Great Picture

Quite possibly the best picture ever:

Yes, it's a little blurry, but it was taken at the Green Tie Dinner...everything was a little blurry.

200

This is my 200th post.

Fortune Cookies

So every week Amy and I get little bags with neighborhood circulars, coupons, and menus slipped into the handle of our front door. Because we technically live in North Buffalo, but right on the border with Kenmore, we get packages from both communities. The first few weeks I was so excited! Mail! Not addressed to Amy! I'd go through the bag, read everything in it, and then throw it all out. Eventually I skipped the reading part and just threw it all out on my way into the house.

But last week I opened one and saw that we had gotten a menu for a Chinese food place. Since we don't have a chinese food place yet, I kept the menu and we decided to try it out on Sautrday. So I called them.

Chinese food man: Tin tin Kitchen
Me: Hi do you deliver?
CFM: Where to?
Me: My house (I actually gave them my address...)
CFM: Call back in half an hour and we will. *hangs up.*

So I called back, and was told they were technically delivering, but it would be over an hour. Fine, bring me some food.

It was good. I'd definitely order from them again. Amy finished before I did and opened her cookie. Her fortune was something about how great her life is or whatever. Mine?

"You are about to become $8.95 poorer. ($6.95 if you had the buffet)"

Yesterday after seeing Shakira we went out for lunch. Chinese food. It was wonderful. And my fortune was a little less of a glimps into my future, and more of a warning, as they sometimes are.

"Don't spit into the wind."

Those fortune cookie people are so smart.

So, I've been trying to figure out how to write this post since about noon yesterday...almost 24 hours.

Check this out.



I SAW him yesterday. Esther let me, Louis, Mary, and my Mom go into the room with her for her ultrasound. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. The pictures don't really do it justice. Shakira (my new nickname for my nephew, because his hips can move...) is perfect. I saw (and heard) his heart beat. I saw his belly, and his arms, legs, hands, and feet. I saw his brain, his beautiful face, and then he moved and I SAW RIGHT UP HIS NOSE! His precious precious nose.



I can't explain what it was like. My eyes got teary seeing him, and I can't wait to meet him outside of his mommy, but this short little introduction is something I'll never forget. I could have watched him all day.



Then, to make my day even better, we had sushi for dinner at Esther and John's house. Julia didn't actually eat the sushi, but she did say "rainbow roll," "love roll," and "kiss me I'm Irish."





















She's too cute.

Earlier this week Lisa called me and asked if I could go swimming with Maeve on Saturday (today.) She had to work but Maeve loves her swimming class, so I met Mike at the YMCA this morning and took Maeve into the pool. I have to say that I was nervous. For a few reasons, really (in no particular order:) (1) I wasn't sure if my bathing suit would fit (it did, barely.) (2.) I was nervous about getting Maeve into her swimmy diaper and bathing suit in a locker room the size of my bathroom. (3.) I was worried I'd drop her while we were swimming. I mean, really...she's a wiggly baby who gets slippery when she's wet.

Well, I met Mike at the Y and as we were walking in we passed Mary getting Julia out of the car. So we all went in together, and Mary and I took the girls into the locker room and got them changed. It wasn't as hard as I had imagined, and we were changed with time to play some peek-a-boo before class started.

We had a great time. The hardest part of the day? After class when the moms and kids from our class were also trying to get into dry clothes and about 800 people using the gym decided to come get changed too...I had to balance Maeve on the bench to put a dry diaper on her, and then finish getting her changed on my lap, while I was still wearing a wet bathing suit. But it was worth it. She was so much fun in the pool! She loved floating on her back to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and kicking her legs and splashing with Julia. And I didn't drop her once!

Broken Toe Pictorial

Sunday night Amy broke her toe.

This is what it looked like when I finally got her to calm down a little bit and tell me what was wrong. It's hard to tell, but it's already bruising, and, yes, the top part is definitely bent at an unnatural angle.

So we went to the ER, where they took x-rays, made us wait, and wait, and wait, then said, "It's not broken, we'll let you go home."

So we waited and waited and waited and Amy got a script for what is basically Aleve, and we went home.

And Amy's toe hurt more and more. And got bigger and bigger. And by Monday night she was miserable. So she called her podiatrist and got an appointment for this morning.

We went and waited and waited in the waiting room. And finally they called us back and looked at Amy's foot.

Her toe is still crooked, swollen, and bruising, so, they took more x-rays. So we waited and waited for the x-rays to be developed. And when they were, the doctor said, "See this little piece of bone in your toe joint? It shouldn't be there." Well, not in those words, but, close.

So now Amy has better drugs, a taped up toe, and a funny little shoe.

Cute, huh? She has to wear it for 3 weeks. And then she'll go back in for more x-rays and if the bone hasn't fused, she needs to have surgery. So if you see her, DON'T STEP ON HER FOOT!

***Yes, that's a picture of Julia on the floor behind Amy's foot in the last picture. As soon as she's allowed to play with tools again and hang pictures, it will be back on the wall.

I'm still a grown up...I was saving it for Mary.

