Annoucement

Most of you have probably heard by now - but for those of you who haven't, here's the good news: I'm engaged! It happened Thursday afternoon around 4:00pm. Ryan got my boss in on the whole thing and had her set me up in a meeting right until I got off of work. My mom then swooped down on me and whisked me out of the office and deposited me in the middle of St. Joseph's Rose Garden where Ryan was waiting for me. It was beautiful - all the roses were blooming, there were hanging baskets full of these bright, beautifully smelling flowers and this exotic fishpond with white lilies floating in it. He actually got down on two knees, not just one, and asked me to marry him. It was great. I didn't know whether to laugh at it all or cry. I chose to laugh - it was a good laugh. The kind you do because you're so happy and something fabulous has just happened - and partly because you're boyfriend's face alternates between a white pale color and a deep red. :)

We're currently planning on getting married on January 12th at BCC - we're getting details and everything else all figured out. It hasn't really hit me yet, all the stuff that we need to do and get all the money plans, a place to live, gowns, shoes, suits, food, etc, etc. HUGE amount of things to discuss and finalize - there's probably stuff that we need to do that I've never even thought of. AHHHHHH! But it's not too bad because I'm so exited and I just can't stop smiling.

Philosophy of Loneliness and Books

"I have a theory about why I'm so good at sleeping. Maybe you've figured that one out, too. I am utterly and blissfully alone. But that's not all; that's not the entire philosophy. There are a lot of parts to this. Because, you see, I'm not really alone. I've got books. Not just the physical presence of books, though they're obviously attractive and warm. I mean the people, the stories, the active intelligence of whatever I'm reading. People who go to bed alone often have a TV playing. They say it keeps them company, assuages the pangs of solitude, but in fact, it doesn't work that way. When you read a book, you fully and completely enter a universe. Your mind is an energetic participant in the written language. It cannot be otherwise. But when you watch television, you cannot enter that world. You always remain on the outside looking into the screen, and the screen is the wall blocking your entrance. And so the television makes you horribly aware of the very thing you wish to escape: your loneliness."

Carr, Josephine. The Dewey Decimal System of Love. New York: New American Library. 2003.