Basketball

Esther and Julia came over to see my new house tonight. While Esther went on the tour, Julia and Amy played basketball in the game room. Julia won...she's really good!

Mike

Yesterday was Mikey's birthday. I didn't post it yesterday because I was dying of a cold. I'll post all about that later.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!



















I hope this year is even better than the last.

Soundtrack to my life

Katie posted this on myspace and her songs fit perfectly. Mine fit, but I think I need better music on my iTunes...

ok, here's how it works:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Opening Credits: Crying Shame - Jack Johnson...really? at the begininng of my life?

Waking Up: The Story of 100 Aisles - Our Lady Peace...at least it's a long story.

First Day of School: Stay - Lisa Loeb...I am still in school.

Falling in Love: I've Got Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks...hmmm

Fight Song: Rule the World With Love - Barenaked Ladies...I'm a lover, not a fighter.

Breaking Up: Baby Mine - Allison Krauss...the song does make me cry

Prom: Beer for My Horses - Toby Keith...sounds like my prom to me.

Life: Thank You - Simple Plan

Mental Breakdown: Somebody Told Me - The Killers

Driving: Politik - Coldplay...I like to tap my foot to this song...could make for some jerky driving.

Flashback: The Scientist - Coldplay

Getting Back Together: Sound of Your Voice - Barenaked Ladies...Perfect!

Wedding: You Give Me Fever - kd Lang...Ha!

Birth of a Child: Buffalo Sabres Hockey Song NHL 2000...maybe my child will be a hockey star.

Final Battle: YMCA - Village People...who, exactly, am I fighting?

Death Scene: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing - Jack Johnson...Yep.

Funeral Song: HBO Stand Up - Ellen Degeneres...Ellen is coming to my funeral?

End Credits: I Go Blind - 54-40...Nice.

Prisioner

I left my Sirius Radio in my car over the weekend. I would never have done that at my old place. It was too dangerous. Here, no one will steal it, but it's still dangerous...my battery died. Now I'm a prisioner in my own home, forced to study for my biology exam which is tomorrow and wait for the Verizon guy (who will be here between 8 and 7...seriously, those are the hours they gave us..) with no way to escape tp Coldstone for just a minute.

Home Ownership is Hard

Since Amy bought a house and we moved in, uh, 4 days ago, I've learned a lot. There's no landlord. Suddenly the city, the neighbors, and God see us as responsible for a lot of things. Like, shoveling snow. Theoretically, the city comes through and plows the street (this actually happens in my new neighborhood...not so much in the old one.) But the driveway and sidewalk? All me. Or Amy. So when the weatherman said we were going to get a foot of snow (a baby foot, but I guess some feet are that small...), Amy took me to Home Depot and made me pick out a shovel. I played with them all, found one I liked (it's pretty and green and not too expensive so hopefully will break before I have to shovel too much), and we bought it. Then we waited and waited for the snow. It never really showed up, so I didn't have to use the shovel, but some day, we will have to shovel not only our driveway but also the sidewalk in front of our house. I'll let you know and expect you to all come walk down it to appreciate it.

Home repairs are also our responsiblity now. The phone hasn't been switched over yet. It'll ring every once in a while and when I answer it here's how it goes:

Me: Hello?
Them: Is Jim there?
Me: No, you have the wrong number.
Them: Is this 555-1234?*
Me: Um, I'm not really sure. I just moved here and I'm not sure what the number is.
Them: silence....Is this the Smiths?**
Me: Oh, no, they used to live here but they moved. Do you want me to take a message and I'll give it to them when they call later?

*not the real number
**not their real name

So I take a message, and Jim calls later that night for his messages. We've all called Verizon 100 million times. They finally said they'd come by to fix it. We made an appointment Wednesday (today) between noon and 4:30. I told them it had to be before 4:30 because I had a doctors appointment. They agreed. They called last night to confirm. This morning I was getting ready for school and the doorbell rang. I was hoping that maybe it was one of the neighbors who saw my car was started and decided to stop by with some Krispy Kreme. It was Verizon. at 8 am. NOT BETWEEN NOON AND 4:30!

New House

I MOVED! I don't live in the ghetto anymore!

I live on a very nice street, much closer to her:















And her:




















And Amy already has the whole place unpacked. Except for a few boxes of my stuff, which apparently I have to put away...but as soon as I do we can get a Christmas tree!

I love my new house, but there are a few weird things. Like, I was doing laundry. I had 1 load that was just the shower curtain, 3 towles, and the bathroom rug. I put it in the dryer and turned it on, then went upstairs. An hour later it wasn't dry. So I turned it on for another 60 minutes, and it still didn't dry. I did it again, and it STILL wasn't dry. I was mad. We bought the appliances with the house, and I wanted appliances that worked! I was also doing dishes. The dishwasher washed the dishes but there was water in the bottom. Then we couldn't get it to turn on. I couldn't figure it out. I told Amy to call the real estate guy and tell him we wanted a new dryer and dish washer. So she turned the basement light on to go check the dryer, and the dishwasher turned on. And the dryer started again. So, we can only run the washer, dryer, and dishwasher with the basement light turned on. But we can only have 3 of them on at once, or we blow a fuse. Also, the hall light upstairs has 2 switches. Either of them turn it on, but to turn it off they both have to be in the off position. Which I guess makes sense, unless you turn it on downstairs to walk upstairs, then you have to turn it on upstairs, run downstairs and turn it off, then turn it off upstairs when you're done with the light. Or, use a flashlight to walk up the dark stairs. It's like a logic puzzle. But overall I'm in love with the house. You should all come over and see it.

