A Day At The Track

A few days ago I took a day-long class at the "California Superbike School" where they teach the "Art of Cornering" for sportbikes. It was taught by Keith Code (founder of the school as well as author of the 'Twist Of The Wrist' book series) as well as his other instructors. The class that I attended was at the 'Streets of Willow Springs' race track (they also have classes that are on other tracks world-wide) - which is about an hour north of Los Angeles in what seems to be in the middle of the dessert. I was pretty impressed with the school and with how they dispersed their lessons - very effective. Although, I wish it was more track-time than classroom time. =)

The downside of it all I'd say was my crash on turn 14 (right before the straight-away) which happened as a result of me skidding out from going on the sand (my turn was too wide). I wasn't hurt (just a very minor sprain on my right wrist and a scratch on my pinkie). I rented out their full-body leathers and boots which worked really well. The bike (it was their bike that I rented), however, suffered cracks in the fairings which I had to pay for (big, big OUCH!). The other downside was that I had to leave early cuz of the extreme heat (remember, it was in the desert and I was in full leathers) and my body wasn't at 100% cuz of surgery. I missed a few hours of class but I think I got mostly what I needed from it.

The upside was that I learned to lean the bike enough to almost drag a knee on (I think) turn 4!

In all, I had a good time my first time on a track.

Changing subjects, I just might be on TV! Yup! I was shopping around the Burbank mall today when I apparently entered onto a set RIGHT when they were filming after exiting off the elevator to the third floor (the food court) in my motorcycle gear! They wanted me to fill out a release waiver (which I gladly did). I was like "what the hell is going on?!?". Now that I think about it, they might not use me in their video as I looked directly into the camera for about a second and cuz I looked out-of-place with my gear on. But what excellent timing on my part! LOL.

3rd Chemo Went Well

I had chemo yesterday - everything went well. Even my blood counts went up due to me taking Neupogen injections (inceases white cell count).

Today, however, I had to spend 4 hours in the emergency room to get another J-tube inserted into me (my other one fell out while I was shopping at Fry's). I tried inserting it myself after I got back home but it just would not go back in - and blood started coming out as I tried forcing it in. And yeah, it did hurt.

Live Strong.

Chemo News

I had chemo again on Tuesday even though my blood counts were still low (white cells as well as other blood components were low). I'm taking injections of 'nupegen' to increase my white blood cells. So far so good - not much nausea as before (2 weeks ago) since I had a lower dose this time around. My oncologist also told me that he'll be changing my schedule to every other week to help with the nausea.

As for my new bike, I'm already at 100 miles on the odometer. So far I've installed HID lighting and frame sliders on the bike. =)

Go Speedracer!

Well, I got my new bike today! =) .....and I absolutely LOVE it!

I test rode it and was totally amazed at its speed. It's acceleration is totally phenomenal! I rode it on the freeway and just a few seconds after entering the on-ramp I was already going 116. Acceleration was so high that my ass lifted off the seat and I had to grip the handle bars really tight just to keep myself on the bike! LOL. The only higher G's I've experienced would be roller-coasters. But, its just as much fun. =)

I'm actually glad I started off with a lower-end bike (Ninja 250). A 600cc sportsbike (or higher) is really too much bike for a beginner.

The downside is that now when I drive my car, it feels slower than before. =/

My New Toy

As a belated birthday present for myself, I bought a new Suzuki GSX-R600 today! =) It's blue and white - the one I've been wanting for over a year and it's finally MINE! I had it delivered so its going to arrive tomorrow; I can't wait!!

The down side of getting this bike is that the insurance is insane! Complete coverage is four times as much as my car! But since the theft rate for gixxers are really high I think it must might be worth it. I also have lojack installed with the early warning system - any unauthorized movement will page my phone (and send an email). I think thats kinda cool.

As for my health, it seems that my blood counts are pretty low. When I went in for my chemo on Tuesday my oncologist said that they hadto cancel my chemo for this week cuz it was THAT low. The nausea last Thursday was pretty intense; good thing I have this week to recover (and actually enjoy my new bike!).



2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 Review

Chemo Continued

I started back on chemo (taxotere) today. Everything was pretty uneventful - went it went really smoothly. I was given benadryl so I slept most of the time I was there (about an hour and a half).

Nothing much more to report about, I'm doing well and no longer worried about the possible mets to my liver. I'm keeping myself occupied with lots of other stuff which helps me cope with that bad news. So far I've been watching lots of movies on and from Netflix ('Star Trek: DS9' and 'House, MD' as well as other stuff). I've also been shopping for motorcycle insurance since I'm pretty sure I'll be buying one soon (a Suzuki GSX-R600). So far the lowest I've been able to find is about twice as much as my car insurance. Yikes! The part that costs the most is the comprehensive and collision; it would only be around $300-$400 a year without these.

Doctors, Doctors

I got my voice partially fixed yesterday (if you didn't know, my voice has been hoarse since surgery). What they did was inject (through my neck!) some collagen in my left vocal cord since it no longer moves (most likely damage from surgery from what I was told). Boy, it was a really weird sensation talking for 30 mins after the injection. The solution is only temporary, lasting about 3 months and if my voice hasn't gone back to normal by then I'll need to get another operation to fix it.

Today I had a meeting with my oncologist (as planned). He didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but just tried to comfort me a little saying that it was way too small to even see on the CT and only visible on the PET scan. I'll start chemo next week. In about two months I'll have another scan.