Oh yeah, I have a blog!

I'm registered for the Foreign Service Officers' Exam on July 16th. I'm taking it at a school in Henderson, NV, which is only 15 minutes from our house. I borrowed the Arco study guide from the public library and retook the practice tests. I didn't save my old scores though, so I don't know if I improved. I've read the Constitution a few times, played around with Sheppard Software, and read all the latest best sellers on international relations (from the back of Foreign Affairs).

Here's a fun fact for anyone who hasn't spent an extensive period of time delivering wedding cakes in Las Vegas: the loading docks of every hotel and restaurant stink. The restaurants and hotels here still just pile their trash up for days before its picked up, but unlike, say, Boston, it's constantly 110 degrees here. Which makes that trash REEK in just a short period of time. And if you're really interested, the loading docks under the Venetian and Palazzo are the nastiest smelling places in all of Las Vegas. I actually dry-heaved a few days ago, quite unexpectedly, while I was delivering cakes to some suites there.

Last weekend we went to Salt Lake City for Daniela's great uncle's funeral. I'll post a few pictures when I get them from Daniela's mom and aunt, but the ceremony was nice, I was a pallbearer because there were so few men who were able to make it, and it turns out Salt Lake City is beautiful. Before having gone there, I would have made fun of anyone who wanted to move there. What could Salt Lake City possibly have to offer? It turns out it's breathtakingly beautiful. High snow-capped mountains surround it, the weather is fantastic, the neighborhoods are cute and everyone takes care of their lawns. It's probably the nicest place in America to raise kids. The only downsides are the giant cloud of poison that hovers over it, and the marauding Mormons who regularly gun down tourists and non-believers. Oh yeah, and Jesus lives there. I saw his house but was too afraid to knock on the door to meet him.

Currently reading 'Reconciliation' by Benazir Bhutto.