I'm Telling!

Amy called the cops on the little kids that live on our street last night. Well, to be fair, the kids causing the problems (1) aren't little and (2) don't technically live on our street. They live on the corner. On the other street. The kids on our street are pretty good, normally. But last night a group of 5 of them (the not-so-little ones -about 12-14 years-old- who don't really live on our street), started causing trouble. They were threatening to beat up the little kids (really, this one kid, Miguel, is 5...they were threatening him) and riding this motorbike they have up and down the street, just missing parked cars and not moving out of the way for moving cars. I thought we should just let them get hit (I had been studying bio, so I was all about survival of the fittest...), but then the one kid took the helmet off of the other kid and threw it at MY car. At Ethyl. Now, Ethyl is old. She does not need to have helmets thrown at her. They had already thrown a can of starter fluid at our landlords car, so Amy called the cops. They never came. But she sat outside and waited for them until she heard the kid on the bike start saying "but what if the cops come?" So she called again. They showed up this time. They were in an unmarked car, so the kids were riding their bike down the street and straight at the cop car. Then the cops turned on their lights. It was kinda funny. The kids on the motorbike were escorted home. The cops confiscated the motorbike. Apparently they had been called a few times about this bike.

The best thing about last night? The 4 big kids from not-on-our-street were all right near the car when the cops turned on their lights. The cops took all of them and walked them home. The other kids, from our street, were at the other end of the block. The kids ran TOWARDS the cops. You don't see that often on the West Side.

Happy Sloth Day! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Instead of going shopping today, my family spends the entire day doing absolutely nothing...sometimes we get out Christmas decorations to get ready for tomorrow (Christmas Tree Hunting Day), but most of the day is spend on the couch watching Christmas movies and eating left-overs. Of which there are plenty at mom and dad's house. Not only was there a ton of food last night, they made sure everyone got huge servings:

I love this time of year. I love the decorations, the scents, the specials on TV, the food, not having school, and most of all - the family time. This morning I spent time with my mom and Julia. After walking along Main St. looking in all the windows at the decorations and toys, we stopped into Taste for a mocha and a cookie. I drank the mocha, and Julia got the cookie:

How could you not love a season that let you spend time with that smile?

Dear Mr. Squarepants,

Can I call you SpongeBob? Or even Bob? I feel like we're close enough to be on a first name basis. I mean, I've spent hours upon hours watching you on TV.

I sleep with you every night.

















I wake up to your beautiful singing voice every morning (or used to, until I got a "big girl" alarm clock..)























But, SpongeBob, I have a complaint. I wanted to relax the other night, and was really looking forward to a nice, hot, bubble bath. I poured some of your Bikini Bottom bubble bath into the tub, sank into the water, and gagged. WHY, oh why, SpongeBob, does your bubble bath smell like wet dog? The Incredibles have bubble bath that smells like fruit punch. It's nice. Barbie has bubble bath that smells like bubble gum. A little sweet, but still better than wet dog.

I'm disappointed, SpongeBob. I was looking forward to our bath, and now we won't ever have another bubble bath together. Unless, of course, you make your bubble bath smell better.

Rebecca's Bricks

Last week over dinner one night Sue asked if Amy and I wanted to go to an art opening with her. Someone she new had told her about a woman who made pictures out of Legos, and she was showing them at the College St. Gallery starting last night. I said no. #1, I had an exam last night. #2, I wasn't really interested seeing Lego creations. But, she kept asking until finally we said OK, after my exam we'd go. So we went. When we walked in I saw 3 things made out of legos, a ball, a chess board, and a box. I almost laughed. I was like, "really? this is her big opening?" But, I was polite and went over to the free wine and poured myself a glass. Then I saw a reproduction of Van Gogh's Starry Night. I LOVE that painting, so I went over to look at it closer, and realized THE WHOLE THING WAS DONE OUT OF LEGO'S. All of the pictures around the gallery were. It was really cool. Check out her website. Or, if you get a chance, go look at her stuff in the gallery. Or you can wait until we move, when Starry Night will be hanging somewhere in our new house...

What have I learned?

Louis and I are taking the same exact chemistry class. We have the same book, the same notes, the same labs. It's the same class. Only his is at Canisius and mine is at UB. His numerical grade on his last exam was an 80. After the curve it came out to a B. Great, right? I was really happy for him. Especially since my numerical grade on the last exam was a 56. My grade after the curve? A B-. So...I may not have actually learned anything this semester, but I have a good chance at beating Louis's grades :)

One exam down...

Picture it:

Thursday, Oct 12, 2006.

