Welp. It's been a few weeks of the usual weirdness in my life.

I'd almost beaten the cold/flu that everyone is getting and simply calling "not COVID", when our Seattle Seawolves rugby team were eliminated from playoff contention. We had an AMAZING game and played REALLY well... but didn't have the aggregate points throughout the season to make it into the post-season.

Except... the top team in the league was suddenly disqualified for management misconduct, so we were suddenly in 4th place in the Western Division, with one game to play against our oldest rivals, the San Diego Legion! We beat them handily, and suddenly were in the playoffs!

The head cold was abating, my team got a sudden reprieve and got into the semi-finals, and...

... that evening my Father-in-law died.

My wife and I went from the height of sports-feelings to dealing with parental loss, funeral planning, estate issues, and estranged family members going crazy, in about 5 minutes.

The next day we flew to Minneapolis for his funeral. Turns out he has left an estate that will keep all of his living relatives (me included) fiscally secure for the rest of our lives. The estranged family members were kept calm and the drama was avoided by having off-duty police officers at the funeral and the shiva at the synagogue.

On Thursday of that week, I woke up in our hotel room with my arm oddly positioned under my head, and a weird pain in my shoulder. That slowly developed over the weekend into a seriously pinched nerve that rendered my left arm useless, tingling, and in severe pain that kept me up all night.

That Sunday the Seawolves played the last game of the season, against the best team in our division, and completely decimated them! This was a team that "the team to beat", and two weeks before we had been in 5th place in a 7-team division. The turnaround by the Seawolves has been astounding, and we are playing the best rugby we have ever played.

Medical attention (massage, acupuncture, etc.) for my shoulder and some strategic pillow use and borrowing some opiates from friends got me some sleep during the week. But things at work exploded with a lot of new work coming in for me to do a lot of writing for... with my left arm hanging useless at my side. Typing 100-page sales proposals with one hand is Not Fun.

My electric lawn mower (Black Decker) died, and since DeWalt now owns BD, they closed their only B+D service center in the Pacific Northwest three months ago. I now have to ship my mower somewhere to get it fixed... meanwhile my grass continues to grow amazingly fast, as my left arm hangs limp and useless.

The Seawolves then whomped the Houston Sabercats at their home field in Houston, winning the Western Division, and putting us into the Championship against (it turns out) Rugby New York.

Got into my doctor for the shoulder, finally, and she prescribed Oxycontin and Prednisone - for the pain and nerve inflammation, respectively - and within 3 days my arm is probably 60% useful again!

But I cannot travel like this, so I am going to miss my Seawolves play Rugby New York for the Major League Rugby Championship on Saturday. We have won the Championship twice before, and I was at both of those games, and am shattered that I can't go to this one. :(

So my wife and sister-in-law are both going to travel together and go to the game!!

Meanwhile, Moxie - my lovely Anatolian Shepherd/Malamute - is in heat, and FEELING SO MANY FEELINGS right now... I'm trying to keep her entertained, but we can't visit the dog park or run off-leash at all until she isn't fertile any more.

And also meanwhile, I have now changed my work schedule so I am off work Tuesdays and Thursdays to spend time with my Dad, who has early stage vascular Alzheimers. My mom and sister take care of him 24x7, and need a break. And, he "charges up" when he's with me. He is more lively, engaged, and more communicative when we have spent time together, and it usually lasts a day or so. It's nice to be able to give them a break, and also have such a positive effect on him and his enjoyment of life.

Today I get another massage on my shoulder. Tomorrow my Physical Therapy starts. And Saturday at 9:AM (pacific time) the Seawolves take the pitch to try for their THIRD championship in the Major League Rugby league's short 5-year history.

And with the family windfall... I now get to consider the possibility of retiring. Which is weird. What would I do with my time if I didn't have a job to get up and go to? For approximately 20-25 years?

I've had a job every day since I was 16... and never had any possibility of retiring. Ever.

Life is weird, man.