RPM’s Friends

I've reached the middle ground, 3 of the 6 treatments completed today!
3 weeks following the 6th treatment I start radiation therapy - everyday for 6 weeks. Blahs!
Met with Dr. M., my Oncologist before chemo today. She said my CBC (Complete Blood Count) looked great and my limited number of side effects was very positive! At this point with the exception of increasing fatigue, I shouldn't experience any new side effects.
My blood pressure has been increasingly high, something she is very concern with. I have had a problem with high blood pressure before the Breast Cancer diagnosis and at one point was on medication. She said we have to get it under control quick fast and in a hurry!
C, T and my brother came to treatment with me today, thanks family!
I will try hard to have an enjoyable weekend, before the after effects of treatment kick in around Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
Next chemotherapy treatment August 8th, yeah-boo-hiss!

Other non-cancer related ramblins...

The "Air" is doing great, still loving it! The Steve Sleeve showed up, I don't like it as much as I thought I would. Definitely not worth the 50 clams I paid for it. Probably will be replaced PDQ (pretty, damn, quick).
T got all four wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Monday was the toughest due to all the bleeding, she had a lot of soreness but experience no pain - mainly because I kept her loaded up on the pain meds they prescribed - Vicodin. She has a little swelling looking rather "chipmunkish." She insisted upon going with me to treatment today even though I suspected she didn't feel totally up to it - which she confirmed this evening. The worst of it is over and overall I think she feels pretty good. It was actually kind of weird, I enjoyed babying my 19 year old daughter the last few days! It made me feel good :)
T told me today she plans to take real estate classes early next year and then take the licensing exam to become a Realtor. The plan is to partner with me to sell homes next summer. How cool is that?! I've had my license since 2003 - although I have a full time job I like to sell homes on the side!
I had doubts, but I'm really enjoying the Wendy Williams Show! How yooooou doooin? The show debuted on Monday of this week, for a 6 week run in a few selected markets - New York, Detriot, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Went to Urban Taco for dinner tonight following my brother's recommendation. Didn't like it! Everything was blan and I felt it was overpriced too. $9.25 for 3 tiny tacos, don't think so. I called him afterward and told him, I didn't care for it. This place puts them to shame - Tin Star. The tacos at Tin Star are flavorful and much larger and much cheaper!
The local Smart Car dealer called me this afternoon to tell my triple black Smart ForTwo Passion Coupe will be here Aug 14th! She wanted to know if I was still interested in it. Of course I am! I reserved this car back May 2007, so its been a long wait. It will be a second car for me as I purchased a new car the end of May this year - AKA "Benzie" which I really love! The Smart Car is something cute, fun and gas efficient to possibly add to the household.
My Smart ForTwo

Here are the specs:


fortwo passion coupe, 1.0 L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine


Base price		$ 13,590.00

body panels in deep black		N/C

tridion safety cell, black		N/C

Black leather seats

Standard equipment

Engine/drivetrain

1.0 L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine

5 speed automated manual transmission

Paddle shifters

Wheels

9-spokes alloy wheels (15") with front tires: 155/60 R15; rear tires 175/55 R15

Tire pressure control system

Exterior

body panels in deep black

Panorama roof (sun screen included)

Projector beam halogen headlights

Side indicators in yellow

Exterior mirror cap in tridion color

Interior

3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with steering wheel shift paddles (incl. leather gear knob)

Basic seat with weight detection and seatbelt recognition

Flat folding passenger seat with backrest adjustment

Storage areas beside the steering wheel and in both doors

Coin holder

Dome light

Mirror in passenger sun visor

Storage

Lockable glove compartment

Audio

smart radio (AM/FM, single CD; incl. 2 speakers, Aux input jack for MP3 device)

Safety

Hydraulic dual-circuit brake system

Tire repair kit

Top Tether for child restraint system

Panic button on key

esp - electronic stability program with hill start assist

Anti-lock braking system (abs) with electronic brake force distribution

Full-size driver and passenger airbags

Head/Thorax-Side Airbags

Integral safety seats

Seat belts with belt tensioner and belt-force limiter

Drive lock - auto-activation of the central locking when driving

Functional/electrical equipment

Air conditioning with automatic temperature control (incl. dust, pollen filter)

Power windows with one-touch lowering function

Electronic and heated side mirrors

Central locking system with remote control

Instrument cluster with multifunctional display (fuel-level indicator, coolant-level indicator, residual fuel indicator, service interval indicator, trip mileage indicator, clock)

Outside temperature indicator

Indicators with lane changer function

Front windshield wiper with speed-dependent interval wiping and wiper-/wash function

Intermittent rear windshield wiper with wiper-/wash function

Electric rear window defroster

Electric tailgate release

Locking gas cap

12-volt socket, with cover

Special equipment

Comfort Package - includes the following features		$ 850.00

Black leather seats

Heated seats

Electric power steering (eps)

Rain sensing windshield wipers

Light sensor (autolight)

Auto-off headlamps with exit delay

Total price[*]:

$ 14,440.00

I will probably go test drive one next week. If I don't simply love it, I will leave it!

Nuff said, enjoy your weekend!

