Getting prepared

I am busy the next few days preparing for my trip to Miami for the conference. I think I have my slides finished for my wondrous 7 min talk (why not 10!). Now I just have to practice the crap out of it. It is a good thing Tommy is a cat and can't complain....he will be hearing it a lot. Matt will be too, unless he avoids the office.

I had a total experimental melt-down over the weekend. It was really depressing, as that project had just started yielding positive results after MONTHS of stagnation. Since the trip is coming up quickly, I can't troubleshoot until next week. It is hard to grasp everything that I have to get done in the next 8-9 months before I can defend my thesis. I am not hitting the panic button just yet, but am pretty close. The good news is that my return to clinic has not been a disaster, and I am starting to regain my confidence in that area.

At home, things are going well. I wish I had about $6000 dollars extra cash right now so I could get my home improvement list going. We are diligently saving for a furnace, but I am afraid we are falling behind on getting anything else accomplished too. New countertops, new carpet, a new bathroom vanity, and new trim just do not appear out of now where, and after the furnace next spring I don't know if we can get it all done before 2012 (potential sales date). Sometimes it depresses me thinking about it, because I know that those were the projects I could have and would have done with my dad's help. Now Matt and I are left with "phone an uncle" options. Both of us feel guilty doing this, as our uncles are busy with their own children and shouldn't have to be burdened with helping out the adult children of their deceased brothers/brothers-in-law. No one ever tells you that it is in the little things where you will miss your parent the most.

Well, I better get back to practicing my talk.

Heading to Fargo for Joan and Keith's wedding in a few hours. With Labor Day/Lake/State Fair traffic both Matt and I decided to do our packing, eat dinner, and other prep work today after work. There is no point in getting on the road early, only to sit in traffic. We could leave at 4:30 and get to Fargo at midnight, or leave at 6:30 and get to Fargo at midnight. I pick the latter....

The weekend will be interesting. Joan has not been the best at making Matthew feel like a part of her "new life". Matt tries to not act bothered by it, but I know that deep down he is. With his father gone, and that side of his family pretty much out of the picture due to distance, he is really left sort of the odd man out now. Luckily my family has embraced him. In fact, I think they would take him over me any day!

The new undergrads are on campus now. It is hard to believe it has been nine years since I faced the fear and uncertainty of being a freshman in college. I sort of feel like a grizzled, crusty sailor now. It is also hard to fathom that I have been in "higher education" for almost a decade now.....as a student! I consider myself lucky that all of it has been paid for. Time flies when you are having fun.

Matt's birthday is coming up next week. I am doing my now annual tapas (NOT topless) party. Basically, I cook up LOTS of yummy spanish foods and drink tons of sangria. I am once again lucky that my mom can come and help with food prep/cleaning/and drinking, so Matt can play host and enjoy his b-day. We are coming home early on Sunday so I can get into lab. I have to take all day 9/11 off to start cooking for this thing....which me luck.