Week of Stress

I admit that it has been a long time since the last blog post.  A brief list of updates:

1. Neal left for California to go see Rene and Deborah's wedding.
2. Neal came back to Utah and moved into the new house, Fort Hewitt.
3. We made FH livable.  This includes building all the furniture and setting up the internet.

Side note about the internet.  The pricing system is opaque and deceptive, and it was frustrating to find.  If you're ever in that market, it's best to economize as much as possible.  There were only a couple of options for where we live, so we have 3 Mbps internet for about $24.95 a month.  Much better deal than Comcast's 15 Mbps for $59.95 a month.  The speed we have now is perfectly adequate...  We can still watch movies on Netflix (with a few more buffering interruptions than usual, but nothing too complaint worthy), our regular internetting activities are not affected, and we can still download TV shows overnight.  So, even speeds that look slow just by the numbers can fit your needs just fine.

As the title would indicate, this week has been absolutely insane as far as schoolwork for me goes.  Let me emphasize that it is not a good idea to take an advanced writing course and accelerated Latin in the same semester in which you get engaged.  There's almost no way to get all the work done on time.  I've had to ask for a couple extensions and weigh the costs and benefits of skipping quizzes just so I can get other work done.  This week has been spent almost in sole dedication to a research paper that I have due Wednesday.  Well, I'm almost done with all the research, but there are still about 8 pages that I need before then.  Luckily for me, Neal has been completely supportive through this whole academic trial.  He's encouraging about all my midterms (no matter how much I wring my hands over them), and we still find some time to relax and watch movies.  This week I've been introduced to Memento and No Country for Old Men.  Haven't finished the latter yet, but Memento was probably my favorite Christopher Nolan film so far.  Sure, Inception trumps it as far as technical film-making and action scenes go, but the storytelling was so much tighter in Memento that I have to give it that nod.  I still have issues with how Chris Nolan explained and executed the kicks in Inception, which is about the only thing keeping me from loving that movie fully.  Oh, well.

EDIT: We have edited films, I promise!  Also, Neal reminded me lovingly that Nolan also directed Dark Knight.  This makes my decision for favorite much more difficult...

Which reminds me.  We're at the busiest part of Oscar season right now, and Neal's really excited about this. I never followed the Oscars that much in the past, but I'm receiving excellent training in predictions and trivia.  I can now rattle off such facts as the most recent splits between Best Picture and Best Director, as well as some of the implications concerning a director's body of work that go along with Best Picture decisions.  It's still not my forte, but I'm able to appreciate this more.  If you really want to talk to someone about it, go to Neal.  He would love to chat about various movies and category predictions, I am sure.

Update about Neal's writing: yes, progress on Book 2 of Metagopolis has been put on hold, but Neal is now working on a short story, "Duckman," that he plans to submit to Leading Edge for consideration for next year's first issue.  Also, he's going to be working on polishing Book 1 for the next few months.  He's still spending what free time he has writing and working very hard at it.  :)

Lots of random points in here, but that's how it has to be after so long an interim.

--Nyssa

Hard Day's Work

I need to say up front and immediately that I am deeply appreciative of all the work that Neal has been putting into all the planning.  We spent about twelve hours yesterday picking up and constructing furniture, renting trucks, taking midterms, getting cars repaired, getting lost in suburban neighborhoods, and hauling heavy appliances around.  There were several points in the day where we got frustrated (driving around in the scariest manual truck of all time in the dark with almost no gas in its tank and almost no battery in the iPhone that was giving us poor directions in the first place), but there was no more satisfying feeling at the end of the day than sitting on the new couch and relaxing in the new apartment.  Granted, it's still completely filled with empty boxes and unopened furniture, but most everything is there now.  It's a livable place, and either Neal or I will start living there shortly.  Which of us that is, might still be up in the air.

The theme of this blog post demands that it be short, though.  I really want to feel like I've accomplished a lot in my school work by the time Neal gets back from California.  That gives me a week and a half to get working on all the long-term papers and projects and to settle back into the mundanity of household chores.  I may have been slacking.  Just a little.

Before I leave, though, I feel impressed to write about all the kindness we were offered during the day.  The men at RC Willey were very efficient and patient about loading the rented Home Depot truck, taking time to make sure that nothing would fall out before they sent us on our way.  Neal's friend Korance offered to help the two of us move furniture in and took time out of the middle of the day to haul the heavier pieces up and down stairs; a new neighbor Ty helped us with the couch on his way out the door.  Neal's aunt, uncle, and cousin stayed late at their auto repair shop to get Neal's radiator replaced before his long drive the next day.  Neal's coworker Austin lent us his truck without even a second thought and still showed great generosity when we had to take it back to him an hour and a half later than expected.  Janan, the woman we bought the washer and dryer from, helped us load them into Austin's truck, offering old sheets and boxes so that the appliances didn't get scratched and even helping us get the heavy machines down the driveway.  Our landlord and landlady Joel and Toni who helped us get the washer and dryer downstairs in the apartment when we were exhausted and just wanted the day to be finished.  I hope I included everyone in this list, but the help we received was miraculous, and it does not deserve to go unnoticed.  Thanks again to everyone, even if you may never read this.  The day was a success because of all of you, and Neal and I are blown away by the charity that we keep encountering.

Now, to work with me.

