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earnadvices · 3 years

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Betting Plans - The 1 Item All Skilled Punters Have in Common?

Betting Strategy True Money are new and abundant winning thoughts are generated everyday of this season. Nevertheless 1 technique that has to be embraced by every critical punter on our earth has existed since board and chalk!

It's an undeniable simple fact that still to the day that a gigantic most of the gambling on horse racing, so do not maintain a list of the things they do! Truly these socalled investors prefer to forget about their bad days so simply to keep in mind the nice.

In all seriousness, how do you imagine a qualified dealer becoming off with, or even really not needing to maintain a listing of her or his investments? It simply wouldn't happen. Yet there's really a huge probability that really, when gambling on horseracing that you don't make use of this fundamental of gambling plans.

A gambling strategy, doesn't need to become a intricate algorithm or system which can help one to create gaming bonuses. This is something as straightforward as an excel spreadsheet that's maintained uptodate after each and every bet. Such a simple accounting ought to be regarded as one the main essential procedures which each profitable punter uses, without any neglect.

If you're a frustrated punter and you merely wind up losing whenever you gamble on horseracing subsequently think about this one question.

Do you list everysingle, and I mean each and every bet that you simply place?

In the event you do amazing! For the ones who do not afterward as out of now you get a easy option, plus yet one which basically could transform your gambling future.

Thinking about use this basic of gambling plans?

Primarily and above all, you are going to understand at any 1 point that which your general profit and loss amounts really are. It's harmless to assume, a clear vast majority of punters who usually do not list their history. Usually do not even understand at the conclusion of the season if really they're in profit! For a tiny minority, this particular example will in fact be okay, since they're not carrying the match seriously. All these specific sports betters do this for pleasure, a lot more than likely using small bets. Should they win amazing of course should they losethey had any fun doing this.

Through the years a listing of one's stakes will assist you show your strengths and flaws. Where you flourish and at which you neglect! This is of essential significance and will be able to allow one to reduce losses. Bear in mind, minimizing losses is equally as essential as Enhancing gains!

Certainly one of the other main advantages for the superb of gambling plans, could be your necessity to sail a tight boat. You may discover that it is much more difficult to set'fun' stakes which you're not fully devoted to whenever you're made to consider it in your own hard disk. This can help with reducing losses through stakes that you weren't fully devoted to and also helps your profit and loss amounts.

For individuals wanting to triumph and also to create another income or a good principal income out of gambling, you must embrace this procedure.

Create a fresh recorder employed in decimals and begin to record each and every bet you set. This information might help you alter your gambling success. Before you choose any info from horseracing tipsters, or use the power of gambling strategies that will allow you to acquire more. Consider the main of gambling strategies which now you can embrace also it's going to surely cost you nothing!

#bettingstrategy #horseracing

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shanie-the-toyaddict · 4 years

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Shanie’s Dream Fic: A Masterpost

The following is a Masterpost of all my various finished, started, and sketched out dream stories. They are listed here as the dreams originally were, not as the stories the dreams became. Listings are by Saga/Series, Story Title, and Month/Year of original dream. Also listed are the fandoms of the dreams and any specific warnings the fics might carry. For the record, this isn’t a post really for anyone on here. It’s mostly for my own records. I do have a copy on my cloud storage but I’m putting it here as well on the off chance anyone is curious. BTW: I’m putting this here so that I don’t have to list it every time. As far as the WWE dreams go. Absolutely NONE of them are Kayfabe compliant. That’s the problem with not watching the shows regularly. I don’t dream about the TV side of it often. The Zowens dream is close though. It’s sort of a hybrid. The rest? Well, all of them are some level of NKC, but some are not only non-kayfabe, they are straight up AU. BTW2: In every single one of these stories involving me I am some manner of queer. I’m pretty sure in all but maybe one or two. I’m either wlw, ace, or both. NOT ONE of the first person dreams contains romance between me and another character. The best you get is a single platonic fake-relationship story. (That one did have a smut scene in it but it isn’t romantic.)

Anyway, list behind the cut!

