The beginning of a road trip

Well, greetings from Dr. And Mr! 

We have lived through a difficult move and are now headed to upstate New York, for the shortest of visits. We head to Buffalo tomorrow for the final stages of Zheng's immigration. Our interview is the last step into his getting a green card. The process has been arduous, time-consuming, and expensive.

So we will be happy to have this behind us. After that, we head to Albuquerque! With some visits along the way. 

I will catch-up with graduation and moving posts, but I figured I should post regularly on the trip. I know that if I get caught up on what I "didn't" write, nothing will happen. ("The perfect is the enemy of the good," Voltaire wrote long ago. I definitely agree!). 

We will share our adventures, and playlists, photos and tales. 

On the road, 

K and Z

Patience

Said, woman, take it slow

And things will be just fine

You and I'll just use a little patience. 

(Guns-N-Roses)

I waited patiently for The Lord; 

        he turned to me and heard my cry. 

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, 

        out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

        and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, 

        a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

        and put their trust in The Lord. 

(Psalm 40: 1-3, NIV)

About a week ago, I was feeling the weight of the world in a very serious way. I realized the I was over my threshold of two major things and was enduring daily requirements along with three major pressures:

1. My husband's and my application for his green card, adjustment-of-status, and persevering through endless red tape. The process is tiresome, thankless, and very expensive.

2. I have been networking, applying, and researching about job opportunities, post-doctorate. The jobs have come in all shapes, sizes, salaries, and locations.

3. I'm still waiting on my comprehensive exam results. 

Yesterday, something happened that allowed me to have a *little* more patience. One of the jobs came back with a "nibble" and said that I've been advanced to the semi-finals. There is still much more work to do, but Zheng and I are relieved at this bit of good news. 

Our friend Bob, who was also the "great man" at our wedding, says that he teaches patience. He reminds us that he does not "practice" it. 

I totally understand. 

A Shot in the Arm

Greetings from Rochester, where we are knee-deep in:

(1) no(!) snow - at the moment

(2) comps preparation

(3) preparation for Syracuse Opera (my next production begins rehearsals this Wednesday)

(4) Paleo-Whole30 lifestyle, including cooking and eating cleanly, and abstaining from old habits. Like "no Java's cookies." (Java's is a coffee shop with FANTASTIC large cookies that I frequently bought and ate during my entire degree. Sometimes they were lunch, and in my defense, I would often by them, eat HALF, and save the other half at least until after a gym visit.) Whatever. That is over now, and I am on Day 8 of Paleo-Whole30. It is great.

(5) ongoing preparation of Zheng's immigration process. This includes the joy of getting testing for him of tuberculosis and syphillis, in addition to translating and certifying Chinese immunization records. We had a lot of good laughs about what diseases where called, what the symptoms were, and how you got them. 

We also got a great laugh at Walgreens, when Zheng had to get a flu shot (and then get proof that he got one).

WaW (Woman at Walgreens): Can I help you?

ZY: I would like to get a flu shot, please.

WaW: Well, what dosage?

ZY: What do you mean? It's just for me.

WaW: Are you over 18?

[insert erupting laughter from KDY and ZY here)

ZY: Here's my driver's license.

WaW: Oh (blushes). Well, then the normal adult dosage.

Good humor is sometimes just the "shot in the arm" that we need.

PHOTO: Sweet potato hash browns with fried eggs. Putting some new recipes, and our WONDERFUL double-sided Crate and Barrel griddle to good use!