Been a while...  Some news:

-I am now basically done with classes (as of last week).  I'll probably take a seminar or two every term to keep somewhat engaged, but no more finals ever again!  On the other hand, I have scheduled my qualifying exam for the end of February.  This, plus some fellowship applications, necessitates finishing my thesis research proposal by mid-January.  This is somewhat stressful.  Especially when combined with Christmas, and the fact that:

-we are now homeowners.  We bought a place in Santa Clara (on Los Padres Blvd near ECR), and everything is final as of yesterday.  It's a pretty neat house, with a lot of potential for remodeling.  It's in good shape, though.  The yard is sizeable, with two pomegranate trees and one persimmon tree.  We've been steam-cleaning, fumigating, and other assorted pre-move-in tasks.  Once we're back from visiting the folks over the holidays, we'll commence moving in in earnest.  Hopefully by February we'll be in 'party at our place' mode.  Now we have a home for the Band!

Hope y'all are doing well...

Ok, it's been a while.  Some updating is called for:

-still in Sunnyvale, but we're starting the house-search process.  First have to get used to the idea of a mortgage, then work out the financial parameters, then try to find a good place around here somewhere (probably Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, or Cupertino).  With any luck, we'll have our own place by early 2009!

-Cam just finished her final (relatively inconsequential) bar-related test, so she should be sworn in as a lawyer within a few months.  Yay for her!  Her job is otherwise going well, particularly now that they've stopped overloading her with way too much work.  Considering that most of her coworkers go home at 5:30pm, it seemed a bit unfair that she was there until midnight 6 days a week.  (yes, I realize this is typical for litigation firms.  What's nice about the immigration firm is that they don't behave like that normally)

-I was up in British Columbia for two weeks going canoeing with my parents, brother & nephew, and aunt & uncle.  It was the same trip that we did two years ago, but my aunt and uncle really wanted to go and my folks owed them a nice trip.  Despite my pre-trip grumblings (I had to go since a few young folks were needed to do the heavy lifting), it was a blast.  Great weather the whole time, and we saw about a dozen moose, bald eagles actively fishing, and a family of otters.  Still no bears, which is both good and bad.

-Since I have no classes during the summer, I'm just hanging out down in Sunnyvale and working on research projects.  Annoyingly, my current funding source got canceled due to the CA budget crisis (I was technically working for CalTrans), but I can't complain too much since it didn't require any work anyway.  Still, I like to get paid for not working.  Classes start up again in late Sept, but I only have one final class this time around and it's an easy one.  The bigger challenge is getting a start on my dissertation research, drawing up a coherent proposal, and taking my qualifying exam in December (5 profs quiz you on various topics for several hours).  No more slacking!

-Of course, I still would love to get together with y'all once again.  And we have a band that needs reforming, though I guess GF's absence interferes with that somewhat.  Still, it'd be fun to play a bit regardless.

All righty then...

We've moved down to Sunnyvale, and I am once again living in my friend's downstairs apartment.  A bit cramped, but not without its benefits.  Cam's commute is <10min, and I'm going up to Davis by Amtrak.  I typically go up Tuesday morning and come back Thursday night, spending the intervening nights at the house of one of ecology dept. staff members.  She rents rooms out to students who need a flexible arrangement.  The train isn't bad, though I've had trouble working because of motion sickness (reading makes me nauseous when the screen shakes).  Also, last week there was a brushfire near the tracks which delayed us for 2.5 hours.  Luckily I didn't have to be anywhere early.

Spring term is pretty easy, since I did one of my classes over spring break.  A few projects, and nothing too bad.  Less than a month left, and then I've only got one class to go in the fall.  Better get cracking on my actual research!

Cam continues to enjoy her new job.  That's good.  Our current living arrangements are intended to be temporary.  The big question is: should we buy a place?  We're currently thinking of looking at duplexes, since the rental helps offset the mortgage.  Prices are pretty scary, though, so it'll probably take a few months to make a firm decision between that and renting.  Still, chances are we'll be down here for 2-3 years and it may be a good investment.

