How to be Good

Time keeps moving right along in our house.  Last weekend, we got to celebrate Billy's cousin Gina's wedding.  Gina already posted her photographer's photos from the day on facebook, so I borrowed a few of them to share here.  Congratulations, Gina and Rich!

Tony, Aunt Nancy, Gina, her new husband Rich, and Chuckie after the ceremony

MomMom, Aunt Mary, Patti, and me at the reception

Brian, Billy, Chuck, and Tony

Nana and Mr. Dick were big hits on the dance floor, as usual!

This week, we had dinner with Vickie and heard about her fun trip to the northwest, and though I couldn't make it, Billy went out to dinner with his family to celebrate Chuck's birthday. The other exciting thing about this week is that we got plenty of good news!

Our weekly OB appointments began with another good checkup.  We learned that we have to get flu shots this year, and the doctor confirmed that the baby is ready to go in head down position.  My weight gain and belly measurement are still right on track, and so is the baby's heart rate.

Billy also had a meeting with his James Webb Space Telescope supervisors to go over his yearly performance appraisal.  He was given universally high remarks in every category, and his bosses have been very pleased with the work he has done this past year as well as the leadership responsibilities he has taken on.  He let me read the write-up they gave him, which goes into quite a bit of detail about all of the ways he has met and exceeded their expectations.  As his wife, I really appreciated the effort his supervisors put into writing up his review and enjoyed getting a chance to see how much they appreciate the hard work he does.  Anyone who knows Billy knows he believes that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well, but being this hard of a worker sometimes leads to frustration in a work environment if others are not willing to work as hard.  In his first few jobs out of college, I often felt like his employers took advantage of and didn't show much appreciation for his work ethic.  So even though he doesn't like everyone calling attention to his successes at this job, I do!  : )

I missed Chuck's birthday dinner because I was scheduled to give my presentation on my Katherine Anne Porter paper to the theory colloquium, which I mentioned a few weeks ago.  The presentation format was a little unsettling because after giving my opening remarks, I had to sit quietly and listen to my colleagues discuss the work for 15 or 20 minutes before I was allowed to say anything.  Listening to their feedback was really interesting, and some of their comments were very useful, but when I was finally allowed to talk, I wasn't sure how to address all that conversation at once.  Then there was about 30 minute of a more traditional question and answer format about my paper before we switched gears to discuss two unrelated articles for the second hour.  I had read and taken notes on those articles, but I wasn't able to focus enough to join that discussion because I sat there thinking about things people had said about my paper and scribbling notes to myself.  I came out of the session feeling good about the feedback I'd gotten but unsure about how well I had done in addressing the issues that were raised.  When I talked to my friends who've attended the colloquium for several semesters, though, I felt reassured.   They thought I did a good job of taking peoples' suggestions into consideration and defending my project when necessary without seeming defensive or unprepared.  A few of my classmates also mentioned that they'd like to talk to me about the project more when I have a chance, and that always seems like a mark of success.  Overall, I'm mostly just glad the presentation is behind me-- I've not only finished my requirements for the Critical Theory Certificate, but I also have some good ideas about how to move forward with the Katherine Anne Porter project.

Plus, we're one week closer to baby!

(How to Be Good is a novel by one of my favorite contemporary authors, Nick Hornby.  I don't actually recommend it, though.  My favorites among his books are High Fidelity and Fever Pitch.)

Make Lemonade

The number of people at Pop's viewing was overwhelming. You realize how far and wide a single person's influence can spread when the ladies who checked him out at the Giant grocery store find out about his death and come to pay their respects. His funeral service, which was put together by his daughters, was a really nice tribute to his life and his memory.

Thursday morning, Billy, Patti, Chuck, Brian and I got in the car to head up to Michigan for Hernie and Crystal's wedding. Before the wedding, Billy and I got a chance to meet up with my college roommate, Jolene, and her almost 3 year old son, Mason. I had never met him before, and it was fun to catch up with Jo, but it was even better to see that she is happy and healthy in her life as a mom. Watching a little kid dancing around inside the Applebee's has a way of reminding you that life goes on.

