Blue Roses

Great. Called my mom. Not only am I not going home today, they're not coming tomorrow.

Everything is just so conflicting. Po had surgery last night to put in a central line. Took x-rays, he has pneumonia again on top of everything else. So they're going to drain his lungs.

Mom says she doesn't want to travel because in case anything does happen, she wants to be close for her mother. But she doesn't want me coming home, because she thinks that we can visit Po next Saturday when I'm home. So she's staying close because she thinks he might die, but she doesn't want me close because she doesn't think he'll die until next weekend. I'm so confused.

But I guess I couldn't go visit him today anyway, because he's so tired from the surgery and his mom and daughter are planning to come visit, and that would be a lot for him. That's what mom said, and that does make sense. So, yeah. But what if he doesn't make it until I can see him? I would feel even worse.

OKay. UGH. I was just about to call mom and tell her I was sorry for making things so difficult and that I understood, she was right, and I was just sad that I wouldn't see them for Easter. Phone rings, it's mom, she was wrong and I should come home. ::bangs head:: I'm getting whiplash from all these plans. Nothing is a good decision anymore. I'm so lost. But apparently I have to pack. For now. God, how am I going to get anything done? How am I getting back on Monday or Sunday? How am I getting home on Wednesday? Man, I wish my mom would just talk to me about this and let us come up with an actual plan of what will happen than, "I'll talk to you later. Pack." Not helpful.

Posted by Rina at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If Kate can do the Friday Five on Thursday, I can do it on Saturday. LOL I couldn't login yesterday, so there.

1. If you could eat dinner with and "get to know" one famous person (living or dead), who would you choose?
I think Jon Stewart. <.g> He reminds me so much of my friend Eric, and I therefore think he would be a lively, intelligent, hysterical dinner partner. Lance could also be fun, but honestly, too many expectations on my part. Jon would just be plain awesome.

2. Has the death of a famous person ever had an effect on you? Who was it and how did you feel?
I cried when both Princess Diana and John Kennedy, Jr died. I sobbed when Jimmy Stewart died. It was just so sad. The first two, they were so young. And Jimmy, I'd just loved him all my life. He was the nicest, sweetest man around. Right up until he died, if you walked by his house and said hello and chatted with him, he would sign things, he would take photos, he would even invite you in for lemonade sometimes. He was a class act.

3. If you could BE a famous person for 24 hours, who would you choose?
Hmmm. If I am them, I get their skills, right? Because I would say Allison Janney, who plays CJ on the West Wing. She's tall, she's beautiful, she works with Brad Whitford and Rob Lowe, not to mention Richard Shiff and Martin Sheen and everyone else, she says the amazing words of the brilliant Aaron Sorkin, and she does it with great style and breathtaking talent. I would love to be her for a day.
Okay, another idea that flitted through my brain was Britney. LOL Could be fun being a size -2 for a day. And I wanna see if Justin is a good kisser. <.g> Those are really the only two perks, though. I still go Allison. I'd just maybe adlib a kiss or two. LOL

4. Do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? Who?
A lot of people have said I look like Aly Hannigan, who is Willow on Buffy and Michelle the flute player in American Pie. Well, we did have the same hair cut and style for years, and it was red. LOL

5. Have you ever met anyone famous?
I've been trying to think about this. I've met a number of senators and congresspeople. I was a page on the senate floor for a day in 7th grade, and brought the wrong guy coffee. (Hey, they all look alike, all right?) I've seen Lance in person...he was the brightly colored speck with the huge ass necklace. <.g> Basically, I've met a lot of famous-in-some-fields people, and I know a lot of people who have met people. Kinda sad. LOL

Posted by Rina at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, 10 hours later and I'm much calmer. Rereading the post, it's almost really funny, as Miggie and I had just been talking about wanting to swear like Samuel L. Jackson. I think I'm getting closer, Miggie.

I'm still pretty upset, but look! I can type again. I just think the whole situation sucks. And I can be mad that my schedule is getting all screwed up, because I can't be mad at the staph infection. Oooh, I can be mad at the hospital, though! That can be my next target.

And honestly, how am I able to login as rinas and not rina or rina stewart? I still have four authors on my blog...Kristine, Kate, rinas, and that leaves the main one open to be me! So I do still exist. I just can't login as me, even in Kate's room, which is utterly confusing. Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, like not properly capping/uncapping my pw. Not out of the realm of possibility. <.g>

So. I have no idea when my dad is coming, or if he's still coming, because no one has called me since the lovely 11pm debacle. (For which I really do need to appolgize to my mom for...I feel bad that I potentially deafened her with my shrill protestations. <.g>) But before then, I need to eat breakfast and start studying. I'll bring all my notes home, and I already e-mailed myself all the links for both papers (although I already see myself skipping the first MI rough draft duedate and turning it in the 11th instead). I warned my parents that coming home means they won't actually be seeing me, as they will be seeing me Wednesday night through next weekend, whenever Kate drives back.

