Well, here I am in a new clinic and a new doctor, new treatment regiment and maybe a new sense of hope. It is very strange, after 18 months, to be treated by different nurses and a different doctor, in a new strange place. I'm surrounded by old people that will outlive me, Press Your Luck is on the television and they are actually interested in it. I'm sitting in my corner. with two external hard drives hooked up to my laptop computer while I listen to my IPOD and talk on my cell phone. The next level of technology I can see from any patient is a keychain that makes noise, and a digital watch. Wow am I in some new place or what?

And boy am I getting the stares. I brought more wires with me than all the IV tubing hanging off us all. I think the doctor wants to charge me by the kilowatt instead of milligrams.

And there is a dearth of electrical outlets here. Next time I am going to have to bring a power strip and extension cord. I doubt I'll be allowed back into the building if I do, though.

I'm getting eyed up by the nursing staff today, as I am the new patient. They are trying to get a read on me, trying to figure out if I'll be difficult or easy. Already the first question, where are you from?, resulted in a look of horror when I said New Orleans. Maybe they think I will rob the place. Who knows....

Well, we'll all fight for elbow room and electrical outlets until some sort of balance is achieved. I'm trying the treatment I started with when I got diagnosed. It did work, but it did a number on me. So we shall see what happens.

One thing is for very sure. I miss the nurses I had. Terribly.