Who’d have thunk ten months of neglect would mess everything up?

It wasn’t so bad.  I woke up roughly 90 minutes earlier than I usually did for the day job, conservatively estimated my commute (I drive now), and got to the campus 30 minutes before class.  Heh.  When the Physics professor showed up to say he wasn’t the correct professor, I took that as an ominous sign.  Later, I didn’t get a parking ticket at a short-term meter while I waited in line for my bus pass.  I guess the universe was a-okay again.  The students, while appearing to look young, didn’t look to me like large children.  Within the classroom I hardly noticed their age, but as I passed through the campus I could feel the young energy.  They have no idea what awaits in the real world.  Ignorance was definitely bliss at that age.  Good times.  Tomorrow will be a beast as I will be in class for seven consecutive hours.  Kind of like work…except it will probably fly by.  Remind me to pack a sandwich.

Happy 2009, folks (at least the ones who still read this).  I hope this blog finds you doing well.  I know I am…for you see, as part of a plan that has been in the works since last July, I left my job.  They asked me that I had to decide what to do with myself and I decided that sitting at a desk all day lining somebody else’s pockets wasn’t for me.  At some point in everybody’s life, they have to decide to “start their business.”  I decided that it wasn’t going to be Commercial Real Estate.  Go figure.

So I’m taking the plunge and embarking on a different quest.  I’ll fill in the details as we go along, but Phase I involves going back to school to take undergrad science courses at age 30.  Yep.  Tomorrow is the first day of the spring semester and along with getting over the shock of not working for The Man and sitting alongside students that were in middle school while I was in my mid-20’s, I have to ace the courses and find work in the animal health sciences field.  Sounds easy, right?

Stay tuned and check in once in a while as I chronicle what it’s like to take pull the plug and take life in a completely different direction.  This is going to be interesting.

“You’re leaving town early to watch cats?!” is what my mother said when she learned of our plans to leave the thanksgiving sojourn Saturday morning. Yes. We went to the local cat show.

It was everything I expected it to be: cat people, cat sweaters, cat puns, cat judging and…cats. We were clearly outsiders as many folks wanted – nay, begged – us to engage in cat conversation only to be met with a polite nod and slow but defiant turn of the head. One highlight involved a certain troupe of (non-purebred) acrobatic cats who are trained to do certain tricks. If you have nine minutes to spare, you’ll learn that cats are as obedient as you think.

[After all that is your cat fancy still not sated? My friend Brooke has an excellent account on her blog.]

Yes.  I’m taking it in a few weeks…and I hope that creating sentences will help me memorize the following words:

Meticulous: The scientist’s note taking was very meticulous; notebooks were found all over his office.

Zealous: The zealous fan received a restraining order.

Hedonism: Pouring gravy over everything to enjoy the taste is an example of hedonism.

Loquacious: Little Annie’s loquacious manner helped her dominate the conversation.

Endemic: The poison arrow frog is endemic to tropical jungles.

Implacable: The implacable political views of many make constructive discussion difficult.

Idolatrous: Every generation features a pop music group that cultivates a idolatrous fan base.

Convention: The process of boiling drinking water has become a convention in many societies.

Probity: The disgraced sheriff was once lauded for his probity.

Refulgent: The refulgent shard of glass attracted many apes.

Insipid: After complaining about the dinner’s insipid taste, his wife threw the salt shaker across the table.

Polemical: Although known for his polemical political style, his adversaries respected him.

Inchoate: The inchoate idea was full of flaws and required more thought.

Impetuous: Jack’s impetuous behavior makes it difficult to predict his future.

Halcyon: The halcyon music set the waiting room at ease.

Occlude: The legislation occluded the group’s rights to marry.

Dissemble: Her attempts to dissemble the affair were in vain; there’s no hiding from the press.

Proclivity: The teacher’s proclivity towards favoring gifted students was not received well by her principal.

Infelicitous: The infelicitous comment offended the host; the dinner was ruined.

Profligate: His profligate spending resulted in large credit card bills and rooms full of junk.

Inimical: The swing was more inimical than he estimated; broken wrist.

