I was listening to NPR on the way to the grocery store after leaving campus (mainly because nothing interesting to listen was on any other station I have programmed in my car) and they were talking about Bush's "plan of action," or whatever he's calling it. (See previous post.) One of the commentators said, "Bush is not a gifted orator." And I thought to myself, well, that's the understatement of the year.
Anyway, I found it amusing. That's all; it's just another one of those random blog-worthy moments.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Strategy Plan
A little earlier today I got in to the office. The first thing I usually do is check my email, look what the weather is doing, and check CNN.com to see what the big news of the day is. When I got to CNN's homepage the top headline is "Bush Lays Out Strategy for Iraq." That got me thinking, why now? Here we are, nearly three years into the war in Iraq with American soldiers dying nearly every day. And Bush first decides to let the country know what his strategy is to win the war in Iraq?! Seriously, shouldn't he have thought about this more, say, when we first invaded Iraq?
I think that's one of the main reasons I do not support the war in and of itself. Bush decided to start it by saying that Saddam is bad (I'm paraphrasing a little bit there) and needs to be overthrown. OK, that's all well and good. But, that seemed to be his only plan. Well, that and fighting the war on terror, which I thought was suppose to be in Afghanistan, you know, where Osama is.
Now, I didn't read what their plan was, because I don't have time to read a 38-page document while I'm at the office, but I still think it's coming way too late in the war. I see that Bush had to do something because support for the war is waning really quickly, but it still doesn't make sense that he'd wait this long to let America know what his plan of action is. That's all I'm saying on that subject, because it just pisses me off.
And as a sidenote, just because I say I'm against the war doesn't mean I think we should pull our troops out. I'm saying that we shouldn't have gone there in the first place without some solid plan as to when we could declare victory. While the troops are still there, I'm going to support them, because that is what we should do as Americans.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now. I probably should do some work while I'm here today.
I think that's one of the main reasons I do not support the war in and of itself. Bush decided to start it by saying that Saddam is bad (I'm paraphrasing a little bit there) and needs to be overthrown. OK, that's all well and good. But, that seemed to be his only plan. Well, that and fighting the war on terror, which I thought was suppose to be in Afghanistan, you know, where Osama is.
Now, I didn't read what their plan was, because I don't have time to read a 38-page document while I'm at the office, but I still think it's coming way too late in the war. I see that Bush had to do something because support for the war is waning really quickly, but it still doesn't make sense that he'd wait this long to let America know what his plan of action is. That's all I'm saying on that subject, because it just pisses me off.
And as a sidenote, just because I say I'm against the war doesn't mean I think we should pull our troops out. I'm saying that we shouldn't have gone there in the first place without some solid plan as to when we could declare victory. While the troops are still there, I'm going to support them, because that is what we should do as Americans.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now. I probably should do some work while I'm here today.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Test Results Part III
Since my last entry was quite short and not very specific, I'm going to go into more detail in this entry about what sorts of tests I've been through and what the results are.
First off, the MRI. My doctor finally called me back that Thursday before Thanksgiving and told me that he was going to go over the results with me, but my next scheduled appointment is in a week. So, he went over them with me briefly on the phone and we'll go over them some more when I see him next week. Basically they found two things. The first was some sort of sinusitis. I think the MRI caught that my sinuses were inflamed or something of that nature. This makes sense, since I had a cold at the time. The second thing they found was a bunch of medical jargon that my doctor translated into English for me. They found two non-specific vessels in the white matter of my brain (the part that separates the two hemispheres) that looked like they were hardened. So, my doctor wants to get a blood test from me to check my cholestrol. Hopefully it's not too high. It may not be since there were only a couple vessel found there. But, I'm not sure. We'll see next week. The good news from this is that I don't have a tumor or aneurism, so the cause of my headaches is not part of my brain.
The second test I went through was for my eye. My optometrist saw a spot on my eye that she wanted to get checked out by an ophthalmologist and he sent me to a retina specialist to get a second and more qualified opinion. They all wanted to make sure that the spot is just a mole instead of a spot of melanoma. The retina specialist determined that it was only a mole and it was benign, which was quite the relief for me and my mom and my sister (who came out here to support me through the cancer scare). I just have to go back to him in four months to have a follow-up to be certain that it isn't cancer.
