My mother and I are staying in Grand Rapids, MI with my aunt and uncle (her sister and her husband) for a family reunion that took place yesterday at a local park. The reunion happens every two years. It was asked during a brief family meeting if people wanted to hold it annually since no one is getting any younger. I voted yes, but the majority preferred to keep it every two years. One person said that way it "wouldn't get to be old hat." Another person next to me grumbled that if they had it every year it would be "too expensive to travel." I felt like telling him hey, buddy, don't complain to me about travel expense--you probably drove in from a few hours away in Michigan. My mother and I FLEW in from BWI and we're here, so shut up. :)  I should say that overall it was a fun time, with good food, and that I got to talk to some cousins and aunts that I don't see very often. There was one cousin I hadn't seen since we were kids. She was easy to recognize, however.

One of my cousins asked me if I still lived in Baltimore (and why Baltimore). I said I was born there, my mother was there, my family and friends are there, etc., and that while it certainly wouldn't be my first choice of a place to live if I could pick from anywhere in the world, it was home. He said he wouldn't like living in a big city (lives in a small town in Michigan). I added that there were definitely some good things about Baltimore (although, after watching/reading the local news about homicide and crime rates, it feels sometimes like you have to hunt a little harder for the good things). Another cousin who is a lawyer and lives/practices in the U.P (upper peninsula) of Michigan commented that she was surprised that recently she had to serve as a juror in circuit court (lawyers don't usually want other lawyers sitting on juries). I commented that I got a survey for a grand jury a few months ago in Baltimore City, but they didn't choose me. My cousin said, "I don't think we've ever had a grand jury trial in my county." I said that's right, it isn't like Baltimore City.

It's a pain when people ask you about your job and it ain't nuthin' to write home about.

Took lots of photos of the family reunion plus in-flight photos of the skyy, which will hopefully be up on flickr soon. Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, even though my aunt and uncle don't have a computer, I have a netbook and a usb modem. Needed a little entertainment at night--my mom and aunt and uncle are in the mid-eighties crowd, in bed by 10 p.m. Right now they are at church. Afterward they are picking me up and we are going out to breakfast (I think my mother and I are treating). Staying with them has been fairly comfortable--they have a large condo with two bedrooms and a bath in the basement that they use mainly for guests. My cousins have nicely driven Mom and I to the family reunion, from the airport, etc. If we had stayed in a hotel, I would have rented a car. Glad I brought some coffee singles--aunt and uncle and mom all drink decaf (ugh). And I actually have to make my bed. :}

Missed attending the Turning-Circle led summer solstice service at UUCC this morning. I'll probably be at a Bob Evans somewhere in Grand Rapids. May go to Meijer Gardens later (weather permitting).

My husband tells me that my cat came into the bedroom last night, saw I wasn't there, and turned around and left, and that she seems sad and keeps looking at the front door.

Hooray, learned how to use my cell phone as an alarm clock. :)

I was going to run some errands yesterday, but I started my car and a yellow warning light came on and stayed on. A quick check of the user's manual showed that it was the EPS, or electronic power steering, icon. If restarting the car didn't reset it, the problem should be checked out by the Honda dealer. Restarting the car once didn't clear it, and the steering wheel was hard to turn, but when I turned the car off for about 30 seconds and restarted, it was fine. I called the Honda dealer and they told me if I brought it in today they could check it out. The car ran fine this morning; the dealer ran some diagnostics which they said showed the system was having a problem "initializing," and it probably wasn't serious, but to be on the safe side they recommended replacing the EPS system and ordered a new part. It is under warranty and should be here next week. I asked the mechanic if it was likely the system would malfunction while driving, and he said probably not. When the EPS system is not working, the steering wheel is very stiff and hard to turn. It is all electronic parts; the car does not use power steering fluid. At the Honda service place there was a 2009 Honda Fit that had pulled in ahead of me; it was a muddy orange color which I didn't care for. My 2008 Fit is bright blue.

