Update on the Pink Curse...

Well, it turns out I am far from alone in my aversion to pink...there's a VERY long discussion thread on it on the Young Survival Coalition site filled with both humor and anger. Which led me to this, Barbara Ehrenreich's essay on breast cancer called "Welcome to Cancerland: A Mammogram Leads to a Cult of Pink Kitsch," which you can read here: http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/LearnAboutUs/WelcomeToCancerland.html

Clearly, a more incisive and intellectual approach to the topic than my gut-reaction.

I'm Outta Here!...And So's My Hair...

Mom and I take off on Sunday for our annual girls' getaway to Saratoga Springs. Eating, shopping, reading and going to the spa are our main to-do list items. I can't wait!

Then we're back on the 4th for a little BBQ, chemo #4 on Thursday (ugh) and Friday we head out to the north shore of LI for a little getaway.

The best part of all this is it means NINE days with no wig! Woo-hoo! (I really wish I could work up the nerve to abandon it entirely, but I can't so far...I'm just not ready to "out myself" at the office.)

Postscript: In the continuing saga of my hair, I must report that more of the stubble on my head has been falling out, so much so that I've taken to using a lint-roller in the morning...Thought you'd enjoy the image ; )

Mini Book Reviews, aka, You Can Get Alot of Reading Done When You're Lying Around Recovering from Chemo...

3 treatments down, 5 to go...Still faring pretty well, although this one definitely knocked me on my butt from Saturday eve through Sunday eve.

Around Again by Suzanne Strempek Shea. A melancholy (I thought) tale of dashed hopes and lost innocence the circumstances of which are revisited by the heroine 20-odd years later. A good read, although I liked Shea's Becoming Finola better.

Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella. Hey. Sometimes you need to laugh. And, there actually was a bit in "Confessions" that got me thinking...<> She's working in this job that she doesn't love and is in no way an expert at but at the end of the book she realizes she IS an expert compared to the general population and leverages that to great financial reward. I'm thinking there's a lesson to be applied here...

Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper. Ok, so I read this book because I had just read Tropper's other book, "The Book of Joe," which was really good, but the premise of which weirded me out. The premise of the Book of Joe is that the hero, years ago, wrote an unflattering book about his hometown that was a bestseller and a hit movie and, of course, led everyone in his hometown to hate him. Now, years later, circumstances force him to go home and face the music. Sound familiar? It should because it's the premise of "October Road," a series on ABC that's based on the experiences of guy (Scott Rosenberg) who wrote the book and movie "Beautiful Girls." Now, I haven't actually watched "October Road," so I imagine the specifics are different, but still, isn't that weird? And, to make it all even weirder, "The Book of Joe" is currently being developed into a movie.

Mohawk by Richard Russo. I actually think Richard Russo is our current great American novelist. No fancy literary devices, just good solid stories, characters, and plot.

Summer by Edith Wharton. This book was known by her family and friends as the "hot Ethan," but to my mind doesn't touch the perfect construction, economy and depth of that novel.

The Pink Curse

(This isn't exactly what you think it is.)

I hate pink. I really do. I have for years. The me and pink thing goes WAAAAY back. Really. And, yet, somehow, I keep getting involved in things that foist pink upon me in all shapes, sizes and forms. And it's never just a light, subdued, quiet little pink. No, it's always unequivocal, undeniable PINK. (The more I type it, the more I realize I don't even like how it's spelled. It's really a dumb color AND word.)

First, several years ago, I became a Mary Kay consultant (part-time at first, now VERY part-time). Ok, so no one forced me to do this. I love their products and figured trying sales would be an interesting way to "get out of my comfort zone." The only problem is...all the pink. Luckily, the point at which I signed on was when they were switching all their compacts (and some of their packaging) from pink to platinum. 'Cause, seriously, if becoming I consultant had meant selling pink compacts, I don't think I could have done it.

And so now there's the breast cancer thing. And the pink ribbons. And I freakin' hate'em. I do. I'm sorry, but I do. If it was JUST the ribbons, I might be able to take it. But there are pink t-shirts, hats, pillows, websites, scarves, teddy bears...the list goes on and on. Everyone talks about how the "Race for the Cure" events are a "sea of pink." (Luckily, when I did the Avon 3-day back in 2001 the colors were blue and white, for which I am eternally grateful.) Now, I want to raise awareness as much as the next person (ok, more than the next person, 'cause the next person has probably never gone through it), but I just don't think I can do it in pink.

I was surfing Cafe Press looking for BC-related t-shirts the other day and my favorite one is "Find a cure already, pink is not my color." I'd buy it, except it's pink.

Netflix for Books!

As those of you who know us already know, the hubby and I were early subscribers to and are huge fans of Netflix. Our queue currently hovers in the 350 range.

And, ever since we joined Netflix, I have lamented the fact that there wasn't something similar for books. But now there is! The very inaccurately named Booksfree.com works basically like Netflix, i.e., you put books in a queue, they send them to you (2 at a time), you keep them as long as you want, and then you send them back (2 at a time). Since our home is already in a bookshelf-space deficit, and since I'm now spending every other weekend pretty much sitting around reading, this promises to be a god-send. I got my first shipment a couple of days ago and am halfway through Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper. Next up is Mohawk by Richard Russo (which I think is the only one of his novels I haven't read yet).

I'm sure this service won't totally counteract my bookstore addiction, but it should mitigate it somewhat.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorr--Er, Today

Ok, so technically I should have posted this last night to give the title full accuracy, but, well, I just didn't feel like it.

