DC trip

After reading what Ben wrote about his San Francisco trip I thought I could give an update of my trip which illustrates some real differences in how we view the big city life.
I flew into DC on Thursday afternoon, got to the hotel, in Chinatown, and promptly went to one of those exotic little joints to try some local tastes, when I found one that was reasonably priced I went in and ordered by favorite, sweet and sour. I spent the rest of the evening strolling around but since all the museums close by about 5:00, I ended up back at the hotel watching TV.
The next morning I thought I was getting a free hotel breakfast but apparently that Western Tradition hasn't gotten to the Potomac. I was shuffled into the adjoining resturant and handed a menu that required $8 for an egg and juice. Remembering seeing a Burger King around the block I snuck out of the place and choked down a dry McMuffin type meal. I had picked out a couple of places I hadn't seen before, the old patent office is now the architectural museum so I got there right at 10:00, it was open and free but was basically a big open building that itself had some interesting architecture but I assumed the real museum was still under consideration for construction. Next I tried the National Portrait Gallery only to find that it didn't open until 11:30. So I wondered up to capital hill and went inside the Supreme Court building. It was nice going to such a place without worrying about the behavior of 28 17 year olds.
I had to be out of my hotel by noon and the other one I was going to didn't check people in until 3 or 4. I considered taking the metro but then decided to just hoof it the 17 or so blocks. So putting my two satchels over my shoulders I sauntered Eastward (I think). On the journey I recognized a Mcdonalds that I had visited some years earlier and since I wasn't in a hurry and it was lunchtime decided to try the exotic menu there. The only thing exotic were the two fellows in the foyer singing their hearts out for the good customers. Only trouble was they weren't very good. After eating and reading a bit I decided against encouraging their talent further and headed towards the White House to see what the protests De Jour were. The anti nuclear weapons folks were still manning their posts as they have done steadily since 1984. Another group was doing some type of street threater, they had about 10 guys dressed up in orange robes and h oods, I got the impression they represented dead people? The third group was holding signs and standing against the WH fence. The signs were calling attention to someone who had been arrested in Mexico and asking the State Department to get involved and get this guy freed. I decided not to tell them that the state department was over a couple of blocks and that Obama himself was in CA doing a taping of the Jay Leno show, so their protest probably didn't matter much...they seemed to be enjoying themselves so I moved on.
I got to the 22nd street Marriot which was a giant step up from the Red Roof Inn. It was then about 2:00 and my room was ready so I was able to dump my stuff and find the metro for a trip to the DC zoo. Another attraction I had never been able to fit in. I got off at the right stop and rode what must be the world's longest escalator. I timed it on the way back in and it was 2 1/2 minutes, which is along time to stand there. I started up the road not sure which way the zoo was, but then I started seeing signs, baby strollers! Some were following me and others were coming from the direction I was headed. I surmised that since I hadn't seen a child in the whole city that the zoo must be a gathering spot of small people.
When I got back to the hotel then the next decision came up, what to wear to the reception? I hadn't brought a tie so I dressed with the best that I had. when I got there I was the only male without a tie or a coat. but it didn't matter much, it was a nice reunion with some people I hadn't seen for about 14 years.
The next day was work work work, reading applications till our eyes hurt. Then Dinner was on our own so I wondered to Georgetown (Ben would have loved this place) Busy foot traffic resturants every 15 feet. Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Italian, etc. I wondered around looking at the architecture and the menus. Finally I was drawn to a basic Subway where I bought a rather exotic sandwich.
As you can see my food tastes tend toward the mundane and based more on economics than taste. But it was a fun adventure all the same.

Good News and Good News

We were able to host a couple of functions in our newly remodeled living room. It has been a 6 month project that included sanding down the oak floors and refinishing them, plastering a couple of walls, making the entrance larger by ripping out a pocket door, changing the lighting scheme, building and installing base boards, learning how to cut cove molding. And finally yesterday installing my home crafted threshold boards. We hung some pictures on Monday and its looking pretty homey. This all started because we put in a new window, which necessitated new drapes, which required a new paint job...but that wouldn't match the old carpet, and while we're at it lets make the door bigger, etc, etc.
Our progress was slowed somewhat by the fact that I was diagnosed with leukemia in the middle of it all which gave me a great excuse to lay around more and put things off till later, which I did. But the second good news was that on Tuesday I jogged 2 miles in the early morning. Its been about one year since I had done that before. It was last March when I started getting the shortness of breath and the weakness that I figured was tied to some sort of lung problem. In reality I had bad blood, the cells weren't getting the oxygen to their proper areas of need. My blood was running kind of like the U.S. Postal Service. Today, after a productive (costly, but productive) trip to the dentist I went to the cancer clinic and had them do a blood test, which showed that my blood is now much more like UPS or DHL. I have the right amounts of nearly everything and I'm feeling pretty good.
I continually get people telling me how much better I look, man I must have been UGLY before.

