Thanks as always to Nora for hosting!
Things that have me reaching for a glass of wine:
-I have had terrible bus luck lately. On Tuesday I waited for the bus for 35 minutes and was super late for my physical therapy appointment. While I was standing at the bus stop (in the rain, natch), I must have seen several of EVERY OTHER BUS IN PITTSBURGH go by, but no #75. The infuriating thing? My physical therapy office is only about 10 minutes away but I can't really walk there since there's a river to cross and a scary no-pedestrians bridge. Pittsburgh isn't very walkable. Then yesterday morning I waited for the bus for over 30 minutes (I usually wait 5) and as a result I was late to work. I miss driving.
-It's hard to make new friends. Even the nice people I've met already have friends and I'm still feeling like a newcomer. Sometimes I get left out, although I'm sure it's unintentional. Still, it's hard to break in to a group, even if each individual is very nice.
-Now that I'm going to the CMU gym after work I have to schlep even more stuff around with me all day. I feel like a bag lady carrying my lunch, workout clothes and shoes, and a book every day. I might have to rent a locker so I can at least store my shoes and some gym clothes.
Things I'm loving:
-This time next week I'll be in AUSTIN!!! I'm so excited I could burst. I already have all my Mexican food meals and "must do" items mapped out. I'm running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and I can hardly wait--I LOVE running in that city. And although I will miss D (he'll be in Memphis), I can't wait to see my friends and family.
-I had to switch to running inside on the treadmill during the week since it's pitch black by the time I get home from work. That's not a love necessarily as I was really dreading the treadmill runs (they're usually so boring) but they've actually been relatively painless, at least so far, and they don't seem to aggravate my hamstring issue as much.
-D has completed and turned in his NSF Fellowship application. This is HUGE. The application took up so much time and pretty much ate both our lives for the last few weeks (you would not believe how many drafts of each of the three required essays I edited and proofread). Who knows if he'll get the fellowship (I think he has a great chance) but it's a good feeling to have that first application under his belt already. He was the only first year in his department who was asked to apply and I think that speaks volumes about his research and scholarship. I'm so proud of him I could just burst.
-I had the best weekend last weekend. The weather was absolutely amazing so I was able to get in a long run outside. There was a good mix of work (fellowship application and 6 hour freelance project) but we also managed to play a lot. We had dinner out, saw a movie, went to brunch, went hiking, took fall pictures, and went shopping. It was the perfect mixture of productivity and play.
-This weekend is also going to be great fun. Tomorrow night we're having dinner with some new friends who are also Chicago alums, and Saturday we're going out on the town for D's upcoming birthday. Then it's just two days of work until I leave for Texas!!
