Bleeding Me Dry
I'd like to take a minute to complain about air travel. I was online today trying to find a decent fare to MN in mid-April for my bridal shower. What I found made me want to pull my hair out.

My first option was to pay a very nice $208.00 for a non-stop out and a short layover in Chicago on the way back. The problem? Each flight was FOUR HOURS LONG.

Now, I've been flying back and forth between Jersey and Minnesota for about six years now and it never takes that long, so I wondered what the problem was. Then I saw the second option, which was $356.00 for a two and a half hour flight.

So basically, if you want to get anywhere in a timely fashion you have to pay through the nose. Why can air travel be both convenient and affordable? It bites that I'm spending almost four hundred dollars (because I'm sorry, but I can't spend four hours on a plane...I just CAN'T) so that I can see my family what boils down to a long weekend. Something is inherently wrong with that.

Wanted: A Leg To Stand On
The New York Times reports this morning that: "...the House easily approved legislation on Wednesday to bar people from suing restaurants on the ground that their food makes customers fat."

This of course comes just days after the report that obesity now threatens to overtake smoking as America's number one preventable killer.

The fact that such a protective measure had to be passed makes me once again ask: Whatever happened to personal responsibility? If you overeat, you may gain weight and it's no one's fault but your own.

When will we stop passing the buck and start accepting responsibility for our actions?

Barbarossa
I just got word that a good friend in Savannah, GA just passed his comps! For those of you unfamiliar with the process of "comps", or Comprehensive Examinations, let me fill you in.

First, you select a committee of three professors who you've taken classes from and who will be able to help you write your thesis because their specializations are tied to the area you will be researching/writing on.

Then they give you written examinations. Three of them. On each exam (one for each professor all done on different days), the professor can ask you questions pertaining to any class you've ever taken with them. ANY class. You have to be prepared to write an essay on whatever they ask you to discuss. Sometimes they give you a head's up regarding what to expect, but sometimes they don't.

After the written part for all three is done, you have to have an oral exam in which you sit before your committee and they can ask you follow-up questions pertaining to your written answers. In addition, they can pretty much ask you any question that they didn't already ask you on the written part, but want to test your knowledge on.

After THAT'S done, they send you out of the room and deliberate among themselves. I've heard that this part is just to torment the student. You wouldn't be there if they didn't think you'd pass and for the most part you'd have to screw up pretty bad for them to fail you. But they send you out and they talk amongst themselves for a bit, then call you back in and tell you if you passed or not.

Speaking as someone who's gone through the process I can tell you with little hesitation that it's torture. I've never sweat so much in my life.

So congratulations! I knew you could do it!

Lunch!
I just finished eating my lunch (Sesame Chicken, medium) and it occurs to me that this is the first meat I've eaten since the whole Wisdom teeth fiasco. So there it is. I'm back on solid foods. Yay!

In other news, I can't seem to shake this cold. It started in my head and it's working its way down to my chest. I'm snot-girl. Pity me.

On the upside, I think things might be looking up for me career-wise. I'm not going to say anything definite because I've been wrong before, but...let's just say that I'm semi in-play. If anyone who works with me reads this I hope that they will be discreet. Nothing is set in stone.

I have to start thinking about a plane ticket soon. My MN family are throwing me a bridal shower in April, so I'll be going home for that and I can't wait. Money, though, is not something that grows on trees (an analogy I've never understood...why WOULD money grow on trees?) and what with all the stuff you have to pay for before the wedding, things are getting a little tight around our place.

Pumpkin was a disaster last night. I couldn't settle down and fall asleep and I guess all my tossing and turning disturbed her. Her response? Leaving a pile of poo buried in the bathmat. Luckily I saw it before I stepped in it, but you can't tell me she doesn't know exactly who takes the first shower in the morning.

Jersey Wades Into the Fray
Quote: "We're Americans, we pay our taxes, we love each other and there's no reason we shouldn't be able to express that."

Food for Thought
In an election year, it's best to be as informed as possible, right? Well, this is one of the best articles I've read lately on Bush's track record as our fearless leader.

Happy Birthday, Dad!
Today is my dad's birthday and I thought it would be nice to tell him thanks for all the stuff he's taught me (and tried to teach me) like how to change my own oil, how to shoot a gun, how to sand and varnish wood, the difference between a regular and a Phillips screwdriver, how to play pool and ping-pong, how to swing a bat, how to eat chow mein and BLTs (the tomato always goes in the middle so as not to make the bread soggy), how to be sarcastic, how to drive (which my mom also helped with), and how to deal with your first car accident.

Obviously there was a lot more than this, but I've only got so much room here. For the above things and for many others, thanks dad. And happy birthday.

Why I Don't Live in Minnesota Anymore
This was the view from my parent's front stoop this morning. Dude. It's March! That should all be melted! In Jersey, we've got some drizzles but it's in the fifties! And that's not all! They're expecting more tonight! Six more inches! Isn't that insane! Are there enough exclamation points in this entry for you! I hope so!

An Intellectual Dead Zone
After a full week of rest, drugs and the occasional fit of sobs, I'm finally feeling more like myself. Unfortunately, without my Wisdom teeth, I've become a bit of a dolt. Get this: the most intellectual thing I did yesterday was watch the E! True Hollywood Story on the Dukes of Hazzard. That's the not the worst part. The worst part is that I found it riveting.

I've been back to work for odd hours here and there for the past two days. I left early today because, hey, it's Friday for the love of God and I don't feel well. It'll be just me and my assistant in the office again starting Monday so I've got be ready for anything. And I do mean anything. My day job sucks.

Moment of Weakness
I had a bit of a meltdown this morning. I called my mom to ask her if she remember how long it took my brother and sister to recover from Wisdom teeth extraction and the second I heard her voice on the phone I started crying. And then I couldn't stop. I was literally crying to my mommy. I was just so fed up with the pain and frustrated with the healing process that I snapped. It was nuts. Like any good mommy though, she talked me down off the ledge, gave me some good advice and I felt better.

Work tomorrow is still up in the air. If it happens it will only be for half a day. I can't deal with a full eight hours just yet.

I'm secluded up in our attic so that I don't give Kevin the hideous cold I've caught as a result of my immune system being down. The futon is a mess of magazines, wadded up Kleenex, glasses half-full of water, the phone, some dvds, some cds, a pillow, and a quilt I made in high school. It's very college-dormy. But not in a comforting way. Sigh. So, there you have it. Day four. Thanks for those of you who left comments. I love my girls.