Back in DC

I'm back in DC after a full day of flying. And although it's nearly 3am, I'm still on Pacific time and don't really feel like going to bed. Since I have to get up in less than 5 hours, though, I should probably give it a shot.

More reflections online in the next few days. This weekend was a good time for contemplation.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Mood: Content, reflective.
Song: Enya, "Fallen Embers"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Today was a slow, relaxing, very pleasant day. Slept in, helped mom with some cooking, helped dad with some chores, and started my next book -- "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson.

I also got a little bit of fresh Oregon air. Clean, clean, clean. Nothing on the east coast has come anywhere close to it, although that's probably because I've only been in big cities thus far. Anyway, I love being outside while I'm home, and hopefully I'll experience some of it tomorrow.

Mood: Relaxed, sleepy.
Song: George Winston, "Walking In the Air" (aka "The Snowman" theme)

Busy day of flying

I got to BWI this morning around noon. My flight was at 3:30, but I wasn't taking any chances with the DC-area weather and traffic. I checked in and made it through security in about 15 minutes, so I found myself with 3 hours to kill and nothing to do. I went to an airport bar, ordered lunch, and relaxed for a couple hours. Being early isn't exactly common practice for me. Although it was busy, the bar gave me a small degree of refuge from the hordes of people in the rest of the airport.

The flights (BWI -> DFW -> PDX) were pretty standard. Aisle seats both flights. And although I usually try to fly through Chicago since it's a shorter route than going through Dallas, it's good that I didn't -- apparently it was snowing in Chicago and O'Hare was a nightmare. Both flights were completely full, as one would expect for the day before thanksgiving.

As usual, I raced through a book during my flights. This time I finished a book on bioethics, specially human embryo research. Educational for sure, but a little bit more dense than I'm used to.

Bedtime for me. I'm feeling jetlag for the first time I can remember. Usually I'm so tired when I come home (usually at the end of an academic quarter) that I don't really notice the time difference.

Book finished: Ronald Green, "The Human Embryo Research Debates: Bioethics in the Vortex of Controversy."

Mood: Happy.
Song: Toad the Wet Sprocket, "High on a Riverbed"

A Great Day

Today was everything I had hoped it would be: simple, restful, productive.

I caught up on sleep, did a half dozen loads of laundry, cleaned the apartment, cleaned most of the kitchen, and generally finished a bunch of errands I had been hoping to do for a couple weeks. And now I'm getting in bed just a few minutes after midnight, which is surely a major accomplishment for me.

Have a good week, everyone.

Mood: Satisfied.
Song: Acoustic Alchemy, "The Alchemist"

Changing colors!

This scene is along a path outside my office. The leaves changed colors in just a couple days, and many trees had already lost their leaves by the day I bought my camera to work. Unfortunately, I don't get to see this beautiful scene from my office since I'm not located on the perimeter of the building, but I spend some time outside during lunch to enjoy the view and get some fresh air.

New Template

The blog just passed its second birthday, so I decided it was time for an image overhaul. I'll be trying to learn some CSS in the next few weeks so I can personalize it, but that will depend a lot on my schedule at work.

Anyway, I removed the Comment section from Haloscan and replaced it with the Blogger-driven version. I'm also going to see if I can start adding photos. And, eventually, I'll think about moving the blog to my own .com site. Who knows.

Anyway, enjoy the new site.

Nothing to Report

Hello. It was a slow night here tonight. I'm trying to figure out a workout routine that doesn't involve (a) running after sunset, (b) running downtown, or (c) running during lunch without having a shower available. And that doesn't leave me with very many options.

Work is really busy this week. I'm tackling my first really really big project on my own (or at least as the lead project analyst), and it makes the days fly by very quickly. The negative part? I still have lots and lots to figure out.

It's late. Time to sleep.

Mood: Calm, sleepy.
Song: REM, "Leaving New York"