Happy Halloween

It is, isn't it? Today has been an excellent day. Sorry, I'm not going to get specific. Now, I'm going to go and cuddle with my big blue dolphin Ciarán and watch House.

Scream On the Green

I've just returned from watching The Shining, part of NC State's 'Scream on the Green' feature presentation. On the green meaning outside, on the grass, with speakers and a giant projection screen on the wall of some building. This would be ideal during the summer months, but right now, I can't feel my feet. In short, it was fuckin' cold! Oooh, I just dropped an f-bomb! Anyway, I wore two layers of socks and an extra shirt; I thought I was prepared for the cold. Mother nature had other ideas. After the first five minutes, parts of my body start bombarding my brain with the same message: 'Help! It's cold!' You would think that with my extra-built-in insulation, I'd be able to handle the cold well. Not so. An hour into the film found me huddled in on myself, with my hood tied to cover most of my face and my hands tucked tightly under my chin. I looked like ET with glasses. Nevermind. Among the many life-altering revelations that I've had tonight, here are a few: cold ground + dew = numb buttocks; tennis shoes will not keep your feet warm; and cold + chills = me wishing for summer. Now onto the movie. I read the book way back in middle school, so the plot was understandably vague in my mind (middle school was over seven years ago, give me a break!...give me a break, break me off a piece of that....). When I first read The Shining, it scared the ever-living daylights out of me. Stephen King has the uncanny ability to make me feel like a sane person. Even I am not crazy enough to come up with his ideas. So, the book was scary (to an eleven-year-old me). However, I'd say Blatty's The Exorcist and The Amytiville Horror are the two scariest books I've ever read. I'd never really seen the movie The Shining, and surprisingly, it's not that bad. I love the "Here's Johnny!" line. But the really creepy thing about the film is the score - the music. If you like movies that gradually build up the tempo and then slam you with some heart-stopping volume, you'll like this one. Looking back, I realize that I shouldn't have sat so close to the speakers - one was barely ten feet away! And that little kit croaking out "Redrum, redrum, redrum, redrum..." is enough to raise the hairs on anyone's arm. That is if you can feel your arms. All in all, I'm glad I went, but now I am even gladder that I can thaw some and then hop into a hot shower and then some warm PJ's. Happy Halloween! Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!

Oh what a beautiful day!

What a great weekend! I had so much fun and again, I can't stop smiling! Except for the part when my younger brother locked me out of the house for an hour Saturday morning (for no other reason than to piss me off), it was a really good weekend. Let's see if I can recall it all while listening to my Ella Enchanted soundtrack.

The trip home was uneventful. Nothing much happened Friday night - I watched a History of Violence with my parents (although I had to excuse myself from the very graphic sex scenes - some things I just cannot tolerate watching with my parents present!). The movie has no real plot, and aside from Viggo Mortensen kicking a lot of people's asses, there's no real reason to watch the film. And then I watched the end of Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I love that movie, probably because at its core, it's basically a romance and it's pretty dang funny. I will say that it contains the sweetest marriage proposal that I have ever seen.

Saturday, I managed to finish my book, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. It was surprisingly refreshing - a lot of satire and wit and comedy - and the romance was really played down. And now I have to find another book; I always have to have a book to read. Maybe Mists of Avalon again...? Anyway, Saturday night, I went to Ruby Tuesday's to hang out with David and Calvin. I've not laughed that hard or had such a good time in a very long time. I don't know if it was the slippery dicks, or the soggy blueberry muffins, or the talk about movies (I love movies!) and books (those too!), or sea otters pulverizing pumpkins, or roundup flavored marsh pennyworts, or maybe it was learning what to do if you're diving with a buddy and you see a gw circling you - I don't know - but I had a really great time. I would have loved to let the night last for a lot longer, but all nights must end, and this one was no exception, unfortunately, so we said goodbye. When I got home, my younger sister Becca was still awake. Younger sisters, I have come to realize, are much more perceptive than we give them credit for. I couldn't quite meet her eyes, but that's no surprise - I have a very hard time looking people in the eyes for more than two seconds anyway. But apparently she could read me like a book, though what she read, I'm not telling.

