Ready, Set, FINALS!

I now have a great appreciation for why people winter in Phoenix. It is paradise! Especially compared to the triple-digits we had through October - the pool is actually enticing. Unfortunately, my professors think we should have other priorities. This first module consisted of 6 weeks of classes and a week of exams. Guess what, one more week of classes and it's time for finals! Four exams and a presentation, and then I am taking off to the Czech Republic for the second module, in Celakovice(a suburb of Prague).

Being back on campus has been very different than living across the street. My room faces a beautiful courtyard, with a pool and a bbq pit. It's landscaped, and quiet, and I am so productive in my room! It has been a revelation to me about how independent I am used to being. Leaving my car in Boulder was an easy decision to make, but every time I have thought, "It's only a few weeks," it gets a little more restrictive. In general I don't really NEED anything that I don't have access to here, but being restrained by the food and hours at the Commons has been oppressive.

Nonetheless, this semester has been eventful. Since the end of Jan I have been involved with seven group projects, founded the Wine Club on campus, been sung Happy Birthday in 7 different languages, made time for three French movies, helped Brian

do our taxes(on Valentine's Day, how romantic!), become a "beginner" at Czech, helped organize Asia night, and joined the Tower Restoration Project. All that, and only one all-nighter!

Here is the view from my room:

So now we're into preparations for review, and thinking about leaving in two weeks is a very scary thought. I'll get one more visit with Brian, and he gets to take me to the airport and send me off. Wish me luck!

DECEMBER

In a whirlwind weekend of studying, packing boxes and trying to unload furniture on some locals, Brian and I finally checked out of Glendale late on Friday Dec 12. We left with a VERY full Corrolla, including a little dog named Tash curled up on the passenger's lap. She lived with the teenage boys who had the apartment beneath us, and they neglected and abused her. At some point animal control got involved, and we both had soft spots for her so we rescued her.

We drove through Jerome and spent the night with Jack and Lisa, and the four of us got up and hit the road at 7am. They headed to California, and we headed to Denver. We pulled into the driveway at 10pm and the snow started at 10:30 - and continued for about a day!

It was great to see Bosco again - he was surprised to see us, and even more surprised to have a little playmate! Brian had to work for a few days, and I crashed. I had no idea how deep the exhaustion ran, but it took at least a week of doing absolutely nothing besides sleeping and eating before I felt human again.

The next week was full of friends and family and adjustments. Bosco and Tasha got along fairly well, even though she HATES snow and tends to antagonize him with his own toys. For Christmas I got a fantastic piece of luggage that is essentially a hiking backpack with wheels, a sister-in-law, and a new camera that should make it easy to post video clips from Europe. It was quite a week. We had a quiet New Year's and a few ski days, and all of a sudden it was time to sart packing to head back to school.

Being home was very refreshing, and definitely made me question whether or not this grad school experience is worth the sacrifices. With as much time as we have spent growing into our own routines and habits, it was very comfortable to be back in the same house, and be together. I decided that if I can, I would like to find an internship in the Boulder area for the summer, and will look forward to my next return.

Travis Loves Heather!

October 23-25

Thursday morning we got up before the sun and went to the airport. Max flew back to Denver and I met Brian past the security checkpoint to hop on the second leg of his flight into San Francisco. We metMom and Dad at the hotel and wandered up to Sebastiani to take a tour and taste some wine. It was fantastic, we got to taste som fresh Syrah grapes they were harvesting, and enjoyed a really lovely afternoon all around the Bay.

Then it was wedding time. Lots of bows to be tied and cake to be decorated. Brian was so patient, and I am so glad that Mom and Dad joined us to celebrate!

Heather and Travis said "I do," outside on the back patio, and we danced the night away with her family and friends. It was good to visit with all of the Adlers, and I got to meet Travis' family for the first time. I had actually met all of the other bridesmaids on a previous visit to Berkeley, so it was fun hanging out with them and helping Heather. Sunday morning we got up and checked out of the hotel, and caravaned into San Francisco to brunch with Dad's friend Gary. He has a beautiful apartment downtown, and we enjoyed watching the fog roll in as he showed it off and shared some wine in his newly remodeled

kitchen. It was the perfect weekend getaway, and I really enjoyed spending time with everybody there. We all headed back to the airport together, and I flew back to Phoenix to dive into the second module of the tri, while Brian and Mom and Dad headed back to Denver.

