the truly spastic nature of time and me

Well folks, count yourselves lucky that I already e-mailed Alice with a huge “wedding update” entry, because I won’t post it here (Although perhaps if it Alice reading this, well, she’s had to deal with it regardless).

Let’s review the last two weeks in brief, shall we?

Week One: ASM General Meeting in Toronto, Canada
If only Toronto were on an ocean, I’d be moving there tomorrow. It’s this clean, multilayered city with sushi on every block. We’d wake up every morning, grab a cup of coffee and walk 30 minutes to the convention center, through the financial district. The energy was amazing.

The conference itself was as huge and crazy as people had warned me. We’d joke that we were exhausted by the end of the day not only from all the walking but also from all the glucose our brains were burning. As I have tried to describe the conference to people, I’ve felt like I didn’t pay attention to the right details. How large was the conference? Who was there? I’m going to spend much of this afternoon processing all that information in the hopes of coming up with something more useful.

Maybe the best part of the conference was that feeling of being surrounding by masses of nerdy, brilliant people. Likely this is akin to gaming, anime, or sci-fi conventions, minus attendees in catgirl outfits. I did see one scientist in stiletto boots though. . .

Week Two: Home in WV for sister’s HS graduation and wedding planning
As for wedding planning, let’s just say we have a “real” wedding now. It’s time-lined.

As for my sister graduating high school: I’m thrilled for her. A little jealous since I loved college and miss not having to pay bills or decide what to make for dinner. Of course what I really miss is that feeling that all my coursework is done and I can do whatever. Grad school means always having something you could be doing. But I digress.

The best parts of being home generally involved sitting on the porch drinking coffee and playing with the dogs. The feeling of not having to be anywhere or doing anything. Plus, my family now co-owns a pug, “Pugsley” or “Buhdda” depending on what you feel like calling him. He was basically the cutest thing I’ve ever ever seen, especially because he does everything the big dog Mocha does, including carrying around deer bones and swimming in the pond. Though pugs are not generally country dogs, he’s taken to it quite well. Andy and I have puppy fever, and it was tough to leave the dogs behind. Oh, and the family too!

So now we’re back in Madison. The only red-alert deadlines are wedding deadlines. The undergrads are gone for the summer, there’s a storm every night, and the pool is open. I’m hoping that I can slow down and enjoy it all, but of course that’s easier said than done. It’s the last unmarried summer I expect to see!