Three-month checkup

School's out! I finished two classes this semester with A's in both and a 3.88 overall GPA for the year. How I managed it while simultaneously learning to be a mom is beyond me, but I must be doing something right!

Dylan is now three months and ten days old, well over fifteen pounds, grabbing his toys with a fair degree of accuracy, vocalizing like crazy, and generally charming the hell out of everyone he meets :) Here are some pictures:

What big eyes you have!

Hangin' wit my homey!

What a big smile!

Sitting up well, but not yet on his own

There really isn't much to say as far as his development....he's a baby, doing baby things, you know? He takes up most of my time and I'm constantly behind on everything I want to accomplish, but I don't mind. I'm pretty patient.

Until next time...

Dear Diary

Life is good.

I had a great holiday! Chris and I went home to MD to spend Christmas with our families. We spent the day with my dad and stepmom the day before. I wish I could get up to see them more. Christmas morning we opened presents with Chris's family, then he stayed there while I went to the big family gathering at my mom and stepdad's house. Later that night, after all the extended family had gone home, Chris came over and we opened the rest of our presents from my family. I'm not really a materialistic person, but I got some kick-ass gifts! Most exciting was the LOTR box set, which I specifically asked for, and which I spent about a week watching (along with all the accompanying documentaries). I also got a bird feeder from my mom-in-law, and five of the field guides from the Audubon Society. I can't wait for spring!

Chris left the day after Christmas to come home (he had to go back to work), but I stayed for the rest of the week and visited all my friends. Most exciting was when my sister and I spent an evening over in Woodbridge, hanging out with a friend from high school we hadn't seen in about five years. He had my junior yearbook, which I spent a delightful hour browsing through, remembering a lot of good times I had completely forgotten about. It was surprisingly liberating, to realize how different high school actually was from the way I remember it. I also got to spend a day with Fletcher, which also doesn't happen often enough. I miss you, Puck! I even got to hang out with my little brother and his friend Jake, both of whom have turned into incredibly well-rounded and interesting young men. They're 15 now, and both pretty mature for their age. I seriously wish I could be around more often.

Two days before Christmas, Chris was changing the oil in our car when it popped out of gear, rolled off the ramps, down a hill, and into a tree. That's all she wrote - no more Echo. I was heartbroken...I bought that car three years ago, with three miles on it, and I thought I was going to have it until it died. Well, I guess I did, huh? I just thought it would be another ten years or so before it gave up the ghost. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, although it ran over Chris's knee and and he scraped up his back on the gravel. He limped for a few days, then he was okay. The insurance company paid for a rental, so we were able to go home and see our families, and Toyota financed us for a new Scion. You know, repeat business and all that. Not a bad car, when it's all said and done, but it does have one major drawback...it's white. I can't STAND white cars! But oh, well, beggars can't be choosers, and at least I have power windows and mirrors now. Can't really complain about that.

I got a job last week. I'm working full-time at the hotel right up the street from my house. Not a bad job, really, but I don't think I'm going to be full-time for long. I have almost no time to do my homework, and this semester I absolutely cannot afford to screw up. Why, you ask? Well, I had an admissions appointment today with a counselor from VT, and she told me that as long as my mid-semester grades are anywhere close to my grades from last semester, I'm in. I'M IN!!!! I'm going to Tech in the fall!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!! :) That's very exciting (duh). I can't tell you how glad I am to be back in school. I actually got depressed after New Years', because I was so bored. I was sleeping 14 hours a day. Not cool.

My mom drove me home New Years' weekend, and my sister and brother-in-law came with. They only stayed overnight, but I got to take them on a short hike up to Wind Rock, which is on the Appalachian Trail, and it has a great view of the mountain range. Even in the wintertime it's breathtaking. The road up to Wind Rock also goes through Mountain Lake resort, the location where Dirty Dancing was filmed. Mom thought that was pretty cool. I took them around campus, and showed them downtown Blacksburg. I'm so glad my mom finally got to come and see where I'm living now, and where I'll be going to school. It was always important to me.

It's snowing here. Not much, and there's a bastard of a wind chill, but it's nice to see snow again. We had an ice storm a few days ago, and the ice was so thick on the pine trees in the yard that the lowest branches were almost on the ground. It all melted the next day, but not before we got out there and took some pictures. Hopefully we can get them developed soon.

School isn't much different from last semester, since I'm taking the same classes. One new teacher, a few different class locations, and my history paper this semester is on Andy Warhol. That's gonna be fun, I'm sure. My backpacking class doesn't start until mid-March. I can't wait!

I guess that's about it for now. It's good to be back.

:)

It's that time again....

