Portland!

Last Friday we got the hell out of dodge and took a train down to Portland. It was an awesome weekend, partly because of the weather (in the 80s), partly because Portland is just so damn homey sometimes (I like it more each time I go back), and partly because we were completely oblivious to all the medical crap going on back home. It all seemed so far away. The train ride was nice, especially on a Friday afternoon when the freeways would have been packed, but I'm on the fence about the whole taking-the-train thing. It *was* nice being able to read and watch movies and just chill but I still like having that sense of control, like being able to say "let's stop here" for a bite to eat.

Favorite moments: stopping in for kick-ass tacos and great salsa at a Santa Fe restaurant in Nob Hill, coffee and hanging out at Powell's, sampling truffles at Moonstruck chocolates, Johanna ordering room service for her first time, goofing around after dinner trying to catch a cab, getting lost in Chinatown on our way back to the train, and laughing about how we always end up in Portland during the dragon boat races.

Anyway, the realities of "all that medical crap" came crashing down today when I got a call from the nurse saying we were scheduled for chemotherapy at noon, and for me to "pack my bags" since I was being admitted for it. What, what? Yeah we planned to put me on a different kind of chemotherapy drug, but it shouldn't be *that* different to what I was on before. At least not enough to warrant a multi-day hospital stay. Eventually it got sorted out (a few hours later) and it turns out the chemotherapy drug only requires an hour-long infusion, so after dealing with that and getting the requisite blood work done, we're finally at the lab later that afternoon to get the chemotherapy and they're just about to punch another IV in me when they find out that this new chemotherapy drug isn't in the hospital. Oops! Apparently it's pretty unique and has to be special-ordered from somewhere and the treatment center didn't have enough notice (we were only scheduled for chemo that morning). So we ended up spending a full day fooling around with all that without really getting anything done, though the emotional and mental strain of it all was exhausting. It really is a full-time job sometimes. That's what we get for trying to forget about this stuff for a couple of days. :)

Some pictures from Portland: