My Doogie Moment

Turn on the lamps. For 30 seconds each, test that each of eight values is within range. If yes, display one message. If not, enter fixed calibration mode and display a different message.

That's all I have to do. It's really not so tough. Logistically, I've got it down. Only, right now, 30 seconds translates to 30 milliseconds, so the whole thing is done before I can blink. And I haven't even turned on the lamps yet.

But I'm close, so close I can feel it. Oh wait, that's my breakfast...

Just kidding. I'm back. You may not have noticed my absence in cybertime, since I've never been particularly consistent at writing anyhow. But I have to say, I seem to be doing everything I can to make Spring Break the worst break ever.

Last year, I was working. A lot. Like, staying up until 1am every morning trying to meet a killer deadline. Couldn't really pay much attention to the kids. This year, I figured I'd be more balanced, work with my husband's schedule, call a sitter, be flexible, you know, all that good stuff. And for the first week, it worked out pretty well. I took one day off, worked the next, took the boys to the Botanical Gardens and later worked while the little one napped. All was good. And then I got sick. And for the whole second week of vacation, my boys stayed with their grandparents while I slept at home and struggled to hold anything down. The nausea was unbearable. I ate nothing for two days, and ultimately managed to completely dehydrate myself, so that my husband took me into the emergency department and had me pumped with 3 bags of fluids. I slept off the rest of that day, and was finally able to stay awake the next. And work.

I had to skip a writing class that I had signed up for. I'm fairly confident that the virus that jumped from one son to another and then to me is gone, but it was nasty and I was not about to risk infecting others. That and I wasn't sure I was quite up to concentrating that long on anything, even writing (if that can be imagined). It was a small workshop - eight people - and would have been an incredible experience for me. And I had really been looking forward to it. But I had to be responsible. And going to the class would have been selfish. That, and my kids miss me, and they're heading home soon, and I can't wait to see them again!

My doggy's home, too. He went in for surgery Tuesday and came home Friday. He's got a bright yellow bandage covering his whole leg (no he is NOT a Steelers fan), and he was seriously bummed when I wouldn't take him for a walk just now (doctor's orders! - and I'm still in my pajamas). The tumor has once again been debulked, and we'll see how long it takes for it to regrow this time. He's such a trooper, such a great dog. I just wish I knew where my hubby put all the dog treats!

And speaking of my hubby, for all his acting like he's an insensitive clod, he actually baked me chocolate chip cookies - from scratch - this week hoping to motivate me into feeling better. Sure, he enjoyed some while he waited for me to recuperate (and while he did all the laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, and otherwise management of the house when he wasn't going to work), but still.

So now he's off on a bike ride while the Doogie Howser, M.D. theme song runs through my head and I try to think of some clever quip to summarize the past week.

I think after "de-bugging" myself this past week, debugging my program seems like a relatively simple task. I often let my life get too busy, too complicated, and it tends to catch up with me. Juggle too many china plates and one's bound to come crashing down on you eventually. I'd like to think this will teach me to take on less and take better care of myself, but I know better.

Last weekend, at my sister's and brother-in-law's house, with eleven adults and three children sleeping under one roof, there were a couple of plumbing incidences. I equated that to a server load test that companies do to make sure their computer systems can support their work load. Evidently it failed. And evidently my server load test failed too. But the nice thing is that I learned that I do have a very reliable backup system...family.

(how's that for a nice Doogie Howser ending?)