nothing special

Nothing special in this post. I'm sitting in class where another movie is playing in the background. I don't mind movies but I can only watch so many. Almost every week we have a movie in class and I only get antsier. I have a difficult time sitting through movies because I feel like there is always something else I should be doing. Movies are enjoyable but they make me feel like I'm wasting time. So here I am in class, semi-watching "V for Vendetta" but also working on other homework. I suppose movies aren't that terrible, they give me time to work on other assignments.

In other news, wedding plans have changed. We were planning for about 2 weeks, reserved a B&B in SLC, got in contact with a caterer, but the stress of planning is too much and I don't want to do it. I want our wedding to fun but the planning aspect takes away from that. Planning stresses me to the point that I cannot sleep at night, but that is normal for me. I'm a worrier. I stress over every little thing.

So after a couple of sleepless nights and worrying we decided, or I proposed and Jeremy agreed, to get married in Vegas. We've found a place we like and they do all the planning. All we have to do is show up! That's what I want. To just show up, marry Jeremy, and have fun.

2 second break

School is hectic, work is busy, and I don't know how we're going to plan a wedding! We've set a tentative wedding date for August 6th, but that may change in a month or so. We want to get married this summer but we haven't been able to set anything in stone yet because I'm still waiting to find out if I'll be accepted for the summer internship I've applied for. If I get the job I want then it will go until the end of August... which means no time to plan or have a wedding! If that's the case we'll get married next May. But if I don't get the job I want and we end up going to UT so I can work with my old city govt., then we will get married in August.

So we're in limbo for a while. Even though nothing is set we've still started the baby steps of planning our wedding. We mostly do this at lunch time between classes or at midnight before we got to bed... that's the only spare time we both have. Sigh. So far we've figured out that we want our colors to be dark blue and ivory, and our dogs will be our flower girls. That's it. That's the most of our "planning."

I do have an appointment at my sister-in-law's bridal shop so I can start looking at dresses and we also have appointments set up to look at venues in and around SLC. We've talked about a theme and I just don't think we need one. We have colors, that's enough right? Besides, Jeremy wants the theme to be either "cowboys and ninjas" or "pirates from space" and I want "puppies and fluffy bunnies." So I think we'll do without a theme.

Also, we want a small wedding; 50 people tops. But my parents, and mostly my dad in this, want something a little bigger. My dad said he wants a big party to invite all of his friends. Well if that's the case dad, just throw your own party! For now we've compromised: small wedding and reception in SLC and large reception later in Helper with whomever the rents want to invite.

leave the iMachine at home

Classes as a graduate student are more challenging, more thought provoking, and much more time consuming. This semester I'm taking three classes and each class meets once a week for three hours. I don't mind the once a week part but the three hour part can be difficult at times... mostly for my attention span. I enjoy my classes, I truly do! They're interesting and make me think about the world and politics the way I've never thought before. But I am, and always have been, a doodler. I cannot sit and listen without doing something. In undergraduate classes I could sit and take notes, but these classes aren't really the note-taking kind. They're lecture and discussion. When I don't have a comment to make about the subject I find myself doodling or in this modern age of technology I find myself playing on my iPhone. Usually it's scrabble or paper-toss, and sometimes it's just surfing the web or facebook. My phone is the equivalent of doodling. I do all this "playing" discreetly, usually by keeping my phone in my lap or hidden by a book. And I take breaks. I turn the phone off and sit and look at the professor and attempt to be a part of the discussion... when I can get a word in. But then it's back to doodling and just listening to the discourse around me. I don't this as a problem, I see it as a tool to help me pay attention. But today while sitting with my fellow students and professors one of my classmates mentioned that he saw a post on facebook and realized it was posted while we were in class. I said "yes, and I played scrabble too during that time." And it was right after that statement that I realized the professor, who's class we were in when I was facebooking and playing scrabble, was sitting right next to me. I'm sure that he overheard our conversation but he didn't make any comment. I just quietly gathered my books, said my goodbyes, and then went and buried my head in the snow. I don't think it's a problem that I doodle or play on my phone, but I don't like to advertise to my professors that I do it... while I'm in their classes! I may have to leave the iMachine home while I go to classes, at least for a week or two, so I can show that "yes" I am paying attention and "no" I'm not always playing on my phone. But with the lack of iPhone there's sure to be a resurgence in actual doodling.

turn signals must be illegal

So we're back in Arkansas for the holiday and I must have missed something. I thought that in driver's ed classes across the states drivers are taught that whenever switching lanes or turning a driver must their turn signal. Apparently not in Arkansas. I've been driving around the Little Rock area for a week now and NO ONE uses their turn signals. I guess it's illegal here? I don't know what the deal is but it drives me crazy! This is not my first visit but this is the first time that I'm really noticing how horrible drivers are here. I'm starting to understand why Jeremy is such a horrible driver... because he learned to drive here and normal road rules and driving procedures don't apply. I've got to go into the city tomorrow and I dread the free-way and the non-turn signal using people who rule the roads.

a.l.m.o.s.t....there

Whew. Almost there. One last 10 page paper to write and this semester is over. All of my finals are finished, this is just my book review (I gave the presentation on this 3 weeks ago). I've been staring at a blank screen for almost an hour and nothing is coming to me. I think the best option right now is to just go to bed and sleep on it. I'll come back to it tomorrow afternoon. Hey, it's not due until tomorrow night at 9, I've still got time. It'll be nice to have almost a month break, and we'll be in Arkansas for two of those weeks. Still haven't figured out what we'll do with the dogs. Jeremy's mom is not a fan of dogs and won't let them past the laundry room. That will be tough since both of them sleep right near our bed every night and get pretty anxious if they can't be near us. We'll have to figure something out or nobody will get any sleep. My poor girls.

family research

I've always been interested in my family's history, especially on my dad's side. I love hearing stories about the old Italians in Helper and learning where my family came from. Eight years ago I traveled to Italy and met some of my grandpa's cousins that still live in the house where my great-grandpa was born and raised. It was amazing to meet relatives (even 3rd and 4th cousins) still living in the same area. When I met and spoke with them about our families and shared stories I discovered that we have some of the same photographs! Pictures that my great-grandparents had sent to them and pictures they had sent to America. Recently we found an obituary of my great-great-grandpa. When I went to Italy I met with my Giacoletto relatives but could not find records of my Carrera and Pessetto relatives. We had no idea where they came from in Italy. But now, it turns out, they came from a small village called Pratiglione, in the same region and no more than 20 miles where the Giacolettos came from! Now I'm on a new search... to find my great-great-grandpa's birth place and any living relatives that may exist.

two more weeks

Hallelujah! Two more weeks and this semester is O.V.E.R. 15-page book review to write and two final papers and I'm done. This semester has been grueling and I'll be so happy to have a break. Jeremy will have his surgery a week before Christmas (having the hardware removed in his right knee) so it's back to Arkansas for a week or two. My fellow grad-student Josh may come along with us for the ride to Arkansas since he's from near Fayetteville. And we may have the dogs too. So it will be a car load on an 18 hour drive! My only wish is that Arkansas gets a little bit of snow for Christmas, even a skiff will do. But before all that comes Thanksgiving and we're going home to see my family. Whoot Whoot!