please help find ross abinanti

my dad's neighbor's father is missing. please keep your eyes open!



Ross Abinanti has been missing since June 30, 2009.

He disappeared from the parking garage BEHIND Aqui's at North 2nd and Civic Center Drive in Downtown Campbell, CA

He's 63, 5'8", 270 lbs, last seen wearing a plain white baseball cap, dark polo style shirt with vertical stripes, khaki shorts, and white socks and shoes.

He has dementia and may seen confused. He knows his name and will respond to it with a "yes" or "ok". If you see him please please call Campbell Police Department 408.866.2121

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the one where i just see clouds in the clouds

happy news . . . my best friend's boyfriend proposed to her yesterday. i bawled my ever-lovin' eyes out; i can't imagine how she's feeling. she asked me to be her maid of honor and i'm over the flippin' moon. holy shit, i'm healing. i'm hopeful and joyful and excited for this journey they are about to embark on. two summers ago when em got married i was still in such shell-shock that i didn't know how to behave at the wedding. i had to excuse myself a few times to bawl my eyes out. i'm happy that a horrible divorce hasn't left me a cynic, a doubter of marriage. i'm happy that i can be in this stage of my life and be supportive of my friends but in no hurry for myself.

because of who i am, i'm quite sure that i'll make a valiant attempt at matrimony again but i'm not feeling the pressure to rush headlong into. i've made a life with someone whom i adore and who adores me. i'm happier with where i am now than i was a year ago, or two or five years ago. i'm savoring these moments with d and not questioning (or worse yet) planning where we're going. and whaddaya know, it's more enjoyable this way when i'm not trying to control every little thing. things don't have to be perfect to be magnificent.

the convergence

so we've been the plauge household for the past couple of weeks. the kids currently have hand, foot, and mouth disease (not the same as hoof/foot and mouth) and are sad and blistery and generally miserable-ish in this 100 plus degree heat. it's one of those bizzare little childhood viruses that's not dangerous, just uncomfortable. it started last night as bright red blisters on every single one of lorenzo's fingertips and has moved to his (and parker's) feet. it looked like he'd touched something hot and burned his little hands. thankfully we have a fantastic pediatrician and she was able to reliably diagnose him/them? over the phone. *le sigh*

aaaannnd, d had a bit of a health scare this past week (which for privacy's sake i won't go into) that turned out to be something okay (read: a bummer but thankfully not potentially fatal). in any case, it's been emotional and the worst kind of deja vu but ultimately, reaffirming: yes, i'm on the right path. when i considered the possibility of losing d i found myself nearly immoblized. this man has become a true partner, a father, a friend. words fail me.

ten years ago

i've been in remission for ten years, today.

In August of 1998 I discovered a painless lump, about the size of a golf ball, just above my clavicle on the right side. My pediatrician sent me to a specialist who performed a needle biopsy and diagnosed me with Cat-scratch fever. When after six weeks the lump had not begun to shrink, I returned to the specialist and was given the option to let the lump be (and avoid a scar) or have the lump removed. I opted for the latter and the specialist performed the surgery with local anesthesia in late November. My mom received a frantic call from his office a few days later. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease on December 4, 1998 at age 16.

I was referred to Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford where subsequent biopsies and tests showed that I had nodular sclerosing stage II Hodgkin’s, with a mass of tumors in my lymph system concentrated in my chest. I opted to participate in a clinical trial (read about the study here. incidentally, i was one of those that received 25Gy radiation and i take issue with some of the findings based on my own experiences. nonetheless, i'm proud to be a part of the data.) and my treatment included 4 cycles (2 rounds each) of chemotherapy and 3 weeks of radiation. Due to complications during my treatment, a PICC line was placed in my left arm and subsequently a Hickman catheter was placed into my chest. I went into remission on June 23, 1999.

Since the completion of my treatment I have been diagnosed to hypothyroidism due to damage to my thyroid from radiation, peripheral neuropathy from chemo, learning disabilities that include short-term memory loss, clinical depression, and ongoing fatigue. Although I will be monitored for the rest of my life for secondary cancers and heart problems, this summer marks 10 years in remission and 5 years cured!

In the years following my diagnosis I have been busy. In 2005 I graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University with a BS in Psychology. Today I own my own organic chocolate company, Snake & Butterfly, which is experiencing great success. Additionally, I have two beautiful children, a daughter, Parker, who is five and a son, Lorenzo, who will be three in July. I love to surf, blog, read, and spend time with my family and friends. Despite my busy schedule, I have completed two marathons and a half marathon with TNT: GO TEAM!

please find a way to donate to your favorite charity. mine is the leukemia and lymphoma society...

'(775): i wish mother nature was an actual person cause i'd bitch slap her for sure'

yeah, so somehow last night i thought i'd be less exhausted than i was before i stayed up until 1.30 packaging and got up at 7 to work the market... that said, we made nearly DOUBLE what we'd made on our best market to date. we're doing single origin beans now (ghana, madagascar, papua new guinea, criollo, possibly panama). they're incredibly diverse beans and ben is doing all of his own roasting so the flavors we're getting are incredible. i promise to update the website soooon.

bk has continued to step up more and more over the past weeks. he's stopping by to have lunch with the kids a couple times a week and taking them every sunday and most saturdays too. the improvement in miss p is incredible. she's secure in his ability to be there for her. parker got to see all three of her most favorite men today which was fitting. i'm thankful for all the dads in her life...and mine.

how is the weather where you are btw? because here it's the first day of summer and in the 7o's. *scratches head* this is n.cal right? incidentally it's been fantastic for business but hellooo, still don't believe in global warming?

and...my friend mj took this video in la.