Master Michael

In the past week, I haven't gone to bed before midnight or woken up after seven. This might seem normal for you all, but this is a big step out of my comfort zone. Luckily, I got to spend those days with a bunch of people I really like. I'm in Oregon now, after my graduation, but I think Michael deserves his very own blog post (and I need a nap).

Michael and I moved out of our apartments in Washington and Oregon, went to our respective graduate receptions, and strutted in our wizard robes. This included a lot of Jackson carrying couches, cleaning moms and selling things to neighbors. Based on the craigslist/garage sale crowd, Spokane people are crazy, and Eugenians are very (perhaps overly) nice. For example, crazy old men in Spokane say to Michael: Happy Fathers Day, if it applies. To my Mom and I: I would buy this frying pan, if I had any way to measure it (as me places his hand vertically into the pan, holds it still and then runs back to his apartment. Later, he told us, it was the same size as the one he had at home. I guess he put his carefully measured hand into the one at home too.) To Laura, upon being offered the leftover eggs: I LOVE eggs. Are these already scrambled? Another crazy old lady: It's sad to see the young ones go.


That's what we get for selling kitchen good on the street. Although most of the day was spent commenting on the amount of hair that Moose produces daily, there was a reading where Michael read a few pages of his Lawrence Welk story. We were all very supportive and smiley (see below). I was really proud of him, even though I'd spent all day packing up his stuff in his hot, hot apartment.

 

 

Then we spent a while figuring out the academic hood...

 

Here he is, graduating and stuff:

 Walking on the red track, on the way to the RED field.

Yay Michael!

 

You're the best, Micheal.

Fin

I never noticed how great my apartment was until now, when it's all disheveled. Madness!

 

Today was my last day of grad school! Plus, I turned in a paper that implied that Caravaggio diluted his vermillion pigment with urine. Which proves that when you're a bad patron at a restaurant, a waiter spits in your food, but when you're a bad patron in Seicento Italy...

I'm off to cheer on Michael (and carry a bunch of his stuff) in Spokane. And guess what? We don't have to say goodbye. No car crying. No call me when you get there. Yes!

Move 'em Out, Head 'em Up, Rawhide

In order to title this blog post, I was forced to google the lyric's to Rawhide, which mostly consisted of "Rollin, Rollin, Rollin..."

In other news, I returned 50ish books to the library this week, with about 20 more on the way. This is great news for my back, which is constantly dragging these books back from my office to my apartment. Check it out:

I had the librarian laughing by my fifth trip, which was good, because the last visit was with the book that Moose borrowed from the library.

I'm packing up everything this weekend and getting ready for graduation week (which has a better feeling to it than "finals week," don't you think?). I was getting dressed for school today, and remembered a particularly laughable journal entry from 8th grade, where I expressed my concern over what to where the for the last day of school. "Everybody freaks out about what to where on the first day of school, but the last day matters more because it's how everyone will think of you for the entire summer." Logical, eh? Well, that day I wore a orange polo shirt, white shorts, clunky brown sandals, and one of those plastic, collapsible zig-zag headbands. I guess I still remember...I sure hope no one else does. All I had to do was google "90s brown sandals" and this came up first:

Too bad they didn't have fashion blogs back then, right?

The Rain in Eugene Falls Mainly in my Face

Really? Rain with a side of hail. Can you tell where my raincoat ended? C'mon summer!

 

My Real Thesis Dedication Page

I followed the University guidelines for my thesis (including silly margins and their font suggestions), which I will be submitting for good today (yes!) but I'm going to write my real thesis dedication page here.


I ran a marathon. Ok, not really (although I do know people who do that kind of thing), but a thesis is a marathon. After telling my mom about a year ago that I wasn't sure where to start, she said that it was like "deciding where to start eating an elephant." Strangely, this metaphor really works for me. I also couldn't get the phrase, "I will take it. I will take the ring to Mordor," out of my head during my thesis defense. I had the normal speaking in front of people jitters, but I had confidence in myself and my project, which I chalk up, in large part to all my people.

