Big News

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Hazel and I are now engaged.

About a month ago I asked her out to the dark tower of the Death Star to watch the sunset, as we did on one of our first dates four years ago. As the sun sank down in the west and the sky darkened with swarming crows, I held her tightly in my cape and asked her to marry me, and she accepted. She had often asked me before why I hadn't proposed yet--I was, of course, waiting for the appropriate dramatic moment, because it *has* to make a good story. Ultimately I decided I might as well take initiative and *make* the right moment myself. It seemed to work quite well. :-)

Afterward, I showed her my office in the math department (decorated mainly with gifts from her--the Klein bottle, the spherical chalkboard, and a lovely picture of Hazel dancing in Rennie garb from D&E's wedding), and we went out to see The Incredibles. Good movie, and a wonderful evening with my darling fiancée.

We'll be getting married this August, at which point we'll have been together for over five years. Go us!

Heh. I *like* monogamy.

Love you, Hazel.
-=-Barnabas

I've joined the Junior Clocksmith Brigade!

Well, I've now finished my first quarter of grad school, with everything turned in. Go me!

I flew south a few days ago, and now my brother and I are staying at my parents' place for a couple of weeks. My dad recently had a rather major operation for a clogged artery--a serious problem, but they put in a stent to reopen it and he seems to be doing well. He'll need to be careful for a few months, though.

Next week Hazel will be visiting so we can hang out with my family and look into some churches in the area as possible wedding locations. Some of my cousins will also be visiting at the same time, so we'll have plenty of family to hang out with. :-)

This morning I went over to my grandparents' house to learn the basics of clock repair from my grandpa. It's a very interesting subject, and he's quite skilled at it. A good teacher, too. I feel like I've learned a lot. The classic clock gearbox is a fascinating and complicated machine; it's amazing how everything fits together, and equally amazing how small an error can shut down the entire system. I think clocksmiths had an intuitive grasp of basic chaos theory long before mathematicians even knew it existed. I look forward to learning more; it feels *good* to be learning a trade, even if it's not the one I'll be making my career.


Tickticktickticktickticktickticktick.
-=-Barnabas