Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Gratitude

I went to the oncologist today. I'm now on an annual appointment schedule, instead of semi-annual, and that feels like a very big deal to me. I think after five years I was officially considered cured (I'm at six-and-a-half now), but this is still a milestone, if only in my mind.

When you go to the oncologist and you're not very sick, you become very aware of the other patients in the waiting room, people who are very sick. I went first to the Breast Center, where I overheard staff members on the phone with patients who are deep in the middle of treatment, explaining the procedure for starting radiation therapy and scheduling appointments for consults with the surgeon and transferring calls to the chemo room. All that was before I went in for my quick breast exam, during which the oncologist and I chatted about the economy and our New Years resolutions. Then I went upstairs to the general oncology office to have my routine lab work done. As I got on the elevator, a woman approached and I held the door for her. She was obviously very sick and feeling terrible, shuffling slowly toward the elevator. I didn't have to ask what floor. I knew which office she was going to — the same one as me, only I walked easily to it and knew the "worst" thing that was going to happen to me in there was one little stick when they drew my blood.

Grateful. Grateful, grateful, grateful! And aware, all day, of how very, very fortunate I am.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Really, the jokes alone will be worth it

Yu Darvish. Texas Rangers. $60 million. Sixty. million. dollars. If they have to make that up through our ticket purchases, at $9 a pop (we really only go on promotional half-price-ticket nights), it's going to be a long, long haul.

But, really, the jokes about his name—all the many, many little puns and word plays—will be worth it.
The Rangers want Yu.
Yu did it!
Wash looks to Yu to pitch the seventh.
Who's on first? Yu. What…?
(And maybe a Whirling Darvish or two, just for variety.)

That's right. We're going to have our own version of Who's On First.

I'm not sure it's worth that kind of money, but I am looking forward to it.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

I love that Mark Fistric! (Yeah, it's a hockey post.)

Mike Heika, with the Dallas Morning News, blogged today:
Mark Fistric will be a villain tonight. That's just how they do it here in Nashville.
The Predators like to call the town Smashville, Jordin Tootoo is one of the most popular players here, and the fans are generally very aggressive toward the opposition with chants and jeers. When Tootoo was suspended five games in 2007 for hitting Stephane Robidas in the face, Mike Modano took the brunt of anger from the fans.
Modano was knocked down hard on a clean hit by Tootoo in that game, Robidas rushed to his defense and was sucker-punched by Tootoo, and Modano slashed Tootoo from behind in response. Still, Tootoo was the only one who was suspended.
Here's the video from that game.
Nashville fans were irate that Modano was not suspended for his slash (and for not fighting his own fights), and they let him know it for the next five or six games, booing every time he touched the puck.
When Fistric was told the story, he replied, "They'll have to boo quick, because I don't touch the puck that much."
For those of you who don't follow hockey, or Dallas Stars hockey, Fistric is a 25-year-old defenseman, led (with his wife) the Stars' Movember effort (to raise money for research on, mostly, prostate cancer), jokes with his team mates about not needing anyone to make a bobble head of him because he's his own bobble head (apparently they feel his head is on the large size), has a shy smile and comes across as a really nice guy.

And sometimes he's kinda funny with the press, too.

love that Fistric guy!