The Hibernation

The blog's been a little dead lately, and I apologize. I don't really have a great excuse for you besides hibernation, which is relatively what I've been up to these days. I've still not got pictures for this post because for some reason my new phone isn't syncing to Google like it should, an issue I just discovered and will probably spend most of the day trying to figure out. Also, my ergonomic keyboard died a horrible death (actually one of the keys was mysteriously stuck without actually being stuck, and having the number 1 flash across your screen in long lines because you can't get it to stop is super annoying) and the stock Lenovo keyboard isn't as comfortable for me to use. You know, you get used to luxury and then downgrade and things just sort of seem sad...

Wait, is this thing on?

Okay, so, there you have it! Proof that I am still alive and well and my roots look absolutely awful. I think one of my goals for the next week is to find a salon and catch up on my monthly maintenance routine.

Seriously, when they all look this gorgeous, how do you choose?

I've been spending my time trying to sort through the 800+ photos from the wedding and pick out the ones I want in our album, which is a greater challenge than it should be because they are all spectacular.  I had the lovely Esta Eberhardt do our photos since I'd known her forever, and man, did she not disappoint. If you're looking for a photographer, North Florida, I can't recommend Captured Memories by Esta enough. Not only are the photos gorgeous, but you're getting to spend time with a pretty special lady, too.

In addition to the countless hours spent making decisions, I've also had the opportunity to get out a bit more and make some new friends. Sure, I didn't make the coffee hour because I sort of overslept and got distracted prepping that night's dinner (there's irony in there, somewhere), but our last two nights have been social events extraordinaire. Wednesday was New Faculty Orientation for Jon, and while he sat in boring meetings all day I got to experience the best part of it, being the dinner that night. We took a bus to one of the local beach hotels for the dinner, despite there being plenty of room on campus here to serve. The ballroom was gorgeously decorated, there was a pretty kicking band (I didn't ever think I'd hear jazz standards at dinner here), and the food was delicious and varied. There were spring rolls, sticky buns, curries, duck, lamb...but also some pretty predictable foods like pastas. For dessert there was coffee and a really delicious espresso panna cotta. The main reason I'm sure they chose to have this event off campus, however, was the fact that they served wine and beer, which is easier to do in the hotels since they automatically have licenses for that sort of thing. Living in a Muslim country, alcohol is obviously not served at most restaurants and events because of the laws, but tourist areas naturally become the exception.

Last night we were invited to a lovely get together by one of Jon's coworkers, who made a delicious traditional Indian dinner. Believe me, it doesn't compare to the things they call "Indian" food back in Tallahassee. It was another nice night of socialization and company. After two nights of staying out late, however, I think we're probably cool with laying low most of the weekend.

This week, I'm bound and determined to get to an actual coffee shop. We'll see.