Category Archives: Sports

D-1

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Shall we just ignore the As pitchers yesterday who managed to blow up, magnificently in extra innings.

George was looking much better today. Even a small break from the chemo does wonders for his energy level. He doesn’t look any different; perhaps a bit more color since his hemoglobin level is higher than it has been in months. But otherwise, he just looks normal.

I made a detour to Berkeley this morning to discuss next year’s teaching schedule at Cal. I guess I am making a commitment to be around, at least for spring semester. (But hello, the best TAs are in the fall anyway..) Dani (Daughter #2) came over to spend time with her dad while I was out. Then there was the side trip to Oakland. According to our NYC crew, the TV cameras pointed toward RF 149 more than once. That would have been the highlight….

Tomorrow is transplant time. From what we know, the stem cell donation arrived from Germany.

D-3

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

passed for George in a lot of fatigue. I think the constant night time interruptions are wearing him down a bit. According to his blood work, the chemo is definitely doing its thing. Poor guy, going from essentially medication free to more than you can count on the fingers of two hands. When you have to wear hospital socks instead of shoes… But if I can read the schedule correctly, two of the chemos should finish tonight.

So it was a pretty quiet day for him. I ducked out part way through and once again dealt with the wonders of BART to get to the Coliseum and back. The As managed to get a win with a rather impressive fan turnout, both from here and LA (Angels in town). Apparently Anaheim isn’t too far to drive or fly if you want to see your team.

Spent the early part of the evening back with George before heading to Outer Sunset for the night.

D-4

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Perhaps one of the hardest things about being in the hospital is the inability to get uninterrupted sleep. Between the chemo (q4 for one, + 2 others at different times), the nurses, the docs, blood drawing, and own self maintenance there isn’t much energy left over for anything else. George is watching some TV, working on his pile of non-fiction books and catching naps between interruptions.

This particular ward is one of two dedicated to Heme/Onc and the Bone Marrow Transplant/Stem Cell Transplant service. Obviously, all rooms are solo. An organizer of protective gear hangs on the outside of each door. Until his white count drops out of sight, I can bring him outside food. The critical question asked yesterday was whether lattes from the coffee shop inside the hospital counted as “inside food” or “outside food.” The little pleasures are to be held onto as long as possible. If you want to wear the hospital gowns, no problem. If you want your own clothes – that is completely all right. Practically speaking, soft t-shirts and sweatpants are the most comfortable. One of my contributions will be frequent laundry.

I stayed for a few hours in the morning, then met Alex (my son-in-law) at the As game. Getting there was the challenge. For that matter, getting to the hospital on a holiday weekend? Instead of the normal street car, it was the N Owl (night bus). BART to the game? One train headed across the Bay from SF. One. Change at 12th Street, change at 19th Street or chance at MacArthur depending on which of the other three lines you actually wanted. Sardines all the way in any case.

It was cool, it didn’t rain. The As finished sweeping the Mariners. Last year, they were a team hard to beat. This year, they are “rebuilding.”

Back to the hospital for a couple of hours before heading over to a friends to check on the cat, do a load of laundry and attempt to catch up on my sleep.

D-5

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

In a format similar to calculating a space launch, the BMT (bone marrow transplant) unit labels the transplant day as zero, then counts forwards and backwards.

Hospital admission is D-7 (which was Thursday, 23 May) which means today, as Saturday, is D-5. There is a strict schedule of which chemo gets started when and for how long. All of them run, it seems over hours and hours. Nothing, other than a few pre-medications, is just over and done.

George looks good and is in a good mood. If he hadn’t brought a pile of books plus have his iPad for the news and the TV I think he would be bored out of his mind. Although he hasn’t been as physically active for the last several months as before, he just normally doesn’t hang out in bed. The living room lounger? The couch in the guest room? His desk, the table? All of those, but world not limited to the same four wall plus I.V. pole which follows him everyone, leashed to him like a puppy.

I may name it.

The third lovely poison of the chemos starts at 0200 on D-4.

