It's Winter!!!

All I can say is it's finally winter because:
a) It's cold (finally)
b) There are pretty lights on campus
c) Classes are almost over/Finals are about to begin
d) MALLOMARS!!!


Yum.

Silly Little Bunny Face

Today Jasmine died. My brother bathed her on Saturday and noticed that she had a growth on her chest. On Monday he took her to the vet first thing, but the vet said that the tests were inconclusive. He was in the process of moving and after the appointment brought her to his new place. Because of all of the excitement of the vet (first time she's ever had to go), the bath (she hated them, but they were necessary) and the move, it was just too much for her. That night she started to wheeze when she breathed, stopped eating or drinking and just lay in the corner. This morning, he took her to a different vet first thing and they took an x-ray. She had a tumor that had basically grown to take up all of her lungs. She had to be put to sleep.

For a rabbit, Jasmine was very well traveled. She started out at UPenn, in one of the Penn Tower's dorm rooms in a 10 gallon fishtank. Later, she spent time on a row house just off campus where she got to hang out with the dudes and get lots of attention. After she completed her college years, she came back home with Ben to NY. He wound up taking a year off before grad school in Colorado being a ski/snowboard bum and I got to take care of her. I had never had a real pet before and it was wonderful to have company while I wrote my college apps and did my homework. I'll never forget her little face peeking up the side of the chair, trying to get me to pet her while I chatted on aim. She also developed a "fondness" for my penguin and duck slippers. I'm pretty sure at that point I still even had bunny slippers that she enjoyed. Her favorite toy was a plush soccer ball that she could bat around, although it was practically the same size as her. Sometimes I would fall asleep in my brother's old room (where she was kept) on his bed and she would jump on me, usuallly scaring the crap out of me in the process and causing her to freak out and jump off quickly, hiding under her favorite piece of furniture. Once she got underneath the cardboard bed ruffle that we designed as a "bunny bumper" and almost got lost inside of the boxspring! She was very inquisitive and her little pink nose was always moving. Jasmine was a bunny with some attitude, a "you know you want to pet me, so quit fooling around" girl that disliked it when you poked her tush. Later she would play games with Ben, taunting him to catch her and then run away and slowly sneak back. However, I never got to do that with her because she was her daddy's girl. No one could take his place and during that time I could tell that she missed him. She lost a little spark in her personality. However, every time that he came back she would at first give him the cold cotton tail but soon warm up and become mush in his hands.

After spending 9 months in NY, Jas went on a car trip all the way to Colorado. She became a true ski bunny there (although it was during the summer), but was soon moved out to LA where she enjoyed a dressing room devoted to her care, nice weather, and the loving companionship of my brother. When he moved out to LA, he didn't know anyone and Jas was his buddy. He would get home from school and she would be so excited to see him that she would run circles around him and poop. Pooping was her favorite way to express endearment. She pooped everywhere.

It's sad to think that since the tumor had spread so much how long she was in pain for. My brother said that looking back, she didn't have quite as much spring in her step the past few months, but other than that, no symptoms manifested themselves. The excitement of the move was just too much for her. My brother said that he couldn't watch them put her to sleep but he spent her last few hours with him, I can just see it, Jasmine with her head all the way on the ground, my brother cupping her head with his hand, running his thumb over her white streak on her forehead. She would only put her head on the ground for him. She would almost do it for me, but no one was like her Bennie.

This was her typical Jasmine "pet me now" look:



I'll miss you fluffy girl.

Let's Go Mets!!!!

Mets=amazing.
David Wright = My Hero/My Man.

However, the game on Wednesday conflicts with Project Runway. Luckily, Bravo only airs PR, West Wing, Actor's Studio and now Six Feet Under so in the next week I'll have about 50 opportunities to watch it.

Words cannot express how excited I am about the Mets right now. It's ridiculous. I'm so siked.

