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.