lornagrl

Wasted Saturday....

This is the first Saturday in weeks that I did not have plans, so I pretty much did nothing all day.  I did not go to the gym last night because of the rain storm.  Instead I had sushi at my favorite local sushi restaurant.  I also had some sake...too much sake.  I just can't drink alcohol like I used to since the cancer treatment.  I seem to get drunk quicker and with very little, and the following day (like today) I feel as though I have been hit by a truck.  Maybe it's an after effect of the chemo?  Who knows.

The housekeeper was scheduled to come this morning at 8:30 am.  Yes, that's right I have cleaning lady who comes once or twice a month.  My brother hired this service while I was in treatment and I got spoiled.  I feel really funny hanging around while someone else cleans my house so I took my camera and wandered around Coney Island in the early morning hours.  I stopped for coffee at the coffee and flower place.  It turns out they have wifi there and their coffee is really good. Nobody seems to be hanging out in there yet. I hope it catches on and stays open because the Starbucks in Brighton Beach is way too crowded and I like supporting local businesses.

btw: The certified letter turned out to be a letter from my breast surgeon to let me know it's time for my six month check.  I guess they mean business when you've had cancer.

An open letter to the party who sent me a certified letter...

To the party who sent me a certified letter.

I live in the depths of Brooklyn, and work in the middle of the island of Manhattan.  I am never home when the mailman delivers my mail, nor am I in the area to pick up your letter while the post office is open.  I am not refusing your letter, I simply cannot pick it up.  Therefore, you are wasting your money by sending mail to me certified because there really is no possible way I can pick it up unless I take a day off of work which I will not do unless I know who you are and why you are sending me something certified.  I've tried calling the post office, and they refuse to tell me who you are.

Why are you sending me certified mail?  My debts are all being paid in a timely manner.  I have excellent credit.  I don't drive.  What could you possibly want?  Who are you anyway?

(You wouldn't happen to be the grim reaper would you?)

If you have something to send me send the letter regular mail, or better yet, drop me an e-mail and let me know what's up.  It's not like I'm hard to find or anything.

Sincerely,

Lorna (who is never home)

Cancer cure with pie pans and hotdogs....

Um, no I did not make this up.  It was actually on 60 Minutes.  I got to admit that my eyes were rolling when I first saw the headline but after I saw this video I was actually going "hmmmmm" 

Brooklyn needs more gyms....

...especially south Brooklyn.  Crunch, New York Sport's Club -- their idea of placing locations in Brooklyn is to stick it in Carroll Gardens, Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights.  This is great for those who live in those areas but us poor schlubs who can't afford high rents and have been exiled to the depths of the borough are screwed.  The only gyms in my area observe shabbas which is useless to me if I want to work out on Friday or Saturday and the Bally's in Sheepshead Bay want's my blood.  This means I'm forced to go to the gym in Kensington which leaves a bit to be desired but is the only reasonable albeit inconvenient solution.

Nevertheless I have managed to stick to going nearly every day.  I skipped Friday because I wanted to take a night off and I couldn't do it on Saturday because I was out most of the day and the gym was ready to close by the time I got back to Brooklyn.  I am so thrilled that I am able to do this again. Since I started I am feeling stronger, and have a lot more energy.  I think the extra train ride will be worth it.

Coffee and Flowers?

There is a new coffee shop in my neighborhood. This one is a combination coffee shop and florist.  (There a lot of florists in Brighton Beach by the way.) This shop is located in what I believe is the only strip mall in Brooklyn.  I don't know how good the coffee is because when I stepped in for a cup, I was told by the florist (who at first spoke to me in Russian) that the coffee shop part of the place closes at 6pm.

Spam Attack!!

lornagrlphotos.com has been hit with a massive spam attack and I'm powerless to stop it.  I have tried to set up and comment moderation and have even tried to shut the comment function off but it's not working for some reason and I have been too darn busy to sit down and trouble shoot.  All I can do is delete the comments one by one. 

I am also a little freaked out about this massive rice shortage that's all over the news.  I'm not a real big rice eater anymore but I always found it comforting that should things get really dismal, I can always buy a super tub of rice and a large container of beans and not starve. 

Well there's always potatoes.

BTW, I no longer look like Elvis, but I am beginning to look like Abe Kaplan Gabe Kaplan in Welcome Back Kotter. 

Can I do this every day for the next six weeks?

I may be jinxing this, but I had a four-day weekend and each day I went to the gym and spend 45 minutes on the arc trainer.  I must say that I am quite surprised (pleasantly so) that I am able to do this.  I used to do this at least three times a week but it's been a while since I did this.  I injured my ankles a few years back and started to do weight training instead.  I had not been to the gym for at least six months before I got sick last year and did not go to the gym all year.  I really thought I would last just ten minutes and then be gasping for air but it was like I never stopped. Each day I challenge myself and rev up the intensity.  I just hope that I can keep it up because the gym is not in the most convenient place for me.  My goal is to try to do this every day before my upcoming surgery.  I expect that I will miss a few days but I'm going to try.

To the gym...

