Michael's Trip to Egypt

Last October Michael had the opportunity to take a trip to Cairo, Egypt with some of his classmates to research housing. Although he left me behind in LA to take a quick 6 day "vacation" without me, at least he took pictures galore! Be prepared for LOTS and LOTS of them!

dinner in the desert

view of a pyramid

this picture looks photoshopped!

the tourists

the Arabian horse was biting Michael

I'm pretty jealous that Michael went on this amazing trip without me, but I can't wait for all the great trips we will be able to go on once he is finally finished with school in June. We have so much to look forward to!

Summer Plan...

I've looked back over my blog and it struck me that I've hardly posted more than couple posts over the past 8 months or so! I am so disappointed with myself mainly because my blogs are my outlet as well as my way of journaling the most interesting events in our life, but I'm also disappointed that it has become apparent that my teaching job has completely dominated my life!! How upsetting this realization is to me!

But the bright side to this rant is that I actually have something pretty worthwhile and important to blog about in the hopes that it will also kick my butt back into the blogging world.

Well, here's the big news (no we're not pregnant...) we're moving to BEIJING, CHINA for the SUMMER!! YIPEEEEE!!!!

The facts are that Michael has the summer off before his last year at UCLA in Architecture Grad School and it is really important for him to work this summer at a really great firm that will not only look good on his resume, but also help him in his efforts to find a great job after graduation. Originally, Michael was thinking about going on his own, but then he presented me with the idea to go with him and there really wasn't a way that we could deny this amazing opportunity!! I mean, come on, really!?! Say no to a summer in China!?

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things that I am worried about, such as the complete culture shock, a completely new country, food, language, way of living and not to mention the fact that Michael will be working and I will have to find ways to fill my days, but I am so excited for this life-changing event!

I can't even express how overwhelmed, excited, nervous, scared, curious, happy I am about this decision that we've made but I know that it is the right decision and that we will have a wonderful time even though I am sure there will be some pretty interesting things to blog about here.

Thanks for listening to my rant and if you have any advice, words of encouragement or anything else that may help, I would LOVE to hear it!!

Coming soon - A recap of all the great things that have been going on here in LA for us since last September or so. See, I told you I was really behind in my posting!!! :)

Just a few pics of the sights that I am really excited to see:

The Watercube and the Bird's Nest built for the 2008 Olympics

The beautiful gardens as well as the Forbidden City

The Great Wall of China

Who Says You Can't Teach Creativity?

If one of my students was this funny and creative I just might have to give them an A! Just another reason why I love failblog.org and teaching. You never know that those kids are going to come up with.

Graduation from The University of Cincinnati

So, Michael and I have officially graduated from the University of Cincinnati and we are truly enjoying our summer and having a lot of fun! We leave for Germany tonight and it is off to Italy on Sunday and we will be sure to post plenty of pictures when we get back, but I had to post these graduation pictures before leaving.

Michael was the only one of us that actually walked in the Ceremony on the 13th of June and I sat in the stand and took pictures but I was sure to buy my tassel so I could atleast wear a cap and take part in all of the fun afterwards!

Michael now has a Degree in Architecture from UC's DAAP Program and I have mine in English Literature from the Arts and Sciences Department, hence the signs.

Dying of Anticipation...

I don't know if anyone has noticed my countdown timer but as of now I have roughly 6 days until graduation but this is not exactly as great as it sounds. I still have to look forward to three papers to be finished, two of which are due on Friday, a final in My Discourse Communities class on Thursday (probably the most boring class I have ever taken in my college career) a final on John Milton's Paradise Lost, and another final on Italian that is comprehensive and spans all the way back to September of last year. I don't think I have ever dreaded and hoped for something so much in my entire life. Number 1 on my list of things to do this summer is enjoy a good ole meaningless summer novel that I can unabashedly devour by the pool.

Michael on the other hand has technically already graduated and is currently 'vacationing' in Mexico since his final day of work was last Friday. And I can't wait for him to come home this Thursday! The first thing on his list of things to do this summer? Mow the lawn.

YEAH! Spring BREAK!!

Well, I officially start my Spring Break tomorrow. And needless to say I am super duper excited! The only negative of Spring Break is that at the end of it Michael leaves me for Mexico City for two months. :( But atleast that means that when he returns I will be a gradute of the University of Cincinnati, hence my countdown timer for graduation located along the righthand side of my blog.

So, pray that we get good weather in Cinci for spring break for me and don't forget to vote on what I should do! :) P.S. Did I mention I am super excited?!?!

2 Months in Mexico City...

So, Michael just accepted an internship in Mexico City this past week and man, am I jealous because I won't be able to join him since I'll be finishing up my last quarter of my degree in Cincinnati! He will be leaving at the end of March and getting back home in June just in time for us to graduate from the University of Cincinnati on the 13th. This is his third and final internship for UC and his architecture degree. On another note, he will be finding out about Grad school acceptance by the time he leaves for Mexico City, so we will be keeping everyone posted! Wish him luck!

