Tuesday, October 23, 2007

San Francisco October 2007

Sunday, October 21


I was in San Fran for less than two day so I tried to make the most of it. I just LOVE it here. I took the BART to Powell and walked part of the way towards North Beach. My little rolling carryon was so heavy and the company laptop that was already cutting into my shoulder made me give up the walk and call for a taxi instead. The guy that picked me up was like a throwback to the sixties. 'Yeah, good times' was all I kept hearing all the way to my destination. Funny how quickly we arrived there when the original thought of walking made it so far.

I stayed for two nights at the Washington Square Inn in North Beach. My room was Room #1 which is the only one on the first floor. A room for the handicapped I reserved this one since the room I really wanted (Room 15 - the cheapest) was not available. I put my things away and walked around Columbus to get a bite to eat. I ended up at Cafe DeLucchi. Of all the Italian dishes I've ever eaten, my favorite is the simple dish of fresh mozarella, sliced tomato, and basil drizzled with olive oil. And that's what I had. After that I went back to my room and took a short nap.






















After a few hours of sleep time I got up in time to walk up to Coit Tower right when the sun was setting. Those steps going up really gave me a great workout. Lots of people were there taking pictures too. The views, even at nightfall, were so awesome. I felt the chill of the night air coming upon us so I walked back down and picked up a pastry and coffee from Mara's before heading back to my room.






























Monday, October 22

I woke up the next morning and looked out my window. It's only a few feet away from the front sidewalk so I had to close the blinds and curtain to get my privacy. The view out my window was directly across the park so it was a wonderful sight waking up to see people about doing their thing. The elderly practiced their tai chi, men were reading their papers on the bench, while others were walking their dogs. What a great way to wake up.





















This is the dining area that's on the same floor. The living room area and front desk are located nearby. I think the only thing I didn't care about my room was that the floors are wood so when people came in late at night I'd wake up from their footsteps. Other than that it's a wonderful place to stay at.
















Today would be a busy day for me. I had a ten o'clock appointment near Union Square then I had to pick up my rental at noon.

I walked up Union Street and took this pic. A little bit of life in the middle of the sidewalk - like a little oasis.


















I headed up to Jones Street and turned left there where I passed by, then went back to, a place called Macondray Lane. When planning this segment of my California trip I made a list of some bed and breakfast places I wanted to check out for the next time I stayed there - I wanted to get a feel of the area. A potential place was on Priest Street which was on my way to downtown today. Along the way there was this nice surprise - Macondray Lane, which I later found out was the inspiration for Armistad Maupin's book called Tales of the City.






















This is going down Jones Street. The bird was circling above so I thought I'd catch it doing circles but gave up after it sat on the rail for five minutes.



















So my 10'clock appointment was with a tattoo artist by the name of Kanako who's a part of Venus Permanent Tattoo on Geary near Union Square. Before you start envisioning me with the words C-L-A-Y heart A-I-K-E-N straddled across my arm, Kanako does eyebrow tattooing among other things. I was just there to redeem my free touch up. Can you tell the difference between the first and last pictures?



















I stopped somewhere on Bush Street, near Stockton and had a falafel pita sandwich. That was yummm!



















After I was done I continued walking until I hit City Rent A Car ( http://www.cityrentacar.com/ ) to get my convertible British Cooper. On their website it said that the rate to rent the Cooper would be $150 for 24 hours. That doesn't even include the insurance. In the end I did end of up paying $150 total, insurance included. Sweet deal for me.

Too bad I picked up the car at noon though. It left me with no navigation system to find my way to all the potential B&Bs on my list. I made a list of the B&Bs I wanted to stay at the next time I was in SF, even listed them the order I wanted to see them. Good thing I still had my street map. Still, it was hard driving and looking for an address at the same time. Note to myself to purchase a GPS sytem.

