Gnomes and Diamonds

Just to recover some sanity left in my brain, let me wrap up my weekly life...

Grandparent story: The MORNING Aimee and I were to drive them to the airport for their flight away, grandma pulled this MASSIVE pout-fest. She had apparently hid a small container of a single piece of baklava in the dining room (3 days before) under a napkin. When the boys came over, I was trying to clean up and made the executive decision that she no longer wanted the dessert, and that I could eat it. And it was eaten. That morning, I woke up to find she'd be upset and throwing a fit all morning about how "it was just nasty" that me and my friends came in and ATE all of the sweets in the house. She made it a point to say that it had been OK if it were all "family members", but this was just unacceptable. "We had to eat salty things for breakfast." HEAVEN FORBID! And things got worse from there....
Anyways, for those of you who know my grandparents, this went on all day until we finally dropped them off. No tearful goodbye this time.
Aimee and I vented it out at Cheesecake Factory in Cambridge while I exchanged an Ann Taylor dress.
And that night, after a fruitful and fun run around the neighborhood, I fell asleep on Muck's lap while watching "Dodgeball".

I grabbed hot cocoa with Garrett. Just to get out of town, we found ourselves in a Dunkin Donuts in Salem, NH. We had a good 2-hour conversation about life and whatnot. He is such a great guy, I'm so glad we still talk.
And Jessica came over to watch Dane Cook, who is a very sexy man. It was a good night.

Yesterday I ran a lot of errands, focusing mainly on France things. And then I went to say goodbye to Craig before he moved back to NYC. Lucky bastard.

I FINALLY got an email back from Darrell. You know, I don't care what's going on with this whole......thing. I just get frustrated when friends don't keep in good contact with me, especially when I care a lot about them and am going to a FOREIGN COUNTRY in about a month. Common courtesy, in my POV. Agh, men.

Went into the North End with Steve F. today to have a lunch date. We talked in french, I told him about college life, tried to help him out with some of his problems. He acts a lot older than he really is, and I'm so impressed by him.
Wisdom teeth surgery victim Scott and I went out to dinner and a movie later tonight. We basked in the gift card glory at TGIFridays, and saw "Blood Diamond". It was a very good film. A lot of violence about the West-African diamond black market and it's relations with the RUF. Makes you frustrated with humanity, that's for sure.

I would like to take this time now to shout out to Deejay. I see you reading my blog. Hey, you. Let's chat soon.

I don't know anyone else who reads it, which is why I'm perplexed why someone in Latvia or Algeria would stumble across it....which they apparently have.

Back at Home

The chocolate thing I had was, in fact, the flu. Just to let you know. The worst jogs of my life...
Moving out of the apartment in Manhattan was a real bitch. I had to pack everything up all by myself into the car in the basement garage. Where Buck was so conveniently placed TIGHTLY (as in no moving room) between a BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Escalade. I'm serious. Rough 2 hours of packing my life into a Buick LeSabre.
And did I mention that there was a protest outside of my apartment at the time? Something about police brutality in Africa. There were more cops than protesters, I swear. That means Wall Street was completely blocked off, and the COMPLETELY PACKED garage was not able to get rid of any cars. Rough.
The drive home was uneventful. Dad and I talked some. I pined some. You know how I do.

Back in NA, life is same-old-same-old. Translation: lots of time. It's as if time abruptly slows down like you've hit a patch of molasses when you get to the burbs from the city.

The morning after, after a terrible run (again), Scott and I went shopping with Mom. Mom had gotten in a car accident, so she was pretty bummed out, but we tried to make her happier. Both of us kids got haircuts (though, Scott forbade me from cutting more than 1 inch off...). It was a short shopping trip, actually. We ended up getting dinner at the Loop, and then talking in my room for the rest of the night.
The grandparents came in, and my life got harder automatically. Not the cute ones, the evil ones. The biggotted ones. It's been an interesting few days.
Aimee brought home her cat, Ron. He's adorable, but a bit feisty.

