A Meerkat's Bolthole

Health of the meerkat update: At the moment, I feel like I've got a head cold/moderately annoying allergies, which is pretty much where I was before the Thursday melt-down. I suspect so long as I keep to early nights and lots of sleep, I'll be able to knock this back before too long. But man, that was an unhappy 36 hours...

This afternoon, I and the source-o-flu-bug (my mom) and dad [and The Puppy] attended the Parkinson's Unity Walk in Central Park. Because my mom and I were in recovery, we didn't actually do the two mile walk*, but were there to hear the speeches and browse the information booths. Sadly, Michael J Fox wasn't there this year -- he apparently gives kick-ass speeches, and I'm sorry to have missed him.

[aside: while browsing the booths my dad looks at a brochure and says "what is ideopathic Parkinson's?" We all know we've heard the damn word a thousand times, but are drawing a blank. I pull out my phone and google** it. "It means 'doctors don't know what causes it." "Sort of redundant, then," my dad says. Too true.]

While at the Walk, I had the sad pleasure of meeting Dylan Hartung, a young Australian boy*** who has been living in NYC with his folks for the past four years, after being diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in 2004. Dylan and Mei-mei formed a quick bond, and I got to hear about the dog he had to leave home in Australia, and the 'angels on leashes' (therapy dogs) he has met. Lovely kid, well-spoken and a pleasure to meet. His web site is called "Everything's Possible" and he really is proof of that. And if you ever have the chance to support the Ronald McDonald House, please do so. It's that foundation that's enabled Dylan and his parents to stay here and get the treatment that has given him a fighting chance.

Afterward, retired to the folks' abode, where I ate lunch and then collapsed for a recuperative nap on the sofa -- it was way too hot outside for poor little recovering me! Now home, still wiped out, but with work ahead of me -- some writing, and then working on the FLESH & FIRE proofs. I have to say -- this book? Looks sooooo preeeeeety. *pets proofs*


Oh, and for those of you who have to use the evil things called 'alarm clocks' may I offer a more soothing (and amusing) alternative? http://www.voco.uk.com/?gclid=CO7PurWxiJoCFRo-awodMk4oLQ




* the irony of my dad the Parkinson's patient being in better shape that either of us was not missed, trust me.
** if they're going to strip-mine copyrights, I will use the damn noun as a verb until it enters the public lexicon, same as xerox. It's petty but it feels good.
*** yeah, I know. I really do meet Australians everywhere. It's sorta scary...

via John Hemry:

The people at Sesame Workshop have teamed up with DOD experts to produce materials to help military families dealing with life-altering injuries. I'm trying to help get the word out that Sesame Street will have a prime time special at 8PM on 1 April which is based on the DVD kits, and will feature John Mayer, Queen Latifah and military families who are recovering from injuries (physical and psychological). It also addresses the challenges and the needs for more professional help for these families. Article at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53541

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be affected or interested.

---------------------------------

on a completely different subject, as part of another discussion, my sister Amy posted a photo of my grandmother, my mother's mother. I missed out on the curls, and my bone structure comes from my dad's side of the family, but you may be able to note a slight family resemblance* .... http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/amy/archives/2009/03/nanas_chicken.html




*and why I am always tempted to claim scarlettina as a cousin....

OMG long day. With nineteen you not only get egg roll but extra servings of cold sesame noodles (this gathering was a lot easier when there were only two generations, not three!). Chinatown was its usual packed self, and we scored fresh lychees and found a place that sells, among other things, dried squid jerky and ginger plum. The ginger plum was really good.

Good dinner, good before-and-after time with immediate family. And may I say that Happiness is: having a future b-i-l who is a chocolatier? Mmmm, truffes and toffee, mmmm.

Also: Mei-Chan continues to grow, and now almost looks like a Real Dog. She goes for her snippage in January. Poor puppy....

And now I am home, and shall be soon to bed, to sleep the sleep of the family'd-out. Hope you all had a good day, however you spent it!

EtA; also? Not even going to try and browse the f-list. Oy.

EtA2: It's all Jetse's fault. For an undisclosed value of "it." *evil cackle, wince, cackle again*

We came, we saw, she conquered.

( yes, I call her mei-mei. )

And, to show where my heart still is...( the once and future felines )

Anyone out there either a professional map-maker or gifted amateur willing to work for a small fee and loads of glory (aka Your Name In the Credits)? Please contact me off-list via e-mail. It's actually a pretty simple job, I suspect, but I need it done both Right and Well... (being a Professional means acknowledging that there are things you don't have time/energy/talent to do yourself and finding someone who does!)

And under the heading of: You're Always A Kid to your Parents...

