Nora, thanks for the good wishes for my dad. He says the infection is better and things are starting to return to normal in his neck. Still has a lot of nerve problems in his arms, but even that is seeming to get a little bit better. I still think he has a long way to go, but I am encouraged by this news.

Aimee, you're performing?

Sadly, no. I have smoked and drunk away too much of the script to perform it well enough any more. I will be in the audience, Time Warping and wishing I could throw cards for sorrow and cards for pain.

Two completely unrelated observations.

1) None of my tutoring students have contacted me since I've been gone. I am SO thankful for this. I was so worried that there were going to be bugging me to death. I have a funny feeling their prof told them to leave me alone, but still. It's been nice to be able to walk away from that a bit and be able to focus on the conference...even though I love my students.

2) My step-grandma just e-mailed me because she received the first package of transcripts to go over (from the interviews this summer). She was so cute, because she congratulated me on becoming an aunt and said that I must make sure to "bog" about Thanksgiving, when I get to meet the little noodle, so they can be part of the celebration. I just thought it was so adorable, though, that she said "bog." She tries so hard to be up on the tech stuff and lingo.

t raises hand

How is it that I own NO SHORT BLACK SKIRT???

t goes back to boggle at closet, willing a skirt to appear.

Aims.... you do own a short black skirt.

It's just not anywhere convenient. Is all.

I'll be over here....

Holy shit.

Just. Holy shit.

I just spent a half-hour talking to the author of a book that I thought was going to completely contradict my entire thesis. And he sent me completely in the direction that I needed to go. He was all, "Don't you dare let me be the one that gets in the way of you proving this. And here's where you need to start to get where you need to go."

The man loves to hear himself talk, but you know, the five words I said gave him just enough information to send me in the right direction...to the right people...and one of the people I've already gotten in touch with by e-mail.

And, he connected my love of Faulkner to my love of all of this, and I'm just...I'm not even making any sense. I want to start reading and working on this, and I'm just so excited.

And you know what else is so fabulous about this conference? All of these people are all, "Keep me up to date on how this is going...I want to know where you end up." And they mean it. And I've been told that by this guy and the president of the organization and at least five other people. I'm just...I'm overwhelmed, and I needed to babble for a bit.

You may no return to your regularly scheduled Bitching.

Yay vw! That made me smile and will likely carry me through these last 20 minutes until I can get teh hell out of here.

That's so great, vw!

Thanks, guys. This has just been such an amazing experience and has enriched my life so much. Even if I don't do oral histories for the rest of my life, there has been so much validation and encouragement here. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Ok. I'm off to the last session then to the Zmayhem's where I will probably continue to babble incoherently.

Squeeze them for me, vw. I miss them!