Beginning of June 2007

Sunday 5/27/2007
After Eva and I got back from Catalina, we cleaned up the boat and then hung out at the house and readjusted to civilized life. My parents were back east at a wedding so Eva and I got to sort of play house in an actual house. I guess we are living the game “house” in our own apartment but it is also fun to pretend in actual houses. I restrained myself from running around naked, though it was tempting. I am sure my father scares the neighbors enough already. In the evening, we headed up to the Home Depot Center to check out a lacrosse game. The tickets were free and neither of us had ever seen lacrosse before. Lacrosse is a hilarious game. It was pretty fun to watch though the ball is a bit hard to follow. The highlight of the evening was the halftime entertainment. A number of different mascots were at the game to welcome the LA Riptide’s new mascot into being. They all took the field for an impromptu game of mascot lacrosse. Seeing an anteater fending off a robin with his lacrosse stick while passing the ball to a shark that had just run over a matador was pretty amusing.

Week of 5/28/2007
Most of the week was spent studying my flying materials and finishing up the last few flight requirements. The end is in sight for my pilot’s license. I had wanted to fly Tuesday night, but, during pre-flight, I noticed that the anti-collision light was hanging on by its wires. I came back on Wednesday and it was back in place with some fresh duct tape. I did my last few night landings on Wednesday night and did a stage check with the chief pilot on Friday. The stage check went well and I was scheduled for my FAA check ride for the following Friday. I feel confident about my flying abilities but there is a lot of knowledge that could potentially be tested during the check ride. Somehow, reading about performing maneuvers is just not as much fun as actually performing them.

On Wednesday I went in for an infusion. I got Mitomycin C and Erbitux and it was a pretty quick session, maybe 2 hours in the office. My parents took me and it was really good to see Dr. Isacoff and Sony. The premeds were exciting as always. I am sure I have mentioned it before, but getting an injection of Decadron (a corticoid steroid) is quite an experience. Usually an IV has already been started and Joan (the chemo nurse) injects it right into the line going into my bloodstream. She usually injects about one third of the total dose at a time and now there is something of an anticipation element to the whole event. About 10 seconds after she pushed the drug in, there is a very dramatic sensation right in my anus. It feels like I am being stabbed with a flaming dagger. Whoever is with me will usually see some pretty funny expressions on my face as I shift in my seat until the sensation is over. It only lasts about 30 seconds but it certainly does pack a punch. It is a bit of a thrill and I am sure that some people would probably get off on it a bit, but it really just is not my cup of tea. As usual, the infusion went well and, as I only got 2 chemos, I felt pretty good for the remainder of the day. Mitomycin does not seem to really affect me on the day of the infusion, though I have noticed that I am a bit irritable and just not exactly myself for a few days after the infusion.

Friday 6/1/2007
Once I got back to the apartment after finishing my stage check, Eva and I headed over to Holmby for a bit of golf. We started pretty late and only finished about half of the course though we ended on a pretty good note. She birdied the 9th and I birdied the 10th. Just for the record, there were also a number of errant shots and I believe it took me 4 shots to get onto the green for the 5th. As Eva would say, “Even a blind chicken finds a kernel.”


Weekend of 6/2/2007
Eva and I mostly putzed around the apartment and attended to various things that needed attention. Saturday night, we went down to a Galaxy game with Nick and Ariel with tickets courtesy of Steve (Thanks Steve, also I never thanked Mark Carpenter for some incredible tickets to a Laker Game back in April. We got to enjoy the game from a really nice luxury box and the company was even more enjoyable than the accommodations. Eva and I had a great time and I had not mentioned because for some reason it just happened to be during a blogging dry spell, sorry about that. We had an incredible time). Back to the Galaxy game, Rosemarie, her son Karl, his wife Jen, and my dad also went to the game and we all had a really nice time. The non-soccer fans may think 90 minutes of play resulting in a 0-0 tie would be a waste of time, but there were many incredible plays and decent soccer. OK, I will concede that I would have enjoyed actually seeing a goal but oh-well. It was the opening game but Beckham will not be playing with the team until later in the season. The tickets Steve got us were pretty nice and only 5 rows up from the pitch though there was an interesting crowd in the luxury seats. The woman sitting in front of us had a pretty meager understanding of the game and for some reason, found it prudent to wear copious amounts of perfume. This would not have been that big a deal if the perfume had an acceptable aroma though this fragrance was fairly close to nail-polish remover. Perhaps she bathes in acetone for that extra fresh chemically feeling. On Sunday, Eva and I ran/rode in the morning and then met Karl and Jen for a late lunch before they made their way back to Mariposa. They are such a great couple, so positive and optimistic, and we always get a boost after seeing them. Sounded like they will be pretty busy this summer though I am sure they will enjoy thier various activities and do plenty of living.