But, hey. Tomorrow is Easter. This, right along with Christmas, is the season of miracles...just look at why we're celebrating. So you never know what will happen, right?

Posted by Rina at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eleven fucking o'clock at night and my phone rings. It's my damn mother, telling me that plans have, once again, changed, and I am coming home this weekend. Dad'll drive down tomorrow and get me, and drive me back fucking Monday morning.

My grandfather, it turns out, had ecoli. Hence the illness and hospitalization. Now he has a staph infection. You know, what ROsie had awhile back and nearly died from and she's a healthy strong woman and not a cadaverous 101 pound man riddled with cancer? So, yeah, going home to go to the hospital and say goodbye. After all these fucking months of cancer and the scares, it's going to be a goddamned staph infection he got at the fucking hospital that does him in. I mean, yeah, sure he might pull through this one like he pulled through the rest of the crises. But it's not fucking likely.

My poor mother, I was totally yelling at her on the phone. Dad heard me. There were shrieks involved. I get loud and pretty nasty when I'm upset. I'm upset. I'm sick. It's just....this was supposde to be a good week. nsync, yay! Now everything is topsy turvy and I'm mad as hell. I'm mad that he's so sick. I'm mad that he's so sick THIS weekend when I have two big exams this week and will be home NEXT weekend and can't he just WAIT? I'm BUSY, damn it. And that's so fucking unfair and childish of me, because it's ot like he fucking planned this, or wants this. Everything is just so damned BAD.

Sorry about typos...I'm typing fast and furious and in KAte's room because I got fucking locked out of mt today and that's why I'm rinas and not rina stewart. Which is just one more fuckking aggravation to deal with on top of everything else.

I am so upset and there is no one here for me toi vent to. I'm trying so hard not to be sobbing here, because gee, wouldn't that make my pathetic typing even better? I'm just AHHHHHHHHHHHH. This was going to be suc ha bad weekend for me, studying for the two exams and trying to prepare my two papers before going home on Wednesday. But I had no idea it was going to be this bda. Screw schoolwork, I do not want my grandfather to die. Not now, not this week, not anytime soon. ANd I am so pissed off and sad and mixed up inside that he is and there's not one damn thing I can d oabout it. I have to say goodbye. This is my Po...there is no one like him in the world. There is no option of me staying her and doing schoolwork nd that ALSO makes me angry, but I think I'm just mad in general, because this is my decision and I have to see him. I love him so fucking much, and God, I don't know how I'm going to get through this. Just please help me.

I want this t obe an overreaction. I want this to be me overtired and freaking out and have it all be okay. I am so fine with making a fool of myself if it means that when I see him tomorrow, it's not the last time.

Posted by Rina at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was flipping through channels randomly, not wanting to get out of my warm bed, when I hit AMC. And it's Paris When it Sizzles!! That's the movie on my Amazon wishlist, that so rarely airs. And it's on, and it's the start! I think this is a fun movie...William Holden is a script writer who has two days to write the movie "The Girl Who Stole The Eiffel Tower," and Audrey Hepburn is the woman he hires to type it as he dictates. And as he dictates te script, often revising, we see the movie he's writing. Which is super fun when he revises, because we see the changes happening, as it switches from night to day, as he changes the car from a Mercedes to a Bentley. LOL So it's like two movies in one, and both are quite amusing, I think. I wish I had known it was on, so I could tape it! I guess I'll just watch as much as I can before class.

Posted by rina at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Class was kinda fun today. We took half an hour to tell different people our best and worst things that happened on spring break. Mine was pretty damn uneventful, so I just said I got Josh hooked on nsync. The girls all found that hysterical, 'cause it really is just so damn cute. One girl cheered me on. LOL Another one threatened to hit me with her BSB folder. <.g> Cute. other than that, I just kinda sat there and nodded a lot. I don't know why, but I'm just not feeling very participatey today. Doesn't bode well for my writing class. LOL

Ugh...felt like funny stuff, so I tried to reread the stories I have linked in my sidebar, Swear Jar and Coldhearted. Both, sadly, are on waxjism's site, which seems to be down or dead. It redirects you to another site, and still doesn't exist. Anyone know what's up with that? Hope the site gets fixed soon!

