Dad update: it's lung cancer. He's got a large mass in the upper right lobe that's pressing on nerves and blood vessels in his shoulder; hence, the pain and swelling. There's smaller spots all over his lungs and the lungs are 1/8-1/4 filled with fluid. No chemo, he's too old (93) and all they're worried about now is quality of life until the end. So, radiation therapy starting tomorrow to try to reduce the large mass. No one mentioned how much time this will give him.

Thanks for the ~ma; if you could keep it coming, every little bit is greatly appreciated.

Update: I am divorced! It will be one month before I get the judgment in hand, but it's a legal formality. The judge actually said to me, in English no less, "You are now divorced." This is not at all how my lawyer explained the procedure to me, but as I've learned repeatedly during this process, his English is not nearly as good as he thinks it is. I must wait for the official judgment, which must then be officially translated and submitted to the embassy, and when I return to the states I'll have to have it accepted by the courts in Maine because that is where we were married. But it's all formalities at this point as I understand it. And Luna and I will be home by New Years. I am so relieved. I have seven years of stress waiting to come out and once this shock wears off I'm probably going to have a solid cry. But happy tears!

LAistas, a friend of mine is moving to Los Angeles and the spring to take a job with Loot Crate. Are you interested and willing to be the social sponsor for him and his partner? It will be their first time on the West Coast. I think they are looking for a home in the Echo Park area. You can email me at my profile addy.

Thank you all for the ~ma. Dad passed away this evening in as much comfort as we could provide him. He managed to be a cantankerous old coot and a deeply caring man at the same time. A fierce intellect that took no prisoners, who could logic you under the table in two seconds flat (absolutely brilliant mathematician), a lover of jazz and opera, WWII vet, handsome devil that still made ladies' hearts flutter (the nurses were all ga-ga over him). He was such a tremendous support throughout my life and helped me start over more than once. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Tomorrow at 2 pm central - I will need interview-Ma.

-ma for Sumi!

Also, a little -ma for us. We are once more into the breech with our pitch today.

We've cleared the high hurdles of the Very Fancy Executives at the Major Media Companies, and they have sent us to the Producers of Enjoyable Entertainments (aka, their Licencees).

This is the pitch that might produce actual contracts so it would be lovely to nail it once more and actually secure some lean green.

Thanks, Buffistas!

So Dad passed away this morning. He was 89, and remembered the Hindenberg passing over his house in Brooklyn when he was a boy. He was a scamp as a boy, but settled down and became a thoughtful, kind, ethical man; a good engineer, a loyal husband, and a great father.

God bless you, Dad.

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If y'all could spare some am to my mom, I'd appreciate it. She has some lesions on her liver and left kidney. Nothing conclusive yet. Myriad options of bad and fine. Thanks, y'all.

For anyone not on Omnis' FB who's wondering on the latest, he gave me permission to copy over here. This was posted Jan. 6:

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Haven't updated in awhile. Sorry about that. Hospitals are a busy place. If you want to sleep you don't go to hospital!!!

Anyhow, today was a milestone day. Technically I was discharged from the hospital, wheelchaired across the courtyard, and admitted to the acute rehab center! Doesn't feel much different.

Rehab is an intense workout center. It's to fix the broken body. As of now, my muscles are so weak, I can't get of bed without lots of help. Not very functional. So we have a lot of work to do!

Now for the heavy stuff that I don't think I've mentioned before because we only had partial information. We still don't have all the information, but wanted folks to know.

The gallbladder is cancerous. A super rare form of gallbladder cancer. From what they can guess, the super rare cancerous gallbladder exploded into my liver, which also is now infected. We don't know if it's the gallbladder cancer, it's own cancer, or a mashup of both. So plan of attack is unknown. It will likely start with chemo and radiation, and see how that works.

That's about all I have on my end.

Visitors hours are wonky in the rehab center. Technically it's 8a-8p. But I can't have visitors during sessions and I don't know my schedule until that morning. One time that is free is after dinner 6-8p. But mind you, we share a building with mental health, so they literally lock down at 8pm. So YES, I want visitors. Text me day of, I will respond when I got a moment, voila!

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I visited with him last weekend and have been texting a bit. He's still in a holding pattern on treating the cancer because his body is so depleted right now. He's his usual self in terms of making the best of a shitty situation, but I know he could use cards and good cheer if you're interested.

Email me for mailing address. His profile addy is good for email.

Additional text from him just now: "Can you ask for extra ma tonight. Mind is going down the what if path and not seeing sunny options."