Updates!

So I have some catching up to do for all of you on the blog; much has happened since the 4th of July!

First, I took a trip out to Athens, Georgia to meet with some other researchers and work on a paper. It was gorgeous out there (it's such a cool town) and we were productive. However, the other cool thing is I got to see my cousin, Andy, for the first time in like 15 years! He showed me around Atlanta and I got to hang out with his amazing girls.

A week later Scott Johnson and I took our annual fishing trip. This year we did the San Juan River in New Mexico. It's one of my favorite fisheries, and I wanted to fish it one more time before moving from the southwest. Dave Rhine put us up kindly, and we had a good time hanging out with him and his wife Pam. The fishing was decent, though not gang-busters like it has been in the past for me. But Thoreau once said a person spends his whole life fishing without realizing it's not the fish that he's after. Luckily Scott and I embrace that saying, and the fishing is always secondary to having a good time together, away from responsibilities (which have been remarkably minimal for me this summer, thank God!).

I also took the time to hang out with friends before my big move. The one big trip I fit in was a up to the White Mountains with my old teaching buddies (aka the Vegas crew), Tom, Dave, and Paul. We stayed at Paul's dad's cabin and I introduced them to the wonders of fly-fishing. It was a very enjoyable last horrah with the boys, and it was so great that we were able to fit it in!

Margaret was unfortunately busy during this whole time studying for her big board exam. It was a relief once she got done, and we decided to have a celebratory trip. After she finishe the exam we took the time to go visit my Grandma in Ohio. It was the farm I spent my summers on (and where I learned to fish), and it will always be very special for me. We had a great time hanging out with Grandma Dorothy playing cards and just talking. We even had a chance to go back to my uncle and aunt's place on the farm and have a fantastic meal (they grow all their own vegetables and eat the fish they catch in the summer- all fresh!), followed by some good ol' gelato. An amazingly relaxing trip.

Of course, this trip also was the last one before my big move. The night we got back into Phoenix my little brother Pete met us at the airport. He came down to drive up with me, so we decided to take a leisurely pace and enjoy five days on the road! We hit the links the day before we left, and made some really great stops along the way. In Mexican Hat, Utah we "discovered" this amazing gem of a steakhouse just outside of Monument Valley. It was a really perfect break towards the end of the first day.

The next days were spent in Colorado where we fished the Roaring Fork river before heading to Fort Collins for a day and a half. We hit up the New Belgium brewery (that makes Fat Tire, among others) and I have to say it was the best brewery tour I've ever been on. It is an impressively green operation too- they even give all their employees bikes to take into work! The town was a lot of fun (I guess it was the template Disneyland used to create its classic Americana downtown) that night and the next day we fished the local trout stream for some wild browns.

The last couple of days were mostly driving (what else do you do in Nebraska and Iowa?), so it was really nice to arrive in Menomonie. I had forgotten how beautiful Wisconsin is in the summer, and the town is even better than I remembered (maybe partially because it's August and not December :)). Pete and I then went up to see my parents where he picked up a vehicle to take to Detroit Lakes. On my way back to Menomonie I stopped to see my brother Doug and Cindy and the kids, which was really nice. They're going to come out to Menomonie for part of Labor Day weekend, which will be fun.

Once I got back to Menomonie I arranged my office and apartment. I am renting the bottom level of this nice old house that was just renovated with new appliances, etc., and all my rent money goes to this amazing old Victorian theater in town. I can't wait to go see a performance there!

Last Wednesday my buddy Augie came up to visit me from AZ. We spent a few days golfing, biking, bowing, going to the MN State Fair, and just generally having one last fun go-around before my school year starts. It's a bummer that I won't have him around anymore, but it was really great of him to come up!

As I was getting settled in up in Wisconsin Margaret had a really nice treat down in AZ. Her sisters (Lenor and Rosanna) and nieces (Briana and Alyssa) paid her a visit! They had fun sitting by the pool and going out to some nice restaurants, and they gave her a surprise baby shower! It was really cool of them, and Margaret was touched to tears. :) I think it was a good little transition for her as well.

Anyway, that gets you all caught up to today! Now I am just getting to know my co-workers and the town. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful, and I feel like I made a good decision by taking the job at UW-Stout. Margaret is keeping busy with the chief resident position and is looking forward to visiting some friends out in North Carolina over labor day weekend!

4th in El Paso

We just spent the weekend visiting our friends Sara and Tim out in El Paso, Texas to celebrate the birth of our nation! We had a great time, mostly sitting by/in the pool and enjoying the cool(er) temperatures (I'll take 90 degrees over 110 any day!). The dogs especially loved it.