My break every day is the one hour over and back to the Coliseum for the As home stand which just started. They managed to pull off a win on Friday night and again this afternoon, both against the Mariners. I won’t say that the pitchers didn’t attempt to divest of the win, but it was a lot closer than all of us would have liked.

Not their best performance

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Anyone can forgive a pitcher one lousy pitch. Even if it is one of the first pitches in the top of the first and results in a right fielder (not ours) hitting a home run. That would be ok. That can be overcome. Even a runner on base and another lovely out of the park ball resulting in the Astro’s pulling ahead 3:0. From there – hello? As Batters? Please hit something. Pitchers? It is really NOT a good idea to load up the bases before providing an Astro’s batter the opportunity to swing for the fences. Embarrassing. Seriously embarrassing.

It was the crown on an already challenging day which started with a migraine resulting in me missing both a deadline and a class, moved on to the fire alarm system going off in 198 Macallister in the afternoon thus killing any opportunity for the two afternoon classes which I audit.

My husband provided me the crowning experience. We both have enjoyed the Cal’s Women’s Basketball Team. They had a “thank-you” type dinner tonight as a kind of end of year function for the team plus families and supporters. The food was ok, the company at our table was excellent. Speeches that go on, and on, and on? Shoot me now.

At least my phone lasted through the evening so that I was able to observe the travesty of the A’s-Astro’s match up while not being able to hear much of anything in the reception area due to the level of noise provided by the D.J. under the guise of “music.”

One nothing

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

and a bit of this and that.

Perhaps not the most important to you, but for this As fan – a solo home run by Chapman in the first inning turned out to be the only score in the game. WIN! The Red Sox don’t quite have it together this year, but I don’t think that is going to last. They certainly out hit the As, but defense and amazing fielding prevented any of those hits from turning into a scoring run. Even more amazing – Laureano once again threw out Bogaerts at third base to rob the Sox of their potential game tying run in the 9th.  (FYI – at the wall in center field directly to third without a relay).  If Bogaerts had been happy with his double….

In other ramblings – my friend Carmen is touring in Australia and New Zealand. (Did I mention that we were roommates in college?) Even though cruising is great and you can extend networks of friendship around the the world, it doesn’t mean that you get to see as much as if you were on land in some areas of the world.  From what I can tell, she is having a great time and has taken some really amazing photos – which you really should look at here.

Yesterday was Monday according to UCHastings. Yes, I know it is Tuesday, but since all Federal/California holidays are celebrated on Monday it would place undue burden on those classes which meet on Mondays. This semester, with the just past holiday (Monday off) we are celebrating by holding Monday classes on Tues. And the normal classes held on Tuesday are just skipped. The good thing? No incredibly long afternoon. The more difficult? Disruption…

Off to sleep….

 

 

 

Not fools

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

For the last several years I haven’t noticed anywhere near as many April Fool’s jokes as I saw in decades past. There could be several reasons. For example, I might just be the one out of the loop. Or totally oblivious, or no longer knowing anyone who would play those type of pranks.

In any case, I can admire a well crafted spoof – as long as no one gets hurt by it. And that is not something that always applies to what various and assorted people think is funny. It is much more fun to think about baseball (yes, sorry but we are only seven games into the ~160 of the season. This particular topic is not going to go away for a while.)

So let me leave it at: it rained, the Red Sox showed up on the field anyway, they lost. Yes, 7:0. Not bad for the first of a four game series.

Close your eyes

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Don’t watch. Seriously, you don’t want to see this.

Cal was at Stanford today for the second of their two games. The first, Thursday, was at Haas Pavilion with Cal pulling out a win on Asha Thomas’ buzzer beating last basket. Today the favor was returned in spades. No clue what was going on, but baskets were missed, passes easily intercepted, literally a dozen opportunities lost. Stanford had its act together. It wasn’t pretty.

Then there was the heartbreaker of the Blackhawks beating the Wild 4-3 in overtime (Hockey, for those who don’t recognize the teams).

Otherwise, I spent a small amount of time on homework, but mostly worked on various embroidery projects. All told, six items completed. The cutest –

x two. reversed colors

were a pair of flour sack towels. The purple is called Orchid – that orange? Allegedly it is Devil Red.

