Year's End Meme

I stole this one from Addy N. two years ago. She did it again this year, so I'm doing it again this year. The first sentence from each month of 2008:

• January, 2008: I'm vaguely near Shaftner (Hey, there's not a lot out here!) so I thought I would use this pic of the Nevada Northern Railway as it passes, well, vaguely near Shaftner.
  
• February, 2008: I'm not thrilled with this cover layout, but I do like the band name.
  
• March, 2008: Got March off to a good start, with a four mile run at a brisk pace.
  
• April, 2008: Now this is what I expect Nevada to look like!
  
• May, 2008: So, it turns out that the International Bird Rescue Research Center has a location in Cordelia [CA].
  
• June, 2008: Look at the cool twisted chimneys on this building in Cloverdale [CA].
  
• July, 2008: Humboldt Redwoods State Park is California's largest redwood state park.
  
• August, 2008: So I'm strolling along here in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and I run across this totally normal sized tree stump, with a tiny little man pushing on it. [You have to click through and scroll down to get the joke.]
  
• September, 2008: One thing that I got to practice this morning -- and I really need to practice it -- is my patience, waiting for the race to start.
  
• October, 2008: After two long days in a row, I couldn't get myself going this morning.
  
• November, 2008: I won't be to Arlington until tomorrow, but as I keep saying, there's not much out here, so I went ahead and plopped myself into this photo of the Village Inn Motel, from Epinions.com.
  
• December, 2008: I'm a bit past Connell, at this point, but their Fall Festival looked like so much fun, I just couldn't resist it.
  

So, what does it tell you about my blog? That it's mostly about the towns that I virtually visit. Eight of the 12 sentences are about my location on the map. Two more are about my runs. One is about taking the day off, and the last is about a fake album cover (a thing I was doing a lot of back in January and February.)

Jogger's Progress...and 2009 Goals

	Trip	YTD	Dec
Distance	4584.3	1658.3	101.7
Time	29 days, 21 hrs, 10 min	11 days, 17 hours, 45 mins	16:46
Days	757	243	16
States	17	4	1

OK, I'm officially not going to run again this year, so it's time to record my progress, and to look ahead for next year.

Mileage: This ends my third year of JogAmericaBlog, and each year, I've increased my mileage, from 1375 in 2006, to 1550 in 2007, to 1650 in 2008. So my mileage goal for 2009 is 1658.4, one tenth more than 2008. Or more, of course.

Time: Naturally enough, I've increased my time each year, too, from 8 1/3 days in 2006, to just over 10 days in 2007, to over 11 1/2 days in 2008. So my time goal for 2009 is at least 12 days. (Or should it be 11 days, 17 hours, and 46 minutes?)

Days: I have not increased my days each year. In both 2006 and 2007, I ran exactly 257 days. In 2008, I only ran 243. So in 2009, I would like to run at least 258 days, making it my best year on record.

States: Only 4 states in 2008, because I ran most of the width of Nevada, half the length of California, and pretty much corner-to-corner in Oregon. (I ran my first four states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, in about five months.) I can hardly set a high states goal for 2009, since I'm going to be running in these wide western states. I'll get as far as I get.

Off the blog: I would like to work on my speed. I set no Personal Records (PRs) in 2008, and I'd like to set at least one in 2009. I would like to run another fall marathon. I'm not sure where, yet. I would like to run the fourth Get the Lead Out Run, if there is one. The sporting goods store that was the principle sponsor went under, so I don't know if it will happen. I am thinking about a triathlon, if I can find one that doesn't involve too much swimming.

Day 757 -- Washington State University

I don't currently know anyone at Washington State University. I had a friend from my undergraduate days who came here for graduate school. He was a couple of years ahead of me, so he was off to graduate school while I was still dreaming about it. He got a Master's degree in physics, then went to work for Lockheed and now makes much, much more money than I do.

With nothing better to do, I thought that I would drop in on the ice cream social for the WSU math department. Virtual ice cream is better for my cholesterol level than the real thing.

I did an easy four miles this morning. I was definitely sore, but I wasn't sure if I was going to get to run again this year, so I toughed it out. It wasn't pretty, but I made it.

Day 756 -- Pullman...almost

I'm not quite to Pullman, but it's big enough for me to get a couple of days out of. Today's photo is courtesy of the Pullman Fire Department.

