Julie's Wedding

Last Monday Jack flew into town at about 7:30pm.  I picked him from the airport in the stifling heat, and we drove straight to his parents'.  He never told his mom he would be in town.  Jack unlocked the front door and we heard an uncertain "Hello?..." from his mom in the kitchen.  When he responded "Hello?" she immediately recognized his voice and cheered and ran to hug him.  It was quite cute.

We spent the evening at their place, having hamburgers and watching old home videos and catching up.  Later we went over to my mom's house so Jack could get some much anticipated Tichu in with me and EDIT: Everett and Adam. Happily it was a quick game, since it was already late and we had a full day ahead.  We went back and stayed at the Jackson house that night.  We fell asleep around 3am.

The next day (Tuesday, August 10), I woke up anxiously at 8am.  I was nervous I'd sleep through my alarm or be otherwise delayed from my duties that day.  I came downstairs to find Merlene had set out fruit and cereal and other things for breakfast, which was very sweet.  I then nearly blinded myself putting the wrong anti-itch ointment on my eyes and had to douse my face in water for a long time.  Luckily there was no permanent damage, and I'm still able to see.

Merlene graciously offered to wash Jack's suit shirt, which had mysterious (possibly wine) stains on it.  Jack and I left for the 20 min or so trek to the lodge so I could pick up a key and sign some papers promising not to run cars over their nice tiled patio or set the building on fire.  When we arrived at the lodge a very friendly ranger was waiting for us.  I got out of the car and he said "Big day, huh?" I grinned. "Yep."  He informed me that they had taken away two of the round tables and three of the rectangular ones, and I said "Uh, I don't know anything about that, I'm just supposed to pick up a key."

"Oh, you're not the one getting married?" 

"Me? No! It's my sister."

Awkward. Anyway.

So we did a walk through, I signed some things, the ranger left, and Jack and I unloaded what had already been packed in our car the day before.  The weather was sweltering, but the lodge was very bright and spacious and air conditioned.  Julie chose well.

Outdoor ceremony location.

So we finished and went back to Mom's house where a lot of other people were already taking ladders, boxes of homemade lanterns and bouquets, tons of alcohol, and a bizarre assortment of other accessories and filling 4-5 cars with it all.  I am continually moved by how many friends we have in MO and how willing they are to pitch in when our family does big projects like a wedding.  Or Birthday Hallow Thanksgiving Eve Party.  Or Olympics.  It was at Mom's house that I also found out a) Julie was nearly killed on the highway that morning by a driver not paying attention and b) the place where Julie had reserved table cloths had burnt down.

Happily, nearly everyone in my social life has FB profiles.  Mom set her FB status to something about the linen debacle, and almost immediately the dear Sarah messaged Mom saying she knew where we could rent affordable table cloths (same place she had used for her wedding, apparently).  So that was a great catch and save.

From Mom's house, we all trekked together back to the lodge and, under Julie's calm and precise supervision, began assembling what ultimately turned out to be a gorgeous reception hall.  She had red, orange, yellow, and blue lanterns strung around the entire room.  Where nearly all weddings I've seen have had a color theme of white and _____, Julie's was much more colorful, with red, orange, and yellow tablecloths, place settings, streamers, etc.  She even bought m'n'm's, skittles, and dum dums and placed them in glass candy dishes according to color.  She had homemade glass centerpieces that contained instructions for The Paper Game complete with notecards, and instructions for our favorite drinking game complete with playing cards.  She had colored index cards at each place setting for guests to write well wishes and other messages to be placed in the her and Denny's time capsule (which she also had stained and honed herself).  They are going to open it on their 10th anniversary.

The whole place ultimately looked fantastic.  I can safely say it was the prettiest reception I've yet seen, and if you factor in the awesome-to-cost ratio, it is even more impressive.  If I ever get married, Julie will probably plan my wedding.

Of course we had a ton of help setting it up.  Tiffany photographed everything as we went along.  Mike (plus Everett, Neil, and others) set up the DJ booth.  Neil carefully crafted the reception playlist according to Julie's specific requests, and he went further and backed up the playlist on to at least two other laptops, to make sure there were no problems.

Julie also had a table covered in board games (dubbed "non-dancing entertainment").  Then there were the long banquet style tables where the guests could put their dishes.  You see, Julie and Denny requested that, instead of gifts, everyone bring a dish, pot-luck style.  She had appetizers ready for beforehand, and coolers full of water, soda, and beer.  Even though the ceremony promised to be a short, sweet one, since it was outdoor in MO August heat, she designed the wedding programs to double as handheld fans.  (I put those together, btw.)

