A Winter Adventure!

Actually this should be titled Winter Adventures, but whatever, I'm too lazy to change the title.

So, after getting done with my fall semester of college on Monday, I had four lonely days to spare before the weekend rolled around and all my friends got done with college. So basically I slept away four days. Anyway, when Saturday rolled around, I was very excited to participate in one of my favorite winter pastimes for the fist time this season. No, I do not ski or snowboard...I'm talking sledding, a.k.a. what all the cool people do. So My family packed up the car, I put on my thunder thigh snow pants, and we trekked out to Dryer Rd park in Victor. Don't tell, but it is one of the best sledding hills around, plus they have amazing mountain biking trails for the rest of the year. So we sledded (slid? sled?) for like 3 hours, the high (or low, depending on your viewpoint) point being when my mom and I decided to go down the hill back to back on this tiny but really fast sled. I think you know what happens next. We hit the bottom of the hill at a tremendous speed, and are flung from the sled as it starts to spin. I land face down in about a foot of snow, and as I'm laying there preparing to get myself out of this ostrich-like predicament,I hear my mother wheezing like she's suddenly asthmatic and I pull my head out and look around, worried for my mother's health. Well, it ends up she was wheezing because she was laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe. Apparently our near-death experience was funny to her. As I cleared the snow off my face she managed to get this out between bouts of laughter: "My...laugh laugh laugh....feet were....laugh laugh laugh....OVER MY HEAD!!" Anyway, as a result of this, my mother and I had matching whiplash (ok, maybe just a sprain/pull of the left neck muscles) when we went to church on Sunday.

My second adventure began Monday when the twins picked me up to go 'hiking'. We ended up snowball fighting and messing around on the playground more that hiking lol. First we had a snowball fight in which I managed, with my extremely inaccurate throwing arm, to land a snowball right in Nicole's passenger seat. Whoops. Guess that's what you get for showing up late. Then we ventured out onto the frozen river, where we bravely crossed (thankfully without dying) and even made "ice angels". We finished with some dramatic sledding which involved Dan and Joanna spinning around and screaming like lunatics. Overall a very good day.

End of Semester!!!

So, with the semester winding down and only finals between me and a wonderful 2 month break (with some awesome field periods thrown in), I thought I would summarize what I have learned this semester.

1. I learned a whole lot about a whole ton of mental disorders. I loved Dr. Arnolds stories, and they taught me to look a little deeper as to why people are the way they are.

2. I learned that not everyone has the same definition of normal.

3. I learned to see bias from all sides.

4. I learned that having a successful career as an OT does not mean you will make a good professor.

5. I learned what it looks like to others when you 'just wing it' (badly) and aren't prepared for what you are responsible for.

6. I learned that life is short, and life is tough.

7. I learned that everyone is 'messed up' or changed by something in their life.

8. I learned that old people sometimes eat plants, and that you have to find someone to make you laugh during class, otherwise mental breakdown may ensue.

9. I learned that I had learned more than I thought I had learned.

10. I learned a crap ton of information about the brain, and how to think more like an OT.

After 3 semesters of college I find myself thinking from a new perspective. I can now walk down the toy isle in Walmart and think of ways to adapt toys for children of all different abilities. I think I judge less quickly now and I try my best to avoid using those labels that can stigmatize people (my least favorite being 'retard' - see earlier posts about DRIVE program). I cannot wait to do my field periods and get that experience knowing how much progress I have made in college. Sometimes during this semester it seemed like we weren't learning anything - and indeed, in some classes we probably weren't...that 'review' class for our final (which the prof was not even remotely prepared for) was a load of crap - but I think that upon retrospective reflection my classmates and I can find some value from this semester.

The Assberry tree.

So there's this tree right outside my dorm building that smells like ass. Excuse my french, but it's the only way to give this horribly noxious odor proper explanation. So Heidi (my roommate) and I, neither of us botanists of any sort, began referring to this tree as the assberry tree, because the part of it that really smells are the berry looking things it drops.

Well, one day we were passing the assberry tree in the company of a very uptight science major, and I said something along the lines of 'the assberry tree smells especially ass-like today' or some other such comment laced with my trademark scathing wit. Well, this science major decided that by God it was her duty to educate me about that poor misunderstood smelly tree. The exchange went something like this:

*Note, when reading annoying science major's lines come up, make sure you imagine her talking in a very uptight, condescending tone. And when my lines come up, remember I was trying desperately not to laugh in this girl's face, and I am not very good at hiding my laughter.

Allison: "The assberry tree smells especially ass-like today."
Ginko Girl: "Actually, it's not called an assberry tree (like I thought that was it's scientific name!). It's a ginko tree."
Allison: "Oh. Well, it smells like ass." (College has made me more and more of a wise ass, I just can't control it anymore)
Ginko Girl: "And those aren't berries, they're leaves. Ginko leaves."
Allison: "Um, I'm no expert but I think they're actually nuts of some sort." (They were round and hard.)
Ginko Girl: "Yeah, it's lost all it's leaves." (Really Einstein? I couldn't tell from the bare branches!)


At this point ginko girl departed and Heidi and I proceded to laugh so hard we had to stop moving so we could breathe. We also re-enacted the incident about 1000 times.

Anyway, the saga continues. A couple days later, we happened to be walking past the assberry tree again (It's right in the middle of campus, there's really no avoiding it), and we happened to be with ginko girl and a couple other (more likable and decidedly more mellow) science majors. Being the smart ass that I am, I made a comment about the assberry tree as we passed (calling it the assberry tree of course). Heidi shot me this look like, 'are you nuts, that girl's gonna go off on you again ' and, sure enough, ginko girl decided to expound some more wisdom for the good of all man-kind. it went like this:

Ginko girl: "It's a ginko tree, a FEMALE ginko tree."
Heidi: "Why does the female have to smell like ass?" (and that's why we're roommates.)
Allison: "We're just screwed."
Ginko girl: "This one over here is a MALE ginko tree. See, no nuts." (I almost died right here, I'm a bit immature. Ginko girl must have understood why I was laughing - for once - and shot me a death look)
Allison: "Aw, how cute, a pair."
Ginko girl: "yeah, they used to have them all down this path, but they dropped their nuts on the sidewalk" (and I'm again dying of laughter)
Heidi: "I can see how that would be a problem."
Allison: "Yeah, I would totally transfer outta this place if the whole campus smelled like ass every fall." (at this point ginko girl gave me this perplexed look, as if she was wondering if I was the dumbest being on the planet for not realizing that the smell was not the 'real problem' - I found it pretty problematic - and because I insisted on repeatedly mentioning the fact that they smelled like ass.)