Home Sweet Home

Alright, I will admit that I lost track of the past six weeks, and am belated in these updates. So bear with me, but you will get the full story!

October 17-19
I got to fly home for the weekend between the first module and Career Week. It was a very mixed experience for me. First of all, it was a phenomenal weekend to be in Boulder. The aspens were gold and the ash were bright red, and the sun was brilliant. I was able to see a lot of friends and family that I have been missing, and after the previous week's frenzy to complete so much coursework, it was good to be able to catch up on sleep in my own bed.

I received an email that weekend informing me that I had not been nominated for the module in Monterrey, Mexco that I applied for. This was particularly disappointing because the opportunities to study abroad and be exposed to Thunderbird's international relationships is the reason I chose Thunderbird over traditional MBA programs closer to home. Being home and being confronted with all of the things I have sacrificed to pursue this program, and then realizing that I am not going to be able to participate in everything I wanted to was extremely difficult for me. Existing in a state of perpetual physical and emotional exhaustion is a lot to overcome, especially with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Everything at the house was so comfortably familiar, and I was ecstatic to see Bosco! He was hilarious, every time he saw me he would do a double-take and get excited all over again. It was heart-warming to see that he recognized me and missed me as much as I miss seeing him everyday.

At the end of the weekend, I said goodbye to Brian, and Max flew back to Phoenix with me. I had a few workshops here and there throughout Career Week, but for the most part I was able to relax. Max needed to see Jack and Lisa before he left the country, so we took a day and drove up to Jerome. It is so pleasant up there, I love being able to get away and retreat from this hectic world I live in. We had a lovely visit with them, and then returned to Glendale...

Stop This Train...

It is finals week for the three of our classes that are only one module of the trimester. That means we have four other classes that go through the entire tri, and on top of finals we have normal classes and assignments due.

Friday we had a three-hour class, Sat we had our accounting final, and today we had to turn in paperwork corresponding with our Career Management seminar presentations tomorrow. This is going on day #8 straight of school - and it keeps going through Thursday! There were two things that got me through the weekend: autumn has arrived in AZ, and at the end of the week I get to go home for the weekend WITH NO HOMEWORK!!!

The weather cooled down to a lovely 75 today, so I was glad to take a break and do some laundry, and wandered around campus for a bit. It is empty - everybody is burried in the library or working with a group in a student room somewhere. It's nuts - even the Pub was closed last night - on a Saturday!

Another thing that has been hard this week is that I've been sad I missed Brian's birthday. From what I hear though, he had quite a celebratory weekend! It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, giving up the little things... A few people I have talked to mentioned that CO might be getting some snow this week, so the fact that it is just now getting pleasant outside is a shock to my system. Inside I am ready for sweatshirt-and-hot chocolate days and Halloween decorations, and here I am grateful for a windows-open day. But I will get my fill, I just have to survive the week. Then we can have a belated birthday(I promised to get up with Bosco and let Brian sleep in on Sat!) and some seasonal appreciation.

Here are some pics from this afternoon. At top is the Wall of Welcome, which says "welcome" in 30-some-odd languages and has a quote from Socrates, "I am neither Athenian nor Greek, I am a citizen of the world." Middle is my mailbox, at the apartment, and the bottom is my favorite study spot(not frequented, mind you, but definitely preferred!). Hope all is well and that wherever you are the leaves are changing...

You Brighten Up For Me All of My Days

Last Thursday I got to drive to the airport to pick up my husband for our anniversary weekend visit. I was running on two PB&J's, a few cookies, and about three hours of sleep in three days. Accounting spreadsheets and statistics had been consuming me all week, which left the rest of me feeling guilty about not keeping up with econ and orgnizational behavior, or any other regular human habits. Defeated and broken, I pulled into the arrivals lane at Sky Harbor and have never in my life been so excited to see him!

