bianshe

YESTERDAY WAS THE DAY OF DIANE PETUNIA ARNAOUT'S BIRTH AND I LOVE HER.

happy birthday, woman. i really miss you a lot and am super proud of you and think that playing halo 3 is just ok. how many years have i told you happy birthday now? i think it may be 10. no, 9. shit. we are ANCIENT.

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here is my relatively brand new baby. i call her "she" and i love her:
my other bike was stolen, so i got this one from a triathalon friend for super super cheap. I LOVE HER. never it my wildest days or dreams did i imagine that 1) i would actually bike on the streets of a major city or 2) LOVE DOING IT. but i do and i do it well. i try to take she everywhere and have been hinting to friends that "we should really leave the neighborhood" so i will be able to ride she again and again. it's just real fun.

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here is the only photo of me (taken in the past 6 months) that you kids havent seen. my friend van in seattle just sent it to me. there's me and there's scott. i look like a chump, but scott looks real pretty so hope you enjoy. i miss those two a LOT. my family in seattle have been requesting my presence up there, so hopefully that will be able to happen in the next few months... i'm really glad i'm so much closer to them (geographically) then i used to be.


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oh wait! there's more from shelley and amanda's trip out here! yes!...


amanda and shelley on the road and loving the pt cruiser. THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.

shelley's face (chosen to show off my super sweet maze-like back porch)


ruthie on the refrigerator rampage of the week. ONIIIOOOOOOON

we look not-thrilled but really we are-thrilled because we really do heart each other. tis true.


view from my loft to my hearts below.


they're real cute.


RUDY IS FANTASTIC.

rudy with ryan. those two really get a kick out of each other and are equally and unequivocally hilarious.

(i miss you, amanda and shelley)

* * *

the rudy fundraising thing is gettin big, real big, and i'm stoked. all the kids i've asked to perform have said YES and resoundingly so now it's time to find places and get some more organization up in this joint. and he's doing really well, still tired - but i think he only had to get one platelid transfusion this week, rather than three.

* * *

update on daddy: it turns out that the 'growth' the removed from his salivary (parotid) gland was malignant which is... frankly... next to totally unbelievable. the man has now had three DIFFERENT types of cancer. i just don't get it, but i don't think anyone is supposed to. so they think they removed all of it - which is awesome - but he's going to have to undergo radiation beginning in the next few weeks. our family is researching what would be necessary to enter him into the guiness book of world records under 'miracle man' or 'totally awesome human being who can defeat cancer like it's nothing,' etc.

so i may be going to back to texas for a few weeks/months, pending on what happens to him next. will keep you updated, etc.

* * *

i love you kids a lot. hope all is well out there!!

jen

amalgam

hello to all and how is it going?

two of the greatest pieces of news in all the land hit me up yesterday. 1) my dad's heart is strong enough to continue on with surgery to remove the growth in his salivary gland - which. is. AWESOME. his surgery is on wednesday, so please be thinking / praying for him, etc... 2) rudy was RELEASED from the hospital yesterday!!!;lakjsfjk**!! he's still set to visit the hospital three times each week for platelid transfusions and cristina or i have to clean his iv thingie in his arm daily BUT he is OUTTA there. praise be.

i just got out of a rudy fundraising meeting with vivek (his former housemate) and sita (his former girlfriend). it seems like this mess is actually going to come together. as of now, we're looking into the following options:

1) comedy show with brent weinbach (local comedic hero)
2) on-line and in-show raffle
3) independent donations to "rudy beredo is sort of totally awesome" fund
4) hip-hop show with melina jones and unagi
5) rock-ish show with the lovely public and thao nyugen
6) folksy show with the amnesia crew
7) possible fundraiser in texas? single frame? midlake, even? any takers out there? (i know we all adoooooore midlake, but really let's suck it up and see if they'll help us out)

in other news, man oh man i need another job because i'm not getting enough shifts. faaaantastic. the continued job search is in process.

i have a spanish exam tomorrow and i will conquer it.

that is all for now. i will post less update-ish bits hopefully very very soon

love you kids a lot and i miss you so very much....

jen

an update on the ruderto

yo dudes -

for those in the know, rudy is gracing (and boldly!) ucsf hospital with his presence and they already adore him. on monday, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, an extremely rare (1000 american folks/year) blood disorder in which the immune system attacks the blood marrow, resulting in the marrow's diminished ability to produce platelids, red b cells and white b cells.

he's been in the hospital for 4 days, set to be here for 3-4 weeks more. his initial (and hopefully only) chemotherapy treatment begins tomorrow, a combo of 2 immunosuppressant drugs. the extended plan is as follows, if necessary:

1 month: in hospital chemo
3 months: at home. at the end of the 3 months, they will check to see if the chemo worked. if not....
1 month: in hospital chemo, 2nd round
3 months: wait and see again. if not, a blood marrow transplant is the next option

things are looking up though. his blood counts have remained the same since he arrived at ucsf and he is in extremely fantastic spirits. he's had a TON of visitors: people 'round here really love him a lot.

thanks to amanda, steph and e-ray for putting up with rambling messages and helping me think through how to play Mom out here. i've been asking a lot of questions to the physicians, and my oh my, the hemotologists here have been all too willing to answer any question that i've had. and i'm making sure rudy's following all of his new rules too. haha - i am so maternal. who knew?

more soon but my world has sort of been all rudy and co. for the past week or so.

love you kids a lot. stay healthy please and talk with you soon...

jen

how very walden

on spanish:
re-taking and re-taking spanish has proven to be extremely beneficial. case in point: three weeks ago (hace tres anos que), my friends from italy began their visit to hawaii by means of san francisco. i have two friends that made the journeyvisit: one nearly bilingual (italian/english); the other can't speak english nearly as well. being that he (the latter - how terrible!) can't speak english as well, i've always gone towards spanish as "our" universal language. when he arrived a few weeks ago (before my spanish classes), our conversation was worthless. i'm happy to say (and shout! boldly!) that just this past weekend, only three weeks later, my spanish is returning in leaps and bounds and we could actually hold conversations for longer than 0.83sec - 17.89 min. yes! AND i can understand spanish-speakers on the street again. oh thank heavens.

on the italians:
i am so glad they came and feel like i am their cousins. although our respective relationships have changed over hte course of the previous three years, i am extremely EXTREMELY glad that they are in my life. they are my second strong group of friends on this planet, second to san antone/college station texas and all those connected to either/both.

on working for a circus:
it's a bit like working north by northgate or volunteering at southby, actually. no, really. seriously. i miss it, i loved it, i think i did an ok job and they would like me to come back in november. oh i am so happy about this.

on boys:
please see any experimental film by maya deren from 1943-1945. it's sort of ridiculous.

on the hours of my day:
it's a lot of work for far less money than i should be making elsewhere, but confoundit (eh? spelling? eh?) i am HAPPIER, better, and oh so much.

on birthdays:
i don't believe in astrology, but for the love a good number of you are making the rounds soon and i love you. i can say it. i can mean it. and i do.

talk with you soon -

jen