Another silent year, another random blog post! Yes, folks, after nearly twelve months of silence, I've decided to carry on with this tom-foolery called blogging and give you all an update on life here in the ATL.
First of all, probably the biggest news I can communicate is that I am now happily married! I have the privelege of being wed to Mrs. Shannon DeBord (formerly Pringle for you new readers). We were married on 28 July in Yellowstone National Park, which is where we first met. The setting, the attendants, and the service were all absolutely perfect except for a renegade aisle runner that decided it would be cool to get blown around by the wind. Altogether, it was an absolutely blissful experience.
After going home to work and rest from travel for a few days after the wedding, Shannon and I travelled out to San Francisco, CA for a week for our honeymoon. If you haven't been to the City by the Bay, I must strongly recommend it. Shannon and I had an absolute blast, seeing popular tourist sites like Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, and the SF Zoo. We even got to ride the historic Cable Cars that are so famous. And let me just say: the food there was spectacular. You seriously couldn't walk a block without hitting some kind of locally owned, crazy delicious sort of restaurant. Shannon and I were particularly fond of a Thai place called Chabaa, where we ate dinner twice during the week, and the Taylor Street Cafe, right downstairs from our hotel room in the Hotel Mark Twain. Folks. Go there. Eat the croissant breakfast sandwich. Then call me afterwards and we will exchange tele-high-fives, because it is seriously that cussing good.
In other news, I'm now in my second year at McAfee School of Theology, pursuing a Masters of Divinity. I've declared myself to be on the Academic Research Track in the program, which basically entails taking the next two years to develop and write a sixty-page thesis in addition to all my other classwork (i.e., I have a penchant for academic self-abuse). I'm doing this because it will help me look good for applying to PhD programs after I graduate from McAfee, and also because it will allow me to really get an idea of what doing academic research for the rest of my life is going to look like. My eventual goal is to obtain a PhD, probably in biblical studies or something of that sort, then to teach that same subject in a liberal arts university. I could let you all know about my proposed topic, but this post is becoming pretty lengthy, so I'll leave that for another post perhaps.
So anyway, on to some miscellany! Shannon and I are now living in an apartment complex in Dunwoody, on the north side of Atlanta, which we like much better than our respective former apartments. Our dog, Seamus, has grown and matured a good bit, but he's still a pup, so he can still get out of all the trouble he gets in by flashing that little puppy face of his. Shannon and I recently started going to Dunwoody Baptist Church, and we think this could be the church for us, which is really exciting because we were on the verge of giving up on finding a church home here in Atlanta.
Also of note, I am no longer working at Caribou Coffee. I enjoyed my time working there, but the hours became somewhat restrictive and difficult to juggle in relation to my school work. I am now working with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as a Marketing Research Assistant (read: data monkey) and I am really enjoying my time here. The pay and hours are much better, and I am really beginning to get plugged into what the Fellowship is doing. Probably more on that sometime later as well.
Well, I think that's enough for now, friends. I hope you all have fared well this past year and I would encourage you to drop me a line sometime.
Keep checking back for posts, dear Readers, and may the luck of the Valar* be with you!
*25,000 awesome points to the person who is able to identify that reference.