Londinium

Ok, so I arrived at the much talked about Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and Rus was there to meet me while Gerry went off to terminal 3 to pick up my Mom.

Our week in London had begun and all the trepidation that I felt prior to the journey disappeared. The weather was actually clear and even tho' cold, a bright blue sky welcomed us! We sped back to the house,had a short rest and then Rus picked us up and off we went to the clinic. Really good to see everyone and they were very happy to see us. My Mom dived head first into her treatments and I just chatted to the gang happy to be here! I even had the opportunity to chat to a French Surgeon at the clinic who is an expert on Giblet extraction! (Please send personal email addresses to me for more info on this procedure!) It was great dining together that night and over dinner we planned the next few days events. Off to bed......me in the Penthouse and Mom in her room!

DAY 2

After an excellent nights sleep I woke up relaxed and we planned to spend most of the day hanging out at the clinic and then dinner with my nephews Oren and Ilan and Ilan's girlfriend Carolina. We met the other French surgeon and had some interesting talks with some of his patients! Good to see how busy the clinic was and meet all the different doctors some of whom had brought in food for everyone! The Christmas spirit has well and truly kicked in! Left a tired Mom at home and went with Rus to get her hip pain sorted out! Good to be the escort to the patient this time! And did I tell you that everyone said I look great!!!! Still a slightly plump hamster. Fish and Chips for dinner and great to be all together. I have to say it's great to be with my sisters and their families and of course my Mommy! Need to report that the sleep wasn't that great. Heartburn like you have no idea! When I finally managed to fall asleep it was great as I needed to be ready for my big day! FOOTBALL .

DAY 3
Soft Boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast on day 3 and then off to Shul with Rabbi Schlochem and Ilan (my nephew) who felt like going and invited me along! My brother-in-law Gerry, aka Rabbi Schlochem, has been going to shul every Saturday since my adventure began and he is now part of the inner sanctum at Shul! Maybe it's the kiddush food that is so appealing to him!

We lunched at Nandos, us three, and then waited for Peter to pick us up for THE GAME!!! We were picked up and chauffeured to the front door of White Hart lane. My excitement was palpable as we made our way to the private box with the other 5 guys. 6 out 8 of us were Man U supporters and the other 2 Tottenham as was Peter the owner of the box!!! What a day! What a game ! What an atmosphere and so amazing to be at a live game! I even braved the cold and spent some time outside, in the stands, absorbing everything with Peter's sons Gerald and James. Although it was a draw it was totally worth it and it was the first time I had seen Man U live! I will definitely do it again! Now that I know how great it feels, this is just the beginning!

I was buzzing all night and when we got back to the house I was just babbling on and on about the game. Ruth and David (Rus and Ger's friends) didn't even get a word in. In fact I was so wired I only got to bed at 12! Me, Baltimore Boy! Have you ever!

And by the way, my Mom had a good day too! She bought me a great jacket, scarf and cashmere sweater! My Mom looked great after her total hair makeover! And even The Duchess of Kent, who sat next to her at the hairdresser, admired her hair!

Carpe Diem.

Change of plans

After consulting with family, friends and doctors, we will be adjusting our Africa trip in January to exclude Zimbabwe. This is with a heavy heart and much soul searching. It is very difficult for me to be geographically so close to Zim and not be able to visit. The situation there is just too risky for me from a health standpoint. I can only hope and pray that the government will change soon and that the cholera and hunger problems will be eradicated.



I will be posting something, in the not too distant future, concerning what we are trying to do in Zim. We have a lot of work to do!

In the meantime, I am off to Londinium tonight for an action packed week.

Oh, by the way, lest any of you still thing I travel around the globe for free...............it ain't happening. I lost my travel and jumpseat privileges when I went on medical leave back in March 2008.

Carpe Diem.

Monday's Gaithersburg trip

Monday morning I heard from Dr. Erlich. All the issues we raised are also caused by the side effects of the drug Sutent that I am taking. In his opinion, there seemed to be no reason for concern. I am scheduled to see Dr. Joshua Rubenfeld (the pulmonologist) on December 22nd, after I get back from London. I'm also scheduled for my monthly port flush and blood work the same day.

I met with Rick Levy at his Gaithersburg office in the early afternoon. We had a good productive session and we talked about the Thunder incident. It was very interesting! I will be seeing him again at the end of January.

Carpe Diem.

Weekend update and more

What a lazy past few days. Allow me to blame something . Steroids or should I say, lack of steroids. Diana wrote the following email to Dr. Erlich:

"Sorry to bother you again. It's Diana. Adrian is leaving this Wednesday for London, and I'm a bit nervous due to some new symptoms he has been displaying. He is a lot more tired than usual, mildly depressed, has a slightly diminished appetite, some mild nausea, and feels cold (primarily at night time). Is there cause for concern? Also, do you have a pulmonologist you can recommend? His breathing is still labored with the occasional coughing spasm. All in all, he is in much better shape than he was on March 5, 2008. Yay!"

Honestly, it's not as bad as it seems but I am definitely suffering from steroid withdrawal. All the symptoms I am showing are classic withdrawal symptoms. No, I did not read the information on the Prednisone package to garner more sympathy. I'm still quite blimpy and eating well but I guess I'm quite simply bored. Yes, bored though not all the time. I feel like an alcoholic self admitting! I do miss the good, fun parts of flying and I certainly miss my flying friends. I guess I miss traveling to some degree. So get a load of these plans:

Next week I'm off to London for a week. Russ has scheduled an action packed week including a Man U vs. Tottenham football game, a day trip to Paris and watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Core blimmey. Oh, by the way, our mom will be joining us.

