I’ll be back at work Monday the 21st, hopefully with a million photos and stories. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this song, which Matt got stuck in my head last night, and seems pretty appropriate right now.

See you then!

I have 11 months left of of this project!! Can I do it?

I finished 1 thing in April 2012

#94 Host poker night at least twice

Items that will not be finished:

#93 Do the MN Aidswalk again (i waited too long on this, and the next one is the day after we get back from Europe. so it’s not happening.)

Items currently in progress:

#12 Finish my travel journals on runawaytruck.com within 60 days of getting home from a trip (Las Vegas)

#22 Make at least $100k income in a calendar year

#31 Make a tin-can star mural

#40 Cook a recipe from 20 different countries (18/20: Mozambique, Vietnam)

#51 Have date night with Matt once a month (We went to the Sports Show at MIA, then had dinner.)

#100 put $20 towards debt payoff for each completed task on this list, and $50 for each non-completed task ($20 for the completed item in April, $50 for the incomplete, $1210 total)

Here’s the full list.

I made it to 6am Saturday night, and finally had to go to bed once the sun came up. Though I’m really bad at having my sleep schedule disrupted, I wish trivia had been next weekend because that’s the same schedule we’ll be on once we arrive in Europe.

Speaking of Europe, there was another change in our cruise itinerary from Portofino to La Spezia, Italy. And while Portofino is gorgeous, I’m not the least bit sad about it: La Spezia is the gateway to Cinque Terre. If you’re not familiar (and why would you not be familiar?), this is what Cinque Terre looks like:

(photo courtesy of Robert Crum on Flickr.)

 
So yeah, I’m happy with that change of plans. We’re going to take the train to the farthest of the five, and hop between them on the train til we get to Manarola, from which we’ll take the famous Via dell’Amore to the final town. Sounds kind of perfect for a honeymoon, right?

This week is all about finalizing plans, things like making sure all the bills are scheduled and the banks know to not throw up the fraud flag when we hit the ATM in Tunis. We picked up some more vacation clothing last night at Old Navy and Target, and I’ve been working on marking stuff on paper maps since we can’t count on having Google Maps access. (The absolutely foreign concept of being without Google Maps is proof I rely too much on the internet. Thankfully, that’s about the only thing on the internet I feel lost without.) I still have to plant the rest of the garden this weekend, and then the rest is just packing and feeling smug at work until it’s time to go.

I’ll be back to say goodbye!

*That’s only a slight exaggeration.

Speaking of vacation, we just booked a trip almost two years away, because it was a really good deal and also means we’ll get to go back to Puerto Rico! Plus it means Matt will be spending his 35th birthday in the Caribbean, and you really can’t go wrong with that.

The last two weeks in sports: Well, the Gophers didn’t win the National Championship. While their exit was pretty painful, I’m still really proud of my team and am very happy with how this season went. (We’ve also made it a couple weeks without any players announcing they’re leaving early for the NHL, so let’s hope that continues.) Matt and I went to the Minnesota Stars opener at the Metrodome with Kris and Orsi and kids, and we attended our first Twins game of the season yesterday with Joe and Missy. (Review: brunch was good, it rained, and they lost. Better get used to that last part, I think.)

The last two weeks in work: I’m getting used to doing technical interviews, though I still don’t love them. Testing on my huge project is going well, and I’ve awarded myself a gold medal of awesomeness for the ridiculous performance improvements. My boss won an award last week, so a bunch of us went to the ceremony and she took us out for a drink afterward, where were learned that our summer party will involve office minigolf again. Matt and I already have a really good idea for a new minigolf hole, and it barely even involves duct tape.

The last two weeks in other news:  We had a really fun Easter with my family, and it was the first time in my life it’s been held at my parents’ house: up til now, we/they were always in Upper Michigan with my grandparents or great aunt and uncle. End of an era (and a generation), I guess. I met the oral surgeon who will be removing another of my teeth and then replacing them both with implants, and got a pre-insurance estimate of $8,000. (Supposedly it will be $5500-6000 out of pocket. Yay?) I’m starting that whole process at the end of June. Saturday we saw Deals Gone Bad at Triple Rock, and again wondered why that one bartender always buys us drinks, but regardless it’s awesome. We also picked up our compost bin and set it up in the yard, which meant that I spent at least an hour telling Matt all the things that we could put in there, because the list includes stuff like paper towels and HAIR.

