Lots of fun times, David. I’m glad you are finding little bits of joy here and there.

My two part strategy for dealing with this year is: go all in on relationships, and embrace change.

But I'm learning that I really need to pace myself on the socializing because I still need a fair amount of alone time. The loss I'm feeling with Jacqueline doesn't really manifest as loneliness, if that makes sense.

That said, the significant thing about both the Bowie showie and the Sketchfest outing is that I included Matilda in them both.

We're knitting ourselves together in a new way and it's good. She's still very much a 17 year old focused on her peer group friendships and school activities, but we're figuring out the new dynamics in our relationship without Jacqueline to triangulate with.

Ohhh I used to work for AFS.

Resource!!

I did answer JenP’s thoughtful questions, maybe I can format my answers and post them tonight.

I'm glad you're working through it because it does sound like a necessary change is coming.

Well, shit. The 2/1 appointment wasn't showing in MyChart, so I called the clinic this morning, and while they did have that time blocked out for me, on closer review it wasn't an appropriate time slot for a biopsy. They gave me the first available, but it's not till Feb. 14. I'm on the wait list if anything opens up sooner, but why would it?

Happy Valentine's Day to me! Plus, that's Ash Wednesday. How...nice.

So now I'm back in full meltdown mode as bad as I was when I first got the MRI results on Friday. I'd just managed to come up with coping strategies for staying kinda sane for the rest of this month, but they're stopgaps, and now they have to work for half of next month too?

And if this IS cancer, all I can think is that every bit of delay I have to go through until they can diagnose it gives it time to get worse and harder to treat and survive. And if they can't find the lump via ultrasound to do the biopsy, they'll have to schedule me for an MRI-guided biopsy at that point...which is also a very full schedule so who knows how much longer that will be?

Just....argh.

I’m sorry Susan. That’s very frustrating.

Hec, I’m glad to hear you’ve been doing fun things and hanging out with good people.

Somewhere in this house ltc’s tomagotchi is demanding attention, but I cannot find it.

Big "I don't waaaaaaana work energy" today.

Susan, fingers crossed for the waiting list. And if you have to wait until the 14th, you'll make it. Maybe do something like watch an episode of something every night, or a chapter of something? Or treat yourself to something small, like a fancy truffle each night.

That would 100% drive me nuts Susan. Will cross fingers that someone has to cancel sooner. (Lots of people are getting covid now, that might make someone have to reschedule?)

OK, panic partially averted. They've already called back to say they had a cancellation, and could I do 2/8? Of course I can! I mean, i'd be a lot happier if they hadn't made the mistake with the 2/1 time, but the superstitious part of me is just glad it's away from that Valentine's Day/Ash Wednesday combo. I do try not to be superstitious, or at least to save my superstitions for sports and politics, but still.

They gave me the first available

"Hurry up and wait" is no fun, regardless of the context.

Susan, I'm so sorry about the stress and anxiety. I went through a scare in 2022, and my experience was that those biopsy spots do open up from cancellations more often than you'd expect. I hope an even earlier one opens for you.

I'm on a plane back to Florida again today. I'm meeting my mom, who's going to help me to go through the condo. I am not taking a lot, but Dad did have a few pieces of antique furniture passed down from his grandparents, so I've rented one of the smaller PODS to be dropped off Thursday and picked up Saturday. I hate moving and packing even in happy times, so this isn't going to be an easy week. But I will have my mom, and ND flies out on a red eye to arrive Thursday morning, so I won't be alone. I rented a little airbnb nearby so we have a neutral place to retreat to.

After that, I have to wait until Dad's part time caregiver, J, moves out before I can hire a company to empty out the rest. That's complicated on a lot of levels. J loved my dad like a father and is really struggling, and he also only just got his first "real" job as a nurse, so he's broke. It's been a tricky balancing act. I'm giving him some money once I have access to the annuity, but I don't know how quickly that can happen, and he won't be able to move out without it.

Then I'll hire painters, replace the nasty carpet on the stairs, and have the whole thing cleaned out so it can be listed as soon as possible.

That's a lot, Pix. I'm glad ND can get there to be with you.

Glad you already have an earlier appointment, Susan!

A song for if you don't want to do the work today: [link]

I was very clever and took today off for extra recuperation from the week-long work conference, extra recuperation meaning going to the local Korean spa to soak in pools and get a body scrub. And this morning my neurologist's office contacted me to let me know they could move my Feb. 6 Botox appointment to tomorrow. I'm still two weeks overdue for the appointment, but I'm so glad to be getting the shots tomorrow.

I learned at the conference to always talk to the engineering managers about any problems my team and I have in getting feature and release notes information, because they will get very angry on our behalf and they start brainstorming ways they can automate the process in the feature development tools and force naughty bad PMs to do their job and keep the writers in the loop.