Trebs

Can't say anything about starting new stories since Dan's been doing it a lot recently - but, most of it is VERY good. Take your time, work on what you want (as usual) - you know we love your work and will be here for whatever you produce. <hug>

Or tell him that you're thirsty and would drink from his tap?

How many times do we have to tell you Steve - pictures, WE NEED PICTURES!!!

Corvus and Mike have a point - even something simple like "Ya, my ex Bill is watching Mina, our dog, today"

Drewbie - I think that's always on John's mind... ;-)

Just finished reading it (for the first time at least) - FANTASTIC wrap-up... I especially loved Horst's Plan "A" for George... I'll miss reading about the guys, but look forward to any future stories of yours...

Thank you Mike, Julian and Rigel... appreciate the thoughts. And while a big part of me knows that I'm not ready yet and still have more recovery to do - I AM BORED!!! lol - just missing the office. But you're right - I need to be able to handle a full work day before risking one. At least the commute part is easy as my work is about 10-15 minutes away on decent surface streets.

The one exception I might note is the first two or so posts of a thread - especially if the thread goes up before the official story announcement. Sometimes seeing the discussion thread and clicking on it is how I find out about a new chapter and use the link there to get to it... Plus - some people might not be as careful when they see the listings in "View New Content" to differentiate between an announcement thread and a discussion thread (esp when the reply count is 0 or 1).

Gotta remember to stop making promises in my blog, like "I'll post tomorrow" - heh. ANYWAYS... So - the doctor visit LAST WEEK went relatively well. Dr Arai was still happy with my progress, only thing was, I also got a dose of reality at the same time. I had been hoping that I might be able to go back to work in say, early September. So I brought it up as far as - "I know the schedule says I can go back to work after 5-6 months, but what about earlier". I knew I was in trouble as I saw her bracing toward the beginning of the sentence, and then totally do a double-take at the end and she said "Earlier?" Uh-oh... So - we talked it through a bit and she did say that I POSSIBLY could go back earlier, but to consider easing into it, like part-time to begin with ("Better than starting full-time and then having to drop back and feel like you failed"). We talked about dates and she thought Oct for full time would work, but to also play it by ear. I also had thought that this was my last Stanford visit - but she still wants to see me, just every three months (well - better than having to drive down there every two weeks). I still go in for follow-ups every two weeks, but now I get to do those with Dr Spears, my local doctor. Otherwise, things are going pretty well. My stamina level is that I'm up about three hours at a stretch before hitting a wall. I'm doing a ton of reading since that's the only thing that is keeping me from being totally bored out of my mind. I've always loved reading on a handheld (right now, my AT&T Tilt, a windows mobile phone - previously on an internet capable PDA). So I'm scouring various story sites, nifty, best of nifty, etc... One thing I HATE - getting really into a good, well-writen series - only to read the last chapter to find it is UNFINISHED. One reason I love sites that accurately post "Completed" vs "In Progress". Though, if the author is still going, I have purposely read through their in progress stuff as well - just when they do post a new chapter, I have to frequently re-read the previous chapter to remember what is going on and who the characters are. Ironic thing, is in addition to the web-based stories I'm burning through, I have a number of physical books that I WANT to read, I just... keep putting them off. One in particular, is the completion of the Sword of Truth books - I still have NOT read "Chainfire" - though Dan and I own it, Phantom and Confessor (the last three novels in the series). Not sure why - I've tried about 4 times, but I just can't get into Chainfire. That's about it for now - NOT gonna promise another update immediately, but when the mood strikes me, ya, I'll definately update - heh. Take care, and thanks again to everyone for their well-wishes... It is much appreciated.

As I said earlier, there are changes for the better all of the time - just saw an article about Lutherans moving towards even more gay-inclusiveness One quote from the article that well sums it up:

Great info - thanks Rigel

Normally I just do this with Dan but... WHERE'S 51!!! /ducking On a serious note - VERY much enjoyed 50 though Lastly, I'm hoping that floor of the hotel is a bit crowded - you know, so maybe some people, like say Keith and Brian, would have to double up - just to help with the crowding, ya, that's it...

