Last night was actually a bit better. I only got up twice (04:00 and 06:00) with coughing fits. Desney’s been sleeping in the guest room, which is a bit depressing for me as I obviously miss her in bed, but she needs her sleep as she’s doing absolutely everything in this house and still finding the time to take care of me.
I had an early radiation appointment today so I hurried through the morning and was ready to go by 12:30. I didn’t have any lunch but I thought I’d grab something afterwards. I arrived on time for my appointment (13:00) and they were only slightly late. I was finished by 13:35. I told them I needed to see the doctor for my weekly appointment and they had me wait in the waiting room. The assistant came out about 10 minutes later to tell me that the doctor would be arriving until about 15:00 and I wouldn’t be able to see him until about 15:30 at the earliest. Wouldn’t it be better to see him tomorrow? I certainly wasn’t going to sit around in THAT waiting room for a couple of hours after my treatment especially as, for once; I actually had plans for the afternoon.
The best laid plans of mice and men… Today is the opening of the new Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) in France. I promised the kids I’d take them if I was feeling up to it. The plan was that I would have my radiation at 13:00, see a doctor by 13:45 and be home by 14:30. We’d then go see a showing of the film sometime around 16:00. I’d pick up Alexandra and Jessica from home and head to the cinema.
A brief paragraph for the foreigners in the audience: Foreign films, and television shows for that matter, are shown in VF (version française – dubbed in French) throughout France. Luckily for us in Paris and the Paris region there are certain cinemas where we can sometimes see films in VO (version originale – original audio track with French subtitles). However not all films are shown in VO, especially children’s films, and they’re shown under special conditions (particular times, days and theatres). We (the Erbs) see all English-language films in VO even if it means we don’t see them in the cinema and have to wait for the DVD.
The first part of the plan that fell apart was the show time. The theatres showing Harry Potter in VO had times of either around 15:00 or around 17:30. Nothing in between. We therefore decided to rush to the 15:10 showing at the Porte de Clichy which is relatively close to the house. I got home in time and Alexandra had gotten home, after her English class, had already had lunch and was ready to go. We left in the car at 14:30 having told Jessica to meet us at the cinema. Normally it should have been about a 20 minute drive at the maximum. Of course today traffic was just ridiculous! We arrived in the 17th, actually just next to Jessica’s school, at 14:55. We weren’t even half way there by then. By absolute coincidence Jessica actually crossed the street, to go to the métro, right in front of us. Alex recognised her, she jumped in the car and we headed off. More traffic through the 17th and we arrived in front of the cinema at 15:10. I dropped the kids off to get the tickets and looked for a parking lot. I found one in about 5 minutes. In the meantime the girls had tried to phone me about 4 or 5 times. But as I was underground in the parking lot I couldn’t answer. When I got out of the lot I called them only to find out that the move was sold out. I hadn’t expected that for a VO showing in the 17th… even on the opening day. But Harry Potter is Harry Potter. I went to go pick them up at the cinema and take them back to the parking lot to head home. In front of the cinema we met Kathleen, one of the parents who I work with in the parents’ association and someone who is very close to me, and her son. They too were headed to see Harry Potter. They had same sort of special tickets so they waited for the next showing. It was a very strange experience seeing someone who knew me “back when” (i.e. pre-cancer).
We made a few phone calls and Desney agreed to let us go see the next showing on the Champs-Elysées at 17:30. We piled in to the car and got to the Champs-Elysées in about 15 minutes, parked in about 5, walked to the theatre in 10 and bought our tickets. We were now the proud owners of 3 tickets to see Harry Potter at 17:30. It was about 15:45 at the time so we basically walked around the Champs-Elysées, stopping in to the FNAC for a while, and we headed back to the cinema early. It was a good thing we were early for quite a lot of people had started queuing upstairs. I grabbed and sandwich and got the girls popcorn and soda and we got great seats.
I must say, in my personal and rarely humble opinion, I felt the movie was the best of the four. New director, new style and very much a kids’ action / adventure movie. The kids are even getting better as actors. It was great fun and a big long.
We headed home and the kids practically went straight to bed. I went to bed as usual, after midnight, and alone.
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Why does it feel so strange for you to see your "pre-cancer" acquaintances? I don't know how many of us are out there reading your blog, but I would assume nearly 100% of us knew you in your pre-cancer days or else we wouldn't even have the address of your blog or care to read it. Does that mean it would feel strange to see any of us again? Your pre-cancer days probably go very far back, since you don't know exactly when you got it. What difference does it make to anyone today if you're a little skinnier and your neck is a little browner than before. I realize this is a very painful and traumatic psychological and physical stage you are going through, and as you said yourself several days back you'll never be exactly the same again, but you are still the same person, and we all want to see you and have you come back to your regular activities with us.
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