Month: February 2013

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Return to Los Angeles


We arrived in LA on Tuesday which was a gloomy day. We picked up some groceries at Trader Joe’s where Nancy ran into an old acquaintance and as we pulled our suitcases into Nancy’s studio apartment it started to rain.

My next goal in life is to write a book, so we’re watching a lot of films. Last week we saw The Hungergames which I thought was a really interesting story about a future in which oppressed people have to sacrifice boys and girls for a gladiator-like reality tv show in which only one survivor can win and live. Of course, the two main characters both live and there is a sequel in the make.

On Wednesday we planned to meet Nancy’s friends Antar and Chris at the Coffee Bean. Only they were waiting at the Coffee Bean at Hollywood for us while we were chilling in the sun on Sunset. When they came to meet us (yes, Nancy can be very persuasive!) we had a great time. We then went to the Urth Cafe for a very tasty organic lunch. Nancy needed to pick up her credentials for the Oscars and she arranged a day pass for me, so I met her colleagues Caprise and Kelly. They all work on the pre-show which is a big deal because they cover the red carpet arrivals and major interviews take place. The show airs live on Sunday at 5 pm PST so the timing is crucial. It was fun to see the red carpet – which is really wide – maybe 40 or 50 meters or so – and the length of a full city block with a huge tent in the middle and bleachers on the sides. They were still putting everything together for the show. Of course, Nancy knows everyone so we had to stop every 20 meters to greet someone she knows. I’m particularly impressed by her LAPD connections, always handy!

Afterwards we went to the Grove to get some things Nancy needed for her work. At night we headed out to Marina Del Rey to meet Annet and Henriette at the Cheesecake Factory for the best food and views in town.
Cheese cake facory
We had a great time and Nancy and Henriette actually ordered cheesecake which I’ve never done before. That’s not to say that they ate much, just nibbles and they took it back in boxes. Nancy had the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake and Henriette ordered the Oreo Cheesecake (it has a different name though) which was very good of her because the proceeds go to a children’s charity.
Henriette in cheesecake factory
On Thursday I dropped Nancy off at her hairdresser’s and drove to Newport Beach where I met Michael, Teresa and their poodle Sophie. Sophie is 18 months old and they got her from the rescue. They’ve trained her and she is very well behaved!
Michael, Teresa and Sophiewith Teresa and Sophie
On the way back I met Nancy at the Grove and then we headed back to her place.

On Friday we met Annet and Henriette at the Coffee Bean at Universal, and thanks to Nancy’s friend Mark we were admitted as his guests to the park. This was a huge favor and made our day!
Rick, Henriette, Mark, Nancy and Sheila
It was a gorgeous sunny day. We had a great time!

Last night we met our cousins Payal and Rakhi and our auntie Nevedita in the Pink Pepper, a Thai restaurant near Nancy’s house. It was wonderful to meet them, I had not met my cousins before and they are beautiful and very sweet!
Nancy and our cousin Rakhiour cousin Payal and auntie Nevedita
I was so happy to meet them after all these years! They made such an effort to meet with us, and we had a great time. As you can tell, this was maybe the most important item on my bucket list! Fortunately, I’m still feeling very good. As I’m finishing this blog entry it is Saturday morning in LA, and the skies are blue. Nancy left for work at 7 this morning and she works until 7 or 8 tonight and tomorrow. And on Monday we’ll head back home.

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Stopover in Santa Barbara


We left Monterey on Sunday as the weather turned, cloudy and dark. Unfortunately we got a parking ticket because we were late refilling the parking meter. Driving past Carmel we stopped at Point Lobos State Reserve. Although the skies were cloudy, the state reserve was quite busy and once we saw the view we realized why it was popular.