ADVENTURES IN DREAMLAND Master Post

SAGA A Family Beyond Blood

Part 1 Darkness Fallen (August 2019) I find myself trapped in a world where I died as a child. Now as a spirit I must find a way to restore the universe to it’s proper order. (Somehow my young death caused the entire universe to splinter) *McMahon Family and MCU Dream* Part 2 Death and Life on Planet Earth (August 2019)

Having saved the universe but not ourselves, I vow to do whatever it takes to return Shane to his rightful place with his family. *McMahon Family and MCU Dream*

Part 3 A World Restored to Fall (August 2019)

The universe has been reset again, and I have been returned to my proper timeline. Or have I? There’re odd happenings in a local bookshop and it’s up to me to figure out how to stop them *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Part 4 World War Winter (August 2019)

Nuclear Holocaust has occurred. The world is at war with the machines. As a soldier in the CAMP forces, I must leave everything I know behind and face down the android army. But, maybe there’s a familiar face or two in CAMP after all... *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 5 Of Queens and Kingdoms (August 2019)

The world is reset. AGAIN. This time, it’s me, Shane and Marissa in a new land where the middle ages and modern times are happening simultaneously and women are the dominant gender. And, somehow, I’m the bloody queen. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

Part 6 Titans Reign (August 2019)

Having ascended to the throne and filling the royal court with WWE superstars, I must now find a way to rule over a land I barely know. Meanwhile, a sinister plot is brewing to put the patriarchy back in power. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

SAGA That’s What Friends Are For

Part 1 Death of a Fangirl (and Birth of a Friend) (October 2019) [Only Published Story on List]

I find myself being given the chance to meet Shane. Unfortunately, my mental illness turns the dream into a nightmare and my life unravels. But don’t worry. Shane will save the day. He always does. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 2 With A Song In Her Heart (October 2019)

Shane has been ignoring my texts, so I hunt him down. My search finds me at a pride festival where a spontaneous song catches his attention a little too well. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 3 One Last Birthday to Celebrate (November 2019)

It’s Christmastime in Squirrel Hill. For some dumb reason, Shane McMahon has decided to visit me the day before his birthday. Naturally I surprise him with a present. The other surprise (getting caught in a domestic dispute) is far less pleasant. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 4 The Pink Rose (Not a Dream)

I survived the shooting. Waking up in a hospital, I find my mother and a room full of flowers from the WWE Superstars. But one flower, a lone pink rose, is unlabeled. Wanna take a wild guess who sent that one? *WWE Universe Story NOT Based on A Dream*

Part 5 Dreams and Demons (December 2019)

So, it seems that watching your friend nearly die in a hail of bullets isn’t the best for your mental health. At WrestleMania 37, Shane is presented with a choice. Me, or TV. Of course he chooses me, this is my dream, what other choice would there be? *WWE Universe Dream*

[Are you starting to see why I never publish any of these. They are painfully bad self inserts and woefully self-indulgent. But they are also therapy, hence the writing]

SERIES Trippy Shorts

Story 1 A Little Fall of Acid Rain (August 2019)

The world is ending – but only in NYC. I’m there. So are the McMahons. Destruction and danger abound. *McMahon Family Dream*

Story 2 I Know Who I Am (September 2019)

All of my favorites from TV, movies, music, and wrestling are turning up murdered. Each time, a cryptic message is left behind, written in blood. Can I figure out the connection before everyone I like is killed? *General Pop Culture Dream* *EXTREMELY VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Story 3 Fixed Points and Fixed Pairings [An Unfinished Symphony] (September 2019)

One night, outside the bar, I am approached by an older version of myself. She brings a time machine and a mission – go back to the attitude era and change time so Shane remains the heir apparent. But some people are just meant to be together, and others just refuse to listen – even to an angel from the future. *WWE Universe Dream*

Story 4 A Song of Summer [A Snapshot] (October 2019)

As an Agent of SHIELD, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Black Widow and Hawkeye are in love. So, through the power of music, I decide to try and hook them up. *MCU Dream*

Story 5 Journeys Beginning [A Snapshot] (December 2019)

One day at school, I find myself amid an alien incursion. But don’t worry, the Doctor is on the case. Also, Shane is involved because of course he is. *Shane O Mac and Doctor Who Dream*

