Hi Team,
I didn't intend to keep this blog going forever, as it's a chapter in my life that I hope to close sooner rather than later. That said, I've had some fun and positive developments in my life lately, and as I come closer to a year since my breast cancer diagnosis, I'm hoping to end this on a more positive note.
So, my expansion is done, I have new boobs! Well, so the entire process is not completely done, I will still have to have another surgery at some point in the future to switch out my temporary implants for more permenant, softer/more realistic ones. It's so weird, they look great (in my humble opinion), and you would never know that they aren't real just from looking, but the minute you touch them, they are solid as a rock and immoveable. That will change with the final implants though. Granted I still no longer have nipples or any sensation of touch over most of my chest, but at least I can pretend most of the time and nobody will know the difference!
In other news, you may remember me mentioning that about 70% of women who go through the chemotheraphy that I went through go through menopause, it kills the ovaries, and you're done with the baby-making. Not that I want to have children now, but I definitely wanted the option to choose... well, a few weeks ago... I started a period! I went through all the menopause symptoms and hadn't had a period for over a year, but this is a really good sign that things are starting to work in there again, the body is normalizing. Now, I don't want to be overly confident, this does not mean that for sure I'm in the clear, but it's a really good sign toward the positive.
Another fun development that I never would have guessed would come my way this year is that I got a new job working for Google! I will be an account manager for Adwords, thier search advertising team, working in Media and Entertainment, calling on Video Game publishing companies. A lot of people have been really surprised at my willingness to make a move so quickly away from Walmart where I actually did have a great gig as a buyer, but Google is probably one of only about 2-3 companies that could have lured me away. And everything happened as if it was just meant to be. Last year my friend who works there forwarded me a job rec that involved travel (travel is one of my biggest passions in life) and I thought, sure! And forwarded her my resume. I didn't hear anything back, and I didn't really think much of it until I got a call from a recruiter in late December, saying they had a great opportunity for me if I was interested. There is a lot of really good press talking about what a great company Google is to work for, so I decided to explore my opportunities, be open to a new direction in life. Or at least see what all the hype is about :) I went down to Mountain View for an afternoon to interview, and I felt right at home. The people were fun and nice, the environment seemed to be productive and comfortable, with lots of nice amentities. I clicked really well with the team, and a few weeks later I had an offer! Everything just seemed to click and line up perfectly, so I decided it was time for a positive change in my life. There are so many times in life where you are handed a really shitty situation and you have to make the best of it, that when you are handed a really awesome situation, sometimes it's hard to recognize or make sense of it right away. I feel like that's what happened here, obviously not without a little work on my part, but it all happened just the way it was supposed to, so I decided it is the right path for me to start new.
If you need any convincing as to the awesomeness of working for Google, here are a few articles for your perusal:
Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For (Google #4 for 2011)
The Overview of Working at Google
So anyway, as you can tell I'm excited, and happy for a really positive change in my life. I'm excited to be in an environment where ideas and excitement are encouraged and enabled to become reality. Although I can't quite see around the corner yet, I have a feeling this is going to open up some really exciting possibilities for what the future holds.
Soon, I'll be having my 1 year anniversary of my diagnosis, so look for another post about my year in retrospect. I'm thinking that will be a good time to close this book and hopefully move on to a more fun and happy 2011 and beyond.
Love,
Amy
amy,
ReplyDeletecongratulations on the new job! there's no doubt your resume and hard work went most of the way, but glad to see karma paying up on some of those debts it owes you.
so you know you're still paying it forward: i recently sent this url to a close friend who knows a young woman in her mid-20's who recently received her own a diagnosis, almost exactly a year after yours. as i told him, your work here amounts to the most well-written, courageous, honest, inspirational and informative coverage of this experience i've ever seen.
not to put too fine a point on it, but you can be sure this project has saved lives, bettered lives, and will continue to. no b*llsh*t.
all the best, i'll give you a shout the next time i'm on your coast, maybe i can scam a google tour ...
chris
Thank you so much Chris. I am really really happy you sent me this message, I do sometimes wonder if having this out there just for public consumption is the right decision, but you remind me why I did this. I want everyone and anyone (who I know or don't) to be able to benefit from the raw experience I went through. Intentionally raw and unedited - although I did leave the gory pictures out intentionally as well, so coworkers or clients who I might not want to have their hands on those don't. But, if anyone wants to contact me to get more visual info too, please let them know I'm glad to provide, just shoot me an email/note.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me feel really good that something so shitty can at least be helpful.
Please do let me know if you're out in the bay area, I'd love to take you to lunch @ google and get a tour. alangenstein@gmail.com (just shoot me a note)
Amy