Journal of a Sabbatical

March 9, 2001

sitting here in limbo

Today's Reading: My Generation by Sarah Anna Emery

Sometime yesterday evening after I left for my meeting UPS tried to deliver something that requires a signature. I left here at 6:30 and they supposedly only deliver 'til 7:00 so I must have just missed them. The notice stuck on my door says it was from PC Connection. Hmm, could this be the G4 coming back from its repair sojourn? The support person had assured me that they would call me, and I've not heard a peep from them. However, I can't imagine what else UPS could be delivering. I have not ordered anything from PC Connection. So I canceled plans to go to Framingham to work on Zsolt's computer and settled in for the wait to receive the UPS package.

When I called UPS, the tracking system had no information on my info notice number. I got a human on the line and he assured me that the 2nd attempt at delivery would be today between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. That's a long time to stay home. It's especially long given that my ISP has been unreachable all morning and into the afternoon. Not that I don't have projects I can work on. I have more than enough unmet deadlines, unfinished projects, and just general neglected chores.

At 2:44 PM the promised snow began to fall. I was surprised at how quickly the visibility deteriorated. Does UPS deliver in whiteout conditions? Oh well, at least I wasn't driving home from Framingham on Rt. 9 and 128 in these conditions. The snow has been adding up fast since then. The TV weather man is saying "them that has gets". Those of us who got 30 inches the other day are due for maybe another 10 inches today. A cheery faced woman on another channel is saying "it's all right, the flooding won't start for a few more days". Where do they get these people? They're interviewing hydrologists on the radio. They don't seem as cheery.

OK, it's now 7:20 PM. UPS has not shown up. It's snowing. I am getting cabin fever. I managed to get and stay connected long enough to upload yesterday's entry and download my email. I worked on the MRFRS volunteer newsletter. I worked on html-izing some page proofs of the fabulous color conifer book. I searched my entire office for the 1099 from my broker so I can do my taxes. Nowhere to be found. I searched my entire office for a map of Vladivostok that I know I have and promised to scan in for somebody who emailed me with a ton of questions about the North Korean restaurant. I found a map of Furano, several boarding passes, a Chinese airport tax chit, manuals for software I don't have, pictures of cats I don't remember, a SCSI cable, three maps of Budapest, a receipt from a parking lot in Esztergom... but no 1099 and no map of Vladivostok. I think I officially have too much stuff.