Great job!
Nice medal!
I've seen some of the Star Wars ones and have been really jealous. One of these days I'm going to get off my fat ass and go steal one.
GasBandit
Staff member
Actually things are going pretty well here... I got 2 raises last year, and I just had a glowing annual review, so I'm hopeful for at least 1 more this year.
But hey, if that doesn't materialize... ya never know
In March, my wife, Maryse, got her second PET scan in her ongoing battle with stage 4 breast cancer. Things were going well, and she'd been feeling really good, so we were expecting good news, but to say there were no trepidations would be a lie.
So… Got the results today. And oh boy, they were not what we were expecting. Oh no, far from it.
They’re WAY better.
So, according to the original PET scan (from 22 July, so roughly a month before starting treatment), Maryse had 12 metastases on her spine and her ribcage, along with a 4 cm tumour in her left breast.
According to the latest scan, she has a VERY low level of activity in the tumour (which has also shrunk quite a lot) and a weird spot on her pelvic bone that wasn’t there initially (but remember the gap between her scan and the start of her treatment). The radio-oncologist is VERY doubtful that it’s anything to worry about, but she’s gonna get her a scan around June to see if it’s anything, and if so, if there’s any progression and need for some ultra-targeted radiation therapy.
And… That’s it. There’s no other cancerous activity anywhere in her body. Some of it’s gone, a lot of it’s shrunk and the rest is just asleep. Her bones have started healing as well.
To say we’re over the moon might be underselling it a tad.
So… Got the results today. And oh boy, they were not what we were expecting. Oh no, far from it.
They’re WAY better.
So, according to the original PET scan (from 22 July, so roughly a month before starting treatment), Maryse had 12 metastases on her spine and her ribcage, along with a 4 cm tumour in her left breast.
According to the latest scan, she has a VERY low level of activity in the tumour (which has also shrunk quite a lot) and a weird spot on her pelvic bone that wasn’t there initially (but remember the gap between her scan and the start of her treatment). The radio-oncologist is VERY doubtful that it’s anything to worry about, but she’s gonna get her a scan around June to see if it’s anything, and if so, if there’s any progression and need for some ultra-targeted radiation therapy.
And… That’s it. There’s no other cancerous activity anywhere in her body. Some of it’s gone, a lot of it’s shrunk and the rest is just asleep. Her bones have started healing as well.
To say we’re over the moon might be underselling it a tad.
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Love to hear these type updates!!
A few weeks ago, I used part of a very handsome tax return to buy @That best friend a new bicycle. I fully admit I also did this so I could have someone to join me on biking adventures.
Speaking of biking adventures, we had our first biking adventure today. It was a relatively short trip, about 15 km, along the Chain of Lakes Trail. The trip ran from the corner of Joseph Howe Dr & Bayers Rd up to Clayton Park. We also stopped at the 5k Café for a bite to eat. I loved every second of it, especially her infectious company.
Of course, I filmed our adventure on my GoPro. I don't know if it's obvious in the video, but my girlfriend's confidence in biking noticeably grew as we continued. By the time we started back from the 5k Café, she was so excited, she was literally bouncing in her seat and took the lead more often than not!
I really hope this is the start of some new adventures for us. She's not quite ready to be as insane as I am, driving alongside traffic on the roads, but safe cycling infrastructure like this should help build her confidence for longer trips or maybe eventually driving in traffic along with me. I can't wait.
LOLTAXES
The government has decided I get an extra 700 dollars on my tax return on top of what I was getting before.
I'm going to Disneyland (less credit card debt)!
I have no idea what tax changes the Liberals have pushed through in the last year but God damn if my low income ass isn't getting showered in riches.
The government has decided I get an extra 700 dollars on my tax return on top of what I was getting before.
I'm going to Disneyland (less credit card debt)!
I have no idea what tax changes the Liberals have pushed through in the last year but God damn if my low income ass isn't getting showered in riches.
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Wait, isn't that in the wrong order?
No. Today’s real estate market is such that if you DO find a place, you have to be ready to pounce sofortlich.
—Patrick
Americans
Like Patrick said, they have to do it like that these days....But like you, I still think in Normal World terms, and no bank here would ever grant a loan based on "I'll find something to use as collateral, I promise".
Generally, you show your lender income and employment history and how much you want and how much you can pay upfront. Then, the lender does a credit report and tells you how much they will lend.Americans
Like Patrick said, they have to do it like that these days....But like you, I still think in Normal World terms, and no bank here would ever grant a loan based on "I'll find something to use as collateral, I promise".
Also, in the U.S. there mortgage insurance that the lender makes the borrower pay to offset their risk of defaulting on the loan.
It is more of a promise of a loan than an actual loan. You don't receive the loan until the house closes.
That’s only if you don’t pay a 20% down payment.
The loan doesn’t actually happen until you buy the house. They just let you know that they would most likely be willing to loan you the money. Once you actually get an offer accepted on the house they do a final confirmation, including a home valuation. Preapproval just means that they most likely will approve a loan to you assuming you don’t have a massive financial change or try to seriously overpay for a house.
Or get a VA loan..no money down, no PMI
When we were looking, we found a house that had a finished attic, but the sellers disclosed that it wasn't done according to code. Our lender said they might not approve for that house due to the risk, which makes sense.
It's unfortunate because we really loved that house. It sold in about a month and was back on the market within 6 months. It must have had some serious issues. We felt like we dodged a massive bullet, and glad we listened to our agent.
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Should we get into due diligence money?
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Should we get into due diligence money?
Maybe not bragging, but definitely reads as looking down on Americans.Americans
... I still think in Normal World terms ....
A) I'm still suffering from headaches and lack of concentration (see: the mental health thread) and
B) this is the Epic Win thread
so could we just not do this, btw? I did not mean to dunk on Americans. Sorry that "first find a house to use as collateral, then convince a bank to give you a loan based on it" instead of "first find a bank who is willing to give you a loan sight-unseen, then go out hunting for a house that meets requirements, then hope the bank doesn't change their mind or you're in a world of sh!t" seems more normal to me. Plenty oif folks on this board are old enough to have known how the housing market worked in the '80s and '90s when that was the normal state of being in America too.
I did not mean to look down on Americans over their messed up housing market. FFS.
Congrats Dave, hope you find a good house again.
B) this is the Epic Win thread
so could we just not do this, btw? I did not mean to dunk on Americans. Sorry that "first find a house to use as collateral, then convince a bank to give you a loan based on it" instead of "first find a bank who is willing to give you a loan sight-unseen, then go out hunting for a house that meets requirements, then hope the bank doesn't change their mind or you're in a world of sh!t" seems more normal to me. Plenty oif folks on this board are old enough to have known how the housing market worked in the '80s and '90s when that was the normal state of being in America too.
I did not mean to look down on Americans over their messed up housing market. FFS.
Congrats Dave, hope you find a good house again.
Different systems for different countries. It's all good. No harm done. It's impossible to read intent in a forum post.
I still don’t even understand how the preapproval process isn’t an obviously good thing. Like technically the bank can say no to the loan after you got the preapproval but it virtually never happens without something weird happening. 99% of the time it just speeds up the closing process. A mortgage involves the bank vetting both you and the house, so why wouldn’t you want to get the “you” part taken care of in advance, since that’s not changing regardless.