Hernie and Crystal's wedding was nice. I was glad we were able to make it up there to celebrate the occasion with them. Billy and I were happy to see our college friend, Nick, and his new wife, Amber. We had a great time at their wedding in July, and it was fun to have a chance to spend some time with them at this wedding. Seeing old friends and picking up where you left off also has a way of reminding you that life goes on.

Returning home meant coming to terms with how far I had fallen behind in the past week. Usually, realizing that there is no possible way to complete everything I planned to accomplish leaves me in a frenzy. But today, I've decided that it's not worth it. I enjoyed the time I spent with Billy's family this past week. Today, instead of reading aesthetic theory, I worked on getting caught up by reading Willa Cather. Because it's true-- literature is where I go. But I don't wish I had spent more time this week preparing for tomorrow night's class. I need to remind myself more often that grad school is not my life, but is only a part of my life. This week, it was the least important part. This week, my Maryland family and I needed to help each other make lemonade together.

(The book referenced in the title is Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, a young adult novel about the things a teenage girl learns about life while trying to earn enough money to go to college.)

Katherine Anne Porter

This weekend, Billy and I traveled to Dayton, Ohio to attend the wedding of one of his college roommates. Ashley and Todd seemed happy and excited in the midst of all the wedding excitement, and Billy and I were happy to have been able to make it.

It was a lot of driving. It took us about 10 hours to get there on Friday. On Saturday, we spent 3 hours at the GM dealership while they repaired our air conditioning (if we had waited until we drove home, the warranty would have run out). On Sunday, it took us about 8 hours to get back. This definitely took its toll on Billy, who does all the driving and was exhausted after the weekend... but I escaped into the world of Katherine Anne Porter.

I used to teach "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," which I loved/hated; I love the story, I hated that it was impossible to get 16 year olds to understand what was going on. Last semester, I was assigned "Pale Horse, Pale Rider," and it was one of my favorite things I've read. I told myself at the beginning of the summer that I would read the rest of her collected stories, but it is not really related to the research project I'm trying to turn into my PhD application, so I let her fall by the wayside.

Definite mistake. Her intro to the book tells you that after she showed her mentor her first story ("Maria Concepcion"), he told her "I believe you are a writer." I wondered, how could anyone make this assessment after just one story? And then I read "Maria Concepcion." Porter has an almost unsettling ability to document human emotions, thought processes, and behaviors. In almost every story, I find myself experiencing the sensation that I know exactly what feeling she is describing, and she has described it perfectly.

I'm a very analytical reader. I can't read for "pleasure" without underlining and marking up the book. I don't usually enjoy poetry because I never "feel" what the poems are trying to express. It's not often that I get so absorbed in a story that I am able to enjoy it as a story rather than as a "text," but that is how I feel about KAP. If you're looking for something to read, pick up The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. If you read Maria Concepcion and are not hooked, I will be surprised.

KAP gave her whole library of books and collection of personal papers to the University of Maryland. (She had previously done this with the University of Texas, and then she took everything back, but she is dead now, so her stuff is safe with us.) Her library is reconstructed on campus, and her papers are available for research. I'm meeting with the curator of the collection tomorrow to talk about research possibilities, and I can't wait!

(In other news for the weekend, I was glad to see Andy Roddick successfully building toward the US Open at the Montreal Masters tournament. I'm hoping for a Roddick/Federer quarterfinal showdown in Cincinnati this week.)

26: A Look Back

Today's final, Roddick vs. del Potro, concluded a great week at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. If Andy had won, it would have been perfect, but he lost 6-8 in the 3rd set tiebreak, making the week almost perfect. Really, there couldn't be a more fitting end to my 26th year.

