Word games and a good cause, oh my!

Try the FreeRice vocabulary game! According to the site, it's rare for anyone to get beyond level 48 (of 50). Two thousand grains in with no dictionary and I'm consistently hitting level 44 and occasionally making a run all the way up to 46, only to hit a string of toughies. Can you do better?

Fancy dress!

***Disclaimer: I've made a bargain with Mike that he WILL NOT peek if I provide a link to photos of the dress. I trust him, so I'm going to post it. (Plus, I'll know. Sitemeter generates a record of outclicks. But mostly, I trust him.)***

I was back home in St. Louis for the weekend, with a single goal: find the dress.

I expected the process to be at least moderately difficult. After all, there are quintillions of options, and so many of them are lovely in different ways. I had gotten some ideas from the "fashion show" portion of the St. Louis Bridal Expo a few weeks earlier, such as useful terminology: drop waist, gathering and ruching, various neckline, skirt, and train styles, taffeta vs. chiffon vs. a bunch of other fabrics... I also had the sketch that my friend and eventual roommate Grace had made for me waaaaay back in our freshman year at Kenyon. Of course I knew it was silly to show up with a sketch for a dress that doesn't exist and ask for the closest thing, but it wound up in my "wedding stuff" filing folder nonetheless, between pamphlets for DJs and information on photographers.

It wound up being a whole group of us at the shops, which I had anticipated. My maternal grandma, mom, my aunt Kristin and her kids... Justin, who was understandably bored, and flower girl Kailyn, who amused herself by trying on dresses of her own... until (horror of horrors!) she learned that she didn't get to take each and every one of them home with her that very day.

Aside from that unfortunate moment, I did find a potential winner at the first shop; a beautiful chiffon dress with spaghetti straps, a ruched corseted bodice feeding into a crystal-edged split-front overlay skirt that was very flattering, and an absolutely gorgeous crystal-studded train (which we didn't even notice until the dress was on!) The design company was called Impressions. It was a different style but the same fabric as my mother's own dress, and very light and airy for a summer wedding.

I wanted to look at another shop that carried a specific gown I'd noticed at the bridal show, just to be sure. The gown in mind was unique in that it had a colored ribbon (with many color choices) underlaid behind the beadwork in the bodice and that continued down and made up the inside of a split train. I found it again, but the cut of the dress didn't suit my body shape. I tried on a few others while we were there, and one of them fit amazingly. It was by design company Sophia Tolli, and it had lace straps, ruching and lace applique on the corset-back bodice, and a fuller skirt with an interesting pouf of bustling to one side. The pouf was pretty, but located right at hand height where it could be constantly smashed and fiddled with, knowing me. Still, the fit was so flattering that I thought it warranted further consideration.

Grandma and mom and I wanted to have a look, for comparison's sake, at the selection at a chain store that has been described by friends as "the Wal-Mart of bridal stores." Unsurprisingly, they were right. While I'm sure that I'd be able to find a beautiful dress there with some effort, our initial try-ons weren't promising. The store attendant insisted on measuring me (since "most women wear the wrong bra size") and proclaimed me a B-cup. (Not since high school!) She brought me a strapless undergarment in that size, and true to the saying, they ranneth over. She also insisted that the styles in the store were "french designs" and thus ran small. If I fit in a 10 in another store, I'd definitely need a 12 here. Pretty much every dress she brought out was oversized, so I had to look past the crappy fit and try to imagine every dress in my own size. The helpful feedback consisted of pressing me to list what I liked/did not like for each dress I tried on. Some features that I was interested in, like corseting instead of zippers, were "going out of style," which was why they didn't have much of a selection with that detail. (This was patently untrue based on the selections at the previous stores.) We didn't stay very long, and didn't add any dresses to our list.

Since the following day was Saturday and shops get busy, we tried to plan ahead and call to reserve a fitting room for yet another store. It turns out that only two stores in the St. Louis area carry Sophia Tolli designs, and this second store also carried the first dress from Impressions that I had liked. I could compare them back-to-back at a single location.

We arrived soon after opening, and it was full of brides-to-be and their friends and family, so we got started on our own and I had to wait a bit for mirror time to look at the dresses. We looked around for other options as well, and I did find a fairly simple two-tone strapless satin dress that everybody liked, but I thought satin would be too heavy for early August. I found the Impressions dress and a couple of other dresses from that company, none of which were as good as the first one. Then we figured out that they didn't have the specific Sophia Tolli gown I had tried on the day before, but they had a selection of others from the collection, which I decided to try.

By then it was late morning and the store had started to clear out, so we had more space and assistance from the staff, which was very nice. Both of the Sophia Tolli dresses were beautiful. The second one that I tried on was my grandmother's favorite... when I pointed out that it was more expensive, she wanted to pay the difference herself! It was a beautiful full A-line dress with beaded straps and crisscrossed taffeta draping from the fitted bodice to partway down the skirt, which gave way to a tulle underskirt at the front. The back of the dress was also very distinctive, again corset-style at the top while the taffeta draping from the front continued into drapey bustling with a crystal accent partway down the skirt and leading into the train.

