Biometrics: This class seems like it's going to be really straightforward. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but based on the lab we've done so far and the lecture, it really seems like the professor makes a huge effort to break it down into baby steps and walk you through it so you know what you're doing.

Chem 110: Basically just a continuation of Chem 109, so I know it will be stressful and intense, but I love the professor because he's funny and always always willing to help. I find it easier to get up for his 8am lab than my 8am photo class from a few years ago. You can't often say that of a chem lab. The second half of lab is all dedicated to qualitative analysis, where they give us a substance and we have to run tests on it to determine what it is. Finally, something that is starting to vaguely resemble what I might be doing as a forensic scientist in a few years.

Brief Organic Chem: What if Chemistry and Biology met in a bar, got a little too drunk, and had wild sex (nerd sex) resulting in an illegitimate bastard child? The prof is either excellent in a been-doing-this-forever-a-la-dr.-Adam sort of way, or tired and about to retire. Not sure which, but since beloved prof of the Chem 109/110 variety highly recommends him, I'm eagerly looking forward to the former. Spent the whole lecture talking about the molecules bugs use to communicate with each other and other interesting things. Showed picture of the wild ants of the serengheti. Revealed that the smell of the corpse flower comes from two molecules, one found in feces, one in roses. Believe this will be interesting in a possible Jeopardy final question sort of way.

Aikido: Not sure about this yet. Couldn't fully participate due to achey toe of doom. This will either be really good for me, or reeeeaaaally excrusciating on my poor feet. Probably the latter, in which case I'll drop it soon. If I can hack it, though, it may prove to be really cool and interesting in a daniel-san sort of way.

Books: Are going to be over $300, even though I already have the books for Chem 109 (which would bring the total to over $500, nearly $600, actually, if I wasn't using the same one from last year.) *sigh*

Oh, and did I mention: I also have to buy a graphing calculator. Another $100+. Being an English major was a lot less expensive. *sigh*

But!: I have friends in every class. It's like having study groups all built in and stuff. Aracelli the magnificent is in O-chem.

And!: This morning, Diane the supremely fabulous introduced me as her student assistant :) Wooooot! Plus in choir the other night she announced to everyone that I am "the shit".

So, things are mostly schweeeet right now. I'll probably lose my mind soonishlike, but that's par for the course, really.

So now that we're ten days into the new year, I'm finally ready to make my new years resolutions. Technically I've already started the main one, just haven't posted about it yet, so I'm not really that behind.

1) The perennial favorite, I'm resolving to lose weight. I'm tired of feeling tired, tired of it hurting to move and of lacking the motivation in the physical exertion category. I'm also hoping to not look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on my wedding day (Michelle thought this was funny, so I'm betting I'll hear "Mother Puss Bucket!" on my way down the aisle.) I would also like it if people stopped asking me if I'm pregnant (although it is secretly satisfying to say "Nope! Just fat" and then watch the look of horror dawn on their faces.) I have also made several steps in the right direction already:

* Fuzzy bought me a treadmill as an early V-day present. It's manual, so it's a lot harder than the ones at school, but it really works my lower body a lot more. Eventually I'll be able to stay on it for more than ten minutes.

* I got myself an ab roller. It's one of those doohickies that supports your head when you do crunches, and man if it doesn't seriously isolate your abs. I'm a little sore, but it's getting less and less, so thats a good sign.

* I'm signed up for aikido this semester. It's at least two hours a week of scheduled physical activity.

2) Get through this semester with less stress. This means staying current on my homework so that I don't have to cram before every test, just review. I managed a 4.0 that way last semester, but it's only going to get harder, especially with o-chem and stats and all that. So I seriously need to not procrastinate any more. I will do my homework every week, not just right before the test.
.........
So, I had my other foot worked on, stupid feet. It hurts less this time than it did last time. Funny, what going to a competent doctor will do, eh? I still think the other dr used lidocaine with epinephrine, instead of without like they're supposed to do on fingers and toes. It would explain why I had such a bad reaction to it. If it were purely psychosomatic, it would have been worse this time, since I had an idea how bad it would be and was basically panicking until the horrible pain failed to manifest. It's much easier to walk this time than last time, too. Last time it felt like the blood would rush to my toe every time I stood up, and it was this awful throbbing pain sensation, but this time it's not doing that (though I'll let you know after work today.) I'm betting it will heal faster this time, too.

