Catching A Vibe

I believe in a greater connection––and not the Internet––that we all share but seldom use.

What the hell am I talking about? That feeling that someone is talking about you. The feeling like you've been there, done that before. (Yeah, I know it's called deja vu. Thanks, Yogi). The feeling that comes when out of the blue, you think of someone you haven't thought of for a long time. It's been happening to me a lot lately. But yesterday when it happened, it was just really too weird.

With all the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg, I guess that San Diego State has been rolling around my brain. I went to SDSU for 2 years. OK, I was enrolled and didn't get to class much. But it was 2 of the best years of my life. And a big part of my fun time was attributed to having a great dorm roommate, Ralph. Ralph and I hit it off from the get go. Both played hoops. Journalism majors. Loved music. And debauchery was always only a half thought away. Little did I know that Ralph had been thinking of our times at SDSU and beyond as well. (We roomed together in the "Astrodome" in South Pas, but that's another post for another time.) I found him on the interweb and sent him an email asking "is this the Ralph who" and if it was, to send me back a confirmation. This is part of what I got––after a few things he said which I will not post here for fear of having to explain some of my college misadventures to way too many people––back. "was at the hilton the night before departure and i was on the can reading about LA and there's a section on Eagle Rock...Bro..I sent the vibe two Sats ago as I sat there (lol required) and thought of the "No Mas" fight we watched in Eagle Rock....freak!!! And you have my permission to add this to your blog."

I have been smiling, laughing and shaking my head ever since yesterday. I feel like a gap in my life has been filled. The cancer disconnected a lot in my brain––as I've said before, it's called chemo brain––and working the memory muscle can be very frustrating when it doesn't work. Thanks to my brother from another mother, Ralph, I'm starting to put together some more pieces in my brain. And will undoubtedly get back to California and see if we can meet in the middle, as he now lives in NoCal and my family is in SoCal.

Ralph, thanks for the vibe. I really needed it.

Snow Day

I didn't grow up seeing the seasons change. It was always sunny. Always green. Always the same 350-355 days of the year. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I moved my family 2800 miles and two zones away from SoCal and the extended family and lifelong friends. It was the most difficult decision I ever had to make up until that time of my life. But I had to do it, as the advertising business in Los Angeles was beginning to wither. Jobs were tough. And I was going to work for a world class advertising agency and with some extremely talented people.

When we landed in Northern Virginia, the kids were unusually quiet. And cold. They were wearing shorts and playing outside on Christmas only 5 days ago. I think they were in shock. I tried my best to point out how great this move was going to be. They weren't buying it. They were telling Teresa they just wanted to go back home. Teresa was trying her best, but she wanted to go back. I had been traveling the country for 16 months, freelancing to pay the mortgage. I also paid the price of not seeing my kids enough, as I would be gone 2 weeks at a time every now and then.

We had a little celebration at the hotel we were staying in, a suite that had a loft and a basketball court right outside our door. (We would have to stay here for a week before we could move into our house and all our stuff was still being driven across the country). Fred, Karol, Norman, Kris and Tara joined the 6 of us. I remember hearing my kids laugh, seeming to forget they had been dragged into another time zone. Teresa and Karol were having an adult beverage. We can do this.

It's the little things that change for you when you have and survive cancer. I know I keep posting that over and over again. But it's so amazingly true. The first smell of Spring. The cool night air of an early Fall night. (The only "season" smells of change were, unfortunately, fire season). The first snowfall, today. Ryan had a boyish grin and lilt in his voice. Kaity called and said how beautiful it is looking out her front room window. Teresa loved the picture I sent her via cell phone––we couldn't do that before we got here––and was somewhat jealous that she was missing 3-5 inches of snow. And she's in Los Angeles with Travis right now.

What a snow day.