And then came this morning, with a traditional breakfast of grits and eggs, and then it was time to hit the road. And now I am back at school, writing this so I can have a good reason to procrastinate on doing my homework. The week looks very bright, and at the end, I'm going home again, this time to do my civic duty and vote in the election. I need a fast forward button!

I'm finally there...

The week is practically over, yay! Today was an exceptionally good day: I found out the results to my microbiology exam (A+), my microbiology lab practical (A+), and my organic chemistry quiz (A+). I'm so lucky when it comes to exams and quizzes. But enough of that. After four classes tomorrow, I am free to ride home with my Dad and start enjoying my weekend; who knows what wonderful and exciting things will happen?!

All in a day's work

I am a confirmed procrastinator. That's sounds like an AA meeting: "Hi, my name is Jess, and I am a confirmed procrastinator...." Well, I am. Most of the time. There are times when I surprise myself and manage to get all my work done in advance and surprisingly, that's been my MO this semester. But somewhere along the way, I've managed to backtrack to my delaying ways. In my defense, it's only been this week and then it was only because I've been feeling progressively sicker all week. And now, I'm almost caught up and I am exhausted. Wow, when did this become my personal pity party? I wanted to talk about how accomplished I feel. Yesterday, Callie, my awesome roommate, and her friend Justin were doing their organic chemistry homework here in our room. I was here doing my own homework (shocking, I know!), when several chances arose for me to demonstrate my organic chemistry know-how. I didn't think I was helping so very much, but apparently Justin told Callie that I was a genius (though not to tell me because it might swell my head), and Callie wants to take me to dinner to return the favor. And then tonight, Callie, and our friends Yoohnee and Renee, were all working to finish the same organic chemistry assignment, and I actually felt like I made a difference. A small difference, to be sure, but nonetheless a difference. And now I've been asked several different times if I'm planning on teaching organic chemistry (hadn't thought about it), or if I'm going to start charging for help because I could make a killing (I've actually thought about this one), or how it is I can remember all this stuff from, gasp, a semester ago and if I'm some sort of genius or something (not really). This sounds like a whole bunch of bragging, and it is, but it means more to me than that. It means that I've actually found something that I think that I can do: I can explain and tutor in organic chemistry, and I plan to next semester when I can get a position in the tutorial center. I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate in a year and a half, and time's running out, and all I'm doing is getting more and more nervous. This one small achievement - this being able to do something practical - has acted like a small compass in my sea of uncertainty. Who knows to where it will lead me?

When hell freezes over. Oh! Wait...

It is cold. I really want to load that simple statement with a ton of expletives, but I'm trying to be civilized, so I'll refrain. But it's cold! ¡Dios mios! What is this? A preview of coming attractions? It's 37 degrees outside (I have desktop weather, so sue me)! It's not evenNovemberr! The trees haven't lost the majority of their leaves yet; we should be in the mid-sixties! I had to make a run down to the convenience store downstairs, which is down the really long breezeway (I tried calling it a balcony once, but Darren almost had a hissy fit thinking that I had a real balcony) for some cough drops (feeling a little under the weather, nothing to fret about or skip class over, unfortunately). I thought that it'd be a short trip - light jacket and my flip flops. I thought wrong. I finally made it into the store and had to wait for my teeth to stop chattering and my whole body to stop shaking, and then I got the cough drops and braved the elements once more. Ok, so I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill - but it's cold! I love cool weather, but not icy-freeze-my-rear-off (I wish). I'm not prepared for this weather - I don't have my real jacket or anything other than a sweatshirt. The weather is allowed to get this cold when it's supposed to - in a month or so. Until then, turn the heat back on. And now, I'm going to try and find a warm spot to curl up with my cough drops and my book.

"...a lovely night, a lovely night; a finer night you know you'll never see..."

