Being a Breast Cancer Survivor is SO fabulous

Some snow!

Damn it is cold here all of a sudden. And I love it! So cold and clear and quite a fast change. Just a bit of snow but snow nonetheless. Kind of a small thrill for me.

I keep thinking that I am going to try and find a down burka to wear this winter. Doesn't that sound warm?

Pictures coming

And they won't all be of my dog. I promise.

Fine Art

I got to see "Caroline or Change" at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park. This show was amazing. I feel like this kind of play/musical is what it is all about. Great performances. Brilliant performances. A simple plot with complex relationships. And the music was perfect! If I ever really figure out how to deal with my itunes account, I will buy the download of the broadway version.

If this show comes to a theatre near you... check it out!

The triumvirate

When I decided to move across the country in February, I was gambling that I would not get cancer again. If I had a way to know my fate, and more cancer was in the cards, I would have stayed put. But here I am, still (ostensibly) cancer free and moving on with a quasi brand new life.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Those tired old words pretty much sum up my new life in Chicago. It is a new existence but with so many imprints from the past and from people who have weaved in and out of my life for years. Still can't quite make sense of it. What was I thinking? What was the purpose of starting over? My life was perfectly good in California. My heart aches when I think of all the wonderful people that are no longer a BART ride away.

Back to February. When I was mulling over my move, I tried to look at it from every angle. How was this whole thing going to play out.

One day I was not even thinking about whether or not I would move and suddenly it popped inot my head that if I moved, some of my cancer friends would die and I would not be in California to mourn them up close. At the time, I thought that those inevitable deaths were still a long way off.

But this summer, three women whose cancer struggle intertwined with mine all died withing a month of each other. Each of their deaths came with plenty of warning but still caught me by surprise. There is a lot you can do to delay death if you really work at it.

Natalia. Deb. Lynnly. Deb and Natalia were younger than me when they died, Lynnly lived to the grand old age of 54.

I do not feel guilty that I have so far survived the true hatchet of cancer but I cannot stop wondering how it is that our fates started so similarly and have ended so differently.

There are so many things that I love about my new life and I am desperately thankful that I have been granted this opportunity.

I understand why I came but I do not know why I left.

I miss my friends in California and I mourn the deaths of my friends. My only solace is that they no longer have to live with cancer, cancer treatment, hospitals, and doctors.

If you want to know Lynnly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p4l1QHFdWg

If you want to know Deb:

http://doiy.com/deb_mosley/

If you want to know Natalia

http://www.beginwithin.net/

Pointing out the obvious

Let's just have the national presidential election tomorrow. The whole damn country is so burned out and I seriously doubt that anyone out there is "undecided."

I talked my cousin into joining a euchre league at our corner bar. Euchre is a card game that I love. Anyway, the people we played with tonight are "go, fight, win McCain" but agreed that he looked like a super freak, (super freak he's super freaky) during the debate. McCain or Frankenstein... you choose!

My dog and I just want peace and love to rule our planet.

Not to mention free hotdogs for everyone.

History

What are we going to remember about this crazy time that we are now living through?

How naive we were about the bailout?

How we knew that our government was selling us down the river but not really knowing how and why?

How it seemed like things could not get worse and then they did?

I think Sarah Palin is going to be someone that we remember sort of faintly and then chuckle at how BIG she seemed at the time.

I met someone today who is under the age of thirty and she is quitting her job soon. Someday she will look back and understand why people older than her said "Wha???"

MEMO

To: Joe Biden and the Chicago Cubs

From: Everyone on the north side of Chicago

Date: Today

Re: Do NOT mess this up! This should be an easy win for you. You, especially Mr. Biden. Please do not feel obliged to open your mouth and show the world how much smarter you are than Sarah Palin. It is as obvious as she is unqualified that this is your debate to lose.

Carlos... Carlos... El Torito: Bring us a really big win!