Showboating

It's almost finals crunch time, so I've been really terrible about writing in this blog... oh well.  It'll hopefully improve next year! :D

Anyway, I just wanted to say something about what I've been seeing more and more frequently now that a lot of people I know are applying to graduate schools.  And I will admit that I am guilty of doing this for a while ... but then I realized how much it annoys me and how inconsiderate it may be to others, so I decided to stop doing this.

I can't believe I'm writing about this ...

Yeah, I know, I haven't written in this blog for the entire month.  I'm kind of embarrassed by it, actually.  I've had a lot of ideas but I suppose this month has been a bit rough for me personally.  Le sigh.  Motivation, where are you?

There is only SO much one can take.

As you all may or may not know, I am currently applying to medical school.  Let me just preface this entry by saying that I have no idea how the f*ck future generations are going to get in, because it is so extremely ridiculously competitive that it is making me sick (literally sick, I've been sick for weeks and I don't know how I'm going to get better anytime soon).  Let me also preface this entry by saying that I am not intending to brag or boast about my current statistics--I will try to describe my situation in a discreet way so that you get the idea but I don't want to rub anything in anyone's face.

Simple Academic (and Academically Related) Injustices

After spending about 4 hours in lab, I leave feeling lower than the dirt beneath my feet.  I just sink into myself and feel terrible.  Why do I feel so terrible?

I hope things change by the time I am a medical student...

Note: this may be a bit disjointed.
I am SO sick and tired of PMB's:  pre-med b!tches.

ALMOST (and I type that in all caps, because there are AT LEAST five of you who I believe to be truly respectable and friendly people) every pre-med I have encountered has been a PMB:  the kind of person who would never help you out on a homework assignment but will come to you expecting help, a person who might misinform you to ensure that they get a better grade, someone who is only your friend when you have a class with them, a sneaky b!tch who saps everything they can from you if you let them get too close.  PMBs are everywhere and make up the majority of my classmates, and I am truly sickened by these people.

What happened to real clothes?

A few nights ago, while walking home from studying, I encountered HOARDS of drunken sorostitutes who were pretending as though they were from the 80s--bright neon colors, tall socks, animal prints, and even fanny packs.  Ew, fanny packs?  Seriously, people WHY are fanny packs coming back?  They went out of fashion for a reason and it should stay that way ...  The moment I see a fanny pack, I think of my mom decades ago, looking like a dork while the rest of us were riding roller coasters in the amusement park.  Ick.  Fanny packs are hideous...

But that's not the stupidest thing I saw that night.

Freedom of speech? You make me sick.

My roommate and I are off to class and we see a disturbance in what students here call "The Diag", a giant open area that allows for easy access to the building surrounding it.  Instead of the Diag being all open and empty, it is walled off in such a way that you must go around it.  What was it walled off with?

Posters of bloodied, unborn fetuses SO large that you couldn't walk past them and miss them.

One Hell of a Week.

So, I did have a mean post brewing about b!tches and whatever else, blah blah blah.  However, there were too many ridiculous things that happened this week that I need to write about.  What the f*ck was this week?!?

Okay.  Let me start off with Sunday.  I was so caught up in catching up with my missed schoolwork on Sunday that I accidentally missed my shift.  That is the first time I've missed my shift in about 2 years.  I started panicking once I realized that I missed it; I called in as soon as I remembered, and I was told that it was okay.  As soon as I came in on Monday, I apologized for missing my shift and before I could even finish my apology, my bosses said, "Just forget about it and move on."

Stupidity: Is it Genetic?

Sorry I haven't written in a while, audience.  Last week was my medical school interview tour, so I was away.  I appreciate that you stick around and read the things that I write!

