A Weird Mood In I am

I think I've lost my mind. That sounds like I actually had one to begin with. Anyway, I think I've lost what little remained to me. Random things are making me laugh - and sometimes I laugh for no reason. It's a far cry from when I woke up and felt like crying, so I'm not complaining. Or am I? Smear. I think this is my limit. Today was the last really trying day of the semester (exempting final exam week) - I had two exams, one quiz, and one eleven page paper due today. I'm beat. And my back hurts. Still. But at least I'm laughing. Maniacally, crazily - does it matter - laughter is the best medicine, so if I'm crazy, then laughing will help cure me. How do you like that logic? Nitwit. Oddment. Blubber. Tweak. Oh, good, tylenol is kicking in. Excellent. I am ready to go HOME! This is my last weekend at home before I come home for Christmas, in two weeks. Sigh. I'm going to go lie on the floor for a bit. After I go down stairs and buy something chocolaty - mmmm...chocolate. Good. Yawn. Good night nurse.

Help, I think...

I think I'm experiencing my mid-week crisis, and I don't know why. I have two exams and one quiz tomorrow, which could have something to do with it. But...but, the exams will be exceedingly easy. I have nothing to worry about with them and I am in fact not worried about them. The quiz on the other hand, I am somewhat worried about. Mainly because I haven't studied for it yet. But, I get to take it on my own time, when I want tomorrow, so that will not be a problem. I'm mainly concerned about the five or six hours it's going to take me to study for it - if I follow my normal study routine, and I probably will. And that put me taking the exam at around seven or eight pm, after dark, and I am not very comfortable walking around campus by myself after dark. Call me crazy, but it puts me on edge - like now. And let's see, what else is bothering me? My body! To put it simply, I hurt. My knees are bothering me again - they always do around this time of year - getting all stiff and tender and pained. And then my muscles hurt from the exertions of yesterday. And then my back has been bothering me for the past week. Remind me never to lift any heavy weights ever again. I carried two fifty-pound bags of feed last Wednesday to the shed, and my back hasn't let me forget it since. I think it's getting worse, actually, unfortunately. Damn. Laying on the floor seems to help. I think I freaked Callie out when I did that a minute ago. She was lying on her bed reading a magazine and I just slowly moved my stuff out of the way and laid down in the space between our beds. I was there about a minute before I saw her pop her head over the side of her bed and ask me if I was all right. Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know. Can you repeat the question? And now I'm going to enjoy the simplicity of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Why? Because it's simple and no matter if I lift something heavy or fail an exam, I know that sandwich is going to be there for me. It's a simple fact of life. I can't even believe you asked that question. Wow. No more koolaid for me tonight. Over and out.

Delay

I really am addicted to blogging. Right now, I should be writing up my Microbiology lab report, but am I? (If you have to think about that one, please stay out of my gene pool) I did my two mile for my PE class today - I didn't think it was possible for me to get that red - but then again, I learn something every day. I didn't do as terribly as I had thought - I beat my old time by almost three minutes - but I didn't do great. And to top that off, I am going to feel wonderful in the morning - I can feel the lactic acid working on most of my big muscle groups now - which in addition to my arthritic-feeling knees is going to make me look like a cripple walking to the dining hall for breakfast. Oh well. I got my nutrition log back - I recorded everything I ate for one week - and my professor said that I ate well, but I shouldn't skip so many meals - well, I wouldn't if I could help it. And now, here I sit in my pajamas (I wanted to be comfortable), listening to some Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby, and glancing every now and then at the microbiology lab notebook sprawled open on my bed. Over the course of our semester, all the students in the microbiology labs (i.e. ME) were given an "unknown" to identify using all the tests we learned over the semester. I think I have Proteus vulgaris. But the problem is this: my lab partner thinks she has Proteus vulgaris too. There are few enough unknowns for a repeat or two to be necessary - but in the same partnership? I'm not very concerned - I've aced everthing (not to be boastful) thus far in that class, and I just found out that there is a thirteen point curve on the last exam we took, which puts me in the over 100 range. I'm pretty good at scientific writing - you just say the facts and that's it - so if I misidentify my unknown, it won't be tragic. I hope that doesn't sound too much like hubris! Well, I guess it's time to hop to it.

The Bachelor...

The Bachelor just had it's finale, the bachelor chose his bride (rather unromantically, in my opinion - he didn't even kneel for Christ's sake!) and then they announced who the next bachelor would be - a very physically fit doctor in the United States Navy with the rank of Lieutenant. He seems very sweet - very family oriented, somewhat easy on the eyes (I have to admit that all that sculpted, chiseled muscle doesn't do anything for me, on the contrary - it kinda creeps me out) - and he said he was just looking for the perfect woman to love and to settle down with and to have a lot of children with. At this point, Callie proceeds to point to herself and say "I'm right here!" I mentioned that he would more likely choose me because I want to have children someday (eventually, no rush in that department!) and Callie doesn't. And then Callie says, with this dopey expression, "I'd have his babies." Well. What a night. And now, time for a shower, and then back to my book.

White and nerdy

I have come to the conclusion that I am a nerd. I have just spent the past half hour doing something so incredibly geeky and nerdy that I refuse to tell you exactly what it was, but trust me - very nerdy. And to add to my nerdiness, here I am blogging again with no real purpose behind this post - none. I managed to get some things done today - not much, but it's a start. I gave my Spanish presentation - which I am glad to have over. When I walked into the class room, mi profesora dijo, "Aquí está ella, nuestra salvador." Our hero? Oh, right, because I volunteered to go first, gotcha. Anyway, I don't like speaking in front of people - I get stage fright and my voice does weird things if it decides to funtion at all - but I did all right. That's the beauty of going first, though - they're always more lenient on your grade. And then I got my philosphy paper back. Last time, she gave me a B because I didn't explain two (2!) sentences well enough. So this time, I wrote out more than I needed to, making sure to explain every little thing. The paper length was supposed to be 3-4 pages, double spaced. I wrote seven. And I got an A! Well done, if I do say so myself! So when I made it back to my room, spicy (ha!) italian sub in hand, I didn't feel like doing a damn thing. But I somehow made myself finish my chemistry homework and my spanish paper, and then I decided to rest my eyes for a bit. I woke up an hour later and haven't done anything substantial since - I feel almost rebellious. But come tomorrow, that feeling will subside when I realize how much I have to do in the next three days. But on the bright side - it's the last bit of real work I'll have to do before finals. I can't wait for Friday!

You'd think I'd have learned by now...

