Wow, I'm sore. I've decided to try making chili this weekend (again with the fall comfort food), and the recipe calls for big cans of stuff. I'm not used to carrying such heavy groceries. Oh well...I hope it turns out well, since I'll probably end up eating it for the next week! I'm also going to make cornbread muffins, collard greens, and sweet potatoes. I've never made collard greens, so that'll be interesting. The recipe calls for salt pork, which I never knew existed, but it was right in my grocer's meat section. Huh...the things you learn.

I figure even though there's a lot of food involved in this dinner, none of it is too unhealthy. It's got protein and vegetables and bread, just like the food pyramid.

I went out to lunch with my research group today because it was one of the members' last day. We went to a Thai place across the bridge in Boston, and the weather was actually nice, so we walked there. It was so great having something other than a sandwich and fruit for lunch (I get into lunch ruts where I eat the same thing with small variations every day). I had pad thai with Thai iced tea (mmm), and we all shared fried ice cream for dessert. And then at group meeting, Anne had brought stuff for making caramel apples, so we did that. Big food day!

It was so nice going out with my labmates. We talked about non-science stuff, which reminded me that they have issues with grad school too. It's not like they're all perfect and I'm a horrible, horrible person. Good thing to remember. I should interact with people more often...

I don't have much to say today, so here are some pictures of fall foliage out my window. There's also this crazy tree next to MIT Medical that has three tiers of color--the top third has no leaves, the next third is bright red, and the bottom third is still green--weird! But I don't have pictures of that one.

I like comparing the latest view out my window with older pictures. Here's the same view in April, February, and last September.

The Southern California fires are so scary! At first, I didn't think much of them, because there were fires in the San Bernadino area last year, and they got handled pretty quickly. But this year's fires just won't stop! One of the fires is really close to Mudd, and I'm worried some of my ex-professors' homes are in danger. And the fire in San Diego just seems so inconceivable because it's such a nice place! It seems like bad things shouldn't happen in San Diego.

It would be so painful to have built a home somewhere and then have it all burn up in a matter of hours. How discouraging. But it seems like the people who are being interviewed on the news are handling it pretty well. I guess they're just happy to be alive.

I hope the fires get put out soon. Stay safe, all you Southern CA people!

I had some dental adventures today. See, when I went in for my cleaning, they noticed one of my selants was cracked, so today, they had to sandblast it away and replace it (luckily, there was no cavity underneath).

The worst part was when they injected anesthetic into the nearby gums--I wasn't expecting it to be that involved. But I'd had plenty of anesthetic shots during my orthodontic years, so I knew what to expect at least. I still don't like needles though! After that, they propped open my mouth and covered it with latex (that was kind of freaky, since I could only breath through my nose). And then there was a little non-painful sandblasting and some sealant-application, and I was done. Not my favorite way to spend half an hour, but at least I feel brave for getting ambushed with a big needle and not freaking out about it.

Oh, I also learned that I've been brushing my teeth too hard (apparently, this happens a lot at MIT because we have type A personalities*). I have to use a sensitive-teeth toothpaste to make it better. I'm sorry, teeth!

* But I swear, I have really good parents--that webpage is wrong! My parents love me no matter what I do (it's strange though, because I used to have these recurring nightmares that nobody loved me anymore because I wasn't good enough--I don't know what caused those). And I don't have weird issues with money or dirt, just time (I have to be early for everything I go to, even though I know nobody else will be). So maybe I'm messed up in some other, less disturbing, way :)

Man, Paul (from high school) has it good! He recently found a job in Palo Alto at a company that feeds him snacks every day (even though he'd rather not be in the Bay Area at all). And now he's probably going to live in a fancy apartment community in Mountain View. I'm a little jealous!

I can't wait to live with Patrick, even if things change and we end up having to live somewhere crappy and I don't get free food at work :) I was talking to my CyberSense boss, David, last night, and he was wondering if I might come work with CyberSense full-time when I move to CA (they're based in Berkeley). I've been considering that possibility for awhile. I mean, if I did that, I'd have a job that I already know how to do, and I could work from home for the most part, and it just seems like a great opportunity. But we agreed I'd think about it for awhile before committing, which is good.

I don't want to give up on the bakery thing, but I can always do that, and it'd be silly to pass up a secure, enjoyable job just because it wasn't what I was expecting to do. Anyway, I have time to think about it...It's exciting thinking about the future!