The state reserve stretches along a rocky coast, with beautiful ocean views. The path winds along the sandstone rocks, rising here and there and offering views over the caves, hidden beaches and wildlife.
Point Lobos 1
We saw cormorants (a black slender bird the size of reigers), pelicans flew by us, soaring right next to the cliffs we were standing on and in the water we could see seals hanging like surfers.
Point Lobos 1
It was somewhat cold so after we walked along the ocean for a hour or so we returned to the car and hit the road. Nancy drove us back to Carmel where we stopped at the CVS and Starbucks. There was a homeless man (maybe an old veteran) sitting at a bench outside CVS. I saw another man give him dogfood for his very cute terrier. On the way out I gave him a vitamin water and chocolate chip cookies and complimented him on his pets – he also had a green parrot on his shoulder – and he was very grateful. We then drove via Salinas to the 101 South where we passed a Rabobank, of all places, Salinas seemed very odd to me being Steinbeck country. And as Boom Chicago says “who would take their money to a ‘Rob-a-bank’” – there really seems no other way to pronounce Rabobank in English. We saw three huge Rabobank offices just on the drive to Santa Barbara.

It was a four hour drive to Santa Barbara but thanks to my wonderful sense of misdirection (sending Nancy north when we should have gone south on State Street and ending up in Goleta instead of Santa Barbara, and then taking the downtown exit when we should have waited), we saw all of Santa Barbara by night, which is not very much but my mishaps took us nearly an hour longer. All I can say for myself is that Google Maps spoiled me, and since I have no data outside of the free wifi at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Apple Store I’m basically a lost case when it comes to navigating. Of course, once we got to Cabrillo Street – which sounds a lot like Carillo which we thought we needed – we expected to see the Santa Barbara Inn. Well, Santa Barbara is quite dark at night and it was hard to find. Turns out we were about 100 meters away when Nancy called the front desk and the receptionist had us turn around. 5 minutes later Nancy turned back and we finally arrived, exhausted and cranky (me, that is, Nancy is a weather-beaten traveler who is not easily phased).

We checked out the bistro at the Hilton next door but it was too fancy for my taste and so we took the car and headed downtown. Downtown Santa Barbara was pretty dead on Monday night, which happened to be President’s Day. Some bars and restaurants were open but all were pretty quiet. On the street we passed a homeless woman in a wheelchair who asked for help. Of course, I said, as I gave her three dollars.

We then had soft tacos at the Chipotles and Nancy fetched bottled water from the car. I really feel bad eating out when there are people just outside who don’t have food or a home to go to. Then the lady wheeled inside the Chipotles to use the bathroom – and they were very kind to her, helping her out and straightening her clothes for her.

Since we don’t eat much, we had one veggie taco and one bottle of water left over which I gave her outside. It was much appreciated. Still, I felt a bit down the next day and didn’t enjoy Santa Barbara as much as I had expected. Even though the sun shone it was cold as the wind picked up a bit.
Santa Barbara1

Santa Barbara 2
The shops were very nice though, and we stopped at an olive oil shop where the shopkeeper Robert – once he heard we were from Holland – told us he loves Kinder surprise eggs (the chocolate eggs made of milk and white chocolate with the little gifts inside). So I made a promise to send him some. He has a webshop (www.vivaoliva.com) so anyone who loves olive oil can order some here. We passed a wonderful teashop with beautiful japanese teapots and teacups. I wouldn’t mind buying some, but the prospect of trying to stuff them in my suitcase stopped me. So I bought some loose leaf herbal tea called Tranquil Dreams and filter bags.

We stopped by the beach and took some pictures of the seagulls and waves and then headed south down the 101.
meeuwen Santa Barbara

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My friends in San Francisco


As many of you know, the reason for this trip was to visit my dear friends Erin, Laurie and Laura in San Francisco. My journey with cancer has really opened my eyes to the fact that my family and friends (all of you!) mean more to me than anything in the world. So reconnecting with my friends was the driving force behind this trip. Thanks to Nancy who made this all possible: she took care of my ticket, has driven me everywhere and has been a great trooper putting up with my whims and whiles.

So Nancy drove us along highway 1 because I’m afraid of heights! We spent the night in Monterey at the Intercontinental and had a nice ocean view. I felt a bit queasy so we had a soup and cheese plate at the hotel. The next morning was beautiful, gorgeous ocean views and a Starbucks around the corner.
hotel monterey
As we left we stopped at the Cafe la Strada to pick up a lunch to go. It is part of a very nice hotel which looked very exclusive (and expensive).
We are sitting there now on our way back to LA.

