A few things

1. I graduated!!!!!!!!! I turned in my thesis on time, my advisor finally emerged from his house in the ’burbs to sign it, and I walked across the stage to accept my degree. Proof:

My family (minus my older sister, who’s in China) and Josh came for the weekend and sat through the blistering heat to see... mostly the backs of other people’s heads. They were gracious enough not to complain too much. :)



Although the Ph.D./Sc.D. graduates wear the funky robes & hats, the masters students look mostly like undergrads, with the exception of weird sleeve extensions on the gown. We joked that it was my bat costume:

My officemate put the sleeve extensions to good use: they held her lip balm, cell phone, and sunglasses throughout the ceremony.

My family, Josh, and I spent the rest of the weekend being tourists. Here we are in Beacon Hill:


2. Josh and I are going to eastern Europe for two weeks! I originally decided to go because a good friend of mine from high school is living in Prague, but since Josh was able to take some more time off from work, we’re going to be able to also visit Budapest, Krakow, and possibly Warsaw. I’m super excited about the trip, but since we haven’t had much time to plan for it, there’s still a lot to do before we leave on Monday.

3. I went home for a few days after graduation, hung out with my family a lot, and saw all of the remodeling that’s been going on at my parents house, which they’re getting ready to sell. I also picked up my car and drove it to DC so that it’ll be there when I start work in August. Have I mentioned that I accepted the Virginia job? It was a really tough decision, but I felt like I’d be missing a once-in-a-career opportunity if I passed up the job now. I’m not convinced that this is a place that I’ll want to stay for years and years, but it’s the best decision for me at this point.

4. I started apartment-hunting in DC earlier this week. I found two complexes in the Reston/Herndon area that I liked, but I wasn’t sold on either of them enough to fill out an application on the spot. Plus, I might end up rooming with two other girls that I met through craigslist, in which case I might end up further south, like Fairfax. I haven’t met either of the girls yet, although we have a “date” lined up for this Sunday. I’ve only been on one other girl date—the time I met my Houston roommate before we moved in together—so I’m not really sure what to expect.

5. Earlier this week I spilled milk on my laptop keyboard and ruined it. At first I thought it might dry out and be okay, but I still can’t get several of the keys to work, so I ordered a new keyboard through Dell yesterday. It figures—I ate breakfast and dinner in front of my computer nearly every day for the past semester and it was fine, but four weeks after school’s over, I dump something on it. My idiot mistake is costing me $35 and currently, some awkward use of a old external keyboard.