It's that time of year again, kids: Have a happy and safe New Year.

I mean it.

It's another long, cold, rainy day here. I'm watching The Philadelpha Story now and I think I'll have to watch Hudsucker Proxy next. Kate or any reasonable facsimile feels just fine on such a day.

It's a day that only makes sense while curled up on the bed watching old movies.

There is the possibility that I have lost my mind.
But don't tell anyone. Okay?

I got a Christmas card from my grandmother today. Tucked inside on a small sheet of notebook paper was a note from my aunt. In this note she tells me that my grandmother has had a "mini stroke." The note is dated last Wednesday and in it she says that the doctors don't know how long she will last.

Who puts such a note in a Christmas card?

Now I'm sitting here waiting to hear back from my Aunt to see if Nana is still alive.

I feel like I need to slap someone.

I'm back to work on my novel, so much for the next Susan story.

Steve, my geek hero, is reading it and letting me know what he thinks so I have a reason to keep working on it and perfecting it.

I'm so tired today. I think it's the weather, so much rain and it's dark so early, but the good thing is that after tonight the days will start to get longer.

Now, I must sit back and but a heating pad on my back because I have a very bad chair at my desk.

Happy Soltice, everyone.

The Cobb's Holiday Party was fun. It was good seeing some folks that I hardly ever see. Brian wasn't there, his dad died a week or so ago. It took me by surprise because his mom had a stroke earlier this year and I was thinking so much of her that I felt like I had been hit when David Sparks told us. I felt tricked, a rube in sick card trick. His dad wasn't well; he had a heart transplant a few years ago but never really got well.

Brian is such a good guy, I feel very sad for him and his family.

Oh, and I'm wearing my Grinch Slipper Socks because I have feet that are three sizes too big.

I want to start writing the new Susan story but I'm so worried that this hard drive will betray me and stop working. I have not reason to believe this will happen but then I had no way to know that my processor and hard drive would stop speaking the last time.

And yes, I have heard of floppy disks.

Smart asses. And nicely shaped, too.

I just read Linn's Blog I had forgotten how wonderful she is. I have this defense mechanism, if someone is too far away I have to distance myself mentally. Guess I can't do that anymore with Ms Linnie.

And now I'm off to clean out the refrigerator. I'm a little afraid to find out how much food I have that is actually eatable and how much has become sentient lifeforms.

I spent all day yesterday cleaning and doing dishes and today my back and legs hurt. And then to make matters worse, today I went with Diane to Costco to check it out and see if we want to get a card with them.

Now my feet hurt too.

I don't want to go to work tomorrow.

I don't have anything to say that isn't of the bitching ilk. Instead I give you this poem that, although it is written in my hand on the back of a scrap of paper with the logo of a company I where I temped nearly 12 years ago, I have no memory of writing.

The Absent Minded Poet.

How do I love thee?
I wish I could remember.
Let's see...
Your eyes are like
Those things up
In the darkness at night.
Your smile fills me
With a queezy, dizzy,
Flu-symtom-like feeling.
Your nose I don't recall at all.
Your hair -- oh your hair!--
Tis akin with strands of
Finest spun...spinnings.
How do I love thee?
(shug)
...
I'm sorry what was I saying?

RAL 12/15/89

I read in Tavie's Blog that all have arrived in New Jersey and are having a wee! of a time. I hope to read everything they have done in colorful detail in the coming days.

I need to keep my strength up, so I think I shall take a nap.

What can I say, I am happy that a few of the Goils and Boils are getting together, but I'm sad that I can't be there. Steve is flying in from Atlanta, Kitana is going down from Toronto, Cheryl is heading in from New England, and Tavie ankling over from NYC. They will all be at Mint Manor this weekend. How much fun would it be if we could all be there? We could watch all things Kids in the Hallish and tell stories.

I love them all and hope they have a wonderful weekend, but I'm tearing up just thinking about how much I want to be there.

What's been happening for me? How kind of you to ask. Last Wednesday my computer refused to recognize my hard drive.


"No!" it said hautily, "you have no hard drive."


"Ah, yes I do," I replied, rebooting.


"I can't hear you," said the computer, not meeting my eye. "And by the way, you don't have a hard drive."


Grrrrr.


Bob came up and looked at it and touched some wires tried to look at the DOS which he couldn't do because the system couldn't get over the fact that I could be so stupid as to think that I have a hard drive. So, on Thursday Bob's friend, Tom, came up and crawled under my desk and did something (I'm pretty sure that there was voodoo involoved) so that the computer finally noticed the hard drive ("Oh! There it is!") and I was able to sign on.


However, it worked only that one time. I thought it was fixed so all the files and pictures and music downloads that I had an opportunity to save are now lost.



Yesterday, Bob came back up and installed a hard drive so I can get on line and whatnot, and I have to mail off my old hard drive to the manufactures and hopefully they can fix it and I won't lose any of my stuff.


I don't hold much hope.


And what's new with you?