At some point during our 20 or so total hours of drive time, my father shared a "dumb-a$$ drivers" story.  Well, during those 20 hours, I got to see a LOT of dumb-a$$ driving ... OH my gosh.  And people say that Michigan drivers are psychopaths?  TOTALLY false.  I'm talking like 85 in a 55... WHY DON'T THESE PEOPLE GET TICKETS?!??  Anyway, the story goes like this:

WTF Lab Equipment

I guess no one important really cares about lab classes ... and why should they?  All the best equipment should go to the real people labs doing real research and blah blah blah.  Still, I think that labs should be furnished with functioning equipment ... especially when MY grades suddenly depend on accuracy (yes, accuracy) and not just completion like it has always been.  What the f*ck.

Stupid B!tches

Okay, so this one's gonna be quick because I got my wisdom teeth taken out <12 hours ago, have taken as few pain pills as possible, and I can finally feel my face again (which means ouchies).

My friends and I went camping for a couple of days near Cedar Point.  And to answer anyone's question, yes, we did go to Cedar Point.  I cried like a little b!tch on the Magnum.  "OH MY GOD, IS THIS OVER YET?!  WAHAHAHHAHHH GET ME OFF, WHY THE F*CK DID I PLAN THIS," etc.  I also refused to ride the Millennium Force or the Dragster.  F*CK no.

Some People are like Mules

, in the sense that they can be really stubborn and stupid.

Some news-radio station broke the tensed silence between my mother and myself during the drive up to work this morning.  Apparently there is a wide scale of mandatory evacuations along the east coast because of the impending destruction of Hurricane Irene.  Despite this, there were reports of several people saying that they were going to stay in their homes or still do whatever they want because they didn't want to leave until they absolutely had to (despite the fact that these evacuations are deemed mandatory).

Brownie Parties and the Never-Ending Goodbye

Everyone who's brown (at least, to my knowledge) knows what I'm going to say here.  I'm going to talk about the legendary goodbye that seems to last for an eternity when you don't want it to (or comes too suddenly when you just started to have fun ... but this is usually the exception to the rule).

Usually, people stand at the doorway for half an hour or so and just talk.  You know, at this point, the parents have pulled their children away from their friends, gotten everyone to put on their shoes or jackets, blah blah blah.  The door is open, but the screen door is still closed... and this is where the problem begins.

Hormone Therapy or Anger Management?

Going home is impossible.  I hate it.  It is never a good thing.  It is the roller coaster from hell that I cannot get off of.  I miss it so much when I leave, but when I come back I realize how much I hate it.

My Mother's Strange Behavior

Lately my mother has been either supremely pleasant or supremely unpleasant.  She'll laugh at everything or make jokes at me ... and then she'll get SO angry with me that she'll stop speaking to me for a couple of days.

She gets angry unreasonably, and then refuses to discuss the problem or why she's angry.  My dad and I will ask her periodically throughout a day what the problem is, but we'll end up giving up because she says, "Oh, me?  I don't have a problem!  You probably have a problem!"  And then it is all downhill from there.  Nothing gets solved because, apparently, she has no problems.

Stupid Drivers--More Road Rage

A couple nights ago, I was driving in an unknown area and I was driving slowly because it was dark and I was looking for a specific street sign.  I noticed a light glow of light in my rearview mirror, but it was strangely light.  Headlights would have blinded me, but this didn't.

I realized that it was a car that was driving so close behind mine that I couldn't see its headlights in my rearview mirror.  What the f*ck.  Seriously?  That's ridiculously dangerous.  There's only one lane for you to legally drive in, so I can understand that you might be annoyed that I'm going slowly ... but to tailgate me that badly is nothing short of dangerous.

I guess these people just got way too pissed off at me, because they decided to cross the double yellow line, swerve in front of me, pollute my air with their bullsh!t young people music (yes, I said that, and yes, I consider myself to be above the "popular" music on the radio), and flick me off.  Get this--the person who gave me the finger was in the back seat.

AUGH.  WHAT a bunch of a$$holes.  I hate b!tches like that.  Calm the f*ck down, I wanted to yell out my window.  I wanted to scream, YEAH, well learn how to drive before you do that, b!tches.  ARGH.

