Well, we're back from all of our trips, and ready to head off for the
next batch of holiday travels. Japan was amazingly beautiful. I
would highly recommend Kyoto as a vacation spot for anyone who is at
least a little adventurous with food (Dad, not you). I'm currently
interviewing for a biostatistician job at the Radiology Department at
Stanford. Basically, I would be the statistics consultant for the
department. For those of you paying attention, yes, that is John's
department. But we wouldn't be working directly together very often.
Still, we could carpool and have lunch together sometimes. It would
be part-time until I graduate and then full-time after that. It's
looking pretty good so far, and I would be really lucky to find such a
great job when so many people are laid off. Speaking of laid off,
crazy things are happening at PARC. They laid off 20% of their people
this week, so things are really sad around there. Hmmm what else?
I'm still at exactly the same spot in re-doing the bathroom. I got
caught up in Christmas mania, and have been doing that instead of
painting and doing carpentry. I made my own wrapping paper again, and
have been making it my personal mission to ensure that everyone has an
impressive little pile of gifts. I love Christmas! So, I'll see many
of you soon. Can't wait!
John and I are off for fabulous vacations and fun for the next several
weeks. We are going to Japan for a week, then to San Diego for a
conference, then to Joanna's wedding in Boston, then to New Jersey for
Thanksgiving and my 10th High School Reunion. We're going to try to
fit some bridesmaid dress shopping in there, as well as some birthday
fun for Pam. The house is coming along--we're in the middle of
remodeling the bathroom. Much as I'd love to rip out everything and
start from scratch (can you say jacuzzi tub??) we can't quite afford
that, so we're sticking to paint and new cabinet doors/drawer pulls.
We did get a fancy new table saw and miter saw for use in the bathroom
projects. What geeky homeowner crap to get excited about. In other
news, Karl, the ubiquitous grad student defended his thesis last week.
He's that much closer to graduating, and just in time to relax and
enjoy a new season of Buffy. Ummmm that's about it for now... Off to
pack!
Away for the weekend, starting to forget, John and I got our engagement
pictures taken on the beach. Blissful and fearless, hurrah...... we turn
on CNN. When will we learn? Somehow the fireworks on the beach were not
as cool after that. The food drops continue--are we humanitarians? The
military leaders on CNN say we have not bombed the capital. On NPR, the
BBC reporter in Pakistan says that we have. How should we feel when we
don't know the facts? How should we feel when a few months ago, we
couldn't have found Afghanistan on a map, let alone told you what US
foreign policy there entailed? How should we feel after the second night
of bombing? Safe? Justified? Sickened? Lied to? I saw a rally in
Santa Cruz yesterday, and a woman held a sign that said "War is just
another name for terrorism." I don't think I believe that, but is war any
better? Are the innocent people any less dead? (And are the guilty any
less alive?) How do you fight a war when the enemy is everywhere, in
every country, of every ethnicity, in our midst? How can we be safe
without throwing away who we are? "This is going to be a long war," they
keep saying. When will we learn?
Well, a lot happened right after that last update. The world is a
different place. Sadly. Everyone I know is OK, but in some ways no
one is OK. It's scary. I feel like civil rights are being tossed
away on things that won't really keep us safer. I fear for civilians
in other countries and worry that the outpouring of patriotism will
lead to a sentiment that American lives are more valuable than other
innocent lives. I don't want any more innocent bodies on the
pile--neither ours nor anyone else's. I wish I could put up a flag
that marked me as a citizen of the world. I wish for peace, as well
as for justice. I wonder where this tragedy will take our country and
how it will affect the political choices we are lucky enough to be
able to make as citizens. More than ever, I want a say in what our
country will do. And more than ever, I regret that we have a leader
who does not speak for me. I am afraid for us. I am afraid of us. I
am angry. I am proud. And I am deeply saddened. The world is
forever changed, and I pray that we make it through the transition
ahead without performing actions that history will reveal as mistakes.
I pray for the innocents of this country and all others--that we may
thwart the evil plans of the criminals who did this, and live without
fear.
Whew... lots of news! Probably the biggest: Gaby had a lovely baby boy
named Adam. Congrats Gab! I just got back from Burning Man, and before
that an RV trip around the Southwest with Bec and Brian. I took more
pictures than should be legal, and maybe someday some of those will make
it onto the web. But most of my time lately has been spent, surprise,
working on the house. Check out the first batch of before and after pictures. More to come soon. In
wedding news, I'll be ordering my dress soon, but not much else has
changed. We're pretty much done what we're supposed to be done at this
point, so we're just enjoying our engagement and our new home, and
feeling grateful that we did so much in advance. I'll be taking quite a
few trips in November--Japan for a few days (with John, who gets his
part paid for), then San Diego, Boston for Joanna's wedding, and good
ol' New Jersey for my high school reunion, birthday, and Thanksgiving.
Fun fun times ahead!! Woohoo!
