Wow... has it been one year?

I looked at my blog site today and can't believe it's been nearly one year since I posted anything. My only excuse is that it's been one heck of a year -- and not a very good one.

A bright spot was that Shari, Aaron, and I went to Houston for Christmas 2007. Neither of them had been to Texas, let alone Houston, before, nor had they met my family. We did some touring -- Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Lucy exhibit, Galveston, NASA, and the Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet -- and enjoyed a nice Christmas day at my sister's. Little did any of us know that it would be the last time we would all be together like that, as my dad took ill shortly after and passed away in April. Everything since then has been crazy.

As primary organizer and executor of our parents' estate, it's almost like I've taken on a second full-time job. I've traveled back and forth between Santa Cruz and Houston a number of times since then, met with lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, estate sale agents, and on and on... (meanwhile, I had two different scientific conferences to prepare presentations for and attend)

My last trip to Houston fell right in between hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Luckily neither my sister's home, nor our parents', sustained any damage from Hurricane Ike -- of course there were branches all over the yards and the power went out. As of today, my sister and her family are lucky enough to have their electricity again, but I understand that our parents' neighborhood on the north side (the suburb of Spring) is still without. We had hoped to have the estate sale next weekend, and have the house on the market directly afterwards, but all that's been pushed back indefinitely.

I've had two very dear friends die recently -- both unexpected. My uncle (my dad's only brother) had an abdominal aortic aneurysm last week. He survived the surgery, which I understand has a 40% mortality rate. However, his recovery is not going well, and he is in critical condition.

Yes... it's been one heck of a year.