2:00 pm. Me, sitting on the couch in my pajamas, surrounded by chemistry (as in books, labs, notes, homework assignments, not as in actual chemical reactions, although technically I was surrounded by them too.) It starts snowing, and through the tears in my eyes, I pray to God that it will snow so hard UB will close the next day and I won't have to take the chem exam.

10:00 pm. Still snowing, but Grey's is over, so I go to bed. I have class early, and then have to study more. There's no way UB will close...they never close.

Friday, Oct. 13, 2006.

12:30 am. Amy wakes me up and says, "I know you have class in the morning and an exam tomorrow night, so you need your sleep, but you HAVE to see this."

The next six hours: Apocalypse.

So, my exam was postponed. Sorry, everyone...that whole "October Surprise" thingy? My fault.

Fast forward a week. I'm in Chem lecture. My prof says the test has been rescheduled for Oct 27th. I pull out my datebook to write it in, and realize that I now have 4 major tests, 6 labs, and 3 quizzes in 3 weeks. Oh, and an extra credit oral report. On sex determination in alligators.

My first exam was last night. I got my name right, and I'm pretty sure I got my student number right (that's already better than on the PSATs, where I spelled my name wrong...) The rest of the questions? It's very possible I did OK.

So, remember how I'm moving? How Amy bought a house and there's a sold sign in front of it and we have a closing date and she signed all those papers and PAID people and everything? Well, she hasn't gotten a commitiment letter from the bank yet for her morgage. The morgage guy, Dick (yes, that's his real name, but also an apt description), has been avoiding her calls. She's called about 6 times every day, left messages, and he never calls back. So finally last week Thursday she just drove over to his office. He was surprised to see her, but told her that everything was in order and she should have the letter sometime this week.

We need this letter. The guy that bought the house we're in now is making us move out on the closing date, Nov. 30th. Our proposed closing date is Nov 30th. Our landlord's closing date on her new house is also Nov 30th. So she's trying to push the closing date on the current house off for a week, but, still, that doesn't give us much time to screw around.

So, Amy's lawyer (a.k.a Uncle Matt) has been calling to see if we've gotten the letter. Finally, Amy gave them Dick's number. Theresa called Amy yesterday, freaked out, because Dick no longer worked at that morgage company.

Amy spent over 3 hours last night with another guy at the same company. They no longer have Amy's file, so she had to redo everything, but Amy showed them that she had already paid her deposit with the copy of the check she had. The new morgage guy looked at it, and said, "cancel this if it hasn't gone through yet." Not only was it way over what she should have paid, but they had no record of her paying it and couldn't find it anyway. DICK!

I'm kinda happy this happened. Dick obviously wasn't doing anything for us, and this new guy already has almost everything done. Amy should have the commitment letter next week (for real this time.) And Amy put a stop payment on the check she gave Dick, so hopefully it won't go through.

Anyway, if this new morgage guy (let's call him Not-Dick for now) is really as good as he seems, we should really be moving the first weekend of December. I'll keep you all updated on that, though, since I know you'll want to help :)

A few days ago I was at Canisius meeting with an wait to see if I get accepted, first.advisor about what they could do for me, should I transfer to their beautiful school. I was parking in the visitors lot, where there were about 10 open spots, but each open spot had an orange cone in front of it. I waited and waited for the parking guy to come move them, but he was no where to be found. I didn't want to be late for my meeting, so I got out of my car and ran to move one of the cones. I was within arms lenght when I reached out, tripped over my foot, twisted my right ankle, and landed on the cone with my left hand. I never technically hit the ground. The cone bent, and my wrist bent backward, but it stopped me. I moved the cone, parked, and went to my meeting, trying to forget about the pain and pretend I didn't trip over my own foot. My ankle is a little bruised, and my wrist hurts if I move it a certain way. I was going to sue, but I think I'll wait and see if I get accepted first.

So, yeah, I met with an advisor at Canisius. I wanted to make it through at UB, but, I hate it. I've decided that I need the help I can get at Canisius to get through sciences. I mean, their biggest lectures have 55 people in it! My biggest lecture at UB? Over 600. The bad things are:

1.) The cost. Yeah, Canisius is a lot more than UB. But, I want to get into dental school, and if I continue at UB I will not get into dental school, I will just have UB loans to pay back with a job at...well, McDonalds, or, worse, Olivers. If I take loans out to pay for Canisius, and go to school there, I will get into dental school. And then I will become and Oral Surgeon. And make enough money to pay back the loans. I win.

2.) UB's lowest BIO class is BIO200. I'm in it. Next semester I would be in BIO201. Canisius has the same BIO200 and BIO201. But, they also have BIO101 and BIO102. They won't let me take BIO201 this spring because I haven't taken 101 or 102, even though I'm in 200 right now. Boo. They also don't have the same calculus class I'm in, so, I have to retake calc. Boo again. So, the class I'm doing the worst in, Chem, is the one class I get to use. I'm in Chem 101 and can take Chem 102 this spring at Canisius. I suppose I could possibly use my Bio eventually and skip it when I'm supposed to take it, after the 101 and 102, but, we'll see how I do.

