Daifung vs. The Brain Invaders

Nicole with my mom and dad on the Great Wall @ Badaling

Greetings all, the above picture and all the others in this post are from our recent trip to Beijing; more on that later. Today, with much trepidation, Nicole and I met with Dr. Pu to revie last week’s MRI results. Happily, there was no significant difference between my recent scan on the 7th and my previous scans in November. This is definitely good news as it indicates that the tumor did not grow and the contrast did not increase to any perceptible degree over the past few months, even though I had not taken chemo since October. I am hoping this is indicative of the Chinese medecine boosting my immune system so that it can fight the tumor. Then again, maybe it’s God, or luck, or whatever other explanation you like. Maybe it’s just the result of a positive attitude or all the positive vibrations you have been sending my way. Either way, I feel well and hope it is a good omen for things to come.

Nicole and I on the Great Wall

As I mentioned, Nicole and I, along with my parents, recently made a quick trip to Beijing. My folks were in HK for Christmas and we had extra time so, after a scramble for visas, we flew up to Beijing for a few days just before Christmas day (got back to HK Christmas Eve). I think the opportunity to walk on the Great Wall was the deciding factor in getting my folks to make the trip, so we took advantage of clear skies (in Beijing?!?) on the first day to visit the Badaling and Juyongguan sections outside of Beijing. As you can see from the photos, it was an almost perfect day. Why almost? You may notice in the pictures above that we are all very bundled up. That’s because it was freezing cold with a stiff arctic wind for which none of us were really prepared. It was worth it though, as there were relatively few other tourists, and both my mom and dad were totally blown away (no pun intended). We also paid a short visit to the Ming Tombs the same day, though after the Great Wall it was kind of anticlimactic.

Above: The Great Wall, Below: Ming Tombs

Nicole with my mom and dad in front of Tienanmen Gate

The next day was spent seeing the sites in Beijing. We visited Tienanment Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, with myself acting as tour guide since I had been before. My parents were almost as impressed by the Forbidden city as they had been by the Great Wall, and they could not believe just how immense the palace is, with one huge courtyard after the other and endless thron rooms. Of course, we only really had the time and stamina to see the main halls and didn’t have a chance to see the many displays in the side chambers. Maybe next time. It’s also worth noting that everywhere we went (including the Great Wall) people want to have their picture taken with my mom and dad, who look pretty much like Mr. & Mrs. Claus. I guess 2 days before Christmas it was to be expected. I believe one of the soldier guards at the Great Wall even got in on the action, and one vendor at the Forbidden city was trying to get us to go into business “just 10 yuan per picture, we can make a lot of money”.

Santa & Mrs. Claus visit the Forbidden City

After the Forbidden City we paid a late-afternoon visit to the Temple of HEaven, which is one of my favorite site in Beijing. I guess I have a weakness for round, pointy temples and this one has 2!

The Temple of Heaven

We also stopped by the Beijing Grand Theater earlier in the day because I love crazy architecture. For those that don’t know, the theater looks like an enormous egg and generates a lot of strong sentiments in Beijing, both positive and negative. What I love about the building is that there are no visible entrances. The entrance actually passed under the ‘moat’ around the rest of the building, making for a memorable site.

Grand National Theater

Well, that’s it for me today. Tomorrow Nicole and I fly to Siem Reap to spend my birthday at Angkor Wat, then after another week in HK we are off for adventure on our way back to the states.

Thanks to all of you that have been sending me prayers and positivity, it’s clearly working!

-Ted

Happy new years to all!

I realized it’s been way too long since my last post, which contained a lot of un-answered questions. Since then both a lot and nothing has changed. After carefully evaluating the medical options (surgery, Avastin, other chemo, etc.) one fact became clear; none of the options could promise either a reasonable chance of a cure or a decent quality of life. All the options were low-probability and high-cost, financially, physically and emotionally. After thinking it through I decided to go with D, none of the above. Instead I am focusing on quality of life while pursuing traditional chinese medecine. TCM has delivered positive results for a lot of people and isn’t subject to a lot of unplesent side-effects. For those not aware, the guiding principle of TCM is to ramp up the body’s natural immune system to fight illness. While western treatments try to kill the tumour, usually doing a lot of peripheral dammage at the same time, chinese treatment boosts the body’s natural defences. Think of it as the difference between economic aid and military invasion to foil an enemy.

