Pumpkin Spiced Chemo and ProgIO

Also titled Cassin Is a Real Working Boy Again

Hello my adoring Cassinites….Cassassins? Cassadonians? We’ll land on one, don’t you worry! I’m sorry that I’ve left you all dangling waiting for the next titillating adventure or story about my gluteus maximus cancerous, but since these blogs don’t really pay the bills they get lost in the misadventures of my other life as a nomadic ad tech salesman. But the crisp Fall season is almost here which means my blood pressure goes down, I get a double shot of pumpkin syrup in my chemo and I sprinkle the rim of my nausea medication bottle with brown sugar just to feel a little bit more alive.

Honestly, I know I attributed a lot of my love for Autumn to the things I like about New England, but those can easily be replicated in NY. As a longtime romantic comedy loyalist, there’s nothing better than that first cold Fall day in NYC and I can walk through Central Park with a hot coffee and my Patagonia vest (sike, come on you know me better than that. I’m a Duluth Trading Company sized individual). I really feel that Fall/Winter is when NYC most comes alive and there is no city that can be more beautiful, but also more disgustingly slushy during Christmastime than New York City.

With the Fall comes the chaos of advertising sales as I’m getting ready to go to my first big industry conference since being diagnosed with the big C. It’s honestly been a little bit unsettling for me after being so open about my story and situation. I’m looking forward to seeing old colleagues who I haven’t seen since getting diagnosed, but not the awkward small talk that will surely come with that. I’m nervous about how to interact with new folks and potential clients in-person as I’m still adjusting to maintaining a sense of normalcy while understanding that there is this cloud that perpetually hangs over me now whether I like it or not. I know that not everyone reads my blog or knows my situation, but I just hope that I can allow myself to be comfortable enough to be myself and not overthink too much about how other people may perceive me now as that’s completely beyond my control. I just want to enjoy connecting with people again in a work capacity and make some progress for my company, drive revenue, prove my value which is what normal working people worry about right?

So if you see a 6’4” teddy bear pacing nervously back and forth at the Cadent booth at Programmatic I/O, just come by and say my butt looks nice despite having Chernobyl going on inside, and we’ll get along just fine.

Oh did I mention I met a girl who gives me the butterflies? Guess you’ll have to wait breathlessly for the next blog post….