The Weekend...

Hey!!! What up?! Well I'm out of Carolina and back in Georgia. I'm in Augusta for a few days to chill with my Mom. I'm currently soaking up some television. I sure miss this stuff. LOL.

The weekend was very busy. We ended up taking Grandma to Columbia on Saturday. Her friend passed away and she wanted to go to the funeral (naturally). Giving you all the short version, this gentleman was her first love. She met him at school. Due to family issues she had to leave school early and when she returned he had already left. They both got married and ended up meeting back up with each other after their spouses had passed away. There is a lot more in between all that but they were very good friends and spent a lot of nights on the phone. Grandma was so upset to hear her friend was gone.

Enough sadness... so the trip to Columbia was too funny. My cousin R volunteered to drive my Grandma to Columbia. One of her sisters would go in with her and R, Mom and I would chill out while they attended the funeral. Not sure who was late but we didn't leave the house until something after 10. It should take about 3 hr to get to Columbia from PI. We really had to push it to get there to the funeral which started at 1pm. So what was funny? 5 grown people in the car all with different ideas about how to get where we were going. We fussed half the time about which way to go. We got to Manning and everyone wanted to go a different way. Ok. That's fine and all but we don't have time for all this noise. Yes we can go this way, yes we can go this way. We need to just keep the car moving. And then my Grandmother and her sister started fussing about who was right. R, who was open to directing on the way up, decided he knew it all when it was time to return home. NO!!! This is not the way home. LOL. Did I mention that we had the GPS in the car? I kept saying use the dern electronic. NAW. They know how to get home. OK. We ended up adding an hr to the trip home and probably some extra points on my Grandmother's blood pressure. There was one point in the car where 4 of us were fussing about which way to go and my Grandma was singing "Kum ba ya" and "Walk with Me" over all of us. I know it doesn't sound all that entertaining on the screen but it was pure comedy in the car. Oh, and as if being semi-lost in our home state wasn't enough, R did a little backing up on the highway. The sisters were not feeling that. Hell, neither was I. I tell ya. What's the holidays without a little family bickering? No fun!

We made it home finally. Double As (my cousins) invited me to dinner and a movie but I forgot I had one more person to see. I ended up spending the night cracking up with my brother. We hadn't done that in a while so it was really nice.

Ok. My eyes are getting heavy. I'm ready to go to bed. I look forward to sleeping in in the morning. I don't get that luxury in PI. Anyway... later!!

Christmas

What up folk!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I've had a great day and it continues to be so. I'm at my aunt's house right now chilling. Today was a typical holiday for me... a house full of folks, more food than any of us know what to do with, and good times. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I'm not staying cuz I'm with my people. Still enjoying myself... Later.

Christmas Eve 2008

I’m typing from Pawleys Island at the moment. We made it in last night around 10:30pm. Since we got here we have been working… that’s usually how it goes around here. We ran errands today trying to get everything done before places close early. We should be done slaving in about 2 hours. We still have about 3 dishes to make for dinner tomorrow. They sure like to work ya when you come home.

Oh… and check this. I was so excited because I knew that my family would be giving me money for the holiday. Thank ya Jesus cuz I am broke. Well… we were at Bi-lo and Mom happens to notice that one of my tires has a tear. UMP!!! That means Friday morning I will be taking my Christmas money and buying two tires, mounting and rotating them. This is going to end up costing me all of $600. So much for picking up a few articles of clothing… My car needs new shoes. I'm just grateful that I can even pay for the tires. Times are tight...

Check this out. We stopped by Aunt G’s house after Aunt M’s house. After piddling around doing a few things for her she tells me to go down under her sink cabinet. She wants me to try something. Apparently my grandmother had given her some grapes from her vine earlier in the year and she had made a little something something. My 80-something year old aunt had me sipping home-made wine in her kitchen. It had a little kick and I made a face. She told me, “that shouldn’t bother you”. My folks are hilarious. She don’t know nothing about my sipping habits and tolerance. LOL. My mom’s side for the most part does not really drink so when my aunt suggest I get a little something… just hilarious. We brought some back to the house for Grandma. She said it was strong but finished her glass. Ok… we about to get some supper. I will come back later… maybe.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your family, enjoy your time… Take a long look around and be thankful for whatever it is that you have in your life. It really is a beautiful thing.