Like most of you, I haven't had much time for blogging lately. Actually, I haven't had much to blog about, until recently. But I find myself sitting in front of the computer, most of my housework done, my inbox cleared, the animals fed, my husband at work, a cup of coffee next to me, and I realize it's a perfect time for reflecting. And so, I will attempt to get down on paper (sort of...) a summary of recent noteworthy events, and thus preserve them for posterity.

First, and most important....today was the deadline for final grades to be posted, and as expected, I ended the semester with a 4.0. As for that chem class I've been sweating all semester, ironically, I had the highest grade in the class - 99.4%, and anyone with an A was exempt from the final. I don't think I've ever had a 4.0, not even in high school...maybe for one quarter, but never at the end of the year. I'm only halfway through this year, but next semester I'm taking the second half of the subjects I just took, so I'm not worried. As an added bonus, even though I went into this past semester with the solitary goal of learning, I managed to make a few friends on the way, and even had a couple nights of study group at my house during finals week. We even had a bonfire here a week ago...a small affair, but fun and very laid-back, a good way to relax and forget temporarily the stress of math and science. I'm so glad I'm not living in an apartment anymore!

Christmas is only five days away. Chris and I are heading home on Sunday, and he'll be coming back here on Tuesday...back to work for him, say sorry. I, on the other hand, am in a unique position to stay at home for a few extra days and come back next weekend. It's so exciting!! Not only will I get to see my best friends whom I haven't seen since August (that means you, Fletch, I can't wait!), but my mom is bringing me back and staying overnight. I'll get to show her the town, and the VT campus, where I'll be going to school in the fall. It's nice because when I was at DePaul, Mom never got to see the campus...and when I was in high school and looking at colleges, she went to see a few with me. Besides, it's so beautiful here, I can't imagine anyone coming here and not being happier for it. My sister might be coming as well, which would be awesome!

I know I've been saying for months that I'd get some good pictures of Mojo up here...well, these aren't good pictures, but they're pictures, dammit! :)

Remember how small he was when I brought him home in August? No? Okay, here ya go:



It's been four and a half months since then, and he's growing so fast!



He's gotten a lot more red, even though he's a little dull right now...he'll probably shed in the next week.





That's about all I have for now...the computer's so damn slow right now anyway, what with all the shows Chris is downloading, I've been working on this post for about two hours, and I'm hungry! Happy Yule, everyone!

Whew!

No more finals - I took my last two today. Grades by Wednesday. 90% sure I made straight A's for the semester. Had a nice gathering here a few nights ago - more about that when I've had some recovery sleep :) I promise, I will post all about school when I get my final grades.

:)

I'm glad I'm still alive

Has anyone seen the news story about the manhunt in Blacksburg, VA?

This guy was on my porch early Sunday morning.

Here's what happened: I live right behind the hospital. Around 3:00 or 3:30 Sunday morning, I heard something moving in my front yard. I turned on the porch light and looked out, but didn't see anything. At about 9:00 in the morning, I'm awakened to the sound of someone banging on my door. It's two deputies, complete with flak jackets and carbines, telling me there's an escaped inmate and their bloodhound tracked him up on my front porch. They came in and searched the house, ducking around corners in formation and shit like you see in the movies, but of course they didn't find anything. I was home alone at the time, Chris and Andy were in NC, but as soon as I called them they headed home. They checked with the local police and found out this guy had killed someone escaping the hospital, a security guard, and this morning he killed a cop. Now he's charged with capital murder.

I hope you fucking fry, you scumbag.

Wish me luck

We're unplugging the computer now. See you all on the flip side...

:)

$137.80

That's the total amount due on my 2006-2007 tuition. The rest? Financial Aid! Got it in the mail today. Wanna know the best part? IT'S ALL IN GRANTS!!! AHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go dance naked around a bonfire in homage to whatever gods just smiled on me.

:)

Life update

15 days until the movers come. I have not started packing anything, or even going through things to decide what goes and what stays, although this little voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me I should, don't wait until the last minute, you don't want to be going through your stuff after it's already moved, just take what important and leave the rest. I'm living in this strange mix of permanent and temporary. I still have things packed away in boxes in various closets because we don't have the space to unpack everything we have, but it all seems so solid, we've been here for a year and a half now and it feels like forever. I can barely remember what this place looked like when we moved in last February. Oddly enough, as solid as it seems, it has never really felt like home. I haven't had a "home" since I left my parents six years ago. Oh, living with Fletch came close, I actually had a house and a roommate I was comfortable with, but I haven't had the opportunity to put down new roots since I pulled the last ones up, and I don't know when I'm going to have the chance again. I don't even know how long we'll be staying in VA this time. The thing is, though, I don't know whether or not I would be comfortable settling down in one place and not moving again. I suppose as long as I was able to travel, it would be okay, but living the same life day after day gets monotonous so quickly. That's why I wasn't ready to leave VA the first time, hanging out with the guys in Arlington there was always something different happening, and it never got old. I miss them. I hope I can find a way to settle in to the next chapter in my life as well as I have in the past, because the sooner this one is over, the better.

