One, two, three, four, tell me that you love me more / Sleepless, long nights, that was what my youth was for

1. I am done with finals. This means I am done with my first year of graduate school. And that means that I am now referred to as a "second-year" around SPH. No more "first-year" status.
   
   
2. I have discovered the greatness of libraries. I couldn't sleep last night and I kept on thinking about how awesome Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut was when I started it at Border's the other night. So, I went on the internet at 3:30 a.m. and set it up to have delivered to the School of Public Health Library for me sometime this week, so I can check it out and finish it. I also ordered A Man Without A Country, also by Vonnegut, and a Pahalniuk book, as well as a Neil Gaiman book. Until I get those, I'm going to read A Brief History of Time.
   
   
3. I got my hair cut at Aveda the other day. Kristin is going to foil it and add some summer highlights for me. Wooo!
   
   
   
   
   
4. Dominicks has this great drink called Constant Buzz that is summer in a glass with booze. It's my new favorite, and doesn't give me the immediate hangover that sangria does.
   
   
5. I am going running. Tomorrow I have frisbee try-outs, then a league game. Summer is neat. But, it's only 61 today. Of course, it snowed in Minnesota. Haha.
   
   
6. I'm having an unlucky day -- I've managed to scrape myself with a clothing tag so badly it cut me, then my cat just leaped off my lap and scraped my other hand with his back claws.
   
   
7. I bought a few new summer clothes.
   
   
8. Graduate school is awesome.
   

This is 10% luck, 20% skill / 15% concentrated power of will

My mother has a phrase, "Eat until you're 80% full." This allows her to eat enough that, in a few minutes after her meal, she will feel completely full and not overstuff herself.

I am 80% finished with finals today. I have decided that I'm applying this rule to my finals. "Test until you're 80% done." Hal, I won't be making it to the test on Wednesday. I'll think about taking that last bite, but I know it's bad for my health.

Hello, Dolly; it's nice to be back home where I belong

The Dalai Lama's voice is deeper than I expected it to be, and his English is surprisingly great.

You've got your big G's / I've got my hash pipe

Hash Bash, 2008.

Holding.


Watching.


Playing.


Clapping.

whole lotta shakin' going on, going on

40% done with this semester.
tomorrow at this time, i will be up to 60% finished... and stuffing myself with emily's tater tot hot dish (as a reminder of our midwestern roots).


it's 77 degrees outside and i'm sitting in this stupid library studying. you have no idea how frustrating this is when it's so pretty outside. i went running through the arboretum after my genetics final today and almost died of heat exhaustion because a) i'm not used to the heat, and b) i'm not used to the hills!

sunday, i get to hear the dalai lama speak. everyone should be jealous because he is so awesome.

just gotta make it through next wednesday. thursday, i'm treating myself to a hair cut at aveda institute and hopefully meeting with rick-awesome about what's up with his summer project.

i'm not feeling so good about my final tomorrow morning. everyone beam me their awesome cancer knowledge. i'll need it.

It's the remix to Ignition / hot and fresh out the kitchen

Dear Minnesota Frisbee Friends,

I made the decision. Hybrid, Ignition? Hybrid, Ignition? Ignition.

Expect to see me at tournaments this summer. I am coming out of my competitive ultimate hiatus to rock the frisbee world with one of A2's co-ed club teams. I know we will surely meet at Sandblast and Cooler. Mmmhmmm!

Love,
Me

Way down on the delta on that Mississippi shore / in the muddy water, I long to be once more

I approve the Northwest-Delta merger only if it means I can fly direct to MSP for less than $400 for once.

These are my confessions...

I have a confession to make. I was vegetarian for a few years before I found out I was anemic and therefore began to eat a little meat again. I cheated. Twice.

I was at the State Fair one of the times. How can I really stay away from those pronto pups? Besides, they're not really meat... They're more like ground up random hooves and stuff. But, it's a pronto pup! I had to.

The second time, I was craving turkey, so I got a Beach Club (no tomato, no mayo) from Jimmy Johns. It wasn't as enjoyable as they're regular vegetarian sub, so I, even still, opt for the veggie subs.

I feel a lot better about myself now that I've gotten that off my chest.