I went to the doctors to discover my actual flu symptoms were legit. And I had a sore on my foot. Good, clean fun for everyone. And Jesse came over to say hi for a few.
We ended up (Jesse & Craig & me, that is) going to Dany's house for a party. Lots of people. One hour limit, thanks to the other 2 who didn't know anyone at the party but me. It was nice to see them all, but I sadly realized how far apart I really was from a lot of them. There's not as big of a connection to everyone as there used to be. Craig and I ended up going back to his place to discuss my boy problems.

Christmas Eve was uneventful. Aimee and I went to the grocers for Mom's birthday, the family went to Wilson's to get food for Xmas, and that's about it. I cooked dinner.
Ido called me, surprisingly. I was so glad to hear from him. I missed him, and it's nice to know that we can still talk. Though, his English isn't as good anymore. Oh well, I'm used to it.
Aimee and I went to Church for Candlelight Mass a bit early, where the youth came together to say "hi". Again, there was a stronger disconnect between me and the other Andover kids, which surprised and disappointed me. Oh well, que sera sera, right?
It was interesting going to church after my personal seperation from Christianity. Lots of interesting things are heard when you're not so hooked on the religion.
Grandma has the most hideous, shrill, out of tune singing voice I've heard in a long time. It made a lot of us giggle during the songs.

Christmas was fine. My family woke me up in a cruel way: continuously calling my mobile until I came downstairs.
Too many presents. I got what I wanted, and then some. I plan on donating some key things to charity, along with a lot of things from my room already.
What did I get? Money...gift cards...a piece of lingerie (thanks, mom)...a gnome (thanks, aimee)...and other joyous things.
Dad and I went for a jog around the neighborhood. It wasn't too bad.
Ido and I talked again for a while. Aparently he's going to call me more often so he can work on his English, and I owe him a song?
Scott saved me from the family, and we went to go see "Dreamgirls". Not a bad movie. MAN, do those women have chops on them!!!! Jennifer Hudson's GOT PIPES!!! That movie's really made me want to get back into the jazz singing scene.

Today, well, was amazing. After lunch with the family, Jeff and I ended up going to Salvation Army, where Jeff found the most ridiculous clothing to buy for a grand total of $15. And we ran into Maxx & Molly, which was great fun for all.
Jeff and I talked in Starbucks for an hour about life, futures, and politics. And I talked to his girlfriend on the phone.
We came back and took a long walk around my neighborhood, and talked some more.
After I made us dinner and we took pictures of Jeff being sultry, Scott joined up with us, where we decided to go to Salisbury Beach after a glass of Pinot Grigio. We sang carols on the beach, and joked about life. And we found the most dismal bar on the beach. Big place. We were the ONLY people in the bloody place. Dismal, I tell you! We had a few chuckles and headed back to my place, where Jesse stopped by for a while.
I love them.

Oh, Wow....

So, last night I didn't feel very well. At all. I was hugging the toilet for perhaps 2 hours, praying that I'd get the job done and feel better once and for all.
The kind where you can't really think straight, and it's a little harder to walk outside. The kind where you forget what happeed exactly the next day.
We, being Mom and me, think that it might be a mix between having some kind of bug, the stress from exams, the current events that have been going on in my life (which I will not discuss on my blog), PMS, and the fact that I OVERDOSED on chocolate. Yes, I ODed on chocolate. It can happen.

The funny thing is, apparently I felt compelled to write to Ido. I haven't talked to him in a few months. I wanted to know how he was, I guess. So, I got onto the computer, and started making an email for him. I got the "To" part right. The subject said "recap". I assume I was going to write out what I had been up to or something.
The body of the text: "hey ido,".
That's it.
Sent.

How do I know?? Because Ido responded to me this morning. His response was something along the lines of, "...call me on Friday...."

I'm still laughing about this.

Some Results...

Managerial Accounting - B+
Français - A
Global Economics - B

Not bad...I could have done worse. 2 more results to go!

Cleaning Up Shop

So, I should probably fill people in on what current events befell me over the past few days. As briefly as possible.