Last week after work one day I went to Wal Mart. I needed Q Tips, but I forgot them, and all I actually bought was a flower pot and potting soil. See, a few months ago I was making this pasta dish (Mary's favorite pasta, as I call it), and I needed basil. The only basil Wegmans had was a potted plant. So I bought it, ripped off most of the leaves, and used them. Then I figured I'd try to get it to grow more, so I put it on my window sill and watered it. It worked! And it got so big that it needed a new pot! So I got home with the new pot and soil and replanted it. Now I'm waiting to see if it's going to live. Moving is one of the most stressful things to go through, you know...

Anyway, last night at dinner I was telling everyone about my basil plant (who does not have a name yet...I'm waiting to see if it lives before I really get attached), and complimenting myself on how grown up I must be to keep a plant alive. I'd just like everyone to know that I'm not really that grown up (or maybe I'm grown up, just not clean?)...this morning while looking for something in the fridge I pulled open one of the drawers and it had this brownish liquid covering the bottom. The worst part? I wasn't sure if it was from some old mushrooms, part of an eggplant, or an onion. I figured out it was the mushrooms, but I threw them all out. Then I decided I needed to clean the fridge. While I was doing that, I found a tupperware of something I couldn't quite identify...When I opened it all I could smell was mold.

It was the pasta dish.

That I made at least a month and a half ago.

I'd guess even longer, maybe, but our fridge isn't that old.

I just put the top back on and put it back...Maybe Mary will still want it.

100,000

A month or so ago Amy took my car to get an oil change. Sweet of her, right? She also got me new windshield wipers, which I LOVE, but, that's a different story (or not...that's pretty much the story.) The point of this is that the little sticker they put on to remind me when to bring the car back had the mileage of 1003--something or other. In the hundred-thousand miles. I was SO excited. I get excited when I see the last two numbers on the odometer change at the same time, so, all of them? I COULD NOT WAIT! It was a long wait. This past week I've taken the long way everywhere. Last night I got home from work and my odometer said 099997. I went out to meet friends right down the street and when I got there, it said 099998. When I got home it looked like this:

I know, right?? Just give me the 099999! But no. So today we were on our way to Mom and Dad's. Amy was driving and stopped in the middle of our street so I could get this picture:

We had to stop at Target first, but Target is less than a mile away, so it wasn't until the middle of Elmwood near Hertle (where Amy was good enough to stop, again,) that we (Amy) got this picture:

My little car...all grown up.

Speaking of grown up, look at this:

I think she's ready for her own cell phone.

Maybe I should sell it?

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

Yesterday morning (Sunday) I woke up to Amy whispering "You DO NOT want to go downstairs."

My first thought was, "no, I want to go back to sleep. Leave me alone." (I'm not a morning person.)

My second thought was, "Why? What did you do?"

It turns out she didn't do anything. But our furnace was broken and blowing cold air into the house. The temp was down to about 59. That's cold. So Amy called the first heating place in the yellow pages, who told her they didn't have the right part (um, really? 'cause we're not sure what's even wrong with the thing yet...) The second place came and told us what was wrong. Something was broken. We could fix it, but the part would be $800. To fix it we would need to replace another part, too, which would be $300. Add on labor and you may as well buy a new one. They gave us a deal on the new one, didn't charge us for the Sunday visit, and promised to be at our house "first thing" Monday morning. They actually came second thing Monday morning, but since they went to a church first where pipes had frozen and burst on a daycare center, I won't hold it against them. They're my new favorite heating/cooling people. Reimers, I think, is their name. I'm saving to get air conditioning just because I want them to come visit again.

Mall Girls

Yesterday I went to the mall with some of my favorite people in the world:

I don't really have a story to tell...just these great pictures.

Deuce

Check out the coolest pictures of my nephew*.


*the "nephew" part is unconfirmed...and if it is my niece, I'm sincerely sorry, but I'm pretty sure he's a boy.

Toby's First Year, in Pictures.

Tomorrow (Valentine's Day!) is Toby's Birthday! He'll be 1 year old! This is the first picture I saw of him...I fell in love immediately and knew I HAD to have him.

He flew into Buffalo from Montana...or Michigan...or somewhere a few days later:

After that picture we sent him to boarding school and when he came back he was fully grown:

Ok, we didn't really send him away, he just grew so fast I don't have any pictures of him between tiny baby and fully grown. Mary's still his favorite, besides me, though:

I got this picture from Esther this afternoon:

I know, she's so damn cute it's almost hard to be jealous.

Almost...

because when I got that picture, I was outside...

shoveling...

for the 3rd time today...

in snow that looked like this:

With Mom in Hawaii, I got to babysit Maeve yesterday!

She was not too excited about the rice cereal and applesauce breakfast, but all-in-all we had a great day that ended with cuddling on the couch for a short nap before her mommy got home. It was heavenly. I get to play with her again tomorrow, and I'll remember my camera, so I can post more pictures then.

