Didn't realize it's been a week

since my last post...

We took the kids into the city to visit the American Museum of Natural History, on a really rainy thursday. Our oldest loved it, her little brother we're not entirely sure about. We probably killed close to 5 hours overall and spent a lot of time in the dinosaur exhibit.

Lots of weird stuff being considered in that exhibit. Even though the movie Jurassic Park explored the idea that dinosaurs eventually evolved into birds there is that "possibility" written in at least one spot I saw in the room with the T-Rex, they also had displays about mammals during that era relative to us. The mammals were rather large, walking on all fours along side the dinos but the key "link" was the inner ear bones and the telling "hole" in the hip bone like we have.

These changes of course took however long evolutionary developments tend to take. But a large part of the dinosaur exhibit was spent on these examples, which surprised me because I don't remember this info the last time I was at the museum (which was a long time ago).

My only probelm with this information is that on another floor there is a display which shows a "cave man" with some huge prehistoric animal...this display I believe was part of the exhibit about Human Origins but it seemed contradictory to me.

The Museum's "cave man" doesn't look like the Geico TV cave man in the commercials. If there was ever a chance to advertise and educate at the same time there it is. (i'm kidding)

The fallout from our trip to New York was the physical exhaustion I felt once the day was over. I was whipped, yes dragging two kids into the city and touring the museum is enough to do that on any given day, but it was probably the most activity I have had since my treatments began. And even though the museum had rooms that were too warm and then other rooms that were too cold I eventually found myself sweating like a whore in church (as the saying goes) just from walking around and dealing with the kids.

Dawn told me later on that she had not seen me sweat like that since I was in recovery from kidney surgery. I, of course don't remember sweating after surgery but she assures me I was soaking wet in recovery and finally getting to the car that day she noticed how wet my head was in particular.

I may have been drenched (that's what it felt like) when we reached the car (parked on the roof of Port Authority) but it took all day for me to get there, I wasn't touring the museum like that all day. It took all day to work my way up to that.

The car was parked on the roof of Port Authority because we failed to realize that the Car Show was in town and the garage we normally use was charging $33.00 to park (for the day)..."Event Rate" is what they called it. We passed on the garage and found our way back to Port Authority and found absolutely NO PARKING there either. Eventually we ended up on the roof leaving our ignition key ala valet parking if you will because the roof was full too.

The sad part of this lesson was arrived at as we sat in traffic on 495 on our way into the tunnel surrounded by buses and we both said "why didn't we park and ride in?"

Port Authority cost us less than $33.00 but it was still a hassle. We hopped a cab to 79th street which ran us $9 and a tip. It cost us more on the cab ride back by the way.

If it wasn't raining I had entertained the idea of taking the ferry over which I think the kids would have enjoyed. Maybe next time.

Other than fatigue this week I had my usual taste issues and some reflux. Dawn called the office about that and they prescribed Nexium. The pill does an okay job. My crappy days after chemo seem to last about 6 days now. The fatigue coming on faster each time, my last treatment which was my 6th left me so tired I fell asleep in the van on the way home.

This coming week (my good week) I am taking courses to be certified as a Emergency Communications Officer (at least that's the title of the course) followed by a CPR course and lastly Emergency Medical Dispatch. After a lot of "thinking" about second chances and finding a way to "help" people this became an extension of that.

Ultimately the job is 9-1-1 emergency response and hopefully a step in that "second chance to do something with my life" direction. We rescheduled my next treatment for 4 days later than usual. Friday is now Tuesday and I will have my 7th treatment in between these courses. The courses are night courses and my chemo friday would have left me in bad shape for a friday night class.

The whole course runs two weeks April 16-23 and then again April 30-May 4.

Wish me luck...