Week 10: July 28th - August 3rd
Sunday:
I went to church in the morning, and then my dad took me to the airport. I was feeling really tired, and by the time I got on the plane, I wasn't feeling well at all. When I landed in Raleigh, I got in my car and drove straight to Wellspring and bought some Echinacea/Goldenseal. I went to bed early. In case you are wondering, flying is not pleasant when you are sick.
Monday:
I woke up feeling not so great still, so I decided to stay at home. I worked on my final report a bit, and took a ton of echinacea. I would write, then rest, then read, then rest, then write again, etc. It worked out quite nicely. I also have started reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I mention this because I am really enjoying the book and because I hopefully will not be finished with it by the end of this week because I really need to be working on the GRE in my free time instead of reading. But sometimes you just can't stop reading.
Tuesday:
I made it back into the office today. In the morning I caught up on email and my journal entries, and then I started back on my report. I pretty much worked on that all day. Except for during lunch, when William and I discovered that you can get Macs to tell you jokes. That was very fun and exciting. It tells some really terrible knock-knock jokes when you say "Tell me a joke". Every computer should do that. I left early because I was feeling a little tired, so I came home and took a nap. I ended up working more that night, and I got a lot more done when I wasn't in the office (which I would expect is often the case when writing papers). I probably will not go into the office tomorrow morning either. I suspect I'll be more productive somewhere else. (Plus, it's just so sad to look over at Laura's empty desk - sniff, sniff).
Laurie explained to me the difference between an Associate and an Assistant Professor (Associate is a tenured professor, and Assistant is tenure-track). Granted, I'm sure everyone else already knew this, but I did not, and I have always wondered, and I have no idea why I never just asked someone until last night. But now I know. And knowing is half the battle.Wednesday:
I stayed home again today. I'm just working on my final report and a presentation, and it's much easier to get the writing done if I'm not in the office. I even went to Borders for a little bit, which was a pleasant change of pace. Laurie met with me on the sofa once she got back home. I don't know that she went into the office at all either, so it worked out well for us just to meet at home.
I don't have much fun and exciting to say about my evening because I ran through my presentation a few times just to practice, but I did manage to watch an old episode of the X-files (with Mulder) which I actually hadn't seen. So that was enjoyable. It's been awhile since I watched that show. It used to be so good.Thursday:
I made my way back into the office today, only to discover that pretty much everyone worked from home yesterday. In the morning, I gave my presentation to the security discussion group, and then we picked a name for Lily's Reliability Tool. The rest of the day, I sat in a bean bag chair and worked on my paper. Except for during yogurt time, when we opened up the box of Amazing Sea Monkeys! Laurie and Annie had been talking about them the night we all had dinner, but I had never heard of them before. So Annie bought a box at TJ Max, and we began the process of growing our very own sea monkeys!! The depressing thing is that you have to wait 24 hours after putting the water purifier in before you can add the instant live eggs and watch them hatch before your eyes, and I will already be gone by then. Alas. I will just have to come back and visit our new office friends.
After work, I played volleyball for the last time. Some people were on the court we usually play at, so we had to go somewhere else (which wasn't as nice of a court). But it was fun, I definitely have enjoyed playing this summer. When I got home I put the finishing touches on my report. I think my years in school have conditioned me into editing my own papers at midnight.Friday:
My last day in the office. How sad :-(. I'm really going to miss everyone. I emptied out my desk and returned all the books to their rightful owners. Laurie edited my report, so I'll try to make changes tonight or tomorrow. Annie took Thomas, William and me out to lunch at Coney Island for hot dogs and cheese fries. It was quite tasty (though not as good as the Varsity, naturally), and we sang along to some 80's music while we ate. After that, I drove up to Duke for the afternoon to look around and talk to Carla Ellis, some other professors and some grad students there.
That evening, Kimberly and I made all sorts of slime. It was really gross, but very cool as well. I'm going to have to get one of those slime making kits. Laurie gave me some NC State stuff (some comfy pajama pants and some cups) as well as a book with helpful tips on writing a disertation (which should come in handy years from now - if I make it to that point).Saturday:
Back at the office again trying to finish up this web site, but not alone, as Annie and Thomas are both here, hard at work. I'm leaving in a few hours to go to Chicago for the XP/Agile Universe Conference with Laurie, Prashant and Vinay. Laurie flew out this morning, since she's got a lot to do, and I'm meeting the guys here, and someone is dropping us off at the airport. The guys and I are all volunteers, so that should be fun. I've never been to Chicago (or a conference, for that matter), so I'm looking forward to the trip!