I've weighed the pros and cons, and Canisius wins HUGE. So, assuming they accept me, again, for the 3rd time, I'll start there this spring. I'm excited. It makes me want to cry less every time I drive onto the UB campus.

Garth Snow vs Steve Shields

Remember when the Sabres couldn't score, but they could fight? After the game Tuesday (9-1 over the Flyers) I think I like them scoring better...as long as I can go back and watch videos like this...

Esther thought that she was the last to post about the big storm, just because Mike, Aly, and Scott had already posted. She's wrong, I'm posting now. They have better stories (or, at least stories they can {1} remember and {2} tell on the internet) but I have stories.

I already posted about Thusday night (so I guess I did technically beat Esther.) It didn't change much after that. Amy, Sue, Chris and I stood outside on the porch and watched trees fall on the cars. My car was never hit, luckily. All the people on the block were out on their porches, and when the noise from falling trees wasn't too loud, we'd yell to each other to make sure we were all OK. It was nice, in a scary, war-zone way. Around 4 I made coffee and we drank that until we ran out of Baileys.

We finally went to bed around 6, but woke up around 7 when Amy's step-mom called to make sure we were OK. I called UB to make sure I didn't have class, and the number said they were open. I walked outside and saw this:




















There was no way I was getting off the street, even with no trees on my car.

I spend the rest of the day moving trees (ok, I watched the rest of the block move trees...I threw some snow balls, then walked to the store to buy more Baileys and other supplies. But I got some pictures on my walk:)

The rest of the weekend I spent staying warm and watching TV and movies.

All in all, I got off easy, especially since I was the one who prayed and prayed for anything that would keep me from having to take my chem exam on Friday...

OH MY GOD, it's the Apocalypse. Yes, it's 2 am and I'm blogging just in case a tree falls on my bed and I die. I love you all. Thanks for reading.

Seriously, though. Amy and I are sitting in the livingroom watching trees fall on cars. WHOLE TREES. Well, mostly whole trees. Like, half trees. Luckily, I was parked on the wrong side of the street and had to move earlier and got the last spot, but also the only spot on the street not under trees. Amy's car was hit by a tree, but it only bounced off and broke her antenna (we think...I won't let her go out there because {1} the news people said not to incase there are powerlines, {2} trees are still falling, {3} there's nothing she can do about a broken antenna and some scratches right now, and {4} it's 2 am and we're still on the west side). Our landlord's car? Covered in a tree. Her roommates car? Doesn't look good from the window.

It's kinda cool. There's a little snap, and then a whole tree falls. If it wasn't scary, it'd be cool. Like a weird sci-fi movie.

Oh, so, if the city of Amherst is closed, is UB still open? If there's a driving ban in Buffalo and Amherst and the 33 is closed, how do I get to school (and my exam?)

HOLY SHIT, there's a tree on our porch. How do I get out of my house?

(Coffee + Chemistry) X 10^23 makes me puke.

You know what I hate about studying for exams? Everything. But, mostly, it lacks good blogging material. I could tell you all about Avogadro's number (which makes me want guacamole), or how every time I have to do any sort of math with scientific notation I cry, or how I just realized that all I've had today is coffee, and lots of it, so maybe that's why I feel like puking (I'm blaming that feeling on the chemistry, though), but, really, that's not funny. Or exciting. Although Toby
thinks it is:

















See how enthralled he looks?

Instead, I'll ask you all to pray that it snows SO MUCH tonight that UB is closed all day tomorrow. Or at least until after 5. When I have my chem exam.

Use it or lose it..

So, remember when I was a pastry chef? Not that long ago...like, last year. Yeah, I worked for that really nice restaurant, remember? They didn't let me do too much...I did a lot of catering, so mostly cookies and brownies and cakes and stuff. not the fun a la carte dessert stuff. But, I made a shitload of cookies and brownies. You'd think I'd remember how...

Amy's told me once or twice (or a few thousand times) that her favorite kind of cookie is chocolate chip without the chocolate chips. Easy, huh? I mean, I'd make chocolate chip cookie dough every day that started with 4 pounds of butter. I know how to make chocolate chip cookies. So, tonight, after I made chicken tetrazzini for dinner, I decided to make Amy some cookies.

The first batch looked OK. The dough was a little soft, but I had used 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter,' so I expected it to be soft. You can't use 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' to make cookies. They melt. And then burn.

Ok, so I had a feeling that wouldn't work. But, it only took me about 10 minutes to make the dough (remember the pastry chef thing? I got good at making it really really fast) so I decided I'd make it again with some real butter that wasn't soft. The butter was fine. I let Amy measure everything and sift the flour, but I watched to make sure it was all measured right. The dough was perfect. The oven was set right. The cookies looked perfect. But something smelled...like alcohol. I wasn't drinking (I'm still not drinking), and neither was Amy. But Amy used vanilla extract that she had bought years ago. So I tasted the dought. It was OK at first, but then there was a definite nasty alcohol taste.

