songbird's crazy world

My father is finally home from rehab, we hope for good.  I do not like the changes I see in him, though.  Physically he is weak and dependent.  He needs help getting up from the chair or the bed, he walks with a walker.  Although his stamina is much improved since the valve replacement, and he does the exercises he learned in physical therapy, a trip upstairs absolutely exhausts him, and most nights he sleeps on the bed in the living room. More worrysome are the "new" symptoms.  Not entirely new, but . . . Years ago he had serious issues with his eyes, and needed several surgeries to correct the problem.  One of those problems was macular degeneration. I think it's back.  He has moments when he cannot see what's in front of him. And then there are the cognitive and language processing issues.  At first we wondered if the problem was that he simply couldn't hear, because he wasn't wearing his hearing aids.  Now the deficits are becoming mor...

Sad about Jeff. My supervisor at work.  And a really nice guy. For the last few weeks Jeff seemed "off".  Not his usual vivacious self.  Tired.  Subdued.  We thought it was due to stress, lots of changes coming at work at not all of them good. Then he went on a business trip with our coworker Joe.  Joe says Jeff was popping Advil like candy and actually took a bad fall. And then he stopped coming to work. He's in the hospital. He won't be back to the office for a very long time. He has leukemia. Cancer sucks.

From last night

So I took the #7 train to Citi Field.  I used to take the #7 to Shea all the time, but last night was the first time I took the subway to Citi Field. Actually I shouldn't call it a"subway", the #7 is elevated throughout Queens. Citi Field was built in Shea's parking lot, much closer to the subway station.  So when you arrive by subway the view of the stadium is overwhelming. I had arranged to neet Drew and Marc "by the apple."  By this we meant the home run apple, the old one from Shea, that now sits outside Citi Field by the main gate.  The Citi Field home run apple is supposed to be much larger tgan the original. Field seats meant we could enter through the Hodges gate instead of the rotunda, and gave us access to the club level -- which we didn't use.  our seats were in right field, 3 rows back from the grass.  Not bad for free tickets! And we found the elusive hot dogs steamed in beer.  Note for next year -- try "Catch of the Day" rest...

To celebrate the end of summer we are heading out to Citi Field tonight. Yeah, I know, the Mets' playoff hopes died around the All Star break, and lately it seems as if the ghost of 1962 has ressurected itself every time they take  the field. But the tickets are for field level seats. And we got them for free.  Yes, free. We'll go, have a couple of hot dogs . . .and leave early if we want without feeling guilty about how much we spent on admission.

Tried a new place the other night. Sarku Japan. Japanese food in a fast-food format. I ordered a California roll, which was a bit dry. Also had the shrimp and vegetable tempura. The vegetables turned out to be three slices of sweet potato (not my favorite) and three slices of zucchini. Next time I'll stick with a side order of shrimp tempura. I tasted Drew's beef teriyaki. It was tender and flavorful. Drew ordered noodles and I had fried rice, which was pretty standard. This place will never replace our favorite Japanese restaurant, but the food was decent and was served fairly quickly. We'll be back.

It will be a strange holiday, with my father a guest in his own home, leaving at the end of the evening to return to the rehab facility.

A few weeks ago I got a letter from the Commissioner of Jurors, asking me to fill out an eligibility questionaire.  Lawyers are not exempt from jury service, so I anticipate receiving a summons to jury duty in the near future. I have never served on a jury.  Closest I came was about 14 years ago.  I was on telephone standby for two weeks, until the very last day, when I had to go to court.  The court clerk called out 23 names, and we were sent to an empanelling room with a group of about 4 - 5 lawyers. Voir dire is the term we use when lawyers question potential jurors to see who they want on the jury.  During voir dire the lawyers get to tell the potential jurors a little bit about the case. The process is to put six people in the jury box and speak to them.  As one potential juror is dimissed, another potential juror takes a seat in the box.  Usually those who haven't been interviewed sit in the seats used by the audience and listen to the proceed...

People who know me understand that I usually mean this as a metaphor for making sure you make time to enjoy yourself. I mean, I love cake and ice cream and etc.  But I also enjoy my meals.  And if you read my restaurant reviews you know I seldom order desserts in a restaurant. But yesterday... My company leases space from a realty conglomerate.   Once a year the landlord has a "tenant appreciation day.". There's a party in the parking lot of one of their buildings, with live music and a handful of carnival games. Retail tenants have tables set up to advertise their businesses.  Every employee of every tenant gets a ticket for a free ice cream. So I went over at lunchtime and got my ice cream,  a small cup of Ben and Jerry's.  Then I began to explore.   One restaurant was giving out small cups of pasta and small slices of pizza.  Another had small portions of wraps.  Someone else was offering free drinks.  Free lunch. There...

It was a beautiful Tuesday morning 11 years ago today. Never forget.

So it turns out that the pathologist was wrong.  When I went back to the dermatologist she told me that her clinical observations of my nose did not match up to what was in the report.  She did a second biopsy of my nose.  It's benign. As for my neck . . .the plastic surgeon removed the mole on my neck -- I've got 6 stitches (engendering jokes about getting my head sewn on straight).   He thinks the pathology report will be good, most of the moles ge remives are harmless.  It's the potential for it turning into something more serious down the road that concerns him.

The current varsity coach, Maddie, was a senior and captain of the varsity squad when Jen was on JV.  So of course she wanted Jen and Kristen (who was on the team too) to coach JV.  And the principal loves Jen and Kristen. And Jen already hit me up for $$ - team fundraiser for new uniforms.

So Jen's babysitting job fell through.   Now she's meeting with the principal of her high school today.   She's looking to be hired as a coach for the cheer team.  . .