It was a l-o-n-g week

Why is it that a three-day weekend makes the subsequent four-day work week feel like it's eight days long? I think I'll blame some of it on post-vacation hangover. Kinda like complaining about still being affected by jet lag. Use the excuse for as long as it will work!

So, let's see. What's new? Dave is suffering with a broken tooth and has another 11 days before he can see the dentist and (hopefully) have the problem rectified. In the mean time he's eating soft food and dealing with hunger pangs. He'll probably drop a couple of extra pounds (to go along with what we both hope are positive results of going to the gym a couple of times a week).

Yea, we all joined a gym--Planet Fitness in Wilmington. PJ strolled in the other night and found the tow of us on side-by-side treadmills, sweating our asses off (but not fast enough!) She said she was proud of the two of us, but commented that we need new workout clothes. Hey, I can't be fashionable AND sweaty at the same time!

Speaking of PJ, she gave us a scare Wednesday night. I answered the phone to hear she say, "I'm OK, Mom, really, I'm fine. I'm OK, really." To which I replied (very calmly, I think), "OK, then tell me why you called..." She had a mishap on her motorcycle, courtesy of the driver in front of her who elected to slow and then brake suddenly for a FAMILY OF CANADA GEESE crossing the road.

PJ also saw the geese, slowed as the driver in front of her did, but then didn't have a clear "out" when the other woman stopped. PJ tried to go around the car but the bike slid out from under her.

Talk about damn lucky... she separated her left shoulder, bruised a rib on the right, and has a couple of quarter-sized road rash burns on both knees and a skinned arm. She's sporting an arm sling for the next week-to-10 days and is a couple degrees shy of miserable (and bravely ignoring a prescription of Vicodin). My poor baby. She's headed to Florida on Tuesday with a girlfriend, to visit another girlfriend for eight days. I hope she uses the time to sit on her fanny with her arm in the sling and lets everyone else wait on her.

The bike needs a little cosmetic touch-up and a new part or two. Pretty good news all around. Bumps and bruises that will heal with time and patience.

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And old friend sends a wonderful "Hello!"

There is a comment to the previous post from Michael, reconnecting me with his daughter Maureen. She fought a tremendous battle with her fiance Jared as he struggled with and died brain cancer about 8 years ago. I met them in my former life as a newspaper reporter and wrote about the fight and his death.

He died days before what would have been their wedding day. I stayed in touch with Maureen for a short time after Jared died and then she moved on. I assumed (right or wrong) that I might have been another tough reminder of what she had gone through and that she needed to let go of some things that were painful. Having been there myself (to a far lesser degree, but there nonetheless), I can understand it might have been what she was feeling. I know I've had to push a lot of things aside.

Whatever the reasons, it's over and done. I'm excited to hear from Michael and hope he'll be able to put me in touch with Maureen.

I thought about Jared often during my sally and wondered if he'd had the gift of a few more years before his cancer took his life.

It's Memorial Day. A good day for remembering. Things happen for a reason. Some one of these days we'll figure it all out, right?

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Back to the madness

I think it's safe to say that I've returned to pre-vacation mode (minus the anticipation). Work is, well, it's work. The company hired a manager for our department (great news) and I can already feel weights coming off my shoulders.

Of course for every one thing that is taken away, another is added. I'm taking on mentor responsibilities for another major market (teaming with a coworker to help her develop her skills and talents). It will mean giving a lot of time to meetings and learning her marketing (hopefully) as well as I know my own.
My director is days away from delivering twins, so it's critical that we have as much of her focus as possible in order to bring the new manager up to speed as quickly as possible.
What else is new? Dave is in his third week of a new job--at my company. It's nice to look up every now and again and see a truly friendly face in my office window (to say noting of the savings in gas prices, we've gone from two separate commutes to sharing one--plus I was already carpooling with a colleague who lives in the next town).
PJ has been on a Red Sox roll of late--she's been to two games in the last week. She's off to Florida in a few weeks to visit a friend. I hope she doesn't fall in love with the place and want to stay there.
I am hating my post-BC drug Aromasin. It and I are on a five-year plan. Side effects include insomnia (which hasn't been any worse than usual) and arthritis-type joint pain. My hands and wrists are very tender to the point where I have trouble taking lids off jars and plastic containers. I'll give it another month.
That's about it. Are you up for the holiday weekend?

