We have had the best eight day run in a while. No fevers. No unexpected trips to the hospital. Lots and lots of smiles, laughter and play coming from our dear boy. Plus, Grady is home this weekend, so we have been rolling as a complete unit. Pablo looks up to Grady in such a classic way. He follows him around telling him stories, or asking him questions about stuff in his room. The two of them play cards, or watch stuff on TV. Even though there is a nine year gap between them, they fit together like two peas in a pod. Jo Ann and I have always felt that their age difference is actually cool.
Saturday, while Jeff Suhy and I did a 25ish mile ride in Griffith Park, Jo Ann took the boys out to a late breakfast at Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock. They had a lot of fun. Later in the afternoon, we took Grady and his friend Jasper to the production rehearsal for the Nine Inch Nails tour. Our friend and my client Justin Meldal-Johnsen joined the band a couple months ago as the bassist. He and the band have been working night and day to get the show ready for a world tour. The show was at the Forum. 400 other people in that giant arena watching the entire run of the show–an insane presentation of visual imagery on multiple HD screens, and deconstructed arrangements of songs from throughout the band's 20 year catalog of songs. I'm a lifelong fan of NIN, and the show feels like Trent Reznor's ultimate presentation of his music and the intense, inspiring imagery that has always accompanied it. Grady and Jasper were stoked, and we were stoked to see them stoked. To see their eyes and their imaginations open up because of music is a dream come true for us.
We joined about eight other friends for dinner after the show, at En Sushi in Los Feliz. Tony and Joanna, Trae and Mariah, and Justin's amazing wife Corrine (he went home to rest). Pablo at a big bowl of rice and a rice cut roll. We are trying to fatten him up. He's lost weight. His appetite isn't what it was before treatment, so when he digs into a big portion of carbs, we are happy. On the way home, Jo Ann commented that we'd had a great day. And her words hit me right in the heart. It's been such an unpredictable time in our lives, and having a great Saturday kind of felt like a weeklong vacation for us. In this unplanned and very real time in our lives, gratitude provides an island of peace for us.
Today, we had another big day planned. I went on a 55+ mile bike ride with Jeff, Piero Giramonti and Michael Tedesco. We met at the Griffith Park pony rides at 8am, and under a rare cloud cover, climbed our way up Mulholland and traveled it to Sepulveda, and then headed down to Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. I got a flat, forgot my Blackberry in the loo at Peets Coffee and Michael caught a nasty rut in the street in Sherman Oaks and hit the pavement pretty darn hard (miraculously, he is OK)–and we still made it back to Jeff's for the noon BBQ he and his lovely wife Leslie had planned for us. Jo Ann and the boys joined us. We watched the Tour de France on Tivo while sitting in the pool. And Jeff made yummy burgers. Pablo made fast friends with Jeff and Leslie's two kids, and Jo Ann and Leslie chatted while the boyz geeked out as the peloton climbed a treacherous mountain pass between France and Italy.
After the BBQ, we headed down to the Arclight Cinemas to see 'The Dark Knight.' Pablo spent half the movie with his hands over his eyes. When I bought the tix online yesterday, I kind of talked myself (and Jo Ann) into the idea that it'd be OK for Pablo. My nutty mind told me: it's PG-13, no R. And Pablo's friend Rory's parents Chris and Emma made the movie. 'How bad could it be for him?' I figured. No matter how much pre-justification I could make up, the movie was not appropriate for him. Jo Ann felt bad about bringing him, and so did I. Oddly, he didn't seem to mind covering his eyes for long periods of time!
That said, the movie was amazing! Like the NIN show, it is the real deal. Every bit of the script, casting, art direction–hell, even the foley–was fantastic. It was scary. The character were real, rich, insane illustrations of humity. It's one of the rare movies that exemplifies every aspect of the movie-going experience. And the political and sociological undercurrent in the script were indicting.
If every day was like this Sunday, I'd buy a season pass.
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