Hello, all! I'm in the process of sending out the evite to my graduation party, which is in the Boston area on Saturday, August 8. If you didn't get the evite and will be (or can be) in the area that day, drop me an e-mail (vrwinters at gmail dot com), and I'll send it your way! I'd love to see anyone who can make it!

So, um, are there any Buffistas* who may be in Israel on September 14?

Because if there are, I need to know in advance, in order to include them in the guests list for my wedding.

* Other than Shir, of course, who is already covered.

Yesterday, at a few minutes after midnight, our cat Teddy passed away at the age of 15. He became ill about a week and a half ago, and he became much worse overnight Saturday night/Sunday morning. After he spent the night at a local vet emergency clinic, we took him to the University of Pennsylvania vet hospital Sunday afternoon. When we last visited him shortly after 6:00 that evening, he seemed to have perked up. But by 10:30, the vet called to tell us that Teddy's vital signs were becoming unstable. Shortly after midnight, we went into cardiac arrest.

We brought his body back to the DC area yesterday. Funeral services will be held at Noah's Ark Pet Cemetery in Falls Church, VA on Saturday. Time not yet known.

Thanks for all your support and parentheses over the past couple years as Teddy fought a number of illnesses. This is the first chance I've had on the computer since all this happened.

Some ~~ma please. Came home last night (this morning) and noticed that Ollie was walking funny. Then, he wouldn't get up on Em's bed. I watched him and his hind leg kept slipping inwards and then his rump hit the ground. I don't know what he could have done or if he's sick and I'm freaking out. I'm taking him to the vet at 10:30.

I release the ~`ma to GC and whoever else needs it. Ollie is home and on strict restriction. Vet is pretty sure he has a slipped disc and as a result the left hind leg is becoming paralyzed. Ollie is getting prednisone (steroids) and has to be carried outside for business. It might work, it might not and then tough decisions will have to be made. Thank you all for the good vibes for The World's Stupidest Dog.

I'm definitely attending a conference in San Francisco, arriving August 18th (early afternoon) and departing August 20th (early evening). I predict that I'll be happy to ditch events at the conference to meet up with locals.

(I'm still learning - thanks for your patience, all)

I'll be in Atlanta from August 1st to 8th; I don't know how much free time I'll have, since I'm Travelling To See Someone Special(TM), but we'll see!

I'd like to request some of that powerful Buffista jobma, if I may. This morning I handed in an application for a job I would really, really love to do. As the atmosphere at my current place is turning decidedly unpleasant, I could really use a change.