So the other science majors walking with us have apparently been listening since the part when Heidi asked why the female one has to smell like ass, because one of them (who will be referred to as goggle girl because she was wearing her goggles around after her lab class) chimed in with some wisdom of her own:

Goggle girl: "Well I guess the female has to attract the male" (last time I checked the trees weren't sneaking off when no one was looking and gettin' it on in the bushes)
Heidi: "The male is attracted to that scent!? It smells like ass!!" (best roommate ever.)
Goggle girl: "Well, think about it evolutionarily, like birds, the female has to be drab so she can blend in and hide her babies in the bushes." (and now I'm dying of laughter cause I'm picturing the assberry tree and a bunch of little mini assberry trees crouching behind a bush.) 
Heidi: "Well, with that lovely fragrance, I don't think any thing's gonna attack her."

At this point we had to slow down and let the gaggle of genius science majors go ahead because I was laughing too hard to walk. Plus I had to share the picture in my head with Heidi (in between laughing hysterically and gasping for air). Overall one of the funniest things that has happened here. Thank you assberry tree.

random tidbits

I saw an armadillo and a porcupine yesterday. 

-The Wildlife Defenders came to Keuka. They are a group of people with traumatic brain injuries (TBI's) who go to schools and stuff educating children (and college students :)) about exotic animals. You should definately check out their website (http://www.wildlife-defenders.org/index.html)

The bell is on time again (It used to be exactly 2 mins slow) and yesterday it played America the Beautiful in honor of veterans day.

Also, yesterday I had the privilege (please note the seething sarcasm) of sitting through a lecture entitled "The Challenges of Being White". 

My email gave me a wonderful recycling tip - used aluminum foil can make a wonderful hat. I am reasonably sure this was a serious suggestion. I'm sorry, but typically the people wearing tin foil hats around are those with paranoid schizophrenia who are trying to keep people from stealing their thoughts. Since I have  no thoughts worthy of stealing, I will have to decline this wonderful fashion tip.

I've decided to never study for my abnormal psych class again. For the first test, I did everything in advance, studied all the vocab terms, read the book, and even participated in a study group. I got a 91. By the time the second test rolled around, that 'omg it's a new school year' enthusiasm had waned, so I reverted back to my old 'I put the pro in procrastinator' habits and skimmed the book chapters, glanced at the vocab, and did the bare minimum to prepare for the essay portion. I got a 91. So for this last test, I did basically nothing. I didn't even open the book, didn't bother to even list the vocab terms, and chose and 'studied' for all of the 13 essay objectives the night before. I got a 93. This is why I made a horrible tutor.

The end. 

Deaf church

So a couple weeks ago I went to a Catholic church for the deaf with Heidi. I was really nervous because apparently it was in a shady part of town, plus I was afraid I wouldn't know what was going on, even though I'm Catholic and have probably been to a million Catholic masses in my life.

So we got there and sat down, and it was remarkably loud for a deaf church (not that I'd been to one before that, I just assumed it would be quieter...). For one, not everyone in the church was deaf, and I've found from my limited experience with deaf people that some of them make noises as they sign and mouth the words they are signing.

When the mass started, the priest, who was deaf, began telling a story about his recent medical ailments very animatedly (I know this because there was an interpreter with a microphone translating the mass for all us hearing people). His name was Ray, and he looked like a big teddy bear.

So anyway, everything was pretty normal, except all the responses were signed obviously. So I learned the sign for 'amen' pretty quickly. Everyone was very friendly (or as Heidi would say, conjugal) at the sign of peace, and by that I mean it literally took ten minutes. EVERYONE in the church got up and walked around and shook everyone's hand. it was crazy.

So, um, yeah, the end. :)

My laptop works!!!

My laptop works again! It's a miracle!!!

I cannot confirm or deny the rumor that the cause of my trouble was bubbles. No comment.

But if you ever do happen to spill a strange soapy (or not soapy) substance on your computer,wipe it up immediately, turn the computer upside down, and take out the battery. 

I did not do that.

One, I didn't know I was supposed to. 

Two, the soapy substance only got on the screen (I really don't know how that happened...I must have been talking with my hands like the Italian I am lol)

So like an idiot I just assumed nothing was wrong and kept facebooking.

The next day when I opened it up the light was blinking red. I had only seen it do that when the battery died, so I figured crap, better plug it in. So I did. 

Then the only way it would turn on was if it was plugged in. I figured my battery was shot.

So I let it sit on my dresser for a day and a half.

When I came back today I took the battery out and put it back in like 5 mins later, figuring it was a losing venture because the damage had most likely been done. 

I popped it back in and pressed the power button, expecting disappointment... but no! The computer gods must have been smiling down on me, because it turned on!

And now I'm writing about it on my newly revived laptop. The end.

Deaf Yoga

So about a month ago I went to a deaf yoga class.

My roommate Heidi is an education major with an ASL concentration (or something like that) and for her ASL class she has to go to 3 events for the deaf in the community. Since deaf yoga and deaf church were in Rochester, I volunteered to take her. I'll blog about deaf church later.

So deaf yoga was in this tall building up these steep and creaky steps, so Heidi, my mom, and I ascended carefully. When we got there the yoga instructor, who was also Heidi's ASL teacher, greeted us with a bunch of signs I didn't know. Her hands were moving so damn fast. Luckily Heidi was able to translate and explain to her teacher that we were her roommate and her roommate's mother (I wonder if that was hard to say in ASL?). So we grabbed yoga mats and positioned ourselves in the far corner of the room while everyone else filed in. Needless to say, the room was remarkably quiet. :)

So once everyone got there, the class began with some freaky breathing exercises that made us plug one nostril at a time and take really long breaths. I was bad at it. Luckily it was easy to understand her counting and what we were supposed to do because it was mostly gesturing and some basic signs that I knew and we mostly just mimicked the teacher on the poses. A couple of times the teacher told me I was doing 'perfect' - or that's what I was told the a-okay sign meant. Anyway, I was kind of ambivalent when I was doing the yoga, and a little discouraged because I really don't have any ab muscles anymore and my balance is less than prefect, but when we finished, I realized that my back felt amazing. Like, better than it had felt in ages (my bed in my dorm room in sot exactly a tempur-pedic, and sitting in those horrible chairs for 3 straight hours of class Monday through Thursday doesn't help either). So as a result, I'm kind of on a yoga kick, and so far, my back thanks me.