We had our Chamber Choir concert last Friday. And the parents stayed in the city to see it.
It went really well! We sang a handful of chamber music, and some not-so-chamber music (i.e. The Beach Boys). I had to conduct the Jabberwocky song because Noah was playing the piano for us all. But we had a pretty good show up, and we sang well. We recorded it, and Darrell's making us all CDs (to be sold online sometime?) of the show. It's all very exciting.
I am so glad I'm in chamber singers right now. This semester has been wonderful, and with our newer members, we have a really powerful connection between all of us. The very first practice this semester proved that not only were we good singers, but we had some really strong bond/love for each other. I love them all.

Saturday, Mom&Dad brought Aaron, Neil, and I out to dinner at this really nice place called Pietro's. I got the swordfish, and the boys got steaks. It was a good time, and my parents approve of my choice in friends. The boys seemed to enjoy the time, too. And we ate too much. We slowly walked back to the subway.
I got home 10 minutes before I started hosting my Chambers after-party. Darrell came over early to help me get ready for it. Unfortunately, only half of us were over, but we still had a blast of a time together. As always. Twister, Photobooth, politics, and SINGING! Lots of singing. My lord......we made a bit of a mess, so Darrell stayed over to help me clean up in the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday, the parents offed back home, while I went to work on homework with my class groups. And, though I had had 2 hours of sleep, I went with Dad's assistant Robin to a concert of the "U2 of Pakistan/India", Ali Azmat. We enjoyed it, he was REALLY GOOD! But we both were so tired that we agreed to go home early.

Tuesday, I had 2 final tests, 1 final paper, and a final presentation. It was a long day. I aced French, did either alright or failed Business Law (I doubt the latter), and my paper/presentation group did really well (above average) on both the paper and powerpoints. Good job, us!
Danie came over for dinner, where we feasted on pasta with Tequilla/lime-sauce. It was delicious.

Wednesday was crazy. I ran uptown to do a focus group with this start-up SoSauce. It is a really cool group of NYU-grads who are making a new blogging site (sorry, Blogger). I think they've got some good ideas, and the guy that I talked with was really great. We had a good conversation for about an hour.
I then grabbed tea with Emily from Chambers. We talked about boys, and England, pre-biz minors, and other assorted joys. Good times, I'll miss her a lot.
Then, I quickly ran up to meet Liz from french class for tea at Think. We also talked about boys, and school, and we just chatted. She's a darling girl.
THEN, I ran into Dan right before going home. We ended up getting coffee, too. And we talked about stuff. He called me a player, and I resented it. It was a busy day.

Thursday we had a Chambers E-board meeting. There's a lot of things we have to do before I leave for Paris. Oie vay.
I then studied my brains out with Jean-Claude and Mariam (at different times) for global econ. Long, long day. Mariam and I ended up at her apartment, eating Chocolate Sorbet, talking about what we need to do when I come back. She gave me a holiday gift, and I love her for it. I have come to realize I know wonderful people.

Friday was my global econ final. It was a decent final. I think I did my best on it. My phone rang off the hook (vibrate, ahem) during the whole final. The last call was my friend Rob who was sitting next to me during the final but left early. He was just calling to make me more embarassed during the test. Nice guy.
I grabbed dinner with Neil and Dan. They always have an interesting debate with each other, but this time I just wasn't into it, so I just enjoyed their company while spacing out.
Darrell came over afterwards and we made mac 'n cheese. It was REALLY GOOD, but way too rich. Heart-attack quality. Oie, my arteries. Emily kept on calling me for fashion help during our cooking, so really Darrell cooked it all. Good job to him, he's got me impressed. The rest of the night we talked about it all. It was a good night, and morning.

The Yesterday, Aaron and I ended up in Brooklyn at Grand Army Plaza, and walked around the park, relishing in the green open space. We headed back after a while and went to Lemongrass for dinner. I made him go see 2 movies later; The Holiday, and The Departed (which I'd already seen). The first one was the perfect chick flick for me right then and there, and the latter? Well, it's still good.

