So we all know that vacations are good for your health, although I did not know the history of the vacation, which even has an entire book devoted to it, a book a I might buy...
In the meantime, I read American Wife on the flights home (I transferred in O'Hare) from Seattle, a chunky though fast read which clearly models its protagonist on Laura Bush since she is a former school librarian married to a widely reviled US president. It's for one of my book clubs (yes, you will not be surprised to know that this librarian is a member of not one, but two book clubs). Having finished that, I'm now in the middle of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my other book club. It's another fast read, an epistolary novel set in post-WII England which I am quite enjoying.
What I did NOT do on my summer vacation was go stand on a wave tossed pier in Maine's Arcadia National Park while Hurricane Bill was active. Morons. I mean, here -- this is a photo of a CALM, non-hurricane day taken by my co-worker Dennis. Do you really think it's a good idea to go there when a hurrican is trawling up the North Atlantic coast?
And in other news, I met with the SMART people who will be my radiation team yesterday. It was a setup meeting (i.e., a dry run) where they used a 3-ring binder (!) full of medical notations and photographs to position me on the radiation machine, a giant conveyor belt with arm cuffs to help properly position breast cancer patients. There were stickers placed at eye level (you lie on your back) to hopefully amuse the pediatric cancer patients.
The actual procedure will probably only take a minute or two, but the waiting... I found out that the first 5 weeks of treatment actually bathes my whole left upper torso in radiation (!) and not just the lumpectomy area. The 6th week is a series of what they call a "boost" which targets the precise area where the tumor was.
Anyway, on the bright side, (a) it's painless, and (b) it looks like I will get my requested time slot of 5pm or later. So I start treatment on Tuesday, right after Labor Day, at 5:05pm. This means I will leave work at 4pm and take the x90 express bus from the Wall Street area to directly across the street from the hospital.
It's $5.50 per trip, with no discounts for multiple trips, and should take about 30 minutes. Oh well. It's worth the $165 for the convenience, as otherwise it would take an hour door to door, with many avenues of walking to and from the nearest subway stops, along with a transfer in the middle. Besides, I will see if my trusty accountant can deduct it for me as a medical expense on my 2009 taxes.
Speaking of income, it's time to get ready for work.
Oh yeah, the flowers on the right were brought in by my coworker Julia from the community she helps tend. It has marigolds, zinnias, and celosia.
In the meantime, I read American Wife on the flights home (I transferred in O'Hare) from Seattle, a chunky though fast read which clearly models its protagonist on Laura Bush since she is a former school librarian married to a widely reviled US president. It's for one of my book clubs (yes, you will not be surprised to know that this librarian is a member of not one, but two book clubs). Having finished that, I'm now in the middle of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my other book club. It's another fast read, an epistolary novel set in post-WII England which I am quite enjoying.
What I did NOT do on my summer vacation was go stand on a wave tossed pier in Maine's Arcadia National Park while Hurricane Bill was active. Morons. I mean, here -- this is a photo of a CALM, non-hurricane day taken by my co-worker Dennis. Do you really think it's a good idea to go there when a hurrican is trawling up the North Atlantic coast?
And in other news, I met with the SMART people who will be my radiation team yesterday. It was a setup meeting (i.e., a dry run) where they used a 3-ring binder (!) full of medical notations and photographs to position me on the radiation machine, a giant conveyor belt with arm cuffs to help properly position breast cancer patients. There were stickers placed at eye level (you lie on your back) to hopefully amuse the pediatric cancer patients.
The actual procedure will probably only take a minute or two, but the waiting... I found out that the first 5 weeks of treatment actually bathes my whole left upper torso in radiation (!) and not just the lumpectomy area. The 6th week is a series of what they call a "boost" which targets the precise area where the tumor was.
Anyway, on the bright side, (a) it's painless, and (b) it looks like I will get my requested time slot of 5pm or later. So I start treatment on Tuesday, right after Labor Day, at 5:05pm. This means I will leave work at 4pm and take the x90 express bus from the Wall Street area to directly across the street from the hospital.
It's $5.50 per trip, with no discounts for multiple trips, and should take about 30 minutes. Oh well. It's worth the $165 for the convenience, as otherwise it would take an hour door to door, with many avenues of walking to and from the nearest subway stops, along with a transfer in the middle. Besides, I will see if my trusty accountant can deduct it for me as a medical expense on my 2009 taxes.
Speaking of income, it's time to get ready for work.
Oh yeah, the flowers on the right were brought in by my coworker Julia from the community she helps tend. It has marigolds, zinnias, and celosia.
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