Anyway, at the end of the class, Heidi had to get one of the other class participants to sign a paper for her and she was supposed to make conversation, in ASL of course. I didn't understand most of it, but apparently the class was happy to see newcomers and was very complimentary. I was wearing my shirt from the Autism Walk that I volunteered at last fall, and one of the ladies tried to ask me about it, so I grabbed Heidi real quick to interpret for me. The lady said her son had Autism, and I learned the sign for volunteer (apparently deaf people appreciate free T-shirts too, because the sign for volunteer is pinching your shirt and pulling on it like 'hey, look at my sweet free T-shirt'. Or at least that's what I think it was).

Coloring...

So when we first got our lists of text books to buy, I was elated to find that one of them was a coloring book. THE HUMAN BRAIN COLORING BOOK.

I was all excited, like, I get to color for homework!?! Sweet!!

Well, needless to say, that wore off. I've found that being forced to do something you like, whether it be reading or coloring, sucks the fun out of it like a dementor. (you're welcome HP fans)

What I learned today- 9/30

I like to go to the bathroom western style.

Today we learned that in some areas of Asia, using a toilet instead of a hole in the ground is called western style.

What did I learn today?

Ok, so that last entry was for yesterday. I decided I'm going to revive this blog with a daily recap of sorts...

So today in my old people class (that's its technical name, I swear lol)  I learned that you shouldn't put poisonous plants (like pointsettas) in the room with a person with dementia, becuase thy might eat them. yup.

I am never getting old.

What did I learn today?

"boys have cooties chlymidia!"

Yup that's what I learned in my adolescent development class. Apparently 1 in 10 teenage boys has chlymidia.

ew.

I think angels are probably fat.

So, sometimes I have these really random thoughts...like today I was standing in line to get ice cream, and there was angel food cake next to the ice cream...and well, I decided angels are probably at least slightly overweight.

I mean no heresy of course, but just think about it...I mean angel food is not healthy stuff. I mean, if that's all they eat (and it must be cause it's the only thing named angel FOOD) then they gotta be sorta pudgy. Plus, think about it...baby angels are pudgy...and that's probably genetic.

okay, random thought over. You're welcome.

Improv

So have you ever seen Whose Line is it Anyway? Well, a group calling themselves Mission IMPROVable came to Keuka and preformed a similar form of shortform improv comedy sketches. It was absolutely hilarious.

Well, Heidi and I were eating dinner in the Gieser...and we weren't going to stay...but then one of the "agents" as they called themselves came over to our table and asked if we were going to stay for the show. It went something like this...

"so, are you guys going to stay for the show?"
"Maybe.."
"Maybe!?! But Keuka already paid us, which kinda means you already paid us...excpet it's free to you, totally free, probably the free-est show you've ever seen!"
"(laughing) really?"
"Yeah...the free-est. It's like who's line is it anyway, have you seen that show?"
"yeah"
"well, they didnt make that up. it's been around forever. We're gonna do that"
"oh cool"
"so are you gonna stay?"
"I guess (laughing)"
"Have you ever seen a grown man cry?"
"uh...no"
"Well I'll cry if you leave"
"maybe we should pretend to leave"
"oh no, don't do that, then I'll look like a sappy fool for nothing!"

So we stayed, of course, and they were hilarious. Though the one girl in the audience who kept yelling "VIBRATOR!!!" whenever they asked for input for one of their games was really annoying...stupid freshies.

Also, "Agent Science" was kinda cute. :)

Finally, here are some of my favorite quotes from the show -

"Dina Garcia sounds like a dinosaur...of course you don't want to make out with a dinosaur!"
"I'm eating...ALL OF CHINA!?!?!"

Of course, this can't do them justice, so if they come to your college, go. the end.

Eat, Pray, Love, Beg for it to be over.

Damn that movie was long. Two and a half hours of cheesy chick flick. now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against chick flicks. Some of them are very good...for example, I have seen 27 Dresses about 6 times, thanks to Heidi!

Admittedly I am not the movie's target audience, but I mean come on...this movie should have been and hour shorter. In fact, it probably shouldnt have been made at all, because it seems like the book prob had way to many details for a movie. Book people everywhere are shuddering at this cinematic interpretation of this book.

Already?

Oh my, it is time to go back to college....already. I feel like my summer is just kicking into gear...oh well.

Good news! Keuka is finally wireless, like a real college campus!!

So anyway, packing sucks, but I gotta get back to that.

Arrivederci Mary! :(

So our dearest Mary "holy shit" Hydar left for Texas on Friday. AKA our posse is now without its leader and we will be deprived of our proper doses of Mary stories. Mary could make any story hilarious, she is the master of making a seemingly random happening one of the funniest things you've heard in weeks.  And she gets into the weirdest situations... Meg decided she should just "strap a camera to [her] ass," you know, to capture the comedy.

Maine 2010

So I never saw a real moose in Maine. I saw plenty of stuffed ones, printed ones, and even an 800 pound chocolate one, but never a real one (which is prob good), despite the signs on the highways saying "watch for moose crossing". Way to get my hopes up sign.

Here's a bit of summary of my trip:

Before my trip to Maine, I was unsure about how good an idea this would be. Even though Maine is called “vacationland” (on its license plates), it is notorious among some circles as having “gravelly sand and painful oceans”. There were a bounty of hiking and biking options, and like a gazillion nature reserves… but my family tends to get tunnel vision on vacations, and the beach is the light at the end of that tunnel.

So I was worried that my choice of vacation spot would be a dud, that the water would be too cold and the town too boring. Luckily, I was wrong. The water was absolutely freezing (like swimming in glacial run-off) but we went in the ocean anyway, risking hypothermia and the inevitable numbness of the limbs. The sand was quite nice, and the people we really laid back and likable. Wish I had learned French though, because apparently Old Orchard Beach (OOB for short, I swear to God lol) attracts a crazy number of people from Quebec (I heard it called “the Florida of Canada”), and I think either their French or Canadian heritage provides them with quite a different body image, because I have never seen so many overweight people wearing all-too-revealing bathing suits. My sister was kind enough to point out this man in the ocean (which, as I think I may have mentioned, was really freaking cold!) who was wearing a thong…so every time the waves receded, the entire beach had a wonderful view of nearly his entire butt. Yay. The lifeguards were cute though, so I guess it was okay lol.  

More to come, I swear.

Is 130 a significant number?

Blog post number 130! I think it's safe to say that at least 70 of those were probably interesting. :)

Chopped off my hair... the feeling of air on my neck is nice.