I know that I could totally be working on my paper, but I'm not even feeling motivated to write my story. I'll bring my folder and work on it between class, maybe. (Paper, not story. LOL)

Hmmm. I think this pic is fake (second pic), but he's cute. And the shirt does crack me up. (2QT2BSTR8 LOL) And did Lance really say that if you want to wear sparkles, you should wear sparkles? LOL I mean, yes, I agree, it just sounds silly. <.g>

Posted by rina at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh, man. LOL Current poll on g-w is who do you find sexier, Rupert (Ron) or Sean (Oliver) from the HP movie. My dear, sweet little Carol, whom I have known since she was about 2 months old, said Sean. As well as, "Does the name Biggerstaff seem dirty to anyone else here?" ACK! LOL I mean, of course it does. And his character's name is Wood. Yeah, plenty of thoughts going there. But she's my baby! She's not supposed to be thinking that way. LOL

Still didn't do more than 2 pages, but I started the next section and found class options for my last class next sem. I think I might take a one hour dance class, either Modern or Jazz, to get some excercise in my life. Other than that, I've narrowed the last class down to an English class on American war films, Intro to Public Policy, and Acting. Okay, and maybe the intermediate version of the writing class I'm in now. But I'm really torn by the first three. Less on the acting, but I really think I need to try and break a little out of my shyness and what better way than to become someone else and be in front of big crowds? <.g> It's the sledgehammer approach. It might even be fun. I think the war films sounds absolutely fascinating, but really, my heart is leading me to public policy. But acting! And movies! I adored my film class freshman year. And I loved my drama class the following semester. But that could also be because of Dan, my TA both sems. <.g> Well, and I got to write about Mary Pickford and stuff, which I couldn't in war films. But war films! What fun! But public policy. The very words just thrill me. Public policy. It just rolls off the tongue. Beautiful phrase. I need to pick one to be my first choice to type in. Which means that I have to really want it in case I get in, but know that my luck, I won't get in after all the deciding. LOL

I need sleep. I'm getting goofy here. Damn, I wish I had written more.

Posted by rina at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, watched On the Line again. LOL With Kate and Amie this time. Still cute. And I've come to the conclusion that the reason the chick with the book meets Randy is so that the writers/producers could reaffirm Randy's heterosexuality. Forget Rod and Kevin, Randy and Eric were so all over each other the whole movie. <.g> Hugging, touching, looking, the spins and hugs in the credits...yeah. So that's my theory on the random girl with the big book. ::nods:: Also, Kate had me in stitches with the cute little drawings she was making on her mini-etch a sketch. LOL The pineapple was best. <.g>

But despite all this, I did get some work done. Just not as much as I would have prefered. I got two pages done. Of eight. But I lent Jill my notebook so she could copy Monday's notes, and forgot I had my mini-outline in there. So I forgot what I was going to talk about! I'm gonna keep working on it, though, and if I bring in a point I hadn't meant to, well, that only makes this thing longer, which I need.

No real news on my grandfather yet. So far, he's not responding to treatments, but there's still time. He's sick, that's all. And he wants to see his daughter and his mother. And he wants his copies of his living will and stuff, which unfortunately my parents can't find. Or couldn't as of 7:30 when I last talked to them. But he still could pull through this. I know that he doesn't want to die in a hospital, and I don't think he will. Which means he'll get through this new thing.

So meanwhile, I need to keep working. Because if I stay on my computer any longer, I'll either open a fic to read, or reopen my latest story and work on that. Again. I wrote a page of that today before I settled in with my paper. Bad me!

Posted by rina at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My grandfather is back in intensive care. He was sick this weekend...as a result of a virus or the chemo/radiation, who knows...and lost 7 pounds. When he went in for treatment today, he was immediately admitted. He had some highly alarming liver test results, so it seems to have mostly impacted his liver and heart. They're trying to rehydrate him now, but they don't know yet if the damage is irriversible. So a lot of people are heading to the hospital to support my grandmother...my aunt and uncle, my uncle and his girlfriend, Po's son, their friend Virgina...and they're all under orders to call my mom when they know how serious it is and stuff. It might be okay and just a set back, or it could be more. A vigil. In which case dad will come get me and I'll go home.

It's just...it was so fast. All that weight lost in just a few days. All that damage potentially done in just a few days. It's terrifying. I just wish I knew what was happening, and what will happen. I hate not knowing.

Posted by rina at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like, Kristine, I am a #1 airhead, apparently. <.giggle>

What hit type are you?
TYPE C (HIT-CURIOUS). You do the weblog thing for yourself instead of for an audience, but you are aware that you do have an audience, small as it might be. You are often curious as to what other people find so interesting about your weblog. You check your weblog referrers every now and then just to satisfy your curiosity.

Posted by rina at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOL! I'm flipping between TRL and GH...Britney was hysterical. She was on a British talk show, the host asked if she was single, and she said, "I am single RIGHT NOW." With pointing and everything. <.g> So the guy said, "Great!" and turned on some music, got down on one knee and proposed. She accepted, he had the vicar right there, and they were ready to do it and head off to the honeymoon. LOL She was cracking up the whole time, and the host (young guy, rather cute) had an accent to die for. <.g>

Now if only GH was so amusing.