So, I'm relatively healthy, with no tumor or cancer. And that's very good news. The only bad thing is that I still don't know the cause of my headaches, besides them being from tension. At least they don't happen every day anymore. I've had a pretty bad one yesterday and today, but I'm attributing that one to the stress of having a paper due in oceanography.
Anyway, that's the more-detailed news for those of you that care to know.
First off, the MRI. My doctor finally called me back that Thursday before Thanksgiving and told me that he was going to go over the results with me, but my next scheduled appointment is in a week. So, he went over them with me briefly on the phone and we'll go over them some more when I see him next week. Basically they found two things. The first was some sort of sinusitis. I think the MRI caught that my sinuses were inflamed or something of that nature. This makes sense, since I had a cold at the time. The second thing they found was a bunch of medical jargon that my doctor translated into English for me. They found two non-specific vessels in the white matter of my brain (the part that separates the two hemispheres) that looked like they were hardened. So, my doctor wants to get a blood test from me to check my cholestrol. Hopefully it's not too high. It may not be since there were only a couple vessel found there. But, I'm not sure. We'll see next week. The good news from this is that I don't have a tumor or aneurism, so the cause of my headaches is not part of my brain.
The second test I went through was for my eye. My optometrist saw a spot on my eye that she wanted to get checked out by an ophthalmologist and he sent me to a retina specialist to get a second and more qualified opinion. They all wanted to make sure that the spot is just a mole instead of a spot of melanoma. The retina specialist determined that it was only a mole and it was benign, which was quite the relief for me and my mom and my sister (who came out here to support me through the cancer scare). I just have to go back to him in four months to have a follow-up to be certain that it isn't cancer.
So, I'm relatively healthy, with no tumor or cancer. And that's very good news. The only bad thing is that I still don't know the cause of my headaches, besides them being from tension. At least they don't happen every day anymore. I've had a pretty bad one yesterday and today, but I'm attributing that one to the stress of having a paper due in oceanography.
Anyway, that's the more-detailed news for those of you that care to know.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Test Results Part II
Just a small update on my last entry. All my tests were fine, nothing out of the ordinary to report. So, that's a large weight off my shoulders.
Other than that, not much else is new. I'm heading home today with my mom and sister, and spending all of next week off for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! Don't eat too much!
Other than that, not much else is new. I'm heading home today with my mom and sister, and spending all of next week off for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! Don't eat too much!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Test Results
Last Friday I had an MRI taken of my brain. My doctor at Ritenour wanted to be safe and check everything now that he knows about the tests I'm having done on my eye tomorrow. He just wants to make sure that my headaches are really just tension headaches and not caused by something bigger and badder.
Anyway, I called Ritenour today to get the results, and the nurse I spoke to told me them. However, there was a whole bunch of medical jargon that I probably couldn't repeat now if I tried. The only word she said from my results was sinusitis. That make sense to me since I had a cold last week when I had the MRI done. All the other words were medical, so now I'm paranoid that it's something bad in my brain. I mean, all medical words sound big and scary. The nurse didn't even really understand them. So, now I'm waiting for them to call back and tell me in simplicity what exactly the MRI found. It's very nervewracking, and I'm also having a hard time concentrating on what I should be doing, that is, getting my lab report done since it's due today. I wish she would just call back and tell me the news, good or bad. That way I can get on with my life and not sit here staring at my cell phone waiting for it to ring.
Well, I suppose I should get going and continue editing my lab report. It's due at 2:30, so I still have some time. I just need to not think about what might or might not be wrong with me, besides being slightly abnormal, that is.
Anyway, I called Ritenour today to get the results, and the nurse I spoke to told me them. However, there was a whole bunch of medical jargon that I probably couldn't repeat now if I tried. The only word she said from my results was sinusitis. That make sense to me since I had a cold last week when I had the MRI done. All the other words were medical, so now I'm paranoid that it's something bad in my brain. I mean, all medical words sound big and scary. The nurse didn't even really understand them. So, now I'm waiting for them to call back and tell me in simplicity what exactly the MRI found. It's very nervewracking, and I'm also having a hard time concentrating on what I should be doing, that is, getting my lab report done since it's due today. I wish she would just call back and tell me the news, good or bad. That way I can get on with my life and not sit here staring at my cell phone waiting for it to ring.