Another story that makes me SO angry:

I think I hate the Secretary of State.

I am about to have an important birthday (heh), so I needed to renew my license.

I went to the Secretary of State.  By the time I left, at least 40 minutes had passed.  How long did it actually take to renew my license?

Sunscreen is Horsesh!t.

Hmm ... you might be wondering why I would even write this post, because I'm as brown as milk chocolate.  Why would I even need to wear sunscreen?

Well, the real answer is that I HATE getting dark.  I think it's interesting that in America, tan-ness is considered super attractive while everywhere else in the world, the fairer you are, the more beautiful you are. Perhaps it's my culture that has taught me to hate getting dark (could be completely true), or perhaps it's just that when I'm out in the sun for that long, my skin literally feels like it's burning (because I'm so dark.  Imagine wearing dark clothes on a sunny day!  That's how hot I feel when I'm in the sun.).  Or maybe it could be that my parents consistently comment on my skin color, especially in the summer time.

I darken fast without sunscreen, so I wear sunscreen anytime I know I'm going to be outside for extended periods of time.  I wore sunscreen constantly during my stay in the motherland, and I still got darker.  I also wore sunscreen during a recent camping trip just so that I could stave off darkening any more.  What was the first thing that my parents said when I got home after a week of canoeing and camping?

Are you really giving back? Or do you only care about yourself?

Just a few things to say, here, everybody.

Not all of my friends know this, but I volunteer at a local free clinic every other Saturday or so.  It is an extra dose of responsibility that essentially takes away my Friday nights, but it's absolutely worth it to me.  I enjoy doing my job and doing it RIGHT.

And that is what I'm going to start with--doing jobs and doing them CORRECTLY.  Or perhaps being a part of an efficient team, I don't know.  I'm just going to rant like I usually do.  Here we go.

I love my mom...

.. but sometimes, she drives me NUTS.

Mom.  If you read this, please understand that I am your daughter and I love you.  But sometimes, YOU DRIVE ME NUTS.  OHHH my gosh.

This is not meant to be mean or b!tchy or anything ... it's almost supposed to be funny.

As some of you already know, my house is super duper far away from campus.  It's about a mile away.  And normally, I just put up with this sort of thing and go with it, but in this sweltering 100some F degree heat, I just can't even handle walking back from my house to a specific intersection (yes, my mom only meets me at one specific intersection), let alone when I have sh!t tons of stuff to carry with me.

Madness.

Let me start out by saying that I have not called anyone any names, or said anything mean to anybody about this.  Let it also be known that these are my opinions and that I am entitled to have them.

I am so sick of everyone posting about Harry Potter, and how OMG IT'S THE END OF EVERYTHING.  This is not directed at just one person, but it is simply my unfocused frustration at the flood of statuses about Harry Potter I received.  I can understand attachment to the movies or whatever, and I can understand crying during the movie when people died  ... but I feel mildly annoyed by everyone who's saying, "my childhood is finally over now," and crying about it.

Isn't she lucky?

Hopefully I am.

I went to Polhena Beach today, and, unsurprisingly, was the center of attention.  People even yelled out, "NIIIIICE, sha!" and whistled.  Yeesh.

Okay, so this is also an outdated photo ... but hey, nothin' special.  Just a girl in a bikini.

This poorer woman, selling peacock feathers, came up to me and asked me if i wanted my fortune told.  I offered her my left hand (more or less):

Get your GIANT HAIRPUFF outta my face!!

Today was my second day shadowing in the government hospital, and it was definitely more jarring than the first.    I was in the internal medicine ward, following another group of med students during rounds.  I have a few b!tchy and not-so-b!tchy things to say.

1)The hospital is SMALL.  There is HARDLY any space; beds are CRAMMED next to each-other, and there is definitely not enough space for about fifteen med students.

