Yesterday I got my birthday present from Jamie. What'd she get me? A husband! You know ... one of those neat pillow thingys you can put in your bed or on your couch that's squishy and comfy and has arms? Yes, I know, still sounds like JJ. :-) Hee hee. I have a husband. I need to give my husband a name. Any suggestions?
Yesterday my very good friend Scott gave me my birthday present. My first thought was "Holy CRAP!" He got me an MPIO 128MB portable mp3 player. In BLUE. It's so pretty! Look at that picture. Are you turned on? I was when I saw it ...
With the scouting season in full swing here are some short updates: Plaxico Burress was not franchised by the Steelers - franchising Plax at his asking price would have exceeded the Steelers' salary cap. Plaxico will (most likely) become a free agent. There's talk that the Ravens are intrested. Oooh ... I hope not. Jerome Bettis and the Steelers have apparently opened contract talks. There had been talk that Jerome was going to retire. He took a pay cut last year from 2.2 to 1 million base salary and shared time with Duce Staley. This year he'll probably get a 2 million base salary and continue to share time with Duce. I've never seen the football combine that is aired on NFL network during scouting. I have this vision in my head that it's something of a skills circus with everyone out for blood. JJ has NFL network and I'm pretty sure he Tivos the combine. I'll have to have myself a looksie.
Well I turned 23 on Saturday. I guess after 21 all birthdays are anti-climactic and I can't help but be a little blah about the way mine have gone. It's not that they aren't good ... they are. But they are never good in the sense that it could have been any other day. They're just good days with a title, I guess. I'm not dissatisfied with them ... I just have a hard time distinguishing them from any other day. JJ thinks that my birthday should be this whole big thing where I get to make (reasonable) demands and I get what I want, eat what I want etc. It's a nice thought but I can't imagine putting aside my better judgment for the sake of a day of me. It just doesn't make any sense. At any rate, it was still a busy weekend. At 8 am on Saturday I had the North Carolina Cognition Group meeting at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. I was presenting a poster of our (mine and Neil's) research from last semester and as this was the first time I was presenting work the usual nerves set in. However, it went quite well and I think (hope) that Neil was pleased with how it turned out. After the conference I was exhausted so I took a nap and around 7 JJ took me out for dinner at Lime & Basil where we had pho (yummy) and then we had cheesecake and watched October Sky. It was nice. Low key, but nice. However, again, nothing out of the ordinary so hard for me to get all excited about it. Yesterday was sort of surreal. JJ and I had calzones from I Heart NY Pizza for lunch and around 5:30 pm we discovered, JJ more than me, that maybe the food was tainted. JJ got sick from it (which was awful) and I was all disappointed because I thought it meant he couldn't come to my/Sabrina's birthday dinner which we were having last night since Sabrina's birthday is tomorrow. Don't get me wrong - if he were sick I wouldn't want him coming anyway - but there were about 30 minutes there where I was torn between being really disappointed he couldn't/shouldn't come and being really worried. There's nothing like watching your fiance puke and knowing there's nothing you can do about it. But JJ felt better so we headed off to a lovely steak restaurant where neither of us ate steak. His stomach definitely couldn't handle it and mine, though not as bad as his, was not happy with what I had eaten for lunch either. I ended up with a baked potato and a salad. A really good salad, but still a salad. Then we went to Curtis and Rachel's (I knew we couldn't have a birthday for Sabrina without Rae ... and Curtis is fun, too) for ice cream cake and presents. I got Sabrina a set of martini glasses and she got me some super cute, silver, sparkly earrings. Curtis and Rachel got me a plastic cockroach. Still it was fun to hang out with Curtis and Rae since we don't get to do that very often even though we like them a lot. Around 10 pm JJ had had enough so we headed home. I have mixed feelings about what birthdays should or should not be. When I figure that one out, I'll be sure to let everyone know.
