In a misleading bit of food fetishism, I present you all with some photos from our October 2008 dinner at Cho Dang Gol. Yummmm.... I know that I've already posted about this but I don't think I've ever showed you the actual food porn. The little side dishes surrounding my engineer -- known as "ban chan" I believe -- are the normal (!) condiments / accompaniments that the restaurant provides for every dinner (not every diner, every dinner -- dunno about lunch).
Speaking of my poor fella, he is post-breakfast napping at the moment, since my tossing and turning last night kept him awake, and this after he had to get up at 5:00 AM yesterday (yes, Saturday morning) to go down to Philly for a full day's work.
Hopefully, that will leave him a bit more rested, especially since we will be taking my mom to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats of Puyang, China this afternoon at the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark. I haven't seen Chinese acrobats for many years, so I am looking forward to it, having bought our tickets months ago, but sometimes spending time with my mom does require strength and endurance.
I am pretty sure that my sequence of bad dreams last night (I had not one, not two, but a trifecta) had to do with the fact that I finally buckled down and bought 2 books: Breast Cancer Survival Manual, Fourth Edition: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Woman With Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer and also Living Through Breast Cancer. (Hey, the occasional 40%-off-one-book coupon from Borders works on me sometimes, I admit it, but only if I was thinking about getting something anyway.)
As I mentioned before, thinking my health status (yes, I even have problems naming it) with any great depth gives me some agita, but I should read about it to better understand issues such as recommended nutrition during chemo, organizing my medical records, understanding the pathology report, etc.
Luckily, my sweetie and I really like my breast surgeon (and my friend Marci too, who also kindly accompanied me one day -- Jackie did too, but didn't meet him) who is a leading specialist in the field of sentinel lymph node biopsies. (Did I mention that he teaches this procedure to other surgeons?) He's warm, and patient, with a great way of clearly explaining the issues and procedures to a layperson, sort of the antithesis of the surgeon stereotype.
My radiation oncologist has a more technically oriented manner, but this may be a function of her specialty (or speciality, as the Brits say) since her field is heavily influenced by statistics, recurrence indices, numerous types of treatment protocols, and the like. Her fellow (I guess that's sort of a junior/apprentice) is not listed on the MSKCC site, but he seems like a mensch. :-)
And in more lighthearted news, tonight is the Oscars telecast. Two years ago this Sunday, I was in Taiwan for a week, for work, another miserable experience that I apparently never blogged about -- will have to post some photos here soon. (Funny how trips to Asia for work = misery + fascinating experiences. Oh well, there is no free lunch, as they say.) I remember specifically because I woke up (they're 12 hours ahead) and went to work, and found out the winners during the Monday workday.
I was reminded of the Oscars because my bridesmaidenhood (yes, I made up that word) experience this month was kind of trippy: As we entered the reception, post-ceremony, the DJ announced each of the bridal party by name. There were bright lights, a blizzard of flash photos, and applause. I had spent most of the day being attended to by a professional makeup artist and a professional hairstylist, and ordered around by a professional photographer. You can see how it felt a little freaky, like I had woken up at some bizarre red carpet event. (There are amazingly -- and unusually -- glamorous photos of me on my Facebook account. Let me know if you want the link, since FB does not require you to register to view photo albums.)
Yes, wedding experiences are like dating experiences: you may not know what you want going into each event, but you leave with a clearer understanding of what you DON'T want. Basically, I am learning that everything in life appears to be a process of discovering more about yourself -- it doesn't mean other folks are wrong; it just means you (eventually) figure out what IS your own personal style.
And on that note I leave you with a few links and comments for your amusment:
- A photo of my April 1990 powder pink bridesmaid gown (previously discussed) for my cousin Eileen, who is still happily married (yay!) with two strapping sons
- A link to UglyDress.com, a truly stupendous collection of, well, ugly bridesmaid dresses, bridal gowns, wedding receptions, and the like
- A prescription from Fran, the surgical nurse in charge of my case (not sure if that's the correct term, but she is my breast surgeon's numero uno nurse, so.... by the way, Fran was also given an honorable mention in the November 30, 2008 New York Times Tribute to Nurses! she was the one who gave me the hilarious reality check in January)
- Watch/rent 27 Dresses
- Go see Confessions of a Shopaholic
- RELAX and take it easy!
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