Anyway, as I reported yesterday, my hair was seriously starting to fall out (no actual bald patches, just handfuls of hair...I think we all have a lot more hair than we realize). So my ridiculously supportive, superlatively loving husband shaved it all off for me last night. We decided not to do a razor shave (yet), so I have this SUPER-short buzz cut that is the equivalent of industrial-strength velcro. It feels REALLY weird, but is useful for keeping scarves, hats, wigs, etc., in place. I'm also sort of curious as to whether it will ALL actually fall out or if it'll just thin out or what. I'll keep ya posted.

Of course, in the "life is just not fair" camp, the hair on the rest of my body seems to be firmly in place. At least for the moment. Now I realize I'm straying into TMI-land for some of you, but seriously, one of the ONLY perks of this whole thing was supposed to be a summer without having to shave my legs!

(I'm going to have to change the name of my blog soon to something like The Hair Chronicles...)

No news is good news...

I realize I haven't posted in a few days...mostly 'cause there's nothing to report.

Second treatment went uneventfully and I've just had the same tiredness as last time, which is good, because it means I haven't had nausea or any other really yucky side effects. Except that my hair's started to fall out. Not happy about that part.

Hooray for our CSA!

What's a CSA, you ask? Well, it stands for "community-supported agriculture" and it's a subscription to a local farm. You basically buy a share in the farm for the season and get a weekly delivery of whatever's ready for pickin'. If the farmer has a good year, you have a good year. If the farmer has a not-so-good year, you have a not-so-good year.

When we lived in the East Village only blocks away from the Union Square Greenmarket, joining a CSA seemed a little like overkill. But with the move to the Sixth Borough, it seemed like a good idea. We actually belonged to in our DC days and loved it--it really forces you to a) eat more veggies and b) be more adventurous since you don't choose what you get.

Yesterday was our first delivery and we got green garlic, green lettuce, red lettuce, collard greens and fresh mint. (The deliveries will get larger and more varied as we hit the peak of the season.) Now, I know lettuce doesn't sound all that exciting, but that's just because you haven't tasted this lettuce. So, THAT's what lettuce is supposed to taste like...Yum!

You can learn more about CSAs from Local Harvest.

Hair, Glorious Hair...

(sung to the tune of "Food, Glorious Food" from Oliver!)

Alternative title: "I Never Realized I Was This Shallow"

Well, as those of you I've been chatting with know, what I've been obsessing over lately is the whole losing-my-hair thing.

I've done polls on Young Survival to see what other people have done. (Choices: let it fall out, cut it off themselves, have a significant other cut it off, have a professional cut it off or have a party. The most popular choices are significant other or party!)

I bought my wig weeks ago so I could get used to looking at it.

I've whined about it to my husband. And to other people.

And, this weekend, I got THE TRANSITION HAIRCUT. Basically, the advice I received is that it's a lot easier (and neater) to handle the falling out part if your hair is shorter. It also gives me an idea of what it'll look like when it's growing back in. So, I got it cut short. Really short. And, if I do say so myself, it looks sort of cute. (Actually, I go back and forth between thinking it makes me look young and hip to thinking it makes me look like an aging gym teacher.)

Since I can't very well show up at work with inch-long, salt-and-pepper hair one day and come in a week or so later with a shoulder-length, red-highlighted bob (the wig style), I've decided to start wearing the wig to work. (I mean, I could do that, but then it would be kind of alarmingly obvious I was wearing a wig and I was sort of hoping to keep this a little lower profile.) So, I started wearing the wig. And, so far, the response has been good. I even got one "You look beautiful!" In fact, the response has been so good I'm starting to think my old hairstyle/color really wasn't that flattering and no one had the heart to tell me!

Anyway, I can't believe I've spent this much time thinking, talking, fretting, stewing, etc. about my HAIR. I'm starting to feel REALLY shallow. So, with any luck, this will be my last post on it.

At least for awhile.

But enough about me...

As most of you know, I volunteer at a very cool non-profit theatre in the Village. Every fall, they have a "celebration of women's voices" called EstroGenius and they are having a really cool fundraiser in a couple of weeks...

EstroGenius 2007 Celebration

Join us in support of Estrogenius 2007
for an evening of theatre, music, snacks & drinks...

Jun 24th EstroGenius Benefit Line Up

In the theatre:
6pm GirlPower & TeenVoices directed & produced by Atonia Pettiford
including a sneak peek at our 'Voices of Africa" presentation
featuring pieces from girls in a Nigerian village for whom we are collecting school supplies & building scholarship funds in partnership with Ginger O'Neill of the Peace Corps & the Young Girls Scholarship Fund

On the Music Stage
6:40-7pm Nicole Stefonek
7-7:20pm Mariana Soares & Mike Moreno
7:20-7:40pm Tara Leigh Cobble
7:40-8pm Daniel Harnett

In the theatre
8pm GirlPower & Teen Voices directed & produced by Atonia Pettiford
including a sneak peek at our 'Voices of Africa" presentation
featuring pieces from girls in a Nigerian village for whom we are collecting school supplies & building scholarship funds in partnership with Ginger O'Neill of the Peace Corps & the Young Girls Scholarship Fund

On the Music Stage
8:40-9pm TBA
9-9:20pm Avi Fox Rosen
9:20-9:40pm Manson Family Singers
9:40-10pm TBA
10-10:20pm TBA

ALL TICKETS $8 with the donation of a school supply*
(pencils, pens, paper, notebooks)
"Please note, WITHOUT A SCHOOL SUPPLY TICKETS ARE $16
"Please also note there is NO VOUNTEER DISCOUNT FOR THIS EVENT

Reservations REQUIRED for GirlPower & TeenVoices only! 212.501.4751

manhattantheatresource
177 MacDougal Street
between Waverly & 8th Streets
Subway * W4
www.theatresource.org