Story 6 Arson, Murder, and Revolution (January 2020)

At a Hollywood LGBTQ party, I find myself caught in a plot by the Trump administration to commit mass murder. When it goes awry, revolution stirs and it’s up to me and several other progressive celebrities to light the fuse *General Pop Culture Dream* *VIOLENT*

[See, they aren’t all about Shane. Just... most of them]

STAND ALONE STORIES

Once Upon a Dream (August 2019)

I black out drunk in an alley one night and awake to find myself in a dream. It’s 1990 and I’m somehow a middle-aged black woman. Also sharing the dream is a young and angry Shane McMahon. Together we use the circumstances of the dream to fuck shit up for the NYPD. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

The Many Deaths of a Tabhead (August 2019)

Five years after getting hooked on a new drug called Tabs, I find myself in an endless loop of getting murdered. The only way out is to survive. Too bad I have no memory, and everyone wants me dead *Original Story Featuring IRL People* *VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Champion of the Faerie Queen (December 2019)

Did you know that Marissa McMahon is the Faerie Queen and Shane is her consort? Neither did I. And, it seems, when war comes a calling, it’s up to me to save the McMahons and the country. But I’ve got superpowers now, so that helps. *McMahon Family, MCU, and DC Universe Dream*

To Earthquakes, Lovers, and Newfound Friends (May 2020)

In lovely SoCal, I’m watching a movie when an earthquake strikes. I soon find myself both blind and badly burned. The only hope I have to survive is a certain pair of lovers who just happen to be in the area for some R&R. *Zowens Dream*

Penny and Kicks vs The World (June 2020)

As a longtime WWE employee, I’ve been best friends with Shane for years. But in the fallout of Coronavirus, the public is looking for a scapegoat. Vince is more than happy to offer up my father. Now, the entire wrestling world is in turmoil and Shane and I are just trying to weather the storm. *WWE Universe Dream* *VIOLENT*

Virginia Gothic (October 2019)

In a world where my highschool sweetheart and I never broke up, we must forge a path on our own through hardship and rejection. But what is the meaning of the mysterious Jesus statue? And why is Bacchus being so damn shifty? *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Uzil (January 2020)

An mystical being from the horsehead nebula takes up residence in a little boy’s guinea pig. The miracles come quickly and soon they are inseparable. *Original Third Person Dream* (I wasn’t in this one)

The E-Manual (February 2020)

The end of days is drawing near. I have been chosen as a prophet of the end times by the Almighty himself. I must go out into the world armed with only scripture and a mystical magazine, trying to convert as many people as possible before time runs out. *A Mostly Original Dream* (Shane’s in the last two pages)

Seraphina and the Seven Wishes (April 2020)

The world is a video game and the McMahon’s are the Addams family. It only gets weirder from there. *McMahon Family Dream*

A Matter of Science (And Opinion) (May 2020)

I accidentally set fire to my apartment during a spell. I’m promptly arrested and call The Doctor as my defense. Sadly, the call is rerouted to Stormcage and SpongeBob SquarePants ends up on the case instead. This one is every bit as absurd as it sounds. *Doctor Who and SpongeBob SquarePants Dream*

A Revolution In This Century (Enter Me) (November 2019) The year is 2027. Climate Change has decimated the globe and revolution has reduced the Ruling Elite to food reserves. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and soon the new ruling poor become as ruthless as the 1% had been. In this horrible dystopia, I am a powerful government official who has taken on the McMahons as consorts for the sole purpose of saving their skins. *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT, DISTURBING, AND A BIT SMUTTY*

Crystal Vision – A Dozen Birthdays (December 2019)

After showing kindness to an enchantress, I am given my hearts greatest desire – a place in Shane’s life. I am sent back in time to 2005 as a WWE Makeup tech and given 12 years in the life of my childhood heroes. But a lot happened in the WWE from 2005 to 2017 and not all of it good. How much can and do I dare change? *WWE Universe Dream* *Painfully NKC. Disturbing subject matter involved because 2007 is a thing.*

Dr. Slime and the Wondernerds (August 2019)