Thanks Michael. You are horrible at pep talks, really. I say things like, "Today was really hard." and your response is something like, "Everything is horrible, especially grad school." Then, you tell Moose, our dog, that you love him. But this commiserating attitude and your total confidence in the idea that I was telling the truth (even when I was being completely dramatic) AND that it would go away, made all the grad school stuff melt away. I ended up just missing you, which (although bitter sweet) put all the silly posters, students, and academic egoism in perspective. I'm super proud of you and all the work you've done the past few years, especially your teaching. I wish you could hear all the times that I accidentally brag about you. I think my poor friends up her are pretty sick of it :). As an art historian, though, sometimes I am so proud to be dating an artist, and to have the chance to support one in the flesh, instead of writing papers about the late and great. I'm also very happy that our phone minutes are going to drop dramatically since we get to be together. Plus, we spent last night challenging each other to guess what different books are in Barnes and Noble box sets (which once again proves that I'm smarter than you); I think that's love.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Laura. I wrote in my little cheesy dedication page, that my parents gave me the "intellectual and emotional tools to finish this project." It's true though. I'm just wrapping up the 18th grade, and gearing up for more in the next few years. I'm not sure if this is a good thing, since (after all) I'll probably never get a job...but you two really got the "education is important" thing down. It's probably your fault, that despite my sarcasm (which is my inheritance from Mom), I think I will get a job; I suppose I blame you for my egoism, then. There are a few special moments in my life or general thoughts that I keep coming back to lately, that make me so proud of my family and so happy that I'll get to be a little closer to you all soon. 1)That time Laura wet her pants on the Oregon coast. I'm so glad that we'll get to relive that moment in a few weeks! 2) "John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals!" 3) Calling card games "I doubt it" instead of "B.S" and trash cans "dumpsters". 4) The time that Dad told me that he'd rather hear me say any swear word in the book than refer to someone as a "fag." 5) The fact that you were all more nervous than me during my thesis defense. 6) Remember when you came up into my room and told me that over Thanksgiving Break we could go to the Humane Society and pick out a dog? (I'm a genius, by the way, because Rusty's the coolest.) 7) The parking lot at the dorms when I moved to college. 8) The fact that Laura remembers exactly nothing from our childhood, but still thinks it was pretty good. Challenge: I bet you don't remember the name of our backyard cafe. 9) I could go on for a really long time, but I think Laura's peculiar pronunciation of the word "mayonnaise" pretty much sums up how I feel about our family. Anyway, I like you all very much and that's not something that everyone gets to say about their family, so thanks.

Thanks Jen, Seth, Morgan, Chloe, Brynn, Ellie and Callie, I know you didn't move to Oregon to hang out with me, but it sure felt like it sometimes. I'm going to miss certain parts of school, but the thing that will be the hardest to leave is your cute family. I've never been so happy to be woken up at 6:00am, since I usually wake up to Ellie laughing or Morgan hugs. Even though its not the most restful vacation, it's ridiculously fortifying (and not just because you feed me). I am so happy that I get to be part of your lives and watch the little one's grow up--it is so crazy that Ellie is turning one tomorrow, but I also find it so amazing to watch their personalities and characters shaping up. Those are some amazing kids. I know my way to your house, though, so I promise to visit whenever possible.

Thanks Becky and John, and all of Michael's awesome family. I am so lucky that my doofy boyfriend has such an amazing family! Since the moment I arrived on the scene, you've all made me feel like a part of the family, but more than that, I've felt like I could absolutely be myself around all of you. I'm so excited to eat dinner on Sundays, go to breakfast (I might be hungry, based on the food themes), and watch John and Becky lift cars over their heads, and practice changing clothes quickly (that's what triathletes do, right?), and mostly just see all your happy faces. Thanks for all the support you've given Michael and I throughout this grad school adventure!

Thanks Jackson. For taking care of my family while I  go read books, they officially like you more than me by now. I'm so glad that we're going to be roommates, even though Michael is coming too.

Thank you Mandy Moo. Gah, you're the best. I just like you so much. You're the opposite of Michael when it comes to both pep talks (you rock) and jumping pictures. I so appreciate your honesty and openness with me--it makes me feel like I can tell you anything and that you're telling me everything. Arts Festival?

Thanks Manda. As Michelle Branch might say, you-ou-ou-ou get me, you get me. We might be on exact opposite ends of the country and in very different programs, but I think, if anything, this pesky distance has brought me closer to you. I might be living through your life a little bit right now--Spain, much? It doesn't matter how much we see each other or even how much we talk, I know you're right where you should be in spirit--which is, of course, dancing with me in some sort of hallway in the middle of the night.

I'm suddenly realizing that this is the most ridiculously long blog post ever. So. I'm going to pick up the pace. I'm so excited to see so many people as I move forward in my life. I get to meet a little baby named Grayson (I might even say hello to his parents), an Ashley who is going to go climbing with me and be my friend and let me hang out with her sister, lots of boys who kind of like me and so on.