At the end of December the Baltimore Suskin clan will be going to Boca for just over a week. Lots of the immediate and extended family will also be down there at the same time. Can you say "one big party".

In early January Diana and I will be going to Africa. Specifically South Africa and Zimbabwe. But there is a wrinkle in the schleifenplanne. It's called "cholera". This obviously complicates things for me as I was personally hoping to finally get things moving on our Zim project. Diana is very concerned about my health situation. It's not that I'm not concerned for my health but my judgement is somewhat clouded by what I see happening now in Zim with the inflation and starvation. It seems the cholera epidemic is just another huge set back for a country struggling to survive. We will consult with our doctors and decide what to do closer to the departure date.

Saturday lunch time we watches Man U beat Sunderland in literally the last few minutes of the game. Smashingly entertaining game with a great result. Saturday evening we went out for Italian food with four (two couples) of our very close Baltimore friends. The dinner was really nice but the movie we saw afterwards was fantastic. The movie was called Slumdog Millionaires. It was about this Indian kid and his brother growing up in the slums of Mumbai and winning a shit load of money on the Indian version of "Who wants to be a millionaire". When we got home Mike had a bunch of friends over at the house playing poker. We thought that we would be having a lot of sleepover guests as there had been a light snow fall in the evening and the roads were pretty lousy. But in the end all these card mavericks decided to drive home. Safely and successfully I might add.

Carpe Diem.

Me and Max

Just a bit of pet silliness. In case you are interested, Max has a bunch of nicknames:

Maxamillian Von Schnabel (Austrian)
Lootrecht (Dutch)
Trechtobal Gomez (Colombian)
Lucatoni (Italian)
Loot Podolski (German)
Basil (British)
Alfie Vismeer (Afrikaans)

More to follow.......................................

Carpe Diem.

Thunder is home

This is another one of those weird stories.

My good friend Larry (lunch with Larry), who lives in the neighborhood, called me this morning to tell me his dog Thunder had run away last night. Needless to say, he and his family were devastated and he had spent most of the night looking for her. I was very upset for him and their family as I could well imagine that if Max ran away how flipped out we would be! I asked if there was anything I could do and he just asked if he could drop off a flyer and if I would keep an eye open for her. I obviously said yes to both requests. While he was on the phone with me I told him I was going to look in our back yard on the off chance I would see her. Well...............lo and behold, she was there, all curled up in one of our flowerbeds by the pool. I got her inside and told Larry to get over right away. He got to us in about 3 minutes and what a great reunion. He got in touch with his wife and kids to give them the great news and then took her to the vet to make sure all was well.

Now this is what is so weird. Even though we are in the same "hood", Larry lives about 3/4 of a mile from us. How Thunder ended up at our house is a mystery, albeit a positive mystery. How she got into our backyard is interesting considering we have a fence to keep out the deer. Why was I home at the time Larry called and what possessed me to go and look in the back yard ??? Of all the backyards Thunder chose ours!

Larry and I have had some wonderful lunches together and he has given me some great advice on everything from home buying (Boca Raton) to home plumbing questions. He has also been available and around if I needed him during my ordeal. So I was delighted and thrilled that I was able to be actively involved in finding his dog. This was meant to be!!!

Carpe Diem.

Chat with Dr. Erlich

Since coming off the steroids, over a week ago, the intermittent coughing has returned. It's really weird, but when I bend down to pick something up or tie my shoelaces I start coughing. I know, don't bend down and get slip on shoes! Also when I lie on my right side I hear my breath wheezing and crackling but when I change to my left side, nothing. No wheezing or crackling. Strange!

Spoke with Dr. Erlich last night. He wants me to try Advair 1 puff twice a day and also Singulair 1 tablet a day. He would prefer not to put me back on the steroid tablets. We also asked him about going to see my pulmonologist Dr. Jacobs. If there is no improvement with the Advair and Singulair then he suggested we see Jacobs. In case you forgot, Dr. Jacobs was the one who delivered the cancer diagnosis to me back in March.

Nothing like a good massage to calm things down.

Carpe Diem.

Explanations of "isms" and corporations

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbour.
COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.
NAZISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
SURREALISM
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back,with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You worship them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.
AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.You tell them that you have none. No-one believes you, so they bomb the shit out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy.
AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.
A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

Carpe Diem.

Weekend update

We picked Robyn up from college on Tuesday. Thursday we had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch at our friend Sandra (also Bulawayo born). And Friday we rested. Sounds biblical!

Saturday morning was action packed. Diana,Rob, and I went to get our immunizations for our up coming trips. Rob is going to Ecuador in January and Diana and I are going to South Africa and Zimbabwe also In January. Rob had to drag Diana into the office-talk about role reversal. Then, Rob and I went for something less traumatic - haircuts! That evening, we met our friends at PF Changs for some good food and company.

Sunday morning we watched Man U struggle to beat Man City. But they did 1-0. Later, the Arsenal vs Chelsea game proved more exciting. After an early dinner, Robyn returned to college. Chef Mike made some shrimp hargow for himself.

Carpe Diem.

Tourism in Zimbabwe

Who said tourism was slow in Zimbabwe!

Carpe Diem