I'm learning to speak Bee

Why don't they play that commercial on tv anymore?

The "B" on my keyboard isn't working very well for some reason, so I'm warning you in advance that if a word doesn't make sense, see if there's a missing b somewhere in it.

I'm pretty sure that the three of us in the apartment are more mature than any of the other two apartments in the building. And that's even taking into account the basket of toys I have in my room (no, not those kind of toys; Kate's your go-to woman for those), and the fact that I'm currently watching the O.C.

I don't know what the downstairs people do...we see them about once a month, if that, and we're pretty sure there's a meth lab going on down there.

But the upstairs people are the total antithesis of what I want to be doing when I'm their age. And not just because one drives a Neon. They're two 40ish year-old guys, and as far as I know neither of them have regular 9-5 jobs. They're up playing ping pong (on a dining room table that looks like they picked it up from a yard sale) at all hours of the day, listening to bad music that's too loud, with the door to their apartment open like we're in a dorm. I woke up last week after midnight to their music, and went upstairs at 2am to tell them to turn it down...it was a weeknight! Shouldn't they be telling us to do that? I think I punished them enough though...since I was wearing some weird fleece pants/t-shirt/Halloween sock combination, with the glasses on of course too. The neighbor apologized profusely the next day and explained they were having a party because one of them was leaving for vacation the next day. I felt like an old granny having this guy that's almost my parents' age apologizing for keeping me up with his music on a weeknight.

The roommate came home last night from vaca around 12 last night, and I have a feeling they're celerating his return as we speak. I'm gearing up for another bonding night with my ipod & its rainforest sounds.

This video made me laugh out loud. Even the third time in a row. I suggest watching it all the way through, and it only makes it better if you have the sound on.


As seen on Break.com

I'm about 70% done with writing a paper that's due tomomorrow, and I can't get myself to write anymore, and I can't get myself to get ready for bed so that I can get up early to finish it and start on some other work before class. So I'm killing time on myspace (where I found the pacman video) and obviously here as well. My life is very hard and it would be nice to get some recongition for that, preferably in the form of a shiny trophy or something else that sparkles.


I'd like Theo Epstein to hand-deliver my trophy, and I'd like it to be the World Series trophy, please

hooked on phonics

I came across this somewhere, and liked it especially because I'm in school to be a reading specialist. I hope someday I can inspire children to have big aspirations, too.

Congrats Melissa & Dan!

Turns out that the best kind of wedding is a wedding between two Union grads. I don't want to toot my own horn, but we know how to have a good time.

We started drinking about 15 minutes after arriving in Schenectady around 3 yesterday afternoon. Then we got all cleaned up and pretty-looking, and we partied from 7 until 1, and then went to Union and partied some more until just about 6am. It's been quite some time since I've walked through campus just as the sun was starting to come up. A couple hours of sleep later, and we were back on the road to return to Boston...





















Then the reception ended and we knocked down the classiness factor a few notches and headed over to Union and Geisel House. Where I actually felt old because I was a little bit offended by the awful smell of beer that smacks you in the face when you walked in. Oh, and because I actually decided to wash out some of the cups before playing beirut. It was another fun 5 hours or so of flip cup, beirut, and general partying...







And then we had to drive home the next day. Some of us weren't able to stay awake in the car for those couple of hours...



More wedding pics here!

So, who's getting married next???

Let's pretend we're grown-ups!

I bought 2 suits today! And while I don't really love either of them, I don't hate them. I don't really like the whole idea of suits anyway...I look like I'm playing dress-up in my mom's clothes. And I don't see why I should have to wear one for an interview, since teachers as a rule don't generally wear suits, ever. Personally, I think they should be judging me on my ability to pull off a denim jumper with a jack o'lantern pin. I can't wait to wear fun teacher outfits.

I have four interviews over 3 days during the first week of May. That week I also have 2 final projects & a gigantic presentation due (the one I was "sick" for a few weeks ago...and still haven't started). Then I have my last week of the semester where more stuff is do, and then at the end of the week I have to take my last MA teacher test for reading specialists. I'm already so stressed out that the not-sleeping has begun, but it feels like I have way too much to do, so I'm not doing any of it. Does anyone want to get really drunk with me when I'm done on May 13th?

