It's been quite a year for me, wouldn't you say? I passed a crazy hard qualifier exam, went global jet-setter (and still remember some of my Italian, not that I learned much to begin with), got engaged and have been planning the most awesome wedding ever since then, and I made YAG. Okay, so I wouldn't say those are the things that DEFINE this year, but they have certainly been some major benchmarks. I'll come back next week (or some time later) with a New Year's retrospective post, so I'd like to focus on the chunk of the year between Thanksgiving and now.

It has been a lovely Christmas, certainly full of fun and excitement. Our church small group got together with the other small groups for young adults and had an awesome party with ugly sweaters and white-elephant gifts. There is photo evidence on facebook, if you must see what we wore, but I included some highlight photos in this post's slideshow.

I ended the semester right, if I do say so myself, with a successful batch of YAG. It would take far too long to make you understand why it is that making a jar of white powder is so substantially awesome. Just take my word for it.

Chris and I went to Charlotte 2 weekends before Christmas. We picked up my wedding band, which matches my ring, so it's all EXTRA sparkly when it's together. After that, we visited Chris' grandparents, who I hadn't met yet. We had a lovely time chatting with them that afternoon, then we hit the road and came home to Clemson.

Jeff and Julie had their baby, miss Tegan Lydia Castor, in the wee hours of December 18. Let me tell you, Amy and I have declared this to be the coolest and cutest baby on the planet. You may judge for yourself. 

Our friends Jessica and Ross got engaged over Thanksgiving, as did our friend Julie to a guy named Zach. We had a little party in our small group for Jess and Ross, because they are in our small group. I am honored to be a bridesmaid in Jess' wedding, and I am learning from my experience exactly what she does and doesn't need from me. It's definitely interesting from this side of the ring. Their wedding is April 30, so we will be quite busy this spring.

Last year, Chris and I celebrated Christmas with our families and found time to visit each others' family outside of that. This year, we stuck together and split our time. We spent Christmas eve with the Hills, having lasagna and enjoying their traditions. Mom never fell for the one present on Christmas Eve thing, so it was fun to join them in that. After we got up Christmas morning, we opened presents with his family. Chris' sister is still younger, so it's fun to see her all excited. After that, we headed to Greenville, where my family had kindly waited until AFTER sunrise to open presents with us, then we had our Christmas Chili meal. Darren, a friend of Chris' and mine, joined us for that, since he wasn't able to make it all the way north to be with his family. Just after lunch, it started snowing, so the guys left and we enjoyed watching the snow come down for the rest of the day. It mostly consisted of the three girls circled around the bay window in the kitchen, watching the snow fall while reading or typing or knitting or having tea or whatever we felt like doing.

On G-ma's birthday, which has yet to become a national holiday, we celebrated by walking up the road and inspecting the ice. Carson had a little battle with a ball of ice, which can be seen in the slideshow. Also visible is her dislike of her new dog bed. She looks at you like you've just done something terrible and tries to guilt you into letting her out. Also yesterday, the newest 'Burka' joined the clan, and I'm pretty sure that's all G-ma really wanted for her birthday. Congrats to Zach and Stacy and sister Wendy!

That's all from here! Enjoy the pictures!

A Photo Story

I am going to do something unusual, a little throwback to the way I used to write my blogs. I feel like these pictures demand commentary. Something to help my small collection of readers understand what it's like to be a part of my family. Perhaps it'll end with you feeling sorry for Chris but, don't worry, he's taking it in stride. :)

Now here's a picture of the guys I went hiking with the weekend before Thanksgiving. Chris (of course), Benji, Pepper and I went up to Table Rock State Park and did some hiking. BEAUTIFUL weather for that trip. And NO SNAKES.

 

And here's where you start feeling sorry for Chris. Not two minutes after I pull in to the driveway on Wednesday night Amy demands that we all sit down and color our turkey placemats and informs us that there will be judging. We voted and everything. Chris' Tigurkey won. See the cute little tail and hat? I told you he was taking it all in stride.

And now for a lovely picture of Carson. Quite appropriate that her tail is still in motion. Took a lot of work to get her to look at the camera. I think there may have been food over my head.

Here's a pretty typical scene. Pretty much every time I bring out the camera at the holidays.

So then we tried to take a picture of the whole family. I'll just let you enjoy the progression of activity. Notice the wet paw print on dad's sleeve toward the end. 

 

And then Mom and Amy got into a bit of a brawl in the kitchen.

While that was going on, dad was slaving away in the kitchen. Hahahahahahahahahaha.

 

And then our family went on a walk. First everyone posed. Amy's was normal. Dad's was...scary. And Chris gave us his best Zoolander.

Look at our pretty house!

 

Then, out of nowhere, mom started to serpentine and dad started to follow her. I honestly don't know.

 

 

 

 

 But she turned on him without warning.

 

"Now this here's a stick-out..."

This has been a production of the Burka Family Holiday Corp. Tune in next time when we'll discuss surviving family weddings. ;)

Giving Thanks

It's thanksgiving again, which means there will be tons of food and family, too much football, and the open of Christmas music season. Apart from all of that, it's a chance to sit back and reflect on all of the things I'm thankful for. That said, let's get started, shall we?

