(pant)

(shallow short breaths)

Silence.

(deep inhale)

(long exhale)

Okay, I'm back, even if for a short time. Christmas in New York was fast and furious, no time to blog, not a free second to e-mail. I returned back to the DC area on Thursday, only to have my sister and brother-in-law visit me for New Year's weekend.

Random neuron firings:
1) I always get sad when radio stations playing non-stop Christmas music return to their regular format the morning after Christmas.

2) Christmas without watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" just doesn't feel right, kinda' like not wearing deodorant.

3) Out of the ten things on my Christmas list, I got half of them. I didn't get either of the two "big" presents: a Mercedes or a puppy.

4) On New Year's Eve, Paul is making Thanksgiving dinner, since both he and I were in Australia, and my sister and brother-in-law worked that day.

5) Working out? Lifting weights? Doing cardio? What's that? I don't know what any of that means, because I haven't been to the gym in over a week.

6) And since I don't have anything else going on in my life, I have surgery this Friday, with a chemo regimen beginning almost immediately. Isn't life grand? Don't you wish you were me?

Happy New Year's Eve, friends and family. Sorry for the impersonal term, "readers" I called you from before.

Merry Christmas Eve, Readers!

(Whew!) I'm just swamped with family activities here in NYC- I'll write more perhaps tomorrow.

Summary so far: instead of "dashing through the snow", we're "grazing all day long".

I'm Not A Rockette,

but I will be in New York for Christmas.

I leave tomorrow afternoon and return Thursday, December 27th. If you would like to get a loved one a gift from Nueva Jork, just let me know, and tell 'em that Santa's running a little late because "the world just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Thank you to everyone who gave their support as I have my fifth brain surgery in January. Fifth. No one should even have their first.

Famous Quote

"I miss you saying 'Merry Christmas'."

-Jesus

Doctor's Orders

*Brain surgery (gamma knife procedure) on Friday, January 4th, 2008 6:00AM at UVA Hospital
*Chemo regimen to start immediately afterwards

The Mean Bean

L.L. Bean is serious about earning your business this Christmas: they are offering free shipping on *everything*- no matter how little you buy, how heavy the product is, or where you live in the US. There's no minimum, no maximum, all you do is call them or go on-line and place your order.

And if you order $50 of merchandise, they'll give you a $10 giftcard in return.

And here's the grand finale: their retail store at your local mall is open 24 hours a day so you can do your shopping any ole' time.

Now that's what I call serious retail.

International Buffet

Uggh. Bad day for the diet yesterday.

Lunch:
Kung Pao Chicken
Swedish Meatballs
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich
Gatorade

Ho Ho Ho, "MRI" Christmas!

Tomorrow morning, I get slingshot back to the reality of fighting a brain tumor when I get an MRI. It will be used to update the doctors on how serious is my condition. Appointment: 10AM, Northern Virginia.

My doctors will then look and analyze the scans and give me their recommendation Monday morning.

(sigh.) 'Tis the time to fret and worry, fa-la-la-la, la blah blah blah."

If I May Brag About Paul

Tonight was the first time I watched an episode of "Sex And The City" in over three months. While watching the storyline of Aidan, Big, and Carrie unfold, I realized that I am so glad I don't have all that mess in my life- the affairs, the drama, and the battle of following your heart against following your mind.

While Paul and I may bicker like old farts stuck in a twenty year relationship, I love that man like an Asian and his bubble tea.

Feels Good

To be back in the States again. Ahhh.

A couple of quick thoughts:
*Love me the non-stop Christmas music on radio stations.
*Nobody does french fries better than US restaurants. They know how much we like our grease and saturated fat.
*There's *always* something good on American TV. TV networks know how lazy we are and love laying on the couch.

Since I've been back, I've already had deep-dish pizza (although I wasn't happy with it- too much tomato sauce), buttermilk-battered fried chicken, a bison burger, pancakes from IHOP, corn muffins, omelets made with Egg Beaters, and of course, several plates of fries.

The one thing I need help with is the movies. Movie releases in Australia are slower compared to the States, so I don't recognize the titles and know the basic storyline. If you have any recommendations of what's good (and bad) please let me know. One of the last movies I saw in Sydney was "Waitress", which was already out on DVD here in November.

Real Men Run In The Cold.

It's been said that only truly dedicated runners brave winter temperatures and run outside instead of the treadmills located indoors.

I wouldn't call myself a "truly dedicated runner." I think I'm more like a "competitive and stubborn baby."

I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, so I donned the wind-proof pants, wick-away gloves, and semi-porous jacket and headed out the door.

What a shock to my system! Sucking down ice-cold air for half an hour sure made my nose (not body) runny.

You're So Weird, Ernie

(And scary too.)

While waiting in line at a store, another person in line looked at me and said, "Are you Ernie Deomampo?"

I looked at him quizzically and replied "yes".

He said, "Ernie, it's Chris Lyons".

Wow. Chris and I went to high school together. The last time I saw him was 1985, over twenty years ago.

It made me think...I'm going to dust off the high school yearbook, go through it and "facebook" some people to see what they look like and find out how much they've changed.

It was very eye-opening. I don't think I changed that much in appearance, but some of my classmates from high school have either dramatically altered their appearance (change in weight, change in hair, change in noses!), or transformed from band geek to prestigous person with significant career.

This whole project sent me reeling back to the 80's. It made me miss my Swatch watches, my skater days, and the lack of responsibility.

Utensils Are Up,

Ready to fork and cut!

I'm back in the States- ready, willin' and divin' into some bison burgers, deep dish pizza, and a good stack of pancakes (not all at once)! If either of these three are on your list of cravings, please e-mail me ASAP or your stomach will miss its chance.

Australia: Over And Out

One last thing I'll miss about Sydney:
*Marc