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Today was a nice day out, not too hot, big fluffy cotton candy clouds drifting across the sky…
And a better day, got the results of my x-ray and ultrasound.
No New Cancer!
Now I need to be even more strict with my diet and, barring any symptom, I can breath a little easier to the next round of tests in November. It’s relieving to know I can enjoy this summer without the hell a metastasis would bring to my world.
K, haven’t written in ages, because it has not been pouring out, I have to think to write now, when that changes again, I’ll write regular, pinky promise…
To be brutally candid, I’ve had this thought lately- When I used to go to a certain 12 step group, after awhile it gets tiresome seeing so many people you know die (junkies have a habit of doing that) and even outside of there, acquaintances and friends were still dying. So now I go to a cancer support group, and those people are dying left and right too… So I start to wonder, why am I always around so many people with a propensity towards an untimely death? I believe I wholeheartedly love living each day as fully as possible and am in constant awe and amusement by every passing moment at times, so why me?
If there is supposed to be some sort of lesson here, am I a student or a teacher? Methinks probably both, and that too is always in flux. It does feel like as one lives longer and sees more and learns more, the mind is like a database, and you’re cache takes a lifetime to build, so the fuller it is, the more efficiently you can access data. And recent studies of the brain’s capacity as you age see to bear this out as well, but I digress, enough for now. More to come.
Whew!
Well, so much has happened in a little less than a year. My oldest son who lived with me turned 21 and my child support went up $1200 dollars a month. And then my tenant moved out and the cottage needed repairs, new flooring, carpets, and a paint job. I was in trouble. At precisely this time wall street got a little too crazy in their asset backed securities and derivatives money grab, so the market was crashing and real estate prices plummeting. I had just started a new job 5 or 6 months prior, back in the Sys Admin saddle again. Working in a small shop with CentOS on intel boxes with some heavy Xen virtualization going on. Glad to be in an office again but a small shop where you do everything and have no backup is no fun. You’re on call 24/7 365 basically.
Problem is with a less than stable employment history and a couple 90 days in my credit history, I couldn’t re-fi to get enough money to stay a few more years until a couple more kids turned 21. I also looked into cashing out an investment and was told it wasn’t an option. So, since the main house needed so much repair it was in essence a knock down, we just stopped paying the mortgage and started waiting for the axe to fall. After not paying for a year, I received a foreclosure complaint in June of ‘09 and answered it myself at the supreme court. We started looking at apartments a few months prior and were dismayed at the shit-holes that were in our price range. The problem is we have Sid, and although some places take dogs, they often have a weight limit, they want small dogs, not 80 pound high drive GSD’s as tenants.
Well we found a great old pre-war building a guy I work with recommended, he has lived there for like 5 years or so. We got approved and saved up our deposit and first months rent along with extra for moving, etc. I had a doctor’s appointment mid August to get an ultrasound of my liver to make sure it looked OK. The tech said she saw a “little something” on my kidney. That little something was a 9 cm. tumor that I was told was almost definitely cancer and I would have to have my right kidney removed. Friggin’ CANCER, I forgot to mention we also had a motorcycle crash down around Chinatown and couldn’t afford to fix the bike, so we are definitely not having a good year so far. I went down to Sloan Kettering and met with Dr. Paul Russo, who is on of the best surgeons in the world when it comes to renal cancers. We scheduled an appointment for surgery the next week, on August 26th.
I went through the surgery, stayed in the hospital two more days (loved the morphine pump the first two days) and went home to recuperate. Knowing we were moving in 3 weeks and I hadn’t packed half of the stuff up I’d accumulated in 18 years of not throwing anything out was a disconcerting thought. Luckily I had moved my shed next door to my Mom’s property, so I had plenty of room for metro shelving and storing stuff we couldn’t bring but I couldn’t part with. I packed a little here and there without bending over, and we hired 3 guys and rented a truck and made the big move, from Mahopac, where I’d lived in the same house the kids were raised in for 18 years, to Sleepy Hollow. The move went pretty smooth, the poor guys carried 37 boxes of books up 6 flights of stairs to the 4th floor!
Here are a few pics of the building and the neighborhood. OK, that’s enough shocking news for one update and I’m glad I got this post in to keep it just under a year since my last post. I could be the once a year blogger… Although I’m sure many others would want to share that title. I’ll try and update again and tell you what else is new.
Don’t ask me why, but… Now that we’ve been firmly entrenched in digital imaging for many years, I’ve taken up shooting film again and even set up a darkroom once more. I have a Nikon F4s, which in my mind (and many pro photographers will concur) is one of the best 35mm cameras in the world. Now if I only had the money to buy a few more lenses… Maybe I’ll treat myself when I get my tax return.