That was a gorgeous dress, but as soon as I saw it on I wanted to get back into the dress I had tried on just before! I think Kara and I both knew it was special, since she commented on it in the dressing room (before I saw it in the mirror) and we definitely shared a look once I had a chance to see the whole thing. I felt that it made me look like an elegant piece of statuary, or the figurine on some kind of fancy award... but in a good way. It's just me, I guess. The funny thing is that of all the dresses I tried, it was the closest in overall shape to the sketch that Grace drew way back when. She was really on to something! When I had asked at the other stores to try on dresses in that shape, and I had been told that it only flatters very tall and thin girls, so I shouldn't even try it. So much for that!

We ordered it in diamond white, which is like a pale ivory. Here's the link that Mike isn't allowed to click!

New date... 8-9-08!

So as you may have noticed, Mike and I finally set a wedding date. I selected it myself after consulting with one of the co-administrators of my program, so that I'd have enough time between my Qualifying Exam and the ceremony to take care of last minute plans, stay sane, and even actually enjoy myself. I wanted the wedding after the test, with at least two weeks between the two.

Of course as soon as I take the time to e-mail all sorts of people to let them know about the wedding date, I'm informed that my Quals have been moved from the first half of August to mid-September! Luckily we hadn't yet signed contracts with DJs, photographers, caterers, and such... just set up the church, hall, and celebrant with my home parish.

Quals are a pretty big deal in my program. It's a huge oral exam and research talk that determines my status as a PhD candidate in good standing. Also, the test is administered by a faculty panel, which is why scheduling them in summer is such a big deal. It turns out that even university faculty like to go on vacation every once in a while, when they can find time in their already busy schedules.

That and the fact that I want to take advantage of group prep sessions with my peers (which will work out better if we're all taking the test at about the same time) led me to decide that the easiest solution was to move the wedding... not back to the fall, since so many guests and participants are still students, but earlier in the summer with at least a month between the ceremony and the exam. It's not as ideal as the original plan, but it's survivable. We'd be able to schedule a vacation/honeymoon for after the test, as well.

So... the new date is August 9th, 2008! It's still a Saturday. Locations are the same as before, and I'm also staying on top of the changes by updating the wedding website. The date is more solid than ever since we've shelled out for deposits at the church and for a reception DJ this week... and I've gotten some assurance from the powers-that-be at school that they will work around MY schedule this time if the test date jumps again for any reason!

365 days and counting

I'm not a day late... It's a leap year!

At long last

It's been official for a few days now, but I have a lab!

Do you... Walk?

My apartment rated an 83 out of 100 on this nifty site. How about where you live?

And speaking of nifty sites, Mike and I are putting together our wedding website at http://bakerandnigh.weddings.com. So far we've got our work cut out for us filling in the details, but we are having fun with a round-robin semi-fictionalized account on the "Our Story" page. Check it out!

So much! Vacation, work, and wedding planning!

First things first, California was wonderful... and action-packed. (All of the pictures have been uploaded to my Shutterfly albums.) I flew out with my friend Amrita on Tuesday afternoon (the 10th), and despite threats of delays from the start we managed to arrive in a timely fashion. It was a looooong day; adding 2 hours from Central time made rental car complexity, driving direction issues, and the lateness of dinner disproportionately frustrating, but Wednesday was much better.

We got up "early" (still later than I'm up for work, Chicago time) and headed to SeaWorld for our big adventure in the "wild arctic" exhibit. Feeding seals and walruses and looking at polar bears from "backstage" was only the warmup for our plunge into icy salt water to see beluga whales up close and personal. The trainers told us about the behavioral training tactics used with the animals and showed off some of their best "tricks," including, of course, the ones where they squirt, splash, and otherwise drench the hapless observers. We were in the water for a total of about 25 minutes, which was certainly long enough at 50 degrees farenheit!



We stayed at the park exploring exhibits and rides until the afternoon, when we took a lunch break downtown in San Diego's historic gaslamp district at a Mexican restaurant Amrita recommended. It seemed like a trendy little part of town, with plenty of food, shops and boutiques. As evening approached we made plans to travel to LaJolla and find a beach where we could bum around. Instead of the traditional sandy coastline, we inadvertently stumbled into an area with surf-worn sandstone cliffs, overhangs, and rugged shores full of tide pools, where we stayed until sunset.



On Thursday morning we set out for old town San Diego, to check out gold-rush era buildings... and shop after shop of kitschy old-time souvenirs. Actually, we started off by taking a walking trail to the Presidio site, a fortress/mission that marks the earliest Spanish colonial presence in the area. We stayed in old town for lunch, and finished the day by heading back to SeaWorld to take in more exhibits and shows.

