Fishing and a night at the Fontainbleau

I am down in Boca Raton with Howard and we are having something of a boy’s weekend. We kicked things off Friday morning with an 8 a.m. 4-hour fishing expedition Pompano Beach. Conditions were good; seas calm and the skies blue without a cloud. Temps were unusually warm. Howard pulled in a beautiful mutton snapper (although why a fish is named after a lamb confuses me) and two yellow tail. I caught a tiny fish called a French Grunt, which they let me keep. The only good thing for me was that I caught the first fish of the day! Howard’s snapper took second prize in the pool and he won a whopping $28. (Please don’t try to borrow from him….he already doled it out on tips.) I got a little flambeed by the sun. Kind of dumb. Our fish were the ones in the picture foreground.


We rested in the afternoon from the rigors of battling the behemoths from the deep and then drove down to the Fontainbleau Hotel in Miami where Howard had a business appointment with the National Sales Director, Louis. A few words about pulling into the driveway of the ultra-chic
Fontainbleau Hotel, which just completed a billion dollar renovation and is now the outpost for all that is hip and happening in South Florida, which is to say the world. There are Beamers, there are Porches, there are Bentleys, there are Hummers. And then there is Adrian and Howard puttering up to valet parking in the Bobba-mobile, my mom's 10-year-old Toyota Camry that was covered fender to fender with God-awful dust from the relentless construction taking place at her building. They almost made us take the servants’ entrance. But we met Louis in the lobby and he showed us this unbelievably stunning hotel that is famous the world over for its sweeping and curving facade (remember the pool scene in Goldfinger at the opening…..it was shot at the hotel). Louis then took us to dinner at the hotel’s premiere Italian restaurant, where we had a outdoor table overlooking the ocean and the pool. The waiter was pushing the goat very hard but Howard said he had a goat sandwich for lunch before he left NY so we passed. Dessert was a delicious gold guava soup with custard and a sweet biscuit. Just perfect. Thanks How and Louis.

Carpe Diem.

A pain in the arse

I really enjoy traveling but I gotta tell you, it's a real pain in the arse. Shoes off, laptop out, jacket off, hip metal blaring yada yada yada. I think you get the picture. Don't I look trustworthy? Can't I just tell the security people that I'm really OK. No, you say!

The rest of the trip to Boca was fine. Nothing like Southwest Airlines business class and their fine cuisine. After landing and exiting the terminal, it was like getting smacked in the face by a toaster. Hot as hell. If only we could average the temperatures out. It would be nice to borrow a few degrees for January and February in Baltimore. Yea, I know. Move to San Diego.

Carpe Diem.

Chemo 7 (Round 6)

The maintenance therapy continues. Jen (the nurse) was back working with me. What a pleasure. Once again, my vitals were good, the blood work was good and my check up with Dr. Schraeder went well. What more could I ask for? Well, let me see.........

I'm still receiving the Alimta and the Avastin and as long as they are keeping things at bay we continue. It's kind of weird because the first couple of days I feel good and then I have a few rough days. Fatigue and slight nausea. Nothing a nap and a few good drugs can't take care of. I try and keep a journal every couple of months to see if the symptoms remain more or less constant. They seem to. Post chemo days 3-6 are tough and then sometimes days 7-10. Diana seems to know my schedule and symptoms before I do!

Carpe Diem.

What's coming up

This coming Monday is Chemo day. Tuesday I am going to see my Pulmonologist. I am trying to get some help with my breathing. Because of the fibrosis in the right lung it sometimes gets a little tough with the breathing/out of breath thing. No biggie.

The MouseSkin family continues on their merry tumor ridden way. I will get an update next week. It still seems like we will be on schedule to start testing them early next year. The good thing is that as long as the current drugs are keeping things more or less under control then the sense of urgency is somewhat diminished. But with this disease you just never know.

From a traveling perspective, there is loads coming up. Next week in Boca. November in London. December in Israel and Boca. And new years on a boat cruise. I love it. 2010 brings us to South Africa for world cup and somewhere before that, a possible trip to Zim to catch up with ZimKids. If anyone has any trip suggestions please let me know :)
I hope this weather is through Cape Town before we get there. This is a pilot's worst nightmare!

Carpe Diem.

OK say it

OK, say it. I've been a very naughty boy. Jeez, you know how many times I've heard that one!

Yes, I have been remiss in keeping up with the blog but maybe it's a good thing. I have been feeling fairly well lately. People tell me I look good. But in all honesty, who would walk up to someone with a known illness and tell them they look like crap. Come to think of it. Maybe I would. No, not really.

What I'm trying to say in a very round about convoluted way is I am grateful for what I have and how I am doing. I know this sounds weird but I obviously have no choice. There are so many family and friends enduring all sorts of awful stuff. Like I said before, If I have 5 lousy days and 21 good days between treatment I am ahead of the game. Sadly, there is always someone else worse off than me!

Carpe Diem.

What the Toronto trip was aboot

We (Diana and I) spent a couple of days in Toronto and had a jolly good time what. It's always nice for her to visit with her family and it's great for both of us to catch up with old friends.

Our primary reason for the visit was to attend Justin Polgar's Barmitzvah. Justin is the son of one of Diana's oldest (time) and best friends, Suzy. The Barmy was a hoot and it was great to all be together with so many good friends. I keep saying "old" friends and it seems like we should all be in nursing homes but the "old" refers to friends we have know for a very long time. Just like the mates I grew up with in Zim, a lot of the hoser canuck friends are who Diana grew up with in Toronto.

We also spent a lot of time eating out at restaurants that we have been frequenting for the past couple of decades. Damn, we are getting old! I did not get to see everyone I wanted to or eat at more places but there is just so much time in a day. Even in Canada. Til next time.

Carpe Diem Eh.

Is this grin too cheesey ?

Carpe Diem.

I'm in Toronto eh

I am in Toronto right now. All is well! A man of few words :)

Carpe Diem.

A visit to the vet

No, not me. Max. A couple of days ago Max went to the vet for his yearly shots and check up. The good news is he is generally in pretty good health. The not so good news is he has cataracts and is going a bit deaf. What? Not bad for a 12.5 year old doggie. Before cataract surgery he is going to try glasses. It's just difficult for him to put them on and take them off!. In all honesty, I don't mean to make light of his health. We will do whatever is required to help my boy.

Today, we had more fun. Well, not really. On our usual walk through our forest Max got stung by a bunch of f*@king bees. We had to take him to the vet where they gave him a steroid and benadryl shot. I was really lucky not to get stung as I was helping him. He is doing fine now. Quite a tough boy. I now officially hate honey!

The kids are home this weekend from school. So much for the empty nest!

Carpe Diem.

Chemo 6 (Round 6)

Well, a bit of a long day but otherwise a good day. We got there for our 1pm infusion and only got out after 5pm. Normally it takes about 2 1/2 hours. My regular nurse Jen was not there and the person filling in for her was, shall we say, a bit slow! Had to stick me twice to get a vein. Aaargh!

We met with Dr. Schraeder (my Oncologist) and he was very pleased with the last scans. While the malignancy is still showing up in the right lung pleura (fluid) it has diminished slightly. The best news is that there is still no evidence of spread to anywhere else. The 2 drugs that I am receiving every 3 weeks seems to be doing the job for now. Dr. Schraeder even said that if I wanted an extra week during some of the treatments that it would be okay. I can think of one place where I would want 4 weeks off. World Cup 2010 in South Africa!!!

The MouseSkin family is progressing well. There is a chance that we may be able to begin testing early next year.

Carpe Diem.