Last night (Saturday) was the 2nd annual Scorpio Sirens birthday bash. Several people with whom I work are Scorpios and I think we each are rather proud of that - the Scorpio thing. Three of the most creative of these Scorpios (one of them happens to be my boss) are women and are all 3 celebrating landmark (divisible by 5) birthdays this year. Since I'm a Scorpio, I had to attend, don't ya know.
We pretty much took over one of the bars in town - the one that used to be a theater. For starters, there was a band, which we missed. I wanted to conserve energy so we didn't want to get there too early. We did make it in time for the fire-swallowing birthday candle lighting. You had to be there.
Then we danced. Lori says the last time either of us danced was at last year's holiday party. It's hard to believe, but I think she's right. The DJ last night was "straight from NYC", and I believe it. It was HOT - the music, the special Scorpio Powerpoint presentation playing on the back wall, the body odor. First time I've really enjoyed dancing in a long, long time. (For those keeping score at home, I'd say it was autumn of '03 at The Blue Nile in Minneapolis. The woman I was dancing with wasn't my wife, but she later became her.)
We were there for 2.5 hours and danced most of the last 1.5 hours. Walking home, I was doddering and Lori's feet were aching. Speaking for myself, it was worth it.
This morning I was tired, but after watching a couple movies*, I set out to do some chores I'd been wanting to get at. I started putting plastic on the windows upstairs. Not exactly strenuous labor, but before I was done with the first one I was feeling wobbly on my feet and needed a rest. I did 2 more windows before taking a lengthier break (more lying in bed) and never got around to the last window.
Later I started doing some laundry and by the time I had put the 2nd load in the dryer, I was feeling sick. Not nauseous, but weak and shaky.
I'm starting to be concerned that people are going to grow weary of my relative uselessness. My boss has been very gracious and cooperative - giving me lots of leeway with scheduling and general understanding. But I know it's frustrating for her sometimes. She had been accustomed to me being available and now a lot of the time I'm not. How long until she says "Enough"?
I really can't say I feel any better than I did at the end of the WMD treatments. In 3 weeks or so I'm going to start up with chemo at an increased dosage for the first week of each month. Rumor has it this increased dosage can bring on more side effects. Some people work straight through the chemo, some people are laid up for a week or so each month.
My intent is to keep getting up and trying to do the next right thing. Besides that, there's nothing to do but wait and see. And try not to worry.
*The films I saw today were The Maltese Falcon and Apocalypto.
The Maltese Falcon
I got this one from Netflix a year or so ago and fell asleep while watching. I was bummed I'd missed most of it but returned it without re-watching. I happily saw that it was just starting this morning so decided to try it again. Woohoo! Good call.
Was anybody "cool" before Humphrey Bogart? Maybe Ben Franklin, but I can't think of anyone else. Bogie was never cooler than in his Sam Spade character. And when Peter Lorre is on camera? Forget it. They should have a separate film track just to watch Lorre's face. (For another 5-star film that features Lorre, see M.)
Five stars... easy.
Apocalypto
Not a big fan of Mel Gibson, but he does have a way of portraying good and evil that kinda draws me in. Or maybe it's just the gore.
The story apparently takes place somewhere in what we now call Central America right before the Spanish set feet on those shores. Some natives who live in a "stone-built" place subdue other natives who live in the jungle. There's lots of drama with very realistic bloody parts. The actors are apparently speaking something like Mayan so it's all subtitled.
There's one spot where this dying, diseased little girl tells some of the bad guys how they're going to die. Very creepy and compelling.
High marks for the cinematography and effectively telling the story using actors who, mostly, had never acted.
3 out of 5 stars.
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