So (e:hodown)'s alaska pix with the mushroom reminded me that I have pix to post...

First- my sister's family's amazing halloween costumes. (my sister would like to take credit for these, but really all credit goes to my amazingly crafty mother.) It started out with the idea of making the baby a garden gnome. Then sis and BIL decided to be other forest 'creatures'- namely a mushroom and a flower. I was curious to see how they'd come out, and all I can say is WOW. Also, I think my sister looks like a freaking model. (someone told me recently she looks just like me, which I think is completely untrue, but also a huge compliment, so I'll take it!)





And then to round things out, a few pix of my niece's first birthday.


Wearing the birthday hat my aunt knit for her.


what little kid DOESN'T love balloons?!

And finally- she got a rocking horse, which she absolutely loves. She gives it hugs and kisses all the time, and loves to pet and cuddle it. And then when she rides it she has the hugest smile. So freaking cute!!!!

Aww shucks. Well thanks guys.
I really wasn't trying to be a drama queen seeking affirmation... At least, not on a conscious level...
I mean sure, I know a journal should be for ME, not for YOU... but at the same time, if I didn't want anyone to read it, I'd write it in a notebook that I stash under my mattress. Or, I'm just an attention whore? ;)

But anyway, thanks. I feel loved.

And now I feel like I should try to find something worth writing about...

Hmm. Well, it's not necessarily worth writing about, but... here's an update.

Well things are good here. Work is going well... One of these days I need to start looking for a job. And since I have no clue where I want to go, I am stalling on that front. Do I go back home where my parents are? VA where it's warmer and my sister is? Stay here (if they'll have me)? Back to WNY? Go to Chicago, just b/c I love that city? Go to texas/vegas, just b/c they're offering a RIDICULOUS salary? And then of course, how do I ask a guy who I've only been dating for a few months (even though I really like him) "oh btw... if I move next year, are you coming with me?"

At the same time, work is totally infuriating sometimes. The attitudes some people have, the sense of entitlement. SOMEtimes, not always. Or the people who think they're going to "trick the system" or take advantage of worker's comp, etc. So that stuff is frustrating. But also making things work again, and restoring people's function and/or relieving their pain is really satisfying.

Hartford is fine. Kind of a dumpy city... shuts down on the weekends... but there's plenty to do in the neighboring towns, etc. Though for such a small city, the traffic is unbelievable. Totally ridiculous, and road-rage-inducing. And the utter disregard for, say, common traffic laws. Like huge trucks simply STOPPED in the turning lane, for hours, during rush hour, to unload. Not pulled over, not parked, just STOPPED, in the middle of traffic. Seriously?! WTF. Or people just running out in traffic without looking, and then screaming at me and giving me the finger when I have to slam on the brakes in order to not hit them, b/c I have a green light and they just didn't even look.

the boy is good. Really good. And I'm really glad he got to come to Buffalo with me, and meet some of you. :) He was saying last night that he's getting a little freaked out that we haven't annoyed each other or had a fight yet, and that he thinks we need to have a fight, just so we can survive it and get it over with. But the thing is... I honestly can't think of anything to fight with him about. All my previous fights have been b/c a boy acts like a douche and then I am all hurt and wounded... then I pout and act like a baby, and things go to hell. But... this guy... isn't a douche?! It's like it throws my whole worldview upside down, and I don't know what to do. Ha!

But, we're like boring old people. I feel like my life has made the switch from single-party-girl to boring-couple-girl. Most nights we eat some dinner and fall asleep watching a movie on the couch. And while part of me feels like that makes me "lame"- at the same time, I'm perfectly happy with it. And in all honesty, *this* is more who I am... a homebody. Staying out til 4 and getting wasted isn't really me- it's me putting on a show and trying to be cool. So, maybe I'm lame and boring now. But- I'm happy that way. :)

Although this weekend a few friends are coming in to town, and we're going to the Harvard-Yale game. I'm hoping to see some friends from school... should be fun. And, my dad went to Yale. And my boy's dad went to Harvard... so it might even be a chance to get our parents to meet each other. Except, my dad had both his knees replaced a couple weeks ago, so he may not be quite up to it by next weekend. But maybe that's good... both our moms are making incessant wedding comments, so maybe it's better if they DON'T get together quite yet. ;)

Oh- well here's some crazy news to tuck away at the end...
A month or so ago I started doing the Wii Active "30 day challenge". It's not like a crazy high impact workout, but, I figure it gets me motivated and gets me off the couch. Gets my heart rate up a little, and uses muscles that I haven't used in a while.

