kiiiiiirsten.

What a weekend. I'm not sure how to begin or where to end, but there's plenty to say, that's for sure.

I finished all things school-related on Thursday morning, then spent the day not cleaning, though that had been my plan. Instead, I ran around, giddy and stupid and listening to Christmas music.

Ben got into town at 8:30 or so, and we were both hungry, so we went to Rotellis for dinner. Yum. We got back, watched some t.v. and talked for awhile, then decided to go to bed since the van was picking us up at 6:30 a.m.

Dr. Sunquist arrived as scheduled, so Ben and I joined the rest of the gang (Dr. Burgess, the Beckers and Matt Bell) and we left for Philly, but not before making a much-needed stop at Starbucks. We got to Philly and I got checked into the hotel with no problem. Everyone dropped their stuff in my room temporarily, and we went to hear Dr. Purves speak. It was a talk on Tom Torrance, and it was really fantastic. Quite interesting, very involving. Afterwards, I went with Ben to get him checked into his hotel, which took no time at all. In the middle of that, I received phone calls from both Jackie (and Suzy & Rich, with whom she was driving) and Erin, wanting info about the hotel and key pickup, etc. So, Ben and I waited in the hotel lobby until the Vitales and Jackie showed up, at which point we did the whole key thing and Jackie got settled. The other PTSers arrived as well, and we headed out to dinner. But, when Erin called, she mentioned a get together with the ASOR folks at 7, so Ben and I made plans to grab a taxi and go down there...especially when we learned that both Erin and Michael would be present. Also, Dale and Dave ended up coming.

It was inexplicably great to see everyone again. We spent a lot of time talking about Israel and laughing about people and silly moments that happened over our 5 weeks together, but we also talked about new stuff...creating new memories and whatnot. Of course, I was particularly excited to see Michael since he had such an enormous impact on me in Israel, and since his life is now completely different (what with the hurricane and all). We spent a few hours at this place, Sugar Mamas, then headed our seperate ways...all in hopes that we might randomly run into each other on Saturday, but satisfied knowing that, if nothing else, we would all meet up again on Sunday night.

Saturday arrived, and I went to a few lectures, then somehow found Dave and Dale. Almost right after, I saw Michael walking by (seriously miraculous given that there were thousands of academics roaming about in a poorly-designed convention center/hotel). He suggested meeting up for dinner, so we all did so and enjoyed an evening at the Philly Hard Rock. Then, a few of us went back to Sugar Mamas, with the expectation of meeting up with Michael again. However, when he didn't show for an hour, we left (we found out the next morning that he arrived within 2 minutes of our departure).

Sunday, we woke up at went to hear Dr. Tappy's presentation about Zeitah (the very general presentation, as opposed to the in-depth discussion of the abecedary that would follow that evening). The room was packed, but most of the Zeitah people made it in there...and of course, we were all excited to see our picture on the slideshow! Later in the morning, Ben, Jackie, Dale, and I went over to the Liberty Bell to be a bit touristy, but headed back soon after so as to avoid missing any football. Of course, the Browns weren't on and the Bengals came on after we had to leave, so Ben and I were both bummed. At least the Brownies won! AND the Steelers lost! Hurray!

4:30 came about, so Ben, Jackie, and I headed to Caribou Cafe to eat dinner with all of the PTS people (for free! Yes!). It was really quite good--French cuisine, etc. The presentation was really very stunning. Because we were so antsy, the three of us left early to get to Dr. Tappy's presentation. We arrived at the convention center and saw Madeleine and Connie, then, shortly after, found Michael, Dave, Dale...and...DAN! No one but Dr. Tappy knew he was coming into town, but there he was! It was good to catch up. Then, a bit later, I was headed to the restroom, but that was averted when I saw...ERIC! Soooo, 11 of us from this summer's Zeitah team all sat together to hear about the big find...and we all felt a bit of satisfaction since we were a part of it all. Plus, Dr. Tappy gave accolades to both Michael and Dan, which was so good for him to do--especially for Michael as he interviews for new positions across the country. Any school would be lucky to snag him.

After Dr. Tappy's presentation finished, and upon some very good advice, I decided to make my rounds and talk to whomever I could. I was reintroduced to Dr. P. Kyle McCarter, an epigrapher at Johns Hopkins, by his friend who remembered me from our earlier meeting in Pittsburgh. I met Dr. John Strong from Missouri State, who is good friends with both Dr. Tuell and Dr. Creach (2 of my profs at PTS), and who taught Erin when she was working on her masters there. Plus, I chatted with several of my own professors--Dr. Purves volunteered his time to help me figure out all of this PhD stuff, and was particularly anxious to discuss the possibility of my studying somewhere in Europe (namely the UK for him, as he's Scottish). Both Dr. Tuell and Dr. Creach (and his wife Page, who's fantastic) suggested that I look into the program at Harvard--they both said they were convinced that I could handle it, and that it seems to really fit the kinds of interests that I have.

The long and short of it is this: I am feeling incredibly encouraged to move forward with this PhD business--it's one thing to receive affirmation from my friends, but to have 5+ professors do the same, and/or to volunteer their advice and time to help out is really encouraging.

The night, I thought, was going to end at the Independence Bar with many of the Zeitah crew members. Ben, Michael, and I talked for an hour or so, then both Michael and I decided to leave. We hugged and said our goodbyes (though not for too long--it looks like New Orleans may be a "go" after all), and I walked home smiling, so thrilled with the chance to be able to spend some time with everyone.

Snuggled into bed, I awoke with a start when Erin came in...followed by Dale, Ben, and Dan. They all attacked me and demanded I joined in on all of the fun. Once I had the chance to actually wake up, I wasn't so angry.

But, it was a very late night.

Finally, I slept, but was again woken up--this time, by my phone ringing at 7:30 a.m. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I learned that it was CONOR...calling from GUAM! It's a local call! Yes!

So, I proceeded to sit in the Marriot hotel hallway for an hour and a half, and we managed to talk about everything--as per usual. It was really great to hear from him again.

Then, Ben and I found Dave, and the 3 of us left for Pittsburgh. A relatively uneventful trip, we found ourselves back in Pittsburgh by 3:30, then Ben was off to go be with his Grandma by 4. Then, I contacted various people who had expressed interest about the weekend (Brian, Brian, and Debbie), got myself packed up, had some dinner, then drove up to Cleveland. I got here at 9:30 or so, and got the chance to talk to Roommate en route. I'm doing laundry now, and J, Mat, and Rach will be here sometime this evening!!! Hurray!

Ben (Williams this time) and I are going to hang out sometime this week too--I think we might go to Janet's on Friday night, so that will be fun. Finally, I'll get to see people I haven't seen since June or even longer.

Hurray!

What a weekend. SBL '06 (in D.C.), here I come!!! And PhD...I'll see you in 2007. :0)

Ok, bye :0)