PM Update for Wednesday

Today was a really good day. I feel so strong and so much better. It is also really bittersweet, because in the back of my mind, I know I have to go have chemo Monday and I'm going to feel sick all over again. Believe me when I tell you I am tempted to simply not go back. Just the thought of it really makes me sick. I honestly don't know how I am going to go back in Monday. I know I will, but it's going to be really hard to do.

I went to Santa Monica today to the Barnes & Noble on the 3rd Street Promenade. My Aunt Vicki sent me a gift certificate, and even though there's a location closer to my house (Santa Monica is a good 15 miles and an hour bus ride away), I decided to venture out, and I'm glad I did. First, I got some really great books:

"This Is New York" by M. Sassak, a picture book about New York from my childhood; Universe Publishing did a reprint of the book last year. I'm going to try and collect all of his books, which I fondly remember reading over and over as a child and imagining the different places he traveled to and captured;

"Slavery by Another Name" by Douglas A. Blackmon: A book detailing the forced labor situation in the American South between the Civil War and World War Two. Very chilling; combine Southern racism and Northern indifference and millions of black men were enslaved by an organized, government sanctioned, big business supported system of forced labor;

And the best for last:

"Transit Maps of the World" by Mark Ovenden. A collection of every transit system's map from across the world; from London to Tokyo and in between. My dream book. I've wanted a book like this since I was a little boy. When I saw this on the shelf, my first reaction was "No Way!" I could spend the whole day with my nose in this book, going over the maps and tracing them in my mind.

The weather in Santa Monica was overcast but not too cold. There were a lot of mothers with children in strollers. I had lunch on the Promenade and really enjoyed it. On a personal note, I think I looked pretty good in a sweater I haven't been able to properly fit in to for quite a while. I don't know exactly how much weight I've lost, but it's gotta be close to 140 pounds now since August.