Oscar Night!

Yes, once again it's Oscar Night, the night where Hollywood's elite get the excuse to come out and celebrate their "fabulousness" is tonight. And I too am sucked in to the glitz and glamour of it all. They're getting ready to report the best supporting actor, a category I haven't really cared about/followed-Benecio Del Toro is scary looking! YIKES! And the winner is....wating...la la la...stilll waiting...the Oscar goes to Tim Robbins. Greeaaat. It's his first nomination for a performance, and his first win. I didn't see Mystic River, hear it is very good, and he's supposed to be a great actor, he's currently giving the usual speech, thanking everyone in existence and giving props to his fellow actors/nominees. Thank God he didn't pull the usual Hollywood stunt, and try and push his political views on all of us. We already know that he's one of the most liberal people in existence, and frankly we don't care-he's not there to tout his political views. Anyhoo-as for the other nominees-I hope to see Charlize Theron win in the Best Actress category (anyone who would destroy their looks for a role as she did for Monster is deserving, in my opinion), Johnny Depp in Best Actor (although he won't-he was AMAZING-I don't care if it was a comedic role, and it has nothing to do w/ hottness), and Renee' Zelleweger for Best Supporting Actress-she was amazing in the last two movies she was nominated for, and this year I hope she finally wins. LOTR needs to pick up best picture. As for the others...I haven't paid much attention. Fave dresses so far: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee', Angelina Jolie, and Diane Lane. More later...back to watching right now.

P.S. Sean Connery. Still awesome after all these years.

The Weekend...

*Yawn* The weekend has been ok-pretty busy, working like 20 hours of it. I've got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, paper-writing and what not. Nothing really new to report, except that life is remarkably drama-free. One of my neighbors was found dead this weekend-it was really freaky, and very sad to hear about-he was a really nice guy. It appears to be natural causes-they're doing an autopsy. He had epilepsy, but they're not sure if that had anything to do with it.

Anyway-not much new to report, I'll let you know when more exciting stuff is going on. More later...

I LOOK SO GOOD!

hehehe


You are Cheerleader. You are the leader. You never
die. You always look soooo good. Are the most
popularest ever.


Which Teen Girls Squad Member are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Breakfast, Day 3

2 pieces turkey sausage
Egg beaters omlette w/ lowfat cheese and seasoning
Coffee

On the bright side, I'm 2 pounds lighter than I was last time I weighed in. That brings the grand weight-loss total to about 10 lbs. Whee...

ANOTHER quiz...

These are so much fun.

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

CANDY!

discover what candy you are @ quiz me

P.S. I CAN'T EVEN HAVE GRAPES! NO FRUIT for the first two weeks. ARG.

Carbs please

I am going nuts. I would kill for a bagel right now. The carb cravings are supposed to die off pretty soon (hopefully in a couple of days), but until then, I'm dying here. This is the second day back on the diet (after two days off)-hardcore, and the total I've been on it is about a week. Forget all the stuff I have going on-today, as we were having lunch downtown after committee hearings @ the capitol, I seriously became transfixed by these stupid breakfast muffins. I've completely lost it. Instead of caving, I purchased a large, green salad w/ broccoli, a little egg, sunflower seeds, a little cheese, and low-fat dressing-no carb heaven. And I drank my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper. And topped off my lunch w/ a sugar-free caramel. Tasty. Yep. I'm trying to get my mind off food. First, I finished my studying. I still have a paper to work on, but it can wait until tomorrow. I'm sick of reading. Next, I thought about shopping. Scratch that, in the state I'm in, I'd only wind up in massive debt bc of the spending I would probably do...plus, I am not buying a single item of clothing until I have lost 25 lbs. That's right. So then, I thought about going out for the usual drinking festivities-and scolded myself. I'm not allowd to have liquor during stage 1 of this diet. ARG. I'm deprived of all of my favorite vices. I keep telling myself it is good for me, and I look at pictures of myself in high school, and yes, I'm motivated, but still...sometimes I just want a darn cookie. But if I eat one, I know I'll want one more, and then it will be all over!

I saw the baby-eater! AAAAAAHHHH!

Yeah, that's right, I saw the baby-eating monster who made Tom Berns have a stroke-a.k.a. Naomi, in the DD/MI committee hearing today. And just FYI-she looked very bored to be there-but no falling asleep just yet. Rest assured I am watching, though. I'll get that sleeping picture if it's the last thing I do.

Throwing Up

Typically, the only two times I throw up is either when I've had, um, too many beverages to drink, OR due to a nervous stomach. Yes, this happens regularly during finals week, or when I'm upset, anxious, etc. Call me hypersensitive. And of course it usually happens AFTER finals week for obvious reasons-I'm out celebrating. But it's usually due to the former. Anyway, last night, I went to bed around 11:30 p.m., after having a forbidden bowl of cereal (Thanks to SB, none of that until week 3-but I wanted to finish off my last box). Of course, I used milk on the cereal, and while it didn't TASTE bad on the cereal (It was grape nuts), probably bc I microwaved it, it certainly didn't set well-AT ALL. I felt fine when going to bed. However, I woke up about an hour later feeling the dreaded disgusting feeling rising in the pit of my stomach. I tried to hold out for a few minutes, but finally jumped out of bed and luckily made it to my trash can. Thank God. If there's one thing worse than drunken puking, it's sober puking. You can feel everything, smell everything, and taste everything. It's so disgusting. Now, some people may understand why I hardly drink anymore, bc it never fails, if I have more than three drinks, I WILL throw up. Guaranteed. And I'll throw up sooner if it's beer, which I just can't drink anymore. And throwing up is bad enough while drunk/hungover, which makes it downright awful when you're stone-cold sober.

