It's an overcast afternoon here in Killarney, so we ducked in to check our email on the way from Dunmanway back up to Galway. The weather has held beautifully, and we're planning to take a ferry up into County Clare on our way up. We're invited to a party in Salthill tonight, and then plan to do some shopping tomorrow and go through Connemara on Monday. Hope all is well at home!

Just a quick hello from an internet cafe here in Dublin -- it's a cool and slightly rainy night, so we stopped in here on the way back to our hotel from the pub. We spent a few days up in Headford, and came over to Dublin yesterday. We had dinner with an uncle of Dave's last night, and spent most of the day today with a mutual friend who's home here visiting family. We hit the Guinness brewery and then took in dinner and drinks while watching the Manchester United soccer match.

Tomorrow, we're off to West Cork. We've had pretty lovely weather and are having an amazing time. We're even getting used to driving on the other side of the road.

Well, it's getting to be that time. If we manage to hit an internet cafe while in Ireland, I may post a brief snippet, but I'm not planning on going out of my way to do so. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to tell when we get back on the third!

Got through the conference call, just sent out the last work email, and I have only a few things left to pack. Have to run to CVS for batteries and film, set the light timers and the Tivo, and then we'll be ready to go. I'm impressed, considering that the car isn't picking us up until 6:30!

This is great news. Now, if only they could fine people who just WON'T SHUT UP in the theater...

We realized a bit too late that Dave's mom's GSM mobile phone is trapped in the house under renovation in Galway, so we opted to rent one instead. What a great service -- I signed up online yesterday, and a phone with extra batteries, car and home chargers with Ireland adapters, carrying case, pre-set phone number and voice mail arrived via FedEx this morning. For the eleven days we'll be gone, I'm paying about $55 (not including airtime/calls) for the phone. I'm not planning on using it except in the event of an emergency (for those of you who know me, you realize that my dad's chronic health problems make being unreachable a bit scary for me), but it's nice to know that if the rental car breaks down somewhere, we can call 999.

In his second trial, Cherry Hill rabbi Fred Neulander was found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill his wife so that he could continue his affair with a local radio personality. He may be sentenced to death.

Here's the National Geographic geography survey that everyone's been talking about. You'll note how poorly Americans 18-24 fared on the quiz. I got them all right, but will admit that if the questions hadn't been multiple choice, I would have had a much more difficult time locating some of the countries.

Cannot. Believe. Still. At. Work. Five. Hour. Meeting. Finally. Over. Must. Find. Dinner.

I'm currently in the middle of a meeting that is sucking the lifeblood out of me -- it's only about half over and we've been in there since 2:30. God.

Oh, and you can tell me your vote in the comments: Helene or Brooke? And will she accept Aaron's proposal if he makes it? I'll reveal my vote later in the day.

I'm having a very hard time getting motivated to get dressed and leave the house this morning. My boss is out at a negotiation for at least the next day and a half, and I have meetings that run from 10-3 and then 3-5. Yawn. I'm hoping he makes it back to the office for at least a few minutes tomorrow, just so we can quickly go over my current work list in case something catches fire while I'm in Ireland.

Two more days. I can't wait.

Can I go home now, please?

This would be a busy week by normal standards, but it's all the more insane because I'm leaving the country on Friday night. I was asked this morning, to my great displeasure, to sit in on a conference call on Friday morning (Friday is allegedly the first day of my vacation), and I'm now double-booked for most of the rest of the week. Couple that with some seriously annoying people here at PharmaCo, and you've got an exceedingly cranky Heather.

All of that, and I can't find my UK adapters. Dammit.

I am Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force!!

Which Aqua Teen Hunger Force character are you??

The Boston Globe had a few articles this weekend related to the TAP case, specifically regarding the effectiveness of gifts to physicians by pharma reps and other inducements to healthcare professionals. The paper's magazine also featured an excellent article about the patent-expiration and follow-on product process, and why that means higher drug costs for consumers.

The Peter Gabriel concert was, in a word, sublime. The sound could have been slightly less muddy upstairs (his spoken comments were hard to distinguish), but overall, it was pretty amazing.

Set list:

Here Comes The Flood
Darkness
Red Rain
Secret World
Sky Blue
Downside-Up
The Barry Williams Show
More Than This
Mercy Street
Digging In The Dirt
Growing Up
Animal Nation
Solsbury Hill
Sledgehammer
Signal To Noise

(Encores)
In Your Eyes
Family Snapshot
Father, Son

I can't believe he played Family Snapshot. Cannot believe it. It was beautiful and quiet and stark, just the way it should be. Father, Son made me weepy, as usual, too. All in all, an amazing night. I'm so glad we went.

