Todd and me during the enormous feast. 

The lovely wedded couple. 

The ceiling of the Chicago Cultural Center which was over us during Ting and Brad's wedding. Stunning stuff! 

Eventful
Well, it's been an eventful few days. I've spent the evening cramming information into my head about function assessment scales, the Glasgow Coma Scale, the Los Ranchos Levels of Cognitive Functioning. The hospital placement is good (my first day was today) but going to be very challenging and I'm foreseeing learning tons and tons. It's definitely hit-the-ground-running over there.

But I have other stuff to report about the weekend as well so hopefully tomorrow I'll have some time to catch my breath and write a nice, lengthy blog.

In the meantime, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm alive!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Vroom-vroom is 30 today!!!!!

Vacation!
Ahhh, I love vacation. I have three solid more days left before I start up at the hospital so I'm sucking the marrow out of these days, people.

I went back to DC for a few days and it was quite awesome. I got to see most everyone that I wanted to, got to putter around my parents' house, and got to read and watch as much bad tv as my heart desired. I also played a lot of sudoku. (a note: I also received a voicemail from Kevin during my time at home where he relayed the events of a particularly dramatic "Cheaters" episode that he happened to be watching. I love it)

I got back yesterday and this morning hoofed it to Rogers Park to get CPR-certified at this certification factory that costs seriously $20 less than any other place that I've heard about. I am now officially CPR-certified, so watch out! As I was walking along Peterson Ave I passed this enormous red billboard that only said this:

"Pick your boogers."

I swear. Nothing else. And it looked professional too. Anyone know anything about this? Maybe it's viral advertising that I missed out on.

In other news, Suzi and Tom arrive in Chicago tonight so we can all go to Ting and Brad's wedding tomorrow. Yay!

T minus 24 hours
One more day! My two final exams are tomorrow: hurrah! (well, to be honest, I'll still have a report to edit, but that's peanuts in the scheme of things).

Even though it's study week, it's been a pretty eventful past few days. Besides studying much, I managed to finish that dreaded diagnostic report draft and do a take-home exam. I'm feeling so-so in terms of my preparation for tomorrow, but what can you do? Besides study, that is.

Anyway, the weekend continued to have some fun. Saturday I spent the entire day doing work, but then I went over to see All Limbs Intact play at Gunther Murphys. They were the headliner after three other bands so didn't go on till after 1 and didn't finish till around 2. It was pretty hard core. They were awesome, as usual, and the addition of a lead singer definitely added to the sound of awesome. The three other bands were another story: the standout was the second band where the dudes looked all of 17. One of them wore sunglasses throughout the entire set. Their manager made his rounds of the place, glad-handing everyone. He was like a character from a Carl Hiassen novel: mullet, brimming with enthusiasm and pride, gleaming white tennis shoes, and donning a Hawaiian (sp?) shirt with a ribbon pinned on it that read "It's my Birthday!" (the veracity if this claim is unconfirmed as of yet).

Sunday I went with Todd to Wilmington to his second cousin's (I believe?) baptism party. I love Todd's family because they have a party of some kind every weekend and there's *always* some bbq-ing going on. It was a stunning day outside, so it was cool to put away the books and enjoy the drive with the windows down and the sunroof open. That night we went to see Dave's show at I.O., which was pretty awesome. What a deal, too: two hours of improv for $5!

Yesterday: studying.

Today: more studying, but I also took the train-bus to Skokie to go and see the school where I'll be student teaching in the fall and to meet the teacher. It was a pretty sweet 1.5 hour commute each way, since I don't have my car yet. I'm pretty psyched for the placement. I'll be going between two schools: one is pre-k and the other is K-5. Exactly what I wanted. Plus, my supervisor seems cool and the school where I visited was hands-down adorable. I am extremely, extremely psyched for the fall quarter which promises to be much more relaxed. I'll have one class on campus, but it's not a demanding one.

gu·lag (gl�g)
n.

1. A network of forced labor camps in the former Soviet Union.
2. A forced labor camp or prison, especially for political dissidents.
3. A place or situation of great suffering and hardship, likened to the atmosphere in a prison system or a forced labor camp.

Exams end on Wednesday. I can't believe it. I have two, though, which kind of blows. Unfortunately, this weekend I got royally screwed in terms of workload since I got assigned a diagnostic evaluation this past week (meaning 10-page evaluation report to write...well, now), and also a take-home exam. I woke up this morning seriously pissed off. I am...I'm completely over this crap and am pissed off about sitting inside on this gorgeous weekend working. And pissed that this past week was non-stop with little sleep. And pissed off that I got so frazzled and stressed out on Friday when I found out that I would have to find my way to a suburb of Chicago for another school-related reason on Tuesday afternoon through no choice of my own that I started tearing up. And pissed that I'm boring everyone I know with my complaints. And pissed that this quarter does not seem to end.

