death with dignity

on january 1, 2014, a little over a year after the day she and her husband, dan, were married, and years after suffering from debilitating headaches, 29-year old brittany maynard was diagnosed with brain cancer. this past spring, she learned that she had a glioblastoma brain tumor, a terminal brain cancer. after careful assessment of her prognosis and end-of-life choices, she and her family decided to move from their san francisco bay area home to oregon, one of five states (including washington, montana, vermont and new mexico) that authorize death with dignity.

she has chosen november 1, 2014 for the day that she will end her life on her own terms, so that she can celebrate her husband's birthday with him one last time on october 30.

she's described by her mother as bigger than life, a wanderlust, and precocious. here story is here and in this video: http://www.thebrittanyfund.org/

this is one of the saddest, yet most amazing stories i've read. why shouldn't she be able to choose how she wants to go, and whether she wants to go on fighting, possibly to the bitter end? i think she's pretty inspirational and wish i had the opportunity to have been friends with someone so strong.

as for our day, not much seems highlight worthy after hearing brittany maynard's story. kevin and i went for a light run along kent ave down to the brooklyn promenade, and saw the manhattan downtown skyline on our right side after sunset. it was absolutely stunning. i opted to enjoy the splendor and the cool air around us rather than snap photos this time; we will definitely go back with our cameras and snap some shots next time. the brooklyn promenade/piers have been developed quite nicely and still maintain a natural shoreline, despite all the development. can't wait to get down there and explore on our bikes too!

9.2 mile run along kent ave and the brooklyn promenade

best thing: figuring out something that's been confusing me for a while now at work. woohoo! and getting a an early cut of forecasts out for an upcoming index rebalance.

worst thing: learning that although my analyst told us on monday that he's happy to help out on the desk as his new position doesn't begin until early december, has actually scheduled personal travel starting the week of october 20th. therefore, we have decided that his last day will be next friday, october 17th.

smile: hearing mayday (五天月）songs at our local malay restaurant over dinner. brings back great memories of their first concert at MSG in march!