We survived a weekend of soggy shopping, both at Garden State Plaza and at various other individual stores. I managed to score the needed parka, as well as a couple of sweaters, a dual-voltage hair dryer, and various fleece items to keep me warm on the trip.

The bookstore take today: Fodor's Ireland, Lonely Planet Ireland, a cool book about the history of Montclair, with great photos, and some other reading for the plane rides.

The radio show went very well last night, aside from one butterfingered glitch right at the beginning. I'm hoping to be able to do another gig sometime soon. Tonight we've got the Peter Gabriel show, and I am just so excited for it. I only wish that I didn't have to get up for work tomorrow. This week is going to be a killer, getting ready to go away.

Of course, because I'm doing that radio show tonight, I woke up with a head cold. Tea, tea, tea and lots of pseudo-ephedrine are the order of the day. Oh, and Dave has kindly agreed to accompany me to the mall to get a winter jacket for the trip to Ireland. God, this time next week, I'll be in Ireland. Weirdness.

I will be making my internet radio broadcasting debut Saturday night at 10 pm on the Midnight Cafe. I promise to be reliving the days of skinny ties and parachute pants for an hour or so. If you'd like to listen in, check out Disintegrator Internet Radio. You can also join us in the live chatroom during the show. Just be kind if I totally screw up, OK?

"I did not achieve this position in life by having some snot-nosed punk leave my cheese out in the wind."

A Florida jury has ordered gun distributor Valor Corp. to pay $1.2 million to the widow of a teacher killed by a 13-year-old student using one of the company's small, cheap pistols.

The jury, however, pinned most of the fault for the 2000 slaying of Barry Grunow on the gun's owner and school officials.

The FTC will take another look at hospital mergers as part of its strategy to combat anticompetitive behavior that often results in higher prices for consumers.

Merck discloses that it, too, is under investigation for its sales and marketing practices.

I miss 'Sports Night' more than I could possibly express. I'm hoping that Santa will bring me the DVD for Christmas this year...

Well. It appears that I just got an out-of-cycle raise. How cool is that?

A man in Michigan paid a judgement of $1,853.87 against his former landlord in pennies, which took his bank two weeks to accumulate. The landlord unknowingly signed for the shipment of 74 14-pound boxes, thinking it was gym equipment.

This morning, I realized that I'm becoming one of those people at whom I used to sneer. I got up this morning, made some iced tea, put on my pretty boots and outfit and headed out the door. I got into my German luxury car, headed to Starbucks, and purchased two boxes of Tazo Awake tea and a grande White Chocolate Mocha. Then I got back into the car, turned up NPR, and simultaneously checked my work voicemail from the speakerphone on my cell phone.

Just shoot me now.

In related news, Schering's CEO will retire and resign.

Following closely on the heels of the Neurontin investigation into Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert/Pfizer, the US Attorney's Office in Boston (two of whose prosecutors, Susan Winkler and Michael Loucks, I had the pleasure of hearing speak yesterday on the TAP case) have issued subpoenas to Schering-Plough regarding "a broad range of information concerning the company's sales, marketing and clinical trial practices and programs" related to the hepatitis C drugs Intron A and Rebetron, and cancer drug Temodar."

The subpoenas also seek records related to the company's contracts with managed care organizations and doctors, as well as "offering or provision of grants, honorariums or other items or services of value to managed care organizations, physician groups, doctors and educational institutions."

The company had also previously disclosed an investigation begun by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia in 1999 into its contracts with pharmacy benefits managers. In March 2002, that investigation resulted in grand jury subpoenas, which the company said appeared to be related to whether the company violated federal anti-kickback statutes.

From my hometown area: one of the most depressing stories I've ever read. You've been warned.

Well, this is appropriate.

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Supreme Court Makes Pact To Lose Virginity By End Of Year. I found Scalia's quote most interesting, considering my former journal name and all. [via Waddling Thunder]

I've been meaning to put this article up since last week. I sprained my brain trying to figure out the theory of responsibility. Well, not really. But you see my point...

I'm sitting here watching ABC News, where a story was being presented on the tornadoes in the south. One of the focuses was an elementary school, where the reporter interviewed a "fourth-grade teacher who has been there for nearly three decades."

Her comment?

"It's just totally undescribable."

UNDESCRIBABLE.

Today was much better. The train was on time, the seminar was really interesting, and I think I made a friend. Of course, as soon as I got home, Benny barfed all over the downstairs.

I guess you just can't have everything.

So tired. Hate NJ Transit. Need to go to bed.

I hate getting up when it's still dark outside. I'm attending a seminar in the city today and tomorrow (again at the vertigo-inducing Tavern on the Green) and have to catch the 7:13 train to get in on time. I have to say that it's nice to be out of the office for a few days, though; I also get CLE credit for this one, which is a big plus. I've got lots of stuff piled up to post, which hopefully I'll get to tonight.

