Aloha

Yes, yes, I've been away. I have been insanely busy. I mean that literally - I have gone insane...

Just before we left San Diego, Elizabeth swallowed a penny. That alone took an entire day. We sat in the ER for a few hours, then got x-rays, then sat in the ER for another few hours. Then she had surgery. There were 20 people there for it - all of the pediatric surgeons, the ear-eyes-nose-throat surgeons, the anaestheticians, and their residents. The scariest part was when I had to hold her down while they gassed her. Part of me thought, when she passed out instantly, that it'd be nice to have one of those at home for those non-napping days, but most of me just cried. It was horrible lifting her limp body and placing her on the surgery table. The docs quickly ushered me out to join Jim, and within twenty minutes, she was out of surgery and completely fine. By the time we got home, we were all exhausted - but not so tired that we didn't scan the area to make sure there weren't any other items she could suck down.

Then, on Sunday, we left our house. It was empty, too - everything had been put in storage. We jumped on the plane and flew to San Fran and then to Honolulu, and have been here since. I started my Air Force Reserves job on Monday, which was quite a shock to my system after a year of being home with Elizabeth. By Friday, we had gotten into the swing of things. Jim has been taking care of her all day, but starting this Monday, she will be going to day care for four hours a day (he needs to study for his GREs). I've been trying to finish up my homework during lunch hour, but I haven't managed it yet.

And writing? No. Nada. Nothing. I haven't even looked at my manuscript in over a week. I have, however, been thinking about it. As soon as I've got a free minute with more than 5% energy level, I'll write again. Maybe next weekend, during my lunch break. (I have to work 7-days-a-week after next Friday or the USAF won't pay for the hotel.)

We are here until the end of September, when we return to San Diego for a few weeks prior to our New Zealand trip.

Oh, and I may have to go on Active Duty in November for 6+ months. I just found out that I'm highly vulnerable to another deployment to Iraq, even though I've already been. (The only people who are free from getting called up are those who have been involuntarily told to go before, so my voluntary deployment doesn't get me out of the hot water.) I'm trying to see if I can just stay here for six months (they need people here, too), and get a waiver of some sort to keep me from going back to Iraq. It's not that I'm afraid of going - I just don't want to leave my family. If I didn't have a child, I might have volunteered again just to get it out of the way.

*Sigh* I am looking forward to a change in the Administration...