Went to AC. Short Trip Report.
Went to AC. Got smoked. Came home feeling dirty about it.
Longer report:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
Went with Mrs Mosca and our daughter, lives in Chile but is visiting. Mrs Mosca forgot to bring out the bag with about half the female luggage, so when we got to Borgata there was a "OMG" moment. I went up to the room and rested, the girls went over to the outlets and bought about $250 worth of clothes. Bad start to the trip. Borgata was seriously hopping, though, as packed as I've ever seen it.
Dinner at Old Homestead was outstanding, again. It might not be the best steakhouse in the US, but it is extremely consistent. Props to the heavy cut smoked bacon with Vermont maple syrup appetizer.
After dinner I lost some at Criss Cross poker, which was kind of galling because everyone else was winning. But I took it like a gambler. Mrs and Miss got 8 Quick Hits and won $975.
Comedy Club was pretty funny. "Sandy" someone who was not too funny, then Chris Roach and John Joseph, both of whom were really good. I found out Bob Dylan was playing at Borg that night, but he is so hit-and-miss, it's okay we didn't know.
Monday morning I lost some more at Criss Cross. That sucked, because I like that game and have always won at it.
Afternoon we went to the Borgata pool, which just opened a week or so ago. Eh. Decent size but 3 1/2' deep from one end to the other. And way over chlorinated, my eyes burned for hours.
Later we went over to Tropicana for dinner at Cuba Libre. I didn't like it that much the last two times we ate there, probably 6-7 years ago, but this meal was excellent. I had Ropa Vieja, Miss had Lechon Asado, and Mrs had Shrimp con Mojo. Did some walking, didn't play. After dinner went to Criss Cross, determined to beat it this time, and didn't.
This morning we had Borgata buffet, which has supposedly been updated. The room has been refurbished, but the food is pretty much the same, which is okay because we've always liked it. I slummed around the slots with the girls, we played a couple hours and I wound up something like eleven cents. Started with $100, was up and down, cashed out when I got back up over $100 and played down to $100 as close as I could. The ladies watched, they were smart.
We went over to Caesar's because Miss Mosca wanted to go to the outlet shops again and spend some of her winnings on stuff they don't have in Santiago. Mrs and I played a couple slots to even, and then I sat down at UTH with a not-big-enough bank of $300. I held my own for a while, but every time I got high cards the flop was low cards, and every time I got low cards the flop was high cards. So I'd improve 6-2 off-suit on the turn/river and win 1x, (and sometimes a Trips bet), and I'd die on J-K suited and lose that 4x bet. But I played a long time, was down as low as saying "last hand if I lose" several times, and I got back to within $10 of even twice, but ultimately I just didn't have enough bank to weather more than four 4x losses in a row, so when that finally happened I cashed in.
The pit boss had asked if we came there often, and I told him why we stopped going to Caesar's about 8 years ago. He welcomed us to give it another shot, and comped us 3 buffets! The Caesar's buffet was pretty damned decent, I'll say.
That's it. We drove home.
If you've read this far, you might notice I haven't been posting much. Life has been in the way. Those blood clots in Mrs Mosca's lungs last winter weren't from edema but were caused by uterine carcinosarcoma, a very rare and aggressive cancer (look it up). She's just made it through a hysterectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy complicated by allergies to one of the chemo drugs, surgery for a bowel obstruction during treatment, inoperable kidney stones that required stents in both kidneys (that surgery during chemo was too risky, she's getting it next week). Next week we find out if it all actually worked, because with this cancer, well, it might not have. But we decided screw it, we are going to go have some fun, so we did.
Quote: MoscaShort report:
Went to AC. Got smoked. Came home feeling dirty about it.
Longer report:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
Went with Mrs Mosca and our daughter, lives in Chile but is visiting. Mrs Mosca forgot to bring out the bag with about half the female luggage, so when we got to Borgata there was a "OMG" moment, I went up to the room and rested, the girls went over to the outlets and bought about $250 worth of clothes. Bad start to the trip. Borgata was seriously hopping, though, as packed as I've ever seen it.
Dinner at Old Homestead was outstanding, again. It might not be the best steakhouse in the US, but it is extremely consistent. Props to the heavy cut smoked bacon with Vermont maple syrup appetizer.
After dinner I lost some at Criss Cross poker, which was kind of galling because everyone else was winning. But I took it like a gambler. Mrs and Miss got 8 Quick Hits and won $975.
Comedy Club as pretty Funny. "Sandy" someone who was not too funny, then Chris Roach and John Joseph, both of whom were really good. I found out Bob Dylan was playing at Borg that night, but he is so hit-and-miss, it's okay we didn't know.
Monday morning I lost some more at Criss Cross. That sucked, because I like that game and have always won at it.
Afternoon we went to the Borgata pool, which just opened a week or so ago. Eh. Decent size but 3 1/2' deep from one end to the other. And way over chlorinated, my eyes burned for hours.
Later we went over to Tropicana for dinner at Cuba Libre. I didn't like it that much the last two times we ate there, probably 6-7 years ago, but this meal was excellent. I had Ropa Vieja, Miss had Lechon Asado, and Mrs had Shrimp con Mojo. Did some walking, didn't play. After dinner went to Criss Cross, determined to beat it this time, and didn't.
