Wow -- I just googled some family members for no good reason, and the county where my father was born has lists of births online, going back at least to my grandmother, with date and parents' names. Fascinating! I was thinking about family tree stuff, because my mother got my other grandmother to go through a couple of generations yesterday.

It is so hot here, I don't think there will be any sleeping tonight, unless it is in the bathtub. Which sucks because I didn't sleep much last night due to intestinal distress, neighbor's yelling son, and too many fireworks.

Yeah, I was just gonna say, it is rather hot here. AC is keeping upstairs chilly, and thus the downstairs bearable. I'm still perfecting fan placement for moving the air down the stairs, and given the breeze I'm feeling now, I hit a sweet spot. If only my kitchen wasn't such an airless box.

I am so sorry Kate. My condolences to Mark and his family.

It's supposed to hit triple digits in NYC tomorrow. Really not looking forward to getting home to my no-central-AC apartment.

Kate, I'm so sorry for both you and Mark.

Oh well fuck. Just got an email from my mom. My aunt, dad's sister, was admitted to the hospital and her ovarian cancer has spread to her entire system. She doesn't have a lot of time.

I'm not really sure how to process this. I haven't seen her in a number of years, but she was my cool aunt when I was little and she's a neat person. She and Dad were never good about keeping in touch. I was under the impression that she'd been in remission for a while, and the biggest worry was her heart, which she had surgery on a couple years back. I .... I don't know if I should go up there, or just send a card, or even if a call would be in order. Or if she can even take calls. Because my father doesn't ask these questions.

I'm really sorry, sarameg.

Oh no, I'm sorry, sarameg.

Oh crap, sarameg. I'm sorry. My condolences to Mark and his family.

Oh no, Sara. I think a call is not a bad idea -- if she can't take it, she can still know you called.