The end is near.

Only a week ago, I saw David for what will be my last visit with him.  Yesterday, he called Linda up to say goodbye and we talked for a bit.  His conversation kept dropping off as the fatigue and drugs took their toll.  When it was over, Linda and I noted that it was one of the weirdest conversations we had ever had on the phone.  I felt like I was listening to someone at the bottom of a well, someone a long way away struggling to make himself heard.  He had called to say goodbye.  And we did.  And I wanted him to keep talking but knew that he couldn't.  He finally said that he was tired and was going to close his eyes.  And that was it.

Been crying off and on for days now.  Going to be a hard couple of days.

Here's how my day went

Woke up and had pie.  So good so far.  Then Sophie said she felt bad, and then barfed.  My Mom called and told me that their phones were almost dead and they had no power.  Or heat.  So, I cancel my lunchdate with Rachelle (which I had totally been looking forward to), and drive to Arcadia with a stove, flashlights, and a phone charger.   Trees down everywhere and a general lack of traffic lights make means it takes three times as long to drive anywhere once you leave the freeway.

   I get to my dad's house, he walks out to say hi, and explains that he needs help fixing the toilet...in his apartment...which he was trying to fix earlier that morning...two weeks after getting out of the hospital.  He then mumbles that he's tired, looks kind of odd for a second, and falls straight backwards, his head going into a bush instead of the concrete walkway a foot away.

   He refuses help getting up and lays on the ground for a minute or two before very slowly getting up.  At this point, he lets me talk him into staying home while I go to Home Depot to get the toilet parts.  But before that, I decide to set up a camp stove for them. Cause, you know, hot food.

    As I plug in a brand-new canister of fuel in my previously trusty Coleman Exponent stove, the seal somehow ruptures and a stream of cloudy white butane comes shooting out the top.  Backpacking, burning man, car camping.  I frantically rush it out the back door and watch it slowly spray butane all over the backyard.  Happily, there was one can of gas left that was fine.  I made dad some soup, his first hot food in >24 hours.

   On the way to Home Depot, I find a Donut place open.  They have six donuts left.  That's it.  This will be the last place that has food I find open the rest of the day.  It takes an hour to get to the store and back.

   I drive both of my folks to the apartment  and fix their toilet surprisingly easily (the whole time trying to convince my dad that spending money on a plumber is not wasting money).  Afterwards, we drive around looking for a restaurant that's open.  We find a restaurant and go in.  Well, almost go in, as Dad begins to buckle at the knees again just before we walk in.  At this point, he (amazingly!) suggests that he should probably go home and lay down.

    At home, he feels better and my mom asks if we can go get some windshield wipers.  Because she needs new wipers.  My dad says that he'll drive to the dealer tomorrow to get them.  It's just over in Pasadena.  sigh.  So, I drive to the pep boys nearby and buy wipers in a dark, but open store.  On the way back, my mom and I look for food, get stuck at intersections, and find that about 1 in every 6 blocks is blocked by downed trees.  This takes an hour and a half.

   Then it's off to visit David.  Who was setting up an XBox and looked a tad cranky.  Which, frankly, suited me fine.  We smoked a bowl together, this was the highlight of my day.

    I make it home, and find that Ricky's teacher had given him an essay. On Friday.  Due Tuesday.  And by essay, I mean that she wants Eight Fucking questions answered in "complete" paragraph form.  I've scanned the assignment to give you a complete idea.  Oh yes, this was in addition to the powerpoint presentation due, and the three page homework also due.  This is all in one class.  In sixth grade.  Which essentially means that i) I have to write the paper for him ii) we spend four to five hours a day on the weekend and monday to finish it iii) we tell him to blow it off, which he doesn't want to do.

    Sophie feels better.  My dad says his back is sore but he's OK. I'm going to watch a movie.

Haloween

Dragged my sorry ass off the couch on saturday night.  I had spent the whole day helping out with kid's class at the dojo, then doing the tests, then having the dojo anniversary party, so I was understandably tired.  But I rallied and made it to BootieLA mashup night.  I wore the Samurai Hello Kitty outfit and ended up winning the "mashup" category costume contest.  I paid for dinner with Eric and Noosha with the winnings, and still came out ahead for the night.  It felt great to go dance and be in a nightclub and stay out until 3am.  Though I must admit to being super tired Sunday.

On a much less happy note, my dad had his kidney taken out today.  It should treat the cancer, but the recovery seems a bit unpleasant.

Still sick

I got a flu last week after drinking with shady at the york in eagle rock.  My hangover kept getting worse until I finally admitted it was a flu.  Which went away and became a lingering cough coupled with fatigue.  Which has lasted a week.  And then I got a migraine in the morning yesterday.

Make the weekend come now.

Welcome Back!

    I had my welcome back day at work, where the staff get together and meet before the students arrive.  We had a seriously dismal budget projection.  As in the worst I've ever seen.  As is laying off part-timers and closing some departments.  My job is super-secure, but it was a real gut-punch of a talk.
   Then the chief of police gave a presentation on the new emergency preparedness systems and what we can do in the event of an "active shooter" on campus.  Including videos of how to conduct a lockdown.  Which involves making a fort out of desks and hiding in the dark.
   My co-worker turned to me and said, "so the message is 'we have no money and are going to get killed'".

   It'll be an interesting year.

at least you have two kidneys

My dad found he has a 5cm lump in his kidney, meaning he'll have to have surgery to have it removed.  With luck, it'll be local and he'll be fine.  If not, chemo and radiation are generally useless.  On the plus side, it explains why he's been having so many problems related to his blood sugar and mood swings.
    He's getting a scan (SPECT?) monday, they'll know more after that.

   I just finished reading "the emperor of all maladies", a biography of cancer.  It was a tough read, though very well written and really engaging.  I wish it wasn't so pertinent.

Backpacking

Went out for three days and two nights to Lone Pine and the Cottonwood Lakes area.  I handled the altitude quite well this time, my knee felt crappy the second day, probably the result of going off-trail and hopping over rocks, roots and branches for hours.  I went with Kris, the second time we've gone out backpacking.  A fine travelling companion, not too fast, flexible, good company.

It's nice to be home, I've only got a few days off before I have to go back to work!