Hello all!  I survived my first week, and with flying colors I might add.  Some days were a little hectic (Tuesday I discovered that breathing really is optional), but some days were much more laid back.  I was able to meet and talk with a lot of my new co-workers and start to learn how we do what we do at App State.  Thanks to the folks in Institutional Research, I was also able to catch some interesting streaming Educause sessions.  In one of them, I heard a previous co-worker ask a question, and it made me a little wistful.  But only a little.  I’m quite sure that I’ve got a pretty good thing going here.

Why, you might ask?  Because I get to spend time hanging out with my youngest brother!  He and his new wife came down from Washington, DC, this weekend and we had a great time hanging out.  We usually go so long in between seeing him that after hanging out with him, I feel like I’ve found something that I didn’t realize I lost.  And you’re really happy that you found it again.  Hopefully we’ll see them again for Thanksgiving.

While they were here, we took a drive up the parkway to catch the fall colors.  There’s been dispute about when exactly they will be in full riotous color, last weekend or the upcoming weekend, but for a girl from brown, I thought they were pretty colorful already:

It was a good thing they came down this weekend, it was beautiful, and also likely the last of the beautiful weather.  This morning, I came out to get in my car to go to work, and surprise!  Frozen windshield.  Luckily it wasn’t very thick, so a couple minutes with the defroster (no problem-o thanks to my remote start) was all it took to be on my way (as I have yet to buy an ice scraper.  Although, really I have a garage, I’m just too lazy to park farther than my door).  Although, one morning I do need to get up and catch the fog as it lays on the pond next to the house.  It is very cool to see (I’ll just wait for it to get darker later, rather than me get up earlier.  Expect that picture in, eh, a month or two).

So, two signs that you live (back) in the boonies.  1) No trash pickup.  Whaaaatttttt???  Seriously???  There has to be some enterprising person that has said, ‘Hey, I can make a lot of money hauling people’s trash off.  The dump is free, so if I just charge twice my gas, I can make a killing!’  I guess we could always burn it in the water stove.  “Why does your heater smell like bananas?” “Um, no reason.” 2) No Costco!!!!!!!  And that is a dangerous thing, because you get Costco withdrawals, and then when you do go, you wind up doing something silly, like buying a 70″ TV.  Not that we did that or anything.  I have a friend.  Just saying.

Well warm weather friends (which is different than fair weather friends), it looks like I’m headed toward icy adventures ahead.  But before you rib me too much about the horrible weather, remember that the average temperature here in the summer is 75, with little humidity (I overheard someone the other day saying that we have a micro-climate here, and to get like summer conditions you’d have to go to Buffalo, NY).  And I have a memory like an elephant (which I get from my grandmother.  But of course all that means is that I’ll be blaming my grandfather for the weather).

Until next time!

Steve – I know you just called me fat.  Hope you didn’t have that Stephen King yet…..