I did cruise around for a bit. To the native San Franciscoan you'll know exactly where I went, to the other readers, well, you won't. From what I remember, leaving Bush Street I drove to the next street Pine, then onto Divisadero because I knew it would take me into Castro. I turned on 24th and drove all the way to Potrero Hill. I loved seeing this Latin district with people waiting at the bus stop and kids going to school, normalcy at it's best. I turned down some street and ended up on Cesar Chavez. The houses in this area were definitely on the poor side yet there was life there - trees, shrubbery, that kind of life. The vibe was there. Then I turned onto Mission and turned left onto Cortland. One of the places that I was going to put on my B&B list was in Bernal Heights which is where Cortland is one of the main streets there in that district. I stayed on Cortland and turned down a street and surprisingly I crossed over the street where that B&B was. Good thing I took that one off my list. After making a turn onto another street I was on Crescent Avenue. I turned back onto Mission and found myself driving over the freeway. Mission Street is a wide street at that point and traffic's not at all busy. I think I was entering the Excelsior district so at the Silver Avenue intersection I made a U-ie and went back. I wanted to drive further but without a GPS I didn't want to really get lost. At that Silver Avenue intersection there were alot of people waiting at this one bus stop. Probably people heading to Visitacion Valley but that's just my guess.

So while back on Mission I turned left somewhere. I wanted to get to Diamond Heights Blvd because another place, that I ended up taking off my list, was there. I slowed down on a street and asked a guy where I was and he said Glen Park. So I was on Monterey Blvd and noticed that that area was pretty dull. That section of Monterey, I just didn't care for. Looking beyond over to my left I must have been looking out at Daly City and I noticed how the houses on the hillside looked so tractlike and unattractive, even from that far away. One day I'll take a drive there though, when I have a GPS.

I continued my drive on this lifeless part of Monterey realizing I would probably not see Diamond Heights. The street starting getting some life and the houses were looking nice. There were beautiful homes that were not connected to another like in the city and they had their own yards. I must have been in St. Francis Wood. San Aleso Ave, San Adreas Way, San Anselmo Ave, all very pretty. I found myself on Portola, then I crossed over a street that had all of these trains. I think this was the West Portal MUNI station because of the arches of metal sheet.

I turned onto Ulloa and headed straight to the Pacific Ocean. Not until I was near the end did I realize that these were the streets that went alphabetically. So after right onto the Great Highway I drove until I reached Judah, turned onto it and headed back to the city. I did notice in this Inner, Middle and Outer Sunset area that the further I headed to the beach the more desolate the houses looked. I could've sworn that I was starting to see tumbleweed crossing my path. Coming back on Judah nearing 6th Ave I started seeing life again. There was more activity, I started seeing restaurants and little stores, more cars on the road, and I saw people at the UCSF Medical Center. Judah and 6th was another location of a B&B that was on my list, as well as one on Woodlawn Ave that was on the other side of the Medical Center. I knew I was near Haight Street so I turned onto Stanyan then back around and back up Haight Street where I parked above Masonic.

I spent a few hours going through the little shops. Had lunch at a forgettable place, the food was just so-so. I only remember that you had to pay a dollar to use the bathroom if you weren't a customer there. I found their bathroom and the one at El Balazo (where I ate when I was there in August) to be disgusting. Is there no clean restroom along Haight? After a few hours of constantly feeding the meter I headed back to the inn.




















But not before I drove up Lombard and down the other side of the hill which is known as the crookedest street in the _______ (fill it in, various nouns have been used here). I never really cared to drive down Lombard but since it was on my way back I thought 'what the heck'. I was the only one on those curves so I was able to stop and take pictures. I kinda felt like I was participating in a parade with people on the sides and down below waiting. I finally got to the bottom and looked for the parking garage the inn told me to park at. I saw the sign and drove down this dark area. I thought, 'geez, if I'm murdered no one will find me'. After ridding that morbid thought out of my head I walked up to the next driveway where it was brightly lit and found out that I was supposed to go there instead of that first entrance. I gave my key to the guy and he moved the car up to the correct level for me.