But...I still eat caffeine rich foods a mere hour before I plan on going to sleep. The offender this time: starbucks ice cream - so good! Chocolate and coffee - a classic, decadent, and irresistable combination. Oh well. But the good news is I finished my Spanish presentation - I got to be all artsy and make a poster - that made me happy, among other things. Now that I've washed the glue from my hands and let my poster rest against my Master and Commander poster above my desk, I find that this week is going to suck balls - some parts will be a blast, and some will...suck balls. Sure, there are other, more tactful ways to phrase that, but 'suck balls' is such a colorful, expressive phrase - I couldn't resist. What a weird mood in I am. Whew! Well, time to try and sleep. Buenas Noches.

So much to do, so little time...

And yet here I am blogging again. I have so much to say and so much not to say; my mind is going in a thousand different directions and the rest area is no where in sight and yet I don't want to slow down. How to describe what I am feeling... Deep Breath. Hmm. I am happy. That's the feeling that keeps popping up the most, plastering this huge, dopey grin on my face. I'm happy and content and excited and a lot of other things. It's been a very good break. Wow, what an understatement. After a long and cold and wet and windy ride home Tuesday night, things improved dramatically all day Wednesday, culminating in a late-night movie, Casino Royale, or Casino Roy, as the ticket said. I loved the movie, and I think Daniel Craig is a promising new James Bond. Eva Green, the actress who played Vesper, is breathtakingly beautiful, damn her. Without a doubt it was a great night. Then it was time for turkey day, whose tale I have already recounted, so let me proceed to Friday. Friday, I awoke and did practically nothing. The house was clean from the day before, all the food I'd ever need was stored in tupperware in the fridge - so I read for a while, talked for a while, and that was that. My parents finally came home from shopping sometime around seven or eight, noticeably exhausted. Saturday morning brought a new rug and high speed internet. I was very excited about the internet, although the rug was nice too. My sister and I then disassembled our old computers and exiled them to the shed, while the desks were carried ever so clumsily to the garage. After that I went on a very pleasing excursion on a nature trail off of hwy 24 with my very charming guide. I got to see a beautiful sunset, and then the sight of the water as the sun turned it all rose and violet. It truly was la vie en rose! And then it was time to go home, where my goodbye was cut short by the impromptu arrival of my Dad and my brother. Se la vie. I then helped my Dad do some work in the house, putting up dry wall and such. And then my Mom and my sister came home, we all had dinner, and played trivial pursuit until half of us were ready to fall asleep at the table. I withdrew to the TV room and watched very entertaining British comedy skits until I was ready to fall asleep, which I tried to do after removing myself to my bedroom. But alas, sleep has been elusive these past few nights, no doubt due to my incessant mind. And now here I am, back at school. I feel very sorry for my unfortunate roommate because she is going to have to put up with big, goofy, dopey, happy me for a very long time. And now I am going to put that mind to good use in a moment, so I can ready my Spanish presentation for tomorrow, among other homeworks I must complete tonight. But from where I stand (sit) now, the end of this semester is in sight - three weeks and counting!

Yippeecaiyay!!

We finally got high speed internet! Finally!!

A holiday in review

Well, Thanksgiving is over. All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving. The day started off with everyone going in a thousand directions, trying to get the food ready, the house clean, the table put together, the table cloths ironed, the ice made, the table set, and then we had to take shifts for getting ourselves cleaned and dressed. My brother TJ was the first to arrive, and then his girlfriend Theresa, and then TJ's best friend Chris, Chris's mother, and Chris's fiance Miki and her son Cameron. Chris and Miki are getting married the first weekend in December, and because I take such good pictures (which is news to me), I and maybe my sister or my mom will be the "photographers" for their wedding. But hey, I get to wear jeans - I hope - so it won't be that bad. And then Theresa asked me again about the bows I had made for Darren and Kim's wedding and asked if I were given similar materials, could I make her some bows? Sure!

So once everyone was here, we sat around the table in the meticulously planned seating arrangement. I sat next to Cameron, who let me know right off the bat that he was eight years old and that no, he didn't want anything to drink. We tucked into some excellent vittles just after that - Turkey, squash casserole, green bean casserole, sausage stuffing, oyster stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, sweet cream corn, black eyed peas, and homemade(by me!) rolls. And boy was it good! We then left the dinner table to walk around and let our food digest a bit, while my parents, being such gracious hosts, took care of the dishes. Then it was time for dessert: we had pumpkin pie, pumpkin cream cheese pie, layered mud pie, pecan pie, andes mint cookies, and pecan blondies.

And then after we ate until we couldn't eat another bite, we played games. We started with cranium, and ended with trivial pursuit. TJ, Theresa, Cameron, and I were all a team, so when we had to act out a charade or something similar, Cameron and I got to act it out together. That was very handy when we had to act out "kindergarten." I really like Cameron - even though he spilled icy cold water all over my lap and then wouldn't stop tickling me (I'm ticklish, I admit it) - he was really cute and very polite. And then when it was time to leave, he went around and gave everyone a handshake, and then I got a hug. I feel so special! It was a long day, but it was a day filled with family, good food, and close friends. When it finally ended, I was about to fall asleep at the table, but I clung on to awakeness for a bit more, and then at about eleven, I put down Ian Fleming and fell asleep. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and raid the left overs...

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is, isn't it? The day started out in the best possible way for me around midnight, and then after a I stopped smiling long enough to sleep, I managed to sleep for about three hours until I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep for another hour. After that interrupted attempt at sleeping, I dragged myself out of my warm and cozy bed and went down to the kitchen in search of a libation. I opened the fridge and saw a jug of eggnog. My mom and my sister do not like eggnog, so I knew that the eggnog in question was my Dad's. So, I ask my Dad if I can have some of his eggnog, and he says that it's our eggnog. Ours? Well, I hope he didn't want any of it because I'm about to finish it. Hee Hee. And now I'm being called away to help rearrange some furniture. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Parting notes

So it's my last night here at school, and my Dad should be here any minute now. That's a very good thing too, because I am ready to go home (no way, really?). Callie went home shortly after one, so I've been on my own since then. It's miserable outside - a wind chill below freezing and icy rain - not my idea of ideal driving conditions. But it's not as if I can do anything about that, so why worry? I've managed to be somewhat productive during my solitude - and when I say solitude, I mean solitude - I am the only one in my suite that's still here - and to tell the truth it's starting to creep me out. By productive, I mean I did my laundry, washed some dishes, tried to vacuum, discovered that my vacuum needed some work, got out my handy-dandy Phillips screw driver and disassembled my vacuum, cleaned out the problem areas, reassembled the vacuum, vacuumed, packed my clothes, and then watched a movie - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And now here I sit, and here I shall stay until I get the call to grab my stuff and head out the door. Happy Thanksgiving!

I know that you all are probably getting tired of my hourly countdown, but guess what! I'll be home, or very near to home, in 6 hours!!

Harry Potter Sneak Peak

3 minutes and 50 seconds of behind the scene footage from the fifth movie: HP5 !!
I'll be home in 15 hours!!

