SLA Meeting and Easter Sunday

This weekend was fantastic. From hanging out with new friends to my first chapter meeting of SLA, it was all so fun and rewarding. On Friday night, Charles and I met 2 of his classmates for dinner at Taste of Thai. It was amazing. I'll definitely go there again! Then classmates Cora and Carolyn came back to our house and met Frodo and Kenobi. Of course they were impressed by the world's cutest, most lovable puppy and the most adorable and soft kitten. ;) We watched a couple episodes of The IT Crowd on our X-box netflix setup (great show!) and had a grand old time.
On Saturday, Charles and I headed to Murfreesboro for the SLA meeting. I had a blast talking with Christi, Erin, and Fred. What fantastic people! You couldn't ask for better people to be professionally associated with. They're all go-getters, and all so positive. After a nice, productive meeting discussing new events we've got planned, I got together with Charles to meet up with Dr. Tom Brinthaupt and his son, Robbie. We had a delightful lunch of BBQ with all the fixings. Had a great chat, and got to meet Tom's kitties. My only regret is that I didn't get to meet Tom's wife. Maybe next time. :(
After lunch, Charles and I drove around The Boro for a bit, and got him a new smartphone. He's been wanting to upgrade for awhile, and Verizon is running a special at the moment where you can buy a Palm Pre for $50 (no mail in rebates, woo hoo!), and for the life of the phone it can operate as a mobile hotspot for no additional charge. We still have to pay for the data plan at $30/mo., but this means that his phone can serve as a mobile hotspot, allowing him to connect to the net with his iPod Touch and his laptop virtually anywhere! He's still a little undecided about how well he likes the Pre, but he's got 30 days to make up his mind. After going to the Verizon store and getting that set up, we went to Toot's and had delicious chicken and fries. Nom nom! Then we drove back to Knoxville, hung out with our Saturday crew, and then went home.
Easter Sunday, I got up and went to one of the best masses I've been to in ages! Fr. Michael Woods said mass at All Saints, and it was so alive! He was dancing, and shouting. There were several touching moments in the homily, as well as some great music. Then Charles and I went to his aunt Sherry's house for Easter dinner. Delicious food and amazing people, as always. I had some of the best potato salad I've ever had in my entire life. *the secret is ranch dressing* After that, we went to Home Depot and bought some things for our house, including some azaeleas we are planning to plant in our back yard. I don't have a green thumb at all, so I'll just be thrilled if I don't kill these in the first year.
After the trip to Home Depot, we rounded up our Frodo puppy and took him out to the Fiedler farm to play with Mary Catherine, Ethan, and Boomer. He had a blast, and ran until he couldn't run anymore. He got to see horses for the first time, and got to see ducks and cats and puppies, too. It was so great. The weather couldn't have been any better. It was like new life was all around, as if the long, hard suffering of lent had finally broken open. :)
I am so thankful that I got to have such a beautiful Easter, with so many experiences and so much joy. I was a little worried to head back to work on Monday, but then I got to have a great talk with my boss about the dream job I'd recently applied for. It was so nice to have the support, encouragement, and advice from someone I respect. I really feel good about things.
Well tonight I get to do my first orientation at my evening job. I'll be talking to a class of upper level Health Sciences students in their research class. They're coming to the library to learn about our medical databases. I spent some time preparing last night, and will prepare some more before I see the class this evening. So wish me luck-- I'd better get back to work. :)