But you just smile and take my hand...

This is one of my most favorite picture of Emily ever. I took it when we were in Miami last year.







I just wanted to dedicate an entire post just to the amazing person that I am so lucky to call my girlfriend.

So, here is my top ten list.

Top Ten Things I Love About Emily Henderson Galbraith

1. She sings to me when I can't sleep. Mostly, I ask for "Barges".

2. She always recycles and is very environmentally conscious. She was into this way before it was the "cool" thing to do, before it hit tshirts and bags and corporations used it to make an extra buck.

3. Em knows so much random information, and sometimes it's fun to listen to, but sometimes it actually comes in REALLY handy.

4. Her artwork is amazing, and she doesn't get enough credit for how beautiful her work is. But, I love her paintings, I love anything she spends that much time on and puts that much heart into.

5. Sometimes, if you just watch her face, she makes the best expressions when she doesn't realize you're paying attention. Like, right now, she's watching SVU and eating noodles, and she has the most intense look on her face!

6. When she gets silly, she gets SILLY... and when she's silly, she makes up songs about anything and everything :-)

7. Sometimes when we dance, she lets me stand on her feet so that she won't step on my toes.

8. Em is obsessed with chocolate milk. And as much as I complain about it, I really secretly love making it for her, especially when she doesn't even ask... because the look on her face when I hand it to her is priceless! Just like a little kid!!

9. She is the most loyal person that I have ever met. I just respect that.

10. She loves me more than anyone else has loved me before. I guess that's not really a reason to add her to MY list of why I love her... but the fact that she accepts me and my craziness, my sometimes hard to deal with past, my baggage, and my issues, I think that makes her pretty much my hero :-)


I love you, Em!!!


Feel free to add your own to my list!!

Excitement and Irony

I know that we must be the last people on the planet to finally get one but, Em's Wii came today in the mail!!! She ordered it off W.al.ma.rt.com, after spending months of searching for one at Tar.gets, Wal.ma.rts, and Ga.me.St.ops. Ordering it online was really expensive though, because in order to get the Wii, you have to buy a certain amount of games (which are $50 each!! WTF?!) Anyways, Em is extremely happy, and today was spent setting it up and admiring how pretty it looks in our tv stand.

Ironic Twist of Fate: After pulling everything out of it's neatly taped packaging, we realized that we needed one other part to one of the Wii controllers. So, we decided to make a quick run to Tar.get to pick it up. As we were walking inside, Em said, "Watch, Tar.get will have Wii's today, after 8 months of the display case being empty every single time". We got back to the electronics department, and what is beautifully displayed behind glass in the Game console section? Six Wii's! SIX!! I mean, we were making trips to Target three times a week for 5 months trying to find one of those damn things, and on the DAY that one arrives at our house, we stop by Target and they have 6. How freakin' great is that.

I'm finished with this semester in one week from today. My first final is this Thursday, and my second and last is next Tuesday. Somewhere in between I need to write a paper and turn it in, but it's an easy paper, and I have a 99% in the class, so I think I'm okay to slack off a little with it. Next Thursday I'm flying home for about a week to get my license renewed and to go to my grandmother's surprise 80th birthday party. I'm excited to spend some time in the 302, and to hang out with Kels. I think one of those days we're going to head to South Street in Philly, because I haven't been in ages, and I used to go so much!!

I think it's sad that at my ripe age of 21, I am still dealing with people who are so immature, it makes me sick. When do people finally grow up? Never? I will never know why some people insist on acting like they're in middle school for the rest of their lives, and treat others accordingly. It's really disruptive and frustrating to deal with!

Alright, I'm done with my little rant.
Peace,
Kris

Into the Arms of Understanding...

How many roads you’ve traveled
How many dreams you’ve chased
Across sand and sky and gravel
Looking for one safe place

A few things

This picture was drawn in sidewalk chalk by the little boy I babysit for.   It's a self portrait.  He's 3, and I think that this is awesome for a 3 year old!  I helped him choose the right colors (He tried to tell me his hair was brown, and I reminded him that it's blonde...which is like yellow, so he took the yellow chalk).  V is getting soo big, it's hard for me to carry him up the stairs to bed now!  But I don't mind, because he rests his head on my shoulder and puts his arm around my neck, and it reminds me of how much I love children and how much I love when they love me back...