Right now I have an excessive amount of crap to get done before next Thursday. 1 senior lab, due right after we get back, 1 orgo lab due next Thurs, plus 2 prelabs due this Thurs and Fri, 1 homework set due this Tuesday and another most likely due Monday when we get back. And a midterm tomorrow 1 hr after 5 hours of playing with a distillation column. However, I'm in ok shape. 1 prelab done, 1/2 orgo lab, started next week's hw set. I am determined not to do horribly this semester.

I ate some spinach today. Not dead yet. (Crosses fingers)

Overload

If I live through these next three weeks then I will be able to live through a similar three weeks which will in turn allow me to live through yet another similar three weeks. Oh boy. I forgot how terrible it was going to be this semester. I'm dreaming of my 12 credit spring, three of which will probably be research. And I just need to figure out process control in a week and then I'll be ok until our senior lab report is due. That makes up 2 weeks, plus my orgo lab report (eeeaaassssyyy), process control homework and p chem homework. Oh, and regattas every weekend plus 2 sorority meetings per week plus waking up at 4:38 for crew practice. I have resigned myself to being in very poor shape this year until after crew season when I swear I will go to the gym before p chem. (Ha I doubt it'll happen but it's nice to dream). So much for being in bikini shape come the winter cruise :( But then I'll probably just wear it anyway and remember that even when I feel like I can't I usually can get away with it.

I'm so siked for HOTC though! The hotel will be awesome. Not to mention our ultimate coxswain room. It's going to be a blast. And I get to see my parents!

Dr. Bore

aka, well I won't say just in case someone sees this.

So lab yesterday was the first time I ever thought "Is this ballpoint pen sharp enough to break the skin of my hand? How much pressure would it take and would I be able to excuse myself from class without looking suicidal?" Speaking of suicidal, according to Dr. B suicide is fine by him although homicide, including manslaughter is a horrific thing that people should be put to death for. Accidents are included in this, even if they are caused inadvertantly. But mostly they're caused by stupid people, of which there will be at least one in our lab class, although that is a much lower ratio than outside of school. One other thing stupid people do is not use the restroom when they have to. It's distracting, practically the same as trying to multi-task (which is impossible, he can't do it at all and therefore doesn't believe anyone else can, especially if you're talking on your cell phone and driving and someone calls you to say that you brother died in a horrible accident and then there you go, not paying attention to the road and wind up in an accident and dead too and then how will your mother feel?) and you can injure yourself or cause an accident (continue into accident/homicide/suicide rant) and then where would that leave you?

Needless to say I am really looking forward to having him tear apart our lab plans every other week and generally be patronizing and make our lives miserable.

Not.

School Days, School Days

Aaaaaannnddd so it begins! Officially a senior today! Except I didn't actually have class, which was more of a bonus, although I feel like at this point I would prefer to just go to it. Tomorrow I'll have class at 9 am :/ bah. Instead of being in class today I am watching the US Open and TLC/Discovery Health. Discovery Health is my new TLC. Honestly. The drama is more real, they don't always have a happy birth that goes perfectly (sounds great, right?). And they have pregnant models. There is a comic factor to that show. I mean a 9 months pregnant women trying to give the sexy eye to a camera. Not that pregnant women don't deserve to be looked upon as sexy (lord knows I'll want to feel that way) but when they pose them with their bellies showing or have them in bikinis walking down the catwalk- just kind of amusing.

I can't decide whether or not I want to go home for the holidays. According to a erratic email my mother sent me, my older brother (one in London) may come home (for work?) that weekend. In which case I would want to go home. This would mean that I would have to go home on Friday night and then come back on Sunday night/Monday morning. Might be hectic, although I really would like to. Sigh. Maybe I can go to NJ instead. But it's not the same, plus their temple is so crowded that my family may not be able to sneak me in. And then there's the issue of my super-comfy bed at home. in Oct. I think I'll get myself an invitation to DC. I hate making those awkward phone calls to family members..."Hi! How are you! What are you doing for the holidays? Can I come spend it with you and stay over?" In theory I've already been invited but still. I hate being on the phone. I'd much prefer letters or emails or face to face contact. Maybe that's just my anti-social behavior talking.