Chris is still hanging in there. He's stressing over the amount of work he still has to do, apparently there are two change of commands this week so instead of spending quality time in his office he and the rest of his squadron have been practicing for those, but he's managing. Things have been a little strained around the house. I've started likening it to childbirth; right towards the end everything gets harder, your patience wears thin and all you want is for it to be over and done with. At least, that's what I've read. I've never had children, so I don't know if that's true or not. But we both realize the situation we're in, which makes it easier to get through the strain and say, "This is only temporary, we can get through it, and things will be better soon." Not that they're "bad" now, but we're both snappish and preoccupied, and we don't see much of each other, since I'm working nights. We get a break in a few days, though! We're going to Atlanta for the weekend to see the GRAB show. That's Gordon, Russo, Anastasio, Benevento for all you non-Duo and non-Phish people. Check out www.trey.com, www.mike-gordon.com, www.phish.com or www.organanddrums.com to find out more (this means you, Jimmy!). These guys are incredible!

All the pets are doing fine. One of my fish died a few days ago, but I'm not that upset about it. As long as Wilson (my betta) is okay, that's all I'm worried about.



One of my mice is pregnant again. This will be her third litter. The other two females are still too young, I think, or maybe they haven't started showing yet. Doesn't really matter to me, the pinkies are all going in the freezer for my corn snake. Who, by the way, started eating on his own! I finally got him to eat a brained pinky three days ago (yes, that means I squished its head, deal with it), and Jennifer gave him a not-brained pinky yesterday, which he grabbed onto with relish (dill, not bread-n-butter :P). I will definitely be taking him with me when we move. He's starting to show some orange around his head, I think he's going to turn out to be a standard coloration, which is fine with me. I'll share some pictures as soon as I get them.

Not counting my days off, I have eleven days of work left. Work is...work. I think I'm going to miss about half a dozen people from my job, but most of them are Myspace friends, so I won't be completely cut off! I don't really have anything to say about my job.

Still waiting on my financial aid. *sigh*

Israel and Lebanon just went to war. I am now trying frantically to learn 2.000 years of Middle Eastern history so I will understand not only what's happening, but why. My husband did a wonderful job of giving me the layman's version, but I still wonder where I've been for the past 24 years...do my parents know about any of this? If so, why didn't they teach me? Based on everything I know up to this point, I'm very pissed off at Israel right now.

That's all for now.

Shameless Self-Indulgence

I don't have any big plans for today, but I still enjoy it enough to want everyone to know about it!

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore has made a movie about the threat of global warming. The critics are raving about it, and the ones who are denouncing it as a bunch of hoopla or an attempt by Gore to put himself back in the spotlight are the same conservative extremists who support Ann Coulter and believe that George W. Bush is the next Messaih.

The movie is basically a filmed version of the slideshow presentation that Gore has been giving around the world for years, both before and after he ran for President back in 2000. Interspersed with that are personal anecdotes designed to show a man driven not by the promise of political gain, but by personal conviction and moral motivation. At times, these personal asides get to be a little too much, but the main body of the movie contains an incredible amount of information, most (if not all) of which is incontrovertible. The photos of glaciers today vs. 15-30 years ago cannot be denied, nor can the fact that the largest lake in Africa has dried up completely, and parts of China are showing record flooding while neighboring provinces are experiencing droughts like nothing they've seen before. Gore presents all the data in a clear, concise monologue, with a lot more warmth and personality than most of us have ever had the chance to see. This is not the man targeted by every political cartoonist as an automaton, and wooden non-person with no original thoughts. This is the man we had been told existed, speaking about an issue which deeply and personally concerns him.

I urge everyone who reads this to see this movie. It doesn't matter what your political position is, or what your opinion on global warming is. I believe that only an informed opinion can make a difference, and not to be trite, but the only way to be informed is to go out and get the facts. Roger Ebert said for the first time of any movie, "You owe it to yourself to see it". Someone else, and God help me but I can't remember who, put it best, imho: "If you don't see this movie, and one day you have grandchildren, what reason are you going to give them?" I also feel very strongly about this issue, and my first step is to try and educate anyone who will listen. I want to be able to take my future children to the National Parks, take them hiking in the mountains where you can still see wildlife in their natural habitat; hell, I just want to be able to show them Nature as it was intended to be. Don't you?

Don't Blame MySpace

One of my friends posted this in a bulletin on my MySpace page. I'm not sure who wrote it originally, but I'm reposting it verbatim.

