In NYC

It's been a long time since I spent any time at all on the upper east side. I'm currently ensconced in the posh Bristol Plaza, a stone's throw from Cancer Central--Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Breast Center, and all the many surrounding health facilities. Behind a high wall across the street from MSK is Rockefeller University.

I stupidly brought my little car, because back in the day you could always find on-street parking with a tiny little car. Not anymore. The avenues are all timed meters, and the side streets have impossible schedules for anyone hoping to park longterm. So I'm in a garage, but I did manage to find one $7 cheaper per day than the Bristol's exorbitant prices.

Our apartment has a kitchenette, and I stocked up on Food Emporium salads and bread, so I can run home, do a little work, and have lunch. Days so far have been: Wake at 5, work till 8, walk 10 minutes to the hospital, hang out, go back for lunch, come back in the afternoon, eat dinner in the cafeteria (award-winning, but still a cafeteria), home after 8, watch CNN. A setback (arterial hematoma) means that L won't leave the hospital before tomorrow at the earliest. The apartment is the quietest place I've ever stayed in NYC. (It's a Milstein building, which explains how the CU prez has an in here.)

A word to the wise (or those with an in): If you have cancer, go directly to MSK. They don't mess around. The entire staff, from orderlies and cafeteria workers through surgeons, is unbelievably great.

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