Up North DownEast

Last week we spent a few days visiting family up in northern ME. Check it out......



Our first stop was the Harbor Fish Market in Portland, ME. B wanted to pick up some lobsters to celebrate her mother's birthday on Thursday. We got the lobsters and got to see them cutting up a gigantic tuna. Cool! We also had lunch at Mims. No seafood for me....I had chicken. The next place we landed was LLBean in Freeport, ME. I'd show you a pix, but there weren't any worthy of sharing. I did get myself a new fall coat though.



We saw a Hazy Mt. Katahdin.



And a windmill filled Mars Hill. I thought of Don Quijote.



We arrived in Northern ME and had a fun filled birthday pool party. Even though it was too cold to go into the pool in the early evening. You need a jacket at night in Northern ME.



We had a yummy dinner too. I didn't eat any of the lobsters though....it was a hamburger and corn for me.



When the party was over we continued to visit folks over the next few days, hang out, eat lots of ice cream and swim. On the way home I spotted a female moose, which B says is called a cow, on the side of the road. Wish I had a picture for you. Sorry...maybe next time. I did manage to take a picture of Debbie's though. This is one of my favorite places to eat up in Sherman, ME. Check it out next time you are headed north or south on Route 11 in northern ME.

Returning to Say Thanks

I saw a story yesterday on NECN abouta woman who returned to Brigham and Women's Hospital six months after being disharged to say thank you to the staff. This woman almost died in a horseback riding accident and has the folks over at the Brigham and Women's to thank for her being able to walk down the hall on her own two feet. Like this woman...I also have to thank the amazing medical staff over at the Brigham for saving my life. It has been 14 years since I spent five weeks on 12C at the Brigham, but not a day goes by that I don't think of someone I met there. The week after I was discharged, back in 1993, I went out and got some water guns and Hershey Kisses to send to the nursing staff on the 12th floor. A couple of months later I went back to visit and say thank you. I remember my nurse (Karen St, Martin) running up to me, grabbing my cheeks exclaiming "Look at your color!". A few months later I was back again as a patient (liver biopsy) and Paul Farmer dropped by my room. Dr. Farmer was been my doctor that summer, he heard I was back in the hospital, and wanted to stop by to say hello and bring me a rose. I was thankful then....and even as recently as two years ago I got to tell him again. Two years ago Dr. Farmer was receiving an award at my church and I went to see him speak. I was sure to stick around at the end and say hello. I re-introduced myself, and he said he remembered me and gave me a hug. I said thanks again and burst into tears. I cannot thank the staff over there enough......I owe my life to them.......

Stay tuned for a photo tour of our trip to Maine......

Summer 2007

I last posted on May 31st and said I would give blogging another shot. Well...silly me hasn't posted since then....so here you go...another attempt at blogging on my part. B also recently told me that she likes blogs with pictures on them. So....I'm trying extra hard with this photo. I cannot tell a lie. This is an old photo. I believe these are some wild strawberries we picked in Auburn, ME back in 2006. This summer has been nice and filled with just as many fun activites as last year. We went to Boston Pride back in early June, and celebrated my birthday at Oleana, at a Red Sox game, and eating pizza with friends. On June 14th Massachusetts legislators voted in favor of gay marriage in Massachusetts! Yee haw! Elke came for a visit at the end of June. We went on a Charles Riverboat Constitution Turn-Around Cruise on July 4th. This was totally cool and definately recommend it for next year. We got visitors from up north and went to the Lantern Festival at the Forest Hills Cemetery with some family and friends. We went to Ogunquit recently and spent last Friday night at the Best Harry Potter Party Ever We had a fun time at Artbeat on Saturday and hung out at the farm on Sunday. Overall it has been non-stop. I'm tired just thinking about it and am looking forward to a little break from the on-the-go routine very soon. However...it has been fun. Stay tuned.....

Checking In

The few folks who read my blog have been asking me if I have given up on my blog. For the most part I have...but I'm going to give it one more shot......

We went to Provincetown to celebrate our 6th anniversary last weekend. We had a great time. We stayed at the Oxford Guesthouse on Cottage Street in the West End. If you get a chance to stay here......definately do it. Stephen, Trevor, Pete, Potter, and Jessye are super. I think this is my new favorite place to stay in Provincetown. The gardens were amazing, breakfast was yummy, our room was beautiful, and they had tasty treats out all day long. We had a series of fluky mishaps with telephone service and air conditioning, but they definately went the extra mile to get everything back up and running as quickly as possible. These guys are really great at giving people their space, but also fostering a welcoming environment. On Saturday night they had a cocktail party for the guests. I see why they won the Pink Choice award last year.

We did alot of other fun things in Provincetown too. We went on a whale watch and saw some cool humpback whales. We went to the beach and I got a sunburn. We ate lots of good food at Spiritus , Fanizzis , Terra Luna, Clem and Ursies and Lorraines. We did some shopping. We went to see Jennie McNulty at the Post Office Cafe. She was funny. We spent some time with a few friends too. We did the whole Boatslip, Pied, and Vixen bar circuit. Had fun at the Pied, but could have done without the other two. The streets were filled with roving gaggles of beer drinking girls like every Memorial Day weekend in Provincetown, but I think we did a good job at trying to achieve some peace.

On another front......the Boston Public Librarians will be distributing informational leaflets outside the Boston Public Library Foundation Annual Gala on June 8th from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. They will be gathering at the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth Streets at 6:00 p.m. to give out information relating their unresolved contract negotiations with the City of Boston relating to staffing, salaries, and health care. Join them to show your support! For more information email saveourlibrarians@gmail.com

Mini Egg Mayhem

I love Cadbury Mini Eggs. Every year I wait around for the Easter season to start....so I can get my fix of the mini eggs. Sadly they are only available once a year. Brenda knows about my love for the chocolate eggs and brought me home a super huge bag of them last night. Yummy. Unfortunately.....I have already eaten about two thirds of the bag. Once I get started....I cannot stop. I don't eat chicken eggs.....but I love these chocolate eggs. My favorite are the blue ones.....they look like robin eggs. How pretty. So much for my diet...it went right out the window this week. I'm going to gain the 30 pounds I lost right back if I keep this up. Not to mention that I have been blowing off going to the pool and the gym....and I also consumed great quantities of girl scout cookies and onion and garlic chips on Monday night. Maybe it has something to do with it being 9 degrees outside. It probably has more to do with my lack of self control. I seem to have given it up for lent.

My Uncle John

My uncle John passed away last Thursday. It was a surprise for all of us. He had a heart attack in the shower. He was only 49. This has been hard for me and my family. I hadn't see much of him in recent years, but have a lot of good childhood memories that include him. He spent a lot of time at my apartment with my mother and I shortly after my parent's divorce. Sometimes he would babysit. I remember watching tv (most likely the Love Boat) with him and laughing about the afghan my grandmother had made that had a lot of holes in it. She made it with love and it was warm, but we couldn't figure out why it was warm because it had so many holes. The holes were part of the pattern. We laughed so hard about that. Another time he came over and made us breakfast. This was a special occasion. I don't remember what he made us, but I do recall it involved eggs and milk. He loved milk. He drank more milk than anyone I had ever seen. John was a very sensitive person with an enormous heart. He loved his children more than anything else in the world. He will be missed.

I Love Sedatives

I had an ultrasound and an endoscopy last week at the BIDMC in Boston.

I hate having ultrasounds. I hate lying on the bed and having them slather that cold jelly-like substance all over my abdomen. I hate the feeling of them rolling that microphone shaped thing all over my liver and kidneys. I hate having ultrasounds because they bring me back to a time in my life when my liver disease was bad and the chances of my needing a transplant were likely. They didn't do the doplar ultrasound this time. They said it looked like my last ultrasound. I have a liver. My gall bladder is higher than most peoples. My liver isn't as healthy as everyone elses. Fortunately things have stayed the same. I most likely will be keeping my own liver for awhile.

After my ultrasound I ran over to the 8th floor in the Farr building for my endoscopy. I showed signs of portal hypertension in my liver a few years back so I have an endoscopy every two years to check for varices in my esophagus. Fortunately everything checked out ok. I hate having an endoscopy, but I love the sedatives. I even told this to the nurse who checked me in. I think she thought I was a little wierd. Heck...I am wierd. Since I cannot really drink...and should stay away from illegal drugs.....the sedatives are the best I can hope for.

After my procedure I spoke to my doctor for a few minutes. She told me that she wants me to come in for a biopsy at some point. We will talk about it when I see her in May. I was a little surprised by this because I thought if things looked good then we wouldn't go this route. I guess I was wrong.

