I haven't checked in in forever. I blame last semsester's classes- I started a draft in October but never got round to finishing it because I had no time whatsoever. Now I'm only taking 7 credits, and have an actual competent professor for my BIO class, I am so much happier in school!

I started this year with such high hopes. I was actually giddy with excitement just thinking about all the stuff we have planned. But it kinds took a massive turn for the worse at the end of January. My SO's Grandpa died suddenly. We got a call out of the blue 2 weeks ago and we were both pretty much in shock for about a week. My SO would lock himself away to cry and I didn't know what to do. He thought he couldn't go to the funeral because the flights to Florida were so expensive at short notice, and it was cutting him up so bad. So I badgered him. And I felt awful, but I knew I was right. They were so close, he couldn't not go. I put all the money I had into the joint account, I threatened to buy tickets myself. I told him to use the savings if he didn't want to use my money. He bitched, he said he didn't like funerals. I told him who the fuck does? So he finally bought the ticket, and it was like a weight was lifted from him. He was no longer anxious or guilt-ridden, and he felt good he could be there for his Mom and Grandma. He said the morning was pretty terrible, and his Grandma lost it when she saw him- everyone says that my SO and his Grandpa are pretty much the same person, its freaky actually. But he said the funeral was pretty upbeat- the man was a goofball, everybody pretty much started telling all the jokes that they'd heard from Grandpa, and celebrated him rather than be sad, which would have been exactly how he would have wanted. I'm sad I couldn't be there, but I'm so glad my SO got to make his peace with it.

Then my Grandad fell and smashed his hip on the day of my SO's Grandpa's funeral, so we were pretty much freaking out alone in different States the whole of last Thursday. Thankfully my Grandad is ok, just very confused and thinks he's still working in the pub that he owned before I was even born. My Dad has been playing along and assuring him that Alek, one of my Grandad's WW2 buddies is taking care of everything, even though he died again, before I was born. Its messed up. I think if I see him this year it will probably be for the last time. Before he fell there were some days he refused to get out of bed because "He knows he's dying so what's the point?"... he's just failing slowly, and now with this fall there is a chance social services might say he can't go home and has to go into a care home, which was pretty much the beginning of the end for my Grandma. Yes. Messed up indeed.

So we've been getting back on our feet this past week. We actually had a pretty great weekend- we went out to lunch on Saturday and wandered round Fort Collins, then took Dave out hiking on Sunday. It was supposed to be an easy trail, and it was 70F out, but a long part of the trail was in a canyon, and literally had an inch of ice in them. Dave was skidding around like Bambi, and pulling over whoever had hold of his leash. It was so slick that we shuffled rather than walked, and a gust of wind could push us along with ease! It was pretty funny actually, apart from the times we thought we'd slip straight into the creek!