I forgot the name of my own blog.

Seriously. I did. That's not a good sign, is it? I finally gave up and went to blogspot.com and logged in. Before that I spent a good 30-45 seconds (a long time in my world) trying frantically to remember it. ("I think it has an M.. yeah, one of the words starts with M. Is it the first or the second? Maybe if I can remember the other initial I can put them in order.")

So this, I guess, means I should do something about updating it, which has so far taken the form of telling you about our collective life here in South Bend.

South Bend is hot. Really hot. This week was exceptionally bad. Yes, I know, I'm from Florida so I should suck it up. The humidity might (emphasis on that word) have been slightly lower here this week but the temperatures were higher than Florida usually gets, so I at least hated being outside as much or more than I did in Florida (which is tolerable in the summer, if you're used to it. My days were spent in cool, dry places this week where possible, with the exception of the golf course early in the morning and gardening in the evening. I do play lots of golf (38 rounds, mostly 9 hole, since April 7th) with a few of my friends who are also research assistants here at school. We go out in the early morning (6:30-7:20) to beat the heat, and then we can get to work by 9:30 or so at the latest. For those of you keeping score at home, I have more than recuperated the cost of the unlimited play student pass I got at the beginning of the season. Haven't managed to break par yet though I think I have hit it 3 times so far, and I'm shooting in the high 30s regularly at this point. I am sure I will break through soon or something.

Then there's work. I am still working for a professor here at school full time on First Amendment issues, which is a lot of fun and pretty fulfilling, since I get to do a good mix of philosophy (right to free speech as such) and current issues (I don't know if you've noticed, but the First Amendment is kind of a big deal.) The only downside is that I spend a lot - a LOT - of time staring at a screen, which sometimes has me ready to smear my body with mud and run naked through the apartment complex alternately yodeling and shrieking war cries. Thus far, however, I have not cracked. I must remain strong, for the enemy is forbidding.

Then there's the evenings, which are spent in with Marie by and large, catching up on our Netflix queue, going for walks, watering and weeding the garden, reading, or getting together with friends. That's one of my favorite aspects of Village life: the great people. A couple friends of ours who went to Steubenville recently had their first, a girl, so Marie - of course - loves having them over so she can steal their daughter (those of you who know Marie will understand.) Oh, and I guess the parents are alright too. I am loathe to start naming all of our wonderful friends here, because I know I will forget someone and be embarrassed when they read this, but suffice to say they are all great and it is wonderful to have so many people within walking distance.

So that tangent notwithstanding (or included), the last paragraph should make it quite clear that summer is a wonderful thing. The drastically lowered workload is very helpful, and I love working from home (which I do often) and coming home in the evenings and not having anything to do, or on my mind.

That is the routine of my life right now. School starts in almost exactly a month and I can't believe how fast it is coming. Life flies by when you are keeping pretty busy. In the meantime, we have all-too-short vacations scheduled for Michigan (with Marie's family) and central Indiana (with mine.) They are going to be wonderful and it is going to be awesome to see everyone!

Oh yeah, pregnancy! I guess that is an important part of our lives. Marie is hanging in there like a trooper (I bet she will love that I used that word) and hanging in there as best she can, despite the heat. Not much time to go now (a little over a month til the due date!) and it feels very surreal. I am sure once school starts and li'l Cantu is born my desire to post (especially pictures) will increase while my ability to decreases.

EDIT: I just looked at some old posts and saw that I predicted that ND would flame out in the second round of the NCAA tournament. And boy, did we ever. I was right! (hooray?)

Last published April 12th?

How horrible. Keeping up a blog is very difficult. Especially once finals have rolled around. That said, how is my life going? The short answer is well; the long answer is very well. School is obviously finished; that wrapped up about 3 weeks ago, so I have just about finished unwinding from that whole ordeal. Grades are in and now it is down to summer work. I have to say, working is nice. I get to work 8 hours a day and come home at the end of it, with my mind entirely off school. It's a pleasant (and drastic) change from the end of the semester chaos.

I don't believe I've mentioned it on here before but this summer I am working for Professor Rick Garnett, who teaches here at NDLS. He also posts at the inimitable Mirror of Justice Blog (mirrorofjustice.blogs.com) which, if you were interested, should give you some idea of his areas of interest. I've enjoyed work so far insofar as it is interesting as well as less time consuming than finals preparation.
In my off time, those of you who know me should know that I will always be enthralled with my two great (one much less than the other) passions: my wife and golf. Marie is progressing quite nicely with her pregnancy, entering third trimester tomorrow! She is chugging along and trying to cope with the summer heat (aren't we all?) especially right now, since we're in the middle of a heat wave. (96 on Wednesday forecast; ugh.) She absolutely glows and is as beautiful as I've ever seen her, which is saying a lot. Someday we should put up a picture of her baby bump. At the rate we move, that should be about when the Bean is two years old.