Walking to the inn the afternoon sun was brilliant and gorgeous and the activity in Washington Square Park was buzzin'. The elderly were doing a little line dancing for exercise, dogs were chasing frisbees, and people were either sitting on the benches or laying on the grass eating, reading, talking or just relaxing. I loved this!

But I was tired so I went back to my room and took a nap.

*Note #2: also purchase a video with an attachment I can secure to my head so I can video the places I drive through.
























I watched this other group doing a little country dancing.

Well, the summit turned out okay. Two full days of learning, eating, learning, eating and learning. Now I just have to apply what I learned back at the office. C.A.N.N.O.T. W.A.I.T.!

Okay, so my flight to San Diego reminded me of why I don't like flying for longer than an hour. I'm not afraid of the take off and landing or the turbulence. It's those damn crampy seats. They're so miserable on my neck. Then taking a tiny little commuter was just hilarious. One of those times when I feel like giant.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Gracie Speaks

Momma? Momma? Momma, where are you?

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Melon Kiwano

I paid $5.99/lb for this fruit. I'm such a sucker. It looked so pretty and interesting on the outside. The inside was green with white seeds. I dug my spoon into one of the segments and lifted out this green gelatinous thing filled with seeds. It reminded me of slightly melted lime Jello. Didn't have much of a taste. I ate most of one-half and didn't want more so I dumped the whole thing.


















While looking for a Halloween costume in my many boxes of costumes I went to get an empty box from my son's old room (he moved out so the room is full of boxes). Through the blinds I saw the moon above the horizon with the palm trees off to the side. Had to see how this came out in pics. Not really well but I'm posting them anyway.






Wednesday, October 10, 2007

What the Hell Did I Eat?

Okay, so I was going to brag and say that I was on the treadmill for an hour last night, and I was, but as soon as I was done with that and stretched I felt so incredibly sick. I laid down on the bed and I felt bloated and dizzy. The room was almost spinning around. I could not find a comfortable position anywhere. I went downstairs and laid down on the carpet and stayed still while I watched some TV. Got worse. I could not move at all. I swear any type of motion made me want to barf. I did manage to get up once just to get some cool air from the freezer but had to lay back down because I was gettin' sweaty and lightheaded and just plain nauseous. Gracie wanted to play too but I told her to go away. She laid down nearby. Hubby had to get a sheet to cover me because I couldn't move. After about a half hour or so I was feeling better and went back upstairs to go to bed.

I think it was something I ate and not from over exertion on the treadmill. All I did was walk, no running at all. So it had to be my lunch - a clubhouse sandwich I got at a nearby place downstairs from work.

I'm just glad I got up feeling much better this morning.

This morning I ordered some sushi from Aloha Sushi in town and drove to Pali Momi to give it to the wonderful staff that helped me through my ordeal last week. Then I came back to the office and barricaded myself in one of the attorney's office so I could concentrate on a project that had (still has) a deadline. The attorney was on another island.

Monday, October 8, 2007

The.Best.News.EVER!!!

Talk about being on pins and needles for the whole day, not to mention the entire weekend.

I felt so nauseated I just wanted puke. I kept running different game plans through my head of how I wanted my funeral. I was ready to buy a video camera to tape my own eulogy and to tell everyone to quit crying and get over it and to just celebrate the harmless madness I contributed to the world. I couldn't decide if I wanted Elton John's Funeral for a Friend to play in my video or to have some semi high energy piece of music played. I certainly don't want some cheesy slow sad music playing while everyone reminisces in tears of the times I spent with them. No honking the hankies allowed. I want celebration. I want people to be happy that they had me somewhere in their life just like I'm happy and appreciative and honored to have known this person or that person. Why mourn? Because I'm not going to be there anymore? Because they didn't have the chance to say how much they were going to miss me? I already know that. I want my life celebrated like how they do in New Orleans. I want it to be a party, not a wild party, just a wonderful happy celebration of life, not death.