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OK, who wants to see my vacation pictures?

There are only, like 275 of them. And if you wait and look at them tomorrow, you can kill some time at work and no one will really know. After all, you'll be looking at a computer, right...?

{grin}

Go to www.daveandpenny.com and hit the "Enter" button. Sign in using user name "Swiss" and password "Alps" and click the tab at the top marked 'Photos" and then the link for "Penny and Marcia go to Switzerland." You'll be in. A number of the photos have captions for explanations. We'll get to them all some one of these days.

Enjoy!

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Six time zones later....

Ah, it is good to be home. I walked through the doors after coming through customs on Wednesday evening and saw my daughter's beautiful face and life was good again.

Well, life had been pretty damn good for the previous 8 days, but you know what I mean. It's good to get away--and Switzerland was a fabulous get-away--but it feels great to come home again to PJ and Dave.

Yesterday was all about unpacking the suitcases, washing clothes, and NOT eating all the chocolate I brought back. I bought myself a beautiful glass bowl and a small cow bell (the cows really wear bells over there, it's SO cool). Dave loaded my photos onto a Web space and we're in the process of labeling each (only 275, please have patience).

The one thing I couldn't get in Switzerland was what I'd call a decent cup of coffee. Sadly, no Dunky's... hey, there's a major early retirement possibility--solid American coffee for all the American tourists! I did see two Starbucks but I don't care for their coffee, even in a pinch. Imagine that, only two after traveling hundred and hundreds of kilometers and into three other countries! Swiss coffee is thick and too strong for my taste). I did discover two flavored teas that were very nice, cherry and rosehip. Found rosehip by Lipton in a shop in Lenzburg (you'll see castle pictures from Lenzburg when we post the photos. Hell, both teas are probably available locally at Market Basket!)

Marcia and I opened a Swiss bank account. Very cool. Very James Bond, don't you think?

There was one adventure I could have done without, and that was our travel through the Goddhard Tunnel. It's 17 kilometers long (that's 10 miles and plus some 993 feet. WAY TOO LONG for my money). It is built into a mountain and has just two lanes, one in each direction. There are cutouts that can hold a few cars, the theory being that if there is a breakdown or accident your fellow drivers will help push the problem out of the travel lanes. There are also "SOS" signs pointing the way to escape chambers (well-ventilated, I was assured).

Don't want to take the tunnel? There the option to drive the St. Goddhard Pass over the mountain, but that was still closed due to winter snow.

We took the tunnel twice, going to and returning from the Ticino region of Switzerland, which is the southern area that borders Italy. In Ticino we found palm trees and tropical vegetation, quite a different look and feel from the Argau region (our "home" north nearer to Germany).

The food... amazing. Who could have dreamed that macaroni and cheese could be so tasty? The cheese was indescribable and the dish and combined with chunks of potato and meat. And presentation is everything. That particular meal was served in a deep, fat little bowl that had a cover; the cover was turned upside down and filled with the smoothest, sweetest apple sauce I have ever tasted. Both service pieces were accented with rings of dried apple and spices.

We had lunch one day in Italy and enjoyed the best pizza I have ever tasted. The dough was soft and sweet, vegetables crunchy (including yellow peppers, zucchini and fresh tomato) and pepperoni to roll over and die for.

We drank a lot of water. Your choices are "natural" or "bubbles," and it's all bottled. That said, there are fountains everywhere, on the village streets and on the sides of mountains. We were assured time and again that the water is drinkable, and we saw lots of people taking advantage (along with a puppy or two).

