Unsettled times

Earlier this evening, while preparing dinner, I took a casual glance at the big calendar we have in our kitchen. I'll admit that I was shocked when, upon looking at the calendar for a couple of seconds, I realized that Thanksgiving was exactly two weeks away! Yeah, I knew it was coming, but this quickly? I guess that's what I get for not keeping close track of time, but there are a lot of distractions in my life right now.

Most importantly: last week my uncle Glen was admitted to a Temple hospital with severe heart and kidney problems. His condition is still serious and his prognosis is uncertain at this point. My mother has been up there all week, keeping my aunt Dorothy (elder sister to both Glen and my mom) company, and my two cousins - Glen's daughters - have even flown in from Los Angeles and Nebraska to be by his bedside. There's nothing anybody can do at this point but wait and see how Glen responds to the treatment he is receiving.

In other words, it doesn't matter how close Thanksgiving is. Depending on how Glen does, we might not be having much of a Thanksgiving at all.

While that, by far, is the most distressing event occurring my my life right now, it's not the only source of unsettlement. At work, the story is that we're about to be moved into a new office space out on the West Loop. It's not too far from our current Greenway Plaza location and it will only add a few minutes to my commute, but the cleaning and packing is going to be a chore and, even worse, the rumor is that we'll be trading the actual offices we have right now for cubicles. Ugh.

Speaking of work, there's still no news about my impending trip to Dubai. When the original schedule for the project was created at the end of August, the plan was for me to leave on October 29th. Of course, I'm still in Houston, so that obviously hasn't happened; sometime in September I received word that the project had been delayed and that I wouldn't be needed until after Thanksgiving. Since then, there's been no word whatsoever. The closer I get to Thanksgiving without receiving any updates, the more likely it becomes that I won't be needed there until later in December, or sometime in January, or at all. Needless to say, it's hard to make any plans given this kind of uncertainty, and it is as annoying for Lori as it is for me.

There's also my AICP Certification Exam, which I take late next week. I've been preparing for it - or trying to, at least - but the more I study the more concerned I become about whether I'll actually be able to pass it. And I really need to pass this test. No pressure there, or anything...

Oh yeah, and then there's the cough and runny nose that has kept Kirby home from preschool most of this week. He was nice enough to pass his illness on to me and Lori, as well. Great.

Unsettled. That's where things are right now. That's also why blogging has been - and is going to continue to be - sporadic. I'll keep everybody updated about my uncle's condition.