There's a 9-hole course here at ND which offers season passes to students, so I get unlimited play there. I've been playing a couple times a week, which after four years of almost no golf at TAC, is heavenly by comparison. There's also the 18-hole Warren Course, also an ND course, which is more expensive but still an excellent deal and a fantastic course as well. So I'll probably play there a couple times for a change of pace.

We spent a week in Massachusetts after school for my sister-in-law Sara's high school graduation. She's going to TAC next year, but that's all I'll say about her, because let's face it, you guys didn't come here to read about her. Anyway, Massachusetts was great, and it's always wonderful to see Marie's family. Now we just have to get to Florida. (I know, Mom.) Maybe in the winter; I'm tired of the heat.

This rough outline of my life recently brings me to the present day. Summer is in full swing and we are loving it. We spend the evenings relaxing and taking care of Marie's garden, of which she has pictures (hint, hint, honey) and the weekends doing whatsoever we please, which is, again, a welcome change. Hope that all of you are well, and enjoying your lives as much as we are! Please write to us or visit. We love to hear from you. (Except you, Quinan.)

Wait, is that... SUN?? I barely recognize you after all these months!

It was 80 on Sunday! After four years of Southern California winters, I still roll my eyes a little bit when calling 50 degrees "warm", but Sunday was legitimately warm. I got a taste of what summer+pregnancy is going to be like, and it's not exactly pleasant! So far I've only gained 10 pounds, and it made me very apprehensive of what 80 degrees will feel like once I've gained another 20.

Maybe it will snow tomorrow, but I firmly maintain that Spring is in the air (yes, it deserves a capital S). I'm planning on tackling a real garden this summer, for the first time in my life, and I'm getting disproportionately excited. It may just be the prospect of spending extended periods of time getting fresh air and sunshine, both of which have been the cravings that can't be taken care of with a run to the grocery store. We shall find out if my tendency to kill every plant I attempt to grow in pots indoors extends to vegetables in a garden. Here's hoping I have my mom's green thumb. I feel like a little kid whenever the UPS truck shows up at the village: "Is that it? Will he have my gardening supplies? Hmmm... that box looks like the right size! Hey, he's coming into our building! He's knocking on our door!! ...oh. Honey, your books are here. Again." One of these days that disappointing UPS guy will have something for me, I just know it! Meanwhile, my very talented husband built me a mini-greenhouse in which to start my seedlings. He seemed surprised when I told him what vegetables I was going to grow in it, though. Said it was boring or something...

Oh, and it feels like I practically could have written a large part of Tim's last post myself. When I read it, I had just heard that song, and I have the same images in my head from when it was played. Another song (albeit a less romantic one) that will always make me think of the wedding is Lady Gaga's "Telephone." I know, sad right? Whenever I play it, all I can think about is being in the middle of a group of friends, all dancing our hearts out and singing (well, yelling anyway) at the top of our lungs. Not to mention Tim's amazing dance moves, inspired by this video (which unfortunately is restricted from playback, so here's the link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHXgFU7qNI

See 0:50-1:22. Such good times.

This will always remind me indelibly of our wedding.

No, not the slightly toolish presentation and composition of the video, but the song itself. Certain moments just get branded into your memory, allowing quick recall even many years later. (Some of my favorite childhood memories are this way.) Before we got married, several people gave me the seemingly cheesy advice (which I think they stole from The Office) that I should look around and take a mental snapshot of the image because the day would be a blur. Of course, they were right, the day was a blur. I tried to get as many images like this as I could throughout the weekend: rehearsal dinner on the back patio with TAC friends; that bottle of port with Dad (which now sits on our bookshelf here in South Bend); late night beers with my groomsmen and others after everyone had left the rehearsal dinner; waking up at 5:45 AM on Saturday and getting up because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep; breakfast with mom; showering and trying to figure out how in the hell to put on a morning suit; Matt Lancaster (thank you, Matt) suggesting a rosary in the car on the way to the church; getting to the church way too freakin' early and waiting around for what seemed like forever; then this:

You look awfully unhappy there, o father-in-law.