Posted by rina at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My mom said Carol told her the clinic isn't doing a camp this summer. Janet told me quite clearly that I should already be planning activities! I am so pissed off. They couldn't have called me? I'm calling them this afternoon. If they had told me before, I could have gone places over spring break! Now I'm going to be trying to hit places the mornings of the nsync concerts. UGH. I guess I'll try Grand Ave again, the rec center in town, maybe Starbucks. Maybe Josh's friend's mom who is a lawyer needs a receptionist or filer. Is anyone who reads this hiring? <.sigh> Maybe this is my chance to get a kickass job that I'm going to love. You never know, right?

Posted by rina at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Man, was it an nsync night. LOL Kate and I went at 7 to get On the Line from Blockbuster. She decided to ask the guy if they had gotten PopOdessey in since Sunday. I mean, we were renting On the Line. How much farther down could we go? Well, it turned out that they did get in two copies. So we bought it for Josh. LOL And it is for Josh, honest...he'll get it on Sunday. I think he'll enjoy it. But first, we watched it to make sure it wasn't defective. ;) It was quite amusing. They did my favorite remix of It's Gonna Be Me, the one-two-three-to-the-four one. They rode the bulls, and they rode them hard and thrusty. <.g> And during Gone, Justin emoted on the floor, kneeling but bent backwards flat on the floor and thrusting up, although they didn't show enough of that last part. They did, however, show the looks on the fans' faces who were closest. LOL That was amusing. It really seemed like a fun concert...I kinda wish I had gone to see them. Hilda, one of the therapists at the clinic last summer, went with her nieces. She said it was a good show, but she wasn't overly impressed. I could see how she could feel that way, but really...the bulls. And the thrusting. And handholding. It kinda makes up for everything.

So we watched all of that tape, and started OtL just before 9. Jennie took my advice and had some margaritas first and during to ease the pain, but I took it cold sober. <.g> It was just as bad as I remembered, but I still love it so much. Lance singing...Lance adorable...Lance casual....Lance playing baseball...Lance with dark hair....Lance at a Cubs game. What's not to be loving here? And I adore Joey's voice....wrote "Ready to Fall" for Kevin, indeed. <.g> I can't wait to get the DVD and see the deleted scenes, bloopers, and outtakes. And I think a new nsync video of some sort. But Jennie and I agree that the "behind the scenes" in the credits are the best part of the movie. "I wanna see this from CHI-NA." LOL It seriously took me 3/4 of the movie, though, to catch on to Lance's roommate's name. LOL (it's Randy, BTW) I only got that from the closed captioning, too! They said his name about 20 minutes after I read it, then. So annoying. But during the credits, when they're all singing with Al Green, the guy playing Randy picks GQ up and twirls him around and then hugs him. Movements that were paralleled by Lance and Emmanuelle. <.g> Pretty cute.

I just wish the script had had one more rewrite. Make the bad guys (Brady, Paul) less one dimensional, make GQ less annoying, fix some rough scenes, etc. And what was with GQ having that speech on the train about love being so great? It so didn't fit his character...his character never got to that point emotionally. My theory is that it was Rod's speech, but Joey didn't have time to learn it between finishing the album and being gone for a week of filming when Brianna was born. Because it would have definitely fit Rod's character far better. Who knows, though.

Okay, I got almost nothing done today. Tomorrow, Ihave to write my MI paper. At least half. That's my goal...to be at least half done by the new West Wing. Let's hope.

Posted by rina at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love Lauren. LOL I found four articles today, but only abstracts, so I was going to have to go to the library Friday and find full text. She did a search, and found me five full texts! Whoo! So I'm all set for that and can quickly write up page long summaries on Friday, and be done with it. Which would be lovely.

Okay, need to research feedback and write MI rough draft. That's what I need to get done by Friday. ::nods:: I can do that. I hope.

Posted by rina at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, don't that beat all. I finish my story. I go to DupIt and get it copied. (It only took five minutes! And it was all collated and staped and oh-so-pretty! Wonderful thing, DupIt is.) I go to class....it's CANCELED. And unlike last time, it doesn't say to stick around and exchange stories! I was there for 10 minutes and only one other guy showed up, so I don't know if we missed an announcement or what. I guess I could have hung around another five minutes until 5 to see if anyone else came, but every other time, at least 3/4 of the class has been there by 4:55. Man, I so could have used an extra two days to work on it! Blah to him.