Let me know if you guys are up to anything cool.  I'm a bit closer to SF again.  I was hoping we could get the band going again, but I guess ginfiend's off to NYC...

So.  Normally when I sheepishly update I get to claim that you all are just as bad, but here you've been blogging up a storm all of a sudden.  Well, here we go:

-Big News! Cam has taken a job at an immigration law firm down in Santa Clara!  This is good for the ol' household income (and wifely happiness), but will suck from a commuting point of view.  We'll be moving down there by next month, and I'll end up taking the Amtrak about 2-3 times a week (or stay up in Davis those nights).  It's looking like we may (temporarily) live back in my old place in Sunnyvale, with my friend Brian.  Sort of odd...

-Otherwise, the winter term is over.  Went well.  I've got one more term of classes, then one minor class in the Fall before I take my quals.  This term should be easier, particularly since one of the classes took place over spring break so it doesn't even meet (just a presentation in May).  I'm taking marine ecology, bioeconomic modeling, and multivariate statistics.

-As mentioned above, I spent part of spring break out in Bodega Bay messing with sea anemones.  I'll be back up a few times this term to check on my experiment.  It's a pretty neat place, though rather windy.  After that, we went skiing at Mammoth.  It was Cam's first time skiing, and she enjoyed it a lot.  She's amazingly good after only a week; we skiied mostly on intermediate slopes by the end.

That's it for now.

Wow, I suck.  Luckily you guys suck more.

Anyways, the term went well.  Christmas was good; we were in Napa/Winters for a few days, then up to Humboldt afterwards for almost two weeks.  It was nice to relax at my folks' place.  We couldn't make it up in one day, though, because the pass south of Willits was closed due to snow.  Crazy!  I've driven up and down 101 for many years and have never encountered snow.  It was even snowing on the way back down, though not as heavily.

New term is good.  I'm enjoying my classes (core ecology, community ecology, more population ecology, and a seminar on synchrony in models).  I've got a few papers and projects to do, but I think I can successfully tie them in to my research plans and consequently make it an efficient way to get started.

My weekends are free for the foreseeable future, so I'm going to get a good amount of Katori practice in.  Plus Cam and I have started using the 'gym' in our apartment complex, so hopefully I will soon be less pathetically out-of-shape. 

Otherwise, nothing much to report.  Ursula La Guin kicks ass, but you guys probably know that.  I'd only read her Earthsea series, but have been impressed by her scifi recently.  Solid, old-school philosophical scifi.  Good stuff!

Movies we've seen recently:

-No Country for Old Men: well, Cam didn't see this.  Very good, but very bleak.  Definitely original.

-Juno: funny, well-written, well-acted.  Overall, a great little movie.

-Atonement: very well done.  Pretty depressing, but amazing cinematography in some parts.  Well-acted as well.

To round out the Oscars, 'Michael Clayton' was excellent as well, and we haven't seen 'There Will Be Blood' yet.

-Sweeney Todd: definitely just me, not Cam.  Beautiful, creepy, good production.  Not sure it's a classic, though.

-On the Waterfront (via Netflix): definitely a classic.  Story and acting hold up well, and showcase a powerful young Marlon Brando.  Not one of those 'what did everyone see in this one?' types of classics.

-The Searchers (ditto): interesting John Ford/John Wayne movie.  Beautiful scenery, good acting, and some complicated views on racism in the old West.  A classic as well.

-The Caine Mutiny (rented): Bogie at his best, acting-wise.  He plays a neurotic, paranoid ship's captain in WW2.  Good taught psychological drama, without even any real war scenes in it.

-Stranger than Fiction (rented): this is that Will Farrell comedy where he's a character in someone else's novel.  Amazingly, it's both very funny and quite poignant.  Helped immeasurably by Emma Thompson as the author.

-Happy Feet (rented for Cam's great aunt): pretty cute after all.

I think that's about it for now.