I ran 10.7 miles today, which will be my longest run of the month. I had meant to get in at least a 13 miler every month of the winter, but I didn't quite make it in December. I probably had the energy for a 13 miler today, but I didn't really have the extra half hour that it would have taken. We're planning to travel down to visit Grandma Jogger and the Photographer tomorrow, and so we have some packing and cleaning to do.

Today's run felt very good. I managed to hold a 10 minute per mile pace for the whole way, which is pretty good. I was tired at the end, but by no means dead. I may slip out to the gym for a quick five tomorrow, and that will probably be it for the year. There is no indoor gym available in Grandma's town, and I doubt it will be nice enough to run outside.

Day 755 -- More Colfax

On Tuesday, I finished several miles short of Colfax. Today, I ran through it, and I'm a mile or two down U.S. 195. I'm hoping to be in Pullman by the end of the year, depending on how many more times I get to go out.

This is the Whitman County courthouse, which, according to Seth Gaines's Flikr page, is very ugly, but the part around the doors is cool.

I got to the gym this afternoon for a smooth six miler. After a two-day rest, I had energy. I could have done more, but I didn't really want to take the time.

Please don't...

The Courage Campaign has a wonderful slide show that puts a real face on the Proposition 8 issue in California. It's a sequence of people carrying the message that Prop 8 supporters are now advocating forced divorce for over 18,000 legally married couples in California. Many are photos of the couples themselves, with the message "Please Don't Divorce Us." Others are families, saying "Please Don't Divorce Our Moms" or "Please Don't Divorce Our Dads." Some are just people, with a generic message "Please Don't Divorce Californians."

The sad, sad thing about it is knowing that the people who really need to see it won't. Even if someone sends it to them, they will look and see perversion where I see love. They will look at those happy families and think that it's right to break them up. Because somehow they are less deserving than opposite sex couples.

Happy Christmas from the Jogger Family...

...or whatever holiday you are celebrating!

New Map

Longtime readers will remember that for a while, I was tracking my cross-country journey with a site called "BuddyMapping". Then BuddyMapping seems to have disappeared, and for a while I had no map at all. This morning, inspired by the Virtual Run Across America, I sat down and made myself a new journey map, using Google Maps. It seems unlikely that Google Maps will disappear any time soon. It actually took quite a while. I had to go through the archives, figure out where I was at the beginning of each month, find that spot on the map, and create a pin. But now I only need to add one pin per month. And you'll be able to see me wend my way back across the U.S.

Virtual Run Across America

There's a highway in Cedar Rapids that goes north and south at the same time. Three highways come together, so that you are driving on 151 north, 30 east, and 218 south, all at the same time. This amuses me.

I thought about this, because for the next year, I will be running east and west at the same time. I have decided to participate in the Virtual Run Across America, developed by NikeMom.

Her idea is somewhat different from mine. While my journey has been solo, hers will be a group effort. If I understand the rules correctly, what she will do is to add the mileage contributed by everybody and lay it end to end. So if, on a given day, she runs 6 miles, I run 3 miles, Pat runs 8, and Greg runs 5, that will add 22 miles to the combined journey. If she gets enough participants, she should be able to get across the country in a year easily.

Meanwhile, of course, I will continue my own second solo trip across the country. She will be going east to west (as I did on the first leg) and I will be going west to east. I hope that we can meet up partway. Then, I suppose, I really won't know whether I am coming or going.

For the record, NikeMom, I thought of it first.

Day 754 -- Colfax

Today's trivia fact, from Team Washington Real Estate: Colfax was named after Schuyler Colfax, vice president of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant is a particular favorite here at JogAmericaBlog, for several reasons:

• The Jogger family claims him as an ancestor (although I admit that I haven't done the genealogy to determine if this is true.) In fact, my brother's middle name was "Grant".
  
• He lived for a while in Galena, Illinois, not far from here.
  
• He is the source of my pseudonym.
  
• His vice president gave his name to a very nice town in western Washington.
  

OK, that last is a bit of a late addition.

I ran another eight miles today. My legs were sore, but my energy was high, and the miles went by pretty quickly. I knew I should get in a good run, because the gym is going to be closed the next two days, and they are not predicting good running weather. It's supposed to snow on and off through Christmas morning.