Three high school nerds find themselves in possession of a mysterious green substance. When it explodes during an experiment, they find they have been given superpowers. However, this is the real world and super-powered “freaks” get picked apart, not celebrated. Can the teens resist using their powers? *Original Third Person Dream* (I’m not in this one)

Planeswalking Like A Grecian (October 2019)

After death, Xena finds herself on the Astral Plane. Promptly running into Joxer, they must find a way to survive the dangers of the afterlife. But don’t worry. Gabrielle has a plan. *Xenaverse Dream* (I’m not in this one)

The Foresight Curse (June 2020)

The problem with knowing the future is that you usually don’t have the ability to change it. So when Radar O’Reilly realizes Henry’s fate the day before it happens, he has to spend the next day trying to drown out the feelings of dread and sorrow, if only for the Colonel’s sake. Funny thing though, sometimes fate takes a left turn and you get a second chance to say goodbye. *M*A*S*H Universe Dream* (I’m not in this one) Vampires, Wraiths, and Shades, Oh My! (December 2019)

In the middle ages, I am orphaned at a very young age by vampires and taken in by Vampire Hunters (AU Shane and Stephanie). Now a teenager, I fight alongside them to protect the world from the dangers of the night. *McMahon Family Vampire AU Dream*

WHEW! I’m pretty sure that’s all of them! I have so dang many dreams it’s hard to keep track of them all! Anyway, out of all of these, only a handful are finished, ONE is published (Death of a Fangirl) and a ton of them aren’t far past the sketch stage. So, this is my list. Every story on here I at least have sketched out. I doubt I will ever even bother writing many of these, but the intent is present.

#Shanie's Dream Fic Masterpost

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harinezumiko · 5 years

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Annnnd... more tooth broke. I’m still behind on utilities. I have a doctor’s appointment Monday that I can’t cash pay for and that only covers me essentially Skype calling someone to get a refill on my meds, which I can’t afford, and the location doesn’t offer normal medical services, at which point I’d have to out of pocket to go down the street to another location to have them waitlist me for a few months for another extraction, only this one is guaranteed to be done terribly, because the Valley is almost definitely trying to kill poor people. I need to pay and/or contest the busybody can’t meet quota tickets from when I was trapped in SoCal, and my car’s brakes are in really bad shape.

I haven’t had luck selling dolls, mainly because I haven’t had luck locating paperwork for provenance, but that market’s dead, and my friends in-state who are doing layaways off of me are largely in the PGE blackout zone right now, which is nuking their paychecks.

I tried contacting my aunt and the title company, and by the sound of things, my mom decided to just. Live in the condo rather than selling it. Like an asshole. And my aunt is still withholding the remainder of the trust, which I apparently can’t contest because the trust is still active, because my half brother’s children are all younger than 30.

I don’t know what to do. I haven’t known what to do for a long while now. Everyone and their mother is pawning cut stones already, and the lowball by weight on both gold and silver is absolutely insane.

Right now, I’ve got a pending utility bill waiting to decimate my BoA. And then it looks like about $30 in Paypal. Which isn’t a full tank of gas.

Also: $KikiMakesThings on CashApp

@Megami on Venmo

#signal boost #ko fi link #hari would love to catch a break

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linearao3 · 5 years

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Tragedy anon here - loved the way you incorporated Walter Benjamin into the story. I’ve been waiting for it since your answer to my message a while back - the whole conversation between Rey and Pio, as well as the backdrop of the fire in the distance was perfect. That coupled with the “a sun is rising in the sky of history” quote, and Pio’s final paragraph (ending with “I fear it’s very late.”) really hit me. Such a lovely, but still heart-wrenching chaper...aka the kind I love best. 😉♥️

Thank you so much! It’s always a little dubious, quoting Great Thinkers in your pulp, but nobody ever accused me of being unambitious about my writing. But I’m very glad you liked the chapter; the fire and the flood are natural occurrences in SoCal but the recent scale of them has been hugely magnified by global warming. I very afraid that climate change, which has already decimated a lot of my hometown, will sweep away everything, and fighting against that fear is very hard. I’ve conscripted this fanfic into the fight, so thank you for going along with me as I struggle!

