9.30.2001
The wedding section of the site has (finally) been updated. Additional photos were added to the rehearsal dinner page and a new page was created that details my (Katherine's) experiences on the day of the wedding prior to the actual ceremony. Hopefully we'll be adding three more new pages of wedding-related photos soon, so keep checking back if you're interested.
9.28.2001
We'd like to let you know that Henry's blog, Best of Opposite Sex, is officially up and running-- check it out.
My mission for this evening: tire Henry out so much that he will sleep soundly, allowing us to get a full night's rest. For the last few nights, Jefferson and Henry have taken turns waking us up early. We've been going to bed around 11 and getting up at 6 or 6:30, but we've been waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning due to Jefferson walking on us or Henry's noise. I had forgotten how noisy puppies can be. It's not that Henry cries or barks. Instead, he bangs into the metal wires of the crate, or scratches his little toenails against the plastic crate floor, or snores and grunts (that one especially drives Chris crazy). This morning, he woke us up at 5 am by digging at the crate floor. At about 5:30 he started tapping and scratching his toenails against the floor, for no apparent reason. Between 6:30 and 7, while I was lying in bed with the covers over my head trying to drown out his noises, he had pulled the phone cord into his crate, looped it around his head, and was biting it. Hannah may not realize it, but Henry makes her look really well-behaved.
9.27.2001
Another instance of conflicting stories involving the Taliban: did they invite Jesse Jackson or did he invite himself? No matter who did the inviting, I really think it would be a mistake for him to try to negotiate with the Taliban.
"'It's not like we can pick up the phone and talk to Osama, or fax a message to him. He has no such facilities, so the message had to be sent through a messenger who probably took some time to find him,' Jamal said." Yahoo News via Reuters, regarding the edict sent to bin Laden from the clerics.
I could've sworn that bin Laden has sent at least one fax since the attacks, but now he 'has no such facilities.' Interesting.
9.25.2001
It's been a financial kind of evening... figured out my student loan situation and paid bills online for the first time ever. Pretty cool. Now I am really going to get in bed so that I can get some sleep. Chris and I both have to get up at the crack of dawn in the morning... it's his first day of work, which brings about some schedule changes for both of us. I'll be coming home at lunch for the next few months to take care of Henry.
9.24.2001
We've had Henry just a day over two weeks now, and I have to say that I think having two dogs is cool. I now see why second-born human children can end up with such a different experience than first-borns. I feel lots more confident and laid back in taking care of Henry than I did with Hannah. It really helps when he does something annoying to be able to remember that Hannah used to do it and she grew out of it. Granted, he has a really laid-back temperament compared to Hannah's "always on, ready for anything" attitude, but I think I'm not nearly as worried about him as I was about her. Two dogs also don't equal one dog times two... it's more like one dog times half. I always bought into the theory that if you're already feeding, exercising, and training one, it's not that much more work to do it for two. I wasn't sure if that theory would hold, but I think that so far it has. Of course, Chris would probably give you a different point of view on that issue since he's been the one staying home with them. Anyway, one of the best parts for me is watching Hannah and Henry interact. They entertain each other, albeit in a way that seems strange to us humans (can you imagine if instead of getting together for a cup of coffee or a movie, we rolled around on the floor with our teeth bared?), and it is a joy to watch them together.
Henry's sticking his tongue out at you!
I think it's time Henry had his own page, so his pictures aren't cluttering up the main page of the site, don't you agree? Actually, the more I look at yesterday's pic of him, the more I think he looks like a daschund or some other small dog, so I'm really just posting this shot to make myself feel better...
I think it's time Henry had his own page, so his pictures aren't cluttering up the main page of the site, don't you agree? Actually, the more I look at yesterday's pic of him, the more I think he looks like a daschund or some other small dog, so I'm really just posting this shot to make myself feel better...
