I ache all over
It’s been an . . . interesting week.
On Wednesday I found out that my cousin Bob had died. Bob was a really, really great guy: smart and funny and charming and considerate, a great kidder and a huge flirt but also incredibly sharp and wonderfully supportive. He and my grandfather looked and acted a great deal alike, so it was always strange to remember that in fact it was Bob’s wife Sylvia who was my grandfather’s oldest sister’s daughter. Yes, if you’re doing the math, Bob was of the previous generation, or perhaps even the one before that—he served in World War II (on bomber planes) before returning, marrying Sylvia, and going back into the family fur business before eventually leaving that for public school teaching. He and Sylvia were the first family members jendaby got to meet, many many years ago, and they made her feel welcome right from the start. We last saw him a little over a year ago, when my dad was visiting and we all went out for dinner at our favorite diner. A few weeks later Bob and Sylvia headed down to their winter home in Florida, and a short while after that Bob had a massive stroke. He never regained consciousness. But I’ll always remember him laughing and smiling that impish little grin and clasping me on the shoulder even as he ribbed me and flirted with jendaby and charmed our children.
Friday I went to NYComicCon after work for my book signing. That went well—we gave away copies of Tides of Darkness (Beyond the Dark Portal isn’t out for another month or two) and ran out within twenty minutes so I signed a bunch of Creative Couplings for them (they were going to give those away on Saturday) and then headed home to catch up with jendaby, xochitl42 and Mook. We hung out until around midnight or so, then I worked until 4am to finish up something I had to get in that night—not a work project but something for a volunteer position, so it was my own damn fault.
Saturday I went back to the con to wander around a bit. It was jam-packed, of course, but I still managed to make it to most of the publishers and see a lot of the rest of the floor as well. I ran into a bunch of friends, including Glenn, Bob G., Dave, Keith, and Alan, spoke to several editors I knew, and made a few new contacts as well. Then I headed back home.
Sunday I was going over to two friends’ apartment—luckily for me only a few blocks away—to game with them and a few others. That was starting at 2:30. At 2 jendaby and I discovered the laundry room was full of water. We traced the problem back to the toilet but plunging didn’t help any so we simply bailed it out, sopped everything up, and left it alone for a while. I went to the game and hung out there until around 10, when I headed home. My youngest sister and her newly minted fiancé—who were coming up for the funeral and were staying the night with us—got in maybe twenty minutes after I did and we hung out a little bit before all going to sleep.
Monday was Bob’s funeral. The service was nice, though the kids decided to act up a bit and we had to take them out before the end. Then we all formed a funeral procession and drove out to the cemetery, somewhere in Suffolk. After the graveside service we headed back to Sylvia’s apartment and stayed there for a while before going home. That night I realized that my allergies were too severe and too constant to just be allergies—I had apparently caught a cold. jendaby convinced me to take some cold medicine and I went to sleep.
Yesterday my cold was worse instead of better, but I suffered through it and went to work anyway. On the way home I picked up an auger—also known as a drain snake—and last night after the kids were in bed and after I’d taken a nap I went down and used it to unstop the toilet. Yay! We also did the use trash/recycling/changing the cat litter, though jendaby kindly helped with them because the cold was kicking my butt. Then I went upstairs, took more cold medicine, and went back to sleep.
I’m feeling a little better today—still crappy, still plugged-up, but managing. Hopefully it’ll pass soon. Tomorrow is Take Your Children to Work Day here, and we’re bringing both of the kids in for it, which should be fun but could be utter chaos.
And that’s about all the news here for now.
On Wednesday I found out that my cousin Bob had died. Bob was a really, really great guy: smart and funny and charming and considerate, a great kidder and a huge flirt but also incredibly sharp and wonderfully supportive. He and my grandfather looked and acted a great deal alike, so it was always strange to remember that in fact it was Bob’s wife Sylvia who was my grandfather’s oldest sister’s daughter. Yes, if you’re doing the math, Bob was of the previous generation, or perhaps even the one before that—he served in World War II (on bomber planes) before returning, marrying Sylvia, and going back into the family fur business before eventually leaving that for public school teaching. He and Sylvia were the first family members jendaby got to meet, many many years ago, and they made her feel welcome right from the start. We last saw him a little over a year ago, when my dad was visiting and we all went out for dinner at our favorite diner. A few weeks later Bob and Sylvia headed down to their winter home in Florida, and a short while after that Bob had a massive stroke. He never regained consciousness. But I’ll always remember him laughing and smiling that impish little grin and clasping me on the shoulder even as he ribbed me and flirted with jendaby and charmed our children.
Friday I went to NYComicCon after work for my book signing. That went well—we gave away copies of Tides of Darkness (Beyond the Dark Portal isn’t out for another month or two) and ran out within twenty minutes so I signed a bunch of Creative Couplings for them (they were going to give those away on Saturday) and then headed home to catch up with jendaby, xochitl42 and Mook. We hung out until around midnight or so, then I worked until 4am to finish up something I had to get in that night—not a work project but something for a volunteer position, so it was my own damn fault.
Saturday I went back to the con to wander around a bit. It was jam-packed, of course, but I still managed to make it to most of the publishers and see a lot of the rest of the floor as well. I ran into a bunch of friends, including Glenn, Bob G., Dave, Keith, and Alan, spoke to several editors I knew, and made a few new contacts as well. Then I headed back home.
Sunday I was going over to two friends’ apartment—luckily for me only a few blocks away—to game with them and a few others. That was starting at 2:30. At 2 jendaby and I discovered the laundry room was full of water. We traced the problem back to the toilet but plunging didn’t help any so we simply bailed it out, sopped everything up, and left it alone for a while. I went to the game and hung out there until around 10, when I headed home. My youngest sister and her newly minted fiancé—who were coming up for the funeral and were staying the night with us—got in maybe twenty minutes after I did and we hung out a little bit before all going to sleep.
Monday was Bob’s funeral. The service was nice, though the kids decided to act up a bit and we had to take them out before the end. Then we all formed a funeral procession and drove out to the cemetery, somewhere in Suffolk. After the graveside service we headed back to Sylvia’s apartment and stayed there for a while before going home. That night I realized that my allergies were too severe and too constant to just be allergies—I had apparently caught a cold. jendaby convinced me to take some cold medicine and I went to sleep.
Yesterday my cold was worse instead of better, but I suffered through it and went to work anyway. On the way home I picked up an auger—also known as a drain snake—and last night after the kids were in bed and after I’d taken a nap I went down and used it to unstop the toilet. Yay! We also did the use trash/recycling/changing the cat litter, though jendaby kindly helped with them because the cold was kicking my butt. Then I went upstairs, took more cold medicine, and went back to sleep.
I’m feeling a little better today—still crappy, still plugged-up, but managing. Hopefully it’ll pass soon. Tomorrow is Take Your Children to Work Day here, and we’re bringing both of the kids in for it, which should be fun but could be utter chaos.
And that’s about all the news here for now.
posted by Gryphon Rose @ 7:10 AM
1 Comments:
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