Enjoying My Week

Hey there!

Well, I'm having a busy week hanging out with Aunt Bitsy, running some errands, even getting my hair cut! Yup, you read that right. My hair grows really fast, and since I didn't lose much of it (I'm convinced it did thin a little), I had to take some sort of action while my counts are good and I'm able to! So I went to my salon today, and it was really relaxing. When I was waiting, I found a picture in a magazine that I liked (I figured it doesn't really matter what I do with my hair now considering I'll almost definitely lose it when I get a different type of chemo before the transplant), and Amy did her best to make me look like the lady...unfortunately, my hair is fine and not very thick and it has ZERO volume, so it doesn't look just like the model (does anyone ever really look like the picture they take in?! :) ). It's definitely short!!! I included a couple pics so you can get somewhat of an idea as to how it looks! If you look closely at one of the photos of Guinness and me, it looks like I'm choking him or something! Don't worry--no animals were harmed in the taking of these photos :). In some of the pics, you'll notice I'm wearing a beauuuutiful purple hat knitted by Paloma. I just wanted to show you how cute the hat is...I don't need to wear it yet, but I love it!!! Paloma, thank you so much!!! And gracias for the café this morning also--visiting with you, Laura and Aunt Bitsy was a nice way to start the day.
The coffee revved me up so that I accomplished a lot today (ok, it probably didn't do too much considering it was decaffeinated :) )! After my bath, I changed my dressing (this is the first time I've done it myself since '05), plucked my eyebrows ('cause my platelets are good!!---yesterday I actually used a real razor to shave too--very exciting), danced around to Alphaville's "Forever Young" (dancing around while getting ready helps me mentally prepare for my day and well, it's just fun! :) )...thanks for the CDs, Rachel!
After getting my hair cut, Aunt Bitsy and I went to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and then off to my gym to cancel my membership. I spoke with someone yesterday who told me I just had to come in and fill out a form, so I went in today and asked to speak with her. I had told her the entire story yesterday so she knew it was for medical reasons and I wouldn't get any extra charge for cancelling....anyway, she didn't remember, so I told the whole story again, and she mentioned something about a doctor's note. I pointed out (nicely) that she didn't mention this yesterday, and then I remembered I have a medical card they gave me to carry around that says I have a Hickman catheter. I whipped that out, and asked if that was proof enough, and then I pulled the top of my shirt down (just enough to show her the catheter; I wasn't flashing her or anything!). She indeed thought that was all the info she needed. I wasn't trying to shock her or anything...I just wanted to make sure she understood this was a serious matter, that I wasn't trying to just get out of a contract. I still have to pay through August 10th anyway which seems really dumb to me...I'm used to playing the cancer card to get what I want, but you don't get any perks at Washington Sports Club!! What was strange was that she didn't even wish me good luck or anything...I've run into that when talking to people about getting more forbearance on my student loans as well, and it shocks me a little bit. I guess some people are just automatic: they do their job and they don't want any personal stories getting in the way. I'm not personally offended, just surprised. I understand they have to follow protocol, but it just seems that some situations merit a little more personal attention.
After the gym, we went home, and I played with the dogs a little bit before heading off to meet Lori and Paulina for our girls' dinner at "Guarapo". We enjoyed a delicious dinner outside and celebrated Paulina's birthday...¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Paulina! I hope you enjoyed your day. :)
I'm getting ready for bed now, and I'm sure I'll sleep well after so much activity!
Before I head to bed, I figured I better explain the photo of my dad with Jameson that so many people asked about in my last entry. He is eating cheese and crackers, and Jameson is waiting patiently for a bite....I didn't realize the picture was so mysterious!
Oh, and I have one more thing to share with you. Last night, I spoke with a fellow leukemia survivor (Andrew) who had a transplant six years ago out in Seattle. We must have talked for about an hour, and when I got off the phone with him, I felt so energized and positive! He helped to take away some of the nagging fear I have with regards to the transplant, and I am really grateful to him for doing that...thank you again, Andrew! Hearing that you are doing so well, and finding out some more details about Seattle and the transplant process brought me a great deal of comfort.
I hope everyone else is enjoying their week also. I'm off to bed--have an early appointment (yes, 9 am is early!) with my ENT. Hope all is going well!