Coming up on Friday is Trivia 43, the weekend-long radio contest based in Stevens Point. We may leave the house occasionally for a break, but mostly we’ll be nerding out with our laptops the whole time. Feel free to stop over any time and join us with the sleuthy googling… our team is really good, but we can always use more help!

We got it from Costco this weekend with the help of my parents and their minivan. It came in a gigantic 10′ box that provided no end of amusement to everyone else at Costco (including the employees). That was fine, though, because the cart guy took it out of the box for us and helped Matt load it into the car. Nice!

I need to get a life jacket before I use it, and of course Matt needs to pick one out for himself (or rent one at Lake Harriet… that works too). By Memorial Day we should hopefully have a kayak-transportation system in place so we can take them camping!

(Speaking of camping, we booked the riverside campground at William O’Brien State Park, and Wendy booked the campsite next to ours. Only the DNR somehow forgot to charge her, and therefore she doesn’t have the campsite. Of course it’s now fully booked since it’s Memorial Day, so we’re on our own. I even searched all the other nearby parks in the state, and they’re all booked that weekend. Nice work on the reservations system upgrade, Minnesota! Assholes.)

This weekend we did a bunch of work getting the yard ready for spring, which is still kind of shocking since it’s way earlier than previous years. I fertilized and put compost in the garden, tilled, and planted four kinds of lettuce, spinach, two kinds of beets, and carrots. We already have garlic, chives, mint, rhubarb and asparagus growing (this will be my first crop of asparagus, so I’m extra-excited about it). While I was doing that, Matt overseeded the bare spots in the yard, and the area that the utility company decided to dig up completely last fall. Then we put down more mulch in the back garden, and everything looks all fancy and weed-free for at least the next 12 hours.

Vacation prep is ramping up now that our flight to Paris is only a month away. I normally wouldn’t be obsessing about packing and such this early, but we’re gone for so long that it seems to require that degree of strategy. (Another important consideration is that EasyJet, which we’re flying to and from Rome, only allows 44-pound checked bags instead of the usual 50, and limits carry-ons.) It helps a lot that we can have a week’s worth of laundry washed on the cruise ship before we head back to Rome, so we only really need to pack for 10 days total. Today I confirmed our tour in Tunisia, and am anxiously awaiting news of a possible cabin upgrade on the ship. It’s apparently only about 75% full, and they’ve discounted the cheap cabins, which is a situation that’s highly ideal for upgrade opportunities.

I’ve been working on a gigantic project at work for the past several weeks, rewriting the process that synchronizes data between a local SQL Server instance and a remote Teradata database. It’s a project three years in the making, and it’s probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done. Last week, our release deadline, had me ready to jump out a window screaming, and my tester here started crying more than once. So yeah, it’s that kind of project. It’s also the kind of project where you get to apply pretty much every bit of expertise you have on a topic, and go through the gut-wrenching trials of “what if everything I ever knew was wrong?”

Anyway, it’s going into client testing fully this week, and as much as I’m stressed out about that, I am so beyond thrilled to get it out into the world. I know it’s a massive improvement over the old system, so I hope everyone else realizes that too. (If you ever want to be sure people know that, log the performance statistics and make them viewable by clients. That’s a surefire way to make sure you look like a superstar.)

Oh, and there’s also a certain hockey-related event this week, but we’re trying not to talk (or even think) about that right now. Eesh.

I finished 1 thing in March 2012!

#61 Do the St Paul gangster tour (if you haven’t done this yet, GO.)

Items currently in progress:

#12 Finish my travel journals on runawaytruck.com within 60 days of getting home from a trip (working on Las Vegas)

#22 Make at least $100k income in a calendar year

#31 Make a tin-can star mural (started collecting stars)

#51 Have date night with Matt once a month (we had trivia date night and won $20!)

#100 put $20 towards debt payoff for each completed task on this list, and $50 for each non-completed task ($20 for the item in March, $1140 total)

Here’s the full list.

So I’ll keep it quick, with this:

Two Fridays ago at the Final Five, we were there for the most horrific, gut-punch of a hockey game I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot. (Remember Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA first round? That was nothing compared to this.) So I was understandably sick at the thought of the NCAA tournament. Then IT HAPPENED, and I am the happiest hockey fan on earth. We’re going to the Frozen Four!!