I had something called a fibroscan a couple of weeks ago too. Fibroscans are approved in France and the BIDMC is doing research to get it approved in this country. The fibroscan sends a little soundwave into my liver and measures how squishy it is. Squishy was the exact term my doctor used. My fibroscan came back as a 9.3 This is high, but not cirotic...this is good news. They can't use this score as an official measure of what is going on (because it is only research), but it does give us some idea.

I also had a bone density test on the same day as the fibroscan. They said I was dense. This is cool...it isn't the first time I have been called dense. I have a bone density test every couple fo years because I was on that God awful Prednisone for so long. Lets hope I'll stay dense for a long time.

Helping HepCats

The Football Walk For Liver Wellness is coming up on Sunday, September 17th. You can make a difference in the fight against liver disease by walking or sponsoring a walker. Learn more about walking at the Football Walk website. You can also contribute by sponsoring the HepCats. Thanks for your support!

Everyone Needs a Virtual Assistant

Do you need someone to help you make the most out of your small or at home business? Let the Cybersecretary take on your administrative tasks. She'll do anything from website creation and maintenance to mailings and travel arrangements. Cybersecretary: where information age technology meets old-fashioned customer service!

Birthday 2006

I celebrated my birthday last weekend. I turned 33 on Sunday. A bunch of us went to see Deep Sea (3D) at Jordan's Furniture in Reading and had lunch at Fuddruckers on Saturday. We also played a fun duck game. The movie was great. I highly recommend seeing it if you can. The food at Fuddruckers was good, but we had some issues making a reservation. They were going to charge me $3.00 per person to make a reservation...we decided to not do this and play it by ear...and it worked out perfectly. The duck game rocked. I even won a stuffed duck. As you can see...it was an intense game.

The rest of my weekend was fun too. Brenda took me to eat at Garden of Eden and we went for a walk around Castle Island. I love the mac-n-cheese at Garden of Eden. Sunday I had breakfast with my dad and then went to Woodman's in Essex with Brenda, Mom and Russ. The line at Woodman's was insane...and it was hot, but it was worth the wait. After lunch we had some yummy Carvel ice cream cake. Thanks Mom and Russ. I love the chocolate crunchies. We spent the late afternoon at the farm getting our share and picking strawberries. That night Brenda made me some amazing strawberry shortcake with the berries we picked. Overall it was a wonderful birthday. Thanks to everyone who made my weekend special.

On another positive note. My Mom went to the doctor today. They said her tests came back and they look great. She is still cancer free. Yee haw! It has been two years since the surgery where they put her back together. Doctors used to say that people with colon cancer who went for five years without it coming back were not likely to have it return. They now say that folks need to be cancer free for five years. Reason being that the medications they now use are stronger and stick around longer. Two years down...three more to go. I'm hopeful that she will continue on a healthy path.

Happy Pride

Happy Pride! Just a fyi...the Pride Parade and Festival will be delayed by 1 hour in Boston tomorrow. The parade is now starting at 1:00 p.m. in Copley Square. The festival will go from 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on the Boston Common. Read more about it at the Boston Pride. Looking forward to seeing y'all!

Save NPR and PBS

This just in from my friend Lisa G.......

Everyone expected House Republicans to give up efforts to kill NPR and PBS after a massive public outcry stopped them last year. But they've just voted to eliminate funding for NPR and PBS—unbelievably, starting with programs like "Sesame Street."

Public broadcasting would lose nearly a quarter of its federal funding this year. Even worse, all funding would be eliminated in two years--threatening one of the last remaining sources of watchdog journalism.

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS again this year:
http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Last year, millions of us took action to save NPR and PBS, and Congress listened. We can do it again if enough of us sign the petition in time.

This would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting. The Boston Globe reports the cuts "could force the elimination of some popular PBS and NPR programs." NPR's president expects rural public radio stations may be forced to shut down.

The House and Senate are deciding if public broadcasting will survive, and they need to hear from viewers like you. Sign the petition at:
http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Boston Globe story on the threat to NPR and PBS at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1864

Memorial Day Weekend 2006

We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend in Provincetown. We got there mid-day on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. We stayed at Howard's End Guest House which is close to the monument and a good place to sleep if you are looking for quiet and affordable accomodations. We spent some time with other friends who were in Provincetown for the weekend. We went to Tea Dance at the Boatslip. Tea Dance at the Boatslip is nice because their deck is bigger than the Pied's and looks out over the ocean. We also spent quite a bit of time at the Clem and Ursies Happy Hour. Clem and Ursies has a happy hour from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. where they sell $1.00 oysters and shrimp. I don't eat seafood, but their watermelon lemonade is quite tasty. We had breakfast one day at Tips for Tops'n which is a local diner with standard american fare mixed in with some portuguese specialties. We had pizza at George's. I like George's because it is open year round and consistent. We also consumed a lot of espresso shakes and pizza at Spiritus. I love their espresso shakes so much that I am often tempted to drive all the way from Boston to Provincetown just to get one. We ate dinner at Cafe Edwige one night. Cafe Edwige is the only higher end restaurant I have eaten in Provincetown (other than Gallerani's) where I had no complaints. Edwige is definately worth a trip. We stopped into the new Bacchanal Wine Bar at the Vixen one night. I think this is going to be a nice place once they work out some of the new business kinks. They only offer an extremely expensive port by the glass, they notified us that the plumber hadn't been able to get there yet and the only thing I could order on the menu was water etc. We went for walk one morning. There is something wonderful about the early morning quiet of Commercial Street. We tried renting a skiff (16' wooden boat with a quipped wth 8 HP outboard motor) at Flyers Boats . Well...we did rent it, but had to turn around quickly when I realized that I was having a hard time driving straight. They were good to offer us four round trip Long Point shuttle tickets in return. It was an adventure. We laugh now. On Sunday Brenda's friend Janet came to spend the day with us. She took the Fast Ferry from Boston to Provincetown. I love the Fast Ferry. It gets you there in an hour and a half. You cannot beat it. We hung out downtown, went to Happy Hour at Clem and Ursies (I said we spent quite a bit of time here right?), and went for a walk on the dune trails at the ProvinceLands Visitor Center. The trails are nice there, but I wouldn't suggest exploring in the woods. We saw a lot of poison ivy. Unfortunately we had to head back to Boston on Monday, but we did get a chance to spend some time at the beach on our way out of town.

Support Internet Freedom

Companies like Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner, and Comcast are trying to decide what you read on the internet. Learn more about it at Save The Internet. Lucy's Kitchen Notebook also has a great posting that puts this issue into perspective. Contact your Representatives and Senators and let them know that you support internet freedom.

Medical Results

I had bloodwork last week and the results are in. All looks healthy on the liver front. My labs are all within normal limits. My doctor says I should stay on 100mg of azathioprine. Here are the stats:

ALT: 12
AST: 26
IgG: 1133

Speaking of healthy livers.....I never gave you the update on Molly's marathon run for the liver. She wasn't my official patient match, but I did get to know her through the liver team and she often referred to me as her honorary patient match. She was constantly reminding me that she was running for me as well. Molly is super enthusiastic and was honored with being named "Rookie of the Year" by the liver team. This is well deserved. She finished the marathon in 5:25:24. Congratulations Molly! You are "wicked" awesome!

Molly also told me about the Marathon Minute podcast. Early on I had joked that Molly should record a podcast documenting her training. She told me that two liver team members (Peter and Eliza) were already doing it. I was so psyched and subscribed right away. I do not know either Peter or Eliza, but I enjoyed listening to their weekly podcast. The marathon is over, but Marathon Minute is still worth checking out. They are currently working on a three part marathon day re-cap series.

My mom had a colonoscopy recently. She is cancer free, but they did see that she has significant diverticulosis. We were disappointed to hear the news. They said there is a good chance that she will need surgery at some point as a result. Looks like my mom won't be eating seeds any time soon.

Greg Lewis Peace Garden

I went to the Greg Lewis Peace Garden dedication at Mt. St. Joseph Academy (MSJA) today. The Peace Garden was designed by faculty members, Deirdre Clancy, and Ted Becker to honor Greg Lewis. They did a wonderful job at creating a memorial to an amazing religion teacher who made a significant difference in the lives of many young Catholic women in the Boston area.

