Weekend Update

In case anyone’s bored, you can view pictures of my weekend here.  We had a yummy dinner at Outback on Friday, then we went to see The Guardian on Saturday.  We made a bet about who would die, and the loser had to buy the winner ice cream.  I won.  (To be honest, I was hoping I would lose so Stephen would let me pay for something for once, but no such luck.)  I don’t really think I’m giving anything away by saying someone dies; people always die in movies featuring risky careers. 

Saying goodbye to Stephen was not so great, but lucky for me he’s coming up here for my birthday weekend o’ fun.  I’m having people over for a Saved by the Bell marathon at my apartment on Friday (how cool is that?), then on Saturday Stephen is taking me to dinner at The Melting Pot
,which I love and never get to visit because it’s expensive.  If you’ve never had chocolate fondue and cheesecake, you are missing out.  We’re also planning to finish registering for gifts (yay!), and I will be glad when that’s over because it’s time consuming and slightly annoying and one more thing I can check off the list.  After we went to a wedding on Saturday evening, Stephen and I planned out the music for our wedding ceremony, and I’m totally excited about it.  There’s not a traditional bit in there, but I think it’s going to be lovely and unique, which is what I’m going for.  (I do have a hymn and some instrumental music in it, but there’s no “Wedding March” or “Canon in D” to be found.)  Only 229 more days!

P.S.  My paper presentation at the conference went really well.  The only comments I got were positive.  (I think it helped that the audience picked at the other woman’s argument quite a bit.)

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My (not so) Exciting Fall Break Plans

Tomorrow around 3 p.m. I will be on my way to see Stephen! Fall break is this Thursday and Friday, and it couldn’t have come at a better time because I don’t know how much longer I could have gone without seeing him. (It’s been almost an entire month. That’s a loooong time.) Our visit will be slightly interrupted by my attendance at the Southeastern Medieval Association (SEMA) conference, where I will present a paper that is not yet complete (or rather, it’s complete but is entirely too long and not presentable in its current state). I’m less than excited about this conference, but mainly because I’ve never presented at one before, and I don’t want people to think I’m arguing something completely preposterous and then call me out on it during the question and answer time. Or worse yet, what if someone asks me a question I can’t answer? Fortunately for me, one of my professors suggested replying with, “That’s a great question. What do YOU think?” but I don’t know that responding in that manner would be appropriate for me. It might work for him, since he’s a nationally and internationally known Anglo Saxonist, but I’m just a lowly grad student. If I could just attend this conference and listen to everyone else’s papers, I think I’d enjoy myself immensely. Oh well, at least I get to stay in a hotel and don’t have to pay for it because of the university’s fabulous travel budget.

Oh, and I’m driving a nice little Pontiac Vibe for the rest of the week because my car is at a dealership being repaired. Poor little Chestnut Cruiser (my car) was hit in the parking lot on campus, and her driver’s side tail light did not survive the impact. Fortunately for me, the guy who hit me was ever so nice and left his name and number, which restored in me some faith in humanity, and his parents happen to own a local dealership here in town and are taking care of everything. I really can’t quite believe how easy the process was, considering that things never seem to be that easy for me, but I’ll take it. I’ll definitely take it.

After the conference I am heading to Memphis to spend the weekend at my parent’s house, where Stephen will also be, and we’re celebrating my birthday a week early at Outback because my parents are going to be on a cruise on my actual birthday. My best friend Emily will be there, as will hopefully my brother and sister-in-law and nephew, and it should be a great weekend. I miss my family.

There’s really no point to this post. I basically just don’t want to work on my paper. It’s quite possible I’ll still be working on it come Friday morning, and I’ll have to read it off my computer screen. That would be entertaining, wouldn’t it?

Here’s to a four-day weekend of academia, family, and my love, Stephen. (You can commence gagging now.)

235 Days

Long distance relationships stink. (Stephen and I are fine. There’s just a lot to be said for a physical presence when one is in need of a little comforting, and Stephen and I both needed that today.)

I’m a Loser

I saw Little Miss Sunshine today with my roomie and her boyfriend. It was really fabulous (although the characters were overly fond of the “f” word). Here’s what I learned: everyone is a loser. No, really. Everyone has a bit of loser in him/her. It’s why we need each other, so there will be someone there to help push the bus until it shifts into gear (that part you will only understand if you’ve seen the movie). I’m glad I have people who help me feel like less of a loser. This post is for them. I love you.