Averygoodun's Personal File

Who would have thought I'd ever be in the role of peacemaker?

Tonight was Geoff's night for reaching his limit where Babe is concerned. Drama ensued. I think all's well now, but...

I hope Babe feels better soon. We're all pretty worn down at this point, physically and emotionally.


In other news, Geoff and I attended the first of four little classes on the Transcendentalists tonight. It's interesting on many levels. I thought of you, zalena quite a bit, and I also thought of you, borbor_chan, when Parker and his study of the Bible in Greek and Hebrew came up. I would instigate conversations on both topics with you, but I am so out of my depth and breadth here, that would be intellectual-ego suicide.

Maybe after I've done a bit of the homework, though... ;-)

Now to bed.

My brother had surgery today... I'm assuming he's out by now. The mole he (finally!) had removed from his cheek was cancerous.

I hope it was just a basal cell. *meeps*

My BIL's brother has, crap, I can't remember the name of it, but the disease where the lungs fill up with fluid... Damn. Mental block. (ETA: Cystic Fibrosis. That's the one!)

Anyway, last night he had a double lung transplant, and he is now halfway through his first 24 hours. My family and I would appreciate any prayers you could send his way in the hopes that it helps his body accept the new lungs (infection and complication free) so he can live to see a new life.

=)

This is the second try, and perhaps I'll have something to say this time round. Last time I just sat staring at the blank entry area for a few minutes before saying, "Screw it, I'm going to go do something else."

So, instead of writing a thought provoking and/or humorous entry full of wit and acute observations *snicker*, I went and taped the bonus room. Actually, I was going to go lie down and rest, but Geoff met me outside the bathroom and led me into the bonus room for a consultation.

Unfortunately, the consultation really was just a talking thing, not anything more interesting.

( And here I dither on and on, in a somewhat successful attempt at procrastinating. )

Happy New Year, everyone! May this one be better than the last.

( SMHC writing update )

( Otherwise, things are going well for me and mine. )

And now I basically have a 1.5 week vacation ahead of me. It's good, but I think I'll be glad to get home to Geoff.

And, as it's vacation, I've found the time and inclination to read. So far I have two books to recommend.

The first is "Change your Brain, Change your Life" by Dr. Daniel G. Amen. It isn't a terribly new book, nor is the information within new, but it is compelling having all that new age, self-help stuff verified independently and scientifically. He proves with empirical evidence that thinking good thoughts, treating yourself and everyone around you with respect and love, and such is good for you. It can cure depression, anxiety, paranoia and just about any number of psychological disorders and their corresponding physical traits. There are all sorts of good "prescriptions" for good health, which range from visualization to Prozac, with the biggest recommendation being killing ANTs.

It's well written and is generally intriguing if you've an interest in psychological matters.

The other book is "They Call Me Naughty Lola" edited by David Rose. This is hilarious. And interesting. And did I mention it's funny? It is a collection of personal ads from the London Review of Books.

( Sample: 'I am not an accountant. Box no. 7542' )

There are many, many more, and these really aren't the best. Oh, but the title is based on: "They call me naughty Lola. Run-of-the-mill beardy physicist (M, 46). Box no. 4023."

BTW: It's really annoying having blinding insights into my own character. Good, but annoying.

Oh, and I've decided that if Geoff is interested (which I think he will be), I want to write a comic book with him.

Well, early tomorrow morning, Babe and I are going to attempt to steal out of this country. I say 'attempt' because I don't have a valid passport, although I do have proof of Canadian citizenship (and my expired US passport), so getting out of this country shouldn't be too much of a hassle. I hope.

I really, really hope.

We'll see. If I can just get on the plane to Vancouver, I will be set. I've got the doctor's note, my citizenship card, my useless passport, Babe's valid passport, a notarized note from Geoff saying he knows and approves of my taking Babe with me (just in case)...

And then, for the traveling itself, I've gone out and bought a portable DVD player and *shudders* Barney videos. Well, I also got "Cars," so that should be okay. As well as many, many (low sugar) snacks.

Jeans are in the wash. Need to figure out what I'm going to take. And what not to take. Light is the keyword. As light as possible.

So, yeah. Tomorrow morning, I find out if I can get to Vancouver. If I can, then tomorrow evening I'll be flying from Vancouver to Campbell River, and someone will come to pick us up and drive us the rest of the way. Too bad I couldn't get a flight to Port Hardy. :-(

It is going to be a long, long day. I just hope it isn't a high energy day for Babe.

And hopefully it will be for naught.

My grampa broke his hip. He went into surgery last night, and my dad said the doctors are "cautiously optimistic," but he's a month short of 95... and he's been failing lately... I haven't heard anything, though, so I'll assume the best.

I'm surprised how much this is affecting me, though. We've never been close, geographically or emotionally, but... he's always been there, you know? Always.

He's the last grandparent I have. The only one I've known.

God, those three weeks went fast! Too fast, in a way.

I just got back from dropping my parents off at their airport hotel (they leave godawful early tomorrow morning), and the only thing I'm looking forward to is having my room back.

Okaaay, that was last night. Babe needed a bit of persuasion to go to sleep, and, well, I fell asleep alongside. The irony is that I fell asleep in his room (though when DH got home at 2, I moved rooms).

Anyway, I'm going to miss my parents. My dad and I have both mellowed so much that it's way easier for us to get along. I think it helped that he brought his computer. He's as much, if not more, of a computer junkie as I am, though I was glad to see most of his time spent on the computer was playing freecell, rather than working. Relaxing suits him.

Speaking of my dad and freecell, I actually managed to paint his portrait this trip! I'm pretty pleased with it in that anyone looking at the painting who knows my dad will recognize him.

( 'Freecell' or 'A Fair Approximation of Dad' )

So, anyway, that's that.  I'm sad they're gone, but glad they came.  Now life gets back to normal.