Hellooo! I'm still here, folks, just on the other side of the screen, in fact. But the thing is, I've been hiding. Shhhh. You see, I'm in the home stretch, delivering my book in February (which apparently is four weeks from now? Stupid, silly, good-for-nothing calendar) and as a result I've been gripped with the…

My mother is the youngest of three children. That's her on the far left. My aunt Laura is next to her, my grandfather is the white-haired dude in the middle and on the right is my uncle Oreste. This photo was taken 14 years ago, at my cousin's wedding. I love how happy everyone looks.…