In addition to pursuing TCM, Nicole and I are going to move back to the USA to live with my parents for a while. Hopefully a change of scenery will help my body fight, especially a move to someplace with clean air and no stress. While there I will also do work for the Salesforce Foundation, starting with getting my mom’s non-profit school up and running.

With that decision, we’ve been pretty busy planning and packing for the move. We are leaving HK on the 23rd of January and stopping in Greece and Egypt for a few weeks on the way to fullfil a few lifetime goals of Nicole’s and mine. My folks have a nice place in southern Ohio and I hope many of my friends will come to visit while we’re there. I don’t know if it will be the place I recover or the place I die, but we remain optimistic and either way I know things will be OK.

Well, gotta get back to packing. While this isn’t the outcome I would’ve preferred, it’s the one I have and I am ok with it.

Take care of yourselves and each other, and hope for a 2009 full of miracles, memories and redemption.

-TC

Driftwood on the beach in Nome – 1987

Well folks, it’sbeen a tough few days for Nicole and I. We met with my neurosurgeon on Monday afternoon to review last week’s MRI and the results weren’t very promising. Whereas in the previous 2 scans there had been successive decreases in contrast (indicating reduced blood-flow to the tumor), this scan showed an increase. That is likely an indication that the tumor is becoming more active and may indicate that ultimately the current chemo regimen is not delivering the intended result.

Nicole and I in the club where we first met

They are scheduling another MRI in about 2 weeks to confirm and will also do another MR Spectroscopy and perhaps a PET Scan to try to learn more about the tumor structure and how much of it is viable tissue. There is still hope of a positive explanation, but Nicole and I are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

Full moon in HK

If the tumor is indeed progressing, there are a number of potential treatment options, so by no means is there reason to give up hope. We are reaching out to experts in the US while the oncology and neurosurgery teams here in HK confer. Possible options include use of Avastin, a targeted therapy that attacks the blood vessels feeding the tumor, radio-surgery, use of other chemotherapy agents either here in HK or back at Duke in the US, and even (as an absolute last resort) radical surgery to remove the tumor. Each of the options has pluses and minuses and there may be other options that haven’t been considered yet. Right now we will just wait to see the results of the next scan and the recomendations of the medical team here.

Nicole, my rock, at the Big Buddha in Lantau

Right now Nicole and I are just trying to remain positive and optimistic while we wait. Nicole is better at it than me and remains my rock. I guess the reality is that none of us can predict the future so there’s no use worrying too much about what might happen or could happen. Any of us could be hit by a bus crossing the street (a real possibility here in HK!) any day. I can still take away the positive that this experience has taught me a lot about myself and made me realize and truly appreciate all the incredible people who have supported and continue to support me. Thank you all for caring and for all the positive energy you are sending my way.

-Ted

The Big Durian, Singapore (a theater/cinema complex)

Greetings all. It’s been a while since I made an update so I figured I had better write something!

I will be starting my 10th chemo cycle tomorrow. Originally it would have been a week ago today, but when I went in for my blood test Friday the 24th my platelet count was a little low and the oncologist didn’t want to prescribe chemo. I waited out the week getting as much calcium and potassium as possible and was re-tested this past Friday. All was well in that test and the doctor prescribed the chemo, but I wasn’t feeling 100% this morning so I’ve delayed the 10th cycle by a day. I am also now scheduled for my next MRI on the 12th, and will review results with Dr. Pu on the 17th. Hopefully it will be more good news.

View from the Singapore Flyer

Sultan Mosque, Singapore

Aside from that Nicole & I had good trips to Singapore and Shanghai, some pictures of which are posted here today. In Singapore we rode on the Singapore Flyer, a gigantic ferris wheel the provides amazing views of the city. We also had a chance to check out the Durian-shaped Cinemas by the Bay and several cool temples and mosques.

Oriental Pearl Tower & The Bund at Night, Shanghai

In Shanghai we went to a friend’s wedding, which was fantastic with beautiful weather. We also had time to walk around the Bund, the old German business district on the river, and Pudong, the new city filled with crazy sky-scrapers. One of the highlights was taking the new maglev to the airport when we left. The maglev tops out at 431km/h and is supposed to be the fastest train in the world. IT was pretty cool.

The Shanghai Airport Maglev

I continue to feel well and remain optimistic. Take care.

-Ted

Greetings to everyone; I hope you are all doing well. The last chemo round was without incident and I was back in the office to start my new role last Monday. I’m excited to have a bit more purpose at work, and to have a role where I can really contriubte while still focusing on my health.

