Who is this?

After a lovely wedding and honeymoon, we have finally started back into normal life. So I'm back on the blogging trail.

Observations from the recent/ongoing experience of changing my name...

1. Our marriage license doesn't say what my new name is. Nonetheless, it somehow gives me the right to change my name, so I have to tell each different agency what I want my new name to be. It appears that I could give different names to everyone! Very strange.

2. To my surprise, the people at the local social security office were very gracious and efficient. So here's a little plug for under-appreciated government workers.

3. Monday is not the best day to go to the DMV.

4. When I asked the lady at the DMV to remove my "corrective lenses" restriction, she gave me a quick eye test but didn't bother to check whether I was actually wearing contacts or not. Seemed shady to me.

5. Considering that approximately half the population of this country will change their name within their lifetime, the requirements are surprisingly inconsistent. Some credit card companies will change your name over the phone. Others want you to mail in a form and attach a copy of the marriage license. Amazon lets you change it to whatever you want, but United Airlines wants to see the request in writing with a copy of the marriage license. For some reason my gut says this is more to protect their non-transferable frequent flier miles than to protect my right to board an airplane...

6. I sure hope I don't need a social security card in the next few weeks, because it is scheduled to arrive in the mail at some point in the future. Same for the new car titles and various other things. It's weird to give up all these important documents and not get them back right away. Apparently that's how the passport process works too. Yikes.

7. My two employers have different processes for name changes. One wanted a new W-2 and the other just let me enter it on a web site. But neither one wanted to see any proof. Astonishing.

8. We have way too many accounts everywhere.

New Experiences

There have been some notable "firsts" for me this week.

1. I went mountain biking for the first time.

A new friend invited me to go mountain biking with a group of coworkers on Tuesday night, so I borrowed Mike's bike (which has shocks and good brakes) for the adventure. We started at the Military Reserve and drove up Shaw Mountain Rd until several miles past the point where it turned into a bumpy dirt road. Then we hopped on our bikes and started up the road. After a while we reached the trailhead and continued uphill. It was a fun but challenging ride, with a fun group that gave me many helpful tips along the way (such as: look out ahead, not down at the scary rocks under your tires). We reached the top of our ride after about 1.5 hours, then quickly descended over bumpy trails that tested my brakes and nerves. It was a thrill!

And thankfully I returned without any loss of skin or limbs, so our wedding photographer will be happy about that.

2. I learned about Mormon Crickets.

Yikes! These are the scariest insects I've ever encountered in real life. As we were riding up the trails I started seeing huge bugs with long legs that looked like they could easily jump up and hit me in the face. Not a pleasant prospect when you are struggling to keep the tires moving on a steep dirt path. I'm glad they weren't feeling too energetic that night, or I might have slid down the hill in a panic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_cricket

I'm not sure how I managed to grow up in Boise and never see these mammoth bugs, but I'm glad I didn't meet them as a child or I might have been forever afraid to go outside.

3. I spackled!

Living in apartments for most of my adult life, there was always someone to do it after I moved out...

New Blog

Mike and I are starting a "family" blog. Being two inquisitive people, we decided to focus on our various wonderings about life and the world around us. We're calling it Curiosity of the Moment.

Wedding Plans

With less than 7 weeks remaining until the wedding, we have nearly wrapped up all the big things. It's exciting to see the event coming together and feel like the logistics are mostly under control. I can't wait for my parents to return from their China adventures! And I'm so eager to see friends/family who are coming out for the wedding from Seattle, Florida, Ohio, California, Rhode Island, and Ontario. Hopefully Boise will show its best hot, dry, delightful side for you!

In addition to preparing for the "big day", we are also preparing for the "big life", figuring out how to combine two households into one and making it feel like our home. This weekend we'll try to finish the second round of painting. Hooray for color!


This weekend we took a little break from our labors to play some fiddle/guitar tunes together, while watching a thunderstorm outside. I love the red music room. So cozy. :)

Comfort Words

Recently I have been observing the way people tend to reuse certain words or phrases, in extraneous ways, as a part of their normal conversation. Some favorites..."you know", "well", "actually", "basically", "just", "umm", and "like I said". Your high school speech teacher probably threatened you against the use of these "filler" phrases. But I like to think of them as comfort words. When you don't know what to say, but something needs to be said, they give you a nice segue into anything, or emphasize any sort of point you're hoping to make.

When I was first employed as an intern at HP, during my senior year of high school, I noticed many of my coworkers beginning their sentences with "so...". In general they were not making any sort of concluding statement, but merely changing the subject, answering a question, or remarking on something that happened last week. Although this method of starting sentences initially struck me as grammatically odd, I also implicitly connected it with the speech of a "real engineer". Somehow I overlooked the fact that my dad, who is a real engineer, does not speak this way. Gradually I started adopting this speaking style as well, and I thought I was pretty cool. Like a grown up engineer.

It turns out this may have been a bad idea. As cool as it sounded at the time, I later realized that comfort words are notoriously hard to abandon. They serve as an excuse to think while you're talking instead of thinking before opening your mouth. They also distract listeners from your real point by their repetitive nature. It's like hypnotism. Suddenly people start unconsciously waiting for the next "basically" to pop out, completely ignorant of whatever essential idea you were about to articulate.

So... My challenge for the week... Let's get out of our comfort zones and try some new words!

Something Itchy This Way Comes

Last night at dinner Grandma commented that she sees more and more of my dad in me, specifically the fun-loving side. And I think she's right. My perfectionist nature has been tempered, in the past 5-10 years, by the realization that people don't love me because of certificates and trophies. And the parallel understanding that I can't meet everyone's expectations, even when I want to, has helped me develop a more relaxed approach to life, ready for laughter and fun (and silliness). It's a much happier, and more sustainable, existence.

On a lighter note, I also seem to be developing some of my dad's allergic reactions. Sitting on my balcony this morning, my eyes were getting puffy and I couldn't stop sneezing. Finally I had to come inside to find some tissues. Then I saw the piles of mail on the counter and the unwashed dishes in the kitchen, and thus ended my morning reverie.

I love you Dad!

Photo Fun

Here are a few pictures from our engagement photo session with Tamara last week.



We were thinking about running through the fountain but then Mike decided he didn't want to lose another cell phone...



My cheek muscles were pretty tired by the end of the night so I think I need to work on my smile endurance before the wedding. Mike suggested that I could practice smiling all day at work, but I'm afraid they might turn me into a manager.



Thanks Tamara!

Happy Days

Today I embarked on a new experiment in commuting, involving a bike and some creative scheduling. The results are promising thus far. The weather was lovely this evening, and I continue to enjoy the greenbelt despite the many tree trunks that threaten to jostle my tires into the river. I do have some scratches and grease marks from an incident with toe clips and some asphalt. However, as a skier friend likes to remind me: if you aren't falling you aren't learning!

In other news, it turns out that I enjoy Jane Austen after all. Apparently age 9 was too young to appreciate her wit and her description of truly agonizing social situations. My friend Lindsay gave me a copy of Pride and Prejudice on her last trip to Boise, after learning with dismay that I had never really read any of Jane Austen's books (having pronounced them "too slow and boring" in my youth.) About a third of the way into the book, I am thoroughly engaged with the characters and very pleased by her amusingly witty dialogue and excellent word choices. Alas, yet another author whose works I should not have attempted to read before learning about the abundant drama caused by boys.

I realize that my blogging presence has been somewhat lacking of late. Fortunately I have also learned about the consuming happiness caused by boys.