Well, after a couple weeks, my ankles were a little sore. So I took some advil and took a few days off. They got better. I went back to it- they hurt again. So i asked a guy at work, kind of in passing "hey, what does it mean if your ankle hurts right here?" and he checked it out and said 'here?? yeah, you need xrays". So I got xrays. he said 'you need an MRI'. So, I got an MRI. And- I have stress fractures in both ankles and both heels. WTF?! From doing freaking WII?! So, I feel like a ridiculous wuss. But, the upside- it is DOCTOR'S ORDERS that I do not exercise. So really... that means it's not my fault I'm being a lazy ass. I'm not allowed to exercise! Even if I wanted to! Unfortunately I seem to have also extended it to mean "eat like a pig- doctor's orders". bleh, time to get back on track....

Hmm. so. That's what's going on in my glamorous life...

I always have some story or another getting me all fired up... I'll try to remember some to share with you...

Just wondering if anyone reads me anymore, or if I should just quit...

I don't know if this is real or not, but god this shit pisses me off.

This is an email my dad sent me:

THEY CAN'T READ THE BILLS THEY VOTE ON...
BUT THEY CAN PLAY SOLITAIRE AND CHECK BALL SCORES
Nothing else need to be said. This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms. No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.



House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two... he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

These are the folks that decide how much and where the money you pay in taxes is spent...they regulate the US budget and are the ones who can't get the budget out by Oct. 1, Seriously...

So, we've got a 30 day budget extension. Well, guess what, 30 days from now we will be in the same boat. I guess this makes it easy for the news 'reporters' as all they have to do is recycle the same headlines from this week and from 2 years ago. And these yo-yo's will still be playing games....

Wow... Best tantrum ever.

So... I haven't been writing much, but... things are good. Really good.
I like this boy. Like, a lot. Have never had anything go so smoothly. And have never been less scared to think about a future.
I won't gush too much b/c I even make mySELF sick. LOL.

So, here are some pix.

First- My cutie-patootie little niece, who will be ONE in a few weeks. :)






The leaves are changing. Sigh. I guess summer is really over.

Just for you, tiny...

Perhaps it is not the appropriate sentiment, but- this murder at Yale makes me sad for Yale. Because throughout my whole time there, people would often look down their nose and go "oh. Yale. yeah I guess it's a good school. Too bad it's in New Haven." New Haven has a bad rap. And I'm sure a lot of it is deserved. It has high crime rates- etc. But so does any poor city. But so I have always defended Yale and New Haven. So, something like this certainly doesn't help.

But Yale certainly does seem to have more than its share of scary murders. Or, maybe they're just higher-profile since it's Yale.

But in '91, Christian Prince was murdered on the steps of a church near campus. (that is before I was there.)

And now this terrible case.

But the most intriguing and mysterious...

In 1998, the year after I graduated, Suzanne Jovin was found stabbed 17 times.

The case has never been solved, but apparently it was re-opened in 2007.

There has only ever been one suspect- though there has been NO evidence to tie him to the case, and he has never been charged with anything. And I knew the guy- he was my dean. His signature is on my diploma. I would never in a million years think he would murder this girl. And as I said- there has never been any evidence to tie him to the case. In fact they even did DNA tests of the tissue found under her nails- and it did NOT match his. Yet somehow, his name has never been cleared. And it basically ruined his life. I guess he is now suing Yale and the New Haven police- and I'm not sure I blame him.

But the interesting part...

The reason he was ever even questioned is b/c he was this student's thesis advisor. And I guess earlier in the day that she was murdered, she had met with him to go over her thesis. And THAT is why he is a murder suspect??!!

But that's not even the weird part.

The creepiest, twilight zone-iest part is this:

Less than six hours before she was killed, Suzanne Jovin, a 21-year-old Yale student, turned in a draft of her senior essay.

It was Dec. 4, 1998, just a week before the final copy was due. In 21 single-spaced pages on "Osama bin Laden and the Terrorist Threat to U.S. Security," she examined the terrorist's already prominent organization. Her paper was virtually complete, except for the conclusion. In neat handwriting on the margins of page 20, she wrote about the final paragraphs: "I'm saving the conclusion for last."

