Well, we didn't make it down to Town Lake this morning at 7am to watch the fog coming off the water. It's just as well, it's considerably warmer today than it was yesterday so it probably wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.
Christmas time has officially started. We went to Madrigal Dinner last night and had a wonderful time. I got lots of nice compliments on my wench outfit. The story was probably one of the best I've ever heard at Madrigal. The food was great - of course I overate. And the singing was outstanding....it's probably the carols sung by the Madrigal Singers that have convinced me that Christmas time is here. I'm all excited about stringing up the lights outside and pulling my decorations out of the attic and putting together an advent wreath and fighting with Stepan over what kind of tree we get for the house.
I'm so disappoind in the weather today. It's been wet and rainy since last night...which means that we were unable to adorn the outside of our house with the signs of the season (icicle lights and plastic luminaire). We did stop by Papa Noel's to pick up some wonderful smelling greenery for my advent wreath. I've got it all laid out in the living room now though it has to wait for candles since Big K has a pathetic candle department.
I got a letter this weekend from ACC turning down my application for graduation because I'm lacking a 3-hour oral communications requirement. The letter also stated that I wasn't currently enrolled which really made me nervous because I've been going to classes all semester! Well, I just spoke to someone in the graduation office and apparently the requirement was for a oral communications course - a detail that my advisers failed BIG TIME to point out to me! All is not lost, though. The graduation office is going to contact the communications department to see if they can propose a substitute (because the system does know that I'm currently enrolled). Somebody from the grad office will call me back when they find out if they can make the substitution. I hope they can - otherwise, I'll be extremely pissed!
Here's the latest. The speech class I enrolled in this semester does qualify for the oral communications requirement because it doesn't include a research/presentation component. That was the final decision from the graduation office. I asked who I could contact to appeal that decision and they referred me to my adviser, Tony Ramirez. I'm hoping he can help me out by pushing through the substitution request...especially since it was through talking to him that I got the impression that any speech class would satisfy the requirements.
I'm feeling kinda invisible today. I was almost sideswiped on MoPact NOT once, but TWICE!!! The first guy was an older man in an early '90s model sports car. I think he really didn't see me and was pretty appalled and apologetic....well, as appalled and apologetic as it's possible to communicate speeding up the highway at 65mph. The second guy was just an @$$hole. He obviously was in a hurry to get somewhere and was trying to cut me off....except he was RIGHT BESIDE me...not in front of me...not half a car length ahead...not even with the slightest bit of advantage in his lane - he was RIGHT BESIDE me when he tried to move into my space!!!! If I had had a cell phone, I would have 311ed him - mayed even 911ed him since he was recklessly endangering the lives of everybody in his path.
Tony Ramirez (my adviser) just called me. I almost didn't take the call because I was afraid he was going to tell me that there was nothing anybody could do about my graduation situation. Happily, I didn't blow him off and he had great news for me!!! I will officially be graduating in December. I've spoken with the graduation office and they will send me a new letter as soon as they recieve the paperwork from Tony. While I won't be able to claim that my under-graduate days are behind me (I still may persue a bachelor's), I will be able to legitimately add initials after my name (AS for Associate of Science).
This evening, I invited myself (and Stepan) over for dinner at the Churchett's. The dinner was delicious and the setup was beautiful (right down to the Christmas tree name card holders on the table). They have their tree up and decorated and their outside lights installed. It was very Christmasy. My favorite part of the evening came when it was time for Jonathan to go to bed. He gave everybody night-night cuddles before Elizabeth tried to lead him to his bedroom. But he wouldn't go with her - he wanted me to take him to bed instead :-) Elizabeth was both sad (he's growing up) and happy (she and Dale can stay out past bedtime now). I was elated - I told Elizabeht that he can spend the night at my house now!
I had such a busy weekend I didn't have any time to maintain my journal! Let me see if I can remember....
, Stepan and I rushed home after work, grabbed the dog, and hurried to the Zilker Park Holiday Tree where the Madrigal Singers were giving an informal concert. Elizabeth and Jonathan also met us there. Jonathan was in awe of both the tree and the singers. I was disappointed when we missed tree-spinning with Jonathan last year though his enjoyment of it this year more than made up for it. For those who may be unfamiliar with tree-spinning, the Holiday Tree is made of light strings hanging off one of Austin's moonlight towers. It's traditional for families to go to the Holiday Tree during Christmas time, stand under the lights, and spin in circles while looking up into the tree - it's a lot of fun and gets you really dizzy!
On Saturday, we hung our lights outside, and Stepan began installing an electrical outlet on the porch ceiling. We also made Christmas cookies - cocoa balls and peanut butter blossoms (inspired by the deliscious cookies Grandma Sprong brings to the family Christmas gatherings).
On Sunday, Stepan continued with his outlet installation while I made tuna wrap appetizers for a Christmas party we went to in the afternoon. After the party, we met Archie and Jessica and Margaret (Archie's sister) and Dave (her husband) at the Metropolitan theatre to see Ocean's Eleven. Apparently, as we were leaving, Russell Crowe drove up. He was previewing his new movie, A Beautiful Mind....who says you have to be in NYC for star-sightings?! After the movie, everybody came over to help decorate our gingerbread cookies and Christmas tree.
It was long, exhausting, but fun weekend. Both Stepan and I are looking forward to the work week...we expect that we'll have more time to relax!
