Listening: Some classical music on the local NPR station.

Reading (perhaps quality): Faster, still (almost done. And I read I, Elizabeth: A Novel by Rosalind Miles last week)

Reading (definitely pulp): Nothing.

Drinking: Finally remembered to fill up my Brita so I've got good water.

April 17, 2003
11:06 pm

Should be in bed now. Actually, earlier this evening I was telling SS the SS how I was going to go to sleep by 10. Uh, yeah. At this rate I'll be lucky to finish and upload by 11:30. Can't complain. Right now with trumpet music playing softly, a breeze blowing in from outside and the quiet swish of the cars on the highway things are peaceful. I feel almost like I can rest.

Have had a bit of a hard time with that lately. Resting, that is.

CHI was phenomenal but between the mental exertion of sessions all day (fine, laugh, but if you've done it you know what I mean), the networking events which were like some dastardly (and stressful) combination of a singles bar and academic decathlon, and catching up with people from Cal there was no resting. The weather in Ft. Lauderdale was fantastic though - in the 80's with the early summer kind of soft humidity. Especially nice since I heard the weather was so nasty here during the same time period.

Then once I got back there was a day or two to rest then on to Demmert and Darren's wedding. Absolutely beautiful day and location (despite the IMF protesters and police radios). The two of them just looked so happy, so many of my favorite people (Foster and Fabian, D and Fergus, Leigh and Porter, MJ, etc) were there and ... it was just a lovely lovely time. TB came with and thankfully I was spared from the usual teasing that I get. Will post some pictures whenever someone send me some...

Well it was mostly a lovely time. I'd spoken to mom the night before then got confirmation on Saturday morning before the wedding that my grandmother died. Another round of rapid fire travel plans ensued (thank you thank you thank you to my ever-fabulous stepfather) and Sunday morning I was out in NM. I met my stepfather, Hug, and Bug at the airport and the four of us made the drive to Vegas. Mom had asked me that morning if I would do the eulogy so between that and the viewing and all those people at the house I was dazed and stressed. Everyone in the family was there. I met my 11 year old first cousin for the first time, and caught up with the rest of my uncle's family. But when I say everyone was there I mean all the cousins. Was crazy. But wonderful to see people I hadn't seen for years and years. Wonderful to be around people who love/loved my wonderful abuela as much as I do. Made it through the funeral, the filling of the grave (there everyone pitches in with shovels and does it as a group - sounded strange at first but actually was good to get moving and it brought a lot of closure to the event), the reception afterwards, and everyone hanging out at the house until late at night. My stepfather, Hug, and Bug and I headed back Tuesday morning, got back to DC that night.

Whereupon tax madness began. TB gave me a sample copy of TurboTax but it being the night of the 15th and me missing a piece of documentation (of course) all I could do was stress and file extensions. Got the missing documentation from Cal the next day (why weren't the main Cal offices that helpful when I was a student?) and did my final taxes last night. My favorite part of the whole thing? When I was calculating my Virginia taxes I merrily answered questions, until I got to the point where it was going to tell me what I owed. Looked up and almost died - the program said I owed over $130,000.00. After my initial horror I started laughing - I made nowhere nowhere nowhere near that in total last year. Restarted the whole thing and found out I actually got a refund but thank goodness the original payment amount was so wacky - if it had been smaller I might have actually paid it.

So that's been the last couple of weeks. Now I'm just trying to relax and get some rest.

Doing (life and related tasks): Well, Demmert got married last Saturday, my grandmother passed away Saturday early morning, I was away in NM for the funeral Sunday-Tuesday, I did taxes on Tuesday, and have been recovering from it all since.

Doing (crafty stuff): A few stitches of embroidery here and there.

Wanting: Some bookshelves. My CD player to spontaneously fix itself. A maid service so I don't have to feel guilty about my messy apartment.

Anticipating: Relaxing some this weekend.