This year has been not quite perfect. I wish my dad's tumors had not returned. I wish neither Patti nor Chuck had needed surgery. I wish Pop could eat a milkshake or drink a beer. I wish my brother (and so many others) hadn't been faced with difficult decisions as a result of our slumping economy.

But those things aside, age 26 has been an almost perfect one for me. And since I try to focus on the positive, I thought I'd use my pre-birth day to recall the best things about this year.

Billy and I enjoyed year 2 of marriage. Every day I come home to my best friend and the life we're making together. It makes everything else better.

My dad has endured and overcome another obstacle in his battle against cancer, and for the past several months, he has felt healthy. Billy and I got to enjoy a week with him in New York to celebrate.

After interviewing all last summer for graduate assistant positions on campus, I was finally offered the one that was the best fit for me. Not only is it a position in my own department, but I get to work with people I genuinely like.

My return to graduate school has been more challenging and more rewarding than I expected. I knew it would be intellectually stimulating, but I could not have anticipated that my classmates would be so interesting or that my professors would be so invested in helping me succeed. I love my program and am hoping they'll let me stick around a few more years.

In the program, I found another pea to go in my pod. I don't know why I'm fortunate enough to find a kindred spirit every time I start a new adventure, but having Anne-Marie along for the ride has made it even more fun.

The other peas in my pod also had great years. Danielle, Erin, and I enjoyed regular Sunday breakfasts and movie nights in the year leading up to Erin's wedding to Brent. Krista and Jordan had an adorable, healthy, happy baby girl and I get to see pictures of little Clara regularly. Kelsey returned from her stint in the Peace Corps in Ukraine and was accepted into the occupational therapy program at the University of Washington. I believe Vickie is involved in every extracurricular activity available to students at VU, and yet she maintains an interest in nursing and an excellent academic record.

Speaking of Vickie, she, Billy, Nate, and I got to celebrate her 21st in Vegas. An epic siblings weekend I'll never forget.

I got back into shape and ran a half marathon for a good cause. My friends and family members generously donated over $2000 (more than twice my goal!) to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

I've kept up with my running. I've found that it clears my head and helps me stay focused on all the other things I'm juggling. I love the ongoing competition with myself to improve and have continued competing in middle distance races about once a month.

I've enjoyed another year in the company of my in-laws. Baby Cash has added even more laughter and fun to our family get-togethers!

I got to unwind from a very hectic semester with a visit from Mom. It was great to welcome her into our home for the first time since we have been really settled and to spend some time showing her what our lives are like here.

I feel like I've been so fortunate this year that I'm not sure how age 27 can top age 26. There are several things coming up that are worth looking forward to, though: Billy finishing his master's degree, visiting my California relatives over the winter holidays, and graduating from my own master's program.

I know it is because I have such a great support system of family and friends that I am able to accomplish so many of the things that are important to me. Thanks, guys, for helping me find my way.

Back to Reality

Getting back into the swing of things at work this week was a bit hard. I returned to the news that one of my coworkers in the business office is moving to another department on campus, and I'm going to be taking over her responsibilities until they hire someone new. This means I have to go to payroll training next week (instead of hearing the astronauts speak at STScI, ugh). I don't think the training will include "How to complete your full time co-worker's tasks in your half time work week," but luckily I am efficient and I can't be asked to work overtime. My boss would have to do all the work if she didn't have me, so at least she is appreciative of my willingness to step in and help.

This week was also the beginning of the second session of summer courses, which means the summer is officially half over. I have been reading through Fussell's The Great War in Modern Memory at a fairly leisurely pace, but now it is time to get serious about putting together my PhD application writing sample. The first phase of this is reading Cather's One of Ours. I haven't read any fiction since turning in my papers in May, and while I think I needed a break, it was refreshing to open up the text and begin meeting the characters.

Billy added a sky cam to his weather station. The image in the bar on the right of the blog is the (almost) live image looking out across our backyard. If you click on the picture, it takes you to the website he uses to upload all of his weather data, and if you click around you can see a slideshow of the images from the past 24 hours. He also registered for his final master's class and applied for graduation. He normally takes 2 classes per semester, so he is looking forward to only having one. Come December 6, he will officially be done with his degree, and (he says) done with school forever!

