It's been days since I last wrote ...

So much time has elapsed that I hardly know where to begin... .

Perhaps we'll just pick up with today:

Proposal for management of the Richmond Convention Center is moving even more quickly than I'd ever imagined. We're finding enthusiasm everywhere we turn, and offers of assistance are plentiful. The auditorium is in great shape, seats about 3500 in theater arrangements on the main floor, with six side conference rooms to work with as well. It's a gem of a public facility that has been terribly under-utilized for years.

Jennifer and I did a complete tour of the facility two days ago and today took some events promoters in to see it. They were enthusiastic about the place and it appears that we may have a buy-in. Lots of agreements to negotiate, and scenarios to explore, but I'm optimistic about the directions we seem to be headed in.

Our next meeting with the city manager is scheduled for next Monday at which time we'll refine the plans and continue to build the budget. So much for business.

Am continually close to being nauseated (actually) at the state of the world and the awfulness coming out of Iraq. Though there is a part of me that simply can't understand how anyone could expect that WAR has the capacity to be anything other than inhumane. Expecting there to be rules of engagement that make killing fair and compassionate in one case and animalistic and insane in another bears no logic for me. I suspect that this might be a fundamental male/female difference, but I'm no longer sure of that. It all points to a level of insanity that is frightening to consider even for an instant. If I allow my mind to go there, the nausea begins and I become lost and distraught.

Have been reading some of the conspiracy theories on the Internet and doing something I've rarely done before; I'm passing things along in the hope that -- whether believable or not to me -- they may cast more doubt upon the intentions of our administration and help to bring down the presidency. It's beginning to feel less important to me to get them to respond to my(our) petitions and pleas than to make an attempt to chip away at those who believe in the rightness of their purpose. Bush's polling has dropped below 50% now, and that is the first sign of hope in a long time. That means that his base may be crumbling. If we can't effect him(them!) perhaps we can effect that base of true believers. William Kristol sounded far less supportive this week, and some of the other pundits have begun to admit that the wheels are coming off the wagon. It's too early to tell, but just maybe... .

Meanwhile, I'll keep searching out powerfully-written columns online and sending them to my more conservative friends. Preaching to the choir accomplishes little.

Dorian is doing well. Other than having her bicycle sitting in front of the fireplace right in the middle of the livingroom, the rest is falling into place. We've staked out private parts of our small condo, and that works out pretty well. I'm fighting hard to allow her to be independent, but must admit to slipping into my mother place more often than I'd like. We may never really live apart again, though that is the intention. I really must admit that knowing that she's safe in these dreadful times is a comfort. In an emergency I'd be frantic, and we're living in a time of a constant need for vigilance. Falling to sleep at night knowing that she's safe on the blue futon on the livingroom floor with her two cats gives me a sense of peace. The disadvantages are less easily defined these days, and are beginning to be far outweighed by something I'd almost forgotten still lives in me. Being protective of my child is a parental mandate that continues to operate and took little to re-energize.