Well, now I have three hours to get work done before we start On the Line. : )

Posted by rina at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, I have gotten things done. I called TGI Friday's to see if they have a brunch on Easter that we can go to. (They do.) I found four articles for 386, but i can't find the full articles, so on Friday I have to go and find them at the library and copy them. (Whoo.) And now I'm printing my story so I can run to DupIt and get it copied. I was rereading it, though...I fixed many of the details I found most cringe-worthy last night and was pretty pleased with it. Rereading it now, though, I'm still not happy. Like, why didn't Roger volunteer? Or if he did, why wasn't he accepted? Christopher is going, he volunteered, but he's not overly thrilled with his decision. Or maybe he's just drunk. And giving this to a teacher who's actually gone off to war, I'm all, "Well, hell, I don't have a clue if this is how someone going off to war is and he knows and he'll be going, "WRONG!" and I'll go "eeek!"" <.g> Plus, yeah, it's slash. Boyslash. And I don't know how anyone but Nghi is going to respond to that. Really, I'm putting a gay guy in the army, and everyone knows how the army feels about that. Chris is such a nice guy, though, and he wants to do what's right even though, okay yeah, back then I think it was kinda illegal, and plus he's scared, but he's still doing it. Is that wrong? Should I have thought this through more? Maybe I should have written another story. EEEEK.

Posted by rina at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh, for the freaking love of God. I was going to get up early today. I was going to wake up at 7:30 and get my work done. I wanted to research feedback, find 4 articles for 386, and print my story and maybe run it over some place to be copied. I went to bed at a fairly decent hour last night...very close to midnight. But I guess I was more tired than I thought, because when I went to reset my alarm from the 9am it was for yesterday, I apparently TURNED OFF THE ALARM. AHHHH!!!! I woke up at 10:30 thinking it was rather bright out. EEEEK. I am so mad....I have never done that before. Ever! Thank God it's a Tuesday when I don't have class until 3.

So I have 3.5 hours to do all this, plus take a shower and eat. Wish me luck.

Posted by rina at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I went to bed, it was raining. I could hear it. When I woke up, it was just bright and grey. So I figured we were in for a cloudy day. I looked out...snow and ice everywhere. BLAH! It's freaking spring! Give me winter back...it was warmer then.

I spent most of my day yesterday working on my last story for writing class. It's set in December 1941, about this guy, Christopher, getting ready to go off to war and spending his last Saturday night with his best friend, Roger, whom he's also in love with. Gee, that one sentence summary is better than the story! LOL I asked Jennie, Kate and Aarti to read it, and no one was mortally offended by it, which is good. <.g> So today I have to change my print cartridge and get ready to print it. It's 8 pages, so I haven't decided if I want to print all 18 copies out myself or just one and pay to have it copied. I do it doublesided, so that's only 4 pagesx18 copies, which is what...72? That does sound a lot. LOL

The other thing I did was drive with Kate for over an hour, hitting six stores, in an attempt to find and purchase nsync's PopOdyssey Live "for my brother." <.g> Not one place down here had it!! That is so annoying. But we tried, and took the time to procrastinate, and will just have to wait for the DVD on April 23.

I am SO COLD! UGH! I don't want to take a shower...I'm freezing as it is, without adding in the wet factor. Maybe I'll try and put that off as long as possible. <.g> Of course, I do have to go to both classes today. In 376, we might fight to NOT have the exam on Wednesday. He told us the Wednesday before break that he would tell us today if we were having an exam on Wednesday! I studied a bit, but nowhere near the level I'd need if I wanted to pass. Which I do. So we'll all yell at him if he doesn't push it back.

What do I need to do this week? I need to start researching my 376 paper topic...I decided to write about the feedback types in speech. I need to study for 376. I need to finish my MI tests and start writing a rough draft. I need to study for the 385 exam that is next Tuesday and CANNOT be pushed back. Or else I have to explain to my teacher that I won't be at the exam because I'll be in Chicago getting ready for the nsync concert. <.g> Wouldn't that go over well? I need a good excuse just in case. Something that involves already having plans to go home...perhaps I'll move the RTS get together to that weekend and promise to do a sample on one of the kids. Then do a sample on Josh over the weekend.

