I will just try to laugh

I am working on my diss data and it just took me HOURS* to correctly write the part of the program to figure out the respondents' ages at the first wave of data collection. OMG! It was like a comedy of errors in which I actually had to search through my still-not-organized bookshelves for "The Little SAS Book,"** which I stole from Elizabeth 6 years ago. Thankfully, it helped. B/c that was getting ridiculous. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!

Also, in other matters of the ridiculous, I got totally drunk on Saturday night. I didn't mean to, but all of a sudden I was just over the edge, and in a way that I haven't been for a LONG time (though not as bad as the barfing on the Red Shed night!!!!! NEVER AGAIN!). And I was at a party with some people Josh knows from clerking/working at a firm in DC last summer. I apparently totally made fun of a guy for saying "mikveh"*** instead of "mitzvah"**** so badly that he ran away. Seriously. I was having some sort of conversation with him and he made the mistake of confusing the terms and then I just started razzing on him in a serious way. I even called Josh over to tell him and make fun of the guy some more. And then he said, Er...I'm just going to, uh, leave, er, get another drink. And he ran away. I am such a jerk! I did not realize I was so evil. Or the evils of booze - except for the whole post-boozing serious digestive issues I always have. Also, I am a total Jew snob! I told Josh next time I see that guy I want to apologize. Of course...Josh will have to show me who he is first.


*Ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but SERIOUSLY. It took way longer than it should have.

**BTW, why is it that I can never figure out anything from the SAS online documentation? Does it just hate me or does it hate you too?

***A mikveh is a ritual bath for purification, etc. Oftentimes people go to a mikveh before converting.

****Mitzvah is often thought to mean "good deed," but really it means "commandment" or "obligation." Some consider it a mitzvah to go to a mikveh before getting married, for example.

Winter wonderland

It snowed this morning, and it is cracking me up. B/c of the snow, this morning all of the national morning "news" shows (Today, GMA, etc) were pre-empted by local weather/traffic coverage. For HOURS. And it was only TWO INCHES of snow. And it had stopped by definitely 8am. More like 7:30. On the way to the gym, I tromped through the stuff, feeling cocky b/c of 6 winters in Wisconsin. Then, I tried jumping over a pile of slush and an intersection and came *this close* to doing a split. Ouch! A jumper I am not. And a splitter I DEFINITELY am not. I just never really got those Sconnie sc(k)illz. (At least I am not as bad as ex-roomie Elizabeth who would shuffle all the way to school in the snow while kids in flip flops flew past us.) The gym was kind of empty today so in addition to earning 2 (WW) points on the elliptical trainer, I had the satisfaction of feeling more hard core than most. On the way back from the gym, I saw a little girl making a snowman on the sidewalk. (Philly schools were all closed b/c of the TWO INCHES of snow!) It felt very city. I am not sure where I can say the nearest pile of grass would be...at least 7-8 blocks from where she was. I guess it doesn't really matter when everything's covered in snow.

What this all made me think was that apparently living in Wisconsin can make a person snobby. It makes one a snow/cold snob. So for all of you Sconnies feeling like the East Coasters are looking down their noses at you...snob them right back!

You know you're doing the wrong thing in life if...

it makes you want to barf at the start of every work day, maybe?
How about if every moment you spend doing it you'd rather be doing just about anything else?

I am having yet another one of those I-hate-school/work moments. Actually, it's more of an I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this-to-myself moment. Am I alone in this? (I guess I know that I am not.) But really, is this normal? Is this okay? Does it ever get better?

I just don't want to think anymore. It's too hard. Why does everything have to be so good? Can't I just produce crap and it be okay?

Can we just have a moment for a collective "ugh"?

What can I say?

I'm back in boring mode or something. I feel like I have nothing to post about. It would either be uber-boring (a story about one of the insane squirrels that live off the trash in the row of cans outside my window where I sit all day "working" actually carrying a mostly empty jar of Skippy peanut butter up and over a concrete wall) or too embarrassing (yes, even I won't share some of my more serious digestive issues - at least not in print - but why do I have to have such a love-hate relationship with alcohol when I just want to love it?), or possibly could be interesting but I can't think of anything snappy enough to write (the Philly Pops with Joshie and co. in concert. See. Nothing interesting.). I am busy and running around like a maniac all of the time - mostly due to family obligations - but none of it is particularly anecdote-worthy. So sorry. Maybe next time.