From Monterey we drove along highway 1 past Santa Cruz and up to San Francisco, with beautiful vistas along the way. Our first stop in SF was Erin’s place in Greenbrae which is above the Golden Gate bridge on a hill.
Golden Gate Bridge
We met her and her wonderful son Alec at the Bon Air shopping center and then followed them up the hill in the dark. Brad was in Boston visiting his dad who is very ill. We ate a great salad Nicoise and had a chance to catch up.

I think it’s been more than 10 years since we last saw each other (before Alec was born, and he is now 9). Erin is a documentary film producer. We’ve been great friends since going to UPenn together (University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia). We also worked together on documentaries for schools at the time. Erin has been working for the Teaching Channel, making documentaries in schools and producing resources for teachers across the country. She is so passionate about her work, it is really inspiring!
Erin, Alec and Monty
They have a wonderful dog named Monty, part border collie and australian shepard (Erin correct me if I’m wrong!). He is 15 years old, has a soft beautiful coat and is very sweet.

We had a leisurely morning, had coffee at Peet’s, and walked around the neighborhood by the water with Monty. Later on Nancy and I went into the city looking for a Paul Frank store (Nancy loves Lucius the monkey!). Unfortunately it was shut down. Now the only store we know of that is still open is in Kuala Lumpur. Perhaps when we visit my dad there we can go there…. Since that store was closed we went into Banana Republic, Nancy bought a nice winter jacket and a shirt and skirt for me. Thanks to the lady helping us I think we got a huge discount: 25% off the clothes, another 20 for taking the card and 10 for buying a tote bag. Not bad!

At night we met Erin at her friend Mark’s boat in Sausalito harbor. We also met Gary and Armand (not sure about the spelling). It was fun to have a pineapple juice on a beautiful boat in the bay! Heard some great stories.
Mark and Alec
Alec wasn’t feeling so well though, so we ate at Erin’s house. Alec got worse and wasn’t feeling so good. He’s such a great and smart kid, we were very impressed by his navigational skills!

On Sunday morning Nancy and I drove across the Richmond bridge to meet my friend Laura. Laura and I met at UT Austin where she did her master’s and I did a year in the PhD program. We had some trouble finding her house but once we did we had a great time talking with Laura, Jeff and their beautiful daughter Lucia.
Jeff, Laura and Lucia
Laura worked as a communications director for a non-profit but is now considering a career change and working on radio interviews. Jeff is an audio engineer at Dolby and told us about the next generation of theater sound! Lucia seemed happy to serve everyone (she is nearly three and so beautiful!).
Our visit was short but great fun! We talked about doing a series on people who are 80+ and active – an idea Erin and I came up with.

We went back to Greenbrae to pick up our bags, say goodbye to Erin and Alec (who was still sick) and left with lots of lemons from their lemon tree.
lemon tree
One of them fell out of my arms into the street and rolled down the hill (a lost lemon!).
Erin and Sheila
Next we drove into the city to meet Laurie in the park. I wanted to see the Japanse Tea Garden again, one of my favorite spots in the city. As we drove along Presidio it became apparent that left turns are not allowed! In fact, it’s almost impossible to make a left turn anywhere in SF!

Laurie was already waiting for us! She’s been to Holland a few times to see us, had been at our wedding in 2005 and again a few years later. She’s such a trooper! She moved to San Ramon because of work, but the work isn’t that great and she misses San Diego. Me too!
Laurie and I worked together at HP back in 96-98. She’s specialized in training and management at high tech companies so if anyone knows of a great company in San Diego let us know!

We walked circles in the Japanese tea garden, thinking it was much bigger than it actually was.
Laurie and Sheila in the Japanse Tea Garden
Then we decided to go have drinks at a mexican place: guava juice for me, ice tea for Nancy and (free!) sparkling water for Laurie. We ordered nachos but they were tossed in a super spicy chili sauce that was way too hot for all of us. So out with the nachos and in with their home made chips, which were a bit too hard for my taste. We decided to eat sushi and looked in the guide book for a good sushi place. There was one on Geary – “no frills and fresh fish” – that sounded good so we headed there. We had to wait for 40 minutes outside to get a seat, but boy was it worth the wait! The best sushi ever! We had salmon avocado rolls, tempura shrimp roll and the spicy tuna tartar with mango. It was divine.
Kabuto's
Shrimp tempura roll
At about 9 we dropped Laurie off at the BART station on Market so she could take the train home and we went on our way to Monterey. Which is were we are now.