9.23.2001
Whew, what a weekend. Friday night we went to see "A Taste of Broadway" at church. It was a dinner theatre with two acts' worth of Broadway hit songs. It was a lot of fun, although it felt a little strange to be attending something Broadway-themed since NYC has been on my mind so much lately. We spent the bulk of Saturday at Eno River State Park in Durham with the dogs. This was their first real car ride together and they were ready for some action:
The river was a good place to introduce Henry to the water because it was easy to find shallow spots, but I think next time we'll look for a lake. Hannah needs deeper water for swimming and I think Henry might do a bit better without a current. At any rate, we had lots of adventures and both dogs conked out in the backseat of the car before we even got out of the park. Today we did things around the house, watched the race, and made pizza for dinner. Dale Jr. won the race... he has a knack for winning the emotional ones. He got a huge American flag and held it out the driver's side window as he did his reverse victory lap. He also donated $100 per lap to an organization called Speedway Children's Charities. This money ($40,000 plus an additional $10,000 for every pit stop under 14 seconds) will go to help the children whose parents were killed or injured in the terrorist attacks. The boy makes me proud.
The river was a good place to introduce Henry to the water because it was easy to find shallow spots, but I think next time we'll look for a lake. Hannah needs deeper water for swimming and I think Henry might do a bit better without a current. At any rate, we had lots of adventures and both dogs conked out in the backseat of the car before we even got out of the park. Today we did things around the house, watched the race, and made pizza for dinner. Dale Jr. won the race... he has a knack for winning the emotional ones. He got a huge American flag and held it out the driver's side window as he did his reverse victory lap. He also donated $100 per lap to an organization called Speedway Children's Charities. This money ($40,000 plus an additional $10,000 for every pit stop under 14 seconds) will go to help the children whose parents were killed or injured in the terrorist attacks. The boy makes me proud.
9.22.2001
9.21.2001
I have a theory. President Bush has demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, and they're just stalling around, saying they won't do it unless they see proof of his involvement in the terrorist attacks. But could they really turn him in even if they wanted to? Do they really control him? I think that it's possible that they know they can't just hand him over... not without a struggle... and so they're just hemming and hawing, pretending they are considering it, to try to make themselves look good to the United States and bin Laden simultaneously.
Now, this is coming from someone who is not well-educated on the intricacies of the Taliban and bin Laden's operation, but it was just a thought that popped into my head today.
9.20.2001
Now that Katherine has piqued your interest I will let everyone in on my good news. After a couple months of looking I finally was offered a job. I will start working as a Bibliographic Searcher in the Acquisitions Dept. of the Davis Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a friend of mine said recently "Getting a job at any large university seems to be an endurance test". I have found this to be true. I interviewed a month and a half ago. Not that I am complaining now, Katherine and I were able to afford for me to wait; for which I am extremely grateful to Katherine. She has been working very hard the past month and a half.
I am looking forward ot getting back to work next week. It'll be nice to be able to go to work, have my own cubicle, desk, and computer. It should be a fairly low stress job most of the time. I expect my knowledge of books will increase as I will get to look up information on lots of titles.
Speaking of books, I have been very happy to discover that Raleigh and Chapel Hill are book towns. There are lots of used book stores in the area. I have already visited Edward McKay Used Book Store, the Reader's Corner, and Tales Resold here in Raleigh, and The Bookstore in Chapel Hill. By some strength of will I didn't know I had, I have managed not to buy anything on any of my trips, though I have a wish list for each. I definitely recommend all of them if you are in the area, esp. the Reader's Corner and The Bookstore. There are lots more that I haven't had time to visit yet.
9.19.2001
Oh yeah. Chris has some good news. Maybe he'll share it with you tomorrow. You'll just have to wait until then...
We did a little fiddling with the site tonight. Nothing major, but once I get going, it's hard for me to stop. However, I felt like a zombie all day today because I haven't been getting enough sleep, so, it's bedtime for me. Even at 25 years old, I still feel the way I felt as a kid: if I go to bed, I might miss something cool.
