Here is the culmination of all the stress-producing crap I've been dealing with for the past week: Next week, after 4th of July (also my parents' and my sister's anniversaries) and my big family shower, my mother is going to be moved into a nursing home. It's been a tough decision to reach and it's all pretty overwhelming.

Er...Hi! I'm back from South Korea!

However, I'm (as to be expected after ten days) thousands upon thousands of messages behind. And I'm not sure when I'll catch up (or, more likely, skip ahead). But I'll be out there, lurkishly, somehow, somewhere, for the next while...

I'll be dark from tomorrow morning through the end of next week as DH and I go on our great Oregon and California road trip, featuring several national parks, family, and foamy Buffistas.

Going pretty much all dark until Monday. Flying up to San Jose this afternoon, to attend the wedding of one of my sisters on Saturday.

I miss you all, and tremble in fear at the very large number of messages that will await me when I return.

Unfortunately, I will have no time to visit Bayistas, as my schedule is very full up with events. Next time I head up there though, I think it will be all Bayista time.

Going dark-ish in about an hour until Sunday night. Off to the family annual in Maine. We're having it on Peak's Island this, year so I get a little island time.

I may have access to a computer where I'm staying, but I'm not counting on it. Happy 4th, all!

I'll be fading to deeper grey this weekend, too, as I trundle down to Selma, CA to visit a friend. Computer access is probable, but my ability to access b.org may vary wildly depending on how conversations and whatnot go.

The personal landmark on the Selma trip is that I'm actually going to be sharing the driving. First time ever. I am still merely a permit-holder, but I'm actually looking forward to the freeway time.

Just a heads up: In a couple of weeks(the 18th to the 21st) I'll be in Worcester, Mass for Concertino. I don't know what my schedule will be, exactly, but if people are interested in meeting up, e-mail me.(Profile address is good)

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Saturday morning, I'm flying to Calgary, Alberta to spend two weeks with family. I'll likely be mostly dark grey as I can't predict how much computer access I'll have, but I will try to stop by. I'm back in Toronto on the 20th. I hope everyone has a great fortnight!

My DH and I hit somebody's dog Friday night. The owner is being a real saint about not demanding money from us (he had the dog off-leash on a poorly lit street after sundown, and he seems to realize this is a Bad Idea in retrospect), but his costs are pushing the $1000 mark just to get the basic issues the impact left behind cared for (kidney damage and an injured hip). He says he can handle it, but Bob and I are feeling a bit obligated. We have already given him $150 out of our own pockets, but we'd like to do more. We couldn't afford the $150 in the first place, truthfully, but we could afford the guilt less. If any of you are able to help a stranger with a dog problem, we are collecting donations. 100% (minus the PayPal fees) of the money will go to the man for his dog. If we manage to collect over $850 (EDIT: our first $150 counts toward the $1000), we're going to send the rest to the Peninsula Humane Society.

My PayPal ID is bdaverin@aol.com. If all you can send is healing vibes for the dog, that's more than welcome, too.

And the Stompies are asked to forgive me if I've overstepped the use of this board.

I just got back from DC, where my apartment hunt was semi-productive. Any apartment-ma directed this way would be appreciated.