The original plan was for Krystal and Jack to come up and visit us because they had a common weekend off --a rare occasion due to the nature of their work schedules-- but Krystal could not take off from work since she started training for a new position. So, though bummed about it initially, Jack and I started texting and realized that we were on the same page in thinking that Jack should still get a plane ticket and come up solo. I started keeping an eye on airfare rates and voila. --> The ultimate in man-weekends, a truly bro-tastic voyage was set in full motion! Jack got his plane ticket a month in advance so as the day to pick him up at the airport drew nearer, paranoia set in that Al had figured us out, was on to our surprise and that the surprise of the century wouldn't end up being a surprise at all. Nope! I was wrong. It was a *total* shock to Al and me and Jack were so happy to have pulled it off. ; )
The morning of Jack's arrival, I told Al I had a meeting . So I left home and he seemed unsuspecting enough. I raced to the airport to pick Jack up and then we schemed on how to spring the surprise on Al. I casually texted him to see if he'd gone to Caribou Coffee to study, as he usually does. I said I wanted to join him because I needed to get some work done and could use a change of scenery. When we got to Caribou, I got down first and chit-chatted with Al briefly. Then... I got up to check out some new coffee products on display so that I could easily see when Jack walked in and so I could be ready with my camera for when the big surprise took place. Sure enough, Al had no clue at all. Jack walked in, then walked straight up to Al and asked him if he knew what time it was. Al FREAKED OUT (in a good way) and could not believe his eyes!!!!! He says he got confused, had an almost out of body experience because he couldn't figure out how Jack could possibly be here, several states away, in North Carolina and not Texas... I witnessed and captured on camera a wonderful moment of flooding emotion and excitement between the two BFFs. I know I can't take all the credit because Jack certainly put his fair share of effort into this plan, but I was so proud of myself for keeping my mouth shut for so long (a whole month!!!!) and actually pulling this thing off as the surprise I'd envisioned. : D On a few occasions, I was so excited about Jack's visit, I almost told Al... but I didn't! Mission accomplished.
The guys had a fun man-weekend together, going out to local pubs, a beerfest, various restaurants, working out in the basement, running the track on campus, having horror movie marathons and reminiscing on the good ole times. For that weekend, it almost felt like we didn't really leave TX. Those are the best friends to possibly have in your life - the ones who, no matter how much time passes or how far away you live, will always be there, ready to pick up wherever you last left off and show you your valued place. Though Al was much less optimistic than I was about maintaining all of our friendships upon moving away from Texas, it turns out he was right in some ways -- though absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder, it certainly shows you with whom your lasting friendships reside. As we grow older, we have a deeper appreciation for those handful of strong connections that are likely to last a lifetime. : ) 
Al and Jack allowed me to *crash* the man-dates twice. 1) I scheduled a 2-hour boat rental on Lake Norman on Friday afternoon where we were allowed to bring beer, wine, and food --but no Opal. The boat company personnel told us that pet hair is damn impossible to get out of the boats so they don't allow pets to get on the boats anymore.
2) Brunch on Sunday at the fancy Alton's Kitchen and Cocktails and horror movie night later on (though I only lasted through 1 movie - too scary!!!). Jack said I didn't have to go into "hiding" and Al even invited me to a few of their excursions. But no - a good wife understands and respects that man-time is man-datory and sacred towards the hubby's well-being. : ) 
Even though poor Opal had to miss out on the boat trip, she got plenty of quality cuddling time in with Uncle Jack, who she instantaneously adored and fell head over heels in love with when he first walked into the house. She could not give Jack enough kisses in his 4.5 days here! They even napped together on the couch and she would go get Jack up to take her outside when she needed to go potty. Ha! Thanks to Jack's presence and Opal's love for him, we got a break from those 5 or 7 a.m. potty outings. It was really sweet how much she enjoyed having Jack here visiting. 
