Today marks one week.

VT resumed classes today. I had a dream last night where I was looking at Stack's Facebook wall and reading all the wonderful things that his friends have written about him and how they are all so sad that he is gone and he came back and told us that it was a mistake and that something went wrong and they just released the wrong name - that he wasn't really dead. I remember being SO incredibly relieved after hearing him say that. It's just sad because it felt so real and I think it's because I really wanted that to be the truth. I really want him to still be here. I'm having a hard time accepting what happened. I woke up abruptly this morning a few hours before my first class to sirens blaring on the street outside. It felt like the movie Groundhog Day. I thought it was happening all over again until I finally came to my senses. I've talked to a lot of people that live by me and they said they had the same reaction when they heard it this morning too. It's good to know I'm not completely losing it. I got to class at 12 only to find out that class wasn't meeting today. I guess I never got the e-mail. Today our academic buildings had signs on the entrances that said that the media were not to enter. Well... apparently there were news affiliates that dressed up as students and tried to sit in on some classes. Some professors had cops right outside the classroom ready to arrest them, while others would not tolerate them being in class and asked them to leave. I'm pretty sure we had one guy sit in on one of my classes. He didn't have a camera or anything just a pencil and pad of paper. I don't know how I felt about it. It's a HUGE intrusion and I think it kind of crosses the line. On the other hand, he was pretty respectful, he didn't say anything and just minded his business. I understand these people have a job to do and families to support, but capitalizing on someone's pain very obviously is where I draw the line. Don't stick a camera in somebody's face when they are crying. If you must get footage, do it at a distance, you know? My friends who went to the vigil this morning said that CNN was right behind them and the guy's cell phone went off during the moment of silence and though he didn't answer it, he wasn't quick enough to turn it off because it obviously disturbed others. They also said whispers of "get footage of that right there" were abundent during this moment of silence and everyone agrees that it's just rude. Again if you must get footage, do it respectfully or don't come at all. We will ask you to leave and at times we may not be so polite about it.

That Smile...

I miss it so so much.

Random

I got some Keds today. Doing so made me feel like I was 5 years old all over again, but how could I resist? They are so comfortable. Plus, these are all pre-destroyed thus making them "hip." Ha ha, JOKES!

Being away from Virginia Tech for the past couple of days have made me feel pretty normal again. I have removed myself from the situation which makes me feel a little more detached. However, I'll be headed back tomorrow and I think Monday will definately begin to flood back, especially upon seeing all the memorials set up. Things won't be the same - I know that for sure, but in looking out for myself, I have signed up to meet with a counselor to see if I can try to get all my feelings sorted out. There's obviously a lot I have on my mind, there's a lot I've neglected to deal with because I am currently home so I feel that this is a necessity when I get back. I want to be able to move on and to one day accept what happened. I feel this is what's best for me right now.

Hokie Hope

Virginia Tech Alumni have declared tomorrow an Orange & Maroon Effect day. Traditionally, there are two days during the football season where everyone in the stands will wear one of the two colors so the games will be called "Orange effect" or "Maroon effect." Anyway, in order to show solidarity tomorrow, VT alumni as well as current VT students ask those who wish to participate to wear our school colors. You don't have to be dressed to the nines, a simple ribbon will do. For the official statement, click on this link or this one.

We ARE Virginia Tech

The response to the reading of this poem by Nikki Giovanni was astonishing. In Cassell, they chanted "Let's Go Hokies" and in the Stadium one side chanted "Let's Go" as the other responded with "Hokies" (which is standard procedure at any football game) as tears rolled down everyone's cheeks. That was the first time I really felt any sense of encouragement. This was the first time that I felt that I could actually move on. And when we saw the shot of Frank Beamer and his wife crying during all of this... we just broke down. But I must say the worst moment during convocation was when a family member of the victim was so overwhelmed with grief that he had to be removed from the service. I cannot imagine he is going through. My heart sank. Convocation was a step in the right direction - it has not made things easier, but at least we know that the healing process has begun. Additionally, the out pour of support from around the nation and the world is remarkable. In the place of college rivalry, comes overwhelming comraderie. Every time I see a "4.16.2007 - today we are all hokies" sign or message, a piece of me sinks and I wish I could personally thank everyone. I see that my hometown baseball team "The Nationals" wore Virginia Tech baseball caps to their game today and it moved me to tears. I cannot express my gratitude to all of you who have sent encouraging words - it helps so much at a time like this. I went to sleep crying last night and woke up crying. I wanted so much to wake up this morning and just realize it was all a horrible nightmare. Reality sets in and now I understand that the next few days, and months will be a journey to heal. Thank you for supporting me through all of this from the bottom of my heart.

Nikki Giovanni's Poem

We are Virginia Tech
We are sad today
And we will be sad for quite a while
We are NOT moving on
We are embracing our mourning
We are Virginia Tech
We are strong enough to stand tall tirelessly
We are brave enough to bend to cry, and sad enough to know
We must laugh again
We are Virginia Tech
We do not understand this tragedy
We know we did nothing deserve it
But neither does the child in Africa, dying of AIDS
Neither do the invisible children, walking the night away to avoid being captured by rogue army
Neither does the baby elephant, watching his community be devastated for ivory
Neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water
Neither does the Appalachian child, killed in his own crib, in the home his father built with his own hands, being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized
No one deserves a tragedy
We are Virginia Tech
The Hokie nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those that offer their hearts and minds
We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid,
We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be
We are live to the imagination
And the possibility we will continue to invent the future
Through our blood and tears
Through all this sadness
We are the Hokies
We will prevail
We will prevail
We will prevail
WE ARE
VIRGINIA TECH

There is no preparing for a goodbye like this.

4.16.2007 - Goodbye Ryan Clark, you were a PHENOMENAL human being. I love and miss you.

My phenomenal friend Ryan "Stack" Clark lost his life this morning. I am shocked and grief-stricken. Words cannot even begin to describe the person that Ryan was. I am blessed and honored to have even cross paths with a person as beautiful as Ryan. It always seems that the good die young. I met Stack my first year at Virginia Tech when I was the new "freshman" that showed up to the first service meeting. I was awkward and he could tell that I didn't know anyone so he came up and introduced himself to me and talked to me the whole meeting. I will never forget that about him - his ability to make you feel completely at home. He was the kind of person that everyone knew and on a campus as large as Virginia Tech's that's quite impressive. He had a passion for helping others - he died doing just that. He was loved and will be missed tremendously. I can't believe I have to say goodbye to him.

Hokies United.

