Winter Preview

Winter on the East Coast will not be pleasant.  I am currently accepting donations of all winter accessories, including but not limited to: gloves, hats, beanies, scarfs, parkas, long underwear, igloos, anything thick and furry.  I learned that text messaging with gloves on is very difficult.  I'm also having second thoughts about being anti-fur.  

The Society for Neuroscience decided to meet in Washington DC this year.  Not as cool as INS in Hawaii, but it gave me a chance to fly over to NYC for a day to get things set up.  DC was exactly like it was the last time I was there; mean cab drivers, cold, and political.  Although I did get to buy an Obama '08 tshirt for only 3 dollars.  I'm going to wear it in Vietnam and be THAT American.  

New York looks just like it does on TV, except bigger, and the skyline is prettier than I anticipated.  It really makes a girl feel small.  I thought I was prepared for cold weather, but I don't think any amount of clothing is going to keep my butt warm next month... and does your nose ever stop running?  ...cause that part kind of sucks.  The naked cowboy is still naked in the winter.  Wtf?

My adventure back to California might just be the most awful thing I have ever experienced. The shuttle decides to pick me up at 2:30 in the morning for my 6am flight back to Dulles. From there I had a noon flight back to San Diego. I almost snuck onto the 8am flight, but they have this policy about you being on the same flight as your luggage now. Stupid. So I sit at the airport, exhausted, for over 4 hours waiting for my flight. At this point, I have been up since the night before and I'm still in my pajamas. Then, a lady on the plane has some sort of reaction and we have one of those "is there a doctor in the house" situations. Luckily, everyone on the plane was coming from the Society for Neuroscience meeting so she had plenty of doctors to choose from. Poor lady sat with the oxygen tank for the entire flight and got rushed off the plane as soon as we land. By the time I get back to Poway, it was 5pm and I have now been up for over 36 hours. I envy the people who can sleep on planes.