On my video I also wanted to say that I had done everything I really wanted to do and that I already had everything I had and if it was my time to go then I'll ready myself for it by spending more time with my family and donating more time to the less fortunate.

Alas, I didn't have to think about that. I had to wait until like 3:00 in the afternoon for my doctor's office to call me. They left a message on my voicemail so I wrote the number down and called them from the parking garage of my work place. A private place to return the call. I dialed the number and asked for the receptionist. She put me on hold and the phone went out. She called me back and told me that the report said that the samples were benign. The doctor hadn't seen the report yet but it was typed up in the report that the samples were benign and that's all I wanted to hear. She then said that she'd call me back in a flash to set up a diagnostic mammogram for six month from now. I thanked her and hung up. Tears of happiness and relief flowed down my face as I rushed to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and silently cried with joy. I came out of the stall and washed my hands and cleaned myself up. No one came in but I did share the news with the women that I told. But not before I told my hubby about the good news. Whew!

So, now it's getting late and I should get on my bike to get some exercise in. I can relax for the next six months.

eta: biked for 47 minutes, 10+ miles yay!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Gracie Speaks: Is Momma Okay?

Today Momma got to stay home again. She didn't look too well because she didn't want to play today. She was at the computer early this morning so I didn't bother her too much. Then she left me for a little while. She came back with bags of very cold stuff. Then she told me to get in the truck. We went to a place where they gave her coffee through her window. Then she went to another place and they gave her food through her window too. I don't think I'm supposed to be left alone. I stuck my nose in the bag with the food - it smelled real good. She scolded me. But she rolled my window down so I could stick my nose out. That felt really cool.

We came back home and she ate her food. Then we went out again. This time it was a long drive. When we stopped we got out and I saw the ocean. We walked along a busy street and down a little lane. I don't know why we went there but I liked the smell of the ocean. I think I knew the houses there so I tried to drag Momma to the front door of one house but she pulled me back. Then we passed by another house on the way back up to the street and I wanted to go there too but she pulled me back again. We went back home after that and she went to sleep and so did I. She looked really tired. I hope she's okay.

Feeling A Little Better Today, Thank You

I woke up feeling better today. My husband was supposed to wake me up before he left for work but I got up before that happened. I immediately went to my computer and started connecting to work so I could get some things done. Later in the morning I felt good enough to get some groceries. So I left Gracie in the house and went to fill up the gas tank before doing a little grocery shopping. Went to Star Market and bought some frozen fruit, Acai sherbert and some soy milk. Oh, and bananas. I've been hankering for a great smoothie so I'm a newbie at throwing this all together. A smoothie sounded real good but I wanted coffee and also take Gracie for a ride. I dropped the groceries off and grabbed Gracie and I went to the Starbucks in Kapolei because it's got a drive-through. Then I did a sinful thing and bought a hamburger deluxe and seasoned fries from Jack-in-the-Box. Damn, I'm a shame, yeah? I ate that junk stuff at home and when I was done Gracie and I went right back out. I meant to do this for a while and remembered that today was a good day to do it, which was this: I wanted to Gracie back to the place where she first lived, which is on the North Shore. My husband brought Gracie home after a friend he was fixing a computer for offered Gracie to him. He had fixed this friend's computer so many months back and saw Gracie then. She was a fat dog at that time. He was offered Gracie at that time. My husband, my dear dear husband. Every year, especially at Christmas, for at least ten years, I'd ask for a dog. He kept saying no - that the carpets and walls were white and it'd be too much of a responsibility, blah, blah, blah. Then when his friend called him to fix their computer again he saw Gracie there. This time she was really slimmed down. This friend with the computer got Gracie from some friends who happened to be the ones on the North Shore. They had to move so they gave Gracie to my husband's friend. Gracie, my husband tells me, was a house dog that stayed in the house and never really got any exercise. Thus, not getting any exercise. After the friend with the computer got Gracie she put her on a diet. They were going to give her to the Humane Society but my husband likes Golden Retrievers so he took her. Boy, to say I was surprised when she walked through the door with my husband attached to the other end of the leash, is an understatement. Anyway, so I drove Gracie to the address of where these previous owners no longer lived at. The house is off the main drag, down a short lane with an address like xx-xxxA, xx-xxxB or xx-xxxC, so I don't know exactly which house it was since I only got the xx-xxx part of the address without the A, B or C. The house is also located right on the edge of Waimea Bay so I can safely say that the land that the house sits is pretty expensive, although the houses there look pretty old. I walked her down the little private lane and hoped that she'd sniff a familiar sniff. We already reached the last house and turned around. I didn't have a plastic bag on me and I feared that she might want to poop on the grass so I quickly turned her around. She yanked me straight for the front door of the closest house to the beach. Maybe it was familiar? I don't know. I yanked her back because I wasn't sure a dog would be waiting on the other side of the door. She sniffed around some more and yanked me again. Afraid again that a dog would come flying out I pulled her back. I usually bring my camera along and today I had it. But the only picture I took was of this flower I never saw before. My pics came out too bright so there's that idea of uploading those pics but I accidentally pressed the wrong button and videotaped the flower. If you know what this is please let me know, it's really pretty.



