A Different Drum

Sara is off to Germany. According to the flight tracker I'm using, she's about half and hour from Paris, and then she has an hour in Paris, and then it's on another plane for Berlin.

I'm spending the night at my 'Rent's house, and heading back to Leb tomorrow. I'm debating staying up till I know she's on the ground in Germany, but I don't think that's a really good idea.

I'm off to try and get some sleep. Sara hopes to be emailing me around 6 am our time, if all goes well she should be arrived and settled in her quarters in Berlin by then.

Prayers folks, for me and her.

I realize of course, that really, I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to being upset that we're apart, because people do it for much longer periods, (and here I'm thinking of you, DADAGinny and J1...how you do it, I don't know, but you have my respect, and my sympathy) but this still sucks. Three weeks from our first anniversary too. :-(

Well, November is here. We're into the home stretch of the year. I celebrated the arrival of November at midnight last night by puting on Vince Vance and Valiant's All I Want For Christmas is you (mainly because it get so overplayed on the radio it drives my wife every so slightly nuts, and I like to tease her.)

I know that some people think it's early for Christmas music, but so much of it is so very good, it deserves more than one month for playing time. I won't put up decorations until after Thanksgiving, so at least let me have my music.

Halloween was cool. We saw so many cute little kids. There are more in our neighborhood this year, I think. Our friends came by with their little one, all dressed up as a puppy, she was adorable. I want one.

Don't tell Sara I said that.

A week to go to election day. I'm hoping and staying positive, but also realizing that the chances of me winning are about as good as me winning the lottery.

Oh, I'm having so much fun at Kit's virtual Halloween party! Even if no one knows who I came as...doesn't anyone beside me read Jack Higgins? ;-)

Anyway, back to work on DTR 25.

Hey all.

No time for a real update. Just wanted to highlight two important things.

1. I'm coming to you from my graduation present. That's right, my parents and I finally got together on my college graduation gift, and I'm now the proud owner of a ThinkPad Z60m. This should books writing productivity, actually. I get more done when I can get away from my desk for a while. So, I'm very excited.

2. Six years ago today, I asked a girl to go on a date with me. Now that girl is my wife. And I'm thankful every moment of every day for her. I love you Sara!

"...next question please?"

"Mr. Campbell, can you tell us where you've been the last several weeks?"

"Well, I can tell you that I've been very busy. This is a very busy time of year for me, with job listings being posted. I had a job fair interview last week."

"How did it go?"

"It went very well. It was for a position at my old high school, so I'm hoping I have a good chance of getting called back for a second interview. I aslo have an interview lined up at Woodsville High School at the end of the month."

"What about substituting, how is that going?"

"No comment. Next question, please."

"How is Sears?"

"Sears is going fine. We've just completed a major store realighnment, and I spent several days moving the paint department. The result of moving all those gallons of paint has me sore in places I forgot I had."

"How about your personal life, Mr. Campbell?"

"In general it's good. I entertained my sister and my parents at my house this past week, and both visits were very sucessfully."

"The important part, Mr. Campbell, your writing. Your readers want to know when you're going to be back."

"I'm currently working on two projects right now, the next chapter of Redefining and the next chapter of DTR. I hope to have both finished before the end of the week."

"So, in general, you'd say things are going well."

"I think that about sums it up. No more questions, please."

Well.

Sara and I started dating "offically" on a Monday night in April, nearly 6 years ago. Unoffically we'd been going out for an extra day, as the previous night, before the opening curtin of the high school musical, Brigadoon, our best friend Erin called us together, linked our hands and say "Just go on with it." It wasn't until the next evening, on the phone, when Sara reminded me that I hadn't actually asked her to go out with me. So I did. (Corny, yes, but we were juniors in high school, and prone to that kind of high drama). She ran the spotlight in that show, (I was the lead actor) and she was also the captain of the varsity math team, widely considered to be one of the brightest girls in the school. That was one of the reasons I had scouted her so heavily for the varsity quiz bowl team. She had a wit sharper than most razors, and when you got her going, she had a creative streak a mile wide.

I asked her to marry me two years ago this past November, standing halfway between Washington Hall and Lee Chapel on a cold, starlit night, dressed in our formal wear after leaving the W&L Presidential Gala. It was the culmination of a tumultous night. We *had* a dinner reseveration that evening, and everything was seeminlg timed perfectly, but when Sara got to her car that afternoon to drive from Williamsburg to Lexington, she discovered one of her front tires was flat. She spent the next several hours getting the car towed, tire replaced, and then finally on the road. Meanwhile, we were missing our dinner reservation at the Southern Inn, and I'm wearing a hole in room 201 of the Sigma Nu House, frantic, because I had been planning this evening for nearly 4 months. She finally gets to Lex Vegas, and she has time to throw on her dress, and we mingle and munch down cocktail crackers and cheese at the house reception, before heading over to the Gala. We stay for a while, dance a bit, and finally she says, "Bernie, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I have a headache and I'm grumpy, can we please go home and get a pizza?"
So plan A, which was a romantic walk by Woods Creek in the moonlight went out the window, and I settled for plan B, which was walking the long way home. When I finally managed to stammer out the question, all thoughts of flat tires and missed dinner reservations were forgotton and we raced home to call friends and family. And yes, we ate Domino's pizza on the floor of my room, in our formal wear.