Anyway, I realize this has been a very disgusting post to read, but I felt that it was necessary to 1) justify my barely-drinking status, 2) warn people of the horrors of drinking too much by 3) reminding them just how awful it actually feels. Yuck.

In other news...

Meanwhile, it's been a good day, I felt fine when I woke up, I was downtown for the morning and part of the afternoon, came home, watched Days, and did some grocery shopping for South-Beach friendly food. Yaa-aay...the diet is officially back on track from this weekend. Now, I'm looking over my stuff for class, my presentation in 502 is tonight, after not happening last week due to cancelled class. Random neighbor guy, (I call him that bc I don't know his name) who seems intent on hitting on me, asked me to come with him to the basketball game tomorrow night, however, 1) I'm not sure if I'm interested, and even if I was...2) I won't settle for anything less than my Illini basketball players. Prarie Stars? PLEASE. Once you've watched a Big-Ten game I really don't see the point of wasting your time on anything less quality. Even if the Illini are shaky at times. Anyhoo, whatever. I like UIS academically, but I have no school spirit in terms of sports/school activities-I'm here to get my piece of paper, and if I have fun in other ways along the way, so be it. Those activities will most likely not be school/sports related. I should probably give neighbor boy a chance, but I really don't know if I'm stable enough to be in a relationship right now-I would probably just end up being vindictive and mean and break a heart...I'm not sure if I'm capable of intentionally breaking someone's heart, but stranger things have happened. Having had my heart broken badly once, I would never wish that on another person. Enough of that. You also have to consider the fact that I have almost no free time-it's a wonder I visited Chambana last weekend, which had good parts, but overall was not so great, thanks to bullsh*t drama.

Anyway, I am going to read over my article one last time, cross my fingers, and hope the presentation goes well. But first, I am going to cook dinner. With that said, I'll post more later.

Burning Bridges

Here are lyrics from Garth-dedicated to certain people (you know who you are!).

Burning bridges one by one
What I'm doin' can't be undone
And I'm always hoping someday
I'm gonna stop this runnin' around
But every time the chance comes up
Another bridge goes down.

Like ashes on the water
I drift away in sorrow
Knowing that the day
My lesson's finally learned
I'll be standing at a river
Staring out across tomorrow
And the bridge I need to get there
Will be a bridge that I have burned.

Mardi Gras!

Happy Fat Tuesday. Here's hoping you don't get too fat. The jumbalaya they were making at Andiamoi's today was making me hungry. I would love some good shrimp e'touffe right about now. And we're not talking the Central Illinois stuff-what I wouldn't give to be down in N'Awlins right about now. Maybe for next year...until then, I've figured out what I'm giving up for Lent.

Bye Bye Chocolate...Hello Smaller Jeans!

Ta da! I am giving up...Chocolate!!!-I'm on the South Beach diet anyway, I have been for a week (although this weekend was a massive failure-I had Timpone's AND pizza AND liquor! Oh well, I'm back on track) but eliminating this won't hurt, seeing as it is my #1 guilty pleasure, now that SATC is over. Arg. The goal is to have lost 20 lbs. by the end of Lent, and judging from the diet's predictions, I don't think this is so unreasonable, as I have lost between 5 and 7 already. The total weight loss goal is 50 lbs., in hopes of getting CLOSE to my high school weight again. That may sound like a lot, but seriously, I was less than that once, I can make it. If I wanted to totally kill myself, I'd try to get down to my actual high school weight, but in order to do that, I have a feeling I'd have to start up the three mile runs again, and there is NO WAY that is going to happen-back during freshman/sophomore year (@ CHS), I was running at least 15 miles a week. No wonder I was slim. It's hard to believe I was that little at one time. And strangely enough, I never thought I was little then. Funny how your perception changes w/ time!

Big has a name!

P.S. WE FOUND OUT MR. BIG'S NAME! AAAAHHHH! Judging from me and Lori's screams, this was a huge moment. Btw, it's John. His name, that is.

Good Sex is over forever...

That's right, Sex and the City, my favorite television show of all-time, is over. But whoa, what an ending! I must say things ended just the way I hoped they would. All four girls are happy. Samantha finally let her guard down w/ Smith & they are in a committed relationship (despite that huge gap in age), Charlotte and Harry are going to be able to adopt a baby, and Miranda and Steve have built a happy family life. They've moved on to new phases of their lives, and things will never be the same, but they're not bad, either. Finally, Carrie ended up with Big, who after 6 years realized that they can't live without each other. *Sigh* I cried at the ending. I know it's ridiculous, but this show was so much more than sex, style, and shoes-it was about relationships-and Carrie ended the show w/ one of her trademark voice-overs about relationships.