From their website, the relevant description: Personally, I'm agnostic. Technically, I'm Catholic as my Irish Grandmother made sure each of my father's three children were baptised though none of us were ever confirmed. My parents basically let us choose our own religious direction - we never had to go to Church (except about 4 times, when visiting my Grandmother) - but if we wanted to, we knew our parents would take us to any Church we choose. I did go a few times to my next door neighbor's Church and had many long religious discussions growing up, but before I even left high school, I firmly viewed myself as an agnostic. This was done after a lot of research, interest and investigation into a variety of religions and spiritual practices. Also - being gay had nothing to do with these views as that wasn't even something I accepted about myself for a few more years. Now - other than the Catholic Church, I personally look well on many religions and their followers. Well - even individual Catholics, depending on the person, I may look well on - it's just the dogma of papal infallibility and the views of all recent Popes on homosexuality, condom use and abortion. [NOTE - I do NOT want this to tangent onto a discussion of abortion - I am merely statement my disagreement with the Catholic Church's view of the subject - if you want to discuss abortion, this is not the thread] One church that is referred to positively in many gay stories I come across is the Episcopal/Anglican branch. Don Hanratty, Sequoia, Etienne, Mike Arram are to name just a few wonderful authors whose stories include characters worshiping and being welcome in various Episcopal/Anglican churches. I'm especially attuned to real life news about the Episcopal Church as a close friend from work - his mother is an Episcopal priest and he has held various lay positions in his local church. So when I find stories, such as the recent Bishop searches in the Los Angeles diocese (as well as one in Minnesota or Wisconsin - forget which) where the final list of candidates in both cases include lesbian and gay priests. Not to mention of course the already previous Bishop of New Hampshire - who hopefully will soon be joined by at least one or two others. Reading references in some of the above mentioned stories, does make me see the sense of wonder, of community, of sharing that is obvious these authors and many others who attend churches feel. I can appreciate that even though I personally do not share their faith. Mike - thanks for starting this topic and showcasing the gaychurch website - it looks like a great reference. As to the question regarding non-Christian faiths, I know the reform branch of the Jewish religion is typically gay-friendly (and some Conservative denominations are as well). I know there are gay muslims out there and would guess there are web resources available if searched for. Just as any other human institution, religions and churches are adjusting to changing demographics and viewpoints - and that's a healthy change all around.

DAMN - that was good. THANK YOU Viv! I already posted it on my Facebook page...

Different employee... Look down 2 more paragraphs in that blog for: See - especially the "separate from the dangerous one" - ie, the cute one...

Mentioning Gunther and Jim - so, in the third book, by what chapter do people think that the General and/or Felicia will die? I mean, it is the cursed job...

I'll throw a vote in for Jim - independent, from Arizona, able to rally the troups, and then just as he gets a break (marrying Linda and becoming a potential father), he gets gunned down but goes out fighting...

DAMN that's hot - so he didn't even have the boxers on when you saw him blog last? SWEET!

Good news for once Well, it's just 8:30PM and I'm already heading to bed. Reason is that we need to get on the road tomorrow around 5:30 AM (or 6AM at the latest) for a 9AM follow-up appointment at Stanford. And ya - NONE of this early morning part is the good news - lol - especially as anyone who knows me in person KNOWS that I am NOT a morning person. Tomorrow is also day 57 since my transplant. This is the good news part as tomorrow's appointment will be the LAST time I have to go to Stanford - at day 60, my case gets transferred back to my local oncologist back here in Sacramento! WOOT! Now it is still going to be a bit longer on disability before I have my old energy levels back. That's one of the things Dan and I are going to ask my Stanford doctor about. The early prognosis was that it would take about five months after transplant (ie, November) but considering how I'm doing, and that my job is a desk job, I'm hoping she thinks I could return in the late Sept/early Oct range. Cross your fingers and I'll post tomorrow what she said... Robert