Shallowness Transcends All!

And I thought commercials in the US were ridiculous...

They still are.  But some of these commercials here are absolutely retarded.

There is a commercial that starts out with the woman waiting for her husband to come home, and he does--and walks past her totally disinterested.  There are a few more interactions like this--she sits on the couch and he just totally ignores her, etc.  Ugh.  And she's so sad (hell, it'd make me sad too)... so what does she do?

She goes into the bathroom and pulls out

Little Luxuries and Little Frustrations.

We traveled across the country (so that means we drove for three hours, haha) to attend a wedding of my father's cousin.  In preparation for this wedding, I got my sari tailored for me by some strange woman in a back alley filled with spools of thread and pieces of fabric... and giant cobwebs.  Literally the sketchiest thing I have experienced so far.  Eughhh.

BUGS ARE SCARY

I'm sitting alone downstairs, feet safely away from the floor in this rocking chair.  The clock just struck midnight, and I'm terrified.  Why?

BUGS.

No, seriously.  It's dark down here.  I thought I saw this crawling around on the floor:

Credit to whoever took this picture, it is not mine.  But yeah.  Cute, right?  I love these guys.

I unplug my laptop and bring it over to where I see the movement.  I am greeted with this instead:

Why I Love White People and Travel Annoyances.

Hey, everyone!  I arrived safely in the motherland, and I have quite a few things to say.  I have been keeping a paper journal, and will pretty much type as I have written.

DTW airport:  OH my gosh.  Why the f*ck are two out of five of our giant bags broken (missing a foot)?!?  FAIL.

6/18/11:  JFK Airport in NY

There are these brown girls trying to hack into the internet and failing.  Uh, DUH, you have to pay.  BROWWNN.

Everyone on our flight to Kuwait is brown.  No, seriously.  I look like a whore and I wore an orange sundress.

I am super sick, which is not a surprise.  I sat across the aisle from the rest of the family, and no one sat in the seat next to me (and it's not like anyone would if they had a choice, because I sound like I'm dying every time I open my mouth to cough).  During the 36 hours of travel and waiting time before we finally reached our destination, my sickness progressed

Wow, SUPER update.

Hey everyone,

I know I haven't written in this journal in literally two months.  So, here's a quick update, in no particular order:

How brown is brown?

I will be honest.  My boyfriend and I had been dating for a while, and we have gotten serious (and intimate).

I am so desperate for this illness that I am feeling to be anything except anxiety ... I hope that there is a medical cause behind this so that I can get that treated and begin to feel totally normal again.  The mornings are unbearable... I wake up with my heart running at 200 miles per hour, my head feels really hot (like I'm going to throw up or something), and I can't breathe.  I stand up and I almost pass out.  I feel so light headed.  Ugh, I feel terrible in the morning.

Finally, after about a week of hell, I have started to feel hungry again and I am so thankful for that feeling.  It is amazing to have an appetite and to be happy enough to eat.  I will never take hunger for granted again.

ANYWAY, because my symptoms are terrible in the morning, I entertained the idea that perhaps I could be pregnant

Ripped Off.

Hey, everybody.  I'm sorry I haven't written for a LONG time.  I took a much longer break than I intended to.

Two nights before my MCAT, I had some really typical and hilarious nightmares.  In one of my nightmares, the physics section turned out to be about the physics of applying makeup... and even though I thought to myself, "I'm a girl, I should know how to do this," I didn't know how to do any of it.  Unfortunately, I experienced a similar feeling during my actual MCAT... the physics section felt like Greek.  How terrible.  And of course, while I was taking verbal I was just caught up with how terribly my physics must have went ... and it was just a cascade downhill from there.

Housing Troubles

Okay, I'm getting REALLY f*cking tired of landlords.  Or should I say, my former landlords.  They sold the house and apparently we have a new "landlord" ... who I have yet to meet.