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic. Those that are old and familiar. Those that bring up lots of questions. Those that bring you somewhere unexpected. Those that bring you far from where you started. Those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one that you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous."

So, as in life, all good things must come to an end-things may not stay the same, but that doesn't mean that things necessarily have to be over. And with every door closing, another one opens. Old things can be good, but you'll never know how good things can be until something better comes along-this I've learned very well. Don't be sad when things end, because you never know what rests just on the horizon. I've learned this very well througout the past 5 years. And I hope I'll always remember that when things get different/weird, or whatever. I hope my friends will remember it as well, even through times of struggle.

And just as I discussed this past weekend-you make new friends, but you'll always keep the old ones-they're there forever-everyone knows true friends are but a phone call away.

My Weekend...

So yeah, after a loooong day in Springfield on Friday, dragging V around the capitol, making random introductions and running into Lee Daniels (He's such a short, squatty, ugly man in person. Not that his pictures were great, but you know what I mean. Geez!), it was time for a weekend away from it all.

So, got to Chambana, hung out w/ V, V's roommate, and Nat till around 9:30, when we stopped in on the Bushie's little "kegger", which ended disastrously-before it seemed it had actually began. Tragic-I've never seen so many terrified underage faces in my life. If you ask me, the idea that the police were busting up a tiny, quiet, party in bufu Urbana seemed ridiculous, however, when given some thought, V came to the conclusion that it was the dems up to no good-seriously, all they would have to do is hear about this and PRESTO! One well-timed phonecall and bye bye Bushie celebrations. Yup. So after me and Victoria escaped the underage inferno, minus one Natalie, we stopped and 1004 so I could run in and use their phone to see where the heck Natalie was hiding (V had conveniently forgotten her phone). I knocked on the door, and Donald answered it (looking/sounding VERY surprised to see me), I proceeded inside where I was greeted w/ lively screams of "AMY! AMY! AMY!" and after the hysteria died down, I called Natalie and discovered she was hiding in an upstairs room. Smart girl! I grabbed Joe and we brought Victoria inside, and for about an hour things seemed fairly normal-just all the overage old-school CR's hanging out just like old times-good times. Natalie escaped to 1004 w/o a drinking ticket, and having been (rightfully so!) somewhat traumatized by the situation, did not accompany us to Legends. Legends was the usual, got the chance to catch up w/ everyone, and the evening (not lacking its usual drama) ended w/ quesadillas at 1004 and Joe being a saint and driving me back to V's to crash.

So, the next morning was somewhat uneventful, then coffee w/ V and Diller, mall w/ V, dinner w/ Nia and Amanda @ Timpone's-yum, Tanya's crossing party at Joe's (the reason I came to Chambana in the first place), and rounding out the evening yet again at Legends w/ D & J, Donald and Meghann. Yeah-so things were great except when Dan decided to steal my cell and start calling people, and letting Joe cuss at them. Yeah. Then Joe decides to call this person on his own accord, and continue the belligerent behavior. Needless to say, I don't know what went down between the old gang & this person, and I don't know if I really WANT to know-I would like to think that I am (or at least WAS) good friends w/ all involved parties, and I just wish that all of us (meaning CR's/former CR's-my other Chambana friends don't believe in drama) could get together like old times and have a drink and NOT have blood on the table as a result, as it seems very likely such behavior would happen if such a reunion was to occur. Whatever. Sincere apologies to the recipient of certain phonecalls-someone as uninvolved as I does not know whether or not they were deserved, but someone such as myself DOES realize that such phone behavior is still rude.

So, it was good to see the Chambana friends, but geez, I'm getting too old for the drama. It has its place at times, and a good dose of it now and then, but now I realize how much the drama last year & my life resembled a soap opera-Meghann and I discussed this, she agreed that Chambana life was somewhat of a soap opera-a very poorly written one! And like V said-"When did getting accepted to college give you the excuse to behave like 3rd graders?" Word.

Back in Springfield...

I wasn't back in Springfield for long today, just long enough to hear that I missed a fabulous night in STL. Darn. Next time. Work was uneventful as usual, and now I'm home in C-town for Jami's b-day (I don't have class/work/interning on Mondays! Hooray) tomorrow. I'm getting ready to go collapse-I haven't been this exhausted in a long time. BTW-last episode of SATC was tonight-the last one EVER! TEAR! And BOY was it ever an ENDING! Needless to say, I will go into great detail about it later, but right now, I had just enough energy to sum up the weekend, and now, darlings, it's time for BED! **MWAH!**

Mardi Gras!

So of course the moment I make plans and promise people I'll come to Chambana for the weekend, my friends here think of something even more entertaining-they're all going down to STL for Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday night-and I know of at least 12 other people that are already going. Darnit! I've never been to Soulard for Fat Tuesday celebrations, I'm ticked. But I'm true to my word, and I WILL be at Joe's on Saturday night-as promised. And probably some other places as well. Hopefully it will be a fun weekend anyway, but judging from all the Chambana drama I've heard about lately, all bets are off.

Insomniacs-R-Us

I still can't sleep more than about 6.5 hours per night, and late-night phonecalls do nothing to help the matter. I'm not even talking about drunk dials-it was my MOTHER last night! Arg. Love my family, but hate being woken up.