#anonymous #Dark Water

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dcvw · 4 years

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Just added to the shop for sale today, a 1950s Gallet Hour Decimal stopwatch www.dcvintagewatches.com #Gallet @galletwatch @galletwatches @dcvintagewatches #womw #watchesofinstagram #watchporn #watchfam #wristporn #wristgame #watchoftheday #DC #LA #SoCal #redbarcrew #wis #edc #instawatch #ReWatchTeam #wotd #klocksnack #GoAnalog https://www.instagram.com/p/B8r9s4DHDYq/?igshid=1sanxcqa025yt

#gallet #womw #watchesofinstagram #watchporn #watchfam #wristporn #wristgame #watchoftheday #dc #la #socal #redbarcrew #wis #edc #instawatch #rewatchteam #wotd #klocksnack #goanalog

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onlyifihad · 7 years

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@ Anyone who will listen.

I made this blog to help me be more positive and healthy, and to help myself with doing better in my academics... It hasn't helped.. as of right now I have a 1.## gpa (I don't know the decimals, sorry). I've been to many of the events in college, and I've tried to make friends and be socal. But nothing has stuck. I don't have any good friends here, and much less I don't really have a work buddy. Just a friend to do work with, because to be honest, I do best that way.

I'm not blaming my poor grades on not having friends, because everyone has their individual responsibility. But it would be nice to have anyone to at least hang out with, or who would invite you to events with them.. you know? Even my roommate has made friends. She's really nice, and she's always not in the dorm. She has her group of friends she made, so she'll be gone for days on end & it'd be just me in the room.

It's just lonely. And my grades doesn't perk me up either. Every time I miss an assignment, it just really puts me down. Like, I feel like I can do it in the beginning, and I put the effort in, but it never gets done. There was one time I stayed up until 5am to do a book Review (that was overdue) and by the time 5am hit, there wasn't one word on the page. I wasn't procrastinating, I wasn't distracting myself either, I made sure if that. I told myself I'd get it done. And it was a fucking book REVIEW, not even a book report.. that crushed me. I couldn't even do something sooo simple.

And recently it's just been hard to get up and do anything. I have to force myself to even go to the dining hall to get food. FOOD! I love food! There was one time I just laid in my bed all day, and didn't do anything (That includes eating and drinking).

I've also been having the whole "why am I here" thought. Not the existential crisis one, just the, "Why am I here at college. I can't make friends, I can't get good grades.. I shouldn't be in this bed. Someone else should be laying on this bed. They should be going to this college and getting their good grades, and socializing. I'm literally wasting this space.."

I don't know. I just felt like spewing everything to the internet. Oh! And not everything is bad though, I have a boyfriend who visits me like once every few weeks. I have the best days when he's here. Transportation is hard though, if it wasn't we'd visit each other more.

Alright, I've over welcomed my stay on your dash. I'll leave now. Bye.

#personal #me #college #college life #friends #school work #school #socializing #trying #roomates #why #sad #alone #lonely #loneliness #poor grades #wasting space

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jocelinbv-blog · 5 years

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5 Best New Fishing Spots in America

Everything in fishing adjustments. On the minutest degree, that exchange can be as simple as fish unexpectedly turning off of green-pumpkin worms after they’d been hammering them for hours, or a gradual chew unexpectedly going bonkers earlier than a hurricane. In the grander scheme, what also can exchange is the general excellence of an entire fishery. Sometimes lakes or rivers that were warm for many years suddenly move bloodless.

Alabama

Water: Lewis Smith Lake Targets: Largemouth Bass and Striped Bass Alabama is home to some of the best bass lakes in the U.S., but Lewis Smith Lake wasn’t considered one of them until recently. The deep, clear lake that seemed dead for years presently has a thriving fishery thanks to the newly flourishing blueback herring population, which largemouths and stripers are chowing down on.

Alaska

Water: Situk River Targets: Sockeye and Pink Salmon The Situk receives much less attention than some of Alaska’s different rivers, and whilst it sees its share of site visitors during the spring and fall steelhead runs, anglers all but disappear within the summer time. Big mistake, due to the fact the Situk has robust runs of crimson and sockeye salmon expecting every person seeking solitude.