A glance into the near future

In exactly 24 hours, I will be in or very near to home. Woohoo!! I am so ready to go home ... I can't believe that two weeks at school would make me this homesick and stir crazy, but I want to go home! I miss my family, my friends, my pets, my home, my friend - and I get to see them all over this break! And then when I come back to school, I'll stay for one week, go home that weekend, and then stay for two more weeks, and then go home for Christmas - three weeks after Thanksgiving break and I will be free for the rest of the year (quite literally)! I love Christmas, and I have so much to be happy and thankful for this year. It may be cold, but there is hot chocolate (with marshmallows, duh), chewy chocolate chip cookies, roaring fires, and classic Christmas music to compensate. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Thanksgiving now, Christmas in a month. Got it. Sigh. Oh there's no place like home for the holidays, for no matter how far away you roam. If you want to be happy in a million ways, for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home...

Random memoranda

As I get increasingly more excited about going home tomorrow, I've decided to curb that excitement by taking the time to update you on a few things.

• First, I took my Spanish lit exam last week and I aced it - 114%! Mi profesora da demasiado credito extra, pero no me molesta.
  
• Then, I took my microbiology exam (the one I really was very numb about). I got the multiple choice section back a few days ago - I only missed one out of thirty-five, and I think I aced the short answer and essay section, so that translates to a 96 - still pretty good.
  
• And then I took my organic exam last week and got it back on Friday - I made a 100! My professor started the lecture saying that the average for the exam was very low, much lower than normal, and that grading those exams made her weep. So I was extremely worried about my score because there is no way to tell when you finish an exam how you did - it could go either way. But it all worked out in the end.
  
• And then I got my Spanish lit research paper back today - the rough draft - and my professor was very impressed with it - the only thing she wanted me to fix was some italicizing! This is the same paper that I wrote dilligently until the last quarter, and then I slapped on the lamest conclusion possible, and hit print - and refused to have anything more to do with it.

So life is going pretty well for me right now. Callie says, just to let me know, that I am the kind of student that every other student hates. But does that bother me? Not really. I can't wait to go home tomorrow night!!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The teaser trailer is now online! Check it out here: HP&OPTT. I'm so excited! I'll be home in exactly 32 hours!!

A Little Note

With two minutes to my estimated class departure time, I'm dropping a little note to say that in exactly 38 hours, I will be at home in wonderful Newport!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Warner Bro's has just released a 10 second clip of the new Harry Potter Movie 5 trailer. Check it out here: HP&OP. The full teaser trailer will be released tomorrow afternoon, and I will have a link to it as soon and I can get one. Things are really in motion now!! And in 49 hours, I'll be home!!

Common phrases bandied about in this room...

As a preface, I should tell you that Callie and I get along remarkably well and we both have a very dry sense of humor, which enables us to speak to each other in the following manner...

"Shut the fuck up."
"Shut the hell up."
"What a nerd."
"What a slut."
"Hoebag, what's up?"
"Slutbucket, how the hell are ya?"

Those are the most common ones for now - we have such a loving relationship!

Procrastinating for procrastination's sake

I've a philosophy paper due on Monday and as usual, I will be doing it the day before it is due, i.e. Sunday. Yes, I actually do use "i.e." a lot, deal with it. I've managed to actually think about the topic a little today, but my day was far too busy for anything more strenuous than that. Now that was some sarcasm. What did Jessica do today?

Jessica woke up at 7am, to go see a parade with Callie in downtown Raleigh. Unfortunately, Callie woke up feeling terrible - Jessica felt really bad for Callie, and Jessica is sure Callie felt much, much worse. So Callie went back to sleep and Jessica put on some warm socks and set about debugging her computer. For some reason, Spybot and Symantec will periodically become incompatible with each other, and the end result is that Symantec Anti Virus decides it can't scan the computer. This results in Jessica having to crawl under her desk to get to the back of her computer, which is under her bed, looking like a complete fool while doing so, just to unplug the ethernet cable. Once Jessica accomplished that, she uninstalled symantec, and then reinstalled symantec, and then crawled back under her desk (again looking like a complete fool) to reestablish her internet connection. And now symantec and spybot are being perfectly amicable to each other. After that, Jessica updated symantec, started a full system scan, and then went back to sleep.

Waking up several hours later, Jessica reheated her coffee from the day prior and proceeded to check her mail and acquaint herself with what was going on in the world. Once that was accomplished, Callie awoke and felt slightly better, though still pretty bad. So Jessica and Callie watched some mindless TV and surfed the web for a while. Jessica managed to throw together a new look for her blog - she decided that she wanted a template that had something to do with Thanksgiving. Several hours later, Callie, being the completely awesome and kindest roommate in the world, took Jessica to Crabtree mall. Jessica needed to purchase a few things and with Callie's help, succeeded. Jessica normally abhors shopping and ranks it on the list of other cruel and unusual punishments right between studying for exams and listening to her own singing. However, today was quite fun.

And then it was on to food lion for some groceries, and then back to the room to do very little. After a dinner at the dining hall, Callie and Jessica returned to their room and proceeded to carry out the day in much the same fashion as they had began it. And then Jessica cracked open her philosphy book for about half and hour, but became distracted by an interesting show on TLC. And then Jessica went back to surfing the web and taking personality quizzes. In addition to being mostly like Belle and Lady, Jessica's mind is apparently 47% female and 53% male. Why? Because Jessica likes to be logical, a trait not often associated with the feminine sex. But pish posh, those quizzes are meaningless divertions anyway, no point in taking them seriously. After that, Jessica spent some quality time with her cell phone. After that, she was considerably happy and decided to devote that happy energy to this blog.

And now, here she sits, typing away and becoming increasingly more weirded out by her sustained use of the third person to refer to herself. She should stop that, then. Yes, I should. Yes, she should. Stop that. So, that was my day in a nut shell. I hope it entertained you as much as it did me, though given the odds I'd have to say probably not. Sigh. But I have good news! I didn't save 15% on my car insurance by switching to Geico, but I will be at home in homely lovely Newport in almost exactly 72 hours! Pretty exciting, eh? I think so. So with that happy thought, I shall retire for the night. Pleasant dreams!

Which Disney Character Are You?

"You are Lady. You are shy, romantic, and naive. You long for romance and settling down with a family but maybe there is a little wild streak in you too."

Shy? Maybe. Romantic? Not sure. Naive? Hey, watch it! A dog? Now you've really gone too far. Now it's y'all's turn. Take the quiz here: disney character.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

On a random whim, I decided to take this little quiz. My results are pasted below. Belle is probably my favorite Disney main character: she likes to read, she's smart, she stands up for herself and those she loves, and she doesn't judge based solely on appearances. Then again, I sometimes favor Mulan, and then sometimes I favor Ariel - The Little Mermaid. But back to my results: I'm bookish? Well, um, duh. Incredibly pretty? Ha! Oh, please, give me a break. Now it's your turn - guys too (if you wish) - take the quiz and tell me what you get.