9.18.2001
Henry is a smart little guy. In a week's time, he's learned his name, "sit," and "come." He's doing great with the exercise we are using to teach him "off." He's quiet at night, and we seem to be making some sort of progress on the housetraining. But like all little puppies, he has one behavior which drives Chris and me crazy... he loves to turn over the water bowl. I'm sure he thinks it's great fun to make such a big mess -- too bad we don't share the same opinion! The tough part about it is that he drinks a lot of water, so we don't want to deprive him, but we can't leave the water bowl out unsupervised. We also have to think about Jefferson... all three of our animals, with all their little differences and spats, still drink out of the same water bowl. We'd better keep the towels handy -- I think we'll have a lot of mopping up to do in the coming weeks. Oh well. At least the kitchen floor will stay clean.
9.16.2001
For the last couple of days, I have really been struggling with my feelings about the recent terrorist attacks. After I got over the shock and disbelief, I began to realize that my beliefs about how our country should proceed are quite different from the beliefs of many of my peers. An exchange of emails today with a Penn State graduate student forced me to put my thoughts into writing. I don't know if this will surprise anyone who knows me personally, but what follows is how I truly feel about this issue, and that's something I can't be ashamed of.
"Our country must do whatever it takes to eradicate terrorism. If we do not, more American civilians will lose their lives. These terrorists do not understand anything other than violence, and a peaceful response by the US will only be seen as an invitation for more attacks. I am disturbed by the sentiment that seems to be held by many of my peers that other countries and their citizens are more important than our own. While world peace is an honorable and important goal, it seems to me that some people are going so far in an attempt to love their foreign neighbors that they are forgetting to love their fellow Americans and even themselves. Know that I will not be found dancing in the streets like the Palestinians if I hear that innocent citizens of Afghanistan or any other country have lost their lives, but neither do I wish to see the events of September 11 repeated. I live in America and I love America, and once the blood of innocent Americans begins to be spilled, I cannot help but stand behind them. I cannot fathom why any American, with the knowledge of the lives lost in DC and NYC, would be more interested in protecting the lives of foreigners over the lives of our own citizens."
There. I've said it. I'm open for discussion if anyone would like to share their thoughts.
An afternoon with two dogs, a green spider, and a Christmas wreath: see Hannah's photo gallery for the pictures.
9.15.2001
Whew. A puppy and a dog are a lot of work. Chris went to his high school reunion today in SW Virginia. After the week I've had (working long hours, dealing with Tuesday's events, welcoming Henry into the family, etc. etc.) I decided it would be best for me to stay home and try to get a handle on my life. I think it was the right decision, but I am being put to the test by Hannah and Henry. I cleaned the house a bit today, which meant that all of the animals spent time in their crates. Then I went out to run errands at the bank, PetSmart, Target, and Wal-Mart. When I got back, Hannah and Henry were hungry and ready for some playtime. They've been keeping me on my toes for the last couple of hours. At PetSmart I bought Henry a small bacon bone, like the ones Hannah used to get when she was a puppy. Well, I gave Hannah her rawhide and sat down with Henry with the bacon bone... Hannah immediately lost interest in her rawhide and tried to get the bacon bone... finally I put Henry in a crate with the bacon bone and left Hannah out... then, at some point, I let Henry out to potty and Hannah took advantage of me. I am pretty sure she stole the bacon bone from the crate and ran outside with it. She lay down in a dark section of the backyard. I could hear crunching but at the time I thought she had a stick or something... well, now I can't find the bacon bone... she outsmarted both Henry and me.
I also picked up a mat for the floor of Henry's crate and a pillow / bed for him. Right now he's more interested in chewing on the bed than laying on it, so I had to take it out of the crate. I find that to be one of the most annoying things about dogs... my dogs, anyway. Hannah doesn't understand the comfort of lying on a pillow-- she'd rather play with it in a way that I'll leave to your imagination-- and Henry just thinks his pillow is a big chew toy. Now, don't get me wrong, I love these two characters with all my heart, but I wish they'd like their beds and use them as intended. :)
9.13.2001
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not 100% convinced that the attacks are over. The latest that I just heard on Fox News is that at least one of the individuals arrested (detained?) earlier at NY airports was posing as a pilot, carrying a knife, and had been trained at one of the flight schools in Florida. I'm not sure how reliable these extra details are (about the knife and the flight school), but sheesh. Even if these details are accurate, it's hard to say whether it's a copycat crime or a real threat. At any rate, I do believe that these terrorists--however many are still alive--are unreasonable, extremely determined, and probably calmer and more focused than most at this point.