I'm thankful for free things. It's a lovely surprise to win something out of the blue. I won an apron, of all things, just this afternoon. Nothing fancy, just an apron, but it's still cool. And free.

I'm thankful for tea. Nothing will ever beat those few quiet moments I enjoy at work or at home, or anywhere, as I savor a cup of tea. It warms the heart and makes everything better. And it brings a kind of peace to all the madness in my head.

I'm thankful for soft yarn and warm mittens. I'm in a bit of a mitten craze right now, and there's something comforting, much like tea, about a good pair of gloves or mittens. Especially when I've knit them myself. And then there's the feel of a wonderfully soft, beautifully colored skein of fresh yarn. It's like running your hands across the back of the animal itself, but cleaner.

I'm thankful for friends. Friends who knit together, friends who watch glee together, friends who cook together, friends who lunch together, friends who pray together, friends who dance together, friends you teach, friends you learn from. What's best is when those are the same friends. I've got quite an amazing group of friends. Some new, some old, some who are near and some who have moved on, though only geographically. The best is the kind of friend who you can call out of nowhere and pick up just like it was yesterday the last time you talked. Though I'll take all of those friends these days.

I'm thankful for family. Moms, dads, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Oh Burka family, we've really got something special here. The fact that we all care so much about making sure that we get together is quite unique and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love talking with you, I love walking with you, I love knitting with you, and I love kicking your butts at Apples to Apples.

I'm thankful for new family. Couldn't be luckier, could I? I have a marvelous family already and I get to add more people to it. I suppose I should thank Chris for having a cool family.

I'm thankful for Chris. Very thankful for Chris.

God has been good this year, hasn't he? I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and I hope you take a moment to think about that.

Harry Potter and the Sleep-Deprived Graduate Student

I'm sure that was one of Rowling's rejected titles. Good thing she didn't use it so I can. Readers be warned: Laura was at the midnight showing of Harry Potter last night. This means that Laura has had 4 hours of sleep and 1 cup of coffee, not to mention the traumatizing loss of a beloved sweater. This could turn out to be an interesting read.

What have I been up to lately? Goodness...let me think. Usually, just as I did this time, I have to make a list on a post-it of things to mention. Otherwise, I omit good stories. And we wouldn't want that, now would we? I've been a busy busy girl these days. I've been in a knitting/crocheting circle with a bunch of girls from my church small group. We get together on Tuesday nights and watch Glee (of which i am a HUGE fan) and work on various projects. I'm teaching a few girls how to knit, and there's a lot of crocheting going on. It's also the only time I can work on Amy's Christmas present because she always seems to come in while I'm working on it. Anyway, our Glee night is really fun. It's nice having people my age who enjoy the hobby. Just last night I was teaching Jess a new stitch for the ambitious project she has decided to take on. I think she can handle it.

The ladies from our small group have been "adopted" by the ladies from another small group. The words elder and older offend them, so we call them the Wiser ladies. In addition to random events like painting pottery, we've done a weekly Bible Study together, and it's been really fun to get to know them.

Mom and I had dinner with the windbreakers a few weeks ago, which was quite fun. BD came too, because he heard I was coming, and the topic of conversation was weddings. Two daughters getting married can really kill all other topics.

I also had a meeting with Rita, my old piano teacher. After having taken lessons with her for 10 years, it was truly wonderful to see her again. We got to meet at the chapel and she played the organ for us (Chris came too. He was very excited about the organ) so we could pick songs for the wedding. We picked some awesome and unique music. I'm excited. In other wedding news, we picked up my dress a few weeks ago. Dad was able to come with us, so we made a Saturday of it. The good news is that I am still absolutely crazy about it. The bad news is...well, there's no bad news. It's fabulous. It gives me a reason to go to Greenville, because I like to visit my dress. :)

I've been working with Ozaria, my mentee, for a year and a half now. She turns 10 on Thanksgiving Day. Here's a picture of the little hoodlum when we went bowling. She was beating me by 20 points in the 6th frame. I staged a near-comeback, but I should still hide my head in shame, because we had bumpers.

But seriously, I'm really proud of this kid. She's been making all A's and B's this year, and has stayed out of trouble, and she's reading like a CHAMP. She's had a lot of trouble with grades and with behavior in the past, so that's really saying something. She's grown leaps and bounds since the day we started hanging out. This week, she nearly broke my heart. Her mom wanted her to stay home to finish cleaning her room, and I make it a point to never question her mom, just as an example. But then the kid started crying. Not in the temper tantrum sort of way, but in the actually sad, just a few tears, break-my-heart she wanted to go with me that badly kind of way. Her mom relented and sent her with me, and we had a blast. She tries so hard to please me, which isn't that hard, but she's learned that I expect her to behave and that is not negotiable. And bless her she will never understand how she's affected me. I am currently in the process of trying to find a friend to bring her to the wedding. I want to have her there for so many reasons, one of which is to introduce her to all of you, because I'm really proud of her and I want her to see that.

