Since I'm not into lengthy explanations . . .

. . . I'll just say I'm back. Where was I?

Oh, various places.

For most of July, I was out of my ever-loving mind. That is not an exaggeration. I was detoxing from a hideous antidepressant called Effexor XR. They call it "discontinuation syndrome," but I prefer to call it "the worst mindfuck I've ever endured." While I was "discontinuing" or "mindfucking," I was constantly dizzy and nauseous. Concentration was impossible. My dreams were vivid and hideous, so I was afraid to sleep. Everything -- and I mean everything -- made we want to cry. When I didn't want to cry, I wanted to scream. Without triggers and without warning, my entire consciousness would go sideways, as if everything between my ears had been given a good shake. And then the hallucinations started. I saw bugs. Everywhere. I'd feel them drop onto my shoulders.

All this while trying to outwardly act like nothing was wrong. I went to work and tried to write. I went home and tried to parent. I went out and tried to smile.

The worst has passed. The physical side effects are gone. The only remaining problem is the unpredictable mood swings. Those, too, are becoming less frequent, though. Today, I'm on a nice, easy dose of Wellbutrin. I've mostly quit smoking already, I've been drinking a lot less, and I'm shaking the cobwebs off those dusty little corners of my life that had been forgotten.

Like this one.

I also went on vacation last week, which was more hectic than my day-to-day life. I will say that there were beautiful moments: times at Disneyland when Conor's face would radiate joy; digging in the sand at Newport Beach to create a fort for little plastic army men; looking up across the water and seeing a pod of dolphins making their way north -- just out of reach of the surfers.

Then on Thursday, my little boy (who's becoming less little all the time) turned 8. He'll start third grade next week. His school supplies are ready to go, and we have a meet-and-greet with his new teacher on Friday.

Oh. And I moved into my new house.

So, without going into the gorier details, that's it. Here I am.

Did I miss anything while I was gone?