A weekend in review

This weekend has taken me through the entire gamut of emotions that I possess. Well, not entirely - but it was pretty dynamic. Starting in the wee small hours of Friday morning, I was higher than a kite. Let me rephrase: I was extremely elated and happy; I was practically bouncing off the walls - ask my roommate - it was pretty scary. Then came the ride home, and my emotions took sudden nose dive. When I go home, my Dad (being the awesome father that he is) comes and picks me up and then takes me home, filling me on family news and the like. Aside from my Dad being happy about a new book to read, this informative session involved the unloading of some clandestine family conflict - can't relate the particulars here - but this conflict succeeded in dampening (literally) the rest of our day. But then came Saturday, the day of Rebecca's and Mom's birthday celebration. Things began to look bright once more. I put up some decorations, made the cakes, cleaned up some, mowed the yard, and wrapped presents. By the time I was finished, it was time to celebrate.

We all tucked into some excellent vittles, talking and laughing away. Then it came time for opening presents. I won't relate every gift here, but I will say that both Becca and Mom were happy with all of their presents. Dad and I went shopping for a bit on Friday and found the funniest card - you can see it pictured here- be sure and look at it closely. The cat is Leo, a boy, and the dog is Scrappy, a girl. By pasting the images on the card, I thought I gave it a touch of authenticity. When all the presents were opened, we did the traditional presentation of the birthday cake. I made the cake using two nine-inch circular pans, but instead of stacking the individual halves on top of each other, I let each half be an individual cake. Mom and Becca always have to share their birthday celebration, and their birthday meal, but this year I wasn't going to make them share their birthday cake. It's corny, I know, but it's the thought that counts, right? After that, we tormented our cat Leo by hiding his treats under various things and laughing when he couldn't find or sniff them out.

This morning, my Dad made a spectacular breakfast featuring chocolate, blueberry, and pecan pancakes. By the time we finished, it was almost time for us to leave for Raleigh. I took a few pictures of the roses my Dad sent to my Mom on her birthday. I love roses! They are so beautiful! I've always had a thing for roses ever since reading Beauty and the Beast, and that fondness has found an outlet the name of this blog (La Vie en Rose), and in my continued preference for roses. They're so beautiful!

In other news, my oldest brother TJ bought himself a new truck. It's a 2006 silver F-150, 4x4, with a bunch of other features that I don't understand. I just know that the truck is very, very easy on the eyes. And then Buddy, our beloved Canada Goose of four years, decided that it was time to pack her bags and migrate. We never thought that she would migrate - that she was too domesticated ever since we first got her when she was brought to the shelter only a week or so old. But looking back, I realize that she may have chosen to stay with us, but she was never really ours to possess. She may have been very humanized, but in the end, nature still triumphed. I guess the most surprising thing is that I am not more upset. I was the one who took care of the little precocious bundle of fuzz four years ago, and I always looked forward to being greeted by a loud series of honks whenever I went home. I'm usually the one who goes to pieces when we lose a pet, but not this time. What has gotten into me??

Have you taken a look outside lately? It's gorgeous! The veritable plethora of color always steals my breath away: gold, amber, scarlet, russet, orange, fire, sienna ... and so many more. It's going to be a good week, I can feel it in the air. But although the new week hasn't yet started, I can't wait for it to be over so I can go home again next weekend.

Random bragging...

It's one in the morning and I am wired - I have to be up in seven hours - but that doesn't change the fact that I am wide awake. Since that's the case, I thought that I would take advantage of my highly conscious state to do some bragging. Well, not really. I just want to show off the new design I did for my roommate Callie's blog. I found all of the pictures on google, and then tweaked them - cropping, resizing, recoloring, adding transparency, and other things - and here is the finished result. Callie has recently become very intuned to the charm of Joaquin Phoenix, and wanted a change from her Adrien Brody layout (which I also designed, go me!). Granted, Joaquin is good looking and one helluva good actor, and he speaks fluent Spanish (something I aspire to do someday), he doesn't really float my boat. Maybe it's because he's a vegan - and I don't think I could ever give up meat (pulled pork bbq rocks!), but whatever the reason, my sister Rebecca will be delighted to have Adrien Brody all to herself again. Thus concludes this session of boasting; please return your seats to the upright position and thank you for flying 'what I like about me'-air.

