Scottish Independence and Remembering Quebec Independence

September 15

Hey everyone.  With my cousin Katie being here this past weekend (she's from Glasgow but lives in Oxford now), it kind of brought to light that there are big things brewing in Scotland. A national referendum is scheduled to be held this Thursday, September 18, where voters will be asked to answer Yes or No to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Why do I care?  Well, my son's name is Graeme MacLellan Cuthill so that should be a clue that Scotland is important to me.  My Dad was born in Glasgow and moved to England in his early twenties, and I have a number of relatives that still live there.

September 16

Scotland became part of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) 307 years ago, and are now part of the larger United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as part of the European Community and the share the UK Pound with the rest of the country (although strangely, three of their banks print their own banknotes, so there are Scottish pounds floating around but they are pretty much the same as the Bank of England pound notes).  Don't try to use them in England as they are not looked upon too favorably down there.



Note that I will use Britain and UK interchangeably throughout out this blog.

The vote is scheduled on September 18 (Thursday) and only those actually living in Scotland on that date can vote.  So my cousin Katie, because she lives in Oxford, cannot vote, nor can my Dad as he lives in Canada. But a 16-year old living in Scotland is eligible - go figure.

Why do the Scots want to separate?  Well the Scottish National Party, which had pledged to hold a referendum on independence now holds a majority in the Scottish parliament and have taken the opportunity to move the issue forward.  Additionally, and for those of you closer to the "action", so to speak, please excuse any errors in my understanding, the issues that are driving separation are some of the following:

• All nuclear weapons would be removed from Scotland (including a very large submarine base)
• Scotland would be able to pursue a more left wing political agenda, as they have had significant issues with David Cameron's right wing UK government
• Scotland feels it is better able to take control of revenues from North Sea oil and gas found in Scottish waters
• The devolved Scottish parliament that the UK created back in 1997 to sate some of the Scottish needs like education, social services and home affairs instead stoked the fires of nationalists and created what some have called the "Braveheart" generation

September 17

So if they do separate, what happens next:

• For the most part it is unclear.  The actual separation won't happen until March of 2016, a date set by the British government to finalize separation.  Britain doesn't actually have a constitution so it is not written anywhere how a separation should take place so it will take time.
• The Cameron government has stated that there is no turning back.  If the vote is to separate, the process will take place and Scotland won't be able to rejoin Britain if things don't work out.
• Scotland will no longer be part of the EC and will have to re-apply.  It sounds academic but Spain will definitely not be in their corner as this will give lift to Catalonia's desire to separate from Spain (a region that includes Barcelona).  It might drive Quebec independence in Canada too, something upon which I give some thoughts further below.  One thing to note is that the UK government is seriously considering leaving the EU itself.  That's another story.
• The Scotland currency being tied to the UK pound and therefore the UK Central bank.  There is no guarantee Britain will allow that to occur. 
• Many other things will need to be discussed but these are key.

September 18

It's voting day.  Not sure if we will now the results until tomorrow.

I indicated above that I also wanted to compare this to Quebec independence, and their last vote back on October 30, 1995. I won't go into as much details as to the why's or why not's as above but will try and quickly summarize:

• The Parti Quebecois (a separatist party) gained power in Quebec and promised a vote
• A previous vote had failed in 1992
• Quebec had always been part of Canada since it's the country's creation in 1867 (when it no longer was just a British colony)
• It did actually get violent at an earlier point around the early 70's when a terrorist part called the Quebec Liberation Front (the FLQ) commited some terrorist acts around the province including the kidnapping of the UK Trade Commisioner and the murder of Quebec Labor Minister Pierre Laporte.
• From a personal standpoint, we emigrated from Britain to Canada at this point (yeah...great timing - my parent's are of the adventurous type).  I don't remember much personally (I was only 4 at the time) but my parents remember the Army being on site at the airport when we landed.

