The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Just in time for Lenten tradition. The Prodigal Blogger has returned. Please forgive me for squandering your patience and attention. I have been off to distant lands and consumed by many arduous tasks. Too many stories to share in one post, but you will hear about my adventures over the next few weeks.

First, the boring stuff (mostly all of Dec)... I were holed up at home writing essays day in and day out while Jen would help me edit them. I had a total of 18 essays to write in 30 days. Let me tell you that was one of the hardest tasks I have ever completed. By the end of it all, I didn't think I write another complete sentence, but here I am, blogging again.

During the down time between revisions, Jen occupied herself by booking our celebration vacation to Spain and Morocco. What an adventure that was as our first round of plane tickets were canceled on us just days after we booked our second and third legs. :P Jen was so stressed, and I couldn't offer much relief with all that was on my plate. In the end, Jen successfully secured us flights from Washington, DC to Casablanca, Morocco for less then $600. (If you've ever looked into flights to Africa, you know that's a steal.)

We only left one week between the last application submission and our departure but somehow I conned myself into dedicating that time to installing recessed lighting for my parents. Apparently, I don't know when to rest. But somewhere in there, I got an email from Carnegie Mellon requesting an interview. Only 3 days after I sent my application! It worked out perfectly too because on the return trip from Spain we had intended to make a pit stop in Pittsburgh to tour the school. Now, I had an interview as well.

Fast forward to the night of Jan 15. We stayed up all night printing our itineraries and still had to make last minute reservations for flights and hotels. I didn't even start packing my luggage until 4 hours before our flight. On top of it all, I also had to prepare my suit to be sent out to Pittsburgh because I didn't want to drag it all over Morocco and Spain. (Thank you so much, Seth, Laura, and Allan!) Well, by the mercy of god, we made to the airport on time. Thus begun our three week adventure where we had 13 flights, 4 delays, 2 cancellations, 1 plane crash, and lost our luggage in the first 10 hours. But I'll spare you the details for this post. In the meantime, check out the first few photos I've posted on Flickr. I took 2100+ photos (Thanx, Alex, I love the new camera.), so bear with me as I process them all... he he...