After more than three years of non-connubial bliss, Sven and Liz got married at the Prince George's County Courthouse in Maryland on February 2, 2000. The event was witnessed by half a dozen friends and co-workers, including Zach Church, who had arrived too late to witness Liz's first exchange of vows in 1985. The couple are committed to making the relationship work, as a posted sign informed them that there are no refunds on marriage licenses.

After the ceremony, most of the party adjourned to a Capitol Hill diner for brunch, where the waiter refused to bring Sven a vanilla milk shake. (He later relented.) Liz's co-workers having convinced her not to return to work, the couple passed the afternoon with a pleasant walk in Georgetown.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor."

Geier Gets Third Degree

Seven years of studying, ramen noodles and cryogenic engineering concluded on March 31, 2000 when Sven Geier defended his dissertation, titled "A Study of Cosmic Ray Beryllium with the Isotope Magnet Experiment (ISOMAX)." Committee members were duly impressed with his command of the subject matter, although one anonymous member remarked that the paper could have had more pictures.

Sven was subsequently awarded his Ph.D. by the University of Maryland, College Park.

New Addition to Family Comes In From the Weather

Following a dark and stormy summer night, Liz Schiller discovered a furry black bundle in the vicinity of her apartment mailbox. Although the package had neither an addressee nor a return address, the 100-decibel purr coming from the mysterious furball convinced her not to send it to the dead letter office (or the animal shelter).

What turned out to be a 6-week-old kitten soon joined the family, after a brief detour to the vet to get rid of all the fleas and earmites. Concluding that his presence in the right place at the right time was fated, Liz gave him the name Kismet.

Natasha, the household's senior cat, had no comment at press time.

Couple Goes West

Caltech Makes Offer He Can't Refuse

The cosmic ray science mafia was abuzz with the news that newly-degreed Sven Geier was to take a postdoctoral scholar position at the California Institute of Technology in October, 2000. "We've been working with him for several years now through our collaborations with NASA, and we've all gotten used to his unrelenting cheerfulness and the weird vegetarian food he eats, so I think we can handle having him around more regularly," said Caltech scientist Steve Schindler.

Sources at Caltech and NASA denied that a hostage-trading deal underlay the offer, although an independent source verified that postdoc Georgia deNolfo, formerly at Caltech, was joining the group at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center where Sven worked for the previous five years.

One More Snowstorm

Liz Defends Masters Thesis; Escape from Ithaca Delayed by Weather

After years of labor (and only a little procrastination), Liz Schiller completed her master's thesis and returned to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, to defend it in January, 2001, accompanied by Sven. The document, titled "The Influence of Participation in Peer Mediation Programs on Adolescents' Perceptions of Interpersonal Understanding, Respect, and Conflict: A Preliminary Investigation," came to 222 pages, including appendices and references. The full document can be downloaded from http://www.its.caltech.edu/~sgeier/text/LSchiller.Thesis.pdf

Following the defense and the completion of all associated revisions and paperwork, the couple escaped to New York City by bus in the middle of a snowstorm. "I'm going to miss the snow," Liz, who did not own a car in Ithaca, said truthfully.

Liz and Sven Settle in Pasadena

"Homeownership is just an excuse to go to Home Depot a lot," confirms Sven

Mesmerized by low interest rates, Sven and Liz obeyed their nesting impulse and purchased a house. In September 2001, the two relocated their household to Pasadena, a 2+ bedroom home on a corner lot in the historic Bungalow Heaven district. A neighborhood park is two blocks away, and Sven is just a short bicycle ride from Caltech.

Although the roof and other essential systems are sound, there have been lots of little repair and improvement jobs for Sven. "It's a big project, but I'm making progress," he reported. "I've stopped counting the trips to Home Depot," Liz added.

Amazing Asa Arrives

Grandmother announces: Cuter

than her children were

After a marathon 56 hours of labor (including the first afternoon, when the mother-to-be and other family members went out to see Harry Potter and have a nice dinner), Liz Schiller gave birth to Asa Romero Schiller on November 20, 2001, at Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles. Asa was 6 pounds 5 ounces at birth and measured 19-1/2 inches. In addition to Sven and doula Tracy Hartley, family members Esther and Gerry Schiller ("Gama" and "Der Alte"), Greg and Dawn Schiller ("Uncle Greg" and "Aunt Dawn") and friend Karen Workcuff ("Aunt Karen") attended portions of the labor. Father Sven cut the umbilical cord after the delivery.

Liz spent two days enjoying the hospitality and fine cuisine of Kaiser before going home with the much-admired infant on Thanksgiving Day. "This is the perfect time of year to have a baby," she said. 'There's no need to cook, I'll be eating leftover turkey and stuffing for weeks."