Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
My grandmother died last night. This wasn't a shock or a surprise. Her health has been on the decline, and she's been in hospice for the last month. She lived a long life, and in her final days she was surrounded by her three adult children.
My grandma was a kind woman. She wasn't perfect, but I always felt loved in her presence. She was a retired kindergarten teacher, and was still working when I was a kid. I have so many happy memories sitting at her kitchen table, and I'm going to carry those with me for the rest of my life. She was also proof that anyone who claims that you get more conservative as you get older is full of shit, because she certainly didn't.
I think it's interesting how the body processes grief sometimes. I don't know that I'll cry, but over the past month, knowing this was coming, I've felt a tension in my gut. Now that she's passed, instead of relief that tension is replaced by a sense of emptiness. That something is missing that should still be there. Something has been taken away, and I feel it.
Of course, as I wrote that, I immediately started crying... so I guess my body processes grief in pretty ordinary ways too.
I wanted to come up with something profound linking this to Beltane, which we sit in the middle of right now, but it just seemed hackneyed. Like I was trying to dig out some greater significance when the truth is death comes whenever it wants. The only predictable thing about it is that it's the end of all of our journeys. I hope that when I pass I'm so lucky to have lived such a long life with people that I love around me in my final days.
For the record, I will be fine. I just needed to get these words out while they were still in my head. I don't have some rousing conclusion or deep insight to tack on here at the end, just that gut feeling that something is missing.
Because it is.
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Sorry, Lynn, you’re only allowed to complete that word if it’s scribbled on.
Lots of little purchases? An anime DVD generally runs in the $10 to $50 range…
“Transactions”, not necessarily “purchases”… Moving $100 to a Paypal account would be a transaction. The questions being “who”, “why?”, and how it all went unnoticed?
Ruth just took over as treasurer. Who was the previous one? Even if they didn’t embezzle, they fell down on the job not catching it sooner.
Agreed, whoever was previous treasurer needs to be contacted ASAP.
Maybe the previous treasurer was investing in many Nigerian Princes to try help Bork Con obtain a huge fortune so that way they can have the biggest convention in the Midwest plus money to afford lawyers in case a lawsuit ever broke out so that way the con isnt out if business.
Not necessarily a Nigerian prince, it could be a permanently broke friend the treasurer was loaning money to. “Dude, I’m a bit short this week, can you give me $50 until Friday?” “Dude, I just got fired, can you cover my rent until I get a new job?” “Dude, I promise I’ll pay you back, I just need $50 for work boots for the new job and I don’t get paid for 2 weeks.” Suddenly it’s 6 months and 5 grand later and the guy is no closer to paying you back than he was when you started.
Wait a minute…
Little transactions?
MICROpayments?
They’ve been robbed by Scott McCloud!
“Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence.” Albany AnthroCon was almost scuttled after its first year when a bookkeeping error left it short of funds to pay artists for Art Show sales after other bills were paid first. (The chairman at the time thought he had more money than he did.) After that the Art Show funds were kept in a separate bank account. Staff and others lent the con money to finish paying the artists that year, and were repaid within two years.
Many conventions make errors, even the big ones. Maybe it is an error.