Opprobrium: He could not face his peers after the opprobrium made them lose their salary bonuses.

Mendacity: Reports of mendacity forced the used car salesman to defend himself to the Better Business Bureau.

Penury: The recent collapse of the economy will send many into penury.

Ebullience: The preacher’s ebullience lifted the spirits of many at the church.

Dogmatic: Some see intelligent design as a dogmatic principle; whereas some see evolution as dogmatic as well.

Enervate: The spells were used to enervate the enemy’s Monster Level.

Effrontery: Exposed to great effrontery, the customers were not impressed with the Broker’s personality.

Capricious: The CEO’s capricious approach to running the company made it difficult to forecast the stock price.

Canonical: Her canonical approach to nursing offended her Wicca friends.

Axiomatic:  Americans tend to hold an axiomatic attitude towards freedom…but what exactly is freedom?

Audacious:  Evil Kinevil’s audacious stunts overshadow his shady treatment of rivals.

Arduous: The arduous process of marathon training breaks many spirits.

Approbation: Saving the children from the burning car earned the good Samaritan approbation from passerby.

Alacrity: The new employee attacked the mundane tasks with surprising alacrity.

Obtuse: The authorities did not believe the suspect’s obtuse approach to their questioning.

Neogolism: The Oxford dictionary recently added “meh” as part of it’s annual group of neologisms.

Nascent: Countries with a nascent governmental structures tend to be characterized by instability.

Magnanimity: Time Maganize’s people of the year are recognized for their magnanimity.

Irascible: Helpless to curb their teenager’s irascible behavior, the parents considered medication…unfortunately that made junior mad.  Very mad.

Inured: India’s untouchables are inured to public scorn.

Fulminate: The mob fulminated the riot police’s threats to break out the tear gas.

Exigent: After the heart attack, Raul needed exigent aid.

Inveigle: His promotion was awarded in part from effective inveigling.

Intransigent: The intransigent divorce lawyer was a favorite among jilted partners.

Incipient: The fact that he could no longer win footraces was increasingly incipient.

Impecunious: Finding the company impecunious, the owner filed for bankruptcy.

Didactic: The didactic example was inappropriate to use in the classroom.

Demur: In his attempt to demur the dictator’s plan, he wound up in a gulag.

Complaisance: The teen’s complaisance made him an easy target for practical jokes.

Cogent: Against all odds, the lawyer’s cogent argument lead to the charges being dismissed.

Chary: The injury left the boxer chary about getting back into the ring.

Pernicious: Inhaling fumes is a pernicious habit that can have dire consequences.

Penurious: Seen as penurious with money, the family didn’t expect presents.

Odious: The manager’s odious personality lead to constant employee turnover.

Sanction: State-sanctioned punishment is a hot topic among many.

Redoubtable: The redoubtable act of saving lives is respected by many.

Putrefy: As the sandwich began in putrefy unnoticed, it gave off a terrible smell.

Heretical: Over time, some opinions and views seen as heretical have become accepted.

Harangue: Some people believe the harangue was delivered as such so the speaker to could hear itself speak.

Ephemeral: The ephemeral moments of copulation left the couple feeling awkward and unsatisfied.

Eclectic: The band’s eclectic style of music earned it critical praise, but few new fans.

Torpid: After noticing their pet acting somewhat torpid, the concerned owners took it to the vet.

Stoic: The stoic reaction to the terrible events left many to wonder if he would ever feel emotion again.

Prevaricate: After accusing the salesman of prevaricating the about the guarantee, the customer left in a huff.

Predilection: The alcoholic’s predilection towards beer instead of liquor doesn’t make the fact that he’s a drunk less severe.

Precipitate: Rattling the cage did a lot to precipitate the bird’s freak-out.

Perspicacious: The detective’s perspicacious eye revealed more clues than initially thought.

Perfidy: The songwriter’s music reflected much pain due to a former lover’s perfidy.

Paean: The church’s paean was interrupted by the power outage.

Onerous: Though an onerous guilt weighed heavily on the CEO, he accepted the golden parachute nonetheless.

Obviate: Wearing a bulletproof vest to the duel, Alexander Hamilton would have obviated the mortal wound.