It's official. John and I are homeowners, and I have the sore muscles
and scraped hands to prove it. We spent a good weekend starting the
work that needs to be done in the house. I was destructo-gal--pulling
down panelling, removing mouldings, pulling up old carpet staples,
taking down wallpaper... It's satisfying and oddly fun. John spent the
day in the garage putting together a new gas grill. John's mom, the
best mother-in-law any woman could dream of, has given us a gift towards
decorating and buying stuff for the house. So far we have gotten the
grill and a gorgeous rug for the living room both on super-sale
closeout. We also got some patio furniture--we had to go to 2 Targets
to get a matching set because it was on clearance. I've become a
bargain hunter overnight. We also got a beautiful refrigerator that is
being delivered today (on sale? but of course!!) Can't wait to start
painting and to move in! I'm meeting with a contractor today who is
going to knock through a wall to give us a walk-in closet in our
bedroom. It's all a little unreal still, but definitely fun. In other
news, hmmm, happy birthday Gab!
Busy times... We should close on the house in the next couple of days.
We signed our lives away on Friday, so it's pretty much just a matter of
paperwork at this point. That, and depositing our life's savings into
the escrow account. Mom and dad were out for my graduation from
Stanford. I'm not completely done, but close enough that I walked. It
was really fun and I got to wear a goofy hat. Pictures coming soon...
They came out for 10 days, and we had a really wonderful visit. More soon...
Well, the offer was accepted, and we have been spending a lot of our
time with inspectors and bank folk. The financing people have
everything they need, and approval looks good. They still have to send
out their guy to appraise our house, which I understand is usually
not a problem. The termite guy was at the house today and said it
looked great. The regular inspector guy said everything looks fine.
Some outlets are not grounded, but the room we plan to use as our office
is grounded. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done on the
house before we close. The sellers have their guys hard at work with
installing a pump and drainage system for the crawlspace. We've
arranged to have our realtor's guy put in a brick patio and do the sod
in the backyard. The realtor's guy (Pedro) is going to charge us much
less for a beautiful used brick patio than the seller's guy was going to
charge for a regular concrete one, so we get a nicer patio and some
money back. There are a lot of "guys" involved in this process. But
once we close, the balance of power shifts to the women. Painting and a
new fridge and a gas cooktop and curtains and rugs...
Speaking of power shifts, yay for Jeffords!! Woohoo. Now I don't have
to move to Canada out of embarrassment quite yet, but hopefully all you
lefties out there have learned that there IS a difference between
Democrats and Republicans. Vote vote vote. You righties out there
(Could any righties POSSIBLY be reading this?), well, you don't have to
vote. :) Or if you do, vote for the person whose views match yours, not
the person who seems the coolest next time, OK?
OK, house update and political rambling aside, all is well here. Buying
a house is stressful, but in a good way. And the 'rents are coming out
soon, which will be fun. Rob is in Hawaii soaking up the rays, learning
to surf, and trying to find a job. Ummmm Lori's baby pulled himself up
to standing in his crib. And my 10th year reunion is coming up this
November, as is Joanna's wedding. For those of you who don't know, Gab
is pregnant. I think she's far enough along now that it's no longer a
secret. Lots going on 'round these parts! These late 20's are CRAZY...
Oooohhhh big news... John and I made a bid on a house today!! We should
know by tonight or tomorrow if the offer was accepted. We are piled up
to our eyeballs in tax forms and loan data sheets and books about what
the heck is going on. I've called my poor mother every day with
questions like "What kind of heat is the good kind?" "Is a townhouse a
really stupid idea?" etc. etc. But we found a house we love. It's 4
bedrooms and 2 baths, so large enough for us to grow into. It needs
some work (any of my Bay Area readership who enjoy painting and such,
let me know and we'll put you to work!). It has hardwood floors and a
fireplace and the family room has a wall of glass that looks out onto
the very private backyard. You can see a picture
of it from the front, but don't click on it if you are easily
shocked. It lists the asking price, and housing prices in the Bay Area
are NOT LIKE housing prices in the rest of the world. They are scary
and evil. We can afford this because Stanford helps their faculty to
buy a home. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for us and I'll keep you
posted... [Edit: the link to the MLS listing is no longer active. Click
here to see the house.]
Well, obviously I have been using my procrastination budget for
something other than my news page lately. Yes, I am seriously swamped.
Dissertation is moving a bit better, and if those pesky depressed people
would just show up for their sessions, I could be done and ready to move
on soon. Mom and Dad are coming out for my graduation ceremony in June.
I won't be quite done, but I'll be walking anyway. I should be done
running subjects by then, which will feel like quite a graduation for
me! Free time has been pretty devoted to wedding planning. I am so
ahead of things it's silly. I'm going to be done planning a year in
advance. We have a place, a photographer, a dj, maybe a florist. I
know where we'll probably get the cake (but am waiting to go cake
tasting with Mom). I think I have found the dress too! Bec was out
here for a few days last month and we did lots of girly wedding stuff.
That girl is a whiz with a makeup bag. She even made me look like a
glowing bride! John and I are also starting pre-approval processes for
buying a home together. It's a crazy prospect in this housing market,
but makes more sense than throwing away rent money every month. Life is
changing fast, and I am just trying to keep up, but the changes are all
for the better. It's all good.
So this big news of the moment is that John and I got engaged!!! We are
very very happy and are planning the wedding for August 10, 2002 in
Aptos, CA. There is all sorts of engagement and wedding info on our wedding web site (yes, very compulsive, but
necessary with so many out-of-town folks). Yay!!!
December 14, 2001
October 28, 2001
October 8, 2001
October 3, 2001
September 10, 2001
July 2, 2001
June 26, 2001
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