Brainstorm

I woke up two mornings ago to the amazing sight of a fast moving rainstorm rolling toward us from the Pacific about a mile away.  The gorgeous but somewhat eerie light lasted only a few fleeting minutes but signaled that things were about to radically change.  A pounding rain lashed our building minutes later.  It rained most of the morning and then it passed.

Glass of Dirt

This has become part of my daily ritual (a twice daily ritual actually), drinking my "glass of dirt" as Walt has dubbed it.  It is part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment which has been an important tool in my cancer fight.

If you are wondering, it looks like dirt and it tastes like dirt so Walt is a pretty astute observer.

Handshakes

Last week, the friends and colleagues I entered the Foreign Service with (the 133rd class of A-100 "Standing and Clapping") hit another milestone on the road of a State Department career as "handshakes" went out for everyone's third assignment.

The first milestone, in my opinion, is the opening day on A-100 when we all collectively and without much pomp and circumstance (standing in the lobby of FSI) swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Summit Leads To Эпоха застоя

It was Always Sunny In Philadelphia until the last day of the conference and the 5K which is why Steph appears to be frozen in this shot.

We spent last weekend at the National Brain Tumor Society Summit in Philadelphia.  It is the annual meeting of the NBTS - part scientific conference part networking opportunity for patients (or "survivors" in their lingo) and caregivers.  We did learn a few things and connected with some very nice people but I left feeling dissatisfied - my perspective hasn't improved significantly but it hasn't gotten worse either.  Stagnation.
I'm not sure what I expected, certainly not a miracle cure that had somehow eluded me before, but I wanted something - some kernel of hope, some promising procedure that I hadn't come across yet - and unfortunately, that simply doesn't appear to be out there.

Noyo

I had the chance to take Walt to possibly my favorite place on earth recently - Camp Noyo - a former logging camp in the redwoods of Mendocino County which became a boy scout camp in the early 1930's.  Our family has been coming there for, after Walt's visit with his cousins, five generations now.  We didn't do much traveling as a family growing up (perhaps that's why the travel bug bit me so badly when it did) but we did drive up to Noyo and spend a few days on a fairly regular basis.  Our times there as a family are some of the happiest that I can recall - when it was clear the we all felt content and at home.  It was fun to see Walt's joy in experiencing it all for the first time.

Captain America vs The Hulk

I know this post is a little late as it has been a week since Captain America roamed the Avenues very politely  asking, "Trick or treat?"  Walt quickly surmised that wishing strangers "Happy Halloween" was also the way to go.  We had a fun night and I'm happy to say that all of the pleasure was going door to door, seeing the costumes and decorations (Walt generously wished a stick figure on a lawn,"Goodnight skeleton!") and filling the bag - actually eating the candy he is less interested in.  It was satisfying to watch the light go on and see him "get it" and throw himself into the weird fun of the day versus the bewildered and oddly serene Incredible Hulk that he was as a six month old in Moscow.