I'm back. The weekend went well. Matthew got to meet Mom, Dad, Grandma, Granny, Grandpa, two aunts, two uncles, two cousins, and my parish priest. And he didn't run away screaming :)

Off to Ohio. Nothing new to report. I'm sure I'll have stories when I get back. :)

Ok, you all know I'm getting a little bored at my current job. I've made about all the improvements I can, and now I'm too efficient for my own good. That said, I wasn't actually planning to start looking for jobs quite yet. I'd like to be at my current job a year first. And I was planning to wait until my job title was updated since it would seem to be easier to look for jobs that way.

BUT-- I just found a job listing for a position that would actually make some use of my degrees, odd as that may sound. I'd have a lot better shot at it if I hadn't cut ties with my grad program, but even so I should have some chance. It's at the same place I'm at now, so retirement plan, etc, wouldn't have to be uprooted. And it's three paygrades higher than my current position, even if I'm upgraded.

I think on some level I know I have to apply for this job. Whether or not I'd actually get it, I'd be an idiot to turn down an opportunity like that. It's not exactly my ideal job, but it's a step in the right direction. So, question is, do I tell my boss I'm applying?

Is it Friday yet? I'm really, really excited to be going home this weekend. Something about knowing I'll see my parents in a few days just makes everything right with the world.

And I'm finally getting organized at work. I spent yesterday morning hanging up cork boards and organizing schedules and contact info I have to reference on a daily basis. Up for today is reorganizing financial records. The downside of having temped in this job before taking over on a "permanent" basis is that I left a lot of the file organization the way my predecessor had it. It's time I fully implemented by own system. Ha ha.

Well, I may never write my own dissertation, but I have now been thanked in the official acknowledgment section of someone else's dissertation, and that's got to count for something :)

There may be a plan in the works to head to Evanston tonight to see Million Dollar Baby at the swanky theater that I never got to enjoy. Contact me if interested.

My ipod's in a very mellow mood this morning. I appreciate that.

Not puking yet. I take that as a good sign.

And my resolve to stop drinking coffee lasted exactly two days. Damn, this cup of coffee is possibly the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. :)

I am feeling much better, but already today three profs have called in sick with the flu, and those are just the ones who had to be on campus today. It's only a matter of time until I'm sick again. SO, I'm enjoying my health immensely, knowing it's temporary.

Well, I don't know whether to blame the weather or all the people around me who are sick, but I am definitely not feeling well. :(

For the past few weeks I have been studying physics in my spare time. Why? Because Russian was too easy. :) (I'm kidding... actually Russian has gotten difficult and boring.) Really I'm just appalled that I was able to get through high school and college (and grad school) without ever studying physics. (I took bio, chem, and anatomy in high school and biological clocks and neuroscience in college.) I'm trying to fill that lacuna now with self study. So far I've read (actually re-read) Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe and Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Next up is Six Easy Pieces by Feynman.

The result of all of this is that I've decided that I really really want to visit the Fermi Lab and see the particle accelerator. The problem with that idea is that I don't have a car. So... I'm hoping that I can get one of my friends with a vehicle really excited about how terrifically cool it would be to drive just 45 miles away and see this amazing plaze. Any takers? I'll pay gas and tolls and take you to dinner. :)

Happy Fat Tuesday to all!

Every year for as long as I can remember my mother has gone on a diet for Lent. What this meant for us is that every Mardi Gras we would have an enormous and gluttonous feast. It was a rule in my house that to give something up you had to first overindulge. For Fat Tuesday we'd usually get pizza and mozzarella sticks and chocolate cake and apple pie and etc. I think Mom always hoped that she'd feel so awful the next day that it would actually be a relief to diet. I've never been able to break free of the overindulge-before-abstaining mentality, but I have decided that it's a rather unleathy way to live.

I have yet to decide if I'll give up anything for Lent this year. I will, of course, abstain from meat on Fridays. :) I've never been completely successful in my Lenten promises. I remember a year when I was about twelve or thirteen where I gave up buying earrings for Lent and actually cheated once because we were on a field trip at a history or science museum, and I found a pair of earrings that were too cool to pass up. I remember that they were the purchase of a lifetime, but I can't recall what the earrings looked like. Another year (in college) I gave up alcohol for Lent. I think I may have actually followed through on that one because I remember thinking that communion wine on Easter would be my return to alcohol (even though the doctrine of transubstantiation would suggest that communion wine is not actually alcoholic). Typically, though, I give up vices when I'm depressed, as a way of regaining control over my life. Since I'm not currently depressed, it seems a little silly. But I do like the feeling of superiority it gives me, so perhaps I will think of something.

What are YOU giving up for Lent?

Matthew loves all of you so much that he would like you to join us at White Sox half price Mondays.

From Matthew--who doesn't know about the existence of the blog :)
"The dates are 4/18, 5/16, 5/30, 6/13, 6/20, 7/4, 7/18, 8/15, and 9/19. I have tickets in Section 520, the first $7 section on the first base side. Tickets can be bought online (there is a ticketmaster service charge) or at the park, where there are no extra fees."

The 6:30 Seinfeld episode yesterday was "The Pool Guy," wherein George finds his worlds colliding when Elaine befriends Susan. For much of my life I've sympathized with George's sentiments in this episode. I've always had several discrete groups of friends, and I have rarely enjoyed mixing them. Of course, to some extent it's unavoidable, but by and large I've preferred to keep different groups of friends completely separate. (This was especially true in SB where it was also especially difficult to accomplish.) However, since moving back here I've found myself happily introducing different friends to each other and actually encouraging co-mingling (within reason... I mean I would still find it odd if two of my previously unacquainted friends atarted spending more time with each other than either did with me). I have a theory as to why that is. I think I'm happy to share my friends now because I'm happier and more emotionally secure in general. I'm not entirely sure how those are related, but I think they are. :)

I officially need a new job. Why? I have nothing left to do here. I had four big projects sitting on my desk for quite a while. Even though the due dates were in the future, I felt guilty every time I checked personal email, looked at blogs, spent too much time of Craigslist, etc. Today, in a few brief hours, I finished all four projects. As it happens, they weren't quite as big as I thought. So now I can do my crossword puzzle without any pesky feelings of guilt hanging over me. Somehow it's just not as much fun without the self-reproach. And I'm bored out of my mind.

You Are a New School Democrat

You like partying and politics - and are likely to be young and affluent. You're less religious, traditional, and uptight than most Democrats. Smoking pot, homosexuality, and gambling are all okay in your book. You prefer that the government help people take care of themselves.

What political persuasion are you?

One year ago today the lease started on my apartment. That's right, I have now been a resident of this fine city for an entire year. And I can safely say that this has been the best year of my life thus far (though I expect them to just keep getting better and better, of course!) To be sure, bad things happened in the past year, most notably the death of my grandfather. But overall I'm happier, and more settled, than I ever have been. And I've been unhappy enough to really appreciate how special that is. So, to everyone who's been such a bit part of my happiness this year, thank you :)