Well it's one of those times where I can't help but look back and go "What a year it's been." Even though NCCG is this weekend - like it was last year - it's quite a different story this time around. At this time last year .... * After NCCG I went to the "new" church building and helped move in our new chairs for the first time. Since then newhope has almost doubled in attendance and it's been carpeted, a stage built, and the sound and light systems set up. * I had just swam in the UNC intramural swim meet. I won 2 individual events and helped a relay to a win. I got a "Carolina Intramural Champion" t-shirt. This year I haven't been in a pool in almost 3 weeks and can barely run 2 miles without being exhausted. There are also 10 more pounds of me to love. What a difference a year makes. * I was working weird hours into wee hours of the night some days and for no payoff. This year I have an awesome advisor, am getting ready to present our research in a public forum for the first time, and work roughly 50 hours a week (the last couple have been maybe 60 but not more than that for more than a week at a time). * Was in a small group that was great. Now I help co-lead a small group that is great. * Hardly knew Jamie and hadn't met Scott yet. 2 of the most influential people in my life now and I didn't even know them a year ago. * Thought Sabrina was scary. No, really. I did. Like I was afraid to talk to her scary. She, being the only girl at the time on the tech team, was very not shy about telling anyone working on that team if something should be done differently (and usually better if she's suggesting it) and I thought she was scary. Now Sabrina is going to be the matron of honor in my wedding. She can go be scary somewhere else, we're all used up here. :-) * Knew that JJ was single but hardly knew him well enough to call him a friend. And in the last year I figured out why he was single: we were waiting to find each other. And now we're getting married to our perfect soulmate. So there you go ... 22 in a nutshell. In 23 I will be ... * Watching my brother graduate from college * Getting married * Buying a house with my husband * Getting my master's in cognitive psychology ... and all that other stuff that I can't even think of or see right now. It's the years gone by that shape me, but it's the years coming up that make me want to get up in the morning.
This seems fitting ... great song ... great band, too I Woke up this morning With this feeling inside me that I can't explain like a weight that I've carried Been carried away, away But I know something is coming I don't know what it is But I know it's amazing, you save me My time is coming And I'll find my way out of this longest drought... It feels like today I know It feels like today I'm sure It's the one thing that's missin' The one thing I'm wishin' Life's sacred blessin' and then It feels like today Feels like today You treat life like a picture But it's not a moment thats frozen in time It's not gonna wait Til you make up your mind, at all So while this storm is breaking While there's light at the end of the tunnel Keep running towards it Releasing the pressure, that's my heartache Soon this dam will break And it feels like today I know, it feels like today, I'm sure It's the one thing that's missin' The one thing you're wishin' Life's sacred blessin' and then, It feels like today Feels like, feels like your life changes Feels like, feels like your life changes It's the one thing that's missin' The one thing you're wishin' Life's sacred blessin' and then, It feels like today Feels like, feels like your life changes Feels like, feels like your life changes "Feels Like Today" -- Rascal Flatts
After all the fuss of not wanting to "do Valentine's Day" JJ and I did end up getting each other cards. I started it ... I left him one at his apartment when I left Sunday night and it was all about how much I appreciate what he does and who he is etc etc. Pretty typical Valentine's Day card from the people who care enough to send the very best. Last night after dinner (Ichiban Express for him, mashed potatoes and barbequed pork for me) JJ gave me my card. He prefaced the giving of the card with, "At 6:30 on Valentine's the selection at Harris Teeter is pretty limited." I knew he hadn't gotten the card in advance so this didn't surprise me. So I open the envelope. And I pull out this card ... and it looks familiar and it dawns on me ... he got me the exact same card in November ... for our 6 month anniversary. The SAME card. And if I thought my JJ was aware enough to have done that on purpose it would have been sickeningly sweet. But my JJ is NOT aware enough to have done that on purpose ... what he did was go to the store and buy the card thinking "I bet Angela would like this card." And I do. I love the card. And it's quite convenient beceause now I have 2 of them ... one for my office, and one for my apartment! I about died laughing. I thought it was hilarious. He felt really awful but I was laughing so hard I think he could tell it was okay. This story isn't as good as Steve and Sabrina's Valentine's Day card story ... but it's still funny.
OK I'll give in ... the one thing I actually like about Valentine's Day? The roses. Roses in every store, every window everywhere. Call me cliche but I LOVE roses. Red ones. Yellow ones. So I guess there is something about Valentine's Day that I can stand. There are roses on display at Harris Teeter, at Kroger, at Target, everywhere. Pretty pretty. On the other hand, Hallmark is making a packet and I still think it's a commerical holiday and yes my cynicism still runs deep. But the flowers are pretty. Silver lining, my friends. Silver lining. That and I'm attempting to not beat the fun out of the holiday for those who do look forward to, and enjoy it. This was random. Back to work for me.
