A lot has gone on. I'm sure you've been anxiously awaiting an update. Vaguely interested in an update? Could take or leave an update, what-ev.
Fine.
What happened? I was a successful litigator, last time I checked in. No news on that front, so my record remains 1.000 in the "not really meaningful" weight class. I stand by my stats. Since then:
My Aunt Neenie passed away. My family and I are terribly fortunate to have had someone like her in our lives. Being at the funeral proceedings, while for a sad reason, was wonderful -- to be able to spend time with the Binghamton extended family, hang out with people you remember as eight-year-olds but are somehow now police officers with wives, and remember Neenie -- how could that be anything but great? My cousin asked, "How are you supposed to answer the question, 'How are you?' at a time like this?" It's tough, but it's life. We're all lucky.
My sister and I drove up and back in two days, so it was a reasonably short visit. Jen played her Zune (yeah, someone actually owns a Zune!) all the way home at obnoxious volume, which was, I think, precisely what we needed.
Driving up to Binghamton in autumn is worth it, just for the visuals. Careful you don't drive off the road, though, hypnotized by fall in its glory.
So, as if that wasn't enough autumn foliage, on Friday I went up to Vermont to visit with me ma. Excellent visit, terrible drive. To get to Mom's part of New England, you have to drive up New Jersey, past NYC (not through, thank God), through Albany, and up around Lake George... then into Vermont, through some rural areas (I'm sorry, that's redundant), over Killington, through the middle of nowhere, then about eight miles further. On this drive, I encountered rush hour traffic leaving NYC, a car accident in Saratoga Springs, and a moose crossing zone, though no moose.
In Randolph, there was a bake sale, nine holes of golf, home-cooked food, warm daytime weather and downright cold nighttime temps, a witch shop ("I don't know how they stay in business," quoth Mom), Scrabble, a dial-up connection, a biker bar and a used bookstore with a Ben & Jerry's attached to it. Well, those last two were in Rutland, not Randolph, but it was all stuffed into a very good weekend.
The drive back was similar to the drive there: sanity-threatening. Like Delaware and I-95, New York just doesn't care that hundreds of thousands of cars want to drive on space for thousands of cars on their Thruway. I had no deadline to get back before, so that helped. And as bad as the traffic was, it was entirely worth it.
Back at the ranch, things are slightly uncertain. The workplace is an unstable environment right now. I'm hoping in the worst case scenario that I will be able to find more temp work before Christmas, so I can afford presents for everyone this year. Temp work pays well.
(This is not cause for alarm, concerned family and friends. Everything that happens happens for a reason. Be cool.)
--6:03 PM, Holland, PA, I know it sounds a bit bizarre
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