January 1st, 2009

Happy new year!

Moving into 2009 I have decided that this would be a good time to bid my Hep C adventure a fond farewell. I started the blog as a way to help me through my treatment and that it did. The blog has served it's purpose and all of the support I received from you was instrumental in my making it through tx and my attaining SVR. Special thanks to my Hep C buddies, Laurie & Jimmy, Iris aka Uncertain, Teah aka Starwitch, Marsha, JB and Pixie and all the others including the anonymous ones, I don't think I could have made it without you and I will be forever in your debt. I'll be in touch.

terrylee8@aol.com

All is well and bye for awhile

December 17th, 2008

I'm finally caught up enough to do a post. Two months on the road is tough on a body. I've been in SF for 5 days getting my loft ready for a 10 DAY Christmas rental. This year is so much better than last year's. Last year I was on week 27 of a rough bout of chemo therapy. I lost it and moved out of the house in Carmichael so that I could finish my tx alone. Thank god that time is behind me and further thanks that I was fortunate enough to be cured. My trial group (1) only had a 38% cure rate so I am very fortunate indeed.

This year has been so much different. I'm enjoying Christmas, I'm married the most wonderful woman in the world and I have traveled to the world's 4 corners. Given all the trouble in the economy and the world I'm still very optimistic for the future. Why, I don't really know, I guess it's just my nature. I went from all cash to 100% in stocks about a month ago, my advisor thinks I'm nuts but I believe that this is the greatest buying oppurtunity of my lifetime, so boys and girls, hunk it in and sit back and reap the rewards.

All is well and buy for now--------HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

Friday December 5th, 2008

We left La Paz and arrived in Rio. Our hotel was on Cococabana Beach but a lot of things didn´t work. It was hard to communicate as most people speak Portuguese. As a result, my Spanglish didn´t cut it. We found Rio to be very dull with not a lot to look at or do. We reverted to past behavior(as in Dubai) and visited the shopping malls. M got a haircut and it looks great, her food issues continue unabated. It´s so sad, happiness is the Outback Steak House where she can get potatoes.

We next went to Iguaza Falls and we were blown away, 285 waterfalls right next to each other, the widest in the world. The Sheraton had a view of the falls and was the best hotel we stayed in to date. The falls are presently in 7th place in the voting or the new 7 wonders of the world ontest

Next, we flew to Buenos Aires. I cannot say enough about how much we love this city. It´s like Paris in South Anerica and very cheap with a great deal of taste and style. Today we fly to Patagonia at the bottom tip of South Anerica. We´re having a blast.

Patagonia is a split between Argentina and Chile. We started in El Calafate, Argentins and spent 2 days touring glaciers. The Moreno glacier is one of only two in the world which is still growing, al of the others are receeding.

We are now in Southern Chile near the South Pole. Chilian Patagonia is spectacular. Our hotel is fabu and we love it. Sunday we fly to Santiago for 2 days and then a night in Lima and then home. This has been the best trip I have ever taken and I will return some time in the future.