Oh, funny cat story. I do my crunches in the living room, and my right arm passes back and forth right by the edge of the couch, so Zelda has taken to sitting right there and positioning her head so that my hand brushes it with each pass. We've decided that, for Zelda, it is not an ab roller, it is an automatic petting machine.

So school starts in just over a week. I know it's going to be stressful and that within a week I'll be over it and ready for another break, but I hate the in between times too because I feel bored and like I'm not accomplishing anything.

I'm worried about my mom and sister. My grandmother is, as usual, doing everything she can to make them both miserable. She made my sister cry yesterday by being in one of her damned woe-is-me-I'm-so-neglected moods and then yelling at her when my sister tried to make her feel better, god forbid. My mom needs a serious vacation from her, but of course that won't happen. She's taken to hovering around the entry way/kitchen in her wheelchair so that it's impossible to get in or out of the house without dealing with her and her constant nosiness and her constant guilt trips and pity parties. It just reminds me of the years I spent in that house, utterly miserable. It's like a big depression factory... She's really like a dementor, when you think about it. She works her mojo on you until you feel like you could never, ever be happy again. Really, she's the primary reason I went to school out of state and then up here. It hurts really bad to see her doing the same thing to my mom and sister , when I know they can't get out like I did. They won't have any peace until she's dead. It's particularly hard for my mother, because they used to be so close. I think I figured part of it out, that really, she's never accepted any of us for who we are, she just harbors these extreme ideals of who we're supposed to be, according to her, so that every single day when we go about being ourselves she's constantly disappointed. It wouldn't matter if I spent a full half of my time with her when I'm home, she'd still sit there being bitter and hating me for not spending the other half with her as well. But why should I? Being in that house with her is like poison.

But enough about her. I forgot to mention that I met the cutest kitten at home. Our stupid neighbors who can't take care of their own kids and have just stopped taking care of animals in the past got a pair of kittens who aren't even 2 months old, but are already being left outside in the rain and cold :( Tony, the one I fell in love with, is so cute and cuddly I just wanted to smuggle him home with me, but Fuzzy would get in trouble with the apartment people, so I couldn't. I just hate the idea of him being neglected like that. I know our other neighbor who recues cats will look after them, probably find them a new home, but I wanted to take him home with me.

He's the only animal that likes me better than Fuzzy. *sigh*

Ugh. I still have to get my books for the semester. Fortunately I can use the same Chem books for next semester, so that saves me over $200, but I don't want to know how much the o chem and biometry books are going to be. urgh. I love books and all, but seriously, these publishing companies take major advantage of students being forced to buy the books and jack up the price as much as they can. Jerks.

So, on our way back up, whilst I was sleeping, Fuzzy got onto route 99, which we have come to call Brigadoon Highway, because both he and my mother have mistakenly wandered onto it before. It wasn't bad, though, because it eventually meets up to the freeway we were actually supposed to be on. It also passes through Fresno, the armpit of California. Which led to this lovely little conversation.

Me: "Ah, Fresno, home of Timmy T."

Him: "No wonder it smells like ass."

41) He's really easy to buy Christmas presents for. Seriously. Talking moving yoda doll, Best of John Belushi, build-your-own lightsaber kit, and legos, and me and my family are awesome in his eyes.

42) He's helped me to channel my inner dork. Some people would say thats a bad thing, but I'm having fun, so who gives a shit?

43) We got so much wedding crap this weekend, and he endured it all very calmly and gave lots of input, so the plans are now officially ours, not just mine. It was awesome.

44) This trip was awesome, because he was there. I love visiting my family, but it is always stressful because I feel like I'm always being yanked in too many directions. With him there, it was still stressful, but having him there with me made it awesome, too, and I don't think anyone could have any doubts about us now, if they did before.

45) He did spectacularly on the x-mas gift front. The forensic psych book I wanted, the Michael Buble CD/DVD set, the sweater I wore all week, and a lightsaber, which I didn't even know I wanted.

46) If you're dating someone who wont play with lightsabers in the front yard, throw him back, because we had so much fun with my brothers.

47) Speaking of which, when my brothers came over, only him and Jason had lightsabers, so Fuzzy went out and bought one for me and for Ricky so that we could all play. You know its love when you can dork out with him and your whole family.

48) It's become very obvious that my uncle really likes him. Why, you ask? My uncle gave him $100 for the express purpose of getting the lego millenium falcon. Never underestimate the power of dork-bonding.

49) When I was tired and not feeling good, he baked the punkin pies with my sister :)

50) We just have so much fun together. There's no one else I'd rather laugh with.

actual update later, must go take car to mechanic, ugh.