So last night, a massive group of my friends (don't laugh! I have lots of friends!! :)) and I saw Inception, and it was awesome (especially the ending), but a tad bit trippy and long for me... it was interesting enough to make me concentrate though, which is good. I will never sit in the front row again though. Ever.

Well there you go Jo.

Genius College Friends

So today I got to hang out with some friends from college who were passing through. We got ice cream at abbotts, because one of the girls had never heard of it, and had some amazingly entertaining conversation (and some about soccer!) Here's a sample, for your entertainment:

Shelby (pointing out window): "Look, a blue-footed boobie!!"
Allison: "That's a seagull!!!"
Shelby: I know, i just wanted to say it."
Chorus: hahahahahahahaha
Brittany(now forever known as Boo): "Shelby, what's a boobie?" (she said this with an entirely straight face. not even a smirk...like it was totally a serious question)
Shelby, in a stroke of comedic genius, just looks down at her chest. Laughter explodes. The abbotts people glare.

Don't worry, we later told her a blue footed boobie was a type of bird.

Independence Day

So, I haven't blogged in a while...I've been kinda busy...but mostly lazy :). At least I didnt make any overzealous promises (and put them as my blog title!) like 98 posts 100 days lol no offense Meredith.

So anyway, July 3rd is pretty much my fav day of the year. It always rocks. At the end of the day when ur washing off all the sweat, bug-spray, chlorine and grass stains, you can't help but think wow, today was pretty awesome.

This year my family went to Watkins Glen State Park, swam in the pool, explored redneckville (aka the town on race day lol... such and  abundance of tie-dye and wolf t-shirts) and then got ice cream at "Mr. Twisty's" in Dresden.

Then I raced back, picked up Joanna, got lost, and went to fireworks, where my friends and I played some frisbee, then sat around for a long while and ooh-ed and ah-ed at all the pretty fireworks (which set off my ADD like you wouldn't believe!) And it only took Mary and I like 20 mins to get out this time!!

Return to Keuka (only sorta thankfully!)

So now that I know that Joanna reads this blog religiously ("Only when I'm bored!!" sure. nice cover.) I can't really say anything bad about this trip...lol jk, it was awesome.

So Joanna, Haley, Leslie, Nicole, and I went to this awesome lakeside cabin/boathouse (believe me, establishing what to call this mysterious building was a lot harder than you would think.)

So Joanna, Haley and I arrived first, and subsequently got the grand tour from our wonderful Danish host, Jorgen Overgaard. I kid you not, the man's name was Jorgen Overgaard, with two A's. Two. He had the most hilarious accent, and the most interesting way of explaining things...for example, the toilet situation. Apparently there was only so much water and an iffy septic system, so we had two rules for that:

1. No tampoons in the toilet. (that is how he said it, tampoon, like harpoon, and it took me about halfway through the rest of the tour to figure out he meant tampon. lol)

2. this is not so much a rule as a warning... the pipes make a rawr rawr rawr sound. Not only did Jorgen do his dinosaur impression once, but twice. With a straight face. Not even a chuckle. It took every ounce of willpower in my body not to laugh at the man while he was standing in front of me. Don't worry, I laughed later. A lot.

So after Jorgen (finally) left,  we proceeded to waterlog our brains with lake water for the next 3 days. We named some fishies (spot and morgan freeman were my favs. they were brothers.) and noodle jousted on the giant raft for svimming (that's how it is pronounced) of which I was the champion!

So yeah, there you go, I finally blogged again. Now Joanna can occupy her time.

The rest of the world is catching up

I think the rest of the world is catching up with the traditional world powers...in soccer at least. Many of the well known soccer powers; like Germany, Spain, England, and Italy, are being felled by smaller teams from smaller countries (not that population of the country determines soccer skill, as Tony Kornheiser argued on PTI this week). This year, the underdogs are winning. Paraguay, Serbia, and Slovakia are performing unexpectedly well.

So...are the traditionally great teams getting old and lazy (yes) or are the traditionally mediocre teams getting better (yes)? Both! Games on the world stage are becoming more competitive because the previous chasm of skill difference is now just a tiny gap. I think this is a good thing, but many soccer hating pundits (like Bob Matthews of the Democrat and Chronicle) argue that this makes soccer less exciting to watch, because there will be less 5-0 blow-outs and conceivably, more 0-0 draws.

Honestly, this is fine with me. If you can't see the beauty in soccer, don't watch. And btw, stop complaining about the vuvuzelas. Suck it up and deal.

Daily Champ!

Who knew I had a secret talent for laser tag? Unbelievable as it may seem, I was able to dominate a bunch of 10 year olds in laser tag. Please, hold your applause. Anyway, that place was freaking awesome... a black-lit maze and 5 screaming 10 yr olds. Shooting them with a pretend laser was very theraputic.

Then I partied with mis amigos... and Dan and I won Trivial Pursuit! Boo yah!!

Then I drove home in the scary dark and foggy weather at 1 am. Very good day.

new look, new books

Don't worry, the new look is the blog, not me :) Though I am in need of a haircut....

Anyway, I thought the book background would be appropriate because I will probably be reading for most of the summer. I limited myself to like 7 books at the book sale, so basically I deserve some applause. Anyway, I finished my first official book of my family's summer reading contest (in which I am undefeated). It was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Controversial; maybe, but absolutely riveting nonetheless. I've never been one for people telling me what I can and can't read. In my opinion, there are no dangerous ideas, just people who use and interpret them in dangerous ways. For example, no one would tell me I couldn't read the bible, and yet many atrocities over the years have been justified by it, Same with the Koran. It's interpretation that is the problem.

Anyway, the point of this rant is that I changed my background template thingy. Enjoy.

A couple of things...

1. whilst wearing glasses, I resemble a nerdy 12 year old.
2. Elvis songs and suchlike from the 40's and 50's sound like elevator music to me.
3. Interesting story... So I was at my cousin's restaurant (Taste of Italy, which you should deff try, the assorted sub is amazing!) in Victor and one of the ladies that works there looks exactly like Jessie from Parent Trap. Like exactly. So as she's talking with my Gramma about who knows what, all I can picture is that scene in Parent Trap where Jessie figures out that it's Annie instead of Haley and freaks out and cries...and lo and behold... the Jessie doppleganger begins to cry and it was kinda trippy cause I had to figure out if it was for realsies or if I had finally had a psychotic break...well, good news, I'm not crazy (well, not to the point of hallucination!) Jessie numero dos was sobbing because her daughter was at college and blabitty blah blah...sorry, I stopped listening...I have trouble sympathizing with cheerleaders :)

oh my...excuse me, my nerd is showing

BOOOOOOKS!!! OMG BOOOKKSS!!!!!

