It’s been over two months since my last update and over 30 days since I changed my status.

Let me explain how I’m making this post, and that will give you an idea of how busy and stressful life/work has become.

As I write this, we’re driving down I84, in northern Connecticut. I have a wireless Broadband adapter for my laptop, so that I always have Internet access when we travel. I took today off so that we could come back to Massachusetts for Easter. Supposed to be a vacation, but I answered email both Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as for the last 45 minutes in the car.

I need to learn to start putting up a hard wall separating work and weekend, but I keep finding reasons to make it permeable.  We’re launching a new initiative on Wednesday and there were lots of little last minute things that needed to be dealt with. The flipside could have been not taking a vacation at all, so I guess this the compromise.

Jean’s driving, and I’m about to see if I can do some programming, I just needed a break.

I’m feeling on more stable ground now. Just starting my 5th month. At least I feel like I have a better understanding of the picture that the puzzle pieces are trying to make. I still keep finding whole sections of it that were hidden under the bed by a devious child, but the cleanup on those items is coming along quicker each time.

I haven’t kept up with LJ in weeks. So much so that when I read through my friends pages, I get to the end of what LJ shows me without having read all the new messages, and for that I apologize. I need to at least start reading it weekly if I can’t get to it daily. My other daily reading has also suffered. When you find yourself 8 or 9 strips behind in OoTS, while its nice for continuity, it reminds you have long it has been.

This car ride is making me sick.. need to take a break from this LCD and have a snack.

This Entry Has: (0) Comments ~ (0) Trackbacks ~ [Leave a Comment]

Alot has happened in the last month since my update. After giving my notice at work, I spent the next two weeks up to my eyebrows in ‘last minutes’ to get done before I left. This included things like site tours, documentation, purchases and installations.. We also interviewed several IT consulting companies who we felt could be used to fill in some of the gaps in my absence.

Then I had a few days off and we traveled to MA for Thanksgiving.

That was my final reprieve, as we returned on Saturday and I flew out to Downey, CA on Sunday.

So I’m laying here now on Tuesday night, and I’m hear for another 3 days. I’ll be returning Friday night. I don’t have a car this time, so there isn’t alot I can do after I get done my work training. Granted, I didn’t finish until almost 6 tonight anyway. Originally, I thought I might see who was around up in LA from my Ithaca days and maybe stop by and say hi for dinner or something, but that’s not feasible without a car.

Luckily, on day one, I got a new mobile phone and laptop. So now that I’ve got it all configured, I’m actually paying for WIFI access in the hotel for the next 3 nights, and hence my ability to finally post.

I’ll talk more about the job later, but I wanted to comment on the flight out.

The worst flight I’ve been on in 25 years. We got in the air 45 minutes late, but then the pilot told us we might be in for some rough weather and he was going to leave the seatbelt sign on. He wasn’t exaggerating. He got on 3 more times to update us over the next hour. He apologized and said it was the worse he’d seen in years as well.

For an hour, we kept changing altitudes. 20k. 28k, 22k, 3ok. 25k. Trying to smooth things out. It didn’t work. I haven’t see a vomit bag used in 25 years, and I saw a dozen used on this flight. People would vocalized ‘woahs’ and ‘ahs’. We were holding onto headrests and arm rests. I found myself locking my fingers under the tray table and standing on the balls of my feet trying to deal with the shifts and bounces. I felt myself straining against the seat belt several times as we dipped unexpectedly. I’m glad I had a seat belt on, or I’d likely have hit my head on the ceiling.

Wow. Don’t make me go through that again please. At one point I thought, what a way to start a new job, dying in the mountains of western PA. When we arrived, we heard that we’d just missed being redirected to Ontario, CA because of the fog. Flights afterwards were, and that would have put me 50 miles from the hotel instead of 22.. The taxi at 22 miles cost my $64.. another employee got redirected and split the $130 cabfare with someone else. Heard later that there we delays all across the country. In LAX, outgoing flights were backed up several hours.

I’m so glad I didn’t have to add on THAT to the end of a horrible flight.

Let’s hope Friday’s return is easier on the insides..

I know I haven’t been sleeping well the last two nights.. Hoping staying up a bit and writing this will help me settle down… last night I was up at 3 and 5 and finally got out of bed and started my day at 6. Monday morning, I was up at 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. I wanted to attribute that to the plane ride + first day jitters, but today was day too.. Am I still nervous? A good night sleep will prove otherwise.

This Entry Has: (2) Comments ~ (0) Trackbacks ~ [Leave a Comment]

I’m down in Ft. Lauderdale today. My grandmother has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and is quickly taking a turn for the worse. My dad has been coming down here regularly for other affairs, and so he planned on coming this weekend with my sister (joining him from NC). After talking with my aunt late last week, I got the honest answer that if I didn’t visit relatively soon, the next time I might see her would be at her funeral.

Jean and I talked it over, and it really came down to this question – “If you don’t see her again before she dies, would you be ok with that for the rest of your life.” Ultimately, the answer was no. So I quickly made my own plans to join them on their trip. Then, we throw one more into the mix, and my cousin Nick comes along too. I called my boss at home to let him know what was going on and that I wanted to take some vacation time on really short notice and would he be ok with that. He was, and so the plane tickets were purchased on Saturday.

So the 4 of us arrived Thursday night. My sister much later than the rest of us flying out of ACY, because she kept getting delayed out of NC.

We stopped to see my grandmother on the way home from the airport. It was about 7:45p, and she was already asleep. She sleeps alot right now, sometimes as much as 16 hours a day.

Yesterday, they took her to a Doctors appt to review some recent bloodwork. Her numbers were really elevated in the kidney functions, and she might be moving into kidney failure. She’s got an upcoming appt. with the oncologist, but since he is going to want additional bloodwork for the kidneys too, the Dr. they were visiting arranged for some more bloodwork and followup tests.

After the appt. they came back here (my uncle’s house where I am staying), and she spent the afternoon with us. She’s lost so much weight. She can’t walk without a walker anymore, and even then, every step is precarious. She’s also been suffering with senile dementia for the last 9 months, so that’s making things even more interesting. One could assume that part of the senility is related to cancer in the brain, but no Dr. has made that formal analysis – although that specifically wasn’t investigated. At this point, it’s not going to change anything, it’s just for information on why her behavior is the way it is.

She forgets who people are. She makes up stories and events. She starts sentences that appear coherent, but by the end have thoughts that are no longer related to the conversation. It was ok yesterday. She recognized me, and she saw the pictures of the twins, but I’m not entirely sure she knew their names. When they were at the Doctors, at one point she asked why she was there. My uncle Steve finally told her it was because she had cancer. She was sad for a minute and asked what now. Steve told her that they had more tests and they would do what they could. 5 minutes later, when they went into another room for some additional bloodwork, she had already forgotten their conversation and was looking for her missing camera.

So it’s about 9 am now. I was only up until 1:15a  last night, as I am on a different schedule than everyone else. My dad, sister, and cousin were up until 4a talking, so they are still sleeping now. I’m up in the loft listening to a podcast on my kids’ Ipod masking the filter of the turtle’s aquarium.

She’s coming back again today for the afternoon, so I’ll have a chance to spend some more time with her. I’m here until Monday night for our flight back and will be getting in late.

This Entry Has: (3) Comments ~ (0) Trackbacks ~ [Leave a Comment]