Six Years Cancer Free

Next Tuesday, December 9th will mark the 6th anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. Today I went for my yearly follow-up with my doctor and received the "all clear" that I look forward to every December.

I was not as anxious in the days leading up to this appointment as I have been in the past. When I was first diagnosed, I had to go for follow-ups quarterly and those appointments always had me uneasy. Eventually, as the chance of recurrence diminished, my appointments became further apart. Quarterly appointments became semi-annual and then eventually annual. Last year was the five-year mark which is of major importance statistically in the cancer world, and that milestone allowed me to relax more than any of the other previous anniversaries of my diagnosis.

Still, lying on the table in the doctor's office this afternoon, I drifted back to that day in December of 2002 when, while lying on that very same table, I was told I had cancer. I could never have known on that day what a gift the experience would ultimately be to me. Through that experience, I have gained perspective that I'm not sure I would ever have gained without it. Through my involvement in the cancer community and specifically with the Lance Armstrong Foundation I have met some of the most heroic and inspirational people in the world. I've created lifelong friendships with other survivors and have found a cause to call my own. Most of all, I've truly discovered what is and what is not important in life.

To all of you who've helped me in this journey so far, thank you.

LIVESTRONG,

Bryan

This Line Is A Cakewalk

This Line Is A Cakewalk, originally uploaded by bryanhead.

When I ran into this line in Greenwich Village in NYC, I assumed it
must be for the iPhone. Nope...it's for cupcakes at the Magnolia
Bakery.

So now I'm in a 45 minute line for dessert. I must be crazy.

We Love NY

We Love NY, originally uploaded by bryanhead.

Hello from Fenway Park!

Hello from Fenway Park!, originally uploaded by bryanhead.

Check Out Your Check-Out

Tonight I stopped by a local men's clothing store to pick up a couple of dress shirts for a business trip I have this week. I had never been to a Jos. A. Bank before, but this location is in a new shopping center that recently opened about two miles from my house, so I thought I'd give them a try rather than drive across town to a mall.

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of merchandise the store carries, and both of the salespeople who were working in the store were very friendly and took the time to come over and chat with me and my six year old son while we were in the store. So far, so good.

I picked out a couple of shirts and headed for the register. That's when the pleasant shopping experience went south. I expected to be able to just have the clerk ring up the shirts, pay for them, and then be on my way. No such luck. In an exchange far too reminiscent of an attempt to buy batteries at a Radio Shack, the clerk proceeded to ask for and then enter into the terminal my name, phone number, address, email, and even my employer. My employer? Yep, you read correctly...my employer. I've filled out mortgage applications that were less tedious than the Jos. A. Bank checkout process.

I understand wanting to capture some customer information so you can send me your catalogs (which I assume is why they wanted my name & address info), and I know that a lot of retailers use phone numbers as a unique ID during the checkout process to track customer activity. Email marketing is fine (and preferred versus catalogs for a lot of consumers today who are are environmentally conscious). I'm still stumped as to why they wanted my employer's name. When I looked at the salesman like he had three eyes after he asked me that question, he replied with "I'm going to use it to save you 20%", so I obliged. It took three attempts at spelling it for him to find it already in the system...presumably from a co-worker who has already endured this 5-minute checkout. However, once I finally completed the transaction and then got back to the car and looked at the receipt, I saw that the 20% was just the standard sale promotion that was advertised in the window, not anything special for giving him a load of my information.

Retailers: Check out your check-out process. I shouldn't feel like I'm filling out a tax return in order to shop with you. I just want a couple of pinpoint Oxfords, not an application to Oxford. And more than anything, ask my permission to start asking me a bunch of personal questions and tell me why you want it.

Will I go back to Jos. A. Bank in the future? Maybe. The people were nice and the shopping experience was good until checkout. If it turns out that the shirts are just the best I've ever had and wear well over time, I'm sure I'll overlook the pain of trying to pay for them. Otherwise, I'll probably just move along to another store that isn't quite such a pain to deal with. After all, when's the last time you went to Radio Shack for batteries?

Pandora Radio - My Favorite iPhone App

Pandora Radio (from the Music Genome Project) has just released an iPhone app, and it's my favorite iPhone application so far. With a free Pandora account, you enter in the artists and songs that you like and Pandora creates a radio station for you featuring other artists and songs that you're likely to dig.

For example, some of the stations I've created are based on Radiohead, Bob Marley, Beethoven, Weezer & The Beatles. When I play the Beatles station, not only do I get to hear songs from The Beatles (can't do that with iTunes), but also from America, the Rolling Stones and other artists that have similar characteristics to The Beatles. The data that drives the selection engine is based off of the Music Genome Project. You can find out more about the Music Genome Project and sign up for Pandora at www.pandora.com. Pandora for the iPhone is available through Apple's App Store in iTunes or directly on the iPhone.

Enjoy!

Adding Insult (and Litigation) to Injury

I know that there are two sides to every story, but I can't help but be outraged over this story by Brett Shipp of WFAA TV about a Richardson (Texas) Independent School District employee who was injured on the job and then later fired & sued by the school district.

David O'Reilly is an autistic man who was working for the RISD in 2006 when he was hit by a school district-owned van while on the job. The injury nearly killed O'Reilly and left him with multiple broken bones and lacerations, and later required lung surgery due to fluid build-up caused by the accident.

While the RISD did pay for the emergency treatment, its workers compensation insurance carrier denied requests for necessary follow-up treatment, including surgery to repair a torn muscle in O'Reilly's shoulder. Pretty sorry way to treat an employee you almost killed, eh? It gets worse.

Twelve weeks after the accident, David O'Reilly was fired from his job because he was unable to work due to his still untreated injuries. Then, for their most unbelievable act, the Richardson Independent School District filed suit against O'Reilly to recoup their expenses for his original medical treatment stating that his injuries are "ordinary disease of life" and unrelated to the accident with the van.

To date, the school district has spent over $32,000 of taxpayer money suing David O'Reilly.

Most school districts work extremely hard in the face of tremendous adversity to provide our children with the valuable education that they need to become productive citizens. In Richardson, Texas, part of that education is apparently about how to run away from your responsibilities and take advantage of the disabled.

Way to go RISD!