I will never forget today. Words cannot explain the deep hurt that the Virginia Tech community feels right now. This is just far too heavy. The death toll keeps multiplying and I am terrified at the thought of finding out who the victims were in the next couple of days. I'm most horrified to see the pictures of these victims flash on news sites and realizing that I recognize them. I can't believe this is our reality right now. I am thankfully okay and I really appreciate all the calls and messages I'm getting, but PLEASE keep the victims of today's unthinkable events in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers. As University President Charle's Steger has already said, "this is a tragedy of monumental proportions."

Proud to be a Hokie,

Mary

Computer Help

Okay it's about time for a new computer. I am trying to decide between Mac and Sony's Vaio. I currently have a Vaio right now and it's been good to me. My only peeve is that their coustomer service is pretty bad. I've never had any major problems with my Vaio aside from the one time my CD drive stopped working... However, I don't think that's a big enough deal to keep me from getting another Vaio. It's just time for something a little sleeker, lighter, and easier to carry around with me everywhere. I'm liking the Macs because the lap top battery is not the equivalent of a brick and they're also light with a nice design. I'm just not sure how smooth the switch will be for me going from PC to Mac. Hmm, any ideas? For those of you who own Macs, how do you like them? How was the transition and have you had any problems?

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."

Kurt Vonnegut died last night at 84. A great loss to our generation as he has written many books that my friends and I would consider life-changing or at least very thought provoking. His work challenged the way we thought and I'm glad we at least have those literary works to hold on to. I don't know what else to say... it's a sad day for a lot of us.

And so it goes...

MMM MMM delicious.

I just wanted to take the time to tell everyone about how delicious Snyder's Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Pieces are. They are my new obsession and because they are pretzels, they make me feel better about eating them than say chips even though they may not necessarily be better for me. Anyway, next time you're walking through the snack asile of your grocery store, pick up a bag of these and thank me later. SO YUMMY.

On a not so delicious note... has anyone been outside today? Gross. April showers bring May flowers ... I guess. This week is looking so bad weather wise it looks like the boating/tubing trip to the lake will have to be cancelled. Sorry guys.

Oh and Larry Birkhead is the dad. SURPRISE!

Tuesday's Thoughts...

- The high today is 79 degrees, the projected highs for the rest of this week do not exceed 50 degrees. What the eff?

- My afternoon classes were cancelled yesterday due to... you know, your average BOMB THREAT.

- Update on New Years Resolution: Still gymming at 6am every morning... running 3 miles before classes now. I feel great.

- On a semi-new years resolution note (eating well etc) when I am tempted to eat a sweet cold treat as Spring would encourage, I've found that Sugar free Jell-O is a great alternative. I'm obsessed. Favorites include Strawberry & Raspberry

- Is Marie Antoinette worth seeing? Anyone?

- New Balance came out with some Joy Division shoes. I don't know how I feel about that. Speaking of Joy Division, does anyone know what happened to the production of the biographical movie on Ian Curtis?

Update -----> The movie is called "Control" and here's more info.

Things that girls spend their weekends discussing

Okay well here goes... for those who are brave enough to read what will probably be rant that is far too long in regards to the opposite sex.

I visited a good friend of mine this weekend at Wake Forest and right now in particular she's going through a tough time. She has just gotten out of a long term relationship recently, but has found herself moving on and happy with the person she is now with, however her ex is having trouble letting go and is still trying to win her back which is causing a lot of turmoil for her.

While she was explaining her situation to me, our girl talk naturally progressed to talking about relationships in general and what works and what doesn't work. We got to talking about what we wanted out of relationships and what we think is most important and what has gone wrong in the past that has made us realize this.

Before I compile our great list for you, let me just reiterate the fact that I happen the be the most commitment-phobic person ever. Usually, when I get to the point in a relationship with someone where they want to take it to the next level and "commit" or put a title on the relationship such as girlfriend/boyfriend... I freak out and call it all off. When I explain to the person, whoever it happens to be, that it is not them and that it's me - they are disappointed and hurt that I give them this cliche and non-descriptive answer. But, honestly, that's really what it is. It's ME. I don't know why I cannot accept commitment. Maybe it's because I really enjoy my independence and perhaps I'm afraid that this person will not understand that and I don't want to hurt anybody so I stop it before it begins. I also think this is why I tend to lean towards long-distance relationships, because I still get to have my independence while maintaining a deeper connection with someone but not feel suffocated at the same time.

So here's our list... I guess the above was a terrible segway into it, but I did warn you that this would be a rant...

The guy must be okay with...

- not eating dinner together everyday
- not spending every waking hour of existance together
- most of my friends being guys (hey, it's plutonic!!! plus, this school has a terribly skew guy: girl ratio, get over it)
- me wanting this person to hang out with his friends and not hang out with me
- not completely changing just for someone else
- me having lunch with an ex-boyfriend from time to time (I think this is the ultimate test)
- my friends, and even if he dosen't like them he must be friendly with them
- me not wanting to hang out from time to time
- me going out by myself or doing things alone
- my independence and with that hopefully comes the ability for this person to accept that and not take it from me.

Long time no see!

It's been awhile since I've posted so here's a quick rundown of what I've been up to/will be up to:

- Spring is finally here excluding today when it was rainy and 46 degrees... what?!
- Ben Folds came and played a Spring Concert here. He was fun.
- Sam Winans does a dance called "The Pigeon" and he says it is to turn people off so he doesn't have to dance with them. This experiment was executed in Florence, Italy and conclusions show that it was successful as the whole dance floor cleared in horror.
- I'm going to visit some friends in Winston-Salem this week and apparently we are going to a place called "The Werehouse" - seems very hipster-y... but I think it will be fun. I'm told I'll have to "dress up" as in coustume-y and I'm a bit skeptical but I'll let you know how it goes.
- Summer is almost here (can you believe that?)
- As soon as the water warms up around here, we are going to take some boats out for spins on the lake. This is an invitation for you to join!

BAHSTON...

I brought my camera to Boston with high hopes of freezing awkward moments in time. Of course, I dropped the ball on this (sorry guys) as it was too cold to reach into my purse to pull it out. Lame, I know. But windchill of -13 degrees is never fun. Anyway, overall I really liked Boston. I think it's a really nice city. A lot less hectic than New York - it reminded me a lot of DC. I don't think I'll consider med school there because I can't take another 4 years of ridiculously cold weather. Blacksburg has given me more than I'll ever need.

I'm really disappointed that I didn't come back with any sweet pictures, however I do have a nice little video clip of a subway musician. He was my favorite out of all the ones I saw - he was also the best. So here's a link to it... hope it hits the spot.