I was delayed on my way to the dedication because of traffic on Western Avenue in Cambridge. It took me 35 minutes to get down a road that usually takes me one minute. I arrived late and was disappointed for two reasons. One, I was scheduled to read the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-17) during the ceremony and did not get there in time to do so. Two, I was not able to commemorate his life by participating in the dedication as I had hoped. I was late to the ceremony…but I can still celebrate what he did for me…

My freshman year at MSJA I remember having a conversation with my guidance counselor (Carolyn Dwyer) about how I was feeling like there wasn’t a place for me in the Catholic Church. My politics was very far to the left, I identified as a feminist etc. She reassured me that I would find my place. I just needed to keep looking. My sophomore year two events happened in my life that proved to me that she was right. One, I went on a retreat that made me realize that my relationship with God was a unique and individual experience that goes beyond celebrating church on Sunday and at school. Two, I took a religion class with Greg Lewis. The first class I took with Greg Lewis was called social justice. This was only the beginning. I ended up taking two (Death and Dying, Peace) other classes with him and got to know him by my involvement with the social justice club.

What Greg Lewis taught me is that we, as Catholics, have a responsibility to work towards social change in the world. He also showed me that we have the ability to change the world through our actions and ideas. Mr. Lewis opened my eyes to things like Liberation theology, the Catholic Worker Movement, and the Just War theory. These were all movements/ideas that I could identify with. They were all about justice, peace, and freedom from oppression. The major premise behind all of these being that that we need to treat each person with dignity and respect because we are all children of God. These are very empowering and important messages. In today’s world being Catholic can be difficult. However, it is these teachings that keep me coming back to church today. I am thankful to Greg Lewis for showing me that there is a place for me in this Church. I owe a big part of who I am today to him.

Much of what Greg Lewis taught is represented in the Beatitudes.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. Jesus began to teach them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Easter Weekend 2006

Brenda and I both took yesterday off to go to the Boston Marathon and cheer on folks running for the American Liver Foundation's Run For Research Team. You all know I was matched with a super enthusiastic runner named Terri. She finished in 4:23:35. She did great. Congratulations to Terri for finishing. It has been great getting to know both Terri and her niece Kerri. I was initally also matched with Kerri, but she had a "knee injury" and needed to drop out a couple of months ago. I also met someone named Molly through Kerri...who is wicked cool and lives in my neighborhood. Molly ran for the liver team as well. These women rock and I really appreciate all the hard work they put in to support the work of the American Liver Foundation.

Sunday was Easter of course. We had dinner with my family in Belmont. Brenda made the most ham she has ever made in her life. It is a miracle it all fit in the pan and that we managed to get it all the way to Belmont without one spill. Plus...it was mighty tasty too.

Saturday we went to Parker's Baptism. Brenda and I were Godmothers...cool huh? Jen's brother was the Godfather. Parker is getting so big...he even turned over on his own recently. He is a cutie.

Speaking of babies. Cyn and Mike had their baby girl Charlotte on Friday afternoon. I am so psyched that she came early. I was getting anxious waiting for her to arrive. I think Cyn and Mike were too. We didn't get to the hospital to see her this weekend....because we were insanely busy...but we are going to meet her tonight. Yee haw! Congratulations!

Baseball Revisited

I was raised in Boston, MA. I was taught to love the Red Sox and hate the Yankees. That being said....I can honestly say that I never really followed what was going on until recently. I had an "ah ha" moment when the security guard at work started talking to me about the Red Sox this morning. I told him what I thought about the new players and even commented on yesterday's game. I realized at that moment that I had become a Red Sox fan. I started thinking about other ways this was showing itself. Over the weekend we went to Maine to celebrate Brenda's father's birthday. While there I spent some time with her 11 year old nephew. He is obsessed with two things right now...hunting...and the Red Sox. I didn't have too much to say about hunting...but I definately had some thoughts on the Red Sox. Tomorrow is opening day at Fenway Park. Lets hope these "boys of summer" can pull it off this year and that I will get to see them play as often as possible.

Big Bad Blogger

I was on a roll with blogging back in January and early February, but I have since lapsed. I really mean to be a good blogger...but I just can't get it together. Some people like Sigh Club and Biotic are great about putting good stuff out there. Not me. So....this is what I have been up to since February 7th.

We went out to celebrate Brenda's Birthday on February 10th. We had some folks over for pizza and then headed over to Toast. I consumed too much Red Bull and rocked out to 80's music with Brenda, Dave, and Erin.

We had a great Valentines Day. We rented a Hot Tub at Urban Oasis and went out to eat.

I went to Hartford to have lunch with Meg and talk to some 2nd graders about liver disease on February 17th. These 2nd graders rock!

I went to the Boston Comic Book Spectacular on February 19th. I finally found issues of Rawhide Kid. Marvel's gay cowboy comic book hero. Rawhide Kid came out three years before Brokeback Mountain. Who knew?

I had dinner with my friends Nora and Bill on February 23rd. Nora and Bill were my neighbors when I was growing up. I spent a lot of time at their house when I was young. I love seeing them.

We went to see the Oscar nominated documentary shorts at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on February 27th. I love seeing these shorts every year. I feel lucky to see them at all. They don't usually show in theatres. Although...it seems the Academy really likes depressing topics.

We went to Cynthia's baby shower on March 12th. Yee haw. I cannot wait for the baby to come.

We also went to a surprise birthday party for Jen that night. Happy 30th Jen!

We brought my cousin Rachel to a maple sugarhouse on March 19th. The 19th was her 15th birthday. Happy Birthday Rachel. We took a really cool tour and got some yummy maple syrup. I would highly recommend the Warren Farm and Sugarhouse in North Brookfield if you are in the area.

I started to feel the beginnings of a cold on the 19th. I ended up with a virus that morphed into an ear infection. I was out of work for almost a week. I took antibiotics, stayed home, and consumed a lot of liquids. I am feeling a lot better these days.

We took my step-dad to a Boston Bruins on March 25th to celebrate his birthday. We beat the Buffalo Sabres 5 to 4. Russ' actual birthday was on March 28th. Happy Birthday Russ.

My mom and I took a ballroom dance class that met once a week for eight weeks in Cambridge. Our last class was on March 29th. We learned foxtrot, rhumba, and waltz. It was a lot of fun. I'm bummed it is over. I actually ran into someone who I went to grammar school and day-care with in my dance class. Small world huh? We also met a nice couple named Steve and Anne. Steve is originally from Dorchester. I love meeting people from the neighborhood.

My step-father ended up in the hospital last Friday night. He was having chest pains at work so they sent him to the hospital. He stayed the night and had a stress test the next morning. Everything looked ok. They don't think it was a heart attack. His doctor prescribed him Zantac. He is home now.

We went to see little Parker on Saturday. He is such a cutie patootie. He is getting so big. Brenda and I are looking forward to being godparents.

Saturday night we went to see Mike and Cynthia's new condo in Salem. It is a nice place...and the rooms are big. Congrats to Cyn and Mike.

Last night we tried to go to the Wolfe Women's Final Four Party at Club Cafe. Both Sheryl Swoopes and Sarah Shahi were there. Unfortunately we got there a little bit too late and were unable to get in. We ended up eating dinner at Laurel and getting drinks at Jurys. It was a lot of fun. There were tons of women around since things were so busy at Club Cafe.

Vital Records

In the archives/records world we refer to birth and death records as vital records. Today is a day to celebrate births and remember the lives of those who have gone. B is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday B! I'm very happy that you were born and are in my life. We also remember the life of Coretta Scott King. We celebrate the contribution she has made to civil rights in this country.

Medication Mayhem

On February 1st I posted that my mom had been diagnosed with diverticulitis and was exposed to the flu while she was a patient at the hospital. I also noted that she had been prescribed a seven day course of tamiflu as a prophylactic thing. I was happy to know that the hospital was at least trying to prevent my mother from getting influenza. I was annoyed when I found out that her insurance company would not pay for the $97.00 prescription when she was released on Tuesday. She is currently arguing with her insurance company to get her money back. She is also planning on contacting the hospital to complain about the fact that they put her at risk by allowing her to be exposed to the flu. I think the hospital should pay for the medication. Everyone is at risk for nosocomial infections when they go into a hospital, but I also feel that the hospital should be held accountable.

Expect the Unexpected

I was thinking over the weekend about what I wanted to write in this blog. Since January 28th marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger disaster I thought I would write about my reaction to this tragedy. I was in the 7th grade, Ms. Foran's english class, when they rolled a tv into the room to watch what had happened. Like a gazillion other Americans I watched with horror and sadness. I also thought I might write about the Run For Research Patient Match party I went to at Jordan's Furniture in Reading on Sunday. I had a nice time. I met one of my matches (Kerri) and some other runners. We had breakfast, chatted, took pictures, and watched Polar Express in 3D. The last idea I had was to write about my new love for Su Doku. Unfortunately something else came up that trumped all these topics.