Long story short, we finally went to go see a lawyer and she discovered that the house we have been living in has not been inspected by the city for three years.  On top of that, their certificate of occupancy was expired. The lawyer said it had been expired for three years.  The property management company hired by my former landlords said it was only expired for three months.  Oh, so that makes it okay?  F*cking b!tches.

History Repeats Itself (faster than I think ...?)

... And now there has been an updated one that I've been invited to twice:

Blueberry: Im single
Pineapple its complicated
Raspberry: Im a touch and go woman
Apple: Engaged
Cherry: In a relationship
Banana: Im married
Avocado: Im the "other one"
Strawberry: Cant find the right one
Lemon: Wish i was single
Grape: wants to get married.
Orange: Likes to just "Look"
Melon: Sadly Widowed 
Pear: no strings attatched. friend with benifits !!

If you have recently and honestly donated money to this cause there is now a "GOLD' catagorie ie: GOLDEN BANANA!!

If you have donated your "HAIR" for locks of love then you can now become a ''SILVER'' fruit!!!

If you have suffered with this terrible disease and are strong enough to share it with everyone then add the word "DIAMOND" before your fruit!!!

Also remember to check for lumps on a regular basis and get to know your two friends well. One day it could save your life!!

The bra game reached TV, lets get this one to do the same, and show everyone how powerful women are or if your feeling generous please make a donation. every dollar counts!!! http://www.nbcf.org.au/page.asp?category_id=12&page_id=396

Sorry to be redundant, but I got angry again ...  Admittedly, it's kinda better, but it's kinda worse.  The better part is that this event actually does spread awareness by telling girls to check for lumps on a regular basis and asking people to actually make a donation.  Yay!  This is ACTUALLY spreading SOME degree of awareness!  However, it is also worse because of the new categories ...  Like, gold and silver for donating money or hair?  That's plain awful.  Why don't you wear a sign around your neck that says, "I donated!!  I COMMAND YOUR RESPECT!"?  Ugh.  I just can't stand the fact that people would brag about being charitable; being charitable and being proud seem like ... conflicting characteristics, to some degree.

Additionally, one of my friends had told me that males also get breast cancer, although this is less prevalent.  Unfortunately, this little mindgame alienates men even more from the cause (when they may be affected AND when they have the ability to help).  I don't know, this whole thing is really infuriating yet saddening.  Such illnesses should not be trivialized to this level by society.  At the very least, I'm happy that the newer version of this "girls only" event is trying to get girls to be more aware of their own breasts.

I can't believe I wrote about this only 10 hours ago ... hahahahah.  Jeebus, the people who make these seem so childish.

History Repeats Itself.

BLARGH, here we go again with the stupid breast cancer awareness thing.  Except now, it's even more arbitrary and stupid.  Here is the event I was invited to on facebook, word for word:

READ READ READ THEN YOU WILL SEE IT'S NOT THAT KIND OF INVITE TO GO SOME WHERE IT'S... A INVITE TO SHOW YOU CARE!!!!REMEMBER TO POST ON YOUR WALL NOT THE EVENTS COMMENT SLOT.......

Prepare for Tomorrow's Hangover Day

Oh my goodness.  Last night was St. Patrick's Day, and for some reason I guess that means everyone feels like they can skip work or class and drink from 7 am to whatever time they decide to stagger home.

Class turnout was SO low.  I was getting to class at 10 AM and people were already passed out from partying.  People passed out in some of my classes because they actually showed up drunk.  Ambulances were called as early as 11 AM.  When I was done with all of my classes at 6:30 PM, campus was a mess.  Drunk people and green vomit EVERYWHERE.

This was my version of St. Patrick's Day:

Haha, I made him buy that shirt about a year ago.

All I did was wear a stupid green shirt that said, "KISS ME, I'M IRISH" (which is obviously a lie), and then drink a little bit in the safety of my own home.