I am also very thankful for some of the people here. I moved away from my original purpose, which was to thank people in reference to my thesis, but I'm going to jump back to thank my adviser (who certainly does not read my blog, but it's the thought that counts) for telling me that he "learned a lot" from my thesis and letting me pop into his office with random thoughts (no really, I once asked him "what is plastic?" which led to a half an hour conversation and we were not using any sort of mind altering substances). What a kind man. I also have so many GTFs, which stands for Graduate Type Friends that relish in art historical humor, which is one of my favorite kinds, and have treated me with oodles of respect and are genuinely happy for my small successes. I have to especially thank Hannah, who always had my back, and not just because we sit back-to-back in our office :). Thanks for being SO easy to talk to about all my little problems and all my big dreams and for showing me Henri, the French cat, which has been my go to pick-me-up lately.

Anyway, thanks everyone out there, blog readers certainly belong on my thank you list. Operation Thesis is over!


Here's a few picture that I took on a hike last weekend, since blog posts without pictures are strictly forbidden. I was trying to clear my head before my defense, but I ended up running into two professors (what are the odds?). I resisted the urge to dive into the bushes though :).

Ferns anyone?

Gah, so pretty.

Chasing Waterfalls

Last weekend Michael's mom came to see us--which is always a party. We headed to Silverton, OR to see some waterfalls. Gotta love Oregon. The kids were troopers, as were the people carrying kids.

"So, Chloe has to go to the bathroom again, eh?"

First waterfall of the day!

 She was enthusiastically pushing Michael forward most of the trip and laughing at her siblings--who knew hiking could be so hilarious.

 Waterfall, number 2! You can't tell, but we're making our best waterfall faces.

 This picture looks conspicuously like a family photo. Nope, we're not parents (since Moose wouldn't get in the pack). 

Such a cute family! I'm going to miss them so much when I leave Oregon.

 Happy Mother's Day!

Morgan's showing off his missing teeth. He brought a stuffed frog on the trip, for obvious reasons.

This was our last waterfall. It was so loud!

Everyone was so impressed with the falls...

Well, almost every one.

This is when the kiddos sort of hit the wall. Check out Chloe's expression below.

"Pictures? Really?"

Wow! Last weekend is making this one seem pretty anti-climactic. I have grading and cleaning on the horizon--BUT I finished my thesis and sent it off to my committee this week. I'll hold for applause. I still have to defend and such, but it feels good to send it out in the world!

Spokane Surprise

I drove to Spokane without telling Michael (although I told pretty much everyone else I knew, because I was so excited about my sneakiness).He was stoked, although there was a lot of head shaking and a little bit of frantic cleaning. This is the LAST TIME I have to drive to Spokane. Woo! We spent most of the day yesterday talking about how silly it would be to go out for Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo. After about three of these conversations, neither of us could support our cravings and we ended up driving twenty minutes and waiting for an hour to eat out.We hung out by the handicapped wagon, during our wait.
 

Overall, Cinco de Mayo was a raging success, probably because we got nachos, and had a very interesting conversation with a cardboard cutout.

Today, we watched the Bloomsday race, which is HUGE around here. There were 50,000 runners, which is a quarter of the total population. This is a picture from the bottom of Michael's street:

 Everyone in Spokane comes outside for one day, which is great for morale and fitness and such, but also brings the scary old ladies with their scary little dogs out from the gloom of their scary apartments. One old lady continually yelled at people running on the sidewalk "This is a road race, not a sidewalk race." Those vagrants! While another shouted a classic argument, "They should really learn to speak English before they come here to run our race," in reference to the elite runners (who could hear her by the way). Needless to say, awesome people watching. If I'd known I was coming up, we would have entered in the "kinda running, but mostly just wearing running tights" category.

This is a picture of my favorite costume--robots, with batteries on the back. The batteries were erasable, so they would slowly deplete throughout the race. We also really appreciated a couple dressed as swamp things that spent more time crouching in bushes and scaring people than running. In the picture above, just imagine an old lady just off screen, pacing up and down shouting "this is a road race, not a sidewalk race..." to get the full effect.

Moose and I are spectating. He got a lot of attention. I decided we should have dressed him up as some sort of flower, to encourage the runners, or bloomies as their called around here. We'll get em next time, Moose.

In other news, Moose is still adorable, even when he sticks his tongue out at you.

Grey Whale to Red Fox: Morgan is 7

Last weekend Michael's nephew Morgan had a secret agent birthday party, which involved a laser field, disguises, marshmallow guns, and lots of karate-ish dance moves. So fun.

Get it through the target, Clo! 

 What a pro.

 Laser field obstacle course. Much harder for adults, I might add.

 

Ah yes! The classic scrunchy face disguise. 

 

Brynn thought I was teasing her, when I told her it was upside-down. But it was a party full of intrigue, so I can't blame her.

  Happy Birthday Morgan!