Day one of 10 treatments of radiotherapy and nothing happened except a headache, sigh. No, not strictly true. Had a lovely time meeting friends....drove in with Hannah and Libby, enjoyed watching them select some spectacularly awful outfits at Savemart for a Southland lilac-themed party. Hannah's sack-dress with contrasting belt will surely turn heads, while Libby's choice of a lilac snow-suit (very tight and frankly, her shoes should throw a party of their own and invite the orange-cuffed trousers down) will be wonderfully hot and scratchy on the flight south.
Met up with the lovely Neroli Williams for a coffee, the equally divine Jo Bennett for lunch, and capped off the day with a convivial coffee with sister Marnie in Ballantynes, no less. Whinged throughout that drink, as you only can with family. Thanks, Marnie. Feel better now!
Then took a gift card John's Mum Mary gave me for my birthday and had a wonderful treat selecting from the Bally's cook shop. Got a microplane for grating stuff and a rolling pin (which rolls stuff much better than the tin of creamed corn I had been using!)
Bussed to Merivale Mall where I slummed it in Fresh Choice (!) and met up with Nicky Lotz and her children, who kindly returned me to Amberley.
In the middle of all that I got pinned to a treatment table by the head...face pushed against a custom-made, plastic mesh mask. Apparently I will get to take that mask home as a memento. Never again will I begrudge paying taxes.
Radiotherapy takes only a few minutes and is painless. The effects are culmulative, so I'm told to expect extreme fatigue by the end of the treatments, as well as headaches, short term memory...something...and a sore, red scalp. Maybe hair loss, too. Ah, well.
And my song of the day, I Only Want to Say, from the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar:
"I only want to say,
If there is a way
Take this cup away from me
For I don't want to taste its poison
Feel it burn me
I have changed
I'm not a sure as when we started
Then I was inspired
Now I'm sad and tired
Listen surely I've exceeded expectations
Tried for three years, seems like thirty
Could you ask as much from
Any other man?"
Me, in the black, with my friend Kathy.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Well, Bono has all the riches in the world except...
...the blown kisses and promises of snogs from lots of friends that I dutifully carried north with me on my birthday. Had I got close, I promise, I'd not have thought of myself at all, and I would have listed you all by name and told him how much we all admire him and his tight leather pants.
The concert, for which I owe thanks to my very generous older brother David, was fabulous. Lots of the good old songs, an astonishing stage, loads of energy, and just good old fashioned showmanship without too many gimmicks. They played for two solid hours which, while I hate to be ageist (though you can see what's coming, can't you?) would be a good effort from rock stars of half their age.
A nice little moment (those little moments of trivia I am prone to collecting) happened on the train on the way back to central Auckland after the concert....
The carriage was crowded, the train pulled into a station, the doors opened, and a drunk guy stumbled out of the carriage and onto the platform.
"Neil!" calls his friend from deep within the crush. "Come back, mate! This isn't our stop! Maaate, get back on, quick!"
The concert-goers join in, with shrieks of "Neil!! Neil!! Come back, Neil!" Neil staggers away, the doors close, and the train moves off. And one passenger takes things just a little far. I hate to assume, but I think that passenger may have been an Aucklander. "Bet Neil's from the South."
Elegantly, an older woman addresses the carrriage in general. She was someone I'd like to have shared a drink with.
"We are stuck in here in this stinking carriage and Neil's in the fresh air on the platform. And YOU mocked HIM."
Nice.
Last night, we joined Amberley School group at Waipara Springs for a staff farewell/Xmas function and what a lovely evening. Food and company were wonderful, though because I am naughty, my personal highlight was a speech which suggested - no, said - the departing male teacher had "touched many students in a special way." A sparkling gem among clangers. But truly, the lovely Alastair Campbell has an enthusiasm and rapport with children I admire hugely. An entirely appropriate rapport!
Today, lunch with friends at Pukeko Junction cafe. Sausagey, mushroomy pasta with a lemon yoghurt cake chaser. Took the yoghurt option with dessert in a sadly misguided nod to diabetes!
