Catching Up

So much to cover I'm going to have to short-hand it.

Two weeks ago, there was this:








The U2 concert at Soldier Field made me deliriously happy. There's so much I could write about it but suffice it say that it was worth 20 years of waiting. I had a hot date too as you can see.

Last week, there was this:






We spent last week in a little condo on the bank of Silver Lake about ten miles from Lake Michigan. We swam, made smores, picked berries, visited with fabulous Erin and hilarious Cole, ate excellent food, went letterboxing, hiked, and had an all-around good time.

This week, there is this:


and therefore, there is this:


Our real kitchen is in the process of getting new tile, new walls, new paint, new cabinets, and a couple of new appliances. While that's happening (and happening and happening and happening), we take refuge in the basement and cook in the microwave and on an electric griddle. It's like camping but not pretty.

So that's where we're at. Work on my dissertation has been halted for the last three weeks but will hopefully start back up next week. I've also got a tenure portfolio to prepare in order to ensure that I can keep my job. Busy, busy.

One other development is that the dreaded Illinois heat and humidity have returned. It's been over 90 degrees every day this week and the heat index has been over a hundred. Bleah.

In other news, Shalee did correctly identify the last FQF quote as being from Just Friends with Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart. Well done, Shalee. If I were making you a fabulous virtual prize it would be a picture of your house completely finished and a contractor with a black eye and a few missing teeth. This will probably be the last FQF for a while. I am indefinitely suspending all FQF activity until further notice. It's been a fun summer game but now is the time for other things.

One other thing is that just today I was notified that my short story "The Iron Door" will be published in the Fall issue of Irreantum, a Review of Mormon Literature and Film. I had a story published there a couple of years ago and I see this as kind of a companion piece -- although it's a better story and needs less work than the first one did. The fiction editor emailed me and promised that I "won't have to suffer as much as last time." Yay for less suffering.

Anyway, hopefully by this time next week, we'll have a functioning kitchen again and I'll be thismuch closer to keeping my job and getting my PhD. We shall see.