I called in a few days ago and got my test results back from two weeks ago. I\’ve been so busy I haven\’t really given any thought to it, which I hope is how it continues to be. The results came back as moderate dysplasia, which is generally pre-cancerous. Sometimes it takes as long as ten years to develop into invasive cancer, but there is no way of knowing how long this has been there. Perhaps as many as five years already, as my tests have been coming back abnormal since 1999.
(Note: had I had health insurance earlier, or had my doctors not continually left their practices, leaving me to meet with a new doctor who wanted to start the counting from their day one, this would likely have been caught sooner when it was still only mild. But you try paying for biopsies out of pocket and see how much fun you have.)
When I get back to the States in August I have to undergo a LEEP, which essentially means I\’ll be getting my cervix cauterized. Yippee, skippy. I wish they\’d just remove the whole plumbing system entirely, as it\’s never worked properly, anyway.
My next door neighbors to the west are having a party. The weather here dictates that despite having air conditioning units, basically most people leave their windows open, including the balcony doors. There are no screens (and no bugs, I might add, despite having been consistently warned about dangerous insects in Oz), and so sound moves without barriers. The neighbors are having their party in German, at least by the general sounds of it. I\’m in the kitchen so it\’s a bit hard to tell. Anyway, I guess some girlie walked by on the street 10 floors below, because the guys next door started whistling, or at least, they tried to whistle. Not very good at it. This felt like a relevant anecdote when I started, but I\’ve lost my train of thought.
We went shopping for pillows today and ended up in a store that is, I suppose, equivalent to K-mart. A lot of gay boy dance pop (no slur intended, just truth: Ricky Martin, George Michael, etc.) was being played over the in-store music system. Customers were walking about the store singing, and not quietly. I dunno. Something about it that I can\’t quite put my finger on… oh, wait, I think I have it. It\’s the direct opposite of the general atmosphere in DC. People here don\’t take themselves seriously — they are relaxed, secure, and not the least bit self-conscious. People walk barefoot slowly on burning hot pavement while the mid-day sun beats down upon them; they don\’t break a sweat, nor seem to care that skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in Australia. Nearly all the stores are closed past 5pm, like in the UK. Lots are closed on weekends. The inner downtown bus loop is free. People say hello and goodbye and other pleasantries. I can\’t get over it. As much as I want to, there is a part of me — the inner stress ball — that just will not accept it and adapt. No tension? No pressure? A slow pace? Lots of holidays? $14 an hour minimum wage? I am not oppressed here (okay, I know if I dig deeper, that\’s not true, as abortion here is technically illegal and one cannot purchase or rent porn here, etc), and I don\’t feel the need to struggle. But I don\’t know how to relax!
Incidentally, there is talk here among the government of changing drinking laws. In DC, liquor shops are not allowed to sell single servings of any alcohol; here I can buy Jack and Coke in a can for $3 at 10am. In DC, legal last call for drinks on weekends is 3pm, though most places have it set up to be 2 in order to get people out the door by 3. Here, last call is at 5am, though Brisbane gov\’t wants to impose a \”curfew\” on that, causing clubs and bars to go shut-in at 3am. If you\’re not in by 3, you won\’t be able to get in, but if you\’re in you can still buy drinks until 5. The (young) general populace is outraged at the proposed changed, as are business owners, who say it will destroy business. This is heavy pub culture here, after all, but thing is, I\’ve not seen any puke on the streets here. I see it in DC all the time. What I do see a lot more of here are empty bottles on the streets — they\’re seemingly everywhere. That being the case, I seriously doubt a curfew will help put a stop on late night/early morning violence and crime — there\’s too much drinking on the streets already for people to care much about whether or not the clubs are open. I suspect street drinking rates would just increase. But what do I care? I\’m knackered by late afternoon, anyway.
