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| Durham Sept 19-22some important things have happened between now and my last post (um...getting married, honeymoon, visiting sonia in pittsburgh), of which i will post pictures later, but i have to get the word out...
i'm going to durham for the duke career fair, arriving late tuesday night (sept 19) and leaving early friday morning (sept 22). who's gonna be there?! derrick, sarah? the last class i knew ('06) has already graduated!
oh also, can the whole world please read the pope's statements in context, and can the media actually please tell us the whole story? it is just really disappointing that so much anger and not to mention violence has occurred based on media sensationalism. i found "key excerpts" from the pope's speech here on BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5348456.stm
the speech seems like it was intellectually provocative and not something you can sound-byte easily, so no wonder people are interpreting it all wrong. people generally only know what the media gives them. media, get your act together!!!!! PLEASE
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| I'm getting married in 9 days. About 9 months ago, I was getting married in 9 months. That may seem obvious, but what I'm trying to say is...I'm used to thinking of "the day" as being in the future, not the present. When it actually is the present, it'll be a whole shift of reality - from something that exists in my mind to something that exists in real life. From something I can tweak if anything goes wrong to something that will happen the way it wants to.
Ok, enough speaking of a wedding day as a living entity. POST-wedding - in other words, marriage - is the main event here. Even after approximately 20 hours of pre-marriage counseling* and classes, I'm not sure I know exactly what to expect. It's exciting to start a new challenge, to take the plunge and figure it out as we go. Similar to the way I packed up my stuff and drove across the country to Duke in time for freshman orientation, having never previously stepped on campus before. Well, maybe not that similar. But similar nonetheless.
I guess that's the way a lot of things are in life. Like having a baby, for example.
And no, we are not planning to have children for a few years. But nothing can prepare you for these things until they actually happen to you. Well, except maybe a friend who's done it before...
So...I'm doing this for all of you! Ask me how it is in a few months =).
*Note: Many people think pre-marriage counseling is only for people who are
having major issues in their relationship that need to be resolved. Or, they have a strong relationship and
scoff at the idea that they might need help with problems that will
come their way. But here's my two cents: it is a good thing to
pre-emptively identify and learn how to resolve issues before they come
up, because, if anything, marriage most likely increases the amount of
conflict in a couple's relationship. Even people who are already
married can learn from the kind of counseling we got. Plus, we got a
$70 discount on our marriage license  .
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| Bachelorette #57 out of 84I had my bachelorette party last weekend. And no, it wasn't wild and crazy...come on, it's me. Drove down to Chicago with Jamie from work and Amanda from church. With just the girls, we had some very open and candid conversation...
Saturday went to Navy Pier and played minigolf with the lake and city skyline in view. Had lunch at the top of the John Hancock building. Shopped a little on Michigan Ave. Even stopped in Tiffany's to ogle the monstrous diamonds.
That evening, my high school friends joined us for some pizza, games, and gifts. I specifically told them "no male body parts," but alas...can't be a bachelorette party otherwise, I guess. They managed to sneak shapes in the confetti, greeting cards, candy, and the cake pan. Sigh.
Afterwards, we went out to the Hunt Club on happenin' Division Street. Had a good time on the dance floor finding creative ways to ward off dancing men. If you are looking to get a lot of attention in a bar, just put on a veil and make like it's a bachelorette party. Perhaps other people have caught on to this idea because I spotted at least 4 other girls with the conspicuous bachelorette veil in the same bar. That doesn't even count the multiples of bachelorette parties out in the street (including the one that drove by in a trolley with a girl holding an inflatable "male body part" out the window).
Next day we went to church, and what did the pastor speak on? Purity. I tend not to think anything is coincidence.
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| Circus act- move to new apt by monday
- stay on track with wedding stuff (37 days = ~5 weeks away...agh!)
