Entries so far:
- bike downtown at night
- go to Brewfest
- go to L'Abri in Boston
- go to a Barons game (completed!)
- eat tomatoes from my own garden
- get better at speed scrabble
- watch the first season of LOST
- read Pablo Narula in spanish on my front porch
- volunteer at Jones Valley Urban Garden
- bike to Pepper Place Farmers Market in a skirt
- big meal for all my neighbors
- swim at the lake, sail on pontoon boat at roommate's parents' house
- play Nertz with friends
- Bollywood movie night
- tea party
- get caught in rain while watching fireworks with lovely boy (completed!)
- berry picking
- costume party
- sleep outside
- hiking at Oak Mountain State park
- see Andrew Bird and Calexico
- jumping into waterfall (yipes!)
- explore innercity Birmingham with bikes and cameras
- swim in local quarry
- go to double feature at local drive in theater
- learn to taste fine whiskey and go to a whiskey bar
- start journaling
- see the view from each overlook in Birmingham
- go to the top of a skyscraper
- ride bike over Red Mountain
- dance party at the top of a parking deck
- read and write haikus with my mum
- have a girl's sleepover with my sister and cousins
- stay up all night talking and then get pancakes

Clearly I have my work cut out for me. Leave suggestions!

Every year in the past, being the freakin' over achiever that I am, I would write fierce goals - make a 4.0! - love God the best! - save HIV victims in Africa! - pay off all student loans!

This year, I'm staying away from these, and keeping small and joyful.

- plant spinach in my back yard garden
- walk to work
- take photos
- be nice to my sister and family
- write more poetry
- volunteer at Foundry
- run
- learn to cook with fresh foods
- pray consistently for specific people
- write hand written letters to friends
- memorizing bible verses
- more meals with friends
- more sleep
- more grace
- more time outside
- more making of jewelry and pillows and soap and cds
- more reading of important books and trival ones
- more listening to records ( my new roommate gave me Nick Drake's Bryter Later record fo Christmas - huzzah!)

I walk to a job I like, past quiet parks and old houses and indie rockers and artists walking their dogs. I sit on my porch with my brother reading books and eating mangos and yogurt before I meet friends for hummus and beer.

Listen to this lovely music: Ignore some of the dumb homemade music videos that I stole from youtube to give you the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFWeQuCeT7Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j3R2FMfniA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDlEXQaMBpk

Just thought I would let ya'll know (for those who don't) that I am heading for the African continent this summer. I'll be hitting up Uganda for three months, doing my Masters research project with a title of "Qualitative Fistula Data Collection Among Ugandan Traditional Birth Attendants." Bada bing, bada boom. Thankfully, I have been blessed by having my trip and stay paid for by a lovely little grant, which makes the trip possible, and enjoyable. I'll be swinging by London (my first trip to Europe!) to visit Laura K. and Heidi K. - any suggestions of what to do in three days?
If ya'll wouldn't mind remembering me in your chats with our Father regarding this trip. Although I'm quite excited, I'm also quite nervous, since I am going by myself, and have never been to Africa before. Uganda is rather safe, compared to other African countries, but...

Love love to all.

I believe that a fellow grad school student lives in our classroom building. He is here every night and even orders pizza to the building. There are showers here, and this has happened in past years, so much so that they started locking all of the classrooms at night. Maybe he's sleeping in the biostatistics classroom, understandably.

Congrats to the Cardinals fanatics in my life. Congrats also to the marriage fanatics in my life.

I must design the t-shirt for my school (foolish foolish people leaving this to me). Any plans/ideas?

Did you know that during Carter's presidency there was no daylight savings time? Or was there daylight savings time ALL the time?? First peanuts, then this craziness. Although I wish someone could sit me down and explain these three things: (1) the stock market (2) the electoral college (3) daylight savings time.

When I was younger, I would hear people talking about trading "shares" on the stock market - I always thought they were talking about "chairs". Not just any chairs, mind you, but the plastic, blue, stackable ones. I envisioned a huge room with stacks and stacks of chairs. I was bewildered about why this strange trading habit made the news, but I just chalked it up to general confusion about the adult world. I hope the real stock market is like that.

My mum and I want to start a coffeehouse in our neighborhood. Any ideas about names? We think it could beat the current hang out spot - the WinnDixie View image
parking lot. Nothing against WinnDixie, of course, it's a great store.

Want to see a funny pic?

Here's my Public Health Student Association (i'm the VP) groupies. Why am I in front again? Tacy Jane, this asian girl in the front is just like you, but asian.

I'm writing this post from the small but cozy computer lab of UAB School of Public Health (make sure to spell public correctly). There are probably around 350 students getting both their masters and Ph.Ds in concentrations ranging from Biostatistics, Health Behavior, Health Policy, and Epidemiology. Epidemiology, the "queen science" of public health, is my concentration of choice, with an added program of International Health. Bada Bing, bada boom.

My Heart longs for Boston, but the pain is not as severe as when I first moved. As Elk can testify, I had never been so reticent to move anywhere in my life. Living by myself was depressing and I didn't want to meet anyone. But, time and several pub crawls and a toga party can acts as a very powerful salve to my discouraged spirit. I have found several good friends, and even after three days, it feels as though we have been friends for a month. My classes will be very interesting, and will range from Intermediate Biostatistics and Global Health (which I'm in now), to AIDS/HIV, Infectious Diseases (taught in Jamacia), Genetic Epidemiology, Reproductive Health in Developing Countries, and Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology, AND an international internship. And I like these SOPH students - they are not in it for the money, and they are all a bit nerdy and game for new experiences - and just like me.

