Branford Marsalis at Catalina Jazz Club

I've been back in Los Angeles for almost three years now, but I haven't taken nearly enough advantage of the entertainment available. Visiting Catalina jazz club with Nicole and Dad was a step in the right direction.

Most of the time I don't recognize upcoming people on the Catalina calender, I had't been there since it used to be located on Cahuenga. The new place seems bigger. We got a table in a perfect spot close to the stage. Dinner was perfectly adequate, the equivalent of paying $8 for a beer at a stadium. Dessert was more than adequate.

The show was perfectly entertaining, Branford Marsalis and his group are at the top of their game. Many transcendent moments. The piano player wrote some terrific songs, I'll have to find out what his name is. They played a Thelonious Monk song that I recognized called "Monk's Dream".

Watching Branford Marsalis on TV never gave me an accurate sense of his physical presence. I was amazed. This guy is tall, handsome, charming, witty, talented, charismatic, well dressed, confident, and he doesn't perspire. I can't get any taller, but I could work on my charisma.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the show, but Nicole and I are in the middle of packing to move to Pasadena and it'll have to wait.

Feeling Better

After about a week and a half of Methimazole medication my condition has improved remarkably. I no longer feel poisoned and exhausted all the time. I’m not so itchy but my voice will still disappear now and then. I’ve gained some weight back and my heart has calmed down.

The top picture is what I look like tonight. Nicole looked at the bottom picture (from a week and a half ago) and she said “That looks like Patrick Swayze.” Flash photography does little for anyone’s features, but I felt as bad as I look.

More good news - Nicole and I are moving, we’re going to rent a condo in Pasadena. Pictures and details to follow.

Saturday was fun. Nicole and Mom went to hear a writer speak at a women’s club and I took myself out to breakfast. I still can’t have coffee but I went to Starbucks afterwards and ate pastries. All the while I was reading the book Sideways, ha!, so entertaining! I can’t recommend it because it’s appalling, but I was ever slapping my knee. We borrowed the Ciaran Hinds version of “The Mayor of Casterbridge” DVD from the library and we went to Moffetts chicken pie shoppe for dinner. The horror of Hyperthyroid is abating.

Hyperthyroid (I’m a Wreck)

Compare for yourself from the pictures above: less that three months ago, at Christmastime, I was full-jowled and jolly. I would even wear funny hats. Now look at me. I’ve lost twenty pounds, I’m weak as a kitten, I'm exhausted all the time, my heart is always going like bongos, my voice is hoarse, I’m itchy and I’m restricted from coffee. It’s almost impossible to e-mail, can’t write, after work the most I can do is read. Watching lots of TV, “Intervention”, “Ghost Hunters”.

The doctor recommended a drug called Methimazole. It has potential side-effects: it can cause a rash on your chest, nausea, itching, muscle pain, headache, drowsiness, or change in taste (?). That sounds about as bad as, if not worse than, what I got now. I went to see the doctor yesterday to hear about the alternates.

“Well,” says he, “If you can’t tolerate Methimazole, you can swallow a radioactive capsule that will neutralize your thyroid permanently. You’ll have to take hormones for the rest of your life. Or we could remove your thyroid surgically and you would also have to take hormones for the rest of your life.” I chuckled in disbelief.

“That’s a very narrow alley of treatments,” says I. He did not chuckle with me.

I picked up the Methimazole at the pharmacy on the way home. Took my first dose last night, gonna take my second dose in a few minutes. The doctor says it’ll take three weeks to feel the good of it. I still feel terrible, but so far no chest rash, etc.

And what’s worse, when Nicole and I met Mom for St. Patrick’s Day dinner at Coco’s they had already run out of corned beef and cabbage. They said they ran out at about 3 p.m.