heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend
- Two weekends ago (Sun October 28th) I left for Roanoke, Virginia for work. It was a nice little change of pace. I think I would like living in a small city. It was so pretty and picturesque, in that way that you can really tell that it's actually Fall because the leaves are changing and you can see your breath in the morning. Apparently the population is around 300,000, which is next to nothing compared to Houston's 5 mill. It almost had a Stars Hollow kind of feel to it, everyone knew each other! haha. All in all, it was a successful trip work-wise and a good experience, so two thumbs up to Virginia.
- I came back from Virginia, and had a routine follow up at my dermatologist's, and I came out with three moles removed. One on my left thigh that I've had all my life that started to look a little different, one on my left hand, and one on my scalp. I hate having them removed because it never heals properly and I end up with some lovely scars. In retrospect, perhaps that trip to the beach on Birthday Weekend wasn't the best of ideas. But really, I was starting to look pastey and sometimes you need a little color, even though I was sporting my floppy hat and excessive sunblock the whole time. Maybe I should just invest in some nice tanning spray next summer.
- Last weekend, I found myself back at home for a wedding reception, in which I saw people I haven’t seen in what seems like forever. The youngsters were all grown up and in college, and the younger couples were with kids that I hadn’t even seen yet. Time flies my friends. I also met up with Fatima and Mari, it was nice to catch up with them as well.
- Tuesday: I officially accepted that position at Baylor College of Medicine that I talked about in my last post. I'm both excited about it, but also a little weary of breaking it to my current boss. But in the end, I think it's a step in the right direction, because I really don’t see myself growing in my current position, no matter how awesome it is to have MD Anderson on the ol’ resume.
It’s a higher position, bigger salary, bigger work load, more responsibilities...the last two are the ones that seem a little daunting, since I’ll be the only one handling most of the workload, but I kind of want to just jump in and see how I fend for myself. The person I'll be working for seems really nice, and eager for me to learn all I can, from what he said about taking me to conferences and whatnot (international! let's hope it happens lol) I won't be starting until after January sometime, after I get my tuition reimbursement from MD Anderson, but it's perfect because it'll give me time to finish up my work, and train two new employees before I leave. I think I deserve having things go right for once. I have paid my dues. Keep your fingers crossed that it all works out! I’m finally breaking free of the University of Texas system after 7 years, academic and otherwise.
- Speaking of work, it's been pretty busy the past few weeks, but I think that's more due to me trying to tie off loose ends and also prepping to train two new people. But there’s also new stuff that’s popping up, which sucks because things are supposed to slow down around the holidays. I've even been coming in early every day, which I didn't think I could physically make myself do, but I find that I enjoy that quiet time in the morning when no one's around.
- I really want to go skiing this winter or early Spring. Last year my brother bailed on me at the last minute on our planned trip to Tahoe, so he owes me a trip there. I stared at the map of Heavenly checking out its slopes, and it looks so awesome, I really want to go! I want a face full of snow and cute snowboarders everywhere dammit. I think UT does ski trips every spring, I’ll have to look into that.
- It is pretty disturbing that basketball season started last week, and I have yet to sit down and watch a game. There is something seriously wrong with that.
- I kind of really like BSB’s “Treat Me Right”. It’s one of those that I disliked at first listen but then it grew on me. Is the rest of their album any good?
~S