mountain people

i took g and dana to roanoke this past weekend, so they could get a sense of my roots/origins and so i could breathe that fresh mountain air. it was great! the leaves were changing, it was chilly at night, sunny during the day. lovely! we walked around the market downtown, hit up the grandin area, had dinner at the home place (mmmm), went bowling, went to the star, saw religulous at the grandin, etc. on sunday, we experienced the natural bridge corridor on the way back and went to escape from dinosaur kingdom, foamhenge, and the pink cadillac diner. pictures of this are forthcoming (some time when i'm home?). we had a great soundtrack for the trip, playing "blue ridge mountains" at only the most appropriate moments.

i have a cold now. i'm not sure what my voice sounds like once it leaves my mouth, but in my head it's pretty scratchy and occasionally squeaky. my throat, ears, and head all hurt, and my nose alternates between being stuffy and runny. i'm achy and cold then hot, and my eyes are watery and droopy. i'm coughing. we'll see how cold medicine works. i wish i were sleeping at home right now. honestly, as much as i treat tylenol cold like a panacea, i really think that the only things that can cure me are liquids and sleep. i'm clearly not getting enough of either of those in the office today.

i'm running my first official kick-off meeting in an hour. i think i'll do a fine job as long as they don't ask very hard questions and as long as my voice doesn't give out. i'm looking very professional. i'm exuding confidence and knowledge.