So, yeah, I'm in the middle of writing that report now and I'm in a scarily bad mood about it.

Everyone, everyone: please stop fighting to hang out with me. There's enough of my grousing and crankiness to go around.

But, let's talk about things happy, shall we? Last night I couldn't gather the energy to do any work, so Todd and I went over to Intuit Gallery to see the Found Magazine/PostSecret show. It was very much fun since Davy Rothbart cracks my shit up. They had two shows, and we went to the later one. I got there just at the right time so we could get in when the other show was letting out so we managed to snag seats right front and center. Everyone was packed into the place: a sign on the little auditorium space read that the maximum capacity was "65" but there must have been at least 150-200 people there.

Okay, I just managed to while away 15 minutes throwing my pity party. Back to the gulag.

Memorial
Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. I hope that everyone had a good, relaxing one.

My weekend was very nice, despite the work that is ever-haunting. On Friday night, we went out and met Steve, Kiley and others at the Skylark in Pilsen. This bar is definitely going down as one of my favorites: it's not crowded, there is room for large groups, drinks are cheap, and the food is good. One interesting point of the night is when we gathered outside afterward and were chatting and then noted what was seriously the hugest pile of throw-up I've ever seen. It looked like marshmallow fluff, and my eyes couldn't tear away from the monstrosity. It was so note-worthy that I need to share it with you all.

Saturday night, we went to Schuba's to see Russian Circles play, and then the Hungry Brain afterward. Thank you to Todd for my awesome Russian Circles shirt that he got me. We stayed up till like 3am which is unheard of these days. I love long weekends.

Sunday was full of work (as was Saturday day).

Today was so nice to have off. Todd and I went over to Lincoln Square, had lunch at Smokin' Woody's, and then wandered up and down Lincoln. What an awesome neighborhood. We also discovered this great theater where showings before 6pm are $5. We promptly decided to go and see "Thank you for smoking," which was good (I love Aaron Eckhardt). It was one of those amazing afternoons when time didn't seem to fly. We goofed around till around 4, when he dropped me off and I dove back into the workload.

Now I'm facing the last official week of the quarter (the week after is exam week). Part of me is like: woohoo!, but part of me realizes that I'm going to feel every second of this last week.

First things first. Todd found this online and sent it to me as a study break. I love it. 

Hey!
Happy belated birthday to Jackie, btw, who turned 27 (I believe) this past Saturday.

I'll have you all know that there are seven school days left to this quarter! It drags on still since there a papers to write, meetings to have, sessions to plan still, and finals to study for. But, it's slowly dissipating, and about this, I am happy.

This past weekend I spent my days writing a big diagnostic report and four final client reports. That was awesome. But the evenings were still fun. Dave planned a surprise party for Kevin so a bunch of us broke into his apartment on Friday night to wait for him to get back from work, party ready-made. Poor Kevin was sick and word had it that he was actually on his way home to get soup, take some decongestant and go to bed. But we were still there waiting for him, so he stayed up despite the illness. Dave whipped up a birthday cake and a huge pitcher of sangria, and it was a good night.

Jessica mentioned at the party that she had seen Oprah that night since she works at the Field Museum and was there for an event, and she stood right next to the great Oprah since O was the keynote speaker. So that was Friday night. The Katie informed me that she was watching a swallow study at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (one of our class requirements) and Oprah was in the hallway. So that was Friday during the day. So between two of my friends, I can piece together Oprah's whereabouts on Friday, 5/19.

In other news, I got my hospital placement for the summer and it's a good one. I think it'll be tough, but I'm bound to learn lots and lots. And no classes!

Happy Birthday, Des!
30's going to be awesome. YGG!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!
I hope that 28 treats you well. :)

Brilliance
By the way, Sarah posted some hilarious haikus about our dysphagia class. Maybe not as hilarious to people who haven't been in the class, but it struck home to me.

My favorites:

Swallowing problem
I think I've got a bad one
I can't pass the class

and:

Barium pudding
Vallecula residue
Base of tongue problem!

Whoa.
I had two out of three client sessions cancel or canceled today, so now all of the sudden I'm sitting here on campus with nothing on my schedule till 4pm! Six hours away! I should be using this time wisely (namely, studying for dysphagia), but I'd kinda rather just sit here right now and play online. For a few minutes I want to, anyway. I might also lie on the lopsided green couch in our MA room and get a little shut eye.

Anyway, not much going on here except Chicago's cooler again. I had a relatively lazy weekend in terms of not leaving the house much, but I did manage to pretend to do some studying (which consisted of organizing and retyping notes while watching tv). On Sunday I went with Todd to the mother's day feast at his parents' place. His dad and brother cooked ribs and they were to die for. (Happy belated mother's day, mom). We sat on the couch after lunch and I fell asleep sitting up, it was that good and food coma inducing.