My folks arrived at the apartment this morning, not entirely unannounced (they asked yesterday if they could stop by). My dad immediately went hands-on with the cranky a/c unit. My mom [who had brought a book she claimed she was going to read while my dad worked] immediately starting doing all the sorting-and-putting-away I haven't gotten to in the past few days of heavy writing. They both paid much attention to Boomerang, who was feeling Needy. I was told in no uncertain terms to keep writing. And then they fed me Chinese food, wished me bon voyage, and left me to my work.

Not at Goal yet. But progressing, yes....

One of the Older Cousins (in my mother's generation), from cancer.

I never got to know him well -- his brother David is my only real connection to that branch of the family -- but he was family, and we are thus-reduced.


May he be at peace, now.

Came home to news that Arthur C Clark has died. Sad news, but not terribly unexpected -- he was 90, and not in good health, and it was a gift that we had him with us as long as we did. The last of the Big Three* has left terra firma. *raises glass* Your memory, sir.

EtA: Over on makinglight, the following quote struck me: unlike many other writers who've wrestled with that wrenching frame shift, for Clarke it was rarely terrifying, rarely an engine of alienation and despair. He was all about the transformational reframe, the cosmic perspective, that step off into the great shining dark. He believed it would improve us. He rejoiced to live in a gigantic universe of unencompassable scale, and he thought the rest of us should rejoice, too.

I thihk that is why I don't enjoy much of the SF being written now. The "woe, the universe is vast and we are small" attitude does not appeal to me as much as the "wow, the universe is vast and we are small" 'tude I grew up reading.


On slightly related but much better news, thanks to those who sent good vibes for my mom: everything went well, she's in recovery now, and we should be able to collect her tomorrow morning. Much relieved.

And that's all I got. It's been a long and very draining day, and all I want to do right now is kick back with a bottle of wine and be a lump...

ETA: I love NYC. The ability to have a lamb kabab platter delivered at 10pm is just so...civilized.



*Heinlein, Asimov and Clarke. I only knew Asimov personally, but they all kicked my then-teenaged brain into places that would not have been possible, otherwise

Back from the wilds of LonGisland, where our non-christmas-day was actually a family gathering a) in memory of my grandparents' wedding anniversay, and b) a celebration of my uncle's retirement (it was a semi-surprise party, in that nobody in my family can actually keep a party secret but the actual details remained vague).

Much food was consumed. Much, much very good food. And wine. And everyone got along, and no new family arguments broke out [continuing ones are a tradition and therefore Not Counted], and none of the NextGen did physical damage to the other, and we all managed to get home (or at least back into Manhattan) without traffic delays. Yay!

Meanwhile, I am halfway through the proof for FREE FALL (and I finally figured out where the artist got the cover image from, and wow he's good), and my dad has requested the newly reworked pages from TPEMB to read, based on his reading of the outline. Obviously I'm doing something right, as he's not usually the one with his hand out saying gimmie.


And under the heading of 'kudos to where kudos belong': in this instance to the passengers and crew of the 6 train this morning, when a fellow passenger had a petit mal seizure. A passenger near the intercom let the conductor know something was wrong. The conductor sent a crew member back, who called for paramedics and cops. The people sitting near the guy made him aware that he wasn't alone, that help was coming, and everyone gave him room and waited calmly for the train to start moving again, no grumbling or bitching. WTG, New Yorkers.

(of course, had he thrown up or something vile, there might have been less kindness. It was a very crowded train...)

And now I need to reassure the felines that yes, I am back, no I am not going to abandon them again for a few weeks, and no, I am not going to be guilted into giving them any people-food, so deal, furface. Oh, and finish the rest of the proofs, yah.

I hope everyone had a few good days, however you spent it, and if you, like me, are back at work until New Year's, it's of a restful, clearing-things-up sort of week....

Excerpts from the Parental Trip to Croatia, via Mom

( be warned, even the excerpts are long! )

And you wonder why I keep telling my mom to write her travels up for publication, already? Can you IMAGINE how well this would sell to an over-55 market?

[my folks are both in their 70's, for the record. I wanna be them when I grow up]

My sister, being a mostly lifelong New Englander except for a period of exile in New Jersey she refuses to talk about, has this Thing.

She schedules all of her family's Life Events in March and/or April.

Okay, so the kids being born in those months was bad planning but not really scheduled. She and her husband got married in early April (meaning the bridal shower was in March). Nephew birthdays, ditto. Bar mitzvahs, ditto-ditto.

And almost every single one, guess what happens?

Yep. Snow. In some cases, blizzard-like snow.

Guess what's this weekend? Bar mitzvah.

Guess what's on the agenda to start coming down just in time? Snow.


Sis? I love you dearly, but what the HELL was wrong with June? July? Even September?

(because, really. All winter I waited for a good snowstorm to hit, where I didn't have to go anywhere... and it finally hits the weekend I have to go somewhere. And not only somewhere, but deeper into the storm...)