start of 2014
Well, 2013 ended with a string of subpar health. It turns out on the 30th that I had had some 24 hour stomach bug and it wiped me out for the full day. The next day, my birthday, I felt weak but overall better. We canceled plans to go to a party that evening, but we still went to dinner since we had reservations at a nice restaurant. My appetite returned enough for me to have an appetizer and get halfway through the main course (and nibble) at dessert. But my body still wasn't ready for alcohol yet and so the wine and complimentary champagne left me feeling weird for the rest of the evening. Christian was very suave, notifying the waitress that it was my birthday so that I'd get a cake with a candle in it. It's always a bit funny to have people start singing Happy Birthday during the middle of a dinner for another event, but there's not much I can do about it.
We just headed home afterwards. Our neighbor, Kate, had decided not to head up to Boston that day, so she joined us for a couple hours to watch When Harry Met Sally..., which Christian had never seen. And I guess he'll have to watch it again, because both he and Kate fell asleep partway through. Kate went home, but Christian struggled in vain on the couch. At midnight, I woke him up and gave him a kiss.
I started the new year feeling recovered and rested. We got ready to head down to NJ to meet up for lunch with my cousin Eve and her fiance, but then we noticed that during the night they had texted us: both of them had come down with an awful stomach bug. Guess it wasn't just me. So instead we headed over to my sister's and had lunch with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and my niece and nephews. For dinner we went to all-you-can-eat sushi with Eve's brother Adam, who is apparently just a year away from getting his astrophysics PhD. Good for him.
The next morning I drove Christian to Newark Airport for a flight to Minneapolis, where the LSA conference is this year. He got out before the snowstorm, but the high in Minneapolis on the day he arrived was 0. Yes, 0. That snowstorm turned out to be a manageable event in NJ and CT, since for hours the snow stayed in an arc from Boston to Albany to Harrisburg, leaving a pocket of tranquility. By morning, 6 inches had fallen officially, but it seemed to be closer to 4 and the drive back to CT was a nonissue. Now I'm alone in New Haven with Carmen, who has been incredibly affectionate since we got back from Buffalo. Christian gets back Sunday.
We just headed home afterwards. Our neighbor, Kate, had decided not to head up to Boston that day, so she joined us for a couple hours to watch When Harry Met Sally..., which Christian had never seen. And I guess he'll have to watch it again, because both he and Kate fell asleep partway through. Kate went home, but Christian struggled in vain on the couch. At midnight, I woke him up and gave him a kiss.
I started the new year feeling recovered and rested. We got ready to head down to NJ to meet up for lunch with my cousin Eve and her fiance, but then we noticed that during the night they had texted us: both of them had come down with an awful stomach bug. Guess it wasn't just me. So instead we headed over to my sister's and had lunch with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and my niece and nephews. For dinner we went to all-you-can-eat sushi with Eve's brother Adam, who is apparently just a year away from getting his astrophysics PhD. Good for him.
The next morning I drove Christian to Newark Airport for a flight to Minneapolis, where the LSA conference is this year. He got out before the snowstorm, but the high in Minneapolis on the day he arrived was 0. Yes, 0. That snowstorm turned out to be a manageable event in NJ and CT, since for hours the snow stayed in an arc from Boston to Albany to Harrisburg, leaving a pocket of tranquility. By morning, 6 inches had fallen officially, but it seemed to be closer to 4 and the drive back to CT was a nonissue. Now I'm alone in New Haven with Carmen, who has been incredibly affectionate since we got back from Buffalo. Christian gets back Sunday.