This year, it also happens to be Father’s Day.
Sunrise in Kahala on the Summer Solstice
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Suddenly it’s getting real
Soon it begins.
Gemcitabine. Cisplatin. Durvalumab. Not household words. But these drugs will define the next months of my life as I begin chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. The first two drugs are a chemotherapy mix. The last will power immunotherapy.
The drugs are given via an IV drip during infusion sessions that, I’m told, last about six hours each, one day a week for two weeks, followed by a week off, and then repeated for the foreseeable future. I was offered a choice of locations, either the main Queen’s downtown Honolulu location, or their smaller Cancer Clinic in the Kuakini Medical Plaza. To begin, I selected the smaller and less intimidating Kuakini location, a decision that can be reconsidered later.
My oncologist was upbeat when he described the treatment, saying nausea, the most frequent side effect, is usually kept under control by other drugs. And other serious side effects don’t happen very often with the particular mix of drugs I’ll be getting.
Port Insertion
The port provides a simple and convenient method for administering the chemotherapy and immunotherapy drug concoctions over the as-yet undetermined period of months.
Perhaps this is my chance to dig into that stack of books I keep saying I intend to read!
Now, deep breath.
Another Feline Friday at home
This week’s Feline Friday has several favorites that stand out in my mind.
The first photo of Bessie after she pulled a tennis ball out of the basket of cat toys. Then the shot of Kiko stretched out in the hallway with the same ball in the foreground. Although Bessie gets credit for digging the ball out of the basket, it was then shared and played with by all four cats. And then there’s the last photo in which the stark lighting captures a great portrait of Kinikini, with a hint of Kiko on her scratch lounge below.
But lots of others worth sharing, which I slowly whittled down from over 30 photos I initially selected for possible inclusion in this Feline Friday.
So, without further delay, on to the cats!
While looking for public information
I almost got hooked by a scam when looking for real property tax info for an address in Honolulu.
The city makes this public information readily available on line at no cost. Yes, free.
But I made a mistake. Instead of going directly to the city site, I was lazy and just searched for “honolulu real property tax” and then clicked on an official-looking link that appeared to be affiliated with the city. It looked different than I recalled, but I didn’t see any other immediate red flags.
It quickly got strange, though, when I entered an address. Suddenly the search, which typically takes just seconds, stretched on for at least five minutes. I wondered whether the city was suddenly using a new and very inferior vendor to provide this service.
But the biggest surprise was yet to come.
A notice of a fee for the public information. And a fee with an explanation I still find confusing and ambiguous.
PAYMENT:
$1 PER PROPERTY REPORT
REPORT BUNDLE 720 PROPERTY REPORTSPER REPORT RATE AVAILABLE VIA REPORT BUNDLE PRICING OF $30 EVERY 30 DAYS OVER TWO YEARS NOT INDIVIDUAL SALES
WE ONLY ACCEPT VISA AND MASTERCARD FOR PAYMENT, NO ALTERNATIVE CARD TYPES ARE SUPPORTED AT THIS TIME.
GET ACCESS TO OUR PROPERTY RECORD PLATFORM WITH RECORDS FROM HAWAII FOR AN ACCESS FEE OF $1, AND 720 REPORTS FOR INSTALLMENTS OF $30 EVERY 30 DAYS FOR TWO YEARS STARTING TODAY, 24 PAYMENTS TOTAL.ACCESS FEE TODAY: $1.00
ACCESS FEE CONNECTS YOUR ACCOUNT TO OUR PUBLIC RECORDS DATABASE
REPORT BUNDLE: PROPERTY REPORTS ARE AGGREGATED FROM PUBLIC SOURCES AND DO NOT CONSTITUTE CONSUMER REPORTS, OFFICIAL OR GOVERNMENT-AFFILIATED DOCUMENTS.
YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT TO END PAYMENTS AT PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US, 1-855-601-5805, EMAIL SUPPORT@PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US, OR USE THE LIVE CHAT FEATURE. CHARGES WILL APPEAR ON YOUR STATEMENT AS PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US.
SELECT PAYMENT METHOD:
VISA
MASTERCARD
Luckily, the possibility that I might be charged $30 a month stopped me in my tracks.
So I started again at the beginning, and this time immediately found my way to the familiar site of the city’s free system.
The lesson? If you find yourself online in a place that feels weird and is asking for money, run far and run fast!!