Getting back into the swing of things at work this week was a bit hard. I returned to the news that one of my coworkers in the business office is moving to another department on campus, and I'm going to be taking over her responsibilities until they hire someone new. This means I have to go to payroll training next week (instead of hearing the astronauts speak at STScI, ugh). I don't think the training will include "How to complete your full time co-worker's tasks in your half time work week," but luckily I am efficient and I can't be asked to work overtime. My boss would have to do all the work if she didn't have me, so at least she is appreciative of my willingness to step in and help.
This week was also the beginning of the second session of summer courses, which means the summer is officially half over. I have been reading through Fussell's The Great War in Modern Memory at a fairly leisurely pace, but now it is time to get serious about putting together my PhD application writing sample. The first phase of this is reading Cather's One of Ours. I haven't read any fiction since turning in my papers in May, and while I think I needed a break, it was refreshing to open up the text and begin meeting the characters.
Billy added a sky cam to his weather station. The image in the bar on the right of the blog is the (almost) live image looking out across our backyard. If you click on the picture, it takes you to the website he uses to upload all of his weather data, and if you click around you can see a slideshow of the images from the past 24 hours. He also registered for his final master's class and applied for graduation. He normally takes 2 classes per semester, so he is looking forward to only having one. Come December 6, he will officially be done with his degree, and (he says) done with school forever!
Billy's dad, Chuck, had surgery on his neck Tuesday. He had to spend the night in the hospital, and although they suggested that he may need to stay an extra night, he was able to come home on Wednesday. The doctors said his follow-up x-ray looked great, and after a few days of medicated grogginess, on Friday he seemed as much back to his normal self as one can be while wearing a serious neck brace. I think he has to wear the brace for two weeks and stay home for three, so that would be a test of anyone's patience, but at least the surgery seems to have gone well. Now we are hoping that he will heal quickly and that the mobility and pain issues he was having before will be gone.
Yesterday Billy and I enjoyed our first free Saturday in a month. I spent some time catching up on my DV-R shows and cleaning up inside the house while Billy tended to his yard. Then we went into the city to check out Artscape, "America's largest free arts festival." The best way I can think to describe it is "sensory overload." It is like Portland's Saturday Market, if it was twice as big, only happened once a year, and was attended by every person in the Portland metro area. There were so many people that we couldn't really even see the artwork that people were selling in their booths; everything was so crowded. Still, I enjoyed walking around and checking out what everyone was wearing. Almost everyone there had a specific "look" they were trying to achieve with their choice of clothing/accessories/hair/footwear, and nearly every "look" I've been exposed to was represented. I wish the crowd had not been so big so I could have stayed longer and wandered through the booths. After that we went out to dinner and tried to go see a movie, but it was sold out, so we came home and relaxed.
Today we're planning on finishing up our indoor/outdoor chores and getting ready for the week ahead! Below are a few more pictures from our friends' weddings!
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