This is my brain on chemo; skip, blipt, skip, duh...

One of the problems I didn't know I'd have when I started chemo is the effect of the chemotherapy drugs on my brain. My mind skips and jumps around like one of those old vinyl records that has been scratched up. I'll begin with what seems like a very good idea only to have it vanish before I get to the end of it and a new one takes its place only to vanish in its turn.

All of this skipping is even worse during and immediately after my treatments. My doctor and others who've gone through this particular treatment assure me that all of this will go away once chemo treatments are finished. I certainly hope so. I want to get back to being able to write coherently on a regular basis instead of just now and then.

I'd meant to record more of my experiences, but I now see this is going to have to happen after the fact. Meanwhile the chemo appears to be successful and I am nearing the end of treatment. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. I know they've helped tremendously.

People Chow any one?

A friend sent me the following piece via email.

A TRIP TO COSTCO

Yesterday I was at my
local COSTCO buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Biscuit, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

What did she think I had, an elephant? So since I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't,
because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that
it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that
practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.) Horrified, she asked if I ended
up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her
no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's butt
and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack
he was laughing so hard.

Costco won't let me shop there anymore.

Better watch what you ask
retired people. They have all the time in the world to think of crazy things to say.

When I was at Sam's yesterday a woman at the next checkout counter had a basket of dog food Milk Bones etc. and I nearly choked trying not to laugh out loud.

BUT why don't they make a Chow for humans? Why does so called diet food always have to be sweet? Savory is my taste of choice and I'd like a nice meat, veggie or cheese tasting food bar to use for some meals.

New Directions

November has left me dazed and confused.

It started just like any other month, but after the first week it was as if someone had stuck me in a barrel and rolled in down the mountainside.

A trip to the doctor for what I thought was a minor problem turned out to be anything but. It led to CT scans, PET scans biopsies and an eventual diagnosis of Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (non-Hodgkin's).

Once I realized we were dealing with cancer I was terrified it was lung cancer so the eventual findings were a great relief. What I do have is treatable.

Just to add to the drama of the month I ended it by falling face first onto a side walk. I didn't break my nose but I do now have two black eyes as well as a smashed nose. The rest of me is pretty bunged up too.

Be interesting to see what December brings.

Ahh, I'll be posting some stuff on AC about this new adventure of mine.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2439052/hitting_the_restart_button.html?cat=70

Creativity vs Logic

According to my mentor creativity is not my problem when it comes to writing. However, I do need to do serious work on the logic of my stories.

This assessment has led me to a study of logic, which has led to philosophy and who knows where things will go from here. Venn's Diagrams have caught my attention for one thing.

Taking a creative idea and building a logical thread for it turns out to be a completely different task than merely thinking of a story in the first place. At the moment I'm deconstructing some well known fairy tales in order to understand why some work and others don't. This is leading to an understanding of why some of my story ideas work and others don't.

Writer-can't find a mentor?

Mentors are important. Finding one, especially a good one is difficult.

I've been getting my mentoring from Holly Lisle for many years now. I've never met her, never talked to her in person or on the phone, but she is a writer who pays it forward and has been helping me improve for many years now. She has over 30 books published and a huge body of work dedicated to helping other writers available on the net.

Mugging the Muse for Fun and Profit was the first book I ordered from Holly and helped a lot. It is still out there for anyone who wants to learn more about the nitty-gritty of publishing.

Holly's course How to Think Sideways is the latest thing I've gotten from her. And I have to say I was delighted when the very first page of the course cleared up a problem I've been having ever since I decided to get serious about becoming a published writer. Though I am a published writer now I still have a lot more to learn about the business and I think this course is going to be of great benefit to my aspirations.

For those of you interested in becoming a writer or improving your skills go to for a look at Think Sideways.

Beginning of legend

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1929392/horse_catches_bugler.html?cat=10

Forty-Five Years of Learning

This piece was inspired by a trip down memory lane after going with a friend when she took her horse to the vet Tuesday.

https://publish.associatedcontent.com/cms_queue.shtml