Happy Thanksgiving!

Daydreaming

Well, I am going to break my rule of not blogging at work. I am debugging code that is being run on multiple processors and it is a pain and very slow. Basically, I do some work and then have to wait for the code to run to see if what I did worked. It takes a while but not long enough for me to start another project while I wait.

So ... life has been pretty good. Chris is working late and I'm glad he has a lot to do, we are both just a little anxious that the work will continue - maybe at a slightly less frenzied pace. But I don't want to talk about work.

I want to talk about the Haute Route!! This is something I've been wanting to do for years, and I really think that next summer is THE time to do it. This is a 180 km trail that goes from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland (through the Alps!). It sounds amazing! To hike it, most people take almost 2 weeks. A plus is that you stay in huts along the way that have beds and food, so you carry very little gear and can just cruise along and enjoy the scenery. Yesterday I killed some time looking at some websites about it and wow!! It would be ideal to spend three weeks in France/Switzerland, so that we could do some other sight-seeing activities before/after the hike. My grandfather (Pops) left each of his grandkids with some money, he did not have a lot, but it would be enough to cover the airfare plus a little more. (We already spent some of that money when we went to Hawaii - thanks Pops!!!). So it is definitely feasible - the biggest hurdle will be Chris getting that much time off. He should start talking about it now, though ... I want to go soooo bad! It is good timing for me because I will be transitioning between Masters and PhD, so taking a lot of time off wouldn't kill me.



Above is the Haute Route in winter. That would be amazing - you can ski it in about a week, but we are not quite at that level of snowboarding/avalanche awareness yet. Maybe one day!

Chris and I just have so much that we want to do. Even within the state of Colorado there is an infinite number of fun things. We still haven't been to the San Juan mountains, I definitely want to go there. Also I hear the Flat Tops are cool, and there is great mountain biking on the western slope. Those are some things I'd still like to do. Then there's lots of fun stuff close by - Rocky Mountain, the Rawahs and Mt Zirkel wilderness. We also need to go to Yellowstone ... and the Wind River Range up that way is phenomenal. And, we both really want to return to Moab. OH, Utah, that brings up a whole bunch more things we'd like to see. Then there's New Mexico ... it is too much! :) But what a wonderful 'problem' to have!

Yum .... beer!!!!!!!!!! Drink up

Code is running slowly today ...

What Kind of Drink Are You?
	You are a Pint of Beer. You're happy with who you are. Sure, you may not be the 'sophisticated' and 'refined' type, but at least you're real. You don't let the little things get to you, and you have a good time no matter what life throws at you. Keep it up.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Killing Time

Well, it is late, but I need to unwind a little before I go to bed. Working on homework at night has become a necessity, but it is pretty much impossible to fall asleep after thinking about finite difference schemes for three hours. Last night I actually had a dream about solving one of the homework problems ... it is sad! My dream solution wasn't even right - I tried it almost first thing this morning, so it was in no way a useful dream.
Anywho, I am getting close to one month to go until this hellacious semester is over. I honestly do not think I've ever worked this hard before ... and I really don't care to ever again (at least not at this salary!!). I feel slightly encouraged that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is too bad that I am still quite a ways from defending my thesis. Even though I will need to work on research over winter break, I am excited about December because of the holidays and because I am going to San Francisco for the AGU meeting - and Chris is coming out there for 2-1/2 days and we are going to Napa Valley - yay! :)
The weather has been really nice here in the Fort but it is too bad that the mountains aren't getting much snow. I would love to go snowboarding sometime soon, but it's not worth the drive to ride in 20 inches of packed, man-made snow. I could do that in Georgia! Haha. I wish I could enjoy the nice weather more, I haven't ridden my road bike in well over a month!! I rode my mountain bike home on some of the foothills trails last week and had a lot of fun, but now it is dark by 5:00 so I can't really do that and get in a decent day's work. I am itching to do something outside though - one of these next weekends I will have to take some time off. Chris and I hiked at a new park outside of fort collins last Sunday and it was really nice. It's called Bobcat Ridge - we hiked a 4.5 mile trail that just winds along a valley in the foothills and it was very pretty. We hiked slow because I have been a little sick, but it was wonderful to be outside for a few hours. They have even more trails so maybe we can go back and mountain bike there before the snow starts to fall.
Well, I might try to post a picture or two from my life recently, but then I am off to bed! Goodnight. :)

Sportin'

Hello,

I am neglecting my work tonight, and it feels fabulous! I just had a really great weekend, though, and hate to get back into 12 hour work days quite yet. So, what made my weekend so wonderful? The freaking bulldogs, for one thing! That game against Florida was amazing, they played with so much heart. It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog!

And speaking of heart, how 'bout those Rockies? It has been so much fun watching them. 21 for 22, including 8 straight playoff wins, incredible! The past month and a half has brought back some great memories for me of the Braves' 91 playoff run. Unfortunately, both efforts ended in a World Series loss. But, Chris and I were at the game last night! We had a lot of fun, being at a World Series game is a rare opportunity. We got the tickets through a friend, Luke, who works for the Rockies. He did a drawing for them and we won! I guess it is also a big deal to get to watch a team sweep the series, especially an amazing team like the Red Sox (as much as I hate to admit it, the Sox are freaking good!). So, yay, I got to see Papelbon throw his glove about 30 feet into the air and do some strange squat-jump combination after striking out Seth Smith. But we were happy to be cheering on the Rockies.