4 More Days Til Christmas...

What up folk?!?! I am sitting on R's couch in Atown chilling. I'm ready to get some food in my stomach and a little afternoon nap. After all that... I'll be great!!
Ya'll ready for Christmas? I hadn't really felt the Christmas spirit the last couple of weeks. I was so caught up in finals that I didn't really get into things. I feel it now though (a little). Coming home has gotten me more there. Isn't coming home great? YES!
I checked 2 of my classes for grades. So far so good. I'm nervous about checking the another 2 and I think I will wait another couple of days before I do that. I might what til next week. LOL. I don't wanna mess up the little bit of good feeling I've got going on. Ok... I'm gone. Food and sleep are waiting on me. 4 more days til Christmas....

I Made It

It’s currently 6:19pm and I’m on a Delta aircraft. I was supposed to be halfway to Atlanta by now. Ummm. No! We took off about 5 minutes ago. Why the delay? SNOW. So I had my last final today and went back to the house for a little nap. I’m exhausted. Anyway, when I woke up I heard some kind of announcement being called throughout the street. What is going on? Apparently everyone was getting ready… clearing the streets in anticipation of the plow trucks. By the time I got out the door I really didn’t think I would get on this plane. Snow… it’s damn near a blizzard. I have never seen this amount of snow and I’m not sure you should be traveling in it. I imagined my night snuggled up in Logan Airport. I’m glad to report that that is not the case. I gotta confess though… I was nervous as all hell taking off. I couldn’t see a thing out my window… A THING!! They de-iced the plane and all and twenty minutes later everything was back as it was. By the time the plane took off I was ready to pass out. I thought of my mother. She would have died instantly. LOL. Anyway… I’m going to watch a movie and try to pass the time away. I would sleep but can’t. The dude by me has a funk and it is interrupting my desire to sleep. Additionally there is a lot of turbulence and I would just prefer to be awake if the plane goes down. Just joking . Talk to you much later. I have to drive my mother back to Augusta when I land and turn RIGHT back around. I’ve got a hair appointment in the morning so staying over is not an option. Maybe I should try and get some sleep. Ok.. Later.

Ok... now it's 3:29. I finally made it to Atlanta. I am going to bed. Out!!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I was cooped up in the school all day preparing for tomorrow's biochemistry exam. I had no idea what was going on outside. Just now emerging from the building, A1 and I were greeted by a lovely surprise... snow. For the first time in my life, I walked in the snow. The little bit of snow we get in the south is usually already on the ground by the time I get out the door. I've never been around for the actual snow falling. Plus I don't walk around a lot down there. Anyway, call me girly... call me sentimental... whatever. It was beautiful. The street was dead silent and still and the only thing to take in were lights and snow. I thought it was cool and I just wanted to share. I can't stay. My exam today seemed to go well and I'm hoping for the same tomorrow. Things are moving right on along...

Let's Get Ready to Rumble

The couple downstairs is fighting like they are the only ones that live in this building. I have learned quickly that they love to fight; at least the boy does. At least once a week I am guaranteed to get some soap-opera-like listen into their lives. Tonight the argument is apparently over what to do over the Christmas holiday. Supposedly they have different ideas on what to do and the boy thinks that screaming at the top of his lungs will persuade his woman to agree to his holiday plans. Some men just don't get it! After 20 minutes the answer is still no from her and now he has reverted back to his childhood and started to throw things. He would find himself outside cooling off if he was with me and making all that ruckus. Why can't they just give love on Christmas???!!! LOL.

Anyway... I'm gone. I've got an exam in the morning. I've got a long night ahead of me...

It Is a Size 10...

Was I the only one who wanted to see GWB get hit? That would have been sooo entertaining. Really though, glad he's ok. I'm still studying. Here's some Christmas music... we are getting close.

Enjoy the View...

What's up? Yeah... it's been a few days. Finals week is FAST approaching and I've been buried in the books. (Hmm). That's about all I've got to report. I spent the day at the school learning DNA replication, RNA transcription and translation back and forth. Doesn't it sound like fun? It really is!!! :-p Everything else is just as it has been... Boston is cold. Boston is full of crazy people. School, although intense, keeps me sane and I miss home. Same old story... Here's a picture of me from last year. Although it's fuzzy, I love it. Enjoy the view and the tunes to match!

And the Winner For Leading Actress in A CT Role Is...

