Springtime for Pocky and Evanston

Pocky's desire to be outside has become insatiable. If she's not staring out of our windows, she's by the door whining to go for a walk. Who can blame her though? She suffered through her first winter, and lives with two geeks who study night and day.

Eric flew in during his spring break two weekend ago, and I think we gave him a decent tour of Chicago despite our unusual schedules. I think you really get to know people as a tour guide better than just hanging out. We've had Eric the historian, Laura the artist, Mom and Dad the food connoisseurs, Frosty the sportsman and 'git r dun' man, Robby the environmentalist (and cold weather enthusiast), Adam the pop culture guru, Mom Newton the shopper (and warm weather enthusiast), and Shannon the explorer... among others. Of course, with Eric also being a vegetarian, we had to keep in mind the restraints in Chicago. Carl Sandburg didn't call us the "city of big shoulders" or the "hog butcher of the world" without reason. I think Eric found that out best when we passed cattle in the back of a truck next to the Sears Tower! (Perhaps also when we told him Chicago's famous foods are the Italian beef, polish sausage, hot dog, and deep dish "Chicago sausage" pizza. Needless to say, sometimes we had to search a little for a restaurant!)

Rachel is nearing the end of her semester, and as one of her professors' wives is having a C-section this week, will already have finished one class. As for me, I have a long ways to go since a quarter can feel like an eternity at Northwestern(Furman kids know what I'm talking about). But as usual, I really love all my classes, and the real problem is just that there aren't enough hours in a day to get all the work done. C'est la vie!

Oh, which reminds me... I've applied for scholarship to study in Paris near the end of the summer. Cross your fingers, because I find out if I'm in next Monday!