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Thanks to everyone who came to the show last night! (Photos courtesy of Amanda.)
Foto Friday: Fabrizio gone wild
Most of the time Fabrizio is a sweet, gentle cat, but recently he's had some bad mood swings. I don't know if the weather is getting to him or what. I think the alleys of Tacoma have hardened him.
It usually isn't a big deal. He just wants to be left alone. But sometimes he just freaks out.
He REALLY doesn't like wearing Amanda's leopard-print Snuggie either. Learned that the hard way.
No Amandas were seriously injured while capturing these images.
Costa Rica bound!
I have to be honest. The coolest thing about getting married is the honeymoon. It’s the one time in your life when everyone is supportive of your traveling anywhere for any length of time.
Often when you’re planning a trip, half the battle is getting the time off of work or convincing people that it’s the right time to go. Backlash may include:
“That’s too many days off.”
“It’s the wrong time of the year.”
“That’s too expensive.”
“You should go to (fill in the blank) instead.”
“Can I come?”
The honeymoon, by definition, is immune to all of these hurdles. You can take off the maximum number of days off from work; no one questions your destination judgment; and it’s ALWAYS the right time of the year to travel. No one except your spouse expects to go along for the ride (hopefully).
Amanda and I explored traveling literally everywhere – Europe, South America, Australia – and finally found a place that fit our budget and criteria for a beach-heavy destination that we haven’t yet explored. It was probably the toughest decision we’ve had to make related to the wedding (seriously) because the wedding is just one day, but this is two weeks of relaxation, exploration and eating! This is important stuff! So, we're off to...
COSTA RICA, AMIGOS!
1,100 miles of beaches. Under $600 round-trip from Chicago for both of us. Win-win.
I booked our airfare today, so it’s finally official! We still have some accommodation work to do but I don’t expect that to be too difficult. I just need a hammock. OK. We also need baños, so we’ll look at some hotel and beach house rental options.
It’s been more than two years since I’ve been out the country (excluding Canada), and I’ve been itching my eyes out to see another part of the world. Finally, I get some relief. Bonus: I get to travel with my then-wife!
Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the greenest country in the world
Embarking on another quarter at UW
You might recall my post 4.0 is a perfect number during which I boasted my perfect GPA at the time. Yes, even Muhammad Ali lost boxing matches and even I don't always get straight A's.
Last quarter I received (gasp!) an A-, defeating my cumulative GPA to a 3.95. That class was about Web storytelling, and I produced a fairly nice video and quite possibly the first-ever research paper on Webisodes. Alas, it was not enough for a perfect grade according to the powers that be.
So now I march on with a GPA wound toward my mobile marketing class, which I am really excited about. The future is mobile, people! I'm even more excited about taking my first-ever break in grad school after this quarter. I kinda sorta need to take a four-week vacation around my wedding/honeymoon, and that doesn't jive with academic accountability.
With that carrot dangling in front of my nose, I'm going to work really hard to get another A on the board and get on track to graduate with a 3.99 GPA, so help me God.
The New Year’s Eve plan
We’re headed up to Crystal Mountain again for the big party. Scott was kind enough to email us an itinerary, which I have pasted below verbatim. Is it any wonder why I had to proofread his MBA papers? a little itenerary: this week:, scott waxes and tunes paolo, court and his own skis.... Thurs: 4-6pm Paolo and amanda bring over a coordinated dinner to our house thursday afternoon around 430ish and while everyone prepares dinner, scott adjusts Amandas new skis to her boots.... then we eat Thurs:6-7:30pm We drive up to crystal Thurs:7:30-9pm we prefunk at the room and at the elk... mabye, might be crazy busy Thurs:9-10 we watch the fireworks! Thurs:10-10:30 we drive to the alphins cabin Thurs:10:30-1am We party! friday: we ski!!!!!!!!!!!