Take one day at a time... unless they all attack at once.

I saw this statement on a piece of paper on the ground the other day. Humor AND good advice: My favorite! It was advice I really needed at the time, too.

Since I haven't checked in for a while, here's a brief update. It's even sort of in order:

• PortalFest - Absolutely a ton of fun! I'm not sure if I get brownie points or loser points for studying in my hotel room at the Las Vegas Harrah's. Maybe both. I officially doubled my money in Vegas: I put a dollar into a penny slot machine, and won two bucks. Yeah, baby. That's how it's done.
  
• Comps - Hopefully will be scheduled for mid-October. September just wasn't working out for anyone. I'm sorry to have to push the schedule back, because I really just want to be done and move on; but I can use the extra time. I've been studying but am not as far along as I'd like. Three classes down, five to go.
  
• Cats - Irene has gone back home. She tested FIV+ while I was at PortalFest, and I had a very, very bad week waiting to get home and get Casper and Nexus checked out. Fortunately, both of them tested negative. We'll re-test in December when they get their vacs, just to be sure, but at this point the vet says the chances they picked it up from her are very slim.
  
• Greenhouse - My sand was stowed in a dry place and yet somehow got flooded, probably because the greenhouse still isn't repaired. Cue frothing and cursing. Sitting in stagnant water for over a week won't affect the biotic properties of the sand at all, nooooo. *grumble* Additionally, I may have made a major miscalculation in how much soil I have available for my study. Tomorrow I'm going to 'fess up to the bossman and ask for advice.
  
• Sampling - I'm set to head to Florida in late September to hit two of my sites. I even have permission from the folks in charge of the sites to sample there (minor technicality), yay! The hurricanes just have to stay away from the Apalachicola area for a LITTLE WHILE LONGER. *crosses fingers*
  
• Oxford Civic Chorus - We had our first rehearsel tonight. Wow, my soprano range is rusty. I'm not doing Chorale this semester, with many regrets, because the new directer unexpectedly shifted rehearsels to Monday, and that's the normal day for OCC rehearsels. Given my busy-ness at the moment, though, it's probably best that I'm not driving to Memphis once a week.
  
• Cello - First lesson was last week. Eeeeeee. I love it so much. And I make such awful caterwauly noises with the instrument...
  
• Dragon*Con - I think I'm ready, and am excited about it, though I've also done a good deal of stressing. Memo to self: Never again schedule two conventions within three weeks of one another!