The Big Lebowski

My dad had his latest round of diagnostic tests this week.  He found out that the tumors in his liver are essentially the same size they were in November, before he underwent an invasive radiation treatment to try to kill them.  The fact that the tumors are not larger than they were then indicates the treatment may have helped.  The fact that they're not gone or even significantly smaller indicates that the treatment didn't "fix" the problem.  My dad has decided to work through April and then go on extended medical leave so he can focus on feeling healthy instead of work.  He works for a company that gives him great benefits and he feels very fortunate about the medical leave options that are available to him.

Since he is going to be away from work for a while, he is starting to plan out his next year of vacations, so he called the next day to tell me that he is planning to take me and Billy to the Australian Open in Melbourne in January 2011.  He and my mom went to Australia when Nate and I were young, we had an Australian exchange student living with us for a year when I was born, and I think he has always wanted to go back.  I cannot help from talking every year about how watching the AO is almost painful because I'm so excited that tennis is back, the people there look so happy, and their summer weather is so beautiful that it makes our winter doldrums seem almost unbearable.  Earlier this year I called it a "two week mental oasis" from my regular life.

With six years of post-secondary study of literature and language under my belt, the best I can think to say in response to two these two events of the past week is (to quote the Dude from The Big Lebowski, and more recently, Jeff Bridges himself)

"Strikes and gutters, man."

Post Script: It occurred to me when I went running after posting this that "Strikes and Gutters" is also the name Nate gave to his blog, which he hasn't updated in a year, but is worth a return visit nonetheless.