So while everyone was still assembling Julie's dream reception, Jack and I went home to get cleaned up and dressed proper for the wedding.  We first stopped by his parents' to pick up his suit.  Not only had Merlene gotten the stains out, but she quickly offered us some delicious sandwiches for lunch.  Given the business of the day I hadn't even thought about how to fit in lunch, so that was greatly appreciated.  As we were getting ready Jack was feeling pretty smug about how sharp he looks in his suit, and I warned him that he is absolutely not allowed to try to outdo Denny in dress on Denny's own wedding day.

Then we came back to watch over everything (included the rented chairs that had been arranged outside), and everyone else left to get cleaned up.  This meant Jack and I had the entire beautiful reception hall to ourselves for a couple of hours (joined also by Tiffany and Nick later on).  We finished a few odds and ends (sharpening pencils for the Paper Game, adding a few extra place settings, putting out the appetizers) and then we had nothing left to do...but practice swing dancing!  We had the entire dance floor to ourselves with no audience to make us self-conscious and complete control over the music, so we spent the last 30-45 mins before the wedding party started arriving just twirling and jitterbugging and trying the Charleston, and it was great fun.  I laughed so hard.

Soon people started arriving.  First there was Julie herself and her hair stylist (Melissa), makeup artist (Mom), photographers (Tiffany, Katie K.) and general helpers (Ellen).  Julie had also brought some of Denny's things, including the shoes he'd be wearing.  When Jack saw them he announced that Denny had already out-dressed him, in shoes alone.  That's how awesome Denny's shoes were.  Also, Denny had a tux.  I mean, come on.  He looked amazing. 

Others of the helper crew and guests started drifting in, bringing their food with them.  I soon found myself constantly running from the dressing room to the reception hall and back, delivering Julie's instructions one way and other peoples questions and comments back.  That was sort of fun, I was all over the place.

Rain clouds were starting to pile up outside.  I got one or two texts from people not far from the lodge warning that it was raining where they were.  Julie asked me to inform everyone that she was running about 20 minutes late and to apologize.  Some were concerned that it would start raining before we could start the ceremony, but Julie said if that happened we'd just do the ceremony in the reception hall and deal with it.  She was a remarkably relaxed and flexible bride (which isn't even like her, frankly) and I was really impressed.

Happily, it had not started raining by the time she was ready, but the dark clouds had (slightly) cooled things down outside for the ceremony.  Even so, as I walked down the aisle I could see the guests making good use out of the fan-programs.  Excellent foresight there, Julie.

The ceremony was lovely.  Rocket slept through the whole thing, thank God, so there were no screaming babies.  Phil, the officiator, did a great job keeping it short but sincere and sweet.  Julie and Denny had written their own vows, and the vows turned out both humorous and very touching.  Julie cried.  I didn't cry, but I considered it.  From the looks of my family, so did Ellen and Mom.  Everett didn't, though. 

Nope, lost it.

The ceremony was beautiful, but it was still surreal that I was sitting there watching my little sister get married.  I was so absorbed in thoughts about this, in fact, that I forgot the heat entirely until Phil made a joke about it as they were wrapping up.  Julie and Denny walked back down the aisle to "Rollercoaster of Love" (heh) and then we all headed back to AC.

After receiving the guests into the reception hall and encouraging people to start on the appetizers, the families of the bride and groom stepped out for a few quick photos by Mike and Tiffany, who both did a fantastic job. 

Then Julie and Denny had their own photos.  They had just finished and walked back inside when there was an ominous rumble of thunder and it started to rain.  People joked about close they cut it, what perfect timing, etc, and then it started to rain much harder.  Phil said a blessing over our meal, interrupted by more thunder.  He didn't skip a beat, though.  Then the power flickered, but came back on.  Sarah and I decided to go get the candles that were originally going to be set out after dark, just in case.  The power flickered again and went out for good.  The music stopped.  Sarah and I and Troy and some others busied ourselves lighting the candles, and I waited to hear what Julie wanted to do. 

Then leaves and branches and other solid objects started slamming against the nearly-all-windows wall of the lodge, and people started to look truly alarmed (including me).  Julie told me to ask Mike to announce that if there is an emergency we should proceed calmly to the bathrooms, but then I realized Mike had no electricity with which to use the microphone.

The storm beginning to rage.

Luckily, the storm calmed down quickly, and the candlelight looked nice, but we still had no music and no AC.  Mike, being the genius that he is (this is why we continually call on him for help), used some type of power converter and ran the entire DJ booth from an extension chord to his car.  Amazing.  So we had music again, which I really felt was the most important part.  Dad opened the many doors and windows to try to get air flow, and we hoped the power would come back on soon.

Alas, it did not.  I called the ranger and he said the whole grid was down, and it didn't look like it'd be up any time soon.