In any case, I had just moved to the United States in September of 1995 to work on a project in Topeka, Kansas with my company at the time, AMS. A number of Canadians moved down with me (I seem to remember 9 in total, most of with whom I close friends right up until this day).  The reason for so many Canadians going to Kansas was that the project was going to be run by the head of AMS Canada at the time, Colin Shaw, who was a dual Canadian-Brit like me.  The project in Kansas was as big as if not bigger than all of AMS Canada operations.

So once down there, Colin decides to hold a get-together at his house for Referendum night.  It was supposed to be a night of fun (he had a huge house in Lawrence, the town where most of us lived about 30 miles from Topeka, where we worked) with eating, drinking, many rounds of snooker on his giant snooker table, as well as a big screen showing the results as they came in (he could access some Canadian stations through his disk).  The way the question was worded, a "Yes" vote meant the Quebce citizen wanted to remain in Canada.  "No"  not so much.  Because the polls were showing solid support for the "NO" vote, it was supposed to be a night of celebration as our home country remained a unified whole. 

A "YES"vote would have brought trouble.  The many non French speakers in Quebec, mainly English and Native Americans tended to live in solid pockets of the province where English was the main language, including several large pockets of downtown and West Montreal, and who would demand their right to separate from Quebec. It might have gotten nasty.

So I definitely took part in the festivities for a while, but as the evening wore on, I felt myself being drawn closer to the TV as margin shrunk gradually from a "solid" 55%-45% yes-no to barely 51%-49%.  Many of the other Canadians, and some of the Americans when they saw how serious it was getting, became glued to the big screen, it was just plain scary.  The party continued to be a a celbration of sorts - C'mon free drinks!!  However, we went home to our separate apartments that night wondering if the country we were born, or like me, raised would cease to exist, at least as we knew it.  I wonder how Casey, Raghu, Trevor and Ronnie Max remember that night - I should ask them.

When the votes were finally tabulated, it turned out to be 50.58% NO and 49.42% YES.  It was that close, but in the end, 2,362,348 voted NO and 2,308,360 voted YES.  What a sense of relief.  Support for separatism has come and gone since then and there is always the chance of another referendum if English Canada does something to offend or take away the rights, either real or perceived, by the Quebecois (how the French Canadians of Quebec are known, rather than Francophones which include French Speakers across the country, but mainly focused in Ontario and New Brunswick).

So my little story around separation. I await the results from Scotland.  I don't want to see them separate myself, but I have no say in the matter...

Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Chemo (Second Regimen)

September 14

So I did make mention of some of my experiences with the Second Regimen of chemo in the blog labeled "The Move" earlier this month.  But I really haven't gone through any details since then and have not provided updates, for which I apologize, seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

In any case, one thing that is really interesting is that for the most part, each of these chemo sessions has kind of played out in a similar way (which, even with some of the negative issues I'll describe, is a really good thing - essentially...no surprises).

So the three sessions were on August 5th, August 19th and September 3rd.  Generally, here is how they go...

Pre- Chemo Session - I am a grouch. Because Day One has been somewhat stressful, I do get a bit cantankerous, but I am challenging myself to be better this week, when the 8th session occurs on Wednesday, September 17.

Day One - onsite at Dana Farber.  Generally, Karla, Graeme and I go in sometime around 7:30 in the morning and wait a half hour or so before I get blood drawn.  They then leave the needle in my cathport, where it will stay for the next three days.  At this point, I am going to ask for your help.  On only one day in all the chemo sessions I have done have I remembered to shave the hair in my chest area.  This makes for Friday, when Karla removes the needle, which is firmly bandaged to my skin, a very painful day.  If someone can just text me this Tuesday night and say "Kelly Clarkson", it would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help.  The worst thing that happens on Day One are the cold sweats which I have described to you in the past.  They start as I am given the last round of chemo at the hospital.  Heather, who has generally been my nurse throughout this process, gives me some medication that controls it for the most part while on site.  Unfortunately, by the time we get to the car in the parking garage, I am dripping and it does not matter what temperature is outside.

What Karla has done is take the rocking chair and ottoman that she uses to feed Graeme in the middle of the night, and cover it with towels.  I wear a bathrobe to keep me warm and essentially watch HGTV until I fall asleep.  My brain is incredibly loopy after the initial sessions but returns to normal (for the most part over Day 2 and Day 3).  The problem I am finding is that sweats come on the strongest when I am asleep, so I wake up in the middle of the night just drenched and try and do a changeover, and hopefully don't bother Karla and Graeme.

