My name is Marc Kashinsky. I was born in Pittsburgh, PA, but currently reside in Long Beach, California. I also have mantle cell lymphoma, and to be so bold as to quote a line from a fellow blogger “it may kill me.” Actually it is killing me, albeit very slowly at this point. In the mean time, I’m still able to function mostly as normal, going to work, riding my bike, playing golf and even planning for vacations.
In fact, if it wasn’t for that fateful blood test of March 26, 2002, I might not even know I was sick.
But that isn’t the case, so I decided to chronicle my life from the beginning (not from when I was born, mind you, but from that fateful day), and remembering it’s not just about being sick. Even if you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness, that doesn’t mean life ends.
We’re all going to die, most of us just have different perspectives on when that is going to happen. It’s how we deal with the living part of our lives, that makes a difference.
Want more specifics? Well, there isn’t a lot more. I’ve led a rather mundane life, but……..
I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, with a degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and subsequently received an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX a few years later.
Shortly after graduating from PITT, I entered the US Army, and received training as a Counter Intelligence Agent, and attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA where I studied Japanese for 1 year.
Unfortunately I never got to mainland Japan, but did manage to spend a year and a half in Okinawa, and while there managed to experience a little of the far east, traveling to Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Phillipines (while Marcos was still in control, and it was safe to go there).
Upon returning to the US, I took a job with Republic Steel in Warren, OH, where I met my wife. After 4 years in OH, we headed out west, stopping first in Houston, TX, for a couple of years before I was finally able to secure employment with a small aerospace manufacturing firm in Southern CA, where we have been ever since.
While initially moving around from job to job (all in Southern California), I have managed to stay in my current position for the last 19+ years, which has turned out to be the best decision I have ever made. At this point in my life I wouldn’t even consider changing jobs, not that I could (because of my condition), but I doubt there are any better employers out there to go to.
So here I am, 60 years old, living in the greatest place in the world, but don’t tell anybody that, it’s crowded enough as it is. I am an avid golfer and competitve cyclist, and my wife and I are also wine and culinary enthusiasts, making frequent trips to California’s wine regions, as well as traveling to France’s Bourgnone, and Italy’s Chianti regions, to sample the food and wine there.
I also briefly took up scuba diving, and managed to get to most of the tropical locations of the world, including Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji twice, Bonaire, and Saba.
So if you’re ever in my neighborhood, please stop by, and say hello. Oh, and don’t forget the wine. Pinot Noir or French Burgundy is our preference.