I have run twenty miles in the last three days, and I'm definitely feeling the effects. But I was happy with my effort today.

Day 753 -- Almota

There is nothing at all on Washington 26 between Dusty and Colfax. Almota is a bit north of here. I went back to Flikr for this shot, so not much to say about it. This is Todd, on the road near Almota.

I set out to run eight miles this morning. By the time I was halfway through, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Yesterday's run was late afternoon, after all, so I was still a bit tired. That's the point where you start making deals with yourself. "At least let's run the 40 laps. Don't quit earlier than usual." When you've done that, you tell yourself, "Five more laps is an even six miles." When you've done that, "Five more laps is an even 50." When you've done that, "Two and a half more laps for seven miles." When you've done that, "One more mile." The last five laps, you count down.

And I made it.

Day 752 -- Dusty

Robert Ashworth has posted this sign from Dusty, Washington. I think it might be part of his bike tour across America, but I'm not absolutely sure. His web site is a little hard to navigate.

So, I did get out to run this afternoon. I braved the cold to clear the driveway. I ran a quick 4 miles, which felt good. I'll try to run a little longer, tomorrow. I'm not sure how much running I'll get in before New Year. It's certainly doesn't look like I'll be doing much running outside.

Hibernating

We ain't going anywhere today. It's a thousand degrees below zero, with windchills of minus infinity. Or something like that. I may have the details a little off.

We skipped church this morning. I am imagining the conversation at the Pearly Gates. "Well, you are decent people, you raised four good kids, you helped the poor and marginalized, but you skipped church once in 2008 when it was too cold. I'm afraid that we're going to have to turn down your application. The good news is, you won't have to worry about being too cold any more."

I don't know if I'm going to get to run today. The gym is open from noon to six. But it's really, really cold out. And I'd have to shovel out the car before I could go. I haven't run in two days, so I really want to go. We'll see if I have the motivation or not.

Basketball

Now that I have a little time on my hands, I'm trying to do some fun, relaxing things. I took the oldest and newest Little Jogger and one of her friends to a men's basketball game at the University.

Going out in public with a fourteen year old and her girlfriend is a particularly tricky proposition for any Dad. The trick it to be as near to invisible as possible. You should carefully avoid any action, word, or intention that might call attention to yourself, and thus establish that you are, in fact, connected to these two young ladies. I believe that I managed the task, since the Little Jogger admitted afterward that it was fun, and even thanked me.

The game itself was not very competitive. I didn't think our guys played very well, but they still won by 21. With most of the students off on break, the crowd was small and quiet. But it was fun. Perhaps we'll even try to make it to another game one of these days.

Pardon me while I vent

I had a student in one of my classes this year who is taking it for at least the third time. His previous grade was a D, and he really wanted to get it up to a C. However, he had trouble with one particular course component. So he stopped doing it.

He was doing OK on the exams -- an A on the first, a B on the second -- but his course average was still a low C. He asked me what he could do to get it up, and I suggested that he start turning in the assignments. After the drop deadline, he came to me and asked if he should drop. I told him that it was too late, and that anyway he could get that C. I suggested again that he should start turning in the assignments. Every little bit helps, I told him.

You'll never guess what happened. Apparently, he would never have guessed what was going to happen. He did relatively poorly on the final, and dropped himself to a D. He had only done 3 of the 20 assignments, and had 14% in that component of the course. If he had gotten 33%, he would have gotten a C.

It frustrates me how predictable this is. And how easily avoided. He didn't have to do stellar on the missing assignments. He just had to do them. But he was too busy, and now he has himself another D.

Day 751 -- East of La Crosse

No picture today. It's late, and I'll be oozing into bed soon, and I'm too tired to find a good one.

I shouldn't be tired. I slept in this morning. I didn't mean to, but I forgot to set the alarm. When Mrs. Jogger's alarm went off, I had the choice of going over to the gym late, or of waiting to run at noon. Since I had nothing firm on my schedule, I really did have the choice. I decided to wait until noon.

It was a good run. I was pretty stiff, so I just plodded along. I actually thought about quitting early, but a friend showed up and ran the last couple of miles with me, which helped a lot. While we were chatting, I might have miscounted a lap. Or I might not have.