After I left Anderson Honda, in spite of the wind, I went to BestBuy. High winds tend to buffet a boxy car like the Fit, most noticiceably on the expressway, but driving in the city/county there were enough buildings to serve as windbreakers. That is one minor drawback to a car I generally love driving. At BestBuy I purchased a usb bluetooth adapter and some memory cards. I recently upgraded to a newer Toshiba laptop with more memory and a slightly larger screen; however, I broke down and also purchased a netbook (Aspire One) for its portability. The BestBuy gift cards I received over the holidays paid for almost half the cost of the netbook. When I went to look at them last week, the BestBuy staffer who waited on me said they had to bring them out from the back to show people, because netbooks on display were getting stolen. They didn't have what I wanted in the store, so they ordered it for me. It should be here on Friday. Although it doesn't have a CDROM drive, it has 3 usb slots and a flashcard reader. I will be able to load additional software (such as MS Word) from there or a shared external backup drive on our home network. While the netbook probably can't handle Adobe Photoshop, a review I read of netbooks for photographers said it will run Adobe Photoshop Elements, which should be close enough/adequate while travelling and taking digital photos. The netbook will also be handy to take with me (without having to lug a laptop and case) when I want to take notes (condo board meetings, Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Turning Circle). Keyboard size is not an issue, since I have small fingers and type fast. I end up writing notes on little pieces of paper that fall out of my purse, and I have crappy handwriting anyway because I usually type. I wonder if a netbook could run GPS software in the car. 

We were invited to two New Year's Eve parties this evening. One is in my building; the other is in Hampden. Last New Year's Eve I had a nasty cold and made it to the party in my building, but not Hampden, because I didn't feel that great. I had thought of going to Hampden this evening after leaving the New Year's party in my building--people will be going over to 34th Street and a friend of mine supposedly dresses up as Father Time--he has the beard, etc. and it would make a great photo opp. However, it is so windy, raw, and cold that I am going to stay inside, even though 34th Street decorated up for the holidays is quite a spectacle. There's so much traffic they need a cop to direct it. The woman who throws the New Year's party in my building has a really nice party with an awesome food spread--however, last year it was really crowded and warm, and some of us hung out in the hallway "overflow." How she manages to cram probably 100 people into her unit I don't know--a TARDIS would be handy. She used to be a professional cook and her party is a testament to her gastronomic/epicurean talents. At least this year I'm feeling OK--unfortunately, the weather is really shitty for doing anything outdoors, so no Hampden party on 34th Street. The last few times we've had parties, we rented the community room in our building, because it's more spacious than our living room and one of our friends is allergic to cats. Speaking of cats, they were fascinated with all the excessive movement (mostly tree branches) caused by the wind. The fish tank also fascinates them, especially at feeding time. Like the fish, my cats enjoy algae tabs and freeze-dried brine shrimp.

On Christmas Day we went to my stepbrother's house in Owings Mills, and picked up my mother on the way. We had a potluck dinner, exchanged presents, and watched a couple of movies: "Into the Wild" and "Madagascar." "Into the Wild" had beautiful Alaskan scenery--it was based on a true story of a young man trying to find himself in the wilderness and it was sad that he died of starvation in the end. "Madagascar" (Disney) was cute, but I think I liked "Finding Nemo," "Ratatouille," and "Shrek I and II" better.

On Dec. 26th, we drove to Easton to visit Tim's brother Steve and their Dad at Steve's house. Glad we didn't have to deal with Bay Bridge traffic on a holiday--that can suck bigtime. We had sandwiches and dessert, and exchanged presents. Dad, who is 87, fell asleep for a while. He gets around OK, a little shakier than he used to be, and his short-term memory isn't so hot sometimes. He asked me five times how my mother is doing. However, he animatedly discussed politics and current events, and relatives and events from a long time ago. He does well, considering the fact that he lives alone, my mother-in-law died a year and a half ago, and he recovered from a broken neck this past summer. 

On Saturday our crazy neighbors decided to move furniture and appliances in and out without making prior arrangements with the management. They got into arguments with residents because they were leaving entry doors propped open (a security risk), tying up the elevator, and generally making nuisances of themselves. Jerks that they are, they don't care what the rules are or if they inconvenience or insult other people, they just do what they want. I wish they would move.

Took last week and this week off from work--we were supposed to go to Gettysburg but cancelled because it was super windy and cold (if there's little or no wind cold temperatures/walking around outside are tolerable, but add wind and the cold chills you to the bone). However, it's been nice being at home, seeing family and friends, hanging out with Tim and the cats, configuring my new laptop. My friend John and I had a 2009 nature calendar made for gifts to friends and family--six of his photos, six of mine. The printer who does the Balticon program book ran them off--they did a beautiful job, and the calendar could be store quality. We initially printed 20, but are printing 15 more. When it's officially midnight I'll hang the new calendar on our kitchen door. I was afraid the colors would be off--one time I sent tthe printer a file and what looked blue on my computer screen printed out purple and they had to fix it--but the calendar proof printed out pretty close to what I saw on my monitor. The color profiling system I had been using died (when it worked at all it turned the monitor pink), and I'm thinking of maybe getting the Pantone ColorMunki system, but for now the color I see on my laptop monitor seems pretty close to what I print out. 

