Our story so far: A St. Louis native's ramblings and rantings during her last year at Kenyon college, Gambier, OH... and further adventures comprising her Fulbright research year in lovely Göttingen, Germany.
Currently: After 5 fabulous years (so far) of grad school in Chicago/Evanston, it's time to hunker down and keep my eye on the prize!
Alaina making a goofy face OR Mike blinking=1 point Food on face OR ducks=2 points Italian gesticulation=4 points Alaina gettin' low=5 points Alaina funny face AND Mike blinks (same picture)=10 points 3 or more people blink simultaneously=12 points for 3 (+3 per additional blinker) Alien invasion OR giraffe=a million points
So I call Mike after I get out of my qualifying exam, to tell him I passed. His response?
"Duh!"
(It went really well. I only cried a little bit at the very end.)
***UPDATE 9/26*** I don't intend the above comment to make my husband look at all insensitive... I came home yesterday evening to a surprise candlelit Italian dinner for two with jazz accompaniment (Dave Brubeck and Getz/Gilberto) and Mike in a suit & fedora. He wouldn't even let me do the dishes.
We didn't have a videographer to record the goings-on at the reception, but we did have a quick-thinking coworker of mine in the crowd with a rather good camera phone! Thus, a short clip of our first dance has been documented for posterity:
Also, if you haven't seen the photos yet, there is a temporary gallery here. It should be live through October 26, 2008. When I get the digital files I'll make a Shutterfly album.
Yes, I still remember that this blog exists. Posting, however, has slipped below my priority radar... that's what year 2 of grad school and planning a wedding will do, apparently. With regards to the latter, I now need to add a new talent to my CV. Check it out:
First things first: I need to exorcise this ridiculousness. Mike sent me a link to a video and it was funny the first time, but now this song has been stuck in my head all day:
So, what else is new, you ask? I'm taking a break from finishing my reading for class tomorrow (luckily I only have to read one more journal article of seven to be discussed in 90 minutes of classtime... who knew neurotransmitter receptor characterization could be so unbelievably boring? Certainly I had never suspected such a thing!)
Wedding: we're down to a little over 6 months of planning time. We still need: caterer/menu, cake, rings, "engagement" photo, menswear, hair/makeup/accessory plans, finalized address list, invitation design, more stuff for which to register, finalized liturgy and music/musicians, song ideas for the reception, hotel block reservations, honeymoon plans... and probably a whole bunch of stuff I'm completely forgetting. Whew. I won't even try to remember and list what we have accomplished so far, but I think that one is at least as long. (That's a good thing, right?)
In other news, I have half of a dining hutch! Certain... difficulties were encountered during assembly, despite the best efforts of the build team. It's a bad sign when the accompanying instruction packet enjoins one to "feel confident that this will go smoothly and give years of enjoyment." Also, "we have designed our furniture with you, the [redacted big-box store... let's call it 'Bullseye'] guest in mind. Our clear, easy to follow, step by step instructions will guide you through the project from start to finish." That's as backhanded a characterization of customer base as I've ever seen. Sadly, it's probably fair... though I do insist that our problems with "back rail bottom=1C" stem from faulty manufacture rather than inherent incompetence of the assemblers. There exists no rotational state for the component such that its hardware actually matches the orientation as depicted in the instructions, and I defy anyone to prove otherwise.
Whew. Ranting doesn't change anything, but at least I feel better. And now I have the energy to read about the structure of the glutamate-receptor ligand-binding core in complex with kainate! That's win-win!