Thursday, October 4, 2007

Feeling Just a Little Sore........Ouch

Anesthesia's starting to wear off and my boobs are starting to throb with pain. *insert miserable moan here*

Today I went to have biopsies done to both breasts. My appointment was at 8:00 and I left the doctor's at around 11:00.

First thing that was worked on was my right breast. An ultrasound was done to locate the abnormal tissue. They took a snapshot of it and then the doctor was called in to perform a procedure called a FNA - fine needle aspiration. He applied a local anesthestic and inserted the needle. On the monitor I could see the needle moving around, trying to get to that affected tissue. Once there he collected the matter in the syringe. I heard him say something about it being a superficial cyst. They showed me the syringe that contained a solution mixed with the liquid they sucked out. It looked slightly murky but I couldn't really see what was floating around in it.

After that was done I went into another room to have my left breast worked on. A stereotactic biopsy was done with me laying face down on a table. There's a hole in the table to put your breast through. They use the paddles to flatten your breast so that they can find the area where the suspicious calcium deposits are. They take x-rays until they pinpoint the exact area of extraction. Once that was found they were all set to start so they called for the doctor. Unfortunately, he had just started an ultrasound biopsy on another patient so I had to wait for 10-15 minutes. The paddles were loosened a little and I just stayed there face down. I felt tired so I just wanted to rest. The nurse was a little upset that the doctor was snatched away but she said that he's so good that everyone grabs his service whenever they can.

Soon the doctor was called in and we were ready to proceed. The paddles were retightened and a few more x-rays were taken just to confirm the position. Everyone was great in prepping me and explaining the procedure. The applied a local anesthetic and inserted a hollow needle that housed a cutter inside. Although I couldn't watch it 'live' on the monitor like I did the ultrasound I did look at the last few snapshots they took which was still on the monitor.

They told me about the sounds I would hear so I wouldn't be alarmed when I first heard them. The whirring sound I heard was the cutter cutting a thin strip sample. No more than two inches long and maybe less than 1/32 thin. The sample would get vacuumed out to the technician waiting to put it on the petrie dish. Another slice was cut in a different position (think 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock. etc. positions. Then I was warned that I would hear a snap. That would be the needle advancing even deeper. So the doctor counted 1-2-3, then I heard a loud snap. Even though I was warned I still jumped ever so slightly. But I know they noticed.

