Author Archives: Dan York

My 3 Words for 2011 – How Did I Do?

2011So as 2011 enters its final hours, it’s time to take a look back and see how I did with my “3 Words For 2011“. As a reminder, they were:

  • CONTENT
  • PORTFOLIO
  • LIFESTYLE

Well, to start with, they – and most all my plans for 2011 – were rather subsumed by an extremely unwelcome fourth word that dominated my year:

CANCER

Yes, indeed, the defining thread of 2011 has definitely been my wife’s diagnosis and subsequent battle with breast cancer. It truly did consume the entire year – she had what was otherwise a routine doctor visit in January that started raising questions… and then her last chemo treatment was in early December.

In between, of course, were horrific months dealing with tests leading to the diagnosis in May, then the operation in July with the long recovery, and then the pathology reports of invasive breast cancer and then the start of chemotherapy in September and all the nastiness that followed.

She’s not “done” now… next month she begins five years of a daily hormone therapy called Tamoxifen as well as one year of an every-three-week infusion of a drug called Herceptin.

But in theory we’re through the worst of it. We hope.

So looking at 2011 through the cancer-colored lens, just surviving was a beautiful thing… but how did I do with the words that were to guide my activities? Let’s see…

CONTENT

My big goal was to increase the amount of actual writing I was doing across my blogs and other sites. Unfortunately I don’t have a count for 2010 to know how my writing exactly compares, but I know that I did write more this year. My total was:

Given that I was manually tracking all those entries across several different blogging platforms, it could certainly be off to a certain degree… but it’s probably in the general area. Through the first half of the year I was writing more and averaging out about 2 to 3 posts each day. I had aimed to get at least one post out every day of 2011, but that goal feel by the wayside in March and then with all the cancer happenings it never really became a goal again.

Still, I’m pleased with a good body of work out there for 2011. Some of it shorter content… some of it the longer, deeper pieces I love to write. There’s still a ton of stories left untold that are sitting in my queue… but I did get a good bit out.

Add to that, I believe, 51 podcast contributions to For Immediate Release. I seem to recall Shel & Neville taking one show off… and I don’t think I missed any of the weeks. (And if they didn’t take a week off this year, then it was 52 contributions.)

Plus, I published another book, this time with O’Reilly, “Migrating Applications to IPv6“. The idea was that this was to be primarily an “ebook” that could then be frequently updated… which, given everything else going on, didn’t happen (updates), despite my best of intentions. I’m looking forward to making some updates in 2012.

Where I had hoped to do more in 2011 was with photography and videos. My camera traveled with me a good bit… and I shot lots of photos… I just didn’t have a whole lot of the curation/post-production time to then get photos online. 2012! Ditto video.

PORTFOLIO

I made some progress on this… I haven’t really publicized it yet, but I’ve been aggregating my content from across various blogs into a new site at:

danyork.me

It’s my attempt to bring together all my content into one central site. There’s still much I would like to do with that and it’s still not working the way I want, but it’s a start.

I never did move my main blogs off of TypePad… perhaps 2012 will be the year I finally make that happen. And I still would like to improve how this site (DanYork.com) presents me…

LIFESTYLE

This is one where I did make serious progress. I had wondered a year ago if running would be something I really continued.

I did!

In fact, I ran 5 miles yesterday morning and will probably go for a similar run tomorrow. (Today’s a resting day.) Over the course of 2011 I probably ran 400 or 500 miles… hard to know exactly as I’m not tracking all my running (such as on the treadmill).

I also ran in 6 actual races, including my first-ever half-marathon in September.

2011 also marked the time when I brought my running gear with me on every business trip and speaking engagement – and actually RAN!

Wellllll… except for the trip to Orlando where I left my shorts back in New Hampshire! On every other trip (including multiple trips to Orlando), I managed to get out and run at least once if not more. New York… Miami Beach… Toronto… San Francisco… Orlando… Virginia… Austin… I was quite pleased with this, actually, because it’s so easy NOT to run while traveling.