Saturday morning my mom called to tell me that she had been in the emergency room all night. She said that she had been up for hours with pain in her abdomen. She was in the emergency room for 13 hours before they finally told her that she most likely had diverticulitis. This was a relief for all of us who were fearful that her cancer had come back. Mom was admitted to the hospital, started on antibiotics, and was put on a liquid diet. I spent a few hours at the hospital on Saturday. Sunday I went to visit for a couple of hours. She had a roomate at this point. The roomate supposedly had pneumonia. On Monday mom called to ask if I had had a flu shot. I explained that I had. Her roomate had just been diagnosed with the flu and was being moved to her own room. My mom had been prescribed tamiflu at this point. Crap...I had been exposed. The medication I take for my liver disease suppresses my immune system and makes me more susceptible to illness etc. Hence why I get a flu shot and try to stay away from sick folks. Mom asked her nurse and told her that I probably shouldn't visit. I called my hepatologist. She said I should be ok since I had had a flu shot and such a short exposure. My mother was released from the hospital yesterday and I am feeling flu free at this point. However this is one of those situations where I am reminded of the limitations my disease puts on me. Argh! I just spoke with my mother who said that she is feeling better.

Monday...Monday...

I just got a bit more follow-up from my doctor today. She wants me to come back in April for bloodwork and see her in July. I had been getting bloodwork every three months, but there was some talk about my possibly only needing to have it done every six months. The doctor decided that every three months was the way to go.

It snowed pretty hard this morning. It took me twice the time it usually does to get to work. It looks as if it has turned to rain. I hope it doesn't freeze. I was hoping they would let us go home early from work...no such luck.

We had a great weekend. Friday night we watched Dancing With The Stars with some friends. We later went to Toast to do some more contemporary/booty shaking. Saturday we went to see Parker and spent the rest of the evening at a cocktail party. The party was fun until I realized that my non-alcoholic diet coke had been switched with someones coke and absolut drink. We quickly switched back. I hate when that happens. Sunday I went to church and did some shopping. B and I also went for a walk around Cambridge and Somerville. We stayed up and watched the L Word last night. I was very happy to see that they had added a new character (Moira) to the show. Her character brings both a butch and a working class dimension that was missing before. However I think that the writers have gone a little over the top with this character. We will see how it all turns out. Overall it was a nice weekend.

Run For Research

Each year good-hearted athletes run the Boston Marathon as part of the American Liver Foundation's Run For Research. Run For Research team members raise critical funds in the fight against liver disease. Since 1987 the Run For Research has raised over $8 million to fight against liver disease. I have been fortunate to be involved with this event by participating in the Patient Match Program. This year I have been matched with two awesome runners named Terri Faucher and Kerri Pozzi. Both Kerri and Terri have such great enthusiasm for the work of the American Liver Foundation and their sport. Run For Research team members are required to raise at least $2500 to run with the team. Please go to the sponsor a member page and click on both Kerri and Terri's names to donate. I encourage you to support this cause. I know first hand how important liver research is. Love you Liver!

Changing Face of Davis Square

I was recently disappointed to see that Pluto in Davis Square had closed. I was unhappy about this because it was a great place to buy last minute gifts...funky holiday cards...and unique household items. I wondered what had happened. Were they not getting enough business? Had the building owner raised the rent? Were they making a gazillion dollars at their Jamaica Plain location and decide to put all their eggs in one basket?

Well I think I found out what happened to Pluto while I was at the gym (surprise...surprise...I do go to the gym once in a while) last night. My gym buddy told me that she had tried to go to Picante Mexican Grill in Davis Square over the weekend. She was equally as upset to find out that Picante had also closed. She spoke to a friend who told her that the owner of the building had increased the rent...which forced Picante to close their restaurant. My friend from the gym said that she will miss Picante's spinach quesadillas. I will miss having them so close by as well. I loved their burritos...and chips.

My guess is that Pluto suffered the same consequence as Picante. The fact that they were located exactly next to each other in Davis Square is a significant clue.

Fortunately folks living in the Boston area don't have to live their lives truly void of these very cool local establishments. Both Pluto and Picante have locations elsewhere. Feel free to visit them here:

Picante Mexican Grill
735 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge

Pluto
603 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain

Results Are In

I got the results back from my liver tests and they look good. Here is the breakdown:

ALT: 16
AST: 26
IgG: 1050

So what does this mean? Things are great. All my tests came back within normal limits. My nurse practitioner called and said I should remain on 100 mg of azathioprine and have bloodwork in a few months. I am scheduled to see my hepatologist in July.

Big Apple

We had a nice time this weekend. We took the Fung Wah bus from Boston to New York on Friday evening. We stayed with our friends in Brooklyn.

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday . We spent most of our time at the Fra Angelico and Egyptian exhibits. The Fra Angelico exhibit is about to leave the museum. Check it out while you can. That night we had dinner at Ivo and Lulu's. This is a great place. The food is tasty.....the price is unbeatable. My potato gratin and salad was perfect. The baked pear with blue cheese and honey was wonderful. They don't have a beer and wine license, but they encourage people to bring their own.

Sunday we hung out at the Strand Bookstore and then had lunch at Otto. This was totally amazing. Mario Batalli has done it yet again. I had the yummy pizza special which consisted of marinated onions and goat cheese. B got the linguine con rapini pesto which was damn good too. We also ordered brussels sprouts and vin cotto as a side vegetable. For dessert we had the olive oil coppetta. This olive oil gelato, with tangerine sorbet, fruit, drizzled olver oil and sea salt was very unique and scrumptious. I would totally order it again. We spent the rest of Sunday running around getting things we cannot get in Boston like chocolate corn flakes from Chocolate Haven and coffee from Porto Rico Importing Co. We also stayed up and watched the L Word.

Monday we hung out with our friend Paul and had lunch at the ChipShop. I had the chicken in the basket with chips. I would recommend it. For dessert we split a fried snickers bar.

We took the bus back to Boston on Monday afternoon. The ride was pretty awful. It took five hours....the temperature in the bus was up and down....the bus driver kept pumping the brakes. I was happy to get out of that bus and finally arrive in our warm apartment.

Overall it was a fun weekend. The weather was awful....freezing rain...and cold. However we got to spend some good time with our friends....and take advantage of some things only New York has to offer.

Six Month Check-Up

I am going to see my hepatologist this afternoon. I will most likely have bloodwork done too. I am currently seeing my hepatologist every six months and having blood tests taken every three months. Lets hope things will continue to go smoothly. I am hopeful.

I got my Run For Research match the other day. I was matched with two runners this year....an aunt and niece team. I am looking forward to getting to know them.

Potty Thoughts

On January 4th I posted that I was reading the book Why Do Men Have Nipples by Mark Leyner, and Billy Goldberg. I finished the book and loved every word of it. I was thinking last night that it would be great if they did a sequel to this book that included questions that didn't make it into the first book. I have some questions I would like to see answered. Here they are: Where does poop from a fetus go when it is in the womb? Is it true you will die if you burp and fart at the same time? Just some thoughts.....

Ah Ha Moment

On January 5th I posted something about how I was getting bored waiting for Ariel Schrag to come out with the next issue of Likewise. The first line of my post read "whatever happened to Ariel Schrag?" Well I think I found out the answer to my question.

Last night I sat down with my partner to watch the third season premier of the L Word. This was a much anticipated event in our house. The season finale of season II had been so awful that we were hoping that season III would redeem the show. Fortunately the premier managed to pull this off. I am not 100% happy with the direction they are taking some of the story lines, but they did do a few things right. They brought back Lauren Lee Smith....she is so cute. They finally added what seems to be a real butch character (Moira). Jenny seems to be less annoying. Bette and Tina are back together. Watching Alice is like observing a train wreck, but it is keeping my attention. Beautiful Helena is back and certainly more likeable than last season. Kit appears to be having a better relationship with her son. I'm glad to see that Shane finally learned to trust another woman (Carmen). AND Dana....well I'm not loving her choice in a partner right now.....but time will tell.

That all being said...back to Ariel Schrag. When the L Word credits rolled I noticed that Ariel Schrag was listed as a staff writer. My guess is that this is the same Ariel Schrag of Awkward, Definition, Potential, and Likewise fame. So...thats why issue four of Likewise hasn't come out yet. She appears to be busy doing something else. Now it all makes sense.