Well, I suppose I should get going and continue editing my lab report. It's due at 2:30, so I still have some time. I just need to not think about what might or might not be wrong with me, besides being slightly abnormal, that is.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Candidacy Exam Rant #1
Yes, I'm calling this #1 because I'm sure there will be more to come. If not, then I started a numbered sequence and never finished, which fulfills the Procrastinator's Creed, so it's a win-win either way.
Anyway, my rant for today comes as a follow-up to a rant earlier in the semester. I had started to organize a group of the people who were planning on taking the candidacy exam this semester so we could start studying for it. (Not that that did much good. The group's kind of fallen apart recently because we're all too busy.) Once I found out who was all taking it, I had an "organizational" meeting to more or less push my own agenda. I was proposing moving the exam from early January to before Christmas. It sounded like a very fine idea to me, so we wouldn't have to have that thing looming over us over the holidays. Most of the group thought that was a fantastic idea. There was one, however, who was adament about having it in January because he was taking three classes this semester and had finals the week before the one we were proposing the exam should be moved to. I can sort of understand that after having three finals, he probably wouldn't want to study for another exam after that. He was just being a whiny little bitch about it that I was getting incredibly frustrated by him. (I'm sure you can tell from my description of him.)
So, since it wasn't unanimous that we move the exam, I told Dr. Shirer not to worry about it. I only proposed it veyr early on in the semester on the chance that this kid would realize he wouldn't be able to handle three classes and studying for the candidacy exam in November and back out of taking it. Well, lo and behold, we get an email from Dr. Shirer (the associate head of the department, and organizer of all things related to the department) saying he was going to hold a meeting about what the candidacy exam entails in the last two weeks of the semester. Guess who wasn't on the list in that email? The kid who was so irritating about not moving it. Little bastard.....
So, that's my rant about the candidacy exam. Or at least about a certain someone in the department who was supposed to be taking it. As you can tell, I hold on to grudges quite a while.
But, really, it's not bothering me too much that the exam is in January now. I almost like that better, because I'll have extra time to study for it. It just kind of sucks that I won't be able to stay at home for that long over Christmas break. I'll be coming back here before New Year's Eve because there's no way I'll be able to study at home for this exam. I'll be too distracted by everything else. Not that studying here has been accomplished all that much, but I'll have a better chance to get it done here than at home. It also sucks that I'll miss my sister's birthday (which is New Year's Eve). This'll be the first one I've missed, but there's nothing I can do about it, unfortunately. Unless I fly home for a day or two and then come back, which could be an option as well. But, even if I can't, she says she understands, because she's only turning 20. She definitely wants me there for her 21st next year, though. I promised to take her out to a gay bar. That is, if I can find a good one sort of close to home. I highly doubt it in my hometown, so I may just end up taking her out somewhere else. But, we're definitely going to celebrate that one well.
Alrighty, I'm done ranting and blabbing on for now. It's almost time for Related, which is a very cute show. I also need to relax a little bit. I've been working most of the day on my presentation for tomorrow (which should be fun since today my voice has been threatening to leave me) and my lab report due on Thursday that I'm trying to get done early because my family's coming out here on Wednesday!! I don't want to have to do anything important while they're here. We'll see how well that goes.
OK, I think I'm truly done babbling for now. Plus, I'm getting tired, so it's definitely time to just plop in front of the TV for the rest of the night.
Anyway, my rant for today comes as a follow-up to a rant earlier in the semester. I had started to organize a group of the people who were planning on taking the candidacy exam this semester so we could start studying for it. (Not that that did much good. The group's kind of fallen apart recently because we're all too busy.) Once I found out who was all taking it, I had an "organizational" meeting to more or less push my own agenda. I was proposing moving the exam from early January to before Christmas. It sounded like a very fine idea to me, so we wouldn't have to have that thing looming over us over the holidays. Most of the group thought that was a fantastic idea. There was one, however, who was adament about having it in January because he was taking three classes this semester and had finals the week before the one we were proposing the exam should be moved to. I can sort of understand that after having three finals, he probably wouldn't want to study for another exam after that. He was just being a whiny little bitch about it that I was getting incredibly frustrated by him. (I'm sure you can tell from my description of him.)
