The Wet and Weary Month of June

The sixth month of 2008 has arrived, bringing rain and clouds and snow in the mountain passes. I'm starting to think it was a bad idea to buy tomato plants this year...

Well, it's been a month and a bit since I last posted. Since then, I've mostly been working my tail off getting in as much overtime as I can at work before the Big Bosses crack down on me. There's currently a 69-hour-a-month limit on what we library pages can work, and I blew past that in May. (I say currently because we may be going union - apparently, even though I've been rather happy with my position out in the shipping center, the majority of pages, who work in the libraries proper, are being treated like dirt and are sick of it - and the hour limit may or may not be changing if that happens.) Once the Big Bosses figure that out, I'll get the obligatory "Don't do that again!" letter that restricts me from overtime for a given stretch of time. So long as they pay me for the hours I did work, I don't much care.

You may ask why I've been working so much more. The answer is, I've decided it's time for me to buy a laptop. It's becoming downright impossible to do much on this computer when the cats get in a demanding mood, and as their numbers dwindle they seem to grow more and more demanding. The freedom sounds intriguing, too - no longer would I have to be chained to my desktop tower when I felt like writing. So, even though I'll be stuck getting Vista Home Premium on the thing (shudder), I've started tracking down laptop ads and making my little list of demands. So far, I won't be happy without a dedicated graphics card, at least 2 (preferrably 3) gigs of RAM, and at least 14" of screen space. Ideally, it would be loaded with some sort of word processor which would be compatible with Word 2003, as I hope to use the laptop for writing in cat-free environments and would like to be able to transfer documents back and forth with as little difficulty as possible. It would be nice if it could run simple timekiller-type games, too. I'm leaning toward an HP Pavilion or Compaq, because I don't want to deal deal with Dell or Gateway and I keep seeing disturbing references to a "black screen of death" flaw associated with Toshibas, a problem wherein some of their laptops inexplicably yet with increasing persistence cut out with a black screen and eat whatever was being worked on, requiring a hard reboot. I'm also leaning towards a new machine, because there's not a substantial price difference in refurbished laptops and their specs seem to date fast, like most computers. If I had a clue what I was doing, I'd probably have a lot more I'd want, but right now concepts like battery life and chipsets and WiFi are mere abstractions. Considering the fact that there always seems to be some sort of laptop sale either going on or coming up within a week, and considering that I'm not looking for an ultra-gaming desktop replacement, it looks like I can get something I'd be happy with for under 700 bucks. If any laptop users out there know of anything else I oughtta know about laptops, I'd appreciate some feedback.

It hasn't all been laptop hunting and tomato plant planting. Though various projects have kept me from doing much work at my workbench, I got a commission order for two white buffalo drum ornaments. Sounds simple, right? Well, I'll summarize the experience by saying I was never overly fond of bison before I started this project, and right now if I ever decide to paint another one I should be sent off for psychological evaluation. How bad was it? Well, let's just say I haven't had to cut off the canvas and start over since one of my Xmas ornaments fought me at the tail end of 2007, but I had to this time, only now I didn't have the option of switching subject matter entirely. From ref pic hunting to final gluing, these little white bison have done nothing but fight me. I can't say I'm especially pleased with the results, but there comes a time in some projects where you have to choose between calling it good and walking away and nitpicking on it until Doomsday without significantly improving things. (I say that because stomping it flat, wadding it into a ball, backing over it with the car, and lighting it on fire before chucking it into a ravine while laughing hysterically isn't usually an option.) But I finished them, just about an hour ago, and they get picked up on Monday, hopefully never to darken my doorstep again. I just hope the lady likes them; she asked for a head-on view, but this is as close as I could manage given lousy refs and stubborn buffalo. Front and Back shots. And yes, I know the hooves are mismatched. They also came out a bit crooked, despite having carefully squared them up before painting, requiring some creative use of feathers and hanger adjustmets to help hide it. I've never had images "walk" like that before, and I won't be surprise if I don't have them do it since.

During the Great Buffalo Fight of 2008, I ended up working on spur projects once in a while to keep me from doing irrevocable damage to the things. One of these resulted in a black drum ornament blank. Basically, I painted two canvas rounds black and strung them up with slightly darker crochet thread, without a clue what I was going to do with it. It's hard to describe, but some things, once started, gnaw at your mind until you can complete them. Something about this black drum ornament blank has been doing that. The moment I tied it off, I started looking at it and wondering. What would look good on this? What could I do with this? Images of phoenix feathers glowing against the darkness, dragons against the night, unicorns under moonlight started popping into my brain. I still don't know how I'm going to finish it, but it gave me something to look forward to while I wrestled with stubborn bison. I even painted up more black rounds, and I just got a bottle of black gesso to use on more test rounds (to see if it doesn't make the canvas as stiff as the acrylic paint.) So, between those and the ongoing debate about what I'm going to do with my spirit shields to make them more than just a glorified drum ornament, I figure I ought to be set for a while at the ol' workbench. Assuming I don't lose too much time to the new laptop, that is. Or replanting tomato plants.