Chris and I went to the GA Tech football game and watched us somehow win. It was quite a good game to go to. Mom and Dad came down for the NC State game and we four went together. Amy was there somewhere, but not with us. Some time after the game, my back started hurting. I have a bit of a problem with my sciatic, and sometimes it flares up like a beast. I spent all of last week flat on my back, and it was not fun. I eventually went to the doctor, who gave me some anti-inflammatory, which has been helping, but I still can't sit at work for an entire day yet. Something about this chair.

I was, however, feeling good enough to go to Atlanta with Jess last weekend, where we picked up the bridesmaids' dresses. They look good, I must say. On Sunday, Chris and I attended the wedding of a girl who used to go to our church. It was bizarre to be there, because her venue was the same as ours, but it was, of course, a totally different wedding. Still, it was interesting.

Amy took some super cute pictures of Julie, and I think you should see them, because Amy is awesome (shh, don't tell her I said that).

And finally, HARRY POTTER was AWESOME! I dressed up and went with some friends to the midnight showing of the movie last night. I am really sleepy and all that jazz, but it was totally worth it. Now it's time to go get a nap and then Chris and I are going to go look at tuxes. Time for HIM to play dress-up for once.

We won't be in Knoxville for Thanksgiving this year. We will, of course be in Gatlinburg for New Year's. Since our families live so conveniently close to each other, we have to split our time. Luckily, we have a plan. Woo!

And, now, I believe it's nap time. Nighty night!

Chris sold the blue car finally, so we took it for a last joy ride in the mountains, which were absolutely beautiful. Pictures in the slide show, as well as a picture of some fast cars from Petit Le Mans. Oh, and there are some pictures of the yarn I'm using for my christmas presents. Can't very well show the actual items, now can I?

I haven't posted...

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while. I'm a bit busy lately. I'll post eventually...

Promise!

I've been called out

Chris has called me out. I did not post anything during the month of September. What Chris doesn't realize is that it still beats last year's whopping 5 posts for the entire year. But hey, since he reminded me, here I am.

I'm sitting at work, sipping on some cranberry tea, and contemplating my day. My Mondays start out pretty much the same every week. Now that it's cold, there's a lengthy trip to the other end of our poorly laid-out building to get hot water for my tea added to the mix, but it generally starts with contemplation. My advisor likes for us to send him a list of action items for the week on Mondays, followed by a summary of the week's progress on Fridays. This is a relatively new thing, but I like it, since it allows me the opportunity to track my own progress.

But I digress, I was going to talk about September. Right after I put a jacket on. It's cold at work. Okay. So September was rather busy. When I last wrote, I was working on stuff for G-ma and G-pa's 60th anniversary party. We had a fabulous party, and there are plenty of pictures, as proof. Here's the slide show!



The project I was working on was a photo book for them. The slide show is a bit long, but here's a link to ALL of the photos that were in the book: http://picasaweb.google.com/burkabean/GMaAndGPaSAnniversaryBookAlbum#

The weekend after that party, Chris and I went to a football game. We volunteered at the thrift store in the morning and then went over to the game. Thanks to the fact that dad thought it was going to rain (it was beautiful all day in Clemson), Chris and I got their tickets to the alumni box, complete with cushioned seats and free food. Quite fun.

We went whitewater rafting with Chris' family for his grandfather's birthday the next weekend. I conveniently ended up in the seat that I'll call the buffer seat. Without me there, the rest of them would have been more soaked, but lucky for them, I was there to block the waves. It was cold. And wet.

The NEXT weekend, Chris and I went backpacking. Oh is that a story. So we went on the foothills trail. We were doing 2 miles on Friday afternoon, 8 on Saturday, and 4.5 on Sunday. Same route we'd done before. No big deal, right? Right. So the first problem came a week before we left when I discovered that our original plan had a boat-only access on one end of the trail. So we switched to the plan I just mentioned. We got on the trail on Friday. Friday was a good day. I had fantastic results at work and things were generally great. The weather was beautiful and we made great time to our first campsite, where we were next to some younger boys and their dads. All the boys looked at me like I had tentacles growing from my head (oh my goodness, is that a GIRL?!? hiking?!?). No big deal, we camped, had dinner, slept, and got up, ready for the next day. The next two days were going to be tough. The Saturday hike was long, and the Sunday hike was straight uphill. But we'd done it before. We knew we could handle it. We set out, me in front because my legs are shorter, and we're making great time.

Space in the paragraph to make reading easier.

Okay so we sit down for lunch and these three guys come by and ask if we're the ones who had been stung by hornets. We say no, and they then tell us where to look out for the hornets. We hike about 2.5-3 more miles and sit to check the maps. A woman then comes by and tells us she's just been stung. Oh, looks like we found the hornets! So we walk around the corner and see the string marker and the nest up ahead. The men had assured us the best way to keep from being stung was to go up and around. So we did. Took us a while to get back down to the trail because of the brush, but we made it back down. Now we're hiking along and la-dee-dah, when I all of a sudden scream, turn, shove Chris back down the trail, and place him between me and the copperhead snake I had just nearly stepped on. It's not a baby, but it's certainly not fully grown, but it is sure as heck a copperhead. Chris gets a lesson in identifying snakes, then watches it while I walk back down the trail and have a complete panic attack meltdown complete with tears and hyperventilation. Eventually, I calm down and we determine that the snake isn't going anywhere, but it's camped across the trail. So Chris watches it while I hike up and over the trail, then I watch while he does the same.

