Swimming against the vortex and not just in the pool.

On Friday, I went to the Rec Center on campus to see if I could use the pool. Just getting in the front door was a struggle though - my card came up as inactive. Which makes sense since I only had a membership over the summer. However, the guy at the desk interpreted that as "inactive with the university" - which is not correct. Another guy came over and waved me through - I could hear them still arguing about it as I headed in. If they really wanted to stop me, they would have to drag me out of the pool.

The vortex was turned on and though I asked if it could be shut down for a while - the lifeguard said no. So, my first lap of butterfly with the current was awesome. I had such a powerful wave in front of me that I splashed water out of the pool. It was awesome - did I mention that? Coming back against the current, not so awesome.

I didn't get in as many laps as I would have liked, but it was still a good work out.

I got word that my grandmother - who's in a nursing home - took a fall recently and injured her L4 vertebra. She's in the hospital and they are reluctant to do surgery due to her other health issues and dementia. The alternative is a back-brace for 8-10 weeks - and my aunt doesn't think Grandma will be able to understand that. Scary and frustrating.

I did a little Christmas shopping after work - the crowds weren't too bad, but it was still a bit of a pain.

I spent much of the evening watching Dollhouse and folding paper for a project. It's taking a lot of paper, but should be cool.

On Saturday I spent the day around the house, just relaxing and wrapping presents. That evening, my room-mate suggested pizza. But not from the 4 block away East of Chicago. No, that pizza is, according to him, "too salty". To hear him describe it, you'd think the crust was itself made of salt with the addition of some salty toppings. So, instead, Papa John's - and while they deliver it would have doubled the time to get the pizza. Since I was hungry, I volunteered to go get the pizza. Fortunately, I had a map. I need to get some kind of nutritional guide to prove that Papa John's is no less salty - but I somehow doubt that will help.

This morning, I went downstairs and found the Christmas tree had toppled over in the night. I waited until my room-mate woke up so that would carefully right it. A few ornaments were broken, but it could have been much worse. It's better, but still leaning a bit. I want to secure it to the wall with a hook and string, but my room-mate thinks we can adjust the base.

I got a later start than I wanted with my errands this afternoon - for reasons that are somewhat stupid, needlessly complicated, and annoying. But once I was off, I was on fire. I made huge progress and surged past my few set backs. I got everything wrapped when I got home.

So, not as "fun" of a weekend as I would have liked, but somewhat productive.