So I've been traveling for work all week and haven't been on the board, and now it's 1 AM so I'm not going to do a full meara.

Matt, best wishes for your mom. My dad had some TIAs and he seemed to recover from them reasonably well.

Tommyrot, good to see your pixels and I support the idea of road trips. Blue highways!

Hec and JZ: I suspect your flight cancellation was part of the suite of cancellations last Sunday from tornados in the SE/Midwest. I flew into Dallas on Sunday afternoon en route to Norfolk VA, and then my flight out of DFW was cancelled, and American had asbo-fucking-lutely nothing for me for 24 hours. I ended up catching a 10 am flight the next day on Delta that took me through National. I landed in Norfolk 36 hours after leaving SFO. Yay.

askye I wish I could give you all the support you need. M's mom sounds like a horror, and your dr is a horror. Please remember to be kind to yourself.

As for the 5-year plan, I guess I'm one of the few who is mostly still where they were 5 years ago. Same house, same family (though my sister is getting remarried!), same dog. Job is different since I got promoted, but it's the same org with most of the same people.

I spent the last week in VA meeting with everyone around the country who has my job (there are 6 of us), plus the folks who run the various programs nationwide, plus the folks from HQ who set policy. It was the first time in about a decade we have all gathered, and it was simultaneously great but also stressful and exhausting. Lots of built-up frustration got released, voices were raised, lots of alcohol consumed.

I did get two nice runs along the waterfront in Norfolk: the Elizabeth River Trail is really nice. The food was only okay and I never got any hushpuppies. But I really love the bulk of my coworkers and it was lovely to see them. (Even if it's a bit weird how few of us are female.)

And now I have the New Girl sleeping on my knees and hopefully I can wind down and spend the weekend NOT talking to people. Gah.

As for the 5-year plan, I guess I'm one of the few who is mostly still where they were 5 years ago. Same house, same family (though my sister is getting remarried!), same dog. Job is different since I got promoted, but it's the same org with most of the same people.

Same. Although my sister has no wedding plans that I’m aware of.

hopefully I can wind down and spend the weekend NOT talking to people

Solitude~ma.

I’m glad your mom is doing ok, Matt.

Timelies all!

We went to visit Mr. S today. We took him to a local park and basically followed him as he rambled around. Ended up in the nature center where we saw various critters, including an owl. Mr. S behaved well while we were out, which is good.

That sounds encouraging, Sheryl.

Yeah, fingers crossed he's learning to regulate his behavior.

So fellow Buffistas, opinions on which of these door colors I should consider for my house? [link]

I like the teal and the red, Matt.

I like the teal, Matt. Have you considered a yellow?

I'm partial to the teal.

I am terrible at decisions like that. I like the teal and the white.

Well, for the first time in more than four years, I have a cold (tested negative so far). It's been a good run. NyQuil, heated blanket, and Audible to the rescue.

Ugh I have a cold now too and just had to let my Mom know I wasn’t coming out to brunch. I feel terrible either way but at least I don’t risk passing the virus on to my folks if we stay home. By terrible I mean guilty.

I like the teal door, Matt. We have a blue door and it is very happy making.