The Dazzling Adventures of Ms. V

A glimpse into our daily life

2012-01-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

Scene: Josh is getting up to start the day. I'm lying in bed and being completely lazy.

Me: "I'm just lying here, feeling like a vegetable."

Josh: "What kind of vegetable?"

Me: "A kumquat" (as if it's obvious), then "Wait! No! That's a fruit. Zucchini."

Josh: "Ok, we're good." - walks away, quickly comes back - "Wait. Is a zucchini a vegetable? I thought anything with seeds was a fruit. Zucchini has seeds."

Me: "You're right. Bleh. I need a new vegetable. Broccoli then!"

Josh: "OK, great - we're good." - leaves to play video games.

This is why we get along.

xo,

Ms. V

A fine plan, indeed

2011-12-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

I went out with one of my good friends, LD, tonight. Neither of us will be having children. The following plan formed:

LD: "We'll be in the old folks' home together - taking care of each other."
Ms. V: "That's right! We'll sit next to each other drinking our beers."
LD: "It's a great plan! The one on Shelburne Bay is beautiful. Let's plan to stay there."
Ms. V: "We can get rooms next to each other and knock messages through the walls, since our hands will be too arthritic to text."
LD: "On second thought... we could never afford Shelburne Bay."
Ms. V: "I'll have to work right up until I'm ready to be put in the home to be able to cover the cost. I have decent benefits..."
LD: "I still can't afford it. It's way too expensive."
Ms. V: "We'll get married! My retirement benefits will cover you! It's perfect!"
LD: "DJ will be dead by then since he's older."
Ms. V: "I'm saving my 2nd marriage for you."
LD: "We need to pinky-swear on this."

:Pinky-swear:

Ms. V: "We could *totally* capitalize on this! It'll fund our stay! I can see the headline now... 'Couple marries after 50 years of friendship' - it would go on to describe our brief honeymoon on the lake and mention that we'll be making our home at the Shelburne Bay Assisted Living Facility. A real American love-story."

:Pinky-swear again:

Folks, I found my 2nd spouse. I couldn't ask for a better one.

xo,
Ms. V

What's that they say about apples not falling far?

2011-12-17T18:43:00.000-05:00

My sister (EEV), my mother, and myself struggle with opening a bottle...

EEV (struggling with top)
Me: "Want me to try it with my giant man hands?"
EEV: "I think my hands are more manly than yours..."
Mom: "I've got the manliest hands of all of us!"
Me (struggling with top): "E! Do you have a set of pliers?!"
Mom: "Oh give it here..." - (Pops it off with ease) - "Now what was so hard about that?"
Me (in disbelief): "Jesus Christ..."

xo,
Ms. V

Pain relief

2011-12-05T19:07:00.000-05:00

Work. Planned Parenthood in Barre. The fabulous Molly is my HCA...

I've got a massive knot in my right shoulder (as usual, thank-you stress & poor posture) and am massaging it against a door frame.

Me: "Hey Molly - want to inject some lidocaine into my shoulder?"
Molly: "Yeah!! Wait. No! Wait. What? You do that?"

(No, I actually don't do that, but I had briefly considered it).

xo,
Ms. V

Life in the North Country and making your escape...

2011-11-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

Winter will be upon us soon, a season I love but also a season that many people just don't understand. On a recent trip to my grandmother's, my sister and I decided to dig through old photo albums. We found one of our mother and her siblings standing on a rather large snowbank next to their ranch home.

Uncle: "Look at that. That's the roof. The snow was only 18 inches shy of the roof."
Gram: "That was the year we went to Florida."

The best part is that my grandparents' trip to Florida had nothing to do with the snow, it turned out. My grandfather apparently made a bet with a friend that he & my grandmother could be in Florida by the next day. They were.

Happy autumn-almost-winter!

xo,
Ms. V

No longer a non-cooking woman living alone...

2011-09-27T10:10:00.002-04:00

While I essentially remain a "non-cooking" woman, I am no longer single and haven't been for a while now. By chance, I've made it a habit to date men who love to cook. This has worked out well for me. This especially works out well when we decide to get wild and crazy and move in together. My cousin Chris realizes the significance...

A discussion over "cousin catch-up dinner" last week:

Ms. V: "So... I have news..."
Chris: "You're pregnant."
Ms. V: "Ha!!! NO!"
Chris: "He's moving in."
Ms. V: " Yep!"
Chris: "Good. Maybe now you'll have some damn food in your fridge."

xo,
Ms. V

Judging not...

2011-08-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

An episode of CBS Sunday Morning in the not-so-distant past featured a rather, uh, eccentric woman who built terrariums for a living. They were rather stunning, and sold for thousands of dollars. She treated them like they were her children, perhaps a little too much so...

Josh: "Whatever. She sticks gardens in bottles for a living. We can't expect her to be that normal."

He's right.

Also: I want one of those bottle gardens. They're lovely.

xo,
Ms. V

iPhone genius

2011-08-11T12:56:00.000-04:00

Recently, while trying out the facetime option with our iPhone 4's, my friend Laura and I were confused by the fact that our screens showed ourselves, rather than each other. In other words, I should have seen her on my screen and she should have seen me. Instead, I saw myself and she saw herself. Our friend Evan witnessed this event and had the following to offer:

Evan: "Maybe it knows you're in the same room. iPhones are that smart!"

:)

xo,
Ms. V
(we still haven't figured it out)

Further proof of my cooking skills

2011-08-10T16:15:00.001-04:00

Hanging out with my cousin, Chris, this afternoon, I mentioned that I was about to go grocery shopping...

Chris: "What are you going to buy?"
Me (answering her adorable little baby because it's fun to talk to him): "Pizza ingredients because that's all I can make. Cheese, sauce, crust."
Chris: "Uh, how 'bout some onions? Peppers? Olives? Throw some veggies on there."
Me: "Mmmmm... too many ingredients. Three is my limit."
Chris: "You can buy them already chopped up..."
Me: "Ehhhh, nah, I dunno."
Chris: "Get them off the salad bar for crying out loud!"

:D

xo,
Ms. V

Welcome back Scott

2011-08-09T14:47:00.000-04:00

After my dear friend and former fashion designer/model, Scott, returned from a 3-month long shoe-designing stint in Miami, we reconnected by hitting a local bar in a tiny town in VT. A random (and I'll admit - somewhat creepy) stranger struck up a conversation about the Miami club scene vs. the LA club scene. Scott had enough brewskies in him to get funny about it.

Scott: "Shit. When I went to the clubs I wore a speedo and cowboy boots."
Me (laughter)
Stranger: "Shit. What kind of club did you go to??"
Scott: "I helped build Von Dutch. I could wear an eyepatch and a smile."
Me (hysterical laughter)

The stranger was actually not so bad, and he knew Scott was just joking around and having fun, so it's all good, peeps. It's all good.

:)

xo,
Ms. V

When two people who don't watch TV suddenly have one turned on, this is what occurs

2011-07-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

A road trip last year landed me in Quebec City with my buddy Ben. We spent the morning getting ready in the hotel room with "The Today Show" on in the background.

Ben: "The Today Show... I want to have a show called The Yesterday Show."
Ms. V: "This is what happened yesterday!"
Ben: "Or The Tomorrow Show"
Ms. V: "This is what we think will happen tomorrow!"
Ben: "I was going to say I want a show called The 5 Minutes Ago Show."
Ms. V: "For those with short term memory loss."

xo,
Ms. V

A piece of advice to previous civilizations...

2011-07-13T15:40:00.001-04:00

From my buddy Mike:

"All I'm saying is: If you're Mayan, you should *not* show your face in 2013!"

:)

xo,
Ms. V

An open letter

2011-06-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

Dear medical licensing "stuff",

Thank you for being such a tedious pain in the rump. Even though it seems like a bunch of ridiculous (and expensive) little hoops for practitioners (such as myself) to jump through, it protects patients.

xo,
Ms. V
(I like to try to put a positive spin on everything, folks)

Answering with an example

2011-06-05T22:36:00.000-04:00

Ms. V: "C'mon. Aren't I the most indecisive person you've ever met?"
Bakondi: "I don't know."

xo,
Ms. V

What's in that stuff, anyway?

2011-05-30T21:51:00.000-04:00

Four loco.

Patrick has had some interesting experiences on the stuff (apparently a lot of people have). I finally found some that sat in my fridge for a month...

Ms. V: "I had some four loco for us but I tossed it when I moved because I was sick of dealing with stuff and just emptied the contents of my fridge into the garbage."
*Note: before anyone gets worked up about me throwing away food, think for just a second about what few things actually resided in my fridge, then think about how many of those things were actually edible. Yeah, exactly... nothing was "wasted."

Patrick: "You just threw it out? Wha?? That's just sitting in garbage somewhere? It could leak on an animal and turn it into a ninja turtle or something!"

Miche: "Some poor, unsuspecting bunny doesn't know what he has coming to him."

They're probably right.
Side note: this is the 2nd time in 2 days that Ninja Turtles have come up in conversations. I love quirky coincidences. Good stuff.

xo,
Ms. V

Learning interesting stuff about your mother...

2011-05-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

During a recent & rousing game of scattergories with my mother, sister, and sister's boyfriend:

Letter = B
Category = "Things you keep hidden"

Mom: "I put 'books'"
Ms. V: "What kind of books are you reading that you need to keep them hidden??"

Wine was involved.

xo,
Ms. V

Oh my.