Have to let you know, too, that the lovely Hannah has done a stunning job of the Boys of Glenmark calendar, now on sale for $20 through the club (or contact me and I'll find you one). As Chief Willy Watcher (ie, I watched for stray willy so she could concentrate on getting a nicely framed shot) on some of the missions I can attest to her professionalism and the 'tastefulness' of the calendar for those of us with kids. Hannah is becoming quite accustomed to her subjects getting their kit off, as she has a private studio at her Amberley home and does a lot of pregnany photos.
I think I will end my blogs with a line from a song, just so you can be driven crazy with lyrics running through your heads.
You won't know this one, probably, it's off the new James Blunt album, Some Kind of Trouble.
"Hard these days to get my message through
If time is all I have, I'll waste it all on you
Each day, I'll turn it back, it's what the broken-hearted do.
I'm tired of talking to an empty space. Of silences keeping me awake.
When you marry, and you look around, I'll be somewhere in that crowd."
"If Time is All I Have" by James Blunt.
The concert, for which I owe thanks to my very generous older brother David, was fabulous. Lots of the good old songs, an astonishing stage, loads of energy, and just good old fashioned showmanship without too many gimmicks. They played for two solid hours which, while I hate to be ageist (though you can see what's coming, can't you?) would be a good effort from rock stars of half their age.
A nice little moment (those little moments of trivia I am prone to collecting) happened on the train on the way back to central Auckland after the concert....
The carriage was crowded, the train pulled into a station, the doors opened, and a drunk guy stumbled out of the carriage and onto the platform.
"Neil!" calls his friend from deep within the crush. "Come back, mate! This isn't our stop! Maaate, get back on, quick!"
The concert-goers join in, with shrieks of "Neil!! Neil!! Come back, Neil!" Neil staggers away, the doors close, and the train moves off. And one passenger takes things just a little far. I hate to assume, but I think that passenger may have been an Aucklander. "Bet Neil's from the South."
Elegantly, an older woman addresses the carrriage in general. She was someone I'd like to have shared a drink with.
"We are stuck in here in this stinking carriage and Neil's in the fresh air on the platform. And YOU mocked HIM."
Nice.
Last night, we joined Amberley School group at Waipara Springs for a staff farewell/Xmas function and what a lovely evening. Food and company were wonderful, though because I am naughty, my personal highlight was a speech which suggested - no, said - the departing male teacher had "touched many students in a special way." A sparkling gem among clangers. But truly, the lovely Alastair Campbell has an enthusiasm and rapport with children I admire hugely. An entirely appropriate rapport!
Today, lunch with friends at Pukeko Junction cafe. Sausagey, mushroomy pasta with a lemon yoghurt cake chaser. Took the yoghurt option with dessert in a sadly misguided nod to diabetes!
Have to let you know, too, that the lovely Hannah has done a stunning job of the Boys of Glenmark calendar, now on sale for $20 through the club (or contact me and I'll find you one). As Chief Willy Watcher (ie, I watched for stray willy so she could concentrate on getting a nicely framed shot) on some of the missions I can attest to her professionalism and the 'tastefulness' of the calendar for those of us with kids. Hannah is becoming quite accustomed to her subjects getting their kit off, as she has a private studio at her Amberley home and does a lot of pregnany photos.
I think I will end my blogs with a line from a song, just so you can be driven crazy with lyrics running through your heads.
You won't know this one, probably, it's off the new James Blunt album, Some Kind of Trouble.
"Hard these days to get my message through
If time is all I have, I'll waste it all on you
Each day, I'll turn it back, it's what the broken-hearted do.
I'm tired of talking to an empty space. Of silences keeping me awake.
When you marry, and you look around, I'll be somewhere in that crowd."
"If Time is All I Have" by James Blunt.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Failed start at blogging.
Oh good on me, I'll bet you're glad you popped in here to say what I am wittering about. Not entitled to 'blog' via Facebook until I have a 'following' on Blogspot, and seeing I have failed to actually blog on here and have instead had to post on my non-blog, it's a pretty inauspicious start. Fortunately I had very little to say today anyway though usefully, I did sweep the footpath! That's only useful, of course, if you are a scooter rider.
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