So, since it wasn't unanimous that we move the exam, I told Dr. Shirer not to worry about it. I only proposed it veyr early on in the semester on the chance that this kid would realize he wouldn't be able to handle three classes and studying for the candidacy exam in November and back out of taking it. Well, lo and behold, we get an email from Dr. Shirer (the associate head of the department, and organizer of all things related to the department) saying he was going to hold a meeting about what the candidacy exam entails in the last two weeks of the semester. Guess who wasn't on the list in that email? The kid who was so irritating about not moving it. Little bastard.....
So, that's my rant about the candidacy exam. Or at least about a certain someone in the department who was supposed to be taking it. As you can tell, I hold on to grudges quite a while.
But, really, it's not bothering me too much that the exam is in January now. I almost like that better, because I'll have extra time to study for it. It just kind of sucks that I won't be able to stay at home for that long over Christmas break. I'll be coming back here before New Year's Eve because there's no way I'll be able to study at home for this exam. I'll be too distracted by everything else. Not that studying here has been accomplished all that much, but I'll have a better chance to get it done here than at home. It also sucks that I'll miss my sister's birthday (which is New Year's Eve). This'll be the first one I've missed, but there's nothing I can do about it, unfortunately. Unless I fly home for a day or two and then come back, which could be an option as well. But, even if I can't, she says she understands, because she's only turning 20. She definitely wants me there for her 21st next year, though. I promised to take her out to a gay bar. That is, if I can find a good one sort of close to home. I highly doubt it in my hometown, so I may just end up taking her out somewhere else. But, we're definitely going to celebrate that one well.
Alrighty, I'm done ranting and blabbing on for now. It's almost time for Related, which is a very cute show. I also need to relax a little bit. I've been working most of the day on my presentation for tomorrow (which should be fun since today my voice has been threatening to leave me) and my lab report due on Thursday that I'm trying to get done early because my family's coming out here on Wednesday!! I don't want to have to do anything important while they're here. We'll see how well that goes.
OK, I think I'm truly done babbling for now. Plus, I'm getting tired, so it's definitely time to just plop in front of the TV for the rest of the night.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Sleep. It does a body good.
I am completely in awe of the recuperative powers of sleep. On Wednesday (my birthday) I was starting to feel a little sickly with the start of a cold. So, on Friday I ended up leaving campus earlier than I usually do because I felt that I should just take a break and relax. So, that's what I did. I came home and plopped in front of the TV for a good long while. I also decided that this weekend would be one where I didn't set an alarm for anything. I was just going to sleep and let my body heal itself. So, I went to bed around midnight on Friday but was tossing and turning for about 45 minutes before I actually got comfortable enough to sleep. The next thing I know, besides being woken up by the banging pipes in the wall between my bedroom and kitchen, it's just a little after noon. So, I literally got 11 hours of sleep. And last night I got between 9 and 10 hours of sleep. So, half of the weekend was spent unconscious. The good thing is that I'm feeling much, much better after that. I'm still not quite 100%, but I'm not congested and I don't have a very scratchy throat, so things are looking up.
Other than that, my weekend wasn't incredibly productive. I did get a good start on my lab report that's due Thursday, which makes me feel better, since this week is kind of busy for me. I also have a presentation to give at our group meeting, but I'm just going to discuss some papers on mixed layer depth, so that presentation should be fairly easy to prepare. So, it looks like I should get just about everything done in the necessary order, so I can spend time with my family when they come out here on Wednesday!
I can't believe it's already mid-November. Time has sure flown. I'm really excited to have Mom and Bree out here this week. This is the first time they have been out here since graduation in August 2004. What's really nice is that they're flying one-way out here from O'Hare to Pittsburgh, and then I'm driving them back next weekend and spending an extra long Thanksgiving break at home. I'm really looking forward to this extended family time. Unfortunately their reasons for coming out here aren't the greatest, since I'm having tests done on my eye. But still, it should be nice. It will also be a little weird driving them home, because I've become so used to not having anyone in the car with me. It should be exciting, provided that Mom doesn't panic too much if there's a lot of traffic.
Let's see, what else? Oh, yeah, I had an MRI done on Friday. The doctor I've been seeing at Ritenour thought that with all the tests being done for my eye that I should probably get an MRI done since I've been having persistant headaches for ages now. Just to be on the safe side, you know. That was quite an experience. It's a very good thing I'm not claustrophobic. Just lying there in a big tube and hearing clunking noises combined with someone talking to me via a microphone telling what's going to happen is an interesting experience. But of all tests I could have done, it was probably the most relaxing, because all I had to do was lay still. And, of course, they injected me with a dye so they could scan my brain with contrast. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of needles, it hardly bothered me at all. All I felt was a little pinch and then all of a sudden the lady who injected me was putting a cotton ball on it. Not too bad.
