Still Kicking Ass (Hooah!)

I got my last round of Chemo last week as a guest of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Seattle VA. It was a very nice place to ride out the suck of inpatient chemo.

My admission for the actual transplant will crank that suck all the way up to 11 and they will get me through. They’ve been doing these here for 30-odd years and nobody is better at it. I’m one of two people being treated in the BMTU that are actually from this state. My living close enough to stay at home virtually never happens, from what I can tell. They have apartments that folks move into just for this program, you have to have a caregiver with you and they really got the whole thing running pretty efficiently from what I can tell so far. It’s not my first party after all.

All things considered, the title of this post is apt. It was a rough run, very rough… With extra twists and turns, just to keep things interesting, amirite? /sarcasm

I got real sick on the weekend and Rachel just dragged my 104.5f/40.3c lethargic old butt all the way through the episode. My fever broke about the time she went home.

Fortunately, the staff was universally awesome. I am more than a handful to take care of these days and they all take good care of me anyway! *snicker*

Speaking of being taken care of, check out the Facebook love I got on this announcement! Verrrry therapeutic…

I recently characterized this as “a swinging pendulum ride” it’s trying to start to slow down… I got extra strength steroids cos I’m such a good little patient, tapering down now. It’ll be over soon.

Then the transplant, then maybe just maybe I’ll get this “cure” these peeps in white coats are expecting. I’m just looking forward to the whole rebooted immune system thing and the resulting energy that I’ve been missing for what seems like forever!

A cured case of Mantle Cell Lymphoma is still a rather rare bird, Campers.

But a cure what I signed up for.

The dice have left my hand… Wish me luck!

01JAN10: First Friday! (Updated w/The Beer Dance!)

Click Above To See This Set!

The Beer Dance!

Song of the Day: “The Biggest Sin”

Your raconteur found this today in the Facebook feed (Thx Laurens! [and Dan, and Gilian]) and it’s insanely great!!!

Berenice looks wonderful! (Nothing new there… *sigh* )

Her brother Ruben and the crew visualized one of my fave Wicked Jazz Sounds Band songs into something very special! (It’s seriously hot too!)

I’m terribly proud of EVERYBODY involved with this stellar production and it’s an honor to share it here.

ENJOY!

Credits!

Official music video ‘The Biggest Sin’ – The Wicked Jazz Sounds Band

Wicked Jazz Sounds Band: Berenice van Leer (vocals), Paul van Kessel (vocals), Renske Taminiau (vocals), Laurens Priem (guitar), Gilian Baracs (keys), Hugo den Oudsten (bass), Tim Dudek (drums), Floris van der Vlugt (sax), Robbert Scherpenisse (trumpet), Bastiaan Woltjer (trombone)

Video is a Westframe & The Basooka Boys production

Ruben van Leer – Direction, Production & Post, Joris Hoebe – Direction, Production, 5Dcam, Femke Agema – Fashion Design, Diderik Evers – DOP, Friso Pankonin – Gaffer, Chris Vingerhoets – Light & Gaffer, Jaron de Paauw – Camera Ast./ 5Dcam, Eric Taal – Camera Ast., Rowinia Pinas – Styling Ast., Mart Reker – Make-Up & FX
Christien Mulder – Make-Up, Berenice van Leer – Singer, Actress, Quinten Rutgers – Actor

Manne van der Zee & Merijn Tiemessen – Managing
Gilian Baracs & Laurens Priem – Music Production

Thanks to: Het Licht, S-Color, CAM-A-LOT, Amsterdam Studios, Action-Pact, Paradiso

All rights: Wicked Jazz Sounds Recordings info@wickedjazzsounds.com

Raving in Amsterdam

On Friday night I attended a “dance party”.  As I walked there I thought about things like taking pictures for Todd’s blog.

I’m not so sure now that pictures would be appropriate.  Besides, I didn’t take any.  It was about dancing.  And it was about drinking.  And it was all designed to be overwhelming in a way that a picture can’t describe.  And honestly, it was kind of spooky too.  Because it was also the place the city’s dark side hung out.

The parties Todd photographed were night clubs.  This was a rave.  It was a quasi-legal party, behind private security, deep inside the bowels of a foreign registered boat tied up in the harbour just slightly outside of town.

A factory fishing ship, who’s holds are now dance halls; thousands of guests pour down the narrow metal stairs, leading to ever lower sections and further stairways.  You follow the sounds of pounding music and arrive into a room of bodies.  Everyone sways and moves, the music moves the crowd as a whole.  If you push past there are more hallways, more stairs, and more rooms of moving bodies.  Every room has a bar and intoxicants flow.  Along the way you step on wooden boards covering holes in the gangway.  The only decoration over the refrigeration coils  are camo-nets.  Everything smells of oil.  It’s dark; lights and music hit as one; flashing, pounding.  Spinning?  The hull slopes inward more the further you descend.  “Descend into madness”, you think.

In a word, it was perfect.  Fucking exactly perfectly dead-on to what was expected.  Like a cross between a night-club, a horror  film and a rollercoaster.

And at the end of the night, Thunderdome.  Gone was the private security force that let us in.  They had been replaced by people huddled around burning barrels.  Undead partiers, walking, hobbling, slowly past conveyed the mood. “Morning”.  Not a chipper, hello-day, coffee achiever morning.  It was more like the groaning of the vampire who must regretfully retire to his box of dirt.  There was a shared knowledge that the day was just about to arrive, and other than sunrise, no of us wanted to see any of it.