Today I did the taping for my final project in Counseling Techniques (CT). In case you have forgotten, the goal of CT is to develop verbal, nonverbal, cognitive and affective skills in the context of professional care; basically how to talk to patients (more or less). So for the final, I had to play therapist and in turn I had to play patient. I have to access my performance as a therapist and describe in detail what I did right and what I did wrong. I ended up with a patient with a substance abuse problem. SCORE!!! I was prepared for this one and felt I really knew where to take the conversation and what questions to ask. I think I did well. I'll look at the video again tomorrow before I make that my final assessment statement.

Each student was assigned a specific role to play as patient. My role-play was SO sad. I got all caught up in portraying this woman that I found myself actually letting out a few tears. I got choked up and everything. You would think it had actually happened to me. Maybe I need to add acting to my list... back to the woman. I was a 35 year old woman married for 10 years that had had 4 miscarriages. Basically I felt guilty and felt I had failed my husband by not being able to carry our children to term. Isn't that just heartbreaking? It was Lifetime movie in there. Where is my Oscar?! Is that the right award? LOL.

Okay... I'm gone. Study study study. (Sigh) For you, Christmas jingle time... sing along!!

Freezing My Butt Off

It is cold in Boston this morning. I woke up to find my little heater chugging away. I thought, "oh, it must be a little chilly this morning". I came online to check the temperature and what did I find...

You see that?!? Fifteen freaking degrees and add the wind and it feels like NEGATIVE two. I didn't know until today what negative two feels like. I prefer temperatures much higher. I took all precautionary steps though. I put on my green tights and on top of them my long johns and on top of them, my jeans. My bum should have been warm. NOT. I need more meat on it or something. With every step I took the wind gave me a nice slap in the face, on the ass and on my chest. This isn't Boston, it's Antarctica. LOL.

Grab Your Tissues: Awakenings (1990)

I just watched a wonderful movie: Awakenings starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. Based on a true story, Williams plays Dr. Sayer. Dr. Sayer has just found himself a new job in a ward full of comatose patients. The patients apparently were all apart of an encephalitis epidemic decades prior and have been catatonic since. With a little research, Dr. Sayer (Williams) finds a possible cure and it works; however, only for the summer. The movie concentrates on the awakening of Leonard Lowe (De Niro) and his reactions to his new world. This movie made me boo hooo. Of course any good drama will do it for me.

A little background on the encephalitis epidemic. Apparently the movie is referencing the condition encephalitis lethargica (EL) or von Economo disease which is an atypical form of encephalitis, which is basically acute inflammation of the brain. EL swept the world by storm in the 1920s leaving many in a statue-like condition, speechless, and motionless. The one good thing about this disease is that there has been no recurrence of the epidemic since the 1920s, although there have been some isolated reports. Ok... enough background. If you get a chance... check out the movie!!

Oh yeah... it snowed today. It's gone already but we are supposed to get some more on Tuesday. Here's a little music to go along with the weather.

Bumping and My Bible??? A Very Awkward Moment...

I had to come on here and explain a very awkward moment I am/was having. I decided to take a break from studying and get my church on. I haven't been attending church here in Boston, but my Atlanta preacher, Rev. Jerry D. Black, posts a sermon on the church website weekly. This has been my substitution to actually going to church the last couple of months. The Lord knows my heart... Anyway, I was sitting here Bible in hand when I began to hear moaning. It started off as a faint noise and grew increasingly louder. What is it?? Apparently one of my housemates is getting-it-on. It is either E or DJ. DJ's girl just moved in with him today and E's girlfriend just arrived for the night. It might be a combination of the two... who knows. I just know the way the building is set-up, I can hear EVERYTHING: rocking, knocking, talking, etc. Listening to Rev. Black's sermon, Favor with the King, just doesn't seem right or appropriate anymore. I'll think I'll try again later in the morning.

Sushi, Phobias and New Friends

I didn't have any visitors last night. The word must have gotten around the mouse community about my room. If they come in here, they are going to die! LOL! Anyway, A1, A2 and I went out last night. For A1 and I this was our last opportunity to get out and have some fun before the hurricane passes through. It was nice and we had a good time. Now... nothing but the books for the next 13 days. (Sigh).