Well, I think that's all the news I have for now. Plus, it's almost time for Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. I don't think there's much chance of the power going out tonight, so I should be able to watch both, which is most definitely a good thing.
Other than that, my weekend wasn't incredibly productive. I did get a good start on my lab report that's due Thursday, which makes me feel better, since this week is kind of busy for me. I also have a presentation to give at our group meeting, but I'm just going to discuss some papers on mixed layer depth, so that presentation should be fairly easy to prepare. So, it looks like I should get just about everything done in the necessary order, so I can spend time with my family when they come out here on Wednesday!
I can't believe it's already mid-November. Time has sure flown. I'm really excited to have Mom and Bree out here this week. This is the first time they have been out here since graduation in August 2004. What's really nice is that they're flying one-way out here from O'Hare to Pittsburgh, and then I'm driving them back next weekend and spending an extra long Thanksgiving break at home. I'm really looking forward to this extended family time. Unfortunately their reasons for coming out here aren't the greatest, since I'm having tests done on my eye. But still, it should be nice. It will also be a little weird driving them home, because I've become so used to not having anyone in the car with me. It should be exciting, provided that Mom doesn't panic too much if there's a lot of traffic.
Let's see, what else? Oh, yeah, I had an MRI done on Friday. The doctor I've been seeing at Ritenour thought that with all the tests being done for my eye that I should probably get an MRI done since I've been having persistant headaches for ages now. Just to be on the safe side, you know. That was quite an experience. It's a very good thing I'm not claustrophobic. Just lying there in a big tube and hearing clunking noises combined with someone talking to me via a microphone telling what's going to happen is an interesting experience. But of all tests I could have done, it was probably the most relaxing, because all I had to do was lay still. And, of course, they injected me with a dye so they could scan my brain with contrast. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of needles, it hardly bothered me at all. All I felt was a little pinch and then all of a sudden the lady who injected me was putting a cotton ball on it. Not too bad.
Well, I think that's all the news I have for now. Plus, it's almost time for Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. I don't think there's much chance of the power going out tonight, so I should be able to watch both, which is most definitely a good thing.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
I wonder if this is what the Waltons felt like....
Happy birthday to me! I just turned 26 today. Normally, I get jazzed by my birthday, but this year I'm not quite as excited as I normally am. Part of it is because of all the tests I'm going to be getting in the next week and a half. I'm kind of nervous about them, even though I'm fairly certain that the results from them will be normal.
The other part is that I think I'm getting a cold. I've been feeling kind of weird lately. Sort of run down, and I've had a bad case of dry mouth. Yeah, I know that's a sign of getting drunk, but I haven't had a drink in ages. Seriously. I had at first thought it was from one of the drugs that I'm taking to help with my headaches, but now I think it might be from whatever bug I've caught.
That's just my luck, though. Getting sick on my birthday. That would also explain why I don't have any urge to have people over for a dinner like I did for the past couple years. I just have no ambition to make a big meal and have company. Maybe some other time, but not now, unless I feel miraculously better tomorrow.
Other than that, not much else is new. I opened my gifts today. Mom got me Star Wars Episode III and some candy and a Pocket Dragon. Bree also got me a Pocket Dragon, and the movie was from her, too. From Ingrid I got Monty Python and the Holy Grail on DVD, so now I have two copies of it because I had one on VHS. She also got me some other little things.
When I went to Greensburg to visit with her, we went to see "Prime." It was a very cute movie. Meryl Streep is fantastic in it. So funny. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the ending of it, but at least it felt like an ending, unlike some movies.
Tonight, I'm praying that the power doesn't go out. A new episode of Lost is on, and from what I've read in the spoilers, it looks like it will be great. However, we're getting thunderstorms at the moment, with gusty winds, and the last time that happened (Sunday) my power went out right in the middle of Desperate Housewives. I was a little peeved by that. So, here's hoping that doesn't happen during Lost.
Although, when the power went out on Sunday, it was actually kind of nice and peaceful. Sometimes it's nice not to rely on electronics to amuse myself. So, I did crossword puzzles by candlelight, while wondering if this is what the Waltons did.
