Saturday, September 04, 2010

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Majorly Personal Meme, Part The Last

Cheers to all of us thieves!

41. What are your plans for this weekend? Sunday I'm seeing my Mom and my nephew. Monday I have ambitious plans for sorting books and going through my fall/winter clothes, while watching the Telethon and waiting for Jerry Lewis to do something over the top and offensive. It's a tradition.

42. Do you think someone might be thinking poorly about you? Why might that be? My sister. She's always mad at me for something.

42. What features don't you have that you would like on your cell? The issue really is: what features does it already have that I don't know how to use because I never bothered with the instructions?

43. How many people can comfortably sleep in your bed? Two.

44. What are you hoping happens by the end of 2010? My waistline makes a reappearance.

45. What was the last video you watched on YouTube? George and Martha were a fun couple, weren't they?



46. Would you ever agree to an open relationship with someone? No. Though after spending time with George and Martha, any relationship is scary!

47. Is there something that you could never give up? My cats.

48. Would you, (or did you) prefer a small, intimate wedding reception, or a big-scale, over-the-top reception? I'd prefer small and private.

49. What’s bothering you right now? I'm suffering a slight nose bleed. I think it's because the air is awfully dry in here. Creepy, I know, but you asked.

50. Do you hate anyone? No.

51. What were you doing at 12 am last night? Reading

52. Was this summer a good one? How warm was it where you live? It was warmer than I'd like this summer.

52. Is the last person you kissed before your current situation mad at you? I doubt it.

53. Can a man and woman be friends without having feelings for each other? If we didn't have feelings for one another, we couldn't be friends, could we? Did you mean without there being sexual attraction? Sure.

54. Do you think long distance relationships work? If you’ve had one, tell us about it. I was in one and was very happy. We spoke every day and saw each other twice a month. It suited me well, a good combination of connected and independent. But it was expensive and hard to be spontaneous.

55. Do you know why it’s called “Random Boredom“? I don't even know what it is. Sorry.

56. Do you thing that it’s always the man’s responsibility to initiate sex? No.

57. Have you ever made love while you were in the same room with another couple? No.

58. Tell us the best thing about your current or most recent S/O. He has a wonderful voice.


59. Tell us the worst thing about your current or most recent S/O. He smoked.

60. Would you write one question in today’s comments so that we could have our followers allow us to steal their questions? We’ll need at least 15. Sure.

"You would have gone ballistic"

So wrote Kathleen, in an email updating me on her condition.

She's right, I would have.

Last month she had a small lump removed from her breast, Stage 1 cancer. The procedure went well and a follow up with her oncologist was scheduled for this past week. They were to discuss treatment options. While she is, naturally, relieved that her cancer seems very manageable, she has been apprehensive for weeks about this follow up. She has heard how draining chemo and radiation can be, and Kathleen fears this. She has a high-paying, but high-stress marketing position. With one child in college and another one in high school, she worries about juggling tuitions and retirement saving. Plus, since her husband is self-employed, she is concerned about keeping her job so she can keep her comprehensive and affordable health insurance.

Also on her mind is her hair. Her full, pale brown/dark blonde curls. Her hair is her most beautiful feature and naturally she doesn't want to lose it.

So she went into this week's appointment prepared to hear more details on her options, ready to embark on the next chapter of her cancer drama. It was, therefore, disappointing to hear her doctor tell her that more tests need to be run before he was prepared to discuss treatment regimens. OK, said Kathleen, expecting to be asked to roll up her sleeve or remove her blouse, ready to surrender whatever material they needed to test.

She was disheartened when, instead, she was handed a clipboard. She had waited three weeks to give her permission to run tests on cells that had been removed last month. Now she has to wait three more weeks to find out what her course of treatment will be.

Recalling how emotional I got last summer when I had to wait forever to find out that my own suspicious mammogram really revealed nothing serious, Kathleen said, "You would have gone ballistic" hearing what she heard this past week.

Selfishly, I take a lot of comfort out of the fact that her oncologist, on staff at a world-class hospital with a reputation for excellent cancer treatment, feels she can wait now until later this month to begin taking next steps. That will put her close to two months after the original procedure to remove the lump, so clearly a man who is expert in his field doesn't think her case is at all life threatening. This lack of urgency is important to me because I don't want to lose her.

But for her, I am angry. Because her case seems to be rather run of the mill, I am not sure her care givers are managing her expectations the way they should. To them, I suspect, she's just a file folder with a name on it. But she's a woman who is scared -- frightened of losing her health care, her stamina, and her lush, beautiful curls.

The Recession hits a little close to home

Like next door.

My next door neighbors were medical students (or maybe interns). Very unfriendly. Not hostile, but definitely not interested in speaking to anyone (or holding the elevator). They moved out in July. I thought they were renters and their lease was up.

They were owners and they abandoned the property.

That unit has 1BR, mine has 2. But still, I'd hate to be trying to sell now with a foreclosure right next door. Not good for the value of my property, you know?

Neither are the hijinks of Crazy Old Neighbor.

While this makes me unhappy, I'm trying to keep it in perspective. I plan on paying this place off and living here until my niece sells it out from under me and uses to the proceeds to have her drooling aunt institutionalized. Hopefully by then, the economy will have recovered somewhat and the contents of this post will be nothing but a vague memory.

What's wrong with these photos?

Photo on the left -- Why would Mad Men's 1960s-era advertising exec Don Draper be holding a cell phone?

Photo on the right -- There isn't anything wrong with this photo. Not a blessed thing.

Thank you, Daily Mail. And that's not just some superficial way of giving you photo credit. I mean it. Thank you, from the bottom of my lusty little heart.