Category Archives: Writing

Onto better things

Posted in After treatment, Bumpboobs, Life, Reading, Writing by

Whew, good morning and good day. Yesterday I couldn’t bear to write a post for this blog – it wasn’t for a lack of ideas, but rather a lack of BRAIN power. That is it say, I was tired.

Ho Crap! Have only just checked the clock. It’s 7.58 am, which means I have woken up abnormally early considering I was so incredibly tired yesterday. But that is what writing does to me : I get these ideas inside my head, and sooner than later they turn into running narratives . . . almost like a dictation .  . . and if I don’t write it all down, the words will keep circling around and prodding me. This may sound crazy (maybe?), however, it is also the truth. But it’s no wonder Zsolt is still in bed. Normally he’s first up and out, so this morning when I rolled away from the covers and he was still totally asleep, I just thought it was because the poor man stayed up till like 2am last night with his thesis.  Nope. It’s just crazy early here.

At least, in the student world it’s crazy early. For normal 9-5ivers to wake up at eight must be equivalent to sleeping in. Anyhow…

Right! Went to London last Wednesday and believe this is a city not to be eaten in small bites. Yes, you get a taste – but really, a visit in the afternoon isn’t enough time to soak up everything the capital offers. It’s easy to understand why people take a 2m x 2m apartment just to stay in the city; with all those shops and pubs and restaurants and BOOK LAUNCHES and shows and incredible neighbourhoods, what’s so wrong with living in a closet? Not a darn thing.

Anyhow, we navigated the subway system and found our way to Holland Park. First things first (and being about 2 hours early), we stopped in at a French Patisserie named Paul. This place was lovely, and all the servers with their white cook hats had French accents. Are they really French? Quite possibly. Anyhow – they had all sorts of gluten-filled goodies, so I abstained and ordered a large mug of tea instead.

One hour later it was onto the pub for dinner with friends (and a twenty meter walk down from the bakery). Funny, I’d arrive for the evening with black stockings on, but my built-in slip did not extend to the actual bottom of the dress. This is inconvenient,  becausewhile walkin the bottom strip of fabric would start to inch-inch-inch-up with every freaking step. Anyhow, I made the executive decision to remove the stockings and just wear my knee high socks – thus flashing a lot of bare legged thigh, and ended up looking like an Asian-fusion stewardess/school girl with my combo of dress and socks, all wrapped up in a polka dot jacket that also cuts at the thigh (thus giving no help to the rising skirt situation) – but then throw on top of everything my incredibly short hair and I really must have come off as eccentric (or as a breast cancer warrior, maybe I should have pinned a ribbon for clarity). But if there’s anything chemo has taught me it’s that even when you feel/look like shit, it always pays to stand up straight. So on Wednesday night when I doubted my outfit (though it was fine, not chemo-bad at all), I at least tried to stand up straight.

Did you know that London, or at least Holland Park Avenue, is chalk full of late twenty and thirty-somethings? This is a mecca for the post-uni, pre-middle age crowd. I loved it.

Anyhow – finally we arrived for the launch of The Cloud Messenger, held at Daunt Books. It’s strange going to someone else’s party; I always wonder, ‘who the heck will I speak to?’ And indeed there were moments of awkward milling (And nerves! I’m just terrible in new situations), but thanks to social lubrication (wine) and a friend graciously making introductions, it was an interesting evening of chatter, new people, listening to Aamer read his lovely passage, and essentially enjoying that bookish buzz. Great stuff.

Fast forward to the train ride home, then a crash into bed. Best part of the evening : snuggling with Zsolt and talking about the party. Followed by sleeping, which is always wonderful.

And speaking of which, Zsolt has just woken up. I’m going to go and jump on him. (this poor man is spiriting to the finish line and banging his head against a wall simultaneously; PhD theses are not for the weak-willed, that’s for sure. But he’s almost there. Almost there! All I can do is make him tea.)

Signing off!

PS- it’s so nice to write about a day that has NOTHING to do with cancer. Okay, talking about cancer now kind of ruins it, but really, I have to say how wonderful it feels. The entirety of Wednesday was dedicated to things other than cancer. Awesome x 20.

Facing Cancer Together

Posted in After treatment, Blogging and Other Fun, Bumpboobs, Writing by

One more nice thing happened to me this week. I started blogging for a website called Facing Cancer Together. It’s presented by the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CCTFA) Foundation, and sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart. This is a Canadian based website that offers a supportive online community to anyone effected by cancer.

