Spring Diary Page

As I write I'm continuing to savor my celebratory Pinot Grigiot from my defense. (There is a story behind it that I will share at the end of this post.) And as I savor I am taking a moment to think back over the spring as I relax in the eye of the storm.Among the things that happened this spring (other than my studies!) was the celebration of my grandfather's 96th birthday. (I caught him, and everyone else, off-guard in this picture, which isn't entirely fair.)Anthony and David took a trip to southern California during spring break to check out colleges. They visited Harvey Mudd and Cal Tech. Anthony would like to major in mathematics (hmm . . . I wonder where he got that from? :-)

Early for class - typical for Anthony!
(I have no idea why this text is underlined.)

I was totally bummed at not being able to go. They did get to sit in on a class - a class taught by Dr. Arthur Benjamin (finite math). I'm continuing to have to work at not being jealous! (I also have no idea why some of that is underlined and some is not, but you should be able to click on his name and get to an Arthur Benjamin Mathemagic link.)

I ALSO have no idea what's up with this decapitated Smurf (although my thesis revisions from the library were all marked in blue ink and looked suspiciously like a Smurf had exploded on my work . . . hmm . . .). This wasn't at CSUS, however, but on the Claremont campuses somewhere. The following picture is of CalTech. I thought I'd put it up since they visited, but Harvey Mudd won Anthony's heart hands down. It sounds like it's either that or Calvin for him.

On the Saturday after my thesis defense I took time to play. Jacob and Anthony and I played Magic (with pre-constructed decks). I creamed them with my Elvish Predation!! You can see all my 1/1 (actually 2/2 because of the properties of another card) elf token creatures at the top of my mat on the left. Look out dudes, or the elves will get you!Anthony and Jacob got to participate together in a math competition on the five-man "Bomb" team and made a good showing (first place).
. . . and we spent some time INSIDE the house . . . . . . OUTSIDE the house . . .
. . . and LOOKING for a house!!!

We looked at 2 today - having looked at about 8 a few days back, which made my head spin! The first today was way too big, way too fancy, and needed WAY too much work and upkeep. But it had a HUGE yard, by standards in our area, something we really want, and a bedroom downstairs that could be used as an office and/or guest room. It was priced REALLY low for its size because it was on a busy, busy street and "needed some love" on the inside - uh - and on the outside.

I fell in love with the second house we looked at even though it was a bit too small to really justify such a drastic change in our lives as moving will be. Among other things, the yard was small, and the house didn't have a room we could use as a guest room for when David's mom or other family members or friends visit - only just enough bedrooms for us if Jacob and Caleb continue to double up, which they're fine with, but if we're moving in order to get more space . . . uh . . .

It did have a loft upstairs that we could use as a game room/office, where the boys could hook up the Wii and where we could do our other gaming, which is such a huge part of our lives. It has two living areas, which we don't need and don't want, but David told me I could use one of the living rooms for a library and line it with bookshelves!! That sold ME on it! But then we found out later this afternoon that someone else's bid late yesterday had been accepted. I put up some pictures of both houses anyway because I'm dreaming. This is something we never thought we'd do.

This house-hunting is really a gut-wrenching process. First you can't find anything that's just right (or even close) - or you find something that IS close to perfect but has a postage-stamp-sized yard or is on a very, very busy street. Then you find something that really speaks to you and find out it's gone.

David and I have said for years that we would never move . . . but . . . well, it's a long story.

So here we are looking. Being the nostalgiac person I am, I thought I'd never be ABLE to bring myself to leave the home my boys were raised in - our first home - with 18 years of memories - pets buried in the yard - a tree planted to honor the birth of our first child - all that sort of stuff. Now that we've started the process I see that it can be pretty exciting to imagine possibilities, but I also feel terrified at the thought of taking care of all the details, repairs, improvements (both to the home we are selling and the home we are buying, which will most likely be a foreclosure) right at a time when I am starting a new and demanding job. ARE WE CRAZY?! I need to be focused on getting tenure - not on packing, home repair, and interior decorating! I also can't imagine moving all our stuff. When we moved into our current house, we had no children. Now we are a family of 5, have accumulated a ton of stuff, and none of us is very good at getting rid of things. I HATE sorting. I HATE garage sales. I HATE painting. (Though I do like rearranging my bookshelves.) I realize people move all the time, but we've been in this house 18 years and never moved out of a house we've owned. I'm really stuck between excitement and horror at the prospect.

Anthony does not want to move. Jacob is torn 50/50. And Caleb can't wait for a new adventure and seemed ready to move into the house with the loft immediately. What does that say about the impact of birth order?

OK - and now forgetting houses and remembering what makes a house a HOME!

Ah . . . much better . . . and I just have to finish with the following picture because I love it :-)

Oh, I was going to tell my story about the first picture. It's actually probably one of those "you had to be there" things, but here goes. Well, actually, I now realize I've given the punch line away already!

Oh well. If you still want to know, read on.

After I gave my thesis defense I needed my committee members to sign my approval page, which will be bound into my thesis. The first said to me, "I have a red pen, does it matter what color we sign in?" I said, "According to the graduate website it has to be blue or black." Immediately the chair of my committee said, "Red or white?" I had no idea why he said that. I thought he was giving me a hard time. I replied, "It has to be blue or black." He said again, "Red or white?" I'm thinking, "What's wrong with this guy? It's white paper; you can't sign in white ink, it would be invisible. Does this mean he isn't passing me?" I repeated, "It has to be blue or black." He asked again, and I finally caught on - red or white WINE! What a sweetheart! That was such a special touch!