I just hate Day One and the way it makes me feel, but after seven sessions, it looks like this is basically what I can expect until I switch to a different regimen.

Day 2 and 3 are spent at home hooked up to the infuser.  I seem to be doing much better on those days than in the past on Regimen 1.  So I do get some work done when I can.  On Friday, Karla unhooks the chemo infuser, and then hooks up a different infuser with a saline solution that gets delivered to us.  I am on this for an additional four hours, and then, finally, I get completely unhooked (we actually have mini-medical waste box where we can drop the needle).  And then...shower...Yes!!!!  I feel like myself again.

Day 4, 5 and 6 are generally good days.  I have to remember to pace myself sometimes, and take my medication at the appropriate times (generally I'm good in the morning and at night but sometimes I get so deep into a work issue that I don't take my mid-day meds at the right time, and it can really bring on the fatigue).

An aside here, I have been having some issues with my teeth and I'm not sure if it is chemo-related or just 48 years old related.  Last year, I had all of my wisdom teeth yanked (one of them had an abscess and the dentist felt it was better to just remove them all).  A few years ago,  I also had a crown put on one of my back teeth by what can only be described as a "quack" in Montpelier VT.  His equipment was old, the toupee that he had on his head needed constant adjusting ("Nurse, more suction, and can you move things down my forehead a half inch" - a little liberty with the truth to keep you entertained, although not with the toupee itself), and I never felt comfortable with the crown he put on (I changed dentists after that session). 

It seems my teeth have moved a bit because flossing has become an incredible chore.  I also feel some pain in a couple of areas that affects my eating (although things have improved big time in the last few days, pain-wise, so go figure).  One other thing is that the chemo brings on these constant breaks in the skin where my lower lip and my upper lip meet.  This has been pretty constant throughout the chemo, although again not as much in the current Seventh Session.  So I am very apprehensive about seeing a dentist and having to keep my mouth open with these types of sores.  One last thing is that I can only see the dentist on the week I have chemo, so they can assess, through my bloodwork, if there have been any issues.  I am sucking it up and trying to see a dentist recommended by Karla's friend Rachel who lived in this area, but it may take a while given I can only do a Monday or Tuesday every second week.

Back to chemo - Day 7 SUCKS.  Can't say it any other way. It totally knocked me out fatigue-wise this past Tuesday, and in general, if I am going to have any issues, they seem to occur on this day.  It happens to coincide with going off the steroid they give me to maintain my energy levels and I think that pretty much explains it.  Some Day 7's, I handle it well and others, not so much.

Each day following Day 7 (today is essentially Day 12 in this session) has some good parts and some bad parts.  Honestly, the good parts far, far outweigh the bad parts as long as I am diligent with my meds.  I am trying to start walking again and while I was not able to go apple-picking with the rest of the family (and my cousin Katie from Scotland, who had a symposium in Boston, was visiting from Scotland), I was able to get a lot done today.

The family is great.  Here is a photo I like to call: "Here comes trouble". Isla started ballet this past weekend and really enjoyed it.  Graeme just can't help smiling when he is around his sister, which is great to see.

Karla and our au pair Amarilis are well.  Amarilis is really becoming a part of the family and she is so patient with Isla. When not dealing with Graeme, Karla has been resolving a lot of issues associated with the new house including getting all the utilities set up and evaluating the work that's being done.  We now have full AC which is nice, and next we have to decide what we are going to do about our ancient oil boiler.  Let it ride for another year, buy a new oil boiler, or explore other forms of energy generation (mainly geothermal because we have no link to natural gas in our neighborhood, solar would not give us a big enough footprint, and we don't even want to go down the path of wind power).

We had a landscaper in, which was awesome.  He cleaned out what looked like an old climbing frame in the backyard, and it seems sturdy and strong enough for Isla to use which she does every day.

