It is an amazing thing in life when you realize how fortunate you are to have a deep love and respect for another human being. Despite the madness of our day to day lives and ever present process of getting to know one another in our strength and in our weakness, I know I can circle back to him. Always.
“What lies behind us and lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. –Emerson”
He reminded me with a card and surprise visit to the office with flowers (:
It is my favorite time of the year. Hues of orange, red and yellow take over the Michigan landscape and I am reminded of midwestern cultural points like football Saturdays, soccer season and crisp hikes on the trails. For me it is the perfect time to take some time off. So, for my birthday weekend, ZMW, AFJ and I took 5 days off for some wine touring, hiking and biking.
It is getting difficult to keep everyone updated, but below is the October round-up! Pictures to follow.
Cedar Point, that is. This weekend, we caught up with our respective families while also managing to squeeze in a trip to Sandusky, Ohio to visit the classic midwest amusement park. We logged it in as another one of AFJ’s firsts! ZMW’s company organized a trip for its employees and we enjoyed a non-driving trip down on a surprisingly comfortable bus (:
The night before, we met up with ZMW’s family at his high school alma mater for homecoming(!) where we were surprised to discover the opposing team happened to be MY high school alma mater. Needless to say, we shamed ZMW’s old football team by beating them on their own homecoming night. Sorry, guys ;) It was a blast from the past but a good time, nontheless.
Sunday was spent with my family and we enjoyed dim sum and hearty conversation with my comedian father. Priceless weekend all around ;) See below for some highlights!
As the general election approaches, it seems even more urgent to reflect on our government and the values that it expresses through its actions. More importantly, as citizens we must be critical and thoughtful about how and why we support or rally against government actions.
Our economy has been a salient issue with the evident demise of some of the largest U.S. financial institutions. In addition to what we can potentially fear financially — indeed, there is much to be concerned about with the fall of AIG and certain market funds –the government bailouts of these institutions reflect values.
For one, those who are most at risk of losing their jobs in the immediate future are those who hold some of the most coveted positions among American Professionals - Investment Bankers. To be sure, these same individuals earn at the highest pay scales in our society and certainly ‘earned’ their positions with Ivy League educations and hard work.
That said, and it is beyond the scope of this blog to discuss this in detail, our government has reached a decision to bail out these institutions with billions of dollars, racking up a bill at the end of the day that could potentially reach the trillions. The very nature of free markets mitigates government intervention and here we are, intervening in the free market because of some crappy securities and questionable business practices in general.
It is in light of these events that we must begin to analyze why it is that our government values do not include social provisions, including but not limited to; social security, city infrastructure investment (think Detroit and New Orleans), and public school finance. To me, it seems clear that we, as a society, value a certain socioeconomic segment of society and to put it bluntly - we don’t value the rest all that much.
Much remains to be seen as events continue to unfold but there do not seem to be too many surprises any more about who and what the federal government values. This could be a good thing, and indeed, it could be a bad thing but in these times, I hope more people think thoughtfully about the kind of leadership they want in office and what kind of society they would like to be part of .
On Friday evening, we hiked down to one of Ann Arbor’s community gems — the Kerrytown Concert House. Last minute ‘date night’ planning had me on their website perusing their themed concert series entitled, “A Parisian Soiree”. The program included a UofM concert violinist and various opera singers, all of whom entertainingly invoked the romantic and sassy nature of Parisian culture. Anna danced and giggled at the performances while ZMW and I sipped on champagne.
Not bad, eh?
Trust me, it was heavenly.
It also happened to rain all weekend and boy, was it the perfect excuse to stay indoors and relax after weeks of eventful weekends hiking outdoors, swimming in Lake Michigan or traveling, in general. To be sure, we stayed in on Sunday and napped intermittently THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DAY to the pitter patter of the rain (:
While the value of my free time seems to have gone through the roof, it seems only fitting to be grateful for the rhythm of my day-to-day.
For the past two weeks, ZMW and I have adjusted to an earlier wake-up call (6:00am) to jump start our day with some physical activity. A ‘must’ for our respective energy levels: ZMW simply craves the physical activity and I, on the other hand, find its importance in leveling stress levels. Both of us, however, find its value in overall health of course, and as a family, we spend most of our after-work hours romping around outside. See photo below of my little skim boarders over Labor day weekend!
Skim boarders in Lake Michigan ;)
Running has typically been my activity of choice but since working longer work days in front of a computer, on a questionably comfortable chair, I’ve begun to develop some back issues. Yikes! I seem to carry stress in my back and shoulders, essentially tensing up muscles as I get lost in analytical thought that somebody thought would be a good idea to pay me for!
As a remedy, ZMW and I have incorporated yoga into our morning AND afternoon rituals and it is really starting to make a difference (so does the nightly backrubs that my fiancé so sweetly offers up *wink*)! Overall, it has been so wonderful to get into a morning routine of aerobic, strength and yoga activities that gets me through the heavy-lifting mental activity of the day.
More updates as we progress into more of Rodney Yee’s yoga videos, which I highly recommend – not many men can pull off looking cool in a speedo!
On Friday, August 23, 2008, ZMW brought me and AFJ to a lovely downtown Ann Arbor Hibachi Restaurant for Anna’s first time. We strolled around downtown, visited the bookstore, had a cup of coffee and counted our blessings for how happy we have been this year and how close we have become as a family unit. We were thankful for our time with extended family, for our health and prosperity. When we arrived at home, still ‘high’ from yet another wonderful summer evening and sipping an ice cold bottle of Beck’s Beer (hahahaha), ZMW got down on one knee and proposed with a gorgeous diamond ring!
In the morning, he proposed again in front of AFJ after which time she asked, “Where’s MY ring?!?” We were so happy to see that she was thrilled at the news and made an immediate request for a bigger family - preferably, a baby sister - Ella (yes, she has the name and gender all picked out - wish us luck).
I never thought I would be so lucky as to find my soul mate and to experience happiness to the degree that I am experiencing it now. It is a surreal feeling to finally wrap your brain around true love, to finally understand certain cheesy lyrics for the first time and to be moved by the everyday feelings of another human being.
The blessings of both sets of parents and family is the icing on top.
Stay tuned for updates 
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