I heart books. for realsies.

So there's this giant book sale, and I am contemplating getting my lazy butt on a bike and riding down there tomorrow. That's how much I can't wait. The only issue is how I would get the books home... I'll have to limit myself :(

stinky

now this may seem common sensical ( I swear to God my english teacher in COLLEGE, henceforth known affectionately as JJ, used to say that all the time. All the damn time. I wanted to punch her.)

Now, as I was saying, it seems like it must go without saying, but i'll just clarify for all you numbskull town planners out there... don't put water treatment plants next to places you expect people to gather...for example state beaches and/or soccer fields. I mean really, who was the genius who decided to dump all that crap (literally!) into the ocean right next to a state beach? And even here, in the great (ha!) and uber effiecient (lolol) state of New York, the shit scented sewer air wafts right over the soccer fields where my poor sister was forced to play (and I suffered through watching!) and right across the street from Durand Eastman beach. What the hell were those people thinking!! Das es STINKY!!!

The park of amusement.

Got together with Mary and Meg this past week for the first time in a year. I can't believe I lasted that long, they are so hysterical...I realized how much skype does not cover...

So anyway, I went to Darien Lake yesterday for this marching band -apalooza that my hermanita was participating in (which was uber interesting, btw) and my family bought season passes yay!

One band tried to do Thriller lol... that was epic... and not in a good way.

Darien Lake's new Lazy river is nice, and the Superman is awesome as always! (except they had to delay it for a while, which sucked, because my sister and I were literally next in line. Luckily they resolved the problem in like 10 mins. I only swallowed one bug, and I was very entertained by the roller coaster pics, as always (my mom and brother always make beaver faces! :) )

I feel so old!

My little brother just got his permit, and I went along for moral support on his first driving lesson. I'm so proud!

He was quite good actually, minimal bobble-heading, only slight whiplash... :)

In fact, he acted just like I remembered it being. Like when u first get in the car, learn that you have to press the brake to shift, and then make the startling realization that the car moves when you're not pressing the gas! It's alarming. Then you get used to it and soon it seems like the best video game ever. Then you get really used to it and it just becomes a mode of transport.

Final note- Andrew found some words never to say on your first lesson - NASCAR and adventurous.

School is out!!!

I'm finally done! Praise the Lord!!

I can't wait to see what this summer has in store - yesterday I saw Mary and Meg again for the first time in a year. Both are still amazingly hilarious, and I can't believe I went a whole year without one of these gatherings.

Don't worry, I wont be too busy to update my blog frequently, and make up for my recent slacking :)

How in control are you?

"We are pawns in a game whose forces we largely fail to comprehend. We usually think of ourselves as sitting in the driver's seat, with ultimate control over the desicions we make and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires - with how we want to view ourselves - than with reality."

This from Dan Ariely, behavioral economist and author of Predictably Irrational, a fantastically interesting book about the hidden  forces that affect our decisions. It is a great read.

SOCCER!!

For anyone's who's never met me... I love soccer. And when the world cup gets near... I just get really really really really really really really really really excited. It sends me into this frenzied state when that's all I can think about. I just wanna work out all the angles and look at all the rosters and such.

So anyway, today I appeased my soccer yearning and went to the fifa world cup 2010 website - http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html . For anyone who's completely soccer oblivious, the month of amazing soccer will take place in South Africa this year (fubuzela haters beware). This adds a nice african flair to the cup, as the home side does their "diski dance". There are six african teams, including South Africa with their automatic bid. Many of these teams will be great spoilers and remote contendors, like the Ghana of four years ago.

I believe the two bet\st teams in contention are Italy and Germany. If both sides can maintain or improve on the kind of game they played in Germany four years ago, soccer fans are in for a treat.

Now a shameless plug for my favorite Serie A team - Juventus. I just want to note that there are nine of them on Italia's preliminary world cup squad. In total, eleven Juve players will be taking part in the world cup. They include GianLuigi Buffon (best goalkeeper in the world, and a heck of a name... just say that a couple of times... GianLuigi, GianLuigi...), Felipe Melo, Martin Caceres, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chellini (love him!) Fabio Grosso, Mauro Camoranesi, Antonio Candreva, Claudio Marchisio, Vicenzo Iaquinta (also love him), and Christien Poulson. One of my most favoritest defenders, Nicola Legrottaglie, was left out so that another striker, Guiseppe Rossi, could be added (I hope this is not a sign of a change of mentality on the Italian side - they are wonderful defensive team and should not sacrifice that).

Finally, a few observations...
 - No czechs? :( No Nedved. :(
 - A whole damn ton of the players for all of the international teams play their club soccer in Italy. Point proven, Italy is the soccer capital of the world.
 - Do I sense some animosity? There are no french (club team) players on the Italian squad (thank god, french players suck and are whiney crybabies) and no Italian (club team) players on the french squad. And yes, I do refuse to capitalize "french". They don't deserve it. Damn sore loser crybabies. Dont worry french team, Matterazzi wont be there to tease you and make you all angry inside. Babies.
- Diego "hand of God" Maradona is the Argentina coach. Interesting.
- Only one player on Italy's squad plays club soccer outside Italy. Really, why go anywhere else?
- Many squads are remarkably similar to their 2006 versions. Maybe we'll have the same result. :)
- No Ruud van Nistelrooy? Guess we'll have to laugh at someone else's name. :)

And yes, I want Italy to win. Go Azzuri!!!

ITALIA, ITALIA, ITALIA...!!!

light at the end of the tunnel

So I haven't written in a while. Deal with it. :) jk, I apoligize to my loyal reader(s).

Anyway, it's crunch time here, two weeks to go, and then I will officially have finnished my sophmore year of college.

Booyah grandma!!

So yeah, I have like 6 papers and 8 tests and 12 projects to do, but hey, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Summer has this strange lore to it... like I cant wait till it comes but I dont knolw what I'll do with myself when it does... as of now I have nothing lined up...

So my summer is free for frolicking :)

50 books in 54 weeks

Yup, pretty much a book a week, with one month slack time. This is my goal. Can't say it will make my blog more intersting, but hey, no one reads this anyway! So, I'll keep you updated, and possibly blog about some of these books.

Also, random political statement...
The founding fathers intended the american people to have the chance at equality; they did not guarantee equality, just the chance at it.