The Planned Parenthood Controversy

This is probably old news, but it still really bothers me ... I wonder if this bill will actually get passed.

About a couple weeks ago, the House was voting on a bill that would cease all government funding to Planned Parenthood.  I think what they don't realize is that PP is not simply a place where people get abortions--but it is a place where lots of women get healthcare or other preventative services for free (or for donations, I guess).  Their primary focus is not on abortions, so to fully remove funding from it would be a tragedy.  So many women who are underprivileged (and even those who are privileged) depend on PP for various reasons.

Priorities, Man

[This post has been majorly edited.]

Now, I don't want people who had children young to get all upset at me or whatever.  I'm sure that there are plenty of responsible young mothers, and I do know quite a few (and I'm really proud of you for stepping up to the plate and doing something I don't think I could do).  

Break.

OH my goodness, I haven't written in weeks.

Sorry for taking that hiatus, I guess ... what with exam hell week and "Spring Break" and all...  Things have gotten super busy and scary now that it feels like my MCAT is sneakily approaching.

Anyway, I do still have a ton of things coming ... so maybe I will start writing again sometime this week.

I hope you all have been doing well over the past couple of weeks!

<3.

V-Day

So I understand I'm a little bit late on this one, but it still had to be done ...

Last year, by the time Valentine's day was approaching my boyfriend and I had been dating for only about ... a week or two.  It was a shaky day.  What should we do?  Should we celebrate it or dismiss it?  Well, I think we did the smart thing by openly dismissing it.  It didn't matter, though, because we both ended up getting something small for each-other; I ended up getting him some delicious chocolate and he ended up tearing the only living blossom off of his cactus and giving it to me--it was such a sweet gesture.  It was cute.

Why I don't respect "pop culture".

Did anyone watch the Grammy awards last night?  I only saw a teeny bit of it--it was "F*ck You" with Cee-Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow.  She really screwed it up, but I really enjoyed the whole concept behind it... muppets are sweet!!   After the performance ended, I resumed my MCAT studies and continued to ignore any sound that was outside my door.

This morning, I open up Yahoo! (which, again, I should just never do because they don't provide REAL news) and what's all over the homepage?

Do your job, please?

Right now, I'm just chilling out and wasting time before my MCAT class starts.  I have 45ish minutes.  I do not want to do any work.  I just came out of an exam (ewgh) and I just want to relax a bit.

Although, I have a HUGE amount of work to catch up on this weekend.  Oh, dear god.

A couple of days ago, I was studying for this cognitive psych exam.  I had been living in the library, basically, and apparently I actually needed to read the textbook (in hindsight, this was a GREAT idea).  I walk up to the circulation desk and ask them for the book.

Seriously, that hipster douchebag behind the desk had to be halfway stoned or SOMETHING.

At least it's not Monday?

I know this is probably a really stupid thing to b!tch about, but ... I think I hate going to class.  Honestly.  I think I hate class.  I'm almost so bored with this semester that I have a hard time remembering what classes I'm even taking.  I have three actual classes (cellular neurobiology, medical anthropology, and cognitive psych) in addition to some psychology research in a lab.  Blagh.  I don't want to go to class.

What happened to good music and cartoons?

Or, rather, why is our culture heading in this direction?

So all of the cartoons that were cool when I was a kid--Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and all that nonsense-- are now on Boomerang.  What the hell?!  Boomerang, the channel for super old cartoons from the 1960s?  Why is my childhood on this channel?  I don't even understand.

But what I understand even LESS is all of the live action shows on Cartoon Network.  Um, hello?  You're freaking Cartoon Network . That means that you should be playing cartoons ...?  I mean, the new stuff they have isn't really that good anyway.  Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was okay, but that got cancelled.  I suppose some of the cartoons are okay, but the live action stuff is just awful.

Quiet time, anyone?

