I Miss...

I'm feeling reminiscent right now....here are all the things I miss about Charleston (Modern Marie: take this list to school with you...and wait until you are 21 to hit the bars)

in no order at all....:

1. FRIENDS. Seriously...whether it was drinks on one of the Rooftops, runs in Ion, or twirling on a pole that twirled. Friends made Charleston rock.

2. Basil's Cashew Chicken

3. Basil's Pineapple Cake Martini.

4. Chai's...the place you would go to drink your Pineapple Cake Martini if Basil had a long wait.

5. Oddly enough, Red's Ice House. I miss the idea of being able to have a drink OUTSIDE and not freeze. I don't miss the fact that people brought their own coozies to the bar. Actually, that's an unfair call because I never knew people brought their own coozies to bars until I got friendly with my new neighbors, who apparantly spent a lot more time at Reds. With their own coozies. (sorry I think coozies are a bit on the redneck side)

6. Publix.

7. Whole Foods

8. The bars on Market. Whether it be Purple Tree (which oddly enough did not have any sort of purple trees inside) or Steves. Shoot. That's not the name. clearly the wine has gotten to my head. There is a bar on North Market (and in Mt. P) with a name....anyways. I miss going with friends.

9. Strangely enough, Tommy Condons where there was a 'band' that basically played the same songs every week. And yeah, the 'kid' is only '16.' If that 'kid' is '16', then I drink 3 glasses of milk a day, 1 glass of wine, 8 glassees of water, and eat 5 servings of veggies and 5 servings of fruit. every day. Don't kid yourself. The drinks and music is better than the food. Unless you're wearing shorts and the 'band' sees you. Cassidy, this one is for you.

10. The bridge. yeah, they think it's great...what's great is that you can walk the bridge every day, at any time. Just be sure not to wear shorts that can be blown upwards by the wind. Unless you like doing that sort of thing...

11. Being near a bookstore.

12. King Street. Even if I couldn't afford anything...in particular, Luna luna was my favorite (I thought copper penny was a bit too snooty).

13. The Whale of a Sale put on by the charleston Junior League. I won't tell you what I got, or for how much. Just know that it's worth waiting an hour or two to get in. And remember that the prices arent' set in stone...

14. Family Thrift on Rivers Ave. You might not want to tell your friends about this if they are a bit snooty. It's not in the best of neighborhoods...but yes, real Versace jeans can be found. Along with lots of clothing from Saks.

15. The charleston library sale. Again, worth going. be green and bring your own bag.

16. Did I mention food already?

Cassidy, Frances, Dawn....what am I missing???

Fried

Between school and Verizon FIOS, I haven't had much time for blogging lately. Plus it seems like there's nothing to blog about...unless you want to hear about the Verizon fiasco (still working on it) or the day a classmate completely took off her pants in class to show us where her femoral artery was located. Yes, that's right. comando. As in, Ashley later told me, "I wouldn't have noticed except her underwear was bright green!"

Ahh, the joys of nursing school.

I have one more week of winter session, and then I can begin the official, "one year until graduation" countdown. I should probably hold off on that until I get through spring though.

This week we had two exams, which now that we're at the end of the week, really wasn't that bad. Now we focus on next week, "which is just going to be awful" with the two exams, test out, and two assignments to turn in. Plus I have to watch 6 lectures (3 modules each= 18 lectures) for Friday's test. But it's ok, because by next Friday, I'll say, "Eh, it wasn't so bad"

Last day of winter session is next friday, and hell (aka spring) begins Monday night. Here is a picture of the textbooks I have accumulated for Spring semester. And don't laugh, but there's one more textbook that I need: psych. As in, the psych book that was originally required was RECALLED by the publisher. Maybe the pages contain lead based paint and the previuos nursing students went so crazy as to eat the book.

Yes, that's a ruler leaning against the books. Yes, the ruler has a full 12 inches. I have 15 1/2 " of textbooks...and will still be needing more.

I would have much rather spent my money on something like this:

A Letter

Is there anyone out there who can help us?

We’ve been trying to get Verizon FIOS to correct our bill since December 28th. We assumed the problem was corrected but the bill we received on January 22nd showed the problem was anything but fixed. We tried to correct the problem again on the 22nd and the 25th. After spending up to 60 minutes on the phone with Verizon, my husband was told a manager would call us on Monday the 28th because, “all the managers have left for the day…we’re cleaning out the cubicles.”