Billy's dad, Chuck, had surgery on his neck Tuesday. He had to spend the night in the hospital, and although they suggested that he may need to stay an extra night, he was able to come home on Wednesday. The doctors said his follow-up x-ray looked great, and after a few days of medicated grogginess, on Friday he seemed as much back to his normal self as one can be while wearing a serious neck brace. I think he has to wear the brace for two weeks and stay home for three, so that would be a test of anyone's patience, but at least the surgery seems to have gone well. Now we are hoping that he will heal quickly and that the mobility and pain issues he was having before will be gone.

Yesterday Billy and I enjoyed our first free Saturday in a month. I spent some time catching up on my DV-R shows and cleaning up inside the house while Billy tended to his yard. Then we went into the city to check out Artscape, "America's largest free arts festival." The best way I can think to describe it is "sensory overload." It is like Portland's Saturday Market, if it was twice as big, only happened once a year, and was attended by every person in the Portland metro area. There were so many people that we couldn't really even see the artwork that people were selling in their booths; everything was so crowded. Still, I enjoyed walking around and checking out what everyone was wearing. Almost everyone there had a specific "look" they were trying to achieve with their choice of clothing/accessories/hair/footwear, and nearly every "look" I've been exposed to was represented. I wish the crowd had not been so big so I could have stayed longer and wandered through the booths. After that we went out to dinner and tried to go see a movie, but it was sold out, so we came home and relaxed.

Today we're planning on finishing up our indoor/outdoor chores and getting ready for the week ahead! Below are a few more pictures from our friends' weddings!

NY Wedding Tour

Billy and I have returned home from our tour of upstate New York, which began and ended with weddings of good friends. The first stop was Lake Canandaigua, near Rochester, where I was a bridesmaid for my good friend Erin. Her wedding location was beautiful, and the weather cooperated with the outdoor ceremony that overlooked the lake. (You can click on any of the pictures to see them enlarged.)

The day was a little bittersweet for me, because it marks the transition between having Erin as a part of my every day life in Maryland to having her as another friend whose life I hear about from a distance; she and Brent have moved to Syracuse so that Brent can attend graduate school there. Still, we had a fantastic time, and I managed to put these thoughts out of my mind until I said goodbye to her at the end of the night, when I finally teared up. Her wedding was like all the times we've spent together-- we had a blast. I miss her already!
The wedding was also a fun chance to catch up with some of my friends from my teaching days at Northern that I don't see too often now that I'm not teaching. Katie, Danielle, and I did our best to keep the mimosas flowing in the morning and to keep the dancing going at the reception. It was great to see the Barleys and the Weilands, and Billy and I both enjoyed getting to know Katie's new husband, John.
They had a live band that played jazz and swing music, which made dancing a lot of fun. The reception was indoors, but they had an outdoor patio and lawn, so it was a great combination. We could even see some 4th of July fireworks down around the lake after it got dark! I loved being a part of Erin and Brent's day and wish them the best in this next phase of their lives together. To see more pictures of the wedding, visit their photographer's blog; she did a fantastic job!

The following day was dominated by my insistence on watching the Wimbledon final all the way through. As we drove up to New York on Friday, I was checking the scores of the Andy/Andy match, and we arrived at the hotel just in time to find out that Roddick had advanced to the finals. I got to see enough of the match on NBC's tape delay to know Roddick was playing his best tennis, so I was excited about the Federer matchup. (To remain a Roddick fan, you have to have a short memory!)
Although the end result was heartbreaking, especially for those of us who have seen Roddick look MUCH worse and have rarely (if ever) seen him look better, I was really excited about how long Andy stayed in the match. Putting the second set tiebreaker out of his mind and holding serve for that long in the 5th are impressive feats. I am hoping that it will be a good summer for him on the hardcourts of the US Open Series, and I can't wait to see him when he comes to town for the Legg Mason. What will he do with the whole crowd behind him at the US Open? I am excited to see.

