It is very early morning as I am typing, unless you are reading this on the East Coast. One of the strange side effects of the chemo is that I get woken up pretty early. I have probably mentioned this before… Anyway, I enjoy it as long as it’s not too early, the reason being that living in San Francisco I have come to realize that you never know what time of year it is – there are no seasons and, having grown up in New England, I really miss it.

I am not sure why, but for some reason the early mornings remind me of Autumn.  Speaking of chemo, it’s going well-ish, not too much discomfort, still mostly digestive disruption which is the great mystery of all of this.  In the middle of this round I had three totally normal bowel movements, which contradicts the chemo usual effects. (I just realized the term movement is predominantly used in conjunction with classical music, dance performances, great social change and going to the bathroom.  Now that I understand its dysfunction better I also understand why it is considered a great achievement i.e. movement.) Unfortunately though, it didn’t last, and now it is back to …. Well, let’s just say it’s more like a guy playing upside down buckets in the street for loose change or interpretive dancing to bad 8th-grade poetry than it is Beethoven’s Ninth or the New York City Ballet Company’s Swan Lake.

With that subject well covered, I move on.  Actually, I caught a cold, or The Cold, since so many people seem to have it, which I think is also giving me a false reading on the chemo. I guess that is kind of good because I seem able to handle it without too much trouble.

Not much else to report. I am hoping to go camping at the Yuba River tomorrow as long as my gut cooperates.  The Yuba River is one of those priceless free gifts you get when you live in California. It is also the place where Kaki and I discovered magic, a river monk named Yelvit, and that if freedom had a flavor it would be blackberry. Lately I spend a good deal of my time trying to reshape myself to my new reality. Especially as I am feeling better (or less sick). My mind and I have come to two major conclusions: First, that I am lacking in hobbies. This is the result I think of having a job that is technically a highly sought after hobby, so all my hobby needs were being met.  Second, that I don’t know how to cook (except eggs and potatoes). This is the result of living in this, aforementioned, season-less, (no pun intended but proud to have discovered it) dining utopia.

For, as most people know, it is very expensive here, especially housing, but eating out cheap and well is not very difficult,  which has left me lacking in the kitchen. So I have made it my new goal to make cooking my new hobby. So far this has involved mostly cooking meat, which until I got sick I had only done a couple of times before. My body has been craving protein.

It takes me so long to type that autumn has passed, and now outside the window it is spring, which in San Francisco means it must be late September.  So I am off to Bernie’s coffee to get some chai tea.