There is a balmy breeze blowing through my window, the sun is shining in full splendor, and the trees are draped in shades of green. A tranquil paradise.

Now pan the camera into my room, in particular my desk - computer stuff swimming in a sea of books, papers, and a random objects thrown there during my morning rushes out the door. Obviously anything but :) Ah, the life of a student.

Which will be over in 11 days (11?!). Two years whittled down to the final standoff between me and faculty whims. Or if you really want to be accurate, two + four + twelve + one-ish (preschool/kindergarten in China, or something like that). I'll be 25 in November. Holy moly. I've spent almost 20 out of 24.5 years in school. How's that for some perspective on these last few days?

Actually now I'm curious, and need to ask my parents what kind of school and how long I attended that before coming to the States, because I really only have foggy memories of wearing poofy little dresses and maryjanes (and funny makeup my aunts put on me, as old photos document), waving ribbons around in dances, and writing annoying characters. And doing the eye health-maintenance routines. Guess it shows how much I learned, eh? ;)

And my brother is starting high school in the fall. I feel old and young at the same time. Mostly young though :)

But yes, back to the topic at hand - class of 09 graduates in 11 days!

Instead of spring fever, I got caught up in wedding fever. Two out of four weddings down this evening and last weekend :) Two more to go. The ball is rolling!

Jen's wedding weekend was crazy. Wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, actual wedding and reception involving 200+ people, and after-party (young'uns only ;) were crammed into two days. Plenty of pomp, haha. My preceptor's wedding this afternoon was quite different - moderation and simplicity are the first words that come to mind. I spent much of the dinner talking to one of her uncles, an older gentleman with plenty of interesting experiences and wisdom to share. Spent the rest of the reception on the dance floor surrounded by adorable tiny kids, young couples, middle aged couples, couples who have been married for 30+ years, etc.

Seeing them so happy was absolutely the best part. I also enjoyed the homilies - it's so nice to hear how the bride and groom describe each other and their relationship. Jen's moved me to tears, and my preceptor's built a more 3-D picture of her personality and being. I was a gusher when Jen and Jeff exchanged vows..fortunately was able to hold it in today :)


So I kind of love weddings now. I know how much of an endeavor it is to plan and execute one, but I'm sure the core idea (or at least to me) of having people share your happiness makes it all worth the while. It certainly made me think a little about the kind of wedding I would want to have one day (you know, like 10 years down the road or so, I don't see myself dropping out anytime soon ;)

I'm thinking something small and simple (I'd like to minimize my potential headaches). Absolutely firm on having excellent food and music. Maybe a beach reception? In any case, something near a body of water. Above all I want my guests to feel comfortable and at ease. This last point is probably the most important to me.

Mmm...so much more pleasant to think about than schoolwork! All this rambling just means I have a lab due next Tuesday. We're almost done - it's just a headache to sift through 3 different versions of Word docs all marked up with comments. Much prefer Google docs...and in a couple of weeks, none of this school-related nonsense will matter :D