On Monday morning, we picked up Dad in Rochester and drove to Cooperstown to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame! We spread our trip to the Hall out over the course of two days, so we got to see everything there without getting too museum-ed out. I loved seeing the artifacts that show how the game has progressed over the past 150 or so years. Some of the things were so bizarre to see in real life-- like Schilling's bloody sock, and Bond's record breaking home run ball that has an asterisk etched out of the leather, and 100 year old uniforms that looked like they would fit me. I really liked seeing the entire collection of World Series rings (they are getting much bigger and more blingy), and I could not believe that the Gold Glove trophy is really just a cheap baseball mitt, painted gold, mounted on a trophy stand. Really, Rawlings?! I also looked pretty closely at the AAGPBL uniforms from the real league and the movie-- I am determined to fashion one of these to wear as a Halloween costume at some point in my life (or, depending on the quality of the execution, for the rest of my life). It was not surprising that Dad was on a hunt for the "baseball documents" or that Billy took a picture of every Orioles item inside. Both were disappointed that George Brett's pine tar bat wasn't on display. I was ecstatic that I made it all the way through without seeing any relic from Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series Home Run (also known as, the first time a man broke my heart).

We had arranged to be in the Village of Cooperstown for three days, which turned out to be longer than we needed. It is, indeed, a village. We visited the Soccer Hall of Fame, which is nearby, and I learned quite a bit about the history of the game in America there. I also learned that I kick a soccer ball between 40 and 45 mph. Besides that, my favorite stop was the 100 year old Otesaga Hotel, which overlooks Lake Otsego. You wouldn't think New York State would be a mai tai hotspot, but they were so good that we went back for them a second time. Billy and I also celebrated our anniversary with dinner at another restaurant that overlooked the lake. In some ways, it's hard to believe we've been married for two years, but at the same time, it feels like we've always been together!

After enjoying our time in Cooperstown with Dad, we headed back west to Buffalo for the next wedding. Before Dad left, we all went to Niagara Falls. I was unaware that you need your passport to get into Canada these days, and I was also unaware that you can't really see the falls from the American side, so that was poor planning on my part. However, you can ride the "Maid of the Mist" up the river right to the foot of both sets of falls, which was even more amazing than I expected it to be.
Above is a picture of Dad and Billy in front of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, and below is a picture of me and Dad in front of the American Falls (Bridal Veil is on the right). When they gave us those ponchos, I thought "Well, this is kind of nerdy"... but you really need it! We would have gotten soaked without them! Dad kept his, so I have a sneaking suspicion that I will see it again sometime after I have completely forgotten that it exists.

After we dropped Dad off at the airport on Friday, we met up with Billy's college roommate, Jarrod, and his wife Jorie, to get some real Buffalo Wings (except I had chicken fingers). Then we went to the church for the rehearsal, and Jorie and I got to see Nick and Amber run through their ceremony while our husbands stared quizzically at the priest in an attempt to understand their groomsman responsibilities. In fairness, it looked like there was a lot to remember in a full Catholic mass!

The wedding day was fantastic, but I failed in my responsibility as photographer. I only got two decent pictures of the whole thing because I was busy having fun and having trouble with my camera (the open bar probably didn't help). The ceremony was nice, and the day had lots of cute personal touches. They had really fun live music at the church and during the cocktail hour, and Amber and her dad recorded both parent/child dance songs. To get them to kiss at the reception, guests had to sing a song into the microphone that included the word "love." Nick seemed really happy, and it was fun to observe Amber's family for the first time. They were really a lot of fun-- her parents were introduced to "Low" by Flo-Rida, and her mom was singing and dancing along! Billy got introduced to "Rock Me Like a Hurricane," which made me laugh pretty hard. I could tell they had put a lot of thought into everything.
I enjoyed partying like it was 2004-- in addition to Jarrod and Jorie, we got to see Kabby and Megan, who were up from South Carolina, and Hernie and Crystal, who are planning a wedding of their own. Our friend Melissa flew in either because she is such good friends with Nick, or because I needed someone to keep me entertained while Billy was busy with his groomsman duties... or maybe both! Either way, it was great to see all of them! I can't wait to see the pictures that pop up on facebook, since I didn't get any of the ceremony or the dancing, or even the bride and groom. It was a perfect day, and I hope they enjoyed it as much as all the guests did! We haven't spent a lot of time with Amber, but after seeing them at the wedding, I know she and Nick will enjoy a happy life together.