Still we made do.  Denny and Julie danced together to "Hey There Delilah". 

I *love* the lighting on this one.

Julie and Sola and Harrison danced to "Itty Bitty Pretty One".  Jack and I did some amateur swing dance, and laughed a lot, and sucked a lot, as usual, but it's great fun.  Everyone enjoyed the *many* delicious dishes that had been brought.  The pot luck turned out to be a truly fantastic idea.  Not only was it cheaper, it meant a large abundance of food (my family was still eating leftovers 5 days later) and it meant we could leave the food out for the entire reception, as opposed to some caterers who take it all up after an hour or so.  My favorite was Tiffany's Olympic Soup, but there were many other good dishes as well.

Another sweet note: periodically people kept coming up to me and saying "I know we weren't *supposed* to bring gifts, but if, hypothetically, we did anyway, where would we put them?"  I found out later that Julie and Denny were really surprised and moved by how generous the guests had been, even after being asked not to bring gifts.  Apparently they went home and went through each card and note and gift together and it was a wonderful experience.  So thank you, everyone.

Julie and Denny cut their bizarre wedding cake (based off of this disturbing youtube video).

Denny didn't trust Julie to not shove the cake all over his face, so he heldher wrists while they exchanged bites. Heh. He was probably right.

Sola just wants to eat the cake already.

Finally, Dad and Julie decided to do their father/daughter dance.  I was standing at the DJ booth when Dad asked Neil to play Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart In San Francisco".  I was videotaping when the song actually started skipping, despite it not being part of a cd.  I felt so bad for Julie.  First the power goes out and then, during one of the only two special dances she does for the evening, the song keeps skipping.  Dad and Julie ignored it at first and kept dancing, but then it got worse and worse.  I looked over at Neil and he gave this helpless but slightly defensive shrug like he just couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.  I found out later that Jack, Eddie, Katie Kaiser, and I (and probably several other people), despite all being across the hall from one another, all simultaneously thought "Oh wow.  Neil is so dead."  Dad finally gave up ignoring the skipping, stopped dancing with Julie and walked over to Neil to see what was wrong.  Julie looked really pissed.  Tony Bennett stopped playing, and then "Zoot Suit Riot" started and stopped, then Tony Bennett for a second, something, I don't know, confusion!  I tried to cheer Julie up by shouting to her "Julie, it's cool!  This is where you and Dad do all the swing moves you secretly know!"  Of course, I was just kidding.

But then "Zoot Suit Riot" started playing for real, and Dad and Julie started snapping and dancing towards each other.  I still thought they were just making it up as they went along, and simply being gracious about the ruined Tony Bennett song.  I thought this all the way until Dad dipped Julie and she did a really high kick, and then I realized: they actually did take secret swing dance lessons.  Wha...?!  WHAT?!

After that *incredible* event, there was still much fun visiting. 

As the evening went on it got warmer in the reception hall and most of the guests went out onto the deck to enjoy the breeze.  Neil or Mike, not sure which, rearranged the speakers to play the music outside.  Lots of the younger guests (and by younger I still mean early 20's) were blowing bubbles (there were bubbles for everyone that ended up being used throughout the reception, rather than just as the bride and groom exited...actually some bubbles were used while the ceremony was still going on (Ben!)).  The bubbles filled the deck and floated out over the field next to it--very pretty in the sunset.

And then it occurred to us: sunset.  We had no electricity and once the sun was down we wouldn't be able to see a thing cleaning up.  We decided to cut the reception short by about 2 hours (alas!) and pack everything up immediately.  We still weren't fast enough.  Soon we were trying to clean everything by candlelight (and one heavy duty flashlight provided, of course, by Mike).  Thank God we have so many good friends--we had probably a dozen or so non-family members stick with us to the end packing up the abandoned potluck dishes and all of the decorations and etc.  People were continuously coming up to me asking "What else do you need?  What else can I do?"  Besides Julie and Denny exchanging vows, *that* was the most moving part of the night for me, to have so much help and so many people who care about our family.

Julie and Denny finished collecting the notes for their time capsule and then were free to go.  The rest of us finished cleaning and then a different friendly park ranger came down and signed off on the job so we could get out deposit back.  THEN most of the younger guests (again, those in their 20s) retired to the generous Pat Spencer's house for the after party.  That was the right decision.

 We took all of the alcohol that hadn't been consumed at the reception and had drinking games, Tichu (Jack and Troy's first showdown), and *lots* of dancing.  I danced until I couldn't any more--which for me is quite a lot.  It was a great party, and I'm so glad we did it.  At the end of the night, most of the alcohol still hadn't been consumed so I guess we'll have to throw another party next time the Snyders are in MO together.