Welcome Parker

Mary and Jen had their sweet little baby boy Parker at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on January 5th. We went to the hospital to meet this cutie patootie on Saturday. Congratulations to Mary and Jen.

how do you solve a problem like Maria

My friend Joanie has an article on Maria von Trapp in Prologue magazine. Check it out. It looks like Maria von Trapp and Julie Andrews didn't has as much in common as we had all thought.

speaking of comics....

whatever happened to Ariel Schrag? Sighclub introduced me to her work a few years back. I love her autobiographical comics that chronicle her four years of high school. Awkward, Definition, and Potential were all amazing. Likewise was pretty good too, but nothing has come out since issue three...and that was a long time ago. I really want to know how the rest of her senior year of high school turns out. I hope issue 4 comes out soon. I am losing interest with all this waiting around. You can learn more about Ariel Schrag's books at Slave Labor Graphics.

Strangers In Paradise Lost

I was disappointed to see that Terry Moore has said that the last issue of Strangers in Paradise is set for May 2007. I beg you Terry Moore....please don't stop writing Strangers in Paradise. I love Katchoo...and Francine...and David.

I'm Back......

I stayed home from work yesterday. I was feeling tired......nauseous and a little headachey.

I spent the day doing laundry....relaxing.....and trying to make myself feel better. I watched the Buena Vista Social Club. I had not seen this film before. I would encourage you to see this film if you have not. The film gives an interesting insight into life in Cuba and its wonderful musical tradition. I also got caught up on some reading yesterday. My step-father gave me a fun book for Christmas this year. It is called Why Do Men Have Nipples. This book gives quirky answers to questions you would love to ask your doctor, but are too embarrassed to ask.

I'm feeling a bit better today. I am less tired...nauseous...and headachey.

Happy New Year

I stumbled across this cool 11 minute movie about the National Archives and Records Administration called Democracy Starts Here. The movie was created by NARA and the Discovery Channel. Check it out!

Have a Wonderful New Year!

Seasons Greetings

Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope folks are enjoying themselves this holiday season.

I was taken aback when I went to my blog today and realized that I had not posted since November 3rd. My life sort of took off in a tornado of activity at around that time. I should update you.

First off........my friend Elke's birthday was on November 4th....the day after my last post. Happy Belated Birthday Elke.

We went to my friend Mary's baby shower on November 5th. She and her partner Jen are expecting a baby boy at the end of January. I cannot wait. Unfortunately Mary has recently been put on bed-rest until she delivers. She is at home reading books and watching tv.

I went to the Christmas Craft Festival with my mother on November 5th. We had a nice time. The festival usually marks the beginning of the shopping season for my mother and I. I bought some nice things.

We went to a time-share sales pitch at Inn Season Resorts in New Hampshire on November 11th. We didn't buy the time-share, but we got some gifts for sitting through their presentation. We ended up making a weekend of it. We stayed at a little place right next to Franconia Notch. Looked at what was once Old Man of the Mountain, went out to dinner, went for a swim etc.

I had Thanksgiving with my parents in Belmont. I met some friends for our Thanksgiving morning breakfast tradition. I worked the day after Thanksgiving and got more work done than I could have if everyone else was in work on that day.

I found out around Thanksgiving that Cyn and Mike are pregnant. Yee haw! They are due in May.

I went to the Gilbane conference on November 30th. I went to the keynote on blogs, wikis, and rss and its usefulness across the enterprise. It was very interesting. I have been doing a lot of collaboration stuff at work lately....and am totally excited about blogs and wikis as collaboration tools.

We went dancing at Toast on December 2nd. We were celebrating Ronda and Trish's birthdays. We also met up with our friend Kim who we haven't seen in an age. She moved to New York and then Colorado a few years ago.

We went to Edaville Railroad on December 3rd. We had a lot of fun. I hadn't been there in 25 years or so. It was a little smaller than I had remembered. We also went to the new Ikea in Stoughton that night. We were only able to stay for 15 minutes. They were closing. We still need to take another trip there.

I went to a party at my cousin's on December 10th.

I made Christmas cookies with my mother on December 15th.

On December 16th we went to see the Christmas Revels at Harvard. This was my first time. I would definately go again.

I went to my friend Joanie's holiday open house on December 17th.

We had some friends over to watch the Godfather on December 18th.

We left for Frenchville, ME on December 22nd. We visited with family......and braved the cold weather. We left on Christmas morning to come back to Boston. We had dinner with more family.

I came back to work on December 28th.

That pretty much brings you up to date on my life. My mother is enjoying her job more now than before. She saw her doctor recently who said she looks free of cancer. My liver is pretty much status quo. I'm still on the same meds. I'm assuming my bloodwork will be normal when I go in January. I am hoping to be involved with next year's Football Walk in Boston. I just submitted a patient match form to the Run For Research folks. I'm waiting to hear if they still need patients to match with runners. I'm looking forward to the New Year. The new season of the L Word is starting on January 8th. I cannot wait. My step-brother is in town this week. We had dinner the other night. It was good to see him...it had been a while. Elke is coming for a visit next week. I am looking forward to seeing her. I need to run......

Happy New Year!

Some people like the toilet paper roll to go over....others like it under. I myself like it over. It doesn't come rolling off as easy.....and there is no chance of it running away from you. I am so adamant that the toilet people be over that I have been known to switch it in the homes of dear friends who happen to have a difference of opinion on the matter. My latest trip to the ladies room at work has confirmed my suspicion that the new maintenance guy likes his toilet paper under. I started noticing the toilet paper under thing on Tuesday....here it is Thursday...and the paper is still under. He seems nice enough...and I'm sure he will do a great job. I just wish we agreed on the toilet paper issue. I did an informal survey and it appears that most folks like it over.

I'm in College Park, MD this week. I just went for a swim in the heavily clorinated pool. I had a lovely day at work. I sat in on a class....met with a colleague. I went to IKEA for the first time in my life tonight. I had some super yummy swedish meatballs for dinner. I did some shopping. It was pretty swanky. I got in at around 6:00 p.m. last night. I managed to get to DC for a bit and hang out in Dupont Circle. I went to eat at Wrap Works...I love their tropical chicken salad. I also bought a tasty espresso chew at Firehook and grabbed a flavorful chai at Teaism. I have had a nice trip, but I am ready to go home. I'm looking forward to being back in my own apartment tomorrow night. I'm off to take a shower. I need to get this clorine off me before my hair turns green.

Not much to report on. Life has been busy. We are going to the Common Ground Fair this weekend in Maine. Going to see Dar Williams tomorrow night at Sanders Theatre. I got her new album My Better Self last week. I really like it so far. I am enjoying it a lot more than her last two albums. My favorite songs are Teen For God, Echoes, and Close To My Heart. My liver is doing ok. I am due for an ultrasound and bloodwork on October 3rd. Speaking of October. I am really looking forward to fall this year. We are going to the fair this weekend. We already have plans to go apple picking and to attend a fall party. I'm loving the fall vegetables at our farm. I cannot wait for caramel apples, foliage, and cool days.

What is on Yoyogirl's mind!

The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance has a list of Hurricane Katrina Relief Organizations.

The Football Walk for Liver Wellness is coming up. This 5 mile walk to raise money for the American Liver Foundation will take place on Sunday, October 9th at Artesani Park in Brighton. Check it out.

Sandy Berger was sentenced to pay $50,000 and do 100 hours of community service from stealing documents from NARA. Serves him right for stealing. Read more about it at CNN.

NARA has released that Lockheed Martin will design the Electronic Records Archives. read more about it at NARA.

There is a lot going on in and around Boston this weekend. The Habitat for Humanity group at Harvard is having their Stuff Sale starting on Saturday. The JP World's Fair is coming up on Sunday. The Boston Arts Festival is this weekend too.

Have a great weekend!

I just got back from a week in Provincetown. We had a lot of fun. We went on a Whale Watch. We went to see Suzanne Westenhoefer. Went to the beach...stayed out of the rain. Rode our bikes. Went to the pool. One day we went to see Me And You And Everyone We Know. This movie is great. Go see it if you can.

I saw Jai Rodriguez walking down Commercial street at some point. A couple of days later John Waters rode by me on his bicycle. Cool huh? It isn't very often that you see two famous gay people walking down the street in one week.