The second most awesome thing I did was visit the Neon Boneyard. It’s a gated lot next to the property that will be the Neon Museum later this year, if all goes as planned. The lot is packed full of old signs from around the city. I took about 70 photos there, so I’m still working on processing them. You should definitely do both of these things next time you’re in Vegas.

We did a bunch of gambling (and did surprisingly well at it), placed bets on Syracuse (me) and Kansas (Matt) in the NCAA tourney, got a lot of wandering in, watched Kevin Love win the 3-point competition at the same time the Gophers hockey team completed another sweep, and visited a new classic cocktail bar downtown, as well Jose Andres’ second restaurant, Jaleo. Also, Wendy and Amelia got engaged in front of the Las Vegas sign (and a crowd of onlookers, including a showgirl), so congratulations to them!

Since whatever time you spend in Vegas isn’t enough, we’re going to seriously consider going back this fall if Matt’s parents decide to go. (If not, I guess we can stick to our once-yearly pattern. SIGH.)

I had the very special joy of visiting new dentist last night. I’d been putting it off until my other doctor visits and testing were complete, because I can only deal with one medical item at a time.  The dentist, who was recommended by my coworker, was really great. My treatment plan is not; not only does he strongly recommend an implant instead of a bridge for my currently-missing tooth (which requires two surgeries, one for building up the bone and one for screwing it into my head), he said that my year-old crown is infected and needs to come out and also be replaced with an implant. So basically it’s a year-long process during which I’ll have not one but two missing teeth for a few months and owe something like $6,000.

THAT COSTS MORE THAN OUR 18-DAY HONEYMOON, FOR GOD’S SAKE.

I guess I should be done ranting about that now, because it’s just going to keep making me mad. At least they take American Express, so I’ll be well on my way to a second free plane ticket by the time this is all over with. (Three thousand for my MRI doesn’t hurt, either, but that’s way less painful since work reimburses it.)

I’ve worked from home twice this week (once because of a 1am flight, once due to weather). Tomorrow is our last day of bowling, and this weekend is the final series of the regular hockey season. If we sweep the Badgers (I don’t care how shitty they are this year, they’re the Badgers), you will find me out flipping and burning cars in Dinkytown. Why wait for our inevitable national championship, anyway?)

I finished 5 things in February 2012!

#73 Take another dance class with Matt (We learned west coast swing at Foster’s Champion Ballroom!)

#15 Visit the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas (Loved it, and took a million photos, though I need to finish posting them.)

#18 Talk to an adviser to develop a plan for business investing (Working with our adviser at work. This is all very exciting.)

#63 Jump off the Stratosphere inVegas (SO AWESOME)

#84 Buy fresh flowers for the house every week for a month (Why don’t we do this all the time? It’s really nice having them around.)

Items currently in progress:

#22 Make at least $100k income in a calendar year

#51 Have date night with Matt once a month (we had an awesome Valentine’s Day!)

#53 Re-watch 10 movies I love [4/10] (Monty Python and the Holy Grail. What?)

#61 Do the underground St Paul tour (we have reservations for March 24!)

#100 put $20 towards debt payoff for each completed task on this list, and $50 for each non-completed task ($120 for the 5 items in February, $1120 total)

Here’s the full list.

 
We watched the Friday game at home, and went to Mariucci Saturday. My coworker was there (in Tubby Smith’s reserved seats, for reasons I’m still unclear about), and offered us the two we weren’t using. We had a great view, even though it was weird to sit at a hockey game. Apparently she didn’t believe we were that committed to the Gophers, but she definitely knows that now.

It was also the 10th anniversary celebration for the 2002 National Championship, so a lot of the old team members were there. The best part is that we can do the same thing again next season.

Other accomplishments this weekend: watching the Timberwolves also be awesome, visiting Chris and Meg to meet baby Henry and drop off his sweater, lots of exercise, and shopping for vacation clothes. Since we’re planning on fancy dress-up night for Matt’s birthday (we have reservations for Jaleo in the Cosmopolitan), we picked out our outfits and then ended up piling everything else up for the trip. Even though they’re totally unnecessary, I’m excited to test our new backpacks as carry-ons before we go to Europe.

Today I received word that my brain is totally normal. I assumed that I probably didn’t have any tumors hanging around in there, but it’s always good to have that confirmed. That means my tinnitus can carry on being annoying, but not caused by anything life-threatening. I’m ok with that.

We have very little going on this week before our trip: haircut, dance class, bowling. Boring is good this time of year!