2011-05-11T17:15:00.006-04:00

On a rare and recent jaunt to the big K with my friend Michael-Sha-nay-nay, we stumbled upon these beauties:

Imagine my delight when a lengthy blog-worthy discussion ensued.

- Me (stops dead in tracks): "Oh my GAWD! I didn't think they were allowed to make these things anymore?!"

- Nay-nay: "You eat such horrible food."

- Me: "No, no. I won't eat these. I just genuinely thought they were outlawed."

(reaches for phone to snap picture)

- Nay-nay: "These things are probably made out of strychnine."

- Me (doubled over in laughter from both disbelief of the cheese-balls' existence and Nay-nay's strychnine comment): "Oh - that is SOOOO going on the quote blog!"

(snaps picture)

"I'll even caption the picture when I upload it to facebook!"

- Nay-nay: "Yeah, the caption should read: 'Top two ingredients: strychnine and failure.'"

Nay-nay finally had to pull me away. I still couldn't believe my eyes. The best part is that they're generic and have *smart* in the name. Wow.

xo,

Ms. V

PS: I really did think they were outlawed. No joke there, people.

How women work

2011-05-07T10:53:00.001-04:00

Pondering life's great question on our recent ladies' night...

Lara: "How much do you think it's going to cost to fix a MacBook after you spill a bunch of wine on it?"

Erika: "Did you try the rice trick?"

Lara: "No. Well, yeah, but it didn't work. Now it just has a bunch of rice in it too."

Thank goodness people exist to fix these problems. :)

xo,

Ms. V

Much to my chef friend's horror...

2011-05-05T22:34:00.003-04:00

It pays to have friends who are chefs, especially when you don't particularly cook very often (or at all, for that matter).

Last Saturday I had a good friend over to catch up on life, since I've been such a hermit lately. He made some pretty fan-fricking-tastic thai tacos, which we promptly devoured. Upon putting leftovers in the fridge, however, he discovered the reality behind my eating habits...

Chef: "Are those... wait... are those spaghetti-o's? Are you *serious*? I'm going to cook for you every night!"

Me: "They're vegetarian with soy meatballs."

Chef: "Only $9.95 a can at 'Wealthy Living.'"

The poor guy is still in shock.

xo,

Ms. V

Classic movies scenarios that stick with us...

2011-03-12T19:22:00.002-05:00

Scene: townhouse in The Noosk. Joe is upstairs cleaning. I am downstairs on the couch.

Joe (yells down): Hey! What's *this* remind you of?

:wire hanger drops from above:

Me: CHRISTINA!!!!!

Sometimes it's fun to have a roommate who 'gets' your ridiculous quirks, and even shares them with you.

xo,

Ms. V

Things you think of when you work in reproductive health

2011-03-02T21:09:00.001-05:00

Scene: a paraguard that can't be used is discovered and about to be discarded

Amy: I have one!! Right here. (Points to pelvic area).

Laura: Awww! It's like jewelry for your uterus!

We have fun at work.

xo,

Ms. V

Why Ben thinks I should move to California...

2011-02-06T18:55:00.000-05:00

Ben: "They've never even seen an Irish person before. In California it's like Barbie & Ken, not Irish Annie."

Thanks Ben. I always like to be in places where I'm one of a kind. ;)

xo,

Ms. V

Dinnertime!

2011-02-04T21:59:00.002-05:00

Scene: Miche and yours truly at The Pour House; Miche with a bowl of Caesar salad and a diet soda; yours truly with a giant plate of nachos and a water.

Me: "Look at this! I've gorged myself!"

Miche looks up...

Me: "Though, all I ate today was a couple of truffles and a bunch of lifesavers..."

Miche: "That'll do it." [thoughtful pause] "It's better than a Moxie and some peeps for breakfast."

Me: "That's what you had, isn't it?"

Miche: "Mmmhmmmm"

Me (with hysterical laughter): "Oh, this is ALL going on the blog!"

Miche: "I'm a picture of health."

Time with Miche is always sure to result in good conversations for the blog.

xo,

Ms. V

A tip from Benny

2011-01-29T08:55:00.002-05:00

While discussing whether or not I will become a mother...

Ben: "Just find someone to inseminate you."

Me: "Like a fertility doctor?"

Ben: "Like a boyrfriend."

(Oh yeah... forgot about those...) ;)

xo,

Ms. V

On a trip through South Dakota... I found a piece of heaven

2011-01-09T14:16:00.002-05:00

Scene: Cross-country road trip. In the car. Zippy Jr. With Joe. On our way to Wall Drug in South Dakota to spend the night. Big billboards everywhere, advertising all of the things Wall Drug has to offer. A few in particular catch my eye...

Ms. V: "Homemade donuts?!?!?!?"

Joe: "I was hoping you wouldn't see that sign..."

Ms. V: "A bookstore AND homemade donuts?! Screw the Badlands. We're not leaving Wall Drug."

Badlands turned out to be pretty cool too though. ;)

xo,

Ms. V

Animal, vegetable, mineral...

2010-12-15T22:41:00.004-05:00

While discussing a rather delicious beer brewed by Flat Bread... (it has squash in it)

Ms. V: "It's called cornucopia. It's really good."

Leslie: "No. I don't like squash."
Ms. V: "It's beer. It doesn't taste like squash. It just has squash in it."

Leslie: "I don't care. It still freaks me out."

(It really is a great beer, folks).

xo,

Ms. V

Our Tuesday nights

2010-12-11T03:21:00.001-05:00

Referencing the fact that Honky Tonk Tuesday at Radio Bean and Ethiopian Tuesdays at RB's corresponding restaurant, Duende, coincide:

Patrick: "There's nothing more Honky Tonk than Ethiopians."

Love it. Love Honky Tonk Tuesday.

xo,

Ms. V

Inanimate objects

2010-11-29T21:51:00.002-05:00

Drew: "Why does your car keep attacking me?!" - after being hit in the head twice by - you guessed it - my car.

He was a good sport about it.

xo,

Ms. V

Bright light! Bright light!

2010-11-26T22:18:00.001-05:00

At a random birthday party in "The Middle of Nowhere, VT" this past summer...

Ben: Want to go light fireworks?

Ms. V: Psha! Do you really have to ask?!

We had fun. 'Nuff said. I only screamed a little bit...

xo,

Ms. V

Parts I & II in one post

2010-11-07T19:26:00.004-05:00

Roadtrips with Ben tend to start off at the Burlington Bagel Bakery. The following quotes reference the napkin holders at this fine establishment, with the first quote occurring after I got my hand stuck in one.

Ben: "These are the worst napkin holders I've ever seen!"
(They really are awful.)

Fast forward one month to another roadtrip.
Ms. V: "Oh my gosh! I was just about to say 'These are the worst napkin holders ever!' then I remembered that's exactly what you said last time!"
Ben: "They ARE the worst ever. If there were a hell, it would be filled with these napkin holders."

We have now decided to start evaluating napkin holders. Yeah, for real. Why? Because that's how we roll.

xo,
Ms. V

Building on the last...

2010-10-29T21:37:00.002-04:00

Ms. V: "We treat it with TCA, but don't ask me what TCA stands for because for some reason, I can't remember right now."

Ben: "Trichloroacetic acid?"

Ms. V: "Yes!! That's it!"

Ben: "We compliment each other perfectly!"

It's the simple things in life, folks - especially when it comes to friendship.

xo,
Ms. V

No explanation, really...

2010-09-29T19:12:00.000-04:00

Ben: "You had me at prolapse."

...That's all I have to say about that...

xo,
Ms. V

One from the road

2010-09-27T19:29:00.002-04:00

This one is from the road, our first day in Yosemite National Park. A beautiful little red-headed girl and I crossed paths and exchanged huge grins... Joe looked on with amusement.

Joe: "That little ginger girl looked happy to see another ginger."
Ms. V: "We *were* happy to see each other! We gingers have a secret society."
Joe: "That's crazy... It's a crazy secret society."
Ms. V: "A secret society of crazy?"
Joe: laughter...

I also made sure to point out that I'm not ginger. I'm auburn.

xo,
Ms. V

On this harvest moon...

2010-09-23T08:29:00.002-04:00

No quotes today, folks. I'm feeling happily serious (serene perhaps?)

We've just moved in to autumn, a truly special time in my book - especially here in the northeast, where the colors explode across both the ground and sky. The addition of the harvest moon last night got me thinking about what autumn truly is, in a somewhat spiritual sense. It's another time of transition, just like spring, but it's a time of transition toward closings and endings, to prepare us for the rest and recovery of winter. Each season has such emotional beauty attached to it, but autumn is a little extra special because it helps us prepare. It allows us time to say goodbye to the vibrant life of spring and summer and ease into the solitude and opportunities for introspection that winter presents to us. Autumn is a cool, crisp, colorful, cider-filled cushion. Embrace it fully. It's the perfect transition.

Happy equinox to all! Hope you enjoyed the harvest moon last night.
xo,
Ms. V

So my cats are large...

2010-09-19T20:14:00.001-04:00

Patrick's observation about the dynamic duo of Condor and Grenidine...

"They're not exactly cats. They're more like furniture. Like moving ottomans..."

xo,
Ms. V

A sisterly convo

2010-09-14T16:51:00.001-04:00

Via Meebo with the other Ms. V:

EEV: "i'm in my 15th hour of telephone conference with this client since last wednesday"
Ms. V: "I am very much not jealous of you."
EEV: "I am very much not jealous of me either."

xo,
Ms. V

Another funny conversation

2010-09-01T19:37:00.002-04:00

Most of these will be from Joe for now, because I collected a lot on our recent cross-country trip. Poor Joe. :) Ahhh, nah. There's no such thing as bad publicity, right?

