Mac's Manor

Back in the Pool

2010-05-31T09:47:00.001-05:00

Danny & Inna
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

For some reason we couldn't quite understand, Danny has been afraid of the pool this past year limiting himself to the step and making sure he was far enough out of reach that we couldn't yank him into the water with us. This of course hampered our attempts to get him to learn to swim. Well gratefully yesterday he got over those fears and has been loving his ability to noodle swim his way around the pool. Hopefully we'll have him swimming unaided by the time Labor Day rolls around.

Is it May already?

2010-05-08T16:22:00.003-05:00

Oh my word. I cannot believe we are in May already! Where are the long dragging days of yesteryear? All the plans to take pictures of our 2010 have been spoiled by the realities and routines of every day life; with a few laughs here and and a couple of tears there.

To break the monotony of it all, the three of us are gearing up for a week away in Curacao in June. Just at the right time to celebrate both mom's and son's birthdays. It seems all we want to do is really sit on the beach in the sun with a cocktail chilling under the shade of its umbrella.

2010, here we come...

2010-01-24T09:45:00.002-06:00

Time never ceases to amaze me. Particularly my perception of it. It's picking up such a frenzied pace that I don't know if I can keep up anymore. My lack of activity on this blog is a testament to that. In an effort to make amends I have uploaded a boat load of pictures from the later half of last year. You may have already seen some of the photos of our European vacation, but now you can also see some from Tania and Steve's wedding. There was the small family fishing trip; just an overcast afternoon in late Spring. A little belated walk through a forest preserve to take in the Fall colors. Putting up the Christmas tree, our first sledding experience and finally our trip to Puerto Rico. Phew! Now we wait to see what 2010 brings...

First Sledding Ever

2009-12-16T09:03:00.002-06:00

DSCN2480
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

This past weekend we ventured up to the Lakewood Forest Preserve (near Wauconda) for some sledding. Can you believe it, I've been in Chicago for twelve years and I haven't gone sledding before. So for Danny and I it was our first time ever. Inna though is old hat at this.

Normandy

2009-09-26T12:46:00.001-05:00

Mont Saint-Michel with Family
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

As our vacation approaches it's close we meet up with my mom and step-dad to see a little of Normandy. Photos from our trip are up on flickr.

Venice & Paris Pics

2009-09-16T12:58:00.001-05:00

Tour Eiffel
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Pics of our stopover in Venice and our stay in Paris have been uploaded.

Florence

2009-09-14T19:22:00.001-05:00

On Ponte Vecchio
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Uploaded the pics from our stopover in Florence.

Back To Work

2009-08-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

It is back to work for me tomorrow after a couple months disability leave. I'm excited to get back into the driver's seat after the time away. Hopefully the adjustment back into coding will be quick.

Rome

2009-08-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

Coliseum
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Making a vacation out of our trip to England for my sister's wedding, our first stop was Rome.

Tania & Steve's Wedding

2009-08-20T15:55:00.001-05:00

Tania & Steve's Wedding
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

My sister, Tania and her fiance', Steve finally tied the knot this past Friday after many years of being engaged and a couple of children. The good thing about this event is that it brought family and friends together from origins far. Some of these folks I haven't seen for almost a decade and it was truly awesome to catch up with them again after all this time. Another great thing about this was that the wedding was in England which gave Inna and I an opportunity to turn this into a vacation. We stopped off in Italy and France before heading up to the UK and enjoyed a little Europe before the big family reunion. I'll be sure to upload some photos of that in a few.

British Virgin Islands

2009-07-22T13:40:00.001-05:00

The Baths
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

While on disability leave, my uncle Frank invited me to join him and to bring some friends on a trip sailing the BVI. All I can say is, "WOW!"

A Reason Why I Love My Job

2009-06-05T11:01:00.003-05:00

On days like this, when the sky is blue, the sun blazing, I really love my job at Sun Trading. Why? Shorts and flip-flops is why. And looking forward to sitting in the plaza in the middle of the day catching some rays.

Chemo's Toll

2009-05-22T08:59:00.003-05:00

Back in 2004 when I *enjoyed* my first chemo treatment, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I sailed through the whole ordeal without the smallest hint of nausea. I think the worst thing for me was a little bit of chemo-brain and the fact that food didn't quite taste the same, in fact, most things tasted like cardboard (yes, I've sampled some cardboard in my life).