Overall, a fantastic day.  If I ever get married, I hope my wedding is as excellent.

8.7.10 - touring Eddie's work

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day putting together wedding program/fans for Julie, and then I played more Tichu. Ridiculous, isn't it? Shortly before midnight I left to go visit Eddie at his work. He's a 911 dispatcher. The drive there was about 30 minutes, windows down, warm night air, blaring music--this may be one of my favorite aspects of visiting MO in the summer.

Eddie explained all the workings of his computer, the abbreviations, the methods, and I got a microphone-less headset so I could listen in on the calls. Most of them were reporting drunk drivers. It's a pretty interesting job, very cool to get to see the other side of those phone calls. I also worked on programs while I listened in. When he had his 10 minute break we took a quick walk around the neighborhood. It's an entirely business district so there were no people around, but it was incredibly clean and well kept and there were rabbits everywhere, which was kind of weird. He works one block from both Starbucks and BreadCo. The whole area looked extremely pleasant. Hardcore pleasant.

Today Dad, Jill and the kiddies are going to be getting into town, and the next few days are when things are really going to ramp up. I probably won't post again until after the wedding, so wish us all well. :)

8.5.10 - Drive visits with Mom and Julie's bachelorette party

Nearly every week day I get up "early" (9am feels early when you go to bed at 3) to take Mom to work so we have another car available during the day. It gives me a chance to visit with her on the way to work and a chance to blare my music with the windows down on the highway on the way back, so I enjoy it. This is what I did yesterday. Then I came home, took a deep breath, and registered for the LSAT.

Yesterday afternoon I went to have coffee with none other than Echo, who I hadn't seen in about 5 years. I got to meet her son Conner, who was very quiet (I like quiet babies :P). He even fussed quietly, it was cute. And it was great catching up with her. Btw, I *also* got to try a nonfat no-whip double chocolaty chip frappuccino, and I can say I've discovered my new drink.

I left Echo to take Julie back to her place, which didn't take as long as I thought. I went to pick up Mom from work but got there about 40 minutes early, so I sat in the parking lot dozing and reading a little bit more of The Name of the Wind (which I have all but forgotten since arriving in MO). Just as Mom got to the car and we were getting ready to go back, Julie texted me asking if we could drop by and visit at her place for awhile, so we did, and happily I convinced her to go see Inception with the rest of us (since the other 4 siblings were already going--peer pressure). We all went as well as Mom and several friends. I'd never seen it, and I thought that I might not like it since *every single person* I know who has seen it has gushed about it. I thought my expectations would be too high. Turns out they weren't. Also, I may be in love with Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Today Eddie came by again for some Tetris Attack. We really need to get a decent 2nd controller. After he stomped me a few times, Ellen and I worked together to write a quiz for Julie's bachelorette party. The quiz was half questions about Julie's life and half questions about wedding trivia, and it ended up being pretty funny. Everett got 10/14 right when we tested it on him, so maybe we made it too easy, but whatever.

Sarah is in town and came over, and her, Julie, Ellen and I went to Goodwill and then Plato's Closet (Goodwill but better). I found a halter top I love for $5.

Finally we all went to pick up Mom from work and then head to Moolah's for Julie's party. Tiffany joined us there. We had drinks, junk food, bowling, good music, the quiz, good photos, good time all around. I'm glad we went on a Thursday because we were nearly the only ones there and had plenty of space and didn't have to wait for a lane. Julie wore a tiara I got her, in place of a tiny veil, and it came with a magic wand, so all bonus.

We returned home, taught even more people Tichu, and watched old home videos I'd brought for Sarah.

8.3.10 - Canasta & Picasso's

Yesterday Mom and I went to Grandma and Grandpa' s to play canasta with them and Aunt Linda. I'll tell you what, after all this Tichu it took me a bit to remember the rules of canasta, but it all came back to me. We enjoyed Grandma's ultra healthy low fat high protein chicken salad and Linda's chocolate chex mix (how have I not heard of this before??). Grandpa and I won the first game with an amazing underdog victory, and lost the second game soundly. It was good times.

After I got home Julie and I went to Old Town St. Charles for our now-traditional trip to Picasso's coffee. 

8.2.10 Picasso's (it's tradition!) with Julie.

We finished shortly though and went for a walk along the river in the muggy heat, which I am still enjoying even though everyone here hates it, apparently. We talked about marriage and kids and growing up in general, which seems to be all I talk about lately.

Walking along the river in the MO heat.

I don't remember what I did last night, but I think Tetris Attack started creeping in there somewhere.

