Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Yup, it's an infection
So we got some preliminary news today from the doctor: It is indeed a bacterial infection, and they are trying to narrow down the specific variety so that the can give me the exact proper treatment for it - which I hope I will be getting soon. By the end of the week? Best case scenario, but I'm not holding my breath.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to go out in order to buy some new anime. See how powerful obsession is? It even flies in the face of sickness.
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Friday, August 10, 2007

The week from hell is over
I'm sore, and very off-kilter, but at least now they have some results to work with after the bronchioscopy.

It wasn't a very pleasant experience. First I had to inhale this gas that would numb the back of my throat. It tasted very bitter, and was kind of like sucking on a large plastic cigar.

I was anesthetised for the rest of the proceedure, but woke up feeling like someone had gone in and hacked away at my throat with tiny pickaxes.

According to the doctor there were no other signs of damage to the throat (which means that isn't where the bleeding is coming from). Now we just have to wait for the results, but we might just try to call and get them, because we're tired of the 3 hour drive up there and back, especially since the next visit would just be a follow-up consultation with the doctor.

I think I'm going to be a bit wonky for most of the weekend. Last night I was so restless it took me many hours to finally fall asleep. Not to mention I've been desperately hungry, but cautious about eating since I do have some occasional nausea.

Hope those results come in soon.
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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Finally some answers...
Well, I take back what I said about the CT scan being useless. This time, with the right people doing the job, they were able to determine that I have some form of pneumonia.

We go back up on Thursday for a bronchiotomy, where they'll sedate me and look down my airway with a camera. The doctor will see if any other spots are contributing to the bleeding, and then collect samples of the fluid in my lungs to see what it is - whether it's aspirated blood from the coughing, or an actual bacterial infection.

From there, we'll be able to work out what the right treatment should be.

So, now we finally know more of what's going on, but the process to fix it will still take some time.

At least it IS fixable, and that lifts my spirits a good deal.

I'll update again after I'm home from the proceedure on Thursday.
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Sunday, August 5, 2007

My Favorite Anime: Haibane Renmei
I just finished my first-ever rewatch of Haibane Renmei, the show that stole my heart and became my eternal, all-time #1 favorite anime.

It's a simple, yet beautiful series, created by Yoshitoshi ABe of Serial Experiments Lain fame. It starts out as this rather light slice-of-life fantasy centering around a group of young women who are Haibane, beings who hatch from coccoons and sport wings and halos. But when you get about halfway through the series, it changes into a deeper and more powerful emotional drama centering on the trials of two Haibane, Rakka and Reki.

The ending is so intense, I defy anyone who watches it not to get choked up. I always end up rather emtionally drained for a few days afterward.

So, if I've piqued anyone's interest so far, here's a video I found sometime back. I'm thinking of submitting this for the Otaku Attraction eventually. It's a bit long, running at roughly 6 & 1/2 minutes (with credits), and is all instrumental. And you have to pay attention to it, since it not only tells the story through the clips, but with additional text.

So here it is...
Angel's Redemption 2: The Circle of Sin


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Friday, August 3, 2007

Appointment: Next Tuesday
We finally have a date for the hospital visit: next Tuesday.

But as for time, I'm not happy about it at all, and feel like having a tantrum.

Annoyance #1: Apparently we'll have to go up Monday night, and stay in a hotel. This will guarantee me absolutely no sleep and put me at my crankiest and worst the next day, because sharing a hotel room with my dad is a nightmare. He snores so loud! Not even earplugs keep his volume down. Not to mention I never sleep well in hotel beds.

Why do we have to go up the night before? Because of...

Annoyance #2: The first proceedure of the day, a pulomology (heart/lung) function test, is scheduled for 7:30 AM.

That tantrum is getting closer.

At 10:30 AM, we have a second proceedure, a CT scan. I'm not sure what they hope to find, since I already had one here more than am month ago and those nitwits couldn't find anything.

Then finally at 1 PM, we see the pulomonologist himself and talk to him and who knows what else.

I think I'm right in saying anyone would feel tired, sore and pissed after having to go through all that. I had no idea they'd turn this into more of an ordeal than I had imagined it would be.

So I'm gonna go off and think about all this for awhile, and try to calm down. Much good it'll do me.

If all of this run-around means they do find out what's wrong and figure out how to fix it, I'll be very, very happy. I'm just... not happy with how much crap I'm going to have to go through in order to get to that point.
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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

At last!
Although we're still waiting for a call with a definitive date and time, next week we'll be going in to the pulmonology department of Shands Hospital. That's where I've had all my previous operations throughout my life, so I trust them to know what they're doing more than anyone else.

