Getting back to it

Mr W and I had a fabulous time in MN. No doubt about it, flying was so much easier than driving. We had direct flights, and had minor delays each way, but got there in a reasonable amount of time. That's about all one can ask from the airlines these days, it seems. They did accommodate us when I asked to switch our seats so we'd sit together, and that was nice of them.

What did we do? Besides the talk my SIL and I attended, which I'm still ruminating over, we did a bunch of stuff for Mr W. We went to the Science Museum of Minnesota, which had the King Tut exhibit. I had missed the boy king when he was in Denver for several months, and it was a nice surprise to be able to see it in MN. Cool stuff, and I'm glad we did it. Mr W was trying to wrap his head around the time frame, and was suitably awed. They had pictures on the walls that Howard Carter took when he discovered the tomb, and then had the objects right there. That was cool.

We also, godhelpus, went to the Mall of America, so Mr W could do rides at the indoor amusement park. I'm of the opinion now that he likes the idea of an amusement park much more than the actual things, because he's just one of those people who has a lot of trepidation about strapping into a ride and getting tossed around. His dear aunt and I tried to bribe him (well, technically it would have been a reward because he'd get it afterwards) with a generous trip to the Lego store, if he would go on the easy rollercoaster that spanned the entire indoor space. We got up to the platform twice and he bolted both times. I won't lie; it wore me out.

We also ate really well, and I've got the extra couple of pounds to prove it. My SIL goes to the gym regularly, so I tagged along for three of the days and worked out. At least I made an attempt to mitigate the ice cream, steak, etc. It was just really nice to visit with two of my favorite people, and I was glad they were able to fit in our visit between all the summer travel they have scheduled.

I took the day off yesterday, which was a good method of re-entry, and now am getting back into the groove. Nothing new on the job search front, but a co-worker mentioned that he had a phone interview and they surprised him with some of the standard interview questions that I probably don't have good, quick answers to yet. So, I got a book out of the library and will brush up on that this weekend in anticipation of an interview. I had lunch with BW, and that has all been fun so far. A couple of days ago, I got an email through the dating site from someone who lives about an hour and 15 minutes away from here. He seemed nice enough, actually did have a background in science, but I replied that logistically, I couldn't see us being able to swing it. It underscored the importance of finding a local guy.

Oh, and the little experiment in having Sally stay with a dog park friend and her dog instead of at the kennel worked. Almost too well. The group of regulars reported that she was too exhausted by her almost constant playing with the other dog that she didn't want to chase the ball when she came to the dog park. She's been pretty much sleeping since I picked her up yesterday. A job well done!