Today (Sunday), I walked around for a while. I talked on the phone with some people. I grabbed coffee with Matt Dell, and it was great to see him and hear what he's up to right now. He's got quite the interesting life, I must say.
Craig and Alex H. came over for dinner, to help me finish the mac 'n cheese. They joked around with me, Craig left early, and Alex & I watched Y Tu Maman Tambien. Once again, a good movie. He just left after a raher large talk, and I'm tired and ready to go to bed. NIGHT!

Finals Approach-eth

It was Aaron's birthday on Sunday. I took him out to Indian Row and we ate at this nice place called Brick Lane (yes, based on the London street....). We ate sooooo much food! And I got the manager to bring him a birthday dessert with candles and singing. It was really nice. Though, I got sick from eating so much. Bad choices.
Afterwards, we came back to the apartment and watched "Y Tu Mama Tambien". It was excellent, but a bit surprising on my end.
Two presentations done, one to go.
4 finals to go.
And, 1 paper done, 1 to go.
ALMOST THERE!!!!

This picture was taken out of my apartment. It's my Holiday wishes to all.

There's a bit that's been going on, but I just want to sleep now. Night!

Frustratingly Remembering

So, in order to procrastinate on my work, I've been stockpiling this list on LibraryThing with all of the books I've ever read. Ever. Which is difficult in the first place, but it's fun to remember the books that I've read once upon a time, all of 10 years ago, and then add them to my ever-growing list.
And today, I remembered a handful of books and series that I read. After seeing "Fast Food Nation" with Aaron, the list just grew.
The problem is, I can't for the life of me remember the names of the books, so all I have are the general storylines in my brains, the covers of the books, but no means to find the books. I have been googling as much as I can, but to no avail.

So, for my own sake, I'm going to list the general jist of these young adult books I can't find (hoping I'll find them some day):
1) 4th grade reading: A story of a young boy who has to solve a mystery (perhaps a murder?) where there is a blue car, footprints going to a house, a lot of plastic pink flamingos....and a dog, which I think might be his. I feel like cookies may or may not be involved, but that might be my own wishes.
2) A trilogy where some girl befriends a ghost-girl in her room, during the summer time, and they try to make things right in both of their lives. The cover is very 80's-style, where the ghost girl looks shocked that she's dead, etc.
3) A book about a girl who all of a sudden starts channeling a girl who lives in ancient Egypt...it might very well be her in a past life? I think it's in the summertime, as well. The cover was also illustrated, with a girl looking shocked while staring into a river to see another shocked girl who looks like she's from Egypt.

If you have any idea what books these are, LET ME KNOW. It's driving me nuts.

Oh yeah, and I hung out with Dominique and her boyfriend today. We ate indian, and then we hung out in their temporary condo over in Times Square. It was incredibly pimp.

Fast Break

I've been in the Stern computer lab for roughly 8 hours now.

I've been working on my Brooks Brothers presentation all day. And my presentation on Chile and China's Free Trade Agreement.

I just finished this week my french presentation on Burundi, Africa (THANKS JEAN-CLAUDE!!!). Without that guy, I would have actually had to have researched for my french project. But, his brain was the Wikipedia of my project.

So many powerpoints.

Aaron and I went to see "Flannel Pajamas" last night. It was alright, very much "day in the life"-type movie. I don't know why, but it ended making me overwhelmingly sad. Aaron had to walk with me afterward and talk me into a happy state.

I had an IBEX luncheon this week, where the advisors told us all that, essentially: "You all have A LOT of work ahead of you."

My phone broke. I was at Think Coffee, and all of a sudden it stopped working. I had to spend 2 hours (I walked in-and-out 3 times straigh) at the Cingular store to get a new FUNCTIONING phone. I hate RAZRs.

I'm keeping this short and sweet today, people. I'm far too busy to indulge in good storytelling. My profound apologies.

This week, otherwise, has been work, work, aaaand....work.