Notable Event #1 was Saturday afternoon, when we spent some time at a party for a family friend. His daughter was in the grade between me and Erica in elementary school, and he and his wife are good friends of my parents. He was diagnosed with cancer and told that with no treatment, he'd live two months. With chemotherapy, they thought he might reach four months. He chose not to go with chemo. That was six months ago. He is doing remarkably well. There were so many people there to celebrate his life with him, and I'm really glad that I got the chance to go.
Notable Event #2 was Sunday morning, when Sharif and I took out our bikes to attempt the route from our neighborhood to UMBC. Getting there was extremely easy, and took about 25 minutes- a nice and pleasant ride. Unfortunately part of the reason that the trip to campus was so easy- that long hill on Hilltop Road- made the trip home particularly grueling. That was horrible. I suffered almost the entire uphill. I stopped at the top to have a drink of water, and when I put my feet on the ground, my legs wouldn't support me. I had to sit for a bit to regain my ability to use those limbs. Luckily, the remainder of the trip was simple, and actually seemed restful in comparison. Clearly, I am not in very good shape, and I will have to do a lot more biking in the future to remedy that.
Notable Event #3 was Sunday afternoon, when Sharif and I had plans to hang out with Juan. Juan was running sound for the Charm City Roller Girls, so that's where we went. It was the championship match, which meant that it was a very exciting time to be introduced to roller derby. We saw an impressive showing by Justice Feelgood Marshall both in the course of his normal duties and in a halftime bout between the Baltimore refs and a team of guys from out of state. The team that I arbitrarily chose to support (based on getting free plastic halloween rings from them, as well has having met one of their players) won the whole thing. Cheering filled the place. It was, essentially, awesome.
Today I am tired and my legs still aren't very happy with me when I try to climb stairs. Stupid weak Joanna. But I had a fun IM discussion with Laura this morning, and that must bring cheer. It is required.
