Cancer can eat my Poo!

Yes, you read correctly. In the witty words of Tina Fey, Cancer can eat my poo!!!

Over the weekend my friend Amanda's sister, Allison, succumbed to Breast Cancer, she was 32 years old. Anyone who has been touched by this disease or lost a family member understands how difficult this can be. Though I lost my Dad to Pancreatic Cancer 9 years ago, I think about him each and every day and I imagine that will never go away.

I only met Allison a couple of times but based on all the work and fundraising her and Amanda did for cancer awareness a tireless voice was lost for a very important cause. I can only offer my sympathies and support to Amanda her partner Maia and their family. I have watched my two friends support Allison through some rough times these last few years. Amanda is a tireless caregiver and fundraiser and I hope she can find some peace now that Allison is in a better place. Allison was lucky to have such a wonderful sister by her side, and I know Allison's spirit will live on through Amanda always.

You can read more about Allison Bladt Fawcett here:
http://www.thereporteronline.com/articles/2010/10/05/news/doc4caaf456c80a3502894560.txt

and

Here, Amanda is quoted in this article:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/113/2010/october/06/death-comes-spirit-lingers.html

To support Amanda in the 2010 Susan G. Komen Philadelphia 3-Day for the Cure you can donate here:
https://secure3.convio.net/npt/site/Donation2?idb=608893643&df_id=2300&FR_ID=1468&2300.donation=form1&PROXY_ID=2612522&PROXY_TYPE=20&JServSessionIdr004=2azu5gs891.app321b

Take Care Maia and Amanda, my two travel buddies.

City Pedaling

I love commuting on my bike. I get to ride through the city, get some exercise, and it relieves stress. There are so many benefits. 90% of the time I have a smooth ride to and from work. This morning did not fall into that 90%. There are some mornings and afternoons that I have a ride where one thing after another happens. Unlike many bikers I see I wear a helmet, never listen to headphones and follow the rules of the road. I think it is these things that keep me safe on my bike. It takes time and practice to hone your bike instincts while riding through the city. However, there are just some days that are so aggravating it is just really scary.

Today was a dozy:
1. Roslindale- barely a mile into my commute. School bus van on Washington Street in Roslindale decided even though there were plenty of spots to pull into she parks in the bike lane forcing me to weave into the traffic behind me to get around her. She got out of the van with children and proceed to cross the busy street. I was like,"You could not pull into a spot?", her response, "No!". Nice....and people trust you with their kids. UGH.

2. Brookline Village- about 4 miles into my commute. I am riding with traffic through a green light and I see this woman trying to pull out of a parking spot in front of the Post Office. She has her window open and is looking out the window behind her to see when she is clear. I am riding with the cars and they all pass me. She looks right at me and pulls out right in front of me anyway. This caused me to weave around her to avoid her. Since her window is open I say, "REALLY, you are going to pull out in front of me anyway?", she yelled something and drove beside me yelling at me then pulled in front of me again to pull into a parking spot. I was so angry. I yelled something about if she kills someone it will affect her the rest of her life. What a jerk. I would not mind if she did not see me or was just looking in her mirror, but she had her head out the window and saw me coming.

3. Harvard and Comm Ave.-about 6 miles into my commute. I am riding through a green light, this guy decides he wants to take a right and cannot wait the 1 second it will take me to get past the street he wants to take a right on(Comm. Ave.). So he swerves around me to beat me to the right turn, thus cutting me off. This happens a lot while I am riding. People do not realize how fast I am going and try to get ahead of me thus completely cutting me off. Not be morbid but I knew a young women in Western Ma. who was killed this way. Really sad.

This was certainly an unusual morning for incidents. After hearing about a biker getting killed the other day one would think both drivers and bikers would be more careful. I see so many egregious driving and biking violations it is surprising there are not more deaths on the road. I think many drivers do not realize how much damage they can do with their car, they drive like it is a weapon. But why should anyone care, I never see police doing anything about it. Until that starts to happen things will not really change. All I can do is follow the rules of the road and enjoy each bike ride while I can.

Last night at The Fort

This is my last night at Fort Hill. I feel like I have so much to do but I am at that point where I cannot not really do anything until right before the movers get here. I always want to feel more secure about my organizational skills but I have done this so many times I know it will be fine. I have been living in Roxbury for a little over 2 1/2 years, I have had great landlords and all in all really enjoyed this neighborhood and living alone. I am glad I finally got a chance to do that. It was totally worth it.
There are things I will miss about Fort Hill and things I will not...

Things I will miss:
- Having a park right across from my apt., it has made it so easy with my old lady Ramona. We have been able to enjoy this park at any time of the year

- My friendly neighbors. The folks that live around me have been nothing but friendly, helpful and warm
- The close proximity to the S. End, JP and Brookline
- Having the opportunity to live by myself. It has been great
- My landlords, they have been nothing but responsive and completely generous
- The views of the city from the park, each time I go up there I am amazed about the view, it is quite special
- Forth of July fireworks, for three years I got to walk out my door and see a great show. I am glad I could share that with friends
- Most importantly I think Mel, Myself, HC and Ramona will miss my deck. We have had so many great times out there just relaxing, entertaining, eat, reading, enjoying the crazy stuff our domestics do, and almost being killed by spiders


Things I will not miss:
- The reality of living in a city. All tires stolen. Blurg
- Living in a garden level apt means, you might have mice
- Living in a quiet residential neighborhood means not really being able to walk to coffee shops, bars, markets etc
- People who consistently start their laundry but never seem to finish with in 24 hours. There are 3 other apts in the building. World does not revolve around you
- Living across dog park means having to deal with bad dog owners, aggressive dogs off leash, not cleaning up after dogs, untrained crazy dogs, you get the picture

All in all this 'hood has been good to me, I have made some great memories and I will miss the people, the history, and the lovely Fort. It really is a hidden gem in this city, one that more and more people are discovering. However, I am ready for the next chapter and really excited about my new neighborhood and moving in with the LF. We are more then ready.