Yeah, strange working in the darkroom. I haven’t done it in almost 20 years. I was working in a commercial darkroom back in the late 80’s and I haven’t had my home darkroom in operation for probably almost 30 years. I still have the enlarger I got for Christmas when I was around 14, so that’s 32 years ago! But I’m actually using a much nicer Omega enlarger I bought at a tag sale and had been sitting in the attic unused for 10 years.
I grabbed all my old photography books I had in storage, bought a couple newer ones from alibris.com and did a little homework in my spare time. Nothing much has changed, they have new films using a different technology, but I have been shooting conventional “old school” B&W films like Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5-plus.
Danny and I (he’s almost as tall as me so we don’t call him little Danny anymore) went down to B&H photo on 34th and 9th. If you have never been and have any interest in A/V equipment, you simply must go! They have absolutely everything and anything related to Photography and Video production. And the overhead trolley system that transports bins of purchased items from the many departments to the checkout area is really cool. Bring your camera and you can try practically any lens made on it and have a look-see.
We bought paper (Ilford nowadays, Kodak, although they still make chemicals, no longer produces B&W paper), paper developer, another safelight, and some odds and ends. Then we came home, mixed up the paper soup, and started printing negs from a few rolls I had shot in the previous few weeks. I must say it was lots of fun. Like always, time seems to stand still in the darkroom, and before you know it I’d been in there for over 6 hours! I ended up with about 9 or 10 good negatives from the 3 rolls of film I had shot and developed, which I find about average.
I took some shots of the Croton river and was trying for the “cottony” effect you get with long exposures and flowing water, but even on an overcast day with the lens stopped all the way down, I was still getting 15th or 30th seconds shutter speeds, too fast to make that effect work. But I found a genuine Nikon neutral density for only 19 bucks on ebay and it got here in 2 days with free shipping, so I’m gonna give it another go at another spot tomorrow.
For some reason I’ve always enjoyed B&W photography much more. Learning to see and think in terms of tonal range without the visual noise of color has been almost second nature for me for almost as long as I can remember. We only have consumer grade digital cameras at home, so I’ve never even tried B&W with digital, I hear it’s nowhere near as good as film though. I’d love to have a good digital camera and a couple lenses for it, but I just don’t have the time or money now, so I’m going to continue to develop (no pun intended) my skills with conventional silver based imaging.
OK, enough from me, if you’re into photography, hope this brought back some memories, if not, you must be bored!
OK, I’ve been thinking about doing this for awhile, so without further ado, here’s a list of cars I’ve owned. I think I remembered them all. They’re also in the order I’ve owned them.
In case you couldn’t tell I was a big Mopar fan for years.
1969 VW Beetle
1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia
1970 Buick Lesabre (2 door hardtop)
1973 Lincoln Continental
1986 Toyota SR5 Pickup
1972 Dodge Charger
1972 Chevy Impala (2 door)
1986 Toyota Celica GT
1964 Plymoth Valiant Signet convertible
1976 Plymouth Fury (police cruiser)
1969 Chrysler Imperial
1970 Dodge Dart (4 door)
1974 Plymouth Valiant (2 door)
1964 Plymouth Savoy
1982 Chevy Caprice Estate Wagon
1950 Plymouth Cranbrook
1980 VW Rabbit Diesel
1986 Toyota Corolla SR5 (2 door)
1974 Dodge Dart (2 door)
1984 Chevy Caprice Estate Wagon
1966 Chrysler New Yorker
2000 Jeep Wrangler
1985 Toyota Corolla (4 door hatchback)
1994 Chevy Cavalier (2 door)
1989 Toyota Camry
1986 Nissan Pathfinder (2 door)
1986 Jeep CJ7
1991 Toyota Corolla
OK,
If you had a last meal and it could be any food from any place you’ve ever had, what would the meal consist of ?
Mine is easy-
Soup- The Lobster Bisque from Arno’s on Nantucket.
Bread- Sourdough assortment from Boudin’s in San Francisco
Salad- A spring mix with a round of warmed goat cheese in the center, slivered almonds, and a nice raspberry vinaigrette.
Main Course- Broiled NY Strip Steak served with 6 jumbo shrimp, brushed with a compound butter then grilled over cherry wood coals.
Vegetables- Baked Potato with butter, chives, sour cream, salt
and also- broccoli spears sauteed with olive oil and garlic, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice
Desert- A Double chocolate ice cream soda - either from “The Hippies Place” that was on City Island, Bronx, NY in the 70’s or from “Huntley Farms” in Eastchester, NY also in the 70’s. Home made ice creams, fresh whip cream, it was great !