Re: Tonight's Sopranos episode -- I certainly didn't see THAT coming.

Cheating, because I'm just too damned tired to come up with content...

Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
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The wedding was beautiful, the reception was lovely and fun, and we had an amazing time. I love the bride and groom so much, and am so proud of my wonderful husband for being such a great best man and for making a toast that was perfect -- just the right touches of humor and love.

Today, I am wiped out -- we went over to the bride's parents for a while, and then decided to use our Devils tickets and catch the last two periods of an absolutely atrocious game. I'm still in pajamas, watching the end of a Gay Weddings marathon on Bravo. What a way to spend a Sunday!

Well, the sun's not quite out, but I'm still hoping for a beautiful day. We're in the midst of getting ready to go, and I am just so happy for Brian and Suzanne. We're heading out around 9, wedding is at noon, and we've got Devils tickets for tonight.

Catch you later!

There's just nothing like a day off on a crisp autumn day. I went to the doctor again this morning, where I received prescriptions for another ten-day round of Prednisone and another ten-day round of a higher dose of Cefzil. If this doesn't work, I'm getting a referral to an otolaryngologist. Hooray!

We're waiting for Dave's brother (who is getting married at noon tomorrow) to arrive, so that we can go and get some breakfast. Then, I need to pick up Brian and Suzanne's present, and am just planning on taking a nice, Lush-supplemented bath, and relaxing. We don't have to be at the country club until 10:30, which is nice, so we just have to get all dressed up and get down there before then.

Oops, groom is here! Later!

CNN reports that an unknown child who died in the Titanic disaster has finally been identified, with the assistance of DNA evidence.

Mwahahahaha!

"Being a woman is not an impediment. But being a mother is."

Bobby Brown Arrested Again. Drugs. Traffic. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Oops.

Someone over at The Usual Suspects pointed me to this hilarious parody of the famous monster.com "When I Grow Up..." ad. I want to show it to every ad agency person with whom I ever come into contact. It's beautiful.

Girl: Convicted.

I know that I'm not supposed to say nice things about the Philadelphia Flyers now that I've gone over to the dark side, but I had to salute John LeClair, who scored his 300th goal last night. LeClair is a great player, and all-around nice guy.

My department went out to lunch today to celebrate a birthday, and when I returned, I found a concerned email from my husband (who's probably going to kill me for posting this here). We're having a houseguest tonight, because Dave is going to the Rush concert at Continental Airlines Arena with a friend, and I had asked him to clean up the bathroom at some point today.

He took this task very seriously; so seriously, in fact, that he was nervous about the amount of supplies being used:

"I left you a voicemail. I'm concerned about my consumption of Swiffer pads and am wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Are they expensive?"

I assured him that no, he wasn't doing anything wrong; the problem is more that we've got three super-sheddy cats.

Oh, and my sinus infection? STILL. NOT. GONE. I am going back to the doctor on Friday morning (just once, one of these days, I'd like to take a vacation day where I don't have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn) to see what they can do. I've blown through Bactrim, Avelox, Cefzil, and a Medrol Dose-Pak thus far, along with the usual Zyrtec and Flonase. Just shoot me, will you?

And will someone remind me why people say rude and stupid things directly to you? One of my colleagues just went on a long rant about how women who work after they have children are terrible parents, and that even those women who "have to work" are just making a selfish lifestyle choice.

Lovely.

The Washington Post has a nice list of what the White House plans to do now that the elections are over, with Republicans controlling the White House, the Senate and the House. I think I need a stiff drink.

We see him in concert on the 17th, and I cannot wait.

And whichever one of you laughmeisters signed Anderson Cooper up for the notification list, I love you. Really. I do.

I don't even really know how to introduce this story. Um, go, Terrifica? Maybe?

I can just imagine whipping this thing out after lunch with the boss.

I'm feeling much more normal today, now that I've gotten some sleep. My sinus infection seems to be better, although I don't think it's totally gone even though I took my last dose of antibiotic this morning. I don't know what the next step would be if it's not gone. Ugh.

My car is in the shop (apparently a broken fan motor was the cause of the burning smell that I've been experiencing), so Dave's been chauffeuring me around. Finding our new polling place this morning was an adventure, and unfortunately, Dave was unable to vote there because apparently his change of registration didn't go through. He's going to have to go back to our old polling place and see if he's still on the rolls there. Fun fun fun!

I'm in a meeting with my paralegal at the moment, but I promise more later, especially about my disappointing hotel experience.

More flaming Pop Tarts. And I'm not talking Britney or Christina.

I'm back. The meeting went very well, my presentation was well received, and I am incredibly tired. More tomorrow.

I'm off to the airport in a couple of hours. I may not be back online until Sunday, so have a great weekend!