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Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Happy Birthday to Chaz and Gretch this week.

followed by a pretty bad weekend



My maternal grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. This coupled with a supeona I'd been served on another frivolous lawsuit from my downstairs neighbor meant I missed her funeral. I raced out of the courtroom after the case was thrown out (like every other one he's made) and made it to the graveside ceremony.


That was also the weekend that they decided to take my father off his drug program entirely and switch to traditional chemo, which he actually started this week. So far, he's doing well with it except for the usual fatigue. I noticed a good bit of swelling in his face when I visited last Sunday. We sat in the living room of my parents house, my dad napping on the porch, and divided up what small trinkets my grandmother had saved over the years. I knew she'd thrown away most of her letters, but there were a few prized correspondences and photos she'd saved over the years - one from her favorite brother about my mother's birth.


One mysterious letter that I believe was from her first fiance. It was written before my grandparents were married. I remembered the story she told me years ago, of how she and my grandfather ended up together. She loved a boy who was grandfather's best friend, who died of pnuemonia. They were both broken hearted at his death and brought together by it. It's the only person I can imagine the impassioned old letter being from.


My uncle handed me a small jewelry box and said I should take it home - that it was in nearly new shape and too good to toss. I picked a few key pieces of her costume jewelry to keep and put those in the box, along with a pair of green dress gloves like the kind she'd wear Sundays and holidays. The box has little black hairs in it that are obviously from one of her dogs but otherwise looks perfectly clean.

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

fairly good weekend



Went to both DragonCon and Drive Invasion on Saturday. Hung out with friends all day but didn't feel I did enough with either.

Nursed a headache for three days straight as well. No idea what brought that on. Slept most of Sunday and Monday. Headache was still with me Tuesday morning at work and finally left me alone that afternoon. Must have been the chalupa and hot salsa my boss brought me for lunch. I need more peppers in my life.

Now I'm healing from the fat lip I gave myself at lunch on Friday, eating hot tofu too fast. I can't seem to avoid biting myself sometimes and yet I'm always surprised that I've done it again.


SHAUN OF THE DEAD


A smash hit in the U.K., this "rom zom com" (romantic zombie comedy) follows the bloody funny adventures of underachiever Shaun (co-writer Simon Pegg) and his best mate Ed (Nick Frost) as they cope with a zombie invasion of North London. The two losers grab whatever is at hand (cricket bat, shovel, LP) to repel the attacking zombies, summoning reserves of strength they didn't know they possessed and straining muscles they forgot they had. Rounding up friends and family, and pressing on towards the sanctuary of a local pub, all that stands (or lopes) in their way are hordes of the flesh-eating undead.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

In other news



My grandmother seems to have pulled through this latest crisis but is now residing in a nursing home for the rest of her days. My mother and uncle take shifts visiting her and she so doesn't want to be there but this is what her life has come to.

Mother is too emotional these days to talk to on the phone much. I went to see her and my dad briefly on Sunday while she was cooking lunch before he had to leave for another doctor's appointment in Houston this week.

My cousin had a baby boy, named Robert James, last week. Her sister is still on bed rest with twin girls, Autumn and Amber (according to my mother) that still have a good bit longer to go before making their entrance into this world.

I feel fine but



For the last couple of days I've been a bit shakey and weak. Kinda light headed. Otherwise I feel perfectly fine - no fevers - no aches or pains - no vertigo - just really rattled and running on vapors. Eating fine. Sleeping okay.

Perhaps my body is fighting off some very very small bug and this is all I have to show for it.

Not complaining too much - just want to be back to normal soon.