Melody is on the left, Zoe is on the right Two important updates... Healthwise - I'm doing really well. My last appointment with my doctor two weeks ago went well, and I have another followup next Wed. She was very happy with my progress when I saw her - and said I was actually doing better than expected for this point. Today is the 51st day since my transplant - and basically at day 60, my case transfers from my Stanford doctor back to my local oncologist - so next Wed should be the last time Dan and I have to travel to Stanford. I'm able to sit up and do things these days for about two hours at a time - a while after that, and I start hitting the wall and getting very tired. But consider that about a month ago, I was only able to handle being up for about 45 minutes at a time - so my stamina is improving but not as fast as I'd like. I can go out - in fact, as long as it isn't to busy I can even go places like the movie theater so when Harry Potter came out, we just waited a couple days and saw a matinee - theater was only half-packed. Only time I have to still wear the hepa air-filter mask is when I am in a hospital or if I'm somewhere very packed or I think there are people who are going to be coughing. Like yesterday, we had to go to the Social Security office, which from Dan's previous visit he knew would be packed with families, so I wore my mask. Good thing too as I heard a ton of coughing throughout the waiting area. Now for the not so pleasant update. This is something that actually has been happening for a while now - but I couldn't really talk about it. See, a couple of months ago my two dogs got out and while out, attacked two cats, killing one. They were declared to be dangerous dogs and Animal Control put them down recently. I made restitution to the owners of one cat and still waiting to hear from the other cat's owner. ... I am so sorry for what my girls did - that I didn't do more to secure them in the yard so they couldn't get out in the first place - but mostly, I just miss my girls. When I finally got the determination from Animal Control, I totally broke down but Dan was right there for me. It actually caused a ... setback in my progress as for about a week to ten days after, I was so depressed I basically stayed in bed for most of the day. I'm a lot better now - just that I can talk about it is pretty much evidence of that. It still hurts to think of them - they were wonderful girls but I know that they (well - Zoe especially) did have some issues. Dan tries to make me feel better by insisting that it was her previous family (the one that gave her to the SPCA) that fucked her up - and it is probably true. But I still feel like a "bad daddy" - and I just miss them so much. When I layed on the bed, Melody used to jump up and curl right into me, using my arm as a pillow. I wouldn't want to disturb her so I would just nap to keep her comfortable (ya, I was whipped - your point?). Anyways - that's what's going on around here. Oh - Dan's been doing quite a bit of writing recently so that's made me very happy. But I'll let others bug him for details...

I've played EQ2 (and made a lot of friends there) and quite a few other MMO's in the past (Vanguard, Matrix Online, SWG, There.Com, TSO). While I still have an active LoTRO account, haven't really played in a while. Only MMO I'm currently occassionally playing is www.FreeRealms.Com - though I also am playing Sims 3 a lot recently.

I should get back to LoTRO - Dan and I play on the Brandywine server but haven't for - 4 months or so. But I did love crafting and adventuring there, though I still haven't gotten to Moria (Dan has). As to projects - I love your ink color system, esp if it works for you. I think juggling multiple projects - some which may never see completion - is a common thing. I know many authors juggle multiple stories in a similar manner. Dan has a couple stories bouncing around - problem is unless he's sufficiently motivated and know where he wants to take the story next, he may put it to the side. Having things percolate in the back of your mind sometimes is what's needed to make needed breakthroughs. Heh - and then there's always the problem of all of the other parts of your life sometimes interfering. PS Welcome to GA!

He was hoping instead to being assaulted by blocked-number's wand... BTW - that Disney promotion is great - we took advantage of it at Disneyworld for Dan's b-day and planning on going to D-land for mine (Labor day)

Nope - that was bare skin...

Dan and I just got back to our home in Sacramento about 1/2 hour ago. Car is unpacked and it feels SOOOOOOO F*ING good to be home.