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[opabinia]

My old aunt Belén passed away last week. I never got very close to her, but ever since I was little, I figured she was a good candidate for sainthood. Then again, I hear she was pretty fierce when the situation called for a little fire and brimstone. She was weakening when I visited two years ago, and I remember thinking that was the last I'd see of her. Once again, I feel guilty for not feeling much of anything. I become more detached with every loss. I had a dream that my family was disgusted with me for not flying down for the funeral.

I'm registered for the 47th Annual Conference of The American Translators Association. I hope to hit it off with a few well-established professional translators. I get the impression that I'll need a good mentor to get me kick-started. At the very worst, I'll come back knowing what reference materials are essential for passing the certification exam.

Oh, I never mentioned that I looked at the practice test. I knew I'd been psyching myself out, but damn. (I was afraid to comment to that effect, and then fail the test. See, now I have to pass the exam on the first try.)

Dad's been feeling fairly well, but he's got some odd skin symptoms now. Hypereosinophilia can mess with your skin, too, so it's not surprising. His pulmonologist referred him to a good dermatologist.

I haven't read journals in a long time. Hope everyone is well. I need to get comfortable with these times when I want physical and emotional space, instead of feeling like a jerk for not keeping up with people for a week or two.

I have lots of backed-up entries to write. Crap, I haven't even brought up brigid and plankton's wedding yet.