And for those of you dying to hear about my trip (cough THIS IS FOR YOU MOM cough) here's what I did:

The first night I was there, I went to a great comedy club in Cambridge called The Comedy Studio and I thought it was great. It was only $10 and even better... it was in the attic of a Chinese restaurant... and YES, you can order chinese food and they'll bring it up to you while you're watching all the stand-up acts. Definately a unique experience! Some of my favorite commedians there that night were Baratunde Thurston and Shaun Bedgood whom I have googled stalked so that I could bring you these sweet links. CHECK THEM OUT!

The next day I visited a good friend of mine at Harvard. We took a tour of his campus which is gorgeous by the way and got mexican at Filipe's Taqueria in Harvard Square. While touring Harvard, I noticed that the one thing it has that many universities don't is a library in EVERY DORM! Nuts, huh? Makes sense and it makes things so much more accessible. I thought that was a good idea. Maybe it will catch on. Oh, I also randomly met Nate Dern from Beauty and the Geek while walking on campus. My friend who I was visiting happens to know him and by chance we ran into him. We didn't stick around and talk to him for a long time, but he's very genuine and I thought he was pretty cute. I didn't recognize him at all since I don't watch the show, but I would have never pegged him as a "geek" based on my first encounter. Maybe I'm just attracted to dorky guys - who knows. There's something awkwardly charming and not cocky about geeky boys.

I guess those are the highlights of my trip. Oh, I got free cupcakes from Lulu's in Boston's Northend since the store was closing and I ran in there to buy one and she handed me two boxes full of cupcakes. Basically that experience makes me think positively about my Boston trip. Other than that, just a lot of touristy sight seeing, shopping, and catching up with friends. I loved my trip there, minus the cold.

New addition!

My mom e-mailed me this morning with some exciting news. My uncle and his wife just had their first baby. His name is Alex. I have a new cousin!

LOVE!

Who else is obsessed/in love with BCBG's Spring '07 Ready to Wear collection?! All those cute short (but not skimpy) dresses make me want to constitute a no-pants, dress only rule for Spring '07. HONESTLY! I love it. If you get ot the main page, hit the left arrow 41 times... the dress at the bottom of the strip is MY FAVORITE. I think this may be my foxfield dress. This only reaffirms my hatred for this cold (but necessary since it's February) weather. I'm ready to walk around bare foot in green grass in dresses for 4 months. A little piece of me lights up everytime I think about this collection. Lame, right?!

Retro french music flashback...



For the past week (aka 2 days) I've been listening to a lot of French music. Not the new stuff but like 1960's Francoise Hardy and the like...

Currently on repeat:

"Tous les garcons" - Francoise Hardy
"Comment te dire adieu" - Francois Hardy
"Elle etait si jolie" - Alain Barriere
"Toi Jamais" - Sylvie Vartan
"La vie en rose" - Edith Piaf

All things go. All things go.

Okay so how great is this a capella version of Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago?"



Yeah the sound quality isn't fantastic, but it's pretty great a capella, right?!

Warhol had it right.

"In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" - Andy Warhol

Evidence here:



Speaking of Andy Warhol... has anybody seen Factory Girl?! If so, what's it like/what did you think of it? For some reason this is not being played in the world-famous city of Blacksburg (sarcasm) so I have not seen it yet. FILL ME IN!.

Oh America!

- Is it just me or did this story just completely blow your mind?! Only in America, right? It's so random/hilarious. I don't mean not to sympathize with the situation, but it's just so ridiculous that I can't. I never thought I'd be hearing "astronaut," "love triangle," "attempt to murder" all in the same sentence. Touche.

- It snowed here last night (finally) after weeks of "fake out" snow reports. It was pretty exciting except for I had a 6pm class that was not canceled and so on the way home from class it was coming down pretty hard and I got rear ended coming out of campus. Luckily, nothing happened to my car. There wasn't even a scratch on my bumper! I'm fine as well and I'm pretty sure the other guy's car is okay so we just went our separate ways. He said he put on the breaks but slipped on the ice. That happened to me too except for there was nobody in front of me so I didn't make a big deal of it and we went our separate ways.

- Even though we have 5 inches of ice/snow on the ground - school was not canceled today which made me sad because getting here this morning was completely ridiculous.

- Quick update on my New Years resolution: I've been waking up at 6 every morning and going to pilates. I've stuck with it! It's been really rough waking up to go lately because it's usually around negative 8 degrees here and knowing that it's going to be that cold isn't much motivation for waking up especially to go to the gym, but alas, somehow I've convinced myself to do it everyday this week. So far so good.

Disection, day one.

Today was my first day of my 4 week Fetal pig disection lab. There are a few things I'd like to mention.

a) I have an awesome partner (Shane) who also happens to live a few doors down.
b) It wasn't as gross as I thought it was going to be. Our pig is pretty large and there isn't anything wrong with him. Some people had pigs with livers that exploded so there was all this reddish brown liquid just gushing out of it. So we're pretty excited that didn't happen to us.
c) Our TA insisted that we name our pig because for some reason it makes sense to NOT put our names on the tag that marks the bag with our pig in it, but to actually name the pig instead... Anyway, being the awesome people that we are... our pig's name is... (drumroll)

KEVIN BACON!

funny thing is throughout this whole disection, Shane kept talking to "Kevin" and saying things like, okay Kevin, bear with us while we cut you open. Or, "see you next week Kev."

Weekend notes

- I've recently discovered the deliciousness that is Smoothie Mix Skittles! Screw chocolate on V-day, give me a bag of these skittles and I'll give you my heart.

- The Superbowl is tomorrow and that's pretty exciting. MIDWEST showdown! So exciting that Kanye & Common wrote a song about it called "Southside Superbowl." Too bad I can't write songs to express my excitement for the superbowl, but I can make Jello shots and pigs in a blanket so that's what I'm going to do. The jello is sitting in the fridge right now. Pigs in a blanket coming tomorrow!

- On Monday I start my first day of fetal pig disection. I'm pretty excited.

- Last night I volunteered for a program where you provide care to disabled children while their parents have a night off to do as they please. It was intense because the kids demand so much attention, but the experience was so rewarding and I'm looking forward to doing it again. I met a lot of great people and despite the fact that it got difficult at times, I had a lot of fun with the kids. I think they teach me more than I teach them. One girl gave me a hug when she left and said that I better be there next time so that we can hang out. That pretty much made my night.

- 28 days until Boston. I also just bought a fun carry-on bag. I decided to ditch the suitcase for this trip. It's exactly like this one below except it's black...

- Oh PS: V-day is coming up and I'm kind of hoping I can skip it. How much does it suck for single people? Let's be honest.