Today Neil was finally arriving. Ellen and Everett went with me to the airport and we talked about terrible coworker/classmate stories. Everett went in to help Neil bring his bags to the car, and as they walked out of the airport it struck me (for the first of many times this trip) how strange it is to see my two younger brothers side-by-side looking so freaking tall and adult. I think part of it is due to me editing so many old home videos lately and remembering how they used to be. Anyway, it's cool.

Tonight I worked out again and then Ben came over to--you guessed it--learn Tichu. Ben and I played vs Ellen and Everett, and we managed to lose by over 1900 points. That's a personal record for me, and beats Neil and Jack's record of losing by 1890 points. I was actually sort of impressed..

8.1.10 - Massive Grand Tichu

Today I walked up to All Saints with Mom. Fr. Don gave the homily; his homilies are nearly always out of the park. This one was about greed vs charity, and it was well done. After church Mom and I walked to First Watch cafe to find a 25 minute wait, and we continued on to Bread Co (woot) to find a 0 minute wait, as well as calories listed up front on the menu (awesome). We had a small breakfast and walked home.

I already forgot what I did this afternoon, although I probably worked out because Everett has a new elliptical machine and I've used it nearly every day. Not only that, Everett has a 50" tv with surround sound, so when I work out I just set up a Youtube playlist of music videos and the time flies. It's stellar. Someday, when I have money, I'm going to get the same set up, I think.

Tonight Troy texted me asking if he could come over to play Tichu (the madness is spreading!). He and Erin came by and brought everything needed to make spiked fruit smoothies while we played cards. I quit in the middle of the game because Eddie came by to visit and I wanted to talk to him. While he and I were downstairs watching old home movies we heard the continued Tichu game upstairs. There was muffled shouting and roaring laughter and then a loud, ominous thump. We were curious how they managed all that within a card game, but not curious enough to get off the couch. Later Everett came downstairs and explained that they had invented a new rule called "massive grand Tichu". When you call "tichu," you see all your cards and make a 100pt bet that you will go out first. When you call "grand tichu" you see 8 out of 14 cards and make a 200pt bet you will go out first. Well "massive grand tichu" is when you get to see none of your cards before betting 300pts you will go out first. It's an act of desperation, to be sure. In any case, Erin called it and then won, after not winning a single previous hand. This lead to chaos, apparently.

8.1.10 - County Fair

So the County Fair yesterday was excellent. Saw my first demolition derby, rode a ferris wheel, saw a camel for the first time in my life ("watch out, they spit!") and danced a lot. 

I really enjoyed the warm weather, and I equally enjoyed noticing the different demographics in this part of the country compared to Berkeley. It's like a whole other world coming out here, and it becomes more apparent the longer I don't live here. Mostly I've noticed people are generally fatter and nicer than where I'm from. Also, freakin' everyone is white. That's kind of bizarre.

7.31.10 - teaching everyone Tichu

Yesterday I went up to Wal Mart to grab a few things, and was amused by the contrast in customer service compared to the Wal Mart where Jack works (it's much friendlier here, it's ridiculous). Then I went *back* to BreadCo for lunch with Aunt Linda (it's tradition). I got the Frontega Chicken Sandwich for the 2nd day in a row, and was not remotely sick of it.

When I got home I got to try out Everett's new elliptical machine while watching my Youtube music video playlist on his 50" plasma TV screen. It was fantastic. After the workout, Everett, Ellen, Mom, David and I went to Sugar Creek winery to play--yes that's right--Tichu. I'm teaching everyone! We had wine, chocolate, cheese and crackers and played nearly a full game. We cut it off at 930 to 770 because a storm was rolling in (which was wonderful to watch, btw).

At home Everett and David showed me Fantastic Mr. Fox and Slammin' Salmon, and both movies were very funny.

Today I woke up and basically just talked to Mom for the first few hours of the day. Then Julie had her pre-wedding Pow Wow, and when it was over Troy, Erin and Aaron stuck around so that I could teach them Tichu. They picked it up pretty quickly, just like everyone. They had to leave before it was over, though. Alas.

That it so far, but it's been wonderful. Mom and I are getting ready to go to the St. Charles County Fair now. I just wanted to write this all out so in a year and beyond I'll still have the good memories.

7.29.10 - MO trip so far

Yesterday morning Jack and I got some frappuccinos and walked around Berkeley campus. We stopped once in a wooded area where squirrels walked right up to us over and over, and another time on a stone bridge over a creek. We had good talks about our lives right now. I really like him.

Then he took me to Oakland airport. The place was nearly empty--I guess flying on a Wednesday afternoon is the way to go. I breezed through security, played Spider Solitaire until we boarded, and read more of The Name of the Wind (which is picking up) during the trip. All was smooth. As the flight descended in St. Louis I got to watch a thunderstorm a little ways off. Watching thunderstorms from that height is wonderful, because you can see the nearly-incessant lightning.