Here's the rest of the article. Long, but interesting.

This is really sad and scary...

On Tuesday a med student at Yale went into her lab... and never came out.
On saturday they found some bloody clothes up in the ceiling tiles.
And yesterday (which just happened to be the day she was supposed to be married) they found a body IN THE WALLS of the same building, which has been positively ID'd as the missing girl.

How awful on so many levels. :(

[first a mini-rant: I just have to say that so far Snow Leopard has been nothing but headache. Ugh. It has killed my internet, and I do not have the time/patience to deal with it now, so this is about the 4th time I have tried to post this post.]

So, I spent most of last week in San Francisco for a conference. It was good- though a lot of it was over my head. I did see a few friends from college that I haven't seen in years- so that was awesome.

And the invited guest speaker was Kathy Reichs- who writes mystery novels (I guess that's what you'd call them)- she's a forensic anthropologist, and the show Bones is based on her books. Well anyway, her talk was really entertaining and interesting- though it had nothing at all to do with hand surgery. I really find forensics, AND anthropology, fascinating.

But honestly, the best part of the trip was having a smiling face waiting for me at the airport when I got home.
Aww.... I'm such a sappy giddy little schoolgirl. But... things are good. :)

I also realized- I have ZERO desire to ever live in California.

It's also kind of a bummer that the trip ate up my whole long weekend... spent all day yesterday flying, and had to spend today getting organized for a full day of catch up at work tomorrow. Though, I guess I should be glad I had the day off at all.

And speaking of work... while in SF I went to reception put on by this chain of surgery centers... People refer to them as 'the dark side'. Which is maybe silly. They are a very successful, well marketed, BUSINESS. I talked to a guy that's worked there for a year... he works 3.5 days/week, doesn't take call, and makes SICK money. He is happy as a clam... doing work he likes with few paperwork/insurance hassles (etc), makes plenty of money, and has tons of time with his family.
I mean, what's not to like???
Yet, people in the field look down on them. Like it's 'selling out' to go work for them. I think in medicine it's very taboo to admit you want to make money. To look at it like a business.
Who knows... they have offices in texas and vegas now- and I don't want to live in either of those places. But I have to at least admit that I can see how people would be tempted.
Oh- there was a ten thousand dollar doorprize at the reception. TEN GRAND. Just for showing up. I didn't win, but knew the guy that did. Craziness.

Oh, and totally unrelated- my niece's first birthday is next month...
So I was talking to my mom about what to get for her. And Mom said she's decided she's going to give her a piece of artwork every year. She decided this after she saw a painting in a local gallery... I haven't seen it, but she described it as a simple brushstroke painting of an elephant. Almost abstract, but you can tell it's an elephant. She said it's perfect for a child's room... then she said there's a biography of the artist... it said [some chinese name, age 4]. I thought 'oh how cute, it's done by a four year old."

Well, yes- but-
a four year old ELEPHANT.
These paintings are DONE BY ELEPHANTS!!!!
Here is a sample (not the one mom got)-
How freaking cool.
elephant art



and since i'm posting pix, here are a few other from my trip-


a sweatshirt for sale in the airport here- Yes, that is an extra pocket to hold your beer.


This surprised me- in the airport IN DC- cardboard cutouts of the Obamas. Ok, that didn't surprise me. But the tshirts they were selling did- Ones that said 'Nope' (but looked like the 'hope' ones) and some that said "don't blame me I voted for McCain". I was not expecting to see that in DC, let alone in the airport.


This was the reception, during the drawing. Crappy pic, but, you can maybe make out the models on the right side. There were random models there for you to have your picture taken with. Just for the hell of it, I guess.



The Bay Bridge (which is/was closed) from the Ferry Building.


The print *I* ended up getting for my niece. Not done by an elephant, but still cute (I think) for a baby's room, with the bonus that I brought it home from somewhere just for her.


for the larsons- bought some new shades- polarized wayfarers.


First class is getting insane. And business class is even MORE redic, with these big diagonal BEDS for seats. (or do I have it backwards? I forget which is 'higher'- first or business. This was the 'lower' of the two.)


And finally, this book makes me want to vomit-
"the vixen manual: how to find, seduce, and keep the man you want."

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