I hope they can find whatever is wrong, say it can be fixed, and fix it. I may have to stay up there for awhile though, so I'll take my laptop with me in order to keep everyone updated.

I got the first volume of Mushi-shi yesterday and watched it. It's a wonderful, amazing series: beautiful visuals and music, and just a joy to watch. If you have any friends or family who don't understand why you watch anime, Mushi-shi is a great way to open them up to it.
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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Obligatory Post
I really, really hope we're close to finally arranging a trip to a doctor or doctors who can take a look at me and figure out whats wrong. I barely have any kind of a life at the moment, and I'm getting seriously depressed with it and how lousy I feel all the time.

So, just to yack on for a minute...

I finished FMP: Second Raid today. So in a little over a week, I've made it through 3 series, with a total of 50 episodes, counting the bonus OVA. It was a nice experience, and I think I'll go back to watch Fumoffu again in the near future. I normally don't go in for straight-up comedy, but since FMP has a lot of comedy in it already, it was a fun time.

For now, I think I'll just catch up on a few shows I'm in the process of collecting, rather than moving headlong into another full series. Not to mention some concert DVDs I still have to watch.

And I continue to hope that one of the conventions this year will announce a liscence aquirement for Romeo x Juliet. Yes, I know it would stop it in mid-sub, but this is a series I'd really rather watch dubbed.
Rather like refusing to ever watch Le Chevalier D'eon subtitled: Pre-Revolution France did not speak Japanese. It just wouldn't be the same. That's one series where you have to put your foot down on the dub-haters. It's non-negotiable.

I have no idea where that rant came from =P
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Sunday, July 29, 2007

SO CONFUSED!!??
I hate when this happens...

On ADV's main website, they indicate that Air TV Vol. 1 came out on July 24. However, my latest ADV email newsletter AND the release calendar at AnimeOnDVD continue to indicate the original release date of August 14.

It's annoying enough when releases get pushed up by weeks or months, but this kind of contradiction just makes me go "HUH??" o_O
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Saturday, July 28, 2007

A YEAR OLDER TODAY...
Yep, it's my birthday (look at my birthdate and do the math). This one will be very lowkey and quiet, considering how sick I feel. Although I'm slowly getting back to normal.

Unless the parents think about getting me a surprise gift while they're out chair shopping for grandma, I'll probably just ask for them to get me a few DVDs. I buy so much of my own stuff, my gift needs are rather simple.

I finished Fumoffu last night, so now it's on to Second Raid. After I'm done with my epic FMP journey, I think I'll watch some non-anime stuff for awhile before launching headlong into anything else.

Well, guess I'l go get cleaned up for the day and have some lunch, I didn't eat much yesterday, and I'm finally getting my appetite back.

Aybesennia!
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Thursday, July 26, 2007

INNOCENT VENUS & FUMOFFU
I just finished watching a stream of Episode 1 (dub) of Innocent Venus. The show looks excellent: nice setting and animation.

I've never heard so many "bleeps" before watching an anime though o_O The bad guys are very potty-mouthed. Heh, not that language bothers me too much - unless it's overused or at inappropriate times, such as in public. It'll be interesting to hear exactly what was cut out if I choose to start buying the DVDs. I'll wait for the first reviews as well, so I can have some other opinions as back-up.

It's rather ironic that I discovered Innocent Venus at this time. The two male leads, Jo & Jin are voiced by Chris Patton & Vic Mignogna respectively. In a series with mecha, no less.

Full Metal Panic! is a series with mecha, and the two male leads, Sousuke & Kurz, are voiced by... Chris Patton & Vic Mignogna! I wonder if they are also aware of the irony.

Speaking of which, I managed to breeze through FMP in 4 days; not bad for a 24-episode series. I was hoping to get through all of Fumoffu tonight in one marathon, but it's much later than I had planned to start, so I may just try watching half of it tonight, half tomorrow night.

The reason for this is a technical issue: although my desktop PC is ten times better than my laptop, whenever I try to watch these streaming episodes, it freezes up after 5 minutes and gives me an error. Argh! Why?? So I had to boot up my laptop and start again. One of these days though, maybe I'll figure out what makes it go screwy like that.

Now I'm off to watch Fumoffu, and I bid you all good night!
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