This morning we had Borgata buffet, which has supposedly been updated. The room has been refurbished, but the food is pretty much the same, which is okay because we've always liked it. I slummed around the slots with the girls, we played a couple hours and I wound up something like eleven cents. Started with $100, was up and down, cashed out when I got back up over $100 and played down to $100 as close as I could. The ladies watched, they were smart.
We went over to Caesar's because Miss Mosca wanted to spend some of her winnings on stuff they don't have in Santiago. Mrs and I played a couple slots to even, and then I sat down at UTH with a not-big-enough bank of $300. I held my own for a while, but every time I got high cards the flop was low cards, and every time I got low cards the flop was high cards. So I'd improve 6-2 off-suit on the turn/river and win 1x 9and sometimes a Trips bet), and I'd die on J-K suited and lose that 4x bet. But I played a long time, was down as low as saying "last hand if I lose" several time, and I got back to within $10 of even twice, but ultimately I just didn't want to bank rough to weather more than four 4x losses in a row, so when that finally happened I cashed in.
The pit boss had asked if we came there often, and I told him why we stopped going to Caesar's about 8 years ago. He welcomed us to give it another shot, and comped us 3 buffets! The Caesar's buffet was pretty damned decent, I'll say.
That's it. We drove home.
If you've read this far, you might notice I haven't been posting much. Life has been in the way. Those blood clots in Mrs Mosca's lungs last winter weren't from edema but were caused by uterine carcinosarcoma, a very rare and aggressive cancer (look it up). She's just made it through a hysterectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy complicated by allergies to one of the chemo drugs, surgery for a bowel obstruction during treatment, inoperable kidney stones that required stents in both kidneys (that surgery during chemo was too risky, she's getting it next week). Next week we find out if it all actually worked, because with this cancer, well, it might not have. But we decided screw it, we are going to go have some fun, so we did.
Welcome back, dear Mosca. Glad you got to AC, sorry they ate you alive.
May the blessings of remission and love descend upon your house, and bring you joy and mutual appreciation.
Quote: beachbumbabsWelcome back, dear Mosca. Glad you got to AC, sorry they ate you alive.
May the blessings of remission and love descend upon your house, and bring you joy and mutual appreciation.
Thanks, Babs. She's doing pretty good, all things considered, We're staying strong. You have to figure: If everything works out, you wasted all that time worrying when you should have been living. And if everything doesn't work out, then you wasted all that time worrying when you should have been living. We choose living. It's living with cancer, not dying from cancer.
Quote: MoscaThanks, Babs. She's doing pretty good, all things considered, We're staying strong. You have to figure: If everything works out, you wasted all that time worrying when you should have been living. And if everything doesn't work out, then you wasted all that time worrying when you should have been living. We choose living. It's living with cancer, not dying from cancer.
Still the wisest soul on here. Thanks for what you just said; it hits home.
Quote:Those blood clots in Mrs Mosca's lungs last winter weren't from edema but were caused by uterine carcinosarcoma, a very rare and aggressive cancer (look it up). She's just made it through a hysterectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy complicated by allergies to one of the chemo drugs, surgery for a bowel obstruction during treatment, inoperable kidney stones that required stents in both kidneys (that surgery during chemo was too risky
Good grief. You're living the modern nightmare.
In the old days your wife would have gotten sick
and nobody would know why. She would recover
or not. Now we have all the details, which sound
more frightening than the illness itself. Our bodies
betray all of us eventually, really sad to hear what
your wife is experiencing. She's going thru hell, and
you're the loving bystander. Which is worse, nobody
has ever determined.
Quote: beachbumbabsAre you saying you spent $40/person for fancy tapas, or $600 for 15 items at $40 per?
$40/person for 15 tapas portions of different menu items- not for each item. Bill was like $130ish including tip and 3 mohitos which were also pretty good.
Ramsay's is always my go to at that price point, but I'd definitly try Cuba Libre out again.
The blood clots almost killed her.
The reaction to the Taxol, which drove her heart rate down into the mid-30s, almost killed her.
The bowel obstruction almost killed her, and interrupted her chemo for three weeks, which might end up killing her anyways.
The kidney stones, both of which are about the size of golf balls, made her want to die and interrupted her chemo again, with the same implications, and she still has to have the surgery to remove them next week.
We are nevertheless incredibly optimistic. The number one indicator for survival of uterine carcinosarcoma is the surgery. The tumor had spread into the cervix, but the edges were well defined. The surgeon couldn't take the lymph nodes for technical reasons related to the surgery, but subsequent abdominal washes and CAT scans (non-nuclear) have been negative. Her oncological surgeon is a rising superstar IMO, and the hospital at which she is being treated is doing a clinical trial on uterine carcinosarcoma (non-clear cell), so they are on the forefront of learning about a disease that no one is throwing money at because it is so rare.
It might not work out. But on the other hand, it might. 5 year survival rate for stage two carcinosarcoma is 45%. That's cool, it's like betting red, and resolving the bet 5 years later. Since she has been forced to make that bet, she and I are going to make it a good one no matter what happens.
No one wants to live forever, but everyone wants one more day. Make it a good one.
Quote: gamerfreak$40/person for 15 tapas portions of different menu items- not for each item. Bill was like $130ish including tip and 3 mohitos which were also pretty good.
Ramsay's is always my go to at that price point, but I'd definitely try Cuba Libre out again.
The drinks were pretty good. I had a capirinha, and Miss Mosca had a piscojito. I thought they were both good, she thought they weren't as strong as they are in South America, but good.
We've never been to Gordon Ramsay's, the girls picked this one and I went along.