I'm planning on attending my company's annual meeting on October 1-2 in Providence.  This will be a big step for me as I have not been on an office or client site in the past nine months.  The good thing is that it is only 25 miles from our house, and if I feel bad, I can just go up and lie down in the hotel room (and I have several people that could drive me home if need be).  Obviously, I miss out on some of the festivities around the bar, but it will be nice to see a lot of my co-workers in person again.

The Luck of my Cousin Simon

September 14, 2014

I just wanted to post something about the luck of my cousin Simon. Some of you have met him over here (he visited Denver on a conference just days after Isla was born). Here is a picture of the two of them at our Denver home.  The unusual thing about this photo is that Isla is crying, because when we visit overseas, you usually see Simon covered by the laughing offspring of my other cousins. 

Just a few weeks ago, Simon got married to his fiancee Charlie (Charlotte).  Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the ceremony but it sounded like a good time was had by all.  Here is a photo from the wedding of Simon and Charlie.



Now you may ask, why am I posting photos of cousin Simon on my blog, other than the fact that on my mother's side, he is the last cousin to get married?  It's because Simon seems to encounter some incredible bad luck but come out of it OK.  He and Charlie went for their honeymoon to the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean.  They had a great time there, but the way back was somewhat exciting.  Actually, Simon described it as such on his Facebook page: "Amazing wedding weekend, beautiful, relaxing honeymoon and a rather exciting journey home..."

Here is the article in the newspaper from BBC.com:

Jet2 passengers escaped along wing after emergency landing

Passengers on a plane that made an emergency landing have described how they forced open a door and jumped from the wing.  Jet2 said the flight, which landed at East Midlands Airport at 21:10 BST on Wednesday, had a "minor electrical fault". A passenger on the Ibiza flight said there was a "strong... burning smell".  Another man said cabin crew lost control on the ground, which led to panic and people trying to escape.

On its website, the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said it sent a team "to investigate a serious incident to a commercial airliner that occurred at East Midlands Airport", on Wednesday evening.  An airport spokesman said three other flights were diverted to Birmingham and full safety procedures were followed. The Boeing 737 jet can carry up to 150 passengers.

Kyle Charles, from Strelley Village, Nottinghamshire, said: "We circled above the airport and tried but failed to land. "We landed on the second attempt. When we landed it turned into sheer carnage."
Mr Charles said one member of the cabin crew kept screaming over and over: "Get off the plane everybody now!"

He said the crew opened the main doors at the back and front of the plane, where the inflatable chutes drop down, but not the ones over the wings.  His friend Rob forced one of the doors open, ran to the end of the wing and jumped down on to the tarmac.  He then helped other passengers who were running along the wings down on to the runway.  Malcolm Yates, who was also on the flight, said the intercom failed and there was no communication between cabin staff and passengers in the air.

"We soon saw the fire engines lined up," he said. "You could smell the burning, a strong electrical burning smell. That's when people started to panic, screaming 'get the kids off!'  "The stewardess kicked the door down up the front. I remember her taking a great big lunge for it to smash it down."(Comment from Andrew - "Seriously!!?? This is how Jet 2 trains its staff??  I know what airline I won't use if I am doing any inter-European flights in the future)").

A Jet2 spokesperson said: "Following a safe arrival at East Midlands Airport of flight LS644 we decided to disembark passengers as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure because a minor electrical problem led to some smoke in the cabin.

"All passengers were looked after by our airport team and a full investigation is now under way. The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."

Andrew again: you really do have to be careful of the discount airlines in Europe, as sometimes the standards to which they are held are significantly less than what you would expect here.  In any case, I labeled this article the "luck of my cousin Simon" because Simon has experienced some additional bad luck in the past, but is still around to talk about it.  On December 26, 2004, Simon was vacationing in Phuket, Thailand on the day when the massive tsunami hit and wiped out the town (and many others around the Indian Ocean).  Simon and his girlfriend had to run up a hill to escape the water as it rushed in. This girlfriend was a nurse and they were both able to help out in the aftermath before heading for home. 

