Facing death (and giving it a bloody nose) is traumatic and life changing. People know that, they expect it. They expect you to be outwardly and obviously changed, to impart great wisdom from the beyond or be an insane, drooling vegetable. They expect you to win the Tour de France™ or spend the rest of your life in a home for those of similar incontinence. They expect you to be really nice or really bitter. They expect you to become a Buddhist or at least quit smoking. It’s human nature to expect a return on your emotional investment, some resolution or just plain punctuation. I did.
But facing death is actually pretty exhausting. The return on investment comes with time, rest and reflection, which I’ve tried to enjoy to the fullest this past year and change:
I started teamBEAT!!!™ with Jane and Damien in the very wake of Michael Jackson's embalming - a Soviet synth-pop revival band that toured Germany three times;
Launched two perfume lines for Avril Lavigne, aimed at the consumerist, brand-conscious, yet somehow 'rebellious teen' market... kids today;
Successfully embarrassed one of the richest men in the world (name withheld);
Crashed a honeymoon in Thailand to learn something I already knew about myself:
Starred in a Swedish Toyota commercial;
Had the usual twelve-day festival, mikeFEST!!!™ - now in its 28th year and with ever-better posters:
Got back and better than ever into shape after prolonged illness and atrophy.
And I watched as my two remaining tumors (17mm & 13mm), out of an original total of seven (after the brain baseball), shrank to just one that was ‘only marginally enlarged’ at 12mm (October 2009). That last lymph node is now (as of May this year) down to a normal 10mm with absolutely no sign of cancer.
And I’ve changed in very dramatic, but outwardly subtle ways that were never black and white and rarely apparent even to those who think they know me well. It is a life-changing experience, but it’s my life to change and figure out which babies to throw out with the bathwater. Real change takes time. I’m just happy that I have a lot more of it now.
12 comments:
how can you tease us with the one-of-the-richest-men pseudo story? are you afraid that the bad press from being mentioned in an embarrassing light on VVH will be enough to crumble his empire?
Great post though; it's good to know you weren't just sitting around in your flat the whole time playing xbox. Still, I'm not sure mentioning the Forbidden Rose connection is doing much for your personal brand ;)
What an incredible year, Mikey!
Here's to many more years (and blog posts) ahead! Glad you've stopped withholding your writing talents from us and are back in the game.
Who could be next? New teamBEAT! EPs? Your famed empanada recipes? Photo exhibits? More handpainted signs of Thai proverbs? A memoir? WHAT??
The world waits with bated breath ...
your wallet should read "bad ass mutha fucka"!
i smell a book
Hi Mike, I have one practical question. What exactly are those two perfume lines for Avril Lavigne? I would like to try…
Love you, Gizzy!
Love the commercial
Thanks, everybody.
@Greg - I didn't beat cancer to get rubbed out by steel tycoon - that's all you're getting.
@Jiffy - your guess is still as good as mine.
@bad - I find 'The Economist' opens more doors. 'Bad ass' usually invokes a challenge from the bouncer.
@Donor - that's just a gas leak... get out of the house!
@Krokus - you can purchase the perfume from the link provided, provided you're a 14-year old girl who wants 'to live by her own rules' while smelling like everybody else. Not sure if you qualify.
@Hunter - Let me count the ways.
@Gail - Citroën coming up fast - even more ridiculous. Just a matter of time before I'm shouting something about 0% financing in the middle of a used car lot.
More soon. -m
That's very interesting...Now why don't you tell me why you're really here.
Well, it really is 'because the coach doesn't want me to blow my ride', but thanks for asking.
what a gis- blizzard of a year!
TEAM BEAT!!!!
Chiming in....lo0ve your word of wisdom, reflextion and good times as always. Thanks for joining in on the honeymoon. Ann
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