So yes, running has become part and parcel of who I am.

Outside of running, there were some other lifestyle changes, too. Some tweaking of what we eat. Trying to do some more of the offline things I enjoy. Adding curling back into my life. Continuing to try to find that balance between the work I love and the family I love… The sudden job change from Voxeo to the Internet Society also brought some lifestyle changes, too.

Outside of the cancer chaos, or perhaps because of the chaos making me think more about priorities, 2011 was definitely one of thinking about – and acting on – lifestyle changes.

More changes to come, I hope, but this was a big part of 2011.

What’s on tap for my 3 Words for 2012? Well… I’ll write about that soon… 😉

Video: How A Curling Stone Is Made

Here’s a pretty cool video from the Science Channel showing how a curling stone is made. I had heard that there were only two quarries in the world that supplied all the curling stones… this video gives a bit more insight into the whole process…

Want Your Kids To Curl? Youth Curling Open House Nov 5th in Petersham, MA

Petershamyouthcurling

Would your kids like to try out the sport of curling? Did they see it on the Olympics and thought it looked cool? Or did you see it on the Olympics and think it might be something fun for your kids to try? (Or are you a “youth” reading this post and are interested yourself?)

If so, the Petersham Curling Club is holding a Youth Curling Open House this coming Saturday, November 5, 2011, from 1-3pm. Anyone with interest is welcome to attend.

The Petersham Curling Club has had a great youth curling program and is now looking to let even more people know about the program.

No experience is necessary… just bring your passion and excitement! (Well, and clean sneakers and warm clothes.)

Petersham, MA, is in north central Massachusetts near Athol, MA, and Royalston, MA. The curling club is right off of Route 2 for those coming from other parts of Mass. For me, it’s about 45 minutes from Keene, NH, driving straight down Route 32 (the club is on Route 32 in MA). Directions can be found on the club’s site.

The Petersham Curling Club is a great 2-sheet facility with very welcoming members and excellent instructors. I’m playing in the evening men’s curling league this year and my daughter is in the Saturday morning youth program. It’s a great bit of fun … and they’re looking to add even more youth players this year!

Looking forward to the Youth Curling Open House – should be a good bit of fun!

My Wife’s Interview About Breast Cancer In The Keene Sentinel

Lori keenesentinel 2

While I’ve already tweeted, Facebooked and Google+’d about it, I should record here for the sake of completeness that my wife was recently interviewed for what turned out to be an excellent article and photo of her in our local Keene Sentinel newspaper.

The article, titled “KEEPING THE FAITH” by columnist Sherry Hughes, is now available online and was on the front page of the Friday, October 21, 2011, dead-tree edition of the Sentinel as part of a feature on Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As she will say herself, this was pushing my wife WAY outside of her comfort zone… in stark contrast to me, she is an intensely private person and severely dislikes having her picture taken (even with hair!). She agreed to do the interview when asked by a friend… and then proceeded to do it even after finding out that a photographer would be coming.

It turned out to be an excellent, inspiring and uplifting article (admittedly, I’m intensely biased 🙂 and I thought the photo of her turned out great. I’m extremely inspired, personally, by how open she’s been about it all… “it is what it is”, as she says.

Anyway, that’s the last chapter in our ongoing cancer saga… a bit of unexpected publicity and a chance to tell her story…

 

Running The 2011 Harpoon Brewery Octoberfest 5K…

Harpoonoctoberfestrace2011

It was, quite honestly, the hardest 5K race I’ve yet run.

Even with the promise of beer and bratwurst at the end, the Harpoon Brewery Octoberfest Race on October 9, 2011, was still a very tough race.

Why? One simple reason….

The first mile was pretty much entirely UPHILL!

Not “up and down hills”…. not “uphill with breaks now and then”… no, it was just solidly a hill that went on and on at a pretty good angle the whole way. This picture doesn’t really show it, but that’s part of the big hill:

Octoberfestrun

The hill was really the worst part. You ran up the hill for about a mile, then went off into a development where you went down and then back up … and then you followed the same road back.