Body: Anybody happen to catch Nightline last night on ABC? In case you didn't, one of the hot topics discussed was MySpace. It is no secret to anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the 6 o'clock news that MySpace has been in the limelight because of "sexual predators" trying to "abduct and corrupt" the youth of the world. To this I say bullshit! I see dozens of profiles a day showing 14 year old girls dressed like sluts, wearing four inches of make up and 32 layers of eyeliner, displaying their age as 18 years old and profile lines stating "Oh, I'm So Sexy" or "Hey There, Wanna Check Up On It?" Come the fuck on! The youth of today's world are already corrupt enough due to the undying need to be "older" than they really are. I seriously doubt there are tons of people on MySpace stalking "innocent young girls" who just happen to have tramped up profiles and ages 4 years greater than their own.

On Nightline, there was a story of a 12 year old girl who was a drug-addict and attributed it all to MySpace. She claims that MySpace allowed her to easily find drug dealers in her area, as well as older men to have sex with her. Now, at the age of 14, she has been checked into a drug-rehabilitation clinic and has been away from her family for 5 months. Her parents would rather place the blame squarely on the shoulders of MySpace instead of their daughter, who even admitted that at the age of 12, had already tried weed, crack, X, and had slept with numerous guys older than herself...but of course, it wasn't her fault, it was all because of MySpace.

One again, COME THE FUCK ON! When are parents and children going to stop passing the blame and grow up enough to take responsibility for their actions and the actions of their children.. Parent;s, monitor your children online, take some responsibility for YOUR children. Children, if a profile name sounds like something that comes out of a cheap horror movie, like "DARK ANGEL OF DEATH WHO EATS THE BRAINS OF GIRLS"...chances are you DO NOT WANT TO ADD THEM AS A FRIEND. Apparently there is new legislation in Congress now to block MySpace in all public schools and public libraries across the United States. All because little girls want to act grown and don't want to accept the consequences and parents don't want to accept the fact that their "innocent little girls" are posing as 18 year old crack whores trying to buy drugs.

Eventually, if this continues, MySpace could be totally outlawed from the Internet. Restrictions will be put in place in order to make MySpace "safer". I don't know about you, but I use MySpace to keep in touch with my family and friends, use it for messages, and just to have a space that is my own. Just because some children want to act grown, does that mean I may have to eventually give up my MySpace? If you feel the same way I do, please, repost this in your blogs or bulletins, or both as "STOP BLAMING MYSPACE". If enough people post this and spread the word, maybe people will get the picture and stop blaming MySpace for every little thing that their children do wrong. As user of MySpace, we should all repost this and take some sort of action. This is not a chain letter, and nothing will happen to you if you don't repost this in 321654987 seconds. However, of all bulletins you will read today, I am sure that this one is the only one that actually has a point to it. So please, have some common sense, and repost this.

I started using MySpace recently, after the realization that my husband, brother, sister, and several close friends were already on it. I am now saddened by the possibility that something I use to keep in touch with people all over the country might be shut down by the irresponsibility of the majority. I don't really have any deep thoughts on the issue, but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of what's going on.

Hollywood and religion don't mix

"The DaVinci Code" premiered at the Cannes film festival yesterday. The critics, for the most part, HATED it. From E!Online:

"I haven't read the book, but there was just a ridiculous amount of exposition," wrote Lee Marshall of Screen International. "I thought it was plodding, and there was a complete lack of chemistry between Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks."

"Tom Hanks was a zombie; thank goodness for Ian McKellen. It was overplayed, there was too much music--and it was much too grandiose," the Boston Globe's Peter Brunette told Agence France-Presse.

The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt refused to grant it absolution either.

The filmmakers "can't do much...with mostly colorless characters designed around idiosyncrasies and weird scholarly talents--sort of academic X-Men--rather than flesh-and-blood personalities," he wrote, though he did hasten to lavish praise on (X-Men star) Ian McKellen for delivering Da Vinci's sole redeeming performance.

During the closing credits, rather than applaud, Cannes' traditionally tough audience fell into a sustained silence punctuated only by the occasionally disdainful catcall.

I think I'm still going to see it. I've read the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Dan Brown's style of writing, his meticulous attention to detail, and his choice of subject matter. Angels and Demons is still my favorite. I'm not expecting to enjoy it or not enjoy it, I just want to see how it was adapted. In my experience, a lot of books don't make good movies because there's so much more you can say in a book that you can't necessarily translate to a visual medium.

And honestly, I think the whole protesting scene is a little much. Christians are so immutable about their faith, which I think is a drawback. Open-mindedness is one of the true tenets of faith. I'm not saying I believe Jesus DID marry and have a child, but I certainly think it's possible, considering everything I've read about the history of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus himself. He was just a prophet, and a man. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever know the truth.

Either way, it's just a movie, folks. Get over it.

Fake News

Alright, Jimmy, I racked my brain for three days, and here's what I got. Enjoy.