I was going to give it one more try. And then decided not to. I'll go buy cookies from Mrs. Fields tomorrow.

Sorry I haven't updated...I'm addicted to the Panda show...

I would like everyone to know that I'm grown up now. I'm officially no longer on Mom and Dad's cell phone plan. I did some shopping and found that Cingular has the best rates for the amount of time I spend on the phone plus the number of texts I send and places I call. Verizon won't give me the same plan Mom and Dad have been paying thousands of dollars for for me for the past 6 years (that's a lot of 'fors'...), so I'd end up paying more for just me than they were paying for me, Louis, and Mary. Not cool, Verizon, Not cool. Plus, the people at Cingular are...well, nice. So, as long as the phone actually works, I can't see a bad thing about this (other than the part where I pay the bill...)

Anyway, I'm no longer "in." Unless you have Cingular. Then I'm "in" now, so call me. My number's the same.

Bio doesn't really matter, does it?

It's 1:00 right now. 4 hours until my Bio exam starts. Oddly, I'm not too worried. Maybe because I think I'll do Ok. Maybe because I know I can't really learn anything I'll remember when faced with a question about it on the exam. Maybe because I'm too worried about wetting my pants at the moment but I have the BEST SPOT EVER in the library and I don't know where the bathroom is so I refuse to get up find one until I'm actually on my way to my exam room. There are a ton of people around me also studying Bio, and no one else seems to know (a) what to study, and (2) what they've learned. Besides, Bio isn't going to help me in my chosen profession (will it?)...my grade here isn't that important. Dental schools will accept me because I did well in culinary school, right?

Seriously, though. This exam is worth 50 pts. The total grade for this class is out of 700 pts. 40 pts. are "subjective," and the TA gives them to you as he/she sees fit. My bio TA likes me (my chem TA? not so much...), so that's pretty much a guarenteed 40 pts. I get 5 extra pts for every pieces of fungi I bring in in a few weeks, and then I can give a presentation with a group of 3 other people for 25 pts. I can make up a bad grade on the first exam while I learn how Dr. Herried tests in no time.

I'm going to take another practice exam, and then maybe calm myself down again with some Panda Watching. Anyone on the UB campus that wants to bring me some good luck food, feel free...I'm in the library in Capen...

Lun Lun the Panda Bear from the Atlanta Zoo had a baby on Sept. 6th. They have their very own
web cam. You should check it out. I'm slightly obsessed...

1999

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be. Change the subject to the year you graduated.

1. Who was your best friend(s)? Um...I had friends, I'm sure...like Esther, she's my friend!

2.What sports did u play? Lacrosse. We even won a game that year!

3. What kind of car did you drive? drive? In high school? really? :)

4. It's Friday night, where were you at? Haha...in bed. Seriously.

5. Were you a party animal? Um, nope. Not at all.

6. Were you considered a flirt? no, not really.

7. Ever skip school? Whenever I could get a ride somewhere

8. Were you a nerd? Not in the "smart kid" kind of way, no.

9. Were you in any clubs? no

10. Did you get suspended/expelled? Nope

11. Can you sing the fight song? The "Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh" one 'cause we were the Chiefs, or the Alma Mater? I can still sing them both.

12. Who was your favorite teacher? The AP English teacher. What's his name?

13. Favorite class? Government and Law

14. What was your school's full name? Iroquois Central High School

15. School mascot? Chief

16. Did you go to dances? only the expensive ones I had to dress up for.

17. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Never

18. What do you remember most about graduation? It was hot and there were a lot more kids in my class than I knew about. And there were big signs for all the kids that had died that year.

19 Favorite memory of your senior year? Graduating

20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall? I haven't been back to see

21. Did you have a Job your sr year? The Roycroft Inn

22. Where did you go most often for lunch? McDonalds or Burger King

23. Have you gained weight since then? Yeah. Then lost it. And gained it back.

24. What did you do after graduation? College, culinary school, worked, back in college...

25. When did you graduate? June 1999

26. Where are most of your classmates? The majority are probably still around Buffalo.

28. Who was your worst teacher? Mrs. Vach

29. Who will repost this after you? I don't know...definitely not Mary.

Moving, again.

A few months ago our landlord told us she was moving to South Carolina. Amy and I freaked out a little bit. Our landlord is a friend, so we don't pay as much as we should for rent. She also looks the other way when Toby eats the floor, as long as we fix it, or when he chews on the wall. She ignores the constant barking (from the dogs) and even takes the dogs out when Amy and I are gone for long periods of time.

So, Amy and I decided we had a few options:
1.) ignore the landlord and wait for her to realize she's not really moving (she does havea history of saying she's moving then deciding the next week she's not)
2.) ignore the landlord thinking she won't sell the house, have her sell the house and we have to move out in the middle of a blizzard and exams in December.
3.) sign a lease and be stuck in the apt. that we like in a neighborhood we hate for a year when we may want to leave earlier. Upside? Rent and dogs are safe.
4.)Wait and see if the landlord does sell the house and hope the new landlord is cool, lets us keep the dogs and the cheap rent with no lease.
5.) find another apartment as nice as this one as cheap that allows pets
6.) buy a house and move when we want to

In Buffalo, if you can get a morgage, you should definitely buy a house. It's as cheap as renting, and you get...well, a house. So, Amy bought a house. She closes Nov. 30th.

