Flickr Stuff

We've been getting some feedback about the pictures on Norah's Flickr page saying that it's hard to see the new photos because they are all in one set. Well, they're not anymore! I just went through and updated Norah's Flickr Page so that it's easier to navigate. (For you Flickrites... I just separated the Norah pictures into a bunch of sets and then threw them all into a Norah Photos collection. The link takes you right to the collection where you can view all the sets available.)

Rach, Norah and I all keep a link to her album on the right hand side of the blogs. Feel free to take a look if you want to.

Oh, and if you want me to send you email reminders when we post new pictures, just send me an email saying so, and I'll put you on a list of people to email when we put up new photos. I'll also toss up a new post every time we put up photos telling folks to take a look if they want to.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions, let me know.

By the way, we just posted half of the Utah photos. We'll put the rest up when we get back to Wheeling.

Amazing Photograph

So, we just got back from the Great? Salt Lake here in Utah. More on that later.

When we got back, I was looking for some photos of the Lake and I wandered into Flickr where I happened upon this amazing photograph. I'm stunned by the sheer beauty of this picture, and wanted to give the photo some time on the blog. Rather than give you the actual photo, I'm giving a link to the page hoping that some people will look around at this guy's other pictures... he has some real great pics.So, here is a link to the photo that took my breath away.

We forgot the cord for our camera, so I won't be posting any pictures of anything until we get back.

That's all.

Voluntary Bump

Rach, Norah and I got to Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport yesterday at 6:00am. We checked in and flew to Nasville, TN on the first leg of our trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We had a brief layover during which we ate breakfast, and got on a 10:30 flight to Denver, where we would have stayed on the plane, and gone to Salt Lake City. After boarding, there were about ten or twleve people standing in the aisle who did not have seats. The attendants were looking around trying to figure out whether or not they'd been overbooked, and I told one of the attendants that if there was a direct flight to Salt Lake leaving later in the day, we would be willing to take that. She said she'd get back to me. Then, another attendant said over the loud speaker "There was a couple volunterring to go to reschedule for a later flight to Salt Lake, if you're still interested, there is a flight leaving at 11:30 and we could use a few seats." So, I said "Let's do it." (Rachel was not in favor of this idea.)

We left the plane and went to the counter to get rerouted, and the woman there informed us that the next flight left at 3:30. (Mind you, it's just about 11:00 now.) I told her that we thought we'd be taking the 11:30 flight, so she changed the ticket, and booked us on the 11:30 flight. She told me we would have to go to Oakland, and catch the 3:30 to Salt Lake from there. But, they paid us the cost of our tickets plus $400, so I said sure. (And felt like I'd just won a game show.)

We then got on an 11:30 (Central) to Oakland, and met someone who makes music videos on the plane. Her name is Deanna Kay and she lives in Nashville and Oakland. She was really, really nice and patient with Norah. Very nice lady, Rach and she got along great. I couldn't hear much of what she said, but Rach said she was nice. At 3:30 (Pacific) we landed in LAX, and Rachel, Norah and I left the plane. (Do the math. We were on the plane forever.) We walked around LAX for a minute, and I realized, Los Angeles is not Oakland. We went back to the plane and realized that the flight to Oakland stopped in LA first. So, we reboarded the plane, and flew to Oakland. (Mind you, LAX to Oakland is an hour and a half flight. Our flight in Oakland was supposed to take off at 3:50... we are just now leaving for Oakland at 3:00. So, we have 50 minutes to make a 90 minute flight.)

Luckily for us (and not for the passengers of the Oakland to Salt Lake flight) they decided to hold the plane until we got there because there were about ten of us who were redirected. When we got on board the Oakland to Salt Lake, it was just about 4:30. We took off shortly thereafter and arrived in Salt Lake at 6:30 (Mountain.) (8:30 Eastern) So, from 6:00am to 8:30pm, Rach, Norah and I were jumping flights and going across the country. It was an exhausting, but (to me anyway) fun day.

I just now realized, that for the first, and hopefully last, time in my life I put my feet on the ground in every time zone in the Contiguous States. Cool. Here's a Google Image of where we have been in the past two days. (Including the drive from Wheeling to Cleveland.)

Let me just say, Salt Lake looks amazing. The mountains here are unreal. I knew the Rockies were pretty, but I had no idea they were this majestic. I can't wait to get out and snap some photos. I'll post again soon.

Unicorns, Utah, and the KT Boundary.

That's right! We're going to Utah!

My sister-in-law Amanda and her husband Andrew live in Utah with their baby boy Caleb. Rach, Norah and I will fly out there tomorrow (Thursday) to visit. It will be Norah's first plane ride, and I'm excited to see how that goes.

I am looking forward to Utah, I don't know much about the area where Amanda and Andrew live, and I'm wondering if it will look like the picture in my head.

This is the picture in my head. Only, it's not in my head, it's on the internet. The picture in my head is much more fuzzy and has a unicorn.

This is the picture in my head.

Andrew is a geologist, and I've been bugging him for months now to show me the KT boundary when we get there. He says it's not visible in the areas around him, but I don't believe that trash. It's Utah! There's strata after strata of exposed bedrock! There's gotta be some KT nearby. If we find some, I'm going to put it in a bottle, and use it to clone dinosaurs. I'll keep my fingers crossed, I don't care what Andrew says. What does he think he is? Some kind of geologist or something?

Anyway, we're excited to be on a little vacation, and I hope Utah is everything I dream it could be. If it's not, I'll buy underpants.

University of Chicago

This is Swift Hall, home of the University of Chicago's Divinity School.

I received a letter in the mail today from the University of Chicago's Divinity School. The letter read as follows:

Dear Mr. Elek,

On behalf of the Dean and the faculty of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago I am delighted to offer you admission to the Master of Arts in Divinity (A.M.) program beginning with the academic year of 2008-2009. We are confident of your academic and professional promise and sincerely hope that you will choose to become a student here.

Yadda... yadda... yadda...

I can't believe it. That beautiful campus in that beautiful city with those beautiful buildings holding those beautiful minds and those beautiful books... I get to go there. I get to study with those people. I get to hear incredibly intelligent people talk about incredibly heady things and pretend like it's not all just going over my head... I can't wait. I am as excited as I think I have ever been. I get to study again, I get to write papers again, and discuss things again. I cannot communicate emphatically enough how excited I am to begin my studies. I want to sign up for my classes right now so I can get in touch with my future professors and ask them what I should read to prepare.

Rachel, Norah, and I will all be living in Chicago by September God willing. I can't wait. I really, really, can't wait. This is how I felt when Rachel said she'd marry me.

Yay.

Johann Lippowitz

Sean Savage just told me about a mime named Johann Lippowitz. If you've ever seen a crappy "mimed" version of a song, I'm sure you'll appreciate this guy. I was in absolute stitches watching him. I think the funniest thing about this guy is his comedic timing... brilliant. I'm sure you'll enjoy.

*Warning: I would rate these at PG-13.* If that matters to you.

"Torn" By Natalie Ambruglia




"Don't Look Back in Anger" By Oasis




"Wherever I lay my Hat" By Paul Young