I learned a lot obout Adobe InDesign while working on the calendar, which will come in handy with laying out the Balticon program book. PageMaker just doesn't cut it anymore--last year I used a combination of PageMaker, Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat. This year I don't think I will need PageMaker. I just hope that we know who the Balticon art guest of honor will be before it's time to do the next Balticon mailing in January.

The other things I need to do are finish the scribe report for Turning Circle and type up the minutes of last month's condo board meeting. Got a little sidetracked installing and playing with some 3D design programs on my computer--would like to do some fantasy and scifi art.

Nifty (free) desktop wallpaper here.

So my husband, his brother, and I are here at the Univ. of MD Shock Trauma Center because my father-in-law fell last night and apparently fractured some vertebrae in his neck. He is scheduled for surgery around 10 p.m. tonight. From what I understand they are going to put in a bolt to fuse the vertebrae (yuck). The "silver lining" as my brother-in-law put it is that their dad seems to have a full range of movement, no paralysis or anything like that, so it could have been worse. His head and neck are temporarily immobilized in a plastic brace. Dad seems not to be in pain, mostly frustrated at his situation, that he can't have his clothes, a razor, a toothbrush. I should mention that he is 87 years old.

Here they have the strangest, most bureaucratic visiting system I've ever seen in a hospital, and I used to work in a medical/academic library attached to a large hospital. Even though they give you a visitor pass, you still need an escort to visit a patient. If there are too many visitors on the floor for all patients, they restrict visitors, even though the limit is already two to a patient. Come on, it's not like we're all having a party and socializing with each other. For all the money hospitals charge for medical care, they should give a person, especially an older person who has a tendency to get confused, his own private room. (Personally I think our taxes should pay for healthcare and that services should either be free or charged on a sliding scale based on income. And no one should get turned away based on inability to pay, lack of insurance, or pre-existing conditions. Just another card-carrying-bleeding-heart liberal, I guess!)

I don't mind being off work, but would prefer better circumstances. And my brother-in-law is having trouble finding his car in the parking garage (not that I always remember where I park, either). He wanted to get something from his car and we had a nice long constitutional around the garage. When we leave we'll just drive him around in our car until we find his. (And tomorrow we'll take one car.) We imagined walking around the parking garage in endless circles, never exiting, forever lost in the Twilight Zone. The floors are numbered backwards, too--it is an underground parking garage and as you go down the numbers go from 1 to 5 in reverse order. At the very least, it is counter-intuitive.

While I was in college, one time my dad was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital. My mother and I met at the hospital, and both parked our cars in the parking garage. I couldn't remember where I parked, and my mother drove me around the parking garage in her car until we found mine. When I recounted the story to my dad, an engineer, he said, "how could you get lost in the parking garage, it's only a double helix." He has long since died, but time has turned an annoyance into a comical memory.

I feel lucky that my 84-year-old mother is physically and mentally vital and that I can go visit her every week. We have dinner, sometimes walk around Wilde Lake, and hang out and play pool. Her schedule is fuller than many people I know. She has an attractive one-bedroom apartment in a retirement community, and can watch sunset every night from her balcony.

I'm hanging out in the lobby while the guys are visiting their dad. I brought my laptop with me to pass the time. (I guess we're all sort of addicted to the internet by now.) Later on tonight I'm looking forward to a hot meal and a beer. May the gods smile on us all.

Update: So "Captain Bill" (as my brother-in-law affectionately calls his dad) came through the surgery with a good prognosis. He appears to be resting as comfortably as possible while sedated and on a breathing tube overnight. We just hope he doesn't wake up too confused from the ordeal of surgery and anesthesia to know where he is and what is going on. Seems as if the next steps are a couple of days recuperating followed by app. 2 weeks of  rehab/physical therapy, then home. As my brother-in-law remarked, the surgeons are good and that makes up for the obnoxious staff.