a good week...

after a tough day on tuesday my week turned out to be a good one. i was busy and didn't take enough naps, i think, but i've slept well at night and that is more than i can ask for. this week brought a little something for everyone along with it - some exercise, some cancer updates, and even a little bit of travel, which i have been missing so much lately.

here are a few highlights:

- a package arrived from chile on wednesday afternoon; i returned from a run and found the "attempted delivery" slip in the mail. i decided to forgo the nap i was planning and instead drove to the post office, and it turned out to be the right thing to do because it brought a smile to my face. two friends from punta arenas sent a little stuffed lamb, along with a postcard with a photo of a sheep with the patagonian landscape in the background. i think the south of chile will be one of my first destinations once i get rid of the cancer. it is so unimaginably beautiful in pictures... to see it in person would be a dream come true.

- i visited fox chase cancer center on thursday afternoon for a meeting with dr. joe treat, a lung cancer specialist. i was very nervous at first. somehow i think i can force the thought "i have cancer" to the back, or at least middle, of my mind most of the time. it helps me get through every day without completely breaking down. well, heading to fox chase, driving up the driveway, it became extremely clear to me that i do, indeed, have cancer. and i am heading up this driveway to meet with one of the best docs around just to find out what he has to say about me. ME. holy crap. well, when i walked in, there was just this incredible sense that everyone around me (and there were a lot of people there) has cancer. well, maybe not everyone, but a lot of these people. and everyone is here because of it. it as an overwhelming feeling i haven't experienced before so far along this adventure i'm on. conditions, both mental and physical, improved once we were in the exam room and meeting with people. basically, i am in a rare situation for a couple of reasons. my age is one and the type of cancer is another. i was reassured that everything i am currently doing is right on the money and i should have no reason to think it won't go as planned. but i feel like i have another option out there in case we need one. which is good. one can never have too many good options for treatment against the cancer. hear that cancer? grrrr.

- the fam hit manhattan for a day on saturday. i knew it would really tire me out but i wanted to get out of the house, and mom and i go each year and i didn't want to miss out on the tradition just because of a little cancer. so we all piled in the car and headed up, which was an adventure for sure. we checked out the market in union square, where mom and i immediately spent too much money on gifts for ourselves. i swear i am buying gifts for at least a few people other than myself this year. we had an incredible lunch at the gramercy tavern. i finally, finally had the filet i have been craving, and it was fantastic, melt in your mouth good, just what i had been imagining for the entire week. hell, i was dreaming about it when i was in the throes of the chemo blahs last week. mmm. red meat. good for those RBCs. i had a chance to visit with andrew and kim for a bit while the fam hit ABC. i was happy to have a chance to catch up in person; so often i am talking to my friends all over the country via email or on the phone; it is a treat, as always to get some real-time conversation in. after that we headed to rockefeller center to check out the tree. we had also hoped to go to st. pat's but time and energy were waning. all in all it was a good day, a long one, but once again, i slept like a baby last night and that's a good thing.

alright. enough for now. i have to pack in some breakfast so i can make it through my run. ah, a run. nothing is better. except skiing, which you could guess is what would come next.

smooches.

oh, wait, fotos...

- sunset on friday evening, driving home from trail creek
- st. pat's spires
- rockefeller center tree