days_unfolding

After I got home, I took a nap, but didn't set an alarm. Woke up around 1 and got ready for bed. Was lying in bed when I realized that I was hungry. Nuked a mini-pizza. (This week has been a total pizza experience.)

I need to do a bunch of cooking while I'm off for the rest of the week. I'm going to be pretty broke until I get reimbursed for meals in Austin. Plus I have to pay for boarding the cats plus Harlee's blood test and treatment. Which reminds me, I need to order more food for her.

I do want to get some seeds to grow lettuce and spinach in the garden. When it gets warmer, I'll get a few herbs and a tomato too.

Slept through until 9:30 AM. I must have needed the sleep. It's so quiet without the girls saying that they're HUNGRY.

Threw in a load of laundry. I'm waiting for it to finish so that I can take a nap while it dries.

Overslept a little. Threw myself together. Picked up the girls. The vet bill made me wince, but Harlee also got a blood test, dewormer, and some meds. The good news is that her kidney function is about the same as it was, and she doesn't need subcutaneous fluids yet. The girls are kind of stressy right now, not surprisingly, so I want to stay home with them a while.

Need to make a grocery list.

Harlee is complaining loudly. All's right with the world.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/850326.html

I caught the airport shuttle with no issues, but didn't have time to have breakfast. I ate a sandwich at the Austin airport. At the gate, they asked for volunteers to check their luggage, so I checked my suitcase through to Chicago. While I was sitting at the gate, a woman asked me when they were going to board the flight. I said, "Not for a while yet." (It was 8 AM, and the flight left at 9:10.) She said that the flight left at 8:10, and I looked at her boarding pass, and she was on a different airline. I hope that she made her flight. Slept during most of the flight.

Now I'm cooling my heels waiting for the bus. It'll come in about an hour and a half. They need more seats in the baggage claim. I love having long blocks of time when I have nothing to do but read though.

Oh, I received a message last night that Harlee has tapeworms. That would explain why she's so thin and used to have an enormous appetite. I called them from the airport and said to go ahead and treat her for them. Poor baby.

After some twists and turns following signs, I found the Bus/Shuttle Center at O'Hare. I still had a little time to wait, and smelled some delicious pizza (Uno's!), so I glommed some. My stomach was feeling a little queasy on the plane, so that should help. Now I'm on the bus to Normal.

In Normal now, satiating my taste for pancakes.

Now I'm back home. I miss Miss Z settling on my lap, but I got home too late to pick the girls up. I'm going to pick them up tomorrow. It amazes me that I could start the day in Austin, TX and end the day (and it's only early evening) in Lincoln, IL.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/850046.html

Had major problems falling asleep, and didn't wake up in time for my morning sessions. Oh well.

Why does Denny's give you such an obscene amount of food?

I got lazy and took an Uber to the conference center. I'm glad that I don't live in a city with an Uber because it would be too easy to use.

The afternoon sessions have been a mixed bag. There have been sessions that presented one or two good ideas, but they stretched them out to fill a conference session. I liked the short presentations (15 minutes) that they had at some sessions.

Now I'm done with the conference. It's going on for another half-day, but the sessions tomorrow didn't interest me. I need to wake up at o'dark thirty to catch my flight back.

The Pizza Hut across from the conference center completely forgot that I was in the dining room, and my pizza was sitting there for a long time. And black flakes of something were falling in the bathroom. I think that there's a reason not many people go there.

Back at the hotel. Just printed out my boarding passes. Unfortunately, I'm going to be in the middle seat. And I want to sleep my way back. Bah.

Trying to decide if I should order room service for tomorrow morning. It would be about the same price as Denny's if I get pancakes (I keep craving pancakes!), but I bet that if I order food for 6 AM, I'll get it close to 6 AM. (The shuttle comes at 6:50 AM.)

I'm craving pancakes right now.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/849856.html

I had a hell of a time getting moving this morning, so I ran a little late. And I didn't think about it being Sunday, and I don't know how often the buses run on Sunday. So I'm going to take an Uber to the conference center.

Right now, I'm at Denny's, and oh, it is a madhouse. Luckily, I'm alone and can sit at the counter.

I'm no longer an Uber virgin. I took an Uber from my hotel to the conference center. Nice, chatty driver. I'm checked into the conference, and am hanging out waiting for my session.

Man, I was out of it this morning. Forgot my laptop for my conference session, but luckily had my tablet. Forgot my partial too. Sheesh.

I nabbed a Diet Coke on break and am drinking it like nectar of the gods.

I was going to skip the Welcome Reception, but decided to go for a little while. While I was standing there drinking my soda and eating, two people came over and introduced themselves. One of them said that she was named Jennifer and she worked at Princeton University. That rang a bell, and I said, "By any chance, did you teach a cataloging class at Wayne State?" Yes, she had. She was one of my instructors in library school, and because the class was online, I had never met her in person. I really liked her.

They invited me out to dinner, but I said that I needed to do homework. (So much for clubbing, but I'm too tired anyway.)

Bought some soda and called an Uber. The driver, unfortunately, didn't know where my hotel was, so we looped around a little. The downside of Uber.

Came home to find my assignment is due a week from tomorrow rather then tomorrow. Just as well that I came back though because tomorrow is an early day.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/849190.html

Last night, I decided which clothes to wear on the trip, which is the hardest part of packing. Need to figure out what I did with my burgundy shirt though. I'm already stuffing stuff in my messenger bag. I think that I know which books I'm taking, though that really is the hardest part. I'm taking my Kindle, but am taking a couple of printed books for those times when we need to turn off electronic devices on the plane.

Forgot to mention that the hotel that I booked wasn't as close to the convention center as I thought. But I can take a bus there.

