Light and Tunnel

I can see an end in sight -- we're in the last week of classes for the first semester, and it's probably just in the nick of time. I'm feeling pretty burnt out. It'll be good to have a break, but we've still got a quiz, two finals and a technique assessment before we're done for the summer.

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't also have to learn C++ and crank out some code in the next day or so for work. Ugh. I'm actually pretty psyched about having the opportunity to finally learn and use C++, but I've felt so exhausted the last few weeks (and the last few days in particular), that I wish I could take a day or two off to just catch up on my sleep. Sadly, there isn't time for that.

I may have to resort to the nuclear option: after 13 years off the stuff, I may have to recaffeinate. It could get ugly. Hopefully I'll be able to manage without it.

* * *

A few random bits and pieces:

• Went to my 15-year college reunion. Always a tough start: I'm wandering around, not really seeing anybody I knew, feeling out of it, and wondering what the hell I'm doing there. I don't like people. I'm socially awkward. I don't chit-chat well. And literally 10 seconds after those thoughts cross my mind, I see 6-7 people that I'm really happy to see.
• The SOOTTAD met me in Ithaca. She had an awful trip out -- up at the crack of dawn, was supposed to arrive around 4pm but because of stupid airport configurations, bad itinerary from Travelocity and a few wayward thunderstorms, she didn't get in until 10pm. And ended up eating something at LaGuardia that took her out for most of the weekend.
• She also drove back home with me, and was back for the week so we could attend a wedding together yesterday afternoon/evening. It's always wonderful to have her back home, but we've both been crazy busy with work and other social/family obligations that we didn't get much quality time together. She'll be back in July -- hopefully things will be a little calmer then.
• My left knee has been bothering me for the last month or so. Finally saw the doctor today. Not the best experience I've had: 3:45pm appointment, arrived at 3:12pm because I was told to arrive 30 minutes early for X-rays, back in the waiting room the next time around 4pm, called in around 4:30pm, saw the doctor at 4:35pm, out at 4:39pm. I guess two hours isn't so bad, but the signal to noise ratio -- oy. The assessment was, well, basically that everything looked fine -- probably a muscle/tendon strain, definitely not a torn meniscus. Which is great, except that it had all the symptoms of one. So, we'll proceed with caution, and maybe after practice tomorrow I'll try to get an appointment with the other doctor who left the organization to start his own practice.