I shoulda been a detective

I'm getting pretty good at it. Finding things. Finding people.
...

I found my mom's high school sweetheart... in Corpus Christi Texas. That story is being written for my book-in-progress, "Reconstructing My Mother." Due out in stores... well, sometime after I finish writing it, and find a publisher, just a few details to work out!

I found my cousin Troy and through him, found my cousins Terri and Todd and Travis who apparently have this cool gaming business in Tallahassee.

I'm sad that I lost my cousins in the first place. Not sure how it happened. They used to live down the street from us. Then they moved to Saudi Arabia, contact got sporadic as we all moved to different cities, states, countries. Things got weird after Papasan died... we all went our seperate ways and had our lives.... then Tia died... and now I find out Uncle George died too. Seems strange that we were so close at one point, and to not even know the fundamental details. It's sad. I want to stop that. I don't have much family left, and lord knows my family doesn't seem to have the longevity gene firmly in place.

Friends come and go... but family is at least supposed to stay on the Christmas card list, even if you don't send Christmas Cards.

My Mid Year Resolution: SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS THIS YEAR! Lord knows I've bought enough of them!

Reconstructing My Mother

I'm working on this project, to reconstruct my mother's life... it is very daunting, overwhelming, interesting, exciting, frustrating and fun. And it makes me cry sometimes.

I've been searching through the one high school yearbook that survived family moves across country (hers and ours) and deaths (hers, her mother's, father's, sister's) There is no family home to go back to. No family to go back to. They are all gone.

The items left are in a box that mostly lives in my garage, but has been visiting the living room floor where I periodically sit and open it, pulling things out to examine them. Its funny what's left of her life. Of course there is my sister and me, and her jewelry, and the tutu doll from Hawaii that we made together, some mementos from her travels in Europe... and of course our family photos and memories. But the questions that tickles my brain, who was she. As a person.

Maybe I'll never know, but I've begun the journey to discover not only her past, but maybe mine as well....

Wikitorial

Crazy. I don't get the purpose of this, except that it makes for an interesting wordplay...

From the June 12. 2005. LA Times:

“Watch next week for the introduction of "wikitorials" — an online feature that will empower you to rewrite Los Angeles Times editorials.”
...full notice here

Wikitorials?

To change an "editorial" which is (according to Wikipedia) a statement by a news organization, expressing opinion ...bla bla bla...
How can another one person change another person's editorial? That is in essence changing what is being expressed as their opinion. I don't get it.
Couldn't folks just write in and express their own opinion, and not change someone else's. Oh wait, those are called Letters To The Editor!

Balance

Merriam Webster Online has as the last definition for balance "mental and emotional steadiness"

There's nothing about balancing work and the rest of life. Not that I expected some sort of How-To, or that I really have much to complain about, but given that balance, or the lack thereof, is such a problem in our society, you'd think the dictionary would reflect that.

I know I have it easy. All I have to do is work from nine to five. You'd think I could find time for fun stuff like like blogging. Or working on my own writing. I don't have kids to take care of, or a husband to consider, and yet I still struggle with finding the time and space, mental space, to work on personal endeavors even when I know they are good for my soul.

So, instead of working on my personal projects, my brain is filled with words for things like Titanium Welding, or EZ Wipes, or grinding tungsten. What's up with that?