This time around though I haven't been so lucky. My first treatment cycle went off without a hitch and I was back at work for the most part suffering on mild nausea. My second treatment though went terribly. We established pretty quickly that body has reached its limit with Carboplatin. I developed a reaction to the drug which caused me endless coughing to the point of being sick. The recourse at the time was a dose of Benedryl and an Epi shot followed by three hours of sleep. That was the easy part. For the next five days, I spent a lot of my time riding the porcelain bus emptying my guts out thanks to some unimaginably bad nausea. For the first time I got to taste what most people endure when they go through chemotherapy. After a week of not being able to keep even a sip of water down, I ended up in the ER getting rehydrated and brought back to normal. A couple of days of limiting myself to liquids, life began to return to normal. And all of this just to prep me for my next treatment next Tuesday. Damn, I hope I don't have to go through that again!

A Geeks Wet-Dream

2009-04-24T12:06:00.004-05:00

So I wake up at 2am this morning. Not because I dreamt I was the leading man in one of Vivid's latest movies. No no! Instead, I was dreaming about running CAT5 around our entire home so we could enjoy the incredible speeds of wired networking. And boy did I struggle to get back to sleep after that! What's wrong with me?

Living on O2

2009-04-15T15:47:00.003-05:00

Photo 11
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

So this is what it has come down to. Oxygen at home in order that I don't keel over from stressing my heart because I can't take enough air into my lung. So what's involved? Well, there's a large machine in the entrance way that generates the oxygen, while a long, long tube connects to the cannula which is what is stuck on my face. I can pretty much walk anywhere in the home and drag this tubing along with me. Fun isn't it? And for when I need to get out of the house, fear not, I get to carry a portable unit that should give me about 8 hours supply. The good thing is that when I'm sedentary, I typically don't need to be connected. Now if only they (Dependicare) will deliver the portable unit then I can actually get out of the house!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T17:42:00.005-05:00

IMG_4416
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

I know this is going to be hard for some of you to believe. Danny is almost four years old and today marks his first Easter celebration. Maybe celebration is too strong a word since all it involved was an Easter Egg hunt in the grandparents back garden, and when all was said and done, the big event for the day was a trip to the Kohl Children's Museum. Nevertheless, we thought it important enough to capture.

Health Scare

2009-04-09T12:49:00.003-05:00

This past Tuesday was my regular monthly CT-scan and followup with Dr. Bonomi at Rush University Hospital. It's usually a five hour affair. I get the scan, get a blood test and wait for the esteemed doctor to give me the news that "all is stable!" and "we'll see you in a month." This Tuesday didn't go according to plan. First off, Dr. Bonomi was off sick (doctors do get sick from time to time). But mainly, my scans came back with some terrible news:

Tumors have grown in my lung.
Tumors are now evident in my liver.
Lung capacity is evidently reduced.
A blood clot exists in my inferior vena cava.

The blood clot was a huge concern for the doctors and nurses working my case. So much so that they admitted me to the hospital immediately; I needed blood thinners to get rid of the clot and I needed to be observed so that I wouldn't have any major bleeding issues. Additionally I needed more tests; the lung window was not sufficient to get a good view of the clot and the liver mets.

Additionally, because I was on a drug trial and things weren't working, I was pulled off the trial and informed that I would begin another round of chemotherapy next week. BUMMER!

During the next day, after the necessary scans it turns out the blood clot was a false alarm. Great news and no more huge concern. Sadly though, the liver mets are there so maybe a little concern for how things are going to pan out.

I feel like I've been down this road before...

Rent: School Friendly Edition

2009-04-03T15:57:00.003-05:00

One of the benefits of being a teacher is that you get invited to enjoy certain school events for gratis. And of course, this benefit carries over to the spouse on certain occasions as it did last night when we enjoyed dinner and the show "Rent" (the school friendly edition) at Loyola Academy. Now sadly we never did get to see the production on Broadway, we did get to enjoy the DVD and all I can say is the kids at Loyola blew us away with their version of the production. Tweaked a little from the original to make it appropriate for teenagers on stage, the story is intact and so are the songs and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the leads will be future American Idols.

The dinner was also rather enjoyable too!

Heading to Vegas

2009-02-06T10:25:00.003-06:00

Working at Sun Trading is turning out to be satisfying beyond just the programming. Why just this weekend the company is flying us down to Las Vegas for a weekend getaway ... just for fun! Various activities have been planned; some folks are planning to jump out of airplanes and experience freefall. Others are going to try their luck with grenade launchers at a nearby shooting range. As for me, I'm looking forward to a deep tissue massage at Spa Mandalay. That and the company dinner on Saturday night at Aureole. Not sure I'm going to indulge in the gambling, but might have to lay a couple of bets down. Been lucky in the past! Of course, that's all I'm going to report on the matter because as you know, "what happens in Vegas..."