I neglected to mention last week that I did something that I am VERY proud of!!  Em had to go to class on Wednesday, and before she left she mentioned that she was sad that she wouldn't have time to mow the grass.  So, while she was at class I got out the lawn mower, and since I'd never done it before, it took me 20 minutes to start the darn thing.  Once I got it going, it was kind of scary, but not as bad as I thought it would be.  I mowed about 3/4 of the lawn, and then had to stop because it was SO HOT out, and the grass was so high that it kept clogging up the blade and I got frustrated.  I wanted to surprise Em, and she was SO SURPRISED when she got home!  She thought that I had asked the neighbor to do it!!  I am so proud of myself.  It always feels good to do something that you've been telling yourself for years that you cannot do because you're scared.

Tonight Em and I are sleeping in our new tent in the living room!!  :-)  Tomorrow we're going hiking at Hanging Rock, a really awesome state park.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but it's supposed to be 70 all day, so we're willing to get a little damp to get in a good day of hiking.  I think Syd really needs it, the poor thing has been kind of ignored the past few days.  We've been REALLY busy, plus I babysat for 6 hours yesterday and then all night tonight.  So it should be good for all of us... me for my nature, Em for her exercise (she's been trying really hard to exercise more, and I feel bad - she's so motivated and I've just been exhausted lately.), and Syd for her entertainment/animals to get excited about!

Well, we better start setting up the tent!!

G'night   =)

There's Only Us, There's Only This...

On Wednesday for Suzi's birthday I took her to see the national tour of RENT. She'd never seen it except for the movie. The production was really great ... Em was a little more critical than me, because she's seen lots of shows and I've only seen one ;-) But I really liked it... I love those songs, I mean, who doesn't?! It really brought back memories for me, of being younger, when I first was introduced to RENT..

Last night Em, Kim and I went to a Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game. Those games are so fun because tickets are really cheap - under $10, and on Thursdays they have Thirsty Thursdays where beers are only $1 ... of course, I've been going to Thirsty Thursdays since I was a freshman, but now that I'm legal I don't have to worry about being sneaky :-) After Thirsty Thursday we went over to Stumble Stiltskins, a bar downtown, and had fun until about 2am. I was not ready to get up this morning at 8:30 for class!!! I did anyway.

I'm babysitting today from 3:30 - 11, and then again tomorrow night from 6-11. I really need the money, as I don't have enough to pay my bills right now. Ugh, money is so frustrating sometimes. I really budgeted out my year well up until now. And the problem wasn't going to Arizona - the plane ticket/hotel/rental car wasn't the issue - it's the fact that I didn't really factor in the food and sightseeing, which of course costs money. So I'm about $100 short of what I thought I'd have at this point in the semester.

I need a nap.

A Commercial and a Beautiful Soul

I've seen this commercial a few times before, but a few days ago it came on and I completely teared up and it hit me really hard.  

One of my sister's best friends passed away due to injuries sustained in a car accident during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year.  The memory of the entire ordeal, which last around 25 days (she was in a coma) is so raw to me.  It happened so fast, and was so unexpected, unlike the death of Liam.  Last week, Em, me and our roommate Liz decided to go to Jack's on the Corner for dinner.  It's this great Greek place right off campus.  We sat at "our" table, the table that I sit at every time I go there, no matter who I'm with.  Whenever I'm there I can't help but remember that day... that summer day that I was there with Kim and her boyfriend and I got that phone call from Kelsey...not knowing who was hurt because I couldn't understand her through her hysteria.  I paced out in front of the restaurant that day while on the phone with her, then hung up and called my mom, then Rachel, then Dan.  Even though I've never really written that much about that day or the 25 days that followed, the memories are still crystal clear.  

We miss you, Christine.  

Just one...

I'm not sure at which point this picture was taken during the course of last Thursday night, but judging by my face, I'm assuming it was a little late into the night!!  Just wanted to share a quick pic that Suzi emailed me this morning.  From L to R, Krissie, Em, Kim, Liz, Me, Suzi.  I noticed that my poor nose is still a little crooked.. I see it from time to time when I look in the mirror or see my reflection in a car window or something.  It's definitely still a little bit off...  

