My father, who has just made it through six months of colon cancer chemotherapy, has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. They're giving him a prognosis of eight years or go, which he says mock-cheerfully is pretty good at eighty-three. But it means he's barely recovering from one devastating blow when he received another.

When you combine this with my mother-in-law's two strokes, neither permanently damaging, this has been a really sucky year for parental health.

*sigh*

The good news: My grandfather's most recent c-dif culture came back negative. No more sign of the bacteria.

The bad news: His bowel is perking up quite as quickly as they thought, and the real food he had last night made him quite bloated and uncomfortable this morning so he's back on the gastric tube.

He's still feeling a lot better, though. Just needs....hell, I don't know.

A dear friend of mine has taken permanent benefitted employment at Lucasfilm. I hereby fan all extra jobma Buffistawards.

Ok. So, my mom's now in the hospital. Wake me when it's 2003.

This doesn't seem quite important enough, but I am very excited!

My friend has asked me to be the godmother to her 3 month old son. We had a long talk about the "promise to raise the child in the Catholic Chirch" and the fact that I am not very practicing. It was decided that since our religious views match, that was the important thing.

So-- I'm to be a god-mother!

I'm mostly offline today and tomorrow, and possibly through the weekend. Depends on whether we can talk the client into giving us another day so we can deliver on Tuesday instead of Monday. Work sucks, please send chocolate.

The Winter issue of American Bungalow magazine containing my essay is available.

Patented Buffista vibes, please.

Z's father is back in hospital with pneumonia, 6 months after being hospitalized for pancreatitis and liver failure. Also? He has a hernia.

So, at this point, I don't know what kind of vibes to ask for. We just need something positive to happen.

Thank you so much.

Well, I'm off on this trip through southern Africa tomorrow, and two days after I get back from that, I'm doing the Garden Route tour with my parents (southern coast of South Africa), and soon after that I leave for India. So I'll be around even less often than I have been this semester. I've put up an itinerary on my website, if you're curious about where I'll be traveling next, and I may get to update my livejournal once or twice during this time. I wish you all Happy Winter Holidays, except the Aussies, to whom I wish Happy Summer Holidays, and a premature Happy Australia Day, by which time I will be in Perth (yay!). I'll miss you!

Chicago folk:

I'm thinking of driving up to Mitsuwa (the Japanese mall) in Arlington Heights tomorrow. Anyone want to join me for shopping and/or lunch? Profile addy good.

Edit - contact info added to profile. I expect to be there from about 1:30 on.