What a difference an hour makes. Last Monday, my commute began in complete darkness and finished just as sun began to light the sky. Today, it was light out at the start and brilliantly sunny when I got to work. Fall back weekend is among my favorite holidays for nothing more than the extra hour of sleep in flannel sheets on a cold night, but the ( Read more... )

Ok, so there's a change of plans: I'm not graduating in December. I'll have to wait until spring. I just cannot get my draft in shape in time to have it reviewed and defended in two weeks.

It's always two steps forward, one step back around here...

A friend and I were once discussing, years ago, how the internet makes it possible to experience ongoing relationships with friends even at great geographical distance. (Since then, I have catalogued many thoughts on how this is true, and how it is not true.) I think what wasn’t fore-seen was that the social web of the internet would, itself, spin ( Read more... )

I found myself with some extra time on my commute into work this morning, and the nagging recollection that I have no more Starbucks Via packets in my desk drawer. Yes, make fun, but those packets of instant coffee are all that stand between me and the office coffee, which like almost all coffee in this geographical region, is thin and sour ( Read more... )

A couple months ago, I made a reservation at a bed and breakfast in another Kentucky city. J and I were both going to go. Then a month ago, my plans changed, so I called to cancel the reservation. Well, the weekend of the reservation came and went, and I got a bill in the mail saying that I'd been charged for the stay because I hadn't canceled it. ( Read more... )

The weekend in D.C. (or rather, in Alexandria, VA) went better than expected. Staying with J's relatives was a pleasure; they have a nice house with an extensive patio and two friendly dogs. And J's cousin made us wonderful breakfasts. J started finding his way around the neighborhood quickly, as he always does, so we drove to Alexandria's Old Town ( Read more... )

When I took my job last year, I didn't have any overlap with my predecessor. And I began at the start of the H1N1 activity, which would distract people at the state and local level from doing anything to orient me in my job routines or obligations. So to figure all this out, I fell back on a 6-week internship that I'd had previously. The rest, I've ( Read more... )

I've made myself a week's worth of steel-cut oats twice in the last three weeks, using first, the rice cooker, and second, the crock-pot. Both methods produced an oatmeal-flavored gelatinous glop. (I'm partly to blame, for eating it cold.) I've consulted the great guru, and his answer is to fill the recipe with milk, rather than using just water ( Read more... )

J and I finished watching "The Wire" yesterday. Just after the final credits rolled, I tried to remain upbeat, "Well, just think of how much extra time we'll have now."

J said, "True. I may look for a job."

I said, "I'll probably finish my thesis."

Today I picked up a new pair of glasses (mine are brown, not black or gold). Thank goodness for vision benefits, though those weren't enough to make these less than expensive ( Read more... )