no sleep till brooklyn

My mother had set the table for Christmas a week in advance, so the plates required a little dusting just before the big day:

We had an international motley crew over for dinner with enough booze to put Santa and all his reindeer out through to New Year’s. And while other countries celebrate the day after Christmas as ‘Boxing Day’, where the tradition is to give gifts to the less fortunate; here there’s ‘Black Friday: Part II’, where the tradition is to spend even more money on pointless crap just for yourself and just because it’s cheaper right after an (inevitably) unsatisfactory 25th. They even make the sick consumer orgy sound like a thrilling movie sequel.

I’ve divided my stay here between the age old Florida pastime of schadenwetterfreude: watching the weather channel and gloating over how terrible the weather is ‘up North’ and hanging with the local fauna (this guy from the 9th hole):

Yesterday I began my clinical trial after a brief consultation with my new doctor outside his trailer:

I’ll expand and expound about why I trust a guy in a trailer more than America’s officially sanctioned cancer industry death camps in future posts – all the invective and diatribe you’ve been waiting for in a neat little series of tirades that have been brewing and festering since my arrival – but suffice it to say that I’m pissed and watching a marathon of ‘House’ reruns on channel ‘USA’ right now is not helping. They just gave chemo to a girl with leprosy for no reason.

My Mom and I went to the beautiful beaches of Gasparilla Island today: where the Bushes spend their post-Christmas holiday. We didn’t see any and so had a wonderful time:

I’m headed back to New York later today and Sherm is going to pick me up at the airport, so the taxi won't cost more than my flight. Happy New Year!

orange blossom special

Had a lovely time in our nation’s capital and its beltway environs. The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore was particularly inspirational:

But the real highlight was Wilco last Sunday at the Opera House – that’s right, second row center! Almost too close:

The Opera has recently filed for bankruptcy like everyone else over here, so they’re branching out a bit. I’m thinking of booking it for next year’s mikeFEST™. The show blew me away and more than made up for that Icelandic nonsense in Prague.

I got to Florida on Tuesday and was met by my uncle, aunt and cousin who I hadn’t seen for quite awhile. We played cards and ate a lot. It was fun. My mother, Bob and I have been nosing around some of America’s greatest discount warehouse stores, hunting for last minute bargains and shrimp platters.

I’m off to Orlando in a couple of minutes to see Zoe’ and her Mom. Healthwise, looks like the neuropathy is here to stay in varying degrees of numbness. I’ll set up the Wii Fit thingy when I get back and start my electronic yoga routine as well as daily trips to the state-of-the-art fitness center, pool, hot tub and sauna.

Pretty much everyone in Florida has cancer, so I fit right in. My post-Christmas plans are still up in the air, but I’m planning on going to the inauguration, even though the post-election euphoria is showing some wear and tear:

and then to Buenos Aires in January for a couple of weeks. Thanks again for all your comments and support. Miss you all, merry Christmas!

five capitals

Sorry for the delays. Wow. It’s been awhile since Shay and I finally caught that sunset back in Denver:

Mark picked me up at the airport in Austin and we went out to the ‘ham jam’ – a monthly jam session of around a hundred young musicians in this really nice older gentleman’s beautiful mansion. Every room, terrace and closet had people playing fantastic music in it. Great food and drink to boot. Very cool:

We went to see live (music) shows every night, often racing from one to the next, except the night I made Mark and a friend watch Slacker, the main reason I’d wanted to visit Austin since college. They hated it. And no wonder. Austin hasn’t changed that much, so it plays more like a documentary there.

We even got up to Mt. Bonnell to pay homage to Christine at her behest:

And drove down to Houston on Thursday to see his friends play at a dinner theater. It was worth both the five hour car trip and the speeding ticket.

