Prison Break

On Friday afternoon, ecstatic with the prospect of a weekend without any strapping and zapping, I jumped on the train to Toronto from Montreal. I was eager to set aside some physical and emotional distance from the hospital and from the dark shadow that radiation had cast on my being, and elated to be returning to my own apartment. (My parents are in Montreal and they have been immensly supportive. Their medical background and connection to the hospital where I am being treated is a main reason why I received chemo and now radiation in Montreal.)

Back in Toronto, feeling positively giddy with freedom, I packed in a full weekend of activities. Brunch with a friend, Susan and her husband, was followed by two back-to-back exercises classes. One was Gingadeira, which is derived from Capoeira, a Brazilian type of martial arts dance with some African influence. The dance can be spectacular when two professionals weave in and out of various kick and defense poses, or spectacularly pathetic when done by yours truly. After this I did yoga, which made me feel liberated and whole.
Susan (right) and I in October, 2007 at her piano concert














With time to spare before dinner, I snuck in a manicure (colour: O.P.I. Got-a-date-to-knight) at a place that gives you a back massage while your nails dry! The aestheticians are Chinese and the massage they perform is like no other - they can find pressure points you never knew you had, which makes the experience verge on erotic, and then they rythmically beat your back in a technique that, based on my google search, is called "tapotement". (Either that or "assault".) Honestly, you can practically attain nirvana with those two minute nail-dry massages.

At night I went for dinner with my in-laws and family friends, and then played poker with friends Phil and Julie. All this was done sans husband, who was in Calgary for a few days on business. Sunday morning was the party for my new little neice Aliza - which is why my in-laws were in town - and then it was back to Montreal for another week of having my body burned and my soul sapped.