At the recommendation of my coworker/defacto boss, I stayed home today to work on my CMC paper. The Cotton project is on hold until the end of the week, after I turn this paper in, which is really too bad, because as I said before, the more I read about it, the more interested in it I am. As a total side note, my presentation on Monday went well, and I came away with a stunning redirect that I think will help me finish the project in the next few weeks (encouraging!).

Sid had her first vet appointment on Monday. That was excitement and a half, and we came home $50 poorer but with no real indication as to what’s going on with any of her bizarre-o ailments. She’s happily sleeping in a little cat nugget on the couch behind me. We’re trying new feeding strategies to make sure she’s getting all the (better) food that she needs, while at the same time keeping Basil (who is a little piggy) out of her food and therefore at a reasonable weight.

Leslie posted this link in her advent calendar today, and I’m totally loving it. Things like online advent calendars and funny blogs etc directly impact my productivity, which is why I’m in love with my carrel, even though it’s approximately 1,000,000 degrees up there. I’m on 10 East in the Main Stacks, which means that there (1) no internet and (2) very few distractions. I spent a good part of the weekend locked away up there, and I intend to spend most of this afternoon and evening doing the same thing. It’s very satisfying to go work for 4-5 hours and then take guilt-free breaks at home because I’ve accomplished easily five times what I would have accomplished on the couch at home.

Also,