Sickness, coldness, holidays, and geek news

So I just thought it was time for an update. Things have been very busy around here and I haven't had much time to blog. Today I had to call in sick to work. I don't call in sick to work very often, almost never actually, because if I am away for a day I get so behind on grading, students don't get taught on rotation, and patients don't get seen in clinic. A whole cascade of things happen when these tasks don't get done, ultimately resulting in much more work for me. So having a day off because I am sick doesn't really make me feel better, it just keeps me from getting others sick or killing someone. Sleeping last night didn't really occur as much as I'd like, so that, in combination with the illness did not make for a good morning. Also, remind me to NEVER go to the doc in the box again. I don't need to go into the particulars, but trust me on this.

Rebekah is being her usual boisterous self and keeping us very busy. She has been running, saying a lot more words, and understanding more commands. She is still going to the gym class on Saturdays and loves every minute of it even though she doesn't really follow along and just plays on the equipment. Jen and I went to an Auburn game a couple of weekends ago when they were playing Kentucky. We drove up to Atlanta to drop Rebekah off and gramma and grampa's house and then drove back to Auburn for the game. It was cold. Auburn played horribly and lost. It was cold. Wait, I said that already. What I should have said was "it was darn cold for a southern boy like myself". Jen was cold as well and we wish we were more prepared for the weather, but who would have thought a sweatshirt, 2 t-shirts, and a coat weren't going to be enough to keep the elements off us? We are going to the Alabama vs. Auburn game after Thanksgiving and hopefully since it's a day game the weather will be a bit warmer. We are going to have to drive up to Atlanta on Thanksgiving day (after Jen gets out of work), but it'll be fun.

This weekend is Halloween and it is my favorite non-religious holiday. I love getting dressed up and eating pumpkin seeds and candy. This year Rebekah is going as Little Red Riding Hood and Jen and I are going as trees. So that she is walking through the forest, right? I think it's a pretty good group costume and I am excited for it. For work, I am going to be a nudist on strike. I am wearing my regular clothes and hanging a sign around my neck that says "Nudist on Strike". I wanted something easy and not overelaborate, but different as well. I think that fits the bill. Last year I went as Peter Griffin from Family Guy. No one got it. I don't think I hang out with the right people for that costume to make sense. And work just thought I was wearing my normal clothes. We are also decorating our car for the trunk or treat at church as a spooky forest and graveyard. It's going to be fun. So we have a busy weekend ahead of us, but we are thankful for it.

Since it's almost Halloween that means its time to think about Christmas for me (the stores have had Christmas stuff out for a while, which I don't really like or understand. Does having Christmas stuff out in September really boost sales that much?). For gifts this year, Jen and I are just getting each other hardwood floors. No other gifts for us. Well, something from Rebekah for each of us, but that's it. Unless we get other things from family and friends. This year it is all about Rebekah. She has a gift list a mile long and as this is her second Christmas, we want to make it even better than the first. I guess it doesn't really matter though because 10 years from now she won't remember it. Heck 10 minutes after she opens the presents she'll forget about them. But it'll be a good winter since my entire family is coming for Christmas and Jen's entire family is coming as well. I say good, but what I really mean is hectic and enjoyable.

So my favorite series of books is the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. Unfortunately, he died about 2 years ago with the last book unfinished. Brandon Sanderson was chosen to use RJ's notes to complete the last book which is actually going to be 3 books. BS is a great author in his own right and I am excited for this 3rd to last book. It's called The Gathering Storm and was released today. I did preorder the book of course, but through a bookseller in Utah so I could get the book personalized and signed by BS (that's where he lives). So it may not get here for another couple of days. I am really looking forward to reading it. I'll give a full review once I finish, but the ones that have popped up online are very favorable. Also, in an unrelated, but still important to me news item, the new Creed album dropped today so I picked it up from Best Buy. I'll give it a good listen on the way to work and let you all know what I think. Not that anyone cares, but you must have some degree of interest in my opinions, otherwise the 5 of you who read this blog wouldn't bother.

Well, that's enough for now. More updates later. Have a good week.