This Was A Very Big Week

I don't know how many more good things could have been packed into this last week. Now at its end, I'm going to take a moment to reflect on it all.

MacBook Pro. My last laptop, a nearly four-year-old PowerBook, was on its last leg. My laptops get a lot of use and are used continuously throughout the day for my class lectures, writing, and personal use. I had completely filled up the hard drive a year ago and needed to move most of my media to external storage, recently the optical drive stopped recognizing CDs and DVDs, and the processor speed was no longer adequate for efficiently running some of the newer programs simultaneously.

I had been following for most of the year the Apple rumors about a new generation of Mac laptops (notebooks) in the making. In the past I have had a penchant for buying a new computer a month before the next generation was released, which made my new purchase almost immediately obsolete. This time I waited.

It arrived on Monday. Four times the hard drive storage. Eight times the RAM. Double the processing speed. Yeah, I'm happy.

Yes We Did. There are so many reasons that I am pleased that Barack Obama won a decisive victory on Tuesday to become the 44th President of the United States of America. Of course, his goals to correct the myriad of disastrous policies implemented over the last eight years by the Bush administration, return to following and protecting the Constitution and the rights outlined within, rebuilding our credibility as a nation abroad, and the historical nature of his election, are all important. But, for me, it is the possibility that this may mark a step away from the anti-intellectualism that has been inexplicably embraced in American life. It should not only be acceptable to be intelligent and educated (how these qualities were ever defined as negative or elitist in this country should be seen as a disgrace), but must be viewed as an essential priority when selecting our leaders. I know we have a difficult and challenging road ahead of us as we work to fix all that has gone wrong in our nation, but I strongly believe the election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden is a positive step in the right direction.

Tenure. On Thursday I received my final work performance evaluation from a committee of fellow faculty members and administrators. I was granted tenure. It was nice to be given the accolades on my performance as a professor and the security that tenure entails. My peers stressed how wonderful this is for my career and I am very pleased with this accomplishment. But, I must say, and maybe this is my relative inexperience speaking, I don't really see this having a great impact on my future career decisions. We will see.

Madonna. As part of my gift to Catherine for our third anniversary I bought tickets for Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour date at Dodger Stadium on November 6. Catherine is a big Madonna fan but had never had the opportunity to see her in concert. I had actually gone to Madonna's first three concerts, which seems like a life time ago (The Virgin Tour (1985), Who's That Girl (1987), and Blonde Ambition (1990)). I had to tease Catherine that this must make me a bigger fan ;) We had a great time. Madonna always puts on a fun show. There were also two cameos on stage by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (at separate times in the concert). Barack Obama was also brought to the fore with an enthusiastic endorsement by Madonna and a packed stadium. It was interesting, I think the image of Obama solicited even more applause than Madonna received. Here's a photo of Catherine in front of the stage before the concert started.

She said, "Yes." On the afternoon of Saturday, November 8, 2008, I proposed to Catherine. Although her first surprised response was, "Are you sure?", she did follow up with a "Yes", I assume after she realized I was serious. I guess the fact that I was on one knee holding an engagement ring in my hand wasn't enough of an indication of my seriousness ;)

I had decided to find a location that had meaning for both of us and was a setting that I knew Catherine found peaceful. As you know, I am an art historian and Catherine is pursuing a second degree in religious studies with a focus on eastern religions. We both have a fondness for Buddhism and the practice of meditation (even if not as regularly as desired). The Norton Simon Museum of Art has an excellent collection of Asian artworks. In the last room there is a small bench in front of a wall of glass that looks out onto a statue of Buddha sitting in meditation. We had been here many times before to enjoy the calmness and serenity of this space that was always secluded and seemed rarely visited by the masses upstairs observing the European art collections. This is where I decided to propose to Catherine.

We had planned to spend the day in Pasadena eating, shopping and viewing art. The order of how it all happened of course was decided by Catherine. I knew upfront that I would need to be flexible with the timing. I hoped to propose early in the day, so we could then spend the rest of our time celebrating. But when we arrived in Pasadena, Catherine announced that she was hungry and wanted to eat before we went to the art museum.

We went to an Italian restaurant, Il Fornaio, and had an excellent lunch out on their patio (the seared ahi tuna is wonderful) and a nice pinot grigio. In the courtyard next to the restaurant Yoko Ono's Wish Trees for Pasadena interactive art installation has been on display since August 2. Visitors have been writing their wishes on pieces of paper and hanging them on the tree branches. The wishes will be "harvested" and sent to Yoko Ono, to be joined with others from around the world. Later, they will be placed in specially constructed capsules in the area surrounding Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower dedicated to the memory of John Lennon on Videy Island, off the coast of ReykjavÌk, Iceland. After lunch we added our own wishes to the trees. I know what you might be thinking - a nice restaurant and writing wishes about peace - why not propose now? I know, but I decided to stick to the plan.



I now suggested that we start walking toward the art museum. There were a few stops along the way as Catherine wanted to look in some of the shops. I tried to stay relaxed and not appear as if I was trying to get anywhere, though I was starting to worry if we would actually make it to the museum and maybe I should have taken advantage of the wish tree setting. But I persevered and we made it to the museum.

When we arrived at the museum we visited the bookstore, viewed Johannes Vermeer's A Lady Writing, on loan from the National Gallery of Art, and toured the three other temporary exhibitions located throughout the museum. Then, finally, we entered the Asian art galleries. We slowly meandered through the many stone and bronze sculptures moving toward my planned destination. Before we entered the gallery it crossed my mind to ask the guard if she could ask other visitors to stay out for the next ten to fifteen minutes while I was proposing. But, since the gallery is always empty whenever we visit, I figured it was unnecessary.

We walked into the gallery, sat on the bench and were immediately joined by a group of tourists taking the audio tour. They were followed by a steady stream of visitors that seemed to be timing their viewing perfectly, so that when one group finally left another walked in. I was afraid that my constant turning to see who was entering the gallery next would tip her off that I was up to something. The room is rather serene and dimly lit, which can make one sleepy, so after awhile Catherine was ready to walk around more.

I quickly entered into a conversation that we had started that morning about spirituality and specifically Buddhism. I moved this into a discussion of how we view our relationship and future together in relation to Buddhist philosophy. As I was preparing to profess my love for her a man in a wheelchair decided to pull up right next to us and stay for a spell. Okay, I'm thinking, I'm a professor, I'm quick on my feet, stall!

Finally we were alone. I told her that when I think about our life together I have no fear or reservations. I know that my heart and my mind are honestly reflected in my speech when I tell her that I love her and want to spend my life with her. I then moved from the bench down to one knee before her and pulled the ring from my pocket. You could see the shock and confusion in her face as I asked her if she would give me the honor of being my wife. She immediately began to cry and asked if I was sure. I smiled and asked her again. This time she said, "Yes."


During the weeks leading up to this day I was busy looking for THE ring. I knew her ring size and that she wanted the center stone to be a sapphire. That was it. I wasn't able to find a completed ring with a setting, stone size and cut, and quality that I wanted, so I bought each piece separately and had it made. I learned a lot about sapphires and think I found a truly beautiful stone. The center stone is a 1.1 carat, all-natural (untreated), AAA rated, oval-cut blue sapphire. The photo does not do justice to the richness of the stone's color. The setting is white gold with four diamonds, two set on either side of the sapphire.

I think she likes it.