Amy works that Saturday, so we're thinking we'll move on Sunday, Dec 3rd. There probably will be a blizzard, but exams don't start until the next week, so it's all good.

The landlord? Decided not to move to South Carolina. But not until after she sold our current house...

snow day update

The only people on campus today are crazy people (and BIO200 students, but they're not crazy, they just have to be here because they have class even though the school is closed.)

• One girl just walked up to a guy sitting across the room from me, barked at him (seriously barked, like a dog), then turned around and walked away.
• These 3 older women walked into Capen where I'm sitting, walked almost right up to the wall, stared at the UB University at Buffalo State University of New York painted on the wall for, like, 5 minutes, then walked away.
• There's another kid with his laptop sitting across the room (not the guy who was barked at...a different one). He keeps pressing the same key over and over and over. And it keeps making that "DON'T PRESS THIS KEY YOU'RE GOING TO BLOW UP YOU'RE COMPUTER" noise. You know that beep...

Esther --> We kinda had that conversation, but you didn't say anything about how cool my shoes or my shirt are.

But the school is CLOSED!

If you saw me right now, right this minute, and we started talking, this is what the conversation would be:

You: Hey, Cecilia, what are you doing here?

Me: Well, this is the first outlet I found next to a chair. I walked through 3 buildings. This is the FIRST OUTLET NEXT TO A CHAIR. So I sat here.

You: No, I mean, the school is closed. Why are you here?

Me: Oh, yeah, I know the school is closed. The Dalai Lama is on campus waiting to entertain an audience of 3 million people. To have classes would be crazy. I mean, students wouldn't come, because they're all going to see the Dalai Lama, the students who do come are just taking up Dalai Lama parking spots - I mean, for his audience...I don't think he actually drives - and the security on campus is so crazy that for my one o'clock class I had to get here at 9:30 just to be sure I was actually allowed on campus.

You: What do you mean, 1:00 class? The school is closed!

Me: Yeah, it is, isn't it? Bert's cafeteria is closed so I can't sit at a table by the window and study, I don't think any of the cleaning staff is here, because there's no toilet paper in the girls bathroom over there...and I'm sure my biology professor isn't here.

You: Why would he be here?

Me: Because he made me come. I have to be here for bio lab, EVEN THOUGH THE SCHOOL IS CLOSED! And the security is crazy! If you don't have a ticket you're not supposed to be here. My TA sent an email saying to plan on parking off campus and walking. WHY WOULD YOU HAVE CLASS WHEN THE SCHOOL IS CLOSED?

You: Man, that sucks.

Me: You have no idea. It's like knowing you have a snow day the night before, then getting up and deciding to go to school anyway, even though no one else is there, just to sit in the hall and wait until the next day when everyone comes back.

You: Why would you do that?

Me: Why would you have lab on a day the school is closed?

You : You sound a little...bitter about this...

Me: No, not at all. I actually like biology and am happy to be here. Besides, since there are no other classes and all the Dalai Lama traffic is being sent across the campus, I got a really good parking spot. And, I can spend all this time until my class studying for my exam tomorrow. And maybe go see the sand art thing the monks did. I want to see that.

You: Yeah...ok...hey, nice shoes.

Me: Thanks, I got them this weekend. They're really comfortable.

You: Your shirt is really funny too...haha, absolutely no nuns...ha.

Then you'd probably walk off to wherever you came from. But, we can't have this conversation. Why? Because you're not here because THE SCHOOL IS CLOSED! I'm going to study now for my exam, which is tomorrow, when the school is open again.

Canine Separation Anxiety?

Toby had to go to the vet today to have his ears rechecked. While we were there I mentioned that he's started barking, constantly, every time we leave him home alone. And that if he's not in the same room as me, he whines or barks. And when he is in the same room as me, he wants to be on my lap. The vet said, "classic separation anxiety." I thought he was joking. He's not.

I, apparently, am Toby's Alpha Dog (Amy also fills this role), and when I am not around, Toby worries that he will never again have food, water, love, attention, walks, toys to rip apart, etc. So he barks. Or eats the kitchen floor. Or pees all over everything.

The vet's advice? Look online for solutions. If I can't find anything there or in a book that works, I can pay someone (the Dog Whisperer) to come tell me what to do and help convince Toby he's OK. Or we can put him on doggy prozac, but not until it's really bad. Because pee all over my chewed up kitchen floor isn't that bad...

not that bad...

So, it only took me 20 minutes to find a parking spot today. And it was only about a mile away from campus. It's a good thing I left the house 2 hours before my class.

