FIGHT FACE

He's small so I guess he decided it'd be good to learn the art of intimidation. The best part is when he realizes he might have provoked me, relinquishes the whisk as a weapon and hides with Daddy.

Gaskell v. Dickens

So I don't mind Charles Dickens' novels, I loved A Tale of Two Cities and I could stand Great Expectations but his female characters were always so one dimensional, Lucie Manette...need I say more? For that reason and the whole "Angel in the house" Victorian ideal I was never really interested in getting into that time period of novels until just recently with the discovery of Elizabeth Gaskell. We had to read North and South for my women's history class and I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I didn't mind that I had to stay up until 4:45am to finish it in time for class. Granted, there are some passages that are...hmmm...how shall I explain this...very, well, Victorian but its still worth it despite those. Her male and female characters are equally well developed and it is a great book for anyone interested in any of the social history of the mid 19th century.
So after reading it and going to class and seeing a clip from the BBC miniseries adaptation I wanted to check that out too. Unfortunately none of the video rental places had it so I decided to use the birthday money I got from my mother-in-law, to just go ahead and purchase it, thanks Trixie! =) I think they do a pretty fair job in the film and I am mildly obsessed with the book and film now. Thank you Gaskell and thank you BBC! I now have a new addition to my "comfort food film collection" ;-)

Apples and Oranges

So it finally happened and when it did, it made our lives a lot more confusing: Johann got accepted to his top two grad programs, Chapman and BYU.
We knew about Chapman about a month ago and we were just waiting to hear about BYU. A couple weeks ago they invited him to interview and we just kept saying if he didn't get into BYU it would make our choice nice and easy. This past Friday he interviewed and they said they would let him know by the end of this week. Last night Johann started reading the email they sent him aloud and initially it sounded like a rejection letter, "we have had so many wonderfully qualified applicants..." blahblahblah and then "we are pleased to tell you we will be recommending your acceptance" etc. Then as he read on they also told him they will be offering him a paid research assistantship with one of the professors who emphasizes in some of the areas he is interested in.
Ah.
So now the people that constantly talked of just getting the heck out of Utah are confronted with a very difficult choice. Here are some pros and cons to each, add some in if you like:

Chapman:
Pros-
1. Close to family.
2. In California, ie the mountains, beach, Huntington Library, numerous museums and activities EVERYWHERE.
3. Johann would get his EdS and MA in 3 years.
4. Different school for his grad than he did for undergrad.
5. Lots of possible schools for me to go to in the area when its time for grad school, (UCI, Claremont etc)
6. Evening classes 3 days a week.
7. Better job placement possibilities

Cons-
1. COST OF LIVING, ie housing.
2. Cost of school ( about 4 times that of BYU)
3. Transportation issues (only one car, campus not in walking distance from where we'd mostly live).
4. All the normal moving things like not knowing anyone in Orange, not having near by sitters available, not knowing a good Dr. or pediatrician.
5. "Hands off" faculty- don't work as closely with students.
6. No research opportunities.
7. No offered jobs.

BYU:
Pros-
1. Very affordable program.
2. Opportunity for research.
3. Work closely with professors.
4. Part time job already offered.
5. Within walking distance.
6. Cheaper housing.
7. Familiar Drs. and pediatricians.
8. Some family and friends very close by.
9. People who are willing to babysit.

Cons-
1. FREEZING WINTERS.
2. Program is full time/day time classes (ie less opportunity to get another job).
3. Possibly issues with job placement in California
4. Very far away from most family.
5. Same as undergrad.
6. No grad programs for me to go into, though the opportunity to take post bacc classes for cheap.

Okay, so those are the main ones that we have thought of. There are some more but they aren't ones that are for sure things so I left them off. So...what do you think?