A very busy evening - or - my family is falling apart, literally

I was as Very Good Boy at work today, and got all my calls done, my new accounts all coded and contacted, and my write-offs all prepared for month-end signatures. It was a very productive day, and I'm ready for month end with six days to spare, which is just unheard of.

I called Dad this afternoon to see what he was doing for dinner tonight, and he said he was waiting to go to the doctor. He had pain in his lower left abdominal quadrant, and the first thing I was afraid of was a femoral embolism, which, thank God, was wrong. It is some kind of intestinal problem, and, being my dad, he refused to go to the hospital this afternoon as the doctor told him he should, and is instead going to the office in the morning for a scan.

That threw off everyone's plans for this weekend. My step-mom was supposed to take my older nephew Cole to the beach this weekend, along with Jim's family. Jim works with my dad. So with dad being sick, Jim has to run the store (although is family is going on to the beach), and my step-mom has to stay here with my dad. Which means Cole is out of a trip to the beach. They offered to let me take Cole on the trip, and to pay for it, but I had already set up to go to Mom's this weekend. Also, my step-mom was going to drop off a knee-walker (kind of a cross between a cane and a scooter you use after foot surgery) when she picked up Cole, so now I need to take that down to her. My step-mom also offered to send my sister on the beach trip, all expenses paid, to make sure that Cole wasn't disappointed, but she and her husband may be nearing the end of a two year house hunt, and if they decide to buy, she'll need to be in town.

The knee-walker was in the attic, and my parents' attic steps are broken, so Jim had to bring the ladder from the shop so I could get up in there and get it down, so that turned into kind of a process.

After much discussion, Cole told my sister that he would rather spend the weekend with me at my mom's house than go to the beach (which made me feel like I really rate), so that's what we're going to do. I'm not sure that is really what he would rather do though. He has become so self-effacing it is disturbing to me. He was such a confident, out-going child when he was younger, but he seems to have just faded into a shadow now that he is older. I used to think that this was because of my sister's latest marriage, but now I'm not sure about that. And getting him to talk to you is like getting Scrooge McDuck to part with dollars. Every time I get him loosened up enough around me to talk to me, it's time to go home. Frustrating. But there is just too much going on right now to use a chain to drag out of him what he really wants to do. We're just going to have to go with the expressed wish, and I'll try to make sure he has a good time this weekend, while still doing the stuff my mom needs done.

To add another layer, it was Anna's birthday today, one of the women I know through work. I'm not close to many of the people I work with. Most of them are straight, married, redneck provincial women that I just don't have that much in common with. But Anna is gay too, is kinky, and loves to read. That is how we met. I was reading a Sarah Waters book in the cafeteria one day, and she commented on it, and loaned me some others to read. I loaned her the Marketplace books to read in return. We have been friends ever since.

I worry about Anna. She doesn't drive (I don't know the story there), and so it's hard for her to get out. Her sister gives her rides to work and stuff. She is a very sweet person (to the point of being obsequious), and everyone likes her, but she doesn't seem to believe it. She has the eyes of a wounded Japanamation mouse. I've tried to get her to go do some stuff with me, or come over to the house, but it has never really worked out. I did get her to come meet me for pizza with some friends one time, but the logistics were complicated, and her ride back messed up plans to hang out more (and yes, I have offered to pick up and drop off). Also, in small social situations, she kind of scares people off. She's very intense anyway, and she just tries so hard to be liked that it makes people uncomfortable. I know there is a lot more to her story than I know.

Anyway, when I asked her yesterday about her birthday plans, she said she didn't have any, and I offered to take her out. No one should be alone on their birthday, unless they want to be. So I was trying to get everything settled so I could go pick her up, and feeling pretty harried.

Fortunately, when I called, her brother-in-law had fixed dinner for her for her birthday, so I was of the hook there. Not that I didn't want to take her out, but this week I just have a few too many irons in the fire.

I went on to the library because I had to turn some stuff in, and then remembered I needed a book on CD for the drive this weekend. Then I decided to pick up a few books, and they just happened to have a bunch of good stuff that I wanted to read. So an armload of books later, I stumbled out to the car and headed home.

I just ate, watched a bit of telly, and then chatted online until bed. I was pretty whooped.