I did go to the bookstore. I returned my books and they only gave me a little trouble because the books on the recipt weren't the books I was returning. They were the same books, but I accidentally grabbed the books that were on the OTHER recipt (I had some mailed to me, and some I got from the bookstore...2 of them I got both times...) so I convinced them to let me return them anyway. Then I planned on writing a post about how much I like UB because sometimes there are nice people (like the man who let me return the books). But then I wanted to buy a notebook, a combination lock, and pay my bio lab fees. I grabbed the notebook and the lock and got into the line that went all the way around the store...three times...I finally got to the checkout and told the woman I also needed to pay my lab fees and she said that I had to do that separately. I asked where, and she said I could do it at any of the registers, but I couldn't do it while I was paying for anything else. So I said, well, can't I pay for these, then pay the lab fees separately at this register? She was going to make me get back into line and go all the way through it again. I refused to. I had already waited in line. And I just wanted to buy my notebook and lock and lab fees. And then go to class. So, she finally let me get back at the FRONT of the line, and go to the next open register. OMG, sometimes people are so so stupid. JUST LET ME PAY SEPARATELY! So the rest of the people in line hated me, but I ran out of the bookstore and as far away as fast as I could so that no one could kill me.

While I was waiting to get into my lab I met some kids (much younger than I am, but not 18) from my class. They were nice and are also taking chem and I don't feel so scared now. At least now I have some people to study with and who are kinda in the same place I am.

I'm scared to go to school today.

The past week I've been analyzing maps of UB, deciding where I should park, where my classes were, how much time I'd need to get to them, etc. I've actually been very obsessed with it. I decided on the perfect lot. Hochstetter Lot B. And the closer to the loop I could get, the better. Because my first class was at NSC, and my last class was at Knox, so, that's the perfect spot.

Yesterday I left early because I knew I'd need to take extra time to find my classrooms. But, I remembered that there were always parking spots in the Spring Sememster when I went in for my morning class, so I wasn't too worried about that. When I pulled onto campus, though, I realized that my morning class then was at 8, not 9, and there were no parking spaces...anywhere. So I called Esther, panicking, and decided to just park in a metered spot. Yes, I was going to get a ticket. But, I didn't have any change, and I had to get to class. At this point, I'd pay an extra $20 (really at this point, what's another $20 to UB?) to get to class and not feel like I missed something all semester. So, I pulled in to the spot and called Mikey, hoping he'd have some change and could run it over and put it in the meter at some point during the day. No, he didn't. So as we were discussing whether or not UB would ticket me more than once a day (yes, probably, they would), someone pulled out of a non-metered spot behind me. I GOT THE PERFECT PARKING SPOT! So my day went OK. I had all 3 of my classes. They're filled with 18-year-old kids. I felt old. Each one of them is more work than I ever did for any class in Toronto. And I'm a little scared about that. Today I have my first bio lab (normally I have my chem lab from 7:30 to noon on Tuesdays, but it was cancelled for today) at 1. I read it over last night and it's a lot of big words that I'm pretty sure I never heard in 10th grade bio with Mrs. Warzel. But maybe I did...all I remember from that class is Gumbi and passing out or throwing up whenever we had to watch movies with blood in them.

So, yes, I'm scared to go to school today. First of all because I have to find a parking spot at, like, 12:30. Second because I have to go to the bookstore. I hate the bookstore. They sold me 2 of the same books twice, so I'm going to return 2 books. Thirdly, because my lab will be filled with 18-year-olds who had their 10th grade biology class 2 years ago, not 10 years ago, and they probably remember hearing all the big words in the lab. I think maybe I want to be a pastry chef...

Productive Day?

This week and next week are my summer vacation. I've taken full advantage of them so far (both days). Monday I slept until 11, showered, and went to the zoo with Mom, Julia, and Mary. Then I went back to Esther and John's to take a nap. It rained pretty hard monday night so the satalite TV was all messed up...stupid satalite. Amy and I watched Family Guy on DVD, though, then went to bed early.

Tuesday I got up early and was at Esther and John's by 9:30 (I had to sacrafice the shower, but I used a lot of perfume). We went to BJ's where I got enough food for the rest of the week (seriously...we eat a lot in this house, and can go through a case of sunflower seeds like it's nothing).















I was back at my house around noon and put away all the groceries, then took a nap. Then I started laundry, but only got so far as to get one load in the dryer and one in the washer. I am SO GOOD at this summer vacation thing.

Today, though, I have to be productive. My TO DO list is about 800 items long (ok, so, I put things like, "wash your hands" on it so I look really busy, but, still). I have to finish all that laundry (both loads) and fold it and put it away. And unpack the bags from this weekend. Charge my cell phone. Unpack the boxes that I hid in the office, hoping that I wouldn't have to really unpack them until I move into a bigger house in a few years. Take Toby to the vet (I think he might have an ear infection...the groomer said his ears were bleeding...) Do the dishes (if I don't, I'll be drinking coffee right out of the pot tomorrow morning.) And, of course, between all of these chores I have to write in my blog, and check all the other blogs, and check my email and play the state game or wash my hands. Or maybe even take a whole shower!

So, I'm going to finish my coffee, maybe have another cup, and then start on my list. I'll let you know how it's going...

I may be a hick...

Last weekend was NASCAR race weekend in Watkins Glen. Amy and I stayed at her dad's house on Keuka Lake. I got to meet Amy's nephew Carter for the first time...he loved me:























Saturday we celebrated her dad's birthday by all dressing the same.