All is well and bye for now

November 23rd, 2008

We flew from Cusco Peru and landed in Juliaca Peru. From there we drove to the town of Pumo on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca and stayed the night. There's something un-nerving about a five star hotel surronded by an electrified fence. Lake Titicaca is huge, 113 miles by 58 miles accross. Peru and Bolivia share the lake and it is major area for drug trafficing. We left Puno at 6:00 in the morning and made the Bolivian border by 10:00. We met our new guide and he walked us accross to Bolivian immigration and we cleared in 90 seconds, our guide was thrilled as it usually takes Americans 45 minutes to get cleared as they like to hassle us. We then proceeded to Cococabanna and then boarded a hydrofoil and sailed of to Sun Island. Sun Island is one of the nicest places I´ve ever visited. Beautiful vistas and beautiful people. Magda and I suspect that this island might be a place where cocaine money is laundered as there aren´t many tourists there. As a matter of fact, we haven´t seen a single American in Bolivia. From Sun Island we made our way slowly to La Paz. La Paz is a vertical city which is set over 13,000 elev. Breathing is hard, sleeping is hard with head pressure. I finally gave in and took the altitude pills my doctor gave me before I left and that did the trick. This morning, a man from our hotel was attcked down the street by three robbers, one choked him from behind while the other two went through his pockets and took his credit cards , wallet, watch and passport. He was very upset to say the least. Today when we toured we had no ID and I carried my credit cards and American money in my shoes-we left all of our jewelry in the US. We really liked our guide Antonio, he has about 15 drinks a day and smokes a joint before he goes to bed. He likes us because we don´t care about his drinking and he can do it in front of us. We cracked up at lunch when he let it slip that he didn´t drink that much after he put away 5 drinks right before our eyes. Tomorrow we take an early flight to Rio and we get a new guide. All the photos attached are from Bolivia. We absolutely adore this country and it´s people.

All is well and bye for now

November 20th, 2008

Machu Picchu was a very pleasant surprise. It was all that I expected and then some. It takes awhile to get there, 3 hour train ride and then 20 minutes by bus and then a 20 minute hike up the hill. When you get to the top you see a beautiful plateau framed by 4 very steep cliffs nestled in the clouds. The Incas abandoned it as they feared that the Spanish would come and kill them and they fled to the Amazon-the Spanish killed them anyway. By the time the Spanish discovered Muchu Picchu, it was over grown and they really didn´t notice it. Our guide mentioned that he thought that they probably would have built another cathederal there. Many of the Peruvians we have met have had it with the catholic church and they are moving toward regaining the Inca traditions. The Incas had no jails, if you were lazy, stole, murdered, lied etc, the women were pushed of a cliff and the men were casterated. I had nightmares because M says that I´m very lazy and I realized that I would suffer a fate worse than death if I were an Inca. M is having a very hard time with the food here as it´s all carne, queso and heuveos. We are having quite a time at the restaurants trying to get her point accross. This afternoon we´re on to Bolivia.

All is well and bye for now

November 15, 2008

We finally made it to Peru after a little delay in Miami. Our flight from Dallas to Miami left late and as we were landing our flight to Lima was taking off. The captain simply said, there are no connections. American Airlines was nice enough to put us up in a roach motel called the Blue Chateau. Things worked out well in the long run as we got to go to lunch in South Beach and then we flew out at 4 30 and landed in Lima at 10 pm. We changed hotels and stayed in the airport and hopped on a 10am flight to Cuzco. I was so relaxed that I totally forgot to get on the plane when it was time and we just made the door closing. I still have some residual brain fog or else Im experiencing the onset of alzhiemers. Tomorrow we head to the Sacred Valley and the next day we take a train and we stay overnight in Machu Picchu. After that its Lake Titticacca and then on to Bolivia. The US State Department has lifted its travel warnings as of last week so were good to go. The people of Peru are really quite lovely after all the hounding we experienced in India. They ask you to buy something once or twice and then they say OK, maybe tomorrow.

All is well and bye for now

November 8th, 2008

I've been a lazy blogger lately with the election and all of the traveling. We are off to South America for a month on Thursday, visiting Peru, Bolivia (gulp!), Brazil, Argentina, Patagonia and Chile. We'll be back on the 10th in time for the holidays.

Believe it or not, I'm still working on the painting (oil on canvas) of my loft in SF. It's all done except for the lights in the ceiling and the lady in the chair. I'll be glad when it's done as it has taken way too long.

M and I getting married has been well received by most but a couple of our friends have been surprised to the point of disappointment. Some because we didn't include them and others because they don't approve.. Oh well, it's none of their business anyway, we couldn't be happier.

I'm so happy we have a new president, I've never been political but I worked very hard for Obama. Hopefully he can deliver. Anyone is better than the Bush, Chaney, McCain, Palin quartet.

All is well and bye for now



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