Le weekend
(I decided to consolidate- the post was too long)

- Went to UVA, stayed with Nina - it was Awesome
- Got there and Nina's neighbor came by and told me he had been stalking me earlier on Facebook (i was kind of creeped out at first, but truth be told he is not sketchy at all)
- There I went to a concert where I saw Schuyler Fisk, Joshua Radin, and Brett Dennen and it was a lot of fun!
- SISSY SPACEK was randomly there singing backup for her daughter Schuyler Fisk... yeah no big deal right?! WRONG! It was awesome.
- Mike took us on a tour of "grounds" - they don't call it a "campus" and Heather and I decided that UVA has a lot of cute boys that frequent bagel shops.
- I brought my camera and neglected to take photos. Apparently someone mistook my camera for theirs and now I have 10 pictures of this guy everybody called "JG" sitting on the couch. Super. I still don't know what "JG" stands for.
- It was Lexi's 21st birthday. She had a good time. We had a good time.
- There were these sketchy French guys that showed up at Lexi's party. They were okay at first but I guess the girls started leaving and they started to get desperate so they became extra creepy and touchy-feely and it was gross so Eddy beat one of them up.
- Yes, it was the first fight I've ever seen. Yes, there was blood. Yes, it was probably unnecessary.
- I met this guy Jay at 4am- he stopped by with his friend Dave once everything was over to hang out with Nina and it turns out he knows one of my really good friends at Tech so we proceeded to get really really excited about this. As in spent 10 minutes in the hallway, wide-eyed, hands to our heads, "OMGs" exchanged as well as phone numbers, and then left a few messages for said mutual friend. Small world, huh?

Overall? Great weekend!

Next up is Boston. I have roughly a month! :)

Consider it done!

- Special shout out to my Boston friends: My tickets have been purchased. I'll be coming in March 3rd at 1pm and leaving March 7th. I'm excited. 40 day countdown startinnng now! :)

- It started "wintery mixing" here last night and nobody was excited because there wasn't enough accumlation of awesome snow to play in, there was just enough to frost/ice over our cars making this morning a pain in the ass. And yes, we did have school since we are blessed with steam tunnels underneath our sidewalks that melt anything and everything that could possibly keep us from going to school. Thanks life.

- In other news, who saw this on the front page of CNN this morning?! "Wife induces labor so husband can go to Bears game" Apparently she said she did it because this game was a once in a lifetime thing... but last time I checked, so was the birth of your child.

Update

It's midway through January and I figure this may be a good time to let you know how I'm doing as far as keeping my new years resolutions.

The crip walking? Let's just say, I haven't really found anyone to teach me, nor I have I tried to practice on my own.

As far as Boston goes, plans are underway right now. I will be there from March 3 - 7th. I will probably purchase my tickets within the next few days. My friend has already suggested a comedy club in Harvard Sq. which I am pretty excited about. I don't have my whole week planned yet, but any suggestions on where to eat, places to shop, and things to see are greatly appreciated. Boston Natives/lovers, please please leave some ideas.

In regards to seeing more of the board, it's been kind of difficult to find a time where we can all meet up so we're still going to need to work on that. BUT... Linda, a former board member DOES live in Boston and I'll be staying at her digs when I visit so at least I'm sort of getting it right.

Well... as far as Yoga goes, I haven't been doing it... but I have been waking up and going to Pilates at 7:30am. I know, I know... it's not Yoga, but I think it's pretty close. They changed the schedule and switched Pilates and Yoga so now I'll be starting my morning relaxing with Pilates. So far, so good. It's been hard to train myself to wake up and go to sleep earlier than I normally do, but I think I'm finally coming around. For those of you who are early birds, if someone wants to be really really nice and give me a wake up call at 6:30am, please do! I feel so much better during the day when I exercise in the morning. Heather has also been cardio-ing with me later in the day so as far as that resolution goes... it's pretty solid.

As far as roadtrips/concerts go... Heather is going to UVA with me next weekend to visit a friend AND go to a concert. BAM! 2 in 1.

Well, that's about it... so far so good. Let's just see if I can keep it up.

My Great Loves

Derrick C. Brown

- poet, singer, once paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne, heart theif
Tristram Stuart
- british author/hottie

Albert Camus
- French author and philospher, author of one of my favorite books, "L'Etranger," well known for existentialism and absurdism

Anderson Cooper
- Journalist extraordinaire, stealer of our hearts (some say he did it with his Katrina coverage, I say, he did it with his Sago mine tragedy coverage), half Vanderbilt

to be continued...
(perhaps you can do one of your own and share/link it here)

New Years Resolutions

So I've had a few days to think about it and here's what I've come up with thus far:

- Learn how to crip walk (and not look like I'm having a seizure) so that when it's time for graduation I can completely embarass my parents as I walk down the football field looking like Snoop Dogg. It's a $40,000 walk, you might as well make the most of it, no?

- Go to Boston. I have a lot of friends up there and we've always talked about arranging a trip, but unfortunately all this time we've just been all talk so finally this year Jason and I have decided that no matter what, we're going. His brother goes to school/lives up there and could host us along with some friends that go to school around the area. I've never been and I've heard great things so I figure, it's time.

- See more of the Board. We tried to go to New York together over Winter break, but with busy work schedules, a surgery here and there, and sicknesses, we wern't able to get together so hopefully we can figure something out this year. I'd love to see everyone again.

- Get back into the routine of doing Yoga. I've taken classes before, but I'd like to go every morning at 7 so that I can start my day relaxed and hopefully rejuvinated. On that note, with Yoga every morning, I'd like to do my cardio in the evening.

- I want to go to sleep a lot earlier (10pm) and not have work to do when I come home from campus so that pretty much means I'll have to manage my time really well during my incredibly long breaks in between all my classes.

- Go on more roadtrips. Now that most of my friends have already gotten their semester abroad out of the way... they are back in school for the final stretch so it will be nice to finally have people to visit! :)

- Go to more concerts. This year has been so academically centered I haven't gone to any concerts. Spending my summer in Blacksburg, where nobody ever tours didn't really help this situation. But hopefully that will change this year. There's a Brett Dennen concert coming up at a venue really close to UVA so maybe I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone... (visiting friends there too).

That's all I could come up with... hopefully the whole waking up for Yoga thing will work out - I think it'd be really really good for me. I'll keep you posted.

Guilty Pleasure

John freaking Mayer and his new(ish) CD "Continuum." I really like it and it pains me that I do. The one thing that does annoy me about this cd is "Waiting for the world to change" and maybe that's becuase I hear it EVERYWHERE. It's always on the radio, playing in stores etc etc... so I'm a bit tired of it, however the rest of the CD is good so that makes up for it. :) Also, it seems like a break-up(ish) CD which I guess is pretty fitting for the times and I guess that why I like it so much as pathetic as that may sound. Anyway, if you haven't already gotten a copy... do it. Easy listening.

Byyye 2006!