Which Disney Princess Are You? Belle You are bookish but incredibly pretty. Belle was first seen in Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Click Here to Take This Quiz

Love Actually

I have just finished watching the most wonderful movie in the world. If you know anything about movies, you'll know of course that I am talking about Love Actually. This movie has everything: an all-star cast, an amazing soundtrack, and a storyline that will make any romantic or closet romantic sigh with a huge, dreamy smile. I have a huge, immovable smile plastered on my face and I have that warm fuzzy feeling all over. It's such a great movie! I don't think I went five minutes without going, "awww..." or without tearing up or without saying "that's so sweet!" By now, you've probably guessed, it is mostly a chick flick. I say mostly because there are some parts that are definitely appealing to the masculine sex - I'm sorry to stereotype you, guys, but there it is. The movie consists of a series of interconnected stories, each one dealing with love in all of its various forms. Here is a brief synopsis of all the different stories:

There is the cutest little boy, Sam, whose mother has just passed away. He's living with his step-father, Liam Neeson, who aside from having gorgeous blue eyes (my favorite color!), is finding the death of his wife hard to deal with, much less the silent grief Sam seems to be suffering. Sam has been keeping to his room all the time, and when he leaves it, it's obvious that he's been crying. When Liam confronts Sam, Sam reveals that yes, he is grieving for his mother, but, oddly enough, he's in love!

Emma Thompson plays Liam Neeson's friend, who helps him deal with his grief, and gives him advice for helping Sam. She is married to Alan Rickman, and has two young children about Sam's age, who always keep her on her motherly toes.

Alan Rickman is the head honcho of a design firm whose sinfully pretty secretary is determined to have an affair with him. Let's just say he doesn't make the wisest decision, and when his wife finds out...tears all around.

Laura Linney, who has worked for Alan Rickman's company for two years, three months, twelve days and three hours, has also been in love with the enigmatic chief designer Karl for two years, three months, twelve days, and an hour and thirty minutes. Alan Rickman starts putting pressure on her to do something about it - which ends up in her most heartfelt dreams coming true for a moment. She also has a brother who is mentally ill and lives in a psychiatric ward who calls her constantly. She is the only one he has, and the entire relationship is heart-wrenchingly sweet.

Hugh Grant plays David, the Prime Minister of the UK, and Emma Thompson's big brother. On his first day in office, he becomes enamored with his blundering head of catering, Natalie. He becomes more and more attracted to her, until heartbreak in the form of Billy Bob Thorton presents itself, and it is left to Natalie to bring them together in the end.

Keira Knightley is marrying Peter, the love of her life. After the ceremony Peter's best friend Mark, sets it up so that some big singer performs just as they prepare to go to the reception. He films the entire thing, and when Keira Knightely asks to see his material because all the stuff she had came out all blue and wibbly, her gives her the cold shoulder and ends the conversation. The reason for this brusqueness is revealed eventually. Sniffle.

One of the catering people at Keira Knightley's wedding is convinced that the reason he cannot get a date is because English girls are stuck up. He decides to go to exotic Wisconsin because the American girls there would seriously dig his cute British accent. This is one of the more humorous segments.

And then that guy's friend is a film director, who happens to be filming the stand-ins for the 'affectionate' scenes in a main-line motion picture. The stand-ins, Judy and John, act out all of the scenes in their birthday suits, and yet when they actually go out on a date, they are so painfully shy with eachother it would be hilarious if it weren't so sweet.

Colin Firth plays a writer who discovers that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his own brother. As he vacations in Brittany just before Christmas in a decidedly single state, he starts to take notice of his Portuguese housekeeper, Aurelia. Their bilingual budding relationship is perhaps the sweetest of all.

And then the best for last - Bill Nighy plays a has-been, mid-fifties rock star searching for a comeback with a lame Christmas song. His manager, Joe, has been behind him and with him every step of the way, and that evolves into a touching, man-to-man (no funny stuff) relationship.

That's all that I can recall right now. I love this movie, and as it is a Christmas movie, I will be watching it several times more in the coming days.

Is there any greater felicity in the world?

It's fifteen minutes before I head out the door to class and I've decided to devote that time here, to you, my lovely readers. In exactly five hours, I'll be free for the weekend! With only one paper to write (only, ha!) and a little homework, I'll be free to do what I want. Well, up to a point. If I were free to do exactly as I wished, I'd be going home in just a few short hours. Oh well. I'm going home Tuesday night!! I have only one class on Tuesday, which means I will be ready to go before noon on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I have to wait for a ride, and my Dad won't get off work until late, so he'll be here around eight, or later, and we'll both be home by midnight. I love my Dad; I'm so lucky! And then Wednesday we'll start cooking and cleaning and I'll probably be delegated to do some major leaf pickup in the yard, and then Thursday is Thanksgiving! Turkey, deviled eggs, cranberry goop, mashed potatoes, gravy, green-bean casserole, corn, oh, yeah, and stuffing. I don't care for stuffing, you can have my portion. No, seriously, take it. And then dessert - pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and I'm sure there's something else, I just can't remember it. Sigh. There's a lot to smile about, especially if you're me. Friends, Family, Food. Smiles all around!

Do cats really always land on their feet?

Watch this and you tell me: kitty backflip. Don't think I'm a terrible person, but I think that clip is hilarious. Seriously, it never fails to produce a loud burst of laughter from me!

I love thunderstorms!

I really love thunderstorms. Inclement weather always excites me. During State Leadership Conference at White Lake my senior year, we had a terrible thunderstorm with a tornado warning for that area. The camp counselors were trying to get us all safely to the alumni building, but the storm became too strong by the time they got to the last girl's dorm, my dorm. So we had to wait the storm out - which was quite amusing for me. Girls were going ape-shit! Seriously, you wouldn't think a bit of thunder and wind could cause that much pandemonium! Girls were panicking and trying not to cry and getting scared, and then there's me, a huge grin on my face, feeling very hyper and happy because I was excited! I wanted a tornado - I wanted the storm to last and last, I wasn't the least bit frightened. I was excited! Just like I am now - there is a large band of thunderstorms approaching Raleigh, about two hours west of here, and I can't wait. Of course, I need to go to bed in a minute, but still - at least I'll be serenaded by the sweet sounds of thunder and rain whilst I slumber. Sigh. Nighty night!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Warner Bros. just released the fifth Harry Potter movie's poster, and the trailer is set to go out in theatres this Friday, before the film Happy Feet...I can't wait until July! I love Harry Potter - I've read the books at least three times if not more a piece, and I'll probably read them all again before the next and final book comes out. J.K.Rowling is so gifted! And very rich, thanks to thousands of fans just like me. When the fifth movie comes out, I'll probably wait a week or two before seeing it, just so I don't have to deal with all the crowds and all the people - being around a lot of people like that really puts me on edge. But when the book comes out, I may not be waiting in line (or maybe I will, if I can get a ride), but I'll fight the crowds (maybe not tooth and nail). I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd, if you haven't already guessed. Just the other night, Callie mentioned the name 'Magnolia' and the first thing I said was, "That name appears in Harry Potter, the fifth book, when Harry and Dudley are near Magnolia Crescent in the beginning." I didn't even think - I just said it, and then thought, "I am such a nerd." I am, I know, but Harry Potter rocks, so it's all good. In fact, I finished the book I was reading, so maybe I'll crack open some Harry Potter for a little while...hmmmm.....