At a gas station in South Dakota... middle of nowhere... old-fashioned gas pumps that I had to remind myself how to use...
Ms. V: "I feel like I'm in the wild west!"
Joe: You ARE in the wild west!"

No joke, people. It was a little bit "Twilight-zone-ish."

xo,
Ms. V

I have funny conversations sometimes

2010-08-31T13:47:00.004-04:00

Actually, I have funny conversations a lot of the time. To basically completely copy "My girlfriend is ridiculous", I'm going to start posting some of these conversations. Good times. Here's one now:

Ms. V: "There's a Waffle House in Cleveland. We could go to the Waffle House in Cleveland! Woo!"
Joe: "We're not going anywhere in Cleveland."
Ms. V: "Except the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame."
Joe: "Yeah, and leaving!"

More to come soon. Promise.

xo,
Ms. V

Interesting conversation... and I held back

2009-12-22T18:42:00.003-05:00

Today. Hannaford. South Burlington. Picture it.

I walk to my car and I hear "excuse me lady?" I ignore it initially but then turn to see that the man who said it really was referring to me. The following conversation took place:

Man (with no teeth): "My girlfriend and I are living in my truck and I need to get a prescription filled. I'm $1.05 short. Can you spare it?"
In the Christmas spirit I decide to hand the guy $2. Sure, I have no way of verifying that it's for a prescription but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Besides, it's only a couple of bucks. While I pull out my wallet, he shares his story...
Man (with no teeth): "We've been livin' in my truck. I only get $132 unemployment check and that doesn't go far. Hey! You're beautiful! You could really make it if you moved to Florida where I'm from! I hate this state!"
Me: "Oh, thank you. That's very nice. Here's your $2. Happy holiday."
Man (with no teeth): "Thank you! Merry Christmas!"

I held back. I decided not to point out to him that our economy is in the ole' crapper because "his" great state of Florida is responsible for letting an imbecile in office, causing one of the largest economic downfalls in US history. I was not happy though. I don't take kindly to people who speak ill of Vermont. I especially don't take kindly to it when they're IN Vermont, asking for handouts, and actually receiving one. This is something that likely would not happen elsewhere. Why? Because Vermonters are nice. I held back. The dude was crazy and standing about 2 yards away from me. Also, he called me beautiful. Flattery scored him a few points.

Happy holidays!
xo,
Ms. V

A New blog to stalk

2009-12-20T11:35:00.002-05:00

On the recommendation of my buddy Perplexio (aka: Darrin), I checked out My Girlfriend is Ridiculous. Cute. Hilarious. Love it. I've added it to the blog links at the right. Check it out, peeps. Here's the description from the master of the blog himself:

"I have a girlfriend. Her name is Jessica. I was initially attracted to her because she is very hot. As it turns out, she is also very sassy."

More blogging to come. I have two glorious weeks off before going back to the hell of a ridiculously long commute and 10 hour work days. :D

xo,
Ms. V

C'mon baby light my fire...

2009-11-27T12:28:00.004-05:00

Over the years, I have discovered that funny things happen, and many stories emerge when I do stupid stuff. This should not be a surprise to anyone reading this blog, as I've got 4 years worth of junk posted on this thing to back me up. If you're reading, you know this. We're off to a good start.

So.... I'm sitting around my fabulous apartment the other night, enjoying the season of Thanksgiving. Wanting to set the mood for some relaxation, I decide to light some candles but notice (in a mildly annoyed way) that the wick of one of the candles is off-center and now melting the wax unevenly. Scientist that I am, I note that a simple solution is to add something small and flammable to the other side of the candle that will burn out on its own but cause the wax to melt. Gosh, I'm stupid. No, really. I really am. Read on...

I roll up a *tiny* - yes *TINY* piece of paper and add it to the wax. It burns. It keeps burning. The paper doesn't disintegrate. I shut the bathroom door and pretend this isn't happening. I wait a minute. Open the bathroom door & note flames. I shut the bathroom door again and hope that I hallucinated. I re-open the bathroom door & note flames again. I also note the boiling wax. At this point, the glass will shatter if cooled too quickly, so water is now officially out of the question. I'm too terrified to go near this tiny, contained fire because I now have visions of glass exploding and careening all over my bathroom and myself. (Yes, I'm a bit paranoid, I know). I whip out the fire extinguisher from under the kitchen sink, open the bathroom door a 3rd time, pull the pin, stand back 6 feet, aim, squeeze, and admire the puff of white smoke that has filled my downstairs bathroom. The fire is out. Everything is coated in powder. I put the fire extinguisher back underneath the sink, pour myself a glass of wine, and pop in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Clean-up can wait.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

xo,
Ms. V

She's back!

2009-11-19T22:03:00.001-05:00

...and better than ever! I decided to check my site-counter and, much to my surpise, I discovered that people still check this thing.

Sarcastic writings to follow. Promise. I just had to recover from Paul's death. My period of mourning is over. Time to celebrate!

xo,
Ms. V

So long, Paul

2008-09-27T11:48:00.001-04:00

A truly fantastic actor, and by all accounts, an even better person:

Paul Newman, has passed away. I will be watching one of my all time favorite movies, The Sting, in his honor tonight.

xo,
Ms. v

Bad ways to start a morning...

2008-09-16T11:52:00.004-04:00

As I was sitting downstairs studying the other day, I could hear soon-to-be-ex-Hub rummaging around in every cupboard, drawer, and closet space in our upstairs bathroom. You know it'll turn interesting when the conversation goes like this...

Me: "Are you alright up there?"
Soon-to-be-ex-Hub: "No."
Me: "What's the matter?"
Soon-to-be-ex-Hub: "I can't stop the bleeding."

Silence.

I make my way upstairs only to find that he has, in fact, cut himself and he can't, in fact, stop the bleeding. I patch him up and make sure to comment that any one he dates in the future will also need to have some sort of medical or first aid training.

Fun times.

xo,
Ms. V

Two weeks of dazzling adventures

2008-09-04T22:50:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I feel like my life is a giant practical joke. Here's why:

Tuesday, 8/26: I got out of class 30 minutes early, headed home, and found that my Amazon.com order had arrived. At this point, I think "Wow, this day can't get any better!" Completely excited, I figured I would get right to work in assembling my new pieces of furniture. After having done such a fantabulous job with my coffee table, I knew it would be a piece of cake. I started to put together my bookcase, only to discover that the holes were drilled into the wrong side of one of the pieces. I put everything back in the box and emailed Amazon. I then moved on to the bathroom storage unit and assembled the bottom half. Before moving on to the top, I decided to make sure it would actually fit in my bathroom. It didn't. I put everything back in the box and emailed Amazon again. I looked at the third item, a hutch, and realized it was too large for my apartment and I didn't really need it anyway. I was smart enough not to open the box this time, but had to email Amazon a third time. At this point, it occurred to me that I just spent a ton of money that I don't have on 3 items that I don't need (and don't really have room for). It turns out that only one of the three items is returnable. I now have a path of boxes from my door to my computer and bed. Yes, I'm serious.

Wednesday, 8/27: I woke up and thought "Well, at least today can't be any worse than last night!" My gosh, I'm an idiot. I made my way out to my car only to find that it wouldn't start. Normally, I could just walk to school since I live less than 1 mile away, but I was inconveniently parked in a "Wednesday spot." My car had to be moved by 9am, otherwise I would receive a $75 parking ticket that I couldn't afford (after spending all that money on the now-useless furniture). There was also the possibility it would get towed. It would depend on whatever mood the parking officer was in at the time. Since I still have VT plates, my bet is that it would be towed. I didn't want anyone to mess with Zippy Jr, so I called my friend for a jump start. It worked. Yay.

Thursday, 8/28: I woke up and thought "After the last two days, today HAS to be better." HA! Zippy Jr. wouldn't start again. I left the dome light on. To quote George Costanza, "I am Ms. V, Queen of the idiots." I couldn't walk to school on Thursday because we had to play dress up and I was wearing high heels. There was no frakking way I'd walk a mile in those shoes. I called my friend to come pick me up. After class got out, another friend gave me a ride home and tried to jump start Zippy Jr. but to no avail. A kind gentleman happened upon us and offered his services. He said both of our batteries were fine. He took mine out, cleaned things up, put it back in, and Zippy Jr. still wouldn't start. We had stood outside for an hour, desperately hoping that the problem would soon be solved, only to find that we were back at square one and short the $20 that I had paid the guy who helped us. I called my father. The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Am I the only one of the kids who has ever called you with car problems?"
Dad: "Yes. Call AAA. They'll boost you."
It turns out that my friend's battery didn't have enough juice to jump start ZJ's battery. AAA came to my rescue, and I took my friend out for Mexican food and cheesecake to celebrate the return of ZJ's happily purring motor.

Wednesday, 9/3: I took the first exam of the semester and realized that I hadn't studied at all. I passed, but not by much. At that point, I didn't even care. There's a saying in PA school: "C gets the degree!" It's my new mantra.