I need to figure out what to feed myself this week...jelly meatballs and then some special roasted chicken perhaps?

Lies and Damn Lies

Things that my brother has told me that I recently found out he made up (to everyone's amusement):

1) The highest score in mini-golf wins.
-Although mini-golf is a sport built around ridiculousness, it is, in fact,the lowest score that wins in mini-golf and not the highest. The goal is not to take as many strokes as possible.

2)Every Hanukah, the Hanukah snails pull Hanukah Harry's dreidle around to every little Jewish boy's and girl's houses, helping him distribute the required 8 gifts.
-The Hanukah snails, Hanukah Harry's equivalent of Santa's reindeer, are in fact, a figment of my brother's imagination. I apologize to anyone to whom I have explained the purpose of the Hanukah snails. I am no longer in wonder why no one else in the world knows about the snails. Until a few weeks ago, I believed that they were a normal lie that parents tell their chidren in order for them to feel less "special" at Christmas time.

3) The game "Who can punch the softest" is a lot of fun and no one will get hurt.
-The point of the game "Who can punch the softest" is not to punch the softest. It is to punch your younger siblings hard while they try to punch very, very softly.

At least they never told me that I was adopted.

Ye Olde London Towne

I think I've finally recovered from London. It was fantastic and exhausting. Spending only 6 days in a time zone 5 hrs ahead and walking all over the city from 9 am to 8 pm tuckered me out. A short list of what we saw:
-Hyde Park
-Westminster Abbey
-the V&A museum
-Salisbury Cathedral and town
-Stonhenge
-Sting's house
-Tower of London(all of it)
-British Museum (Rosetta Stone!!)
-Changing of the Guards
-Harrod's, Top Shop
-Pub Walk on the Thames
-Globe Theater (Antony and Cleopatra)
-Buckingham Palace
-Borough Market
-Tate Modern

You know, just a few things. Needless to say, the next few days after we got back I was asleep by 10 pm. In fact, on Saturday when we got back, I was "watching the Met game" on the couch at 9 and my brother called. My parents answered that I was sleeping so he should tak to me later. It has been said that I protested that I wasn't sleeping and that I was still watching the game. Alas, I have absolutely no recollection of this.

The one part that sucked was time spent in the airport. We knew that our flight was delayed to 11 pm from 9, so we left an hour later for the airport. When we got there, we were given clear plastic baggies like everyone else traveling to London and told that our flight would now be leaving at 2 am. Woohoo. We sat around the airport for a while and then went through security at like 10 to go to our gate. FYI, the seats at JFK are not conducive to sleeping. But the plane that we are taking gets into the gate at 12 and we leave around 12:30, flight goes swimmingly. (Virgin Atlantic is awesome, all entertainment is on demand!) Coming back is a different story. We get to Heathrow under 3 hours before (my parents' fault), since we were told that everything was much better than before, in fact, we were even allowed carry ons, although reduced in size. (so no tampons in a clear baggie) We're standing in line to check in for you know, only like 2 hours. Then we had to go through security. We walk to the area. The line is through all of the shopping areas, food areas and out to the parking garage. Our flight leaves in 30 min. (It was delayed half an hour but we didn't find that out until we got to the gate). The line is moving, and there are people calling out flight times. "11:35" "11:45" Ok. Our flight is at 11:55 so they'll call us soon and then we can just skip ahead. At this point they stop calling out times. We finally get up to where we can see the metal detectors. By this time we have less than 15 min and there's still a snaking line. We literally had our shoes off and threw everything into the metal detector, pick it up on the other side and run. We make it to the gate at 11:53. And then the flight is delayed 30 minutes so it turns out ok, although they start to board just after we have time to catch our breaths. And of course, I get to sit in the row with the screaming baby!! His parents were really trying to calm him, but he was a little guy and his ears probably hurt. Still, 6 hours of a screaming baby on a 7 hour flight is a bit much.