Intermission...

Act 3: We keep trekking and eventually come to the turn for our campground. And there's a sign. The campground is closed for construction and we are asked not to enter. Note that there was nothing on the trail's website about this, kay? Now, remind yourself. We've just hiked 8+ miles, nearly been eaten by crazy flying snakes from outer space, and there were hornets too. Our car is 4 miles, practically straight uphill, from where we are. I'm not exaggerating about the uphill. Ask anyone who's done it. Or, I'll show you the topo maps. So Chris and I have to make a decision. We fill up with water from the river, and we hit the trail. Really, the only good choice left is to hike out. It's only 2:30 at this point, so we can make it before dark. We trudge up the trail. At one point, I even defined trudging as the walk of one who is downtrodden, oppressed, has given up hope, and something else. Pretty accurate, if you ask me. So we're walking and walking and walking, and we reach one of the few flat spots (SO not exaggerating). I'm over the snake enough to laugh about my complete panic attack. My foot had started shaking and everything. I'm talking about this when, all of a sudden, Chris grabs me and starts pulling me back down the trail. At the same time, my brain registers the ~ 4-foot timber rattlesnake that is stretched across the trail. I'm starting to wish I had a picture of this guy. So I'm at this point so freaked out about the fact that the snakes are out to get me that I spend a few minutes sobbing into Chris' shoulder (have you gotten the point that I'm terrified of snakes yet? I won't go in the reptile house at the zoo), then I start figuring out how to get around the snake because, yet again, the snake is uninterested in moving. So Chris watches the snake and I walk around it. Then I watch it while he walks around it. I think this is the point to mention that in addition to the 2 poisonous snakes we encountered, there were also 4 nonpoisonous snakes that we encountered. Total of 6. Chris, in all of his years of hiking, hundreds of miles, has never seen a snake on the trail. And we saw SIX.

Needless to say, Chris led the way the rest of the trip and was so alert that he thought a friendship bracelet was a snake. It may take me a while to get back out on the trail after that. It was like a cataclysmic hodge-podge of all sorts of things gone bad that have never (knock on wood) happened before during a trip like that. At least, not for me.

So we made it down the trail and into the car and home on Saturday. We ended up hiking 12.5 miles on Saturday. And it wasn't a stroll down the street.

I took Ozaria bowling this month. Most of you haven't seen her, so this is a picture of a rather sassy bowler. She's sassy because she was beating me by 20 points in the 6th frame, with bumpers. I had a comeback rallying, but still lost by 1 point. While I was the one TEACHING her how to bowl. 

This past week was full of wedding stuff that I'll put on the other blog. Then we had a fantastic baby shower on Saturday for Jeff and Julie! Baby Oprah is going to be getting lots of training on how to be super girly from yours truly. I started knitting a blanket for her a month ago, because she's due in December. THEN the invitation for the shower showed up. In a marathon knitting week, during which I surprisingly didn't give myself a repetitive motion injury, I bound off the blanket on Friday night, soaked it, blocked it, and forced it dry, though it was apparently still damp, and actually managed to give it to them. Here's the blanket:
 

They loved it, and you should have SEEN the dress mom made for Oprah. So fabulous. And then I promptly started 3 new knitting projects. Gotta get the Christmas knitting going now, you know?

My friend Shelly came to town to visit and for the baby shower, so she stayed with me on Saturday night and we did quite a bit of hanging out. We just had lunch together, in fact. Shelly and Julie and I. You may not know, but that's trouble.

This week, several of my friends from my church not-so-small group and I are starting a knitting circle. Knitting and crocheting, all while watching Glee. Doesn't get any better. I've been asked for a lesson, and another girl is teaching crocheting, so it should be a fun night.

And that's all!

Family Photos

I have lately been involved in a covert operation that I can't tell g-ma about. That's right g-ma. Now quit asking questions. In the process of this operation, I have acquired numerous lovely photos of my family, and I would like to share some.

Since the majority of my readership is family, allow me to talk to the rest of my very few readers for a moment. We'll be having quite the party in a few weeks, celebrating the 60th wedding anniversary of G-ma and G-pa Burka. Despite all the fuss with planning the party, it's been quite cool to be able to be working on this at the same time that Chris and I are planning our wedding. So, let's check out some pictures!

This is my favorite, from their wedding...

And a few more, just for fun...

And this is me!

So much to say...

And so little time to say it. I have two totally different topics I feel like discussing today. They're SO widely different that I think I'll split them into two posts. First, I'd like to get some gripes off my chest in the form of a letter.


Dear Clemson Undergraduates,

Welcome back! In your absence, it seems that you have forgotten a few basic items. Since life has gone on as normal here, allow me to remind you of a few things.

First, use the crosswalks. They were invented for the sole purpose of helping you to NOT DIE. In order for them to function properly, you must use them. While we're discussing crossing the street, let's mention that it isn't the brightest idea to step out without looking, particularly if you have headphones on. I'm not that much older than you, but I feel like I should warn you: you aren't invincible. If you and my car were in a cage match, my car would win. So would all of your fellow classmates' trucks.

