Today was a weird day.  I had Paleontology and Stratigraphy class and we talked about whole bunch of stuff that was just confusing to me.  And then I went to work and dreaded going back to Paleo for lab but once it was over, it wasn’t bad at all  : )  I made some new friends, to add to the ones I met yesterday.  One’s name is Christine and she’s a Geology major, German minor too and we both thought that was really cool.  So she invited me to work with her and her friend Ashley during the lab. 

Now lab was really funny.  Our TA, Jesse, is such a humorous guy.  We were basically looking at fossils and decided what kind they were.  Some examples of what we looked at; fossilized dinosaur bone, stones that were in a dinosaurs stomach to help with digestion, and the end product, coprolite, which of course is fossilized feces.  What other class do you get to do that in??

And then the second part of our lab was taught by Dr. Allison and there we classified different ”species” of macaroni.  Now, you may be like, “This girl is really paying $10,800 a year to play with feces and macaroni?,” but honestly, I learned so much.  And I even answered some questions so I felt like a super star!  And now I’m not as upset about my classes being hard  : )

So as I was walking back from my lab I was listening to the Juno soundtrack and just being emo in general and then I saw one of my friends Amanda, a social work major (like I used to be), so we just had to stop and chat.  Then I got home and took the Xerc for a walk and as we were coming back there was a cat hanging out on our front porch.  Xerces, being a dog, sniffed and this cat hit him.  I didn’t think it was a big deal until I got him inside and his eye was bloody. 

So I, being like any pet owner, freaked out a little bit, got the biggest knot in my stomach and rushed my dear sweet dog to uPenn’s emergency room.  The good news is it isn’t his cornea that’s scratched, just his third eyelid.  So he was sedated and had the part of the eyelid that the cat scratched out removed.  And now he has an Elizabethan collar.  It’s kind of cute.  But he’s so tired and sad.  I feel awful for him.  Especially because Morris and I were going to go look for a friend with him at the SPCA tomorrow but considering his condition, it’s probably not the best time.

And just now I went to pick up my friend Tomi K from the IBC so I could give him his guitar that he had shipped to my house.  The funny thing about that was I thought I was just picking up Tomi, but then I ended up with a full car of friends from freshman year.  It was really nice to see them again.  And I’m really glad I cleaned out my car  : ) 

And some advice, if I may, to all of those looking for housing with friends:  We discussed this in the car, and decided it’s not good to house with friends because it messes things up big time.  My one friend actually moved out of her house because she was so annoyed and I’m going through the same issue but my problem is our housemate doesn’t pay her bills or respect anyone or anything.  So just be careful when planning you living arrangements.

And of course, be careful when walking around stray cats : )

So today I walked into the Howard Gittis Student Center North end (aka. the student center) and there was a giant screen and what was on that screen but Guitar Hero III. 

College is so awesome.

And on a side note I think my classes are going to kill me this semester.  More on that later.  I’m off to see Wittenburg at Arden Theatre (thanks for the corrections Kim!).

Being on break and not having work has got to be the best time of annnnny college student’s life.  The best part is being able to do whatever you want whenever you want…& not worry about that looming chemistry exam!

So I’ve been staying busy.  On Friday Morris and I went to South Street to see our friend Sean.  It really helps that he works at Maoz, a place where they make the best falafel ever!  So that was really good. Then I got to shop on South Street and although it took me 21 years, I finally found a hat that flatters the unusual way my head is shaped.  It was magical  : )

It did start to rain while we were there, but it didn’t bother me any, I had my hat  : )  Here’s a general shot of the street:

And here’s the Susanne Roberts theatre that Kim and I are going to see Wittenburg at the second day of classes:

And then the next day Morris and I decided to go to my house for a little.  I’m not really sure why.  It seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Here’s little Haley.  Does it get much cuter?

And here’s Mikey and I posing with the water horse at the movies. 

This was from when we went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Now confession time:  I don’t like the cartoon version of Alvin and the Chipmunks, but the movie was great!  First it started with Daniel Porter singing “So you had a bad day.”  Long story short about this:  One day Michael came to the dinner table, sat down, put his head on his hand, started to twirl his spaghetti, and then started to sing “so you had a bad day.”  It was so funny!  I know, it sounds awful that I’m saying it’s funny that Mikey had a bad day, but if you knew him, you’d be doubled over.

So anyway, that started it.  Then the whole movie Haley, who had already seen it with her dad, kept screaming to me “was that funny, Nanny?” (apparently when kids try to say Amanda it comes out Nanny and sticks with you) and there were about five people between us.  And then all of the sudden I feel a tugging at my hair and I figured it was just Mike because he likes to play with “your huuur,” but then I felt a tug at the opposite side of my head. So I turned around and there’s this kid with hair so curly she looks like a sheep, playing with my hair.  Very eventful movie. 

And then Morris and I came back.  Luckily still with Xerces.  Haley has an obsession with him and offered me all of her baby dolls and her brown money (pennies) for him.  She had a strong case, but I held out.  

I also got to go shopping at Franklin Mills, which by now you know as my version of heaven, and I found the exact coat I’ve been looking for allllll winter season, mad cheap.  So this is a big deal because meantime, my mom bought me two coats for my birthday, I got one that kind of looked like the one I envisioned, and I spent a lot of time looking for my coat.  So I just go into Urban Planet, look around, and see my perfect little coat.  And get this, only ten dollars.  What a steal!