The constant flood of new information and the added burden of trying to sort out fact from fiction is playing with my emotions and making me tired. I find that I really want to hear all of the latest details, but in the end they bring me down and leave me with a whole host of negative emotions. And then I think about how fortunate I am that I and all of my loved ones are safe, and I feel ridiculous for feeling depressed.
From CNN: "The House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday, calling on all Americans to fly the national flag." I didn't know about this resolution, but all day today I've felt a strong desire to go out and get a flag. We checked at Wal-Mart tonight, and they are out, but they are expecting more to come in tomorrow. We aren't sure how we're going to display it once we get it, but you'd better believe we're getting one tomorrow.
The summer after my junior year of high school, which would have been the summer of 1993, I spent a few days in New York City with a youth choir from Virginia called Voices of Youth. We stayed in some sort of boarding house near Columbia University and across from the Gen. Grant memorial. We did many of the usual tourist things: saw Les Miserables, ate cheesecake at the HoJo, went to FAO Schwarz, visited Chinatown, saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, and so on. One of the main purposes of being in New York was to visit our denomination's General Board of Global Ministries, which is located very near where we were staying.
Prior to and during our days in NYC, we learned and rehearsed the songs we would sing at churches all across the Commonwealth of Virginia during the following week. One of the songs we were learning was a prayer that had been set to music. The prayer centered on peace and was written in reference to World War II. We memorized this song, as we did all our pieces, and this one was sung a capella. Yesterday, snippets of that song kept going through my head. The lines that mean the most to me right now are as follows:
Forget not those who have died without shelter
From the cruel bombing and slaughter
Children doomed to silence forever.
It's a beautiful, haunting song. I will try to post all of the lyrics later tonight. I wish that you could hear the song... if any technical people out there can tell me how to take a song from a cassette tape and get it onto our site, please let me know.
I want to concur with everything that Katherine has said. It has been a surreal two days. Part of me still wants to think that all this is happening in another country. As if that would make it acceptable. I know it wouldn't but stuff like this isn't suppose to happen in the US. Certainly not two attacks in one morning. I was glued to the tv and internet yesterday. I first heard about it on the radio and I needed to see the images on tv to wrap my brain around what was going on. But things happened too fast to process what had just happened moments before.
I have also been somewhat glued to the tv today but for a different reason. I have been encouraged for the human race by watching the rescue workers in NY and DC come together for the rescue and recovery efforts. Those people are true heroes, risking their lives in the hope of saving others. I hope that the decision is made to rebuild the WTC. I have never been to NY but I still can't picture its skyline in my head without seeing those twin towers.
9.12.2001
When I saw this photo on CNN's main page, it gave me the first real sense of hope that I've had since yesterday morning. The picture suggests to me that our freedom as Americans cannot and will not be extinguished, no matter what kinds of cowardly acts may come our way.
9.11.2001
Well, it's been over 12 hours since the first plane flew into the WTC, and I still feel confused, overwhelmed, and bewildered. I don't know if it's because I had to rely primarily on radio and black & white TV for most of the day (and I'm a very visual person), but I feel as if I still don't have my mind wrapped around what happened to our country this morning. We went to a gathering at church tonight and the pastor gave everyone the opportunity to speak their feelings. It was then that I realized that my mental processing was far behind the "status quo." I am pretty naive, and certainly nothing of this magnitude has ever happened during my lifetime. The nature of the attacks befuddles me as well. Yes, planes crash, and yes, buildings collapse, but one does not usually cause the other. It all seems too bizarre to believe.
Somehow, after today's events, it doesn't seem right to have our good news about Henry (see below) as the very first thing on the page. Our prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims. We would like to encourage everyone to consider giving blood this week... it's one way we can really make a difference, no matter where in the U.S. we live.
We'd like to welcome Henry to the family!