Who knows what time will bring. But I'm happy and thankful for God's faithfulness.

On this last Red Sox Wednesday (and the longest day of the year), I also bought:
- Cry, The Beloved Country
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
- East of Eden
- The Chosen

What an outstanding summer lies before me.

p.s. does anyone else get that strange feeling in the back of your throat when you eat pancakes? As much as I enjoy pancakes initially, that unnerving sensation lingers, bringing with it feelings of guilt and nervousness about - something - I'm not sure what.

What a grand weekend.

- I have my first real experience with fasting. The thought of food never left my mind, and worked effectively to keep the thought of "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied" at the front of my mind. My hunger for the LORD is so minimal and fleeting - I envy the consistency and intensity of my stomach's desires. Strangely, hunger causes my right hip to become extremely unhappy and pained.
- Cole and Caroline spend the night.
- Laura dyes her first eggs ever, then becomes so excited about the process that she begins dying Peep eggs.
- Hope and I chuckle until half past midnight and wake up at four for the sunrise service, with a shout of "Christ is RISEN!"
- Caroline dreams about our neighbor, a former Beach Boy, and a tragic incidence involving the car of this neighbor - strangely paralleling true events...
- We make giddy fools of ourselves in front of the church at 6 am dancing around with the gospel choir, singing and swooping to such meaningful lyrics as "Come on, oh yeah, alright." Caroline, Hope and I test out my thesis that large earrings make up for not knowing the lyrics hands down. The whole gc experience actually turned out exceptionally well, and some could say that those in the congregation were "touched".
- Our housemates shock our Harvard student lunch host by all quickly recognizing his dissertation subject - Gerald Manley Hopkins. Ach, we remind him, we attended Covenant, where GMH was read aloud in chapel and tattooed on RA's arms.
- H E and I keep up the historic egg toss tradition, with a new "triplet" twist. Strangely profound tossing around three eggs emblazed with the symbol of the Trinity between three people, one of whom is a triplet. Whaa!

I think that this genocide in particular was caused by dirty tubes leading to the smoking cubicles in Feng's hood. The tar from the cigarettes can come out of the tubes in a bubble - quickly and quietly suffocating the mouse. Many times mice just receive too much smoke and need some fresh air and water to recuperate completely. It's a dangerous and discouraging life, as a lab mouse - death either by smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisioning (the usual way to sacrifice mice). Some mice actually have a great life - the obese males who don't smoke and are only there to breed. If the female doesn't get pregnant quickly, she is replaced with a younger female. He gets the "mad hook-up" as JB would say.

I don't want you to get the wrong impression - once the mice become addicted to the smoke, they crave it and run into the smoking cubicles. If mothers do not receive their smoke daily, they will eat their pups (this happened last week when i didn't come to work because my flight was delayed).

We here in Boston just danced to Aquarius and Beck and now we are watching the Office together. It's been a grand evening with Tuggy - buttery nipples, hymns, chiropractoric actions.

My new work hymn:

Every day the Lord himself is near me
with a special mercy for each hour;
all my cares he fain would bear and cheer me,
he whose anme is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of his child and treasure
is a charge that on himself he laid;
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure,"
this the pledge to me he made.

We decide Yoda last words should say , "Make.... sure.... milk.... in..... fridge.... put............"

Other thing I have to say that interesting:

Courtney Ann here, she eat our food. We are much happy, much glad. Today she buy leg sweater. Leg sweater with two blue stripe on left leg and right leg. Sparkling happiness is hope for our many hope. Joy drink us with Courtney.

Linnea Hope Laura John Gili. Jazz. Club. Keri Courtney Tami. Home. Cyber-Club. Boom boom to the blogs. Yes. We are too cool for everyone.

Last night we drank and evangelized. Poor unsuspecting guy who approached us. Didn't know what he was getting himself into.

Courtney, Linnea and I visited the Boston Public Library, reading aloud the story of "Sir Galahan and Holy Grail" while viewing the Sargent paintings. We learned the Eve brought the branch of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil out of the garden with her, which grew into a white tree, which turned green when she conceived Cain (supposedly she was a virgin until after the Fall) and red when Cain killed Abel. Apparently Sir Galahan, poor chap, also remained a virgin until death (even though he was married) for the sake of remaining sinless for the quest. Great sexual doctrine.

Here's a hello to our friend Tami, who will be flying here TOMORROW. back from a Hawaiian Christmas with her family. Happy Christmas to all. As for me, I'm tired of celebration and irregular schedules. I'm feeling the pull of reorganization and recommitment to classes - this is the time I usually buy new school supplies and write "Be disciplined!" and "You will hate yourself if you make a poor grade in this class!" on the inside of my binders (which I have done in the past). The closest I can come to resolving that feeling is washing my laundry. arg - sometimes I really miss school.

The last few weeks have been eventful.
Evan Donovan, our good chum, came to visit and relax on our couch.
Evan and Laura accompanied me to my superb hospital party (with a chocolate fountain and crab claws).
My 14 year old brother took communion for the first time.
Lucy is gone from our lives forever (Hope's mum took her away today).

We've spent another mirthful evening with our neighbor John, with homemade pizzas, wine, and a cheery seed spitting contest. Sometimes I'm worried that we have a parasidic relationship with him (he's so generous with his money, car, etc.) but as we say, "As a dog returns to its vomit, John returns to the 3rd floor."

I'm realizing how many of my entries can be categorized as "befuddled and unwashed." Yet, somehow they always seem true.