Well, aside from the snow, our Christmas trek was lovely and uneventful. Dave was very happy with his loot, and I received wonderful gifts myself. Our parents were generous beyond measure, meaning that we'll be able to get our new stove, refrigerator and maybe a dishwasher sooner rather than later. Having to come home after spending two hours on the snowy, slushy NJ Turnpike and then shovel sort of sucked, but a few games before bed helped a bit.

We're being lazy this morning, even though we're supposed to be on the road to Toronto by now. I've yet to shower or pack, but I'm not overly concerned. The longer we wait, the better the road conditions will be once we do take off.

I hope that all of you had a lovely holiday. We'll be back sometime on New Year's Eve. I'm sure that I'll be posting at least a few updates from the Great White North, though.

The presents are wrapped, the car is filled with gas and a bag of rock salt in case of the forecast snow, and we are ready to head down to Pennsylvania. We'll be stopping in Wescosville to see some family friends, and then on to my parents' house for turkey and presents. Tomorrow, we'll have dinner with Dave's folks, and then back home to pack for Canada.

I hope that all of you who are celebrating have a warm, cozy, happy and safe Christmas. Talk to you later!

Many of you who read this have probably noticed the sparseness of my postings lately, especially since we returned from Ireland. I was very busy at work, but honestly, there's another explanation.

I was getting very, very depressed.

Winter is always a very difficult time for me (SAD is not my friend), and this year has seemed especially hard, what with Dave still being out of work and people just generally not seeming to be in the spirit of the season this year.

Last night, something changed.

I had been extra-mopey and weepy this weekend, and when I woke up yesterday, Dave suggested that we do some heavy-duty cleaning in the house, and then retrieve the Christmas decorations from the attic.

Honestly, I wasn't planning on even putting up our little tree this year. We're heading out to my folks' house tomorrow, where we'll stay overnight and then go to North Brunswick for dinner with the in-laws. Thursday morning, we're taking off for our almost-annual trek to Mississauga (near Toronto, for non-Canadian-familiar) to see Dave's favorite cousin (and to hit a Lush store while we're at it!), and we won't be back until New Year's Eve.

However, once we got the living room, dining room and pantry area into shape, I did want to put the tree up.

One problem.

We couldn't FIND the tree.

Apparently, we did something with it when we moved. What, we have no idea.

Into the car we went. No luck at Homey D's. This meant...back to Target, where I had just been yesterday morning. Ugh. It wasn't too bad, though. We found a nice (fake) 6.5' tree, and a few new ornaments, and some cheap clear lights (non-blinking, one of my requirements), and trundled home.

The tree is lovely. It's simple, and homey, and it has a ton of lights on it. I love it. It's the middle of the day, but I've got the tree lights on, and candles burning, and I'm drinking a warm vanilla latte, and I'm happy.

I'm happy. And I love my husband more than I could ever explain, because he understood, and he persevered, and he managed to bring a smile to my Grinchy face.

Joe Strummer is dead.

I am unspeakably sad.

Perhaps the hair color was a bit ill-advised.

My hair is, well, eggplant-tinged. I like it, but I sure am glad that I don't have to go back to work for two weeks. I hope that it tones down a bit by then.

Oh, man, did this article bring back the panic. I'm still glad I never went the law firm route, honestly.

A San Francisco judge decided Wednesday that the two men fighting over ownership of Barry Bonds' record-setting 73rd home run ball each have legitimate rights to it. He's ordering that the ball be sold, with proceeds to be split between the two men. Nice Solomonic solution, there.

A Minnesota mother who hired a private investigator to check out her daughter's fiance may have gone too far when she obtained a report on his credit card accounts and child support obligations, says the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Earlier: Possibly the best hockey game this year. Devils beat Stars, 5-3. I love John Madden, oh yes I do. And NO, not THAT John Madden.

Grocery store, with many befuddled people. I did score some of Ireland's best tea, though. Caffeine-o-rama!

Hallmark store, where there were many pretty cards, but *not* the envelopes to go with them. I've never seen anything like that.

Currently: Dyeing my hair (Clairol Natural Instincts Rosewood, for the curious). Watching Trading Spaces.

Later: Eagles game on TV, more Trading Spaces, and the wrapping of presents commences.

