sad news

I came home lastnight from my ski trip to find out that Odey crashed pretty hard over the weekend. He's in a lot of pain, etc etc...

(He's been suffering from CRF since this summer, and has needed fluids 3 to 4x a week)

I'm taking him into the vet this morning to put him to sleep.

Farewell, Odey, Odysseus the Intrepid Explorer -- I promise, it wont hurt anymore.

Work related: PC IM Client?

Apparently, they want us to use IM at work to communicate, and I havent used a PC in a few years -- what's the best 'multi use' IM client for the PC that handles MSN, Yahoo, AOL, etc?

(If I have to be on IM for work...)

and I almost missed this:

http://chiff.com/a/chinese-horoscopes.htm

in particular, for me:

Dog: 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006
Those born in the year of the dog are advised to take advantage of the repetition of their birth symbol in this New Year. Learn from lessons of the past, but put them behind you and forge ahead. Look for opportunities to turn dreams into reality but keep a close eye on finances. Dogs work best as a team, so encourage your companions to join with you in new possibilities. Your canine faithfulness will show in honesty and loyalty that will build new relationships and make old relationships stronger. Your bravery will be rewarded in many ways.

skiing this weekend

I totally thought of lil_brown_bat when I saw a ski instructor with 4 little munchkins following him thru the trees off of some of the intermediate runs I was doing at Mammoth this weekend.

Its been almost two years since I've skiied, and it showed! Also on Saturday, there was a nasty storm, which caused the top of the hill to be pretty white-out, and I'd forgotten my goggles. My friend lent me her spare pair, but since I hardly ever use 'em, I'm really not used to it at all. They fogged up almost immediately and made it impossible to see, leaving me pretty terrified at one point when I was skiing on my own, saw no one else around and also couldnt see anything past 5 feet in any direction...

BUt sunday was beautiful. We got to the hill around 10 am, when the mtn opens up at 9, and skiied 'til 2 pm when my friend and I met for lunch. took a leisurely lunch, skiied two more runs and then headed on home. Not one of my longest days by any means, but perfect for the first time back after a long time gone.

Any recommendations on goggles specifically for windy, snowy, bad light conditions? I have a set of Smith sunglasses with exchangable lenses for most other conditions, but I think I really need goggles specifically for those bad windy cold overcast days.