The Weekend Recap

On Friday, Jessie came home from college. Apparently, FSU students leave town when A&M have their homecoming. This is now two weekends in a row we have seen Jessie. (Last weekend Yoko and I went to FSU for the homecoming game with Duke.) Turn's out this is Scott Lunin's (my oncologist's) alma matter; so we got him a "black and blue" tee shirt to memorialize the not-so-solid drubbing FSU handed Duke. I presented last weekend's memento to Scott at my Friday morning chemo appointment.

Saturday, Yoko, Jessie and I went to the "new" office to begin unpacking. By way of background, Morgan Stanley finally moved into promised new space here in Punta Gorda. New space was part of the deal when I left Smith Barney to join Morgan Stanley in May. We had a stand-alone building and beautiful office space at Smith Barney; moving to Morgan Stanley's office in strip-mall was something of a step down. So part of the deal when I made the move was that we would get improved space...and this was the weekend of the move-in. The new office is in the same strip mall -- Towles Plaza -- but the space itself is better.

Of course, I had chemo on Friday so I packed up my office on Thursday night. When I got home I was tired and I must have overdone it. My ankles were swollen and I had a rash. Of course, any little thing and Yoko is bugging me to call the doctor. Instead I called my sister Jane, who is a nurse. It is not unusual to have swelling in the ankles during chemo. According to Dr Lunin, fluids can accumulate in the extremeties and "leak out". Anyway, I asked Scott about this and he did not seem too concerned. Sure enough, the swelling is gone, despite all the physical activity this weekend.

Friday I had chemo and Friday night Yoko, Jessie and I ate together. Actually, Yoko is keeping the daily details of what I am eating. Here was Friday evening's menu: Pounded Paper thin veal (breaded and fried), spaghetti in marinara sauce, mixed salad and bread. For desert we had homemade apple pie, oranges, ice cream and coffee. Yumm! I went to bed early, at 10 PM, and I was up at 2 AM Saturday morning, spewing all that good food! Oh well.

On Saturday I was up at 9 am and Yoko had made me a breakfast of raisin brand with milk, banana and melon and hot tea. Then the three of us were off to un-pack my things at the new office. I was planning to golf in the afternoon with Chris Mahr, Kirby Rowe and Doug Bowers. We got to the office around 11 AM and moved some of the furniture around and sorted through boxes. By noon we were running out of time, so we went next door for lunch. Jessie and I shared a tuna salad sandwich and I had an ice tea. Yoko and Jessica went by separate car to shop at Coconut Point in Estero while I went golfing with my friends. I had an upset stomach during golf and took Tums to reduce the acid. I am also taking Aciflex, a medication to reduce stomach acid that seems to work fairly well.

I had not been golfing in over three weeks and it showed. I did notice that I was not hitting the ball as far as I normally do. I am guessing that the lower red blood cell count may be affecting my strength and my game....cause I shot a 98 -- the WORST round of golf I had in a long time. We stopped in the club house after the round (I had to buy the beer because I was the big looser). I had a coke and some popcorn. On the course I had some peanut butter crackers and water. That's it.

I made it home by 6:30 PM and we were again eating. Yoko and Jessie went to one of my favorite restaurants in Ft Myers and brought home Indian curry. I had lamb korma with nan, and Indian yellow rice for dinner. Desert was sliced mango. This was followed by benedryl and methylpedisolone (for the rash and itching, which still persists.)

Now that I am facing something that may ultimately lead to my demise, it occurred to me that now would be a very good time to begin thinking about religion and the life hereafter. On the way home from golf, I passed the Catholic church near my home, San Antonio's, and stopped to see if the signage tells when they hear confession. Nothing was posted, so I guess I will have to call. It has been so long since I went to confession, I may have to make a special appointment! I also checked on times for mass; they have evening service on Saturday we can attend. I am not sure I am ready to sacrifice Sunday morning golf for attending church just yet...

Anyway, Jessie and I talked about religion on Saturday night during dinner. I told her that I did not feel we did a good job as parents teaching Paula,June or Jessie about religious faith. Paula and June got some religious education in Japan, but Jessie has essentially none. Both Yoko and I have some issues with organized religion; we believe that it is a needless source of conflict around the world and throughout history. The TRUTH is that no one knows with certainty what happens upon death; but many people have FAITH that there is a life hereafter. All the rest is fighting over details about the nature of God and what God wants from us.

Yoko and I believe that God wants us to be good and to love one another; we believe that we should live like Christ, help others and be self sacrificing. Since we believe there is really only one TRUTH, all the world's religions are legitimate if they teach people to "love one another." Love is what God wants from us.

I told Jessie that she needs to think about what she believes; not to let anyone tell her what she should believe. I told her that she should study the major religions and she should pursue spirituality at an intellectual level while she is in college. I will have more to say about religion later.

Saturday night (last night) I got ill again around 1 AM; the acid was building all day long and I knew it was coming. I gave in to a violent round, but felt MUCH better afterward and slept like a baby!

I was up at 6:45 AM for my Sunday golf league today. Yoko made me breakfast before I left, consisting of cereal and milk, a banana, slices of oranges, hot tea and grape juice. I had no problem eating. During golf I had a snack (peanut butter crackers) and some Poweraid. I felt very good. No cough, no itching, rash still there but not as bad. It was a beautiful day for golf. Sunshine and a high temp in the low 80s with no humidity. I shot 45 on the front and 42 on the back for a round of 87, which is about 3 strokes more than normal. I could not seem to hit the ball as far as I normally do, but my chipping and putting has definitely improved. All in all, not a bad round. Afterward we at lunch at the course. I had a coke and a delicious Asian Chicken Salad, consisting of greens, cucumbers, chicken, tangerines, peanuts, etc. topped with Chinese dried noodles. I ate the whole thing and almost licked the plate. I have not lost my appetite.

After golf Yoko and I met at Sears. We bought a Nortictrack treadmill for the bedroom, since one of the the things I need to do is exercise. This will allow me to walk or jog why I watch TV. Perfect. Anyway, we look forward to that being delivered later this week. We put in a large screen HDTV in the bedroom and added a HD-DVR cable box to the bedroom. We are all set now to work out in the bedroom....hmmmm.

Next weekend we are hosting a GSE Exchange Student, so Yoko went off shopping for things for the bedroom our guest will be staying. I went to the office to finish straightening things out. I was there from 2 PM until around 6PM. Yoko had home made celery soup waiting for me and leftover veal and peppers on an Italian roll. How could you not love this woman?

I am feeling fine tonight. No acid; I am not has "hopped up" as I was on Friday. (You can tell when I am not sleeping by the timestamp of my postings!) I am planning to go to bed at my usual 11 PM and hope to sleep through the night. I feel pretty good. Not too tired.

I would like to have many more weekends like this one. The only thing that would be an improvement would be a golf score below 80. That may take a miracle. Maybe I'll try attending mass on Saturday night. Miracles DO happen!