Somewhere in the weekend paper was an article about the Islamic holiday stamp, Eid Greetings, issued by the Post Office this year. Some idiot head of some stamp-collecting society apparently wrote congress with a request to recall the stamps, overprint them with an image of the Twin Towers, and reissue them as a "true reflection" of the Islamic faith. As a protest against such ignorance, I went to the Post Office yesterday and bought these stamps for my Christmas cards (I don't usually get around to sending out Christmas cards - but this year may be the exception....you never know...it could happen!). The funny thing is that as I was checking out at the post office, the postal agent pointed out to me a couple of times that the symbol on the stamp "wasn't a Christmas tree" and that it was "an Islamic stamp"....I wonder what she thought when I bought them anyway!
The Olympic Torch Relay is in Austin today! It passed by an elementary school in Tarrytown this afternoon, so a couple of my co-workers and I took a break and went to see it. It was pretty cool. The actual passing of the flame from one runner to another happened right in front of where we were standing. The torch was about 30 minutes late and was preceded by numerous chase cars, sponsor vehicles, and police motorcades. We were kinda thinking that by the time the actual torch came by it was going to be anti-climatic, but it wasn't. I'm very glad I went out in the rain to watch it pass. There will be an olympic torch celebration at Auditorium Shores this evening with live music (of course!) and fireworks - that sure would be fun to go to!
The holiday festivities continued last night - Stepan and I went to our book group's Christmas party. There was lots of good food and we got to talk to the SOs that we rarely get to see. For the book exchange, I took The Gate to Women's Country by Shari Tepper and Step took Speak, Memory, an autobiography by Nobokof. Also, the book I got in exchange sounds pretty good. I can't remember the name of it, but it's a fictionalized account of serial murders that happened in Austin in the mid to late 1800s. A couple of people there hadn't heard about our engagement so I got to tell the whole "San Francisco surprise trip and proposal on the Golden Gate" story again. It was fun talking to people who were both surprised and excited to hear all about it.
It's cold and rainy today and I wish I was at home, ensconced on the sofa, with a blanket and a fire in the fireplace. I would be finishing off my current book, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver in front of lighted Christmas tree with two candles on my Advent wreath lit....sigh!
Oh yeah - I almost forgot! - Yesterday, I had my last class for my Associates Degree. It's kinda weird...I've completed my degree requirements (and I'm thrilled that I have), but it seems almost anti-climatic. There's no "pomp and circumstance". I could walk in the spring, but I'm not sure I'll be interested in doing it then - I don't know if I'll be continuing for my bachelor's in San Marcos or maybe taking additional classes at ACC that would be beneficial to WHM; hopefully, I'll be deep in the planning of my spectacular October wedding; and there's always fun and interesting things to do in and around Austin. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what my options are. I'm currently waiting for the final graduation letter from ACC which is pending the posting of the grade from my Oral Interp class....yeah, I'll just have to wait...I hate waiting!
On Friday, we went to the @hand pot-luck Christmas party. It was a blast! Kudos to the hostess, Sara, and to everybody who contributed to the feast. Stepan and I were told to bring an appetizer so I pulled out my trusty Central Market Baked Pesto Brie recipe - it was a huge success....so much so that we pulled in the first prize (a very cool ornament and $100) for best gourmet dish. The party was so well organized, I think everybody who brought something took some kinda gift home - though I could be wrong about that. All employee's SOs also got a gift of ornamental shoe-shaped soap that smells heavenly - I've been meaning to pick up an eye-catching soap dish, that task will move closer to the top of my list now that I have nice soap to display.
I was doing pretty well on my diet until yesterday. It all started when the company that does local deliveries for us dropped off a plate of Christmas cookies. Then of course, there was my company Holiday Party at The Headliner's Club where I ate a wonderful salad, baked chicken wrapped in phyllo, stuffed with ricotta & basil pesto served on a bed of marinara sauce with long grain and wild rice and asparagus and some sinfully delicious chocolate pie for dessert. Not to mention the margarita, two glasses of wine, and Baileys! The food at the Headliner's is always so good!....and today, instead of being good and eating my regular breakfast of peanut butter & jelly on toast (a 4 point breakfast), I had some of the Christmas cookies that I brought in and topped it off with a couple of bowls of carmel popcorn delivered to our office by one of our clients...All the experts say that your goal through the holiday season should be to maintain whatever your current weight is....why does that have to be harder to do than actually losing weight through the rest of the year?
The holiday season is almost over. Christmas was a big success though my sibs and I haven't completed our Lucio calendar yet. I got lots of really nice presents (a new laptop, pearl and diamond earrings, hand painted fan and hair jewelry, a pillow-case that was embroidered by my grandmother, a St Christopher keychain, a Whirley popper, bath stuff, and various other goodies in my stocking). All gifts given seemed to be well received. Meredith loved her tea pot and immediately started using it on Christmas Day. Buying Mom's cell phone was an experience that I doubt Stepan will ever forget. Mom did end up with a great cell phone as well as $130 credit on her cellular bill - all thanks to Meredith's "enraged consumer" act. Dad says he can see his digital clock from anywhere in his bedroom without using his glasses and is searching for the perfect place for his table top fountain. Stepan seems pleased with his upcoming tennis lessons and is ready to enroll in the first available beginning level informal class. Danny was thrilled with his sheets.
Now it's the last day of the 2001. I've come into work, but there's not much to do...especially since none of the engineers have come it yet! There will be drunken revelry in Hyde Park this evening and Stepan and I will host our almost annual New Year's Day party tomorrow....though technically this will be first nearly-annual New Year's Day Party. Then back to the business of living day to day and making more regular entries in my journal - or so I resolve!