Travels and Travails

So I am gearing up to travel to Salt Lake City, on Father's Day, having to change planes twice for a total of almost 9 hours of travel. While that sounds kind of daunting (especially the long flights), I am looking forward to going for a couple of reasons. I get to attend a conference on alcohol and substance abuse at the University of Utah which will help me further my career (and the college is paying for it). I also get to visit a state and city I have never been to before and poke around. I am looking forward to seeing all the different church sites like Temple Square. But I am also really excited to visit with a friend from high school who I had lost contact with. After meeting up on Facebook, we discovered we had more in common than ever. So it will be good to catch up and hang out.

The reason I am going to SLC is really as an advisor to the 26 students from the pharmacy school who are attending the conference. I guess even grad students need a chaparone? No, probably not. I think because the material is intense and there is a lot of information given, it is good to have someone the students can go to to ask questions and what not. I know almost half the students who are going since they are at the local campus. The rest I am sure I have met, but won't remember until I see them because they are at the main campus. The downside to going and staying at U of U is that the "hotel" is really code for "dorm room". They don't make any excuses for this and we will see how I like dorm living now that I have my own house. Its been almost 10 years since I was in that situation. I guess I am going to be getting good use of my flip flops.

As my usual OCD self, I made a list of everything I need to bring in order to make it a successful trip. Hopefully I don't forget anything. You have to bring your own towels and pillows, so packing light otherwise (so I only have to pay for one checked bag) will be paramount. The only negative is having to leave Jen and the baby for a whole week, but I think it will be a nice change. In other trip related news, Jen and I are heading (sans Rebekah) to Portland, OR in a few weeks for a good friend's wedding. She was in residency with me and we have stayed in contact ever since. We have never been to Portland and are looking forward to experiencing new things. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do while we are there, we're all ears! This will be our vacation (note the lack of quotes) for the year. For next year: beach house on Folly!

Rebekah is getting closer and closer to walking. She will walk for a couple steps between Jen and I when we are sitting on the floor, but doesn't really initiate the walking on her own. It's only a matter of time before she is. She wants to play with the other kids her age at church, but they are all walking and I have a feeling she feels left out. So maybe that will get her motivated to walk. Rebekah has also been quite sick the past few days. She has a stuffy nose (which when she sneezes comes out in torrents that are subsequently wiped by her hand all over her face and everything else), a pretty good cough, and has been running a fever. With a lot of tissues, a quick hand, lots of Tylenol, a cool mist humidifier, and some cooperation with Rebekah, she has been getting better. Hopefully we are on the tail end of this illness, which we think she picked up while we were in NY and/or traveling. Otherwise, since it's been mid ninties (actual temperture, heat index mid 100's) Rebekah has been pretty house confined. We don't need her getting heat stroke on top of being ill! Indoor activities she will tolerate are far and few between, so any ideas anyone has for entertaining a 13 month old are welcome. She has also learned that she can feed the dogs with her finger foods. She takes one of the Gerber puffs of the table and puts it in her mouth and then throws another puff on the floor for Maude. We have been trying to discourage this behavior with limited success. Perrin has caught on that he needs to be in on this deal so he's been playing nice with Rebekah, which heretofore, he's been reluctant to do. Maybe the way to Perrin's heart is through his mouth? Yeah, most definitely.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! I don't know what I'll be getting, but I know what I won't be: a motorcycle or motorcycle safety course registration. It seems Jen is pretty set on me not getting either of those things for a long while. And every time I mention it, she gets a little upset. So I guess Ray will be motorcycle-less for a lot longer. :-( Here's to hoping though!

I think I may start to write reviews of books, TV, music, etc. on here, but we will see if I have the ambition for that. That's about it for what's going on here. Random quote: "My girlfriend was telling me to take my medication, so I smacked her across the mouth for disrespecting me. The voices told me God would forgive me for putting her in her place. I don't see why that's a problem." Very wrong, I know. Don't ask me why he doesn't understand the need for his medication....