Cancer Chat

Today at the monthly checkup, we learned that Mark's blood work shows a slight dip in all the many markers that tell us how his immune system is doing. Neutrofils and White Blood Cell counts were down, but only slightly. Just to be careful though, they decided to give him a 20 percent lower dose of chemo for the coming month.

Mark's decided to start the course on Tuesday so we can have a nice, non-barfy labor day weekend.

Arrived in the mail in the past two days: Screenplays for Chinatown and The Last Detail (Robert Towne); Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink (the amazing Ethan and Joel Coen); Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan and Stardust Memories (do I have to say? Woody Allen) and American Beauty (Alan Ball).

And now, Mark's pushing play on The Exorsist.

"This movie really freaked me out when I was 17," he says. "For some reason, it just really got me."

Once, we were at the movie theater, and the Director's Cut Exorcist was one of the previews, and Mark was looking quite a bit freaked out, so of course, at a particulary intense moment in the preview, I leaned over and yelled "AAAUGH" in his ear. He about jumped out of his seat.

That was fun.