Today was a good day. I thought that I was getting sick last night, but I felt much better this morning, and we did errands and had lunch out and went to see The Two Towers, which I loved.

Then we decided to get some steak for dinner, and hit the mall for an hour to finish up shopping for Dave's family.

Tomorrow: hockey and the grocery store.

The patent term extension case mentioned in this press release is interesting for two reasons: first, the US District Court dismissed a complaint by Pfizer against Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, in which Pfizer alleged that its patent term extension on Norvasc (amlodipine besylate) covered Reddy's amlodipine maleate product; and second, one of our crack outside patent lawyers won the case. Congratulations, B!

This article explains why you don't hear much at all about my job in this forum.

"So take off all your clothes..." but maybe not WHILE you're driving.

I was in the office until almost 9:30 last night, so please forgive me if I'm incoherent.

Things that annoy me this morning:

It's SO. FUCKING. COLD IN HERE.

My doctor's office hasn't bothered to return my call regarding the results of my CT scan. HELLO? Anyone?

I got a ding in Mavis' windshield on Sunday, and the glass people are supposed to be coming out to my office to look at it today and determine if they can just buff it out or if I need to replace the whole thing. Have they called me? No, of course not.

Happiness is PSE&G finally being able to do a real reading of your electrical meter and then giving you a $674.39 credit on your bill.

Of course, I could have USED that money a few months ago, but who can quibble?

Still at work. Oh, how I love the last few days before vacation/holidays. Hoo freaking ray.

Apparently I don't just have chronic sinusitis. I'm also a "nasal cripple." (free registration required)

I just got a gingerbread house delivered to my desk.

The Maryland Court of Appeals has disbarred Sol Sheinbein, five years after the lawyer helped his teenaged son to escape to Israel after being implicated in the murder of an acquaintance.

The son, Samuel, is now in prison in Israel for the murder and dismemberment of the victim.

Not much more to say today. I went to bed by ten, but I didn't sleep very well. I'm hoping that today is better than the end of yesterday was. *crosses fingers* Only three more days of work until vacation. Only three more days of work until vacation...

Today was a no-good, very bad, horrible, terrible day at work, for reasons which it would be unwise to discuss in this forum. Suffice it to say that politics and assorted other bullshit have reduced me to a disillusioned mess of tears tonight.

Our kitten, Pica, seems to get very happy and excited when she hears me singing. She was in the basement just now with Dave, and I started singing along with a song from the Aida cast recording. She came flying upstairs and climbed up into my lap (which she almost never does) and is purring madly while nuzzling me constantly with her little head.

She seems to like the belting numbers, especially the ballads.

My boss sent out the following list yesterday:

You know you're from Jersey not New Jersey if:

- You don't think of citrus when people mention "The Oranges".
- You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.
- A good, quick breakfast is a hard roll with butter.
- You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.
- You've eaten at a Diner, when you were stoned or drunk, at 3 a.m.
- You remember that the "Two Guys" were from Harrison.
- You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.
- At last three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.
- You know what a "jug handle" is.
- You know that WaWa is a convenience store.
- You know that the state isn't all farmland.
- You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey - there's "The Shore". And you don't go "to the shore" - you go "down the Shore". And when you are there, you're not "at the shore" - you are "down the Shore".
- You know that "Piney" isn't referring to a tree.
- Even your school cafeteria made good Italian subs. And it's a Sub, not a submarine sandwich or worse yet, a hoagie, a hero, or a grinder.
- You remember the song from the Palisades Park commercials.
- You know how to properly negotiate a Circle.
- You knew that the last question had to do with driving.
- You know that this is the only "New..." state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (like, try...Mexico, ...York, ...Hampshire - doesn't
work, does it?)
- You only go to New York City for day trips, and you call it "The City".
- You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich.
- You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege.
- You don't think "What exit" is very funny.
- You know that the first "strip shopping center" in the country was on Route 22.
- You know that people from 609 area code are "a little different".
- You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton - that's for out-of-staters.
- The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or local bar.
- You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.
- You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.
- Every year, you had a least one kid in your class named Tony.
- You know the location of every clip shown in the Sopranos opening credits.
- You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.
- You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from Central Jersey go to Belmar or LBI and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can be no other way.
- You were not raised in New Jersey. You were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.
- You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.
- You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Bamberger's and Orbach's.
- You've had a Boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.
- You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.