And on Friday, we will be married at the same alter that at least 6 generations of my family have been married at. I have no reservations, no regreats. People have been asking, "Nervous?". Hell no. As long as we've been together, if I'm still not sure about this, there would be something very wrong. Nervous about things getting screwed up, like slipping on ice and breaking an ankle? Or the church burning down (HAD A NIGHTMARE ABOUT THAT!)? Yes. Nervous about marrying Sara? No way. She is the best thing about me. The greatest gift ever given me.

The guests began arriving today, and we have a wonderful time re-connecting with Corey and Emily, Anderson and Johanna, and Jake. Tomorrow the bulk of the folks show up, barring any craziness (like a general transport stike in sympathy with the NY transit workers (Also something my nightmares are made of)), and the rehersal is tomorrow at 6. It's all come down to the next 48 hours. Wow.

I want to thank everyone who has put up with rants about planning, gripes about in-laws, and total sapiness on both our parts. I only wish that you could be here to share in it with us, because you've all been a big part of it, at least from my perspective. Thank you so much.

We'll have wedding pictures and pictures from the cruise when we get back in January, and we'll be happy to share.

Merry Christmas everyone. Happy Chanunakah, and a Happy New Year.

Good morning everyone,

It was with a great deal of delight that I arose this morning to discover that the Earth had been blanketed in a layer of white snow, making the whole thing look very much like a Courier and Ives Print. It's still snowing a bit now, I'm not sure how long it's going to go on. It's quite beautiful however, and I've no wish to see it change to rain and get turned into mush.

And now, in honor of Thanksgiving, a list of things I am thankful for.

Sara
What else is there to say? I'm marrying the girl in less than a month. For six years now, she's been a constant presence in my life, a counterpart, a balance. Someone who loves me unconditionally and without question. How can you not be thankful for that? How on earth do you express that thanks? I'm not sure, but I'm trying.

My Family
Despite some of the issues I've had with them over the last several months, particually Mum, the truth is that they have been incredibly supportive of everything this fall. They're funding a good portion of the wedding, and they've been nothing but sympathetic to my attempt to find steady employment. My Dad has done me some incredible honors this fall, particually allowing me to join the SHS football TV broadcasts, a dream I'd been harboring since childhood. And I couldn't ask for a better sibling in my sister, who loves both me, and Sara, to death.

My Job
Yes, I hate subbing. But the fact is, without it, I'd really be broke, so I'm thankful for every day that sucks.

My Friends
(You knew I was going to get there eventually, didn't you?) I'm thankful for all my friends, both the live and in person friends, like Erin (who is working 9 to 9 on Black Friday. We're meeting her at 9:30 to take her our for a drink), and Justin, and Kern (who's going to come up for a visit next winter!), and all the rest. And of course, there's all my PS, friends, and my f-list friends. You folks have been remarkable in putting up with my ranting over the course of the last couple of months, and you've helped keep Sara and I sane. I also want to thank all of you folks who have made writing for PS such a joy in my life. I can't wait to get back to it once NaNo is over.

There are many other things, I'm thankful for, I'm sure, but this is the highlight reel. I hope all my American friends have an excellent Thanksgiving, and those of you abroad, I hope you have a good weekend.

Rejoice and Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!

Came up to see Sara this weekend. It rained most of the weekend, and because it rained today, and there's no school (no possibility of subsituting today), I played hooky from the golf course and stayed up the extra day. I'm going to head home sometime this afternoon. Sara's off at class now. I think she's turned a corner in terms of her classes, and while I won't necessarily be all down hill, it at least won't be the tough sledding that the last week was.

We did a bit of exploring in downtown Hanover Saturday inspite of the rain. Found a nice used book store where we found a couple of books. Notre Dame had the weekend off, so there was no afternoon football that we were interested in. Penn State was on at 7:45, and we got back in time to watch the Nittney Lions knock off the Buckeyes. Whohoo! I love JoePa. Penn State is BACK! Next weekend, should be interesting week. Penn State and Michigan, and Notre Dame against USC. That game in South Bend will be one of the biggest of the year, I think. Let's go Notre Dame!

Sunday we checked out St. Dennis's, the local Catholic parish. It was nice service. Lots of kids, which made Sara coo and awww. Then the Patriots made it far too exciting against the Falcons. I love Adam Vinitieri, but it would be nice once or twice to not need him to kick last second field goals for a change. The defense needs serious help. Got to get some people healthy on the D, or things will be tough sledding.

All the good football this weekend has made me almost forget that the White Sox swept out the Red Sox. *sigh*. I can't complain too much after last year's series, so I guess it's See You In April for the Beantown boys. Football is the main course from now forward.

Sara's shower is next weekend, and here's hoping that everything is all set and going okay.

Oh so many things to talk about.

( “Patriots )

( “Saturday” )

( “Mother-Out-Law” )