Hello All

Wow, I see that I haven't posted anything in about 6 weeks. This is mostly because the last couple weeks of school were nonstop crazy busy, and then once I got home, I was having too much fun to bother with the computer. I wouldn't even check my email for days at a time, let alone actually post something on my blog. So how do I wrap up 6 weeks of activities and brilliant thoughts? It's a tough one.

Last semester was stressful but doable. I did a lot of work, which gave me a more positive attitude. However, much of that work had to be repeated due to equipment errors, time scheduling conflicts, etc., and most of the work did not actually yield useable data. So that was a downer. I also had some health issues in the fall. I had to go to physical therapy for my back/leg for a couple of months, I spilled acid on my arm (I don't recommend that), smacking myself in the face with a huge wrench, and had to get an infected cyst lanced over Christmas break. I'm not sure why all this stuff has happened at once. Maybe my emotional unhappiness is affecting my body. Or maybe my subconscious is trying to kill me. Does that make it murder or suicide?

Christmas break was an absolute blast, I really didn't want to come back. I spent the first couple days recovering and doing another draft of my proposal, but then I got to spend lots of time with the family and Whitney (Yay Supernatural and Dexter!). The first week was basicallyl a lot of lying around, watching TV and movies and loving on cats (although I fear I've developed an allergy to them, :( ). I got to spend quality time with Whitney, which was awesome since I haven't seen her in a year. Then, since she left me for New Years (*sob*) to go see other friends in VA and Baltimore, I went to Birmingham and visited Ames for New Years. I got to spend some time with J.D., and I like him more now that I've seen him in his element. Not that I disliked him before, I just didn't know him well at all, having only met him 2 or 3 times.

After New Years was Maggie and Spencer's wedding, which was amazing. It was very busy. I'd never been in a wedding before, so I didn't realized there would be like 2 parties a day and different dress codes, but it was so much fun. Plus I got to see almost all of my close friends from SHC! I thought it was especially cool that Dan and Kate came down from Alaska. I need to keep up with them more. I also especially loved seeing Mike, Spencer and Caitlin again. I spent the most time with them and Mags at SHC, so they were my closest friends. Of course it was great to see Maggie too, the beautiful bride. I mean, she looked spectacular the whole weekend, particularly in her wedding dress with red lipstick and white flowers in her dark hair. She has pics on facebook if anyone is interested. Going out the last night was fun, but I kinda wish we had all just bought snacks and alcohol and camped out in one of the hotel rooms to talk for hours. Makes me nostalgic for all our game nights that inevitably ended in long discussions til the wee hours of the morning.

I also turned 24 since my last update. I feel neither older nor wiser, but maybe that'll kick in later? Christmas/birthday gifts rocked, notably my Veronica Mars Season 1 and The Stranger DVDs. Also, Dave got me 3 months of Netflix for free, so if anyone knows of any movies that I must see, let me know. I also got lots of clothes. So much, in fact, that I had to have 2 checked bags and 2 carry ons on my way back to RI. Oh! And I got The Physics of Buffyverse and a Dashiell Hammett novel from Mike. :) I also got a murder mystery game, and I even brought it to the wedding, but I couldn't bring myself to play without Mags and Spencer involved, and they were busy 24/7. Perhaps we can get together in Wisconsin at some point and I can bring it?

Now I'm back in RI and getting some work done. Classes start next week, and I'm doing random organizaton and reading some papers at the moment. I hope all my friends are doing well this year, and I plan to keep in better touch. Go facebook!