We got home safely and in time to listen to the '86 Mets reunion.

Anyone going to London I suggest a pub walk. Here is my half pint of Young's Waggledance:



And the after shot of my first ever pint:

London or Bust??

Sooooo as of right now I'm still going. . .although my mom is ready to cancel so we'll see whether or not we actually go. If she does decide against it I'm putting up a hissy fit for myself to go. And if not I'll be able to spend a week with my parents! What joy!!!!! If not, then I'll be able to walk through Heathrow with a clear plastic bag full of tampons! Yay!!

Why Does MLB.com Hate Me?

It's Mike Piazza's big return to Shea tonight; I've honestly been looking forward to this for like a month. If I could, I'd be in Queens cheering for him as he saunters up to bat. Alas, I am in Baltimore and MLB.com hates me. Every big game so far my computer has refused to play the games streaming on internet radio on Windows Media Player. I am about to write an angry letter to MLB yelling at them for this problem. Right now, I can't even try to listen to it as I have "logged in too many times. Try back later" popping up each time I do. Soooooooo angry. At least I have Phish Food to drown my sorrows in.

I got to go to the SEM (scanning electron microscope for you non-sciencey types). This is what nanowires look like:



Soooooooooooooo cool. Definitely the coolest toy I've ever gotten to played with.

Not Depressing

After dropping Barry off at the airport last week, Laura and I took a detour to the Baltimore Cupcake Factory:



YUM- and it had pink frosting and sprinkles! I think it's the best cupcake ever. Other than the others I've had from there of course.

End of an Era

Ok, so Lukasz, I'm giving in and writing a blog. Ha, now we'll see if you can find it.

I decided that I need some sort of outlet for all of my obsessing because I never actually write in my journal and as we all know, my generation is all about projecting themselves and sharing their lives with the entire world. I'm just giving in to peer pressure! Now everyone will know how much I obsess over stuff, although I never show it.

My summer: food, Spoons, bike rides, jdates, cupcakes, adventures, good times all around.

It's hard to believe that this will be my last summer vacation ever. Everyone keeps asking what I'm planning on doing next year but I reallly only have one option: work. Unfortunately, dear old Johnnh Hop was not conducive to allowing me more options. I'll be off working next summer. Who knows where or doing what. Hopefully on the east coast. I think I would miss family and friends too much if I moved too far, although I could always go to LA. It's scary. For years you get asked that question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Well, I'm grown up now! I know what I would like to do, who knows if I'll be able to. Life is filled with so much uncertainty at this point, it's amazing how much only a year makes. Last year all the uncertainty was about being an upperclassman, now it's about graduating, and finding a job, and a place to live, and staying in touch with everyone I love so much and finding a mate. There's a transition from being able to live from test to test, or class to class to determining my future so that I'm not left broke and at home sleeping in my old lavendar room.

This summer has been so much fun, it just slipped by. I really have enjoyed living in Baltimore and becoming a sort of transplanted local this summer. There's still so many more things that I would like to do but I know that unless I live around here next year I'll probably never get to do them. That's what scares me, leaving exciting adventures unexplored. At least we went to Ocean City. That was a blast. And I have the slighlty pink skin to prove it. The next time I take a vacation like that I'll have to worry about work and how I'm spending my own money- not my parents. I know- I'm a spoiled college kid.

I read some excellent beach trash yesterday. It's called "Dumping Billy". A guy, of course a good looking, successful one that comes off as an arrogant jerk dates every girl in Brooklyn. The interesting part is that after he dumps them, they all wind up married to the next guy they date. If only it were that easy. I've had my summer of fun, I'm leaving any more to next summer. Maybe I won't end up an old maid.

I know this is depressing, but the next posts should be better.