I feel like a million bucks!

Or perhaps I should say a 106%.

You know how the parents always say- and imply, and encourage- that all our hard work will someday pay off, and that perseverance will be much more valuable then any short sighted distractions? You know? This is the kind of thinking that lands you in grad school, people, so mind your words closely.

This is also the kind of thinking that doesn't mind you are working 60 hours a week, commuting several hundred miles a week for a job that by any measure isn't "dream" quality. But good, encouraging and supportive friends and family says "stick to it," " someday you'll get noticed, promoted, whatever," "they don't pay you to complain- you're a professional, they pay you to make it look easy" (actually, Dr. Rockstar said this to me). And you keep working, with little more then a sigh of disappointment when you get passed over for raises and promotions and more interesting opportunities.

And then your grump of a boss calls you into his office while you are shooting the breeze with the few other lonely types who are still working the day before Christmas Eve. And he slides a slip of paper across his desk that spells out in dollar $ign$ that he has noticed your hard work, and your talent, and your perseverance, that he'll be damned if they'd let you go now, and that even though your annual review passed with little more than a cost of living increase he wanted you to get what you deserved after all.

Even though Matt isn't the sentimental type, I know for a fact he is still carrying this slip of paper in his pocket, and standing about a foot taller.

Alternate ending- my boss sent me an email today to tell me I am "Awesome." Looks like everyone is going to have a good vacation. Merry Christmas!

Holiday beginnings

So we picked up Kelso a day early from the airport for reasons that were bittersweet as I will describe a bit later. We transitioned straight to the Broiler to engage a halibut burger which has become the signature moment for a return to Alaska for our youngest. By all accounts her finals went well, her trip through the valley of the shadow of snow was uneventful if a bit slow, and she looked just fine to us who haven't seen her for almost 3 whole weeks!!

She came home a day early on a parent sponsored ticket change because we all wanted her to be here for a less joyous event. Last week a group of 5 boys from kelsey's teen-ACTS/youth group got together in a family basement when no-one was home. They got into a locked gun cabinet and through a horrifying series of misjudgements and accidents, fired one of the guns, killing one and wounding another critically. The funeral is today. These were not street punks, these were goofy, awkward, sweet, sincere kids that would have been at home around my dinner table just a few years ago. We know the families. We recognize the kids. What an awful mess. I've been remembering them as we all bubble up toward the much anticipated break at work. I've tried rather clumsily to mention to at least Kelsey how this event puts such a different perspective on this holiday season for me. I know that, for these families, this and many other Christmases will never be the same. It causes so many imagined parenting challenges to just fade to meaninglessness. I have 3 healthy, beautiful, accomplished children, abroad in the world, making me proud, finding their way. God in Heaven, who cares about their bedroom cleaning habits? Of course, it makes me want to find a way to bring them all home and squeeze life into and out of them. But that's not really what matters to a good parent. Its letting them find their own way, sharing, supporting but ultimately biting a lip, sitting on hands, allowing oneself to be amazed by how wonderful they become on their own. So, yes, I am missing Sandlin who's at home doing original research, embracing a loving husband, and believing she misses us even more than we do her. Little does she know. After all, its her mother-in-law's turn and we can be fair, no matter how much we long to make it our own. And we will surrender the Sooby keys and await text messages and wandering cell calls even from our own home bound youngest with absolute delight. We will contemplate the wonders of snow in Texas and hold on for a substantial gathering of all we love in a few more days which will seem just that much more precious to me.

The happiest of Holidays to us all.

Gordie

I want to make cookies

I've been holding off on any holiday related baking. Everyone in my lab is on a diet, and I am certainly in no shape to pick up the slack of a spare batch of cookies, so I've be waiting to initiate any food related celebrations. But lets face it, if you don't go to church, you don't visit your family, your husband doesn't want a tree, and you don't eat the cookies- there isn't a whole lot of holiday left.

Today, I thought, I'll quit killing myself at work and go make cookies while Matt is at his boring holiday party. Yeah, something cute like gingerbreadmen. Yeah. Aside from the obvious butter, eggs and flour I need to buy (still in graduate school), I thought you know- a rolling pin would be nice. I'm too much of a grown-up to roll out my gingerbreadmens with a nalgene. Oh, and if I want them to be mens, I think I'll need a cookie cutter. My diet will probably appreciate that this line of thought derailed before I bought all the butter.

I didn't do anything remotely as cool as buy a house this week, but I did crack an important protocol this month. I've finally got it optimized so I can whip through it another 6 times next month and finish my obligations to my collaborators. Woohoo! My boss has no idea how thrilled he should be.

The Post-Pre-Home-Ownership Post

I'm a homeowner!

