So of course I knew the second round of chemo was coming up on Monday (the 17th) - the problem was I was feeling really good that Sunday before. I had gone out to see some friends on Sat, even ran around a little tossing the frisbee. Heck, Yves and I even went climbing for a bit on Sunday - sure, it was among a birthday party full of crazy screaming kids at Twisters, but we went climbing nonetheless. So, the point being, I was feeling pretty darn good physically, and toward evening I started to think a bit about how crappy the next few days would be, how boring and uncomfortable and aweful it would feel, and ughh, I started to get slightly down about it. After climbing Yves dropped me off at my house, where I thought I'd hang out for the evening with Serena and Janet. Then my mom called and was all asking whether I was coming home (to my sister's) to eat, and I said well, I wasn't planning on it, blah blah blah - finally we decided I would go back to eat with them, which of course made me a little cranky, as I had wanted to spend some time hanging out with people (normal caveats apply here of course - I love my mom and all, but sometimes you just . . . ). Anyhow, so Serena takes me back to my sister's place, where we have dinner 'n' such. Then she says, oh, Janet's coming over later to hang out. Okay, that seems normal, sure, whatever...
But when the doorbell rings, in comes Janet and this flux of other good friends, and here I am sitting at the dinner table flabbergasted at what's going on (though I guess I figured it out eventually). Folks showed up with four awesome posters filled with pics and notes from friends, as well as a bunch of packages containing parts for the digital SLR camera I've been coveting for about, oh, two years or so! It was quite awesome - I teared up, didn't really know what to say but I blubbered something about how cool this all was.
Anyhow, (breaking the fourth wall here) thanks to everyone who was involved in this wonderful surprise - the second half came in the mail the other day, too (a full-size professional photo printer), so I'm beside myself with excitement at being able to use these great gifts. Plus the posters themselves (which would have been more than enough to lift my spirits) are fab-o-lous! It was such a treat to get such a wonderful gift from all corners of the globe! Plus, right in time for my birthday (well, a week ahead, but who's counting)!
So, without further ado, the photos... (By the way, I've posted shots of the posters up on Flickr for those of you who want to see more detailed versions of the final products.)
The gang with the posters.
Mike looking smirky between my sister Julia and my mom. 
Janet, Alan, and Yves.
Me with genuine surprise.
Charlie - a happy minstrel on the guitar.
Poster 1 with Wong's lovely drawings of (ahem) climbing gear around the center picture.
Poster 2 - I love the classy touch of the post-Bay-to-Breakers proof that we were all too cheap to pay for. Not that any of us in the photo actually ran the race anyway. Or registered, for that matter. 
Poster 3 - Cosmos Education-Themed (Don't know about Cosmos? Check out http://www.cosmoseducation.org or http://cosmoseducationkenya.blogspot.com. That's right, never miss a chance to pimp a good cause.)
Poster 4 - High-school themed. Those are actual prom/homecoming photos in the upper left.
And one bonus pic - this is the hat that my mom supposedly bought in a men's hat store for me. Everyone confirmed how feminine it looks, so I guess I won't be wearing this one... 
1 comment:
hahaha. GREAT HAT!
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