Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 14

Adios Mr. Zappy

I have bade farewell to Mr. Zappy with the following tender message: “I hope I never see you again.”

I even got a certificate (suitable for framing) stating that I have “completed a course in radiation therapy.” I wonder if it will affect my GPA?

Anyway: treatment done.

Cancer dead.

On to the next problem (once I take my nap).

Two Left

Two sessions with Mr. Zappy left. Doc says I’ll continue with the exhaustion and other side effects for a couple weeks, then will return to what Mr. Harding called “normalcy” fairly steadily.

Yesterday I hit the wall again, spending much of the day in bed. Today I’m feeling more chipper and am feeding myself a fairly steady diet of jump blues.

I’ve been feeling lightheaded the last several days and I’ve decided not to trust myself behind the wheel of a car. Kathy now has the depressing...

Four To Go

After five weeks of nearly-daily radiation treatments, I finally hit the wall yesterday.

I had my treatment in the morning, had some Wor Wonton soup for lunch, then had a session with my physical therapist. Then I drove home and was out for the count.

I crashed, got up to help Kathy with the lovely dinner she’d created, then went back to bed till maybe 9pm. Stayed awake for a while, then went to bed 90 minutes before my usual time.

It was the first day since treatment began that I wa...

Happy Birthday, Ludwig Van!

Imperium Restored (and Cheaply)

My latest ebook is on sale for $1.98! And in multiple places!

IMPERIUM RESTORED is discounted on HarperCollins’ site on the 10th and 11th of December. It’s also on offer with Amazon Gold Box beginning on the 10th.

I don’t have an end date for the Amazon promotion, but it may last only the one day, so my advice is to buy now.

(I haven’t been able to find the promotion on Harper’s site, but here’s the ebook, in case the price change pops up.)

But elsewhere you won’t have trouble...

Not Charging

The day started with my car crapping out due to a broken starter. So the rest of the day consisted of me waiting for AAA to try to start the car, then calling local garages to see where I could get it fixed, then finding out the earliest anyone could take it was Tuesday.

Because I have to drive to Albuquerque for treatment nearly every day, that means a car rental. i drew a sexy-looking black Dodge Charger and almost immediately got reminded why black is not a good color for a state like New...

14

I have lain in the embrace of Mr. Zappy 14 times now, which means I’m now more than halfway through the 26 radiation treatments in my program.

I have to say it’s been trouble free. The side effects have been minor, verging on negligible.

The worst is that I’m tired all the time. My naps have increased in number and length. And I’m physically weaker, with less stamina. A couple years ago I could run on the elliptical machine for 50 minutes, but now I struggle to run for 20.

I’m ...

Meet Mr. Zappy

Here’s the machine I visit most mornings to get zapped with x-rays. (I’ve had nine treatments so far, seventeen to go.) I lie on the gurney-thingie in the lower right, and am rolled more less into the middle of the array, after which I am orbited by scanners and projectors and some things which I haven’t worked out yet. (Most of them aren’t visible in this photo.) The procedure is short, painless, and rather dull. After which I usually have lunch in a local restaurant, then make the ho...

Distant Voice

Looking through some boxes I discovered a partial I wrote nearly 50 years ago. My agent sent it back, saying it needed a rethink.

Glancing through it, I’m thinking it’s overwritten.

Which won’t stop me from enjoying reading this message from my younger self.

Meet Mr. Photon

Today was my first day of radiation. (25 to go) The machine was very large, but it was in a cavernous room, and when the machine was in operation, the operators scurried away to a control room behind their lead or concrete shields.

The treatment room was called HOPE.

My job was twofold. First, I was to lie down while large, glossy white sub-machines moved around me, like clumsy, slow-moving satellites bumbling around their primary. To make it even more science fiction-y, they were...