Tomorrow is my big presentation for my Gender, Crime & Deviance class.  I'm almost all done the research, I just need to figure out exactly what my points will be and then make the powerpoint, which is the easy (and fun) part.  I better get working on that before the night flies by like it usually does when I should be working on something important.  =)

Serendipity '08

Em and I took some good pictures of us from Serendipity, but her camera has been MIA for the past 24 hours, so I had to steal one off Facebook for now. This is me yesterday before our match. At halftime I actually had to switch to another random dress because this one was so tight I could barely breathe! I knew when I bought it that it would be tight, but I didn't realize it would make my ribs feel like they'd been crushed this morning!! Oh well, the rest of my body felt kind of as if it had been crushed as well, but that's the usual morning-after-a-rugby-game feeling. We won the game 5-0, which is great because we haven't been able to beat Guilford College all year - only tie. In the game last November in which I scored two tries (like touchdowns) and then had my nose broken, we tied 10-10. I was heartbroken to get the news at the hospital that they had scored two tries to match my own! Then earlier this semester we tied them 5-5. Luckily, yesterday we were able to score a try early on and then hold them off for the rest of the game. I love that!!

We went out Thursday night for my birthday, and I spent all day Friday recovering. I had actually been hungover worse in the past, but this was pretty bad as well. I can't complain because Thursday night was so much fun! After recovery, Friday night we went to the Q where there was a big celebration for my birthday and Heidi's (whose is the day after mine). It was great! We even had a big cupcake-cake with candles and everyone sang...I don't think I've ever been sung to by so many people before :-) Em and I didn't stay out long because we were both still pretty exhausted from the night before.

Alright, it's 8:30 and we haven't eaten. I'm starving as all I've had today is a bagel with melted cheese. Hope all is well everywhere.
Kristen

Day of Birth :D and "Straight Edge" ...

Today is my birthday! It's a significant one - 21. Tonight we are doing a pub crawl of downtown Greensboro. It should be really awesome. Suzi organized and mapped it out.

Well, all this thinking about drinking legally added to the special that we just watched about the "straight edge" movement kind of got me thinking. The special we saw just kind of explained what it means to be straight edge, and then explained some of the issues involved and connected to it. I only have a few minutes before my class starts, but I just wanted to make a few points.

First of all, I think that the idea behind "straight edge" is interesting and intrinsically good. I mean, the fact that they are choosing not to drink or do drugs or "poison" their body at all is, I guess, good (for them). If that's their decision than kudos to them for being proud of it and finding others who are proud of it as well.

However, I do see a problem with the fact that many groups of "straight edge" people have become sort of small gangs. Why does "straight edge" have to be connected to violence? In the special it noted that many straight edge people are not violent at all, and not involved in these gangs. Which is great, but for the ones who are ... If you're choosing this "healthier" and non-conformist lifestyle, why would you begin to use violence to get your point across? They mentioned an incident that happened in Reno, NV a few years ago, where a man came out of a bar with a beer in his hand, and he was immediately jumped by 3 members of a straight-edge gang and beaten unconscious. He will feel the effects of his beating for the rest of his life, as it damaged his brain. Why is that necessary??

I knew a few straight-edge people in high school, and they were never violent or involved in any sort of gang activity. They just seemed like normal people who didn't want to drink or do drugs, but found fun and pleasure in other ways. I originally thought that every straight-edge person was that way. I previously hadn't known that some of them are involved in these violent gangs who target people with different views than them. Or, people who "follow the crowd" and begin drinking/doing drugs.

So, a question... do any of you know any straight-edge people? Have they ever exhibited violent behavior? Do they accept others who choose to drink or do drugs? Let me know, I'm really interested...

PEACE from the east,
Kristen

***EDIT: Mike - I actually wasn't even thinking about you when I wrote this. There were quite a few straight edge people at Brandywine, but the ones who I knew better went to Concord. I'm not mixing up straight edge with people who just choose not to drink...there are a few differences. One is that people who are straight edge do it because it "goes against the grain" and isn't the norm for teenagers to denounce drinking and drugs. Also, I wasn't trying to say that ALL people who decide not to drink make up the straight-edge subculture. People who become straight edge are proud to be straight edge...many of them get it tattooed on their bodies and display the straight edge symbol (XXX) on their clothing and accessories. There are two different types of straight edge people... those who are straight edge and non violent, and those who join these straight edge gangs. Sorry I wasn't as clear as I should have been!

Photos!

The first cacti that I ever saw! On the road from Phoenix to Flagstaff.


Token Grand Canyon pic.


On the edge. Dun Dun Dunnnnn...


Cheesy, but I may never go back in my lifetime, so we went all out!


Em and I at Oak Creek Canyon ... on the way to Sedona.


Pretty Sedona.


After the actual town of Sedona, on the way back to Phoenix.


Self Explanatory.


Lots of pretty cacti.


Prickly Pear Cacti!


At the wedding (notice the cup in my hand...that was my first and only margarita.)


