Day 2: Las Vegas

I was awakened about 6 a.m. Saturday morning by the tiny voice of my tiny niece Brooklyn, who wanted to go outside and play with the garden hose. For about an hour, Brooklyn, her mom, my dad, and I all sat outside while she watered the concrete, the bushes, and our feet.

Later, we went bowling. Brooklyn, with the aid of one of those ramps and some bumpers, beat both Maria and I.

After napping, we all headed over to this amazing sale at the Banana Republic outlet store in downtown Las Vegas.

Brooklyn and I sat in the back and danced. Like her cousin, Sammie, Brooklyn loves to dance.

At night, we lit some fireworks. Apparently, even something as simple as sparklers are illegal in southern California, so we bought a few for Brooklyn to try out.

However, it seemed to me like her dad and grandpa were the ones who really enjoyed them.

Here is a shot of my dad.

The device in his hand is primarily used to pick up dog waste. However, he discovered it was also the perfect way to handle used fireworks. Maybe this picture is only funny if you know my dad. Maybe it's really only funny to me.

Day 1: The Albuquerque Airport

With my dissertation successfully defended, I will embark on a two-week tour of LDS Church history and U.S. History sites across the country, beginning on Monday.

Today, however, I am in Albuquerque, laid over on my way to Las Vegas to spend a couple of days with my family before the tour starts. As I did when I went to Japan, I will do my best to document this trip as it happens, so that those of you who follow this sort of thing can experience it as it happens.

So, right now, I am in the airport. And, thus far, here are the things I have noticed:

• A man on the other side of the aisle from me reading Hold Me Tight, by Sue Johnson. Middle-aged, married. Some kind of businessman.
• An older woman wearing a blue duster, giant rhinestone earrings, and a huge bun on the top of her head, who was on my flight from Lubbock. I don't believe in taking pictures of strangers for the purpose of mocking them, but I was tempted.
• The Albuquerque airport itself provides many clues as to why Texans have a general disregard for the state of New Mexico. That's all I will say.
• While, in general, I think we as a society have found all kinds of ways to distance ourselves from one another, occasionally, I still hear people who don't know one another talking on airplanes and in airports, and it gives me hope that we might make it as a society after all. As I type this on my laptop with my headphones shoved in my ears.

The Beginning of the End

Today, I defended my dissertation. I am now officially Megan Oka, Ph.D.

Here is a small snippet of what my day was like:

One of my committee members, Dr. Alan Reifman, writes songs to help his students remember statistical concepts. When I had him as a professor, he began working on "Oka-Notion." Before my defense started this afternoon, he put this on the projector and we all sang along.

Every dissertation defense should start and end with karaoke and have cupcakes in between. Many more people would be getting Ph.D.s.

Almost done

Today, I submitted my dissertation to my committee. If all goes according to plan, I will be a doctor a week from Wednesday.

P.S. Still baking cupcakes. I just haven't had time to blog about them.

So Weird...

Last night, I pulled the BYU undergraduate class schedule up on the Internet. My name is listed as an instructor.

As a child, I never dreamed of going to BYU. When I did go to BYU, there would be times when I would find myself walking east across campus, toward Y Mountain and wonder to myself, "How did I get here?"

Last night, I found myself asking that question again.

Life is funny.

Hey There, Sports Fans

Some of you may know that I enjoy being a sports fan. I mean, I enjoy sports, but I REALLY enjoy being a sports fan. It has caused me to wear things like this:

And to do things like this:

And this:

In my defense, they all seemed like reasonable things to do at the time.

It's only now that they seem as bizarre to me as they must have seemed to everyone else.

Also, I collect t-shirts from colleges in places where I visit, as well as NHL teams, and I like to believe that if I team whose shirt I happen to own does well (like, for example, the Chicago Blackhawks) I have something to do with that.

But I'm pretty sure that this one has to be my favorite sports fan moment of all time:

In case you are wondering, the guy in the blue is George. He just won his tennis match.

Not only did our shirts spell out his name, but they also had this on the back:

You may have noticed that the venues appear to be getting smaller and smaller.

I'm thinking of starting a pep squad for church basketball pickup games.

And, no, the irony that this happens to also be the first name of my one and only brother-in-law is not lost on me.

What's been going on with me

So, here are the latest developments in my life:

• I will be working at BYU next year as a visiting faculty member.


• I am finishing up my dissertation and handing it into my committee in the next couple of weeks.


• My mom and I are taking a church history tour at the beginning of July.


• Melanee and I have decided to run the Top of Utah Marathon in September, which will be easier to do now that I will be living closer to her.


• I only have 9 cupcake recipes left!

Wow, when I write it all down, it sounds like a lot of stuff. Also, it makes me feel better about being lazy about my blogging lately, and in the future.