Greetings from the lost blog

It occurs to me that I have neglected my blog for a while. I missed you all. And now I have great stories to tell. Well, now I'm back. What have I been up to? Well...

Exercising at the Y: This has become a whole new thing since the weather got colder. The Y is packed in the evening which pretty much forces me to go in the morning. Except today I went at night for reasons I'll get to later.

Christmas Shopping: I've done some of this in person (a blouse that Mom picked out and I bought for her) and am planning to do even more of it online for this, and this for my Dad, and I need to find cute jammies for my other parent. Kelly, I know you do a lot of shopping online. We're going for flannel pants, cute top with at least some buttons so it can be removed easily while curlers are present. Lemme know if you see anything I should consider. Some friends are shopped for, and one of them I have no idea at all what I'm getting despite numerous attempts at support from another friend. I already got Mom the bag I blogged about, and Dad I got Eating Well again. And I have to buy one gift for someone at work, have no idea on that one either. That one can only be $10. I also went to Breadsmith to get a Thank You gift certificate for the lady who took me to the airport and watched my car while I was gone. Why this place? It's kosher. I bet you didn't know that. Points to anyone besides Amanda (who worked at Sholom Home) who knows what Kosher is. It's also parve. Double bonus points if you know what parve is.

Traveling: I have spent some quality time in airplanes and airports this week. Luckily travel was quite smooth. Other than the landing in Cincinnati which was literally not smooth. I kept looking out the plane window and I couldn't see lights or roads or anything. And then I could and I realized we were really low, and then it all went away again and was dark. There's not that much farm land before the airport that there shouldn't be any lights. It was fog. At night. And you've got to ask yourself, "if I can't see the ground and we're this close to it, can the pilot really see the runway?" I know from a previous experience (where we tried to land and the pilot pulled up at the last second because he couldn't find the runway) that they use lasers in these situations. So I sat calmly in my seat and figured surely they won't even try it without the lasers when it's this bad. And they didn't. But I was happy to be on the ground.

Time at the aunt's and cousin's houses in Indiana was great. The barn which had been an active horse barn is now converted to a tractor museum and what had been the loft is now a bar and movie theater. With blu-ray discs, the seats shake. I kid you not. Eric, does this change how you feel about the great blu-ray / HD / whatever the formats are debate? Your butt could be shaking right along with the bass in the movie. I had a great time with my aunts and my Mom. And another cousin brought his four (3 step and 1 biological) kids over. They all call him "Dad" so I consider them his kids. They're a fun bunch too.

In Cincinnati I saw Jenny and Doug, the newly engaged couple for whom I was trying on a wedding dress a while ago, and another friend Tony. Tony is the one I thought of the moment I heard the Star Wars exhibit is coming to St. Paul. A brief story about Tony: I had a serious crush on him forever and I was slightly madder than hell when he married another girl who I knew. I was never really a fan of that relationship for what I think are still good reasons. So Jenny and Doug and Tony and I went out while I was home. It sounds like Tony's relationship with wife is not going so well. I feel slightly vindicated. Is that wrong?

Having a sinus/ear/something-is-not-right problem while traveling. On a plane. Yes, that's right. Something is wrong with my body involving congestion and pressure in my ears and sinuses. And I got to fly home that way. I had many drugs in me. And then I slept with a humidifier with some amount of vinegar in it which I've read helps a sore throat and sinus issues. And I'm doing mildly better. I was so tired last night that I slept late today. Which is why I was at the Y tonight.

Have I mentioned the scale recalibration issue? I just checked, apparently not. After I fit into that smaller than expected size dress and so had unreasonably high self esteem I get to the Y and see a sign reading "We have recalibrated the scale. It is now displaying the correct weight. We apologize for any shock this may cause" and there was a five to seven pound difference. Not in the good way. Although it may be a blessing because it may be the only thing that actually makes me start running again. I've been thinking I've been missing it. It's time to get started again.

Dealing with wild things at work: I swear there is a full moon. I worked over nine hours today. That's all I'll say on this matter.