Then Sunday we went to the race. Before it started I had to pick a driver and buy their koozie for my beer. I picked the Canadian named Boris something. He didn't have a vending truck, though, so I had to pick someone else so I could buy their koozie. I picked Home Depot. Their driver is Tony Stewart. I didn't know he was good, but, apparently he is. He came in 2nd. We had awesome seats on Pit Row so I got to see them all come in to pit.















It was more fun than the Big and Rich concert I went to on Thursday night, and there were fewer midgets...

Babysitting

A week or so ago Amy and I helped Mary babysit Sam, Aidian, Noah, and Julia. I love the kids. Really. They're all great. And they love each other. So much that they all wanted to sit where ever the other ones were sitting. Even if it was on Mary's lap.















After a little while it was getting crazy...so we decided to do what anyone we know would. Madagascar!
















It worked, and as soon as the movie was over, the boys went to bed without any problems (well, we had to figure out what "Mary Pop-pop" was [Maru Poppins, duh])...I'm ready for kids...

Community Pool

Yesterday was Esther's birthday. We celebrated today by going swimming at the community pool. Julia really did enjoy it, even though this is the only picture I have of her where she's even remotely smiley:
















Maybe I would have had more pictures of her smiling, laughing, and splashing in the water, but Amy's camera can take pictures under water and I spent a lot of time trying to get pictures of this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!

I was going to be mean and post a picture like this and suggest you wish for a toothbrush:

But decided to be nice. I'll post this one instead:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Mary got her hair cut the other day. I like it and think she looks really good. She hates it. Louis is taking advantage of this fact, as well as the fact that he just got a digital camera for his birthday.

Last night Amy and I went over to the house for dinner and after we ate we went with Mary and Steve to Kone King for ice cream. When we got back Louis had done this:


















That's a picture of Mary on 4 pieces of 8 X 11 1/2 paper...I laughed so hard I almost had sprinkles come out my nose.

For Katie

Katie,

Maeve and I had a little talk.

She understands that you have to work but she misses you and is a little sad that her godmother lives far far away.

And was only happy when I told her you'd see her next week!

Happy Birthday, Dad

Last night we celebrated Dad's birthday. No lobster this time, just the mussles, smoked salmon, and some of the best steaks I've ever had, then we had some amazing chocolate hazelnut cake (which I came out of retirement to make.)

Since we were all there we took the chance to have my aunt take a quick family picture (I don't have any of the whole family, since I was busy being in the picture, but here are a few of the Mike and Esther's families:)



















We also managed to get a few good ones of Grandma, Mimi, and their great-grandchildren:



















Then Julia had had enough formal pictures and just wanted to walk, like the big kid she is:

no talent

I hate to admit it, but last night I watched "America's Got Talent." And, uh, apparently America DOES NOT have talent. At least not that part of America. The best part? Bobby Badfingers:

And the only way I could watch him was by pretending he was really Ben Stiller and eventually the movie would get funny...

P.S. I'd advise you not to do a yahoo search for "bobby badfingers"...

Sweet Baby James

In 1998 my aunt and uncle had my youngest cousin. It took a few days, but they named him James. They asked me to be his godmother.

I was a senior in high school that year, so we lived in the same town. It was pretty easy for me to spoil him by just driving (well, having someone drive me) down the street. Then I moved to Toronto for college. I didn't get to see James as often, but I started writing him letters and mailing him stuff as a way to spoil him and make sure I was always his favorite. Nothing big, just stickers and stuff like that. He started sending letters back to me. This continued through my four years of college and the year I was in NYC, and even now that I'm back in Buffalo, I still get letters from James.

I've saved every single one of them.

I've been packing all my stuff so I can move on Sunday. Amy's been helping me, and making me throw out all the things I've saved and don't really need (expired coupons, birthday cards I bought and never used, notes I wrote myself, etc.) I've also been finding all of James' letters.

The earliest ones are just scribbles, with the actual letter written by his mom or brother or sister. Then they move onto stick figures with his name (some of the letters witten backwards). I found one that had Lucky Charms marshmallows taped to it. I LOVE Lucky Charms marshmallows. Lately they have real messages written in them, by James, in real sentences. And he's started to send me little presents. I have 2 shrinky-dink hearts, a shrinky-dink 4 leaf clover, and a macaroni necklace on the rearview mirror of my car, all sent to me by James.

So, I may not be the best godmother, in the strictest sense of the word. I haven't actually paid any attention to James' spiritual life since, well, the day he was baptized. But somehow I ended up with the best godson ever.

Friday Night

Friday night we had a Birthday/Bon Voyage/Welcome Baby party at mom and dads. What better way to celebrate Louis being born 23 years ago, Mimi being here even though now she has to go home, and Baby Maeve being almost a week old than lobster, champagne, and fire?

Julia wasn't too sure how she felt about the lobsters, but she did love playing with Nana's butter churn.

Mimi held baby Maeve while we got dinner ready...

And then we burned stuff.