Time is of the essence

So it's taken a little bit of time to adjust to being back at school and getting into the groove of things. It was a happy chance that my fall break fell on the week of Darren and Kim's wedding - I didn't have to miss any midterms or other exams. And now the week is halfway over, as is the semester, and I am wondering where all the time went. True, it doesn't feel like the summer break was yesterday, but neither does it feel like half of the semester has already come and gone. Not that I'm complaining! If time continues like this, Halloween will be tomorrow, Thanksgiving the week after, and Christmas break just a day or two after that. Of course time would slow down for Christmas break so I can enjoy the month-long break at home. Why all the talk about time, you ask? Two reasons. One, I met with my advisor today to discuss my future academic career and my progress towards my degree and towards my future career (whatever that is). And two, today is my Mom's birthday, a celebration of her accumulation of 29 +1+1....years. Seeing my advisor and thinking about my future always puts me on edge simply because I don't know and I'm not eager enough to know to try and find out. Every semester something new crosses my mind and I get even more and more confused. A year ago I was thinking about being a physicians assistant, a semester ago I had thought of something more towards learning about evolution, and now I'm thinking about teaching. Time is running out and I'm not getting anywhere. I'm not even sure if I want to do something in biology! I could start learning about web design or writing or drawing or anything else. I don't feel qualified to do anything but be a student, and at times I don't even feel qualified to be that. Oh well, it's a good thing my second reason, my mother's birthday, and my sister's birthday come to think of it, will afford me a good reason to go home this weekend. I'm going home on friday, and perhaps I'll stay up late decorating the kitchen for their birthdays, and then help cook a great birthday meal on Saturday, along with a birthday cake. Becca and Mom always end up having to celebrate their birthdays on the same day, and this weekend will be no exception, but I have a few ideas how to make it more agreeable to the both of them. Woohoo, two days, and I'll be in Newport!

If Only, If Only...

With the memories of this past weekend still bringing a smile to my face, I feel compelled to bring up a related subject: pictures. I am quite fond of taking pictures, but my usual subjects are landscapes, plants, sunsets, clouds, and animals. I don't normally take pictures of humans - mainly because I don't like to ask people to stand still and smile for me. But this past weekend was one time that I truly wish that I had had my camera with me. I had it the day of the wedding and took pictures of all the girls before the wedding, excepting me, which is my right since I'm the one behind the camera and I have no wish to break said camera. But when it came time for the ceremony and reception, I didn't bring it with me because I thought that it would look funny for me to be carrying my camera case down the aisle alongside my bouquet, and because I didn't want to leave it anywhere unprotected. So, as a result, I have no pictures of the wedding or of the reception. My parents did bring their camera, but I don't particularly like it because it doesn't work well. So, if anyone has any pictures of the wedding of or the reception, please send them to me!

The Best Weekend of My Life!

Hi, this is Jessica reporting live from the best weekend of my life. And you, my lucky audience, are going to have the honor of hearing every detail that I can recall.

We left later than we had planned to on Friday morning, and we arrived almost exactly on time in Charleston. The ride was uneventful and long, but I managed to finish another book, so go me! We checked into the hotel and then it was off to the rehearsal at the pavilion. We arrived a bit early, so my Mother and I walked on the beach and collected sea shells. Even though I live near the beach and I have a dorm room and my home bedroom full of sea shells, I cannot resist the temptation to pick up a couple of handfuls more. I'm especially attracted to the curvy ones - like the olives, Atlantic augers, moon snails (that's not a technical term, but let's just pretend it is), conchs, and whelks. And then after that, lots of familiar and new people arrived and I got to meet some really awesome people. We surveyed the area and we bridesmaids practiced walking down the planking, down the stairs, and then down the aisle. As the tallest by a hair, I went first, and then Becca, and then Michelle, and then Jenny, and then Bethany in place of Kim. Then we ran through the ceremony and when it came to the part where Calvin was to hand over the rings, he actually had rings that he and David had pulled off water bottles beforehand. We all had a good laugh over that, but then Darren got dive-bombed by a seagull - but we turned that one into a good omen.