Finals Week...

As of this moment I am formally putting aside all computer minutes to the better benefit of studying for my finals and the writing of my final papers. Wish me luck and hope that the screaming only lasts until next Wednesday!

Fun with Helium

Michael has met some really great students while at UC and some of them have been very entertaining... such as our new friends Axel, Louisa, Alex and Caroline from Europe.

****Just a note, we do not condone the inhalation of Helium :) ****

A couple of weeks ago we had them over for dinner and while one of my old birthday balloons was floating around the ceiling, Axel mentioned that he had seen people using helium in movies and didn't know what it did... so of course we dared him to try it! They said they don't have helium inflated balloons in Europe and they had never played with them before! Go figure!

This is actual footage of our friend Axel from Belgium and Louisa from France having fun with a helium balloon! Too funny to not add!! BTW I love how she says "Bonjour"! Too Cute!

Big, Bad Seniors. Who said picking on Freshmen wasn't fun?

Michael and I have officially started our senior year at the University of Cincinnati and we can't help but feel proud of ourselves. Classes started Wednesday and even though I am a transfer student and have technically only been at UC for 3 quarters, I couldn't help but scoff, give the stink-eye to, or deliberately give bad directions a couple of little-bitty Freshman. Michael personally knocked a few books out of some of their hands to show off not only his rank in this social realm, but to also show of his masculine muscles. No, just kidding, although it is nice to no longer have that deer-in-the-headlights look in our eyes.

It is crazy to think that we will be done here in a mere 9 months and we will be off to somewhere new and the cycle will start all over again at Graduate School.
Classes will be absolutely crazy for the two of us this quarter and I barely have room in my schedule to watch The Office on Thursday nights, but I know it will all be worth it in the end.
I know have to share my thoughts on how lucky I feel to be finishing my degree 8 years after graduating from Bountiful High School, but of course I have to say, "better late than never," and I have to thank Michael for all of his support, as well. Now, the true challenge will be to try and graduate with a combined debt of less than $50,000 in student loans by the time we are done in 3-4 years. I wonder if we can keep our education under budget...

P.S. This building, among others on our campus was recently in Architectural Record. It is very cool, as far as Michael is concerned and that is a lot coming from an Arch student.

2 Thumbs Up For Alfred Hitchcock

I have some really great memories of watching movies with my mom growing up and most of them that I can remember were oldies such as An Affair to Remember, Meet me in Saint Louis , and some by Alfred Hitchcock including North by Northwest, and Rear Window (which had previously been my favorite of his.) This summer I decided to take some English electives to fill my requirements and I signed up for a class on Alfred Hitchcock, who had always been one of my favorite producers. All we do is go to class and watch his movies and talk about the themes and plots and how he was able to build tension through his camera angles and such. And of course it has been fun trying to spot him in each of his movies because he always made a cameo appearance. It's been great watching movies and critiquing them on class time and I have really enjoyed it and would say this has been one of my favorite classes ever. Because this class has broadened my horizons on Hitchcock's movies, I officially have a new favorite and that would be Shadow of a Doubt, although I would have to say that so far I would give all of his movies 2 thumbs up. He was such an artist in his development of tension in movies and paved the way for the present day scary thriller. I would definitely rather watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie over some of the nasty, bloody movies of today. It has even been fun getting onto NBC.com and watching some old episodes of the Hitchcock Hour and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which I used to watch growing up. This has been a really fun class so far and I can't wait to go to class again tonight and watch more movies!

What I'm Reading Right Now

This is a very interesting book that I am reading for my Modern Fiction class. It is novel about a Creole community living in Martinique during the 1980's. So far I would give it 7 out of 10 Stars. Not too bad.

-Jayna

Tired and Worn OUT!!!

I have decided to fast-track my college education so that I can graduate from the University of Cincinnati with an English Literature Degree by next Spring. I am very excited about this because it means that Michael, who graduates with his Architecture Degree next spring, and I can actually walk together for Graduation. This is my motivation. The only problem is that it means I will be taking between 17 and 20 credit hours for at least 2 quarters next year and I am already wearing myself out! I've gotten pretty sick this past week with the flu and my voice is nothing more than a whisper! Not fun when you have to speak up in English classes and share how you feel about readings! Anyway, with going to school, working two jobs, packing up and cleaning my house, looking for a new apartment to move into, and trying to find time to spend with MIchael, I have met my limit. Thank goodness it is Friday and I can rest, at least until I have to write my next paper due Monday.

-Jayna

What I'm Reading Right Now.

Because I am an English Literature Major I read a lot of books, so I have decided to list some of my favorites for anyone interested. This week I am reading Northanger Abby by Jane Austen among others. This is a great book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read a little Jane Austen even if it is for the first time.

Happy Reading!!

-Jayna