Texas Trip

We finally made it! The flight down was great, the kids warmed up to us real quick. When people ask me what I saw in Texas over the weekend, I tell them "Two cherubic little faces." Clark scored big on his birthday getting both an elephant and a trike. Eva has a cute personality and she loves to talk...in some language.
We gave Ben and Jan an opportunity to do some jogging without pushing two kids along in front of them, and we went to a pre-rodeo fair, I could have taken my hat!
The flight back was delayed in Dallas, but we finally got home and got to bed by about 1:00 AM. Thanks Em for being our driver.

diagnosis

I swore off these blog things because I didn't see much point to them. Generally what I have to say I'll say to the individual that is interested in listening. But just for kicks I think I'll follow up on my last blog in April and inform the uninformed world that I finally discovered what might have triggered that chest congestion back in April. It was a long and complex puzzle, I went to 3 different doctors because I just couldn't get over the bronchites stuff. I also had to limit my running because I went from doing a mile every other morning to doing 1/2 a block then having to walk because I couldn't get enough air. Then my feet kept falling asleep. I would lay down at night and my feet would go numb and feel cold from the inside. The next exciting complication was feeling a hard lump in my left side under my ribs.
On Dec 22 I got an appt with Dr. Durrans, he checked me over. They sucked some blood and set me up with a CAT scan for the next morning. The 23rd I went into Orem Community Hospital and got the scan about 7:30 (after drinking copious amounts of cranberry juice laced with something). By 10:30 Durrans was calling me and suggesting I come back and see him and bring Susan, she was at work so she couldn't come. He informed me that my spleen was a whopper maybe 5 times the normal size, thus the pressure on my circulatory system and the lump. He had also discovered from the blood work that I had 220,000 white blood cells per something when I was only supposed to have about 7,000. He had already set me an appt for an oncologist, which I soon discovered was a cancer doctor.
This time Susan met me at the Central utah Cancer Clinic, they sucked some more blood. Did a little exam, then placed me face down on those little tables and stuck giant needles in my back, and into my hip bone to suck out some marrow. By 5:00 I was downing some chemo pills and had been partially diagnosed with CML. Chronic Meg..... Leukemia, which I was told was "the good kind".
Since the 23rd of Dec. I have been taking oral chemo with no apparent side effects (I still have my hair) and I actually started jogging again and got clear around the block!! I also played basketball with the guys I've been playing with the past 17 years and they said my game had improved with the disease, which indicates where it was before.

Half a fun trip

We had quite a time in the East. We went to Canada, where they sell gas in liters, so the prices look really good, initially. We saw the lights on Nigagra Falls, they are pretty impressive. We saw all the holy sites around Palmyra and got to do a temple session. We drove lots of backroads and really got a feel for the countryside.

Then I got walloped by a nasty chest congestion, cold, bronchitas, phenomenia (I'm sure I had them all). We were able to go on with the aid of modern drugs until we got home then I hit the wall. I finally got some antibiotics running though me but spent the next 2 days pretty much in bed, trying to breath, feelling my cranium expand and contract when I had a coughing fit, and drifting between chills and the sweats.

I'll put more up here when I get some help downloading my fine phone pictures onto this site.

New Baby

Sorry to report that everyone dropped one step on the cute scale with the birth of Anna, she takes the top spot now.

A snowy day

Sunday we got about 6 new inches and since our cul-de-sac had never seen a snowplow getting into the road was a risky thing. This morning we heard this constant and repeating roar and finally Susan said, "It sounds like the paper boy is stuck." So I got my boots on and found them in one of those little box cars with about a 3" clearance down by the Black's house stuck. Luckily there were two of them a young man and supposidly his wife, they spoke spanish more than english. Their method of getting out of the snow was to push the gas pedel in as far as they could so the tires could spin really fast. After trying a few things I finally got into the driver's seat and was able to gently rock the thing back and forth until I could get a run at it and push thru the deeper snow.
So I was feeling pretty good until I went to the shopko shopping center to mail Thad's computer cord and headed home. The light made me stop as I was going up toward University Ave. When I tried to get going again I just started slidding backward. Most people saw my dilemma and went around, but one lady pulled up behind me and then another car behind her, I just shrugged and kept drifting back toward her until she finally backed off enough for me to get turned sideways. When I finally got moving I realized how many muscles one uses when trying to make a vehicle move.