News and Updates

So the last couple of weeks have been pretty exciting, if not enjoyable. Our long-time friends Amy and Max came to pay us a visit at the end of their month-long whirlwind European tour. Since the weather has finally turned nice, we had a great time showing them around the city and in general just hanging out and relaxing. For my part, I was able to get my term papers done early so that I could take a little vacation while they were here, and likewise Ryan was able to get off work. It was a little strange at first to have our 'old' and 'new' lives colliding (old friends in a new place) but it was really a great time and a comforting bit of home so far away.

In other news, I have begun to work seriously on my dissertation, doing secondary research, scoping out primary source materials and starting to write up the first chapter. I just got a new copy of Office 2004, which will work with my citation management software. Hoping it will be more stable than the old copy of word 2000 I had which would randomly shut down and cause me to lose my work every hour or so. Unlike my last thesis, I am trying to get started this time around all organised and set up properly from the start so that I can hopefully be more efficient and avoid headaches. I will let you know how that goes!

Some sad news, Ryan's grandmother (Petrich) who has cancer has been doing very poorly. With the help of his parents he will be traveling back to the USA for the last week of May (5-24 to 6-4) to spend time with his family, especially Marcelle, while he has the chance. He hopes that he will also have time to catch up with friends too, so keep an ear out and your schedules open because you will likely hear from him.

This next weekend we are embarking on our first real bike tour of Scotland, exploring the East Lothian reigon on our way to visit Ms. Graisbery (still not sure if she changed her name and if so what it is) and her new husband in Dunbar, on the eastern coast (30 to 50 miles each way depending on route). We will be passing through a lot of fantastic scenic areas so lots of pictures are sure to follow. If this little trip goes well, will we definitely be doing more, perhaps along the Scottish coast from Berwick Upon Tweed back up to Edinburgh, and from Glasgow up to Inverness. We figure its best we get a real taste of Scotland while we can, and considering that we've hardly been out of Edinburgh so far, we can't wait.

Finally, for those of you who have any interest in our newfound athletic exploits--- although health problems have considerably stemmed our running ambitions for the season, we are still planning on running on a relay team at the Belfast Maraton (5 to 10 miles each), and then doing as much as we can at the Edinburgh marathon at the end of May, with a goal of 15 miles. For a first attempt, I think it has been a great experience and we are definately going to try again next year, maybe in the London Marathon. We will probably continue running a bit during the summer, but as soon as May is over we are planning to do more cycling instead. No matter what, we are certainly feeling more fit than ever and in a country where obesity and its related illnesses are just as rampant as in the USA, feeling pretty good about our lifespans.

Ok then, signing off for now. We love you all, and hopefully next week will have much more to share!
Alletta (and Ryan too)