Ellen and Mom picked me up from the airport and as soon as I got home I taught David, Everett, and Mike Tichu. Spreading the love. They picked it up pretty well, but Mike had to leave before we finished. Then David, Everett and I stayed up until about 5am watching old home videos I brought. We laughed till we cried.

I got up a few hours later (today) to take Mom to work so I could use her car during the day. I never quite went back to sleep. Went to BreadCo, had a (4 hour!) lunch with Angela visiting, which was great fun, and while I was there I ran into a friend I knew at L'abri! How bizarre is that? We are going to try to get coffee next week.

When I got home Ellen and I walked around the neighborhood a bit. I'm actually really enjoying the heat and even the humidity, just because it brings memories of other MO summers. It feels like there's little weather in the bay area by comparison. When I got back I finally crashed for a few hours.

That night David, Everett, Ellen, Adam and I went to see Julie and Denny's new home. It's about twice the size of my apartment at half the price (welcome to CA), and it is really nice. We stayed for a few hours, played more Tichu and watched funny music videos on Julie and Denny's giant projector screen. Went home around 1:30 in the morning. I think the summer weather out here is conducive to late schedules, because we don't want to go out until evening when it's cooled, and sleep during the hot part of the day.

7.23.10 - Editing home videos

A week or two ago I realized I have a working VCR stashed away in my closet, so I used it to watch 5-6 vhs home videos I haven't watched in years. They are from 2002, 2003, and 2005, and they have a lot on them I'd forgotten about. Some of it is very funny, all of it is nostalgic. 

So I've spent the last week or more recording all of the videos onto a computer and editing them in an attempt to make dvds for many of the people in the videos. (I notice I pledged copies of a lot of the videos to said people at the time of the recordings; better 8 years later than never, I guess.) It's been a fun project!

Since I don't need to be at work, and Jack is trying to get extra work done for Dad, I've been spending a lot of time at Dad's house. By "Dad's house" I mean "Dad's media room" because most of the house is covered in plastic sheets and cardboard while the kitchen sits in a state of disarray. The kitchen is being remodeled, so I spend nearly all my time in the media room, editing video files and playing Tichu with Jack, Neil, and Cody (who lives here now, btw.)

I leave for MO next Wed. It will be my first time there since Christmas; this is one of my longer stints away from MO since I moved to CA. I'm going to be helping Julie get ready for her wedding while having lunches and catching up with everyone there. Should be great fun, I can't wait.

7.4.10 - July 4th

This morning I got up a little early and made a (diet) cherry coke salad to chill in the fridge a few hours. Shortly after I finished, Henry came over, and we visited while waiting for Jack to get up and about. Then we all headed to the Berkeley wall for the largest wall ball turnout I've yet seen. There were enough people to play on both sides of the wall, and to later play a huge tournament-style game or several. Julie came and got to play. Dad and I watched; I, because I dislike sports and running, and Dad because his knees are sore. It was good to have him to visit with.

The games went on a long time and were sometimes hilarious to watch. Very competitive. Afterward, nearly everyone retired to Doug's house for a potluck barbecue. Far too much food, which was awesome. Brats, burgers, salads, corn, grilled zucchini (mmmmmm), pies, cookies, smores, etc. I taught three new people (including Julie) Tichu, spreading the Tichu love, and then I played in different Tichu games for a few hours. Finally we left, exhausted, and poor Jack still has to go to work! (He works overnight tonight.)

We didn't see any fireworks, but overall it was a very fun day.

6.25.10 - San Diego so far...

For reasons I've forgotten Renata got a frequent flier ticket recently, so she paid for half of my trip to come visit her for a long weekend in San Diego. I haven't spent more than an evening with her in probably over a year, so this is very exciting.

Being the genius that I am, I booked my ticked for today, Friday, at 7:20am instead of in the evening, but I'm sort of glad, because it just means more time to hang out with her. Jack was a sweetheart (shock, I know, *happy sigh*) and got up at 5:45am with me to take me to the airport. The flight was remarkably short compared to going to MO. Renata couldn't meet me as soon as I landed because she had to finish watching one of the World Cup games involving Brazil (dork), so I sat in an airport Starbucks and had a non-fat chai latte (courtesy of my birthday gift card from Merlene!) and relaxed. It was very pleasant.

Anyway, she picked me up and we hung out at her place by the pool, catching up. Later in the afternoon we intended to go with her roommate Carly to enjoy Renata's birthday present to me, which was a kayaking tour! She's very original, Renata.