For the past couple of weeks, I have been taking a practice MCAT every Sunday morning.  I realize that after every Sunday morning, I feel the same sense of rage.  I was going to make a note to myself to write about this, and when I came here to write this post I realized that I had made the SAME EXACT NOTE last week.

The Medicinal Dilemma

I'm currently taking a medical anthropology class, and last week's discussion made me very angry... angry enough to send my GSI a SUPER long email about how I was so upset but I didn't want to say anything out loud.  I don't want to be known as "that girl".  (She was touched enough by my email to ask me to come to her office hours so we could discuss everything.)

Anyway, we were talking about different types of medicines that are used for different illnesses and the cultural contexts involved.  The conversation veered over to how doctors in the Western medical system are all terrible.

Why make this generalization?

Sure, let's toast to that ... (with a bottle of jack?)

So this is about New Years (which tells you how behind I am with my posts!).

I don't know if anyone out there used to watch that new years eve nonsense with Dick Clark every year ... but I never really liked watching it.  It always was just shots of a bunch of people partying outside in the cold, or in places where I'd rather be.  Everyone was carefree and having such a good time, just waiting for the year to start.  And some artists would perform, announcers would just talk about how good the performances were and how it's almost time for the year to change over, etc.  How pointless.

Punctuality and the Concept of "Brown Time"

I don't know why, but I absolutely HATE being late.  It bothers me so much to know that I am expected somewhere at some time and that it is not going to happen.  I hate being that one person who shows up five minutes after class has started.  At that point, not only have I missed some of class and will be starting without any background, but I have successfully gotten at least 5% of the class to turn around and scowl at me for coming in late.

I suppose it is a combination of factors.  Sometimes, it's because those damned buses don't show up on time.  Sometimes it is my reluctance to leave my warm and cozy abode to enter the gloomy and frigid tundra.  And the slippery snow-slush-mush-grossness coats the ground thickly doesn't help much either.  I hustle and slip and slide to class, and I show up huffing and puffing.  Do you think it was my intention to be late?  Haha.

If only the lock hadn't FROZEN SHUT.

Why is this national news?

Because I want to convince myself that I'm studying for the MCAT, I am going to try and write about some current events (ish) for a little while.  Hope you all don't mind.

For anyone who's reading this in the USA, I'm sure you've heard of the recent shooting in AZ last weekend.  Unfortunately, several people were shot, wounded, and even killed.  Senator Gifford was shot through the head, and although the bullet did travel the length of her brain, she miraculously survived.

For some reason that is simply BEYOND ME, all of America is so upset about the death of a 9 year old girl, Christina Green.

Before I say anything else, and before people start bombarding me with a load of horsesh!t, I do want to say something nice.  I am really sorry that she is dead--but not just for her.  I am so sorry that such an event had to happen in the first place.

Don't lose anything.

... ESPECIALLY on the bus.

Because my house is approximately 1.5 miles away from campus, I try my hardest to catch a ride with my boyfriend or ride the bus to class.  Now that winter has started and snow is consistently on the ground, walking to class every morning is not only unappealing but it is also somewhat dangerous.  (Ugg-style boots suck.  They have NO traction.  And mine have started to leak.)  So I've gotta catch a specific bus with a route that is close to my house.  Oh man, it's public transit time.  It's a good thing that it's free for students as long as they have a valid university ID.

One day, I was riding the bus from campus towards my house.  I get a strange tickling feeling on my right thigh.

Photowhores: They're EVERYWHERE

If anyone's ever stumbled upon my facebook, you'll notice that I have a load of pictures up.  A LOAD.  And yes, pretty much all of them are posed, like this:

Whee!  I'm in front of some lamdmark!  What a completely normal looking photo!

But anyway, this is not the point.  Here, I look like a normal human being with perfectly normally functioning nerves and muscles, and instead of posing in front of a mirror I am posing in front of a landmark.  It's proof I've been somewhere cooler than my bedroom.  Lately, I've been seeing a lot of this type of photo on the internet: