halloweenie

one final down, 5 more to go. it's going to be a long week. but! tonight i get to carve a pumpkin. my pumpkins always come out looking cheesy, but i really don't care. it's more about the process anyway.

i'll be thinking of my halloween crowd - been with you guys for the last 4 years. i hope you have a wonderful party. i will kick your butt if you didn't take a crap-load of pictures to share with me!

happy halloween.

finals

one quarter (almost) down and 15 more to go. plus boards and externships and possibly a residency. hmm...they say when you're done it's supposed to seem like it flew by. ok, sure.

anyway...if you didn't notice...the white sox swept the world series. i almost wouldn't have known except that my friend from church who apparently noticed i don't pay attention texted (word?) me that they won. chicago is a happy town.

in other news: my laptop is patiently waiting to return to the mothership. there was an unfortunate incident earlier this week. sad really. i was hoping she'd be available to help me study for finals, but i guess she just need a break. hopefully my hard drive isn't totally fried. mainly just for the fact that i hadn't gotten around to backing up my music files...dumb!

and - my brother called (tuesday?) to say that they were fine. the conversation was "hi" "hi" "everyone's fine" "that's good" "just called to tell you everyone's fine, go study" "ok". it was like a breakthrough for both of us. usually we have to gab, gab, gab until one of us annoys the other before we can hang up. quite possibly the shortest zarn-to-zarn conversation in the history of the universe.

ok...off to try to study.

pray for the safe passage of my family

i got this amazingly acurate satellite picture from a friend i used to work with. currently my brother & his family and my grandparents are sitting under this (or waiting out the passage). i can't believe she even has a smile on her face! how cruel.

More from the Chicago Land area

city in a bean

not sure where this is, but I liked it

Me and the Bus of my People...

...and apparently my own fencing and potty company

Mel play Godzilla

Canadia Jeff and Melly Mel

Somewhere between Chicago and Heaven...

Flying into O'Hare at 10:50 PM

City ready for Halloween - Downtown Chicago

Fall Garden in Millennium Park

Top the Sears Tower facing north east

Giant Shiney Jelly Bean in the Park

Wee Trees in the Park

Mel and Michael - BFFE!

Under the L

Roosevelt Stop on the L

Very tall - near Navy Pier


Seriously... it was in the Sears Tower Promo Video.

perfect...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8335653541#descript

fear

the primary reason people don't do the things they want to do is fear. it has really little to do with intention or laziness or whatever else you can think of. however, fear can also make you do things. like changing your life. the equation has to be fear of the unknown < fear of the known. this year (my 30th and most fabulous year) is all about change. yep, it's scary as hell. but it's a lot less to fear than being stuck where i was hating my job and floating in empty promises. so don't avoid your fear. embrace it. find out where it takes you.

3 weeks to go

first quarter is over in a few weeks. i can't wait! maggi is visiting this weekend. we will hopefully be up to no good.

good news...i finally did really well on a physio test. now i just have to kick anatomy in the butt.

the other melissa...

this is my new friend melissa. she also has an undergrad in engineering; she's a second-year student here. she's cool. she's much taller in person, she was just being nice in the picture so i didn't look so short.

chicago in the fall

it's freakin' chilly. today, mid-day, it was 48 degrees. last week it was 90. i hate when the weather changes that quickly. i still don't have an official "winter" coat. i was at target today and saw an adorable red coat with a faux fur collar. it would have looked fabulous on me, however...only in small. damn!!!!

anyway...school is trudging along. monday we have the mother of all physiology tests. it's on about 1/3 extra material than the other 2 tests, so it's going to be a bitch. wish me luck. i need to pull up my grade a whole lot in that class. currently in the "c" range. while lovely when sung by a soprano, not so cool when you're trying to do well in school. i'll be studying tonight and tomorrow like mad.

so, since i've been in chicago, i've gotten pretty good at going to mass. last night i went to eucharistic adoration. i cried like a baby. lovely. but, i miss you guys so much and i miss my mom, and i need the feeling of home. the organizer said at the beginning that you were supposed to think about and thank him for the sacrifices he made. i was thankful for the church i found because they make me feel like family already and i've only been there about 2 months.

anyway...not to get all religious on the blog, i just wanted to share. i can't wait til next weekend...maggi is coming to visit!!!! i'm checking into cool site-seeing things that wouldn't be too ass-cold.

ooh...and another thing...what is this crap about george bush outlawing daylight savings time?

Whore Moans

Is everyone just pissing you? Will the milk container just not stop leaking? Can you hear your neighbor two flights up brushing his teeth? Do you feel the need to mutter "bastard" to every man who walks by you? Do you feel like there is no bra in the world that could possible help?

The solution is clear and swift...

In the interest of saving women from donning postal uniforms and registering for small assalt weapons, I will open A chocolatier for all those afflicted, Whore Moans