Up early and off to Baltimore on Friday, Sherman met us at Jon and Annette’s house. And on Saturday, we went down to Richmond to see my childhood friend, Kevin, and his new wife, Peggy. We were a bit late, so Kevin had started without us and didn’t quite make it through dinner:

After a delicious all-you-can-eat brunch, they dropped me off at Miguel’s on Sunday, whence we went to dinner karaoke in Arlington (a little risky, but no one was stabbed). On Monday morning, Miguel and I went to the Czech Embassy, where my application was promptly rejected as being ‘out of their jurisdiction’: as my ‘trvalý pobyt’ is in New York, I’d have to apply there. I didn’t argue. Feeling defeated, we spent the day giving inspirational historic speeches at the Smithsonian:

Miguel drove me back up to Baltimore Tuesday evening and Taffy took Jon and me out to lunch yesterday with her beautiful eleven-month old baby, Greyson:

In addition to our senior yearbook, Taffy brought along some old high hair photos and two letters I’d written her my freshman year of college: replete with eclectic time-capsuled period memorabilia. There was even a poem!

I’d spent Tuesday either on or over the toilet with some sort of dysentery/stomach virus. And my (cancerous?) lymph nodes have been swollen and slightly painful, but both conditions have almost completely subsided in the last two days.

I should probably be making more of an effort to look into clinical trials, but I’ve become increasingly suspicious of the motives of the drugs industry, direct or indirect sponsor of all of them. I’m feeling very ‘if ain’t broke don’t fix it’ right now and am enjoying my relatively cancer-free vacation.

Hats off to ‘Aunt Lil’, Zoe’’s Mom, whose latest CT came back tumor free! Great news!

We’re having a birthday party here for and at Jon’s on Saturday, so if you’re in the Baltimore/DC area, let me know – it should start around 3PM EST. See you there!

things to do in denver

Shay took me on a tour through the windowless ventilation ducts of the Hyatt to see the sunset:

Back at the house, drinking with the cat:

we got ready for the big day:

and went over to Ann’s parents':

for a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings:

before hitting the Czech bar for karaoke:

and enjoying the first snow of the year:

in a city already really looking forward to Christmas:

I had an amazing time here and am off to Texas, of all places, in a couple of hours for my first visit to a ‘red’ state. Feeling pretty well. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. More from Austin.

picture post

I’m in Denver now with Ann. Am having such a great time that I’ve had no time to write (sorry Greg) and given my new camera (which I’m not particularly fond of) and the artfartsiness that is San Paco, this post will be more visual than textual:

Arrived without too much ado after a blast in NYC with Tim et many als. Tommy picked me up on Sunday and took me back to his crib:

Quite the climb up, but what a view when you get there:

And spending ‘more money [on me] than a drunken sailor’ ($15), Tommy took me to a fancy spa up in Calistoga for some hot springs (clearly marked as hot) and clearly ‘not for poor people’:

And although the abandoned boarded-up gas station may hint at progress to come:

the lines that wrap around the block at the Skid Row (aka Jones St.) employment office point to a different reality:

and while the SF mint works 24/7 to print more money, Fort Knox, emptied of its gold, is now open for self-storage:

Insulated from all this in a Korean karaoke with Ann, singing along to images of Prague for some strange reason:

and with a decadent macroörganobiotic barbecue and faux band photo session as the fog rolled in at Golden Gate park on Saturday:

it was easy to forget our friends back on Skid Row, so we went to the track for $1 Sundays: dollar beers and dollar hot dogs, to place our bets with the rest on not-so-easy money and pipe dreams:

We broke even. Neuropathy marginally better. Miss you all. More soon.

intrepid

I’m winding up my time here in New York - off on Sunday morning to San Francisco to see Tommy and eventually Ann. I’ve made some changes to the blog (look to your right) to reflect the fact that I’m no longer in the hospital or even in Prague for that matter, while updating the picture from one showing me without hair to a recent one of me trying to pull it out (courtesy of Pamela – the picture, I mean).

I just got back from more laundry and yet another delicious soul food lunch special. I think I may be addicted to both. Soul food restaurants seem to be the only places to get large portions of unpretentious, pronounceable vegetables at reasonable prices in New York, not to mention jerk goat and grits.