Thursday, 9/4: I woke up this morning only to find that I had no running water. Fan-frakking-tastic. I didn't have class today, thankfully, but had to meet with my study group to work on a class project. I called up the two girls who are in the group with me (the same two girls who had rescued me when I had car problems last week), told them I'd be late, then called my aunt to ask if I could use her shower. I raced to Delmar, became human, grabbed a bagel at Bruegger's and arrived only an hour late. Not bad. Ten minutes after sitting down in our library study room, however, the fire alarm went off. We had to evacuate. It wasn't a drill. Great. After being let back in, we finished our project and parted ways. I haven't stopped laughing since, mainly because I know darn well that there must be a hidden camera somewhere and I will somehow end up on TV after all this. It's probably some knew reality show. "How much can the PA student handle?" Or "How many bad things does it take to set off an Irish woman's temper?" Check your local listings.

That's it for now. Wish me luck for the weekend!
xo,
Ms. V

Draw'rings

2008-07-31T18:04:00.002-04:00

This is what I do during class:

It's almost amazing that I'm actually passing, huh?

Truthfully, doodling actually helps me pay better attention. If I didn't doodle, I'd daydream. At least I actually hear what the professors are saying when I doodle. Some of it must stick in my brain somewhere.

Final exam status: 3 down, 2 to go. Speaking of finals, it's time for me to get back to studying.

xo,

Ms. V

Getting there

2008-07-29T14:49:00.003-04:00

My current final exam status is: 2 down, 3 to go.

I have one tomorrow on the kidneys, one on Friday morning in Applied Pathophysiology (this time it's kidneys and endocrine), then another on Friday afternoon that is 120 questions long and - get this - CUMULATIVE. Fun times. We'll be tested on pathology, cardiology, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and kidneys again. Fun times.

At approximately 3pm on Friday, August 1st, 2008, I will likely be the happiest woman alive. That is when I officially go on break for two glorious weeks. :D

Wish me luck!

xo,
Ms. V

I'm still alive

2008-07-13T22:11:00.003-04:00

Things I need

- A good chiropractor in the capital district.
- A massage. Desperately.
- Sleep, and lots of it.
- A caffeine IV.

If anyone out there can point me in the right direction for any of my requests, I would greatly appreciate it.

We have only 3 weeks left of this hellish summer semester. After that, I'll have a 2 week break that will be spent traveling around upsate NY and VT, and moving out of the townhouse. Should be interesting. What happens next? Well, I'll start another 15 weeks of torture with the fall semester. Great. Fun times. Prepare to deal with a very crabby Ms. V.

That's all for now. I have a test, a paper, and a homework assignment all due on Friday. I'm fairly convinced that our professors are actually in some sort of super-secret special ops part of the military and they're testing new forms of psychological torture on us.

xo,
Ms. V

My own little version of "You Might be a PA Student If..."

2008-05-22T11:27:00.004-04:00

Well folks, here's a small taste of my life.

You might be a PA student if...

- You check your watch so often that you even look at your wrist in the shower and have a mild panic attack when you see that it isn't there. It takes a few seconds to recover and realize that you don't actually wear your watch in the shower and there is no pressing need to know what time it is every second of the day, anyway.

- Your backpack has become a constant companion. A constant, heavy, companion. When you don't wear it, you have phantom limb pain.

- You buy beverages according to caffeine content. When you go out for some rare leisure time, you buy beverages according to alcohol content.

- You refer to anyone who hasn't gone into a medical profession as a "non-masochist."

- You seriously consider the possibility of living in a shack on the beach and selling sun-tan lotion for the rest of your life.

- You start to think things like "Oh, it's only another $10,000 on my loan. That's not too bad."

- You realize that the afore-mentioned loan will total more than many mortgages when you're finished.

- You also realize that, after graduation, you will have to move to a remote part of Alaska to qualify for repayment of the afore-mentioned loan because that is the only way you will ever be able to afford things like groceries again.

- You watch TV shows, commercials, or movies and notice all of the things people do wrong, medically. You announce these things to your friends. They give you a look that says "It's fiction... it doesn't matter if she put the earpieces of her stethoscope in backwards."

- You automatically run through the ABCDEs in your head whenever you notice that a friend has a mole. You then tell them what the ABCDEs are and insist they go to a dermatologist immediately just for monitoring. Pester them until they make an appointment.

- When you're out in public, you diagnose certain things on sight alone, then you think about how you would write up a description of your assesment.

- By the end of first semester, you have become convinced - on at least three occassions - that you have some sort of rare disease or condition. Your classmates have also convinced themselves of this. Between the 30+ students, you've covered every disease known to man.

- You have absolutely no clue what your, :ahem:, cycle is anymore - partly because you're constantly stressed and partly because you sit in a classroom with 30 other women every single day. You also hang out together most evenings.

- You can put together a complete sentence using only acronyms and abbreviations and know exactly what it means.

- You use these acronyms and abbreviations with your non-school friends and they look at you as if you're speaking Greek. (You are).

- You say things like "If I see the word beta-adrenergic one more time I'll have to claw my eyes out." You're only half-kidding.

- You love every single second of it and wouldn't trade it for the world because when you finally stop to think about it, you're still astounded that you got accepted in the first place. ;)

Time to get back to studying for the big Pathyphysiology exam tomorrow (and hence look at the word "beta-adrenergic" again and again and again).

xo,
Ms. V

Speechless

2008-05-08T19:53:00.002-04:00

Holy mother-frakking cow. Flight of the Bumblebee on piano and up-tempo. There are no words to describe it. None. I am truly speechless.

I think some people may even get motion sickness just watching the close-ups of his fingers. Unbelievable.

xo,
Ms. V

Request for a date

2008-05-07T23:26:00.004-04:00

Well folks, I’m in need of a date for “Ironman.” A classmate (the only guy, bless him) invited me but left me in the lurch and saw it on his own last weekend. When I told him he was at the top of my SL, he said “I’m sorry. I thought you’d forgotten!” Ahem. I responded with “I NEVER forget the request for a date to a superhero movie!” He’ll pay. He’ll pay dearly. He’s trying to get back in my good graces by offering to see it again. I’m not sure I’ll take him up on that just yet. He might have to bribe me with coffee. We’ll see.

Tomorrow night, however, will be something much less fabulous than "Ironman." A few of us are supposed to hang out and watch the newer version of "A Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I wonder if I'll be able to keep my eyes open through the whole thing? Wish me luck!

xo,
Ms. V

P.S. - This is my 200th post. Yay me. It's kind of sad to think that I actually have that much useless crap to discuss though, isn't it? ;)

My new roommate

2008-05-06T16:37:00.004-04:00

I hate bugs. Really. I really, really hate bugs. One of my ex-boyfriends used to say "There are only 2 things that Ms. V hates: bugs, and bugs." He wasn't kidding. Spiders aren't bugs, but I hate them too. They're creepy and crawly and gross.

This past weekend I was talking to a friend of mine about how much I hate them, and how I killed my first spider at the age of 20. He brought up a very good point: why kill a spider? It's an animal too, isn't it? If I would never kill a dog or a cat, I shouldn't kill a bug. He was absolutely right, so I mentally vowed to stop squishing all of the nasty critters who show up in my apartment.

I didn't think this would be a problem since I don't exactly live in a cockroach infested slum. It turns out that I was wrong. While going over some homework last night, I noticed that there was a very large spider sitting on top of my closet door. Fabulous. Just what I like to see. I was faced with a major dilemma. If I were to capture it and take it outside (5 stories down), I'd have to get within 6 inches of the hideous thing for more than 3 seconds and I would run the risk of it crawling onto some part of my body, which would send me into a psychotic fit. If I were to attack it with a paper towel, I'd become and animal-killing hypocrite. The only choice I had was to accept it and leave him (or her!) alone. The fact that I can't actually reach the spider helped with my decision. I'm short and don't have a stool. It hasn't moved. My theory is that it knows it was spared and has chosen to cohabit with me in peace. I'm OK with that. The other possibility, of course, is that it's already dead. Either way, I'm not willing to find out, so I'm keeping it as a pet. Maybe it'll help me get over this completely irrational fear.

If you have name suggestions, I'm happy to hear what they are. Something gender-neutral would be preferable. ;)

I'm going to stop avoiding my mountain of schoolwork now and get some of this stuff done.

xo,
Ms. V

Skills

2008-05-04T20:19:00.004-04:00

Well dear readers, I arrived back in Albany this afternoon around 5:30pm. Zippy Jr. did a great job carrying the 2 large pieces of luggage, the small luggage (which held my books and was heavier than either of the large pieces), my laptop, and my medical bag. I managed to get extremely lucky and find a parking space within 1/2 a block from my building. Ab-fab.

After 3 trips up to my 5th floor apartment, I decided it would be fun to put together the coffee table I received on my last break in February. I figured it would be a cinch, since I am now an old pro (having deftly assembled my TV and microwave stands). If it were easy, however, I wouldn't be blogging about it, right? By now, you've probably figured there's a story. You're right: there is.

If you're ever interested in assembling the same style table, feel free to use my revised instructions below. Plan on the entire project taking at least an hour and a half. This is exactly how I managed to survive the ordeal and with careful planning, you can too.

