In Which I Attempt to Sum Up the Last Few Weeks, Inverted Pyramid Style

December was a busy time for the Becks, as they celebrated graduation and the holidays in their trademark Mach 3 style.

Graduation day was much anticipated by some (Ak) and merely tolerated by others (Court, who, in true Grinch style, spent the preceding week trying to figure out how to stop graduation from coming. Despite her attempts, graduation came anyway). Flanked by her supportive husband, parents and in-laws, Court arrived at the ceremony in her cap, gown and tallest stiletto heels. When the time came, she haughtily teetered up to the podium, shook hands with the department head, accepted her diploma cover and said her piece with nary a trace of sarcasm or foul language. The Becks and Hathaways then retired to the house for an afternoon of champagne and Scattergories, followed by an amazing dinner at Hayes Barton Cafe where they feasted on Boston Creme cake, Bailey's tieramsu and eggnog cheesecake. When asked for a comment, Court said, "All in all, I'd have to say this day was not bad." (Off the record, this reporter later learned that the sometimes aloof Courtney is in fact very grateful for the support of her friends and family and felt honored to have so many people present at the ceremony.) Days after the ceremony, Court was spotted sporting a stylish short hair cut. Despite rumors, a link between graduation and her hair cut have not been confirmed.

Never ones for downtime, the Becks moved straight from graduation into the holiday season. Christmas began with a quiet celebration at home, complete with holiday nachos, Humbug wine, A Christmas Story and early Santa-ing. Christmas Day was spent in Salisbury where the Becks enjoyed oyster stew, a Christmas Eve service, a visit from Santa Claus and lots of family time. The Becks concluded Christmas in High Point with more family time and a screening of Cat Ballou, a Hathaway family favorite.

The Becks celebrated New Year's at home with their second annual throwdown. They continued in their traditions of making entirely too much food, serving signature martinis and playing board games before ringing in the New Year with a champagne toast. A good time was had by all attendees, and the Becks are already making plans for the third annual throwdown. But it was not a good night for everyone in the Beck household. This reporter has uncovered proof that two housemates were not allowed to attend the party. "My brother and I were locked in a room all night," said a blue tabby who declined to give us his name. "We cried and cried, but no one would let us out." When asked for comment, the Becks retorted that it was the cats' affinity for party food and not their own cruelty that resulted in the cats' eviction from the party. At press time, no charges had been filed.

The New Year holds many challenges and anticipated events for the Becks. Today, FIRST Robotics kicks off for the 2009 season, marking the beginning a busy build season that will culminate with a competition in late February. With graduate school behind her, Court plans to spend the first quarter of 2009 expanding Purple Pony Communications. It is rumored that the Becks plan to leave Cary soon and will begin searching for a new home next weekend. Whatever the future may hold, one thing is certain: the Becks will approach 2009 with their own special idiom.

Now with 100% less pictures and 400% more germs!

So Court's been sick for the past three days, which is a real bummer. I kind of sat around and poked her occasionally, if for no other reason than to make sure she still mumbled something incoherent after the pokes. Good times. The good news is, she's feeling much better, which means I can go back to being a lazy slug. Or not.

I have to train people this weekend. Me! Training! Granted, they're high school students, so that has to count for something, I guess. I'm teaching these guys a little bit about programming. It's pretty awesome, it's for the robotics group I mentor. You can learn more about the program at www.usfirst.org, or hang around me for about 10 minutes and mention the word "robotics." It's a pretty awesome gig, and I'm happy to be doing it, but what it really boils down to is the time I'm sitting here typing this entry, I should probably be making pretty slides. For that matter, the hours I just spent on my weekly game session should probably be spent on making slides. Really, when you get down to it, I should be making slides. But I'm obviously not at the moment, so what's that say about me? Oh yeah, that I'm a slacker.

Random shout-out time! So my best friend got engaged tonight, which is pretty spiffy... Being married for all of 3 months, I think I can attest to how awesome it is... Naturally, I can't really swear it'll always be awesome, but since Court has since walked into the room and is watching me type this, I'll do my best. Ahem: It'll always be awesome. (I actually believe that) ^_^

The only other exciting news that actually directly pertains to me that I can think of is our new tv! Well, new to us, anyway. A friend of mine needed some help doing manual labor, and at the same time, he was looking to get rid of his old tv. Being as how I love his old tv, I promptly agreed to do so, and now our poor tiny living room is dominated by a mammoth floor model rear projection tv. And I'm the happiest girl at the dance. ^_^

I think that's about all of the news that's fit to electronically publish, so I'm going to scamper off to do something pseudo-productive. Like floss my nightstand. If anyone needs me, I'll be doing that. Exactly that.

--Ak out