We took Carly's car, and got there in plenty of time for our new appointment. Everyone who worked at the kayak tour place was very friendly. We went out with a group of about 10 kayaks, plus the tour guides. I was nervous at first, though trying to hide it. Renata manages to get me to try new things because she's so excited and I don't want to spoil it, and then I almost always end up having a blast myself once I get over my nervousness. That's what I kept telling myself, anyway, as we walked in bathing suits in the chilly wind towards the GIGANTIC OCEAN.

The scariest part was when we were first going into the water. The guides had warned us to steer straight into the waves or we'd surely tip over. We waded in to our knees before getting in the kayaks, and the water was freezing. I was thinking "How did I let Renata talk me into this??" I said that out loud to her, actually. When we started paddling we immediately got turned sideways, and it was nerve-racking trying to get back on track, but we figured it out without falling over.

After that it was completely awesome. The waves were only near the shore and beyond it was just large, gentle swells. The water was actually warmer than the air, and very pleasant. Our guides told us all sorts of trivia about La Jolla and the area, including how the $48m homes at the edge of the cliffs come with contracts where the owners acknowledge that their houses will fall into the sea within 20 years. Supposedly one such home fell in 2 years ago, and the man only had a 2 hour warning, *and* he got fined for polluting the ocean.

We kayaked over to some cliffs and saw the sea lions, and then we went one kayak at a time into a cave. All very cool. The hardest part was kayaking back to the shore, because it was far and Renata and I are incapable of paddling in a straight line. We were laughing a lot about it though.

6.19.10 - My birthday continued

Woke up, went to Safeway, bought the ingredients for spinach sausage loaf, went home, set the bread dough to thaw. Jack helped me clean up a bit while we listened to excellent music. (Recently I have really enjoyed "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance, and Jack and Neil love "Rag and Bone" by White Stripes.) Then I spent around 4 hours reorganizing my dad's massive never-before-organized living room book shelf while listening to Ken Burns' documentary on the Civil War. This was pleasant in several ways. History is more fun to listen to than to read, with people reading out loud from the letters of the past, using the same accents and verbiage, etc. McClellan sounded like a complete idiot, btw. It was also nice to go through all of Dad's books and realize how many good ones he owns. I love books. I picked out a few to borrow, and I felt like I ought to have a rolling ladder to swing across the shelf while singing songs from Beauty and the Beast.

Anyway, when I finally finished that I made spinach sausage loaf and used the extra bread dough for cinnamon rolls. In the course of doing this, Morgan, and then Henry, and then Doug came over. We all ate and drank and joked and of course, played lots of Tichu. Henry and Morgan had never played before, but they did well. Henry especially picked up quickly (Morgan had to leave early), and ultimately it was Henry and me playing Neil and Jack. We got stupidly good hands, to the point where it was hilarious to even lay down our cards because we were so crushing Neil and Jack.

We finally wrapped up the game near 1:30am. Well worth it. Overall a great birthday.

PS - Forgot to add: Jack got me a gift (already in addition to the wonderful dinner!) It is a 100-page scrapbook for me to fill up, and he said he wants to help me with it. It came with a note and was all very sweet. I like him. :)

6.17.10 - My birthday

I get several texts, tons of FB messages, and a few calls wishing me happy birthday. All were very sweet, but my favorites were

1) Sola. Julie dialed for her and then put her on, and she sang me Happy Birthday in her adorable voice. I told her "You're the first person to sing me 'Happy Birthday' today!" "Thanks...for saying that." Very, very cute.

2) Mom, calling to tell me she prayed all day that I'd have a good day, and that she is so proud of me. It was a short but sweet conversation.

3) Angela, giving me a Chuck Norris quote on my FB wall. "Team Chuck Norris can never be defeated. It will live on because Chuck Norris can never die."

4) The following IM convo with Neil:

Me: do you think tonight you could put microsoft office on my computer as well as the recording software?
Neil: HAPPY FRIGGEN BIRTHDAY!
Me: lol
Me: thanks
Me: ...is that a yes?
Neil: Yes! Because it's your birthday!

I also received cards from Mom, Grandma and Grandpa Benoist, and Jack's grandmother! And I got this shirt, which I love, from Julie:

So I went to work, learned about minipreps and a few other things. My boss, Chaomin, let me go early. Jack came to pick me up and we hung out at his place, windows open to the beautiful weather. He worked more on the puzzle (he is tireless) and I put music on my laptop and just generally relaxed. Then he showed me how to change the oil in his car, which turned out to be less complicated than I expected. Jack left to get gas, and I continued adding to my music collection. After 20 minutes or so, Jack still wasn't back, and I fell asleep. I'm not sure how long he was gone in total, but when he returned he had gotten his car washed (the inside is already immaculate :) ).

