It’s been a few weeks since the last general update.  Here’s what’s new and happenin’ in the life of your humble blogger.

• Went to my cousin’s wedding reception last Friday.  Callista and Patrick were married several weeks ago in a small civil ceremony and they celebrated last night with friends and family at St. Cecilia’s.  It was quite lovely.  I really like Patrick — he is a nice young man.  And I’m very proud of my eldest cousin; she has come far, and has found success and happiness.  I wish them both the best as they begin their life together as husband and wife, far off in the heights of Denver.
• I finally don’t look like an unemployed homeless man, thanks to a haircut last week.  I did, however, get poked by the scissors in the back of the head and bled for like 15 minutes.  The stylist did a nice job, though.  And he didn’t charge me.
• Life at the hospital has taken an interesting turn. A nice development has arisen for me, but I am not at liberty to share details until a formal announcement is released. Stay tuned.
• Been working more with Tony about his law practice. As with so many things in life, 90 percent of the struggle isn’t with the “what” but with the “why” — or with finding the motivation to engage in the drudge work necessary to bring success. I hope he continues to work hard for his.
• Haven’t been quite as social lately, although I did manage to lose a chess match to Abby last Saturday whilst tinkering away at Bitter End. I have been a fair amount of contract writing — recent clients include Walden University’s Think+Up graduate program and supplemental evergreen articles for use by the Houston Chronicle’s chron.com. Both are good exposure, and pay decently … as long as I can find the time and motivation to do the writing.
• I decided to get an “enhanced” Michigan driver’s license. This is different from an ordinary operator’s license in that it requires additional identity verification and is issued by Homeland Security. The enhanced license is a legal substitute for a passport for land and sea travel into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. So when Tony finally takes me to Windsor for a fun day of gaming, I won’t have to worry about having my passport handy!
• I think I have genuinely stabilized weight-wise after the horror that was Vitamin D Deficiency. I peaked in February and have been slowly coming down, at long last.
• Ryan and Jess and the kids are doing pretty good.  The two adults are taking classes and doing well, despite their distaste for anatomy. Their whole family is doing well; Jess’s brother and his new wife just welcomed a new son into their family yesterday, which is really cool. I wish them the best.
• The race for Michigan’s GOP gubernatorial nod is starting to heat up. I continue to strongly support U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra for the job, and look forward to attending a townhall meeting tomorrow with Hoekstra and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint. Yay.
• I need a new cell phone; my Blackberry Curve has a cracked screen and seems close to death. Strongly considering moving to the HTC Evo. The charm of the Blackberry was the seamless integration with the Exchange server at the hospital, but early next month the hospital is pushing very strong security policies (including mandatory PIN numbers) that make me uncomfortable. So I may move to an Android phone and simply not be 24×7 available to co-workers.
• Alejandro, my dear young friend, recently left America to return to his native Columbia. I wish him well in his life’s journey

All for now.