After about five samples I suddenly started crying. I don't know why I did. Perhaps the realization of possibly having only six months to live. But that thought didn't enter my mind then. Really. Maybe I was tired. The table was raised high enough for them to work on me so the doctor's face was literally inches away from mine. He ocassionally peeked up to see how I was doing so he eventually saw me crying. I just told them that I was scared. I felt so bad that I cut their sample extraction in half. They're supposed to take at least 12 strips but only ended up with six. But they said that the samples were so good that it wasn't necessary anyway to get more. So we stopped. The doctor left while I was still facing down. He patted my shoulder and told me I did good before he left the room. So I was left there with the nurse and the technician.

If you ever go through anything traumatic make sure you have female nurses because I truly believe that mother instincts come out and you get coddled and told that you did good and that the whole nasty thing was over. During the whole time on the table these ladies were very comforting. I'd trust my life with them. They treated me like I was their child yet they were so professional. They rubbed my back and really comforted me and even though it sounded like I was babied then so what. I wanted it and they knew how to give it without a second thought.

Anyway, it wasn't over yet. I had to retake a mammogram to check on the progress. While I had the stereotactic done they inserted a tiny metal clip in the area of the extraction. So when I looked at the x-ray after the mammogram I could see the tiny metal clip in my breast. The technician also put the petrie dish that contained my sample strips under the mammogram machine and x-rayed those. I could see those tiny little dots on each strip. Tinier than grains of sand. If anything bad comes out of this I'm glad that it was caught when those dots were that tiny.

I'm still worried though. I won't know anything until Monday since it takes two days for my doctor to get the results. I can worry my ass off but it definitely won't change the results.

After the mammogram was done I went back into the room that had the stereotactic machine and sat with nurse who put my dressing on and explained the post-procedure instructions. When I went to change back to my street clothes she went to get my doctor's note and brought back three roses for me. I gave her a hug and she wished me luck. As I walked out the door the technician was coming in. I hugged her too. They're such good people.

Even though I was strictly warned by the nurse, I went to Pearlridge, not to shop, but just to pick up lunch, then go home. I was sore, tired and hungry, and I just wanted to go home. Once home I let Gracie in the house and together we hung out and watched taped shows before falling asleep.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

It Cost What???

I picked up my prescription yesterday and nearly couldn't breathe because of the cost. $165 for three months supply of 20mg/day Lipitor. I cannot wait to get this over with. Once my cholesterol level is down I'll be sure to keep it down. Rowing machine for 50 minutes Monday night and a 40 minute step Reebok aerobics last night. Yay!

Today I had a wonderful dinner with my son. Genki Sushi across the street left me full of sushi, salad and tofu. Yum.

Tomorrow morning I go and get my biopsies done. Wish me luck.

Off to ride the bike for at least 45 minutes. Or until my butt gets numb. Okay, I just rode my bike for 50 minutes and I went 10 miles. My crotch is really numb. Tomorrow I hit the treadmill. Oh wait, I can't exercise after my surgery. Crap. I'll see if I can get away with the bike.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Doctor Doctor Tell Me Something I Don't Know

Today I finally went in to get my results on my cholesterol test. This all started when I went to get my annual physical over three months ago. I took a blood test then and today the comparisons weren't so bad. This is after taking 10m of Lipitor/day.

Cholesterol went from 268H down to 204H.
HDL from 41 down to 40L. not really good
LDL from 173H down to 136H. not so bad
Triglycerides from 272H down to 139. woo hoo

Still needs a lot of work.

Doc was happy BUT I need to get into the safe range with a little more help. He prescribed 20m per day of Lipitor. He wanted to prove that Lipitor could help bring my cholesterol down. I have no doubt that it will but I don't want to stay on this drug forever.

This was the least of my worries though. I got a call from the nurse where this Thursday I'll be taking a biopsy on my right breast and an ultrasound on my left. For the last seven years I've escaped having really serious problems but I fear that it'll only be a matter of time before it all catches up with me. I need to stay ahead of the game so I can keep this at bay.

I decided to start documenting my journey through this delicate phase of my life. This can be a roller coaster ride from hell but I'm gonna make sure I ride it like nobody's business.