Carbs

I'm dying for some. DYING here. I figure I'll hold out till tomorrow, when I can justify ruining the first week of my diet by a couple of nights out in Campustown. Hopefully I'll make it that long. Then, it's back to the grind of things on Sunday. This diet is GOING TO WORK-bc it already is.

Weight loss!

I've lost 7 lbs-this diet IS WORKING! Unfortunately, I'm going to Chambana this weekend, and I'm afraid a couple of nights out will ruin my progress-but still-IT IS WORKING!

Truth revealed...

So basically, if the rumors I'm hearing are true, one of my worst nightmares of Spring semester '03 has been brought to life. I'm horrified and appalled, and a bit sad, but that's life. We move on. Things change, and people sure as hell do.

And for the record, although I might be a bit jaded at times, really, I'm not so bad-the cold hard truth is just that-the truth-and IT HURTS sometimes.

Meanwhile...

All is well in Springfield-but the budget address is tomorrow-yikes-may God have mercy on the citizens of IL-bc rumor has it that a lot of them are going to be hurting after tomorrow. With that said-I'm going to sleep to prepare for a long day downtown.

Decisions, Decisions

So, recently I made a decision that I believe will have a big impact on my future (career, that is-and perhaps life in general). After a loooong time of examining my interest in state v. federal politics, and examining my situation here in Springfield, along w/ some other factors, I have made a decision to move ahead and pursue an internship in Washington D.C. in the fall. For awhile, I thought that my involvement in state politics would be sufficient, and I really love Springfield, but I have come to realize that my deep interest in the federal government is an itch that desperately needs to be scratched, and it would be unfair to deprive myself of the experience. I don't want to look back, five or ten years down the road, when I'm married and (oh geez) maybe even have a kid, and wonder, "what if". I don't want to be resentful in the future, should I settle down sometime soon, that I didn't pursue my interest. No regrets-that's what I always say. So what better time than in the fall? Washington will be alive w/ activity, with the election around the corner, and D.C. is wonderful in the fall (not too hot, not too cold...well, maybe a little...). If I hate it out there, I'll be more than happy to return to Springfield and pick up where I left off. But if I love it out there, I probably won't come back. After this semester, I've got 16 hours left, 8 of which I plan on picking up over the summer, and I've spoken w/ UIS admissions and it will be no problem for me to finish up the remaining 8 via correspondence.

So yeah...that's my decision and I'm sticking to it. And I'm happy to see my parents supportive of my decision (and more importantly, me). More details later.

Style Observations...

Ok, since I have been working at Famous Barr since early September, I have had the opportunity to observe many poorly-dressed women (many of them old) trying to dress properly. I have made some observations:

HAIR
Highlights: good. Regular hair color: bad. Especially if you're over the age of 50, and trying to maintain the same hair color you had when you were 20 (unless you're a blond, that's a bit different). If your face looks 50, don't try and make your hair look 20, unless you have a darn good plastic surgeon. (I witnessed an 80 year old woman today trying to pull off jet-black hair, while her face looked like leather. Sorry, it just DIDN'T work!) People like Sharon Stone and Kim Catrall can pull this off. It's likely that you cannot. Accept your age and your ever-changing "beauty" and move forward-work w/ a style that is age-appropriate. In fact, salt and pepper hair looks a lot classier than some brassy fake color, or worse, something of a purplely/blue hue.

As for hairstyle, short is fine, but LOSE the super-tight curly perms. That is all.

NAILS
Fingernails should be of a tasteful lenth, and not yellow in color. If you're a smoker, by God, keep your nails short and preferably clean. For those who choose acrylic nails, a modest lenth is preferable as well. And for heaven's sake, choose a classic color. Deep reds and light shell colors are the best-they suit almost anyone. Oranges, bright pinks, and anything else of this appalling nature are frowned upon. Anything resembling Morticia Adams is, fittingly, horrific.

WARDROBE
Polyester pants are never, EVER in style. I don't care if they're Alfred Dunner and you paid $60 (yes, FB sells $60 polyester pants, a LOT of them) for them, the harsh truth is, they're UGLY and make you look old and outdated. My recommendation to polyester pant afficianados: Docker's khaki pants do very well, and Jones New York has many tasteful pant styles. For the heaven's sake, lose the polyester.

That is all for the fashion advice today.

Homework Schomework

I have so much stuff to do tonight, homework-wise. I'm so glad that a M.A. only takes 40 hours, bc I think I'd die otherwise-no way I could ever stand a Ph.D. Seriously. And law school-yuck. I'm forever grateful that I chose the M.A. route as opposed to the J.D. Yeah, so I have to revise my thesis proposal (surprise, surprise-it's too broad), work on a loooooong paper, catch up on reading, and work on my article summary presentation due on Wed. The thing I love/hate about seminars is the class participation, which makes for fascinating discussion (at least, in my 512 class), but it also means you have to REALLY know the stuff you're talking about as to not make yourself look like an idiot. Yep. It's a blessing and a curse.

Random other stuff...

Thanks to my uber-neat roommates, (in addition to my own habits of cleanliness) I WON'T have to clean up the apt. before my parents' visit tomorrow-in my last apt., I had to CONSTANTLY be cleaning in order to keep the mess from building up-Liz, although she was a nice girl, was a slob.