On the 28th at 4:50 I called Verizon (no manager ever contacted us) and was on the phone for 70 minutes. The manager I got in contact with said he would have, “one of my best guys” look at the case and call me tomorrow (29th). At that point it was already 6:00pm and I guess he too had to clean his cubicle and go home.

The 29th came and went without a phone call from the manager or his ‘best guy.’ After leaving a message with the manager asking about the status of my case, I placed a call to Verizon’s corporate offices, where I was transferred to Verizon’s Customer Advocacy Group. There I was told a case specialist would contact me within 24 hours.

25 hours later, we’re still waiting for a manager in Customer Service to contact us.

Verizon, I have tried numerous times to contact you. Can you hear me now?

Wons

This afternoon, at approximately 4:45 pm, the beloved snowman affectionately known as Wons ('snow' backwards) keeled over and passed away.

At 4:20, initially complaining of some chest pain and leaning to the left, SNUD (student nurse)Rachel tried to assist by massaging his left side and trying to push him back to the right. (he was leaning!)

All attempts failed. At 4:45, Wons was found to have suffered from a major attack, falling onto his side, his body separating into three distinct sections. Attempts at CPR & reattachment were fruitless.

Please contact Mother Nature for funeral arrangements.

SNOWMAN!

Ryan and I made my very first snowman today!

This is how it went...

I started out walking towards the front door and Ryan walking out the back. Apparanlty you have to run the snow to where you want the snowman to sit? (I thought snowmen were made by gathering the snow into a pile and forming into a shape).

Anyways. Ryan rolled all three parts of the snowman, I took some twigs and used them for arms, a real carrott nose, and rocks for eyes & a mouth. He has a plaid scarf & a yellow bucket pot for a hat.

Then we got the camera and...

it died.

I took pictures with the camera phone, but I have no idea how to get that transferred to the pc.

THEN we decided to drive the grocery store to buy a disposable camera.

Bad idea.

We barely made it out of the driveway when we decided, "hm, bad idea...Floridians driving in snow."

not sure which was harder...backing out of the driveway, or trying to get back in.

so now the snowman is getting buried in snow, the car is parked slanted in the driveway, and the camera is still broken.

and it's not yet determined how I'm going to get to campus for the exam tomorrow if classes aren't cancelled. That's another post :)

Snowing, Part II

It's snowing again. REALLY snowing. As in, I was nearly trapped at Starbucks snowing.

Keeping the Florida tag is a great way to let the locals know that there is a reason I won't drive faster than 20 miles an hour in snow.

Now...what are the chances that classes are cancelled tomorrow and the exam is postponed....

time

Classes started up again last week and life as i know it has flown out the window. If I hear one more 'teacher' say, "if you think this is bad, remember to tell yourself this is a vacation. Wait until next semester."

We all know next semester (February-June) is going to be awful.

But right now, we all feel that THIS semester is awful. I came home sick from stress on the first day (another classmate broke out in a rash).

Since the next week will be filled learning about the giving bed-baths, changing bed pans, and taking vitals, I figured I'd quickly mention the new years trip to NY.

It was fun.

I ate. a lot.

The Rockettes? WERE TERRIFIC! I want to see them again next year (but before Xmas), as well as NYC Ballet of The Nutcracker.

Dinner at this tiny (and packed) Italian restaurant on the UWS was excellent (straight up Italian...even the TOURISTS sitting next to us were Italian). The tiramissu? to die for. No, really. I NEVER order tiramissu because I've never seen the big deal, but something told me I HAD to get it. I didn't even look at the dessert menu...we just ordered two cappaccinos & one tirramissu to share, and oh my goodness.

It's worth a train ticket to the restaurant JUST FOR THAT DESSERT.

I'm still having dreams about that dessert.

Oh, and the run you ask? how was that?

Only the best way to celebrate New Years (unless at friend Cassidy's party with friends...then it's the second best).

seriously, we had so much fun...from getting off the subway and following the 'cast' of Alice in Wonderland to the party, to crossing the finish line, it was GREAT. We ran the entire 4 mi at a snail's pace, but hey, we ran the entire thing AND we weren't ready for it. AND from mile 2 to mile 3 it was uphill. I LOVED getting high fives from the people on the 'sidelines' watching us. Getting nearly run over by a blind Homer S=impson was fun, too.

46:something wasn't so bad considering we also ate a greasy pizza for dinner....(that was good, too...not as good as the tiramissu though).

Heading to dinner....on new years eve...

self potrait. Dressed for the midnight run...