Then on through the wedding, reception, etc., etc., ditto, ditto. I could, of course, name a bunch of other moments but I'll spare you the boredom of it all. Mostly I have specific memories of moments during the reception, including shortly before we left, when they played the above song. (It was huge last summer.) It summed the day up pretty well: lots of chaos, everyone (well, the undignified ones) singing at the top of their lungs, dancing (even the dignified ones) with great abandon.

I'll never hear that song any more without thinking of our wedding, which I must confess I like.

From the Village to Notre Dame

Here's a "photojournal" (I believe that is the proper term of art for such things; I like to sound like I'm in the know) of my walk from our apartment to the village. I took the pictures shortly before (maybe during) finals week. Thankfully there has not been any snow on the ground for a couple weeks, although I'm sure it will be back for a curtain call. Please excuse my questionable photography skills.

The Village Drive

Two of the apartment buildings. The fence is conjoined to all buildings and encloses the playground.

The path through the woods north of campus towards school.

One road led through a wood, and I, I took the only one traveled by, and that has not made a difference.

Holy Cross Cemetery. Holy Cross Priests and Brothers have been buried here from the 1850s to the present. Straight through the gates at the back of the cemetery is a beautiful large crucifix.

Footprints and St. Mary's Lake, thoroughly iced.

The Golden Dome, seen through the trees and from behind.

The Grotto, Dome, and Basilica, along with the large plastic Nativity scene they erected during the Christmas season.

I really like this picture of the Grotto; you can see the Dome glinting through the trees. On the right side of the picture you can see the altar and lectern which they occasionally use (in warmer months) to say Mass.

Candles at the Grotto.

Statue of Christ the Redemptor, looking away from the Dome down God Quad towards Notre Dame Avenue. The statue in the distance is of Fr. Sorin, who established the University.

180 degrees from the previous picture; the most famous college building around. Love the sight of this.

Looking across South Quad at the Law School Library, with the main law school building behind it.

The End. I hope you enjoyed this; for those of you who already know what Notre Dame looks like, or don't care, I apologize and promise to post something of actual substance sometime before summer (i.e., June.)

Also, it occurred to me today that when/if I have son(s), and they are about the age of 8, I should saran wrap his bedroom door before he gets up in the morning and videotape the ensuing shenanigans.

A new post.

I can feel this thing already slipping away from me as I get more and more involved with school. I have about 20 minutes before I have to catch the bus home (still not really feeling like walking) so I will just stream of consciousness for 20 minutes and call it an update.

The last post by either of us was March 18th, 10 days ago. Since then, we have finished spring break, gone back to work/school, and immediately been sucked back into the morass of life. That makes it sound a lot worse than it actually is, but I'll stick with it!

My recovery is more or less complete at this point. the stitches fell off my stomach on Saturday, 9 days after they went on, so I am theoretically no longer hindered by them. I can still feel the scar tissue there, though, and I have a follow up appointment later on this week, so I'm going to try not to overexert myself before then. I have been feeling a little cooped up, since I literally have hardly moved at all in the last 11 days, especially in the early part. No more pain either, though, which is nice. Today is the 2nd Monday after spring break; classes continue to slip by seemingly without event as we all look forward to Easter and then Summer break.

This past weekend I was involved in the 1L Oral argument tournament, an annual event which any first year students can enter and pits teams of two against each other in a single elimination format over two weekends. In each round you go before a panel of 3 judges and present an appellate argument and face questions for 15 minutes. From ~45 teams, 8 remain and will argue in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals this coming weekend. My partner and I were eliminated in the round of 16 last night. It was a close decision, we were told, and one which all of the participants felt could have gone either way, but Julie and Isy (our opponents) were very deserving, so we couldn't be too upset about losing to them. Besides, this means I will not have to prepare for another round during the week and therefore will have more free time (ha ha.) It was a lot of fun and a really good experience, even though I suspect that I will not go into litigation.

That is mostly what consumed my life over the past week, along with making sure my stomach didn't burst open. Marie unfortunately had the flu on Saturday and this, in addition to the remnants of morning sickness, was enough to more or less incapacitate her. She is also on the recovery track, and I don't envy her for having to go through both of those at the same time! She is also back to nannying (she had spring break off also, since her "boss" is a student) and I'm not sure how she feels about that. Ask her, I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you.