We spent the morning of the 4th going to a fun farmer's market, picking up some fresh tortillas on the way home, doing some yoga, and filling up on BBQ vegetables and Mexican styled pulled-beef and a bunch of Corona's. It was nice just catching up with Sara and Tim. In addition to bing just good friends, they are both professors at UTEP and have been very helpful in preparing me for my first academic year coming up.

The fireworks were a truly cool and unique experience. The city of El Paso has a symphony that plays in its national park area down by the US/Mexico border in the summer. They were quite good, and we sat out on the lawn listening to them while a fantastic fireworks show lit up the sky. It was sort of strange being basically the only group of blonde people in the crowd, but we drank some margaritas and fit in quickly. :) The strange thing was sitting around a few thousand Mexican-Americans all decked out in red, white and blue, listening to John Philip Sousa while a giant Mexican flag waved just a few hundred feet away in Juarez. It certainly is a hybridized world!

32nd Birthday Party

Margaret and I had a fun time celebrating my 32nd birthday this weekend. Saturday morning began with 18 holes (in the heat) at McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale. It's a beautiful course and we had a good time playing with our friend, Scott. Margaret was a natural. Especially at almost 6 months pregnant. I think we're gonna have fun playing golf together in the future.

In the afternoon we went to Mat and Noreen's place for a pool party/surprise birthday party with August and Cori and Brett and Adrienne (and Charlotte, Anders, and Jonah respectively).

We finished off the evening with a Dogfish Head Pale Ale at the Yardhouse before going to Angels and Demons at the movie theater. We went and saw Da Vinci Code when we were in Florence, and so I thought it would be cool to see the follow-up film. Good movie. Fantastic beer.

A fun birthday all in all. Margaret was so thoughtful. What a great wife. I am too lucky.

Inaugural Post

Margaret and I are in summer mode. The funny thing with summer mode and us is that it means something different every year. So basically all I am saying is that we are living in the summertime currently. But what that means this year is that Margaret is busy, and I am trying to keep busy. Let me elaborate, for those unfamiliar with our current situation...

Margaret just finished up residency, and was named the Good Sam/VA Resident of the Year! She was surprised, but everyone who I talked to said that she should not have been. I always figured my bias was simply that, a bias. Turns out everyone loves her. We had a good time celebrating with our close friends Cori and August, as Cori received the Clinic Resident of the Year award.

However, she is not without (mostly welcome) challenges. First, she has a baby in her womb, as many of you know. It is popping out around October 23rd. She decided to take the chief resident position, so she will get a six week leave from that after giving birth (but the rest of the term she is really excited about doing the chief job, actually!). What that means for this summer: she started doing chief jobs a couple of months ago, in addition to her actual work as a third year resident. This is not a big deal, except that she is studying for her final board exam, coming up around August 11th (if I am not mistaken). I think she will be fine, but she is nervous about getting enough studying in during the next month. I will try to be a good husband and give her a chance to do so (for once). :)

I took a tenure-track position at University of Wisconsin-Stout as an Assistant Professor of Sociology. I start at the end of August. I finished up my PhD at Arizona State University this past May, getting to shake President Obama's hand at commencement (along with celebrating with family and friends). I am not technically working this summer, but I am trying to get some writing done and to prepare for classes this fall. In the meantime I am trying to have some fun fishing, mountain biking, golfing, and working out. I went up to the White Mountains with Joe Vasquez a few weeks ago fishing, and hooked up with Eric Shoemaker up in Oregon the next week. This came just before our niece Brianna's graduation, for which Margaret came up and joined me. We enjoyed seeing everyone. I love Oregon too.

We've been lucky enough to see a few friends in the last couple of weeks here. Laura and Scott came out with Payton and Ian (our godson) for a week. It has been too long since we've seen them, but we went right back into our old ways. It was very nice.

The same was true for a visit from one Leah Bright last week. It was so nice catching up with her for a few days, using her visit as an excuse to enjoy good food and relax (not a deviation for me lately as much as Margaret). We hope to maybe hook up with her again this next year for some skiing; it is so hard to meet up with a friend from NY more than once a year!

That basically brings us to today. I am sitting in a coffee shop blogging in lieu of working on a paper I need to resubmit to a journal. Margaret is working.

I will fill you all in on future events as they emerge. It will be an adventure this next year. Lots of flying back and forth. But with just the stress of six months apart (that's all it will turn out to be between her maternity leave and my winter break) we will be in far more comfortable position than we would be otherwise. But keep us in your prayers just the same. :)

Here's to a brand new year (for me anyway- I turn 32 in two days)!