Always read the fine print....

I apologize to all of you for not writing in a while (that means you, mom). A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I finished my first LFM semester, got my first Boston parking ticket, went on vacation, participated in my third ropes course as part of my second orientation of the summer.....and got a Wii.

First things first....I was pretty angry at The Man after that ticket. I drove to campus once this summer. Once! And it happened to be the third Wednesday of the month between 8 am and noon in a month between April and October, which also happens to be the four hour window when they do street cleaning. I drove because I was going to take people over to Boston Scientific for a plant tour. When we went to leave, my car was gone. I looked at the sign (a little more closely this time.....) and realized I had been towed. Two hours and $135 later, I got my car back, only to notice a ticket on then windshield. Seriously? The towing fee wasn't enough? As if I needed an extra reminder that I'm a dope.....

Summer term ended and I went up to Minnesota to go camping with my brother. It was a chance to be men.....to grow beards and curse and smell bad. I succeeded in all three. I wasn't so successful with the fishing, only catching one fish (in about eight hours of fishing), but aye, she was a fighter. I had a good time, though. I felt like it was the first time I was outside without hearing a car in a long, long time. I will pass along this piece of camping wisdom, though: if you're going to bring an air mattress to sleep on, make sure it holds air. There's nothing like waking up every two hours to reinflate.

Arrrr....she almost took me arm off.

We just finished orientation again. The highlight of the week is meeting your new team. It's hard to say just yet, but I think we'll work together just fine. There is one other engineer in the group. In fact, he's working on a PhD in chemical engineering, the poor guy. They understand that my schedule might not always be the most accomodating so they're willing to plan meetings around my classes, which is nice. Also, after spending a day with them doing one of those outdoor, teamworking building, ropes-course-like activities, they commented that they appreciate my leadership skills and initiative. Maybe I'm improving. No one told me I was quiet, at least. It's a start.

But most importantly, we got a Wii. I can see my productivity going way up already. In fact, I think it's even carried over to enhance my GameCube skills. I can feel my dexerity......growing. Either that or I'm coming down with something. Jess......I mean, "Virginia-ca" has been feeling a little under the weather and our marriage is all about sharing. You would think they wouldn't want a doctor who's contagious going in to work. It's not like the people she's around have the immune systems of......of.....of people who never get sick. But not so much. She has to go in even if she feels like death. I hope she doesn't have the SARS. 'Cause then I might have the SARS (I mean, aside from the deep concern I have for her first....right sweetie?) Seriously, though, I don't know how I would handle the LFM pace with anything more than a cold. So if those within the sound of my voice (or the view of my typing) are thinking about being a part of LFM, take good care of yourself. There's not a lot of down time.

Though it does give you more Wii time.....