Well, that does sound fairly reasonable. This morning, I'll finish my tests. Tomorrow, I'll try and start researching 376. Wednesday, I'll start writing a rough draft of MI. Thursday, I don't have time for anything. Friday, I'll study 385 and 376. Saturday, ditto, plus some 376 writing. Sunday morning, ditto, Sunday afternoon, spend time with my parents, who are driving down for Easter. See, all sounds good. But I still don't want to move now. LOL

Posted by rina at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rina - your blog is now upgraded to Movable Type 2.0! Enjoy :)
this post will self destruct in 5...4.... just kidding, you can delete it when you see it :)

Posted by kristine at 05:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Carolyn just IMed me asking for Kate, wanting to share happy boy news, and I remembered I had some, too. <.g> Okay, nothing big, but there's this lifeguard at the Y where Josh takes swimming lessons. Mom calls him dolphin-boy because he has a dolphin tatoo on his upper arm. <.g> She's been telling me all about him, and I finally got to see him last Saturday. He is pretty cute. Then today, we were walking past him, and I had Josh's DynaMyte around my neck. And he stopped me to ask what it was. So I explained that it was Josh's voice, showed him how it worked, etc etc. He thought it was cool. I just liked that guys are actually talking to me now. LOL Two days in a row! <.giggle>

Oh, requisite cute-Josh story. He's still exploring Making the Tour. This morning, he was all about the Justin. It's at the very end, the credits, with Justin giving a tour of their quick change room, with the monkey and flamingo and camel and stuff. First few times, he watched all of it. Then he watched them all saying goodbye, waving back to them. Then the rest of the time, he just watched Justin introducing the bit. Everytime the screen showed Lance, he rewound to Justin. LOL Oh, well. And then when I got back to school, mom reported that the afternoon was spent discovering the BBB music video. LOL He apparently adores it...when they go upside down and sideways in that moving room thing, he turns his head to watch them. LOL He's also mastered a few arm movements. <.giggle> He is So cute. Now to get him listening to other songs...I swear, when they were on the Disney Channel, he was all about TIPY and even IGBM. This was when I was NOT an nysnc fan and always tried to make him turn the channel. LOL Now I am a fan and want him to watch those, he refuses. Little bugger is doing it on purpose, I'm sure of it. Isn't he adorable?

Posted by rina at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Which HP Kid Are You?

: ) I lurve Ron. <.g>

Posted by rina at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I cannot believe my break is over. AHHHHH! I got work done, yes, but it went by so fast. <.sigh>

So my mom woke me up at 9 this morning, hollering from downstairs to turn on NBC. "Breaking" news...Lance is in Moscow doing the medical test necessary for an okay to be in space. Blew me away! I guess he wasn't lying at that first concert when he said they were still in talks. LOL I loved Matt Lauer..."He just went over there? Did he think that no one would notice?" <.g> I guess if I get that "Lance is my Space Cowboy" shirt, it won't be making fun of him now. LOL NOt that the trip is set in stone...the guy said RUssia probably won't take this completely seriously until they have their $20 million, so this will take about a month to finalize. BUt still....he took my advice and did it all quietly this time, with less of the potential public humiliation aspect (Lance is my Space Cowboy <.g>). BUt yeah, they kept updating us on MSNBC today, which I found greatly amusing. Judging by the slight blush on the entertainment reporter's face as he told us it had been Lance's dream since NASA camp or whatever, I think he was a fan. <.giggle> I had heard that the plans were still on last week on the radio, but I don't trust that station. GUess I should. <.g>

TOday I went out to lunch with Josh's SLP, Chris. We had so much fun! I encouraged her to inquire at my clinic if there's room for her to work with me at the summer camp. Those who read last summer remember my trials with Kim, and Janie won't be back, so I need an ally. LOL PLus, it would just be fun. I like her a lot. We both love to read, and have similar movie tastes, and love HP, and adore Josh. <.g>

So, yeah, we went to the Greek restaurant in LaGrange. And the guy behind the counter was SO CUTE. And he kept finding reasons to come over to our table ("Did I give you a number? let me go get you one." "DO you want some bread? I'll have the guy [who was walking right behind him] to get you some." "Your bag is over there. It'll be by me when you're ready." "DOn't forget your bag is over by me when you're done."), and he had this totally awesome smile every time. Of course, I don't discover him until my last day! Hopefully he normally works the noon shift and I can eat lunch there every day this summer. <.g> It's a block away from the clinic.

Thanks to Glace's link to Pop Gurl's review of the Celebrity tour based on Lance (Which is hysterical and must be read by everyone), I have a new favorite site and plan to spend my evening reading their articles. LOL I heart those writers...and like I told Krissy, some of them sounded just like me in their happy obsessiveness. LOL I need friends like them. <.g>

Posted by rina at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Big whoops. LOL So Rhys posted a new story. I started it this morning, but I could only get about 1/4 to load. Later this afternoon, I tried again on a different computer and it all loaded. So I was excited because it's a super fun and great story. It's called something like TWo Straight men in Wisconsin: The Adventures of Chris's Cock. Mom came down to tell me something, and I obviously closed the window. She is not aware of nsync fic, nor that I read it. She left, I opened the story again and POOF she pops up again! ACK. I had just opened it and couldn't move fast enough to get the title out of the way. LOL She was horrified...That was pornographic!, she says. I laugh and tell her no, it's just a funny nsync story with a silly name. I don't think she believed me...I couldn't actually show her the story, 'cause it's, well, not pornographic, but it's detailed. <.g> So I did let it slip I read nsync stories, but I figured that was far preferable to her thinking I read porn. LOL So, I'm calling that a great big oops. We'll see if she ever brings it up again. She very kindly never mentioned again the time she found me reading XF smut, so this may fall in the same category. LOL

Now to finish the story, if i can. : )

Posted by rina at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Let's start with my Josh stories. I'm kinda on edge tonight, and I'd like to not be.

