August 01, 2013
Welcome to August
It's been over a week since my last update. I'm still finding it a bit hard to get back into the habit of regular updates.
So far Michelle has been tolerating her current protocol well. We stayed at MGH almost a full day on the last visit so that Michelle could get a liter of IV fluids and a unit of red blood cells in addition to the medicines of the protocol. While the former were not strictly required, they definitely helped her become more like herself. She is losing hair on this regimen, but in hindsight, that's a pretty trouble free symptom to deal with. Late last week as I crashing on the couch — I am my father's son — she trimmed it short like she had a little over three years ago.
This past Tuesday evening Timothy finished The Lost Hero, a book I bought for him only two weeks ago. That's pretty astounding to me because as a paperback it's 576 pages. Granted he read it on a Kobo eReader, but still… that's a lot to read in two weeks for a ten year old. So last night I ordered him the next book in the series, The Son of Neptune, and put it on the Kobo.
Meanwhile Tuesday morning I ordered a short book that I tore through and loved. Called Strange Gods by Elizabeth Scalia, it looks deeper at that big Commandment: “Thou shalt not have strange gods before me”. While we haven't made a Golden Calf, we often do make idols out of an idea or cause, prosperity, technology, "coolness", sex, our plans, etc. and they can often take priority over God's will for us. Compared to Timothy's recent accomplishment, it's only 192 pages so I got through it in a handful of commutes to and from the office. It was very thought provoking. I enjoyed how she kept things relatable by frequent use of personal anecdotes to cement a concept she was making.
These past few days have been gorgeous. Not too hot or humid. Just sunny, dry, and around 80°F. Tuesday Michelle took the kids to Hampton Beach. I had to laugh when she asked for directions on how to get there. We live about a quarter mile away from Route 101. I told her, "Get on Route 101 heading east. Keep going until you hit ocean." That really is about it. She found $5 parking about a quarter mile away from the beach and they all had a great time.
Yesterday Michelle and I went to 7:30am Mass and stayed for coffee and snacks afterwards. She kept things closer to home and took the kids to the Milford pool. Claire spent several hours with Sr. Marcelle. I had a typical office day but did get time with some guys on the GPU driver team having lunch outdoors at Kimball Farms. There was a modest line for food, but the line for ice cream (with the gorgeous weather we were having) was just too long. Fate had no coffee shake in store for me after lunch.
Today marks another milestone in the "I'm getting old" meme. Tonight I'm taking Claire to see NHTI — New Hampshire Technical Institute — for an open house. It seems like just last year I was dropping Claire off here. I'll be working from home so that I can wrap up with enough time to get there. Also today Abby will be heading out for a performance in Dartmouth. She'll leave this morning and return Saturday morning.
On the nerdier front: over the past few nights I watched a four part Dr. Who: The Curse of Fenric. I'd never watched episodes with Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor and was interested in seeing some episodes with Ace as his companion. The story was so-so, and I guess I was a little let down how little the TARDIS, or any technology for that matter, played in this story arc. These four episodes are available via Netflix streaming. In the next day or so I should get the DVD for Doctor Who: Dragonfire, where Ace is first introduced to The Doctor.