Second, slow down. Neither Clemson Avenue nor 93 have been replaced with the Autobahn. Your parents who will probably have to pay your tickets, would appreciate it if you remember this. So would the pedestrians.

Third, be quiet. Actually, I don't even care that you are loud. It's your timing and your topics. Just try to remember that when, at 2am, you decide to loudly break up with your significant other in the parking lot of the Lutheran church, we hear you. Sometimes we even watch you. We don't really want to hear "oh please take me back baby, I promise I won't make out with another guy while drunk again" at all, let alone in the middle of the night.

Fourth, be aware. Please realize that you are not the only human on the planet. I know the shopping carts at Wal-Mart are large, but so are their aisles. Please quit taking up more space than your little over-tanned person actually needs. You aren't that big.

Now, if you can just remember this, we can live in peaceful harmony here in Clemson. You'll thank me when you turn prematurely crotchety like me.

Laura

nanoparticles and electron microscopes and other fancy words

I got an e-mail this morning that made me decide to share a bit about what I do. Most of you know I do work in materials. Some of you know that it's optics and nanoparticles. So here you go. I'm pretty pumped about this picture.

What you're looking at is an image of nanoparticles. A whole heck of a lot of nanoparticles. I recently made a sample of yttrium fluoride nanoparticles and fired them in an attempt to convert them to yttrium oxide. To make sure it worked, we dolloped some powder onto a blob of super glue, mounted that in resin, and polished it. Then, I stuck it in a scope down the hall, where we have one of the best university-run electron microscope facilities in the country, and determined that yes, I have done what I wanted to do. And, in the process, I got this sweet picture of my nanoparticles. Don't go sharing this around, though it's nothing new. I just thought I'd share it with my family (though I apparently have non-family readers too). These particles will eventually be incorporated into optical systems and all sorts of cool stuff. 

In addition to this lovely photo, I have a few slide shows for you! The first is from May, when we went to the wedding of some friends from church, and then to the beach, of course.



The second slide show is from our trip to Atlanta this weekend, we went to the Georgia Aquarium and the Braves game with David and Eric and Nick and 2 of David's friends. A fun time was had by all. Except for when the Braves lost to the Brewers (the Brewers. Seriously? does anyone even care about them?).



That's it and that's all. Off to accomplish something with my life!

Laura's Travels

About 2 summers ago, I set a goal of visiting all of the US National Parks. I have a great respect for the National Park Service and their efforts to preserve the natural wonders of America, and I think it's a pity that more people don't appreciate them. So I set a goal. In that summer alone, I visited 5 national parks. Since then, my visits have tapered off to nill, but that doesn't change my goal. So here's a quick review of places I've been and haven't been and all that nonsense.

Alphabetically speaking, I've hit the Grand Canyon...

The Grand Tetons...

The Smokies (GREAT Smoky Mountains)...

Mount Rainier...

Yellowstone...

And Zion...

In addition to these, there is one with questionable boundaries and a lack of controlled entrance, so I may or may not have been to it. The interestate goes directly through Petrified Forest and that's about as much of the place as I need to see. I saw petrified wood, and yeah. Here's a statue made of petrified wood...

There are 58 official National Parks. As of the time I looked up this list. I figure I'll save the national forests and historic sites and stuff like that for another day. For now, I'll stick to my goal of discovering America the Beautiful. I think my next goal will be Acadia, up in Maine. Or maybe Congaree, which is apparently in South Carolina. Go figure. I kinda always thought that SC got jilted.

Granted, there are several parks that I will most likely never make it to. American Samoa, Denali, Dry Tortuga, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, and Wrangell-St. Elias are all a bit unreachable, being distant islands or in Alaska. But a girl can try, right? So yeah. One of these days, I'll at least get the 48 reachable ones. And also reach my goal of backpacking the Grand Canyon. I can train for it by packing in all of the other national parks. Ooh! Good plan!

Back to work. And by work, I mean checking on a furnace and making a paper chain to count down to the release of Harry Potter. woo!

100th post!

As I was thinking about what to post here, I came to the realization that this is my 100th post since I started this blog! Now, if I were accomplishing something other than talking about myself, this would be a major milestone. But, since I'm a nerd, the number itself is pretty cool. And I do love milestones.

Speaking of significant milestones, I finished a notebook this week. I take all of my sermon notes in a Moleskin notebook as a means of paying better attention in church. It's rare that I fill a notebook, but I finished this notebook. After a bajillion sermons with 1-2 pages of notes, I filled it up. Interestingly, I discovered that I started the notebook in September of 2007, the same month that I met Chris. I'm just very proud of myself for having filled it up. Now I can use the green one that mom bought me for Easter a year and a half ago.

Back to the whole numbers thing. Chris and I have selected a wedding date: March 5, 2011. It's actually 3/5/11. Three five eleven! All prime numbers. Yay for something dorky to remember.

And in the world of significant insignificant things, I also finished a post-it-note pad yesterday. Another small victory for a girl that loves fresh school supplies.

