After all the activity at the end of May and the spring semester, June has been very quiet, hence the lack of posts. Also, I haven't felt very well for the last few weeks--nothing major or strikingly different, just an increase in symptoms, especially fatigue. So blogging would probably have been more a list of complaints than anything interesting.
This week, however, we made two trips to Kansas City. Yesterday was the six-week visit to the cancer center, starting at 9:30, so we didn't have to get up too early. The Med Center initiated a new computer system about a week ago, so there were some glitches as everyone tried to adapt. We weren't impressed, as it seemed to increase the amount of paperwork. Each time anyone goes in (and the people who take chemo therapy two or three times a week there must do this at every visit), s/he has to fill out several pages of forms, all of which used to be entered directly into the computer. No one seemed to be convinced that this was really an improvement. After filling out the forms, we got directly in for the blood work, and then there wasn't a wait till we had the consultation with Jennifer, the physician assistant. Almost everything was normal except for the hemoglobin count, which suggests a low red blood count and borderline anemia. The only thing left after that was the bone-strengthening shot, which should have been quick, but for which we had to wait for well over an hour, sending both of us into a bad mood. Thus, everything remains stable, and we should have left in a better mood given the encouraging news.
We had also gone in on Tuesday evening. Our friend Richard from L.A., for two years now the spokesperson for H&R Block, which is headquartered in KC, had been flown into to make a recruiting video. He had been accompanied by his Spanish-language counterpart, who also does the Spanish radio traffic reports for several cities, including Kansas City, though he does them all from Los Angeles. He's friends with the Spanish-language Dodger commentator. The Dodgers were playing in KC and staying at the same hotel, so the night before they had all gone to watch the Royals beat the Dodgers. Richard may not be a major sports fan, but between the fountains and the fireworks and the good comped seats, he had a fun evening.
We picked Richard up at the hotel, and as we were driving up Main Street to Lidia's restaurant, Richard suddenly and confusingly said, "Here I am." There was an H&R Block office on Main, and there was a life-sized cut out of him in one window and another poster in a second.
Lidia Bastianich is a major TV presence and cookbook offer, and several years ago, she opened a lovely and reasonably priced restaurant in KC. It's fun, but--and this is totally heretical--I think very uneven. We had delicious starters: a plate of frito miso and another of the best sweetbreads I may have ever eaten. But of the trio of pasta we had for the main course, only one seemed to me to be really good, the other two satisfactory at best. Although the space is quite beautiful, when it's crowded as it was that night (the busiest Tuesday our waiter said he'd ever seen), it's also quite noisy. As entertainment, it was "Dog's Night Out," and diners could bring their dogs to the patio seating, where the dogs could choose from a variety of dishes, including vegetarian choices. I don't think any was old enough to order wine.
It was a fun evening. Richard is always good for conversation, and it is nice to see how much he enjoys (and is good at) his new, post-retirement gig.
