Enough with the coughing

Hack hack, cough cough. That's what it sounds like over here as I type along. I have managed to pick up a nasty dry cough. No other cold symptoms luckily, no fever, no aches, no runny nose. Just a dry hacking cough that wont go away. :( Thank goodness the makers of night time cough medicine thought well enough of us to put 10% alcohol in the syrup to let us sleep through the night.....

So yes, the week has been amazing in many ways. I was happy that I did get to take time out during the day at work on Tuesday and watch the inauguration. They had the large conference room set up with the projector screen showing the whole thing starting at 11:30 am. I sat for the entire thing. I cheered for VP Joe Biden, was a bit stunned by Aretha Franklin's hat (what a bow!), and then was so pleased when President Obama gave a speech that included complete sentences, no made up words, and not once did he ever utter a slang term or act like he didn't have an education. Wow. It's like a bad dream is finally over. Lets hope he sticks to his guns, doesn't make too many mistakes and is a better president then the last, surely this one can't be any worse, right???

Aside from this momentous day in our lives here in the USA, I worked. I got lots done, I managed to get that paper back to my boss, edit another one quickly that he needed done, work more on another one, and find time to eat and breath in there. And of course deal with people from the other lab, well not people from that lab but rather "guests" who are a bit um, lets just say expect a lot more than you're able to give them or have time to give to them. Especially when I don't work full time in that other lab.

The rest of the week actually got better. I got the date for the job interview I'm excited about at the Cool University. It isn't too far away and so far I've talked with the Department Chair over the phone and she seems pretty awesome. Now if my tummy and nerves would calm down, I know they will, but the initial excitement is still there. Eeeeek!!! I talked to my baby brother last night about stuff to prepare for the interview, it helped a lot. I'll be ready. I'm just still in my giddy phase.

Oh and the snow we got the other day stuck around for a little while, but it's nearly all gone. It's still cold, but warming up. We'll have like 40F (4.4C) tomorrow. Downright balmy! But I did get a chance to use my ice scrapper this year! My roommate got me a snazzy little ice scrapper for Yule. The handle is encased in a mitten. It works pretty good. But this is what I had to tackle with the scrapper, not exactly heavy ice conditions, but it at least looked like winter finally arrived! Finally!!!!

MLK Day & The Day Before Obama

I'm excited. Truly excited. Why? Only a few hours left until the epic 8 years are over, and hopefully, a better time to come. I'm not expecting utopia. I'm not expecting President Obama to fix everything by January 25th. I'm a realist, it will take time, months, even years to repair the damage that has been done. But I'm also thrilled that the repairs will indeed begin. The healing can start. My work is so excited too, so much so that they are wheeling in TV's into the large conference room to show the inauguration all day for anyone who wants to watch tomorrow. Or they just don't want us crashing the Internet trying to watch it on our computers, not sure..... Wow. This is really happening.

Other than the national world being awesome, things are good here. In case you're wondering about the last post, no there was no end of the world. But the world did feel like it crashed on that Friday. I had a migraine attack. It happens. But all better now. Back to feeling better and having better things happen.

I managed to get my reviews done and sent back to my boss on my accepted manuscript, yay! I had today off due to MLK Day, so I spent it in front of the computer finishing that up. I had a little scare today too. I tried to make tea. Sounds simple enough, right? The tea kettle whistle never went off, so I went out to the kitchen to investigate. Like a ninny, I picked up the kettle with my bare hand. I didn't think plastic could get that hot! The water had completely boiled out and the kettle was burnt, the handle scalded my fingertips, I dropped the kettle on the counter, where it promptly burnt a small hole in the counter top. I managed to scoop it up in a towel and get it back onto the stove and my fingers under cold water before mass damage occurred. I'm okay. I was mostly terrified that my roommate would be angry when she got home. She just had the counter top installed a few months ago, its brand-new! :( I was so upset all day long, by the time she got home I started to tear up telling her what happened and that I would pay for it. Luckily, she laughed at me, hugged me and told me I worried too much. Kitchen accidents happen. BTW, the tea kettle was destroyed, beyond use ever again. Sigh. I liked that one. And it took me 1 hour before I could type on the computer again.....

In the meantime, I piled on some clothes, grabbed the pup and went for a walk. Hey, I had nothing else to do and I wasn't going to sulk in front of the TV when we had a perfectly beautiful SNOW DAY!!!! You read that right, we finally got some snow. only about an inch, but enough that the pup could play and I could take some pictures. Yay, snow. So here is the snow... what little we could get....

First entry

Election night. I'm supposed to be getting ready for the cruise but I'm glued to CNN.com....