All of this excitement about sports has me thinking ... why is being a fan so much fun? And just think, when else is it okay to do the following: throw yourself, ripping your jeans in the process, on the floor in a frenzy as Holliday slides face-first into home plate in a 13 inning do or die playoff game, or ... get lifted 3 feet into the air by your cousin after David Green throws a last-second touchdown pass to Veron Haynes to silence over 100,000 Tennessee fans, or ... just scream at the top of your lungs and jump up and down in public and it be perfectly ok?! Cheering on a team is just pure emotion ... it's just friggin' fun! Yeah, so now I'm done.
Of course I think participating in sports is fun, too, but who can really have more than maybe 10 people cheering for you at one time. Something about being in a big group of people all wanting the same thing is just fun.

That is basically my life the last couple of months - when I'm not working I'm either watching the Dawgs or the Rockies. I also got to see one of my best friend's, Laurie, get married last weekend in Georgia. That was wonderful, and it was so good to see her and our other friends.

So now that the Rockies season is over, I can start getting some more sleep. Also, yesterday at church the minister, Scott, was talking about committing time to God and service. I am tired of working so much and I think I need to reprioritize my time so not everything I do is for myself. I still need to work a lot but I also need to give myself some more time off and think outside of my own wants more often. I thought I would be closer to finishing my thesis by now and that made working my arse off worthwhile, but if I'm going not to be done any time soon anyway, then maybe I should work a little less and enjoy life more!

Anywho, that is enough rambling for now. Somehow, Chris and I are now watching 16 Candles. Haha. :) Goodnight!

Which Heroes Character Are You?
	You are part Hiro. You are everyones favorite Japanese tourist. Your time is well-managed and you make sure things get done. On top of that, the girls always want a second chance with you.
	You are part Peter. You're too sincere, but it works for you. Your family is very supportive despite your idealism.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Can I get an Amen!?

Honestly I thought this week was going to suck. I was dreading the start of the school year. I feel like I am taking on a lot - I want to defend my thesis (which is nowhere near done) by the end of October, I am taking a class that is so difficult that one of my very intelligent coworker's wife half-jokingly threatened divorce if he ever took another class like it, I am working about 10 hours a week on writing website content for the department, and I am still volunteering as editor of the AGU newsletter. So I literally thought my life was about to end last Sunday as I prepared to begin the semester.
But ... this has been a really great week! For one thing, I decided to take it easy while I still have the chance and before my class gets really busy. But also, a lot of really great things have happened this week. Most importantly, Chris got a job!! We are both so relieved - him more than me, I am sure. He was tired of being unemployed. He got laid off in January, but I have really been amazed by how well we have gotten along since then. I think it has tested our faith, but sometimes that was the only thing that kept me from completely stressing out. I feel very blessed - we have been okay financially, we have been able to go to Hawaii(!!) and Moab, and now Chris' new job is a step up from the old. So, thank you God!!
Another wonderful thing happened today (knock on wood) - my model is running! I have been very frustrated by it. Every week, I get myself psyched up to work hard and start getting results, but so far all I've gotten is a month's worth of -infinity for my simulated climate (temperature, rainfall, humidity, radiation, all of it crap!!). But this afternoon, as of 3:00 when I left school, the model was humming along quite happily. How wonderful!!!! I have been waiting for this moment all summer, and I think my frustration with the model has tainted my view of everything else - making things seem frustrating and overwhelming. Oh, please, let my results be reasonable so I can finally start doing earth science research and leave all this miserable computer science behind me!!
It has been a fun week for other reasons. On Saturday, Chris and I hiked up 13,911 ft. Mt Meeker with some of my friends from the department - Nick, Levi, and Matt. It was the hardest mountain I've climbed!! A mile of it was about as steep as you can get without needing ropes and climbing gear. It was tough, but the view at the top was amazing!! I also have had a few fun rides. On Tuesday, I competed in my first cyclocross race. This is kind of a mix between mountain and road ride (leaning toward more of the mountain side). I was the only one in my division and it was really hard and hot (96!), but I had a good time and would like to do it again. I even got tips from Georgia Gould, who won the women's pro national mountain bike series this year and came in 1st in every race in the series!! I also rode yesterday and had a great time. It is so nice to ride when I don't feel like I have to do anything for anyone other than myself.
Well ... I am encouraged by how well the last few days have gone. I hope I can continue to be productive without overdoing it.
I think I should go to sleep now. Chris and I went to a party tonight. It was at the house of some of my fellow grad students - in the class below mine. It was entertaining. Lots of drinking. We don't go to parties where people do keg stands, but I guess it's fun every now and then (we didn't of course, yuck!). Well, of course I did enjoy a few drinks ... which is why I would now like to go to sleep. Drinking used to make me want to act crazy, now it just makes me want to sleep! :) Goodnight!