- Having my boot zipper fixed quickly and affordably
- Big group for Physics Lunch Club at Mongolian Grill
- A former student visiting for Lunch Club
- Seeing Neither Wolf Nor Dog at The Elks
- Being married for 8 years
- All of the congratulations we received from friends and family on our anniversary!
- A student making good progress
- Forming a plan for backing up my work laptop
- Our first Ph.D. graduate from the Physics Department
- Being on stage as part of awarding the graduate his degree
- Hosting community meal at our house (Dec. 15)
- Dropping off my work laptop for repairs
- Dropping off my bike for a free one-year servicing
- Test riding an electric bike
- Submitting all of my Fall Semester grades on time
- Safe and on-time flight to Mesa
- Enjoying warm weather and sun in Mesa
- Writing our annual end of year letter
- Writing cards to accompany our end of year letter
- Mailing all the letters and cards
- Friendly hotel staff
- Hot tub
- Shopping at Whole Foods
- Shopping at Trader Joe’s
- Shopping at Sprout’s
- Brining home lots of dark chocolate covered dried fruit
- Save drive to Kitt Peak National Observatory
- Nice dinner for the Kitt Peak program
- Watching a beautiful sunset from the peak
- Beautiful, clear dark skies
- Seeing the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Orion Nebula, and other celestial wonders through a 16″ telescope.
- Safe drive back to Mesa
- Great food at many different restaurants, including…
- …Lalibella
- …Beaver Choice
- …Rolberto’s Taco Stand
- …Koreatown
- Refrigerator and microwave in our room
- My wife figured out how to get the hot water in the shower working
- Beautiful walk by the river
- Fascinating shadows
- Delicious and bountiful buffet
- Giant Christmas ornament
- A stranger who took our photograph in the ornament
- Shopping for lights while in Mesa
- Beautiful Christmas display in the airport in Rapid City
- Safe and warm ride home from the airport
- Seeing three other cyclists on the road this morning (Jan. 5)
- Interesting and useful D2L training
- Successfully printing on the department printer with my linux laptop
- Diagnosis of some problems with out furnace
- Learning about high efficiency furnaces from my wife
- A first lesson in using our sewing marching
- Helping my wife repair a ripped seam in my rain pants
- Finishing letters of recommendation for a student
- One of the institutions let me correct a small error in my letter
- My mistake in my travel paperwork did not cost me any money
- Celebrating at a friend’s New Year’s Eve party
- Good food at the party
- One of our friend’s son led us in a mad lib he wrote
- Despite the bitterly cold weather, our vehicles are working fine
- Picking up my bike
- My bike rides well after the servicing
- Good conversation with a friend (Jan. 1)
- First Physics Lunch Club of the New Year (Jan. 3)
- Useful D2L training
- Catching up with friends at the Wobbly Table (Jan. 5)
- Finishing the syllabus for my spring semester class
- Good food and friends at Community Meal (Jan. 5)
- My wife successfully navigating slippery roads and rough driveway
- Dinner with friends
- Vacation photos from friends
- First meeting of the Well in the new year
- Finding a card at the Newman Center that is a great fit for the Well’s next series
- Attending a meeting of the Rapid City Sustainability Committee
- A potential new graduate student in my group
- First University Band rehearsal of the semester
- We have three tuba players in the band this semester
- The music is challenging but fun
- Interesting and useful presentation on critical thinking
- Restaurant Week in Rapid City, during which we ate at…
- …Tally’s with friends
- …and the Vertex with another couple
- Seeing an improv show that starred some of our friends and students
- Lunch Club and fundraising at MacKenzie River
- The organized moved the day of lunch club to accommodate some of us who could not be there on the usual day
- Mild weather
- Walking around Canyon Lake
- Seeing (and hearing) all the geese and ducks at Canyon Lake
- A good walk to the post office and grocery store
- Seeing the tracks of different animals, including cats, in the snow
- Meeting and petting a 19-year-old cat
- Getting our mini-fridge back
- Good conversations and food at The Well potluck
- Having time off from class preparation and meetings
- Watching an interesting documentary on Thurgood Marshall
- Good meeting with a colleague about the future of some experimental equipment
- Sharing laughs with my wife over story of a problematic physics lab
- Finishing a very time-consuming set of reviews
- Dinner with friends and a nice view of the city
- Physics Lunch Club at Colonial House
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