But still, if the power goes out tonight, I'll be mighty pissed. Luckily, though, Mom is taping it for me, so when she and Bree come out here next week, I'll ask her to bring it.
With that, I'm off to go watch some TV and just rest so I can maybe kill this damn bug before it gets too bad.
The other part is that I think I'm getting a cold. I've been feeling kind of weird lately. Sort of run down, and I've had a bad case of dry mouth. Yeah, I know that's a sign of getting drunk, but I haven't had a drink in ages. Seriously. I had at first thought it was from one of the drugs that I'm taking to help with my headaches, but now I think it might be from whatever bug I've caught.
That's just my luck, though. Getting sick on my birthday. That would also explain why I don't have any urge to have people over for a dinner like I did for the past couple years. I just have no ambition to make a big meal and have company. Maybe some other time, but not now, unless I feel miraculously better tomorrow.
Other than that, not much else is new. I opened my gifts today. Mom got me Star Wars Episode III and some candy and a Pocket Dragon. Bree also got me a Pocket Dragon, and the movie was from her, too. From Ingrid I got Monty Python and the Holy Grail on DVD, so now I have two copies of it because I had one on VHS. She also got me some other little things.
When I went to Greensburg to visit with her, we went to see "Prime." It was a very cute movie. Meryl Streep is fantastic in it. So funny. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the ending of it, but at least it felt like an ending, unlike some movies.
Tonight, I'm praying that the power doesn't go out. A new episode of Lost is on, and from what I've read in the spoilers, it looks like it will be great. However, we're getting thunderstorms at the moment, with gusty winds, and the last time that happened (Sunday) my power went out right in the middle of Desperate Housewives. I was a little peeved by that. So, here's hoping that doesn't happen during Lost.
Although, when the power went out on Sunday, it was actually kind of nice and peaceful. Sometimes it's nice not to rely on electronics to amuse myself. So, I did crossword puzzles by candlelight, while wondering if this is what the Waltons did.
But still, if the power goes out tonight, I'll be mighty pissed. Luckily, though, Mom is taping it for me, so when she and Bree come out here next week, I'll ask her to bring it.
With that, I'm off to go watch some TV and just rest so I can maybe kill this damn bug before it gets too bad.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Rant Time
OK, this is going to be another short post, but I just have to vent a little bit. This afternoon I had the single worst lecture I've ever had. Well, that might be exaggerating a bit, but that's how pissed off I am about it. First of all, it was on potential vorticity conservation, which to most readers out there probably sound like a bunch of gibberish, and it's very hard to explain well. So hard in fact, that I don't think I've had a good explanation of it ever. Anyway, today was especially horrible. The prof was flying through the lecture, skipping steps along the way, and jumping all over the place. I had next to no clue what the hell was going on. In the middle of it, I actually did raise my hand to ask a question because I couldn't make the leap from where he started to his next step because he skipped a large number of steps between there. Then he proceeded to basically make me feel like an idiot by saying, "Well, I guess I'll derive it...." That pissed me off to no end, mainly because I don't like being made to feel like a complete dumbass. It was a simple question and he had no right to make it seem like such a big deal to show some intermediate steps to help clear up any confusion. In fact, I think he was almost intentionally trying to confuse the whole class. He has absolutely no right being a lecturer, but as Tim (my officemate) put it, at a big research driven school like this, teaching is not the number one priority. Research is. This is why I don't want to work at a large school after I finish my degree. I much prefer a small school where the main focus is on teaching.
Anyway, I'm very grumpy right now, and I need to give myself some time to calm down. Plus, it's almost time for colloquium, and it sounds like a potentially interesting seminar, so I'll head down there soon. Hopefully by the end of it, I'll be a little less pissy. I'm not counting on it, though.
Anyway, I'm very grumpy right now, and I need to give myself some time to calm down. Plus, it's almost time for colloquium, and it sounds like a potentially interesting seminar, so I'll head down there soon. Hopefully by the end of it, I'll be a little less pissy. I'm not counting on it, though.
