news

My grandmother is back in the hospital again. She got very weak from the radiation and not eating and had a fall. My mother flew out to be with her, which appears to have been a really good thing bc the doctors didn't think she would live thru last night. Except that she did.

In the meantime, Jane's mother has pancreatic cancer and Carolyn Helmke breast cancer. I don't have any updates on those. I am really worried about my mother if she loses bother her mommy and her twin sister in one year. She's never been good at taking care of herself. It seems like now would be a good time to start, but sometimes people can't change.

I asked my friend Tina about the uprisings in France (she lives in Paris), and here's what she said:
> yeah, i think things were kinda crazy up in saint
> dennis, etc. but not in central paris. and i do think
> the media kind of had a field day with it, bc i have a
> friend who lives there and another who works there and
> they both said they didn't really see anything and
> weren't affected. they live right in "93" the
> supposedly really bad part. i did see 2 burned cars
> in paris near pack villette in the 19th...not far from
> that bar where we tried to hear reggae on nuit
> blanche...the 2 cars did kinda freak me out. but
> that's about it!
I asked Bertrand for news of Strasbourg, but I haven't heard anything back yet.

Gabe and I hungout last night and had lots of interesting conversation as always. We went to this workshop on what the guy calls "practical wisardry" which was basically a motivational class. The bottom line is pay attention to how your body feels to know what you want and then think positively about getting it. He used a lot of self-help, science, and motivational jargon, but that was his main message.

He also spent a very long time talking about his life story. He worked in television bc he liked to watch it. Then he joined an internet startup where he wasn't paid enough. Then he became a web developer where he was happy for a few years. Having known my share of techies, I would just love to hear someone have a more interesting story to tell. Like how you farmed in Africa or meditated for 3 years in northern India or sold jewelry at Dead shows. Anything!

I took a lot of notes from the class and maybe I will type them up for you anyway. I do admire his wanting to be a motivational teacher, but it might not be the best medium for him. I could listen to Garrison Keiller read his shopping list out loud, but there are lots of other people who just shouldn't talk. Or maybe they just need coaching.

That said, I do think the class helped me. And more than that, talking with Gabe helped. I'm ready to conquer.