She's so pretty.


We found this cool handicapped parking sign in the parking lot!


Sunrise in Tucson, on our way to the airport.


That's the end! I have a ton more but they were pretty boring...not that these were too exciting, but hey, I do what I can. It was fun, and beautiful and awesome. And I definitely want to go back someday!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I'm heading out with Suzi to buy some sort of new shirt for the occasion. Suzi and Kim have mapped out this awesome pub crawl of all of the bars of downtown Greensboro. Liz, Em, and I will join them (and anyone else in the area who is 21+!)...I'm pumped!

Later gators
Kristen

Quick Recap

We made it back safely to North Carolina yesterday afternoon.  The last two days of our trip were wonderful.  Saturday we went out for coffee with Em's ex girlfriend and her girlfriend.  It was good to meet Bridget to be able to put a face with a name.  It wasn't really awkward, and I thought they were both really nice and seemed like cool people.  It was good to get up early and get our day started - after that we explored downtown Flagstaff and I bought fun hippy items.  We stopped by Em's old rugby team's pick up match and she said hey to all of her old teammates.  

After we left Flagstaff we drove to Sedona, which was BEAUTIFUL.  It was way more touristy than I expected, but it was still really cool.  We found this awesome Jerky shop...they had all kinds of jerky - alligator and rattlesnake included!!  It was just cool because the lady who worked there was really nice and we talked to her for awhile.  After Sedona we went on to Chandler (south Phoenix) and had dinner with one of Em's old roommates, Crystal, who was so nice!!  After that we continued on to Tucson and checked into our funky hotel.

Sunday we went to Saguaro National Park and saw all of the awesome cactii that are as abundant on the rolling hills as trees in a forest.  It was very cool.  I didn't see a rattlesnake (that was my goal), but we did see a ton of different cactii with beautiful flowers blooming on them.  After that we went to our friend Laura's house to get ready for the wedding.  Laura (Phoebe) worked at camp with us this past summer.  It was good to see her, and have a clean place to get ready!  The wedding was beautiful - Candice looked gorgeous and her new husband is really nice and was glad to meet Em and I.  I loved the reception- it was very classy but still laid back.  I got carded- (WHO CARDS AT A WEDDING!?!?  Poor form.).  Aside from that, the whole wedding was great.

Monday morning we flew straight from Phoenix to Raleigh-Durham.  The flight was actually the best one of the whole trip - we were in the absolute last row, but we were comfortable and had fun doing crossword puzzles and listening to music.  The 4 hour flight went by pretty fast.

So, now we are just trying to get back in the swing of things.  I'm still having some medical issues, which is hard for me because I am usually so healthy.  (Injuries don't count!)  I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks.  I have a big presentation and a paper due before finals.

I'll post some choice pictures soon of our trip to AZ.

Sydney is super happy that we are home, and her medical mystery hasn't been visible at all.  Her spleen is still 4x the size it should be, but she is getting another ultrasound next week.  We'll see.

Hope the weather is getting nicer for everyone everywhere!

Kris  

Greetings from Arizona

We made it safely to Arizona (after delays and almost missing our connecting flight in Chicago...never seen Em run so fast!! hehe). Last night we slept in Phoenix, then this morning took the scenic drive to Flagstaff. Em showed me around NAU, which looked great. Then we went to the Grand Canyon! It was wonderful and breath-taking and I definitely want to visit it again in the future and take advantage of the awesome services they offer there, like hiking down into the canyon .. or riding in a helicopter over it!! I snapped this picture with my phone, sorry for the poor quality (and the random lady in a velour jumpsuit who wandered into my view!) We saw a California Condor while we were there. They're an endangered species - there are only 300 living in the world. Em was very excited.

Tomorrow we are hanging out in Flagstaff for a little bit so that Em can see a few more friends, and then we are heading down to Sedona. After that, we are grabbing dinner with another one of Em's friends and then driving to Tucson for the night. I'm excited for Tucson, it sounds like a really eclectic and eccentric kind of place. I like those places.

Time for bed, lots to do in the next few days!

I miss my hound dog, hopefully she is having a great time at Gwen's this weekend.

Peace, Love, and Flagstaff,

Kristen

I used to work in Chicago...

I'm doing a presentation in my Gender, Crime & Deviance class in a few weeks on women playing rugby.  Well, the actual description is "Gender, Deviance, and Sports".  I found these great pictures of little ones playing rugby!  I think they're so cute.

Good news/Bad news.