November Heat Wave
I just checked the NWS State College homepage, and it said it was 71F here. That's impressive for it being early November. And to think, just last week it was snowing. I definitely wouldn't mind it staying like this for a while.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Thank You Captain Obvious
So, I got an email this morning from one of the secretaries in the meteo department. I'm going to quote it here:
"I have been notified by OPP that we are having heating problems in the building and they have been working on it for several days. They are unable to control the temperature to keep the building comfortable. They are working on it so hopefully it will be fixed soon."
This is one of the most blatent stating-the-obvious moments that I've seen in quite a while. Anyone who's been in Walker Building at any time this week has realized how incredibly hot it is here. I swear this building is falling apart, what with the fire alarms that go off at completely random times, the elevators occasionally getting stuck, and the heating and cooling system that only works every so often. OK, so maybe the building itself isn't falling apart, but all the "conveniences" in it are.
Alright, I'm done now. This was just one of those moments that I thought were blog-worthy.
"I have been notified by OPP that we are having heating problems in the building and they have been working on it for several days. They are unable to control the temperature to keep the building comfortable. They are working on it so hopefully it will be fixed soon."
This is one of the most blatent stating-the-obvious moments that I've seen in quite a while. Anyone who's been in Walker Building at any time this week has realized how incredibly hot it is here. I swear this building is falling apart, what with the fire alarms that go off at completely random times, the elevators occasionally getting stuck, and the heating and cooling system that only works every so often. OK, so maybe the building itself isn't falling apart, but all the "conveniences" in it are.
Alright, I'm done now. This was just one of those moments that I thought were blog-worthy.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
November already?!
I can't believe it's November already. It hardly seems possible. Time is just flying by, which is nie in some ways and kind of scary in others. This month is probably going to go incredibly fast, at least at the rate it's filling up with appointments and such. This Friday I have my first appointment with a psychiatrist to see if there are any meds that will work to a) help lessen my headaches a bit more and b) keep my mood a bit brighter. So, we'll see. Unfortunately, he's not fully covered by my insurance (stupid MEGA), so it may be that I go to him sparingly.
Since I have that appointment on Friday anyway, I'm also taking my car in for an oil change, since it's not going to be too long from now that I'll be driving home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. Plus, on Saturday I'm driving to Greensburg to see Ingrid, at least I think that's still the plan. I haven't heard back from her yet. Hopefully I'll hear back soon.
Let's see, other appointments in November. Next Monday I go back to Ritenour to see the doctor I've been seeing about my headaches. Yay. They are a bit more transient of late, so that should be good news. However, I'm not sure if they are actually going away, or just lessening enough so that I focus through them. Most of the time if I have something that really needs my full attention, I don't notice my headaches so much. I'm hoping that means they're going away. But I do have a high tolerance for pain, so it may just be that too. We'll see on Monday.
Then on the 18th I go to Johnstown to get my eye tested yet again. But, still, it'll be nice to have Mom and Bree here to drive me there and just support me in general. I'm still seeing how it might work out if they fly here one way and then I leave earlier than I was planning on to go home for Thanksgiving. I need to look further into that.
So, basically the next three weeks are going to be busy for various reasons. Then I get approximately a week off for Thanksgiving, and then it's two hell weeks before finals. Luckily I only have one final, so that won't be too bad, except for the fact that it's at 8am. We all know how much I love mornings. (Sorry for the sarcasm dripping down your screens at the moment.) But I'll make it through.... with lots of caffeine.
Greensburg should be fun this weekend. Ingrid and I are celebrating my birthday a little early by going out to eat, probably doing a mall crawl, and seeing "Prime" somewhere in between there as well. That looks like a hilarious movie. I'm just hoping it lives up to its previews. So, that's something to look forward to.
It seems like practically every tv show I watch is on a mini-hiatus this week. Most of the time I've been watching repeats of shows. This is because sweeps officially start next month, and every show is saving its best stuff for then. It kind of sucks, but a lot of the shows I watch are well-written enough to warrant watching them a second time through. Especially Gilmore Girls. It was a repeat of the season premiere tonight. Very funny episode. There are so many quotable lines from that episode alone. I swear I could watch any episode of that show over and over again.
