Momentary Hiatus

Circumstances have conspired lately in both positive and negative ways to derail my intended schedule of posts here. No excuses, just realities that are in some ways beyond my control.

My father passed away on Tuesday, May 15, and I have been dealing with normal legal and logistical challenges since then. It may be awhile before that abates entirely. The emotional issues are there as well, and if you are so inclined you can read about them in this post on my Sense of Misplaced blog. I appreciate your understanding and respect.

I also continue to devote more attention to Sense of Misplaced because I firmly believe the "bigger picture" impacts every aspect of my life, your life, and our society in general. We have to start thinking way outside the box and I believe my true calling is to help achieve that. Consequently, more content is being provided there at this time.

Lastly, I am writing once again for my major client, for their Insectlopedia blog. The demand for content there is seasonal, so I have to write when the client requests it. My goal remains to write mostly during the winter so that I can be afield at this time of year, but we do not always get our way in the working world.

I may have more exciting news to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Thank you as always for your continued loyalty.

Family Emergency

Posts to this blog will not be happening for awhile. Back in late June, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 84. Within the last two weeks, the illness has become drastically worse. I am going to have to take leave to go help take care of her for an indeterminate period of time.

My parents divorced, not amicably, when I was about ten years old. I am an only child. Consequently, all matters like this fall upon me. Mom still lives in Portland, Oregon, where I grew up. I now live in Colorado Springs. My best friend from high school has, amazingly, taken it upon himself to help her in my absence, taking her to various appointments, keeping her company socially, and all the things I probably should be doing myself. I will be forever grateful to him for being there.

What scares me the most right now are the expenses that will be associated with any care (though she qualifies for most government aid), my meals, transportation, and other expenses while away from home, plus final expenses for mom, the shipping and storing of her household, etc. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to cover it all.

My mother does not have the internet, and I do not have a "smart phone," so I politely ask that you do *not* leave comments on this post. I will not be able to moderate and approve them in a timely manner. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Computer Woes

I regret to inform my loyal readers here that I am having serious computer issues. I am writing this from my wife's machine, and plan to take my own computer to the repair shop ASAP. That might be Monday at the earliest, and how long they will need it I have no idea. Hoping my disk isn't bad, but it is a relatively "old" HP Premium Elite HPE I purchased back in....2010?

I've backed up all my edited images, documents, etc, but I have thousands of unedited photos that I don't have room to back up on my external hard drive. So, I will still be able to do some blogs in the future, even if I face the worst-case scenario. I just really hope that doesn't happen.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this trying period. I will not be posting for the immediate, foreseeable future, but have no plans to terminate the blog.

Off to Ohio

I am off to Ohio this week to visit friends in Cincinnati; and to facilitate an Advanced Naturalist Workshop for the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. The subject is true bugs and it will include PowerPoint presentations, field trips, and lab work on how to identify the different families of Heteroptera.

Blogs will resume after I return, and with a lot more frequency come October as I edit images and find out what subject matter I have to share. I hope all of you are enjoying time in the field yourselves, and not missing me in the least!

Life-changing Events

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to announce that on Sunday, April 29, I will be marrying my fianceé, Heidi Genter, here in Colorado Springs. It promises to be a momentous event, and I am looking forward to it. It also means my priorities will change drastically.

I will not be able to guarantee regular posts to either of my two blogs (Sense of Misplaced is the other) from this day forward. Last minute errands will take up most of the next two weeks. I am also working on a couple of projects that have guaranteed income potential.

After the wedding, our priorities will be merging our two households, and finding a more regular income-generating job for me. As the weather continues to warm, we will be taking advantage and going afield as often as we can.

In short, "real life" will be largely replacing the virtual one I have been leading the last several months. This does not mean I plan to give up putting new content on my blogs, but it will be on a as-I-can-do-it basis. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

Bereavement

There will be no posts in the immediate future, due to a family emergency. Heidi and I appreciate your prayers for the Geske and Genter families in the meantime. Thank you.

We're Moving!

Well, the blog is staying put, actually, but the author is moving from Tucson, Arizona to Colorado Springs, Colorado next weekend. This blog will be on hiatus until he gets settled and hooked up with whatever internet provider serves his neighborhood there. Thank you in advance for your loyalty and patience. I am optimistic that I'll be back by mid-October.

Work, Work, Work

I do not like to make excuses for why there are long gaps between blog entries, but right now I am up to my ears in work, and my six month stint here at the University of Massachusetts is winding down.

My current priorities are to finish my tasks in the lab, complete a private project identifying bee specimens, and start packing up to move back to Arizona. Blogging is going to have to be put on the back burner for now, so please bear with me while posts are more infrequent.

Once I return to Tucson, I also aim to drive more traffic to my Sense of Misplaced blog, where I can be more creative, philosophical, and opinionated.