Farewell, Happy Birthday, and Good Night

We are a little bit sad, a little bit happy, and a whole lot full! We attended two social events this evening: one farewell supper for our friends Jason and Miranda and one birthday party for my colleague Suzanne. Jason has accepted a job at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY, so they're moving tomorrow and hosted a final get-together for their friends this evening. Of course it was sad to say goodbye, but it's always exciting to think of new beginnings in better jobs. We wish them all the best!

Jason, Arabella, and Miranda

Suzanne's birthday isn't until Wednesday, but our friend Michelle invited her over to her home for supper this evening and then surprised her with cake . . . and with other guests! We popped over after supper with Jason and Miranda and enjoyed visiting with Suzanne and the others, drinking wine, and eating cake (lemon poppyseed with cream cheese frosting, made by another colleague, Paul).

Our daughters were reminded in advance of the dictum, "Children should be seen and not heard." Yet at both locations, they flouted it! Which was just fine, actually. They played with Jason and Miranda's two-year-old daughter, allowing the adults to visit rather than keep an eye on her; and at Michelle's, they visited with the adults seated near them and kept them amused, I think, with their stories and vocabulary. These girls just can't resist an opportunity to visit! They wouldn't have gotten by well in Victorian England.

Three Events

Let's review the social calendar from the past couple days . . . anything fun? Yep!

• Susan and I went to the movie theater to see The Dark Knight on Thursday. She hadn't seen its predecessor, Batman Begins, so I caught her up beforehand on the backstory and plot. The Dark Knight has gotten great reviews, and I agree with them. I was engrossed throughout and loved the strong cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman. Dark plot + dark characters = The Dark Knight.
• Our family made an appointment to watch the opening ceremony for the Olympics on NBC last night. It was so-o-o-o impressive! We were amazed by the beauty and artistry (and synchronization!) of the performers and how well the technology enhanced the art. 15,000 performers in the opening ceremony? $300 million budget for the opening ceremony alone? It was educational and inspirational at the same time. We also stuck around the TV set for the Parade of Nations and got a few geopolitical lessons, too ("That's a country now? Since when?!").
• After the Olympics had opened and the last country had marched into the Beijing National Stadium, I joined some friends at Liquid Assets, a smoke-free lounge in Dickinson, to say goodbye to one of them. Corey is moving to Baltimore, MD to work at Johns Hopkins University in residential life. It's sad to bid friends farewell, but this sounds like an excellent opportunity for him that will be much closer to home, too.