Tres notas saliendas

1. Studying sucks ass
2. However, Jessica is happy
3. Major Payne rules, heh heh heh

Woohoo!!

I'm back from PE and I'm getting ready for my final lab exam, and now I'm taking the time to say "woohoo!" I've been in a weird mood ever since dinner yesterday. It's a gross story, so please, read at your own discretion. The ice cream machine does not like Callie. She went to get some of the 'twist' ice cream (half vanilla, half chocolate), and it only gave her vanilla. This has happened before, and I went to check it out and it gave me half vanilla and half chocolate. Obviously the machine must have a problem with Callie. This became more obvious as she decided that since she got passed over for the chocolate, she'd just add some chocolate ice cream to it. So she pulls the lever, and the machine spits on the vanilla in her cup. Spits! It wasn't solidified or frozen yet- just very liquid. She came back to the table with that excuse for ice cream. I said it looked like poo, and she noddded. And then for some reason, Jeff Foxworthy's voice popped into my head and I said, "It looks like anal seepage." The moment I said it, I wished that I hadn't - it really was not appropriate for the dinner table, and it was gross. But at the same time, I could not stop laughing! I barely said anything for the rest of dinner because I couldn't control myself - that hit my funny bone and I could not stop laughing. Poor Callie. Even now, if I think about it, I can't stop laughing. And then I brought it back up at an appropriate time last night when Callie and I were talking about Sir Ian McKellan (Gandalf - LOTR), and that was hilarious. I couldn't breathe, I started tearing up - good times. And now to my exam...woohoo!

Bad squishy, bad squishy

Bad Jessica. I forgot about the USMC's birthday!! November 10, 1775, which makes the United States Marine Corps 231 years of age. Happy (belated) Birthday! And to celebrate, I give you:

The Marine's Hymn

From the halls of Montezuema
To the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
Of Unites States Marines

Our Flag's unfurl'd to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
From the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny, tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the gate are guarded
By United States Marines.

(Recalled from memory by me...try singing that without tearing up!)

Come on little squishy!!

Today in Organic Chem lecture, my professor was talking about amines and the partial pumps that alkyl groups are, because the electrons on the alkyl substituents have partially polarizable electrons, that can donante electron density and thus influence the pH of the amine. But my professor does not like to use 'polarizable,' just like she doensn't like to say 'resonance delocalization.' For the latter, she likes to say 'smearage' and for the former, she told us today, she likes to use 'squishy' because she loves Finding Nemo. I thought that was a bit coincidental because I just watched Finding Nemo the night before last.

Woohoo!!

I just looked at my desktop weather's ten day planner and noticed that the tenth day was next Wednesday. That means that I will be at home in ten days!! I think that's cause for celebration - drinks all around! And now if I can get through my lab final tomorrow and my organic chem exam the day after, and the micro quiz after that, and the philosophy paper after that, I will be done with everything that needs to be done before I leave for Thanksgiving break.

Coincidentally, I found this calendar in my closet at home - it's a 2004 calendar of Atlantic Coast lighthouses. I like the picures and I'm trying to find a place on my wall here to put them, but the funny thing is the September lighthouse is none other than the one near Folly Beach! Morris Island Light on Folly Beach, South Carolina. It's a small world, isn't it. Oh, I was born in September - which is why I was curious about the September lighthouse. I realize it would have been even more weird had the October lighthouse been the one on Folly Beach.

And now onto another interesting Microbiology lecture; Next semester I am not taking four lectures in a row like this - I don't know how I got through high school, which was like four lectures in a row, but they took twice as long to teach you, and it was every day. High school sucks balls. Seriously. I never want to go back to high school. And all that stuff my teachers told me about how the stress and whatnot would prepare me for college was a load of bollocks. They must tell themselves that in order to get to sleep at night. That needs to be ranked on the top ten list of the most unbelievable sayings: 1. The check is in the mail, 2. Of course I'll still respect you in the morning, and 3. This will help prepare you for college.

I will call him squishy and he will be mine!

I have a ton of things to accomplish this weekend, the least of all, I thought, was my Spanish lit paper. The paper is due on Monday, and I hadn't started it yet - it's based on a previous paper, so I figured half of the work was already done. All I had to do was find a few sources and write a few pages. And I was right. So, this morning, I start looking for sources and I find that not too many people care to write about the similarities between Garcilaso de la Vega's Soneto XXIII and Luis de Góngora's Soneto CLXVI. In fact, I found only three sources - three good sources (I had two back-up auxillary sources that would add some fluff to the paper). So, I see three sources and I think everything's fine. Well, I click the link that will tell me where to find the books in the library stacks and I see that the library only has a record for one of the books, and the other two were libras non grata. But that was ok because the one source that the library did have was the perfect source - it followed my thesis to a T.

So, I find out the call number and the floor and grab my things and head out the door. I get to the stacks, go to the fifth floor (I caved in and used the elevator and consequently I have renewed my hatred and distrust of the elevators on campus). I look for the appropriate section and look for the call number PBl. M65. I find the section. There is a whole slew of that particular journal, and all I want is one little article- one article out of seven shelves of volumes of this journal. PBl. M50...PBl. M60...PBl. M64...PBl. M66...wait! Right where PBl. M65 was supposed to be located, I find a one inch gap. The only volume missing from the entire set of 200 just happened to be the one I needed; my last hope.

So, crestfallen, I make my brain start to think logically. People are not allowed to take those volumes out of the library, so chances are, it's either still on the floor or it's by the copy machines. So, I start a hunt of the floor, looking for the shelves where you are supposed to place the books you're finished with, checking every booth and work station along the way. I eventually find some likely looking stacks and start to go through them. No luck. So, I start to look around the other side of floor and I get to the end, and I see nothing. But as I turn around to leave, I spy a huge pile of books just to my right. I look to see if they are organized...no. So I decide to go through them. Two seconds later I find that there is no need because lo and behold, there sits PBl. M65. right on top waiting for me. All I could think was, "Hallelujah" and "¡Grací­as a Dios!"

