Greg, you better not be reading this

Although we are officially engaged, there has not yet been an actual proposal, since there is not yet a ring. Well, sort of...there is a ring. It may or may not be located in Greg's sock drawer (I actually don't know, but I'll bet it's around here somewhere). We visited the Jeweler two weeks ago and he said the ring would be done on Sept 8th. But Greg wants to do something to surprise me, and I get the feeling he's waiting for my To-Do list to shrink down by a factor...though unfortunately that will not be the case until at least Oct 17th, when I get back from a conference. So I am just twiddling my thumbs, hoping and anticipating that soon I will get the wear the sparkly thing sometime soon, and guessing all of the oportunities he has to ask the question officially.

Resasons I have totally expected Greg to "propose" in the past week:

1) Really lovely romantic dinner that he made for me
2) The flowers that appeared out of nowhere on the table
3) Going out to dinner at the restaurant we had our first date at
4) Walking hand in hand by the spot where we first kissed
5) "I got you something" (AKA, CDs to help me work : )
6) Quizzing me on my schedule and To-Do list. "So you'll be done with your area exam and stress free on Sept 23rd?" reply, "Mmm. Not quite the 2nd thing"

So I wait. Greg, if you are reading this (which you're not supposed to): a sparkly ring would brighten my spirits significantly : ) And it'd match my suit I'll be wearing next week!. Plus, i fI'm putting your (our) last name on my prospectus, I'd really like it to be obvious why. Also...

Okay. Enough of that :P

Still busy with work, but I did manage to submit the draft prospectus to my adviser three days late. Here's my favorite paragraph:

"Modeling the release of drug from a polymer matrix into a dilute aqueous environment such as the brain or vasculature can be a straightforward or complex task: the intricacy of the model is depends on its purpose. Models with high predictive value can often be very simple and involve only one or two parameters; on the other hand, models designed to capture specific features of release or to predict a parameter based on experimental data can be highly complex. It should not be assumed that a more complex model has more utility. Rather, a more complex model is only useful if it isolates a particular variable in a way that can be experimentally confirmed."

Other than that single paragraph, I can't stand to look at the 37 page monster anymore! It will be submitted on Monday, presentation on Friday. My officemate is sick with a cold and I am praying that I don't get sick in between now and then.

Villa might be chosen, except that I'm not allowed to do any wedding planning. So I asked the guy over email to "put it on hold" for two weeks until deadlines are done with, and he seemed cool with the idea. It is 3 miles outside of Rome. More news later.

Signed
Frazled