I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill.

Yes, we made an unexpected trip to the real Blueberry Hill from the song last Saturday. It was really fun. The food was amazing, fast and cheap with tons of it. I got the Fish and Chips and I swear, there were at least 6 pieces of fish, battered to a crisp, not greasy. They brought vinigar without me asking and the coleslaw and fries that accompanied the fish were in huge proportions and great! Now the beer is a little pricey, $3.50 for a bottle, but that's what they charge in the downtown areas. (See how I talk about the food first?)

Blueberry Hill is in University City. I guess it's named for Washington University which is right down the street and charges $700+/per credit hour for a graduate writing class that I won't be taking. The bar has many rooms but we were in the dart room where they have held this steel tip tourneyment for the last 35 years. It used to be huge, but it has dwindled a little bit in recent years. There were people there from England as well as the St. Louis regulars.

There is a wall of fame with pictures of the singles winners through out the 35 years. Brad Wethington (sorry Brad, I know I'm butchering your name) has won the men's singles so many times, his pictures on the wall show his growing up from a sweet 20 something (1992) to the more mature man he is now.

Jim played doubles and his darts were great, just not enough to keep up with the competition. They smoked their first opponents then took on Steve Brown (who is also on the wall of fame) and Jim and his partner were unable to get passed them. And steel tip is single elimination. So, after talking for a while, taking in the eclectic nature of the bar, we went home. I'm glad we went even though Jim didn't place as Blueberry Hill is one of the places we wanted to see in St. Louis and Jim realized that his steel tip skills are pretty good!

You can buy dart shirts from Blueberry Hill at www.BlueberryHill.com. And if you are ever in St. Louis, we have to go!

I'm more tired this week than I've been ever. I think the Chemo is sneaking up on me. I had a lot of pain from the shots this week and I am still dealing with that. I'm trying to drink a lot of water and eat at least my five fruits and veggies, but it's hard sometimes. So even though they have a lot of calories, I'm counting my juice!

In the writing realm, I sent off a query to Grit and got a request back to see the essay on spec. I'm pretty jacked about that. I'm planning on finishing it up this weekend and getting it back out on Monday. Wish me luck!

I'm signed up for the Enterprise Team for Race for the Cure. Enterprise is paying for our entry! So hopefully I'll feel strong enough to walk. And I'm suppose to volunteer for the St. Louis Jazz festival in a couple weeks, but I've been assigned to greet and I'm not sure if that's a great idea with my weakened immune system. What is it about me that I can't deal with my limitations? I told Jill yesterday that I'm not sick! I'm just dealing with the results of the treatment to keep me from getting sick! Is that the wrong way to look at it? What do you think?

Listing to TWO DOLLAR BILL by Stuart Woods. Its funny but kind of sexist in a lot of ways and the sex scences seem really fake. Like when the hooker says she F*cked his brains out, and giggles. And he was dating and sleeping with this one girl and the next night he's back with an old girlfriend, with no qualms about the first girl. Maybe men think this way and its just women who think it's fake.

Reading, not much. Way too tired to get anything done. I am still in Janet's Four to Score but at least I can pick it up and put it down without losing track of the story.

Off to jump into the shower. Lots to do this Saturday. Wish me luck.

On my way!

Well, halfway has come and gone and I'm set up for a new drug next Chemo the 22nd. I think its called Taxol. I know it came from the California Yew tree which was almost extinct before they found the use for the tree. Funny how that happens. They tell me this will be less nauseating but I'll be more tired since they give me benedril first. So Jim will have to drive me at least the first time. Last night I got the lecture from his mom and dad because I went to this treatment by myself. They don't get that I need that independence sometime. And maybe I don't get that they want to help.

And, its shot time again!

I started a story about called Miss Emily this week but haven't got very far in it. I was hoping to have it done by the 15th and shoot it over to the Writer's Digest contest, but I guess I'm going to miss that this year too. I guess sometimes I wait too long for inspiration to come and forget that the muse comes while working, not while doing other things, at least for me.