While the new job is exciting, most of my recent excitement has centered around a couple upcoming short trips. Nicole and I will spend a few days in Singapore (work for me) and then will go to Shanghai for a friend’s wedding celebration. Much fun!

I’m also excited about my new toy cameras, pictures from which litter the post today. The picture at the top of the page was taken with my new Holga, an all-plastic Chinese-made camera that uses 120 roll film. Holga’s are about as simple as can be, with a plastic lens and essentially no control over focus, aperture or anything else. The results are regularly crap, sometimes incredible and always unpredictable. It’s a $40 camera and it’s a ton of fun.

The pictures above and below came from another cheap plastic camera called Pop9. It takes 35mm film and has 9 plastic lenses that fire at the same time to create 9 identical images on a single frame. Once scanned and loaded into Photoshop the pictures are really fun and sometimes come out great.

The last picture (below) is from yet another plastic camera called Oktomat. This one has 8 tiny plastic lenses that fire in sequence over the course of a few seconds for a single frame with 8 sequential images. Like the Pop9, it uses 35mm film and is highly unpredictable but adictive once you get it into photoshop.

Well, that’s it for today. I feel well and am excited for our little trip. It’ll be great for Nicole and I both to get away for a little while before returning to the chemo grind in a couple weeks.

Take care everyone and enjoy the Autumn!

-Ted

Well, I didn’t realize until just now that it’s been almost a month since my last posting. I guess work was keeping me more busy than I thought. I completed my 8th course of chemo on this past Wednesday, but it took several days for me to fully recover and I didn’t feel genuinely normal until this morning. I’m now 2/3 through my planned treatment!

To celebrate feeling better (and because there was a planned cut in electricity all day today at my building), Nicole and I spent most of the afternoon wandering around Hong Kong Park where I tried my hand at some macro photography. I only wish I had a proper macro lens, as getting really close was definitely a challenge. Ah well.

This week-end Nicole and I also bought our tickets for Shanghai, where we will attend a friend’s wedding party in October. It will be Nicole’s first time in Shanghai and our first time traveling on the mainland together. The only real problem is the expense of a visa, which now is more than $150US for a single-entry. I guess they are striking back at the US, who have been raising visa fees for Chinese for a while now. It all seems so silly to me.

Well, guess that’s about it for now. I’m back to work for 3 weeks before my 9th course of chemo starts. I hope you are all well and apologize for not making updates more frequently (or keeping up with my email correspondence…). Take care and enjoy the Autumn!

-Ted

Victoria Park and the Central Library

Hello all. Today I will start my 7th cycle of chemo. After some extended discussions, the oncologists have agreed to follow the protocol used at Duke and I will have at least 6 more cycles, for a total of 12. That will cover me through the rest of the year. I have another MRI in early August and hopefully it will continue to show positive signs, meaning that all the treatment has been worth it. The doctors also don’t think that the delay in starting my next cycle will have any adverse affects.

Black Kite

The weather today is pretty crummy, hot and humid with terrible visibility. I guess it’s not a bad time to be stuck in bed. The week-end was really nice though, with clear-blue skies if a bit hot. Nicole and I went with her mum to Cheng Chau, a small island that is mostly beach and fishing villages, on Sunday and that was fun. I also took advantage of the weather on Friday afternoon and Saturday to take a lot of photos around Hong Kong.

View from our window

I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. Take care.

-Ted

A’s vs. Angels at the (former) Coliseum

Hello all. Nicole and I are in San Francisco now, enjoying the last few days of our California visit while somewhat dreading the return to Hong Kong (at least I am, since I start the next chemo cycle very soon). We’ve had a great time so far and Nicole has seen a nice cross-section of the Bay Area. Over the week-end we had Mexican food in Alameda and went to an A’s game (which we lost, damn!). After the game, Duncan and Alison hosted an excellent BBQ with about 25 folks, some of whom I hadn’t seen in around 10 years (or more). Thanks Duncan and Alison!

Monday followed with a busy day going to see Redwoods in Big Basin, eating burritos and checking out the surfers (and eating blackberries) in Santa Cruz, driving up RT 1 to enjoy the coastline before bowling at Sea Bowl and closing out the day with great Cantonese food at Koi Palace in Daly City.

Mother of the Forest @ Big Basin

Surfers at West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Yesterday we checked-in to the Marriott at Fisherman’s Wharf where we will close out the trip. We went full-on tourist, having chowder and funnel cake at the wharf after having visited Coit Tower. The weather was great and the bay views from the top of the tower were pretty stunning.

