Finally Friday

My 30th birthday celebration was a success. Well, maybe I should say "celebrations" - I was terribly, wonderfully spoiled by my friends, family and coworkers over the course of several days. This has been a long, and very busy week, but if my 30's are going to be anything like the last week has been, then I'm fine with that!

(Minus the broken (but now fixed) air conditioning. Not fun in the DC early summer heat.)

I had the pleasure of caring for my friend's cat this past week. I was nervous about the responsibility, anxious that I might have lost my touch with cats in the years since my family's own furry beasties passed away, but ultimately, it was wonderful to have a cat in my home. Even if he does weigh just over 20 pounds. And woke me up by lying on my torso this morning, purring (and drooling, which he does when he's happy) kneading his claws into my chest, fur and pudge draped over my sides. (I emailed a terrible iPhone pic to my family and a friend, saying "I'm TRAPPED!")

Here's Gatsby, not looking quite so plump, in my bathroom:

His mom took him to another foster family this AM, as I'm off to a conference in Phoenix for a week and the cat can't quite be returned to his family -- they're waiting to find out if their kids are allergic -- but I might end up fostering him for a while upon my return. I hope he can go home soon, though.

So, I leave for Arizona on Sunday. I expect the conference will thoroughly exhaust me, but I expect it to be a great experience overall. I'm leading a discussion with a smaller group on one day, but the trip will be mostly be about attending different sessions and networking. And taking extensive notes on EVERYTHING.

I also have tentative plans to meet one of my boyfriend's sisters -- which, surprisingly, I'm not anxious about at all -- and hope to see some of my friends who live in the Phoenix area. There will be cocktail hours, receptions and meet-and-greets after the official sessions are over each day, but I do want to get out of the hotel and conference center at some point; those places can get tedious, as well as really cold. (Oh, note to self: pack a few more cardigans.)

I hope to have some interesting stories to tell after this trip, although, since it's a tobacco control conference, they may only be of interest to MOI.

I'm off to a National's game with some coworkers. Lets hope the game isn't too awful and that the seats aren't completely soaked!