Even in Kyoto

I would apologize for the paucity of updates. But I haven't decided if I care or not.

So here are some random tidbits from the weekend:

J, a grad student from another univerisity, is visiting this week and is staying with me in the garage. She is sleeping on an air mattress that's bigger than my bed. So I have no floor, but that's okay, because I have J. The most amusing part of this is that she is bound and determined to set me up with someone. I keep on narrowing down the options, though. But I think she has enjoyed getting filled in on all of the departmental gossip. I'll definitely be visiting her when I head out to her neck of the woods in the spring. And for all of the old-lady types on my f-list, perhaps I'll be motivated to update all of you with more gory details one of these days. What could be more fun than vicarious living through the rebeccmeister?

-I had a peanut sauce fest last night. It was quite popular with the masses. We all ate too much peanut sauce and delicious scallion pancakes and so-so stir fry (I cheated and used frozen vegetables--but the good peanut sauce made up for that). Then we lounged around in the hot tub and talked about all manner of things, including where I should look for my next watch (I want a sweet, stylish one, and am still taking recommendations).

-I also found a slug on my doorstep. He is now my pet slug. His name is Sluggo. (or Lil' Slugga when he does something cute). Slugs are quite rare around here--this is the first one that I've seen in I don't know how long. That reminds me that I need to lick a banana slug when I'm up in Seattle (Nov. 20-29, people!). What do you think I should feed him?

-I also discovered that I have a Gecko House built into my house. There is a gecko living in there. He gets mad when I try to hide a house key in his house. I should take a picture of the gecko house one of these days. It's awesome.

-I have a small bunch of red kale that was bequeathed upon me. Anybody have recommendations for how to turn it into some delicious eating?

I need to write up a regatta report from last weekend. Soon.

Okay, my pretties, until next time.

I'm a wee bit tired, but should probably update while the day's adventures are still fresh on my mind. It was one of those days when I should have been getting work done, but playing hooky was so much more fun. A group of grads and I went up to Wet Beaver Creek this morning. A couple of us are training for a marathon in January (I think I've mentioned this before), so the trip's goal was to give us a chance to complete a long run in a new, fun, scenic location. Okay, it wasn't all that new--I had been up there earlier in the summer--but still much newer than our regular loop in Papago Park.

We got off to a bit of a late start, and reached the trailhead at about 11:00. The runners took off right away, and rather quickly left me in the dust. I'm used to that by now--I'm definitely not running the marathon for time, so I'm in no hurry while I run. Unfortunately, the other runners were a bit too far ahead when T described the trail to them, so all I caught was, "Always bear to the...and follow the creek." I missed a rather crucial directional term somewhere in the middle. Since the creek was to our right, I assumed that meant to bear to the right and thus I ended up on some rather overgrown, uneven trails. I was still right beside the creek, though, and the final destination was right by the creek, so I figured I'd just meet up with the group at the end of my trail, where hopefully it would join the other trails.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, but I eventually turned around and got back on the right trail and all that. It just made the whole running route a bit more interesting than necessary. We had a nice lunch and swim in a couple of the main swimming holes on the creek, and then headed back down the trail to the cars.

It was a good run overall, but now I'm tired and have a lot of work to catch up on. Oh well. Hopefully I'll upload pictures shortly.

Oh, and in great contrast to my recent resolutions to give up gossip, today we decided that there isn't enough new gossip in the department at the moment--the same old stories keep getting told. So I guess it's time for me to get back to work and generate more gossip. Or else that task is up to you, O loyal reader. Sally forth and do something interesting and tell me about it so I can tell stories about you!

In the meantime, I think I shall read a book and go to sleep. There is much to do in the morning.