Ahira's Hangar

Well, last night I went back to work. It was hard going in after being off for more than two weeks, and having such a great time while I was off.

Ah, well. Someone has to earn the medical benefits, and my family that would be me. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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I had a weird experience today while driving to work. While waiting at a red light I saw what looked to be a dead ringer for my old car, the white Dodge Intrepid waiting to make a left on the cross road. While making my turn I got a better look at it -- and it was my old Intrepid!!! It had so many miles on it, and was ten years old when I traded it in last year -- I was pretty sure they sent it in for scrap. It was grand seeing it still out on the road, like seeing an old friend!

One of my friends begins his three week camping vacation on Lake Michigan tomorrow. And another friend will he haeding out to Albuquerque and the Grand Canyon on Friday. She went out there last summer because of my Elohimfest stories, and she enjoyed her trip so much, she's heading back out again. I am happy for them both, and just might have to start counting down days until my next long weekend in September. That should be fun -- I will be taking my kids to the Green Day concert. <i></i>

How weird seeing your own old car, Duchess. I do a double-take when I see a car that is just like mine, but it's never been a car I previously owned.

Speaking of cars, it is turning out that my old Mazda, that was in the crash, is not really going to be easily or inexpensively repairable, and it also is worth almost nothing through my insurance. On top of that, our old Toyota seems to be on its last legs, as well. It's a 1985 Tercel Wagon. We just made a $300 repair on it yesterday (alternator) and the mechanic told us to expect another $400 repair in the next month or so. We are starting to feel it may not be worth it to continue to put money for repairs into such an old car, but we can't afford to buy two new cars at once - even if they are used cars!

In any case, we went used car shopping yesterday, just to see what's available. We really liked the Hyundai Accent - very similar in size, features and ride to our Mazda Protege, and we should be able to get a used one for under $10,000. We also looked at Honda Civics. We will just have to see what's available and keep shopping.

In the meantime, getting around with only one car and 4 people going in different directions has been a hassle. The public transportation here is really lousy.

Otherwise, everything is going well. Foamy finished her summer job as an art day camp counselor and is getting ready to return to college, cleaning out her room and figuring out what she needs and so forth. My son is returning to high school next week. My hubby and I are working as usual. My new job is going well, so far. I like the flexibility of working per diem and the unit I work in is much less stressful than my previous job - plus I am getting respect and appreciation from management, which I almost never got in my previous hospital.

That's it for now. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

MsMary, your car situation sounds trying, to say the least. Hope you guys can find some replacement wheels soon!!

I am pleased that your new job is going so well ,though!

I am a bit down tonight. One of my friends just got the news that her father only has about 2-3 weeks to live. He went in to the doctor last week, and they found cancer in both kidneys, his liver, and his pancreas. He has beaten cancer three times in his life, previously. This is one of the friends who took care of me after my father died -- now, unfortunately, we will have to take care of her in similarly sad circumstances. At least he claims to not be in any pain at all. So at least she does not have to see him going through that, nor does he have to unduly suffer. <i></i>

Yeah, my wife and I saw her Fiero that we traded in several months later in a Wal-Mart parking lot. You could even see where the stickers were. Heh, some of my cars I'd be tempted to kick if I ever saw again. As it is, whenever I see a Concorde a couple choice words pass my lips.

((Duchess)) ________________
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and cleansing I've endured within my shadow. Change is coming. Now is my time. Listen to my muscle memory. Contemplate what I've been clinging to. -Tool, "Forty-Six & Two" <i></i>

Sorry to hear about your friends' dad Duchy, cancer sucks.

I could have sworn I saw my old Accord driving around about 6 months after the "recyclers" hauled it away 6 years--I left something important in it too (now if I could just remember what it was... ) *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

I am sorry to hear that, duchess. -----------------
"If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust, and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all...why then perhaps we must stand fast a little - even at the risk of being heroes." - Sir Thomas More, "A Man For All Seasons," by Robert Bolt<i></i>

At least I think that tonight I talked her into taking a week or so off from work. Hopefully things will be a little less stressful for her if she only has to worry about her parents, and not work on top of it. She has months of sick time in her leave bank, so there shouldn't be any problems with not being paid or anything like that if she does take the time off.