1) Cut open package containing coffee table, look at 2 diagrams and simple instructions, say to yourself "Hey, this isn't bad at all." (Words you will later wish you had never uttered).
2) Remove 2 "B" pieces, 2 "C" pieces, one "D" piece, 8 nuts, 8 screws, 8 wooden pegs, and 1 allen wrench. Dig out the flat-head screwdriver from the little black toolkit you stole from your mother 10 years ago. Prepare for take-off.
3) Using nuts, screws, allen wrench, and flat-head screwdriver, attach 2 "C" pieces to one "B" piece, then attach "D" piece to same "B" piece. Crank allen-wrench like mad to make sure everything is secure. Strain a muscle in your arm.
4) Turn the table onto its side to attach other "B" piece to the empty ends of the "D" piece and 2 "C" pieces. Just as you're about to secure the screw, drop the allen wrench on your foot, then drop the heavy screw on your foot, too. This is best executed when you're barefoot (which I always am). Lose screw. Lose allen wrench. Sift through coffee table box to find them. Start over with attaching the screw and once again crank like mad to make sure they are all nice and tight. Plug all 8 holes with wooden pegs to make the table look pretty. Drop one peg under your futon and get a cramp in your shoulder as you reach to retrieve it. Note that none of the pegs fit.
5) This is where the real fun begins. I suggest mixing yourself a drink at this point. I didn't but I wish I had. Dig piece "A" out of the box. Note how heavy it is. Find 4 cambolts and 4 camlocks hidden in the mess of packaging. Once again break into the old black tool-kit that you stole from your mother 10 years ago and retrieve a Phillips-head screwdriver.
6) Use Phillips-head screwdriver to secure 4 cambolts into the 4 holes in the bottom of piece "A." Note that the holes are too small and you need to make them larger by hand. Strain another muscle in your arm while you complete this task.
7) Insert 4 camlocks into 4 holes of both "C" pieces. Gently place "A" face down on top of these holes so cambolts fit into locks. Realize that none of them fit. Contort yourself into positions that would make Nadia Comaneci proud. Use allen wrench in an attempt to re-position the camlocks. Lose 2 camlocks in the process.
8) Invent new curse words and contort yourself once more as you search for the camlocks. Find them in the mess of cardboard sitting on your floor.
9) Repeat steps 7 & 8.
10) Repeat steps 7& 8.
11) Repeat steps 7 & 8.
12) Turn table upside down and attempt to secure cambolts into camlocks. Repeat steps 7 & 8.
13) Turn table right-side up and attempt, once again, to secure cambolts into camlocks. Repeat steps 7 & 8.
14) Take a deep breath (or a large sip of that drink you mixed), and pray for a miracle.
15) Rejoice in the miracle that has occurred and secure cambolts into camlocks. Strain a muscle in your arm to make sure they're tight.
16) Lift table from the top to make sure it won't fall apart. It won't. Pull a Pat O'Brien and bury your face in your hands and cry.
17) Look at the mess on the floor, decide it's going to stay there until tomorrow, then blog about your experience.

The end result will be a few strained muscles, a cramp in your shoulder, a bruised metatarsal bone, and a coffee table that looks like this.

Good luck,
Ms. V

2008-05-03T00:16:00.001-04:00

My shoulder hurts real bad!

(I miss Napolean.)

xo,
Ms. V

ps - My shoulder really does hurt. I never got around to making an appointment with my chiropractor on break. Great.

The madness of life

2008-05-02T21:57:00.002-04:00

I am absolutely certain that PA school turns people into alcoholics. I actually said this to my mother today on a quick trip to upstate NY. The bright side is that I will know the minute I have cirrhosis or pancreatitis. Heck, I'll even know how to perform my own liver transplant! This might not be so bad afterall.

All kidding aside, I have concluded that there are only two things required to survive PA school: chocolate and coffee (actually, in my case, these are the only two things required to survive life.)

I had been enjoying my glorious two-week break until this past Wednesday when my fellow students and I received an email from a professor with a homework assignment attached. Fabulous. Naturally, I am the queen of all procrastinators and haven't even considered doing the reading yet. I'll probably crack open the book at 11pm on Sunday night when I arrive back in Albany.

To get over my mild-depression (related, of course, to "life's general annoyances"), I guzzled some pomtini's then stayed out at a friend's house until 3 o'clock this morning watching "Curb Your Enthusiasm." This was followed by a quick trip home to catch an episode of "Ace of Cakes" which helped me nod off to sleep in the recliner. When I finally awoke from my coma, I high-tailed it to Malone and was lucky enough to see both my niece (16 months old) and brand new nephew (3 weeks old). Naturally, they are perfect in every single way.

Hub is away for the evening, I'm going to settle back into the oh-so-comfy recliner and take a ride in the TARDIS with Doctor Who (or as I like to refer to him: "my second husband").

I know this is a bit of a boring post this evening (certainly not nearly as entertaining as my little trip to the dentist, which people are still asking about), but I'll have more very soon. Promise. School starts again on Monday. Something tells me that I'll have plenty to write about.

xo,
Ms. V

Ms. V goes to the dentist

2008-04-22T20:30:00.003-04:00

I hate going to the dentist. Really. I really, really hate it. I can barely manage having my teeth cleaned. Imagine my dismay when I was told at my last check-up that I needed a crown. Abso-frakkin-lutely-fabulous.

I showed up today for an appointment that I was told should only take an hour and a half. The nice assistant called me back, settled me into a comfy chair and offered me a Newsweek. Not too long after, the nice dentsit arrived, swabbed some topical anesthetic on the inside of my cheek and jabbed a needle full of novacaine into my mouth. He walked away to let it work its magic and I settled back down with my Newsweek.

This is where the problem began to take shape. The people at my dentist's office are normally very quick. You don't wait to get called back to the comfy chair, you don't wait to have your checkup, you don't wait for your filling. They get you in, get you taken care of, ask for your money, then send you on your merry way. Today, however, was a different story. After the glorious (sarc) shot of novacaine, my dear ole' dentist had to attend to a few other patients. I waited. Then I waited some more. I finished the Newsweek and started reading Forbes. I continued to wait. Somewhere in my waiting I thought "Hey, if I wait much longer they won't be able to finish putting this crown on before the novacaine wears off." As it turns out, my psychic abilities are still quite sound. Read on...

The dentist finally arrived to work his magic. He drilled, ground, chipped, and drilled some more until the only remnant of "tooth 15" was a tiny, foreign-feeling nub. He took pictures, played on his computer, designed my new tooth, then turned the whole project over to the hygenist and walked away. His work was finished. The hygenist became an artist, finished designing my tooth, then said "it'll take about 20 minutes to make it" and walked away. In that 20 minutes, you can probably guess what happened: the novacaine started to wear off. The waiting had been too much. Oh lord. Read on...

Hygenist #2 arrives and reminds me of Nurse Ratchet. I can tell this is going to be a fun ride. She doesn't introduce herself, treats my poor mouth like it's a slab of meat, and uses my chest as an additional table-top for her tools. Great. To make matters worse, as she's cleaning up my hopeless little nub, preparing it for the crown, I start to cringe and squeam. The following conversation then took place:
Nurse Ratchet: "Did you feel that?"
Me: "Yeah, a bit."
Nurse Ratchet: "You're starting to thaw. Would you like another shot?"
Me: "How much left do you have to do?"
Nurse Ratchet: "Not much, mostly just rinsing and drying."
Me: "I'll be alright if it's quick." (This is perhaps the dumbest sentence I've ever uttered.)

Nurse Ratchet picked up her mini-fire hose and proceeded to blast the living daylights out of my mouth. Now, I don't know if any of you have ever had ice-cold water blasted onto the root of a tooth, but I can assure you it's painful. Imagine your tooth being electrocuted. Yeah, that's what it felt like. Blinding, white-hot pain shot up the mandibular branch of my trigeminal nerve (c'mon - I'm a PA student remember? Technical terms will be used). I cringed. I squeamed. I gripped the sides of the comfy chair like it was binding me to life. I tell Nurse Ratchet "I'm completely thawed. I felt it all. Are you almost done?" She seems to take pleasure in my pain and responds with a blast of ice-cold air to the same poor tooth root. Great. The bright side is that the worst was over. Once she put the crown on, it had a mild analgesic in the cement and the root was no longer exposed. My mouth was still a slab of meat and my chest was still an extra table for her instruments, but I survived.

Funny how I never would have felt a thing if they had worked on me a bit sooner, giving them time to finish everything before the novacaine wore off, huh? Funny how, with the waiting, my hour-and-a-half appointment turned into a two-and-a-half hour appointment. Oh well. They're a good bunch overall. I'll forgive them. Besides, it's the same dental group that Bernie Sanders uses, so you really can't go wrong if Bernie likes them. ;) I saw him there at my last check-up. Awesome.

In the end, dear readers, this was my excitement for the day. My tooth is still sore, my gums are still swollen, the whole thing feels funny because I technically have another foreign object stuck in my mouth, but I'm pretty satisfied with my new tooth overall. :)

xo,
Ms. V

You'll laugh, I promise (part deaux)

2008-04-09T14:08:00.003-04:00

This is the funniest Saturday Night Live skit I've seen in a long time.

A good rule of thumb is: never turn your back on a cactus.
Ms. V

I love Ellen Degeneres

2008-03-23T13:33:00.002-04:00

Click here. You'll laugh, I promise.

xo,
Ms. V

Bumper Sticker Fun

2008-03-21T07:58:00.000-04:00

Seen on a bumper sticker yesterday (by yours truly, of course):
"I believe in dragons, good men, and other fantasy creatures."

;)

Happy weekend!
Ms. V

The state of the capital

2008-03-17T11:57:00.003-04:00

Moving back to the state of NY after 10 years away has proven interesting, especially in light of the recent scandal involving our now-former Governor Spitzer. I live only 1 block away from Empire State Plaza and as I was doing the parking dance today I couldn't help but notice the 18 news vans surrounding the entire block. Since many of my VT friends have asked, "What's going on down there? What is it like?" well, this is it. Especially when a new governor is about to take office.... oh, and especially when it's because the old governor was disgraced... oh, and one more thing, especially when the new governor is a blind African American.

