It's hard to know what to write today. I know so many people who attended the Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, and I imagine that some of them were there today during the shooting. I didn't know either of the two people who died, but it's a small town. And having something happen in a community like that is always...shocking. I'm trying to figure out the what to write to the people at my law firm. Everyone I know who attended that church was so incredibly generous in their work and life. And in an area of the South where a lot of difference wasn't accepted, the Unitarian church worked to include everyone. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

A lot went on this weekend. Yesterday we went to a party and to Mike's Mom's wedding. They planned it within a month and a half; I have to say that it was really well put-together. The ceremony was just the right size and they didn't do a lot of the annoying wedding stuff that takes up a lot of time. There was food, dancing, cake, ice cream and cookies. Mike and I even got a little salsa dancing in. Afterwards, we went to another party. I couldn't think of eating another thing, but it was fun to play with kids and see people from Mike's work.

We also saw Batman: The Dark Night on Friday night. I have to say that we almost went back again and saw it last night, but I didn't think I could drive home after; I was so tired. Really, Heath Ledger's performance is unbelievable. He makes the Joker seem so human -- thus, it's really quite frightening on a different level. If you havne't seen it, I highly recommend it.

There are several reasons why I no longer wish to live in the South. The heat is just one of them. But today and more specifically now, I join Cooper in the discomfort of having to live in the North without central air. It's really damn humid out -- still not as humid in Tennessee, but not even the cave dwelling known as my house can cut out humidity when it lasts for as many days as it has. So I sit and sweat. Cooper gets up, grabs a toy, plops right back down, and proceeds to play with the least possible effort. Then, he stops and concentrates on breathing for awhile. Yes, the bedroom is air conditioned. But who wants to be shut up there all the time? And in this heat/humidity, can one even think of eating a thing called dinner? When I look at weather.com, I know it lies -- that both the temperature and more importantly the humidity are higher than the stated results. It's like they want you to suffer more; they present you with lower results to make you feel unworthy of complaining. And I suppose in some parts of the world, this is cool. But I'm an Irish girl and my Irish genes were simply not used to this heat.

Enough. In actual news, I'll be going to Denver next week for a conference. Oh yes, I have to write a paper before then, and I'm trying to figure out how to cut down a few dissertation chapters into one paper. This is a tad bit more difficult than cutting a seminar paper down as there is more material. But this is why one only leaves oneself one week. It takes the time you have and no longer.

Cheers. Stay cool. M.

What an illustrious weekend. We started out by going to dinner at one of the trendy Chinese/Indian fusion restaurants in New York -- Chinese Mirch. The taste was everything you enjoy about both cuisines. Oddly enough, we were meeting two friends there, but two more people whom Mike knows from work showed up there at exactly the same time -- completely randomly. So we had a lovely time eating with them as well. Then, we went to an apt building in New York City (the friends we went to dinnner with did an apartment switch with a couple they know for the weekend -- they live right on a lake in the country and the other two live in Manhattan). We joined them in the Manhattan apartment, which has a common balcony on the side that views the river. And we saw what was undoubtedly the best fireworks show I've viewed before in my life. On top of new technology in fireworks I really can't explain, there were smiley faces, stars, and cubes. Then, after that we went salsa dancing at Gonzalez y Gonzalez. Some of the people there are just absolutely incredible. I don't know how the men can lead and ladies can follow like that. We returned on the last training after practicing our salsa moves in Grand Central Station.

On Saturday we awoke late and then traveled to Bristol, CT to attend Mike's father's 4th of July party. They have a pool, but it was really too cold and rainy for us to go swimming. We returned to NY and visited a party that was supposed to still be going on with people from Mike's work. But it was over. We still had a couple drinks with the owner of the house, who coincidentally had the same sink in his bathroom that we are planning to install in our downstairs bathroom. It was nice to see that sink "in action."

Today we are focused on work and house stuff. So it's not as fun. But Friday was definitely one of the best 4th of Julys ever!