Why I wanna be an OT...

Alright, so here goes... I have to write an extra credit paper for my anatomy class about why I wanna be an OT and how I decided that's what I wanna do. It can be as short or long as I would like. So I decided I would write it here first so I can get all my ideas out and then read it over and see which ideas I wanna put in my actual paper.

Unfortunately, I don't have a great story like some people... Like on the first day of my OCC 220 class last semster when everyone was like, my (insert relative here) has (insert disease/disorder here) and I just loved what the OT did and knew that that was what I wanted to do!

Yeah, I wasn't like that. I don't have some wonderful inspiring story about why I want to be an OT, and I definately didn't know what I wanted to be "when I grew up" until the very end of my junior year of high school; no one would leave me alone about it either -"no, I have no idea what I wanna do with my life! Leave me alone!!"

Actually, I kinda had an idea, it just sounded stupid and corny and nerdy... I knew I wanted to do two things in my future career - I wanted to help people and I wanted it to be something science-y. Also, my mom is a nurse and she has always loved her jobs and she worked with such a variety of populations - I wanted that in a career too, because I'm kind of ADD and I can't imagine being stuck in the same place for the rest of my life.

So basically one day I was browsing college websites, and I came across this video of Occupational Therapy students demonstrating some of the adaptive equipment they would be using in the field, and I was like, Cool! So I looked into it, and well, it seems like the perfect job for me. So here I am studying OT, and well, I guess that's the end of the story.

lol yes, someone actually said that!

"I harvested your grapes." ..."You could get arrested for that." Gotta love farmville.
"I nearly fell through the toilet"
"There's something sharp in my bed!"

The search is over

I have found the yeti. My roommate is the yeti. Seriously, best yeti impersination ever.

Change of Scenery

So I finally felt like blogging. Here's the latest news, for my hoards of adoring fans.

On Tuesday of two weeks ago, (before my spring break), I moved three rooms down the hall. So, big change... new room, new roommate, etc.

Basically, my new roommate, who will hereafter be refered to as Liz (because that's her name, shh! don't tell) and her former roommate were having some kind over really overblown drama trouble that made (and honestly makes) no sense to me, but anyway, long story short Liz's former roommate asked me to switch rooms with her because she and my former roomie, who will hereafter be refered to as Gormagon, get along well. Jk about the gormagon thing lol, it's a Bones reference in case you dont get it...

So, I hauled my astonishing lack of stuff over to 225 and suddenly, something amazing happened....

I actually had a relatively intellegent conversation with my roommate!! And she even understoood sarcasm! (unlike gormagon, and probably her former roommate too - they aren't the brightest bulbs in the box if you know what I mean. (Gosh I am glad no one reads this).

So yeah, my new roomie is cool, and I am suddenly way more social (Is it the new location or the new roomie... aka were people trying to avoid gormagon - which I totally wouldn't blame them for - or is it just cause I'm roomiing with Liz now? Its gotta be a combination... cause I damn well know it's not me.) :)

What else... hmmm....

I'm doing a research paper for my English class that I actually am finding quite enjoyable - yes, mark the day, for once, I am not complaining about English classes. Mark it and cherish it cause it's not happening again.

100 is a big number

So, I decided that since I worked so hard on post #99, post #100 should be more laid back. Plus, I just watched (part of) the Disney Channel remake of one of my favorite movies ever, Harriet the Spy, and they totally changed the plot around and made it about blogging and stuff. They can't just leave the good stuff alone can they. Gotta go changing stuff all around. So anyway, I'm gonna go dig out my old VHS (gasp!) copy of the original Harriet the Spy (yes, with Michelle Tractenburg and Rosie O'Donnell) and try to find a VCR to play it in. *And yes, I am aware that calling it my "old VHS copy" was redundant, but I needed some emphasis.

Because I just realized how old that makes me. At least I don't know what an 8 track looks like. But  I mean, for Pete's sake, I am only 19! When I was a kid, we didn't have fancy shmancy digital cable, and the coolest thing you could do on a computer was paint. No farmville (gasp!). lol, remember paint! The first time I used it was on my mom's "portable" mac she got for college and paint was in black and white (I swear to God, no lie, there really was no color!) And no, my mom did not have me when she was in college, she went back to get a more advanced nursing degree when I was like 6 or 7.

Finally, I was watching Sienfeld  (sp?) and they were renting VHS videos and talking abotu how you had to rewind them when you finished watching them. That sounds so stone age now! lol DVD's are the bomb.

99th post - best blog quotes

99 is my favorite number, so I decided to do something special for this post.

Here are the best blog quotes... I sequential order (not ranked by what I think is best... but feel free to leave your vote as a comment!

1. As we were driving back down the dirt road, we saw a bear in the distance. Yeah, an actual bear. A baby one. We called it the mini-bear, and had lots of fun trying to take pictures of it (from the safety of the truck of course). Then Meredith wisely mumbled, "yeah, but now there's a bear here." Oh yeah. Party pooper.

2. Only a certain kind of person can sit in front of the television and watch overweight men maul each other over and over again

3. One girl almost fell off her unruly horse because he got to the gate and decided to 'refuse'. Poor girl. Then she whipped the horse. Poor horse.

4. they just keep falling off the cone like Niagara Falls as I walk out. I feel like little Hansel and Gretel leaving a rainbow sprinkle trail all the way to the bench.

 5.I looked like a lobster for the first couple days, then I looked like I had leprosy when it started healing.

 6. And thus our trip ended, our kayak zig-zagging into the sunset, only me paddling because my mom got tired. And me sans shoes.

7. Sounds like Pennsylvania needs some Indians.

8. we really did not want to get wet (except Haley, who was to the point of dropping her pants and swimming to shore when Meg got back).

9. What more needs to be said about cute lifeguards? Definately the highlight of my trip. Except when I almost fell over in front of one of the cute, shirtless ones.

10. Plus I got to tell my bear story, and let's face it, I love to tell stories.

11. Anyway, I think the paint job should be categorized as a fail... but hey, it shows character.

12. So other than burning my face off  it was freakin amazing.
 13. I do not appreciate music. At all. No, I cannot identify that instrument by it's "plucky sound and strange tone." Wth is a harpsichord? Why should I care!?!?!

14.  I almost peed my pants... except for the fact that I was sitting on the toilet. :)

15. My day started wth remarkable lack of motivation - and a sing along.

16. I would like to make a formal apology to sprinkles... It ends up it was the tension between you and the cone that was affecting your work.