So lets talk about food for a bit. We ate dinner at Cafe Edwige one night. I had the most amazing T-Bone steak. We ate at Chester on another night. Chester was good, but not as good as Edwige. We also had dinner at Fanizzi's. I really like Fanizzi's because the food is consistently good. We had brunch at the Martin House on Saturday. They just started serving brunch and more people need to know about it. My cranberry and blueberry waffle was pretty tasty. Of course we consumed a bunch of espresso shakes at Spiritus. Spiritus has the best espresso shake in the world. It costs $6.00, but it is totally worth it. I had lunch at Clem and Ursies one day. I really like Clem and Ursies, but it is totally overpriced. My overall impression of the culinary situation in Provincetown is that you need to pay a lot to get good food. That being said you could probably pay less in Boston and get better quality food. I have only had two meals in Provincetown that I feel were flawless. My meal at Edwige was incredible. The other amazing meal was at Gallerani's. Unfortunately Gallerani's closed about a year and a half ago. The gallerani's chicken was my favorite dish in provincetown for a while. They also had the most amazing lobster corn chowder. It is too bad that Gallerani's closed. Enough about food in Provincetown....

I'm off to see my hepatologist tomorrow. I will most likely have bloodwork done. We'll see what the results say.

I'm going to Lenox for one night at the end of the week. I will be stuck in the office for both days. I hope to get out and enjoy the Berkshires during the late afternoon and evening.

I'm staying in Lenox tonight at the Cranwell. It is pretty nice so far. I'm bummed I won't be able to take advantage of the spa while I am here. I drove out this morning and am leaving tomorrow afternoon. I was at work all day today and will be in the office tomorrow too. I did have a nice dinner with two colleagues at this restaruant called Zinc Bistro. It was yummy. I might stop off at the outlet mall on my way home tomorrow.

I had a wonderful time at Boston Pride this weekend. We went to the Dyke March....had breakfast with friends.....Stood out in the heat to see the parade.......briefly stopped by the festival (it was too hot)........spent a while at the Esme Block Party and checked out the Women's Block party yesterday afternoon. I am exhausted today, but it was totally worth it.

We went to out farm yesterday afternoon. We got there and went right to the potato plants. We smooshed the beatles and their eggs. I was tired...and hot and sweaty. I should prepare myself to do more of this type of work next week when we go. Oh yes and we picked up some tasty vegetables too. Scallions...lettuce.......spinach etc.

I cannot believe they found Michael Jackson not guilty on all charges. What does this say about our justice system?

My mother recently had a scare. She had a mammogram and they found an abnormality. She went for an ultrasound yesterday. They said that they didn't think she had much to worry about. The ultrasound revealed that she had big ducts. Whew! What a relief! This was my mother's first medical issue since her run-in with colon cancer.

I'm a winner! Yes I am! The Curves I belong to recently had a silent auction. Members earned "curves bucks" by answering trivia questions and getting a buck if one exerciesed at least three times a week. In the end I had 34 bucks. Much more than I had expected to have. I used them to bid on two Tupperware bowls and I won. I was pretty psyched. I never win anything.

I had dinner with Kent last night. He is in town for the School for Scanning. We had a nice time. We had yummy burger's at Bartley's Burger Cottage and got coffee at Cafe Algiers. When I first met up with Kent I noticed a big group standing in front of the Harvard Book Store. David Sedaris was reading from his paperback version of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim . The bookstore had filled up and they decided to put a speaker out front so people could here out there. Kent and I were among the lowly on the street. We only stayed to heard him read one story and then we were off. That being said....what we heard was very funny. It was nice to see Kent. We talked about our jobs, lives, and library school. I had fun catching up.

I should run....I have a lot to do today.

My Memorial Day weekend was eventful. We went to the camp in Maine. This is usally a nice time. We do yard work. Pick up branches. Hang out. It was a nice time this weekend too. However the bugs made it a bit difficult. I got eaten alive by the black flies. And lucky me found a tick embedded in my right ear. I had a hard time getting it out. B managed to get it out of my ear. However it looks like it wasn't actually in my ear. B was able to flick it off with some work. I never drew blood. The tick head doesn't appear to still be in my ear. At first I was strssed out about it being a deer tick....and the whole lyme disease thing. After a closer look we believe it was a wood tick. We also realized that if the tick was hanging there that it couldn't have been for too. long. Certainly less than 12 hours. BUT we did decide to keep the tick and keep a lookout for a rash and/or other lyme disease symptoms.

We watched a bunch of episodes of the Deadliest Catch yesterday. I couldn't stop watching once I turned it on. The Discovery Channel was running a marathon. If you get a chance definately check this show out.

I recently met Sam Seidel and his wife Ann at a birthday party. Sam is running for Cambridge City Council. After speaking with him for a bit and scanning his website I think he is a good candidate. I like his ideas about parking in Cambridge. When I met Sam I informed him that I was not a resident of Cambridge, but would pass the word along. So here you go....vote Sam Seidel for City Council!

I went to see my primary care physician for my yearly physical. She said everything looked good. Having dinner with Cyn and Steph tonight. Getting together with a colleague who is visiting from out of town tomorrow night. My mother is feeling a little overwhelmed in her new job because no one seems to have taken the time to train her. I hate this. My supervisor is out of the office for the next three weeks. She had rotator cuff surgery this week. We might be going to Lewiston, ME for Memorial Day weekend. Too bad it is going to rain. I am sick of the cold and rain. We might stick around Somerville instead. I hated the season finale of the L Word. It was all filler. I am tired of Betty. Stood out in the rain to see the Butchies last weekend. They were playing at Youth Pride. We were probably the oldest people there, but it was fun to see the Butchies. We went to the new Danish Pastry House in Medford last weekend. It is a mighty tasty place. I am definately going back.

Did you know that May is National Hepatitis Awareness Month? Well now you do. This is the month to education people about the liver and the over 100 diseases that affect this football shaped amazingly important organ.

We went to the Living Well With Liver Disease" event at the Sheraton in Newton last weekend. This years event was great. I would encourage anyone with liver disease and/or their family members to attend next year.

Our CSA share is about to get started in a couple of weeks. We cannot wait.

We went to see Saving Face at the 21st Annual Boston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at the MFA last night. The movie is very funny and totally worth seeing. See it if you can.

Mom started a new job at the hospital recently. I am proud of her. She has been through so much in the past two years. I had my bone density test. They told me I was dense. This is good news. I had my enzymes tests done too. They are looking great. I got a haircut. I am back to getting in done at Great Cuts. I cost a third of the price and it looks exactly the way I want it to. Went to see Amy Ray at the Paradise recently. I do not love her solo stuff. I am loving the L Word. I'm disappointed that the season is nearly done. I love Tina. Dana and Alice are great together. I am liking Bette again. Jenny is just as annoying. Helena is beautiful, but too controlling. Shane has grown on me. I have no thoughts on Carmen. And Kit is just amazing. I am looking forward to the season premier of Queer As Folk.

I tried posting recently, but my computer had a freak out. I hope it doesn't do the same thing today. My life has been busy as usual. We finally got out car back on March 9th. My liver is doing better. I'm off the Prednisone....up on the Imuran. We are going to Provincetown to get away for a few days. I'm off to New York next week.....and DC the week after that. My mother's health is better. She is done with school and looking for a job. I've been getting back into exercise again. I was so bad that the nice staff at Curves called me to say they missed me. Well....I'm back. I am so happy that the spring is coming. I am tired of snow. Of course we are expecting heavy rain and wind this weekend. Thats no good either. Street cleaning starts again in my town today. I should run along........

Looks like it has been a month since I posted last. I need to stay on top of this. Oh well. My life has been insanely busy. Taught a class in Newport, RI two weekends ago. Been teaching a lot at work. Planning a trip to Provincetown. Going to New York and DC for work in April. Had an endoscopy recently. They said everything looked good. There was a little bit of redness in my esophogus, but they didn't seem too worried. Off the presnisone. Up on the imuran. Liver enzymes are down. My sprained ankle is feeling better. We got our car back....FINALLY. Mom is done with school and looking for a job. She spends a lot of her time volunteering at the local hospital and looking for work. Celebrating my Step-Fathers birthday this weekend. Excited about Easter. Done with the snow. Looking forward to spring. Exercising at Curves. Have a bone density test in April. Guess they want to find out if I'm dense or not. Most people would say I am. Ha Ha!

So..my life....lets see.....

My ankle is feeling better. I'm not sure if I still need physical therapy. I went to Curves three times this week and experienced mild discomfort...but thats it. I think I'll be back to normal soon.