Today is the first cloudy day since I’ve been here (this is my 9th day here). So we’re taking it easy. We may visit Carmel and then head back to the 101 to Santa Barbara/or drive on to LA. We’ll see and I’ll let you know. Today is President’s day, so Happy Presidents Day everyone!
Ciao!

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Highway 1


Yesterday was a beautiful day. We had spent the night in Cambria where a walkway offers spectaculair ocean views. After taking pictures with my analog camera (yes, I’m back to the pre-digital age, so you’ll have to wait a few weeks for those shots!), Nancy drove us up to Hearst Castle. We took the Upstairs tour, and saw the lavishly decorated guest bedrooms and Mr. Hearst’s private suites and library. The library was magnificent. He had over 8000 books, divided between his personal library on the 3rd floor and the guest library on the second floor. Apparently his mistress Mary Davies used the largest persian carpet (about as big as the ground floor in our house!) for doing summer saults.
Hearst Castle
After the tour, we headed up Highway 1. We stopped to take a look at the sea lions, and made a second stop at the cove where the sea lions were mating and baby sea lions were basking in the sun. It was amazing to see these huge creatures (the males were about 5000 pounds and looked like they were 2,5-3 meters long). The babies looked the size of mature seals. They made funny noises, and several bulls were fighting and trying to mate with the females (who tried to scuttle away). Very spectacular to see!
sealions1
sheila and sealions
Next we traveled up the coast, passing beautiful views – interspersed with construction sites – and deep drops.
sheila pch1
Good thing we drove on the mountain side because there was no safety rail on the steep cliff side. We stopped at Nepanthes restaurant (www.nepenthebigsur.com/) with beautiful views and a wonderful gift shop.
nepenthes
It got dark as we left, but Nancy drove confidently and within the hour we reached Monterey.
We’re now enjoying our breakfast and discussing our plans for today. Back to Point Lobos to see beautiful views or onward to Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and then San Francisco. Today we’ll drive through SF to Greenbrae to stay with my friend Erin. It’s been 10 years since we last met so lots to catch up on. I’ll keep you posted.

PS photos taken by Nancy!

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California sun!


After working on the Grammy’s with Nancy for two days, we had some time off yesterday and today! Today is beautiful weather, warm and sunny, 20 degrees C. Here I am in the sun outside the coffee bean.

So the Grammy’s were quite an experience. We started around 9.30 on Saturday and Nancy’s job was to manage the artists doing the Tributes, so the combinations including Elton John, Mumford & sons, Mavis Staples and Brittany Howard. Also Sting, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and the Marley Brothers. There was also the finale with LL cool J, Chuck D, Z-trip, Tom Morello and Travis Barker. Nancy had arranged a hotel room on Saturday night which was great because I was pretty tired by 6 pm. She worked till 9 and we had a bite to eat at Wolfgang Puck.

Sunday was the big show day. in the morning everyone had to be on time for the big rehearsal. Because it is a live show, the timing is crucial. At one point on Sunday Elton wanted to talk to Tom Morello so I took Elton’s manager to Tom’s dressing room which was in the Nokia building. We had to take a long underground tunnel to get there and took Tom back to Elton’s dressing room. I mostly helped Nancy by keeping track of which stars entered the Staples building on Sunday. I saw Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. Also Mr X (Jay-Z) and Nancy saw JLo on the red carpet.
During the show, there are many artists and presenters who all need to be ready at the right place and time. Johnny Depp was a presenter and he was late. Nancy saved the show by getting him to the stage on time, by taking a golf cart down the ramp.
We also helped Mavis Staples who was a lovely older lady who had some trouble walking. It was fun to see Nancy’s colleagues Patty, Vanessa, Chantel, Jacky, Dana and many more who all were really sweet.
We must have walked many miles those two days so I feel that sitting here in the sun is a well deserved break for both of us! Some of my friends on the East Coast have just had a blizzard and snow storm, power outages and freezing cold! I’m thinking of you and hope spring will come soon!