San Francisco from Coit Tower

That’s it for now. We have a busy day ahead and want to make the most of our remaining time in the USA. Thanks to all those who have shown me so much support over the last many months and especially these last few days. Your support along with the good news from Duke has really revitalized me going into the next round of treatment.

-Ted

The Ohio River and the Town of Marietta from the Williamstown Bridge

Well, today marks the end of my visit with my parents in Ohio. It’s been a great trip, very relaxing and damn fun as well.

This week we my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin came from Boston and NYC to visit, and we all went to Serpent Mound, an ancient Native American ceremonial mound built by the Hopewell culture. The mound is in the form of a long, undulating serpent, with the coils pointing towards the various points in the solar cycle (equinoxes, etc.).

In addition to Serpent Mound, we also visited Ash Cave near Athens Ohio. Ash Cave dominates my childhood memories of visiting Ohio and is a huge over-hang cave with a waterfall falling into the center. It is quite beautiful, especially in winter when the bottom of the waterfall becomes a huge ice stalagmite. Of course, it being summer there was no ice, but the lush surrounding valley was pretty special on it’s own.

After that, we just wandered around town taking pictures of interesting houses, the river and my Dad’s shop (yes, that’s an igloo dog-house on the sign).

North Pole Gunsmithing

We also went to my mother’s Rotary Club meeting, where she received an award. They also (much to my surprise) presented me with an award for perseverance and for remaining positive through my current situation. I don’t know that I deserved any awards, but my mom certainly does for all the work she does for the kids in town.

Well, that wraps up the mid-west branch of our trip. It’s been a blast to be sure and with the exception of Nicole’s cut-throat Monopoly play it’s been all fun. Tomorrow we fly to San Francisco for a week with friends before I go back to the chemo routine.

Take care everyone.

-Ted

The Ely-Chapman Education Foundation Building in Marietta, OH

Greetings and happy 4th of July to everyone!

Nicole and I are having a restful time here at the family homestead in Ohio. The trip to Duke proved to be well worth it and quite confidence inspiring. We met with Dr. Friedman with no wait and he confirmed that given my age and condition he would not recommend surgery at this point. Removing the tumor would almost certainly cause me to loose the function of my right eye, and because my brain would still be trying to create an image from both eye’s, reading and other activities would likely be very difficult for the rest of my life. Not very appealing.

After meeting with me, Dr. Friedman arranged for me to have a consult with Dr. Reardon who is one of the (or the?) head neuro-oncologists. He looked at my scans and had his PA interview me and run some basic neurological tests which all came out normal for me. Then he had his PA sit down with us and look at all my scans; even I as a layman could see the difference in the most recent scans. Dr. Reardon believes that the scans along with my general conditon are very positive and point to a good response to the chemo. He also said that the standard treatment plan at Duke is 12 cycles of Temozolomide followed by a PET scan. The PET scan would show metabolic activity in the tumor, and if there is any activity showing, they would continue the chemo. Once there is no metabolic activity, then I could stop the chemo. Aside from it being good news that the drugs appear to be working, the plan they follow confirms the next steps that my doctors in HK were planning. All in all positive news.

Nicole and I are now back at my parent’s home for a week before we head to the bay area. Yesterday we went to my mom’s foundation to tour the building and find out what they are up to, since
I hadn’t seen it in several years. The foundation is located in what was previously the town’s first high school. When my mom bought it 10 years ago it was in pretty bad shape, but she and the folks here have fixed it up and made it a community centerpiece. They provide programs for disadvantaged kids, helping to improve their basic math and English skills as well as educating them about regional history, Native American culture, ecology and conservation, as well as a wide variety of other topics. They also provide free meals to their students and run full-day programs during the summer as well as after-school programs during the school year. If all that isn’t enough, the building now also hosts a karate dojo, a boyscout troop, a garden project and a community theater program (which takes advantage of the gymnasium and full stage on the top floor of the building). It’s very impressive and I’m extremely proud of my mom and all the folks who make it possible.

Well, that’s it for today. We’re having a family BBQ this afternoon to celebrate the 4th and I need to get dressed and start getting ready. Have a happy 4th and be well.

-Ted

Kyaiktiyo Golden Rock – Myanmar

Greetings to all my friends and apologies for being delinquent yet again in posting. The delays this time were intentional as I wanted to wait until after my appointment with Dr. Pu today.