So basically, I love shopping and my dog.

 School starts again Tuesday.  Bummer and not at the same time.  I’m taking four classes which adds up to 17 credits.  They are chemistry, geochemistry, calculus and paleontology and stratigraphy.  I’m really excited about the stratigraphy one!  There are two four day field trips to look at rocks!  It should be an interesting semester to say the least  : )

So Monday, the 7th, I came back to Philly and I have been having a blast ever since!

Monday was all unpacking and grocery shopping so it wasn’t very exciting. 

Then Tuesday Morris and I went to Fairmount Park to walk Xerces and that was a lot of fun too!  We walked to my favorite rock (at least that I’ve seen in Farimount so far) and Xerces climbed up on it with me!

Xerces and I on my rock:

Then we walked further to a nice grassy area and let Xerces run for a while.  We tried to play fetch but, it didn’t work so well.  There were too many sticks laying around.  And then we started to walk back to my car and Boathouse Row looked so perfect I just had to take a picture!

It’s wonderful being in Philly in January when it feels like spring!

Then Wednesday I decided to do some cleaning because of the nice weather so I cleaned up the front porch and then started to clean inside.  Little Xerces was so happy just looking out the front door that I locked it so he couldn’t run out.  Well, that was a mistake because it then did not unlock.  Then from trying to open it so much, Morris broke the key in the lock.  So we were kind of locked inside our house.  Even better was Morris’s fraternity brother, Kevin, was coming over to have Morris open a bank account.  So when he got here, we couldn’t let him in.  So then, to make a long story short, we took down part of the fence in the backyard and Kevin and Morris kicked the door open.  In retrospect, very funny.  At the time, not so much. 

I decided to open a bank account too, just because Kevin was so helpful  : )

After that fun adventure Morris and I headed out to the Temple vs. Duke Basketball game.  It was crazy how many people were there! 

Here’s a picture of the Wachovia Center at the beginning of the game:

It was absolute madness.  And we of course did all of our cheers, songs, and such, and what do you know, my friend Greg got on the screen! 

Here’s Greg singing/playing the fight song:

It was a good game.  And just for anyone who doesn’t know this already: do not sit in the student section of the opposite team that you are rooting for.  Especially if you are wearing their apparel.  It wasn’t pretty for that one Duke fan  : (

And then today I went shopping!  I got a hair dryer, a power drill, drill bits (to fix the front door), and Special K.  And of course something for Xerces so we got him a hat!  He’s so cute in it!  So we took him for another walk at Fairmount (we take him for walks everyday, it’s just that Fairmount’s a big deal for him) and he met some other dogs to play with.  It was so cute!  But then, the one decided to mark Xerces as his own…

So then we came home and gave Xerces a bath. 

 Here he is in his hat:

Oh what a handsome guy  : )

So not a lot has been happening in darling little Sunbury.   I’ve been working a lot, spending time with the family, the basics.  This year has not started out well though.  I was going to go out with my friends for New Years but my sister didn’t watch her kids so I felt bad for my mom who would then have to sit at home and baby sit when she had plans so I decided to stay home with her.  A very uneventful night.  But from what my friends told me, it was the same everywhere.   Then I worked at BK the next day and burnt myself, hurt my finger slicing tomatoes and did all sorts of silly things.  Then I went to the doctor today because I’ve been dizzy a lot and I have a advanced sinus infection so I’m on meds, nasal spray, and a vaporizer that is making my room unbearably hot and is giving me a headache.  And then I went to the mall and fell in love with three perfumes that I couldn’t choose between: Gucci eau de perfume II, Miss Dior, and Juicy Couture.  And then worst of all of it is I got home today from work and found out that my dog Cartman is sick (there’s a pic of us in another post).  And not sinus infection sick, like really serious sick.  Today he had one of three things happen.  He’s suffering from one of these: a stroke, brain tumors, or just a random brain schism.  Hopefully it’s the random thing because that’s the least serious of all.  But you don’t really recover from a brain tumor or stroke.  But the crazy thing about it was how he was fine the day before.  Like we’ve been going on walks a lot lately and normally he pulls your arm out but I taught him how to behave (thanks Ceasar Millan!) and it’s nice to take him out now.   Before I would just take him around the block but yesterday we were out for an hour.  And then we were playing catch and shaking and doing all the stuff we do.  He’s my baby, I taught him everything.   We even have this thing, when he gets excited he kind of yells, and I yell back, and then we just slap each other around.  I know how it sounds.  But if you ever saw it you would love it.   He was even my catcher when I was first learning how to pitch.  But he’s totally different today.  He wouldn’t even pick up his head when I was giving him butt rubbings, his favorite thing more than anything.  It’s just so sad how quickly and unexpectedly things change.  So don’t ever take anything or anyone for advantage.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to yell with him again or have him sit and catch balls that I pitch to him.  I know this is just one example of being appreciative of what and who you have, but if it gets to just one person, I’m okay with throwing my emotions out like that. 

Hopefully your 2008 is going better!  At least mine can only get better from here!