Last Friday saw Tim, Sherm, Christine and me up at Tom and Pauline’s in New Haven, of all places, for a brief look at Yale, the fall foliage and to clear the beach of vermin for the season:

Back in Brooklyn on Saturday, I met up with Jessica who had flown in from Maine just to sing karaoke with me. We were out until almost 6 in the AM, still singing medleys of TV theme songs to anyone who would listen.

After lunch with Pamela and John Oliver, of all people, in Chelsea on Tuesday, I tried to catch up to the Veterans’ Day Parade, but those vets were either too fast or I was too easily sidetracked.

I stopped in to see a $10 ‘psychic advisor’ palm reading gypsy lady, who told me that I ‘will have a very long life’. That finally settled and much to my relief, I tipped her two bucks and took my time (now that I had more) getting to the Intrepid, the ostensible start of the parade:

The Intrepid had been billed as ‘the greatest symbol of peace’ in New York Harbor that morning by the douchebag singing Bush’s praises and running the Veterans’ Day ceremony. He must have missed the Statue of Liberty somehow on his way in - gigantic artillery piece or surface-to-air missile in the way, I guess.

The neuropathy has stabilized for the worse, but I bought a pair of high tops to improve my support, widen my wheel-base and fit in better in Brooklyn. Three hours of walking didn’t do me any favors, so I met Marguerite for drinks and Thai at the end of my hike in midtown.

Thanks for the comments. I’m off to town to buy a camera before the sabbath. Later.

yes we did!

After a seemingly short transatlantic flight (despite the curmudgeon next to me - long dull story), I landed in a laundromat for the first time in well over twenty years. The locals walked me through the wash and dry, even offering well-guarded tips along with the detergent. I haven’t used a washing machine in twenty years, I said. Yup, it’s tough times, they all agreed.

When I went to mail my ballot on Friday, the line was about fifteen minutes deep at least. A really nice guy in line gave me a stamp and then gave me another when he found out it was for my ballot – just to make sure, he said. People are so friendly in Brooklyn; it’s almost weird.

Tims’ (there are indeed two of them) party that night went ween, with all and sundry all the groggy the morning after. Tim even made a traditional Halloween turkey to go with the pumpkin:

Got a free bottle of wine on Saturday at a fancy wine bar just by sharing it with the waitress – who woulda thought? As I say, people are nice; I’m not used to it.

And on Sunday, we walked the two blocks to watch the NYC Marathon blow through the hood. There was a gospel choir and band with a singing, hopping, dancing preacher cheering the runners on for Jesus in front of the Baptist church. The music was great:

Contrast all this good cheer with my trip to the Czech consulate on Monday. Boy, was it lousy to be home. Over an hour wait with only two (embarrassingly stupid) NYU girls ahead of me, only to find out I was missing a paper that I had two copies of – with me at the consulate. It’s kind of like when a southern cop breaks your taillight just to give you a ticket. So my application will be (surprise!) delayed as 'the document' has to be (surprise!) notarized (again) in the Czech Republic.

I went into Starbucks yesterday to use their bathroom and get my free cup of coffee for having voted (a promotion later declared illegal by party-poopers) and the atmosphere was electric with the prospects of free toilets and coffee, both incurring even longer lines than at the polls.

Around town, the preference was clear. From the sweatshop poster stuck to the bottom of a dirty window in Chinatown declaring the only single, solitary Asian voter for McCain:

To the upscale storefront in Chelsea with a dozen life-size Obamannequins sporting this winter’s (admittedly disappointing) fashions:

Back in Brooklyn, there was shouting, cheering, dancing and fireworks as the preliminary results began to indicate not only an Obama victory, but a landslide. And I couldn’t be more pleased and proud.

Oh yeah, my health. Neuropathy quite a bit worse – almost up to my knees. Other than that, I feel OK. Off to meet Sherman in our old ‘living room’ at Mona’s in the East Village. My number here is +1 347 633 7738. Miss you all in Prague; well most of you, anyway...