Over-all the news is good. After 6 complete cycles of chemo (plus the chemo-radiation before) my last MRI showed significant reduction in tumor size. It is a very good sign that the Temozolomide is working, which justifies the hell the I go through 1 week out of every four. Before anyone gets too excited though, the tumor is still quite big and things can change suddenly and without warning, so I am a long way yet from being out of the woods. That said, I am focused on the positive.

The picture above is from a place called Kyaiktiyo in Myanmar. It is one of the holiest sights in the country and at sunset it definitely feels magical, though the long and arduous walk up the mountain first may contribute. Hopefully the next few posts I will have brand new pictures from my visit to the USA!

Take care of your selves and each other.

-Ted

[PICTURE COMING!]

Well, that’s 5 full-strength courses of Temozolomide finished. Whew! This round wasn’t too bad since I was back on the previous mix of anti-emetics (vomit pills), though still no fun. My body continues to try to prevent me from taking the pills, making me gag now even if I just look at them. I take it as a sign of health, since no healthy body should want poison.

There’s no meaningful update on my progress at this point. I will have an MRI in a few days on the 30th, but I won’t know the results until I see Dr. Pu on the 23rd of June. In case I didn’t explain previously, the long wait is due to the fact that surgical consults are Monday only, the 9th is a Hong Kong holiday and the 16th is during my 6th chemo course. I continue to feel well and to hope for good news.

The only other medical-front update is that I now have an appointment to see Dr. Friedman, the top US neurosurgeon, at Duke University Medical Center, the top facility in the world for treating brain tumors. I am also hoping to see one of their neuro-oncologists if I can arrange an appointment at the same time. We will drive down to Duke from my parents home and spend 2 nights, and I’m excited both to see friends there and to see the doctors. Many thanks to my good friend Alice for helping to get this set up.

On a totally different note, I attended my first real Hong Kong-style wedding on Sunday (Nicole and my wedding was a strange Californian/Chinese meritage). My brother-in-law Dominic was the groom and it was pretty interesting. There was late-morning tea followed by a civil ceremony, then a big banquet. It was a jovial event all around and everyone had a fine time. What amused me most (and, since I couldn’t sleep the night before, pleased me most) was the tradition of the receiving line at the end of the banquet. At a little before 10:30 the whole wedding party lined up by the exit and shook the hands of all the guests as they left. I think it’s a great tradition, a nice friendly ‘thanks for coming now go home’ that allows the bride and groom an opportunity to get away at a reasonable hour. Anyway, much fun and hopefully I’ll have some pictures of the event to post later.

Other than that not much news from my end. The plans for Nicole and my visit to Ohio, North Carolina and California are now firmed up and ticketed, if you want details of when we’ll be where and what we have planned drop me an email.

Take care of yourselves and each other, and try not to let life get too serious.

-Ted

Koh Pha Ngan – 2004

Hello everyone. The picture above is a little old, taken back in 2004 at the tail end of a trip to India and Thailand. I took the picture from the top of the mountain overlooking Bottle Beach, possibly my favorite place in the world. Even though I was incredibly sweaty (see picture 2), it was a great hike and fantastic sunset.

Anyway, I will start my 5th course of chemo tomorrow. I’m not really looking forward to it of course, but I keep telling myself it’s only 5 days and it’s making me better. I’ve continued to feel good generally and remain convinced that I am improving.

My MRI is scheduled for the 30th, but I won’t be able to get the results until the 23rd. Normally it would be a week after the MRI, but neurosurgical consults are only scheduled on Mondays, the 9th (the obvious date) is a holiday in HK and the following week is my 6th course of chemo, so the 23rd is it. Hopefully the MRI will bring some really positive news.

Planning continues for the visit to the USA and Nicole and I are pretty excited. I found out today that my brother John is going to come down to the Bay Area when I’m there the week-end of the 12th, which along with my Aunt and Uncle coming to meet us in Ohio means I’m going to see a lot more family than I thought. It also looks like I’ll get to see an A’s game for the first time in a few years and be able to see most of my favorite spots in the bay area. Of course, life is unpredictable so who knows exactly what will happen.

Well, that’s it for now. I need to get ready to start the chemo tomorrow and want to get to bed soon. Thanks for paying attention and for all your support.

-Ted

Nicole and Ted at the Shangri-La on wedding day

The picture today just arrived in an email from my friend Harry, so thanks for that Harry (and hope you have more for me when I’m in SF). Speaking of which, if anyone does have wedding photos or video they haven’t given me, please get them to me when I’m in the US if at all possible.