2006

What is the date: January 2, 2007.
What is your name: mary
How old will you be at the end of 2007: 21!!! Be excited for me.
Do/Did you have New Years Eve plans: yes, Rachel threw a party.
What was the biggest change in 2006 for you: really figuring out what I want to do after I graduate. I've always known but plans are more concrete now.
Who were you closest to in 2006: lots of people. kathryn, rachel, lisa, my parents
What was the most shocking thing you saw in 2006: going into a cadaver lab for the first time the night before halloween. there were 45 cadavers... it surprisingly wasn't that scary but it was definately shocking.
What was the biggest lie you heard in 2006: some pretend virgin at a party talking to a group of guys and saying, "oh my goshhh i've NEVER been drunk before." Ha. That's what pretend virgins say. Later that night she left with a guy. And so the cycle goes. The next week, she said the same thing at another party. It's kind of funny.
What is the most shocking thing you did in 2006: Hmm... not too sure if this is "shocking" but spending my summer in Blacksburg taking classes, something I will NEVER NEVER NEVER do again.
What is the biggest lie you told in 2006: "I'll be there in 5 minutes!"
What is your saddest memory for 2006: getting my heart broken (that sounds so lame when I type it, but it's true)
What is your happiest memory of 2006: discovering the restaurant, "Cabo Fish Taco" - it's so good!
How many traffic tickets did you get in 2006: one. It was my first one ever and it cost me $131. Now I am so paranoid when I'm driving.
Were you in love at the end of 2006: i guess so although i'm reluctant to say i was.
What was the scariest moment of 2006: almost burning the house down at school. i had just given blood and was pretty dizzy/hungry so i made some pasta but dozed off on the couch while waiting for the pasta to boil and eventually all the water boiled out and the pasta began burning... etc etc.... that was scary.
How many people are you dating: zero
Are you going to change that in 2007: i'm not sure. i'm not going to push anything. my philosphy this year is to just not care and if it happens then so be it. i find that when i actually put effort into things like relationships... somehow it just doesn't work out. i think i enjoy my independence too much and it's hard for me to balance that aspect of my life when having a boyfriend. i don't know if that made any sense... but i guess what i really mean is, i dont like people that are too clingy... i don't like people who don't let you hang out with your friends when you're in a relationship. i am difficult.
Did you move in 2006: moved into a townhouse at school. that was nice
What was the most stressful time for you: this past semester. it has definately been challenging in every aspect.
Did you make any new friends in 2006: of course
Did you lose any friends in 2006: no, i can't say that i have and i'm thankful for that
How many people expressed a romantic interest in you: you know... i don't know and if they did, i am terrible at picking up subtle signals so i probably didn't respond and i normally screw things up anyway so for anyone who did, it was probably fruitless for them and completely my fault.
How many people turned you down: one, i wouldn't say turned down so much as decided to move on which is understandable. But, needless to say that was a really rough time for me. I cried for days.
How many parties did you attend: many
How many weddings did you attend: none
How many funerals did you attend: none, thankfully
What did you learn about yourself: i've learned to depend more on myself. i've learned to push my limits as far as school goes. i learned that as far as relationship goes there's a general pattern that usually manifests itself and that i should probably change that and the fact that i am scared of commitment.
What did you change about yourself: my hair, and my drinking habits. i don't drink as much - i know my limits.
What are your goals for 2007: be healthy, happy, do well in school, see my friends adn family more often, go on more roadtrips, and definately go to more concerts, oh and turn 21 and spend that time in New York with good friends. :)

Offbeat oddities:

- "The douche card" = a great conversation ENDER.
- A worldwide O-face day?! True story.
- My friend and yours, Dylan Love has put up a short clip with updates on this weeks news coupled with his amazing sense of humor. Check it out. I loved it. It's the one called "Live From My Bedroom"

so this is christmas

One of the Derrick Brown books I ordered came in the mail yesterday. To be more specific, it was the anthology. The other book I ordered is coming from the shipping company so it may be a few more days, but this one should keep me occupied until the other comes. He signed it, "I love your sauce." I wanted to sign back a rubuttal that said, "well, I love your poems." This book is great, he has some poems from "If lovin you is wrong, I don't want to be wrong" that he changed a bit so it's nice to compare and contrast. Plus, what I love about this book in particular is that he has commentary for almost every poem and IMHO, I think that it makes everything just "click." It just makes so much more sense. I can't wait for the other book, as this is my second time reading through this one.

In other news, I've started putting in some hours at a doctor's office. It's wonderful and I really get to see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff which is what I was looking to do. First off let me just say that I respect this doctor so much. He's a general practioner that also specializes in dermatology. It really seems like he's doing this because he loves it and not just for the money. He puts in so many hours at the nursing home before and after his regular hours and is so dedicated to each of his patients. His rates in comparison to the other doctors in the building are ridiculously good and he does that because he knows that the majority of his patients do not have insurance and while most places charge $60 for a visit he charges them $30 their first time and $25 for every visit after that. He does it because he TRULY wants to help people and believes in the accessibility of healthcare and I can't help but respect that.

In the few days that I've worked there, we've come across some strange diseases, namely Morgellon's disease. One of the patients had it and it's a rare disease in which there is severe itching and irratation that feels like it's being caused by a parasite, however when lab reports come back, no parasites are found, but in their place are fibers. Nobody knows what this disease is, and there's really not a cure. So far, he's given me the task of finding research that has been done on this disease and sadly, there hasn't been much. But just the act of trying to find out what is going on is really exciting to me and it's also reassuring to know that even though this doctor already has his degree, he is constantly striving to learn more. I can only hope that one day, I am as passionate about what I do as he is.

Today, in particular was a pretty tough day at the office. We told somebody that they have cancer and then later on, we told a 17 year old girl that she is pregnant. It was really hard and I hope this is something we don't have to do very often, but again, it really opened my eyes to what goes on. I think about my visits to a general practitioner and how I'm usually there for a flu shot or for a physical and came into this experience thinking all the patients going to see the doctor were generally there for the same thing. It's obvious to me now that there's a whole other side to medicine and it's so intriguing. Sorry if I'm boring you with my obsession but, these past couple of days have been keeping me on my toes and I'm so wide-eyed and naive about it all and these experiences, though some hard/sad are just so exciting.

Via Joseph Han

New molecular condoms?! I won't lie... I laughed when I saw "glorious love hole." Great. Anyway, I think this is a pretty neat idea, but because the human body has such a narrow pH range (if I remember correctly it's 7.35 - 7.45) and because body temperature range varies so much from person to person, there is not much room for error. In addition, this is being made under the assumption that body temperature and pH will be "normal" or "ideal" during sex which obviously may not be the case if the person is sick or developing a fever. I think I'm looking a little too far into this, but I think it's a neat concept.

