the high road is hard to find
The past few weeks have been a blur, and this whole weekend I've been recovering. Two weekends ago I drove to Wisconsin for my friend Bridget's bachelor/bachelorette party and wedding rehearsal dinner; I couldn't actually go to the wedding - there were so many people invited that apparently they were almost in violation of fire codes! I stayed in a beautiful cabin in rural Wisconsin with some friends old and new and toured a neat winery and did other neat things. Then, on Saturday, I left to go visit my friends Maggie and Mike in Edina, MN, where I also met their adorable munchkin, Red. Maggie fed me delicious things, as is her wont, and I returned Sunday to Iowa City happy but exhausted. Then that week of teaching was particularly brutal for some reason, but a week ago last Thursday I was rewarded with seeing Old 97's, one of my very favorite bands, in Des Moines with Gabe. This involved more driving, of course, and when I got home Thursday night I was officially worn out. Last week was my last week of teaching; it had the usual amount of drama that last weeks tend to have, including a student who showed up to the last day after having missed three weeks (of an eight-week class!) and begged to be allowed to make up some of his work. I gave him a chance to make up a paper for 3/4 credit, so of course he plagiarized it and failed anyway. Of course.
I've been doing more Wii Fit lately, and while my hand isn't up to supporting my weight on the Wii Fit board, it's definitely better. Really, my life before my carpal tunnel surgery and my life afterwards are two totally different things. The transformation has been pretty unbelievable; it seems such a small thing to be able to wake up pain-free and be able to use my hand, but it's a pretty big thing to me.
I've been missing home a lot, as per usual. My Aunt Joy, an exceedingly lovely and caring person, passed away recently, and it was heartbreaking not to be there to see her family and say goodbye.
Steven's visa application is still in limbo; it's been almost a month since they officially received it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and trying to find things to occupy myself. I'm thinking it's going to be the end of November, at the earliest, before he gets here. Feh.
Operation "clean out my apartment" is still happening; today I culled crap from my under-sink cabinet in the bathroom. Now I just have the kitchen and the big closet off the dining room (one of the biggest challenges!) to go. I can't believe the amount of stuff I have, and the amount of stuff I've already given away!
Pictures of the wedding festivities and Old 97's soon - I promise!
I've been doing more Wii Fit lately, and while my hand isn't up to supporting my weight on the Wii Fit board, it's definitely better. Really, my life before my carpal tunnel surgery and my life afterwards are two totally different things. The transformation has been pretty unbelievable; it seems such a small thing to be able to wake up pain-free and be able to use my hand, but it's a pretty big thing to me.
I've been missing home a lot, as per usual. My Aunt Joy, an exceedingly lovely and caring person, passed away recently, and it was heartbreaking not to be there to see her family and say goodbye.
Steven's visa application is still in limbo; it's been almost a month since they officially received it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and trying to find things to occupy myself. I'm thinking it's going to be the end of November, at the earliest, before he gets here. Feh.
Operation "clean out my apartment" is still happening; today I culled crap from my under-sink cabinet in the bathroom. Now I just have the kitchen and the big closet off the dining room (one of the biggest challenges!) to go. I can't believe the amount of stuff I have, and the amount of stuff I've already given away!
Pictures of the wedding festivities and Old 97's soon - I promise!