My insurance company is still being scummy. They keep blaiming the car dealer saying that it is his fault that they sent me a check for $320 less than they should have. They say he should have notified them if they were going to do extra work.....and if it were going to more expensive. I know for a fact that the dealer had notified them of any changes. The insurance adjuster was at the dealer's last week and said they could only find and extra $118 worth of work. Well.....last night I did my own math and what I found is that.....the insurance company did their math wrong. The numbers they gave me do not add up. Argh! I left them a nasty message last night...and I called the adjuster today. They probably hate me.......but they clearly keep %$^&ing up. We'll see if I hear back.

I heard from my hepatologist that my bloodwork looks good. My enzymes are normal...my IgG is low. So...she is taking me off the Prednisone and increasing my Imuran to 100 mg QD. This is very good news. I'm a little concerned about being on the higher dose of Imuran. Will I have cold sores left and right.....will I get colds more often? Will I have to be more concerned about being around sick people? I'm also a little nervous about not being on the Prednisone. Yeah I complain about the Prednisone all the time...it makes me hungry.....it weakens my bones.......it gives me facial hair.....BUT.......it's also a great anti-inflammatory. It saved my life when my liver was really sick. The small 5 mg dose appeared to take away the inflammation in my left ankle last year after I was recuperating from the broken leg. I currently have a sprained right ankle and am a little nervous that not being on the Prednisone will cause more discomfort in that area. Argh......I can never win.

Hmm...what else is new.....I'm going in for an endoscopy in a couple of weeks. I'm starting pt for my right ankle soon........I'm also having a bone densitometry in a couple of months.

Well...well...whats new with me. We still don't have our Honda back. It is at the dealer still. We are waiting for the check from the insurance company. I sprained my ankle recently. I went a little bit nuts at Curves. I'm icing and elevating it these days. I was in New York for a couple of nights this week. Guess who was behind me on the airplane to New York! Ming Tsai! Cool huh? Had a nice dinner with Christine while I was in New York. It was good to see her. Well I should run along. I have a lot of work to do.

We still don't have our car back. It is at the dealer.......and we are waiting to get the information from the insurance company.

We probably won't have it back until the end of the week.

I'm so angry at the people who took our tires. I'm also annoyed with the police department who have been close to useless.

I'm also sick of hearing people say things like...."yeah.....those criminals really love those Honda Civics"...or "Where do you live? Oh thats why." I know people are trying to be helpful...and they aren't blaming me for the situation, but it is hard to not interpret that as "well if you didn't drive a civic and live in that neighborhood then this wouldn't have happened to you."

On top of all of this I have been having lots of ankle pain recently. I think I overdid it at Curves. I am seeing my doctor this afternoon.

I'm also seeing my hepatologist this afternoon.

I have a fun-filled day of doctors appointments...yee haw!

This week has been pretty bad.

It started to look bad when I came home from work the other night and noticed that someone had hit the driver side mirror on our Saturn. Of course they left no note. I brought it in had had it fixed. I picked it up on Wednesday afternoon.

Bad right? Well the following takes the cake.

I left my apartment yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. and walked towards our new car to drive it to work. I noticed that the car looked funny from a distance. Then....I noticed that the wheels and tires were missing...the back was jacked up...the front of the car was on the pavement. Yup....stolen. Soo....to the people who stole my four wheels and tires.....you can %$^& OFF!!

I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer about whether there was any other damage or not. I sure hope not.

I hope things start to look better soon.

It s snowing outside....what a surprise. I'm a little sick of the snow at this point. I am tired of being afraid to drive.....or that I'll slip on the snow and break my leg again. I'm tired of fighting for parking and digging out my car. I wish they would send us home early because of the snow. No such luck.

My ALF meeting was cancelled tonight. I met with the local public library Director last night. She was very nice. I'm supposed to be doing an inventory of their public history room. I hope I will have some time to get to that in the next week. I went to Curves last night. It was a lot of fun.

My mother is doing well. She is going to ask her surgeon if he thinks she is ready to start an exercise program. She is enjoying her volunteer work at the hospital and her classes.

Gotta run.......

Nothing much to report on. My mother is feeling well. I have felt like I am on the verge of getting a cold for weeks now. I'm busy as usual. Work is busy. Next week I have a meeting at ALF. I am also meeting with folks at the local public library. I might be volunteering in their public history room. I am preparing for a class I am teaching in March. I have an interview next week to get ready for. I just joined curves this week. I know it was started by a right wing fundamentalist...but aside from that it works for me. They have heavy people in their commercials...most of the people there seem to be regular folks...not gymheads...and it works into my schedule. I don't have time to go to the gym for hours at a time. Curves is just a half hour...a few times a week. I have only gone once this week, but am planning on going after work today. This weekend we are expecting snow. We also have a friend coming into town. I see my new hepatologist next month. My tibial plateau aches sometimes. It was 3 degrees when I left my apartment this morning. I need to get some coffee. I can taste prednisone in the back of my throat from when I took it this morning. It is an awful taste.

So.....I've been in Yardley, PA for the past few nights. I'm looking forward to going back to Boston tomorrow. Nothing against my colleagues.....I like them....this has been a productive meeting........I just miss home. Since I have been here I have only eaten brown foods. This is not good. I need to eat some vegetables or I'm going to get scurvy. Ha...ha. Thats all I need. Since I have been here I have eaten.....pork tenderloin.........an italian sub (aka hoagie in these parts).......a cheese steak.....a patty melt....and a falafel sandwich with fries. See my problem? Ok so.....I had potatoes and green beans with the pork tenderloin....and every morning I have had a bagel and a piece of fruit.....but still.....I can feel my arteries clogging....glug.....glug.

I forgot to mention that I fell on the ice last week...yup....right on the spot where I broke it a year and a half ago. I'm sure its ok......I was more scared than anything else. At first it stung really bad....then it hurt when I touched it. It sort of feels like it did when it was healing. I'm sure its fine....I would know if it were broken right?

I am sad about the tsunami in southern Asia. The devastaion there is beyond my understanding. I'm happy to hear that the world is coming together to help out.

Having dinner with Elke tonight....looking forward to seeing her.

I don't have a lot to report on.

My Christmas was nice. I spent some quiet time at home with my family. I also got to hang out with my aunt, uncle, and younger cousins. On Christmas I opened gifts with my family, watched The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, ate a yummy roast dinner, and got beat by my mother in a few hands of poker. Its not fair....she had never played before. Its ok...really...we weren't playing for money....and we had fun.

The rest of my weekend was spent catching up with friends and avoiding the snow that was accumulating outside my window. Fortunately we had enough snow that I didn't need to go into work on Monday. I love that I get snow days as an adult. Yee haw...and extended holiday.

It was back to work yesterday, but honestly it has been slow. I feel that I cannot get work done even if I want to because everyone else seems to be on vacation. I have tried to contact three colleagues this morning....to get my work done...and they all appear to be out of the office until Monday, January 3rd.

Lets see.....hmmm...what else is new. I went to see
House of Flying Daggers the other night. I liked it and it was beautiful, but....I think I'm getting a little sick of the genre....and it was too melodramatic for me. Went to dinner at a friend's recently. The soup she made was yummy. Also got dinner with another friend last night. Braved the storm on Sunday and had a late lunch with some other folks. Watched the movie Monster on Monday. Although sad...and disturbing.....I did enjoy it. I would recommend this film to anyone.

I should run along. Happy New Year!

We finally bought a new car. We got a 2005 blue Honda Civic EX. We love it so far. Although I already managed to drive into a shopping cart. It shouldn't have been in the road anyway. Good it wasn't a person or another car. I'm still getting used to the visibility. Of course I had a freak out the other day because the cd player was crackling. I think it happened because it was a homemade cd. I tried a store bought cd and it worked fine. There was a lot of squeeking going on in the back seat this morning. I'm wondering if it is the basketball in the trunk. Oh and the window cleaner sprayer doesn't seem to be working on the left side. I'm hoping it is just frozen and not broken. We are currently getting ice...and snow afterall. I guess I just feel that a brand new car should have no quirks. No such luck. I'll try to window cleaner again later.

I haven't written in an age. Sorry. I have been consumed by the process of buying a new vehicle. I think about it all the time. I have been worrying about the fact that other than my friend Joe...all car sales people are creeps. I am always wondering..."what are they trying to pull over on me?"......"do they think I'm stupid because I'm a woman?"...."can I get this cheaper somewhere else?" This is all very stressful for me. We went to test drive cars on Friday. We are going to test drive another one tonight. I went yesterday...and spent another weekend day a few weeks ago doing this. I just want this whole process to be over. Right now it is between the Toyota Corolla....the Honda Civic...and the Ford Focus. Two weeks ago the Focus wasn't even part of the equation. Today I was thinking about a Volkswagen. Argh....we just want an automatic four door vehicle with air conditioning, a cd player, anti-lock brakes, and cruise control...that is reliable, will hold up in a crash, and will last us for a while. What is so difficult about that?