A winter storm is currently blowing across Iowa, and threatening to blanket southern Wisconsin. I have no place to go tomorrow, and I'm going there. The Little Joggers will likely have no school, so it could be a three-day weekend. Yea! I have just a little grading to wrap up, but it's stuff that I can do at home.

Day 750 -- La Crosse

With only 350 residents, La Crosse, Washington is less than 1/10 the size of the La Crosse that I'm used to, here in Wisconsin. But they seem very friendly.

I did something today that I don't think I've ever done before. I got up early, as usual, and went to the gym to do my 40 laps. I came home, cleaned up, ate breakfast, and got down to school to meet my two stragglers who had to take the stats exam. I spent the whole morning grading, then at noon I went back to the gym and ran another 40 laps. That's 10.7 miles in two shifts.

It was pure indulgence. I did it because I could. Because so many times, over the last month especially, I've wanted to run, but I've been too busy, or too tired, or the gym has been closed. Today I didn't have any commitments, so I went and ran a second time. It felt heavenly. I admit I'm a bit sore, now. But it was worth it.

The grading is coming along. I have graded the exams for stats and for Math Ed. I haven't quite set the final grades, yet, but there don't seem to be any tough calls. For the second semester in a row, all but one of my Math Ed students will get a C or better. That's pretty high, compared to other instructors. The department chair will probably call this to my attention. I didn't try to make it an easy course. And I feel confident that they've learned lots of good stuff.

The exams are not going particularly well in Discrete Math. I have four or five more questions to grade, and I hope that they will go pretty well. Discrete Math is the one course where my D/F/W rate is pretty darn high.

Anyway, I'll be done with the grading by the end of the week, and ready for a nice rest. I've earned it.

Day 749 -- Hooper

McGregor's General Store in Hooper, Washington, from Chris's Picassa Web Album.

I made it back to the gym this morning for another 40 laps. Forty slow laps. But I made it. If I make it to the gym tomorrow, that will extend my running streak to two days in a row.

I gave my other two exams today. The schedule was pretty generous to me this semester. Exams go through Friday, but mine are done. Well, almost done. I have a couple of stats students who had three exams on Monday and asked to take the exam later. They will both come in to take it tomorrow morning. Technically, I didn't have to reschedule the stats exam. But I'm a nice guy. And I can spend that time grading, anyway, so it isn't any big deal.

Update

Cousin Jogger just called me up to chastise me for not blogging for three days. (OK, he called me up to chat, but while he was at it, he chastised me for not blogging for three days.) I said, of course, that that's because I haven't run for three days. I had planned to take Saturday and Sunday off. It was actually nice enough that I could have run outside on Sunday, but I chose instead to watch the Packers lose yet another close one. Sunday evening, a cold front came through, and the temps dropped from near 50 on Sunday afternoon to near by Monday morning. Brrr.

I didn't go to the gym this morning, because I had a final at 8:00. I planned to run in the afternoon, but it turns out that the indoor track isn't open in the late afternoon. They are open for an hour at noon, and then not again until 7:00. Rats. Anyway, I'll get out and run in the morning.

The final went OK this morning. It was actually the exam period for most of the multi-section math courses, so I gave exams to my stats class and my Math for Educators class. Discrete Math has their final tomorrow. None of my students burst into tears, so I guess the final wasn't too hard. I have graded a couple of questions of each, and it's going much like I anticipated.

Day 748 -- Washtucna

The Washtucna Medical Clinic, which seems to be somewhat smaller than the Mayo Clinic.

I finally broke out of the 40 lap rut this morning. I ran 60 laps, which is 8 miles. It felt really good. It was a faster pace than my run yesterday, and yet seemed easier. I just had more bounce this morning. I hope that it will last me all weekend, because it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to run. It's too cold and slick out, and the gym hours aren't really convenient.

His Karma Ran Over His Dogma

Via Amanda at Pandagon, I found this wonderful episode of This American Life. I sat and listened to the whole thing, and I really enjoyed it.

It's the story of Carlton Pearson, a man who grew up in the evangelical tradition. He was a protege of Oral Roberts, who sometimes referred to Pearson as his "black son." Pearson was a well-known and influential fire-and-brimstone preacher. He was the head minister of a Tulsa church with two thousand members and eight ministers. Until, one day, Pearson decided that there was no hell.

