Some of you may be wondering where all of the OSCON updates have been. And some of you may have been wondering where I’ve been. Well, it’s been a topsy-turvy couple of weeks.
I returned to Hawaii on the 29th of July. The next day Alice’s great-grandmother had a stroke. We bought her tickets to fly back, and she left for Canada on the night of the 31st. Her great-grandmother passed away on the 30th.
On the 30th my grandfather had some problems with blood clots in his leg, so he hit the hospital in Victoria. On the 31st, just before he was due to check out, he suffered an aneurysm, a heart attack, and a stroke, which put him into a coma. I flew back on the night of the 1st. Granddad passed away in the morning of the 2nd.
It was nice to see family again, but it was really strange without Granddad there. We’ll all miss him terribly. I’ll miss him particularly around Christmas — he made the best butter tarts and shortbread cookies known to man.
I got back to Hawaii on the 9th. Alice is still in Canada visiting family and friends; she’ll be back on the 22nd. I’m mired in the middle of trying to find a place to live, as our roommate is moving into her mom’s place and we can’t afford the full rent ourselves. Houses are relatively easy to come by here, houses that allow pets are a little tougher. Luckily I’ve got a good lead on a house that’s roughly in the same neighbourhood we’re in — maybe a mile and a half away from where we’re at now.
And OSCON? My notes are on the PowerBook I used to have. It’s at work, because I got a bright new shiny MacBook. Oooooh.
So life goes on.
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#1 by Amy on August 14th, 2006
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I was glad we caught each other online before you left. You’ve been on my mind a good deal lately. Not just because of the loss of your grandfather, but because of an exchange we had, some time ago, about him.
I don’t know if you remember handing over a family portrait — it was of a lot of your family members wearing the same shirt — and I remember looking at your grandfather and marveling at how much of his appearance had skipped a generation and manifested in you.
We’ve known each other for a long time, and with the exception of your aunt, I’ve never actually met any of your family. Yet I’ve got a memory of your grandfather, smiling in the blue shirt, surrounded by kids and grandkids.
Maybe there’s a moral there, or a comfort, or a point. I don’t know.
** Obligatory subject change **
But other than that … I think Bandit counts as two pets. *ducks*
(I can say that! She’s Edmund-sized!)
#2 by Geof F. Morris on August 14th, 2006
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Sorry to hear about all the family stuff, Brad. :(
#3 by boredelf on August 14th, 2006
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So sorry to read that. I offer my condolences to both of you.