So, I finished my 4th cycle of chemo on Sunday and am now 2/3 done my planned treatment. This round was tougher than the last, possibly because of a change in anti-emetics. Regardless, it’s over now and I am glad to be well past the half-way point.

The next cycle will start a few days early so that I can attend my brother-in-law’s wedding at the end of March. I will also take my next MRI shortly after, so hopefully that will be good news.

Not much else to say today. I hope everyone is well and I am looking forward to seeing some of you soon.

-Ted

Ted & Nicole at Repulse Bay

Greetings to all of my friends, hopefully the server move has not lost too many folks.

Today I met with the oncologists and they cleared me to start my 4th round of chemo tomorrow. My blood as well as my liver function is completely normal and I continue to be pretty asymptomatic as far as I can tell. I’ll be out of contact for the next 5 days while I work through the chemo so don’t be surprised if I’m not responsive.

I’ve made some progress on putting pictures up on my Flickr! page, so take a look if you have time to kill. There is a link on the side of this page. I’m getting ready to tackle the big picture projects, my trips to Laos, Myanmar and Bhutan. A lot of pictures to sort through. Eventually I hope to cull the very best to put on the web.

I also found out today that my next MRI is scheduled for May 30; although I don’t have ‘official’ notification from the MRI department at the hospital, the appointment is apparently set in the computer. I had hoped for an earlier date, but having it right after I finish my 5th course is ok. Hopefully it will show that the tumor is definitely shrinking, dieing or otherwise diminishing in actual and potential impact. I continue to feel well (on the days I don’t take chemo) and count that as a serious blessing.

Thanks to all of you for all your support, prayers and positive vibes!

-Ted

The Great Wall at Simatai

Greetings all.

Well, if you are reading this you have found your way to my new blog location successfully. If you’d like to add my blog as an RSS feed, you can use:

http://www.daifung.com/brainblog/?feed=rss2

The reason for the switch is to get off of Yahoo! for hosting, since there’s no telling what will change when the Microsoft acquisition finally goes through. The plus is that Network Solutions (my new hosting provider) provides better hosting tools, all of which are open-source, so I should be able to do a bit more in the future. After all, I need to find something to occupy my time until I’m back at work.

So, why daifung.com? Dai Fung is cantonese for ‘great wind’ (make whatever jokes you like) and is my non-professional Chinese name. Of course, there is a story.

When I first went to China in 2005, I went to see the Great Wall at Simatai. The Simatai section of the wall is about 3 hours from Beijing, and is a lot quieter and less crowded than the Badaling section near Beijing. Walking on parts of the wall is actually a little tough, as it is extremely steep in places with a precipitous drop to the side. Now, when a foreigner starts walking up the wall, a local will inevitably start following you in hope of selling souvenirs. The woman who was following me was nice enough and did her best to give me a tour in her limited English, as well as trying to teach me some Mandarin.

After we reached the top and were headed back down, while on one of the steeper sections, a big gust of wind blew off my guide’s hat, and as she lunged to catch it she came very close to falling off the wall. Considering it was about 40 feet down onto a broken-rock slope, she probably would have broken her neck. She turned to me with bulging eyes and just said ‘da fung, big wind’, to which I responded for no apparent reason, ‘wo xing da fung’, which means ‘my name is big wind’. This she found hysterical and we finished walking down the wall. From that point forward, every person I met I introduced myself as ‘Da Fung’, which seemed to be an instant ice-breaker. Translated to Cantonese, it becomes Dai Fung.

So, that’s why this blog is hosted on www.daifung.com. I hope to post more here, as well as more pictures on the gallery site (http://www.daifung.com/gallery) and whatever else I have the time and inclination to come up with.

Thanks for visiting.

-Ted

Hello all!

Well, I’ve finally gotten around to putting wedding pictures on the web. I guess I’m only a year and a half late, so not too bad all things considered. The pictures are all hosted on a new website using a new tool, so bear with me if it doesn’t work perfectly. You should be able to view pictures at:

http://www.daifung.com/gallery

There are actually 2 separate galleries. One is a collection of wedding-day photos from many different people, and the second contains studio pictures taken before the wedding (a Hong Kong tradition).

Other than that there’s not much to say. I start the next chemo cycle (#4) a week from today and am just trying to relax until then.

Best wishes to all of you.

-Ted