It took me most of Friday to recover, and Brian was extremely patient with my morning meetings and loose ends. After everything got checked off my list, I joined him at the pool and we had a relaxing couple of hours melting under the palm trees. My last commitment for the week was actually an audition for the campus cover band, Global Sounds. They told me I had a "rock star name" and some "tight pipes," and invited me to sing with them!

Friday night I took him to see the Rockies play the Diamondbacks at their fancy new stadium with the retractable roof. They put up a mild effort, but the Dbacks won and celebrated with a surprisingly spectacular fireworks display. It was late when we got back to the apartment and we fell asleep eating ice cream and watching the debate.

It was GLORIOUS to sleep in on Saturday! It just so happened that the AVP was in Glendale for the weekend, so Brian got us tickets. It was Kristin's birthday, so we took her for the morning matches and hung out in the Crocs tent for a while. It was fun enough that we went back for the beginning of the championship matches that evening, and left early to eat at Buca's to celebrate with some other friends. Then home for cake, and another full night of sleep.

Sunday was hard for me. I woke up wishing I didn't have to say goodbye, and thinking hard about what I am doing and why I am down here. I desperately needed a break from school, and being able to be myself and be unconditionally loved for who I am was deeply refreshing. Brian is so supportive and convinced that we are doing the right thing, but I am not sure yet. Grad school is not healthy! This lifestlye is hard on everybody, it's ridiculous. And to think about what I gave up to live in Glendale?!

Anyhow, I pulled myself together and we had a nice breakfast and stopped at Castles n' Coasters on the way to the airport to slip in a quick 18 holes of put-put. It was very fun, even though it is still triple-digits hot during the day. After that I said goodbye at the Bush line and returned home all alone to ease back into my reality.

This week has been better. We're just gearing up for the stats exam Friday, then I get to switch gears this weekend and start catching up on my other classes. Mid-terms are just around the corner, which will be followed by my long weekend in CO! I am ready to visit - see the new house(ok, new basement and fresh paint will seem new to me!), snuggle with Bosco, and enjoy the fresh air! It will be great to see Mom and Dad too - I know I took for granted how easily accessible they are, and am ready for some hugs.

Thanks for all of your thoughts, it is nice to know I am loved by a universe that doesn't care how quickly I can calculate the kurtosis of a random assortment of monthly phone bills. I miss you all but I can't believe it is already October!

Three years and counting...

What a wild month! Last week was a milestone week for us. I had my first graded assignments and my first exam, and it was also the first time Brian and I have seen each other since the move in August. We both flew to Pasadena to spend the weekend with The Gustins. It was a welcome break, and it was great to relax and have some family time. Friday we walked down Venice Beach, which is quite the experience. I thought Pearl Street was wild - but there were some outfits that even topped some of the crazies in Boulder. We continued up the coast to Santa Monica, and hung out on the pier for a while, then drove through Beverly Hills and into Hollywood. We walked the sidewalk and saw all of the stars, and then ate dinner at the Pig 'n Whistle - which was delicious! No star sightings, unfortunately. Maybe next time...

Saturday we did went back to the coast and enjoyed Marina del Ray. It is a beautiful harbor and a quaint little collection of restaurants and shops. We had some live music and a little bit of wild dancing...and some yummy mexican food. Then we took a harbor tour and got to see luxury yachts owned by the likes of John Travolta, Lucy Liu, and Nicholas Cage. The staple vessel is caled Attessa, which takes a crew of 15 to run and has a helicopter pad on top of it! About $27 million worth of incredible...

Then Sunday we slept in and had a great breakfast and wandered down Colorado Blvd near their apartment. We went to their brewpub to watch the Colts play, then headed to the airport. We were both surprised to figure out that my flight to Phoenix was actually the first leg of Brian's flight to Denver, so we got an extra couple of hours together. I got off the plane and headed home to study, and Brian returned to Bosco and Crocs.

Good news for this week: I passed my accounting exam, which is definitely positive energy I need to push on through the next round of mid-terms. And today is our third anniversary so Brian is flying in tomorrow for another weekend visit. It will be fun to show him around my new world, and introduce him to the new people I have been spending all of my time with.

Hope everything is going well wherever you are!