Sweet puppy Sydney... this picture was taken in October '06 on our ride home for fall break. She looks so tiny. Today she weighed in at 72 lbs!

We got the preliminary test results back from Sydney's ultrasound today. There's good news and bad news. The good news - there is not a mass in Syd's abdomen. Actually, this is better than "good" news, this is the "BEST" news, in my opinion. But, the bad news - they still can't figure out what's wrong. Her blood counts are all screwy, and they did a tick test, and she's showing up positive for Lymes Disease. Which sounds simple enough ... except that Sydney was vaccinated against Lyme in the last year, and she's been on Advantix (flea&tick preventative). Plus, it's the end of winter..what dog gets a tick during the winter? Our vet seems to think that it may be a false positive. (?!)

So, Sydney is a mystery case. They are sending out her ultrasound and xrays to a radiologist for more information, and we should get those results tomorrow. Until we get a real answer, Sydney has a shaved tummy and Em and I are $600 in the hole...

Aside from the anxiousness from waiting for the phone call today about Sydney, it's been a relatively good day. We're discussing Personality Disorders in my Abnormal Psych class...which is really fascinating. Right now we're discussing Antisocial Personality Disorder (aka Sociopaths & Psychopaths). We talked about Scott Peterson for awhile today... creepy. After AbPsy I went to finish typing up a paper and then went to Gender, Crime & Deviance, where we discussed Sexual Deviance. Our two articles for this week were on Women in Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs and Strategies of Table Dancers (strippers). So that class was interesting, as it always is. However, I found myself somewhat zoned out, thinking about Sydney and wondering what is wrong with her...

I'm absolutely exhausted from going to bed at 3am last night and then waking up at 6:30am to drive Sydney to High Point. I really want to catch up on all of my sleep this week before we head to Arizona. Em is so excited, it's so cute! I know she's really excited to show me everything. We are praying for good weather, and Em says she thinks we'll get it. It's supposed to be in the 90s in Tucson on the day of the wedding!

Until next time
Kris

Sydney Hippie Dewclaws Smith

Today has been a trying day. I didn't get much sleep last night, and then had to go to a boring class and try to stay awake. After that I went to a meeting that was pretty emotional for me, and left feeling just really worn out in every way.

This morning Em drove me to class so that she could drop Sydney off at the vet afterwards. Syd has been having some stomach issues lately, actually for about two months, she's been throwing up randomly every few days. She seems really uncomfortable when she's not feeling well...she does this "army crawl" across the floor, where she drags her belly and is obviously uncomfortable and or in pain. So, Em dropped her off and picked me up from my meeting...on the way home we grabbed lunch, and right before Em left to go back to class at 2, she checked her phone and Banfield (our vet) had called her four times...

Sydney has one of two things wrong with her. She either has a tick bite and it's causing her some serious issues, which the vet doesn't think is the case. Or, she has cancer. Probably of the spleen. Our vet said that she has too much soft tissue in her abdomen, so much that she can't even feel her kidneys, which is unusual. Something is in there, be it a mass or a cyst or a tumor.

I'm trying my best to stay calm until she gets an ultrasound tomorrow. We have to drive her to High Point to get it done. I'm praying that it's just a tickbite or some weird fluke, but that's just highly unlikely. Her white blood cell counts are too low, which apparently signals that it may be cancer.

Please keep Sydney in your thoughts in the next few days.
Thanks,
Kristen

Post # 158

While at No Name Pub in the Keys last month, we were surrounded by over 20,000 $1 bills covering the walls of the restaurant. Waiting for our food, Em and I barely spoke, we mostly just gazed at the bills, reading names and messages and phone numbers. This one caught my eye, and I noticed "PSU". Then, I realized that it said "FTK" ... which stands for "For The Kids"!! Which is the slogan for THON!! I was so excited- this dollar bill was posted up behind this group of people eating their dinner and I didn't even care, I went right over to snap a picture. (Sorry for the blurriness... I didn't stick around to check the picture after I took it!)
I've been trying to make it to Penn State to attend THON every year since Liam was diagnosed with cancer and I learned what it was. Each year, something works out to make it impossible for me to get there (or perhaps it has to do with the fact that I live 12 hours from Penn State...) Either way, I WILL MAKE IT TO THON one day... I have to.
Yesterday was supposed to be our Serendipity Game (prom dress rugby!) against Guilford College, but the torrential downpours all Friday night and Saturday morning forced Guilford to close their fields, so we will have to reschedule. I'm nervous that they're going to try to reschedule for next week...which is when we will be in AZ! And this could potentially be my very last Serendipity Game, as next spring I will (hopefully!) be in South Africa.

