Crazy driver man, headed South on I-95.

Dad and I at the rehersal party Friday night.

The limo took us to the church on time.

Limo driver Dad. (Not really, but we let him pretend.)

My cousin Emily and I waiting to go inside.

The happy couple leaving the church.

Charlie and Christine cutting their cake.

I am alive and back from NYC. More later.

So it turns out Dad's picking me up after class tomorrow and we're driving to Long Island. His cousin is getting married on Saturday afternoon. It will be a quick trip with a lot of driving. Hopefully we won't kill each other.

I am me. I cannot be perfect. I only have to be the best that I can be.

I forget that sometimes...

Tomorrow I meet with one of my professors to beg him to be my faculty advisor on a project I don't even want to do. How do I convice someone else that it's a wonderful idea when I don't believe it myself? I caught myself thinking today, "I hope other people don't think I'm as crazy as I do." What if they do? Chatting with classmates lately has made me more confident that I'm not the only one who just wants everything to slow down, not because it's too intense, but because it's bringing "the future" on too quickly. There's the odd enthusiast who seems ready for anything, but the vast majority of us would rather wait. I think the thing that has been making me procrastinate the most about this darn project is the fact that it marks the end of my career as an undergrad. This is it...soon I trudge blindly into the unknown.

Mom sent me this tonight, and although it has a little of that forwarded email mush crap, the core of the message is very true and worth passing on.

Neurologists can totally reverse the effects of a stroke if they can get to the patient within 3 hrs of onset.

The tough part is getting a stroke recognized & diagnosed.


A True Story . . .

Suzie didn't appear to be having a stroke.

She could converse, to some extent, with the paramedics & her blood pressure readings were normal.

Luckily, they took her straight to the hospital anyway, where she is now recovering at an incredible pace for someone who suffered a massive stroke.

All because her friend, Sherry, saw her stumble & asked her 3 simple questions:

1) SMILE FOR ME.
2) RAISE YOUR ARMS.
3) SAY SOMETHING SIMPLE. (i.e. It's sunny out today.)

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.


Use of This Test Results In Prompt Diagnosis & Treatment of Stroke & Prevention of Brain Damage

Doctors say bystanders can recognize a stroke by asking these three simple questions to identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems.


They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting, last February.

A cardiologist urges the public to learn these tree simple questions, & says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved...

Two hours to finish my lab write up and throw some things in a bag. Then it's off to my lab, then home to The Island. (Yes, I did just capitalise The Island, if you're from there you understand; if you're not, deal with it.) I'm hoping to have a date with Dad at some point and go shoot some pool or something. We could use some bonding time. I'm also hoping for some delicious food.

That was the most bizarre lunch ever. I went down to the cafeteria and it was packed. I found an empty spot by a couple of my housemates who I don't often eat with. The both stared at me; not an evil glare stare, more of a look at the zoo animal stare.

"What?" I said.

"It's a clock." What the hell? He was looking at my cell phone..."There's one on your wrist too," he says. I start eating my lunch, still feeling watched. Prompted by who knows what I comment that I'm not awake yet.

"Is that why you sat beside Garth?" asks the other.

"Must be," I reply and continue eating my lunch without making another comment. I set aside my salad while I started on my soup. I think this was the best part...

Garth comes out with, "Are you finished with that?" I think to myself, "he's got to be kidding me."

"No, why?" I ask, "does it look that good?"

He eyes the salad and tells me he just wanted more cheese. Luckily he didn't try to remove it from my plate.

The two got up and left and I finished my lunch in peace, but it was all too bizarre for me.

It's Monday...

I've been having a wicked case of the sleep-ins lately. I have to admit though, it is quite nice on the weekend. What I miss is being woken up by someone stirring in the kitchen. Living alone I have no one inspire me to get out of bed, no roomates with crazy plans for the day ahead, no Mom making coffee and breakfast, only my little alarm clock saying "don't sleep all day!" Has that been invented yet? By "that" I mean an alarm clock that you could record messages to wake you up. You could have recordings of your mother yelling at you to wake up, and the clock would play a different one a little louder each time until you shut it off. Alternatively you could have inspirational messages depending on what helps to get you out of bed. If this has not yet been invented, consider this the day I came up with it.

Apparently Montreal will be hosting the first World OutGames this summer. I didn't occur to me until I started reading, they mean "out" as in "out of the closet!" I believe in treating everyone equally, and I think this event is a major contradiction of this belief. If you take a quick look, this event seems to aim to show off all of the flamboyant stereotypes we have. It will involve traditional events such as cycling, swimming, and track and field, but also incorporate things like "physique" a bodybuilding competition, "dancesport" a ballroom dancing competition, and my personal favorite "pink flamingo" a new take on syncronized swimming. I support the right of everyone to be able to express themselves and be treated equally, but I don't think this is a good example of that. I would really like to hear your honest opinion on this. Please comment (annonymously if necessary.)

Lysol?!? These make me want to cry...and thank God the world has changed.

I've been in one of those save the world kind of modes. Okay, so really that's a lie, because we all know I don't care that much. I've been looking at a lot of organic/natural soaps and things because my skin is unhappy with my body wash...Pangea has some appealing products. From their site I browsed to To-Go Ware, where I found this inspiring little note:

I got toys today. It was a horribly spoiled day. My phone toys arrived in the mail, so I now have a car charger, and best of all a usb cable and sync-ing software! Yes, it excites me that my phone and Outlook are now fully synched. Then I dragged Kev to the grocery store to look at all the yummy food, and got lots of treats. Mmm! Lactose-free gouda, pepper salami, green tea, pim's biscuits, peach yogourt, and other delights. Then I came home and played on the internet, which claims that my life is lacking:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.5
Mind:	6.7
Body:	8
Spirit:	7.3
Friends/Family:	2.9
Love:	0
Finance:	5.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I don't get the friends and family bit...those that I have are very supportive.