Arizona

Water: Saguaro Lake Target: Largemouth Bass A fish kill in 2005 decimated Saguaro’s largemouth population. However, with rejuvenated grass increase, smooth mountain water waft, and a resurgence of baitfish, the bass population has rebounded huge time. Saguaro is now a top trophy lake in Arizona, and one that the locals do not forget a hidden gem.

Arkansas

Water: Lake Ouachita Targets: Striped Bass and Walleyes Lake Ouachita has visible a recent increase in its shad populace, and with it came a growth inside the quantity and length of stripers and walleyes. The country also currently lowered the minimum ownership length of bass to twelve inches so one can urge anglers to fill their coolers with smaller fish and permit the bigger ones to cross.

California

Water: Skinner Reservoir Targets: Largemouth and Striped Bass California is thought for its massive bass lakes, however, Skinner Reservoir is a total sleeper. Local sticks seek advice from it because of the “SoCal Clear Lake” for its similarities to the well-known Clear Lake farther north. Its lunker largemouths and stripers get fats at the plentiful trout.

#fishing #USA #water fun #fishing kayak #fishing port #fishing spot

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takeahikepodcast-blog · 5 years

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According to the guy at the Idyllwild Nature Center, that little thing jutting out to the left of the higher peak is Tahquitz Peak. That rockface is where the Yosemite Decimal System was was developed, a system that is used to classify hikes and climbs to date (cool!). The Nature Center also taught me that according to the Native Americans, a demon is believed to live in that rock (not cool!), which I laughed off at first until I sprained my right ankle for the second time in my life yesterday afternoon (super not cool!). Yep, I’m blaming a demon in a tomb for that. I didn’t even think I had sprained it because I was able to walk on it right after it happened (you don’t want to know how it happened - it’s embarrassing). All I know is that it needs to get better before I’m hustling through LAX this weekend 😩 #hike #hiking #tahquitzpeak #sanjacinto #mountain #peak #mountains #forest #sky #trees #outside #outdoor #legend #sprainedankle #ouch #california #socal #cali #landscape #nature #naturelovers #naturephotography (at Idyllwild Nature Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/Brfnmz5l9F4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gg4wj5996qra

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braindamageforbeginners · 6 years

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Cycle 5, Day 1

A friend recently asked me why I wasn’t writing a novel based on my experiences, and I could only say I didn’t really know how it would end. She pointed out that I was a reasonably imaginative person; but the reason why I’m writing this is because so much of what happens is beyond comprehension, let alone imagination, that just trying to imagine it would be disingenuous and/or a disservice to anyone else trying to figure out how to do it (in this case, it’s a couple of comments that I never would have expected myself to make; albeit in a “Good God, I never realized I was that witty” way). We’ll get there shortly. AUTHOR’S NOTE: I am presenting this particular reminiscence in the logical order, not the actual temporal order in which they occurred, because the way it actually happened is almost too chaotic for me to keep track of, let alone make fun (basically, I spent a lot of the day retracing steps because there was a hold-up getting lab results, and the chemo nurses and pharmacy don’t do anything without those labs).

The first day of every cycle is, scheduling and logistics-wise, a bit difficult (I’m refraining from using a certain synonym for “disaster” that involves four-letter words out of respect for some of my religious friends who may be reading), since everyone wants a piece of you, almost literally. I get blood-draws, a consult with one of the Warlocks (or their legal representative, as it were), and an infusion (which takes two hours in and of itself). Today was made a little harder because Senior Warlock is usually the one who oversees me, but he was out for the day, and he is old-school in a lot of ways (there was a line in the immortal neurosurgery memoir, “When the Air Hits Your Brain” that “the most incompetent bedside disaster [on behalf of a physician] is better-received than the most expert-managed care by phone”); definitely in that he wants to lay hands on me directly before clearing me for another round of chemo. Although I’d say that Junior Warlock is probably equal in terms of competence, he actually tends to read what various nurses, tests, PAS, etc. tell him before actually coming in the room. Which means there’s a lot of people who I see before Junior Warlock is ever on-scene, and there’s not a whole lot left for him to do/test by the time he arrives (unless something’s wrong), apart from a quick once-over. Don’t get me wrong, if there’s a problem or question or complaint, he’ll move on it, but if I’m just showing up to get medical clearance and everything’s going well, I only see him for ten minutes. Which is fine, but it’s kind of a let-down after 40-some minutes of assorted technical staff and assistants filter through to get a quick once-over for medical clearance.