Clowns on Muni

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

There is a Clown School in San Francisco – link here. They are located near the N-Judah Muni Line. The website really, really needs work, but it gives you the basics.

A couple of stops after George and I boarded near UCSF, a clown alley (yes, that is what a group of clowns is called. Trust me – well, ok, but I did look it up!) boarded the Muni and started working their way up and down the car. Young women they were. I don’t think that any of them were over 23. Each one of them was unique in her clothing, appearance and make-up. Hats and noses varied as well. Not everyone (thank goodness) was wearing the classic red bulb nose.

A few of the passengers reacted quite negatively; a number of the rest just pretended that the clowns weren’t there. I thought I counted seven but wasn’t completely sure since there was a lot of moving around involved. A spritely woman likely somewhere in her 40s was moving through the car as well making suggestions, keeping an eye on the group. I asked her if she was their keeper. She laughed and said this was one of their first outings. I would have pictures, but when someone else took out her phone for a picture, she was politely but firmly asked to refrain.

I exited the Muni at Civic Center, heading back to class. George stayed on, headed across the Bay. He was able to watch the chaos accompanying the clowns as they searched for the correct stop (Powell St Station).

After class, I met George in Berkeley. Dropping my backpack off in the car, we headed to Haas Pavilion and the Cal Women’s Basketball Game. It was hard fought, neither team ever leading by more than 6 points. Cal won 81-80 on a buzzer beating score by Asha Thomas.

Four Thousand Screaming kids

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

In what is reputed to be an annual affair, there were literally thousands of school children at today’s Cal Women’s Basketball Game. Schools from San Jose south of us to Fairfield on the north (plus several Richmond primary schools), all the Berkeley Elementary Schools, a number from Oakland and (surprisingly to me) a number from both San Francisco and the peninsula. Since they announced all the schools, accompanied by lots more screaming, it was easy to determine who was missing (Albany, Marin, and about 1/2 the private schools).

As is there wasn’t enough noise, it was also Fire Prevention Education Day. Yes, Smokey walking around large as life was a real hit. I didn’t mind all the hints, but demonstrating sirens and fire alarms? That was a bit much.

Did I mention that the game started at 1130 which obviously put it at an excellent time for schools. It wasn’t a great time for the Straw Hat Band. They were out on their annual ski trip. As far as their usual alumni taking over, well, most had to work. I was really impressed that they managed to field about 20 with a bit of rearrangement as to who played what so that the important instruments (percussion & brass) were covered.

For a change, the referring was even handed and quite good. Very few questionable calls, and refs who were strict, The Cal Women’s managed to pull off a win over Washington State. Interesting to note, the Cougars didn’t have one native Washington State player on the team (Portugal, Australia, Israel, Eastern Europe – kind of like the University of Utah).

Timed it perfectly to catch the #65 up the hill to home. George spent the day doing various assorted meetings in San Francisco so he wasn’t home till late. My last missing textbook finally showed up. I thought about studying….

And more rain

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Nothing like looking at the forecast and seeing rain.

Or, for that matter, looking out the window which just confirms what you already know – it is quite wet out there. There is a strong temptation just to curl up in front of the fireplace with a nice book, blanket. Or audiobook and knitting if I believed for even a minute that it would be possible to knit a complicated lace pattern and do anything else at the same time.

So instead I ran errands, replenished my bead supply (see knitting mentioned above and Wild Swan from a couple of days ago). By the end of the day I had made it to row 69.

The highlight (or not) of the afternoon was getting soaked on my way to the Cal Basketball game (which they managed to not lose).

from the opposite bleachers

and then it was home followed by a late in the dark run to OAK to pick up Noah.

I should be studying

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

At least that is what I am telling myself. So far I have reviewed five pages of outlines, several misc. documents, read through my notes, played computer games and skimmed some junk genre fiction.

So much for good intentions.

