Today was a busy day as we went to the Sens game and then out for dinner at a steakhouse. We arrived back at our hotel at 8:30pm so we were out of the hotel for most of the day. It was a bit tricky eating throughout the day but I think that I managed quite well. I woke up at 7:00am and then went down to get some food. I ate some more things starting prior to game and snacked on popcorn for the rest and had half a hot dog at the end of the 2nd. The key is to eat enough food to not feel full and have it manageable. I made a mistake at the end of the game though. I drank a bit too much iced tea prior to us leaving and it was a bit uncomfortable. I ended up throwing up in the vehicle as we waited to leave the parking lot. Afterwards everything was peachy. The issue was that we had to walk a fair distance from where we were sitting to the vehicle and it was a bit uncomfortable as it creates some gas and makes me want to burp a lot. It causes discomfort and the key is to make sure that I do not get to that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterwards we went back to the hotel for a quick 15 minute nap prior to us going to the steakhouse for dinner. Dinner was delicious as I had some steak tartare and some bone marrow. I ate one of the bones and about 1\/8th of the tartare. Olivier does not like like tartare. Mel enjoyed it and Xavier ate the rest. Mel ordered a steak salad which was quite tasty and Xavier had an 8oz steak with some fries. The fries with his order were quite delicious however and I ended up eating some of that which reduced my ability to eat the tartare. But the fries were that good. Olivier wanted me to try his salmon so that I could replicate the sauce that was on it. I think that I should be able to, as it was not too tricky. After dinner, Mel wanted a coffee so we went next door to a small caf\u00e9. I ordered a Canadian latte with maple syrup and she ordered a flat white. My drink was excellent. Hers was not. She was convinced the drinks had been swapped, despite the fact that I watched the barista add maple syrup only to mine and noticed that my cup was heavier. We traded anyway. Near the end, the maple sweetness finally showed up and confirmed the original order. By then the exchange was complete. I told her that if she had simply said she did not like her drink, I would have given her mine without debate. I care far more about her enjoying a coffee than being right. It was still amusing, given that when we travel in Europe her order is almost always better than mine, and occasionally the universe corrects the imbalance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Mel was clearly inebriated from her drink at dinner and was having difficulties in decision making I drove back to the hotel. We had purchased a crepe cake the day before at the Asian grocery store but had no plates so we figured we should go get some as well as some more jelly oranges. We bought some plates and a lot of other randomness and then went back to the hotel. Opening up the crepe cake we realized that it came with plates, utensils to cut and serve and eat. We ended up using every thing that came with it and it worked out well. The lessons that we learned from today are that I am capable of functioning fairly well the day after treatment in week 5 and that I can manage my caloric intake with effort but I need to also factor in physical activity now when eating or drinking as that has quite a big impact as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tomorrow morning we are going out to grab some Lebanese pies for breakfast as we are in Ottawa with a huge Lebanese population with delicious cheap food.Drinking the coffee this morning and tonight made Mel realize how nice the new coffee maker is at home. It makes great coffee quickly and it is consistently good, unless when Mel is distracted and forgets to hook up the milk attachment. With my family we never had any limits when we buy each other gifts. Whenever I see some active wear on sale that I think my sister would like I try and buy it for her. On the drive to Ottawa, Xavier wanted to travel on his own when he turns 15. We said that was too young and told him that he could go with my sister. She agreed that it was too young to travel on your own but she would go with him and do things. I think that they would have fun as she is extremely active and likes to do things. Xavier does not like sitting around. When my sister visits in the summer, the two of them will go on runs together. I think that he will try and convince her to workout at home now as well. A worry that I had in the past was how would Mel manage if something happened to me and I forgot about the impact that my sister has on our family. Mel now makes enough money so that she could manage things, but my sister would help out the kids. We have always helped each other out as much as we could and I firmly believe that she would continue to do so. I know of parents who unexpectedly became a widow and how tough it is on them. Besides the emotional and personal impact there is a financial and time adjustment. Our circle is amazing and they would pitch in and help out. Xavier is banking on Chinese New Year for money to pay off his Smith machine and replenish his savings. If my parents get wind of it, they would give him more money. My sister gave him additional money for investing to help him out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another gap she would fill is the void of random trips that Mel and I use to do when we were younger. Today we discussed some random things we use to do it and I would like to do some more spontaneous trips with them now. There are a couple that may happen in the next couple of months depending on how things go with my treatment. We have always spoken about the kids spending some time in Toronto with their her solo and I think that soon enough they would be up for it. She has always told them that they are welcome to it. I appreciate how much of a part of my kids lives that she is involved in. They will call her to share stories and excitement or just tell her something. Since she is also my sister she has the Asian scowl of disappointment. That is generally reserved only for me when I visit and I do not follow the apartment rules, but it is nice to know that she can fill in a lot of ways when I can not.As I near the end of treatment I have figured out what needs to be done and am in control of my health. The key now is to monitor and sustain any of the routines I have. I need to adapt quickly and hopefully I can continue to increase my weight and strength enough that we can still go to Paris this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quoc Hao <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Today was a busy day as we went to the Sens game and then out for dinner at a steakhouse. We arrived back at our hotel at 8:30pm so we were out of the hotel for most of the day. It was a bit tricky eating throughout the day but I think that I managed…<\/p>\n