17. I think there is a ghost in the bathroom by my room. I'm not talking Moaning Myrtle or anything, this ghost is very well mannered. And well manicured - it always, no matter what time of day or how many people are in the bathroom, sounds like someone is clipping their toenails.

18.lol, I don't think pirates say suppose. (this interview may be my fav entry... it's so damn funny)

19. From the Farmville quotes entry:
"Did you get my cow? I sent you a cow."
I named her prudence... She likes it" 


20. First semester was like the creepy old lady in hansel and gretel... come on in, doesn't my house look all nice and candy flavored? Then you find out the old lady (second semester) wants to eat you. Damn.

What has this little project made me realize?
1. last summmer was fun.
2.  My writing really has improved.
3. My grammar gets worse when I blog angrily.

I'm a lazy bum.

I will freely admit it - I am a lazy bum who sits on her butt all day, which provides for a boring blog. Today though... today I got off my butt and went hiking and played Frisbee and went to my brother's "pinewood derby" (which, just for the record, is a horrendous name and needs to be changed immediately. Get on that BSA.

So I guess I cant really blog about frisbee... even though it is currently my favoritest thing in the whole wide world... but there's really not much to say... though I realized I an freaking out of shape lol. sad.

Hiking was also a freaking workout... we went on that one "upland" or "overlook" trail or whatever they call it at Onanda, and damn, that entire thing is one calf buring hill after another. Pretty waterfalls though.

Lastly, my brother built his little derby car and the scouts turned it into this sleepover party thingy at Onanda, so luckily he can have some fun after the races, considering the poor kid came in 4th every time he raced. Out of four. Poor kid :(... I thought he was gonna cry but he held it together well, and came over and leaned on me while lamenting his loses (because my mom woulda told him to suck it up and be a good sport. lol

ramblings (again)

1. I'm glad I grew up with some religion, because I met a woman the other day who had no idea Easter was a religious holiday until she was an adult. To me that is an abomination.

2. GO SYRACUSE!! I love march madness... though my bracket is busted majorly. Damn upsets. Btw, I hope syracuse goes all the way, but I admit I have Kansas winning my bracket. I gotta beat my dad :)

3. Maybe I don't hate this English class so much... well, yes I do, but I found a research topic I am majorly into for my research paper and and actually enjoying finding 12 sources (I'm gonna be the nerdy one with 25) and writing a 10-12 page paper. Oh, my subject is Sensory Processing Disorder. I'm pumped.

4. LOVE the warm weather.

5. Would appreciate suggestions as to what I should do for my 100th blog post. It's a milestone... I can't just let it pass....

I love NY

Gotta love NY. Less than two weeks ago I got a snow day and a half, and today it was absolutely b-e-a-utiful (Bruce Almighty in case you don't recognize it) and positively spring-y. I think New York is bipolar.

Anyway, a couple of brief ramblings to hold you over until I have a blog-worthy epiphany. :)

1. Being blind is scary. That's what I learned in my OT class last week. We've been wearing blindfolds for the past two classes. Also, it takes some major trust.

2. In light of the fact that I have been bombarded by opinions on the "ban the r-word" campaign that our campus is having, I would just like to voice my stance on the issue. We should all be nice, because it is the right thing to do. We should not be legislated into being nice. It's as simple as that. Don't take away our free speach, just lead by example and treat people with respect.

One journalist's perspective: "sticks and stones"

English class

Since I hate my current English class, I decided to relive past ones.

Best books I was forced to read:
1. Fahrenheit 451
2. 1984
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Maniac Magee
5. Can't think of a 5th good one lol

Worst books:
1. The Scarlet Letter
2. As I Lay Dying
3. Grapes of Wrath
4. Great Expectations
5. All those dumb community reads. (every community read I was forced to read was awful. You know what I mean. Sounds like I missed out on good community reads... the year before I got to High School they read The Kite Runner as their community read, and this year, once I have left, they are reading Bel Canto.)

Watch this video

One of the coolest things I have ever seen.

view it. click it. seriously, it's awesome.

And btw, deff switch to the new blogger editing thingy, it is cooler and way easier to use.

Oh, and happy first day of March! Someone said to me today, "It came in like a lion so it will go out like a lamb." I don't understand these idiomatic weather predictions - is it just me, or does that not make any sense!?

Holi festival

Added something new to my bucket list. Check this out:

http://www.usatoday.com/mediagallery/The-day-in-pictures/G165

Basically, to celebrate Holi, these people in India have what is in essence a giant colored-water war. I want in.

Winter storm?

Ah, I have nine followers (if Meredith's split personalities count lol). Well, I just wanted to assure you all that I am fine. Despite the news of the impending snow apocalypse, things here are calm.

Seriously though, what has become of upstate NY*? I mean really, we have had our share of snow storms over the years. An inch and a half on the ground is no reason to close the college. (Not that I'm complaining, I'm just a bit stunned) The weather here is pretty okay, and most of the profs and commuter student were able to make it in, so why close at noon?

I think people are freaking out about the storm that is supposed to be coming... but this is a little extreme... I mean, Marisa said that people are stocking up on food at Wegmans. Wth? So we'll get a foot of snow... It'll be plowed away by Saturday. I really don't see what all the hype is about. It's like giving someone a Nobel Prize before they even do anything - it just doesn't happen.

Oh, wait... that last one did happen...
Can I just rant real quickly about that? It was so absurd and disheartening. I mean, the most peaceful man in the world was Obama?!? He hadn't even (and still really hasn't) done anyhting yet! Except for a lousy stimulus package...

I mean, it's just sad that the greatest example we had of peace was Obama, who won it based on expectations. Won it with words, not actions, which I think goes against the nature of the prize.

But I guess that's just me.

*Slight correction - according to the news channels and what I picked up by osmosis... Keuka Park, NY is considered central NY. Who knew? I guess I just figured because it is so close to my house, which is always described as upstate NY...well, it is not so.

oh, I remembered!

I wanted to talk about what I learned today.



Wait... I forgot. Better list them...



1. muscle contraction thingy

2. asl - just the important signs lol

1. So in anatomy lab today I was the de facto volunteer for our "experiment" because I was weaing short sleeves. So my prof hooked me up to some electrodes and voila! - a realtime recording of the electrical impulses created by my arm muscles was on the screen! It was soooo sweet. Except that I am very weak lol. So I proceeded to flex and extend my arm and hold up 3 textbooks (3! that's a lot of weight for my flimsy weak arms!) while sweet spiky lines like an ecg showed up on the screen. (I do know how all of this works, but I'm too lazy to explain, so "voila" and "sweet spiky lines" are gonna have to suffice.)

