Jim and I spent part of the day with our fabulous friends' four-year old daughter Odessa (see her beautiful mug to the right!). We have known Odessa since her parents adopted her from China when she was 11 months old and I don't think I have ever known a friendlier or more active kid! And she has the uncanny ability to get me to buy her anything she wants in whatever gift shop we happen to come across! We started by meeting for lunch at the yummy Kopperman's Deli in the Central West End and we couldn't have asked for better weather! The patio was PERFECT! After brunch, we headed over to the St Louis Science Center and hung out there for a few hours ....
But there is something I can't describe when I hang out with Odessa -- I know my frineds with kids know what I am talking about, but she is so good and relaxing for the soul! I can act silly and play on the ground and she is right there keeping me in the moment at all times (not thinking about what I did yesterday or what I need to do tomorrow). And I love that she calls Jim "Mr. Jim" and wants to shove stuffed animals up his shirt -- she has such a good mememory (she did this to Jim at a Mexican restaurant for an hour a few months ago!) and gets such pure delight at "having fun." I suspect there is a lot I can learn from her!
Tomorrow? I am attending a seminar at the Siteman Cancer Center called "Look Good, Feel Better" -- these are the folks who help you with your beauty needs when you are going through chemo. The only big question I have right now is ... when did I go back to my teenage face?? My face is breaking out like you wouldn't beieve (actually, ever since I was told to stop using my birth control pills). I have tried all the old products I used to use (and some new ones!) and so far none of them are making a difference. As far as other side effects, the only other one I have is also skin related -- a rash. It's not as bad today but I have tiny red dots on my chest, stomach and back. It's not itchy so I am not complaining!
My other big plan for tomorrow is to paint the guest bathroom. I know that seems like a strange thing to be doing right now but (1) it was something I wanted to do this summer and (2) we have guests coming over next Sunday and I want the guest bathroom to look "perfect." And tonight ... actually working on syllabi for the upcoming semester.
PS: I just finished reading the third Stieg Larsson, the author behind Lisbeth Salander. I am sure you have probably seen the covers of one of the three novels somewhere in the last few months (it seemed like when we were in NYC in June, everyone was reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo); anyway, I am not usually a big mystery reader but I loved, loved, loved Lisbeth. She's a kick-ass woman -- I've seen reviews where folks claim she has Asberger's Syndrome -- but what I love about her is that shit happens to her and she claws her way out of whatever happens. And -- it's cool that she is a prominent computer hacker and even solves the classic math problem Fermat’s Last Theorem. And I am pretty sure she never broke a sweat! Anyway -- this is good reading if you are looking for something fun. (and as a side note, I caught a bit on NPR where a Swedish academic was ... well, "academicizing" Salander in terms of feminism and subjectivity and all that fun stuff!)
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