In news about things other than random insignificant milestones, I have started another blog. The other one is simply me rambling about wedding planning. The usual hilarity should ensue.  The link to that blog is HERE.

I figured having a separate blog for my wedding ramblings would make things less obnoxious over here on my usual blog. This is the part where I say "you're welcome."

In addition, a big thank you to Aunt Rose and Uncle Paul for having everyone up to celebrate Stacy's birthday. I'd say it was a rip-roaring success and we managed to thoroughly surprise her!

Have a fantastic weekend and all that jazz!

Oh by the way...

Chris and I are engaged, for those who haven't heard. He came down to join the Greenville Burkas at Edisto and proposed at sunrise all romantical like. :) Before you ask, we don't have a date, but we're shooting for March at this point (so mark your calendars in pencil). And be aware that if dad or Chris tell the story, they make me sound way crankier than I really was.

So, here are a few pictures, starting with a lovely family photo...

Italy Photos

Slideshows! Finally! And for those who missed it, here's a link to the travel blog again!

Rome:


Venice:


Milan:


Florence:



Enjoy the pictures!!

By the dawn's early light

Do forgive me. This one's a bit on the LATE side. I started it and then managed to get sidetracked by oh, i don't know, Italy? I'm just going to pick up where I left off. As another note, there are pictures up on the Italy blog. I plan on eventually transferring those posts over to this blog too. So now I am going to post a whole lot of stuff all at once!

I have redeemed myself. Mr. Dorhout, wherever you are, I saw a shuttle launch. My -brown-nosing 7th grade decision to not go with G-ma and G-pa to see John Glenn's launch has been redeemed. For those who are going "huh?", Mr. Dorhout thought I was crazy when I told him I had stayed here to take a test in his class.

It was an adventuresome weekend. Saturday morning, Chris and I loaded up, had breakfast at the diner, and headed out to Florida. Uneventful trip. Chris did have trouble getting TO my apartment because of a road race that was going down my street but, thanks to the rather poor guarding by the local police, he came down the street from the other end and we managed to get out of the neighborhood. While in Florida, we stayed with Chris' grandfather, just outside of Daytona.

On Sunday morning, we all (Chris, his grandfather, his mom, his dad, his sister and I) got up and left the house at 6 to go to a sunrise Easter service on the beach. It was a nice way to spend Easter morning, and certainly not something I'd ever done before. After returning to the house and having breakfast, we went down to KSC to attend the pre-launch briefing. The briefing is essentially where they explain to us a teensy bit about the space center and then explain to us the mission and what to expect. It was quite cool. After that, we wandered around the visitors complex for a little while, then returned home again.

After we got back, Chris' grandfather asked if I'd like a ride in one of his planes. I was practically out the door before he finished asking, of course (we all know I'm always up for an adventure). He let me pick the plane, which I deferred to Chris, who chose the shiny red one. Without spending all morning on it, I'll just say that it was crazy awesome. Yep. I would gladly go again any time.

Since we had to get up early for the launch, we called it a night fairly early. We got up at 2am and drove to the cape, where we were loaded into buses and driven out to the viewing area, which is by the Saturn V building. Since we were a bit early, we explored the building, then found a spot on the grass in front of the bleachers, by the clock. Since it was a morning launch (essentially a night launch), they had massive spotlights pointed at the platform. We were probably 3 miles away, but that is pretty much the closest you can be. They had the radio over the loudspeakers so that we could hear the checks and whatnot. At T-4 minutes, they had us all sing the national anthem, then they shut off the lights around the grandstand and we all got more excited. The man at the briefing described it perfectly. You see the clock counting down and then there's a sudden flash and then it's absolutely blinding. This white blinding plume rises into the air and then you feel it. You hear it too, but you feel it. In your entire body. For a space junkie like me, It's the most incredible experience ever. And then the sun rose. Yeah. Well timed NASA, well timed.

After the world's longest drive, we got to Atlanta in time for the last bit of the Braves game, and then made it home in time to collapse in exhaustion. :)

Pictures!!

Just a quick hello!

Hello my faithful readers. If only the writer were so faithful. Well, here's a quick update...

I passed my qualifier exam. Hence why I haven't posted recently. That studying thing really takes one out of you. But, I passed! I am a full-fledged PhD candidate.

ITALY! In less than a month now, Courtney and I will be heading to Italy. If you want to keep up with us, we will be writing a blog of our travels. http://lauraandcourtneyinitaly.blogspot.com/ Check it out! We'll be posting about our adventures and misadventures, as well as my trusty rusty trademark: pictures!

If I have the time, I'll put the posts from that blog on here as well, but for now, just go see our new blog. The title, e che un pinguino, means "is that a penguin?" (in Italian, of course).

Today I smell like chicken soup.