Sunday morning we woke up to make the drive back home. Thankfully, neither of us were suffering any ill effects of the night before, so we managed to make it home in 7 hours. We were happy to pick up Oscar from Camp Aunt Nancy and to find that he had behaved himself in our absence, and it was great to sleep in our own bed. Today we are both off so that we can relax and recover from our vacation before heading back to work tomorrow. All in all, it was a great trip! Thanks to Erin, Brent, Amber, and Nick for planning their weddings on back-to-back weekends so that we could make one long vacation out of it, and to Dad for flying in to take us to Cooperstown in between!

Wedding Season Begins!

This summer, everyone we know is getting married. On Saturday, we missed a wedding in Pennsylvania to attend the wedding of Billy's high school friend, Kevin, here in Maryland. The ceremony was nice, the reception was fun, the after-party in Federal Hill was entertaining. We got the chance to catch up with some friends we haven't seen in a while. And most importantly, the bride and groom seemed very happy!

Before we left, I managed to squeeze in a run and watch 17 year old American Melanie Oudin upset Jelena Jankovic in the third round at Wimbledon. I've never been a JJ fan, and it was fun to watch a young kid with a lot of determination stick with it and pull out the win of her life so far. I had to miss the other matches yesterday, but was glad to see that both Andys advanced with relatively little difficulty. Although there haven't been a lot of huge upsets, week one was full of exciting matches, and I am sure week two will not disappoint. Roddick is looking better than he has in years, and he's finally starting to get (what I believe is) proper recognition. Though he'll likely have to go through Andy Murray to get to the final, I am optimistic. I am excited to see how it all pans out. Oudin has a favorable matchup in the fourth round, so I will be cheering for her to make it to the quarters, but otherwise it looks like it will be a Williams vs. Williams final. I think Serena might have what it takes to beat Venus this year. The Legg Mason Tennis Classic, which takes place here in DC in August, just released its list of players. Billy and I are planning to get tickets to the quarterfinal and semifinal matches, so we should get to see a lot of great matches and some of the world's top players (including Andy!).

Today was middle Sunday, so the void left by Wimbledon's rest day was thankfully filled by the US vs. Brazil soccer match. I was sorry to see that they lost hold of their early lead, but it got me excited about World Cup qualifying and made me think there might be reason to watch the World Cup next year. I hope they will outlaw those terrible horns, though. I can't figure out why the fans blow them constantly throughout the game. Why not wait until a good play, or a goal is scored?

Work wise, the past week has been fairly uneventful. I work three more days this week before leaving for New York on Friday, and I'm really looking forward to our vacation. It will be fun to be a part of Erin and Brent's wedding, to take in Cooperstown with my dad, and to see old friends at Nick and Amber's wedding. Then Billy and I will be home to relax for what's left of our summer. Time moves so fast these days!!

Destination: Working Vacation

This past week has felt like the first real week of "summer." Billy and I are still working, but we've been able to enjoy the sunshine and more leisure-time activities than we have for several months. Monday and Tuesday I was off work while the movers transported all of our stuff into the new building. Monday I met Erin for lunch and we went to Alexandria to pick up my bridesmaid's dress for her wedding. It fits fine without need for alterations, so that was an exciting discovery! It is hard to believe her wedding is getting so close!