I'm taking an anatomy class. It's very interesting, and I'm enjoying it. I thought I was a little ahead of the class, though, when the prof held up an x-ray of someones head and described what an x-ray was. Then he asked if anyone had ever seen a CAT scan or MRI. I said I had, and told him about the scanner at Dad's office. He was very excited that I had seen CAT scans before and asked all about them. Then he went back to the x-ray and asked if anyone could see anything wrong with it. It was a side view of the person, and the only thing I could see wrong was that their wisdom tooth was way up in their sinus, so that's what I said. The prof frowned, looked back at the screen, and said, "Well, maybe, but I was referring to the fact that the top of his skull is missing..."

That wisdom tooth, though, is really going to cause him problems...

One Word

Katie posted this on myspace. I'm doing it here. With my words, of course.


You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
Not as easy as you might think.
1. Where is your cell phone?
table
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend?
Chair
3 Your Hair?
head...
4. Your mother?
wonderful
5. Your father?
Amazing
6. Your favorite thing?
cuddling
7. Your dream last night?
scary
8. Your favorite drink?
diet
9. Your dream car?
new
10. The room you are in?
livingroom
11. Your ex?
Friendly
12. Your fear?
sad
13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
here
14. Who did you hang out with last night?
Amy
16. Muffins?
Please!
17. One of your wish list items.
muffins
19. The last thing you did?
myspace
20. What are you wearing?
nothing :)
21. Your tv?
Big
22. Your pet?
sleeping
23. Your computer?
working
24. Your life?
Wonderful
25. Your mood?
Good
27. What are you thinking about right now?
twenty-six?
28. Your car?
Old
29. Your work?
awesome
30. Your summer?
Busy
31. Your relationship status?
perfect
32. Your favorite color:
green
33. When is the last time you laughed?
now
34. Last time you cried?
yesterday
35. School?
hard

Damn you, Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Amy and I went to Mom and Dad's house for dinner tonight. We had both saved enough points for the wonderful dinner of smoked turkey breast, squash, and salad (maybe not enough for the wine I drank, the bacon I picked on, or the pistachios I ate while watching mom cook, but, that's what the flex points are for, right?). Anyway, basically out of points for the day, we came home in time for the Simpson, Family Guy, American Dad, etc. BUT NONE OF THOSE SHOWS ARE ON! 24 is. So our choices (despite having 8000 channels) were Bush on 60 Minutes, football, an episode of Monk we've seen a few times, or Extreme Makeover Home Edition. We went with Extreme Makeover. It made me cry. A lot. And crying makes me want to eat. A lot. So we made popcorn. And I ate a lot of it. Then I was over-salted and wanted something sweet. So i ate oreo's. I don't think I've lost any weight this week. I blame Ty Pennington.

I know I said I was going to post pictures of the new rooms to compare with the old ones, but, that means I'd have to take pictures of the painted rooms, upload said pictures onto the desktop, then onto snapfish, then save them to the desktop of my laptop so I can put them on my blog from there...because I don't like to write on The Shortbus at the desk. I'm much more creative on the couch. So I'll get to it.

Until I do, I'll entertain you all with stories of WeightWatchers. I joined last week. Or re-joined. I had been a member a few years ago. It was much easier to lose weight then, since I also has gall bladder-itis and tended to vomit after I ate. Since I had my gall bladder removed I no longer puke, but I've gained a lot of weight. This past week, though? I lost 1.8 lbs.

Today when we went to get weighed in, the woman made Amy put her sweatshirt on the scale. Did you know sweatshirts weigh 1.2 lbs? I think I'll go to W.W. nekkid next week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

Game Room

This is the dining room of our house before we moved in. We don't have a dining room table - just a kitchen table - so we decided to change it from a dining room to a game room:

Our friend Megan painted the top of the walls "peanut butter" and Amy, her dad, and I took down the wallpaper, put up the wainscot, and painted. I helped with the wallpaper part (it was surprisingly easy), slept through most of the wainscotting part, and then was given a tiny little brush to make sure that the primer and paint got into all the little grooves in the wainscot. I also managed to step in primer with my socks on, without knowing it, and walk all over the house, leaving little white spots all over the floor. Amy got them all up, though.

Busy!

I know I haven't posted in FOR-EV-ER, but I've really been busy. Seriously, this time. Not like when I normally say I've been busy but really I've just been laying around, watching a lot of daytime TV and occationally going to class. The holidays went WAY to fast. So fast I hardly have any pictures. In fact, the only really good picture I have is from when I had the family over to the house for sushi.

I'm not sure exactly what Mary was doing, but, it makes me laugh.

I'm working for Dad again, which, YAY! makes me very happy, but both offices are further away from the new house (boo!) so I spend a lot more time than I used to in the car, in traffic, normally on Sheridan Dr. On top of that, we're redoing 5 rooms in the house. Well, "we" as in "our friend," mostly. She's doing all the painting, but we have to do all the moving of furniture, which is a lot of work. And we did part of one room all by ourselves. "We," here, means Amy and her dad, mostly. I've driven to Home Depot a lot, though, and taken the dogs out and kept them out of the wet paint (mostly,) and all of that stuff. So, the next few posts will be pictures of the rooms - before and after, so you can compare.

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...