of the election is coming through our Internetz!  No need for TV on this occasion!  And there are no commercials!  I am going to tempt fate and ditch the hot tea in favor of an alcoholic beverage…

This has been a less than stellar week.  I am hoping that the election makes up for it.

On Friday, I missed a talk at the university that I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to go to, because I couldn’t find a babysitter.  The talk was relevant to some of the research I have done in the past, and I was very curious to see what sort of data the speaker was going to present.  In addition, we ended up bagging our Halloween plans at the last minute.  We had initially planned to go to a party hosted by one of Rob’s co-workers.  I had been looking forward to it all week, as I left the house only 3 times between Monday and Thursday—once to drop Rob off at work, once for H’s appt, and once for dinner at A & S’s.  H had not been feeling well all week and needed the rest, so we just stayed home for the majority of the week.  Of course, I was going a little nuts being cooped up in the house.  I actually welcomed the opportunity to do a survey over the phone just so I’d have someone to talk to, and then 7 minutes into the survey, realized what a stupid idea that was.  On Friday after I applied for the Delaware job, we went for an impromptu walk to Viva Espresso to meet our buddy Sarah and her little boy, Harper, for coffee.  On the way there, I was stopped by the local news for an interview about magnet schools.  I provided what I considered to be a cogent and well-articulated response to the reporter’s question, but I ended up not being included in the final news story—instead, they aired interviews with two moms who were like, “I don’t really know anything about it, but I guess I’m for it…”  Yeah.  After the moot news interview, we went on our little coffee date, and as I sat there drinking a latte (which I allowed myself only because we came in well under our grocery/lunch/coffee budget of $100 for the week), I started to feel sick.  My throat felt sore, my body ached, and I just wanted to take a nap.  Uh oh.  I mean, didn’t I just get over this thing a few weeks ago?  There was a time when I would go YEARS without getting so much as a sore throat or sniffle, and now I’m sick twice in the span of a month.  I guess it goes with having a little infant around.  We seem to be passing the same mild cold back and forth.  So, we bagged our Halloween plans.  Instead, we watched an episode of Firefly and drank homemade hot tea.  Saturday night was no better.  After a lame day of doing nothing, we watched The Crow (OMG, that movie is *so* dated now), ate popcorn, and drank more homemade hot tea.  Sunday included chores and living vicariously through other people’s Halloween pictures on Flickr, browsing the sets of Sarah Palin look-alikes accessorized with the not-so-subtle political commentary that is a hunting rifle and some guy dressed up like a bear.  I miss Halloween.  I missed it last year because I was too busy gagging over the smell of my clothes, my own skin, and any food we had in the house (gotta love morning sickness that lasts all day).  The year before that I was too busy with work to really do anything for Halloween.  And forget celebrating it when you are in graduate school—with the exception of the very fun “Welcome to Hell!” party that was hosted by one of my graduate school chums (I believe in 2003).  Halloween is a great holiday, actually the BEST holiday, because everyone can participate.  And you can become whoever or whatever you want for a day.  You can escape the depressing reality that our economy is weak and unemployment is high.  You can escape the three-ring circus that has been the presidential campaign.  You can take a shower, brush your teeth, and comb your hair.  You can probably glean why I would be disappointed to miss the night out.  

This morning we walked up to the local elementary school and voted, an excursion that was too brief, but was rejuvenating nonetheless.  Everyone was smiling and hopeful, except for the crazy “Nader Lives” guy who was parading his “Arrest Obama” signage.  When I got home, my throat started throbbing even more.  I made some homemade hot tea, checked my e-mail, and found that my manuscript was rejected by the journal before it was even sent out for review.  Apparently, the editors didn’t think it was suitable for the journal.  So now it’s time to send it elsewhere.  I am also halfway through the application process for a crappy part-time job as “Scientific Editor” which is a glorified title for the person who painstakingly corrects the broken English of Japanese scientists.  Applicants were reminded in the “editing sample” portion of the application that evaluating the  “scientific merit is another question and is not your job.”  How depressing.  Apparently I am now applying for jobs that don’t require my scientific input, and probably only require a course in medical terminology at the local community college.  On top of being sick, I am feeling down about my job prospects.  I know that things will turn around, but sometimes it’s hard to keep things in perspective.  To end this post with a positive note, I will say that one of the best things that happened in the past 7 days, was that I finally got to pack away my maternity pants.  I now fit into almost all of my pre-pregnancy clothes (some are still a bit tight).  This makes me feel like I am making progress in at least one facet of my life.  Oh, and the other positive thing, is that (thanks to Brooke and her recommendations on free knitting videos), I can finally cast on.  Yes, I just admitted that I have spent hours learning how to cast on.  How can it be that I have no trouble putting in sutures, but I can’t knit to save my life?  Hopefully these positives will be eclipsed in awesomeness by some decisive election results….I don’t think I’ve ever wished I had a television in my home so much in my life….