Spring has arrived!
And I am sunburned.
Add comment April 28th, 2008
Archive for April, 2008
Briefly
It’s the last weekend in April, and things seem to be getting crazy busy.
We spent last weekend in New York, celebrating SB’s 28th birthday. Happy birthday, SB! We had a great time, saw lots of friends, and ate lots of things that are bad for us.
Thursday was the last day of metadata. I should be hard at work on my final project, but instead I just planted our balcony garden – herbs, lettuce, two kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, and maybe some onions.
I’ve been taking advantage of the nice weather to take 2-3 mile walks on my lunch, which this week resulted in my first sunburn of the season. It is very weird to already have so much color!
Tonight and tomorrow SB and I are going to see the CUBS vs the Nationals. I’ll be cheering for the former, SB for the latter. There’s a chance of rain, but that can’t dampen my enthusiasm.
1 comment April 26th, 2008
UNINTENTIONAL ASPIC
Courtesy of Jenny B, who I hope to see while we’re in NYC for the weekend.
1 comment April 18th, 2008
Grandpa Update
Grandpa came home from the hospital yesterday. Mom reports that he’s up and around – but very weak, so things like walking downstairs for breakfast, then back upstairs to shower are wearing him out. I guess this week they’re really trying to assess whether he’ll get stronger as a result of the activity necessary to live at home – or if the time has finally come for my grandparents to move out of their house. They’ve been guilt-tripping us with that threat for the last decade – but at this point I think we’d all be relieved, not sad, if they followed through on it.
Thank you all for your thoughts and encouragement.
3 comments April 15th, 2008
Things I haven’t had in way too long:
- sushi (although I’m still a wuss and can’t really do the fresh fish deal)
- Kopi’s tuna salad salad
- curry that didn’t come out of a microwaveable packet
- guacamole from Taco Loco
- Passover dinner with Hannah and Sarah
3 comments April 14th, 2008
Music recommendations?
I’ve been reading Alex Ross‘s The Rest is Noise and have realized that I need more classical music in my life. There’s just so much, though, that I don’t know where to start. Any recommendations, friends?
9 comments April 14th, 2008
We’ve been watching John Adams this week, and I just wanted to let you, my internet comrades, know that it’s a damned fine miniseries. It’s moving and well-acted, and has both of us interested in refreshing our memories of American history.
1 comment April 12th, 2008
Things I wish I could do this weekend
1. Attend the World Grits Festival
Add comment April 11th, 2008
My grandpa is in the hospital right now due to some gastrointestinal bleeding. Mom doesn’t think it’s too serious – she said he was up and around and complaining about his clear liquid diet – but we’re still concerned. He’s in his late 80s and somewhat worse for wear – which is just fine, considering that he only retired 9 years ago! It’s times like these when I feel very far away from my family, and that makes me sad. My best friend lost her grandmother late last week, and I know she’s experiencing similar feelings – wanting to be with the family, but unable to do so because of distance and grown-up obligations.
Last night I listened to an interview with Dr. Dennis McCullough about his new book, Your Mother, My Mother, which deals with end of life care and advocates a slower, more contemplative path for treatment than is normally practiced. In the interview, he talked about how aggressive treatment for those in their 80s and later seems to reduce the patient to a disease process – rather than empowering them to live their lives, it instead reduces the life to cycles of treatment and recovery. He advocated a more reflective approach, letting the elderly make informed decisions rather than pushing aggressive treatment that might extend their life at the cost of life’s quality, at least in the short run. At this point I’m far from involved in these conversations, but this seemed to be an important and useful perspective as my family approaches the end of life period with my grandparents.
Also, I would really like to give my grandpa a hug.
7 comments April 8th, 2008