And there was also the Cal’s Women’s Basketball game this afternoon (they pulled off a win, but their % from the floor left a bit to be desired. Had the opponent been one of the PAC-12, it would not have turned out so well). But the Straw Hat Band was there, tho not in numbers. I gifted out the first batch of pins made from Miriam’s design

thought about studying some more, but had dinner instead and going to sleep relatively early.

They won

Holly Doyne Posted on by

Up front, I am not much of a football fan. US football just so there is not any confusion. I don’t detest it the way I do boxing (no excuses, a sport where you win by inflicting brain damage on your opponent? – I DO NOT think so). While in the military I was continually confronted with that particular bit of stupidity. They needed a doctor for their boxing matches. I left it open to my crew – no penalties if they wanted to support – complete back up if they didn’t want to participate.

The catch was – no doctor – no match, so you understand the pressure.

Really, there we are in a combat zone continually screening people for TBI (traumatic brain injury) secondary to just about everything. And they want to box in their spare time? Really? Let’s support our enemy by damaging our own troops ….

Oops – I think I was starting to discuss today’s Cal football game. I was there because? George has season tickets. Since he attends somethings with me (As baseball) and lets me off the hook for others (formal receptions, cocktail parties), the least I can do is go with him. When it is not raining, or snowing or there isn’t someone else begging to go along.

So there we are, in our usual seats. Maus & Friend are sitting over in Q for the first half. They join us for the second since the season ticket holders next to us don’t appear. The marching band is great. The football team? Meh. Unlike those around me, I don’t have any objection to the quarterback. Hello? He is a freshman. Let me repeat that – this is a college game and he is new this season. I don’t care how good you were in high school – this is NOT high school. He has a great and a good running back. He has a couple of really good pass receivers. What he doesn’t have is decent blockers from the line to protect him.

Enough said.

Cal won by points. Colorado won on everything else. They had more yards passing, rushing, 1st downs made, fewer penalties. What destroyed them was the first few minutes of the game. You can’t receive the kickoff and on the second play throw a pass that is intercepted by Cal and returned for a touchdown. That means you just tossed (literally, sorry) away your chance. Seriously, what you don’t do is repeat the process on your next return and have another interception mean that you are down 14-0 in the first five minutes of the game. Then there was a fumble…

Colorado came back and almost managed a win. By the time we hiked up the hill (which seems like a mountain about then) it was dark and cold. At least the Cal-Stanford Game (rescheduled to next Sat because of the air quality secondary to the wildfires) will start at noon. Whole game in daylight. Much better deal.

And now back to studying for my first exam (on Wednesday).

Why was I in class?

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

yes, I know that education is important. Certainly the US government is paying through the nose for me to entertain myself with attending classes. But really, one has to set priorities.

My choice this afternoon was being a good kid and attending my Health Law class with an alternative of going to the As game. Now, for those of you who are not in any way a baseball fan it might seem as a little to no choice. I actually made that choice last night when I turned in my Thursday afternoon ticket for a second seat on Friday evenings game. It wasn’t an easy decision but a practical one: the game starts at 1235 and class doesn’t finish till 1530. I didn’t think there was any chance that the game would still be going long enough for me to get there.

As it turned out, I wouldn’t have made even the final out but in this case absolutely the game was still going on when class ended. That means over three hours. It means that I missed a great game.

Oh, I didn’t mention that the As wiped the Angels off the diamond?

Since class didn’t start till 1310, I watched the play-by-ply on my phone for the first couple of innings. And then, the third inning started shortly after the start of the class. I couldn’t resist and kept phone running while I desperately attempted to pay attention to the class. I mean really, defending medical malpractice vs watching the As score six runs in an inning?

It got worse, or better, depending on whether or not you want to feel sorry for the LA Angels.

Finally score? 21-2.

Lasted a bit longer

Holly Doyne Posted on by 1

at the ball game. It might have been because I wasn’t as cold. It might have been because the As were obviously doing a lot better than the previous evening.

In any case, had fun. We made a lot of noise. The As won (8:2).