A pretty good weekend is coming up. Tomorrow night I'm headed to kenmore square to see Matt Wertz play, and Kate try to mount him right on the stage. It's going to be so funny when security has to drag her off, so I'm planning on bringing my camera along to capture it all. Kate hasn't actually said that this is her plan, but I'm pretty sure it's going to happen.



Then on Saturday we head off to schenectady/capital region for dan & melissa's wedding! I'm very excited, as I haven't seen a lot of the union people that'll be going in a long long time. Plus, I like wearing dresses and I'm getting a little bored of wearing it around my room.


I'll be scampering around the dance floor like this on Saturday night

happy patriots day!

There's nothing quite like patriot's day in massachusetts. I was watching the sox and sucking down my first beer in Kenmore square at 11am this morning, along with swarms of other people who got the day off. Helen, Caits, and I watched a great sox game & then headed outside just in time to see the Kenyans run by. This was the second year that I've staked out a spot right by the sign that marks 1 mile left to go. It's a fun spot because some of the "everyday" runners are looking like they're about to die, and they get a big smile when the crowd starts yelling for them. We saw some good outfits on some of the less serious runners, like a guy in a pink tutu, and two guys who juggled the whole way to set a record. It gave me a lot of motivation to get serious about running...of course my goals are slightly less lofty than 26.2 miles...I just don't know how people do it. I'm pretty sure bodies aren't supposed to run that long. I still got really excited about getting home and going running...but then my feet got tired from standing so long, and my hands were even sore and I was tired from all of the clapping & yelling.

"I'm gonna ride that train all the way to Alewife," or something like that.

I got this link from Charlotte. It's a lot of fun...you can catch George Bush and bounce him off of giant bubble things.

I haven't had a weekend where I've gotten really drunk both Friday and Saturday, in a long long time. Turns out I'm not 19 anymore. Turns out we're also total regulars at the BHP, which definitely helped by the fact that we were there both Friday and Saturday of this weekend. And, it turns out that I've piggybacked on Kate's crush, and am also in love with MartyBen. The highlight of last night was probably when all of our other friends had left, and Kate and I finally made our way to the stools at the bar right in front of our favorite bartender when we were good and drunk around 1. We spent a lot of time talking about him obviously, and he finally came up to us and said that we always look like we're talking about someone. Of course I instantly reverted back to my 7th grade ways and was totally speechless. Kate luckily was a little bit cooler and actually talked with him, so go kate.

Tomorrow's Marathon Monday! I like it of course because I have some traditions associated with it. I've got relatively new traditions though...and this year we're heading down to Kenmore square for the sox game at 11, getting some beer & lunch, and heading outside a few hours later to watch the runners at the last mile of the race...I can't wait! There's nothing quite like watching people who have just run almost 26 miles while you're stuffed with beer and french fries.

hypochondriac

Today was a good day. In the morning, I got my first call for a job interview, with a school system that is actually among my top choices. Now I'm nervous about having to prepare for the interview & then of course actually going through with it without throwing up, but for now I've got a few weeks to get that all straightened out.

Then tonight I found out I got an A on my paper/project/thing that I did the night before it was due last week (the one I actually did...the presentation is still sitting somewhere up in my head). So that was exciting.

I spent the last few hours though convinced that I have eye fungus. My eye has been tearing on and off today and yesterday, and I put it together about 5 minutes into class that one of the symptoms I saw associated with that eye fungus is tearing. My logical saying says it's probably allergies, but my hypochondiac side is yelling (even louder), "EYE FUNGUUUUUUSSSS!" I'm nervous because I'm not sure I could learn how to read braille. And you know how they have those little plaques next to hotel rooms that say the room number in braille? well how do blind people find those plaques to be able to know what room it is? What if i wonder around the hotel forever because I can't even find the plaque??

I heart spring

It's officially spring in my book. The thermometer hits 60, and people come out of the woodwork and are suddenly all over the place outside. The sox play in their home opener, and the red sox hats and jerseys come out of the woodwork. I enjoyed being out this morning and seeing men all dressed up for work in a suit and tie, but with a sox hat on. I'm suddenly motivated to get up early, do errands that I've been putting off, and even do work after that. I was a bit of a shopper again today--I bought four dresses for Melissa & Dan's wedding in a week and a half. I haven't decided yet whether I'll layer them, or rely on my roommates to choose.