This is part of my ‘become a writer’ plan. It’s one thing to want to write, it’s another to get out there and promote yourself. But promotion is essential to becoming an active writer, and becoming an active writer is essential to my recovery.

I mean, okay – cancer is random and horrible and unexpected. Right? Yes. So when asking myself ‘why the hey did I get cancer?’, all I can do is shake my head, and stomp my feet, and forget the question because no grand voice from above has ever shouted down an answer.

But – but but but – even before I was officially diagnosed, probably the day Bumpyboobs was established, I thought to myself, ‘the least I can do is write. If I have cancer, I will write. If I don’t have cancer, I will write. No matter what, I’ve got to write about this experience.’

There I was, totally freaking out, and writing was at the forefront of my mind.

So maybe that’s why I got cancer? Really, it’s a mystery. Like mentioned, no booming presence has ever shouted down from above: HEY CATHERINE, YOU GOT CANCER BECAUSE __________. OKAY? NOW STOP ASKING ME.

And because of that, I’ll have to assign my own meaning to this past year. Whatever the reason, the outcome is my wanting to be a writer even more than before.

So when there was a tweet on my Twitter timeline asking for bloggers to contact facingcancer.ca, I jumped at the opportunity. This is a great chance to grow my network, reach people who ‘have been there’ (and those who are actually going through it), and WRITE.

Following my instincts has never lead me astray. It took me across the world, took me to my husband, and now it’s taken me to writing.

So feel free to check it out and browse the webpage. I’ll always be Bumpyboobs, but will post maybe once a week on Facing Cancer Together (sometimes a repeat post from this page). This is a good step, and good thing. There are many good things happening. And that in itself is good.

Awesome business cards

Posted in After treatment, Blogging and Other Fun, Bumpboobs, Writing by

Good things happen every day, some of which – and my particular favourite good thing – are in anticipated delights. Anticipated delights, those little things to which we look forward: a hot mug of coco, reading in pyjamas, a letter from a friend, eating good food, snuggling in bed. Not to forget flying home to Canada at Christmas. That was a big one, but still – delightful.

Yesterday something very good happened. A package arrived in the mail and when opened, even before seeing the contents, I was instantly transported into the land of ‘good moods’. There they were, all snug in a tiny box – one hundred Bumpyboobs in a rainbow of colours. These things are gorgeous!

It started last week on some random evening. Zsolt’s Amazon package arrived with a flyer promoting free business cards.

Free, did you say? I was all over it.

But you know what, free business cards aren’t even an 1/8th as cute as non-free business cards. I went to this site called Moo.com and started to play. The internet is amazing when it comes to designing books, cards, photo collections etc. It’s easy and accessible. Now, I firmly believe that pre-made templates will never trump a talented graphic designer – because I’ve seen some awesome graphic designing in my time – but for late evening online crusing, they fit the bill perfectly. (Side note: you can upload your own designs, so customize the card as much as you like, but I’m a bit lazy and thought the text-only approach much easier) I started to play with designs and words and colours. It was good fun.

You may ask – why do you need business cards, Catherine?

To which I’d answer, I don’t know . . . they looked good? Why do women buy $500 shoes? Certainly not because it’s practical. But cute is cute, and that’s hard to resist.

So yesterday my Moo.com package arrived in the mail, presented in a tiny box with bright orange lining – 100 mini cards with BUMPYBOOBS on one side, and my name and website on the back.

Wow.

Next up: what the heck do I do with 100 mini cards? Zsolt has one, and I’ll keep a few . . . and after that, hmmm. . . one idea is to leave them in places where women dealing with breast cancer may find them.  Another idea would be to hand them out personally. But where and who and when, I have no clue.

But – if you build it, they will come. The cards now exist. Surely a circumstance of use will eventually materialize. Here is hoping, otherwise that’s £15 wasted on impulse.

No, I take that back. Even if these little gems stay in their box for the rest of their lives, the cards are representative – they are labelled with a declaration to ‘screw breast cancer and get on with the show’ – and somehow, in a sense that is deeper than pretty colours and printed cardboard, they represent this past year of my life.

So that was my good thing. Amongst others. Thinking about it makes me smile all over again. 🙂