the wig shaping...

well, i will post a picture when i can upload one. and when i'm sure that this wig is not the most embarrassing thing ever. remember that dolly parton wig i tried on with susie? well, this one feels like a tamed down version of that one. i still feel a bit newscastery. and just so not myself. but. it might have to work for interviews and things.

the actual process of getting the wig shaped was great. the woman at maire rua was so sweet, so helpful. and beforehand, i got to go to my favorite coffee shop - bean there - for a beautifully crafted cup of coffee.

but...i'm still unsure about this wig. it's so not me. i'll have to wait until gretchen gets home to have her honest opinion.

ooh i'm so excited

i just called my old favorite hair salon in sf and set up an appointment to shape my wig tomorrow morning.

the wig/hat-for-the-interview-decision-making-drama was stressful a few weeks ago. all i could think about was my look. and it wasn't until 30 minutes before i left for the interview that i actually started researching and preparing the actual interview information. i was so stressed about what to wear and how to look professional and presentable with only a half wig.

so, emily coven and i took a little trip down to the american cancer society in hopes of finding a free full wig that would be more appropriate for an interview setting. much like my past wig searching experiences, this one felt a bit like a joke. i have become so used to the straight blond wig that putting back on the newscaster hair-dos was difficult. BUT the woman from ACS was so, so, so nice. she helped us pick out the best color. and she suggested that wigs never look good straight from the box. her recommendation was to go to a hair stylist and have them shape the wig to better suit my non-newscaster lifestyle.

so...now i'm really excited to be styled. we'll see how it all turns out.

underneath the wig is still...uncomfortable in public. it's a buzz cut. about a cm long. gretchen swears it's really coming in. she says the back now looks like a little boy's hair cut. i just keep willing it to grow. but until i feel completely comfortable with it...i'll try to make the full wig work.

well.

i have to say that being in san francisco is pretty nice. today is beautiful. sunny. 50s. everything feels bright after a few dreary days of rain.

i'm still looking for jobs and apartments. there are a few potentials. but we'll see. i'm ready for something to happen. ready to not be such a moocher off friends and family. ready to be with kitty again. (it's been snowing constantly in vail and my parents say kitty is in heaven burying her face and her tennis balls in the snow. i hope she likes the pacific as much as she likes the snow.)

spam

i've been looking through my spam folder lately. cause i'm desperate that i'll miss an extremely important job or apartment email from someone.

this is the random spam i found today.
subject: Fw: meghankearney Stop Being Bald!

new trials and tribulations

well, since the trials and tribulations of breast cancer and reconstruction are currently on hold..i'm thinking about writing about the trials and tribulations of finding housing in san francisco.

everything is ridiculously expensive. originally i wanted to be picky about neighborhoods, price, roommates. but it's looking like beggars with dogs can't be choosers. although...when i relate some of these stories to you...you might tell me that i'm going to have to be choosy.

so.
first place i looked at was this cute 3 bedroom house with two women in their 30s. they would accept dogs. the house was half a block from the dog park. one of the women is a french pastry chef. dangerous. i'm waiting to hear back from them.

the other day i responded to an ad on craigslist. two "mature" women were looking for someone fun to share their house with. well. i called the number. talked to susan. turns out she's 53. her roommate is 61. and in the casual conversation we had she told me that they were looking for someone responsible. they had lived with a guy for 2 weeks and then kicked him out because when she was going through his papers in his room (???!!) she found papers indicating he had a case against him in small claims court for owing his landlord $6000. susan told me she would love for me to come look at the place. but i made some extremely fast excuse that it wouldn't really make sense to look at a place if the two dogs couldn't meet.

so then last night i went to look at another place from craigslist. veronica had a room in her house in bernal heights. her ad said the roommate must like small dogs. so. i walk up to house and who is peeking out at me from the front window but two yapping chihuahuas. she had locked them up in her room because they don't like new people. she, again, was in her 50s. and she was burning incense in the house...some rose-y, vanilla scent that was so bad i could feel a headache coming on. another woman was looking at the apartment the same time i was. she was 24. just moved to sf. had blue eye shadow and an eyebrow ring. had her degree in sound engineering. and when the older woman told us there could absolutely never be drugs or alcohol in the house...that she would have us sign a legal document agreeing that she could kick us out of the house if there was the littlest sign of either..the 24 year old pretty much bolted. i ended up leaving, too. and the whole drive home i couldn't get away from the rose-y, vanilla incense.

ug.
so now i'm back to square one. looking at craigslist every 30 seconds. hoping for the perfect situation. dreading having to meet more crazies in the process. shouldn't life after breast cancer be easier than this?

big update

when changes rain, they apparently pour.

i felt i had to give a bit of an update because it's been so long since my last post. and so much has changed.

big news.

i officially quit my job and i am leaving denver for san francisco. i am currently looking on craigslist every 30 seconds - looking for a perfect job and a "reasonably priced" apartment that will accept a dog. very, very difficult. but...it's also been very fun. i've been spending a lot of time with my extremely generous friends gretchen and spencer - sleeping on their couch. i've been spending time with emily who was visiting from new zealand. and i've been spending time with the california side of my family. and they have been feeding me, lending me a car, and entertaining me. it's been really, really nice.

it's all completely insane. way too many changes and struggles for one person in such a short amount of time. but. the switch to california feels like a good decision. being just a few miles from the pacific ocean is really, really nice.

so. if ANYONE has ANY social work or apartment connections in san francisco, please let me know. i'm open to anything.

6 months.

amazing.
it's been 6 months since i got my diagnosis.
so much has happened in the last 6 months i can't even really process it. and so many new things will happen in the coming 6 months...and i really can't process all of that stuff either.

but.
important time to remember to do your monthly breast exams, right?

and i know that many of you have been asking about my hair. so. my plan is to take regular pictures and post them on the blog. that is...once i get comfortable with the idea of my pale, whiffle-head put up on the internet. i never lost all of my hair. never a totally bald head. and now it's a patchy, 1 cm whiffle...and the hair is very, very, very pale - almost white. cute, right? so...maybe once it grows a little bit more and i'm a little more comfortable with it, i'll share the pics. something for you all to look forward to. :)