Thanks Again For Being There!

When times of tragedy hits, that's when you know who your friends are.

I've received many messages of condolence from people I know and from people who I have never met in person. (I hope to someday remedy that!)

When my mom passed away on January 15 at around 2:00 am, the first message to come through (after I posted an announcement on this blog) was an email from actress/model Christine Nguyen (tomorrow's birthday girl) at around 4:30-5:00 am (don't recall exactly when, but I do remember that it was in the wee hours of the morning).

I have received many more since!

I received two cards from my co-workers along with a monetary collection. That was a surprise!

To say the least, January was a wild ride. I was virtually in shock for days (Mom's death was unexpected). Some things I could do normally (like writing), other things, like making spot-decisions on mundane things was near-impossible. My memory was also affected. I thought I came out of it a day or so after my mom died, but I was apparently wrong. I was told that I would freeze and just had a blank look for a much period than that. Looking back, I have to agree.

Rather than get upset over it, I just shrugged and figured I'd just laugh about it. "When faced with insanity, just sit back and enjoy it" was my attitude.

I received this message today from Karlos Borloff of Monster Madhouse on my blog at MySpace this morning:

ARMAND-O...GOD BLESS YOUR MOM. AND GOD BLESS YOU, FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT GUY, AND DOING SO MUCH TO BRING YOUR ART, PHOTOS, NEWS & VIEWS TO THE WORLD. ALL OF US HERE AT THE MONSTER MADHOUSE TV SHOW, HOLD YOU IN THE HIGHTEST REGARD AS ONE OF THE WORLD AUTHORITIES ON ALL THINGS "MONSTER MOVIE" AND GODZILLA !!!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEAVILY PROMOTING YOUR WONDERFUL BOOK ALL OVER THE AIRWAVES.......

HET IN TOUCH WHEN YOU CAN, AMIGO...

J

It is these kinds of messages that helped to get me jump-started again. All I can say is that I am deeply appreciative for everyone's words of condolence and support! It's been a rough ride, but it was made smoother by friends and family. If the need arises, I would be more than happy to reciprocate.

I am looking forward to diving in on promoting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. Although I managed to do some promoting, it was, by necessity, limited.

Thanks again for being there!