As far as my thoughts about Elliot go, I could ramble on about it but I think Amy Poehler and Seth Myers said it best on SNL this past weekend. Check it out:
They are ab-fab, sweetie darling, aren't they?

That's the news for now.

xo,
Ms. V

Wow.

2008-03-12T17:03:00.001-04:00

There are simply no words to describe this.

In other news, my current midterm status is: 3 down, 1 to go. Wish me luck!

xo,
Ms. V

Puff-tacular

2008-03-06T23:02:00.004-05:00

Well folks, I've probably formed a DVT. I've been sitting and sitting and sitting some more. Really it's because I've been studying like a good little PA student, desperate to pass the 3 midterms I have to take next week. Should be interesting. "EKGs, anatomy, and cadavers, oh my!"

I'm floating through life on only one brain cell at the moment and getting a tad snippy toward people. Hub complained this evening about how long his work-days were this week and I became slightly unhinged. The conversation went something like this:

Hub: "We hoped to get done at 2pm today but couldn't leave until 5:30. :sigh: Long days..."

Me: "YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT LONG DAYS?!?!! I DIDN'T GO TO BED UNTIL WELL AFTER 1AM AND WAS UP AGAIN AT 6! YEAH, 6!! THAT'S LESS THAN 5 FRAKKING HOURS OF SLEEP AND I CONSIDER MYSELF LUCKY THAT I EVEN GOT THAT MUCH!"

Hub: "Yeah, you're right. Let's not compare."

Me: "You're finally learning."

In addition to the exams, we have a video-project due tomorrow that needs to be accompanied by a patient write-up. We have our regular weekly write-up due tomorrow too. Oh, and our regular weekly physical skills test on a sheet that we need to memorize word-for-word. We have EKG review for an hour and a half then breast-exam lab for 3 hours. I won't get done until 4pm which is at least 30 minutes later than when I normally arrive home in VT. Fun times.

The good news is that I've been doing all of this sitting & studying in my fabulous new puffy-chair. It's like a giant foam-filled bean bag. I never want to leave it. I might even sleep in it tonight. I'm a woman obsessed. I want to build a giant house just so I can furnish it with these. :D

Time to get back to work!

xo,
Ms. V

Woo Hoo!

2008-02-23T11:24:00.001-05:00

A major baseball player has officially gone veg. Yay!

xo,
Ms. V

Ms. V turns 30

2008-02-23T02:14:00.002-05:00

This may be the first time I post something serious instead of sarcastic...

Technically I turned 30 on the oh-so-fabulous day of January 24. Unfortunately, I had two major exams the following week and wasn't able to celebrate. Instead, I postponed the festivities until break.

I'm just going to offer a big, HUGE, INCREDIBLY MASSIVE "Thank you" to Jeff, Charla, Issei, Ingrid, Luz, Jess, Jansen, Trisha, and Kevin for joining me for a rousing round of Rockin' Bowling, dancing, and drinks. A huge thank you especially to Trish and Kevin for the fantabulous gifts. ;)

All of you made my belated birthday truly special. It was wonderful to be surrounded by such good friends.

Tomorrow: Mardi Gras and 80's night. Charla and I agreed to wear the old Debbie Gibson "Electric Youth" perfume. Woo hoo! :D

xo,
Ms. V

Too cool for school

2008-02-21T00:26:00.002-05:00

Just a quick one tonight, gang. More will follow later in the week. Promise. Though, we all know how good I am about keeping my blogging promises (which is probably why my readership has dropped to only 1 person... my mother).

I wanted to blog tonight but couldn't think of anything to write. I asked my friend Travis for inspiration. His response was: "blog about how awesome I am" so that's what I'm doing. Just for kicks and giggles.

OK, done now. Back to IM'ing and trying to get Hub to wake up and get out of the recliner so I can go watch Ghost Hunters International and fall asleep in front of the TV.

:D

xo,
Ms. V

Adventures in moving

2008-01-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

True story, follow closely:

Today was supposed to be the big move to Albany. Orientation at AMC is on Thursday and Friday. The plan was to drive both vehicles down, unload, set up, Hub would drive home and go to work for the rest of the week, I'd stick around, have dinner with my aunt and cousins, spend Wednesday finding my way around my new neighborhood, go to orientation on Thursday and Friday, then come home Friday evening. Simple enough, right? Apparently not. Why? Because we live in the Northeast.

1) Hub and I woke up an hour late because last night was New Year's Eve, it was cold, the bed was warm, and moving in a snowstorm just isn't fun.

2) We got dressed, got ready, fiddled around with the printer and the laptop, printed off some last minute directions, and packed up a bunch of stuff that hadn't already been taken care of.

3) (This is where the fun began): Hub was in a crabby mood. Somehow, *I* caused the heavy, wet, sloppy snow to fall. We pack up the car, bicker, snipe, and bicker some more, then pull out of the driveway. This is where my feeling of dread set in. This didn't feel right. I always trust my gut. Read on.

4) We had just pulled out of the driveway an hour later than we had planned. I stopped at the ATM then met Hub at Dunkin' Donuts (he was still cranky but at least we were in separate vehicles). At this point I suggested going home and hiring movers so we didn't have to deal with this. Mind you, Hub has to work tomorrow so he would have had to turn around and drive back home tonight... in the dark.... in the middle of a snowstorm. Hub says no to my new plan. We pull out of Dunkin' Donuts, I stop to fill up Zippy Junior before our trip.

5) We reach Shelburne Rd. and some idiot in a Subaru decides it's fun to tailgate small cars on slick roads. Guess whose small car she's behind? Yes, mine. At this point, I started to fear for Zippy Junior's beautiful rear-end. I also started to calculate how much of my PA school tuition I could pay after suing her ass for rear-ending me. Instead of being a jerk and slamming on my breaks, I opt to give the guy in front of me more room, "just in case." Subaru lady doesn't let up one bit. Hub is directly behind her and he sees this.

6) We reach Shelburne, Hub overtakes her. I call Hub on his cell phone and say "Beware! The imbecile behind you is a tail-gaiter. BTW - thanks for rescuing me from her. The 4-Runner won't be damaged if she hits you, whereas Zippy Junior would be totaled." He responds with "Yeah, I saw she was driving like an ass-whipe so I thought I'd spare you." Hmmm, it seems he had forgiven me for causing the snow. Thanks Hub, you're tops.

7) We finally reach Charlotte, a whopping 12 miles away from our home. I call Hub again. "I have another idea: I'll call my aunt and see if I can crash at her place and we'll move in better weather. Your thoughts?" Hub: "You're brilliant! You should be nominated for a Nobel Prize!" (Actually, he didn't say that, but I know he was thinking it...) I call my aunt: "I have a favor. The weather is miserable, we're pulled over on the side of the road, can I crash with you for a few nights and move my stuff into my apartment over the next few days?" Aunt (who is currently my favorite person in the world): "Yes, of course! You're my all-time favorite niece and we'd love to be blessed with your presence!" (Actually, she didn't say that, but I know she was thinking it...)

8) Still pulled over on the side of the road, I call Hub back (because even though he's pulled over right behind me, it's snowing like a bastard and I have no desire to trudge even 10 inches in this slippery mess with a bunch of traffic flying past me.) Me: "Favorite Aunt said I can stay with her. Here's the plan: I'll drive down tomorrow, drop some stuff off at the aparment, crash at Favorite Aunt's place for two nights and see you on Friday at the White Coat Ceremony. You'll drag the futon and the rest of the junk down on Friday and we'll unload it after the White Coat Ceremony. If the weather is bad, we'll reschedule for the weekend." Hub: "You're brilliant! You should be nominated for a Nobel Prize!" (Actually, he didn't say that, but I know he was thinking it...) Hub's real response: "You know, there's a traffic light and a gas station just up the road we could have stopped at." My response: "Uhhh... your point is? Nevermind, we'll turn around there." My feeling of dread has now lifted completely and I'm thrilled with the new plan.

9) We return home to find that the garage door had been left open. Good thing I trusted my gut-feeling of dread. Not only am I brilliant, I'm psychic. Awesome. Yay me.

10) I call the landlord, assure him I'm a good tenant, offer to scan a copy of my rent check to prove it's already made out, tell him I'll move in little by little over the next few days and won't actually spend the night until Sunday. His response: "Thank you for being my favorite tenant." (Actually, he DID say this.) Apparently the guy just moved out of the apartment yesterday morning and the landlord is sick, so this will give him time to recover from his cold and make sure the apartment is presentable. I told him to take as much time as he needed to get it squared away. My stuff is in boxes and won't be harmed by any work he might need to do. He was just as thrilled with the new plan as I was, hence my new title of "favorite tenant."

11) We now have tentative dinner plans with friends this evening. I have a date with the treadmill, which I'm actually looking forward to now that I can jog an entire mile. I get to spend more time with my fur-kids, and can take my time driving to Albany tomorrow morning. I'll spend some time with my cousins, my aunt will come home from work, a good time will be had by all.

The end.
Ms. V

Parents, Canadians, and Leaf Peepers, OH MY!

2007-10-13T11:24:00.000-04:00

In addition to the miserable weather last weekend, Burlington became an oh-so-joyous epicenter of tourists.