At the joint blood-draw/IV installation, the nurse found my radial vein (that’s twice in a six-month period; that’s pretty good) on the first try. Which is great news for me; the farther from my shoulder and neck they go, the better time I seem to have the next day, side-effects-wise. I guess there’s a reason nurses don’t go for it more often, though: NURSE: I think I can get that vein, but are you sure? We’re going to rip out a lot of [arm] hair when we take the tape off, SELF (unexpected line #1): Given what I’m paying for this, I’d say that you guys can throw in a free Brazilian wax. I realize that cancer wards aren’t exactly comedy clubs, but I almost feel bad for making that poor woman laugh that much over a vaguely-dirty joke. Come on, cancer patients, I can not be the only one in there trying to use humor as a defense/coping mechanism. Then I got handed off to another nurse: OTHER NURSE: Is there anything I can get you? SELF: I always ask you guys for a steak and a carton of cigarettes, I’m already paying the price for that lifestyle, I might as well enjoy it. OTHER NURSE: I think we have juice and some crackers around here. I suppose that’s sort of like steak. SELF (unexpected line #2): Yeah, if you have never seen or heard of steak. Apart from that, the perfusion was unremarkable.

What is worth note is that, due to an odd schedule glitch, I didn’t have to be in the hospital until 12 pm, which enabled me to get a good nights’ sleep. Or it would’ve, if not for the nasty tendency of the sun in SoCal to come up at 4 am and start burning a hole through my eye sockets. I’m exaggerating that, but it’s kind of what it feels like, especially since I have have a weird, glitchy diurnal pattern thanks to the chemo. Also, getting injection that late means I might sleep through the worstest/weirdest side-effects, although I’ll be waking up tomorrow with Temodar in my veins (for those of you wondering, standard chemo for brain cancer comes in massive horse pills that you choke down ten minutes before bed, so you wake up all lemony-fresh and not severely-possibly-fatally hungover at all)(this effect gets worse as the week wears on, because you take Temodar for the first five nights of each treatment cycle).

Anyway, since I’m staying up a few extra hours tonight, let’s celebrate my almost-functioning brain by doing some math. Depending on whose data you use, brain tumors/cancer have an occurrence rate of 1-5 per one hundred thousand patients. We’ll use the upper-end of that (which, I think, is the CDC’s 2014 data), which, as a decimal, is 0.00005. Now, in the last few weeks, I’ve been contacted by a few folks with parents getting brain tumors/cancer (they weren’t always specific), and I know of at least another friend with a brain cancer-plagued mother. Including me, that’s four people I know of or have heard of. with brain cancer. I realize we’re jumping way over Dunbar’s number (the hypothetical upper limit of “maintainable relationships” - or, in practice, “people you know”), but rounding my social media friends up to 500 (the folks in question contacted me that way, but I have personally met all of them, so I figure the math might sort of even out) and assuming everyone has two parents gives me a rate of 4/1500, or, a brain cancer rate of 0.00267 in my immediate sphere of influence (I like to call it the Splash Zone, but that’s just me). That’s over 50 times the upper CDC estimates. Admittedly, this is all self-selecting, and I’m a statistical outlier already, but it does make me suspect that we’ve either been dramatically low-balling prior estimates of brain cancer, or there’s something new in the water (lead, if you live in Michigan). Or, as I suggested, the Baby Boomers are just getting into their carcinogenic prime; but it does offer a glimmer of hope (in a weird, almost-parasitic way, I’ll admit) that there’s going to be a massive influx of GBM patients. Which is good for current brain cancer patients (sort of), because it might mean more political and economic incentive to do something about this accursed disease. Certainly there’ll be enough patients to provide better statistical data than we’re seeing. Of course, that could just be the experimental chemo finally catching up to me.

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