Castigation: The legal castigation caused the senator to resign; then he woke up and told his mistress about the nightmare.

Canon: The monks have been following the canon for centuries.

Bucolic: The bucolic painting reminded him of life back on the farm.

Glib: The glib enthusiasm shown by the employee was no surprise to his soon-to-be former bosses.

Phlegmatic: The parent was incensed by his child’s phlegmatic attitude toward the punishment.

Intrepid: Despite receiving a black eye, standing up to the bully was seen as intrepid among his classmates.

Quotidian: Reaching out for my newspaper in a bathrobe is a quotidian event.

Quixotic: The idea that world peace can be achieved in our lifetimes is as quixotic as it can get.

Sedulous: In Secret of My Success, Michael J. Fox learned that a sedulous approach gets you nowhere unless you’re seduced by the CEO’s wife who happens to be your aunt.

Prosaic: Many assumed the prosaic painting wouldn’t have sold.

Ostentatious: The peacock is one of the more ostentatious birds in nature.

Obstinate: The obstinate customer refused to save money later by spending more now.

Hubris: The professor’s hubris even annoyed his teaching assistants.

Credulous: The credulous investors denied the existence of a pyramid scheme until the Feds showed up.

Mercurial: The mercurial lead singer was a pain the ass.

Rancorous: The rancorous tone taken by the motorist was not appreciated by the officer.

Recalcitrant:  The recalcitrant child fashioned himself a punk.

Querulous: After proving to be querulous, the employee was re-assigned within days.

Repudiate: Many politicians repudiate connections with former contacts who became felons.

Soporific: Much like sleeping pills, turkey dinners are purported to be soporific.

Terse: Terse statements can be seen as rude, while only meant to be efficient.

Pragmatic: Pragmatic thinkers tend to see the big picture and make sensible decisions.

Recondite: The recondite subtext was lost on the listener.  She had to be more explicit.

Obfuscate: In obfuscating the details, he was able to throw the investigators off the scent.

Mollify:  The antacids are meant to mollify an upset stomach.

Neophyte: The chess neophyte was an easy pushover for Bobby Fischer.

Burgeon: The burgeoning weeds made the yard work a tough task.

Axiom: The act of greeting each other is an international axiom.

Avarice: Scrooge McDuck’s avarice meant many repairs for the mansion; gold make the floors collapse in every opening sequence.

Variegated: The veriegated mutt stood out at the dog park.  Many were in awe of the color patches.

Surfeit: The surfeit supply of lunch meat began to rot.

Spurious: The spurious rumors were quelled by the press conference.

Specious: Claming that everything is the fault of the Clintons a specious claim.

Salubrious: The manager of the health spa helped customers with salubrious dietary advice.

Laconic: The laconic manner in which he spoke hinted to some depressants.

Dilettante:  After her first slip, the art snobs treated their new friend as a dilettante.

Malevolent: Hate speech is a malevolent form or communication.

Aesthetic: The home’s aesthetic made it a frequent stop in the Parade of Homes.

Voracious: A bear’s voracious appetite for fish make it perfect for nature films.

Veracity: Exemplary veracity is a sign of integrity.

Truculent: The boxer was put in a truculent state of mind before the fight.

Ascetic: The ascetic took a vow of silence.

Tacit: Though the sign asked patrons to check their firearms at the door, hunting knives may have been tacitly included.

Vexation: The noise was a vexation that tested the tenant’s patience.

Vituperate: When the boy hit his little sister, both parents were quick to vituperate.

Maverick: She billed herself as a maverick, despite her running mate’s voting record.

Aggrandize: The pain began to aggrandize after the initial impact.

Alchemy: The alchemist was seen as a savior of sorts until metal became too expensive.

Pithy: The librarian’s pithy reminder to be quiet rarely disturbed the rest of the room.

Immutable: After signing the mortgage papers, the decision became immutable.

Imperturbable: The surgeon was know for his imperturbable manner during tense moments.

Desiccate: A desiccate was used to protect the shoes from moisture damage.

Platitude: His platitude about the bow in her hair was considered patronizing.