Phone Etiquette

My father DID call me at 8 a.m. yesterday to say Happy Valentine's Day, and by the time I got off the phone w/ him, I suspect he was very sorry he called, and will not be calling before noon EVER AGAIN-I have warned my parents numerous times that phonecalls before noon as NOT acceptable (as they used to call me at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings to see if I was going to church-ROAR!)-especially on the few days I have to sleep in. However, my dad doesn't really listen to me when it comes to these things (he things a proper day starts at 6:30 a.m.), and since it's usually my mother calling, it hasn't been an issue. Ugh. I very kindly called them back later and explained 1) I hate Valentine's Day and 2) he had ruined the ONE moment of blissfulness I was likely to have that day, so 3) he should be very sorry and never call that early again. I think he got the idea. Now, why have I ranted about this for as long as I have? To serve as a lesson to my friends reading this-do not, under any circumstances, call between the hours of 4 a.m. and 12 p.m. if you value your life., or unless you see my away message down and can clearly tell that I am AWAKE!

I don't know much else-I know this was not the most exciting of posts, but I've been working all weekend, so in reality, it hasn't been that exciting of a weekend. More lata...

The Hair Verdict!

It's fabulous, absolutely fabulous! Friday the 13th didn't make a difference. I ended up keeping the length, opting for a bunch of layers and texture, in addition to getting my hair thinned, a LOT. If you know me, you know I have some of the thickest hair ever seen, so my hair is now light, layered, and totally manageable. Now that it's not such a bush, I think I'll be able to stand growing it out. I'm hoping that it makes it about 3 inches past my shoulders. Also, it takes a lot less time to dry. And yet, it still looks very full and healthy. In addition, I now am sporting beautiful caramel-colored highlights, which are noticeable, but still subtle enough to look natural to those who don't know I've had stuff done. And the hair still fits into a cute little ponytail, which is great for when I'm exercising.

Meanwhile, I don't know much else, but I had to report on the hair, I'm exhausted, and tomorrow I'm running errands and working yet again and the much-dreaded part-time job. I think I'll also paint my nails tomorrow...I realize that my weekly manicure is something I need to get back in the habit of doing. I have great skin and great hair, I'm working on getting back my high school figure, and darnit, I should also have great nails. Anyway, this has been one of my girliest posts to date, so to spare my male readers the torture, this is where I'll say GOODNIGHT!

KENNY CHESNEY!

Yes, he's coming, yet again! To Champaign, that is-I'll being going to see him for the third year in a row. If you're game, let me know! Although I'm unsure as to whether or not anything can top last year's concert (Montgomery Gentry was FREAKING AMAZING), it should be fabulous anyway-we're talking Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, and the man himself-triple the testosterone, I'm there! ow ow! hahahaha. Eye candy AND good music-it can't get much better than that.

ROAD TRIP!

For the first time in 4 years, me and Krissa actually have the SAME spring break! I've been planning on a visit to the southland, and now it looks like it's going to be a full-fledged road-trip through the south's best places-we're talking Memphis, Nashville, Tunica, perhaps various places in Georgia, and more-good shopping, great food, southerners, and best of all, CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS! You're talking to the granddaughter of one of the biggest C.W. history buffs that ever walked the earth, so yeah, I've been visiting the battlefields since I was about knee-high! I know, I'm a nerd. Rather, a good southern girl. My favorite picture is the one of me next to a cannon at Shiloh. HA! The trip will finish up w/ a visit to KD's stomping grounds in Murray, KY, to see what her gang does for fun. Hopefully she'll be able to join the road trip fun, meanwhile, I'm working on getting a couple of other friends involved. Good times, good times. You can take the girl out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the girl! It's gonna be a blast!

Anti-Valentines Day?

Hectic weekend ahead of me...lots or reading (as usual), working on a few papers, in addition to slave labor at FB on Friday and Saturday nights, in addition to daytime on Sunday. At least working gives me a legitimate excuse to miss out on the V-day nonsense. I'm sorry, but if Hallmark is the one telling the guys to buy me flowers, candy, etc., don't you think it's a bit insincere? Same goes for girls buying for guys! And no, I'm not just saying this bc I currently don't have a significant other-I've had them around Valentine's day, and I've had all the candy and flowers I could stand, and it was just as insincere then! I'd much rather have flowers just bc he felt like it, rather than because he was trying to obey some stupid Hallmark holiday! But at the risk as being labled cynical and heartless, Happy V-day anyway!

What else?

Class tonight (the most boring seminar I've ever had-but I've been through this before, ugh), followed by the usual Thursday night drinking festivities of the POS grads downtown at D. H. Brown's...but I hate having to drive-it takes all the fun out of nights out-seeing as I won't drive drunk. I have to admit that I miss being able to walk home after a good night of fun in campustown-nothing beats the drunken quad stumble! Oh well, I'll be able to do it again next weekend when visiting the Chambana gang. Besides, my partying habits did get slightly ridiculous during my last semester at UIUC...but ah well...the memories! (or lack of them, lol) With that said, more later!

Song of the moment...
This song makes so much sense, it's kind of scary. I give you the Piano Man!

