A Sense of Peace

Often I feel there is too much that needs to be done: people to keep in touch with, chores around my apartment, my running, my work, and all the other little things that fill the day. So, it is a real treasure when you find something that just calms you down, that makes you sit back and reflect, and say, "Well, that's okay then."

Listening to Stewart McLean does that for me. The combination of his voice, and his masterful storytelling just leaves me feeling peaceful, and generally well-disposed towards the world.

I was out scrambling to buy a few things before I head into the field, and I managed to listen to almost all of the Vinyl Cafe. When I got home, there was still fifteen minutes left in the show, so I just sat in the parking lot, in my car, and listened to it, because I didn't want to miss another minute of the show.

I guess Harvey makes me feel the same way. I get the feeling Stewart McLean, his pal Dave, and Elwood P. Dowd would all get along famously. Harvey too, of course.

Life is fun!

So, I'm at home at 2:40 p.m. On a Thursday. I have caught another cold, the third I've had in the last several months. I don't know what has happened to my good health/strong immune system. In September, I missed a day of work due to illness, which was the first time I had missed work or school due to illness in more than a decade. Now, here I am a few months later and missing again.

I probably could've gone to work, but I thought I'd better try to get over it before I leave for the field on Monday. I also thought I should be considerate to my co-workers and try not to spread it around.

Oh, yes, yesterday we got what may be the worst blizzard I have ever seen in my life. I ended up leaving my car at work, and got a ride home with a co-worker who has an SUV. I like my car, but it is perhaps not the best suited for traveling through huge snow drifts and such; I probably could've made it, but given the number of stuck and abandoned vehicles I saw, I think it was the right decision.

I spent an hour shoveling snow to clear out my parking space and enough of the parking lot at my apartment building to allow me to get my car in and out (my co-worker picked me up and brought me to work long enough to get my car and drive home again).

Now I'm debating over whether I should try to get some work done here or whether I should go to bed for a while. I really do need to get some work done, but it's awfully hard to focus with a cold.

Oh, the other detail I forget to mention is how it's -28 C, -40 with windchill. Fun!

I'm aware that is probably a rambly mess of a post, but at this point I don't care.

My New Year's Eve