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A wedding update you say???? The date is looming you say???? Well, here you go! As you may or may not know, Glen, who is the most involved groom I’ve ever met, was very specific about the invitations. So, it was his quest to design them. Putting this task off to the very last minute, as so often the best procrastinators do, it was a little bit of a stress-fest. We combed the internet for paper suppliers, finally finding one, choosing an invitation paper, and having it overnighted to us so that Glen could get right to work!

Well, spending a fortune in shipping meant we had to save money in the printing! So, this weekend we turned my room into a print shop. The cats were banned and the invitations came flying off of my printer at a stunning rate of 1 invitation per minute! For being printed on an inkjet, they look pretty good, if I do say so myself. They were allowed to dry for several hours while spread all over my bed, and then Glen would not allow them to be stacked too high overnight for fear of smearing. Well, the precautions paid off and we managed to ward off the smearing demon.

Those of you who are receiving invitations will note the following features: (Sorry strangers who may read the blog - we can’t invite everyone, especially if we don’t know you)

1. The font has been especially chosen so that you can read it. I know many people have forgotten how to read that ancient script called cursive long ago, and those people probably have signatures that have deteriorated into a series of loops, exemplified by Glen’s scrawl that he calls a signature.
2. Nowhere on the invitation will you find “two-thousand and three”. Yes, that’s right folks, we’re bucking convention, tradition, and etiquette and writing numbers as actual numbers on our invitations.

Did you enjoy this update? If so, perhaps I will begin a discussion as to what color the bridesmaids should get for their shoes…..

It was raining when I arrived in the desert today, which was very odd. The desert has a strong, musty odor when it rains, something that I had never experienced. Then again, I have only been to the desert a few times. This week I am in Prescott, Arizona, working on a few simulators at Embry-Riddle (the traveling “scam” continues, as a wise sister observed). I had the misfortune of flying into Phoenix, which is sprawling something fierce. The population seems to be exploding out here, judging by the number of new strip malls being constructed with names like “Frontier Village Center” (contents: one Wal-Mart, one Home Depot, and one Target) and the many half-finished, new subdivisions out among the cacti. In downtown Phoenix I noticed some of those big cacti (what are they called?) that had been planted much like the sad, sad palm trees in Ocean City, Maryland. Once outside the city, however, I discovered that they actually grow in the wild here. Huh. I also saw a roadrunner running across the road in front of me in the Prescott National Forest, but sadly there was no coyote chasing after it. Anyway, this seems to be a decent area, despite the desertness of it all. At least they have hills here.

In other news, the pace of the wedding planning has stepped up a notch. Maybe Rachel will provide an update if we beg her…

After agonizing for hours over which font to use on the wedding invitations, I am leaning toward Wingdings. Not only will the invitations be unique and non-scripty (my two requirements), but guests will experience the added joy of decoding the words.

We just watched Airport tonight, a true classic from 1970. Having watched Airplane more times than I can remember, it was like seeing Star Wars for the first time after becoming an expert on Space Balls — I knew every word when I was 12. What’s more, Airport was technically flawless, save the scene where they herded all of the passengers forward due to a broken tail. Obviously, they should have known that a forward CG would increase the static margin, thereby increasing the control force necessary for maneuvering. And why did the box feature a flaming aircraft with no landing gear, while the actual movie featured a safe, fire-free landing in the end? No matter, I’ll still watch it again.

Our friends upstairs have decided that 4 a.m. fights and needless stomping are no longer sufficient to keep us awake, so they recently purchased a small, yappy dog. He is yapping right now. Maybe it isn’t such a tragedy that our new apartment does not allow dogs.

As discouraged as the aerogeek readership — six humans at last count — may be at the recent posting drought, let us not forget the real victims here: Otto and Lili. I have not posted a cat update in more than two months, thus allowing unspeakable crimes against cats to go unreported. I first became aware of these terrible acts last night, when Rachel blasted me for playing too roughly with Otto. How ignorant I had been, blissfully unaware that my violent tendencies could have resulted in twisted legs, bumped skulls, or worse; these cats have but one life. As for the frequent cat fights that result in loud screaming and flying tufts of fur, I have learned that they are natural. Dropping the cat onto a fluffy duvet, on the other hand, is unnatural and should be avoided at all costs. Assuming this post makes it past the censors of Apt. A, you can expect a reply from the opposition (hint: not the cats).

In other hair-related news, I am pleased to announce that my Crayton genes are finally kicking in. Today’s haircut revealed that my hairline is beginning to recede, right on schedule. Excellent.