Well, I've been doing all the work posting stuff for people to read ... your turn! Actually I know that there are people who read this on a pretty regular basis and I just am curious ... If you read this, post a memory of me. It can be anything you want, good or bad - just so long as it happened. Then post this to your journal. See what people remember about you...
This year's UAA conference meet is being held at the University of Chicago. Click here for complete results and to see how the Wash U swimmin' women are doing Day 1 finals: 200 free relay: Wash U 4th, 1:42.22 500 free: Jenny Scott, 4th, 5:04.60 Brianna Krull, 5th, 5:10.35 Sarah Goldberg, 7th, 5:13.65 200 IM: Meredith Nordbrock, 1st, automatic NCAA qualifier, 2:08.33 Allie Boettger, 11th, 2:16.92 50 free: Su Wang, 10th, 25.50 400 medley relay: Meredith Nordbrock, Allie Boettger, Kaitlyn Bryll, Jenny Scott, 1st, new UAA record, NCAA automatic qualifers, 3:55.34 Tonight's finals: 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 free relay. Current standings: Emory University (1st) 369.5 points, Wash U (2nd) 186 Stay tuned.
Sunday night we went to a Super Bowl party at Will Lingo's house. The food was unreal. If I knew more than 1 person there I probably would have had a decent time. But ... that's it. The NFL 04-05 season is over. Bummer, dude. Well, there's the pro bowl this Sunday but ... who's gonna watch THAT? I'm just sayin'. But in the meantime the next season is 6 months down the road and there are some questionmarks on that Steelers roster. Random thoughts and snippets: Running back Jerome Bettis, who's been with the Steelers since '95 might be retiring. There's no official word yet but say it ain't so! Wide receiver Plaxico Burress will become an unrestricted free agent during the offseason. To re-sign with the Steelers he's going to want a contract that ranks up there with the elite. I don't know necessarily if that would be the Steelers' best option in terms of allocating money but ... that's just my opinion. The good news is ... Big Ben Roethlisberger now has a whole year under his belt. He'll undoubtedly return as the Steelers' starting quarterback. Duce Staley, who sat out the middle of the season with a hamstring injury, will also likely return as the starting running back. Wide receiver Hines Ward will also likely be back. The NFL draft will be held April 23-24 and Pittsburgh picks 30th.
Oh and P.S. I forgot ... no one actually buys each other CDs anymore right? But people can get other people iTunes gift certificates!!! I did not discover iTunes until about oh ... September, October of this past year and I've been very good and not bought too much off of it (I think maybe 10-12 dollars worth) but there are Rascal Flatts songs and praise songs (By the Tree!!) and all sorts of other good stuff. All right, I'm done asking for presents for myself now. Yes I feel guilty, no, I don't do this often I promise.
My birthday is two weeks from tomorrow. Unlike Sabrina I will not be celebrating the month-of-Angela like she is the month-of-Sabrina. Although if I were nearly as cool as Sabrina maybe I would be celebrating for the whole month, too. ;-) I'm not big on gifts really but there are a couple of things that I wouldn't mind having, conveniently linked for clarity : - Steelers sweatshirt or Steelers long-sleeved t-shirt I just figure as a general rule it never hurts to add to my ever-growing ownership of Steelers paraphenalia and I guess if given the option I'd rather have the t-shirt ... it hardly ever gets cold enough here to wear sweatshirts but I LOVE long sleeve t-shirts. - Sex and the City DVDs I still contend that the first season did not do the show justice and once they got rid of the freeze-frame Carrie and interviewing random people, the show became much more cohesive. So from season 3 on, it's all fair game! These are all pretty material things. One thing I really want is my sanity and the other thing I want, I've already got so hey, I'm easy.