Gift idea for friends!

My favoite person, Derrick Brown has a new poetry book out called "I Love You is Back" and has printed more copies of "Born in the Year of the Butterfly Knife" for those of you who couldn't get a copy the first time around. I know I'm a little bias in saying this, but Derrick is phenomenal. His work is so relatable. If you haven't heard of him yet, visit his website by clicking here. If you would like to read some of his poetry, click this or this. And if you like what you've seen/read, you can buy his material on his website by clicking "store". Trust me, I'm a girl... Freshman year, I had one of his books and my hallmates and I would read it outloud while sitting in our laundry baskets waiting for our clothes to get clean. Our laundry would be done and we'd find ourselves still sitting there reading/crying/laughing. Pick up a few copies for your friends - they will love it. He work is candid, raw, not overly sappy, and incredibly refreshing. He won't disappoint.

A little more incentive to buy the books in case the content hasn't already convinced you: The artwork on the cover of "I Love You is Back" and "Born in the Year of the Butterfly Knife" was done by Cold War Kids

bad news bears...

so when i'm about 30 miles from my house after a 3 hour trip... I GET PULLED OVER BY A STATE TROOPER. damnnnn. it pretty much sucked. this is also my first ticket ever so it was kind of weird. i've made it this far in all my years of driving with a spotless record. it really bothers me because it was so close to home. good thing he didn't give me wreckless.

One down... one more to go...

So I took my Stats final this morning and I have my O-chem one tomorrow before I leave. The Stats test was more difficult than I suspected it would be. I checked the grade distribution from his final last year and people scored on the lower end of it so I'm guessing he's going to curve. I think I did okay but if he curves I'm sure I'll be fine. Now, I have to study for O-Chem which I'm the most worried about...

However... now that exams are almost over... I've got Spring Break on my mind. I want to plan for it soon. Any suggestions for fun locations? By fun I don't mean MTV STD filled Cancun Spring break. Actually, I would love to be as far away from MTV/MTV rando Real world celebs as possible. I also don't want to be on an island full of frat guys. The point of the game is to relax and enjoy the company of the people I'm around. I could do a random tropical place or even Europe even though it won't be warm. I'm open to pretty much anything... suggestions are COMPLETELY welcome. :)

Photos

from this weekend are now up on flickr. I had a great weekend. Let exam week begin!

The Friday before break.

- I dropped the necklace that my dad gave me which I only took off so I could wear another one to a cocktail party down the freaking drain and almost had a heart attack. Luckily Keith (who lives a few houses down) is such a manly man (unlike my roomates who told me to call a plumber) came over and took my pipes apart and got it out. Crisis averted.

- One of my hallmates from Freshman year had a Christmas Cocktail party at her house last night (she lives only a few houses down also) and it was a lot of fun getting dressed up and seeing everyone dressed up as well.

1. My roomate Drew, got drunk and jumped into a bush, not once, but multiple times. As in > 9.
2. For some reason Matt got people really angry without even doing anything and this rando girl that none of us knew, pushed him in the wall and tried to beat him up until she got kicked out. Awkward.
3. Drew really thought he was going to sleep outside last night.
4. On the contrary, he trench crawled in the hallway and made it to his room.

We took a "family" Christmas picture that I think is hilarious. I'm going to turn these into Christmas cards later today. Look forward to getting yours in the mail.

Things and Thangs

Okay so for today's installment of rando news...

- Of Montreal has a new CD coming out sometime in January I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong)... BUT, the nice thing is that you can STREAM it by clicking THIS.

- There is a Cocktail party this Friday that I'm really excited about. Formal(ish) attire, and good friends. This week has sucked - I've taken 3 finals already. Therefore, I am completely looking forward to this. Pictures will probably be up on Sunday.


I guess that's all for now. Short and sweet will do it.

Highly stressed? Check.

This week is just the beginning of the dreaded/much anticipated end of the semester. I have so much work to do and I feel like I'm drowning in it. The light at the end of the tunnel, to be cliche, is SO CLOSE. I'm almost done holding my breath. I'll get to go home next Friday (the first day of exams). I really lucked out and have papers/projects due which I've done ahead of time so it really saves me and gives me tons of time to study. Man, if only I had these sweet time management skills oh... Freshman year. Anyway, I'm excited by winter break will be EXTRA long. A trip to New York with some of the board members of '03 - '04 is in the works which I'm excited about. '03 - '04 seemed so long ago. :( I am really looking forward to this trip though. Nina's uncle has offered to let us stay in his loft. Carden said he wanted to drive so we REALLY lucked out. It's going to be obnoxtiously cold, but I can't wait. As long as I get to be with these guys, it doesn't really matter if it's -10 degrees or perfect and 73. Although... who knows, it's been really warm lately for the end of November. It's supposed to hit 70 tomorrow. We may luck out in New York. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

On that note, I really NEED to study. Keep your head held high these last few weeks are going to be lame, but just know that 27,000 others feel the exact same way! Take care of yourselves.

It's that time of year again!

I've been listening to Christmas music for the past 48 hours almost non-stop and plan to continue to do so until December 25th. Call me a loser, but I LOVE this holiday. There was a ton of traffic getting back to school today - lots of accidents, then lots of random congestion which would normally annoy me to no end as my patience is about zero in traffic but because I had Christmas music playing, I was completely fine. Singing along... you know, just kicking it. It was awesome.

Now that I'm back at school, I realize I'm rather screwed when it comes to the work load I have in store for me this week, but I'm choosing to neglect that right now. :) Bad idea, I know.

Anyway, in other news... I added some videos from my trip home and you can check them out right here.

My Thanksgiving...

felt like it was a scene from a movie. It was amazing/completely random which I think describe my family quite well.

So I guess I might as well run through the highlights of this day with my family (27 in attendance).

1. My 2 year old cousin streaked during dinner. Straight up took EVERYTHING off and ran around the room. This is my life. Immediately, I knew that he would regret this one day. My grandfather took pictures and I'm sure they'll resurface when he's 14, insecure and attending his first homecoming.

2. My cousin Brian (12) made roast beef and mashed potatoes and it was really good. I don't think I can even make food like that and i'm 20.

3. My uncle made everyone Mojitos and drunk karoke proceeded. It's funny seeing men over 30 sing Mariah Carey's "Hero" in unison. Namely the part that goes, "you can find loveeee if you search within your SOULLL." I will probably laugh everytime I hear this song from now on because this image is forever burned into my memory.

4. My uncle after a few glasses of Merlot came up to me and said "I got you dawg" and did the chest pound thing. It was awkward.