And then it was time for dinner at Wild Wings, the home of the incompetent hostess, among other things. There was no excuse for the restaurant's poor planning and ineptitude. We had to wait over an hour outside in the semi-cold. However, it does not follow that that time spent outside was in any way bad. I know that I had a good time, meeting new people and sharing funny anecdotes about professors who answer student's cell phones claiming to be the Sheriff’s office or stories about Darren and Thomas getting into my Mother's spare ribbon and lace and calling themselves "Ribbon boy" and "Lace Man." And then we were shown inside and had an excellent dinner, and Darren and Kim being the wonderful couple that they are picked up the check for all of us. Course, if I had known, I probably wouldn't have ordered all those expensive margarita pitchers.

The next day, Becca and I were dropped off at Kim's beach condo and met all of her friends from Ohio. Then it was off to the mall for Kim to get her makeup done, and she looked gorgeous! She is beautiful with or without makeup, but she really looked lovely with the makeup. After that, it was a mad dash back to the condo to get ready. I have no idea how to do hair and I have never put makeup on, so I was completely clueless as to what to do to get ready. That's when Missy and Cecile (not sure if that is spelled correctly) offered to do Becca's and my hair and makeup. I know it was Kim's day to be a princess and she really was, but with a whole team of people working to make me beautiful and succeeding (a work of certifiable genius in my opinion) I felt like a princess, and I even had a sweet prince to dance with at the reception! Then it was time for pictures on the sand, and then Becca and I were off to see Darren and offer some moral support for a moment. I thought he was holding up pretty well, even though he seemed in desperate need of a hug. He and all the groomsmen and the best man and all the men looked pretty good, pretty damn good. And then it was back to the condo to wait.

Just before five, we all piled into the van and made our way down to the pavilion. It seemed like a forever long wait, but then the guys were walking and we girls were taking our positions. As I stared at Bethany, waiting for my signal, all I could think was, "Oh God, this is it!" I was so worried that I was going to walk too fast, or too slow, but I think I did fine, and I made it down the stairs without falling (trust me when I say I've fallen down many a hard staircase in my day). And then Sean escorted me down the aisle and then my trek was over and I got to watch every one else be as nervous as I was. And then came Kim on the arm of her father, and that was the first time that I almost started crying. Sentimental moments always get to me, and that was no exception. Kim looked so beautiful and so happy! The vows were really sentimental which made my fight to not cry all the more difficult. When Darren started getting choked up and had trouble saying the last word of his vows, I really almost started sobbing. But we all made it, and then it was back down the aisle, up the stairs, and back to the pavilion for the fun part of the evening.

We all congregated downstairs and started getting to know everyone and offering our congratulations to the happy couple. Then it was time for the speeches and I think Jenny and Calvin did an excellent job, and I again started tearing up at places. And then it was time for the food, as most of us were starving. The food was great, as was the banana pudding. Darren and Kim then cut the cake and prepared to place a morsel in each other’s mouths, but they instead swiped the faces of Calvin and Jenny. Then it was time for Darren and Kim to have their first dance as a married couple. The song was "Bless the Broken Road," and it was just so touching to watch them dance to such a beautiful song, I almost started crying, again. And then Kim danced with her father to the one of the most touching songs I have ever heard, "I loved her first," by Heartland. I wanted to sob so hard right then, but with a few light jokes, I made it through the dance. And then it was time for everyone to start dancing. We did the electric slide, the chachaslide, the funky chicken dance, and, oddly enough, the Macarena. And then they played a few songs so people who are terminally Caucasian in terms of dancing (like me) can have a chance to get on the floor and at least appear graceful. I had a wonderful dancing partner for at least four dances, which is a record for me, having only danced one slow dance before last night.