So I found my book, got the information I needed, and then returned to my room to write the paper, which I am proud to say I finished (i.e. gave up on) an hour ago. That translates to almost ten hours writing a paper in a different language, working with sources in a different language. Did I mention that I hate writing papers, I hate it with a passion! This blog is not a paper, this blog is more of a journal where I can talk about my favorite subject: me. I don't like the time it takes to formulate my thoughts and put them into a concise, logical progression on paper - it takes too much time and thought! And it's boring! But life is full of things we don't want to do, and tomorrow holds some more. But for now, I'm going to finish watching Finding Nemo and try and get a good night's rest.

Tomorrow, my roommate will come back and I will finally have some company! Sometimes I get extremely depressed and lonely when I'm by my self for even a short time - and this weekend was one of those times. Callie left around 3pm on Friday, and around 7pm, I started feeling really alone and sad. It's hard to concentrate when I get like that, so it's almost counterintuitive - I have peace and quiet, so it should be easy to work, but my mind is sinking into a 'pit of despair' so I can't concentrate. Tonight wasn't bad - I actually talked to someone - and that caused a huge spike in my happiness. All this talk about being depressed is depressing me. Ooh, a boat! I saw a boat! It went, um, it went this way...!

Something funny this way came...

As I've been alarmingly depressed and down this week, I'm taking this opportunity to talk about some funny and humorous things that I observed or did in the past few days.

As Callie and I were going to the Wolve's Den for dinner, she mentioned that it looked as if the elevators were fixed. Sure enough, as I looked in the direction of the elevators, I noticed a man in a repair uniform making to leave. But I had to do a doubletake because the second I looked away, I distinctly heard the sound of duct tape. Since we are in the South, my mind will sometimes equate fixing with duct tape, and thus I was mildly alarmed that the elevator may have been repaired with duct tape, however implausible the idea may seem. Well, my fear was unfounded, luckily. Nevertheless, I do not plan on using any elevator on campus unless I have to go up at least seven floors - I do not trust the elevators on campus, not after one tried to kill me! (It did, I swear!)

In my microbiology lab, we were given an 'unknown' culture of bacteria way back in September to use all of the various metabolic and other tests to help identify. At the end of every lab, we record our results. Well, we've done all of the tests and now it's time to put those tests to good use. But one guy at my lab table hadn't bothered to write down all of the results of his tests. Let me just say that the unknown identification is a heavy chunk of our final grade. I can sympathize with him, but at the same time, I just want to chuckle, shake my head, and say, "you poor bastard," which, by the way, does not translate to pobrecito in Spanish. Pobre means poor, and adding the -ito ending to a word makes it endearing and whatnot, so, Pobrecito translates to "you poor thing."

The other day, I decided to put away the long stem fake black rose that I had out for Halloween. As I held it in my hands, I looked around and saw that Callie had her back to me, completely intent on her work. The juvenile prankster in me decided that it would be funny to very quietly tickle the back of Callie's neck with the rose just to see if she jumped. So, I lean back in my chair (we sit back to back in the room, with our desks on opposite walls), extend my arm out. Not long enough, so I lean some more. And a little more. And then, as you may have guessed, the chair toppled, sending a soon-to-be hysterical (by the way, do you know the meaning of that word???) me crashing to the floor. It was pretty funny, feel free to laugh at me.

The other night, Justin and Yoohnee were over doing their organic chemistry homework with Callie, and I decided to interrupt them by playing a little clip from that Pirates of the Caribbean skull. Here's a link to what I made it say. Keep in mind, it won't let you cuss, so please admire my phonetic genius in getting around that particular rule - which translates to: yes, there is profanity in this clip, listen at your own discretion. Skull.

And that's all she wrote. Now back to my book...

Is it Friday yet?

Yes? Oh, good. Today went surprisingly well. My microbiology lecture was exceedingly interesting - a combination of two of my favorite subjects: history and diseases. And then the day flew by to Organic Chemistry where my teacher was in an exceptionally bubbly mood, so we were regaled with stories about how to take pseudophedrine to methamphetamine, mammograms, caffeine withdrawal, and using cocaine as an means of anesthesia for a nasal reconstruction. And then came my Spanish exam and I think I had every right not to give a flip about it - I thought it was almost ridiculously easy - not that I am complaining. And now, I am seriously giving thought to taking the rest of the day off and doing some reading. And then I'll try and learn how to sing La Vie en Rose. Ok, I take that back. I can't sing a note, but since the song is in French, I thought that I'd get points for learning to pronounce it. And I'd like to have the lyrics memorized so that if it gets stuck in my head, as previous songs have been known to do, I'll at least know all of the words. And then I might do some work, grrrr. Quand il me prend dans ses bras...

It's the little things...

It's amazing how one thing - one event- can completely alter my mood. One event can take me from feeling burnt-out and tired to excited and happy. Something as simple as a phone call...what a perfect end to the day!

No me importa

I have been in the weirdest mood since yesterday. Basically, I don't really care. I had an exam Wednesday morning, I didn't really care. I have an exam tomorrow. I don't really care. I think I used up all of my care-points earlier this week and now...you guessed it: I don't really care. I usually get very nervous before exams, and I worry and then study and then worry. Not so right now. Tuesday night, after an entire day of studying, I said 'screw it' in more literal terms than that, and I really meant it. I could have failed the test, and it wouldn't bother me. I feel like I've taken some sort of relaxant - like valium - and everything could be going wrong, and I wouldn't care. Like that joke: my friend got her birth control and her valium mixed up; she has ten kids, but she doesn't care. It's sort of like a numbness - and a realization that the worst that can happen doesn't really frighten me. I feel very free right now - like nothing can really bother me. It's like Ron White on the first Blue Collar Comedy Tour, when he was flying in that little plane with engine trouble. He said something like, "Take it down! I don't care! Make sure you hit something hard, because I don't want to limp away from this!" And then about the guy sitting next to him and how he was just going crazy because he "must have had something to 'live for'... I walked into that exam Wednesday morning and I just felt like saying the same thing. "Hit me with a hard one, I don't want to limp away." So, that's the story of my really weird mood. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) it's starting to dissipate. I can feel faint, feeble flutterings of panic in my belly when I think of all the things I have to do next week. Suffice it to say, there is a lot - so much so that I will be working the entire weekend just to prevent a nervous breakdown next week. I have an organic chemistry test, which you would think would be no big deal, but, it will be covering twenty lectures, and let's just say I've had some difficulty concentrating ever since fall break almost a month ago. (Really? I had no idea...says Callie) However, the next weekend is looking very good. All I have to do the week after that is a paper for philosphy, so that weekend will be spent in my preferred state of being: procrastinating, without feeling guilty. But you know what they say: procrastination is like masturbation - it's all well and good until you realize you just screwed yourself. Yes, dirty one-liners are a specialty of mine. They run in my family; I can't help myself. And now I think I'll go study some for that exam tomorrow that I really don't care about.

