A really busy few months ahead!

I have finally entered my last (undergraduate) term! In just 2.5 months, I will have a Bachelor's Degree in History! My only regret is that I was unable to squeeze in a Writing minor. With my transfer credits figured in(online courses while in the Army), my three years at OSU is equivalent to graduating a semester early. I could have squeezed in the minor, but I did not want to add another Fall term-- the added stretch of Summer makes that one-term extension a bit too long. Good thing too, since this was decided before we found out we would have a July 2nd due-date for our first baby!

In the mean-time, a LOT of things are happening:

I am wrapping up my research project. Last term I finished my paper on spirit and traditions at OSU. I will make it available online later, after doing some edits recommended by my instructor. After it is touched up, I plan to follow her urgings and enter it into an undergraduate competition of sorts for large papers in the History Department. I think there might be a money (scholarship perhaps) prize involved, but I'm not exactly sure. If I end up being lucky enough to earn a scholarship, I hope it can transfer to a private school rather than be used just at OSU.

I am starting a new research project. I needed four more upper-division credits to graduate (since then it lowered to three since I added another band one more time), so I implored my instructor to let me basically retake her thesis course as an independent study for four credits. This one will be the first-ever extensive program history of OSU's Track and Field program (it was actually quite a big deal back in the day). I have started research on it already, and look forward to spending more time in the Archives, as if I didn't spend enough time there already! If only I could get a job researching OSU (especially athletics, band, and ROTC)... I would be fine with that!

I am wrapping up my undergraduate studies. Besides my Independent Study, I have Biology 103 (anatomy), History 341 (Russia post-1917), German 213 (only 9 weeks left!), Horn Ensemble, and a German conversation class (easy one-credit class that reviews for GER 213 and offers time to just talk in German). Related to German, I am also getting together with classmates to watch The Two Towers auf Deutsch. Wir hat "The Fellowship of the Ring" (auf Deutsch) gesehen letzte klasses. (We saw part one last term). Gimli is awesome as an angry German! They are just the dubbed German versions, with no subtitles. The Elfish is still Elfish, though it was mostly dubbed by the German actors for continuity. The History of Russia class is also pretty neat-- the instructor tailors the class towards those serious in their studies instead of those trying to fulfill requirements, and his lectures are basically 2-hour presentations rather than just boring lectures. Awesome.

I am still working at the OSU Archives. 17 hours per week, not including my hours researching Track and Field. My main task involves researching minorities in baseball, and I have already taken one field trip to the Sports Information Office's super-secret archives. Ok, not actually secret, just not generally for public use unless you ask very nicely, and maybe have a good reason to go.

I am preparing to be a dad. We toured the labor unit and had a one-on-one meeting with the nursing coordinator, and I have to say, I am very impressed. With just one exception, every single concern about hospital birth addressed in my Anthropology class is covered at our hospital. (I took a class which included a lot of information on midwifery, from an anthropologist who became a midwife in order to study the culture of midwifery. She has attended over 1000 births, holds her own practice, and along with her doctorate, is the first person called as an expert witness in pretty much any court cases involving midwifery in the state of Oregon.) I have also been signed up for numerous classes. No idea what they are, just that we (or sometimes just I) am going to. Thanks Deanna! I am excited... but also nervous. But also excited. I also feel ready, but also not at all. But still ready to take on the challenge, I think. All I know for sure is that I will miss sleep terribly, but can't wait to 1) try the patient's menu that I was denied while staff, and 2) hold my son for the first time. Not necessarily in that order. (Well, chronologically, the order is right, but you know what I mean...)

I have a ton of reading to do... for fun. Book 14 of Robert Jordan's (and lately Brandon Sanderson since Robert Jordan did not live to see the end of the series)The Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, is coming out in January. In preparation, last Fall I decided to do a re-read of the series so I would be ready. This genius plan had a few hitches. First, I was using the audio book for book one, The Eye of the World.Great plan, except it only worked during car rides and in the gym. Then I discovered that Brandon Sanderson is an AMAZING writer. A. M. A. Z. I. N.G. Really. That side-tracked me over Christmas, and getting an XBox 360 during Black Friday didn't help either. During Spring Break, I dug into book two since I had the time, and now I am reading between classes if I don't have time to research (if only an hour break), on the bus, and sometimes instead of computer/XBox time. I am back to my former fast speeds in High School when I would slam through one a week... just required a reduced use of electronics. Only 10.8 more books to go! I want to be mostly done by the end of summer (maybe leave one for Christmas Break) so I have fewer things going on when I start school in the fall. Studies + Pleasure reading = not a good combination sometimes.... that is when I will switch to mindless video games to unwind at times.

I start Seminary in the Fall... hopefully. The plan is to start in the Fall as I begin a journey of earning my Master of Divinity in four years (can be done in three, but new baby means I will go slower). I am accepted by the school and my denomination, but am still waiting on word from the Army. I just got my fingerprints scanned, so hopefully my packet is now finally done and will go forward to the review board, unless my physical needs to go with it. If not, I will also look into the Navy and Air Force before giving up and finding a new direction in life. Hopefully that does not happen, though God does sometimes have a funny sense of humor! The biggest challenge there will be income. Tuition will be paid, but not by the GI Bill, so no more living allowance. Deanna may go part-time to her culinary school (which has a job placement program) so maybe I could transfer it and we could still get some of that income, but I still need to find a job as well. And even worse, unless we live in a drug-infested complex, we are going to have to get a co-signer for our lease, unless something amazing happens with income, like a huge influx of scholarships, etc. More to follow on that I guess... But really, it is to be expected. I mean, going to Seminary, how could I not expect some hard testing? At least I know enough to expect to not be able to expect anything.

