taking a deep breath

hello, everyone. well, i survived the whirlwind that was last week. everything got done that was supposed to get done, and i would say that it was an overall success. i am taking the day off today, and am currently sitting in a booth in the coffee house in moon township, drinking french vanilla coffee, eating a blueberry muffin, leisurely reading emails, perusing the blogworld, and stalking people via facebook. in a minute, i plan to read some more harry potter.
a bunch of big things have happened in the last week; too many to explain in fair detail here. jubilee was this weekend, and it was incredible, as always. i've got a lot of stuff to think about now... i'm not sure where to start to explain. so, if you're interested, call and ask. i was so exhausted afterwards that i got home, i climbed into my bed, and started reading a book by tony campolo (one of the conference speakers). after an hour of so, i decided that i needed a nap, and i fell asleep so soundly that when my friend emily "venn" vanjacobs called at 8:15, i was convinced that it was the middle of the night. once i woke up, it was fabulous to talk to her. i'm glad she called, or i probably would have woken up at 3:30 in the morning ready for the day.
unfortunately, when i did wake up this morning, i found that the cold i was coming down with last week has finally caught up with me. i don't have much of a voice today. all the more reason for me to take the day off.

great lakes, great times

i'm back from a lovely though frigid weekend in michigan. apparently, it was the coldest weekend of the year, and i believe it without a doubt. it was a grand total of 8 degrees on saturday, the kind of cold that makes your hair freeze and your fingers hurt for 20 minutes after you go inside.
i've been missing my family a lot lately, and it was time to go back and see them. we had a good time on friday family fun night, a shoutout to days of yore when my parents had us push potatoes across the living room floor with our noses. this time we stuck to less snake-like games, like taboo and rummikub. please enjoy this picture of my parents attempting to read the "tiny" print on the taboo cards:


thanks to my new digital camera (potentially my favorite new possession), here also are some pictures of my sisters and brothers-in-law, and also my honorary sibling, liz, who is trixie's best friend and one of my favorite people:

i also went to an uhhmazing sigur ros show at calvin. it was unbelievable. those of us who attended have since been discussing the sub-parness of the rest of the music in the world. if you've never gone, please do yourself a favor and experience heaven on earth. the opener, amina, was also beyond description. i take comfort in the fact that most of the people who read this were there, and hence my lack of descriptive ability is of no consequence. i will direct your attention elsewhere, to a much more articulate description of the ecstasy in the FAC.
ahh, sweet bliss.
but now, i'm home, and as this weekend is jubilee, i am very vErY VERY busy. so, don't expect much from me til next week.
pax.

ohmygosh

oh no. facebook is taking over my life. i just spent an hour looking people up and being oddly obsessed with finding out what they are doing these days. this is not a good habit for katherine.

goshen getaway

this weekend, i spent a day in the amish wonderland that is goshen, indiana. this picture was taken outside a bank. i'll be honest, i haven't seen a horse and buggy in awhile, and when i saw one going across the overpass on I-80, it took me by surprise. i haven't seen too many farm animals in pittsburgh, except for at the live nativity at christmas. (go ahead and make your country bumpkin jokes. i'm ready: "but kath! those are your roots! you LOVE horses! you used to have some horses! you're a farmer!" no, they are not; no, i don't; no, i didn't; and no, i am not.)
we had a great time though, reuniting with robin and soaking up small-town culture. we even found a country dutch pastry shop, and we went in to celebrate our heritage. unfortunately, it turned out to be less holland dutch and more amish dutch. but, we had a good laugh. it's good to be with my people. :)
and of course, FaBuLoUs to see bobo. i love that guy, and i'm so glad i got to spend some time with him, even though it was a 6 hour drive and he was there for less than 24 hours. i'd do it again tomorrow if i could. you'd think it would be hard to catch up immediately with someone you haven't spoken to (though not for lack of desire) for six months, but robin is one of those people that, no matter how long we've been apart, we'll always be thrilled to see each other, and it will feel like no time has gone by at all. there were so many people there who are so important to me, and even though i didn't get to talk to many of them as much as i would have liked, it was wonderful to spend time together nonetheless.
i'm back to work today, and i have a lot to do before thursday, when i'm going HOME to see my family. i'm really excited, so i have to get a lot of work done right now. i'll see you soon.
pax.

oh so soon

yay for me!

unbelievable

i promise i'll stop going on about the steelers after this post. i just wanted to tell you that they had a parade downtown today for the team, and it went on for a few hours because there were so many people that the cars couldn't get through. the newscasters said there were probably a quarter of a million people downtown this morning. people drove in from all over. one guy they talked to had flown in from california to be there today. it was unbelievable. some of my students went, and i almost went with them, but i'm kind of glad that i didn't, because i don't like being around THAT many people, and i'm too short to be able to see anything anyway. but i saw it on the tv, and it was crazy. i love this city.

I TOLD YOU SO!

hello hello hello. it is a beautiful day in pittsburgh. just in case you missed The Game last night, this picture should sum it up for you:

i watched the game at some friends' house in the city, and when it was over, let me tell you, there was jubilation in the streets. i've never seen so many people rejoicing in my life. i had to drop off my friends at their houses, and then make the trek through oakland, through the campuses of both cmu and pitt. there were people everywhere! there were terrible towels hanging out the window of every car, and people shouting on the sidewalks, and horns honking like in an LA traffic jam. the cross streets were closed, and there were people smiling and yelling like nobody's business. it was a good time, let me tell you. the whole city was united. i wish you all could have been here. it was uhhmazing.
i forgot to bring in my camera to load the pictures from last night onto my computer, so you'll have to wait a bit. but here's one of bill that makes me happy. enjoy.

T minus one hour

hello everyone... i'm in the city, waiting for kick-off. today is the day we get the one for the thumb. you wouldn't believe the craziness around here... all the digital road signs on the major highways that are supposed to warn you about congestion ahead and bad road conditions and reminders to wear your seatbelt have been replaced by a single banner: GO STEELERS. the digital signs on the busses say GO STEELERS. everyone is all decked out in black and gold. they are closing the bridges to keep people where they are, and the tension is mounting.
just wait.
today is the day.

some things

i really don't have anything good to say today, but as it's been five days since my last post, i feel compelled to change the scenery. here's what i've been reading lately:

they're both excellent. both authors are speaking at jubilee at the end of the month, and i'm trying to prepare myself for what they're going to say, so that i know how to respond in case my students flip out on me again. in the meantime, i'm enjoying reading them.
i recently went to see pride and prejudice, which is my favorite book of all time. i'd never seen any of the film versions before. i was initially skeptical because jane austen's writing style is so subtle... she leaves so much to the imagination that i was afraid that translating her work to film would be unsatisfying at best. with this mindset firmly in place, i lowered my expectations and went to see the film. it's true that some things about the book just can't be communicated on screen. but, i love the story, and as i wasn't expecting greatness, i was satisfied. it was pretty well done, except for the pukey ending, which was entirely made up and gross. so if you go see it, walk out before the "mrs. darcy, mrs. darcy, mrs. darcy" part if you want to avoid a positively vomiticious reaction. (unless you've never read the book, in which case it might not bother you.)
some things i'm excited about:
going to indiana to see ROBIN!! and everyone else. yay!
going to GR to see my family and sigur ros
winning the superbowl on sunday
well, that's the best i can do to entertain you today. perhaps something fabulous and truly blog-worthy will happen tomorrow.
good day to you.