The kids will be back in school on Wednesday. I think I will celebrate having a bit of time for myself again by watching Band of Brothers, which is the best thing I have ever seen made for television. And high school soccer season will be starting very soon, as well. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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My friend will be taking three months off, which should allow her to stay with her father until the end, get a good start on the legal stuff (she's the estate executor), and take care of some personal stuff, too. (Her mother cannot drive and is getting very forgetful and cannot live by herself, so my friend will probably have to pack up her condo and move home to be with her mom -- all in the same town, but still -- and her parents are snow birds and have a huge fifth wheel down on the Gulf coast and she will have to deal with that, too -- either by going down and packing up their personal stuff and bringing it back and having the camper sold down there, or just going down with the monster pickup truck and bringing the behemoth back up, which she dreads).

To give you guys an idea of how fast her father is fading -- he went into the doctor's office for a routine visit the first week of this month. He drove himself there and walked in. His blood tests were a bit odd, so they gave him a cat scan and found the tumors the following week. He is getting so sick so fast now he can't even sit up without help. They think he has about two weeks left. He has chosen to stay at home, and a hospice nurse will be coming in every day to help bathe him and make sure he is as comfortable as possible. He's still not having pain, though, thank God.

And so another quiet hero, a WW2 vet, a man who helped save the world, a devoted husband and father, will be slipping away from us. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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On the bright side--I'm right now waiting for Autumn (my childcare relief) to arrive so that I can go to the Stephen R. Donaldson read (hopefully from Fatal Revenant, the second book in progress of The Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) in, about, 1 hour from now at Bubonicon. During the convention I hope to run into Walter John Williams, Stephen Gould and the great Ben Bova--who was just added as a last minute guest!

Good news on the teaching front--it took a long time and I was freaking for awhile but I just got--for at least 1 year at a very cool progressive Mid-School just down the street from my house, right next to the hospital where Tam works. Today was my first day and I'll be teaching mild speacial ed students Language Art and Social Studies--I may even coach tennis!

Autumn just arrived and if off to the Con. Take care! *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

Oh Danlo -- good news!

We've all been worried about your job, I'm so glad something good happened!!!! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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A happy holiday weekend to all! I will be working, but I hope everyone else will have a great last long weekend of summer! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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It looks as though I will be stuck in the house for the Labor Day weekend.

Wednesday night, while I was getting ready to go to my regular Israeli folkdancing, I walked into a box on the living room floor with my right foot. When I looked at my toe, it was sticking out at an odd angle. After 5 1/2 hours in the ER, it was determined that I had broken and dislocated my little toe. The doctor tried to pull it back into place, taped it, and put on a bulky dressing and surgical shoe. She discharged me with crutches and instructions to put no weight at all on that foot, keep it elevated, and ice it. I need to go back to her office in a week for a follow-up X-ray, and to see if I will need surgery to repair the fracture. In the meantime, I can't work, dance, or even drive.

We don't go anywhere on Saturday, anyway, due to the Jewish Sabbath, so that's not really any problem. Sunday, my husband is leaving with Foamy to take her back to college. He will be returning Wednesday night. My sister will take my son to her house Monday and Tuesday evenings so she can drive him to school (his school is much closer to her house than to ours).

Not much for me to do besides hang around the house.

That's the way it goes, I guess. The bad thing about working per diem is that when I don't work, I don't get paid. On the plus side, my husband just received a huge check - long overdue payment for his consulting work. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

Well, on the one hand its always nice to get a bit of time off from work -- but on the other, it's horrible to be hurt! I hope you will not need that surgery!!!

Heal quickly, MsMary!!!

((((((((((MsMary)))))))))) ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Quiet night at work tonight.

I have filled out the papers to volunteer to help with disaster relief for Katrina. I should know next week whether or not I will be deployed by my employer (the VA hospital system).

It was a really hard decision for me -- I am the biggest coward on the face of the earth -- and I am feeling much more relaxed now that I turned in the papers than I have for the previous week.

The devastation and the human cost of Katrina are horrible beyond imagining. While I hate the thought of possibly being away from my children for weeks if I am deployed -- I could not see those images on the news and not try to do something to help.

So we will see. In the meantime, while waiting to find out whether or not I will be deployed, I am spending as much time as I can with my family and friends, and taking true delight in little things in life, like listening to music (I listened to Beethoven's Seventh Symphony four times yesterday ). I am counting my blessings.

((((((((((Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama)))))))))) ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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