So that about sums everything up...

Oh! Except for this blog! When I am a Seminary student, I can't very well leave this as "Tales of an Archivist," can I? We'll see what happens, but I think I'll need to find a catchy name describing the adventures of a seminary student/new dad... we'll see!

Brownies and Four Year Olds

My nephew just visited along with my parents on their way up to pass him off to his daddy. He is about four and a half now, and is definately at an age where every answer given to his question is returned with "why?" and exploring is just as fun as anything else that could be done. After he set foot inside the apartment, it was fun watching him as he would peer around a corner, his eyes wide as he excitedly, but cautiously, peered around the new surroundings. The climax of his visit was probably the little closet under the stairs. We use it to store our camping gear and some gift-wrapping supplies, but there is just enough room for a four year old to creep in and close the door. And did I mention the closet door was only a couple of inches shorter than he is? Could an indoor hideout get any more perfect? Before they left, we made sure to load him up with sugar by giving the three of them some brownies my wife made yesterday. I hope his daddy had a fun time driving home!

(And on that note, some shameless advertising. My wife's blog is going through a baking book called Basic Baking recipe by recipe as she practices her newfound interest in baking.)

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving. Sort of... not the official holiday, but for me, it might as well be. I am just reminded of how blessed I have been, so this morning I spent some time to reflect.

I am thankful for...

...my wife. Ten months into marraige, I have two more months to claim the title of "newlywed," and I am loving it! My marraige is also put into perspective by the marraiges of several of my friends. Two couples I know who were married relatively recently are either seperated or divorced. I don't know the details, nor do I particularly want to know, but it is enough to really make me thankful for a wife who loves me, especially in this age of acceptance of divorce. As for me, I take my vow seriously: til death do us part!

...my family. My only sibling and I are very close despite a decent age difference; how many brother/sister pairs are likely to be each other's Best Woman and Man of Honor? That says it all. My parents are also very supportive of me, and have always been fair, and they always will be there for me. I am closer to my extended family than ever before. On my wife's side, I know my sister in-law more than I thought I would get to since she moved out to Oregon shortly after we did, and during our recent trip to Ohio, I felt very comfortable and "at home" with the extended family. I can safely say that I have no quarrels with any family members on either side.

...my faith. While I have had some extreme highs and lows, my faith has never wavered. It has been tested, but never completely broken. When I am especially close to God, life is at its best. When I am not as close as I should be, returning to where I need to be always seems to make everything better, even things which would seem to be unrelated, like finances and relationships. Through it all, I know that I have placed my trust in a savior that will never falter even when I am not at my best. A very comforting feeling.

...my country. While I am not as patriotic as I used to be due to the decay of America's moral foundations, I still love my country and am thankful to be a part of it. Even though our constitution has been wildly misinterpreted from the intents of our founders, America still remains a country where at least I am not persecuted for my faith, which is much more than many Christians can say about their own countries. The more I delve deeper into American history at school, the greater my respect for our beginnings and the greater my appreciation for what our forefathers had to go through to make our country a reality.

Happy Independence Day!

This weekend was my first 4th of July since 2003 in which I was not at work. I was not home in Oregon, but I was in Ohio with the inlaws, and that is more than good enough for me! There is just something so refreshing about celebrating our nation's birth on the same day that I meet with family and do not shave, sit on a bus, or play music in a concert that is stressing out my leadership just prior to fireworks.

We had a great meal during which I used a fork and knife for my ribs after watching the others at the table to see what was "appropriate" for the crowd, although had I watched a few minutes longer I would have seen some of the guys use fingers and therefore avoided a comment about how I was the rare guy to be civilized. We also had Mel's Macaroni Salad-- Deanna's mom's recipe. She gave Deanna the recipe, and it is a family favorite. At the dinner table, we also heard the shocking news that her grandmother's "lady fingers" (actually they were "closepin cookies"-- she liked to use the wrong name) were not actually homemade like everyone thought, but were actually store-bought! She sounds like she was a very tricky woman who I would have loved to meet.

We finished the evening out with fireworks at the local minor-league stadium. It was nice, though I was annoyed that people stood and removed their hats for God Bless America (it is NOT the national anthem), and that the REAL national anthem was not announced when it played first in the fireworks display. But I have discovered that I care about such things more than the average American, especially after the last several years. This year was my first year adjusting to a "normal" culture, and it really showed.

Wedding Pics

Finally got around to uploading the wedding pictures... so here are some of them!

all photos by Russ Photography

I'm an Uncle / Jump

I am an uncle again! Well, I never stopped being one, but now I have two nephews! Rory was born on the 21st of November, and my sister once again continued her tradition of having kids on the same day as a cousin's birthday. Considering my birthday is the same as a great aunt of mine, I suppose that semi-unintentional habit runs in the family... I will post pictures once someone puts them on photobucket *cough alysa cough* or emails them to me *cough momanddad cough*. I hope my hints are subtle enough! ;)

On Saturday, Deanna too me to see Jump, a comic martial arts performance in Seoul. It was a very fun show! It was sort of "hosted" by an "old man" (with how good their make-up was, I would have thought he was actually very old if I saw him on the street), and before the show started he made his way down to a row and started to just walk through it, before just sitting down on someone's lap. The show was pretty funny too! It has even made its way to Broadway and to a theater in the UK. Deanna and I want to visit New York someday, so we are hoping we can get there while Jump is still showing so we can hear some of the jokes in English instead of Korean! Most of it though was either in small amounts of English, or words were not needed.