Week of 6/4/2007
I spent a lot of time at the library studying for my check ride on Friday. I did my last flight lesson before my check ride on Monday. It went pretty well though big burgers and small planes do not go very well together. I was fine but I could not execute a few maneuvers to the standard that I would have liked to. All in all, I felt ready for the test. In the evening, Eva and I went to watch a play "All about Walken" which was 9 actors and actresses impersonating Christopher Walken and sort of doing a review of almost everything he had done during his career. It was really funny though it would have been even better if I had been a little more familiar with his work. After the show, we had a good time youtubing him and saw a number of the clips. If you have never seen the video for “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim, I highly recommend you youtube it. The playhouse was situated amongst a number of erotic shoe stores so if you find yourself in need of some 5 inch stripper heels, head up to Hollywood Blvd and check out the play once you have all the shoes and boots you need.


Tuesday marked 11 months since diagnosis. Wow. Again, I just feel so lucky to be doing as well as I am doing. Right after diagnosis, it was a big question mark as to whether I would still be around in 11 months and here I am. Eva and I kid, “11 months down, 79 years and 1 month to go.” My folks came up and we had a nice dinner at the apartment. We started off with some bacon wrapped shrimp on the BBQ and then we got sushi and tempura delivered. How decadent. The bacon shrimp were more than just delicious and provided a bit of entertainment as flames occasionally rose about a foot above the grill and the smoke could have signaled people at least a few villages away. Eva finished the meal in a very nice fashion with some chocolate and raspberry filled crepes. I just feel lucky to be alive.

The rest of the week was not all that exciting until my check ride on Friday. It turned out that the examiner grew up about four houses away from my folk’s house in San Pedro. Needless to say, that was a nice bit of commonality to chat about. James, my instructor, had thoroughly prepared me and the oral and practical portions of the exam went well. There was a bit of a cross wind at Long Beach so the examiner decided to do all the landings there. The plane is only rated for a 12 knot direct crosswind (90 degrees) and we were out there with a 10 knot wind at about 70 degrees off of the runway heading. My landings were by no means perfect though they were safe and acceptable. Hopefully, as I continue to fly, they will just get smoother and smoother. All in all, the check ride went really well and I am now a private pilot. I know, pretty crazy. The roads got a little scarier about 10 years ago and now the skies are no long a safe retreat. I was pretty excited and so thankful for the great instruction I have received from James as well as the support I have received from my friends and family and especially Eva. We had a great BBQ at my folks home that night to celebrate a bit.


Weekend of 6/9/2007
I had thought that I would be content for a while once I got my private pilot’s license but it only fueled my desire to learn more in aviation. I picked up a couple books on instrument flying and soaring and delved into them over the weekend. Eva and I did get out and stretch our legs a bit and rode around the peninsula both Saturday and Sunday. It was a beautiful weekend and nice to be outside. Otherwise, we kept it pretty low-key.


Monday 6/11/2007
Spent the night in SP and read a bit more before getting out for a run (actually a jog, I no longer consider what I do running). I had been wanting to get into the air since Friday, but there had been some clouds in the morning and it just did not work out over the weekend. Monday was looking pretty good and the first victim of the family was my mother. I was really stoked that she was up for it and really proud of her. She admitted that she was a little nervous the night before but was fine on the way over and when we were in the plane. We just took a short trip out of Long Beach over to Torrance, up over Palos Verdes, and then to the Harbor and back into Long Beach. There were a few clouds that we had to fly around and the visibility was deteriorating a bit on our way back to Long Beach but it was still really fun. We flew pretty close to my folk’s home in SP though there were a few other planes out that afternoon so Eva and my dad did not know which one was us. My mom was a great little passenger and even flew the plane for about five seconds. She is such a good sport. Hopefully, we will make our way up to Camarillo for some shopping in the near future.

Here we are in flight. As you can see, the 152 is not all that roomy.


Mom at the controls. Love that flower hat.


Mom showing off the plane.