wujcik.blog

Happily, the chemotherapy seems to be continuing to work. Unhappily, between the latest round of chemotherapy, and the hardships of my Michigan trip (cancer boy isn’t used to to the cold and snow anymore, and clearing out my storage unit, in spite of the army of friends helping was three days of pretty hard work in sub-zero temperatures), I got knocked totally flat to the point where I’ve been doing not a whole lot other than sleeping the last week.

There’s a great webpage put up by Kevin Siembieda, who was the Toastmaster for the evening, about my epic 57th Birthday Party in Detroit, along with some wonderful pictures: http://www.palladiumbooks.com/press/erick_b-day.html

Erick (San Rafael, California)

This coming Saturday, January 26th, 2008, will be my 57th birthday, and I’m celebrating with a big, big party in the Detroit, Michigan, area. It’ll take place at a local Armenian Church. Not for religious reasons, although my beloved maternal grandmother was a member of the congregation, but because it’s the very best place to put on a spread of terrific Armenian Food for a hundred or so of my favorite relatives and friends.

I’m posting an old picture here, taken by my good buddy, Patrice Mermoud, in Paris, back in the summer of 1994, because we’re hoping that the people coming to the party will bring along old pictures of myself.

If you’re reading this, and you know me, and you’re going to be in the Detroit Area, post a comment and I’ll see about getting you into the birthday bash.

If you’ve already got an invitation, see if you can dredge up any old photographs and bring them along for my Aunt Mary (who has been doing an epic job of arranging this whole thing: I love you, Mary!) .

If you’ve got old pictures of me, whether from games, gatherings or Gencon (or wherever else), please get in touch.

Thanks!

Erick (San Rafael, California)

Kate and I are back after a phenomenal trip to Asia!

First to Hong Kong where we spent happy, happy days with Sara, David and eight-month-old Tristan (aka, ‘Bean,’ Kate’s great-grandson). Getting to Shanghai required the logistics of scoring (1) extra pages for my passport, which now bulges like an over-sized little book, and (2) visas for visiting Mainland China (not possible without the extra pages in the passport).

Various people had urged me to seek out advice and possible treatment from Asian medicine while I was visiting China. I didn’t have time to do any searching, but in three instances, the world was kind enough to bring wonderful insight to me. The most spectacular and serendipitous was when I visited my friend Roy Horan on New Year’s Day, and was able to have an intensive one-on-one session with Lodreu Rabsel Rinpoche, an initiate of Tibetian Buddhism, from Nepal. as you can see from the following picture:

Of course, the most powerfully curative experience was being crawled over and played with Tristan (aka ‘Bean’):

Also wonderfully curative were spending time with all my wonderful friends and former students, at various times and places, but especially at two memorable meals; a lunch on Wednesday at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a dinner at the amazing Yang’s Kitchen in Shanghai (both times nobody had to ask if I had a problem with my appetite since I was eating everything in sight!). At the Thursday night dinner in Shanghai, my good friend Louis Tremblay took some spectacular photographs (see picture at top), and was kind enough to post them on his website online. Here’s the link: http://www.pbase.com/ltremblay/erick_wucjik

We made it back in time for my second round of chemotherapy here in California. The next trip is scheduled for Michigan, to take place right after my third chemo, arriving by January 24th in Detroit.

Erick (San Rafael, California)

When this whole thing hit me, knowing the kind of long odds I faced against this kind of cancer, I immediately started thinking about where I had to go, where I needed to go, where I wanted to go, and where I wished I could go. After all, I’ve experienced so much enormous pleasure from traveling, I couldn’t just give it up. At least I couldn’t give up the fantasy of going.

The medical people have been supportive, but also restrictive. “Yes,” they said, “you can go, but only if you travel deluxe, and only if you have people who can look after you at every destination.”

So, this Friday, December 28th, Kate and I will start off on the first, and most necessary of my travels. We’re off to Hong Kong, hopefully with a side trip to Shanghai. It’s necessary, because my sweet Sara, who captured my heart when she was born, 29 short years ago, wants and needs to see me, hold me, hug me, and because that’s where she lives with her incredible husband, David, and with her amazing 8-month-old son, Tristan (aka ‘Bean’).

Plus, of course, there are so many other people that I love in Hong Kong… and for those who don’t know, I’m still the ‘Adjunct Assistant Professor of Game Design for the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.’

As for Shanghai, there are so many people there who are near and dear to Kate and I… Plus, we’re going to have to deal with emptying our wonderful little Fu Xing Lu Apartment… Feel free to get in touch if you need a cheap place, or if you can take stuff off our hands!

The trip will wrap up Saturday, January 5th, returning to San Francisco just in time for me to get my blood tested for my second round of chemotherapy.

Next up? It’ll depend on the medical situation, but here’s the list:

1. Michigan, where I have so many family and friends, along with an absolute mountain of stuff in storage that I need to sort and discard.

2. Montevideo, Uruguay, because I’d like to, for one last time, go somewhere I have never been before, because I’ve never been to South America, because I wrote a report on Uruguay as a kid, and because (according to RPGPundit) I’ll get a chance to meet a whole new population of enthusiastic role-playing gamers.

3. Turin/Torino, Italy, because it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and because I’ve always wanted to share it with my one true love, Kate, and because it’s the most romantic thing I can conceive.

Wish me luck!

Erick (Novato, California)