Little one
This weekend was exhausting. Amazing, but exhausting.
We had a lot of cleaning to do before our guests arrived this weekend. Starr did a lot of it, but I tried to pull my weight. We established Friday’s high point when I received a panicked call at work letting me know that Midori had pulled the gerbil cage from the bookshelf and smashed it. Starr finally managed to catch two traumatized but unharmed gerbils, and I screwed the replacement cage to the bookcase… so there, cat.
Why all the kerfuffle? Well, we had a rather special little boy and his parents coming by. Owen is observant, intelligent, cheerful, and energetic; and Starr gave birth to him four years ago, giving him up to a couple in a much better position at the time to give him a stable home.
I hadn’t really been aware of “open adoption” before. The idea is that the adoptive parents keep the birth mother in their life, trading phone calls, email, and pictures, and even getting together when possible. Owen has grown up thinking of Starr as a relative who loves him a lot, and I suppose that one day, when he asks very specific questions, he’ll get straight answers.
The idea sounds good; an extra close relative in a child’s life has to be a bonus, and when he’s a teenager trying to figure out who he is, he’ll have immediate answers to many of the questions I imagine an adopted child might ask. On the other hand, I can see how the relationships involved might need more work on everyone’s part than normal. On the gripping hand, I have some experience of my own with unusual relationships, and I feel the effort’s well worth making. I suppose time will tell how it all works out.
More importantly for the time being, Owen was a joy to meet. I’m spoiled by precocious kids like him and Bethany… perhaps it has just as much to do with the parents’ determination to raise him as something more than a yard ape. His parents were pretty awesome too; we got along from the beginning, and it only got better when Paul and I started Mac geeking together. Starr reported later that they thought I was a pretty decent guy.
(Actually, they called me ‘grounded’. Is there anyone here who knows me who’d have picked the adjective ‘grounded’ to describe me?)
I greatly enjoyed the day and a half of time with Owen and Paul and Susan; Starr’s mom joined us as well. However, all that time of socializing and trying to keep up with a 4-year-old drained me dry. I took a somewhat unwilling nap on Sunday afternoon, and craved a quiet night of WoW afterwards. Wouldn’t have missed it though, and Starr’s center returned to her after a week of pure frantic. At least next weekend ought to be a bit quieter.
A bit.
A little more about Amira
Amira’s (extremely brief at the moment) obituary is posted at Legacy.com; choose “Victoria Lynn Bedford”.
As I understand it secondhand, by November of last year she was suffering from the return of a tumor, and this time she had decided not to receive chemo or radiation.
This is everything I know at the moment.
Another loss
Amira passed away yesterday. I don’t have many reliable details, but I know that she was quite ill, and this was not exactly unexpected. Still, losing her and my friend Millie within a few weeks of each other amplifies the lousiness.
The southwestern Virginia fans here should remember her as a fixture and frequent guest of the SWVA convention scene. She always had energy and an opinion, and pitched in often when she felt her talents would be useful.
I’m really glad there’s footage of her bellydancing on the Technicon 24 DVD. It’s not an awful way to be remembered.
Kinda echoey in here, hmmm?
We had a guest over last night… are having more guests this weekend… and are planning on seeing shrewlet, rhaps, and meiran in the next month. So this last week, we cleaned up the apartment.
Between possibly the most serious cleaning we’ve done since we moved here, and the ongoing stuff reduction program (I need to find shipping boxen for cjmr‘s and rattrap‘s models ASAP), the place looks practically new. The lighting’s better now. I can get into my bed without sidling past bookcases. All of the rooms in the place are suddenly fully usable. Heck, after tonight’s effort I might be able to admit people into my computer office without embarrassment. My ‘house’ is clean.
What an odd experience.
Tonight they start filming a movie here on base. I didn’t quite get around to sending them a glossy, and I’m not sure I’ve got the 70’s look they’re after, so I don’t get to be one of the extras. The film’s got Cameron Diaz in it… somehow I don’t think she’ll be swinging by. All I’m getting out of this is the mandatory opportunity to park my clearly 21st-century car another block-and-a-half from work. Ah, well. Exercise.
Speak “Friend” and Enter
This morning I found a hotel cardkey from a 2007 con in my stuff. I’d feel guilty, except I know they churn these keys out by the millions, and since the whole thing is computer-controlled, they’ve already invalidated the darn thing. So now it’s a memento.
What got me thinking, though, is the memory of when hotels actually handed out metal keys, usually on large plastic keychains with the room number embossed on them. Yes, those were simpler times.
Oh, when I say “enter hotel rooms,” I mean one that you or a roommate have paid for. Room parties, rooms that you’re only responsible for as an event organizer, etc. don’t count.
(Yes, I know. “Auhorized” is a Space Rogues in-joke.)
Rock Rockin’ Tha Spot
More WoW.
Mirandala just dinged 65, which means she can cast the Shattrath Portal spell as soon as I find the trainer. 5 levels to go before I hit the current cap; the last 5 levels took me… hmmm… 11 months.
Boy, I’m addicted, aren’t I?
(Okay, I did level Circy from around 5 to 55 in that period, and messed with a couple other alts. Still, that’s not setting any records.)
Interesting WoW rock video to the tune “Rock Rockin’ Tha Spot“. Despite the quality of the work, I feel I must warn potential viewers about the swear words and the Blood Elf nudity.
Sci-fi Arms Dealership
The apartment purge continues. This weekend: my plastic model kits.
As with books and con T-shirts, I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them all, but I am still putting up some very nice kits I had looked forward to building one day (assuming an unlimited budget of time and money and display space). Some of these were gifts, and that made it even harder to put them on this list, but the time has come.
I’ll put these up here for a week or so, then they’ll go up on Craigslist or eBay or something. If you are interested, let me know and we’ll work out the details of payment and shipping etc. I’d say that most of the injection-molded kits are suitable for kids and adults with moderate experience, while the vinyl kits require slightly more advanced skills. Some of the snap-fit kits sound easier, but actually end up requiring skilled adjustments to actually look good… you never know.
