My Beard Is Gone

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Friday night, I decided to shave my beard off. Not a big deal, but considering it's been part of my "look" for the past six years or so, you'd think more people would make comments. Of course, Andy said something about it when he cut my hair on Saturday. He was just about the only one. My family didn't say anything until I pointed it out to them (they claimed to have not noticed). I spent Saturday night playing poker at Craig and Jen's place and none of the people there said anything all night. No one at the office has said anything this morning, either. Weird.

Weekend Recap

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Got lots of stuff done this weekend. Saturday's weather was crummy, so I took the day to run some errands. First off was finding a place that would patch the tire on my car. (I picked up nails in my rear tires after the guys from LICB finished framing out our extension upstairs.) I got that done in Riverhead and then got a haircut. Andy, the guy who has been cutting my hair for over 15 years at Main Street Haircutters in Riverhead went in recently for open heart surgery. Evidently, he had some chest pains and went in for a stress test and some other cardio tests. They brought him in for a quadruple bypass, from which he's slowly recovering. Andy was back to work within 12 days of the surgery, which I find amazing. He's taking frequent breaks at work, but he's back to cutting hair. Best to Andy and his family - take it easy and don't rush things.

On Mother's Day, I cleaned out the grill and got some new propane in time to make Mom dinner. I picked up two big London Broil steaks at My Butcher and marinated them for the whole day. I also made that South Beach recipe that uses cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes, but I added some garlic to try to approximate garlic mashed potatoes, which went nicely with the steak. Kim made her 7-layer salad, too. Mom got a gift certificate for some makeup at Sephora from Kim and Rob. I bought her an ice cream maker and some ice cream dishes, which we can't wait to try out.

Next weekend, there's plenty of work to be done around the house. There are a few stumps that need to come out of the ground near the pool. Plus, I may take a tree out in the back yard near the garden so that that whole area can get some sun for growing vegetables and whatnot. I want to see if I can rent a skidsteer for a day so I can pull the stumps and some shrubs from around the pool, clear out the garden area and maybe make some "adjustments" to the landscaping around the yard. We'll see...

Bad News

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Irit Spitalnik called me today. I thought we were going to have one of our usual cheery chats about the industry, her family and how life is going. Not this time. Irit told me she has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She's beginning her chemotherapy regimen tomorrow at Sloane.

When she told me this, I had the worst flashback I've had in a while. Lots of things went through my mind, including the day my mom called me at school and told me about her ovarian cancer. I thought about Irit's usual upbeat demeanor. I thought about her husband, Michael. I thought about their 14-year-old daughter. It hit me pretty hard.

If there's anyone who can beat this, it's Irit. I've never seen her down in the dumps. She's one of those people who has so much energy and positive vibes coming off her at all times that she brightens up a room. I know she'll beat this thing.

Irit let me know that she's grateful for the support she's received from her friends and family and folks in the online marketing industry. It's giving her the strength she needs to face this thing. If you want to send something to Irit, drop your e-mail address in comments and I'll send you her e-mail address and home address so you can send a card or note of encouragement.

1/13/2006 Update: I learned a couple nights ago that Irit has passed on. I've started a new thread so we can share details on funeral arrangements and share our favorite Irit stories. Link here.