You know it's going to be good when I start with chicken soup, right? Well, every day for lunch I have a cup of progresso soup. Chicken and wild rice. Love the stuff. Every day, the lid flings chicken broth everywhere, but only a little splattering. Every day, I have to wipe the table. Today, I am wearing a new pair of chino pants. In fatigue green, in case you care. Today, I lift the soup cup after heating it, in an attempt to place a paper towel under it. Today, the soup cup falls out of the lid (because I apparently didn't have a very good grip on the situation), drops the few inches to the table, and splashes everywhere. There are carrots on my chair, broth on the floor, and a BIG wet swatch of broth down my left thigh. It's so wet that it's running down my leg inside my pants. After the momentary shock of soup everywhere and a few requisite ewws (I'm allowed that, I mean I have soup all over me.), I rush across the hall to the bathroom where I proceed to strip my pants off and try to dry them. That's when I realize that there is actually soup all down the inside of my right leg. It appears to have wrapped around my left thigh, down the inside of my right leg, and across the back of my right ankle. Yep. I dab off as much soup as I can, pull on my pants and muster my dignity, and walk back to the lunchroom. There, I find that a) my lovely cohorts have cleaned up most of the mess, b) the floor is a bit slick, and c) there is still a good 3/4 of my soup in the bowl. How on earth that little soup made that big of a splash is beyond me. All I know is that my pants are crusty and smell like chicken soup and that radiators make good driers if you stand over them. Yep. That was my day. I did accomplish things, like doing some SEM/EDX and reading a paper, but the soup is what sticks out.


I have my oral exam coming up. Should be interesting, especially seeing as how my project has changed a bit quite recently. For those of you who read my proposal, it's close enough to what I'm doing that I'm not going to worry about detailing the new project goals. Suffice it to say we've broadened it a bit.


It's rained a lot lately. Those horrible snows everyone else is getting? Yep, we got rain. Lovely, I know. There was a little bit of ice the weekend after I returned from Orlando. Greenville got a whole load of it. Luckily, that didn't stop mom and I from going to see Wicked, which was amazing. Ah-mazing. I saw Julie on Friday, with the added bonus of seeing her parientes! Yay! That was fun. My periodic table, which Amy made especially for me for Christmas, is at the framer and I am going to pick it up tomorrow or something like that.

We're under a boil water advisory here. It's causing more panic than the bread-and-milk runs before ice storms. Speaking of which, they're calling for overnight snow on Friday. Anyway, the city of Clemson is doing repairs that require them to warn us and tell us to boil our water. Better safe than sued, eh?

I've been reading the same journal article for 2 days now. It's a doozie. I need to finish it so I can know what I'm talking about when I go into my oral exam which I am procrastinating about. On the other hand, I am muy excited about the Olympics and about going to see Third Day on Saturday night. Should be a blast. Mo's coming to town this weekend. Extra yay for that, because I'll have a roommate for a little while.

For those who don't know, I love baseball, especially the Braves. Braves' home opener is April 5 this year. It's a Monday. Who has a home opener on a Monday?!? I have gone numerous times on opening day, but that's when it's on a Friday. Chris says he's still game. I think he's crazy. But, chances are, we will be there anyway. Hot dogs and coke in hand.

I think I'm out of things to talk about. It's Thursday, which means I have seminar at 5, so I had better get to work on this paper. Then, of course, there's the Office tonight. Makes going to seminar seem less bleak. 

Being Tom Hanks

Well, this is the story of my trip home from Orlando. Compared to this, the story of our stay in Orlando really isn't all that interesting. Quick summary: I flew to Orlando on Thursday, had dinner with Victoria and hung out with everyone. I spent Friday picking up people with my trusty sidekicks (mad props to Dave and Chris), then the whole group had dinner and a scavenger hunt in Downtown Disney. Saturday and Sunday were meetings, which went quite well. Congrats to our new officers, by the way. Saturday night, we spent most of our evening wandering around Downtown Disney and taking silly pictures. Sunday, after we finished our meeting, we started taking people to the airport. And here's where our story begins...

I got everyone to the airport. Got them there EARLY even. So there were five of us on the same flight, thus they rode with me to rental drop-off and we checked in for our flight. At the time of check-in, they told us that our flight was still at 7:30, but that it was slightly overbooked, if we’d like to take an earlier flight. We declined. Hahahahahahahahahaha! Wouldn’t have worked anyway. SO. We got through security. I suppose I should mention here that I have checked a bag. It’s too large for carry-on. We got through security. David gots his bag flagged for what turns out to be the gavel that he inherited as the new chair. Hahahaha. Too funny.

So we got on the tram and got to our terminal, at which point we arrive at our gate. It’s very crowded, but not too terribly crowded. At this point, it’s still 5:20, and there are several other flights scheduled before ours. All to Atlanta, it turns out. Which eventually explains the crowd. We sit down to wait and my phone rings. It’s the Delta system calling me to inform me of a change in my flight. My flight to Atlanta is now scheduled to leave at 8:40pm (with the others, as they are all on this flight). At the same time, two things happen. We find out that our gate has changed and the others realize that they will ALL miss their connections. Mine is still fine, but close. So we five go to our new gate and get put on standby for the earlier flight. We were like the first ones on the list.

So we make the necessary calls (oh my phone is half-dead) and sit down to wait. We start watching the monitor and see the radar. OMG. Tornado warnings, watches (like the ones in Clemson, according to the texts), flood warnings, high wind advisories. The works. In Atlanta and all the way up from the coast. Heading toward Asheville, my final destination (as a side note, Asheville really rocks). THEN we overhear the man at the counter say that ATL is CLOSED. Not delayed, closed. How can you close the busiest airport in the world. No flights in, no flights out. Then, through the course of the hour, we learn that all flights from Orlando to Atlanta haven’t left since like noon.