Back to last night... we went to Douzo near the Prudential Center for sushi. It was great. I had the Scallop Kiwi Roll, Philadelphia Roll and the fried tofu. YUM! I haven't had sushi since the last weekend in September. I really wanted sushi and am super satisfied at the moment at my success in obtaining some. This was the first time for A1. She said she liked it. A2 had been to the the restaurant before and said it was a good choice.
A2 was funny last night. Before we got to the restaurant, A2 lets us know that we couldn't use our chopsticks during dinner. HUH? A2 tried to explain that chopsticks made her skin crawl and made her nauseous. I thought well you don't use them and we'll be ok. No, seeing other people use them made her nauseous. It was wood in general! A2!!! We are going to a sushi restaurant; that's what people are going to be using. She asked if I wouldn't use mine. Part of me felt bad but I couldn't fulfill her request. I eat sushi with chopsticks and the people right next to her were doing the same. I did put the chopsticks down in my lap when I wasn't using them. She said just knowing they were there still bothered her. I tried... Oh well. I still love her.

We ended up meeting some pretty cool chicks, J and S, while we were out. J is a restaurant manager and S is a jewelry designer. After dinner we joined them for some drinks at a bar a few doors down. We plan to catch up with them again; really nice girls. S has a website of her jewelry up. If you wanna check it out, here it is. I can't yet get down with her prices but one day...
Ok... I'm out. I just finished washing clothes, updating you guys and now to the books. Have a great Saturday. Here's yo daily holiday ring-a-ling.

Dedication for the Mice to Come...

Courtesy of KD... Thanks girl!
Side note: A2 caught her a mouse this morning too. Landlady better be ready... there's a storm coming. AND... I had to end up disposing of the creature this morning. No one was around and I didn't want to leave it and come back to a yummy smell. I put my gloves on, closed me eyes, threw it in the trash and ran the bag downstairs. I can't believe this ish.

Mouse Funeral...

Caught it!!!! I just got me a mouse! Yuck and yay all at once! I repositioned one of the traps last night after seeing its little eyes looking up at me. A few minutes ago I was awakened by squirming and then click... yes, the mouse has moved on to mouse heaven or maybe he was a bad mouse and has gone somewhere else. Personally, I say it was bad because it has made my nights here HELL. Whatever the case may be... we are having a mouse funeral as soon as E's alarm clock goes off in 10 minutes. I'm not touching the mouse. Oh no... end of story!!!

Fifteen More Days... Still Counting

Life is still as it was yesterday. I spent most of the day studying Gastric Motility and Secretions for tomorrow's physiology quiz. This will be the last physio quiz for the semester. I will let out a little cry of relief after tomorrow's torture. Hold on...
I had to take a minor break to escort Zipper (the cat) back to his abode. I can't take all that yelping and pawing at my door. Zipper is the second visitor I have had tonight. I saw the damn mouse again. Oh did I mention that I saw a mouse a few days before I went home for break? I almost passed out. Please tell me how my room is now lined with traps and the mouse still managed to get within 2 ft. of me. I am going to lose my mind up here in Boston. E closed the first hole the RODENT came out of... today I noticed he has a new spot. He or she is coming in through the radiator hole. I hope he/she/it burns up. ARG!!! How many months left????
Back to my original thought... physio quiz. Am I ready? Who knows? Physio has not been my friend this semester. I have studied my ass off and still not made a grade I wanna live with. Still pushing though... it's got to get better. I hope.
Ok... Christmas cheer. Later!!

Uneventful...

My life has been pretty uneventful since my return to Boston... at least it seems that way. That's why my posts have been so short. I've got nothing to talk about. I could discuss DNA replication from Biochemistry and gastric motility and secretion from Physiology, but why bore you. Other than those two subjects (at the moment) there is nothing else going on. I thought about talking about the holiday but details are fuzzy in retrospect. I'll try to post more often during the next break. Ok... well I wrote something. Here's your daily holiday jam.

Oh... random fact found on the Internet. Alabama was the first state in the United States to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836. Seventy-one years later, all states had declared Christmas a legal holiday. What state was the last one to jump on board? It was Oklahoma in 1907. I wonder what took them so long?!?!

Not As Productive As I Had Hoped

Today was supposed to be the day to catch up on a lot of stuff... it didn't happen. I will say that I got some work done, but it wasn't nearly as much as I intended. I will try again tomorrow... (sigh). I gotta get back into things on the SERIOUS tip tomorrow. More Christmas tunes for you...

Back At It... For Three Weeks

Hello folks... I'm back in Boston. I had a FANTASTIC holiday! I hope you all had the same. I can't even go into everything I did; I would end up writing a small novel. Short version... I caught up with all my folks in Atlanta and Georgetown County. I loved it. The break was exactly what I needed. So what now? I'm back and ready to hustle the next three weeks until the next break: Christmas. So here's a song... expect more for the holiday!