It's Too Damn Cold

2009-01-26T12:25:00.001-06:00

Apparently this is supposed to be one of the coldest winters on record. No bloody kidding I say! Why do we persist to live in place that is winter for more of the year than any other season? I yearn to return to the Dominican Republic and sit on the beautiful beach at Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, soaking in the rays of the hot sun. Alas, all we have now are the pictures to warm our frozen hearts.

Did get to see in the New Year in good company and glad that my dad and Wendy were able to join us from South Africa.

Now though, mom is visiting from England and is cooking up a storm in our kitchen (even as I type). So much cooking in fact that we had to purchase a new freezer for the garage just to have place enough to keep all the food. Aaaaah, the foreseeable future looks bright!

Winter has arrived, Dominican here we come.

2008-12-05T14:04:00.003-06:00

Winter arrived this week in force. Just a few short years ago, I would be jumping up and down for joy to see snow falling. It's funny how quickly snow becomes old. Moving some place warm is becoming a more attractive idea with each passing year. A small consolation is that Chicago has some pretty warm Summer's if only Summer were a little longer. So it is with excitement that we prepare to head down to the Dominican Republic to celebrate the season of goodwill to all men, blah blah blah, and catch some sun! We'll be gone for 10 days. That's more than a tenth of Summer (at least how I measure Summer).

Keeping up with Leon's and Owen's blogs, it's clear we've been neglecting ours. I'm thinking of taking up some nude photography as a new hobby; maybe I'll upload some of the pics I've taken then!

RANT : Effin' Bank of America!

2008-10-20T21:28:00.005-05:00

So I'm on hold with Bank of America tonight. At minute 27, the message kinda changes and they say that my call will get all the attention it deserves when they (THEY) get back on the line. I wait until minute 50 before hanging up thinking GODDAMN! BOA Customer Service really sucks. I call back immediately thinking I got lost in the queue (you know, a programming bug or something) to find out, the office is closed and has been closed a whole 25 minutes. WTF??? Were they going to keep on hold until they opened tomorrow morning. I feel like such an idiot for not hanging up sooner. I feel like hanging up my bank account, but unfortunately it wouldn't hurt them any ... they're BOA.

Golf Tournament

2008-08-17T10:54:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I participated in our company's annual golf tournament. Golf is something I haven't played since 1998, when Cliff Saunders, Mike Gorski, I and some other chap played out at St. Andrews (I believe) on Route 59. So I was rather fortunate that it was a scramble. I played absolutely terribly in general, but had a lot of fun doing so. I had a couple of okay drives and a few other balls did exactly what they were supposed to do. The rest all ventured off to the right as I sliced almost everything that I didn't top. The weather was perfect, the company was good and since the other three players excelled at golf, our score at the end of the day was a very respectable Even. One of these days, after a few lessons, I'm going to venture onto the golf course and see how well I do scoring on my own.

And coming home after a taxing day on the golf course, I get to enjoy the company of the Barsukovi family (and guests) and the Dostaler/Macdonald clan who had done all the hard work of preparing a lovely Mexican Taco BBQ. I didn't have to lift a finger (until washing up the next day), which is exactly how a weekend should be spent. Thanks Leane and Viktoria!

The Sun is Shining

2008-07-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

It's been a month now that I've been working at my new job; Sun Trading, a proprietary trading firm in Chicago and all I can say is Whooopeeeeee! The environment change and getting to experience the cool culture of a company finding success is not only very refreshing, but incredibly fulfilling. I'm just loving picking up the new architecture and learning new frameworks and meeting incredibly smart people in the process. Not to mention that shorts and flip-flops are acceptable work attire.

Wilderness on the Lake

2008-06-28T18:14:00.002-05:00

My mom and her hubby Keith are here in Chicago enjoying a two-week sun (and thunderstorm)-filled break from their home in England. During their first week we took a trip up to the Wisconsin Dells, a trip we had booked back at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, a week before their arrival, Lake Delton emptied out into the Wisconsin River. We opted not to cancel our trip, and we ended up having just the most wonderful time. The weather was spectacular. Lake Delton made for an interesting attraction and time spent just chilling by the pool was exactly what the doctor ordered.