Tangles

Sorry. Been forever since I posted. Lots of work.

Apparently attempting Hemingway staccato sentences today.

I just wanted to take a minute to address the horror that is Alzheimer's.

I've been working with a client who has the late middle stage of the disease. It's pretty much the "Terrible Two's" of Alzheimer's. Lots of noise, most of it nonsensical.

My entire day is spent responding to queries such as, "Are we going down there to where the green moon is?" If this were a simple declaration I could simply ignore it and go about blogging on my laptop. Unfortunately, my client phrases these things as questions, so being the good guy that I am I attempt to answer them. I say, "I don't know" when and where I can. For those occasions where the questions are tinged with paranoia or about his still-alive mother who must be 124 years old, I respond with "uh.." and hope the question will extinguish itself with no more need of response on my end.

The thing is, no matter how often you answer a question or how you answer it, it will invariably be asked again within a few minutes. Pretty soon, you wonder if he's more batshit crazy for asking or you more for answering.

He likes to wander also, straight out of his own apartment and into other people's cars, apartments, and lives, so I have to be constantly vigilant, serving as the human equivalent as a lock on the cabinet door.

He'll get angry (and occasionally violent) at the most benign remarks and requests, too,

Anyway, take my word for it, Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that deserves to go the way of Polio and the dodo. Please visit http://www.alzfdn.org/ContributetoAFA/makeadonation.html  and give a few bucks if you can. Junk Coffee will send you a photo of your own Alhzeimer's patient and let you know how your contribution is making a difference in his or her life (okay, we won't :)

Hornblower Wedding

I attended another wedding this weekend (yeah, I know, crayzay).

This one was for my brother's best friend, Raj, and his awesome fiance, Margaret. My brother was the officiant and did a fine job, somehow managing to work the Biebs into his do-you-take-so-and-so spiel.

The wedding itself was on a boat called The Hornblower that debarked from Pier 3. Actually, she was more like the Titanic, minus the iceberg ending. The tables were covered in white linen. The tableware was the finest china. The ornate was commonplace. The view from both overhead decks was stunning, especially as the ship approached the Golden Gate Bridge

I had a blast. At least I think I had a blast.

I definitely took advantage of the free bar, ordering margarita after margarita. (If this had been New Orleans during Mardi Gras season, I undoubtedly would have had six or seven pearl necklaces weighing me down). This, and many many Anchor Steams.

Of particular note: One of my brother's more infamous exes was one of Margaret's bridesmaids (awkward); One of Raj's bestmen gave a speech that eerily echoed my own from a few weeks before in Tahoe (oh well, mimicry is flattery :); The food was Indian and decadent; The couple's "history" slideshow was phenomenal, literally edited on the spot to include their vows and nuptials and my brother quoting the Biebs; The clash of Indian and American wedding culture was fascinating, and I literally could not get past a few of the high caste attendees who looked straight out of a Bollywood production.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you to the young couple for considering my impoverished soul and taking me aboard the S.S. Margeneesh.

Here a few pictures (all taken from the outside deck) for your viewing pleasure.