And then it was time for Kim to throw the bouquet and of all people, the youngest, my sister Becca, caught it. When Darren threw the garter, someone I didn't know caught it, and then Darren and Kim said that was it - no having that guy put the garter on 16-year old Becca. She didn't even know about that part, and it was funny to see her eyes bug out when I told her it was a tradition.

Thomas drove Kim's car round front and I think it was somewhat of a surprise to several people. Darren and Kim, however, knew all about it. I had a personal tour of the handiwork, including writing in soap, shaving cream, balloons, and inflated prophylactics. Later, when we girls went back to the house to change out of our finery, we helped Darren and Kim clean the car. Apparently, when we were finished, the car was cleaner than it had ever been since Darren had met Kim. By the time we made it back to the pavilion, the work was already done! So then it was time for goodbyes, handshakes, and hugs. My family and I headed back to the hotel and practically crashed. I hadn't done anything really strenuous all day, so I can't even imagine how everyone who worked hard to set up the pavilion felt at the end!

This morning, we went over to Darren and Kim's townhouse, and Mom, Becca, and I got to open our birthday presents. I loved mine! I haven't had a chance to get into it, but the second I get a chance, I'm taking it. Of course, I'm really not that obsessed with Johnny Depp (Don't get me wrong - he is an excellent actor and he is gorgeous), I just put on for laughs (seriously). And then it was time for hugs and goodbyes again, so we said goodbye to the new Mr. and Mrs. Cumbie, David, Calvin, Pi, and Hobbs, and then it was back to the road. And now here I sit, glad than my long narrative is finally drawing to a close.

All in all, I had a wonderful weekend - I can't stop smiling - it was so much fun and so perfect! I hope everyone had a wonderful time and I can't wait to see everyone again!

The breath before the plunge...

I made it. I'm here. It's wednesday afternoon and I have survived my dreaded microbiology exam. With regards to the exam...I don't want to talk about it. Now, I'm sitting here and listening to The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen Before, sipping my coffee while I wait for my chicken sandwich in the microwave to finish. School is out for the week, and I am getting ready to go home in a few hours, and then I will arrive home around midnight. Tomorrow, my family and I will make our way down to Charleston, SC, to attend the wedding of the year. My sister and I will be bridesmaids and I must say that I am quite glad to have upgraded from being a flowergirl in a cute peach dress when I was four for the wedding of my sister Lisann. Hopefully this time I won't trip as I walk down the aisle. I am packed and ready to go. I want to get down to Charleston now - I miss Charleston and I miss Darren and Kim. I am excited about this wedding. I am truly happy that Darren and Kim are finally getting married. I was just telling that to Callie last night, and I said "they're finally getting married," in a sing-song voice, and she repeated it, and then I repeated it, and so on and so forth. It was like a Whose Line Is It Anyway scene from the hat, where the card says "If people really burst into song in the middle of ordinary life like they do in musicals." While saying "they're finally getting married" is a far cry from Ryan Stiles walking out on stage, squatting and then singing, "Oh..where has all the toilet paper gone, toilet paper gone, toilet paper gone...", it was pretty funny because we recognized "they're finally getting married" from the third Aladdin movie. It was a very weird and a very funny situation, but it's kind of hard to explain in writing, so I'll just leave it at that. Ah! My sandwich is done, "What an excellent day for an Exorcism..."

Viewer Discretion Is Advised

I have compiled a collection of my favorite online videos and/or 'thingamabobs' for your personal enjoyment, but as some of them are quite risqué, I have included advisory warnings for each. Enjoy!

Thriller
Advisory Level: Squeaky Clean
Description: A music video to the tune of the Benny Hill show; pretty funny in my book.

Turtle Love
Advisory Level: Racy, appreciation of biology advised
Desciption: Contains semi-robust and graphic auditory noises of two turtles being...affectionate.

Harry Potter Dubbed
Advisory Level: High; Contains a high level of profanity and the focus of the humor of this video centers on the 'f' word.
Description: Scenes from the Harry Potter Movies dubbed with lines from South Park. I watch it almost daily.