We started reading Bunnicula today. It's SUCH a cute book, by Deborah and James Howe. Well, we were going over character names. Now, we say Bunnicula as Buh-NIC-u-la. Well, JOsh's device (and therefore Josh) says it as Buh-nih-CUE-la. It's so cute...he's been saying it all day. LOL

Yesterday, we were walking down the hallway to his SLP's room when we stopped to read a small board of camp brochures. We couldn't have been stopped for more than a minute before continuing. We get to the room, Josh sits, and starts typing. I WANT TO GO THE FISHING, he says. Mom and I look act each other. Where on earth did THAT come from? Fishing?! He sees our looks of confusion and says CAMP. BUG JUICE 3 CAMP. LOL Then he says "ma" and my name and points to himself. He wants the three of us to go to camp and go fishing. We're not sure if he just saw the camp sheets and connected it to fishing, or if there was fishing mentioned up there, but isn't he so smart? I guess it's a good thing that we're going to Camp Chatterbox this summer. LOL And that it's just going to be the three of us. <.giggle>

Between letting my brother make me smile and spending a good 20 minutes bitching to MA about a friend, I think I'm feeling much better. Far more well-equipped to handle the stress of being Julie's friend. LOL MA's right...we have such a sibling dynamic sometimes. We like each other, but don't REALLY like each other, but can't stay away from each other. I don't get it. We're close, I think, but sometimes I can't stand to be around her. But I don't really want to not be around her, as much as she drives me insane and hurts me. It's not big hurts, it's little hurts that add up and I think hurt more. I don't think I'm making sense. LOL The last few months, everything seems like a competition. And I know I'm a very competitive person, and I wonder if I'm making things harder than they need to be, or if she's contributing. Or both...we're both competitive. I think we're both too alike for our own goods. <.g> I don't know. I guess I need to learn to relax more...not everything is a competition. She's not better than me. I'm good in my own right, and I need to let go of things she's done that I didn't like so much. Why is that so hard to do? I like her, I honestly love her, and she's so fun to be around. Most of the time. So why do I get this icky feeling in the pit of my stomach sometimes when I even just see her? Or read an e-mail from her? Or even THINK about her, for heaven's sake? Am I that jealous? That pissed off over things that happened in the past? I shouldn't be. I want our friendship to be good again, and I know I have to take the first steps. I just don't know what they are. Or maybe I do, and I just don't trust myself to make them and not screw everything up royally.

She's not better than me. Good things don't always just happen to her. I am a good person, and I can make my own good and happy things happen. Maybe if I do that, I'll feel better about myself and can be a better friend to her again.

Posted by rina at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Kinda bored here. Watching Cruel Intentions, which I love, and watching some IL primary returns. I love returns. I'm a geek. <.g> I did a lot of work today with my MI stuff...I scored 6 today, I think. So YAY! That's exciting. Other than that, boring day. Hung out with mom and Josh, did work. Blah.

Check out the new quote on my sidebar, courtesy Alicia. <.g> He's so adorable. I wonder if that's really what he meant. LOL

(requisite Josh story)
Josh plays Family Feud on the computer, and it's a hard game and he usually needs help. WHen faced with a question he doesn't know, he uses his old stand-by answers of "MOM" and "ELMO." Every time. He has a new one now. "NSYNC." <.g> Yes, the puppies have been elevated, in Josh's mind, to the status of mom and Elmo. There is no higher praise. <.giggle> My cutie pie.

Back to my movie, I guess. : )

Posted by rina at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I finally was able to upload my multiple intelligences test! If you would like to take it, just e-mail me your answers by Sunday. There's a short part, 3 questions, we need to do in real time (IM, phone, etc) but it only takes a few minutes. (Ask Kate, she's done this already. LOL) It's about 45 questions designed to show me what your strength according to Gardner's MI theory is, and how it correlates to your school/job situation. I'm not sure how reliable or valid it is, but it will help greatly with my paper. : )

Anyway, the test is at this page, and shouldn't take any longer than an hour. If you have questions, let me know. This test is open to everyone...if you don't want to use your real name, that's fine, but i do need an IM name or phone number or some such thing.