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Things I have learned over the last week: 1. All cooking disasters do not have to be disasters. When we were making stuffed shells on Friday night JJ mixed the wrong stuff together ... and it ended up being pretty good anyway. 2. JJ has romantic capabilities. Or at least more romantic capabilities than I gave him credit for. He's always been sweet but Friday night he outdid himself. 3. There are actually people out there who would stick up for the people they love ... even at risk to themselves. I think that's enough said. 4. Coffee in the morning a jittery Angela makes. I haven't had coffee in almost 3 months and even then it was a latte made with one shot of espresso. I got a latte this morning ... and I'm twitchy. At the time hot coffee just sounded better than cold soda. 5. When I'm in a tired/cranky mood, I need a hug. When JJ's in a tired/cranky mood he needs me to not need a hug. This works only when we're not tired and cranky at the same time. Last night, we were tired and cranky at the same time. Didn't work out so good. Duly noted, I'll see what I can do. 6. I finally know who Dick is of Dick-and-Hugh. Dick and Hugh are the computer guys for the psych department. Every time I've been introduced to them they've been "Dick-and-Hugh" and although they don't look anything alike (one is short and dark, the other is tall and gray) I've never been able to figure out which was which until one of them (Dick) came to my office to help me with accessing Davie network. Yes, I'm in my 4th semester. 7. Kyra talks a lot. My past experiences with the Mulder Girls usually consisted of Megs making lots and lots of talk/noise and Kyra kind of sitting and being quietly attentive. Last night I gave Kyra a ride home and she talked the whole way. All 15 minutes. I tried to ask her questions like, "How's your Bible reading going?" because she had shown me her Bible bookmark reading last week but ... I never got a word in edgewise. 8. Some doctors really are still idiots. A friend of mine was asking me about Ritalin. Turns out someone my friend knows was prescribed Ritalin over the phone. The reasoning for it? "My 13-year-old is loud, obnoxious and rude ... I think he needs to be on Ritalin." That's IT? That's all it takes? Man, I didn't need to go to medical school to know that's retarded. 9. I really love JJ a lot. Since Christmas we haven't been in as much of a "honeymoon" phase as we were before. I think part of it is the stress of returning to work, part of it is just learning to live with all the nuances of the other. The best part is that I have this wonderful person to disagree with ... and the same wonderful person to make up with when it's over. 10. I get really tired when I'm sick. I used to be of the opinion that when I'm sick, I just keep plowing along and I'm sure I'll be fine. Well, Sunday I came down with a cold and Tuesday I went to the pool. 500 yards into it my heartrate had skyrocketed, I was short of breath and my head hurt. I think we'll put that on the backburner for awhile.
It's officially February. Which means I can give my usual yearly diatribe about Valentine's Day and not feel guilty about it. So here goes ... I've never liked Valentine's Day and I used to think it was because I was always single on Valentine's. The first 2 relationships I had were both summer relationships ... they both died around the end of August and therefore I never had a date or anything to do on Valentine's Day. Well, clearly my distaste for Valentine's is not because I was single because this year I am decidedly not single, and I still look upon all the frills, flowers and romance with moderate, if not great, disdain. I think it's because the IDEA of Valentine's Day is just one big setup for disappointment: One person expects romance, the other person has to meet these unworldly expectations, and those who don't have that "special someone" can either laugh in the face of the holiday-of-greeting-card-vendors or curl up with a good book on the couch that night. I just think the entire idea of it is kind of silly. Lucky for me, JJ is all on board with the "Bite your thumb at Valentine's Day" mindset ... we're not going out that day ... or any other day ... to celebrate. As "gifts" to each other we decided to allow the other one to pick a day and that day the "person of the day" gets to decide what we do and how we spend our time. For example, JJ gets President's day off ... I sure don't. So I think that day JJ is going to be bringing me to work, taking me out to lunch, making me dinner, picking me up from work and giving me backrubs (after work -- not at work). Sounds idyllic, eh? And I think for "JJ day" we will be going to El Rodeo to eat and to a movie he wants to see and probably to Barnes & Noble and/or the library ... maybe watch some DVDs or play some PS2. These are all things we'd normally enjoy anyway, but on "person of the day" days we don't have to feel like we need to compromise -- not a bad idea on that JJ's part, not bad at all.
I lost my favorite red pen. I don't grade in red pen as the similarities between blood and red ink are too many. I hated getting papers back that looked like they'd been shot. So I grade in blue, green, purple, whatever happens to strike my fancy at the moment but not red. However ... when I read I like to mark up my articles in red ... the references and notes are easier to find and red ink is sort of bright ... takes away from the dullness of the reading. In my opinion. But now my red pen has gone missing and I don't know what to do. Hmph. On another note, those of you who are into the whole "Thoughful" and "Profound" ways of life, check out my friend Dan's blog at daythief.blogspot.com. Luckily for us, the blog provides a nice outlet for Dan ... otherwise we'd have to hear him talk like that all the time. I kid, I kid. Dan's great. And for your artistic fix of the day check out Dan's photo blog where he posts some pictures of stuff going on around here (yes, very artistic, technical term that was).
The blogs and websites of my friends and family