Awwwww!!

Miracles happen once in a while

My Grandma is all right! She was scheduled for surgery around her heart today, and as it turns out, they decided she didn't need it after all. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding that, but for now, I am just so happy that she's OK!

And I just want to say again how grateful I am to have such loving family and friends. I know (because I was told) that yesterday, when I was really upset and low, that I really worried some people. I'm sorry for doing that, but thank you for caring enough about me to worry! That really means a lot to me! I feel so loved...

And now, I have to spend some quality time with a new book that promises to be very interesting.

Luck

I'm am so lucky to have such a loving family and such supportive friends. To everyone: I don't know what I would do without you!

A soggy day

I have five minutes to spare before I go to my microbiology review session. Wait, I take that back. Before I swim to my microbiology review session. It's been raining all day! And not just that piddly rain - big fat heavy cold constant drops all day, never letting up. Callie and I had to practically wade back to our room from the dining hall (I love my waterproof winter boots!) I've been studying microbiology all day, except for during the two classes I had, and I am 2 lectures shy of giving up for the night. I am actually very proud of myself - yesterday I only made it through one lecture because I had other things to do and I couldn't concentrate. Today, I've gotten through seven lectures, with two to go, and they are the interesting ones. I was slow getting started, but that was because I kept staring at the lionfish on my desktop (webshots is awesome) and thinking of other things beyond the realm of microbiology. And now, it's time for me to go swim for a bit, finish my studying, and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day, after the exam that is. Until then...

I'm taking a break from my studying to try and release some tension. I've been perfectly happy all day, and then I decided to give my Dad a call a little while ago. Suffice it to say I had a big brush with reality and the depressed Jessica is going to be here for a little while. Sometimes I just feel so helpless - I can't do anything and I can't think of a solution. I can be a shoulder to cry on, and I am, but other than to offer comfort, I am at a loss as to what to do. There are certain people who mean so very much to me that to see them in any distress, let alone this much, sends me over the edge. I find that I can't say too much more on this topic. I really shouldn't be allowed to blog at night - I'm usually not like this, I swear! I have so much to be happy about and there is so much that I am excited about, so much that gives me a warm, fuzzy, cared-about feeling. El ser humano es ser humano. I need a hug.

The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup...

I find out that some incredibly stupid person has damaged the water supply lines to my building, and thus, they have turned off all of the water in my building. No sink, no shower, no head. No word on when the problem is going to be fixed. It's going to be a glorious day, I can feel it! No. It's too early for me to be that cynical. I read a story a while ago, where a little girl would grieve at night, but her doll was special and would come to life and tell the little girl not to weep, for the morning was wiser than the night. So, I put a hold on thinking about a lot of things until the morning, and what do you know? The doll was right. Maybe I shouldn't make any more posts at night - those are the truly depressing ones. Right now, I'm happy. I have a lot to be happy and excited about! And I'm actually very amused by the water situation - I take my showers at night and I have a full supply of bottled water and a pretty good problem solving brain (if I do say so myself)...I'm set for a few hours, at least. I can comfortably sit back in my chair and watch everyone else get increasingly more frustrated. Hey, it's the little things in life!

La Vie en Rose

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

Quand il me prend dans ses bras,
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose,
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur,
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause,
C'est lui pour moi,
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré
Pour la vie.
Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat.

Des nuits d'amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir

I have a very faint idea of what those words mean (they're in French), but they are the lyrics to the song that shares its name with this blog. In about a month, this blog will be one year old, and I'll have to do some sort of birthday celebration (a bring-your-own-beer event, by the way). My very first post was a brief entry on what "La vie en rose" meant to me. If you're interested, click on the very first post of the December archives. I've just been looking at the song lyrics and I've been trying to find a decent free rendition of the song online. I actually succeeded a little while ago - I found the song sung in its entirety in french - it's such a beautiful song. In english, I love Louis Armstrong's version, but I think the song has more fluidity and meaning in French. Look at me, trying to act like I know something about music, ha! Well, my musical selections have been varied and ever changing tonight. I started with some Clay Aiken, (Solitaire and This is the night), but then I switched to The King (yes, that means Elvis). Elvis reigned supreme for about an hour, from All Shook Up, to Stuck on You, to Are You Lonesome Tonight? Elvis is a good remedy for feeling out of sorts. But then I was back on line and listening to a track from the soundtrack of Peter Pan (the 2003 one). The 'Flying' music is so inspirational, like you can feel it swelling within, lifting you up to...I don't know, find another song? Which I did when I found the film clip of the finale of Come What May from Moulin Rouge! That's an excellent movie, by the way, with an excellent cast and a spectacular spectacular soundtrack. And then I looked up La Vie en Rose. I found a clip of Audrey Hepburn singing it in Sabrina, with Humphrey Bogart. And then I found the actual song, and now here I am taking up space writing about it.

Music is balm for the soul. This weekend has been another emotional roller coaster, diving down on Friday, and then sky rocketing up on Saturday (best night of the week!) plummeting to new depths today. In short: I am worried about my Dad, I am excited about a new friendship, and I am worried sick and increasingly more emotional about my Grandmother. Such is life. And now I'm going through a repetitive cycle of "I'm worried...but I had such a good time...I'm worried sick...but I'm so happy and can't stop smiling...and so on and so forth." So that's my tale. But everything will be fine. It has to be. And now that I've probably thoroughly depressed you, I apologize and return you to your normal life. Adí­os.

3rd personesque

Jessica is smiling. Jessica is happy. Jessica had a great weekend. Jessica hopes to have many more weekends just like this one. Jessica is not saying anymore for now.

Awwww fest for the day

I found this on facebook.com and I thought it was really sweet!

There Are Some Things Guys Should Always Do For Girls. Period.

Sometimes, guys, we gotta be men, not guys. Step up. Seriously... it's getting annoying.

1. Open doors, whether it be to a building or a car, that's just a given.

2. When in a place of worship (or other places that have aisles and pews), if a man is at the end of the pew, when exiting he should stand in the aisle and let all the females go before him.

3. A man should tolerate the occassional chick flick (or musical, or opera, or ballet.. whatever her preference is) *without* complaining about it!

4. Play one of the songs that would make any woman weep like the little girl she once was (but in a good way). A brief list includes, but certainly isn't limited to: "You & Me" Lifehouse, anything by Frank Sinatra, any rendition of "Everything I Do, I Do it for You", "Collide" by Howie Day, "Out of my League" Steven Speaks, and MOST IMPORTANTLY "Question" by the Old 97's (if you propose to a girl with this song, she is putty in your hands).

