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The last weekend of October was spent in good 'ol Minnesota, celebrating my friend Mike's (& Liz's!) wedding. That's him in the shiny tux in the pic. He's my first close friend to get married, inside the country that is. Of course, some of Nate's friends have gotten married (one w/a kid already! gaaa!), but that's different. I have known Mike since 2nd grade, so this is quite the step. I'm proud of him & glad he picked Liz. Yeah, yeah, sappy sappy- but that's what we do around weddings- get sappy, cuz well, they are, but extremely fun & happy too!
So, this post is pretty boring so far to some of you. Sorry.
I realized how much i missed being in the cities last weekend; it was fantastic! I knew, while driving through Iowa and coming upon Cedar Falls and feeling exhilarated by the 'city-scape' that i missed the Twin Cities and couldnt wait to get home. A friend i had picked up in St. Louis asked how i could be so excited about a 'small town' in Iowa (having not yet visited me in Columbia, MO)-- so, i had to explain to him just how SMALL Columbia is. I guess seeing tall buildings, old graneries, a river w/dams, and whatever else adds to a city's skyline just sparked some energy into me. I thought it a bit weird myself, but hey- whatever lights your match.
It was great to have a little mini-reunion w/friends (who came in from all over) & even see my family, even if i was in and out of the house allll weekend. Hopefully i can persuade my fam to visit me over my WHOLE-WEEK Thanksgiving holiday!..... we'll see. i do have a father who much prefers to have ppl visit HIM, rather than he visit his children... *wink... It sure would be nice to have a turkey in my Missouri oven!....!
School has been giving me a bit of an up & down time as of late, but i'm pulling through, while not without much effort. Weeks 9 and 10 gave me hell, but i leapt over those hurdles and came out with some descent results. I think semester one of grad school is sposed to make or break you- so i'm taking it head-on. I have my 'hazing ritual' next Tuesday night: first year grad student public lectures. I will be giving a 20 minute talk on a small bone figurine of a Graeco-Roman goddess (Aphrodite) from the University's Art & Archaeology Museum which hasn't seen the light of day since its purchase in 1963. After that stressful expression of knowledge i shall turn my research into a term paper which pretty much constitutes my whole grade in my 'into to grad studies' class. Needless to say, i'm keeping busy & i'm pretty nervous for next week! Thanksgiving holiday week will only be that much sweeter once my talk is over.
Well, must get to work on my lecture before an evening meeting with Grad. and Professional Council!
take care, write me notes!
-c