It seems to have come to him gradually and then suddenly. He thought about what he had been taught -- what he had been teaching -- and realized that it didn't make a whole lot of sense. God is a loving parent, who roasts people in hell for all eternity if they don't toe the line. As Pearson now says, Hitler only killed six million. He didn't torture them forever. Is God worse than Hitler?

Pearson decided no. He didn't (as Amanda suggests) lose his faith in God or in Jesus. Rather, he decided that God's grace -- and Jesus's sacrifice of atonement -- extends to all people, even the ones who don't happen to believe the same thing as Carlton Pearson. It extends to Jews, Muslims, atheists, gays...everyone. Pearson started preaching that the reason to be a good person isn't for fear of hell, but for the love of your fellow human beings.

Two stories that Pearson tells stuck with me. The first is a parable, really. He tells the story of a kind Buddhist. A man who lived a simple life, loved his neighbors, tended his sheep, and never did anyone harm. One day, the man went for a walk, slipped off the path, and fell to his death. Who was there to catch him? The old Carlton Pearson would have said the Devil. The man wasn't a Christian, after all. The new Carlton Pearson is convinced that it is Jesus. This Buddhist's life is every bit as precious to God as Oral Robert's life is.

The second story is one that really happened. Pearson -- the new Pearson -- was visiting a church that was much more liberal than any church in his upbringing. I think it's safe to say that the old Pearson never would have set foot in this place. He tells a vividly detailed story of watching a man dance for joy. He later came to hear this man's story. He is gay and HIV positive, and his fundamentalist family had disowned him. He was dancing for joy because he had found a new family, in this church that accepted him for who he was. It struck me that Pearson had found out something wonderful -- that loving someone for who they are just feels a lot better than hating them. Moral superiority just isn't as rewarding as empathy.

Needless to say, all this went over poorly with Pearson's former associates. His church membership dropped from the thousands to a couple of hundred. His associate ministers resigned en masse. He went through financial and spiritual hard times, but never stopped believing that he was right. And I understand that things are looking up. He has a new ministry, with a new sort of congregation. He's still an engaging and charismatic preacher, but now he's teaching love instead of judgment, and acceptance instead of exclusion.

I truly believe that Carlton Pearson has heard the voice of God. It's clear to me that his current teachings are much more in line with Jesus's message than his old teachings. I wish him the best of luck.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. J!

Today is Mrs. Jogger's 44th birthday. You will recall that my 44th birthday was in October. Call me a cradle robber.

Happy Birthday, my love! Many, many happy returns, hopefully with me by your side the whole time.

Days 746 and 747 -- Othello

Wait, wait, wait! That's not right...Let's try:


Nope, still not it. One more try:



Aha!

Othello, Washington, is actually well behind me by now, but I had this joke set up on Monday, and then Blogger wouldn't let me upload any photos. Well, I'm not going to let a good joke go to waste.

I didn't run Tuesday. It didn't seem to be worth it to brave the storm. Public school was canceled, but of course University classes weren't. So Mrs. Jogger got the pleasure of an extra day at home with the kids.

I did run yesterday. I had a nice tempo run. The first, second, and fourth legs were faster than last Friday's tempo run. The third leg, the fastest one, was a little slower than Friday, but my overall pace was quicker. I didn't blog about it yesterday, because there was a Christmas program at church, featuring the littlest Little Jogger on vocals, and the first Little Jogger and the medium Little Jogger on percussion. The oldest and newest Little Jogger is too cool for church Christmas programs.

This morning, I ran 40 miles. OK, it was only 40 laps, but it felt like 40 miles. It was just one of those mornings when I never managed to find my groove. I felt every step. My time wouldn't have been bad, if I were running in knee-deep molasses. As it was, since the track was clear, it was pathetic.

Somebody pinch me....

There's an old cliche: "Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming." The underlying idea is that if you are asleep, and someone pinches you, you will wake up, and end the dream. But is it that easy?

