The latest

Just some things worth mentioning:

• The wind was blowing harder this afternoon than it had since my arrival. It was blowing so hard the water inside the toilet was swishing back and forth. I'm still trying to figure out the physics behind that one.
• I'm growing my beard back. To keep my face warm in the cold South Dakota winter? No, I'm just too lazy to shave regularly. But it does look good, if I say so myself.
• Thanks to a certain someone's going-away gift of an Amazon gift card, I picked up a nifty headlamp for a mere 93 cents. I gave it a test drive after work tonight and it works like a dream. I would have stayed out longer but the headwind was brutal heading out the Dump Road (see bullet #1).
• On a related note, the view from the top of the rise this evening looking back at the lights of town was awesome. Open spaces rock.
• On another related note, having barking dogs chase me while running is a lot scarier at night compared to during the daytime. But I haven't come across any mountain lions... yet.
• I had a very productive day at work today. I got the go-ahead on the partner family story I wrote up for the grant competition. I submitted it this afternoon, so cross your fingers it gets picked for publication. A $10,000 grant would be oh-so-nice. I also finished up a letter of inquiry for another grant. I love tangible results. Now, if only the money would start flowing in...
• My Christmas trip was a smashing success. It's a story for another post (soon, I promise), but I will say I know I don't visit the family much when my own father doesn't recognize me.
• My 2009 running schedule is set: one marathon and four half marathons, all in South Dakota. I'm going to stick with a strict marathon training plan this time around, with days and projected mileage marked on a calendar already. I'm not sure if I can beat my 2006 time of 3:48:38 because it's a trail run with an elevation gain over the first half of the course; however, my goal is to finish this race not feeling like I want to die.