Line Rider
Advisory level: mostly clean; possibly addictive if you tend to exemplify the expression "simple things for simple minds."
Description: Draw a line and hit the play button and then a little guy on a sled rides your line. Making sound effects tends to increase the chances of becoming addicted to this game. I am addicted to this game.

Lost Farts
Advisory level: Medium
Contains: Prepubescent bodily function humor; similar to the 'farting preacher' videos found on google, this video will help you get in touch with your inner child. Try watching it and not laughing - I couldn't do it.

Sean Bean on Valentine's Day
Advisory Level: High; be sure you have guarded your heart well or he just might steal it away
Contains: A short interview with Sean Bean and his romantic actions on Valentine's Day

Desperado : Canción Del Mariachi sung by Antonio Banderas
Advisory Level: Medium; some violence...but it was justified.
Contains: Antonio Banderas singing a traditional Mariachi song of Mexico in Spanish. I love this song and I actually had a mariachi band sing this song to me and my family at El Cerro Grande in Havelock last year.

Blue Monday, How Are Ya Blue Monday?

Got to work like a slave all day.... I love that song. And it's very true, isn't it. OK, so if I were working like a slave, I wouldn't be taking the time to make this post. But I did have two exams earlier today and the sad thing is, my week although three days in length is nowhere near over! I have a microbiology exam on wednesday and I am getting ready to continue my studying as soon as I finish my intensely sweetened coffee. But isn't that sad? I have two days of school left, four classes total, which means that I have already completed one half of my week. But does it feel like it? How about a huge, resounding no. The exam on wednesday is going to be sapping all of my time (except for the time I spend on this blog) between now and wednesday morning, so that means that the only time I get to relax is during my last two classes of the day! Boo hiss. I think I've complained enough, so I'll get back to studying my rear off (alas, if only that were the case!)

Oh, and by the way, I am the Organic Chemistry Goddess!!

As I sit here and munch on my peanut butter and banana sandwich (so good!), two things cross my mind. One, it's really late and I have a lot of studying to do tomorrow, and two, I am a genius at organic chemistry. Ok, so I have more thoughts than that. I'm actually thinking that I was incredibly stupid to quit working my brain after taking care of my organic chemistry homework earlier today. I have two tests on monday, and granted, they are relatively easy classes and one test doesn't scare me at all, I still should have cracked open a book today. But did I? No. What did I do today? I woke up after noon, had brunch, came back, cleaned house, fought tooth and nail for a washer machine and then brought out the big guns when it came time to find a dryer. Seriously, nine washers and ten dryers are not enough for all of the residents in my dorm. There are two sides to the dorm, so how about two separate laundry rooms? I have never seen our laundry room as crowded as it was today and how dare those people in there remove my clothing from a dryer when I arrived a minute after the dryer stopped! Anyway, I managed to do my laundry, had an excellent dinner (chicken cordon-bleu, hush puppies, and the best cream of broccoli soup ever), and then I came back here to read and fold my laundy (doing laundry does not mean folding it). Oh, and I decorated the room for Halloween. I got some streamers, some balloons, and some motion-sensing props. Not to mention a booby-trap or two for my unsuspecting roommate, and two fake bloody hands stuck to our mirror. I hope my fabulous roommate has some more halloween stuff, because we both love halloween. Love love love love it!