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this move breaks the sound barrier

nobody@vox.com(Waterbaby) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:58:25 -0500

I'm blessed because I love my job. And because right now's a very busy time with large-rental turns and an office move, which means plenty of work this weekend if I desire it. And I do. In part because I'm in full-on Avoid the House In Any Way I Can mode.

I've been on this road so many times before. What differentiates the present abode from others is that there's a female (and a secondary sidekick) creating the misery. Only time I'm at the house is to sleep. I stopped cooking there a month or more ago after an acerbic 6-page letter, left on the bathroom vanity and riddled with unfounded accusations and charges, included the dictate: There's no reason to be cooking after 10 p.m.

Evidently, there is no hunger after 10 p.m. No schedule that differs from hers. No need to heat up nourishing chicken noodle soup to heal a cold at bedime. Cooking, which I looooove, came to an abrupt halt.

The demise of the roommate situation has been sharp and severe, the woman abusive and dangerous. If I wrote what's been going on these past months, your jaws would drop. And I don't want that ... to write the painful details OR your jaws to drop.

Which circles back to the entry point. My job is my place of relief, my salve, my pleasure and enjoyment. My place of interaction with human beings who are kind rather than hurtful. Caring rather than critical. Generous rather than controlling. Altruistic rather than selfish.

My job, along with assorted taverns and cafes in town, provides the safety that is absolutely lacking at the house. When I leave work each day, I never think: "I'm gonna go home and relax!" I think: "Where can I spend the next four hours until it's dark and approaching bedtime?" And I find those places.

Today, while most were itching for the start of the weekend, I turned to my my boss 30 minutes before quitting time and asked: "Can I work this weekend?"

Yes.

I'm so blessed to have a job I love. And a ready-made escape from the house from hell. I cannot wait wait wait to get the heck outta there and put a LOUD period at the end of this experience. Hell, I'd hand-carry my stuff 5 miles item by item just to be out and done.

Soon. Very soon.

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Bathroom doodles

nobody@vox.com(IG) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:47:45 -0500

A few of you have pointed this out, and I agree: a little judiciously applied black is exactly what the pink bathroom needs. I loved cranky's toile wallpaper ideas -- but there will be no wallpaper in our bathroom. So I'm thinking a stencil of some kind may achieve a similar effect. Maybe something custom. I bet Mr. IG could come up with something fun, like some architectural doodles.

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A Day Off...

nobody@vox.com(Jamie) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:28:45 -0500

really..well, half a day off. When was the last time that happened? I would have blogged about it and I don't remember blogging about anything like that so it's been at least over a year and a half. I've had alone time but not time I've taken for myself. I usually use that time to catch up on stuff that needs to be done around here..not today though, I got the opportunity and jumped on it faster than a greased pig being pursued by a pervert farmer.

Like I said earlier today, DeWitte's radiator hose broke at work so he had to fix it after. Nathan wanted to help so DeWitte kept him at the office for the afternoon so that they could do it together after work..he's such a good Dad.

The first thing I did was come home, grab my 20% off coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond and shaved my legs. After the bleeding stopped, I went off and got a pedicure. It's been a while. The place I used to go to isn't even owned by the same people anymore. There was a sign by the cash register that said "Please sing-ins" but I didn't see anybody singing anywhere, ins or outs.

After that it was off to BB&B. I got a new mandolin. Not the kind with the strings, I can't play one of those but the slicer kind which I do ok with. I haven't sliced a finger off yet, anyway. My old one had gotten really dull. After that I went to Target but as I was walking over, I noticed that everybody around me was on the phone. I called DeWitte to see how he was doing with Nathan so that I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. I got a new bra and new underpants. DeWitte asked if they matched, I told him only if them both being comfortable counts.

After that it was off to the fancy grocery store. So fancy I don't usually feel like I belong but I did just have a pedicure and I had new underpants, even if I wasn't wearing them just then. The people there are so fancy you hear words like "commodities" and "brokers" dropped so often you trip over them. You also hear them talk about the nerve of the proletarian's like me invading their incredibly high quality produce department. It's a place so fancy, you can accidentally buy baby leeks instead of green onions and the 16 year old cashier knows the difference. I didn't even know the difference. That's ok, though, the baby leeks went into the dill and baby potato salad even if they did cost $2.99 instead of the 79 cent green onions. I should look at my receipts more often.

By contrast, my grocery store, which I had to stop at because I forgot to buy dill and you can't make dill and baby potato salad with baby leeks without dill, I followed a guy with a sleeveless camofloge shirt around because he was going at a snails pace. A place so un-posh, I didn't feel weird paying for my $20 plus order all in one dollar bills because I was trying to get rid of them. I had so many in my purse, I was starting to feel like a stripper.

I need to do this more often. Maybe I'll have a look at DeWitte's alternator belt.

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Eddie Izzard's show

nobody@vox.com(Deborah) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:32:40 -0500

Eddieizzardshow

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Vay-cay-shon

nobody@vox.com(Redzilla) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:35:39 -0500

Okay, my people, I'm headed off for my glorious week-long vacation in...lovely Wichita. Although I have other obligations, my goal is to turn this into a writing vacation. Or, failing, that, a lying around doing nothing vacation.

is time for my massage?

another daiquiri please

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daily photo

nobody@vox.com(cheryl) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:16:28 -0500

ridin' the rails + diahrrea [sic] runs in your jeans
e. 5th st., austin, tx

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