Today I signed up for a one month gym membership in my former Brooklyn hood. 

The only gym around here is a Bally's and I think they wanted my first born son.  The gym in Kensington does not require a contract and is not very expensive.  I had to start exercising again.  It's been a little over a year because I was pretty laid up from September through the middle of February.   I was a little nervous at first because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do my old routines, but I actually did pretty well.  I can't do lateral pulls and I have to ease up on the weight lifting and the crunches but I was able to do thirty-minutes on the arc trainer at my previous pace without a problem.

I only signed up for a one month membership because my second surgery is scheduled for June 6th.  It's just an outpatient procedure but I doubt I'll be able to work out for a few weeks after.  I'm really looking forward to this surgery. They will be cutting the dog ears off of my sides and putting some finishing touches on the reconstruction. 

I think I look like Elvis....

So my hair is growing back.  As predicted and as I hoped, it's growing back curly.  I find this ironic because I permed my hair throughout my twenties.  I even had friends who didn't know my curls were chemically induced.  And when I let it go straight again they thought I had decided to blow it straight.  I spent thousands of dollars getting my hair to do exactly what it's doing on it's own right now. I had no idea there was some connection between perm solution and chemo-therapy.

The only problem right now is that my hair, while growing. is still very short and the curls make it stand on end.  I would post a picture but I hate it, and I kind of don't want a pic posted on the internet right now. It's in that awful tween stage that I just have to suffer through.  Once it gets some length I'm going to have fun styling it but until then...

I don't think people in my neighborhood knew the real reason I was bald this summer.  I think they thought I pulled a Brittany Spears and shaved my head.  Adding a bitchin tattoo probably didn't help this image either.  I realized this after the lady at my vegetable stand, the woman at the mexican restaurant and the guy at the bodega made these following comments:

"Your hair isn't growing back very fast is it. Do you think the tattoo had an affect?"
"You look better with hair."
"So you decided to let your hair grow back in."

I would correct them or clarify but what would be the point? Besides I want to move on I don't want to branded as the CanSer girl.

Washed up boat on Coney Island

No genetic mutations...

On February 22nd I had a test done to see if I carried a brca gene mutation.  Women with such mutations are at a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, particularly at an early age.  I was hesitant to take the test for many reasons.  For one, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer and I was afraid if it turned out positive I would have trouble getting medical insurance coverage in the future.  But It was my fear of ovarian cancer that made me do it.  Breast cancer is survivable but ovarian, not so much. 

What I learned about the brca gene mutation is that men carry it as well which means it can pass down from either the mother's or the father's side.  The genetic counselor was especially interested in my paternal grandmother, Josephine who died of ovarian cancer.  But she was 66 years old and when the brca gene mutation is involved, the cancer usually strikes at an earlier age than that.  Still, it was a tense month because that's how long I had to wait for the results.  They made me come into the office to get it as well, they wouldn't just tell me over the phone.  This infuriated me.  It's my body and possibly my genetic mutation and I'm paying for the test.  I should have the right to receive the test results anyway I want to.  The test was NEGATIVE but had it not been I would have preferred to have been in the comfort of my own home to get the test results, not sitting in some stranger's office. 

Needless to say I'm quite relieved I did not have the mutation because it turns out that having it puts you at risk of many other cancers as well such as melanoma, stomach and pancreatic.

It still doesn't explain why I got cancer at 38 years old.

Astroland opening day...cold and rainy

I headed over to Astroland this afternoon for opening day.  There wasn't as much fanfare as last year, but then we all thought that last year was going to be the final season.  It was cold and rainy so there weren't too many people.

As usual the Hungry March Band was performing.  I didn't get there until the end of the performance.  Boy, I love this band.  If I ever get rich and have a big party, I will totally book them. 

I walked over to the freak show.  They were open but nothing was going on outside.  I couldn't stay out too long because I didn't want to get caught in a downpour with my camera.  While I was walking home on the boardwalk, I noticed Miss Cycolone posing for photographs.

Elliot, you disappointed me....

I know I haven't posted in a while.  I work on a computer all day, creating e-mails and sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get home is look at a computer screen.  It's been very, very busy.  One day last week I worked until 8pm.  They were kind enough to send me home in a car, but I continued to work from my laptop until about 9:30. 

I did want to point out that I am deeply disappointed in Elliot Spitzer.  So much so, that I'm thinking about writing him a letter.  I had such high hopes when he was elected.  I remember years ago I had a huge dispute with a nameless cell phone service provider and I told them "I'm going to send a letter to Elliot Spitzer's office about this."  (He was the New York State's Attorney General at the time, and did a fine job too.)

I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it anymore.

Gotham Gazette -- creating healthy bodegas.

This photos was featured in an article for the Gotham Gazette.

Happy Birthday Dad...Castro resigned.

It seems fitting that Fidel Castro has resigned on what would have been my father's 66th birthday.  Dad  told me that he was in the air force during the Cuban missile crisis but what he did exactly, he would never say.  My father died of lung cancer in 2001.

As for a post about Castro, I couldn't possibly do a more clever post than Lauren.