 09:22 am (UTC)(so you can skip all the mumbo jumbo on the site.) He's on the last page of pictures. Enjoy!
Marci (who'll still use the name Harrison when I get around to making babies. LOL)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-05 09:24 am (UTC)Re: Harry
Date: 2004-08-05 09:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-05 09:32 am (UTC)Re: Harry
Date: 2004-08-05 04:18 pm (UTC)www.geocities.com/mhtnt/HPimax.html
That should do it.