5. My other uncle was pretty drunk and went table to table (there were 5 in all) telling all of us how thankful he was for having us in his life and then proceeding to name everything else he was thankful for and then repeating himself about 10 times throughout the night. He also gave us motivational speeches about how we should really just "live for the moment because we never know what tomorrow is going to bring."
Gosh, I love family.

The one thing that gets me...

It's that season again and the bell ringers are out. You know, the Salvation Army ones that stand outside in the cold ringing away. I cannot say no to these people. It's my one weakness and they get me EVERY SINGLE TIME. I can't avoid them, I can't just turn and walk away. It's not fair! They get frail old people to ring the bells in negative 10 degree weather. THEY ARE SO GOOD at this game.

Take yesterday for instance. I was driving to the mall and it's raining hardcore outside. I'm stopped at a red light and this guy walking up and down the side of the road raising money for church in a poncho that is not even keeping him dry knocks on my window. DAMNIT! Ugh... so of course I gave in. I just can't help it. Even if the moeny wasn't going to his church, he was standing outside in the rain and it was cold! I just had to.

And that's what I hate about the Holiday season. I don't mind giving people money when I have it, but I hate the feeling of being guilted into giving people money. I don't think it's fair.

Turkey Lurkey Merky Jerky!

- I found the game "Risk" in my closet and I'm totally bringing it back to school. My roomates and I being the nerds that we are are completely OBSESSED with this game. We had "world domination" tournaments Freshman year. I always ruled South America.

- I've watched way too many episodes of Scrubs over the past few days. I think I'm going to finish up the 2nd season tonight. 3 more to go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that one day when I'm an intern in a hospital somewhere that there is a Zach Braff that will just happen to be an intern there too.

- My uncle is having the extended fam over for thanksgiving tomorrow (technically today) and I'm really excited.

- Do people say the word "holler" anymore?

- This is old news but Tech beat Wake last weekend in football and it was pretty freaking sweet

- I don't want to go back to school.

Tossing and Turning...

So I've been up thinking too much/watching Scrubs (just finished the first season, now I'm on to my second) and I turned the lights off 30 minutes ago and just can't sleep. This is supposed to be my week off where ideally, I should just be resting and relaxing, but that's not the case. Broken heart syndrome never seems to come at the "right" time. It's always during finals or the last day of the worst week of your life. Anyway, bitterness aside... like I said, I was thinking tonight and I've come to the realization that maybe, just maybe I've made a huge mistake. That perhaps while I was concentrating my energy on said heartbreaker, I completely neglected somebody who will mean more to me than he knows. I don't know if you've ever been in the same position - but it's the feeling of being completely enveloped in the idea of somebody "new and exciting" that you forget the ones who are "dependable and comfortable." In other words, I'm feeling a little down - not only because of the broken heart (which I will get over eventually), but because I lost sight of the important things/people in my life through all of this. I'm sorry. Plain and simple. I doubt anyone this is directed at is reading this... but for the ones that are, at least you guys can go on record and say that "Mary really was/is sorry." Girls can be idiots sometimes too... SURPRISE!

In all seriousness though, I know I've been hard on myself lately and I suppose that's because I feel like I have no control over what's happening in my life right now. I mean I'm doing well in school and all that, but that's not the point. I feel like I'm at a point in my life right now where socially and personally I'm supposed to know where things are going. I feel like by now, I should have my shit together for lack of better words that come to mind. And I guess that when I was so emotionally beat with everything that was going on, it just felt like I failed. I still think it's my fault. That's the thing with relationships though - you can't go into them expecting everything to be fine. You will have your failures and triumphs but let me just go on record to say that the failures HURT so much. Sometimes, I wonder why we go through all these silly motions and why we even date. Eventually, it's to find a person we are compatible with but honestly, don't you ever get sick of the dating and awkwardness and the failed relationships? I do. I honestly don't want to do it anymore. I'm tired of games and expectations. I know that's completely silly... but I don't want to search for the right person anymore. I can't take anymore failed relationships. I can't take the frustration and disappointment.

And that's where I am right now. That's how I'm feeling tonight. I'm being more candid than usual... but I just needed to get it out.

Hot to trot.

I am currently LOVING Voxtrot's EP called "Your Biggest Fan" and namely the song "Sway." LOVE IT. It's so good.

Okay, on that note. I'll be on my way home today for Thanksgiving break! :) I miss home, and my parents. We're going to be celebrating my mom's birthday and my parent's anniversary (a few days after the actual date, they wanted me to be home for this) and thanksgiving. So it should be a jam-packed week of fun, delicious food, and festivities. :)

On love, in sadness...

I wonder if it's pathetic of me to lock myself in my room listening to Damien Rice's song "9 crimes" and "Rootless Tree " on repeat... in addition to finding old pictures/letters and going through each and every single one of them?

Why do girls do this when they get sad? I don't think it actually helps, I think it makes things worse as it is tear inducing but somehow theraputic? It's a little ironic.

Anyway, that's how I'm spending my Sunday night. Speaking of Damien Rice, he's going to be playing at the Lincoln Theatre on December 16th if you guys are interested. In other news, he has a new CD coming out November 14th. You can pre-order it on amazon. Here's the track listing:

1. 9 Crimes
2. The Animals Were Gone
3. Elephant
4. Rootless Tree
5. Dogs
6. Coconut Skins
7. Me, My Yoke And I
8. Grey Room
9. Accidental Babies
10. Sleep Don't Weep

The first 3 are up on his myspace page so have a listen.

For Freshmen...

This weekend Drew's younger brother (and the rest of his family) came to visit. His brother John goes to West Point so what that really means is, his life sucks. He doesn't get to go out much and on top of that, he's a Freshman. So, basically it only made sense to throw him a party this weekend as most of John's friends go to our school. A few of them even came from other states. It was such a blast! We had upwards of 200 people stop by our house this weekend. It was so good to see everyone again! Pictures of this can be seen below.

In other very EXCITING news...

I AM GOING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK ON THURSDAY!!!!

Just because Drew is way taller than me, he thinks he can just go around doing things like this. NOT FAIR.  

LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!  

B.Rod showed up just so we could take this sweet pic.  

Matt Kaciban showed up. I look like I'm gone and I love that Min-ji is "that girl."  

Randos.  

Blast from the past. My old roomate came! :) 

With Alex. She is a former Bollo's barista who would cafinate me on a weekly basis. Best barista out there fore sure. 

With my roomate Matt... representing all that is awesome.  

The Ch-Ch-Changes!

Some things and thangs:

- Currently listening to this band from Chi-town called The Changes. You can listen to their tunes by launching the jukebox on their website.

- Nasser sent me this link of Maz Jobrani on the Craig Ferguson show. I was laughing uncontrollably. Very very funny guy!