Don’t go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don’t imagine you’re too familiar
And I don’t see you anymore
I wouldn’t leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times
I’ll take you just the way you are

Don’t go trying some new fashion
Don’t change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don’t want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you.

I said I love you and that’s forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are.
Billy Joel, "Just the Way You Are"

Love, Hate, and Grad School

As I sat in class tonight, listening to my Clintonista professor repeatedly bash President Bush (one of his favorite things to do) in addition to resurrecting the entire dirty event we now know as Election 2000, I wondered why I am submitting myself to this torture...and went on to formulate a list of things I like/hate about grad school. Here's what I came up with...

Likes:
1) EVENING CLASSES!-no more worries about sleeping through my 9 a.m. on Thursdays after the usual drunken mid-week celebrations (celebrating nothing, as usual...haha, good times). Or for that matter, any other 9 a.m. class.
2) Classes that meet once a week-if you get stuck w/ a crazy professor, I have found one block of time per week to be much more bearable than a MWF w/ the same lunatic. Luckily, I haven't had any severe crazies so far, just raging left-wingers...no surprise there, it is academia.
3) Studying ONLY what I want to-more or less, I get to plan my track of courses for my M.A. degree-there are only two specific courses I HAVE to take, the rest is flexible.
4) Less tests, more papers-I've only had 2 tests so far (and they were in a class w/ undergrads), and I'll have no tests this semester-this is a huge relief to me, seeing as I have horrible test anxiety.

Hates:
1) I didn't think it was possible, but yes, there is WAY more reading now than anything I ever experienced back at UIUC. I'm keeping up...but it's a pain.
2) Having my professors constantly trying to convince me to go on and get my Ph.D.-"if you're putting the time and effort into your M.A., why stop there?" they say to me-ugh. Just drop it already.

So, the pros have it...grad school is favorable, overall, in addition to the fact it is curing me of the reckless habits of my undergraduate career (specifically, using any excuse available to party at the most random times, including tuesday nights). I'm lucky now if I go out to the bars a couple of times per month-yeah I'm a nerd. I've replaced White Horse Wednesdays w/ evenings at Brookens buried in the back corner reading the AJPS. I've become a weekends-only gal.

In other news...

Actually, there is no other news. I've been working on my thesis proposal and interning and keeping up on my readings for class-yeah it's exciting. That's another thing about grad school-the workload is intense, especially when balanced w/ an internship and a part-time job. Anyway, it's about time for bed...I'll post later when I have stuff of an exciting nature to discuss...until then, adieu.

I'm baaa-aaack

It feels like I haven't posted forever! Actually, it's only been about 48 hours.

This weekend, after my guests bailed due to inclement weather, I decided to go home for a few days, (to do laundry, watch SATC, and just hang out) and as soon as I arrived, I found that my father had chosen this weekend to rebuild the three main computers in our house. (yes, I'm aware that we have too many computers-between my 2 sisters and my parents, they have seven. I know, it's sick) Since he was doing this, I was unable to get online. I decided to test myself and see if I could go for 48 hours w/o internet: no AIM, no e-mail, etc.-and I'm happy to say that I MADE it! I didn't even go online on my cell phone. You may not see this as that big of a deal, but I'm quite excited, knowing what an internet whore I am.

Good Sex can't last forever

That's right. My favorite show of all time, Sex and the City, is ending in less than two weeks. Call me crazy, but I was fighting back the sniffles after Sunday's episode. I LOVE THIS SHOW! And in two short weeks, all I'll have left is reruns. *sniff* For those of you who missed Sunday's episode: Carrie, realizing that her and her friends' lives are changing dramatically (Charlotte and Miranda are married/starting families, Samantha actually has a BOYFRIEND, Carrie is happy w/ Aleksandar), accepts the offer of Aleksandar to move w/ him to Paris. It's a big dilemma for her, bc she's choosing Paris and Aleksandar over her friends, New York, and her job-but she feels it is a choice she's ready to make, particularly because of the fact that she doesn't want to find herself old and alone while all of her friends have settled down. She realizes that things must change and her friends and her cannot remain the carefree party-girls forever. Miranda is extremely upset by the choice of her best friend, and Carrie accuses her of being selfish, and the episode ends with Carrie becoming very upset w/ Miranda, but more convinced that she is making the right decision. Personally, I always wanted Carrie and Big to wind up together, even though Big is all wrong for Carrie, but I'm glad that Carrie has found happiness w/ Aleksandar. I'm even more happy that Charlotte married a nice guy, Miranda ended up w/ Steve, and Samantha is finally settling down w/ Smith. All in all, I'm happy with the way the show is ending. It seems fitting for Carrie to move to Paris now, it is time for them to move on into the next state of their lives. Like some of my posts before, even in television drama-things can never stay the same! All good things must come to an end-it makes it a little sad, but with one door closing, another door opens. I know this sounds ridiculous, but this last episode put things even more clearly in perspective for me. I think some of my friends could stand to watch this show more!

To color or not to color!

Oh, and I think I'm chickening out of the haircolor idea. I'm definitely getting it cut, but I'm contemplating whether or not I want to mess w/ the color...I've done highlights before (they were my *thing* for the first two years of college), but I do really like my natural haircolor....ugh. I can't decide. I need feedback on this one!