Somehow I got distracted (it happens, I know). I was saying that I am a genius in organic chemistry. I just get it. It helps that I have an awesome professor who anthropomorphizes everything, from screaming carbocations and friendly alkyl pumps to dumb oxygens equipped with lone pairs and nucleophilic backdoor entries (sounds kinky, huh?). I got organic chemistry I very well, making out with an A+ in that class. And now my roommate is in organic I and I've been able to help her out a little, along with her friend, and it makes me feel so good to see them actually get something because of what I said. And then I have a friend who sits next to me in organic II who occasionally calls me for help on the homework and then when I help her to understand the concept, she tells me I'm a lifesaver and that I need to work in the tutorial center because none of the people there had a clue how to help her. My supercool roommate has also reccomended that I work in the tutorial center and has even said that I need to be a teacher (I've thought about it, really, I have!). When it comes time for me to do my homework, I usually (not always) get it correct on the first submission (it's all online) and I can do so without looking at any reference materials (notes, slides, ect). In fact today, I got everything correct on the first submission without one look at my notes or anything to guide me except my organically-minded brain. All this has made me feel like a genius in organic chemistry, but if you'll remember, the title of this blog says that I am the goddess of organic chemistry. I had my first test in organic II. I studied for maybe three hours total, I wasn't worried at all about the exam, and didn't miss a single point the exam - I made a 101! That in my book makes me an organic chemistry goddess! And now if you'll excuse me, this goddess has to get back to her sandwich. Mmmmmm......

¡Ayúdame!

Which of course means Help Me! Anyone know anything about computers and spyware/adware/grayware and what-not? Here's my problem: first thing in the morning, I open up Mozilla Firefox, and it takes a minute or two to load, but when it does, up pops a popup from Internet Explorer. The IE popup commands the active window, and I have to forcefully manuever my way back to my firefox window, and then, without me doing anything, the IE popup just disappears. I've run symantec and spybot - nothing. They are all up-to-date and yet do not detect anything wrong with my system, but this popup thing is driving me crazy. Everytime I take an extended break from mozilla, and then open up mozilla, up pops the IE popup, always advertizing something different. Have any ideas on what I can do????

Posting for posting's sake...

So it's been a week since I've written anything of substantial worth, and if you're looking for it now, you'll be disappointed.

I went home this past weekend for my birthday and I got a lot of really cool things. I got the cutest little thing - it's a cell phone holder made out of stainless steal in the shape of a little person - you just put your phone in the center and it makes the phone look like a little person! And I got the movie Jane Eyre (which I have wanted for sooooo long!) and The Village (which made me very, very, very happy - I love that movie!). I got The Forest House, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and I already have a hard time putting it down. And then my parents got me a pair of Rainbow sandals - they are so comfortable! Well, not right now, since I missing part skin on the topside of my toes, but once I break them in, they will be the most comfortable shoes I own, not that I own so many.

I find myself again writing that I am sore all over. Yesterday, we did an active circuit outside, using proper fitness walking form to go between stations of curl-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, and squat-thrusts. I had no quarrel with any station, except for the squat thrusts. You see, squat-thrusts and I go way back, all the way back to FFA camp, when we'd be woken out of a blissful sleep at zero-dark-thirty and rushed outside to do morning exercises. We always ended with squat thrusts. I am not an athletic person. Let me say that again: I am not an athletic person. Squat thrusts soon became the scourge of every day for me. I hated how much they could make me hurt afterwards, and I hated grinding my hands into the hard asphalt, and I hated doing them until my arms could barely support me, and my legs could not. I felt that since I was at camp for purely non-athletic reasons, that I should not have to do such an exercise that could potentially injure someone with the same mammoth proportions from their neck down as me. But did them I was forced to do, a fact which probably has contributed to my dislike of them the most. So, squat thrusts were a figment of my past that I could happily forget. But would they let me forget them? No, of course not. No sooner had my PE professor said the words "squat thrust" than I was inwardly cringing. I found myself dreading that one corner of the track where we did that particular exercise, but I always did my best and gave my full effort, and now what have I got to show for it? Aching arm, leg, and back mucles, that's what. Have I complained enough?

I have more news, I promise, but I'm being drawn to my new book like a moth to the flame (though hopefully I shall not meet the same distatrous fate).

Some New Stuff...

Callie wins the contest for correctly guessing my first word.

In other news, I have changed the background, and I am offering yet another prize for the person who can tell me what it is all of these quotes have in common, aside from them all being quotes and aside from them all being from movies. The prize is something like the other prizes - a drink, or something along those lines. If you can't read the quotes, click here
. Too late, Callie figured out that they were all quotes from Sean Bean in his movies, but which movies...?