Wednesday it was back to work in the new building-- but not without a considerable number of "growing pains." I don't have my own desk in the new office, and on days when I am supposed to be working in the main reception area, there's not really a place for me to sit. I didn't say much, assuming we would figure this out as we settled into our new space, but several of my coworkers have been much more vocal about their displeasure about their new surroundings (This is not enough desk space! I look like a receptionist! My drawers got broken in the move! etc.). It's hard to hear people griping about such trivialities, especially considering the number of people out of work, but I'm trying to remind myself that if this job was my career rather than a means to an end, I might see things differently. I'm hoping that after some time passes people will learn to adjust and realize how much better off we are even though it is an adjustment.

On Thursday evening we met up with my friend Anne-Marie and her husband Jon at the Orioles game. Anne-Marie is in my graduate program, and we have had three classes together already, so it feels like we are old friends, but until this week we had not met one another's spouses. Even though the offensive slump the Orioles have been caught in continued, it was fun to get together outside the school environment, and I was glad to meet Anne-Marie's husband and prove to Billy that she is a real person and not just a figment of my imagination! : ) We were back at Oriole Park last night to watch them play the Braves with our friend Pat and a friend of his. It was a perfect night for baseball, and after losing an early lead, the Birds scored 6 runs in the 7th inning and ended up winning 8-4. Both nights we were seated right down on the field thanks to Jon and Pat's respective work tickets, and it was fun to have that perspective on the game. We were also in Baltimore on Friday night-- a cover band we like was playing a free outdoor concert, so we went to dinner before meeting up with Hernie and Crystal for the show. They are in the midst of planning their upcoming October wedding, so it was fun to hear about the progress they're making in that, and it was great people watching! In the complex where they had the outdoor show, there is also a live music venue that had some kind of indie show going on, and there are several dance/nightclubs, so it was quite an eclectic mix of people, fashion, and body art!

I have also enjoyed pursuing my academic interests at my own leisurely pace now that I'm not facing anyone else's deadlines. I am continuing to work my way through the film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings and have enjoyed analyzing the ways Peter Jackson chose to translate the mythology onto film. I wonder what it would be like to see the movies without having read the book-- there is so much missing and unexplained-- but I can see why Tolkien fans and "regular people" alike have responded positively to the films. (I don't know how you could watch them in the theater, though, not to mention back-to-back-- I can only stand about one hour at a time.) I never thought that in a million years I would like this story, so I am further surprised that I have actually developed respect for it as a work of fiction. I think it will always retain a little sentimental value for me because the text and the class represent the "fun" portion of a very rigorous academic semester, and without that little bit of fun, I might have lost my mind (not to mention my focus)

And, Nate says I'm the last remaining American tennis fan, so feel free to stop reading now, but... I have been suffering for the past week from the lack of tennis excitement that overwhelms me during the two weeks of each Grand Slam. Andy Roddick had a good showing in the Wimbledon tune-up tournament at the Queen's Club, but he had to retire in the first set of the semi-final against James Blake yesterday due to a foot/ankle injury. The good news is that he should only be sidelined for a few days, but the bad news is that he did not get a chance to test his skills against Andy Murray, who beat Blake easily in the final. Murray will certainly be exciting to watch at Wimbledon this year (can a Brit actually win it?!), but if Roddick could have beaten him or even played well against him it would have been a good sign. Oh well! Djokovic lost to Tommy Haas in the final of the other tournament, so as far as I'm concerned, his demise continues.

I also admit to succumbing and violating my boycott of Twitter when I found out that Andy Roddick uses it. So does his new wife (the swimsuit model), and much to my surprise, her updates indicate that she is actually kind of funny.

Blog Makeover

Hello again! Now that I'm on summer hiatus from my graduate classes, I am going to try to post a weekly update to my blog for those of you who followed my progress so closely as I was training for my race. Here's a brief recap of what I've been up to for the past few weeks!

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!