1) It was UVM family weekend
2) It was a Canadian holiday weekend
3) Leaf peepers are still coming by the busloads, from all over the world (yes, I'm serious)

What fun, what fun. If you ever want an adventure, drive through Burlington and South Burlington, VT when there are an extra 20,000 people visiting from out of town.

On the bright side, the weather is gorgeous today, the population has returned to almost its normal size, and hub and I are going to hit the farmer's markets one last time before they close for the season. Woo hoo!

Also, I just looked out the window and hub seems to have half the contents of our garage spilling out onto the walkway.... interesting... perhaps I should run for cover.

xo,
Ms. V

OK, I know I've upset all of you...

2007-08-27T22:07:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I haven't posted since March. I hate google-blogger. It's a giant pain in the ass to long into.

Updates to my life:

1) I've been accepted to PA school at Albany Medical College. Hub and I will have to live apart again. I'll be a "weekend wife" but this time, he'll have the condo and the cats. I'll be in an apartment, studying my brains out. Fun times.

2) I had LASiK. I can see 20/20 now. Unbelievable. I keep thinking "this must be what Pinnochio felt like when he became a real boy!" Even more fun times.

I think that's it. Nantucket was great, but it got a bit boring. We ended up coming home a day early. It was still nice to have a mini-vacation though. Most of my summer has been spent traveling home to Malone or sitting on my giant ass. :D I love not being in school anymore.

Oh yeah - there's a #3:
3) I graduated. Finally. Yippee!!!

xo,
Ms. V

An alcoholic's dream

2007-03-08T20:47:00.000-05:00

This machine does for alcoholics what a self-heating spoon would do for crack-addicts. Just what we need...

I'm glad to see this kid's really expensive Duke education was time well spent.

I've already told Hub that the answer is "no, we are not getting one for our soon-to-be-finished basement."

Countdown: 63 days until Hub and I arrive on Nantucket. Fun times.

xo,
Ms. V

Too funny not to share

2007-02-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

This was sent to me by my good buddy Perplexio:

One night, George W. Bush is tossing restlessly in his White House bed. He awakens to see George Washington standing by him. Bush asks him, "George, what's the best thing I can do to help the country?"

"Set an honest and honorable example, just as I did", Washington advises, and then fades away...

The next night, Bush is astir again, and sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson moving through the darkened bedroom. Bush calls out, "Tom, please! What is the best thing I can do to help the country?"

"Respect the Constitution, as I did", Jefferson advises, and dims from sight...

The third night, sleep still does not come for Bush. He awakens to see the ghost of FDR hovering over his bed. Bush whispers, "Franklin, what is the best thing I can do to help the country?"

"Help the less fortunate, just as I did", FDR replies and fades into the mist...

Bush isn't sleeping well the fourth night when he sees another figure moving in the shadows. It is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Bush pleads, "Abe, what is the best thing I can do right now to help the country?"

Lincoln replies, "Go see a play."

:D

The "Nantucket countdown" today is 81.
Ms. V

The countdown

2007-02-17T11:04:00.000-05:00

I've decided to start posting the number of days left until Hub and I arrive on Nantucket. As of today, it's 83. This also means there are only 82 days left until I'm finished with school. I can barely contain my excitement.

By the way... this is where we'll be staying. Seems nice.

Also: I still hate this new google-blogger crap. Anyone who uses it knows how awful it is and probably shares my misery.

xo,
Ms. V

There once was a girl from Nantucket...

2007-02-14T12:56:00.001-05:00

I'm not going to finish that thought...

I do have a few things to report today though and one of them has to do with Nantucket.

1) I booked a vacation for Hub and myself on Nantucket this May. We leave the day after my last class.

2) It truly will be my last class because I also graduate in May (hence the vacation - it's to celebrate the return of my social life). With any luck, I'll start grad school next year, probably in January. That will give me 7 full months of bliss.

3) I know I hardly blog anymore but it's because I hate google and consequently hate blogger now, since it (along with the rest of the world) is run by google.

4) I vow to change that. I've decided that I'm going to write at least once a week from now on. Probably more. Spread the word. I want to work up a good fan-base.

That's all for now. More later.

xo,

Ms. V

There once was a girl from Nantucket...

2007-02-14T12:56:00.000-05:00

Ms. V

2007-01-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

Do you like bowling? Let’s play bowling. Breaking down the pins and get hot communication.

Ms. V

My very own TARDIS!!!

2006-12-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

Actually, I guess it's just an RDIS because it doesn't travel in time....

In either case, the good people at Hyundai Motor Corp. seem to have developed my 2007 Accent using Time-Lord technology. When the service crew at the dealership folded down the back seats to store my tires in the hatch, it suddenly became one of those cars that's tiny on the outside and abso-frakin'-lutely massive on the inside. Seriously.

Sweet.

xo,
Ms. V

Pain. Real pain.

2006-12-22T07:48:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I finally had one of my tattoos embellished. It looks fabulous, but it hurts like hell. It was done on Wednesday and given the location (the inside of my wrist) and the size, I knew it would be a bit more painful than the others. When the artist opened his drawer to choose a needle size and said "Let's go with the big boys!" I knew that it would be downright excrutiating. I was right. Mind you, I have a very high tolerance for pain. This hurt. This hurt more than all of my other tattoos combined. It still hurts. I think the fact that I have to move my hand is what's actually making it worse. Oh well. It's a small price to pay for a gorgeous tattoo. This has now become my "signature piece." As soon as it's healed, I'll be sure to post before and after pictures.

:)

xo,
Ms. V

Minor updates

2006-12-18T07:43:00.000-05:00

1) I take my last final exam tomorrow afternoon

2) I've now officially received word that I can graduate next May

3) I'm terrified about taking the GRE's

4) I made my first car payment. My car is now 1/60th mine.

5) I'm finally going to start working out again

6) Happy Hanukah, Merry Chrismas, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanza, and whatever the heck else people celebrate this time of year.

xo,
Ms. V

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-22T22:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know. It's been ages since I've posted and it's been even longer since I've posted something that's not cat-related. Forgive me. I work full time, go to school full time, have a husband, four cats, and just bought a brand-spankin'-new car. My brain is even more mushy than normal. :)

A few things tonight:
1) I love Chicago and must move there immediately. I finally managed to make it to Illinois to visit two of my dearest friends. It was unspeakably fabulous. I dare say it's tied with Vegas at the top of my wish list of places to live.

2) As you might have guessed, I'm overjoyed at the fact that the Republicans are finally the minority party in Congress. It's about freakin' time.

3) The Beast has finally settled. I haven't had the opportunity to pass him in the halls lately, but when I have, I wasn't treated to the delightful combination of B.O. and cologne. This is truly a time to be thankful, indeed.

Alright, I've spent the last 3 days completely ignoring my homework and several projects I have coming due. My weekend will be a fun-filled adventure that will likely involve kicking Hub out of the house while I lock myself in the office/study/den/spare-bedroom to catch up. In between homework and studying, I'll have to clean out my 4-Runner. I have a new car. We're getting rid of Hub's and he's taking the SUV. He likes his cars super-clean. I like mine super-messy. I'm afraid of the things I might find hiding under the seats... Wish me luck and cross your fingers that I come out alive.

xo,
Ms. V

Gracia's new home!

2006-10-25T09:33:00.000-04:00

It's been a month since I've posted, but this will be worth it...

Gracia has found a home!! Hub and I definitely wanted to keep her but she terrorizes our other cats. Five cats is also a bit much right now.

As luck would have it, my sister and her boyfriend have fallen in love with her. Gracia and I will be traveling to Montreal this afternoon so she can settle into her "forever home."

If everyone out there in blogland could cast a spell, light a candle, say a prayer, make a wish, or do whatever it is that you do, we'd appreciate it. I'd like to have some smooth sailing for the 2 1/2 hour drive.

xo,
Ms. V

The Beast

2006-09-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

There's only one thing worse than the overwhelming smell of B. O. There's also only one thing worse than the overwhelming smell of cologne. In each case, it is the overwhelming smell of B. O. mixed with cologne.

To the nice gentleman in the lab upstairs: please, please, do us all a favor and get up a mere 10 minutes earlier to take a shower. You'll get rid of the B. O. and you won't have to try to cover it up with too much cologne.

Thank you.
Ms. V

Lesson learned

2006-09-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

When the timer goes off, indicating that you should rinse the dye out of your hair, make sure you do it.

I was giving myself a manicure last night when my 40-minute processing time was up. I figured an extra minute or two wouldn't hurt. I was wrong. My hair is orange. My hair is also naturally curly. Imagine Ronald McDonald without the clown makeup...

In other news, Copper and Stoney, soon to be known as Grady and Cooper, will be going to their new homes tomorrow night. Yippee! We're still looking for a home for Ms. Gracia and since we CANNOT have 5 cats, we really do need to find a place for her. Let me know if you're interested or know anyone who is! :)

xo,
Ms. V

A very exciting day, indeed!

2006-09-11T14:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I started the day in a miserable mood because I, for whatever reason, decided not to stop at DD for my morning coffee.

Truthfully though, it has turned in to an absolutely-fracking-fabulous day. Two kitties have two new homes. :)

Our friend's parents want to adopt Mr. Stoney-Finnigan.

That just leaves Miss Gracia-Mae. If hub has his way, she'll probably stay with us. We'll see.

;)
Ms. V

Breaking news!

2006-09-11T12:22:00.000-04:00

Copper has found a home!! Wahoo!