Not much going on here except for studying and the like. I reached that point last night where I envied everyone on the street who I saw walk by because they didn't have to do this work. It's so hilariously self-centered and pathetic, but I even caught myself envying the homeless dude who walked by. There are 13 school days left which sounds short but feels long. Okay, it looks like now the class is five and a half hours away. I better get kicking with studying.

Secondly:
I'm still alive. I've just been wrangling with a particularly dreadful quarter, but I am happy to report that there are like three weeks left. That is huge. Things can still be good, though. A few good things:

1. The weather lately (besides today) has been sunny and in the 70s and positively gorgeous.

2. Megan invited people over to her and Laura's apartment today to grill out turkey brats. That was delicious, and fun to chill out without talking about school. I was also pleased because I discovered a new salad dressing (poppy seed!) that Megan put on spinach with sliced strawberries and onions. I think I have met my new love.

3. Sitting on Todd's balcony in awesome weather while I study. So even though I suffer with dysphagia, at least I can soak up some sunshine.

4. Kenny sent a cd chock filled with mp3s called the "Chicago party mix." It's like Christmas.

5. The April 24th edition of The New Yorker, which is seriously like the best issue ever. The issue has articles detailing Werner Herzog (awesome article, what a character), the archeology of the Donner Party, Chinese snakeheads, and an article about this chess master who is the ruler of Kalmykia (one of Russia's republics).

That last one is totally the best. A segment:

Ilyumzhinov called his biography, published in 1998 "The President's Crown of Thorns." (Chapter titles include "Without Me the People are Incomplete," "I Become and Millionaire" and "It Only Takes Two Weeks to Have a Man Killed.")

Firstly:
I need to tout the blog of Annie! She is recording her impending adventures to Gainesville and I will be reading it eagerly. Check the links it!

Happy Birthday to Bryan!
Drink a margarita today in celebration.

Tag
Okay, I've been tagged by Intrepid News to list six weird things about myself. She actually tagged me last week, but now I'm finally getting around to it.

1. I have a really flat head. Seriously, the back of my pate is all flat like someone lopped off a rounded chunk. I don't know if it got all misshapen when I was a baby and I rested my weight on my malleable skull. But I know at least my older brother has it too, so either it's in the genes or mom rested us on your heads. I know that some kids get helmets for it, but I missed the boat on that one.

2. I didn't start driving till I was 21. You know, boarding school, college, mooching rides off of generous friends...that whole deal. I still don't love driving in unfamiliar areas, which is going to be a wake up call when I bring my car to Chicago.

3. There are a few non-profit childrens' books floating around in Zambia that I illustrated when I was in high school and college. Two of them are religious which is funny since I am like a heathen and the other one was for the Leukemia Society of Zambia. Now you know that such a society exists!

4. I hold my pencil incorrectly. I learned about this in more detail in writing disorders class this quarter when we were given a handout showing the common incorrect pencil holds. One of them is mine.

5. If I scroll past MTV Jamz (is it even spelled that way? is it even still on? that shows how unhip I am) on tv, I end up watching it for hours. I don't know why.

6. I have finger toes. They're really long and my socks are constantly getting holes in them. This is why I prefer summer when I don't have to wear socks all the time...I save money!

And now I tag THREE sites: BlogSport, Your Logo Here, and Ineffectual.net

UNCLE, already.
Oh my god, this quarter is definitely kicking my ASS. It's kicking it hard. And dysphagia is first in line for the ass-kicking. We had a monster test today which I spent many hours studying for and I still left with a queasy feeling in my stomach. There's a certain amount of (cold) comfort in the knowledge that no amount of studying could have prepared me for it since there were no moments where I was like "Hmm, wish that I studied that more." I don't really know what else to do except line up for more ass kicking and be prepared for the possibility that I might not pass (which means anything below a B-). Which means remediation which means I don't know what but PURE PAIN.

But the good news is that tonight is the first night in a long time (two weeks?) where I don't have a lot of work to do. I can relax a little and go to sleep early, which I totally intend to do.

This past weekend, I spent all day at the lovely McCormick Center taking both the Basic Skills test and the SLP-teaching test in order to be able to do student teaching in the schools in the fall. That meant waking up at 5:30 in the a.m. on Saturday morning. Awesome! That night Todd gathered people for his (belated) birthday, so that was a good chance to relax. We went to my new favorite bar in the city, The Hungry Brain. It was very chill, and chock full of couches and had a jukebox that let you play 18 songs for $5. I think that Todd had a good time which is the most important thing about the evening.