Even though Al put studying on hold because Jack was in town, he recently ACED his midterm exam! Leaving the test, he walked out with one of his teachers and she told him he did just fine and she wasn't worried about him. He did way more than "just fine" so he was pretty pleased that his efforts paid off yet he still got to have an awesome man-weekend, too. Woohoo!
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| Sunday Brunch! These guys clean up nicely. ; ) |
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| 'Tis decided! Opal is a witchie poo for Halloween! : D |
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| One day I got 2 unexpected visitors in office hours = Al & Opal! |
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| Opal's wardrobe has expanded. ; ) |
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| Opal naps on the couch regularly. She's truly at home now. |
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| Opal hangs out on my home office couch upstairs while I work. |
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| Al & Opal watching Walking Dead, our new Sunday night show. |
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| Happy hour on a Friday afternoon with colleagues |
I participated in the Gender & Sexuality Studies (GSS) "Who Needs Feminism?" event, which actually took place nationwide across many college campuses. It was so much fun to put together the signs we did and interact with other faculty and students and see their thoughts about feminism's role in today's society. I also got to wear rental regalia for the first time as faculty and not a student! Davidson had convocation last Friday as well as Family Weekend. I met with a few of my students and their parents,
which was neat. Then, we also went to Davidson International
Association's International Festival where we ate wonderful food,
learned fun facts about various countries, and watched students perform
various cultural dances, including the worldwide massively popular
Gangnam style dancing. Al told the girls at the Indian table that he
came specifically for the Indian food, haha. They blushed and told him
they hoped the food would live up to his standards. It totally did! It
was delicious. He was half serious about coming back to campus with a
tupperware to see if they needed help getting rid of some of the
leftovers. : P This campus is so full of events - there is rarely
(if ever) a day that goes by when there isn't several events happening throughout the day. I went to hear a Holocaust survivor's story
recently in an evening lecture. I also put together my own guest
speaker proposal for co-sponsorship and funding... and recently got word
back that it was approved and will be fully funded! My friend Lucy, who
is a transgender professor at Texas A&M Univ., will be coming to give a guest lecture at Davidson in
February. I can't wait to host her in our new stomping grounds! There is so much going on around here so we are having no problem filling up our schedules. Tonight, we had several groups of children come by trick-or-treating. It was fun to see all their costumes and hand out candy! Opal dressed up in her witch costume and got super excited each time kids rang the doorbell. One time, she succeeded in jumping across the high end of the couch (I had her blocked in with chairs so she wouldn't attack anyone when I opened the door) and she ran out the door, jumped on a little girl, and ran up to the front door of our neighbor's house! I was able to catch her and carry her back home. Whew! It was an exhausting 2 hours of handing out candy by myself with Opal. Al had class tonight. I am, however, very excited to have a house to get trick-or-treaters to come by. Ah, it's the little things in life. ; ) 
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| International Festival on campus |
The clever skeleton Halloween yard decoration scares Opal each time we walk by it, haha. She barks at it without fail. Also, Opal got her last round of preventative shots so she is now able to go start socializing with other dogs. We are eager to take her to Lucky Dog Bark & Brew, a local dog bar/park about 5 minutes from home. We recently went to another great dog park we've heard a lot about from various neighbors (pics coming soon). Enjoy our photographic journey, dear loved ones!
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| Latta Equestrian Center Haunted Hay Ride = the *best* thing ever! There were actors in the woods who busted out into the Thriller dance and there was a headless horseman circling the tractor and hay trailer we were on at the end in the open clearing. Awesome! |
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| Daddy-O tried to scare Opal. She was apprehensive and barked at him at first... but she knew it was him after all, hehe. |
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| Al had class Halloween night so Opal and I handed out candy to the kiddos. It was fun but exhausting trying to keep her calm and not attacking the kids! We watched Hocus Pocus and I gave her a big bone to chew on as a distraction. It hardly worked because she was beside herself with excitement over the trick-or-treaters! |