I looked up the information to start working on my MA in Instructional Design. I think for a work degree (not my dream one of a MFA in creative writing) its a good one to have. It will really position me for a lot of jobs in this area at least and will give me a heads up if I go back home to get into the business end of the valley rather than health care. I could teach a lot of things in health care, but they want you to have a nursing degree for all the positions I saw and I don't want to say in business ie finance part. It just drives me crazy that one class is going to cost me almost $1000. So I need 36 hours, $36K to get a degree. Hmmmmm. May have to think about that. I'm going to try to get this set up and hit up my supervisor at my year review and see if work will pay at least some of this fall class. Summer is way out of the question. And I still have to take my GRE (another $130). Lottery, where are you!

In Patricia Cornwall's TRACE on my drive time. This book is interesting as it is more character driven than plot driven. A lot more like how I work with my writing. Here you know who the killer is way before Kay or Lucy do and if they were all just talking to each other, it would be different. Keeping those secrets tend to streatch out the process even though we think we are saving the other person hurt or worry. Reading a lot of cozy's lately has made me wonder a lot about my structure and writing style.

Reading, still in BEAUTIFUL LIES, Lisa Unger. I thought I'd get it done on Chemo day but didn't. And not taking the few minutes at work to stop and read a little on break, trying to make up as much time as possible to keep those checks at a normal pace to get this all behind me so my dream of going back to school can come a little closer.

I do need to find a writing group, even if it just meets once a month to keep me more focused on writing. I tend to get caught up in my every day stuff, and I know, I have enough of it, but I want to write. I want to write better. And if these two statements are true, I should be able to find some time to do what I really want. I find time to do other things!

Its suppose to be a nice weekend. Maybe I'll get my flowers planted. The garden went in last week.

Have a great week everyone!

The last week...

Well, its been quite a week. I thought I was going to have that feel good week in between chemos but it wasn't to be. I started getting sick on Monday and they had me calling in and taking my temp at home. Tuesday we started taking blood and I stayed home from work and worried. Tuesday night I noticed a raised spot on my back that iched like heck. When I called in, they put me on a medicine for shingles (also genital herpes according to the label :) ). When I went in for my shots on Wednesday, they took more blood, looked at my sore, and called it all into the doctor who had been threatening to put me in the hospital for IV antibiotics if my fever continued.
Well, everything started to calm down and by yesterday, I was feeling a lot better and my nurse told me that my wednesday blood counts were already going up from Tuesdays. I guess they look at giving you transfusions when they get too low. More news to me. My nurse coordinator thinks my counts will be back up to normal by Tuesday when I'm scheduled for Chemo. If not, they will put it off a week, which will really suck since I have things scheduled based on my Tuesday chemo days.

We threw darts Wednesday and I just wore my hat. People were so nice but I felt like a dork. How come guys can have no hair and we still think they look good, but girls need that hair to even come close?

What have I been reading? Sliver of Truth, Lisa Unger. Wow, this was a ride from the first moment I opened the book. I guess its a continuation from her first, Beautiful Lies which now I have to read. Her protaganist is funny and accessable, yet not predictable. She does a lot of the dumb naive things I could see myself doing if I was even close to being in a situation like hers. And, like my family, secrets abound and people disappoint you.

I just started Staying Home is a Killer by Sara Rosett. Fun read. Easy to pick up before doctor appointments and while I'm waiting without losing my place in the story.

The really kind nurse in the weekend cancer clinic at Barnes Jewish gave me the Susan McBride books in the Deutante Dropout Series. Susan is a St. Louis writer, my new home, and we were talking about the different writers who live in the area. Miss nurse, sorry, I don't know her name, said she met her at a book fair and was given the first book, so she had to go buy the other two. Marketing did work in this case. I'm probably going to start Blue Blood next.