One of the benefits (if you can call it that) of being unemployed is that I can sleep in. Of course, I cannot goof off all day, but I no longer have to wake up before 5:00 AM. This morning Rachel did not want to get out of bed to let the dogs out. Normally, she would let them out while I would get ready for work. Today, I figured I would let her sleep in and take the dogs out by myself.

So, it looks like we have a new President. Considering how yesterday was Election Day, it is not that surprising. It is also not surprising that Barack Obama won. Looking at just the popular vote, the race could have gone either way. A half a dozen states changed their party affiliations from Republican to Democrat. It is clear that America wants a change. I hope that Obama produces a positive change. Of course, change does not happen overnight.

I know that today is Halloween, but it does not feel like it. It is probably because Rachel and I did not buy any candy this year to hand out (or for us). With me being unemployed, that tends to put a damper on any festivities. I did see a few trick-or-treaters a few hours ago at six. That was all that came by. So, maybe it is a good thing we did not spend money on candy. Anyway, I hope your holiday was better than ours was.

It is bad enough being out of work. Being sick is only worse. Over the weekend, I had major breathing problems. It felt like my chest was in a vice. Fortunately, I am feeling much better. At least I did not have to take off any sick days.

I go in to work today like normal. But, it was taking an awful long time to log into the network. I got down on my hands and knees to trace my cable back to the switch. Everything was connected as it should be and I was getting activity lights, but my network connection was still down.

I need a break. A few Fridays ago, Rachel started feeling sick. A few days later, I was also sick. I was out of work from Monday through Wednesday of last week. As I spent the majority of my time either sleeping or only marginally coherent, I did not accomplish a lot. Both my work and schoolwork suffered.

I was starting to get back to normal when my mother-in-law called Friday night. She was suffering from bad indigestion and was having a panic attack. Her indigestion medication only made problems worse. We ended up calling the rescue squad and going to the hospital.

On the way to work, I hear about an accident on the radio. The accident must have been a big one as officials blocked three of the traffic lanes. Sure enough, traffic halted once I was a few miles away from the scene. So, I sat back and watched other stupid drivers. Of course, there were the usual idiots trying to get ahead by driving in the emergency lane. I saw one driver drive across the median and head the other way on the freeway. On one of the on ramps, I saw a number of people either backup or make a U-turn.

Yesterday, Rachel and I were relaxing. The weather started okay, but quickly became quite windy. Apparently, remnants of hurricane Ike was passing through. A number of small branches and twigs came down.

We had the dogs out for a quick potty break when the wind really started to pick up. I said it was time to go in and we started to corral the dogs. I was not quick enough. A branch fell right on my arm. It did not leave any marks, but it is still sore today.

Recently, Rachel asked if I would like to volunteer for the 15th Annual Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure. Other coworkers of Target were going to help and she wanted to help too. Having friends and family members that have dealt with cancer, I thought it was a worthy cause. All we were supposed to do is to stand at the midpoint and hand out water. How hard could that be?

On last Saturday, I turned in the last final for my classes this term. I am happy to state that I received an "A" for all three classes this term. This means that I will continue to maintain my 4.0 GPA (grade point average). Now, I am down to fifteen more classes before I earn my Bachelor's degree. If I continue to take the maximum of three classes at a time, I will be done around June. In the meantime, I will enjoy this short break until the next term starts this coming Wednesday.