I've been back in Austin for almost two weeks now and i've had hardly a moments rest (unless you count the half day in bed with a sore throat and headache on Thursday). The evening I returned from Florida, my two best friends from PhD-Land picked me up at the airport and we went back to my place to BS for a while before I finally collapsed around 2AM. The next morning I woke up bright and early to unpack, do laundry, and sort out things with my mail, car, and office -- in that order.
I needed my mail because that was where my car registration was -- in the held mail from the summer. It was supposed to be delivered to my apartment -- alas, no mail in my mailbox. I went to the leasing office. No mail for me. I walked over to the post office, asked them if they had the mail. No mail... Teaches me not to check my mail to early. In the hour that I spent walking around from mailbox to mailbox, the postman came and dropped off several pounds of circulars and pre-approved credit card applications. In the midst of that junk, I came across bills for my foot (yes, that was a year ago folks) and my stomach (way to cause MORE heartburn) and fortunately, my car registration.
I stuck the decal onto my car and drove down to campus to be greeted by half a dozen cardboard boxes, several stacks of papers, and random junk that my labmates had thrown on my desk while i was away. We were all impressed how well I tackled my desk and the resulting organization that followed. I think my new office mate might not like that I am back though -- it was certainly quieter with less traffic while i was away. It's all good, I've given her instructions to tell me to STFU if necessary.
My oldest friend Jen came to visit me the next morning with the puppy she is raising for Canine Companions for Independence. He's one of the coolest dogs I've ever met. He hung out in my office a lot over the next week prompting one office mate to boast, "We've got a window AND a dog." Yeah, life was sweet. Jen and I had fun doing random things around Austin. She and the puppy wandered the city while i worked and we tried many new places to eat and drink. Unfortunately she got sick a couple days into the trip and so we didn't end up canoing. We watched a bunch of movies and I actually got three free from my video store cuz they were closing down (the horror! it has made me sign up for netflix -- not as convenient cuz i have no out going mailbox -- hard to explain).
Jen left on Tuesday and I promptly got sick myself. Booo to that. It started as a sore throat -- minuscule really. But it grew, spreading across my pharynx until i could not swallow without undeniable pain. Around midnight I took a shot of the leftover cold medicine jen left, it was like drinking mouthwash -- grosssssss. But it let me sleep which was good. Next day i felt like crap and wanted to sleep like my life depended on it. I chugged through the day working on my poster for an upcoming meeting and before I knew it,
I was late to lab meeting and the poster was not yet done. I am ashamed. I left lab meeting early cuz i wanted to curl up in bed. I stopped off to get my glasses and they turned out to be super cute, but super bad, cuz now instead of a halo, I see three lights... My lenses are wrong or something and though things are clear, I see three of them in the glare of the lens. This is distracting when I drive, not helpful. Hmmmm... I took Thursday morning off, staying in bed, and worked on my poster. Went into work at about 5pm, and got a lot done between then and 10pm. Oh, and that afternoon, i got an innocent but annoying comment. I mentioned how i was traveling a lot, and that i'm gonna be in germany all next year and the woman i was talking to said, "So, i take it you don't have a boyfriend then?" And she covered it up with, "He'd have to be one understanding guy." -- "No, I guess I don't have time for one," as is my typical response. Is it wrong to expect a guy to follow me around? (NOT LIKE A PUPPY DOG OR BY A STRING THANK YOU) -- If you are not willing to move or cannot handle my absence for weeks to months at a time, you are going to tire of me quickly. Don't hate me cuz i'm busy. BLAH!
Friday was a good day. Got enough work done to warrant an appearance at the regular, "Beer in the Park" my fellow grad students attend every other friday. Fun times. Longest conversation with a couple of guys there i've ever had -- something about sharks and dead people is interesting to guys in their 20s. I don't know why :-p
I died my hair dark again today. Then i got bit by a fire ant or something. My fish are in great shape -- yay data! And now i'm segmenting for my RA. I don't care for zebrafish - -but it is zebrafish they want, so that's what they'll get.
OK, i'm gonna head out for now.
