returned.

Hey. It’s been a while.

The end of last week was kind of a mess. My internal clock was destroyed by the middle-of-the-night shift I worked on Wednesday. And we found out a day later that our original Grandhog, Ron Joranko, passed away with alarming rapidity on Thursday morning, really just a few days after he learned he was sick.

It wasn’t all bad. I skied at Seven Springs on Friday. We had some social stuff to do on Saturday, and work is always busy — and I was able to push some of the Groundhog stuff towards the back of my mind for a bit. I needed the break.

And here we are. I think most of the stuff for this weekend is under control — and that’s good, given the fact that at the end of last week I wasn’t sure we should even be having the party. Part of me still feels that way — but we have the blessing of some of the folks who knew Ron best, and we’re going to go ahead.

And that’s a little hard. Ron was the perfect non-leader for our “organization,” such as it is. Although Juan’s been excellent in his place since Ron retired a few years ago, it’s difficult to imagine the group without him. But. Here we go.

—

I’ve been neglecting a couple of local folks recently, one of whom kind of got caught up in my funk of the last week and one of whom will have to wait for a few more days until I give the other one of his things I bought as a gift to its recipient. Here’s where I make up for half of that omission:

I started reading Rachel and thatnight.net not too long after Podcamp last fall. I was immedately impressed with both her writing and her photography, as well as her ability to observe, which helps in both areas. I loved her understated sense of humor and how it shows in her posts. I met Rachel at the last Blogfest, and she looked a little startled when I told her I thought she’s really good.

And she’s just 21. She’s going to get a lot better.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so. thatnight.net is a finalist for a 2008 Bloggie, in the “Best-Kept Secret Weblog” category. Rachel’s blog isn’t a secret anymore, but it still deserves a look — and your vote. I mentioned before that I’m a little tardy in bringing this up — as a result you’ve got until 10 p.m. Eastern on Thursday to vote.

7 thoughts on “returned.”

  2. I’m so sorry to hear of your loss, and am immensely happy that you’re back. I hope your sleeping schedule has fallen back into place.

    I think that might’ve been the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me. I had a blast at the last Blogfest. I may have been a little startled by everything, really. But it was, and has been, excellent talking with you.

    Thank you, UC.

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  3. That’s what I get for skimming a post while I’m working on something. I’m so sorry for your loss, UC.

    Hopefully the spring will bring better feelings and brighter days.

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  5. I’m so sorry for your loss. There’s never an easy way to say goodbye to someone you care for.

    On a happier note, I’ll echo everything you wrote about Rachel and ThatNight.net. She’s always surprising, which feels more surprising each day.

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  6. Thanks, Cindy. This is usually a pretty silly event, and I imagine this year’s will be too … but it will be odd without him.

    And: I just remembered I said I’d try to explain the Groundhog thing. As difficult as that can be, I’ll give it a shot in the next day or so.

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  7. There was a chance I’d have to do something work-related on Saturday morning if you can believe it. But I told my boss: um, I have friends in town and, well, we all observe Groundhog Day, sort of…. He required no further explanation.

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