It's Halloween and the Sphinx has flown back!

It's been so long since I've appeared in Blogworld, I can't resist jumping out tonight to say BOO!

I won't yada-yada-yada the story why the blog's been on hiatus for so long. I'll just say this has been a very eventful year for me.

Years ago, a very productive author gave me some good advice. Asked about plotting, he said, "What is plot? Why, it's just one damn thing after another."

If that's the test, my life this past year could be the plot of a book.

On a forward-looking note, any day now I shall become a grandmother. My daughter (Sphinx Link) will be presenting me with a grandson. I plan to call him Sphinx Inkling.

The photo has nothing to do with my lengthy blogsilence, but it's funny.

Resurfacing; or Excuses, Excuses, Excuses; or The Dunciad

I never intended my hiatus to go on this long. Since my last entry (good grief, more than 3 months ago!), I spent many weeks on a combination of sick leave and vacation time. I thought of topics for a new blog entry, but using my computer was frustrating because it had begun to run very slow and hang up a lot. I kept postponing a new entry. I enjoyed vegging-out to the max.

A couple of weeks ago I had to re-enter the real world, however: I returned to my job full-time and have been busy catching up on a backlog of work. I'm grabbing a few minutes to say I'm alive and still kicking. But disgruntled.

Very disgruntled, because a few days ago my laptop computer was stolen. That means my only Internet access now is at my office. I can arrange for a replacement computer--a friend has already found one someone wants to get rid of--but I'm mourning the loss of everything that was on the stolen computer. Everything I've written in the past year--from e-mail to business documents to personal writing--was on it.

And, alas, I hadn't backed it up. And I didn't password-protect my files.

Yes, you may sneer and tell me you don't feel sorry for me. Any experienced computer user who doesn't back up regularly is a fool. And password-protection is elementary security.

I am making a dunce cap for myself right now.

Not Quite Back from Hiatus

Well, I'm back, sort of...not having to blog from the afterlife, at least. I'm ten days post-surgery, minus tumor, also minus a kidney. (Fortunately, I have another kidney.) Will be recovering for a few more weeks, but am doing okay. Thanks to those of you who commented on my last post. Whew.

I've been contemplating how I might use this experience in my blog, and thought of recounting various details of the hospitalization/surgery/medication/recovery experience on the theory it might be useful research for someone...then I realized that idea was really just a thinly-disguised version of the recovering invalid's compulsion to talk ad infinitum about her surgery. Which is, of course, excruciatingly boring to everyone except someone else who's experienced the same thing! So I'll spare the details.

All I can say is, having gone through this with laparascopic surgery and found it difficult that way, I can only imagine how much worse it must have been in days prior to this modern method. I have a number of interesting small scars developing across my abdomen, from where various surgical instruments were inserted and removed, and a bit larger scar through which they pulled out the kidney. If not for the laparascope, however, apparently I'd have a scar about nine inches long throbbing across my side and abdomen.

Anyway, thanks to all of you (my vast crowd of readers, heh heh) for your good wishes and good thoughts. I believe they helped me get through it safely.

A Brief Hiatus

I've been pretty healthy most of my life, but in the last few years some health issues have caught up with me. I had an emergency appendectomy seven weeks ago, and have to undergo more surgery tomorrow to remove a tumor on one of my kidneys. The prognosis is very good; the doctor believes I won't need further treatment and that there will be little likelihood of a recurrence. Nevertheless, this is a more involved operation than the appendectomy, and I'm a little apprehensive. The recovery will take longer than for the appendectomy, and I don't know when I'll feel up to getting back online. So let me bid my faithful readers adieu for a few days or a few weeks. Wish me luck, pray for me, or send good vibrations my way, whichever works for you.

I shall return. And, if not, perhaps I'll blog from the afterlife, whatever it may be....

(Hangs head in embarrassment) Sorry, I admit to being dramatic. Just trying to drum up sympathy!

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover...Mea Culpa

This blog entry no doubt is one among thousands using the above title after last weekend.

In case you haven't yet seen/heard the amazing Susan Boyle sing, watch this video. The whole thing is about 7 minutes long, but worth the time. As an occasional viewer of American Idol--the American version of Britain's Got Talent, the British show on which Boyle appeared, I didn't expect Boyle to have talent...because of her appearance. Shame on me.

You must listen to her.

I am humbled. I shall kick myself henceforth as a reminder not to judge by appearance.