I'm a little concerned about Harlee. She seems to be declining. But she'll be at the vet on Friday, and I'll ask them to keep an eye on her.

Had a long conversation with my boss about our summer project, which is converting most of our collection to Library of Congress Classification. And we're moving bookshelves around as well. It's going to be a giant mess. Need an IV drip of caffeine this summer.

A consortium of libraries in Chicago is having a Python class in April. I'm trying to convince them to let me wait-list the class in case it doesn't get filled by members of the consortium. My boss said that it was okay to go. Fingers crossed.

I'm home for dinner, and Zara has settled on my lap. I need to go get my food though. I hate to move her. She's such a sweetie.

I set my Out of the Office message, so I guess that I'm officially off! (But I already knew that I was a bit off:))

Still planning my Austin trip. I want to hit the infamous live music clubs on 6th Street on Sunday. The problem is that it'll be Sunday, and some clubs aren't open. However, Pete's Dueling Piano Bar (https://www.petesduelingpianobar.com/location-austin.html) will be open and sounds like great fun. There also is an Irish bar with Irish music. I'll amuse myself ;)

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/847886.html

Overslept, but not as badly as yesterday. My hand feels better without the brace. I found some ice packs in the freezer, which also helped. I'm trying to decide whether to wear the brace at work. (I did wind up wearing it but loosened it a lot.)

I had a three-ring cat circus last night. Zara had the zoomies after I fed her, Mimi was chasing Zara, Harlee was meowing, and Mommy was cranky because her hand hurt. I finally scooped up Mimi and put her in "time-out" in the bedroom. Zara appreciated that. Mimi seemed to be afraid that I was mad at her because she gave me tons of kisses when I went to bed. I told her that I wasn't mad at her, but if she'd leave Zara alone, we'd all live happily ever after. I'm not holding my breath though. She's a cat with low impulse control.

The books that I ordered for the library are coming in. That's exciting! I want to read all of them! I was cataloging a book about joining the Peace Corps, and I looked into it a little. It might be something to do in retirement, especially if I get a TEFL certificate.

I'm going to splurge on one dinner in Austin. A vendor is getting a group of people together to eat at a restaurant that previously intrigued me, but I had ruled it out as too expensive. But I caved in :) The college will pay for most of it, but I'll have to pay a little extra. The food sounds fabulous though.

I can't get packing cubes for this trip, but they're on my list for the future. They aren't really that expensive.

I want to work on packing lists and to-do lists for Thursday and Friday before I go to sleep.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/847823.html

I drastically overslept. I was sleeping with my bad ear up, which wasn't helping. So I had a mad scramble to get ready. The front desk worker was out sick, which wasn't helping the situation.

I knocked over a glass of diet soda at work, the same thing that I did to my computer, but I didn't get the computer this time. Sigh. I can't wait until I get the hand brace off. I made my boss laugh though. After we cleaned up the mess, I said that I was going to the back to see what other trouble I can get into.

A very helpful person told me where I can park long-term in Normal near the train/bus station for free. Cool beans. It'll make the trip much easier. I now have my tickets and schedule printed. (I always print two copies of everything. Paranoid much?)

I also read a bunch of articles on packing light because I don't want to check luggage.

The brace for my thumb seems to be pulling my hand, and now my tendinitis has flared up with a vengeance. Ow, ow, ow. I took the brace off, and have been clutching a bottle of ice-cold water to ice my hand. I think that I want to go to sleep right after I eat and let me hand relax.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/847386.html

It was dark this morning. It was hard to fight the impulse to go back to sleep.

Apparently I forgot to put the trash out yesterday. Again. Need to put a reminder on my calendar.

I got a lesson in not jumping to conclusions. When I came in last night, I heard a door slam and the house shake, and I thought that it was my neighbors complaining that I was too loud. But they kept on slamming the door periodically. When I left this morning, I saw that my screen door was unlatched and had blown open. So that probably was some of the sounds. Some of them seemed to be coming from the neighbors, though, so I bet that their screen door was banging in the wind too.

I'm going to be able to take the rest of the week off after I go to the conference in Austin. That will make life easier because I'm going to be tired. I'm also going to take the Thursday before I go off, which will give me two days to pack and such. And I'm taking the Sunday after the conference off. (The powers that are want us to take two days off during Spring Break, which is the week of the conference. With travel, I'll be gone for five days. Hence the vacation days before and after.)

Watched more ice skating.

Note to self: spending time on Facebook won't help me reach my goals.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/845504.html

I stayed up late last night watching a video stream of ice skating. Glad that I watched it though. Still woke up to my alarm. Zara was being snuggly this morning.

Still ouchy. Damn. The ice has melted though. I didn't need to get the salt. Oh well. (I'm keeping it in my car because it isn't the kind that's safe for pets.)

An audiobook that I've been listening to recommends doing things as slowly as possible, and the author said that you will find that you're actually doing things faster. I've been trying to do that when I remember to. I don't know if I was doing things faster, but I was more accurate the first time, which I suppose would make things faster. Interesting.

I got another prescription for Zara to replace the one that's missing. Because I'm paying for it rather than insurance paying for it, they had no problem with me filling it early.

It's hard to believe that I'll be going to Austin in 2.5 weeks. Yikes. But because I'm not presenting there, all I need to do is get my carcass on a plane and to my hotel (and, of course, to the conference center). I'm looking for cheap things to do during the evenings. And cheap places to eat. I was there once before, but I was looking at Austin as a place to live, so I didn't do a lot of touristy stuff. Hmm, I should find my LJ entries from that trip.

Crossposts: https://days-unfolding.livejournal.com/843244.html

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