Back. Oh, and Cat Theatre.

Wow, it's been two and a half years since I last updated this blog. The pressure for this post to be epic is overwhelming. But how can I be funky and fresh while at the same time playing catch-up? Perhaps we'll keep the latter to a minimum through an exciting list. We shall call this list "Top 4 Awesome Things that Have Happened In My Life Since 2009". In the spirit of a Wayne's World Top Ten List, this shall be in order of awesome to most awesome:

4. I hesitate to rank this 4th because it was SO awesome. Did someone say SHS Class of 99 ten year reunion? Unreal. Below is a snap shot of me and one of my best friends during the Alumni Day Parade. Yes, they do shut down the streets for this and we did have a float. And yes, for international holidays we chose St. Patrick's Day. And finally, yes, at the end of the parade, the tradition states that the float must be burned in a bon fire. (*a note to the reader on this, I found that tradition somewhat shocking - just goes to show that this is a cruel world with lots of adult lessons).

You can see I'm trying to play it cool with the float on fire in the background, but it's very awkward (even more than usual).

3. We moved from Lilongwe to DC. I really miss the warm heart, but it had to happen as Andrew wished for further education in the study of disease transmission. We almost moved to Atlanta, but at the last moment on Zomba platueau, Andrew had an epiphany so now attends school in Baltimore. And I work in Washington, but travel a good amount. Overall, a nice gig, but had to be number 3 because I love Malawi-wowi and our friends there so much. Fortunately, many live in DC now too which worked out very well.

2. Leaving OBall in Malawi was devastating. While we knew she was a jungle cat who needed to be in Africa, I was like "but she's so political" and really wanted to bring her to DC. I was heartbroken until Andrew relented and said the six most magical words (that I long to hear again): "we can get a new one." So we adopted a kitten in July of 2009. His name is Iwe - Chichewa for "Hey you!" It works very well as I often wish for him to come running in my direction. Photo from day of adoption. Man, talk about pure joy.

1. We got married! And it is fantastic. I strongly recommend (especially to friends from whom I may get an invite) getting married. The celebration is unreal and then life as a married couple also rocks. You may not know this, but once you're married, no more additional driver fees for a rental car! And you have a fantastic partnership supported by all of your friends and family as well as the IRS. I give it a total A+.

I think that is sufficient catch up. I really did provide you with the highlights. Well, save, a very fun bowling party and some amazing travel. More on that stuff later.

So as I mentioned, my new job has me traveling quite a bit. To keep you reading my blog, I'd like to provide the following video of the Cat Theatre I recently visited in Moscow. As if I need to tell you - it blew my mind. Also of note, I was the only person over 5 years of age. I could not be deterred and pushed with the rest of the kids to touch the cat on a pole that was passed around. Pure magic, my blog readers. Pure. Magic.