Another Decade? Oh No!

So I never wrote about what happened after we returned from Italy. We got back from the trip on Sunday, November 2nd. The following weekend we were scheduled to go up to the FSU/Clemson game. As it turned out, Yoko got a notice to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Tampa for fingerprinting the Friday we were planning to go to Tallahassee. That turned out to be a blessing, since it was on our way. (Yoko was in and out in just a few minutes.)

The following Friday, November 14th, we had to go to New Port Richie (near Tampa) for my clinical trial shots, which I now get every six weeks. On Wednesday, November 12th, I had my most recent PET and CT Scans. The Monday after Dr Lunin called to tell me that my scans and blood tests were "perfect" and that there is no sign of the disease. I said, "I guess this means I can live another year" and Scott replied "You'll probably live another decade or two."

Damn. I had been preparing to die for the entire past year...and I was ready. Suddenly, I am going to live and now have to work till retirement! The recent downward slide of the stock market has not made this news any easier to take. My career as a stock broker has been a miserable experience so far ; I am not looking forward to guiding people thru the recession.

So now I have to sit back and examine my situation and try to imagine what the next few years will bring. Jessie has about 2 years to go before she finishes college. I'd certainly like to see that. That will be the year, I figure, that Paula and Brian will announce a grandchild is on the way. I'd certainly like to see that too. I figure June will get island fever and begin looking for another job somewhere in California....she is also bound to meet someone but I figure marriage maybe in the years 2012 or 2013. By that time Jessie will have figured out her career ambitions. I am hoping she will choose to work in California as well.

My commitment to Morgan Stanley goes to 2014. After that I can do what I want to do. By then the stock market will have recovered from current levels and home prices will be back to normal. I'll have the choice of staying here or moving to be closer to the kids, which is what Yoko wants. All this presumes I stay healthy, the market recovers, and no more disasters befall us. Whatever happens, its nice to be thinking about the long term again.