Things have progressed a bit more slowly than I anticipated.  Book cases are mostly emptied and ready to be moved, which should happen tomorrow evening if we don’t get thunderstorms.  I’ve got a few bookcases moved and just finished putting the pulps in their new homes.  I was hoping to move some of the small press books tonight but time got away from me.  It always does that when I’m tired. 

Classes don’t start until next week, but I have a meeting to try to organize the TAs tomorrow morning followed by more meetings.  Maybe I can get some things posted over the weekend.  Anyway, that’s how things stand now.

Well, sort of.  I’m at the office this morning, trying to get caught up on some reference letters I need to write for students and make preparations for the TA meeting later in the week. 

Anyway, everything except the books shelves and books have been moved which will happen piecemeal throughout the week.  (There’s also a 29 gallon aquarium; it will go when we’ve decided on the final placement of some items.) 

I don’t have the computer set up yet.  There are a couple of electric outlets foiling my sinister plans for office arrangement.  I’m having to rethink where some things like filing cabinets and shelves are going to go.  Once I get that worked out, I’ll be back online at home.  With that in mind, I finally finished the science fiction novel I’ve been reading trying to read for at least two weeks.  I hope to get the review up at Futures Past and Present in a day or so.  I’m not sure what I’ll read and review next.  I’m too tired to think about it at the moment.  Hopefully by the end of the week things will be back to as c lose to normal as they usually get for me.

Just a quick update to bring those of you who care up to speed.  In less than 24 hours, my wife and I will sign closing papers on a house.  We’re planning on getting a few items in the house worked on and start moving in on Friday and Saturday, at least to the point we can occupy the dwelling.  We’ll move dishes, towels, the contents of closets, etc. starting Wednesday afternoon.  That will also be the day I probably won’t have any internet access for a day or two other than what I can get through my phone.  If plans hold, I’m going to go to San Angelo Thursday to get some items out of storage that my in-laws are keeping for us like the woodworking equipment and some larger pieces of furniture.  I’ll come back Friday afternoon with these items.  Friday evening and Saturday all the furniture except bookcases, filing cabinet and maybe desk will be moved.  The bookcases will be next, followed by the books.

I doubt I’ll post much for the next week, although one or two things might show up.  I’m waiting on an author to approve an interview.  Since that will mostly be cut and paste, once I get his final approval, that will go up along with a review of one of his books.  I might blog about short fiction or something if I have a chance, but don’t hold your breath.waiting for a lot of new content.  The series on The Warlord is on hold until the move is finished.  Several novels and short fiction reviews as well.

Anyway, it’s going to be hectic for a bit, but I hope to be back up to speed within the next two weeks.

Things have been slow at my wife’s place of employment for a while, so slow that yesterday she was one of about half a dozen let go.  Needless to say, it was not a fun evening at my house.  While the boss stressed it was for financial reasons rather than job performance and would call them back if things turned around and they hadn’t found other employment, it’s still a bit of a nuisance.  Armadillocon was pretty much out of the picture already, but it’s definitely not going to happen now. 

My wife has already started job hunting, and while I’m generally optimistic, nothing is guaranteed at this point.  I bring all this up so you’ll know that if I seem to disappear for a while, it’s only temporary.  I’m going to help with the job hunt however I can.  That could cut into my reading, reviewing, and blogging time.  Just so you know.

We went back to the doctor yesterday to go over test results.  Whatever this mass/cyst/something is, it doesn’t appear to be anything to panic about according to the doctor.  It could be anything from a benign cyst to the start of something serious, but at this point there’s no way to be sure without doing something invasive. There’s currently nothing to indicate the whateveritis is serious.  Kathy is still thinking about it, but she’s leaning heavily on waiting and doing another MRI in six months and see how things look then.  She’ll have to have the MRI anyway.  It’s possible that this thing is the result of the hormones she’s been on since her hysterectomy a year ago.  If that’s the case, then it could shrink or (hopefully) go away altogether.  The doctor has taken her off hormones, and if it shrinks, that will be a good indication the hormones caused this thing in the first place.

Anyway, we’re much more relaxed than we’ve been for the last few weeks.  I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.  We’ve really appreciated them.

…and sometimes “life” is spelled with an “S” if you get my meaning.  Fortunately, that’s not the case (yet), although I was preparing myself for it to be.

A few weeks ago, my wife Kathy went in for her annual mammogram, although she later told me she was thinking about skipping it this year.  Well, the mammogram, done at our PCP’s office, or rather the large clinic he works at, showed something that wasn’t there last year.  He referred her to a breast health specialist in town, an wonderful woman who is a breast cancer survivor herself.  This doctor did a followup mammogram on the breast in question (the right), saw the same thing, and ordered an MRI and a biopsy. 

We got the results back today.  The biopsy showed the new growth (something called calcification) to be benign.  But the MRI showed a small mass (about the size of the tip of my little finger) in the left breast which didn’t show up on the PCP’s mammogram.  It didn’t show up on the followup mammogram we did with the specialist this afternoon.  And let me tell you something.  The difference in quality of the two mammograms was amazing.  The specialist’s showed much more detail than the PCP’s.  Lesson: not all mammograms are created equal.  Make sure you’re getting the best quality you can.

Anyway, we go in for a followup visit on Thursday morning to discuss options after the doctor has had a chance to examine the sonogram we also did late this afternoon.  We’ll probably do another biopsy.  The doctor is fairly certain this is benign, but she doesn’t want to take chances.  Neither do we.  If they do find something, I may start blogging erratically until we get things cleared up.  I’ll post a notice if that happens.