I have just awoken from a bizarre, multi-level dream, where I repeatedly decided that I must be dreaming. Weird stuff was happening. I had a new job. My brother and father were alive. I had different kids than the little Joggers. So I would recognize that this could not be real, and I would try to escape the dream. And it would work. But I would escape into a new dream, which may or may not have had bizarre details of its own. I would wander around for a while, convincing myself that this, at last was real. But wait, what's this? We now live in Midland, Texas? Is this still a dream? Every once in a while, I would emerge to actual reality, my own bed in what I believe is "real life," and I'd think, thank goodness that's over. And I'd sink back into dreamland.

When the alarm finally went off, my first thought was, "Thank God." I oozed out of bed and literally, seriously wandered around, making sure that this time, I really was awake, and everything is real.

I've had this type of dream before. (Mrs. Jogger, who claims never to have a dream-within-a-dream, thinks its weird.) But this one was so...I don't know, compelling...that it really shook me up.

Sorry for such a bizarre post. I just had to write about it while the feeling was still fresh in my mind. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jogger.

Day 745 -- Limbo

Blogger is not letting me upload images at all, at the moment. So you will just have to imagine me in the woods of western Washington.

I went to the gym today, and got in another 5.3 miles. Another problem with the gym (besides running around in circles) is that I don't get in a lot of variety in my distance. Forty laps is 5.3 miles. That's what I have done the last four times I went to the gym.

I will try to vary that tomorrow, if I even make it to the gym. A patented midwestern storm system is making its way across the viewing area. It started this afternoon with freezing rain, and will transform overnight to snow. So I expect to wake up to four to eight inches of snow on top of a half inch of ice. This will not make for good driving.

The little Joggers got kicked out of school early today. (That is, all the kids did. Not the little Joggers in particular.) And frankly, I don't expect them to go tomorrow. Campus probably won't close, but the commuter students will mostly not make it.

Day 744 -- Cunningham

Cunningham, Washington, is an unincorporated town. It's so small, I can't find the population. So I don't have a lot of choices, here, and I went with Flikr. Again.

Day 744 was actually yesterday. I went to the gym and did a tempo run. I ran 5.3 miles in 1.3 mile sections. The third of these I ran at a 7:33 pace, which is pretty darn good for me.

In the afternoon, the stomach flu that had ravaged the Jogger household finally hit me. It was a rough afternoon, and a really rough night. But I think that I'm over the worst of it, now. I've managed to keep down some bland foods. We're supposed to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the University tonight. One of my students is Bottom, and I really hope that I'm up to it.

Day 743 -- Hatton

I've commented before about how frustrating Flikr is. There doesn't seem to be any way for users to put in a note that says what the photo is all about. So we have this perfectly boring picture of a sign in Hatton, Washington, and no idea why anyone would have taken it, much less uploaded it to the World Wide Web for the whole world to see. But someone did. And then, some idiot went and compounded the problem by adding a photo of himself in running shorts.

I skipped my run yesterday. Mrs. Jogger was still not feeling well, so I stayed home to try to get the Little Joggers out the door. As it happened, only the girls went, and the first Little Jogger only made it through a couple of hours before coming home. Today, all went except the medium Little Jogger. Mrs. Jogger is hoping for a kid-free day tomorrow.

I got my run in this morning. I went to the gym and put in a medium slow five miles. I needed that.

We got more snow today. I was supposed to go up to Madison to give a talk at the technical college, but I canceled. The snow was just a little too heavy, and the Internet was saying things like "road conditions deteriorating." So I called the organizer, and we're going to reschedule for next semester. I used the four or five hours that that would have taken me to do productive things around home and office. So overall, it was a good decision, although I was sorry to disappoint the masses of technical college students who were no doubt waiting for my pearls of wisdom.

Day 742 -- More Connell

I'm a bit past Connell, at this point, but their Fall Festival looked like so much fun, I just couldn't resist it. It was the second weekend in September, so I missed it. And I don't plan to stick around for the next one.

I went to the gym and ran five miles this morning, at a decent pace. It felt good. I hadn't slept really well, so it was nice to get myself energized. I'm afraid that energy has worn off by now.

Illness is ravaging the Jogger family. The littlest Little Jogger has been throwing up. Mrs. Jogger has an upset stomach, but hasn't actually thrown up. The first Little Jogger isn't sure whether she's getting sick or not. She's easily suggestible. The medium Little Jogger still has his cough, and the oldest and newest Little Jogger does, too, although hers isn't so bad. So far, I'm OK, and I hope that it lasts. I'm too busy to get sick.