Goin' to a Ball

Yes, going to a ball. The Viennese Ball, to be exact. It's a fundraiser that the hubby's parents attend every year, and in response to the incredulous questioning of my co-workers, yes, I am going to an actual, real, honest-to-goodness ball. Should be fun! I got to buy a pretty dress and everything (see photo below). Now I just need to find shoes.

Actually, I'm going to get pretty seriously gussied up. The requisite thing to do when getting married is to try out your hairdo beforehand, so I've booked my trial for tomorrow. It's a twofer! I get to try out my 'do, and have pretty hair for the ball. Pretty genius, if I do say so myself. Apparently the ball involves champagne, a five-course dinner, and a full orchestra, so it sounds like a good night to me. I love classical music, whereas the hubby doesn't appreciate it as much, so I'll get more out of the music, and he'll get more out of the food. I can guarantee you that the bottomless pit will make an appearance tomorrow night, especially when it comes time for the midnight goulash.

Other exciting things: I just found out today that I won a Dalhousie award for my thesis. It's called the Malcolm Ross award, and it's in recognition of the best thesis (M.A. or PhD) of the year on a topic in Canadian literature. I didn't even realize that I had been nominated (Dean did it without telling me), and the committee decided on Wednesday that I won. Sweet! It comes along with a little bit of a cash prize, which perfectly covered the cost of my dress. It was fate!

Party planning at work is going extremely well. I'm getting tons of positive RSVPs, and some really interesting people are coming. I also had a call from an employee of one of our authors who has tons of connections with the Chinese media, and will be getting lots of them to cover the party. That's exactly our target market, so I'm thrilled. And I also sold (although I'm not a sales rep), nearly $10,000 of books today. Teachers and consultants occasionally come into the office to see books, and as these few weeks of the year are a big time for spending the remainders of budgets and planning for next year, I made a bit of a killing. I really should be getting paid commission.

In other news, my sister Hayley is coming to work with me. There was an opening that needed to be filled immediately, she was perfectly qualified, and my former boss (pre divisional unmerging) hired her on the spot. It's quite exciting. She's going to be great at it, and it'll be fun to see her every day. Even better, one of my co-workers lives about three blocks from our parents' house, so Hayley can carpool with her. Couldn't have worked out better.

In the world of extracurricular activities, I'm currently having a good time following a fitness plan that comes from one of my favourite basic workout books. I normally just do my own thing, but I'm liking the structure, and it helps to have a set plan for building up on weight and reps. I'm on day 3 of week 5 of the Advanced level, which is pretty good. Our gym is under construction, but that just means that it's less busy, which works for me. I was considering joining the slo-pitch team at work, but as I am fantastically un-athletic, I decided not to subject my co-workers to my lameness. Once the yoga studio at the gym is finished being renovated, however, I'm all in for that. My flexibility could surely use a boost.

The hubby is currently interviewing like mad for his dream job. His firm could only offer him a position in a division that he had no interest in working for, so he decided to try his luck elsewhere, and today was his last day there. He's met with some very interesting and prestigious firms that do exactly what he wants to do, and it sounds like he's going to get offers from more than one of them. So he gets a few weeks of vacation, and then his dream job. Must be nice!