And finally...

- You've NEVER, NEVER pumped your own gas.

Now, I wasn't born and raised a Jersey girl. I grew up in the Philly burbs, which, for the purposes of this list, is akin to South Jersey (although I went to Ocean City, NJ, not Wildwood, and we had Wawa)...but I have to tell you that I can relate to a good number of these, especially the one about knowing the locations of the Sopranos credits and the one about getting lost getting out of the mall.

Big hair, here I come.

A large black cat crossed my path early this morning, so if I were superstitious about such things, I'd be doubly worried. I'm not, thankfully.

About that, anyway. I still don't like to walk over people's graves or under ladders.

Anyway, today is pretty much of a waste. We're all dressed up for our holiday lunch, and several of us were just pulled into the videoconference room to pretend we were in a meeting for a film crew, here to get footage for some corporate videos.

I've finished the one task that was pressing for today (I received the documents Tuesday night, and was accused via voicemail of "dragging my feet" while I was in an all-day meeting yesterday, but that's a whole other story), and now I'm pretty much killing time until we have to leave for lunch. I'm going right home from there to get ready for the party. I'm hoping that the rain holds off, though.

CT Scan tomorrow morning, and then we're off to PA for a party and some quality time with my folks. Dave will also be cohosting with Duane on Disintegrator Radio tomorrow night, which will be fun.

Pssst...Marie...there's a new Kiehl's in Rittenhouse Square!

In other news, my whole department is totally stressed out over, of all things, our holiday festivities (again, DO NOT CALL THEM CHRISTMAS PARTIES!). Our company party is scheduled for tomorrow night, starting at 6 pm. While none of us was thrilled at having to make hair appointments and leave early in order to be able to fight traffic to make it to the venue on time, against mall traffic, we were resigned to doing so. Last year's party was on a Saturday night which was easier for everyone.

However, the Boss threw a wrench into things by scheduling our departmental holiday lunch for...wait for it...tomorrow afternoon. From 1:30 to 4:30. At a restaurant at least fifteen minutes further west than even the office in Parsippany is. Won't consider changing it, no sir. Want to know why?

HE'S NOT GOING TO THE COMPANY PARTY.

Fabulous. We're all driving ourselves so that we can leave early enough to get ready. Fun!

I had an interesting visit with the otolaryngologist yesterday. He was surprised that my primary care physician hadn't recommended me seeing a specialist earlier, especially when I related the most recent saga, including four courses of antibiotics and two courses of steroids over a seven-week period.

He used both a rhinometer and an endoscope to see what was happening inside of my nasal passages, and filled me in on the fact that 1) I do, in fact, still have a fairly severe infection and 2) my septum is deviated to a degree that is "on a scale of one to five, where five is really bad," a FOUR. While this could explain some of my breathing issues, it also could present a serious issue if I do have to have sinus surgery. Basically, they'd have to break my nose to fix it.

I'm on another antibiotic, but thankfully, no steroids this time. I'm getting a CT scan of my sinuses on Saturday morning, and then see an allergist in the same office as my ENT on Monday. We'll go from there. While I'm certainly not thrilled at the prospect of all of this poking and prodding, if it relieves me of these chronic infections, I'm all for it.

My ENT also takes my company's antihypertensive. Go PharmaCo!

Leslie Harpold's Advent calendar just simply takes my breath away.

Sick. Tired. Going to the otolaryngologist at 3:30. Ice storm outside. Ugh.

Courtney Love sics her lawyers on the Smoking Gun. The Smoking Gun is unmoved.

I wonder if the mother in this story has any idea of what she's doing to her child. Very, very sad.

It's no surprise that heavy debt keeps new lawyers from taking government or public advocacy jobs. Average salary for these jobs is around $40,000 annually.

Just a little note before I go to bed: Happy birthday, Kerry.

And thank you. So much.

*looks at the current world's population* You must have a lot of frustration then.

What pisses you off?