Then he busied himself getting very dressed up to take me out to dinner. I didn't know where we were going but I did know that he was wearing a suit, so that's exciting. He took me back to my place to get ready, and by the time we actually left for the mysterious restaurant we were both starving, which works out well. He drove a backwards, convoluted way so that I couldn't guess where we were headed, and it worked at first. Ultimately he had to drive past the actual restaurant looking for parking, and so I spotted it--Rivoli's! It's the same restaurant where we celebrated our anniversary dinner, and we both had really liked it.

So we wined and dined at a corner table where we could sit next to each other and observe the rest of the restaurant. It's a very intimate, relaxed setting. We had great talks, including wondering whether or not you ought to tell your kids Santa is real, ha. When they brought out dessert (pineapple and raspberry sorbet with honey ginger cookies) they had one thin candle in it, and they *did not* sing me happy birthday--so it was the best of both worlds. :)

5.27.10 - Summer so far

So yesterday on the way home I wiped out on my bike and my backpack shoved my face into the sidewalk. I scraped my palms real good trying to stop, and I crushed the brakes into the front tire so that it can't turn, meaning I had to carry the bike home on it's rear wheel without using my palms, ha. I'm fine and Jack thinks he can fix the bike, and really I'm just grateful I didn't break anything or have any serious problems. I wasn't sure at first because I cut my forehead and there was no reflective surface around, so all I knew was that my head hurt and there was blood in my eye. Creepy. But it is actually a pretty small cut, so there you go. And luckily (a) it was a nice day out (as opposed to the rain the day before, and the rain today) and (b) I was only 3 blocks from my apartment, so it didn't take me that long to get home and clean up.

The lab job is going steady. I make and run gels and make buffers and I enjoy it. When my post-doc is busy and has nothing for me to do I read, and lately I've been reading this American History book I have from a class I never finished a few years ago. It's actually pretty interesting. I like reading about colonization and various impressive characters. Maybe I'll get into it and start reading biographies and things. Or maybe not. But it's a good way to pass time now.

I like biking home from lab (except for yesterday) because it's summer and the campus is nearly empty. It's almost like having the place to myself.

Then I finish at the lab and go home to hours of utter freedom. I'm still not used to not having homework. I certainly don't miss it. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer of not-having-homework, and getting to meet Rocket, seeing Jill again, seeing Julie, seeing Renata, and then Julie's wedding! 

Meanwhile, this is the awesome view from the window at my desk in lab:

5.18.10 - Starting work in the lab

I've had at least two nightmares involving me thinking I was done with finals only to find out that I still have to take my P chem final and I haven't been studying for it. It's great to wake up from those and remember that, no, I am done with the final, and moreso, I got an A in the class. I guess my subconscious just refuses to believe it.

I started my new job working in the Cate Lab yesterday. My superior taught me to make a few gels and buffers yesterday, and went through some basic procedures involving the sonicator and larger centrifuges. This morning I've made a few more solutions and now I'm waiting for them to fully dissolve. It already reminds me somewhat of working for the Chem storeroom at City College, and that's kind of nice. And, if nothing else, I'm making about the same amount I made working for Starbucks, but I never, ever have to deal with rude or insane customers. Or any customers for that matter. So I'm pretty happy.

Meanwhile, even with work it still feels like vacation because when I go home from work, there's nothing I have to do. I love it. Last night Jack and I made some deli sandwiches (in his new toaster oven, woot) and watched maybe 5 episodes of LOST Season 5 (I'm just now catching up). And it was guiltless, and it was great. This free time should also allow me to workout more often and finish another scrapbook, etc. I'm very pleased.

I also have my apartment to myself, at least for the foreseeable future, because my roommate went back home for the summer. She may end up sub-letting her room, which is fine with me since it would only be through mid-August anyway, but for now I'm still paying only my half of the rent and getting the place to myself *and* knowing I get the same (awesome) roommate next semester. She really is idyllic for me--we are both pretty clean and we generally stay out of each others' way, but we get along well when we do interact. Love it.

To top all of that good news off, Sarah is coming to visit. She gets in to Oakland in about an hour and a half. Sweet.

So yeah, things are going really well. Glad for the break.

5.13.10 - My Heroine

"...I'm not in business to give chances. I'm running a railroad." ~ Dagny
"That's an extremely narrow view, it seems to me. I don't see why we should want to help one man instead of a whole nation." - Jim
"I'm not interested in helping anybody. I want to make money." ~ Dagny

"The hours ahead, like all her nights with him, would be added, she thought, to the savings account of one's life where moments of time are stored in the pride of having been lived."

"I feel that others live up to me, if they want me." ~ Dagny

"My way of trading is to know that the joy you give me is paid for by the joy you get from me..." ~ Dagny