On August 6th, Wes and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. A lot has happened in 4 years, yet I still feel like a newly wed. I gave Wes two video games for the Xbox (Project Gotham Racing 4 and Ghostbusters), as well as a set of driving gloves and a Porsche key chain. Wes gave me a Time Capsule, which is a wireless router and 500-gig hard drive all in one. It is pretty cool, and does automatic back-ups with Time Machine every time I am connected to the network. We celebrated by going out to dinner at Bookbinders and going to see “Funny People” at the movie theatre. It was a relaxing and low-key celebration, and it was just what we wanted.

In the picture above, you will see Wes chillin’ in his new ride. My little 1997 Honda Accord was dying, and Wes has been aching to have a little sports car since I’ve met him. So we figured this was the perfect time to go for it. It is a 2009 Saturn Sky Redline, and it is the most impractical car I’ve ever seen. It only has two seats, so Wes can only carry himself plus one more. There is only one cup holder. It is a convertible, and when you have the top down there is virtually no space left in the trunk. It only weighs 2500 pounds and is rear wheel drive, so it’ll spend most of the winter under a cover. And to top it all off, it is a manual, which neither Wes nor I know how to drive. Wes has been quickly learning and he’ll be proficient by the end of the week, but still, it really is the most impractical purchase we’ve ever made. However, its cute, and speedy, and so much fun. Wes deserves something fun, and right now it works.

My fall and spring schedule is also starting to fill-up. I found out that my CSCW paper was accepted, so I’ll be heading there in February to give a presentation. In late September I’m planning on taking a trip to SRI in Menlo Park, CA to give an update on my dissertation work. I’m hoping to meet up with my Aunt Joan while I’m there for some dinner. In early October I’ll be participating in the PhD Forum and poster session for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Tucson, AZ. Also, I applied for the ADVANCE “Preparing the Future Professoriate” workshop at RICE, and if I’m accepted, I’ll be going to Houston, TX for that in late October. There are also some family trips happening in the fall. On August 29th my friend Theresa is getting married in Bethesda, MD, for labor day weekend Wes and I are going to Connecticut to celebrate his grandparents 80th birthday, and on September 13th I’ll be competing in the Nations Triathlon in Washintong, D.C. Its looking like an exciting yet busy school year!