Created by ptocheia

While we were in Ireland, I fell in love with Waterford'snew designer, John Rocha and especially this design. Dave's aunt Bernadette explained to me while we were shopping in Galway that Rocha used to be a fashion designer and has now switched over to crystal. Dave's aunt and uncle were kind enough to give us a wedding gift of money, and suggested that we use it to start a Rocha collection of our own.

I've just discovered that my boss, due to a family emergency, will be out of the office all week this week. I've also discovered that he's left me several very, very important projects to work on, one of which is something that has to go back to Tokyo TONIGHT. Seeing as I was supposed to be in meetings all day, this is more than a small problem. Add to that the head cold from hell, and you'll find me curled in the fetal position under my desk, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth.

I'm sick. And a little depressed, I think. Not much to say.

Speaking of morons...Axl should know better than to stiff fans in Philly.

I bought the first dress that I tried on today at Lord and Taylor. Of course, I didn't buy it right away; I had the salesperson hold it while I careened around the mall looking for anything else that might look better, but I didn't find anything.

I bought the dress, some jewelry, and some makeup at Sephora, and then set off the alarms as I left to go to my car. The lovely saleslady had neglected to remove the security sensor from the dress. Thank goodness I realized it then, and not after having brought it all the way home.

On my way home from the mall and grocery store, I almost had a car accident. A young girl in a brand-new Explorer pulled out in front of me on Upper Mountain Avenue, causing me to have to brake into a snowbank. I happened to be behind her for a few minutes in traffic, and finally she pulled over to let me pass. When I did, SHE flipped ME off. Because apparently it's MY fault that she's a shitty driver. I stopped and conveyed the same sentiment. Unbelievable.

Trent Lott is a big honking asshat.

Since my company's Winter Extravaganza (we're not allowed to call it a Christmas party, you see) is next Friday, and because our Secret Santa will occur at our department lunch the same day, I'm forced to go shopping today. Normally, I love shopping, as you all well know. However, Christmas shopping makes my teeth itch. I plan to do most of my holiday shopping online, so I'm heading to the mall now in hopes of heading off at least some of the massive crowds.

Tonight: At least days one and two of our Ireland adventure.

My house smells like patchouli and I have no bloody idea why. I hate patchouli.

I'm really hoping that the jet lag sets me free, and soon - this waking up at 4:15 am is making me crazy. We've got tickets for the Devils game tonight, and I think I'm going to have to start mainlining caffeine to stay awake.

I need to go out this weekend and try to find something to wear to the company Winter Extravaganza (Festivus, for the rest of us!) next Friday. I'm annoyed that the party is on a Friday, because it's usually pretty formal, and I'd like to be able to get my hair done. Starting it at 6 means that there's no way that's going to happen.

What's everyone else up to this weekend? I think I've given up on the idea of holiday cards this year, but we might still put up a tree. I can't decide.

Twenty-two University of Cincinnati students dressed for success for their final exam Wednesday night in "Global Civility."

Students enrolled in technology-related majors in the College of Applied Science were rated on dining skills, conversation and comportment while at a new French restaurant, Jean-Robert at Pigall's.

I'm thinking that some of the people with whom I work could benefit from such a thing.

Which "Simpsons" Character Are You?
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How did I not know that the couple who played Ferris Bueller's parents in the movie (Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett) fell in love and got married in real life???

It took me two hours to drive in to the office today. I had a two hour meeting, and then got back in the car, much to the chagrin of my boss, who lives three minutes from the office and who didn't seem to get why all of us were fleeing like rats from a sinking ship.

TWO MORE HOURS to get home.

I hate people.

Back to work today. It's nice to go back to a job where people genuinely miss you and are happy to hear about your trip. Add to that the boss approving all of my Christmas vacation requests and you've got a very happy Heather. Unfortunately, it seems that I've caught a cold, and on top of that, I'm still so sleepy because I woke up at 4 am. I promise that I'll post about the trip. Just not today.

I had thought that I might blog about the trip tonight, but since my internal clock thinks it's 2 am, I'm going to stop fighting it and go to bed. Work should just be an utter joy tomorrow. Huzzah.

We're back, it's cold, a tree branch fell and hit Dave's car, and I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm happy, though, and more relaxed than I can remember feeling in a long time. More later tonight, probably.