This wasn’t a day on which I had to go to San Francisco. It wasn’t a day, as it turns out where I needed to give Daughter #2 a ride to/from work in the early hours of the morning. It was a day for reading, picking up the crop share (garlic, lots of tomatoes, melon, squash, cucumbers, grapes, apples etc) and sitting in on a class at Cal.

Without the travels, my life has become rather a blur from one day to the next with distinguishing characteristics based more on which classes I have rather than cities seen or interesting people met.

But I did get to avoid Dallas with George. There are a lot of places left in the world that I would like to visit. Dallas isn’t one of them….

Cold & wind

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

I didn’t last the whole game. It was cool. I can’t say it was cold; not when Minnesota or northern Sweden are my comparisons for what is really cold. Rather, my nose started to run, there ere way too many Yankee fans in our seating area. Once the sun went down, I was no longer blinded by the glare but the breeze came up.

All of this is either my excuse or explanation for heading home early. It explains why I missed seeing the As lose in the last couple innings.

And I survived my classes…

Interesting SPAM

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

most of the time I just delete everything that Askimet places in my SPAM folder. By and large, it is BOT produced comments that are about Canadian Pharmacies, penile enhancements, fund frauds, illiterate links and other fun stuff. I would say that it is not worth the reading.

Then there was the gem in today’s queue warning me that the Democrats are out to bring back the draft.

Oh, really? When did I miss that? Why hasn’t it been in the news?

And what is so horrible about having a draft? I should never ever vote for someone who thinks that others should serve their country like I did for, oh, let us say 33 years? Or that I might vote for someone who was not interested in cutting federal employee wages? Or that might leave my social security intact?

For the sake of not starting an argument with anyone who thinks Fox produces objective and well rounded news reporting, let me move on to reality.

The As beat the Yankees…….

Too much sports?

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Since George went with me to the baseball game last night, I owed him. Well, sort of.

Anyway, I went along to the Cal football game this afternoon. He has season tickets in Section E which turns out to be well placed as far as being out of the direct sun by the time you hit half time, but not as great since there are no backs to the seats. The couple sitting next to us were great, one of those behind ran his mouth continually until well into the third quarter. An amazing number of opinions. Can’t judge their accuracy, I just don’t care that much about American Football. I don’t dislike it terribly, not like boxing which I firmly believe needs to be outlawed completely in all education to include the military (hint – the sport in which you win by inflicting brain damage on your opponent. Yes, I am Army, but that doesn’t mean that the Navy or Air Force need their heads rung…).

From there it was on to the As game by way of BART. Unfortunately, the As didn’t manage a complete come back and lost 8-7. I made it to just about the end of the game…..

I don’t think I am going to go for two games in a day again.

Not counting an As doubleheader of which there is maybe one every few years.

Not so hot

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Or rather too hot.

My life this past week has fallen into the “not too terribly organized” which is not the way I really appreciate living. I like knowing “where my stuff is.” Which might just explain why I am so anal when traveling about placing everything in an exact place, not having anything cluttering up desks and counters and getting crabby about sharing space as I get older. Right now I am drifting between our house and that of the Eldest as she recovers from surgery. I am willing to leave her alone for a couple of hours, but not for an extensive time period. It doesn’t help that school is starting this week nor that the As are in the middle of a home stand.

Telling myself excuses much?

Today’s game was against the Astros. We had done decently to well in the last couple of games. The team, unlike one of the NYC teams, is not high on arrogance. But sometimes they just don’t completely have it together. The fan numbers were good but not great inspire of the front office providing discounts for students and encouraging large numbers of groups to attend the game. Our group was high energy with drum count at six and cowbells at least double that. Jose now has an As jersey that says “More Cowbells” in the name location and 149 for the player number.

The game started well, then the pitcher seemed to lose it. For that matter, it had been chilly in Richmond. It wasn’t in Oakland, but I wasn’t exactly dressed for the warmth. After six innings the As were down and I was significantly overheated. Since it didn’t seem like either of us had an alternative, I headed first home to pick up what I needed for tomorrow’s assignment and then back to Richmond.

Oh, and a stop at Safeway for ice cream… Best way to cool off….