5. Talk! The strong & silent bit goes from intriguing to boring quite fast.

6. Find out what her favorite flower is & buy them for her randomly (or if you're in the doghouse...). Good rule of thumb: a single rose says more than dozens of anything else.

7. If you miss her, or love her, TELL HER! Even your friends like to hear it every now & again.

8. Re-enact Zales commercials (the ice is nice but certainly not mandatory).

9. Remember: the best gifts you can give are usually free of cost.

10. Leave a note (or send a message) just to say "hi".

11. Ask her questions about herself.

12. Dress nice every once & a while. Any girl likes to see her brother/friend/boyfriend/e

tc. in a well-ironed button up with some nice slacks.

13. PRIDE & PREJUDICE ...that's all I have to say about that (I mean, that should speak for itself).

14. Tolerate small children as best you can. Meaning, put up with the things that can get annoying. They're children after all. Show them love and care, teach them how to become a better man than you.

15. Learn to dance! There is nothing sexier than a man that can dance really well. If God did not bless you with the grace of Fred Astaire, at least put forth the effort, it will be greatly appreciated. Always slow dance (even if its just like you danced in middle school). Also, men, sing to a lady. Even in you're terrible, suck it up! They love to listen to it and will not care what you sound like. It's the thought that counts on this one. Unless you're just downright terrible, nothing sexy about that. haha, thanks Jade!

16. Kiss her on the forehead.

17. When she's sick, stay up with her. If you can cook (which is *always* a plus), make her some soup. If you can't cook, there's Campbell's soup at hand for you.

18. Pretend to throw her in the pool (or fountain/pond). She'll fight you, but seccretly she loves it. If you really do throw her in, you better jump in yourself.

19. Hold her hand while you talk, drive, or just for the heck of it (it's the small things that win you big points).

20. LOOK IN HER EYES, NOT AT HER CHEST!!!!!

21. Stupid jokes= awkwardly adorable moments.

22. Tickle her, tease her, let her tease you back with out getting all bent out of shape about it

23. Don't call her hot, or pretty, or cute, call her beautiful because that's what she is.

24. Offer her your jacket/sweatshirt. (Note: you may not see that particular item of clothing for a while, if ever again).

25. Don't be too proud to apologize.

26. It's not stalking to watch her sleep if you fall asleep watching a movie. It is stalking to watch her sleep if you're standing outside her window with night vision goggles.

27. When she feels at her worst, tell her she looks her best.

28. If you're trying to get more than friendship out of the relationship, take it slow.

29. Because you're a guy doesn't mean you are completley incapable of calling when you say you will; it just means you are highly incapable of it. There are few acceptable answers to, "Why didn't you call?" & being male is not one of them.

30. Don't check out other girls in front of your girl friends/sisters/mother, unless you are sincere when you later ask them if you think she could introduce the two of you for more reason than you "want to get some". Pull this in front of your girlfriend/fiancee/wife, she has every right to clock you in the jaw.

31. Guys- Always pay for the date. No matter how expensive it gets or how much money you DON'T have.

32. Always do everything in your power to keep her as happy as you can. And cheer her up in any way possible.

33. When walking on the sidewalk, always walk on the outside near traffic.

34. At least do everything in your power to keep cursing to a minimum while around her. If you can, cut it out period while around her, or cut it out of your vocabulary. Women don't want to hear it, guys don't care about it, adults don't want to hear it, it doesn't impress employers, and you sure won't want your children or someone elses to hear it!

35. Sometimes you have to take the initiative. don't always wait for her to come to you, because if that's how it always is you're going to lose her.

36. If any lady is walking alone to her car in a dark parking lot/garage, or is carrying a heavy load, always offer to help walk her to her destination and carry things, if not the entire load. **This may work a lot better and come off non-stalkerish if you at least know the girl you're trying to help. haha Thanks to a LOT of people on this revision.

37. If a woman says no, let that be her final answer. Do not pressure or force her in any way. Don't make her give in to something she doesn't want to do.

38. Always be honest with her. No woman wants or likes a dishonest man. If you can't be honest with her she can't trust you, and shows you don't trust her enough to be honest. Trust, honesty and intergrity are just as an integral part of a relationship and just as important as love.

40. But... there are exceptions to these rules, if she REALLY wants to do something... you have to let her. See rule 32.

Thanks guys for all the comments and adds and invitations. I just want every guy to see this list at least once, if he can't do it... great! That means there's a better chance for guys like us to take a step up.

Hump Day

Wipe that stupid grin off your face and get your mind out of the gutter! All 'hump day' refers to is the fact that it is halfway through the school week for me. I have successfully climbed this week's hill, and after resting tonight just past the 'hump,' I am now prepared to roll all the way into the valley. But enough geography for today.

I finally loaded all the pictures that I took this past weekend at home onto my computer. As it turns out, it was really bright, and my camera is not very good at compensating for that, so most of the pictures are really hazy and fuzzy. But this one here of my dog Scrappy (you know, Scrappy Dappy Doo...puppy power!) came out well. She is munching on a bone from the buck a friend of my Dad shot a couple of days ago. My dad can make some mean venison jerky - there isn't anything like it in the world! And his friend gave my dad and entire leg of the buck to make into jerky. The funny thing about this picture is that just after I snapped it, my dog walked over to the back door, where I was, and looked up at me with this hopeful expression, as if to say, "Please, mommy, I've-been-a-good-girl-can-I-have-a-milkbone?" But she never put the deer bone down! I guess she's getting spoiled, and it's probably my fault. I just feel so guilty when I come home and she's so excited to see me, and then I have to turn around and leave a day and a half later. She's my baby!

In other news, I found this really cool site that lets you type a message into a box and then you pick a voice and the voice reads your message. And then you can send the message to whomever you desire. Sounds cool, eh? Well, how about if I mention that it is sponsored by Pirates of the Caribbean? They won't let you say curse words, but if you are like Callie and me, you'll find phonetic ways to get around that one. I think we were able to make the skull say every curse word we could come up with. Check it out here: Pirate Talk. We are so immature, it's laughable and pathetic.

Now all that is left to me is to finish these last two days of school and then go home on friday and hopefully have a really great weekend. Here's wishing you the same!

Hugs

In one of my lectures today, my professor told us a story about one of her Psychology classes when she was an undergraduate. Her professor believed that everyone needed at least five hugs a day just to be happy and feel good about themselves and to know that someone cares about them. In order to help his students reach that quota, he would give them all a hug as they came to class. I think that's really sweet. I'd like to get five really big bear hugs a day! I'd like to give five really big bear hugs a day! Consider this post as a virtual hug. Well, at least it's a start!