On the less mundane side of things, Friday night we went to the Notre Dame Glee Club's spring concert, which was fantastic. The Glee Club is going on a European tour this year, so many European folk songs were performed, in addition to sacred music and barbershop. Allow me to point out at this time that I hate the stupid "tradition" (It's not that old) of standing and swaying for the alma mater. I can barely tolerate it at football games but it really annoys me at concerts, masses, etc. when a couple people initiate it and then try to guilt the rest of us into doing it. I will now exit grumpy old man mode.

It's amazing how life just always stays one step ahead of you. Marie and I had the previous referenced plans to clean up the apartment and have the proverbial place for everything, with everything in its place, at the end of spring break. Of course, then I got appendicitis and everything went out the window (I'm a real jerk about that stuff.) Nonetheless, it's just amazing how there is something to fill just about all of every day. Yet we still manage to love living in South Bend and sharing a sometimes ridiculous experience together.

I suppose it helps to be married to your best friend. At least, that's how I feel about it.

Pax Christi!

Well, not really... (the wife's perspective)

I never imagined that having my husband flopped on the couch watching basketball would give me such a warm, fuzzy feeling. After Wednesday, though, there's nothing I'd rather see!

I'd been getting more worried about him all day, as the pain got worse and worse (and less and less flu-like), and when he finally said he needed to go to the ER my brain sort of froze. My husband, the guy who'd been doing all the chores, waiting on me hand and foot, and being my rock for the last two months of morning sickness, was in enough pain that he needed... the ER? I'd suggested it a few hours earlier, but he had brushed it off. Now he was asking me to take him! I probably resembled a chicken with its head cut off, looking up directions to the hospital (which is five minutes away with signs starting practically at our front door - I've passed it multiple times on my way to other places), trying to figure out what I should bring (I ended up grabbing my purse, an energy bar I never ate, and a water bottle I forgot to fill), and unable to decide whether to finish my late lunch first (it sounds heartless, but at that point my brain just wasn't processing the "emergency" part.)

I managed to make it to the hospital without speeding or crashing, with Tim trying to make me "lighten up." Whenever he's behind the wheel, I always drive him crazy by telling him as soon as a stop light turns green, if he doesn't hit the gas within a second. On the way to the hospital, he was doing the same thing to me intentionally to make me laugh! It was a bit hard to laugh with him doubled up groaning the rest of the time, though. By the time the nurses at the ER checked his vitals and asked the normal questions, he couldn't walk. I pushed him back to the waiting room in a wheelchair, and we waited what felt like several hours for them to get him a room and a doctor. In my hyper-emotional state (which was not at all helped by the fact that I'm pregnant), I was dividing the time in the waiting room between tearfully worrying about Tim and silently cursing the poor nurses for "not doing something!" How could they possibly be so calm, how could they possibly sit still, when MY HUSBAND was in so much pain?? I'm sure that guy they just took in could have waited a few hours - I mean, it looked like he only had a few broken limbs. And that woman? For goodness' sake, she's only having a baby! Tell her to man up and wait!

Despite time slowing down, he did actually get a room about an hour after we got there, and a little over half an hour later they finally gave him an IV with morphine. I was probably nearly as relieved as he was! He relaxed almost immediately, and started chatting non-stop with the nurses and me, making us all laugh. We watched TV, and my job was basically to keep him awake to drink all the gross stuff they gave him to have before his CT scan. My wonderful friend Kristi brought me dinner as soon as she found out what happened, which pretty much saved me - a snickers bar and a bag of trail mix will not keep a pregnant lady going for six hours!

The rest of the night went much better, they found out what it was and did the surgery (the surgeon told me afterwards that if we'd waited much longer to come in his appendix would have burst), and I got to see him around midnight when he came out of the anesthetic. I was very proud of myself for not crying (at least, not very much) all evening, but what finally set me off was the mean nurse at the desk telling me I couldn't stay the night. In hindsight she was actually very apologetic and as nice as she could be, but she will forever be "the mean nurse who made me cry." She did let me stay for a bit, even though it was past midnight and visiting hours ended at seven, so I spent awhile crying out the stress of the day on Tim's shoulder (even though he was the one who'd just had surgery after being in excruciating pain all day). I was finally able to think about the day and realize how awful it had been and how worried I was, and I was far too tired to deal with those thoughts!

I came in as soon as visiting hours started in the morning, and took him home a few hours later when they finished giving him antibiotics. I thank God now that he's sitting on our couch, very talkative (probably because of the Vicodin!), watching basketball. Sometimes you don't know what you've got 'till it's threatened.