December 30, 2010

  • Stormin' Norman.

    The half idiot/half outdoorsy girl I am decided to brave the elements this morning to get up to Fargo SO I could be stuck inside with my cat and boyfriend instead of alone; we have two storms smacking us upside our melons today through Saturday morning.
    Highway 13 was absolutely horrible, but many east-west roads are when the winds typically come from the north ALL the time. Yeah. I crossed my fingers that I-29 was better, and it was. Sort of. The road MAY have been icy, but I couldn't see the ice... I just followed the un-snow-covered path of darkness (reason #33 why driving at night in the winter is sometimes better) and a few other cars who were taking it easy and sticking to 55mph (for awhile, I literally could NOT drive 55 because of my heavy foot and Sorel boots). At one time, I told myself I just had to keep moving and stay on the road. I could see it 90% of the time even if I had to slow to 45mph at times because of visibility, so it was a weird chant. And I was pumped to see the Christine exit, prompting a "I can't wait to see the Fargo 14 / 16 marker."
    Similar to when I biked the first leg of the 150mile M.S. Bike Tour one summer in south wind + ND heat, I talked to god, looked at my driving angel and buddha hanging from the rear-view mirror, and generally tried not to tense up. I tried not to give into the "white knuckle driving."
    The only uber frustrating part? When I got a block away from where I was going, a car behind me honked when I didn't GO on GREEN. The reason I didn't take off like a bat out of hell? A car that had a RED was sliding! Yeah; I watch the drivers around me, yo. Jeeez.

    Anyhow, obviously since I'm blogging, you know I got to Fargo safely. In time to have my cat crash on my lap - as if she knew the danger I went through to see her before the new year. And now I-29 has long been closed, I-94 as well (in both directions from Fargo/Moorhead), and they've thrown out a No Travel Advised in many areas around here. Luckily, it's Thursday and I'm watching Community (and the rest of the Thursday lineup - Yay!) [So far, we haven't lost power, but I have candles lit just in case.]

    I think this is the first winter break where I have not taken a day or more from each week to work on the upcoming semester. I'm actually procrastinating until next week which is unlike me, but I'm confident that I'll use a very similar-looking syllabus for this semester WITH changes that will be daily so they don't need to be on the syllabus. Meaning, the things I want to change won't need to be on the syllabus. Yeah. I'm getting smarter about this. Kind of.

    Next week, I also need to "fancy-up" that tenure portfolio of mine too.