The Long Slog Back to Productivity

First off, if you didn't read my comments on the previous blog entry, Dad indeed came home from the hospital on the Thursday after his operation, all tests negative for nasty things. He had his staples out this past Wednesday, and seems to be healing well. Thanks to those who posted; it helped knowing other people were out there... (Yeah, there's always family, but sometimes family provides more discomfort than comfort.)

So, anyway, having lost nearly two weeks to gut-churning uncertainty and horrendously long waits between phone calls and tests, it's time - past time, really - to dust off my proverbial tail, climb back onto the proverbial horse, and Get On With It Already. There's quite a bit that needs getting on with, too: my stories are languishing, my sites are stagnant, my space is filling with clutter again, I have a camp logo I need to get cracking on (which I wanted done by the start of May, but I'm now aiming for mid-May), my "spirit shields" need work, and I need to make more drum ornaments to keep ahead of demand. While deciding which to tackle first, I was informed that I was down to one drum in the store (the bear), and there was a community event coming up which would drag more people through the store than usual (an "ArtWalk," part of our town's feeble attempt to keep more art galleries going than there are clients to support, let alone parking to accommodate the clients that exist.) Well, that answered that question: since the store participates in the ArtWalk by hosting an artist for the evening (a photographer this time), I figured I ought to come up with more inventory in the off chance any of the visitors bit. Drums it was. I only had a week to do it, so I ended up reusing some designs, but I pulled it off and cranked out two more drums, an eagle and a cougar (pictured above.) None sold, but they were at least seen, and I feel better having three or more drums down there anyway.

Next up? Tackling the camp logo. Hopefully I can use my remaining weekend time to get a good run at that... and hopefully life won't be shoving my off my proverbial horse onto my proverbial tailbone again for a little while.

Post-Op

Well, Dad had his surgery this morning, and thus far all's well. He's due home in three to five days, and it looks like everything's benign so far. Keep your fingers crossed...

On an unrelated side note, it snowed more today. Judging by what's left when we got home, we had to have at least half an inch of accumulation of icy snow. My sister and I threw snowballs on the way into the house, just because it had snowed enough to allow for snowballs on April 20.

Wonder what the weather for summer will be like, if things are this screwed up in April...

MONDAY UPDATE - Saw Dad this morning, and he's doing much better; he might be home as early as tomorrow. And the doctor apparently told him that everything has officially come back negative, so he's in the clear. (Still not sure what they intend to do about the screwy meds, but at this point it's a secondary consideration.)

TUESDAY UPDATE - Well, this afternoon his lower intestines woke up... which brought a bit of blood. The doctor seemed to think this is normal post-op stuff, and I do, too; his colon was cut into, and it's just now starting to come back online, so there's bound to be a little "clearing" to deal with. They did do a blood draw to be sure his blood levels are normal, and he's still having nausea issues, but I still feel that this will resolve positively. Good energy is still appreciated, if you have any to spare...

WEDNESDAY UPDATE - Today, after finally getting a night's sleep without being woken for this or that procedure, Dad felt much better. He still doesn't have too much of an appetite, and he's still passing a little blood when his lower intestines do their thing, but he's keeping food down and he's been disconnected from his various tubes and IVs and such. So, barring unforeseen complications, he looks to be home tomorrow or Friday.
And next time I update, I probably ought to open a new post instead of editing this one.

The Saturday Morning Report

Okay, the doctor called today to explain more of what's going on. To summarize:

1 - They looked at his liver because, if it was colon cancer, that's one of the places it goes.

2 - They saw an "irregular spot" there on the CAT scan, but from the MRI (better at seeing soft tissues) they think it's most likely a blood vessel thing which livers do now and again.

3 - They still don't thing there's anything metastatic wrong, but they don't know precisely what the intestine thing is except it needs to go.

4 - They hope to operate tomorrow morning.

Oh, and as of five minutes ago, it was snowing here. Again. (Up north they got three inches on the ground...)

SATURDAY NIGHT UPDATE - The surgery's scheduled for Sunday morning. If anyone out there happens to read this between now and then, good vibes would be appreciated.