So we start to accept the fact that we’re not going to make this standby flight and that we can just take the original flight, whence they can get a hotel in Atlanta or something. No big. So we sit in the floor and play spades. What else would you do?

Eventually, we go get dinner. I have some soup. We finish and I suggest we go back and check on things. We get there and they’re finally boarding the standby flight. Did I mention that flight was supposed to leave at 3:30 originally? So not two seconds after we get there, they call Jaime’s name. Then mine. We all kinda crowd around and explain to the lady that there are three of them that need to be together and that we can wait if they can’t all go. So she sends someone to count the empty seats. While this is going on, we’re discussing it with the lady and this very rude man is telling us to grow up and accept that sometimes things don’t work. Apparently he didn’t care that someone had to drive 2 hours to get them when they got home. So I wanted to suggest that the rude man get on the plane and go away. But I didn't. Anyway, after about 20 minutes, they tell us there are 4 seats. Remember, there are 5 of us.

Doo…dee…doo…dee… (musical interlude. For suspense)

She tries to board us in order, and I somehow end up there before one of the guys. All four of them need that flight to get home. So we convince the lady to let them go and I’ll get on the next flight. Supposed to leave in an hour. They board and they are off. I call mom and tell her what’s going on and that I’ll call as soon as I’m on my plane. I go to the bathroom and return to the gate to see EVERYONE stampeding to the Delta courtesy phones across the hall. I stop a guy and ask what happened and he informs me that flight 1330 is now cancelled. Yeah, that’s my flight. And if I don’t get that flight, I miss my connection, the LAST flight to Asheville.

I consider crying, but I call mom and give her my info and ask her to call Delta because all the courtesy phones are full. I then get in line at the desk to wait to see if either of us can get me somewhere. I’m willing at this point to go to Greenville and get my car when I go get my bag or something. I’m exhausted, I’m frustrated, I’m by myself, and I want to cry. I start talking to a woman behind me and explaining to her the issue with the flight. She’s on her way back from working in Haiti. Tells me about the city and her work there. It made me feel like a brat for being so upset that I couldn’t get home. I liked her.

Anyway, I get near the front of the line. I’m like next, when my mom calls and tells me she got through and they booked me for 6:30 am on Monday and that if I stay in line, they will give me a hotel voucher. I get to the counter and the woman tells me they don’t give vouchers for weather. She does, however, print my boarding passes and check me in. All I have to do is go to the gate in the morning. I call mom. Again. She says she’ll get me a room and call me back. I go to the airport atrium, which is outside security, and call Chris for the fourth time, then I just sit there for like 20 minutes, staring at this fountain go up and down. Mom calls and tells me to call the Hampton inn for their shuttle. I do, they pick me up, and I check in. Around 8:45.

So then I got to my room. I put the key in, it turns green and I turn the knob. It won’t turn. It won’t open. I get in the elevator, go back downstairs, where the guy says “I think this is one of the rooms that opens backwards. You have to turn the knob up.” I go back upstairs, come in, take a shower, and took advantage of the free wireless.

I got up at 4 am on Monday, re-washed my hair and checked the weather (the same storm was probably going to hit Orlando right as I was leaving), then grabbed the shuttle back to the airport. When I got there, I got in the excessively long security line and learned that like 3 of the scanners went down that morning and that they were just starting to catch up. I finally got through there and got to my gate. The flight, being the 6:30 flight, was a combination of Monday morning commuters and angry people from the night before. I learned that most of the people from the night before had been put on standby for that flight rather than getting real tickets. I was quite lucky. My favorite was the man who was upset because he wasn't in first class that morning when he was the night before. I say shut up and be grateful that you have a seat on a flight at this point.

SO I finally got on a plane and made it to Atlanta. I was stuck between two men who took up more than their fair share, so I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and thought happy thoughts about home. We landed in Atlanta and I checked the boards to discover that my flight to Asheville was already cancelled. Seriously?!? So I go to the desk for the next flight to Asheville and asked them to rebook me. Of course, Delta has a new policy that involves telling people to go to the courtesy phones. Those phones, of course, are not usually nearby. This time, I got lucky. Turns out, they were next door and the nice man on the phone said I had already been booked on the next flight, which was to leave an hour after my original flight.

So I went and got breakfast and came back to learn that the flight had been delayed 20 minutes. Ridiculous. So I waited and waited and eventually got on the plane and went home and went to find my suitcase. To my amazement, my suitcase actually arrived. I kinda yelled from excitement when I saw it. I got to my car (once i found it) and had to go back in to the ATM to get cash and get out. I finally got into my car and onto the road, where I had to turn on Bon Jovi and sing insanely loudly in the car all the way home to stay awake. I got home at 2pm. For anyone who's curious, that's 22.5 hours after I started on my trip home. I fell onto my bed, slept from 3pm until 7pm, then from 8:30pm to 7:30 this morning. Then it was time for work, where I attempted to function. Didn't work. You can ask Courtney if you want a witness. Here are some pictures!