And if I’m not full maybe a slice of Juniors Cheesecake from Brooklyn
Beverages- Iced water while eating, Coffee would be a yemen mocha brewed in a vacuum pot, with raw sugar and cream, and then maybe a bit of a nice vintage port to end the perfect meal
Or maybe just 10 really fresh and juicy white castle cheeseburgers with one onion ring each placed under the bun top and a chocolate shake, depending on my mood !
OK,
I’m always saying- “such and such” is one of my desert island albums…
Well, I’ve finally taken 5 minutes and written down the ten albums I’d take if I was going to be stranded on a desert isle. Yes, just ten albums to listen to for years on end. I guess The Professor and Gilligan are taking care of the electricity and the sound system!
Anyway, here’s the list-
1- Charlie Parker (still not sure what album yet)
2- Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers RVG recording - Live At Birdland
3- The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers
4- The Beatles- The Beatles (White Album)
5- The Clash- London Calling
6- Bob Marley and The Wailers- Confrontation
7- Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
8- Red Hot Chili Peppers- Blood Sugar Sex Magic
9- Patti Smith- Radio Ethiopia
10- The Allman Brothers Band- The Allman Brothers Band
OK, I have to just say how incredible this mornings “Bird Flight” was. Particularly a group of 4 back to back renditions of Night In Tunisia. It’s not a long story, so I’ll tell it quickly…
Many moons ago, about 27 years to be exact, I had a really kick-ass stereo (actually the one I have now isn’t so bad either). In fact I had people tell me they could hear it 2 city blocks away when I had the windows open and the wind was blowing in the right direction. But of course I attribute any hearing loss I may have from working around Jets for a few years. But, as usual, I digress, back on point please-
Anyway, often times I would come home at 2 or 3 in the morning, after a long shift of cosmic exploration, and I’d listen to a radio show called “The Transfigured Night” which showcased avant garde and minimalist music of the late seventies. Stuff like The Red Crayola, Shox Lumania, Steve Reich, Brian Eno, you get the picture. After that show was over, the next show was called “Daybreak Express” and was very upbeat Jazz which was a great way to watch the sun come up.
And after that show was Bird Flight. Hosted by the venerable Phil Schaap, the always verbose and usually anecdotal Jazz historian. Phil is not just spinning records, he spends probably close to 50% if not more of each show presenting the story behind the music, often from his personal experience with many of the late masters.
But of course Bird Flight is dedicated to one musician in particular, Charlie Parker. By now you may be wondering, how can this guy have a radio program for over 30 years playing the music of just one artist? Well I can’t answer that, you have to listen to understand. You will learn not just of Charlie Parkers music, but about Dizzie Gillespie, Lester Young, Earl Hines, and many many other legendary, and also some unknown artists, and how they shaped the future of the art form known as be-bop.
This year, Phil is doing a chronlogical history of every known Charlie Parker recording. He started in March and is only up to summer of 1946 so far, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this continues through to the holidays.
I could go on and on about Phil, but best to leave the accolades it to a professional writer, so look at this piece, a very good celebration of Phil and his contribution to the music world… Phil Schapp Article
If you are in the tri-state area you can catch Bird Flight on WKCR, the staion of Columbia University at 89.9 on the FM dial. And thankfully you can also listen to show over their stream at WKCR’s website but it’s not archived, it’s only vailable live, so tune in every weekday morning from 8:20 and hopefully, you’ll hear something you like, something that will make you come back and listen again and again, maybe even for 27 years…
So all this was just my very roundabout way of saying, holy shit, the pieces he played this morning were absolutely rocking my world! I’ve quite an extensive music collection, maybe 3 or 4 thousand albums worth of music, spanning practically all genres and decades, and nothing lifts my spirits or gets me in a good mood like an exceptional rendition of Night In Tunisia or Ornithology. Those pieces have the power to change my whole being at the particular moment I listen to them, and the amazing thing is that they retain that power even after I’ve heard them a hundred times or more. So come to think of it, I do understand how he’s been playing the same artist every day for 30 years. And I’m glad he’s still doing it, I hope he never stops.
Do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Bird Flight- 89.9 FM in NYC or at WKCR weekday mornings at 8:20 until around 9:50
It has changed the way I think about and listen to music forever.
OK, you know who you are, if you got that email, and you do me that favor, I’ll write a long ass post here and fill you in on whatever and such. What the hell, it’s only been 6 months, right ?
Hopefully I’ll be writing here real soon…
-S
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