What else?

Ok...I don't know too much else...school is hectic this week, turning in my thesis proposal on Wednesday, reading, reading, reading, interning, interning, interning, and if I'm good and productive, I'll let myself go out to D. H. Brown's on Thursday to celebrate w/ the gang. (my gang of grad students, that is) With that, I'm exhausted, another crazy week begins...more later.

hehehe...I found this online, enjoy, my GOP faithfuls...

YOU CAN BE A DEMOCRAT - Virtually anyone can be a Democrat; just simply quit thinking and vote that way. But if you want to be a GOOD Democrat, there are some necessary prerequisites. Compare the list below and see how you rate.

1. You have to believe the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

2. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

3. You have to believe that guns, in the hands of law-abiding Americans, are more of a threat than U. S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical, documented changes in the earth's climate, and more affected by yuppies driving SUVs.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to be against capital punishment but support abortion on demand.

8. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists from Seattle do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe the military, not corrupt politicians start wars.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad, because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good, because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, General Robert E. Lee or Thomas Edison.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides aren't.

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is really a lady.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried, is because the right people haven't been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and sex offender belongs in the White House.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites and bestiality should be constitutionally protected and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democratic party funding by the Chinese is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC... It's easier than getting a job!

SATAN IS GONE!

Yep, that's right, Nancy is gone! 6 months too late to do me any good, but she's gone all the same. I extend congratulations to all of my Illini, current students and alums alike-today is a happy day.

Also, I was informed that U of I's shady version of a student government, ISG, actually did something useful for a change and regained a neutral position on the Chief Illiniwek issue. Now, the BOT just needs to vote on the Chief, and decide once and for all that the the opinions of those darn hippies doesn't mean a thing, and things will surely be better for everyone at the good ol' Alma Mater. Meanwhile, back at UIS, things are just fine w/ our politically correct mascot, the Prarie Star, despite the fact that I find it ridiculous that we are represented by a large, blue star. Whatever.

Speaking of UIS, I was talking to some of my friends in the grad program, and this year we're having our end-of-the-year POS banquet at the Governor's Manion. We've got the whole 2nd floor to ourselves, complete w/ DJ, karaoke, dinner, open bar...you get the idea. It's one of the nice things about being in a small grad program, where you can actually get to know your fellow students, and enjoy an event such as this one.

Not too much else is going on...V is visiting tomorrow, Cheryl might be visiting, and meanwhile, I need to get some work done, so this is where I leave you...more later...have a great weekend kiddies!

To cut or not to cut!

All afternoon, I've been fighting against the irresistible urge to grab my scissors and chop my hair off. It's gotten sooooo long and it's very thick and all over the place, and it's driving me crazy. I need it chopped, layered, and thinned out, STAT! Only one week...only one week. Why didn't I schedule my appt. for this week? Darnit! I'm going to have to have my roommates hide my scissors from me, it's gotten to that point. My hair is just annoying the heck out of me. Long hair days are definitely beyond me...this is the second time I've tried to grow it out, and it just doesn't suit me anymore. I'm not going to go and be scalped or anything (I've had some pretty short hair-but it was cute!), but this has gotten to a point of ridiculousness.

As expected...

I'm a Cosmopolitan, discover your ALcoHoLiC personality!

-no surprise here. I love these stupid quizzes. Even though I've actually taken this one before.

A quote all good leaders should pay attention to...

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
--Abraham Lincoln

In short, be wary of power. There's a reason they say "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Sorry, just had to wax philosophical for a bit, now that I'm getting an opportunity to work with some of the most important state officials, good and bad ones.

What else...I'm sleep deprived. I wish I could take afternoon naps. I OD'd on caffeine yesterday morning and ended up sick. Not only can I not hold my liquor anymore, apparently I can't hold my caffeine, either.

Not much else is going on, except the weather is growing worse by the minute. And I have my most boring class of the week tonight-my state government seminar. Ugh. Other than that, things are good. More later.

Good song!

For all you country fans, like me...you'll love this song.

Well this town has closed down way too early,
And there’s nothing to do,
So I’m driving around in circles,
And I’m thinking about you,
Today I heard you got a new last name,
Sure didn’t know it was gonna hit me this way,
And the radio just keeps on playing all these songs about rain

Now there’s all kind of songs about babies and love that goes right,
But for some unknown reason nobody wants to play them tonight,
Hey I hope it’s sunny wherever you are,
But that’s sure not the picture tonight in my car,
And it sure ain’t easing my pain all these songs like,

Rainy Night In Georgia,
and Kentucky Rain,
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,
Blue Eyes Crying In The early morning Rain,
They go on and on,
And there’s no two the same,

Oh it would be easy to blame all these songs about rain,
Well I thought I was over you but I guess maybe I’m not,
Cause when I let you go looks like lonely is all that I got,
Guess I’ll never know what could have been,
Sure ain’t helping this mood that I’m in,
If their gonna keep on playing me songs like,

Rainy Night In Georgia,
and Kentucky Rain,
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,
Blue Eyes Crying In The early morning Rain,
They go on and on,
And there’s no two the same,

Oh how I wish I could blame all these songs about rain,
All these songs about rain,
Songs about rain.......

