I'll catch up in a bit. I'm back from LI. My aunt, cousin, cousin's 11 year old daughter, uncle and I pretty much talked all day, from when I arrived a little before 9 until I left at 5. Showed her photos, and E (11 year old) was totally enthralled by my cats. I think I'll be posting more to flickr just for her. At one point, we were going through the Bhutan and Nepal trip, because Carol wanted to. John had gone out to walk the beagle and came back and asked what we'd been doing. Carol answered "Oh, not much, just traveling halfway around the world and seeing Everest."

Before the cancer pretty much derailed all their plans, they had hoped to do a lot of traveling around the country and overseas. So there was that.

I'm glad I went. I hope I can go again while she's still able to cope with visitors. We just don't know at this point. She's pretty much bedbound, on fentanyl patches and morphine for when the pain breaks through. But she's sharp as ever. Like I said, we pretty much did not stop talking.

I'm really glad you got to see her, sarameg. That sounds like a great visit for everyone.

That's excellent, sara! I'm so glad you got to go.

He changed his voicemail to say "Dr. Asshole", he had medical books lying around his apartment when she came over, he would tell her every December and May that he had exams so he wouldn't see her for a while

That's Extreme Self-Delusion. Wow.

I really don't get constructing an intricate falsehood like that. I at least hope it's terrifying. It's at least some vindication.

Ah! Why do I have to be out of painkillers on a day when I'd like to be celebrating? I guess I will be cheerful tomorrow.

I think that what hurt her the most is that his friends knew what was going on. She found out when a friend of hers was having xrays and saw the guy wheeling another patient into xray. She mentioned to the tech that she knew Dr. Asshole and the the tech said "he's not an intern, he's an orderly" and her world unraveled.

Perm employed ita! It has a nice ring to it.

I'm glad you got a chance to have that wonderful visit, sarameg.

Oh yeah. The key takeaway is "better off without him." And that means without him in your life at all.

What Nora said and THIS. I get she's angry and she has a right to be but she's also got the right to walk away and the sooner she can get there? The better for her, I think.

Awesome t-shirts for twins: [link]

Those aprons I like are back in stock: Baking is like science for hungry people

Questionable Content! LOVE. They also have t-shirts with the same saying. I want their Science is a Verb Now shirt, or possibly She Blinded Me with Library Science.

Yay permanent position, ita!

And I'm glad tommy's kitty made it, how scary!

May Kbug move on and up.

One thing this visit reminded me (and is frankly something we all know, so it isn't a revelation, but life keeps moving and you forget) is to maintain those ties. My cousin and I have never been close. I kinda blame my dad and aunt for that when we were little, but it is up to me now, I'm a grown up. And my cousin is such a sweet person, and her daughter....god, I love her daughter. I invited them both to come down and I'd show them around.

I've never known my uncle well (he's her second husband of maybe the last couple decades and I'd only met him a few times, I never knew the first) but all I can see is how much he completely adores my aunt. And how this is hurting this gruff, macho Bronx dude. Their kids are responsible for getting them together, so it's good that both sets of kids are there and definitely a blended family, even as it happened when they were adults. He talked how they planned to come down to Bmore and do a cross country trip, precancer. I told him it won't be the same, but I want him to come down here anyway.

Yes, I'm processing. I'm not sad, but for the time lost. At the same time, conversations with Carol are like we'd talked everyday, and they always have been and I am so grateful for that. I'm hoarse from talking, I suspect she is too. One of those people who you get so well, you connect immediately and intimately. There is shared history (knocking my dad) but also...we just think the same.

And for your geeky FYI, Kepler is one of the missions we store the data for.