FIGHT ON FOR OLD 'SC....

Hi all,

I know it has been a while since I have updated, but I saw most of you pretty recently and the others I have emailed. There is also not much to share about my life since I got back from LA. I have been working hard and hanging out at home. Not much going out since I have been back.

Life is going well. Nothing really exciting on the personal front. However on the work front, I am going to the European Public Health Association Annual Conference in Helsinki, Finland in October. I am very excited about that. I am not presenting anything, but it will be fun to go to a European conference and see what is happening with public health here.

I am very excited to be going to another country, even if it is only for a couple of days! Finland was not at the top of my list of countries to visit, so it is nice to go and not use up annual leave (vacation days for you Yanks). I will be sure to take lots of pictures and upload them when I get the chance.

Finally, my favorite time of the year is here again and for the second year in a row I am not in the US to fully enjoy it. Yes folks, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTALL? I know I am. True I can watch a lot of football here, aka soccer, but it really is not the same. I enjoy football (soccer), but I really want to see someone get pancaked or make a beautiful catch. So on Sunday morning at 3:15 am I will be getting up and watching USC start its campaign to the national championship game. Fortunately, most of our other games are earlier so I won't have to interrupt my beauty sleep, even though I will. I have never been happier that the games are on Saturday, that still gives me time to adjust my sleeping schedule so that I can go to work on Monday. I guess that means I will not be watching many NFL games, but that is okay with me.

So here is to the beginning of the best time of the year. I already warned my flatmate that I will be turning into a completely different person when football is on and he has threatened to take all breakable objects out of my reach! I really don't think he knows what he is in for, but it should be fun, maybe I will convert him.

Anyway, enough about that obsession. I miss you all very much and I really had a great time seeing most of you.

Come and visit, but not until at least the spring. We are going into fall/winter here and I have extremely short days to look forward to. I hear that during the shortest days, it will be dark by 3:30pm. What fun! So if that is not a reason to stay away, I am not sure what is. Definitely come out in the Spring, much more fun.

Hope you all are well and I will talk to you after the game.

FIGHT ON and BEAT THE VANDALS!!