Someone from our team found this picture from last year by Googling "UNCG Women's Rugby" ( I think? ) I think it's funny..you can tell I'm about to go down, look at the arms wrapped completely around my waste!

Alright, time to get some work done.
Peace.
Kristen.

Dusty Trail, Flagstaff in a faded photograph..

Em and I just finished figuring out all of the details for our trip to Arizona next week.  I know it feels like we're constantly traveling...well, we kind of are.  But we don't really spend our money on anything else, because we both like to travel, and that's more worth it to us.

We fly out of Raleigh around dinnertime on Thursday, and get into Phoenix at midnight.  The funny part is that we have a layover in CHICAGO... which is ridiculously out of the way, but it was worth it for the price of the tickets.  We're staying the night in Phoenix, then getting up Friday morning to drive to Flagstaff.  Em wants to show me around NAU (Northern Arizona University) and all of her favorite places in Flagstaff.  That day we're also visiting the Grand Canyon, which is no big deal to Em since she lived 1.5 hours from it for 5 years, but to me, it's SO EXCITING!  I know that there isn't much to do at the Grand Canyon except go to a lookout and look at it, but still, it's something that I am so excited to have the chance to do!!

That night we're staying in Flagstaff, and then getting up early on Saturday to drive south to Sedona, then continuing on to Tucson to stay Saturday night.  On Sunday we're going to hang out around Tucson, and then at 5pm we are going to Candice's wedding!  Candice was Em's roommate at NAU for two years, and Em is really excited to see her again and meet her fiance/husband.  

After the wedding, we're driving halfway back up to Phoenix and staying in Casa Grande, AZ at a random golfing resort (it was the cheapest!), and Monday morning we'll get up and fly back to Raleigh.  We're missing minimal classes, and I've been saving up my absences all semester because I knew that we'd have to miss Monday and Friday classes for next weekend.

I really am nervous to visit Arizona.  I'm so excited to visit somewhere new, I've never been anywhere in the southwest before.  But, as I've said before, I don't want anyone to be angry that I am going there.  I've been told before that I shouldn't try to be a part of Em's Arizona life..and that's never what I would want to do.  I am just excited for her to be able to show me the part of her life that she really loved for a long time, before she decided that she needed something new.  I'm nervous to meet her friends though, because I am 4 years younger than Em and some people just don't get it that age has never really been a factor for us.  I can be mature and Em can be ... well, if you know Em, you understand ;-)

Time to sign off... I'll post again soon.

Kristen

Random Things.

It's should be no surprise that I haven't updated since Monday. I had an 8 page paper due Tuesday, an exam Tuesday, then worked from 3:30-8. On Wednesday I only had one class, but I had a huge presentation today that I didn't have time to work on until yesterday, so that is all I did all day. Then, today I skipped my first two classes to continue preparation for my presentation at 4. I went to class from 4-6:50, and then came back here to work on a paper that is due tomorrow at 10am.

This week has been killer ... but I am one page away from freedom. I just can't get myself motivated enough to finish this paper. It's an interesting one though - I interviewed one of Kelsey's friends who was born in South Africa for this group paper that I'm doing with a partner from class. I just need to finish my part and then merge the two parts together.

Sorry for such a boring post. I'm so tired, so head-achey. I got the job I was interviewing for, the job transcribing interviews for a Sociologist at UNCG. I'm pretty excited, actually. You can't beat $13 an hour, working at home at whatever time I feel like. I'm so thankful for my professor/neighbor/friend Gwen, she put me in contact with the professor who hired me.

My presentation today was on Pediatric Cancer and Neuroblastoma. I've become somewhat numb to it by now. I can remember back to the days when I had a Livejournal and those horrible, gut wrenching posts that I used to make about Liam and other little ones with NB. I really enjoyed researching for that presentation though, and I loved that I got to spend about 5 minutes at the end just talking about the little man, Liam! I got a 49/50 on the presentation, I only lost one point for going over the time limit (20 minutes). It's funny...before I started working on it yesterday, I never thought I'd be able to get 20 minutes out of it ... and when I finally finished, I was SHOCKED that the first time I rehearsed it, it took 32 minutes!

Alright, time to finish that paper so that I can get some more sleep. I'll leave you all with a little piece of happiness...


My all-time favorite picture of Superman! You will live on forever through that beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes, little buddy. I love you.