We jetted out of work for a bit to go sign some paperwork, presented the title company with a comically oversized novelty check for a bunch of $$$, and signed our names or initials about fifty times. And that's it! The sellers have to come in and do some stuff, and the wire transfer of all our $$$ has to go through (it will) and just like that, we are homeowners. We got to go see our house yesterday, but, um, the previous people were still moving out. Rough. So with any luck, next time we go we'll be able to see the place all cleaned out for the first time. We'll try and get some cleaners to come over and give the place a serious scrub-down before we move in, just cause we can, but mostly it'll just be strange to see the place without anything in it. And then we get to put in all of *our* stuff.

So, yeah, we own a house. What did you do on your lunch?

-N

The Pre-Home-Ownership Post

Today, with any luck, Jess and I will become homeowners. It's December 17th, and though there's been some hair-raising frustrations along the way, it looks like we've at least managed to nail the dismount. True, we're still waiting on paperwork, but there's every reason to believe it will go through just fine and we'll be off and writing HUGE CHECKS in no time.

I won't name-drop here, but our mortgage broker hasn't done very well by us. They offered us a *fantastic* rate, and that's why we went with them, even suspecting that they might not be the best for paperwork. Because closing is only for a month, and a mortgage is for a really, really long time. Those .25% increments really add up over 30 years. Unfortunately, though, the person handling our paperwork isn't very good at her job. Which is odd, because handling paperwork is really all she does! There was a hitch and she was instantly on us to actually change our title company, just cause it would make it easer for her. Well we called our real estate agent (who is awesome) and he actually made the phone calls that our mortgage broker should have and got everything through. I'll name drop for him because he's great. Mike Craig. Definitely a two-thumbs-up Realtor.

Anyway, between that and some last-minute-requests that really-should-have-been requested-a-month-ago we've been waiting for paperwork to go through up till the last minute, but everything is in at the title company and they should be letting Mike know precisely how big a check they want us to bring. It's sort of intimidating, but it's good to remember that you're not really loosing that money. Really just investing it. And getting a house out of the deal.

In other goings on, Jess got sick over the weekend and now I've got it. Jess completed the roller derby training and got drafted onto the Holy Rollers, league champions for three years running, a lot to skate up to. Her first game is on January 4. We've started packing up our house for the move, which will be done after we get back from x-mas with family. And, finally, X-mas with family. Yay!

I'll let you guys know when everything goes through.

-N

Bleck...finals...

I'm in the midst of my finals week, which is always fun, but I'm feeling pretty on top of it. I have my Survey of World Music final in about two hours, but I think I'll do pretty good.

Nana and Papa--I got that article you sent me about blue grass clubs in New York. It was a really interesting article. I'm not sure I'd be able to handle the way blue grass is done, but I'd like to think I could wander into a club some day and be able to play a solo.

I just had my orchestra concert last night, which went pretty well. I played a Mozart Sonata in G. It wasn't too difficult, but it did require some work because I was only playing with a piano so I really did have to fully know my part, no faking.

My last fnal is on Thursday, and then I'm flying back to Juneau on Friday morning, and get in later that night. Yay for layovers in Seattle.

Thanks for the pictures bissy! Cuuuute!

Pictures from Las Vegas!

I've finally got the pictures from Las Vegas loaded to Picasa. I have tragically few picture of grandma's birthday party, and suspiciously many pictures of the Autoshow. Can anyone else help me with this deficit? Matt loaded the photos, so he got first crack at the captions. You've been warned.

You should see photos of the aftermath of Thanksgiving dinner at Jeanne's house, quite a few images of cars from the autoshow (with some nice ones of Dad and Matt enjoying themselves), and then other pictures, mostly of random places up and down the strip. We got to wander through a lot of the casinos, which have fabulously over-the-top decor. On our last night, we went to the Belagio to see the Fountain show, and that's where we found the 6 TON Chocolate Fountain. Yeah, wow. It was nice to have some time to do fun things with my family I don't get to see too often.

Working isn't as much fun as Vacation

Christmas music was made for Jazz singers. I didn't realize this until, well, this morning on the bus to work. My iPod is loaded with Tony Bennett's Christmas album- so picture me toddling to the bus stop in the dark and rain at 6:30 this morning with Tony to cheer me along.

Sil. Ver. Bells. Siiilver Bells.....
Ring-a-ling...

That helped a lot.

I am in early this morning to get a few things done before I FINISH TEACHING! Yes, it is dead week, and lab classes don't have finals. We do have a final homework assignment due next week that I've been scheduled for weeks to have finished grading by tomorrow (lame for me), so there will be some schedule acrobatics then- but the major timesuck of sitting in a basement for 10 hours a week is OVER this week. And then I can go back to my day job- or that is having a day job that only takes up the day. I've enjoyed teaching overall, but it is tough to balance that with my major obligation to myself to graduate before I am old. And not sleeping just makes me age quickly. My project is moving in a much more interesting direction these days, so I am pleased to be liberated to work on that without interruption for a while.

These are a few of my fav-orite things...
Thanks, Tony.