- Tony sent me this myspace page with little kids rapping. It's pretty cute.

- It is 80 degrees right now... whaaaa?!

Election Day = Christmas for us.

Sorry for the lame post last night. I was in a pretty crappy mood. But... let me just say that I LOVE my roomates for being such HUGE dorks. Last night was a pretty exciting night for 318. With Matt being the conservative and Drew being the liberal and me trying to just not cry, tensions were running pretty high. Matt and Drew were glued to their computers screaming back and forth everytime their candidate was ahead of the other. I'd randomly hear, "He's beating Webb by 10%" and then I'd hear a rubuttal from Drew, "dude, there's still a few more counties!" It was pretty funny. They even baked "election day" brownies which I thought was hilarious. Everyone was so excited. And the race was so close too - like .07% close (according to the CT). That's nuts! Anyway, that's my house for you. I'm glad I can say I live with people who are politically conscious who take voting seriously and though they may not agree, are civil and respectful towards one another.

What a week...

Let's see, I started off my week by watching "The Science of Sleep" with Drew. I liked the movie. I left a bit confused and kind of sad for Stephane, the main character. His relationship with Stephanie really struck a cord. I'm not quite sure why. They're meant for each other, but they just can't seem to work it out. Relatable, huh?

Speaking of exhausted... I am physically/emtionally exhausted from randomly crying every now and then in the past 48 hours. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't want to go into it as I don't think this is the place to do so, but I guess I could say for the first time in my life I've really had my heartbroken. And I bet, looking back on this experience - it probably won't even seem like that big of a deal, but right now, I'm sad and I can't shake the feeling. It's one of those growing pains I guess. A friend of mine was joking with me earlier in attempts to make me feel better (which she did) by commenting on my random teary-ness. We're in the same Stats class together and she was like "you know... if you randomly start to cry during the test on Thursday, people will look at you and think you're crying because the test is so hard." I laughed. But right now... I guess, I just want to be a girl and deal with it the way we deal with things like this... by listening to sad music and sitting in a corner of our room and having a good cry. This sounds so completely pathetic. Hopefully this won't last too long. Break is just right around the corner so I'll be home with friends and family and it'll be nice to get away from it all and not think about it.

Next subject... let's go!

I'm going to Mount Saint Mary's next weekend for Kathryn's "Peace Party." I'm excited! I haven't seen Kathryn in TOO long and to state the obvious, I miss this girl! I also think it will be a good trip for me. I need this right now.

I'm also reading "The Plague" by Albert Camus. I LIKE IT A LOT!

On that note, I should get some sleep. Hope that these eyes aren't too puffy tomorrow. Hope your week is the opposite of my week and AMAZING. :)

Peeve:

Couples who act like they are really siamese twins. You've seen it. They're everywhere, couples who cross the street together, attached at the hip. Couples who link arms when they eat. Don't get me wrong... holding hands is fine, but can you really be comfortable eating dinner with one arm aruond your girlfriend and your other arm looped through hers while trying to feed yourself? I don't understand. I normally don't have problems with couples as many of my friends are dating other people, but it really annoys me when people do this. My eyes start to burn as I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that.

::Rant over::

In other news, we won yesterday against Miami! :) The game was saved by none other than Ore (duh), Adibi, and Flowers! It was amazing when we turned the game around during the last 3 minutes. VT football is back (thank goodness)! Wake also won their game yesterday beating Boston College which was nice too. Kaj texted me and said something about them being number 1 in the ACC which makes the Tech v. Wake game in 2 weeks a good one to anticipate. We are just about neck and neck when it comes to ratings. I normally like to ssee a Wake win, but I'm gonna have to stick with the Hokies for that game. Should be fun!

Drew's latest achievement... granted, a few days too late, but better late than never. 

Drew devestated because someone defaced her botox face.  

Drew trying to get fresh with his crush. 

11/5/2006 = the day all of our fav. college football teams won their games! (Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and Alburqurque State - home of the fighting cacti, hence the fighting cacti pose) 

I can't believe....

I forgot to mention the fact that I got to go to VCOM, a DO medschool about 5 minutes from here on the other side of campus on Halloween eve. It was essentially a tour that we did in place of an AED meeting. We had med students give us a tour of the school and answer questions about what they do. It was really interesting but my FAVORITE part was being taken into cadaver lab.

I intially thought I'd be really scared, but walking into a cold room with 45 cadavers doesn't give you much time to think let alone be scared. It was weird, I walked in there and it didn't feel awkward or weird to me. I just kind of took it all in and was very numb to the exprience. What I really found kind of disheartening is the fact that under these body bags, the cadavers were not whole. Normally, on TV you see the outline of a head, torso, and limbs but I guess by now they are so far into cadaver lab that most of these bodies have been mutilated. All we could really make of what was under the body bags was a torso. It was very surreal to be in there and think to yourself... "these are human beings."

Anyway, as we moved past the bodies I could see organs stored in clear containers in what I assumed was formaldehyde. It was pretty interesting. I also noticed that the lab itself did not smell bad at all which is amazing really. I've heard a lot of bad stories about people throwing up after going to lab because the smell of formaldehyde was so overwhelming. It wasn't bad at all. It smelled very sterile and it was really cold - it kind of smelled like a hospital. The ventilation system in there was state of the art and the dissection tables had vents coming out of the bottom and would rescirculate air 15 times an hour.

As we made our way to the other side of the room, our tour guide stops and picks up a brain and spinal cord that the students were able to preserve (using the same methods as the guy who did the anatomy exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston) and he just passed it around like it was no big deal. It was such a great experience. I left there knowing that I really want to do this. I left excited about cadaver lab - excited to explore the complexities of the human body.

I'm bringing Paxil back...

... generic brands don't know how to act!

Hilarious parody of Justin Timberlake's popular "sexy back"

View it by clicking right hurrrr.

I.O.N (in other news)

- Last night was real Halloween and this time around I thought, why not? Might as well go out. I didn't have too much work to do today. Well, my friend Chris threw a party and a bunch of us went. I get there and realize that... Ike freaking Whitaker was there! He's a good friend of Noelle's who I came with and she invited him and to our surprise he actually showed up. Now, it's not everyday that we get to party with our football players and the one time I do... we decide to take a picture with our tongues sticking out... which would be fine had I not looked like this:

It appears as though I have an allergic reaction to something as my face is BRIGHT RED and I am completely wasted. Way to go Mary... you'll never get this chance again.

Matrix style.... woahhhh 

they strike a pose. Joe & Tony 

Jenn & Joe show up!  

Represent.... LOUDOUN COUNTY what up. 

oh hey!  

With my roomate and his new haircut.