I only have two official meetings today. But I found out why my Project Manager has been more flaky than usual. His mom just started chemo and he is the one taking her to and from treatment and all that. So, no more complaining from me. I wish there was something tangible I could do beyond making sure the work is covered.

Never heard of Galentine's day before -- uh, obviously -- but that sounds fun. Plus Leslie Knope pedigree!

Sending you lots of strength, sarameg, to deal with ragey work issues.

I've been feeling like I'm all booked up with meetings but it turns out, that's only because other people keep asking me if I'm available when I am not. I am available at plenty of other times!

Never heard of Galentine's day before -- uh, obviously -- but that sounds fun. Plus Leslie Knope pedigree!

Exactly!

Snow day in Nashville! Cookies are imminent.

Dana, my DH grew up in OKC and we go back there at least once a year. It's a decent city that has put some effort into improving its downtown (the Bricktown area has seen a lot of revitalization) and has some nice amenities, like the zoo and an excellent indie bookstore ( [link] ). On the other hand, it's quite conservative and you have to get in your car to go anywhere and do anything - public transit is pretty limited. It's got an art museum that shows indie films, though I've never been there. I don't know much about choral options there. Let me know if you have specific questions.

I love the idea of Galentine's Day, but the alternative February holiday of choice in our household is World Nutella Day (Feb 5th).

Ok, I want to go back to sleep. My brain is just not waking up. Mistook the time of my first meeting. I've been doing the slow burn because no one was here for my 9am meeting, which is actually scheduled for 9:30. Alrighty then.

Since I got up so early yesterday, I slept from 8pm until about 630 this morning. Walked to a coffee shop and have been sitting here with my sandwich and chai for half an hour. Quite nice. But I still don't want to go to work. Grr.

Thanks, Kate. Most of the negatives you describe already apply to us, living in Texas. The real political pain was leaving Washington state to return to Texas.

What about the restaurants? Is there a wide variety of cuisines, or just kind of Americana?

I have a friend in OKC that sings and might have info on choruses, I will reach out.

His mom just started chemo and he is the one taking her to and from treatment and all that

That's hard. You get short notice of changes to the schedule, weird things happen to change the expected time of treatment, you're suddenly told "We didn't get the drugs here, but if you can get across town in twenty minutes they can fit you in, but be aware that if she doesn't get the treatment today we may have to start over on the schedule, and that won't be for three months."

Yes, Connie, exactly. Luckily the team I work with on this project is great (even though I fuss about them). They are all rallying to fill in the gaps as needed. The team has been hit hard recently. One task manager just lost his father after a stroke, another lost his brother and nephew in an auto accident, and before that, we lost a team member to cancer. A world of suck, but it also means that everyone understands and will go above and beyond to help.