 

 

The Move

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

So I have been silent for a while and I do apologize to all of you who read this blog.  So much has happened since the fourth chemo session on this second regimen of drugs.  Most of the focus has been on us moving from North Boston (Reading) to South Boston (South Walpole).  I thought I'd describe the move in one post, and then any thoughts on the two chemo sessions in another.

So the move...I think most of you are aware that Karla and I had left our permanent home in Denver a few years ago to take a temporary assignment in Vermont.  The opportunity was too good to pass up in this line of work - instead of having to fly out Monday and fly back Thursday, Karla, Isla and I would all be together in one place, and I would drive home from work each day.  The assignment itself was a good step-up for me to, running a full project as Project Manager. So RSI got us temporary housing in Vermont and we stayed there through last summer (2013).

The Vermont project was winding down at that time so I started commuting Monday to Thursday to Boston to work on a project there. Eventually, Karla and Isla also moved down in early November, 2013 and we had temporary housing in Reading, MA.  Everything worked well for a couple of months until I got sick in late December.  Decisions had to be made, and we determined that for my health, Boston, with the Dana-Farber Clinic would be the best place to make our permanent home, rather than move back to Denver. Boston, especially North Boston, is a tough place to find a reasonably priced home, so we focused our efforts to the Southwest. We found a great place that needed some work and pursued it for a good three months until the price came down to a reasonable number. We took possession on July 31, with a move-in date scheduled for Thursday, August 28.

There really was not a lot to do to prepare for the move.  We hadn't unpacked almost a third of our stuff, that still lay packed in boxes in our garage.  In addition, RSI was helping with the packing cost so we really didn't have to worry about getting stuff ready.  The packers would do that for us.

We went with a moving company named Gentle Giant, and I cannot recommend them more highly.  The packing and the move were handled professionally and with great care. The funny thing was the staff themselves - generally good-looking guys of college age wearing muscle shirts with the company logo.  I think Karla, Amarilis and even my Mom stole some extra glances here and there!!  I forgot to mention that my parents came down to assist with the move.  My brother and his family were also supposed to come down, but unfortunately, an illness in the family kept them up in Ottawa.

So they packed up most stuff on Wednesday, August 27th, and actually loaded a lot of the stuff in the first truck.  They left our beds so we were able to sleep at home in Reading that night without worrying about a hotel...well, except for Mom and Dad.  The Reading house is just not big enough for guests to sleep over comfortably, as Amarilis uses the extra bedroom.  Think of it as a "corporate townhome".  It was going to be sad to leave the pool behind that lay in the center of the complex.  Isla had made a lot of friends there, and that had lead to Karla also making some friends with the children's parents.  Unfortunately, we are all transient, and most of those friends had moved on or would also be moving on like us.   I think Karla is going to stay in touch with some of the parents she met. We hope Isla makes some good friends in our new neighborhood.  There do seem to be some little kids about but without a pool as a focal point, meeting them will be somewhat random. 

Moving day on August 28th went smoothly. Everything was packed and loaded into the two moving trucks by noon, and our convoy headed down I-95. The movers were able to unpack everything with extremely minimal damage (one old bookshelf) and the unpacking began in earnest.  I can't fault the movers for labeling but trying to find certain things that first night was a struggle (nail clippers for instance were not logged as a separate item in a Master Bathroom box so we had no idea where they were - go figure??? sarcasm was definitely intended in that sentence!!).

The contractors had done a FANTASTIC job on the house.  It was about 85% complete but definitely in good enough shape for us to move in.  Every room had been repainted, and all of the floors on the first and second floor had been replaced by oak hardwood, with an amazing dark stain.  I could not believe this was my house we were looking at.  They had remodeled the kitchen, inserting new cabinets and counter tops and it looked beautiful.  We had pretty much not done anything else because costs are extreme for remodeling.  Maybe down the road we will get that nice Master Bath...

On the ground floor are a dining room, family room, living room, open foyer, kitchen, powder room (no m ore having to go upstairs or down stairs to go to the bathroom - whoopee!!!  It sounds petty, but it does make a difference.  Also a bedroom and bathroom for Amarilis.