Speaking of dogs, they are welcomed everywhere, provided they are on a leash. It's not unusual to sit in a restaurant or outdoor cafe with your dog at your feet. Most are so impeccably behaved you don't even know they are there.

Airplane food is even fabulous! Swiss Air knows how to make customers feel comfortable and welcomed. We had two meals on each flight (chicken or pasta at takeoff and a light breakfast-style meal closer to arrival, with cheeses and pastries). Real flatware and dishes--plus all the alcohol you want. No one took advantage. Complimentary in-flight movies (and enough time to watch 3 on each 8-hour journey) and hot towels to clean your hands before landing.

OK, it's time for another cup of decent, American coffee and then I'll have to tackle the office e-mail (I get to work from home a half day today).

Check back over the weekend for the link to the photos!

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Heading home today

Sadly, and yet with great anticipation, we head home today. Sad because we leave such a beautiful place where we have had amazing adventures and the pleasure to meet wonderful people we will be honored to call new friends. With great anticiaption because we miss our families and friends.

We will come back, we absolutely promise. And if our new friends venture to the east, we promise to show them the same kindnesses and hospitality, hopefully with the same grace and style.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Note: for some reason I'm not seeing the entire blog format load over here in Switzerland. There should be additional photos and and links load down both sides of the individual posts, along with a counter and a clock (Dave loaded a clock showing the local [Swiss] time so he woudl always know the time at which I am operating). I'm sorry it's not showing here!

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The Swiss Adventure continues

Our Swiss adventure continues to amaze us at every turn. Mountain vistas, lake tour by steam ship, amazing food, side trips to Italy, France, and Germany, and best of all, wonderful new friends (Ipy, Irele, Manuel, Carla, Mimi, Francesca, and Marc). Photos to come when I get home (we'll be back late on May 14).

(Edited May 14)

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Hello from Switzerland

What an amazingly beautiful place I have come to. It is sunny and warm, green and exploding with colorful flowers, and very peaceful. The only down side is that Marcia isn't here yet. She showed up at the airport in Boston with the WRONG PASSPORT and had to delay her trip by one day. We are headed to Zurich in moments to pick her up.

Then we will be off to Italy for a short holiday. Such fun!

BTW, the European computer keyboard is differnt than mine at home. The Z and Y are reversed, and the accessory keys are in all the wrong places too.

More later.

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Outta here

Off on our adventure: out of town, the county, state, country, off the continent, and six times zones ahead. I'll bring back lots of memories and make you look at vacation photos.

XOXOX

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Breakfast with the Sistas

A rainy Sunday morning--started the day the second-best way, over breakfast with the Breast Cancer Sistas, Tanya and Debbie. Oh, the things we talked about...

Bret Michaels and his band Poison, Pearl Jam and Bon Jovi, Magic Hat beer and waffles at a Vermont bed-and-breakfast, how much we love/hate our jobs, someone's fear of needles, the high cost of commuting from Nashua to Peabody, second-hand smoke showing up in a blood test, and deciding (at least I think we did) that the term "survivor," when tagged onto "breast cancer," is now an OK thing to call ourselves.

We met last summer in a breast cancer support group. The group facilitator called us "survivors" at the first meeting and we all (about 10 women) agreed we disliked the term significantly. As I recall we didn't come up with a better term. Maybe we did, but honestly, my memories of certain aspects of that slice of my life aren't as sharp as they could be. Maybe that's normal, I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's the way it is.

I remember having breakfast with Tanya way back at the beginning of the adventure (I use that term very loosely), and our at-the-time lofty goals. We were going to save the world. Start a support group (better than the one we were in), reach out to patients (faster than anyone reached out to us) and give them a place to network with others and find the answers to all of their questions (questions we asked and to which no one could/would give us a straight answer). We were going to help their families (because no one out there was supporting ours) and give patients' spouses and significant others and kids and loved ones a way to work through the tough times that were coming and come out on the other side feeling as whole as possible (because there wasn't anyone who did that for our loved ones).

