Driveby to post I'll be mostly dark for the next couple of weeks - I'll be over at my parents for Passover, with the one small cranky computer having to be enough for the whole family.

Before I go, I'd like to mention how lucky the following week is, in terms of Buffistas birthdays. According to the Buffista Calendar, this Wednesday, April 16, is NoiseDesign's birthday; the following day, Thursday, April 17, is Sheryl's (whom I sure hope gets a proper celebration, despite it colliding with the holiday); the following day, Friday, April 18, is beth's. After a couple of days there's another strike, this time on Monday, April 21, with Elena's birthday, followed, on Tuesday, April 22, with Betsy's. Early wishes to all of you.

Happy holiday to those who celebrate it, and good days to all. I'll sure miss you.

Hi all,

Emailing from my sister's house.

My eldest brother Donald H. Jensen Jr, died sometime today at age 56.

I'll have more information later.

I'll likely not be posting, but I dunno right now. I may need the Buffistas for the moral support.

Things seem kerwonky.

More Later

I got a 29 on the Putnam exam (a math competition), which puts me on the published list of the top 500 scores in the country.

Rob Curtis died at 1:30 a.m. on April 15, 2003. He is survived by his wife, Sadie, his son, Zachary, his father, his brother, and his sister. He will be missed.

Thanks to all the Buffistas for their love and support. It's meant a lot.

For those of you who don't know, I'm having back surgery today. I go into to the hospital around 2 p.m., and the surgery is scheduled for 4 p.m.

If all goes well, I'll actually be home tomorrow.

My Mom is going to call Trudy when the surgery is over, so that she can post here in Beep Me and let you all know that I'm fine and on my way to becoming bionic.

Going kinda gray for the next week or so. All things personal and professional are needing extra attention, so I need to back away for a bit.

I'll be back when things are more orderly and I can devote more time to buffistas. And by buffistas, I mean porn.

anyone that wants to reach me can do so via profile addy.

Just heard from Steph's Mom!

Teppy got out of surgery about an hour ago and the doctor says everything went well. She is still in recovery and her Mom and Dad haven't seen her yet. She should be coming around in the next hour or so and should be calling me herself (though not Herself) before too long.

Airlines suck. I would have to stay over for longer in Dallas and rent a car and a motel, etc.

Driving from Minnesota to Dallas. 1000 miles. I figure I'll drive and stop and walk and drive.

Wake and service for my brother on Thursday, and his funeral with military honors (Vietnam vet) at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery on Friday.

Thank you all for your well wishes.

I'm home!!!!! I'm not in pain, exactly -- I'm very very VERY SORE and very VERY VERY STIFF.

The pain that was shooting down my leg seems to be gone, but my foot is still numb. My surgeon says that's normal, because my nerve root was absolutely squashed by 2 herniated discs. He says the numbness should go away over the next few weeks as the nerve un-squishes (that isn't the medical term for it, but hey).

The surgery went very very quickly (so says the doc and my parents; I was blessedly unconscious) and there's no reason I won't have a complete recovery. The next few days might be tough, with the incision pain (it's at least 3 inches; possibly longer), and the stiffness and soreness.

However. It's done and I'm home and I have last night's Buffy on tape. Yeehaw.

I probably won't be online much today and possibly tomorrow -- that all depends on how I feel and how long my Mom stays (when she's here, I feel like I should talk to her, rather than shun her to talk to my blinvisible friends).

Anyone who has my number is welcome to call me, and, again, when Mom is gone, I'll probably be making lots of doped-up calls to y'all.

Thanks for the good thoughts, prayers, and vibes. I'm going to go out on a limb and say they helped.

(Now, if I may be selfish, vibe me for a fast recovery!)

I have a job interview tomorrow at 9. It would be really easy and fun and I liked the supervisor when I talked to her -- so please send me jobma vibes around then!