So today went like this - sit in on class to prepare for teaching said class next week, misc work stuff, dealing with student e-mails and stupid HR people, seminar, some actual homework of my own, coffee break, more work, 'freshen up' (fresh application of deoderant, that hair-flippy-thing girls do, and make-up-touch-up) for dinner with the CDC folk, then meet the rest of the class over at the CDC and go over TA stuff and misc class stuff, finally meet friends for a beer. The result? 16 hours in heels. I figured if I was meeting real people for a job I should at least look my age. So no typical uniform of jeans, t-shirt, flip-flops today. Part of me is pleased and surprised at my ability to impersonate vaguely professional female capable of arriving for 5:00 dinner looking fresh and like I just walked out of the house instead of coming from 8 hours at school, part of me is depressed at just how much I live out of my office now.

Now, time to make flight reservations for Thanksgiving and pack for Duke this weekend. Oh yeah, and sleep. Somewhere in there I'm sure sleep will happen. Good thing I'm not driving tomorrow.

I almost forgot!

Books Completed:
Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson - excellent. all fellow nerds should really pick up a copy.

Books Started:
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Choderlos De Laclos - just for you Carrie! Only a few letters in, but all thoroughly enjoyable so far.

I finally got back to climbing for the first time in forever this evening and now I look like a little kid with bruised knees from bashing them against the wall. Yay for sports where you leave a little piece of yourself behind! I'm also guessing that it didn't exactly do wonders for the stupid hematoma I've been sporting since giving blood badly on Monday (they said no heavy lifting...I'm pretty sure hauling my own body weight around counts as heavy lifting).

So this is the middle of a string of long ass days this week (and I thought this semester was going to bring a ligher load? well, at least it's different). I babysat for Paul's awesomely precocious kids last night (his daughter knows the chorus to "Anarchy Girl") and just in case gym time yesterday and today weren't enough of a workout, I was a human jungle gym for them last night when both kids refused to go to bed. Today seemed like neverending questions from students, but at least it meant finally earning some income. And speaking of income, tomorrow I get to meet the prof from Tulane for whom I'm TA-ing once a month (it's complicated, but he's running this psuedo-distance class for full-time professionals. they meet once a month and need a grad student to run review sessions. it hasn't been worked out officially, but it so far it seems I can pretty much name my price). Then Friday I'm off to Duke for the Active Minds conference (and figuring out what's up with my counterpart from Case...our old chair was in town yesterday and obtusely mentioned that my counterpart and I needed to talk...we'll see what that's all about).

I'm sure you all already know this, but October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Have you felt your boobs lately?

And Twisty, over at I Blame the Patriarchy, is blogging her own breast cancer experience with the wit and humor we've come to expect from her.

Still more things I learned from Jane

Odaban makes a spray-on antiperspirant that (and this freaks me out) blocks your sweat ducts. They claim the sweat is then rerouted to the kidneys and other areas of the body for excretion where it doesn't come into contact with the bacteria in your armpits that makes you stinky. Some dr. they consulted claims this isn't totally insane and won't cause weird health problems, but I'm still skeptical. And get this - you only use it once a week. Take that Lady Mitchum and your so-effective-you-could-skip-a-day.

(and yes, I am so supremely dorky that I have a stack of magazines next to my computer with pages folded down to mark things about which I want to blog. Just wait until I get into the stuff from Mother Jones.)

I am such a bad public health-er (aka - things I learned from reading Jane magazine)

How did I not know this?? THREE YEARS AGO the CDC reported that Nonoxynol-9 does nothing to prevent HIV or other STDs and in fact has the potentential to increase risk because it can cause skin lesions. Silver lining - it does still decrease your chances of getting pregnant.