The first rays of sunlight hurt.  Thankfully I was back at my bike by then.  It was then just a short ride home, to a long day-after.

Unbefreakinglievable!

Your raconteur realizes that he’s waaaay behind on updates, but it’s truly a case of being a bit too busy living this life to be writing about it as much as I’d like!

I’ve been on the ground for just over a week and haven’t been able to stop to catch a breath! (Although I’m actually breathing MUCH better since I quit cigarettes nine days ago!!!)

Last night, I volunteered to help tend bar at the local co-op watering hole during a spectacular performance of classic jazz by Buck Hill! (He’s a Greenbelt resident!)

They opened the first set with “Take Five” and kept the capacity crowd mesmerized for the entire night!

We were SO insanely busy… It was reminding me of an ER shift on a payday weekend! (With a full moon!)

I was on my feet for the whole night, no dinner break, I passed LOTS of fluids out, *snicker* and I wanted needed to fall over at the end.

On the other hand, there was GREAT music, friendly people, a total lack of untoward bodily fluids, and nobody died!

Ray and I even broke the previous record for tips!

How cool is that?!?

Of course, the best part was meeting so many cool people and making a bunch of new friends!!!

I love when that happens… TOTAL WIN!

So Campers, today has been declared a day of rest (by me) and I’m gonna go for a walk around a lake with a very nice blonde girl!

(Me=a sucker for a cute southern accent… )

The End of an Era…

It is for me anyway!

As most of you know, your raconteur has been trying to leave for CONUS all summer, but I’ve only just been able to obtain the final talisman of my quest here. (Many thanks to all of the kind folks at JFC Brunssum for helping out this old(ish) soldier!)

I’ll have to write up the story of my last trip to the south, it was particularly special!

I’m currently shacking up (so to speak) at Hotel Aalborg with a beloved kitten for a few days before I leave town.

This place is GREAT! It’s located right across from the Sarphatipark, there’s LOTS of great places to shop, eat, drink, and just soak up the gezelligheid as I scheme out my imminent departure from this city that I love.

I put us here because Clarolyn was desperate to do a bunch of yoga after 2 months in rural Ireland and the studio she likes is just down the street.

We had a very nice dinner at Sarphaat last night and today I took her to the Cuypmarkt in the rain and turned her on to the joy of fresh stroopwafels…

More follows!

Amsterdam’s Song of the Day!

It’s positively luscious in Amsterdam today, Campers!

72F (21C), not a cloud in the sky, yummy girls in short skirts on bikes… YAY!

Your raconteur should be sleeping, but it’s just TOO freaking gorgeous!

I went out for a nice long walk and whole city is out lovin’ this weather too!

Everybody seems to be wearing a big, silly grin and I can almost hear the Goddess giggling at our collective joy!

It’s THAT wonderful!

So, the perfect song for the first TRULY spectacular day of the year is: U2: Beautiful Day

What you don’t have, you don’t need it now…

I hope your day is at least a little bit beautiful too!

Weekbreek! (ALL pics are UP!)

Click on the image to enter this set!

Your raconteur left his quarters for the short walk to Weekbreek at Canvas at 2045. I thought I’d be at least a bit on the early side for a quiet drink…

WRONG!

I saw the dancefloor lights in full party mode from the street, my pulse quickened as I started moving faster towards the objective.

I hit the doors running… (OK, not actually running, but it sounded good, huh? )

After a quick “Hi!” to our beautiful garderobe meisjes, and seeing ALL those coats already there, I (almost) sprinted for the elevator!

I could hear the music getting louder as I traveled upwards… As the doors opened it hit me like a wave!

It was like dropping into the middle of a… PILLOWFIGHT! (Without the pillows tho *snicker*)

As far as I could tell (and I’m pretty good at this stuff) a GREAT time was had by ALL!

Especially me!

Enjoy the pics, Campers!

BTW: I really did break my ALL-TIME 1-day traffic record on flickr last night by about 1000 views! (7380!) Thanks, y’all!!!

I recruited a new kitten too!

A Different Kind of Spin, After the News Has Gone – NYT

Did any of y’all Campers see (or hear about) this WAY cool piece about my neighborhood in the New York Times?!?

Amsterdam | Wibautstraat is emerging as a center of hip in this city, splashed in disappearing newsprint.

The street, located on on the city’s east side, on the number 3 tram line, was once known as a newspaper row. In the last few years, though, most of its publishing tenants, who print some of the country’s most important newspapers, have moved their operations elsewhere, leaving behind a cluster of empty buildings.

Now one stretch of Wibautstraat is being transformed into a new kind of creative hub.

Read the rest!

Nice to see, huh?

(Especially the Wicked Jazz Sounds Band namecheck! Who else is going to see them play on 09APR?!?)

Magneet Bar at Canvas (21MAR09)

Quite the wicked session on Saturday night at Canvas!

The crew from Magneet Bar (and a BUNCH of their friends) packed the house for a night of rockin’ music!

Check out this song by FUZZ!

more about “P1280809“, posted with vodpod

(I got 2 more acts to put on this post (HERE & HERE) but I need credits! [HELP!])

The pics are available by clicking below!

Click here to see this set!