On the second floor are a bedroom for Isla, a bedroom for Graeme, a bathroom that they will share, and then a Master bedroom with its own bathroom and walk-in closet. Also, an office where I will work, with an additional doorway inside that leads to stairs up to the third floor.  We have some gripes with how the owners spent their money on the house...seriously, no AC???  But the third floor, essentially the attic, finished and fully carpeted is awesome.  We plan to use it as a guest room for now, as well as an area where Karla can do her sewing.

We also have a basement, unfinished, with tons of space for storage, and with the potential to be finished in the future.  Probably a long time down the road, to be honest.  I have to give thanks again to my parents, without whose support we could never have afforded the house, and Karla's parents for giving us the financial backing to remodel the kitchen.  We were so scared we'd have to rent in Boston, and with rents close to $3,500 for the type of townhome we'd need (forget about a house), we just saw our finances going by-by.

So over the holiday weekend through yesterday, Mom, Dad, Karla and I started attacking all of the boxes needing unpacking.  My parents amazed me, over 75 and lifting, moving, putting stuff together  (yes, we did buy some Ikea stuff, I think an Aufgurshiltblat kitchen table with chairs, and the Blausperfunktsind wardrobe for Amarilis' room (she had no closet)). Dad took them on with flair and applied all of his engineering skills in putting them together, and re-acquainting himself with an Allan key. We'd also taken delivery of a new washer/dryer, dishwasher, and fridge from Sears.  For some reason, they felt that a white fridge would go better with the other stainless steel appliances (I mean, that's so obvious, right?).  And when we pointed out the discrepancy, they discovered the stainless steel version had been discontinued. So we are using the white fridge until that time when Sears can give us a stainless steel fridge that is comparable to what we should have been given.

So we have made several Ikea runs, many runs to Lowe's and Home Depot, and have really got the house looking good.  We have some additional furniture for the family room (a sectional couch) as well as dining room table to come from Jordan's, a big retailer up here in Boston.  They should come around  mid-September.  Then we can move my 2001 single guy stuff to the front living room.

How have I done, as a cancer patient, trying to deal with all this??  I think the best answer is good and bad. I have surprised myself by how much I have been able to do.  Each day, we got up around 8 had breakfast, and as long as I took a couple of Oxycodone (again not Oxycontin) pills every four hours or so, I would feel some rejuvenation, and be able to continue working. I have not experienced any negative feelings, and when I go to chemo tomorrow to start session 7, I think I'm in as good as shape as I've been in since this whole curtain dropped down all over me.

On the negative side, I've really become somewhat of an asshole when responding to people. I am short with Karla and my parents, and Have said some mean things sometimes, and my filters have not been up when Isla is around (ie. she hears me whining at Karla or Dad).  After the fact, I feel terrible, but I can't seem to control my emotions and what I am saying in the moment. I am really going to try and focus on controlling this side of me (which at this level, has never existed before) so I stop hurting the people I love. 

Also, my memory and how I am processing what people say to me is not quite where it should be. I remember some things completely different from how Karla or my parent remember things, mainly around conversations.  Also, my Dad may ask me a question, and I completely misunderstand what was asked.  Before any of you say that it's because of his "Weegee" accent, I am having similar problems with Karla.  I have to really stop and focus on what people tell me sometimes (not all the time).  I'm fine when I sit down at a computer and can think things through, but again, it's conversationally that I am having problems).  That may also be leading to some of the issues I described in the previous paragraph.

I'll talk to Dr. Wolpin at Dana-Farber about this tomorrow.  Hopefully he can shed some insight on these issues.  Karla thinks I have so many drugs going in and out of my system, that it's no wonder I have problems.

I think this is where I will sop this post.  If I'm feeling up to it, I may write about some of my experiences in the past two sessions when I am hooked up to the machines tomorrow.  However, I have found it difficult on this second regimen to focus on things (like training courses from work) while I have been hooked up.  I dread tomorrow, mainly because of the cold sweats.  They will be with me from when I leave the hospital at two pm to two am or so.  Not a lot of sleep to be had.

Goodbye all and talk soon