I also watched the rerun of Supernatural tonight. It was set in Lake Manitoc, WI. Now, that's not a real place, mind you. However, the first time I saw this episode, I noticed the setting as was kind of surprised. See, the spelling of the town is very close to my hometown, Manitowoc. So, after the episode I googled it, because I thought it was more than just a coincidence. It turns out that one of the writers or someone behind the scenes on the show is from the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area. I thought that was pretty exciting. Even some of the landmarks mentioned in the show are based on real places in the area. I think it's pretty cool. It's kind of like being from a famous place, sort of. The only other thing that that area is known for is that it was the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, which is also kind of cool. Technically that was Two Rivers, but that's where I grew up until my family moved when I was in college. Yeah, it's kind of random, but still interesting.
So, I think that's about it. I should probably go to bed fairly soon. Today I felt like a walking zombie. I just can't seem to find the right amount of time I need to sleep in order to feel refreshed in the morning. Maybe I'm just not getting restful enough sleep. I just don't know. Of course now that I'm thinking of going to bed, I'm getting a second wind. What can I say? My body is weird.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. And in case anyone cares, there are eight days till my birthday. It's not like I'm turning a special age or anything, but it's still nice to celebrate them and now I've made it fairly successfully through another year in my life. So, with that, I'm off.
Since I have that appointment on Friday anyway, I'm also taking my car in for an oil change, since it's not going to be too long from now that I'll be driving home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. Plus, on Saturday I'm driving to Greensburg to see Ingrid, at least I think that's still the plan. I haven't heard back from her yet. Hopefully I'll hear back soon.
Let's see, other appointments in November. Next Monday I go back to Ritenour to see the doctor I've been seeing about my headaches. Yay. They are a bit more transient of late, so that should be good news. However, I'm not sure if they are actually going away, or just lessening enough so that I focus through them. Most of the time if I have something that really needs my full attention, I don't notice my headaches so much. I'm hoping that means they're going away. But I do have a high tolerance for pain, so it may just be that too. We'll see on Monday.
Then on the 18th I go to Johnstown to get my eye tested yet again. But, still, it'll be nice to have Mom and Bree here to drive me there and just support me in general. I'm still seeing how it might work out if they fly here one way and then I leave earlier than I was planning on to go home for Thanksgiving. I need to look further into that.
So, basically the next three weeks are going to be busy for various reasons. Then I get approximately a week off for Thanksgiving, and then it's two hell weeks before finals. Luckily I only have one final, so that won't be too bad, except for the fact that it's at 8am. We all know how much I love mornings. (Sorry for the sarcasm dripping down your screens at the moment.) But I'll make it through.... with lots of caffeine.
Greensburg should be fun this weekend. Ingrid and I are celebrating my birthday a little early by going out to eat, probably doing a mall crawl, and seeing "Prime" somewhere in between there as well. That looks like a hilarious movie. I'm just hoping it lives up to its previews. So, that's something to look forward to.
It seems like practically every tv show I watch is on a mini-hiatus this week. Most of the time I've been watching repeats of shows. This is because sweeps officially start next month, and every show is saving its best stuff for then. It kind of sucks, but a lot of the shows I watch are well-written enough to warrant watching them a second time through. Especially Gilmore Girls. It was a repeat of the season premiere tonight. Very funny episode. There are so many quotable lines from that episode alone. I swear I could watch any episode of that show over and over again.
I also watched the rerun of Supernatural tonight. It was set in Lake Manitoc, WI. Now, that's not a real place, mind you. However, the first time I saw this episode, I noticed the setting as was kind of surprised. See, the spelling of the town is very close to my hometown, Manitowoc. So, after the episode I googled it, because I thought it was more than just a coincidence. It turns out that one of the writers or someone behind the scenes on the show is from the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area. I thought that was pretty exciting. Even some of the landmarks mentioned in the show are based on real places in the area. I think it's pretty cool. It's kind of like being from a famous place, sort of. The only other thing that that area is known for is that it was the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, which is also kind of cool. Technically that was Two Rivers, but that's where I grew up until my family moved when I was in college. Yeah, it's kind of random, but still interesting.
So, I think that's about it. I should probably go to bed fairly soon. Today I felt like a walking zombie. I just can't seem to find the right amount of time I need to sleep in order to feel refreshed in the morning. Maybe I'm just not getting restful enough sleep. I just don't know. Of course now that I'm thinking of going to bed, I'm getting a second wind. What can I say? My body is weird.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. And in case anyone cares, there are eight days till my birthday. It's not like I'm turning a special age or anything, but it's still nice to celebrate them and now I've made it fairly successfully through another year in my life. So, with that, I'm off.
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