It's been awhile since I last posted in here mainly because no one reads (or at least, no one comments on) LiveJournal anymore.  I have been wanting to resume blogging for some time, because I feel like the days are going by so fast and I need to somehow keep track of where I've been and what I've done.  So, I'm going to keep this journal public just so anyone who is curious about my life can find it.

First, I'd like to post a disclaimer that everything posted up until now is the product of the musings of someone that I am not anymore.  My life has changed drastically and I am changing accordingly.  I have gone through some old posts and dear God, I'm embarrassed at how ridiculous, superficial, and petty I was during my college years.  Not to sound elitist and conceited just because I'm no longer in college - it's that I've passed that phase of my life.

Well, I am now a student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.  At first, the city was big and scary.  I was seriously terrified to go anywhere but school for awhile.  I live in Butcher's Hill, a subdivision full of young professionals and graduate students.  The room (and bathroom) I rent is in the rowhouse of a youngish (late 20s, early 30s?) married couple.  Sarah runs the website for the Baltimore Ravens and Trevor is a surgical resident at Hopkins.  In other words, they're your typical good-looking, intelligent, well-off couple that everyone wants to be.  They are completely crazy about each other despite having been married for a few years.  I find this endearing, and it fills me with hope that I might find someone to spend the rest of my own life with.  When I first moved in, I was surprised to find no beer or wine in the refrigerator, as well as no soda, tea, or coffee.  I also noticed that the basement is very well-stocked.  After conversing with an old college friend who now lives in Utah, I deduced that Sarah & Trevor are Mormon.  At first, I was taken aback, because I have a martini glass and a shot glass on display in my room, and as most of you know, I have a serious addiction to Diet Coke.  Well, they have not said a word about anything, so I think I'm good for now!  It's not like I drink when I'm at home anyway.

That's because I spend at least part of my weekends about 10 miles north off of I-83.  When I first decided I was going to move to Baltimore, I talked a lot with Alicia because she had recently moved into Chicago, which is also a big city.  She recommended that I sign up for an online networking site (if you are close to me, you know which one), because it would provide an avenue through which I could meet people in the Baltimore area outside of school.  I have chatted online with several people from the site and actually met up with a few of them.  I hit it off really well with one boy (or rather, man) and for the first time in almost 3 years, I'm actually officially dating someone.  He is great to me, and I do have my doubts, but it's way too soon to tell if the tingly feeling in my spine will remain.  I have high hopes, which I need to learn how to contain because I often get disappointed.

Anyway, back to the important stuff.  School is definitely crazy, as the terms here are 8 weeks long.  I am taking 4 heavy classes (immunology, epidemiology, virology, and molecular biology) and a few seminars and forums that are required by my department.  It actually annoys me when people gasp and are all impressed when I tell them I'm getting my masters' in molecular microbiology & immunology because it's really not as hard as it sounds.  So far, almost everything in class (one week's worth of class) has been review for me because I learned it at RIT.  I'm already starting to fall behind (primarily because I've been spending time on the weekends with Justin instead of studying).  This week, I am going to get caught up.  Period.

So, I really should finish up this one part of virology studying that I've been doing, then get my notes together for tomorrow.  I hope tomorrow will be easier than today was!  I finish at 3, but I need to do grocery shopping (I haven't gone to the grocery store since I first arrived in Baltimore).  Hopefully, I'll get back before all of the parking is taken up in the area - damn street parking!

By the way, how 'bout dem Bears?  Yeahhh!!!

um yeah. I'm terribly homesick now. I miss my mommy soooo muchhhh.

a long, long time ago, my very good friend and former fellow intern at UGA gave me a letter.  I made a list and I totally forgot about it until now.  so, she lettered me C, but said I couldn't use my name as one of the 10 items...!

1 - Cosmopolitan (both the martini and the magazine)
2 - cherry-flavored Jolly Ranchers
3 - Christmas!
4 - cats of course
5 - calligraphy
6 - Chicagoooo!
7 - celebrity crushes (hey, a girl can dream.)
8 - chocolate chip cookie dough
9 - cha-cha slide!!
10 - CADAVERIC DISSECTIONS!!!  I am loving human gross anatomy even though it's hard and requires a lot of studying.

HAPPY EASTER! enjoy the peep show.

I grew up in DeKalb, IL.  I'm still in shock and pretty upset but I'll write more later.