Step-by-step, ooh baby. Gonna get to you gi-i-i-irl.

a) It looks like there's a chance I may head to NYC for John Brauer's wedding at the end of May with Shaun and Kali. This means that I'll get to see a ton of people I graduated with. Oh, wait, did I mentioned that it's friggin' New York City?! (Interrobang?!)

b) I'm an idiot. Details left undisclosed.

c) I'm also awesome. Details also left undisclosed.

d) Puffed wheat is still an awesome late night snack.

e) I have some of the most amazing and uplifting friends a woman could ask for. Also, most of them are witty, silly, geeky, perverse, or a combination of those... Which makes me laugh pretty much constantly.

f) I'm also fairly certain that I'll finally hit Lollapalooza this summer. It's nice to have Chi-town so nearby. Also nice -- I have a lot of friends there!

g) Hi Mom! *waves*

h) I really need to get my bacteriology more underway tomorrow. My lab notebook looks pretty, at least!

i) I'm playing frisbee tomorrow (well, today). This is great, because it's frisbee, but horrible because it's supposed to be snowing.

j) That said, I went running yesterday (well, Friday). In shorts and a tee. It was 70 degrees outside.

k) My cousin is in Detroit. Sadly, I may not get a chance to see him because of the amount of work I need to get done.

l) I'm totally going to take a conversational Spanish class through community ed this summer.

m) I am quite excited to start reading "fun" books again, and not feel guilty for taking time away from school

I stretched and made it halfway through the alphabet... That's the best I can do for now!

Only in dreams, we see what it means / Reach out our hands, hold onto hers

Behind SPH is a large, old graveyard. Many headstones have dates from the 1700s and 1800s. It's a beautiful cemetery, filled with mystery and charm. Here are a few photos from my walk through the cemetery last week...

No turning back...


Shadowed


Real Daughter


Love Stone


Baby Jury


He went thattaway


House on the hill


Stairway to Heaven


The Cube
poetry of harry jinkerson

Whoaaaa, we're halfway there, livin' on a prayer; take my hand, we'll make it I swear

Ahhh, another weekend. I don't think this weekend or the next actually count as "weekends," though, since I'll be studying for finals constantly. Today's studies will consist of bacteriology and genetics, situated at a coffee shop somewhere near campus, perhaps with my friend Mark.

My test schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, April 15 -- Bacteriology Final
  
• Friday, April 18 -- Genetics Final
  
• Saturday, April 19 -- Cancer Final
  
• Monday, April 21 -- Biostat Final
  
• Wednesday, April 23 -- Epid Final
  

Of course, within that time frame, I am also playing frisbee, trying to get some work hours in, and going to a lecture given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But... I will be done after the 23rd, and I believe that we Epid 601 test-takers will be headed immediately to a bar after our final is over to celebrate our freedom.

I was looking into taking a Spanish class to brush up on my language skills, but it turns out that it starts this week. And, well, I can't exactly afford to take a night off of studying when I have a lot to get accomplished, so I may just have to wait until the next community ed session.

Sadly, I really have nothing of interest to report. Life has been fairly low-key lately, as we've all had busy semesters. My roommate is leaving for South Dakota on Friday, then coming back and immediately leaving for her internship in China. I will most likely be living by my lonesome for the summer, but Kristin and I are planning on going camping a few times, and I'm hoping to get to NYC to visit Marina and Carrick, and maybe see Matt play at some point in time this summer.

The big news was of my parents being in town last weekend. It seems so long ago! We ate good food, wandered around Ann Arbor, checked out Hash Bash, and saw Brad Mehldau and his trio play the Michigan Theater. It's always fun to have them around, and I hope they can make it down sometime for longer than just a couple of days.

So, I'm done on the 23rd. Anyone who wants to come visit me should do so over the summer. It's going to be quiet in Ann Arbor!

I miss my parents already!

Turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so

I have some decent stems on me, but my goal for the summer is to have awesome ones. I'm slowly starting to run, and this summer will also be filled with frisbee. This means that, though the muscles will be bulging, they'll probably be nicely scraped and bruised. So, if you don't like tough girls with soft hearts, you won't like me. Nyah.

Anyway, it was beautiful when I got home from school today so I ran to Kerrytown and home. It was about 4 miles, I think. I'm not fast, but there are a lot of hills in A2, so I was happy to do it in about 8.5 minute miles. I'd say that's good.

Anyway... MY PARENTS ARE IN TOWN. So I'm going to eat Japanese food with them!

Old man, take a look at my life; I'm a lot like you

I saw a man on the bus today who was the pope in disguise. I'm almost sure of it. He had the white hair and everything. The thing that gave it away was the fact that he was wearing his stocking cap way, way up on his head so that it stuck up a good 6-9".

He looked like this:



Which is obviously quite similar to this: