End of the First Semester

Finally, the end is near. My first semester as a Ph.D. student is drawing to a close. I have turned in my final project and only have a few more things to finish before the Christmas break. My students must give one more speech next Tuesday and then it's officially over. It's been a whirlwind, but I'm happy to be hear.

I enjoyed the UT vs. Memphis basketball game last night. UT jumped out to a twenty point lead in the middle of the first half and the Tigers could not bounce back. I'm from Memphis, so I had a small conflict of interest, but since I'm enrolled at UT, I'm a Vol for now.

We went to our first Christmas party Tuesday night. We had a great time eating good food, singing Christmas carols, and of course having a cheap gift exchange. I've always heard this game called a "White elephant gift exchange" or something like that. However, our invitation to this party labeled this game the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange. Ummm...I don't know what to think about that...it sounds like something you don't want to do in front a lot of people from church. But, we participated, and Kristen came home with a medium sized Christmas wreath that is actually pretty nice. She is surprised that no one stole it from her.

I've decorated my office desk with chili pepper Christmas lights. It reminds me of San Antonio. What a great city.