Henry was born June 25, 2001 and is a black Labrador Retriever. Henry's father is William (Ch. Sunspots His Majesty WC) and his mother is Teracroft Minnepawnee. Interestingly enough, Henry and Hannah share parts of their pedigrees. They are still learning how to share toys, however! Actually, so far everything has been fairly calm. Henry is great in the crate and Hannah has been fairly tolerant of him in general. She's still the queen of the house, and she's trying to figure out the best way to convey that to all parties. Jefferson, on the other hand, is not happy with this recent turn of events, but he's making a bit of progress... tonight he actually sniffed Henry's face and didn't try to swat him. If anyone has tips on taking pictures of a black dog, please let us know! The two above are about the best we've been able to get... in most of the others, Henry could pass for a t-shirt or a piece of luggage because his features are so hard to distinguish.
Henry was born June 25, 2001 and is a black Labrador Retriever. Henry's father is William (Ch. Sunspots His Majesty WC) and his mother is Teracroft Minnepawnee. Interestingly enough, Henry and Hannah share parts of their pedigrees. They are still learning how to share toys, however! Actually, so far everything has been fairly calm. Henry is great in the crate and Hannah has been fairly tolerant of him in general. She's still the queen of the house, and she's trying to figure out the best way to convey that to all parties. Jefferson, on the other hand, is not happy with this recent turn of events, but he's making a bit of progress... tonight he actually sniffed Henry's face and didn't try to swat him. If anyone has tips on taking pictures of a black dog, please let us know! The two above are about the best we've been able to get... in most of the others, Henry could pass for a t-shirt or a piece of luggage because his features are so hard to distinguish.
9.06.2001
Whew. We had a bit of a scare with Hannah today. This morning, after I'd gone to work, Chris was playing ball with her when she suddenly yelped and held her leg off the ground. He got her in the house and after checking her foot and finding nothing, he called the vet. After that, he offered her breakfast and she refused to eat. This is a dog that never misses a chance at food, so she must've been in some pretty bad pain. Chris and I consulted on the phone before her 2 pm appointment, and we were afraid she could've torn something in her knee. Torn cruciate ligaments and so forth require some pretty major surgery and careful post-op care to insure that the knee isn't reinjured, so we were not looking forward to going down that road. Thankfully, it was just a sprain or a strain of the knee. Dr. Jon prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine and we have to limit her activity for the next few days, but then all should be well.
It was quite an interesting experience for me to be the one "stuck" at work while Chris was at home dealing with this pet issue. In the past, because of being a grad student, I was almost always the one at home dealing with various pet crises because Chris was at work. I think the role reversal kind of unnerved both of us, but these kinds of experiences are good-- they help us to more fully understand the other person's point of view.
9.05.2001
We really enjoyed the weekend we spent in Virginia for Huyen and Ryan's wedding. It was an interesting experience for us to be involved with a wedding just 6 months after our own (Sunday was our 6 month anniversary... this will make it easy for us to remember how many years Huyen and Ryan have been married!). The main thing we both realized was that you don't really understand the depth of your duties as a member of the wedding party until you've been through your own wedding. In the past, we thought being a bridesmaid or a groomsman just meant wearing a nice outfit and lending moral support, but now we know this is not the case. Weddings are work... a good metaphor for the fact that marriage is work, too. Anyway, we had fun reliving our own wedding through Huyen and Ryan. Our weddings were different in several ways, but each was uniquely suited to the couple. One of the best parts for me about their wedding was that my stomach didn't hurt the way it did during the days leading up to our wedding. On the serious side, there were lots of "best parts" about their wedding. I can't imagine two people who are more meant for each other. I also tend to see it from another perspective because I've known Huyen since high school... I can't imagine that any other man would be better for her than Ryan. Ryan is a great guy and I am glad that he's become a part of my circle of friends over the last several years. One of the moments during the ceremony that made me fight back tears was when Huyen was saying her vows and Ryan whispered, "I love you." I know that they will take good care of each other and I wish them many years of love and happiness. I also hope that the four of us remain friends for a long, long time... I am looking forward to many visits, vacations, etc. in the future. Speaking of visits, when are we getting together again, Mr. and Mrs. MacMichael???
9.01.2001
