Open during construction

Yesterday was my monthly oncologist appointment, so I decided to beat the afternoon traffic up to the UW hospital and hang out for an hour or so at the nearby University Village -- maybe check out the new Mac Leopard operating system at the Apple Store.

But when I got there the Apple Store front was covered in black paper, with a sign saying they were closed for the past week or so plus the coming one for renovation. Bummer. And also, I thought, dumb timing: This is the big Leopard rollout, with most stores staying open late last Friday when the software went on sale. How could they pass on all that sure business?

So I killed some time with a cup of coffee then headed over to UW for the appointment. No giant headlines there. I saw Dr. Spence this time instead of his trusty nurse practitioners, and at Michelle's urging I tried not to gloss over or downplay the side effects I've been having during chemo. Spence seemed mildly concerned -- though not greatly concerned -- and he decided to lower my Temodar dose again, for the second time in three months.

Michelle asked whether the lower strength would hamper the effectiveness of the treatment. No, he said, if you're having symptoms that's a pretty good sign that the drug is doing something.

OK. As I often feel during these meetings, that sounded a bit like spin to my cynical bullshit detector. I thought our drunk-driving City Council candidate here should hire Dr. Spence to be her spokesman. "If Venus is blowing a 0.111," he could say, "that's a pretty good sign that her campaign is intoxicating."

Anyway, I'll begin the new round next week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. Unlike the Apple Store I don't shut down completely during my renovation, although it can be a bit messy operating at one-quarter speed.

I need a sign like they have at some of those customer-friendly construction sites: Please pardon the dust.