I keep hearing about this eye fungus people are getting from their contact lens solution. I don't think I'm using the blindness-causing eye juice...but eye fungus still doesn't sound like something fun. I wonder if it would look as nasty as when I cut my eyeball with a phone antenna...

(By the way, I just did a google image search for 'bloody eye' since I don't have any pictures of my own bloody eye from a few years ago...I don't recommend doing that search yourself, especially if you want to eat within the next 6 hours or so.)

I'm not a girly girl...

I don't get a rush from buying bags and shoes. Or from shopping in general. My mom is convinced that I'm not really her daughter because even at 23 she still has to drag me along if I go shopping with her.

So imagine my surprise then when I realized that I bought 5 pairs of shoes this weekend. It's not how it sounds though. You should also know that I can't make up my mind.

I need some good everyday shoes, but I can't trust myself to pick out any. So I bought three pairs, and made my roommates choose. Luckily, the ones that I was hoping would be "cool" enough won out.
I also bought some new running sneaks. My shins have been hurting when I run lately, and the last time I ran, about a week ago, they hurt so much I thought I might throw up. But since I avoid the doctor like the plague, I thought the next best thing would be to buy new shoes and see if that works. So i'm choosing between sneakers now...my main criteria is how fast they look. Just kidding. It's all about whether they'll match my shorts.

01:02:03 04-05-06

Today at three seconds into 1:02, the date was 01 02 03 04 05 06. I think that's neat. I was really looking forward to that actual moment, but then I forgot and missed it. What can you do.

So, I sort of figured out my life, at least for the next 24 hours or so. The good news is I'm no longer thinking of killing myself, which briefly ran through my head when I realized last night that that I was supposed to give a major presentation tonight, but still had to essentially start a big project that was also due tonight.

I stayed up until about 3:30am last night, and it's amazing how well I work under pressure. That paper easily could have taken me weeks if I had given myself enough time, but I wrote about 11 pages (SINGLE SPACED!) in about 5 hours, which I'm pretty sure is my record. I briefly started my presentation, and for a little while even considered not sleeping and just half-assing it today. But in the end, I realized that I could probably make a powerpoint presentation and get that all set, but the sheer logistics of making a packet of information for everyone and going to staples to get it copied, finding educator resources to display and talk about, getting a bunch of children's books to discuss, and getting materials for an activity I wanted to include just wasn't going to happen, especially without any sleep. So, I napped for a few hours and decided my presentation would just have to wait for another week.


I'm a pretty bad liar. But I was overly impressed with myself this morning when I called and left a message for my professor explaining my sickness and apologizing for screwing over her scheduling plans. I purposely called within 2 minutes of rolling out of bed, so my voice sounded all funny and I was kind of out of it. I realized at a few moments during my message that I wasn't being entirely coherent, like when I couldn't remember my phone number. Even if she doesn't believe me, I hope she at least nominates me for an Oscar next fall. Unfortunately, my second class tonight has 4 or 5 people from my first class where I will be noticably absent, so I also had to make a phone call to that professor to again explain the situation and email my paper to her....but that means that I've got the night off! I should be actually using the time to do my presentation, but we'll see. I'm tired, and I've been thinking so much today about my made up sickness that I've sort of convinced myself that I might actually have a stomach bug. I should probably just take it easy.

And that, my friends, is the run-down of my life. Consider yourself up to date.

The birthdays won't stop

Happy Birthday, Zabe!!

Today's the 25 birthday of Mrs. Geraghty. She and Molly came to visit on Friday night and it was a very fun night (at least I hope they had a lot of fun, since we were celebrating their entry into earth...). It had been a long time since we've gone out with both of them (some of you may be familiar with the notorious "oral" incident), and between Molly engaging in a fascinating conversation about the difference between sea lions and seals (he even demonstrated the differences in swimming techniques), and Zabe sitting at the front and trying to get people to show their IDs and charging people to go from one room to the other, it was a good time once again. Anyway, have a happy happy birthday, Zabe, and thanks again for coming down to visit!!!