-Gary Allen, "Songs About Rain"

Hmmmm...

Sometimes I wish I wasn't always such an accepting, forgiving person. Sometimes I wish I didn't always look for the best in people. If these things weren't true, it would make it possible for me to accept the inevitable truth and move on. It would make things so much easier right now. But unfortunately, it's just not that simple. It seems that no matter what I keep hearing, no matter how upsetting or disappointing it is, I can't shake how I feel. I don't want to believe that this person has changed like it appears that they have. I want this person to be the person they were when we first met. But it doesn't seem like this is the case anymore. I just keep hoping against hope that they'll see the light, but until then...I just don't know.

Old habits die hard...

I'M 124 PROOF. HOW DRUNK ARE YOU?

Just a fun little quiz here. In all honesty, I haven't drank in almost a month, and I wasn't even drunk then-but I guess some of this carries over from my habits last year. Oops. Oh well. I'd kind of like to see the ranking of some of my partners-in-crime (you know who you are).

MEN!

Some guys are such insensitive pricks. Sometimes I don't know if they even realize it. I'm not talking about any having to do w/ me, all is well w/ my guy friends/interests and I. However, I do have a couple of friends who are having issues and have talked to me a lot lately, and as for the men they are dealing w/, I have nothing but terrible words for them (the men-wait, no. The stupid boys). Didn't your mothers teach you to be more sensitive? Girls, you have my sympathy. I seriously hope that these guys get their hearts chewed up and spat back out, like they rightly should. That may sound a little cruel, but it is definitely what is deserved in this particular case.

Daily Summary

Meanwhile, all is well w/ me. IARF this morning, as usual, and now I'm in my apartment and wasting time, and considering taking a nap, before Bush Bash '04 resumes (my class tonight, not the primary). It's freezing outside once again, but that should be no surprise to anyone. My car is starting, and I got the locks de-iced, so I'm a happy girl. My activities/classes are becoming a comfortable routine. W/ that said I'm going to get even more comfortable, and go ahead and take that nap. More later!

Tress Talk

So, next week I'm taking the plunge and drastically changing my hair. Yep, that's right, my long, chesnut brown locks will be transformed into something truly magnificent, at least that's what I'm hoping for. Current plans: 4 inches knocked off, a longish bob w/ layers and perhaps a little bang, w/ blond and caramel highlights. Everyone I've talked to has seemed to favor these plans, so here's hoping for the best.

Six more weeks?

Damn that groundhog and his shadow. It's freezing and yucky enough as it is, w/o having to worry about 6 more weeks of winter. Ah, whatever, it's just a groundhog. Meanwhile, I've been running errands all day, getting ready to head into good ol' FB for the evening. Fun times. No, not really. Nothing that exciting has been going on today, but tomorrow is back to the regular grind of things...interning, class, OH MY! This post is becoming completely boring and pointless, so I'm going to put you all out of your misery and say...MORE LATER!

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!
(She's 77 today!)

Song of the moment:

I’ve got you under my skin
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you’re really a part of me
I’ve got you under my skin

I’ve tried so not to give in
I’ve said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby will I know than well
That I’ve got you under my skin

I’d sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Don’t you know you fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
’cause I’ve got you under my skin

Frank Sinatra (the one and only!), "I’ve Got You Under My Skin"

Patriots Suck

The Patriots won! BOO! But just barely. The Panther's players were cuter. (yes, you can tell I'm a woman, I enjoy football partly bc of the fact it allows me to openly check out the rears of some hot guys, w/o judgement...I can back it up by saying I'm JUST WATCHING THE GAME!) The halftime show was overrated, and a bit tacky, in my opinion-did Justin really need to undress Janet in front of millions of people? Whatever. He didn't really have to, we can already see she has a better body than 98% of us females. Talk about ab envy! Anyway, I'm sleepy, so it's bedtime. Love ya'll, more later.

Super Bowl Nonsense

I have been watching the Super Bowl w/ my roommates, and is it just me, or do the commercials get worse every year? The only one so far that has been even remotely amusing was the Willie Nelson one. I guess they're running out of ideas, but whatever. Still waiting to pass the verdict on the halftime show. And there's no score yet! Talk about boring. Oh, wait-the Patriots JUST got a touchdown. Damnit! I don't care one way or another about these particular teams, but I do hold a grudge against them for barely beating my Rams 2 years ago. BOO! Go Panthers, I guess. Like I've probably mentioned before, I'm not the biggest follower of pro-football, but I do claim allegiances to two teams-the Rams, bc they're near STL, and the Cowboys, which is just a family tradition-much of the fam is from Dallas, so this makes sense. Yeah, yeah, I know they're all supposedly on steroids, but whatever.

Meanwhile, my room is finally COMPLETELY organized-the drawers, the boxes, EVERYTHING is in perfect order. I'm so excited-organization makes me happy.

Enough of this, I'm going back downstairs to see how much the halftime show will rock/suck. More later.

My car is being less of a pissy bitch, it started! God Bless Cingular roadside assistance-you rock outrageously. Ok, time to shower and get some work done before the Superbowl festivities-although I must admit I couldn't care less who wins-the Rams & Cowboys are the only two teams I even bother following, and they're not in it. No worries, though-there is more to life than football.