Rollercoaster of Pain...

...no, it's not a band featured during SXSW. It's how I feel. After my 1st Taxol experience this past Tuesday, I felt great despite the long day. And the next day, I felt great as well. I painted my store window, I received merchandise and talked to customers. When the nanny arrived, Evan and I got dressed up and went to the Austin Music Awards. Good music, good people...our friend Alejandro Escovedo was receiving several awards and we love hanging out with him, his wife Kim and the rest of the entourage. But as the night dragged on, my skin started to hurt. Yes, you heard me correctly. First in my abdomen, then my thighs, the backs of my arms, my calves and so on...if I touched my skin, it ached. So very strange...The next day I awoke and the soles of my feet burned as I walked to the bathroom. The bone pain had begun. As recommended, I had been taking 2 Aleve every 8 hours or so, but now I added some more serious painkillers. Thursday was an aching, on and off painful day. I cloistered myself in my studio and worked alone. Friday was even worse but I did try and engage myself at the shop. That night was Alejandro and his orchestra over at the San Jose...a beautiful night outdoors and the kids had been waiting for this show all week. Luckily we avoided the crowd by sitting next to the stage with Kim, Mickey, Laura, Michelle and others. Creed got to experience his first real adult concert up close and in person. Despite their past-bedtime exhaustion, he clapped every time and Zelda sang along to the songs from "Real Animal". (On the other hand, I took them to see Exene Cervenka at Yard Dog earlier in the week and Zelda simply said "Turn it off.") However, with each passing day, more music and a steady stream of customers at the shop, my fatigue increased.

Today, I am so sore and in bed. Evan took the twins to a guitar show this morning and Jason took them to a poster show this afternoon: the final events of their musical spring break of SXSW. Tomorrow they return to Ecole. And tomorrow I hope this pain will dissipate. I find suddenly that the joints of my fingers will have sharp pain. It will go away and then my hip will ache. I'll re-adjust my position and the fronts of my calves will feel like someone is sticking needles into them. My lower back will be sore. Next I'll writhe in bed to lessen the total body pain. Then it slows down and I'll get up for a bowl of soup. Up and down, turning corners, moaning and groaning and holding on...the roller coaster.

And tomorrow, I'll go to be fitted for the Breast Cancer Resource Center's annual fundraiser. It's an Art Bra runway show. Don't know much else about it but I guess I'll be on the catwalk strutting bald this spring...