2. I now officially know the signs for:
-cat
-favorite
-hamburger
-jello
-turtle
-sleepy, bed, and sleep
- toilet
-sunday
-poop
-please
-thank you

You know, all the important ones lol

To avoid writing... I'm gonna, um...well, write a blog.

Yes, I am procrastinating. My specialty. :) I should be writing a journal entry about my feelings but I'd rather write about cooler things here. Plus, I'm shallow. Don't have all that many feelings, especially in the 45mins we are supposed to write about - this is what my journal is going to say:
-bored
-impatient
-frustrated
-hungry
-sleepy

See, I'm not all that complicated. I know exactly how to cure all those "feelings" if you just let me out of class. I would go to my room, get on facebook, eat one of my little cereal boxes (the cereal inside it of course), and then take a nap. problem solved.

Anyway, I forgot what I really wanted to say... so enjoy the above rambling.

ugh

The wonderful spring semster of college has begun, and it sucks. First semester was easy. I feel like I was mislead about the college experience. :)

It's kinda like those rats I learned about in my integrative studies class today... did you know there are some rats who will adopt a rat to their group, fatten it up, and then eat it? Well, you do now.

That's how I feel. Fattened up by first semester and sent to the slaughter that is second semester. First semester was like the creepy old lady in hansel and gretel... come on in, doesn't my house look all nice and candy flavored? Then you find out the old lady (second semester) wants to eat you. Damn.

Please excuse the previous rambling and bad analogies (I think I may have messed up my fairy tales...?) but I've been very busy, and thus am very tired and possibly a bit delusional. My schedule sucks on mondays and wednesdays... between classes and my work study my day seems to drag on for an eternity. maybe two.

On Mondays I actually have a straight block of work and classes from 9-2:30, an hour break, and then another class until 5. it sucks. Now this is where my mother would interject and say, "this is what it'll be like to have a real job" or "working is tough, huh?" in her sarcastic way (I so know where I get it from). But really, I am a college student. I am allowed to complain. I should have some slack time. I mean, up until this semester (where I practically have to write a paper every night) slacking has been like my job.

okay. rant over. that was quite cathartic.

Apparently I'm more outgoing than I think

So I was nominated to be an RA and a mentor (aka person who shows the freshman around and does stupid icebreakers for 2 weeks) this week.

Neither of these appeals to me (well, the benefits appeal to me, but that's beside the point) and I haven't the slightest idea why anyone would nominate me. I mean, have you met me? I am not the outgoing type. In fact, new situations generally make me sweat and stutter. Just saying.

Field periods.

My field periods were fascinating, motivating, and very enjoyable.

1. Fascinating - most of the kids I saw had varying degrees of ASD, or autism spectrum disorder. A spectrum is a very accurate way of decribing it, becuase the disorder has so many different degrees of affect and behaviors. For example, two of the kids I saw were like child prodigies... little geniuses. Both were reading at reading levels far above their age level and one was doing 3 digit subtraction. For fun. He was 4. The ASD was evident though. Both had varying degrees of trouble with transitions (something like going from your regular classroom to the art classroom), sometimes to the point where they would throw a tantrum that you just had to let play out.

Also, the idea that the sensory input one gets everyday could affect one so much is fascinating. Many of these kids were on a sensory diet (I'm lazy, look it up) for just daily functioning.

2. Motivating - I can't freaking wait to get out there and be an OT.

3. Enjoyable - I miss it already. Loved it

Confessions of a nerd.

1. I like to read. Yes, for fun. I know that sounds weird to some, but that's the way it is.
2. Every summer I read upwards of 25 books.
3. I do know the meaning of the word idiosyncratic.
4. I regularly correct teacher's mistakes in my head.
5. I once read a thesaurus cover to cover. And liked it.
6. I actually like Dr. Diamond's class.
7. In 6th grade I won a dictionary. And subsequently used it.
8. I skipped a grade. Well, in college, but that still counts.
9. I love bookstores. They're so freaking exciting.
10. I have a collection of maps. (among other, less nerdy collections.)
11. I have TED talks on my ipod.
12. I look forward to Anatomy class.
13. I often unintentionally ignore people because I am thinking about something quite intensely and am thus "lost in my own world"
14. I took AP Physics cause I ran out of science classes to take in High School.
15. I liked AP Physics. A lot.
16. I once stacked all my books up and used them as a shelf for my stereo.
17. I secretly look through the course catalog and wish I had time to take more classes.
18. I get a little obsessed about things that interest me.
19. I used to calculate my GPA off my report cards before they did it for me. Then I would calculate what I needed to get in the next semester to raise my grades adequately.
20. I currently have a 3.938 GPA, and it bugs me unceasingly that it's not a perfect 4.0. I strive to change that.

I think I'll stop at 20 before I scare anyone too much.

It's piling up...

The snow I mean... and all the work I have to do.

I think I bruised ribs in a snowball fight yesterday. Almost broke my arm while raiding the enemy's snowball storage - she tried to trip me, well, successfully tripped me, and I didn't catch myself because I was carrying like 20 snowballs back to my fort. Ouch.

Secondly, the first week of February is gonna suck, because that's when I'm gonna save all this work for. :) Oh, and I changed my mind about wanting to be out of college as soon as possible... working 8 hours a day is very tiring!

I picked the right major

I picked the right major. I love my internship. I actually would love to be just like the OT I am shadowing in ten years. I will go back to college even more eager to learn.

I honestly didn't think I'd be this lucky with a career choice, considering I had no idea what I wanted to do until late in my junior year. I feel bad for my friends floundering and flip flopping majors. :)

unwelcoming?

I don't think I've ever conidered that the Catholic church could be considered unwelcoming until today. I mean, I know other people think it is, but I never thought of it that way. Until today.

My mom has started listening to catholic radio on her new sirius sattilite radio and apparently she was inspired. Today I learned that you're not supposed to get communion at mass if you ate within one hour before, or didn't attend last week's mass. So basically my mom was ready to bring us all to church and have only two of us get communion. This along with something I've long wondered about has made me question my religious beliefs in a whole new way.

First, why so many reasons leave people out of the ritual that is the crux of the mass? I'm sure there are thousands of ones other than the ones I've listed. That's unwelcoming.

Also, the thing I've been wondering about since I took abnormal psych... hearing voices... specifically God's voice... I believe that's delusional - a symptom of schizophrenia... but to say that to a devout Catholic is heresay... guess I'm not so devout.