Some very dear friends of our's have decided to adopt him. Since I know what good cat-parents they are, we really couldn't ask for a better outcome. His new name is Grady, which fits him quite nicely. :)

Congrat's to the new parents and his big brother, Pippin.

xo,
Ms. V

Try to resist these cuties!!

2006-09-10T20:29:00.000-04:00

Baby pictures, as promised. The orange one is named Copper, the one-eyed tabby is named Gracia, and the other tabby, with the white paws, is Stoney-Finnigan. :)

Copper:

Stoney:

Gracia:

First thing's first...

2006-09-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

To the disgusting, wretched, foul scumbag who dumped a box of kittens by the trash bin behind Hannaford: May you be eaten alive by fire ants. Seriously.

Now that my important announcement is out of the way, Hub and I are the proud foster parents of 3 kittens who are too-cute-for-words. Pictures will follow later in the week, I promise.

In other news, I had a one-week break from school before starting up again full time. Now I work full time, go to school full time, take care of our four fur-kids, take care of our 3 foster-fur-kids, and somehow maintain a (hopefully) healthy marriage. This, my dear readers, is the reason for the infrequent posting. I hope to get better now that school is back in session and we have a full-fledged cat farm. Methinks I'll have more stuff to talk about now...

xo,
Ms. V

Long time, no post.

2006-07-31T21:17:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, you're all perturbed that I haven't posted in over a month. Well, the good news is that I have a full time job at the lab now (the last lab tech was a nut-bar, got fired, and they hired me instead). On top of the full time job, I'm taking 3 classes. Life is busy. Hub and I have had plans every weekend so far this summer. One weekend included a date with my mother-in-law to the Paul Simon concert, which was unspeakably fabulous. Seriously.

I really don't have time for more of an update right now, but I will say this: To the joker out there who put me on the "Tarrant for U. S. Senate" email list, you are NOT funny. Seriously. Not. Cool. I'll find out who you are and get my revenge. I promise. >:P

xo,
Ms. V

Ode to prednisone

2006-06-19T22:42:00.000-04:00

Y'know, prednisone is a great little drug. It gives me insomnia and TONS of energy. As a working college student, these two things come in quite handy.

Granted, the downside is that in another month or so, I'll be as swollen as a blow fish. Also, from having to take so many steroids over the years, I'll end up with glaucoma at 40 and a broken hip at 50. Fun times.

I guess I'll just have to enjoy the extra energy while it lasts, then hope that I can find a good orthopedic surgeon in 20 years.

Wish me luck. :)

xo,
Ms. V

My new mantra

2006-06-11T21:39:00.000-04:00

I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework.

Off to finish my god-awful homework,
Ms. V

What was NBC thinking? Really?

2006-06-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

Since my good buddy Perplexio brought up the now-famous (or should I say infamous?) David Hasselhoff video, I got thinking: Why on earth would he be picked to judge a televised talent show? Actually, why on earth would he be picked to judge ANY talent show?

I know he was popular in Germany and has been on a few TV shows, but c'mon! A fat Curriculum Vitae does not mean that he has any acting or musical abilities what-so-ever.

Sorry David, I just don't see the appeal.

Kit the talking car, on the other hand, would have been a good judge. I'm sure of it.

xo,
Ms. V

Difficult decisions

2006-05-31T16:19:00.000-04:00

There comes a time in every woman's life when she's faced with a great dilemma: which pair of shoes to buy.

Today it was my turn. I needed a fabulous pair of shoe/sandals that I could wear at the lab without breaking dress code (it's no fun to splash acid on your feet, so they're sticklers about the "no open-toed shoes" rule). I hate wearing shoes in general, so wearing my traditional mis-matched socks and purple clogs to work in the summer really sucks. The solution? A comprimise. I decided to get a pair of those "kind of like sandals but could easily pass as shoes" shoes. Like these. Or these.

Off to EMS I go.

I pick out one of each, both in purple. The guy can't find the first pair in purple so he brings me black. Black looks fabulous and I think to myself "I have shoes in every color known to man EXCEPT black. Maybe black would be nice." Black it is.

He brings me the second pair in purple. They look ridiculous. My foot appeared to be twice as long as it actually is.

Now you may wonder where my dilemma is. Well, the black looked great, the purple didn't. The purple, however, was the most comfortable shoe I've ever worn. Seriously. I wanted to wrap my hole body in the footbed. Honestly. Yes, it WAS that comfortable. So the question became: "Do I buy for comfort or for looks?" Ah geez. The practical thing would be to buy for comfort of course, but I don't want to look like I'm wearing flippers. I got the black. They black aren't uncomfortable in the least, they're just not as downright-amazingly-comfortable as the purple. Oh well. At least now I have a pair of sandal/shoes that I can wear in the lab. :)

Thanks for putting up with today's boring post,
Ms. V

Furniture shopping is fun and annoying at the same time

2006-05-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

Why? Because we have 4 cats. That's not the problem though. The problem is finding a fabric in a color that we like, that goes with our current decor, that's NOT green (because we're sick of it), that the cats won't want to claw to shreds. Fun times.

We've decided on colors, kind of. Both of the fabrics in the colors we like seem like the type to attract claws, unfortunately. We did find one fabric that was acceptable in a color that is so-so.

The least expensive set has a lot going for it: cheaper, lifetime warrantee, nice color, nice accent, BUT, again, the fabric is perfect for cats to dig in to. Also, it only comes in two colors. I like one of the colors, Hub isn't thrilled with it.

Choice number two: more expensive, limited warantee, cats would love to shred it, BUT Hub really likes the color (more so than I do).

Choice number three: most expensive, limited warantee, cats wouldn't touch it, Hub and I both like the color, but not as much as either of the others.

Decisions, decisions.

I guess we could always try to train the cats, but really, who am I kidding? I don't have the heart to tell them "no." :sigh:

Time to take a second look at our choices.

xo,
Ms. V

Pink is just not my color

2006-05-28T11:02:00.000-04:00

At least not when it's on my cornea. Yup, I have conjunctivitis. Pink eye. Fun. What's worse is that I can't wear my contact lenses and I *hate* wearing my glasses. My prescription isn't even updated so I'm not sure I can legally drive with these lenses. At least the eye Dr. isn't too far away. His office is in the mall, right across from Auntie Ann's, so I think I'll treat myself to a pretzel for my suffering.

Bright side? My glasses make me look sufficiently geeky. I love it.

xo,
Ms. V

I'm taking a vote

2006-05-27T19:46:00.000-04:00

The VGN wants a picture of me for their website. What do you think of this one? It really makes my blue eyes pop, huh? I'm sure they'd appreciate it. "Science-nut turned Swamp-thing." Catchy.

Also, I know I haven't posted an update of the trip like I promised, but I will before the weekend is over. I'll even include some pictures. Wahoo.

Yes, I've changed the name of the blog,
Ms. V

Done!!! Done, done, done, done, done!

2006-05-10T15:10:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, as of 9:15am I am officially done for the semester. Tonight I have to clean like a maniac to prepare for the mother-in-law's visit, then Hub and I leave for the Emerald Isle on Friday morning. Good glory, I can't wait! I can practically taste the really-good-beer.

Summer class start on May 30th, but I'm only taking 10 credits so it should be a piece of cake.

I'll have pics and a full report upon our return!

xo,
Ms. V

Oh lord.

2006-05-08T18:34:00.000-04:00

Make sure your speakers are on and watch the full 6 minutes. :)

Dance-o-rama.

More fun news: Hub and I leave for Ireland in only 4 days!!!

xo,
Ms. V

Bad album covers

2006-05-01T14:51:00.000-04:00

Click here and be prepared to laugh.

xo,
Ms. V

Bad news, good news

2006-04-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

The bad news is that 130 flavors is not yet open for the season. We drove 25 minutes just to find that out. I don't know the real name of the place so I can't even call to find out when they open.

The good news is that I presented my poster at the Environmental and Health Sciences departmental symposium yesterday and my advisor (and an integral member of the department) wants to put it up at the school. Mind you, when these posters go up, they go up for a long time (years, actually) and she only picks the really good ones. I'm so freakin' excited I can't stand it!

Bragging done,
Ms. V

Shazam!

2006-04-25T17:21:00.000-04:00

Well folks, your's truly has won the Environmental & Health Sciences Departmental Award for Biology at school.

Hub is taking me out to 130 flavors to celebrate! Woo hoo! I have to start thinking about which one I want to try tonight.

:)
Ms. V

It's Party Time!

2006-04-21T09:40:00.000-04:00

Hub and I are going to a party tonight with some friends. Should be fun. I'll have a full update later in the week.

:)
Ms. V

1 sick, 2 sick, 3 sick kitty cats...

2006-04-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

OK, 3 out of 4 of the cats are sick. Actually, Teba's starting to slip a bit, so make that "all 4 cats are sick. "

If you're ever super-bored, take 3 cats to the vet at once. Make sure one of them weighs 23lbs.

Our home-vet couldn't make it so we had to go to our alternate vet. Unfortunately, they don't do housecalls.

On the bright side, it didn't seem too serious. Condor, Grenidine, and Blaze all put up one heck of a fight when I try to give them their medication now, but so far I still have all of my limbs. I think I'm doing an OK job. I do, however, expect to be heavily scarred by the end of the 5 days.

Now on to more serious stuff. If everyone out there in blog-land could keep your fingers crossed that this really *is* nothing and my fur-babies are completely healthy, Hub and I would appreciate it.

xo,
Ms. V