The pre-FHEs

"Impulsive" is not the first word that I would use to describe myself, usually.  But the past couple of Monday nights have made me pause to think, if only briefly.

The weekend of the eleventh of September was when Neal and I first started making veiled hints at marriage.  Sunday the twelfth, we stated it explicitly and started planning.  Well, now that we were decided that we were going to be a family together, going to family home evening with a bunch of new people in the ward seemed a little superfluous.  That Monday, I had tried to get my finger sized for a ring during a break between classes, and Neal texted me the suggestion that we go to Orem that evening.  So we found ourselves at Wilson's Diamonds.  I did use the finger-sizing keyring, but of course my eyes were drawn to one of the display cases that housed all kinds of the simple, white gold rings that I liked.  One ring stayed on my finger and under my adoring gaze for about five to seven minutes, so it was decided.  That was the one, and Neal signed the contract to pay that evening.  Perhaps a little bit more expensive an FHE than we had bargained for. 

The next (probably premature) step in the process was finding a place to live.  I had been researching compulsively since about the time we picked out the ring and making note of the apartments that I liked and the associated contact information.  FHE on Monday the 20th was supposed to be a drive around Provo to check out some of the listings I had collected, but the streak of blessed coincidences would not be broken.  We drove to a secluded part of Provo by the river and saw a For Rent sign.  Neal and I walked all around the advertised apartment and peeked into all the windows we could reach.  After a quick survey, I called the number on the sign and immediately started talking to the landlady about our interest in the place.  We met with her in person, and she told us that another person had talked about putting down a security deposit, but that she would call us later that evening if she and her husband decided they had spent too long waiting for the money.  And then, of course, walking through Smiths just an hour or so later, Neal and I received the phone call telling us that the apartment was ours for the taking.  We brought the security deposit down to the landlady and talked about when we should move Neal in and whether or not we could prorate October.  And that's how we came upon housing during our second FHE, before we were even officially engaged.

You know, though, I have thought about it, and I don't think this is impulsiveness at all.  I don't feel like I'm living life at all precariously, just that I'm making decisions that have to be made, and fast.  Everything is falling into place, and I'm just waiting for the surprise to hit me in the face one of these days.  If it ever does.

Tomorrow we're spending FHE looking for basic furniture.  Something tells me we might have something for Neal to sleep on in the new apartment before the week is over.

Foundation Laid

To preface the story, Neal and I met working at Leading Edge, the science fiction and fantasy journal published by BYU.  We were humble slush readers, spending at least two nights each week (and sometimes Saturday mornings) bemoaning the reveling in the short stories sent our way.  Perhaps I'll post more about how we met and started dating, but for right now, it's enough to know that no one at Leading Edge had any clue we were dating (we thought it would be more fun to sneak hand-holds under the table than to announce our relationship publicly to them) and that Leading Edge has a tradition of writing "Today is ______ Day" on the white board, obviously changing with movie premiers, holidays, and other themes.

So, Tuesday, September 21, 2010.  I had been studying in the library after school from 5:00 until 7:30, when LE starts.  I hadn't seen Neal all day and was slightly disappointed that I would once again have to pretend that we were no more than casual acquaintances after such a long day (I start work at 8:00 AM, just for your information.  Nearly every day is that long).  I walked up the stairs to the writing room, where Neal was sitting closest to the door, and I took the open seat to his right.  On the board he had written "Today is Multiple* Day(s)", with the asterisk referenced in another part of the board: "Will be explained later."

To be honest, I knew what was going on, and I knew that his proposal was going to happen tonight.  I got nervous initially about having our reveal of our relationship be asking for my hand in marriage, and I turned pretty clammy and excused myself to the bathroom to wash up a bit.  I came back up to the slush room and pretended to read "Seeking Kailash," which I had been working on for weeks and was only about halfway through.  Around 8:15, some voice around the table asked for the explanation with the asterisk, and Neal stood up.  My heart raced.  Apparently, we were both shaking at this point in time.

Neal erased "Multiple" from the board and rewrote the greeting to say "Today is Harvest Day."  He explained that this was one of the days fall equinox can land on in a year and that it was also the anniversary of when the angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith and told him that the harvest where we may begin to reap the rewards of what had been sown had begun.  This theme has personal significance to both Neal and me, and that's enough for divulging on this blog.  I knew what he was talking about, and everyone else kind of nodded and went along with it.

Neal erased this message and then changed the message to "Today is The Twist that No One Saw Coming Day."  Needless to say, he didn't do too much explaining on this point.  Everyone in the room provided their own witty commentary and movie references, as per usual.  I'm sure I heard something about "Inception" at some point in this brief conversation.

Finally, Neal erased the message one last time, writing on the board, "Today is Nyssa, Will You Marry Me? Day."

The room fell completely silent.  No one knew what to make of this; I'm sure they were wondering whether or not it was a joke.  Then Neal walked over to my chair, got down on one knee and presented me the ring box.  I'm sure he said something at that point, but my brain was so completely addled and racing that I don't much remember what was said after that, except that Joe thought that this was indeed a great twist.  I have yet to see Peter's reaction.  But really, still the most perfect moment and method I could have asked for.

Dear Neal,
You are amazing and I love you.  Let's get married or something.
--Nyssa

Info:
December 28, Oakland Temple.  Receptions still TBA.

Update:

I think that about sums it up.