On Friday I set off bright and early on my own to catch a flight to Sacramento, where I met up with Gilberto, a very good friend from Kenyon. We dropped of my luggage and spent a little time with his family at his parents' house before taking off to see old town Sacramento, a nice little shopping district in authentic old-west buildings.



We caught up over a snack at a local restaurant called BJ's, and then headed back to his folks' house for a fantastic dinner made by his dad: fresh salad with avocado, a delicious seasoned salmon dish, and a fantastic shrimp ragout. I don't cook often with shrimp, but I regret that I didn't ask for the recipe then an there! We went out to catch the 5th Harry Potter movie after dinner, although unfortunately I was still on Central time and I zonked out right around the Weasley twins' raucous withdrawal from Hogwarts. I'll have to catch it again to see the second half!

On Saturday morning I went out in Beto's neighborhood for a short run while he ran some errands. We had decided to go back to Oldtown to check out the Railroad Museum and buy some souvenirs. I got to meet his friend Rashad, and then we went home to eat the leftovers from the previous night's fabulous dinner before setting off on the 2 hour drive to San Francisco. We arrived after dark and had a great view of the skyline, though unfortunately my pictures were too blurry to save.

Sunday morning we set off early after a hearty breakfast at a diner near Beto's apartment. We went to Mission Dolores, the oldest church in California. With perfect timing, the Basilica next door to the original church was having Mass when we finished exploring the museum.



We drove to Castro, the historic gay neighborhood in San Francisco, and then made our way to the de Young museum in Golden Gate park, which had spectacular collections of modern art. We travelled to Haight street, hippie central, to get lunch, and I bought myself an absolutely ridiculous pair of earrings.



As repayment for our visit to Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard in St. Louis the previous summer, we went to Mitchell's for the best ice cream in San Francisco. If you ever have the opportunity, I recommend the passionfruit sorbet! We also went to Ocean Beach so I could dip my feet in the Pacific, and then we made plans to go to dinner with Beto's Aunt Kim and her four highly energetic kids, which was loads of fun. I slept well after a busy day!

On Monday, we went back to Golden Gate park to visit the Japanese Tea Garden, which was very serene before the packs of visitors arrived.



We spent the rest of the day at notable SF landmarks, including Lombard street, the world's crookedest road:



Coit Tower, with its fantastic view of the city and the bay:





And Little Italy, where we found a great café for lunch. Then it was on to the Golden Gate Bridge, which was a bit foggy but cleared up on the half that we walked:





We briefly visited Fisherman's Wharf to check out the souvenir stands, where Beto saw this and had to take a picture for my sister:



We ended the day with a visit to Beto's younger sister Ariel and her boyfriend, where we played some Mario Party on the Nintendo Wii and then went out for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant:



Tuesday was spent riding roller coasters, eating gross fair food, and singing Karaoke at Great America amusement park. We tired ourselves out pretty thorougly, so we left a bit early, visited with Beto's Aunt Maria before attempting the drive back to Sacramento.

I left Wednesday morning to make the long flight back to St. Louis, landing in the early evening. I was expecting a fairly relaxing weekend at home, but that was not to be. Dr. G, my current advisor, had left a message on my phone while I was in transit, informing me that the committee for a training grant in aging and dementia would accept a proposal from me even though I haven't had my qualifying exam. They wanted to see what I could write, and possibly hold a position for me on the grant for my third and fourth years in the program. This was huge news, because Dr. G and I have been hard at work ever since I started in his lab, trying to find a source of funding to allow me to stay and do my thesis research as his advisee. The catch, of course, was that the committee was convening to read applications on the following Monday.

So much for my calm weekend at home, especially when I quickly realized that one of my pieces of luggage - the one containing my notes and important lab papers - had not arrived with me in St. Louis. I had to fill out a claim at the airport and hope against hope that it would come in sufficient time to get my proposal written. I probably hadn't worked under a similarly hectic deadline since senior year at Kenyon, but luckily things came together; I tracked down rec letters, worked on updating my CV, and with the delivery of my missing bag I had a first draft emailed by Friday night... and rewrote about 5 more times before Monday, including on the road with Mike on Sunday. It was actually a good exercise just to write a proposal and organize my ideas, since the project I came up with could actually make up the bulk of my thesis if I stay in the lab. So, yay!

Between all of that, Mike and my mom and I actually did find time to visit reception hall possibilities for the wedding, and come to some decisions. There are still plenty of details left to work out, but we've reserved a date at my home church and at the parish hall for the reception: Saturday, August 23rd, 2008. Official save-the-date mailings will hopefully commence shortly, as will wedding party and music organization. (Hint to friends and family with musical inclination... Mike is composing a choral setting for the Mass, so we'll definitely need a couple of singers on each voice part and probably someone to act as musical director as well!)

Now to decide what to do for our pre-niversary! When I asked my dad what he and mom decided to do to celebrate the date a year before the wedding, he said that he asked her why they couldn't have just gotten it done that year... Still, having a date more than a year away is much preferred to no date at all. Here's the countdown:



Wahoo!!!