So the good news was that you went back down that same hill you climbed! The other good news is that at least you started climbing the hill!

Two other points you might gather from that photo:

  • There were a LOT of runners! A record-breaking 1,124 runners, in fact! The biggest race I’ve yet run in, personally.
  • It was in the middle of the day with the sun beating down on us. I usually run in the early morning, and even most of the races I’ve run have started at no later than 9am, so this was a switch. Thankfully it was Vermont in October so it didn’t get too hot.

As I mentioned in my previous note, registration for the race did, in fact, get you two beers and a bratwurst… right on your race bib!

Octoberfestraceticket

The race results are now posted on CoolRunning.com and a “find” on my name would show you that I finished #574 out of 1124. I was 66th out of the 95 runners among men ages 40-49 with a net time of 33:18 and a pace of 9:15/mile.

Not my fastest 5K ever, but given the course I’ll take it!

Naturally I had to indulge in the bratwurst and at least one of the two free beers:

Octoberfest afterward

As you can tell, I did NOT go the extra bit to run in any kind of Germanic costume… but there were certainly lots of others running in costume, including the group of men that were in the image I used in my last post:

Rosemaryswenches

I was actually amazed by some of the costumes… which can’t have been much fun to run in!

And yes, as you might expect for an Octoberfest gathering (or at least an American version of one) there was indeed the requisite “oompah” band:

IPhoto

All in all it was a great race on a great day for a great cause … and followed up by great food and great beer!

Now I’m looking forward to next year – at least then I’ll know the course!

P.S. For my runner friends, here was the course as measured/shown by the Nike+ app on my iPhone… the race was actually a bit over a 5K… really more like 3.5 miles:

Octoberfestcourse

The Incredibly Tedious Monotony of Chemotherapy

Cladribine (2-CdA). This poison is going to help me

Today is my wife’s second (of four) chemotherapy appointments. She is sitting right now at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at the Cheshire Medical Center here in Keene, NH, with an IV of toxic drugs flowing in to her.

Many friends have contacted us/her wishing her all the best today… hoping it all goes well… relaying that they are thinking/hoping/praying all the best for her.

All of which is VERY much appreciated.

The truth, though, is that today is really not bad.

Today is really just incredibly… well… monotonous.

Boring. Tedious. Whatever word you want to pick.

This has been a fascinating revelation to me who knew nothing about chemotherapy before this all began.

Here is the snapshot of our day…

We arrived at the hospital at 9:30am. A little before 10am we were brought back into the chemo treatment area were she sat down in a comfortable recliner-type chair. A nurse drew some blood samples that were sent off to the lab and then proceeded to get some vital signs and other normal tests… and then we waited for the lab work to come back.

Once the lab results came back fine, they set up the IV with some anti-nausea medicine, some saline, etc, etc, and give that to my wife for a while. There was some other medication my wife had to take an hour before the actual chemotherapy chemicals began, so she had to take that and wait.

Sometime after noon, they administered the first of the two chemicals that make up my wife’s “cocktail”. It ran for over an hour dripping into her bloodstream through the IV line.

After that was all finished, they hooked up the second of the two chemicals… and that will run for 45 minutes. After that she may be done… I don’t quite honestly remember if they did something else. She’ll probably be ready to go home somewhere around 2:30 or 3pm.

But this is what “a day of chemotherapy” is like.

Sitting. Waiting. Sitting. Waiting. Sitting. Waiting.

For hours.

They have individual TVs there, of course. And she and I talk now and then. The anti-nausea medication makes her kind of tired, and so many of the patients, her included, take a nap for a bit… or just don’t feel overly talkative. Friends have stopped by for a visit, which is a nice distraction. You can get (or bring in) food and drinks. A volunteer came by offering Reiki massage. They have free WiFi so you can use the Internet with your computer (which is what usually I do… sitting there doing work while my wife rests).

But overall it’s just a long tedious day of sitting and waiting.

