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September 13, 2005
Playing catch-up
It’s been a good long while since I posted anything, but it’s not for lack of activity. Here’s a brief run-down of life and times the past couple of weeks:
- Carol Ann got a brand new puppy. He’s a beagle mix, name of Charlie, and he’s possibly the cutest thing ever. He’s about the size of Toby, brown and soft and full of energy. She and I found him together at the APA when I brought Griffin in to see the vet.
- Speaking of which, Griffin has been having some medical problems. About two and a half weeks ago I noticed that he was limping, babying his front left paw, and in fact refusing to use it at all while walking. To cut a very long story short, I took him to three different vets who gave me three different diagnoses—but all of them said that really the only thing I can do for him is to put him on a diet. He weighs about 15 ½ lbs. right now, and the vets all would like to see him weigh closer to 10 lbs. So it’s diet cat food for him for a while.
- Things with Johanna continue to be amazing and wonderful, if frustrating due to our physical separation. We continue to talk all the time and we’re growing steadily closer. She leaves for France on Monday, however, and while I feel confident that we’ll work out some way to keep in close touch, nevertheless I imagine our frequency and volume of communication will have to decrease, for which I’m sorry. I miss her so much already, and I don’t relish the idea of missing her even more. Ah, well, c’est la vie.
- Labs have started up again; yesterday was the first day with students. I feel as though I’ve done less to prepare for the labs than I’ve done in previous semesters, but then I’ve done this so much now that I almost don’t need to put a whole lot of thought into it. Which has its plusses and minuses, of course—the plusses being that things are going pretty smoothly, the minus being that I’m not particularly challenged. The Math Dept. is holding a faculty meeting this Thursday to discuss the future of the lab, and the outcome of that meeting will tell me a lot about what I’ll be thinking about for the future.
- Mari and Eliza’s wedding is this weekend! I’m really excited, but also quite a bit anxious. They have asked me to play at the ceremony, and I feel very honored to have been asked, but at the same time I’m nervous about doing a good job. I mean, I’m sure they’ll be happy with practically anything I do, and the truth is they probably have a million other things on their mind. But nevertheless, I want to do well by them, it’s important to me, and I’m getting increasingly nervous.
- I went back to Habitat this last Saturday, and it was great, the most successful time there so far. I helped to build a shed again, but this time the materials and design were way better, so it all went much more smoothly. Naturally, I got sunburned again—I just can’t seem to remember to wear sunblock. :)
That’s mostly it. It feels as though it’s been a whirlwind of activity, and to be honest, the onset of labs brings a welcome sense of routine to life. Once Jo goes to France and we figure out our communication schedule (no more calls from 11pm ‘till 4am, although boy I have been enjoying them), I think things will settle down considerably.
Posted by alex at September 13, 2005 10:55 AM