I turned in my final seminar paper on Tuesday, May 19. The weeks leading up to it are a blur in my memory. As best I can remember, I spent nearly every waking moment working on three papers: one about the theoretical constructions of narration and description, one about Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings and her similarities to the British Women of WW1, and one about Willa Cather's composition of The Professor's House and the construction of its second section. I was very pleased with how all three of them turned out, and this semester really helped me to isolate my research interest: Women's writing about and after WW1. I find this subject area more and more interesting with every new text I read, which is nice affirmation that I'm on the right "life path." I'd be lying, though, if I didn't admit that I was also pleased to be finished with my semester of three seminars, one theory colloquium, and very little free time!
In the midst of my paper writing, I did manage to compete in a team marathon in Frederick, Maryland, with Billy's cousin Heather and two of her friends. (Those of you who attended the Oregon reception remember meeting Heather, who made the trip west.) I recorded a significant personal best for my 5 mile leg (46:26), and although the weather was bad, it was a great chance to stop thinking about J.R.R. Tolkien for a few hours. Here's a picture of me running toward the finish (even though it's just a proof).
I also got to take a break from writing for a day to attend the Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party for my good friend, Erin. I am in her wedding on July 4, and she is moving back to New York after school gets out in June, so it was a great chance to spend some time with her before she leaves and to meet the rest of her friends and family. For the bachelorette party, we went to an outdoor wine festival, which was a lot of fun (and GREAT people watching!).
After I had a few days to decompress from my busy semester, Mom came to visit for Memorial Day weekend! This was her first trip back to Maryland since the wedding, so it was exciting to show her what we've done with the house. While she was here, we attended a Orioles/Nats game at the new Nationals Park, walked around campus in College Park, tried out Duckpin bowling, attended a Memorial Day BBQ with Billy's family, exercised on the trail where I do much of my distance training, and visited the Holocaust Museum in DC. It was great to have her here, and her visit really helped me transition from full-time brain activity to a more relaxed state of mind for the summer. While Billy and I both enjoyed her visit, I think it is fair to say that Oscar was especially upset to see her leave. In fact, he peed on the floor right next to her suitcase to show her his displeasure. (This is a dog that never has "accidents"; he only has what I call "intentionals." If he is unhappy, he will let you know-- not unlike his mother.)
Billy has been enjoying his summer break from classes since about two weeks before I finished up. He concluded another successful semester and only has one more class to take this fall before he earns his MS in Information Technology. May was an exciting month for him and the other workers at the Space Telescope Science Institute because the astronauts went into space to complete the final repairs on Hubble. He hasn't done any work on Hubble, but seeing them improve Hubble made me realize how exciting it will be when the telescope he is working on launches in 2014. Below is a picture from the live internet feed that NASA ran during the repair mission; at this moment, the astronauts were bringing Hubble into the cargo bay for the repair work. You can also learn more about Billy's telescope, JWST, by reading this article.
Our summer travel plans include attending the weddings of several friends and spending a week in upstate New York with Dad. (My dad is doing great and enjoying his treatment-free summer!) I'll continue working about 20 hours a week at my job on campus, and it's an exciting time for us there as we prepare to move into our new home in a much nicer building. The work I'm doing feels a bit menial, but I really like the people in our office, and I'm happy to do whatever they ask of me to long as they're paying my tuition. I'll also be working on preparing for my PhD application, which I'll submit to Maryland in the fall. I have some research to do before I can develop one of my seminar papers into a writing sample, and I may audit a German course during the second summer session to prepare myself for the foreign language requirement. I've done a pretty good job of keeping up with my running, and I have several races planned for the summer months. The next one is a Father's Day 10k that I'm running with my friend Danielle.
We're also hoping for an exciting summer of Orioles baseball (while the A's continue to disappoint). The future of the organization is arriving in Baltimore one player at a time, and while they still have a losing record, the young players seem to be establishing themselves well. Last night we made our first trip of the season to Camden Yards to see the MLB debut of Matt Wieters, our new catcher, who is one of the top minor league prospects. He went 0-4, but played well in the field and called a good game behind the plate. Tonight, he got his first two hits with a triple and a ground rule double. Along with Roberts, Markakis, Jones, Scott, and some other pitchers (who are so new I don't even know their names- Billy will scold me for this), the team is looking like they might have a winning season, if not this year, then next. It was fun to be part of a big crowd last night who were excited about the direction the team is heading... and it was fun to see a decisive victory!
This morning, I slept in until 11am, and awoke to find that Andy Roddick has made it to the second week in Roland Garros for the first time. Monday he will play Monfils, who I love to watch, so I will spend the day trying to avoid hearing the results in order to watch it on my DVR. Summer has officially begun!