It's 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I can't sleep. I have been up since 5:15 a.m. I didn't get to bed until almost midnight last night...which is late for me. Hmm.......I'm not sure why this is happening to me.

I finally got my flu shot yesterday. Thanks to Laurie Williams at the BIDMC and the City of Somerville for enabling me to do so. Ahh.....to be in a high risk group. I feel ready to fight any flu that comes my way.

Happy gay marriage anniversary to folks in Massachusetts. Unfortunately the debate isn't over in this country. Our President is determined to allow...even encourage legalized discrimination. Lets keep fighting.

I'm not sure if I already reported on this or not....but my liver enzyme tests are back to normal. They want me to stay on my maintenance dose of Imuran and Prednisone until I see my doctor in February. I have a new Hepatologist. I haven't met her yet, but I hear she is very nice. The last docotr I had moved to Washington.

I was in Hartford, CT recently and went for a tour of the Mark Twain House and Museum. I suggest stopping by if you are ever in the area. The building is quite beautiful.

My mother is doing well. She is in a medical office manager certificate program and seems to be enjoying it. Her health has improved and she appears to be enjoying life.

I went to get on the bus the other day and I had some bad pain in the part of my tibia I broke a year and a half ago. This always scares me. I am going to have to work on exercising that leg more.

Speaking of broken legs. My friend Theresa recently fell 20 feet from a ladder and broke her tibia. They put her back together with one screw and a washer. I know from experience that the next year isn't going to be fun for her or her leg. I wish her the best of luck and a quick recovery. Remember to do your exercises Theresa. That makes three people in my book group who have broken their legs in the past four years. This is not a good statistic.

I went to my poker group recently and won three hands. I started the night with $5.00 and went home with $6.20. I was very proud of my playing. I never win at poker. I'm getting good...my fellow poker players....you better look out....World Series....here I come.

My hepatologists office got some flu shots...and I was on the list, but it appears that some other patients took higher priority over me. I still haven't gotten my shot.

The City of Somerville called to say theyw ere having a flu clinic next week. I cannot make it on that day. I am going to try to make it on the other day of their flu clinic. I need to get a letter from my dictor explaining why I am at "high risk."

I am having one of those days where I am annoyed with the lack of care we get from the medical community. My eye doctor's office said that they did not take my medical insurance card. They say I need to file a claim on my own. I find out I have an eye discount program. My doctors office doesn't believe me....I'm not in their system they say. I call the vision discount program again. They say to call the doctors office again. My health insurance has this "better than nothing" policy with paying dental bills. Maybe my beef is really with the insurance company. I feel that I spend more money for healthcare now than I ever have before.

I am really upset about the recent election. Democrats don't have the House...or the Senate....or the Supreme Court........or the Presidency. 11 States voted against gay marriage. I am convinced that this country is made up of backwards folks who do not understand the concepts of democracy, freedom or acceptance.

Aside from all this craziness I am very happy about the recent World Series win by the Boston Red Sox. Yee haw! Finally. I am planning on heading to Landsdowne Street on Saturday to buy some World Series gear. I hope it's not too busy.

I am having bloodwork tomorrow. I wasn't able to get a flu shot this week. Maybe the next time around. I am currently taking 75 mg of imuran and 5 mg of prednisone.

I have both good and bad news.

My hepatologist's office called today. The hospital will be having a flu clinic. They offered to get me a voucher so I could get a shot. I am supposed to call next week to get the voucher.

They also called to tell me that my enzymes are slightly elevated. Back in August my ALT was 20....and my AST was 34. Now my ALT is 44 and my AST is 54. Keep in mind that 40 is normal for these....and my slight elevation isn't a big deal. Its only a sign that things are sort of going in the wrong direction. So.......here's the deal. I will be taking 5 mg of Prednisone starting tomorrow. I will have blood work in two weeks. Some possible solutions...stay on 50 mg of Imuran and a small dose of Prednisone for a while....OR.......increase my Imuran. We'll see what happens. I shouldn't fret.....it's not lke my enzymes are where they were ten years ago.........in the thousands. What's 14 points anyway? Practically normal! I never professed to be normal.

I have been a busy lady. I performed Mary and Jen's wedding this weekend. It felt cool to be the one marrying them....and to sign the official marriage certificate. I also felt honored to have been asked by them. Congratulations Mary and Jen.

I went to New York for one night this week. Did a ton of work during the day. Had a lovely dinner with Christine.

I have been trying to get a flu shot. It's tough. No one has them. I have called my primary care physician...my hepatologist........and the Somerville Board of health. The Somerville Board of Health said they would put me on their "at risk" list. They plan on calling people when and if they get vaccines. At that point I will need to provide proof of my illness.

I called my doctor's office today and made my case for why I should have bloodwork. I am feeling fine...but I only had it checked once...three weeks after I went off the Prednisone....and not once since then. Better to be safe. They agreed it would be a good idea. They reassured me that I was not being a "crazy" patient.

Support Liver Research

The leaves are changing and the air is getting brisker. Fall is upon us,and so is Moakley's Run for Research. Now in its fourth year, the 5-mile road race will be held on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, and we expect to draw 600+ runners, walkers, race walkers and wheelchair entrants. Attendees will enjoy free refreshments, T-shirts, awards, live entertainment and music.

We need volunteers to help with duties such as registration, selling raffle tickets, handing out T-shirts and removing timing chips at the finish line. Most volunteers will be needed from 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. In return for your help, we can offer you free T-shirts, refreshments and parking, as well as a great feeling of helping out a good cause and a fun and special event.

If interested, please email or call Beth Roche (617.527.5600) at the American Liver Foundation's New England Chapter. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I was listening to my favorite radio station WUMB this morning and I heard a lyric that I found somewhat amusing.

It went something like this: "...he moves his body like a cannonball..."

What does this mean? I don't get it. Why would ones body want to move like a cannonball?

I have been mad.....MAD.....mad busy at work. I am in the middle of coding the web pages for our New York office. This just got handed to me on Friday afternoon. It's due this Friday. Argh!

Outside of work....hmm. Mom is starting a medical office manager program next week. Went kayaking last Saturday. Spent time with my mother on Sunday. Celebrated Stephanie's 33rd birthday last Friday. We went to Finale for dessert and Flash's for drinks. Happy Birthday Stephanie. You are the same age as Jesus.

I'm not sure if I already posted this information....if I already have..I apologize.

My mother was laid off from her job recently. Yup....just two weeks before she was about to go back to work full time. Two weeks before she was about to go back to work full time after struggling with colon cancer and surviving two surgeries.........chemotherapy and radiation.

The most terrible part of all of this is that they base unemployment on a persons income for the year prior. The interesting situation here? Money earned while collecting disability.....DOES NOT COUNT.

So lets talk about kicking someone when they are down. This is the lowest of the low. My parents have done some research and it looks that this is legal...yet unethical. If anyone knows differently please email me and let me know.

The other part of this is that the company she worked eight years for who laid her off......tried to get by by only giving her part-time serverance. Even though she worked full-time for them for seven years...and only spent the past year working part time because she was having her body zapped and poisoned to kill the cancer in her colon. She put up a stink...and they offered to give her full time severance pay. They said it was a clerical error. I don't know......

I hate to sound dramatic......but this all really sucks and is WAY unfair.

The American Liver Foundation needs volunteers. The following is the text from an email that came from the Public Relations and Community Events Coordinator.

The American Liver Foundation is pleased to host an exciting new event, Viva Las Vegas, on Friday, September 10, from 7-11 p.m. at The Rack in Faneuil Hall, downtown Boston. Viva Las Vegas will be a Vegas-style evening of casino games, complimentary buffet, pool, a silent auction, an Elvis look-a-like contest, and many fun surprises.

We need many volunteers to help us at this new, unique event, and ask you to help the ALF by volunteering your time. Volunteers are needed for a variety of fun positions – from blackjack dealers to poker chip bankers to silent auction monitors. The event spans four hours, and you’d be assigned to a duty for 2-3 hours, allowing you to have fun and enjoy the event with some time off. You’ll receive complimentary entry to the event and The Rack,once the event is over.

This will be a wildly entertaining and enjoyable night - your help can make it a tremendous success! Please forward this on to any friends, family members or coworkers who want to have a blast while helping a great cause.

If you are interested in volunteering your time contact the American Liver Foundation--New England Chapter at 617.527.5600