Today, we are all HUSKIES.

long post explaining my previous one still to come.  for now, enjoy a list of recently recurring random thoughts I've had.

• ( mmhmm. )

I'm convinced I'm never going to meet anyone and just wind up as the crazy cat lady. well, that wouldn't be so bad. i'll just become a workaholic. fabulous.

I hate pretty people. More later.

"I made no resolutions for the New Year.
The habit of making plans, of criticizing,
sanctioning and molding my life,
is too much of a daily event for me."
~Anais Nin~

my flight was supposed to leave rochester at 7pm, alas it is 9:08 and I am sitting in gate B6. when I checked in they told me 11:15... the website however says 9:40, but that's bullshit because we would be boarding if that were true. I just thought I'd share my misery.

happy holidays, everyone. remember it's about being with the people you love and the people who love you.

from my history & systems book, A History of Modern Psychology:

It looked like a duck.  It quacked like a duck.  It rose up on its legs when the keeper held out his hand to offer it kernels of grain.  It stretched its neck forward, grabbed the grain in its beak, and swallowed it, just like a duck.  And then it defecated onto a silver platter - just like a duck?

Only it wasn't a duck, at least not a real one.  It was a mechanical duck, a machine full of levers and cogs and springs that caused it to move, to imitate a duck's behavior.  One wing alone contained more than 400 parts.  It was considered one of the great wonders of its time.

The year was 1739, the place was Paris, France.  The defecating duck drew enormous crowds from many European countries.  People marveled that inventors could fashion such a lifelike creation.  They watched it move and eat and swallow and defecate in awe that such a glorious, miraculous machine had been made possible.  Even the great philosopher Voltaire beheld the duck and wrote, "Without the shitting duck, there would be nothing to remind us of the glory of France."

it's saddening when you see an attractive person (in my case, a guy) and you automatically think to yourself, "(s)he would be so hot if (s)he wasn't holding that cigarette/cigarillo/whatever."

especially when you're a biosci major so you know exactly what those things do such a gorgeous body.

if the fight is over
forget what I told you
thought that we could pull through
but I already lost you
leave me where you found me
the world falling around me
fallen soldier | god or julie

I guess the nice thing about not being good-looking is that I know when a guy is interested in me, he is interested in me for who I am and not because of my looks.

Would you rather be original or world famous?

I recently found my old xanga and I thought I'd share some stuff in it with you. I only had it from my senior year of high school to first year at RIT because everybody at RIT uses LJ...

( 27 February 2004 )

( 29 February 2004 )

( 2 March 2004 )

( 10 March 2004 )

( 17 March 2004 )

( 22 March 2004 )

( 22 March 2004 again )

( 12 May 2004 )

( 4 June 2004 )

( 15 June 2004 )

( 1 July 2004 )

( 8 July 2004 )

( 23 August 2004 )

( 3 September 2004 )

( 5 September 2004 )

( 25 September 2004 )

( 4 October 2004 )

( 8 October 2004 )

( 8 November 2004 )

so, couple of quotes I found about barbie that I thought were pretty funny.

all I can say is... wow.  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't peg Barbie and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders as role models.  I'll spare the feminist tirade for now - I have been planning on authoring one for some time, but biochemistry is my life.

"Both Barbie(R) doll and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are strong, positive role models for girls and women alike, proving that there are no limits to what they can accomplish."

"The Barbie dolls represent the heart and soul of American spirit and reflect the intricate design of the world-renowned Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms."

http://dallascowboys.com/cheerleaders/news_detail.cfm?id=03F775F5-981B-A220-D6535647FFCBE7A9
(BOYS: there are photos here of the cheerleaders in velour sparkly bikini-like things. enjoy.)

notice me.  take my hand.
why are we strangers when our love is strong?
why carry on without me?

everytime I try to fly, I fall.
without my wings, I feel so small.
I guess I need you, baby.
and everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face.  it's haunting me.
I guess I need you, baby.

I make believe that you are here.
it's the only way I see clear.
what have I done?
you seem to move on easy.

and everytime I try to fly, I fall.
without my wings, I feel so small.
I guess I need you, baby.
and everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face.  you're haunting me.
I guess I need you, baby.

I may have made it rain.
please forgive me.
my weakness caused you pain.
and this song's my sorry.

at night I pray that soon your face
will fade away.

and everytime I try to fly, I fall.
without my wings, I feel so small.
I guess I need you, baby.
and everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face.  you're haunting me.
I guess I need you, baby.