it's too darned early

for snow.

Stupid-snow-flurries-before-Halloween-even-freakin'-gets-here.

At least it wasn't anything I had to shovel, not like my brother had a few days ago when he had to brush 1.5" off his car in Nebraska.

random fall thoughts

We had our first frost this week. It reminded me I need to get a fall jacket for these in-between days. I refuse to wear my wool coat just yet. Also, scraping the windows before driving to work is such a pain.

The leaves are changing but the colors are on the dull side this year. I heard someone speculate that the windstorm last month is the cause, that a lot of trees went straight to brown this year. Perhaps. We also had a dry summer and early fall, that could be it too.

Fall is the best time of year for running, I think. I had an awesome race this past weekend. I am now the happy owner of a new PR (personal record) in the half-marathon. I also had a fun time with my friends.

Work is insanely busy, as always during the fall. I made some serious headway today on one of my tasks that has been getting backed up for weeks. I'm glad, it helped me feel a tad less stressed. My workgroup is currently understaffed, but my supervisor said that once we are back up to full-strength (hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks), he is going to cut my roster of students by nearly 1/2 because of all the other stuff that I do for the department as a whole. I hadn't expected that, but it is very much appreciated. I like working with students, but something needs to give a little.

I am very glad I dropped that class I planned to take. I have my eye on a possible class for next quarter, though it might be harder to personally justify taking "The Science of Brewing" than a course that could help me get into a grad program. I actually don't have to explain the courses that I take, but I would have to adjust my schedule as it cuts into my workday. Is it worth giving up my lunch hour or staying late twice a week? Maybe if I thought of it as professional development for a future possible 3rd career as a brewmaster...

Cultural Diplomacy

This afternoon while walking across the Oval, I saw an interesting sight. The Oval was actually pretty quiet for a nice fall afternoon, perhaps because it was cloudy. In one of the major intersections of walkways, I saw a group of about 15 people. As I got closer, I noticed that it was primarily a group of Asian visitors in business attire, many using cameras and video cameras.

In the middle of the group, two American college boys were showing two of the visitors how to play hackey sack.

shorter days

I love October. As a whole, it's my favorite month of the year. During the day, the skies are blue but it's not too hot. The leaves change colors and crunch under your feet. It's great running weather too, especially on Saturdays when I run in daylight without getting overheated.

I do notice the shorter days, though. It is now dark not only while I run in the morning on weekdays, but often still dark by the time I leave for work if I get out the door a bit early. It's dark when I leave the hospital after my volunteer shift on Tuesdays. Some days, work is busy enough that I don't get outside until the end of the day. Soon enough, it'll be dark then too.

When I noticed the darkness last night when I left the hospital, it kind of bummed me out a bit. I'm not ready for winter, but it's coming ready or not.

But then I saw the downtown skyline and was reminded how pretty it can be lit up at night. I don't live close to downtown, so I don't usually see this except on Tuesdays from October to April. I meant to post this last night, but forgot until a friend's blog reminded me.




(this is not my photo, and is taken from the other side of downtown from where I was, but you get the idea)