Girls having fun in Maui; Stu bachelor week

Sandi, Jaida, and Stella (along with friend Jasmin, Kathy, Bob, Eli, and Lynda) are in Maui this week.  They are moving around a bit, but are now at the Grand Wailea.  I was supposed to go on this, but alas with my treatment, I couldn't go.  But, it availed me to:

Guys Bachelor Week ;)
High School Friends (Rob, Pete, Phil, Jeff, and friend DJ) and I took off last weekend for Lake Tahoe.  Pete braved the traffic and we relaxed in Belinda's cabin.  Highlights included dice, Gang of Four, boating (Jeff was our captain), and gliding (Pete and I had to squeeze into a very small seat).  And, Moe Gould (Pete) and Fla$h Ca$h (DJ) performed their first ever "D...heads Live" for us -- 27 years of creativity from a USC dorm room band and they were "here to rock".  Really great performance (for the 4 of us) -- and super excellent for a Bachelor Weekend.

Later this week, some of my CAL friends, friends through "Shopping Day"/Mardi Gras/Jazz Fest/college football/Giants/work/etc, are taking me to Vegas.  With my diet limited to 1 drink/night, this may be a different Vegas experience than my normal times out there -- but this group is a blast (and it may be nice to not be the "MVP" -- i.e. which of us gets the most crazy).

I'm doing a few minor chores, and frankly, watching a few movies that I needed to catch up on.

I only have 1 infusion left next week, and my treatment ends 8/14 before a 1 month break.  Minor side effects of hair loss started happening in the last few days, but no biggie.  No other side effects are manifesting themselves.

Thanks for all the ongoing thoughts and prayers, and for some of the locals driving me to UCSF and bringing over food.  All is good, and looking forward to finishing up for the time being on 8/14!
Stu

Onto the back-half of my treatment

Hard to believe that I'm already half-way through my initial "Standard of Care" treatment (radiation + chemo + a clinical trial).  So far, no side effects from the treatment and all is going well!

We've been having a ton of fun for the past few days:

• Stacy and Rich stayed with us for a weekend -- 3 months ago, they had just showed us all around Washington DC, so this time we got to host them for a day at Filoli, yummy Tiff/Dave bbq and wine tasting, Giants game, etc.
• My buddy Ljupco from CAL came into town from LA and we had a great time hanging out -- and going with Fred to lunch at San Wang, Giants game, etc.
• We got our new car!  Totally loving it.
• Played some more racquetball.  I had Mike Smith 10-0 (because he gave me a 10-point head start).  Ended up losing 15-10, but still a good time ;)
• Mike VH from high school came to visit, and he was very relaxed by Ken's massage chair
• Rides and great catch up to UCSF with Rob, Aaron, Alex, Brett, and others.  Brett really knows the city, and he took me to Mr. Holmes Bakehouse so that we could buy a Cruffin (croissant/muffin stuffed with chocolate mousse) for Jaida -- I got a picture!
• Special kudos to Alison and Rob for making some meals for us (and Rob's super-special SF tour)
• Steve-o hosted us for an As/Giants game and fireworks in Oakland.  Kudos to Steve S for driving through the 880 mess, and Ashby providing his normal levity ("where is that AUX port")
• Awesome seeing Julia and David's newly remodeled house and catching up over steak, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts dinner. 
• Happy Hallow with nieces Everly and Eden
• Going to an Improv comedy show in SJ with the B-ball friends -- man, SJ is hopping on Sat night!

Later this week, Sandi and the girls are taking off on a previously planned trip to Maui.  Bummer I can't go with my treatments, but oh boy -- some of the boys are planning some weekend fun for me!  (I keep telling them that I'm limited to 1 drink per night -- and for some reason, they keep sending me a 40 ounce glass with Crown Royal strapped to the side.  Oh boy!)

And, this week, Jaida is doing some room renovations -- so some bed disassembly and new installation.  (In truth, her existing bed IMHO was the most comfortable, but alas -- it seems that a twin bed is no longer efficient).

xoxo,

stu

Driving with Stu

Hey there,
Sandi here!  I thought it might be fun to have some friends drive with Stu and spend some time with him (sort of like "Car Talk" or "Karaoke Car Riding") .  I have a schedule of drives below that you can sign up to help with, if you're free and up for doing that.

It's about a 2 1/2 hour commitment.  Pick Stu up at the time stated on the google sheet, drop him of for a quick 20 minute treatment and then drive back.  Alternatively you could schedule something fun to do with him around SF after the treatment.  I think Stu is up for lunch, a trip to the zoo, the beach, a walk thru Golden Gate park, Filoli (we have a membership now) or whatever...
Just schedule it with Stu and sign up on the google spreadsheet.

Please sign up here if you'd like:

Driving with Stu

Driving with Stu Driving with Stu Time to pick up Stu, Driver, Phone#/ Email:,* Extra Activity( organize with Stu directly),* Y...

The girls and I are out of town July 26th through Aug 6th if you want to schedule some time to go out , bring a meal for just Stu, hang out at our house with Stu, walk Buddy, get in a workout...

Hope that this will bring some fun times for you and Stu!
Sandi

Happy Birthday to twin brother Ken!!!

7/9 (Post by Stu):  Yep, best start to the birthday.  Just finished my quick treatments for today.  Now,  the family and Leland are going to Duartes in Pescadero for Olallieberry Pie and Artichoke soup.

Some other birthday week stuff going on:
*  All week:  Exercise -- Leland has been taking me to the Elks for racquetball.  I had to rip off the sole of my shoes bc he got ahead of me and I had to claim a uniform malfunction.
*  Wednesday @ 1pm:  Stu and Leland are buying semi-cheap day game Giants tickets (anyone is welcome to join us)
*  Weekend:  partying locally -- friends coming in town from Maryland and LA

Thanks to all who can pre-celebrated my birthday with me.  Thanks so much to Saori O'Reilly and the Ten-ichi crew for a great night and surprise with the Cal Band theme.  And, good times at Santa Cruz beach boardwalk to play with the Dorns, Ken Elefant's family, and Sharon.

Special thanks to brother Ken for the birthday massage chair -- it's especially needed for Leland when I beat him in racquetball.

Treatments are all going well.  No side effects.  And, fun drives up to UCSF.

7/3 - Sandi here - Day 1 of treatment done!  Thanks for all the prayers, texts, comments, mindfulness and love!!  Stu is doing great after today.  It was a long day of shifting from one hospital room to another, but the people who we have dealt with are pretty awesome.   Thanks to Uncle Leland for holding down the fort at home this past week!  Our girls are having so much fun with him here!!  (Us too!!).  Thanks to Grandma Nat for popping in with her famous brisket and fresh veggies, for walking Buddy, for taking Jaida to school... and that was just the help we had this week!!

Thanks Ken & Stephanie for the amazing massage chair!! We absolutely love it!! It is SO relaxing!!

Activity:
We were thinking that it would be fun to do some R & R at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on Sunday 7/8 at 12:30pm on the beach.  Whole family fun!!  Bring the kids and play around on the beach, bring a picnic or pick up lunch at the boardwalk. Just come if you can, no need to RSVP.  We plan to be there all day and we'd love to hang out with friends!!  We will try to be on the beach parallel to the Haunted House.  Look for a small yellow tent, text me or Stu if you cannot find us.

PS - It's Stu and Ken's Birthday weekend, so feel free to sing them Happy Birthday when you see them :)  The best gift they could ask for is your presence!! No other gifts required!!