A Return

Hi.

It's been a really rough year. If you've followed Outis' blog or its previous incarnation, you probably know most of it. If you have just stumbled over here by happenstance, here's the short version:

January: The house was robbed, and our computer and miscellaneous inexpensive (but very sentimental) jewelery was stolen. Seriously, who needs my class ring?

February: Outis' mother was hospitalized with what was apparently a mini-stroke.

March

April: Outis lost his job of 4-1/2 years, for no real reason except that he was 10 weeks from qualifying for pension benefits and his boss is/was a colassal ass.

May: We found out that Outis' brother (18+ years his senior) was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and isn't expected to make it much past Labor Day.

The rest of the summer has been spent dealing with family issues, fighting for unemployement compensation (he won!), and trying to find a job for Outis. (Anyone need a math guy?)

It hasn't all been bad. I did get a promotion at the job that I love, which really only means that the company gets to charge a higher billing rate for my work, but it's a nice vote of confidence given everything else that's been going on. (I did get a reasonable raise, which almost covers the cost of gas for my commute each day.)

Given the most unfortunate previous post, it's been really hard to come back to this crazy little thing called blogging.

The political race, however, has gotten interesting. I thought I might want to post some thoughts from time to time, rather than wait for Outis to make his thoughts known.

However, it's now very late. More tomorrow or Monday, unless the family situation changes.