- think about where i want to work next (in the same company) because my project is ending
- factor into that decision how the career will prepare for missions 4 years down the road
- also factor into that decision what further education i want to pursue
- train for a 10k that is in 3 weeks
- get ready for being MARRIED
- just today...this girl was going to lend us a piano for a year...but then left a voicemail saying she is backing out because my slow return of phonecalls makes her worried i won't return the piano in a year. which is just making me down. but not about the piano.
 i dropped the ball.
still juggling the other balls though. God has been gracious in that my current job is not too demanding right now.
on a frivolously lighter note, we had a tasting with the caterer today. lots of good free food. word to the wise - the vegetarian dish is actually really good, even for the meat-n-potatoes type folk. i might get that instead of chicken.
having a wedding is such a strange experience...you get to call all the shots and everyone caters to your every whim. and during the wedding, you are the center of attention. i can see why people can get "bridezilla" about it. i hope i am not a bridezilla. stephen and i have been praying that God would be the one who is magnified and focused on during wedding and marriage. that would really be quite nice.
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| Three stories in and about South CarolinaI was in Columbia, South Carolina, this week on a business trip. I love traveling, even to the places considered podunk. Each place has its own interesting people, history, and charm. Georgetown, SC, has a pretty boardwalk behind a street of quaint stores where I bought a box of praline cookies (a South Carolina specialty!). And I love the southern homes with 2 stories of porches lining 3 sides of the house, decked with rocking chairs and swings. Easiest to remember, however, are the semi-negative encounters. Some anecdotes:
Was I conned?
A woman stopped me in the hotel parking lot with a story that her son was in the hospital and she needed to get there to sign papers so he could receive treatment, but her car had run out of gas and she had no money. I know not to give out cash, so I offered to buy her gas. She said someone was coming to give her a container of fuel. So I waited at the gas station. She showed up, saying she got there with the little fuel that was in the container. She said she just moved to SC to be around her family because her boyfriend tried to hit her kids. I prayed for her and her family. After she filled her tank with some gas, some guy suddenly showed up and she said he was her brother. I got into it knowing it could be a setup, but I felt ok knowing I wasn't merely giving her cash to spend on who knows what, and I got to talk and pray with her. If she was legit, then she got some help. If she wasn't legit, then she'll have to answer for that some day. If she was legit and I hadn't helped her, I'd have to answer for that some day...
Confederate flag on the Capitol
It was front and center, facing a main street, where everyone passing by could see what South Carolina stood for. I had heard about things like this before, but found it freshly and accutely disturbing to see with my own eyes such a shameful sign displayed with honor at the seat of government. People have explained to me that the Confederate flag symbolizes something like independence to southerners, but to me that is just stubborn reluctance for the flag's supporters to let go of a small source of pride out of respect for a group of people (descendants of slaves) who are just getting it rubbed in their faces.
On the side of the capitol was a memorial tribute to the history of African-Americans in South Carolina. Most of the images had to do with slavery and the Jim Crow era. In the center was a map showing the trade routes from 4 African countries (Ghana, Congo, 2 others) with dotted lines to South Carolina. I felt that in a way, this wasn't an extremely honoring memorial. But I'm not an African-American in South Carolina, so I don't really know.
High-fallutin' Asian outsider
I had to drive on non-interstate roads, taking me to towns off the beaten path. I stopped to eat lunch at a KFC (the other options were McDonald's, Burger King, Hardee's, Taco Bell, etc.) and immediately wondered if this was a mistake. People would spot me and take a double take, or just stare until I looked their way. Well, I don't blame them, considering I was different in so many ways: 1) Asian, 2) not a local, 3) dressed in a suit. In summary, an Asian female outsider dressed in a suit eating at KFC in a tiny town in South Carolina. I would stare at me too.
After my mini-road trip in SC, I decided I would love to drive all along the east coast, from Florida to Maine, visiting seaside towns and beaches along the way. I think I am enchanted with small towns near the ocean - some I've been to in the past year: Wilmington, NC, Savannah, GA, Georgetown, SC. Virginia Beach, VA, would be in the mix too, and Washington, DC, wouldn't be a bad bonus. I'd eventually get to Boston. Maine is a complete mystery to me (in a good way) - I just think of rocky shores with lighthouses and lobster. Hopefully a visit would fill out that image a little better. Road trip, anyone?
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