In Florida, the temperatures have soared into the 80s. With my former fitness routines out the window, I take advantage of the cooler temperatures in the morning and evenings to walk around the neighborhood. I aim for 5000 steps per walk, tracking it on my phone, to reach the recommended allotment of ten-thousand steps daily. … Read more
By Friday, March 13, all students had been advised to leave campus until March 31st — if possible. The end date feels arbitrary, will they all fly home and return two weeks later? I guess the truth is that nobody knows. The faculty receives a query from our department chair asking us to report if … Read more
Inspired by the New Yorker article, “A Week in Seattle, The Epicenter of America’s Coronavirus Crisis.” I’m writing this on March 13, and already I’m forgetting the dates, having to reconstruct them: It was the second to last day of February, (Friday, Feb 28, 2020) when Paul and I flew from the airport in Jacksonville, … Read more
This cold has been going around, and I caught it. Lots of coughing and congestion, the miserable usual. Without getting too graphic, I’ll say that we got a multipack of tissue boxes at Costco not so long ago, and by day ten of this cold, I’d single-handedly used all but one box. My nose and … Read more
My yearly scans: colonscopy, endoscopy, various ultrasounds and a trip to the dermatologist, are like my annual mini-gauntlet that must be run before the pleasant holidays. The first on that list is, of course, the least favorite, due to the day of fasting, followed by the night-long uncomfortable evening of “prep.” That evening was last … Read more
Facebook has this thing now where it randomly shows you a picture from your timeline on a random anniversary of when it first appeared. Last week it showed me this one: I’m standing outside the convention center at Dragon Con in Atlanta, checking out the line of people waiting to see the big-screen premiere of … Read more
Realized I hadn’t updated since that last post. Should probably mention the emotional boat has righted itself and I am back to rowing it. On top of the water. Small boat in a big sea, but at least not capsized and drowning. Yay! Also, I asked to change my hours at work and they said … Read more
I think I have Chris’ blog on my side bar–but I want to share this article specifically. It’s about a comparison study between curcumin and a chemotherapy agent called 5FU. 5FU was a large part of the chemo-cocktail that was proposed to me in 2004 in the wake of my colon cancer diagnosis. I didn’t end up … Read more
Not sick yet, but it will be amazing if I’m not by the end of the week. My boss, who was sick all last week and today, has been working half days. A still-sick faculty member just handed me a folder full of germ laden receipts she organized and labeled while home sick, and the … Read more
In a minute I have to get out of bed. When I do, I have to mix up the nasty, sea-water-tasting solution I will have to start drinking as soon as I arrive home from work. I will put it in the fridge to chill, because chilled sea water is more palatable than warm sea … Read more