I’ll keep you posted!

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Forgotten, lost and found


Dear friends,

I had promised to write you after my appointment at the hospital but to my shame I missed it. I thought it was at 3 PM but it was in the morning so for the first time in my life I missed a doctor’s appointment. When I called it was no big deal and I had my appointment for the 26th and 1st of March already lined up. I asked the secretary if I still needed to come to have my blood levels tested but she checked with the oncologist and it wasn’t necessary.

Apart from prickly fingers (it’s called the hand-foot syndrome where you get red hands and/or feet that feel sensitive to hot and tingling sensation) and the occasional nausea I don’t have any side effects.

On Thursday I went to visit Alice. Victor called me when I had nearly arrived to ask about the keys to his car. I had taken the spare one but he couldn’t find his keys and he had to go to class. Fortunately he found them in time or else I would have had to turn back.

It was great to see Alice, her mom and stepmom. And Arthur has grown a lot – he weighs what a 3 month old baby should weigh, even though he was born at 33 weeks. He’s a really beautiful and sweet baby, likes to be held by his parents and when sitting in his seat he smiles and is very quiet. Perfect baby!

Alice is doing much better now that her dosage of Oxyplatin has been lowered. She is also taking Xeloda (Capecitabine) but a bit more than I am because she is taller. We talked about all the things we are and have been going through and had a few laughs as well. She was quite an interesting case for her hospitals because few people under 5o have colon cancer and combined with pregnancy made her something of an attraction. Fortunately she is doing better now, and has chemo until April. We talked of writing a book together which seems like a fun and useful thing to do in the coming months.

Later on Ingrid and Erwin came by and we had a nice talk. But at night I felt tired and had a slight fever.

That night I repacked my suitcase, following my husband’s advice that I could always buy what I need in LA. So I left the casual clothing and backed what I consider the bare necessities (bathing suit, dress, silk shirt, toiletries, 1 pair of nice shoes, 1 pair walking shoes, 2 pants, 2 shirts and underwear) but he considered it overkill. “You only need your toothbrush and underwear” I remember Victor saying. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my prescription sunglasses anywhere!

The trip to LA went smoothly. Nancy had arranged a business class seat with her airmiles so that I could sleep. It was great. The vegan meal (closest they had to vegetarian options) turned out to be a huge green salad followed by stir-fried veggies, broccoli and rice. I was pretty full and had enough greens to last me a week. When I collected all my personal belongings, just before we landed in Chicago, I lost my iPod nano in the chair. Took the chair apart but still couldn’t find it. The cabin crew helped me, even the purser sat on the floor to try to get to it but no luck. I waited till everyone was off the plane and then asked the customer service lady. She asked the mechanic to help and he went into the plane with her. 5 minutes later the purser triumphantly held up a small item, “look what we found!” and yes, I had my ipod back. Nancy had given it to me years ago, so it was great to have it back.

The transfer in Chicago went smoothly, got a break at the passport control when they took us to a special newly opened lane. Only the security check took forever and people got somewhat irritated having to wait so long (took an hour). The plane was delayed waiting for baggage, so it was no problem. The flight to LA went smoothly. At Schiphol I bought a book at the last minute called “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” by Rachel Joyce, about an ordinary man who does an extraordinary thing: he decides to visit an old friend who is dying of cancer by walking across England. Oddly enough, at one point he meets an oncologist in Bath who explains the difference between a primary cancer and a secondary cancer, and gives the example of a primary breast tumor with a secondary tumor in the liver (which is breast cancer, not liver cancer). And that is exactly what I have. So odd to read about it in this way.

At LAX I was picked up by a driver and car which Nancy had arranged. It was raining and about 12 degrees Centigrade. I was in her appartment at 7.30 PM. Nancy came home an hour later, and pretty soon I fell asleep.

This morning I woke up well rested. Today is a big day for her at the Grammy’s with two all-star medley performances. But first we had some Trader Joe’s cereal and now we’re off to the Coffee Bean.

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