Betsy and I just celebrated the anniversary of our first year together. It's been a hectic year, and the last few months were no exception. For weeks now packages have been arriving at our door most every day (lots of crystal salad bowls), we've been to a coed wedding shower (see VC 24 John 9) and other people's weddings, Betsy passed her blood test, I had my first Passover Seder and Betsy got to meet my grandmother for the first time, every day we got a dozen RSVPs and sent out a dozen thank you notes, and now, as the blessed event draws near, the phone calls and faxes between here and wedding central in South Bend are almost continuous.

My life of ease as an unemployed temp was interrupted by a brief stint as one of several computer nerds at GTE Mobilnet in a pleasant, far away place called Pleasanton. I was a temp working for a temp working for a consultant for twelve hours a day in a very hectic office.

When I walked in the door my first day someone yelled at me to answer the phone and then disappeared. It turned out I was the technical help desk for the entire western region. Soon I was rewiring cables in the network room and installing (YETCH!) IBM clones and racing around the building telling other hapless temps to answer the phone. By the time I finally figured out what was what my assignment was up and I was out of there. Such is the life of a temp.

After the wedding Betsy and I will spend a week back in Alameda. We may make a few day trips to Yosemite or Monterey and it looks like I may have a job interview. Then it's off to Hawaii for a week - not a bad honeymoon for a couple of temps. And then we'll return once again to our little hobbit hole and start figuring out how to pay July rent.

I finally got the chance to meet Yumi in person for the first time yesterday, and in the last month or so I've had visits from Larry, Roger, Drury, Janine, Paul, and Suzanne. And I look forward to seeing even MORE Archipelagoans in a few days. Thank you all for your many gifts and good wishes. For my next hello card I will return as John Cartan, married man.