What an interesting group we lived with on the 3rd floor of geisel house that year...


She could belt out karaoke like none other!


And here's the beautiful bride!

Happy Bday!!

oh my god

I've screwed myself over a lot of times in my 19 years as a student, since I have a real tendency to put off what can be done 1 hour before something's due. But tonight I think I outdid even myself.

I have 2 classes on Wednesday. One from 4-7, and one from 7-10. I have this really big paper/project thing due in the second class tomorrow night. Naturally, I waited until tonight to start. I figured I can get it done tomorrow, and if need be, I'll skip my 4-7 class.

No problem.

But just for kicks, cause I was getting antsy at my computer around 9:30 tonight, I decided to get up and check the date of this huge presentation I'm giving in my 4-7 Wednesday class. I was pretty sure it was one of the last 2 weeks of April, so I wanted to find out whether it was 3 weeks away, or whether it was only 2 weeks and I therefore needed to get moving. I found my assignment sheet, and there at the top I had written: April 5. And then I died. This presentation is huge. Like HUGE. Like 30-35 minutes, handing out packets of info to everyone in the class, annotated bibliography, and much more fun stuff that I don't care to go into. So now it's 10:30, and since I've spent the last hour saying more swears than I think I've ever said in my life, I have 2 projects, which, even alone, I think would be a tight squeeze to get just one done on time for tomorrow.

So now I'm debating...do I stay up most of the night and just plug through, sleep for a couple of hours in the morning and finish up before going to class, delivering a less than impressive presentation, then going to my second class to hand in my project? Or do I work for a bit tonight, sleep, and call my 4-7 professor in the morning to tell her how I've gotten this awful stomach thing going on and can't do my presentation unless she's alright with me puking on the people who sit near the front of the room? Oh my god, I think I'm going to die.

OPENING DAY

I went to the dentist this morning, and they told me nice job with the brushing, and commented that I must not be a big candy eater (really?!), and, for about the 8th time in a row, told me my wisdom teeth need come out. I can promise that my wisdom teeth will not be coming out unless they figure out a way to give me a pill that just dissolves them. But every six months we go through our little routine, where the dentist tells me that one of them is coming in (in case I didn't notice the chunk of tooth poking out?) and they hand me another referral to the oral surgeon. I should start collecting all of my referrals. Joke's on you mr. fluoride...I'm not giving you my teeth.

My trip to the dentist coincided nicely with the sox opener though, because curt schilling's house is on my way to the dentist so i wished him luck in his start (even though I know he's down in texas). So far I think it's working. Add another superstition to the list.

I noticed that lately I've been eating WAY more junk food and candy than any human being should. I think dieticians around the world would cry. Right now in the apartment we've got an outstanding selction of homemade chocolate chip pie, cake, cupcakes, jellybeans, and the standard chocolate. And it's beginning to show (see "look at that ass!" post from a few days ago). I've also been really lousy at running consistently because it's way to easy to make excuses and not go. So I decided I need something to be accountable for, and I decided that I'm going to run my first ever 5k at the end of June. I know a 5k isn't that impressive, but it definitely would be tough for me right now, and considering that I hate running, I think it'll feel like a good accomplishment to get to the point where I can actually run it and not die. And in the mean time, I'll be able to get in better shape. Plus, I used to tape my college roommate's race number from track meets to my back because I thought they were cool, and I'm really excited about getting my very own number. So yeah, that's my plan. I thought by writing it here I'll be even more likely to actually follow through with it, since now people know, and it'll be more embarrassing if I just say "screw it" and continue feeding my sugar addiction. Plus, now you can let me know if you have some good running tips to help me get in better shape!

unlocking secrets about everyone's favorite dive bar

The most amazing thing happened last night. We were at our favorite bar, BHP, last night because that's what we do on Friday nights, even when we have a bunch of people visiting. The night was going on, and Kate was still talking about the bartender she's in love with, so Molly (because she's Molly) finally took one for the team and asked him his name. And it turns out his name is....


MARTY!!!!!


Marty works here.