If her experience this time is like the last time – and like what we understand from others in the process – this afternoon/evening she may be a bit tired from the drugs but overall okay. Tomorrow she will probably be fine. Wednesday morning she may be fine.

And then sometime on Wednesday the hell will start.

The chemicals will be doing their deed of killing cells and the body will be reacting. And then will come the pain, the sickness, the fatigue…

… which will pretty much continue straight through the weekend and on into next week…

We’re hopeful with some new medication that this time around it won’t be quite so severe, but time will tell.

Today, though, is all about the monotony of the injection of the drugs.

Sitting. Waiting.

Sitting. Waiting.

Image credit: drhenkenstein on Flickr

Learn To Curl Clinic Tomorrow (Sun, Oct 16) at Petersham Curling Club in Petersham, Mass.

Petershamcurlingclub 1

I’m looking forward to throwing a few rocks at houses tomorrow… the Petersham Curling Club is holding a “Learn To Curl” clinic for the public tomorrow, Sunday, October 16, 2011, from 10-1pm, a their 2-sheet facility in Petersham, MA.

I’m not going to be part of the clinic… given that I was last skipping teams, I’m a bit beyond that initial stage (although you can always learn more)… I’m actually going to bring my 9-year-old daughter down to see if it’s something of interest to her. The Petersham C.C. has an active youth curling program on Saturday mornings and we’re toying with pursuing that this winter.

But, I admit to hoping that when I’m down there with her I’ll at least get a chance to throw a few rocks 😉

Petersham, MA, is about an hour south of Keene, NH, heading straight down Route 32. It’s a good haul to drive for curling… but Petersham Curling Club is really the closest rink to our area. The next nearest would really be the Nashua Country Club over in Nashua, NH. (about 1.5 hours away), or the Union Ice Arena up in Woodstock, VT (also about 1.5 hours away).

We’ll see… we went down and visited Petersham last year and it’s a great 2-sheet facility. The folks there were very friendly and welcoming… it should be fun!

P.S. If anyone in the Keene, NH, / Monadnock Region is interested in seeing what we can do to get some more local curling options, please drop me a note… I’m definitely interested in seeing what can be done.

1 Day Left To Register for the Harpoon Brewery Octoberfest 5K on Oct 9th

HarpoonOctoberfestRoadRace

How can you go wrong with a 5K race where your entry fee gets you 2 beers, a bratwurst and a beer stein?

Plus, apparently, a lot of people running with you wearing “German” costumes?

Our local Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, is holding their 9th annual Octoberfest 5K Race this Sunday, October 9, 2011, at 11:00am. Followed, of course, by the Vermont edition of Harpoon’s Octoberfest celebration (there was also one last weekend in Boston).

I haven’t finalized yet if I’ll be running in it, but a neighbor of mine is, and it’s tempting not only for all the fun and festivities but also because it is raising funds for the Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth (where I’ve recently had some personal experience).

If you are interested, one thing to note is that there is NO on-site registration. You must register online to run the race, and…

REGISTRATION ENDS TOMORROW, October 5th, at 12noon

From the pictures, it definitely looks like a fun time…

Want to Run UP a Ski Area? The 5K Mountain Goat Scramble is Oct 8th

5KMountainGoatScramble2011

So this sounds like a pretty wacky local race… the “5K Mountain Goat Scramble” takes place this Saturday, October 8, 2011, at our local Granite Gorge Ski Area in Roxbury, NH (just outside of Keene).

It’s a 5K race where you run up to the halfway point of the ski trails and then back down … and DO THAT FOUR TIMES!

I have skied all the trails where the race is running and know the exact route they are doing… it’s going to be tough to run that loop four times!

I’m not sure exactly what our plans are for the weekend and so I don’t know whether I’ll be running it myself, but it does benefit an excellent cause, the creation of a new Children’s Museum here in Keene, so I do hope they get a good turnout.

Registration is open and you save $5 if you register by Tuesday, Oct 4th.

Here’s the trail map for those who are curious:

5KMountainGoatScramble2011 trails