Looking back, I think I worked hard to live in the moment and be involved in what was happening and connect as best I could with the medical team. I tried to understand what was happening and be patient with myself as I tolerated treatments. I didn't look ahead or anticipate what was next. OK, I counted days, counted down treatments, but I didn't look too far beyond where I was, because I couldn't see myself moving beyond where I was. I expected my life to stay foggy and my head to remain somewhat disconnected.

And when the treatments were finally over, the fog started to lift a little, and slowly, things started to return to more of a normal than I'd thought possible. And now, I want to put all of it as far behind me as I can. I don't want to think about it and I really don't want to talk about it, because to do those things is to live with it. I'm tired of living with it.

(And here, respectfully, is where I have to say that I know I got out of it pretty damn easy and that I'm very lucky. I know that. I won't forget that, ever.)

I had a meeting with a coworker last week, someone I don't work too closely with and really don't know. She asked about my hair (which is growing in tight curls--I feel like a poodle). She asked if it had been curly before it all fell out. I told her no, it had been fairly straight.

She said her mother is on her second go-around with ovarian cancer. Had it, did chemo, lost her hair, and thought she had turned the corner. The cancer came back, and she signed on for a clinical trial. After six months (and losing her hair again), her docs have decided the trail has done absolutely nothing, so she's about to start another six-month trial.

Hearing things like that make me stop and think. What I usually shake out of one of those mind sessions is that I really want to put this all behind me. Pack it up and put it away. I'll take it down when I have to deal with it, and if forced to, will open up the box, put everything on the table and live with it again--if I have to.

Sometimes it's all w-a-y too much to think about. So I don't. Until I have to, and right now, I don't have to think about it. So, I won't.

Vacation starts at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

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Who can sleep?

It's approaching 3 a.m. and I'm beyond furious to find myself awake. There are a lot of thoughts rattling through my head and none of them will calm down enough to let me sleep.

Between being excited about going to Switzerland and balancing that against growing guilt about going and worrying about what's happening at work, it's wonder I haven't turned into a raving maniac.

Work ran late today, I was there until after 7 p.m. working on a major proposal that was up against a deadline. It's not my project; the coworker on the project had concert tickets for tonight and I offered to stay so she could be on her way. Oddly, she was off to a Bret Michaels concert at the Hampton Beach Casino--the same concert PJ went to tonight. Another reminder of either how old PJ is or how old I am.

I really didn't mind staying because I know that the coworker would do it for me in an instant.

So, it's May 1 (no, wait, now it's May 2) and the department is still without a manager. I told them back in January I didn't want the promotion, and I'm still doing two jobs. Manager candidates have come and gone, the latest one just yesterday. She lives in Rochester, NH, a 1 1/2 hour commute each way. I have not hope it will work out. We have someone who I'm not sure can cut the work, and others who I'm not sure want to be there. My boss isn't going to be around much longer (pregnant with twins) and once she's out of there, it's just going to get worse. Even if they hire yesterday's candidate, there isn't enough time to train her to be ready to step in and be the effective manager we need her to be. I'm going to have to train her, which means more time lost doing my own work.

The pressure is so constant and I just don't want to deal with it any more. I just want to go away and sit in the quiet and not talk to anyone and not have to make any decisions. I want to start doing something and be able to see it through to completion without having to fight fires and solve problems for other people.

Going to Switzerland is something I've been wanting to do for along time. I'm not sure it's going to give me the decompressing get-away my head needs, but at least it's out of the office, out of town, the county, the state, the country, off the continent and into a new hemisphere that assures that the office won't be able to find me.

I haven't left yet and I'm already worried about what I'm going to be hit with then I return. Isn't that encouraging? Try sleeping on that. I was an idiot to have a drink when I got home tonight. I should have opted for a sleeping pill.

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