July 10th, 2009, was a very important day for me. It was on a Friday afternoon that I made the trip to the University of Redlands for an orientation meeting for the incoming doctoral students in the School of Education.

On July 10th, 2012,  I was in Redlands again, presenting with my classmates at the Summer Institute on Leadership in Educational Justice with the letters Ed.D. after my name. Yes, that's right. Exactly three years to the day.
And there you have it. Bookends on a three-year window. It's amazing, really.

I am around a lot of people who don't think that it's all that amazing, but I know how amazing it is. I finished a doctorate in less than three years. In that three years I've read thousands of pages, written (at least) hundreds of pages, and slept for fewer hours than I am used to. I've fallen in love and have been heartbroken more than once. I've seen families expand through birth and marriage. I've been to many--too many--funerals. I love my best friend--my beloved Milo. And now I have a Barney.

It was a rough week, so instead of celebrating the milestone, I was arguing with my collaborators, suffering from insomnia, and dealing with a car emergency. But, now that I have a chance to breathe, I have to say, yay, me!

Sooo...last week was my birthday. It was pretty low key. Most of you know that usually I do a big thing for my birthday, but this year I did not. This is partly due to the fact that I am desperately trying to get my dissertation proposal finished (and it is way overdue) and partly due to the fact that people seemed really put out by what I wanted to do. Nevertheless, there were some high points.

On my birthday, the Chans (Virna, Danny, Cassidy, and Jordan) took me out for burgers at The Counter and dessert at Green Street Restaurant. On Friday, my Renovatus church family surprised me with a fruit tart from Porto's. And on Sunday, my friends Nestor, Kelly, Yvette, Pixote, and Olivia surprised me with a red velvet cake--also from Porto's. YUM!!! :)

Also on my birthday, I spent the morning at the vet with Barney, who has (had?) two ear infections. He got some medicine, and he seems to be doing a lot better now.

In the last year, I have passed my qualifying exams, presented at my first conference, had a paper accepted at my first national conference, gotten a new job teaching college students. I have lost my best friend, attended three funerals, NOT finished my dissertation proposal (yet!). I have started giving myself nightly injections, gotten a new doctor, and gotten a new doggy. In short, I have lived life.

I'm thankful for another year of life. Looking forward to what's next.

It has been awhile since I blogged. I fell that I am not managing my time well. I honestly should be able to accomplish more in a day than I actually do.

Thank you again for your condolences and gestures of caring after the death of my beloved Milo. He was an amazing dog, and I still miss him every day.

Meanwhile, we have found a new friend to live with us at our house.

I have other pictures of him, but they are still in my camera, and I'm too lazy to upload them right now. So these will have to do.

Our new friend's name is Barney. He was adopted from the Northeast Los Angeles County Animal Shelter about 1 month ago. He was a stray and had been at the shelter for a month before we adopted him, so he was pretty yucky and stinky when he came to live at our house. He even had paint on his fur. He was also not neutered, so he had to go to the doctor first and then came to our house post-op. (Hence, the cone.) He had to wear the cone for 2 weeks and was not allowed to have a bath until the cone came off.

Now he is all clean and feeling at home. He sleeps on the kitchen love seat and has many toys to play with. Yesterday he ate Mom's breakfast leftovers from the table, dug through the recyling and spread paper all over the floor, and tore the feet off of one of his (actually Milo's) toys. He also has learned the sound of the garage opening and how to rest his head on my lap while I'm studying. He is becoming "my dog" but is also "our dog," since Pop went to the shelter with me this time. He is a friendly, sweet, dog, if a bit rough around the edges. He's not as gentle as Milo and Tim Tam, but with patience he will learn to be.

I am still in mourning for Milo. I miss him every day and cry about him often. But I am learning to love my new dog and to give him the life he did not have in the shelter. I'll keep you updated.