I think that covers everything...I hope at least some of you guys will do this. : )

Posted by rina at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I so adore my brother. LOL (As if that wasn't obvious.) He's just so damn CUTE! And so smart! Like, we had med students over to visit a few weeks ago, part of a program where they come visit kids with special needs in their homes so that they can see them more as regular kids. One said she had plans to go to NY for Passover. Josh immediately rifled through his tapes, pulled out his barney Holiday tape and played the Dreidel song. He knows Jewish holidays! Isn't that adorable?

He watched a lot more nsync today, although thankfully less than yesterday. Still mostly the same scenes. But then after the videos were put away, he put on his NSA CD and listened to Bye Bye Bye. And started dancing! And mom's fear that Josh would catch Lance's choreography were somewhat founded. When Lance grabs himself, he also looks sharply to the side (in such a cute, embarrassed manner, IMO) and steps back. When it got to that point in the song, josh didn't grab anything, but he did stop and go really still, and then looked sharply to the side and fell back. <.giggle> He's also getting some arm movements in there. He's SO CUTE!!! I can't emphasize this enough, really.

I think I had more josh stories, but I can't remember them now. LOL He's finally learned how to change tracks on CDs and read the booklets so he can go to different songs. I'm so impressed with how much he grows every day. When dad came in after work today, josh immediately went to his DynaMyte and asked him how he was!! Spontaneously!! I just wanted to hug him. He's so smart.

I'm excited...I have plans with Josh's SLP, Chris, to go to lunch on Friday. She's such a sweetie, and I think we'll have fun. I think that's the biggest plan I have for this week. <.g> I'm studying, I'm working with Josh, I'm voting, I'm doing schoolwork...Chris is the highlight of my week. Um, that's kinda sad right there. LOL Oh, well.

okay, the next thing I have to blog about deserves it's own post, so off to it.Let's hope the site stays up long enough to get it up there.

Posted by rina at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Take the "What *NSYNC Hairstyle are you?" Quiz

How CUTE! : )

(Celebrating s-d being back up while it lasts)

Posted by rina at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy St. Paddy's Day, everyone! I had such a fun day. My mom's side of the family is pretty Irish, so we do the typical corned beef and soda bread and stuff, with lots of green. <.g> Very yummy stuff. Plus, mom was talking with a brogue, like, all day. LOL Her accents crack me up.

Okay, now let's go see if Yahoo is back up and I can read mail.

Posted by rina at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I went to this page in order to hit my dailys and reads, right? It looks so much different on my parents' computer! The scrolly things are read, there are dotted line thingies surrounding all of my headers on the left sidebar and around each post, and the little dotted line thingies appear under a link when I click on it! I'm sure this isn't new to all of you, but it is to me. <.giggle>

Oh, but Kate, your site was, like, crashing me. Kinda. All the text blurred together. It was kinda weird, like what happens to me everytime I hit YahooGroups. DOes anyone else have that problem?

Posted by rina at 09:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I just watched City of Angels for the first time...great movie. Intense, and sad, but somehow still uplifting for it all. Even though mom ruined the ending. <.g> Heaven knows I don't mind spoilers or knowing endings, but I generally like to ask for them first. LOL Ah, well. It was a good movie.

Today, we took Josh swimming. When we were getting out of the car, he found a cassette I had left in there to listen to...the mix one Krissy made me several years ago. One side is Kurth and Taylor's Nashville album, and Josh is in love. LOL I've been hearing Wally sing all afternoon. <.giggle> My boy's got taste! He's never listened to country before, so this is a good way to start him. I also let him borrow my copy of nsync's Making the TOur, and while he hasn't watched it yet, he's been carrying it with him all night. He's such the cutie pie!

I swear there was other things I meant to say, but I'm totally blanking. <.g> I was falling asleep during CoA, and now that I have on Model Behavior on Disney, I'm not feeling much awaker. LOL Certainly not the most brilliant of movies, but there's nothing else on. I already saw this Trading Spaces, and Hildy scares me. LOL

Time to see if I can make s-d's webmail work. LOL

Posted by rina at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Since I don't know when my first Friday Five was, and I have too many archives to go searching through, I'm stealing Krissy's first one. <.g>

Where were you born (city or state or just country)?
Oak Park, IL, just outside of Chicago. That's where the hospital was, anyway. LOL Don't know why there, since we lived on the very outskirts of downtown then, but there ya go.

What is your favorite number?
I don't know that I have one. It was 13 for a long time, because of BSC, but 17 is jumping out at me now.

Vanilla or chocolate?
Vanilla...I'm allergic to chocolate. <.g> So while I love it, it kills me.

What section of a bookstore would I find you in?
Every bit of it. LOL I tend to start in the mystery section, move to nonfic-history, then literature, then YA (for Buffy!), and then wherever catches my fancy. But those are the ones I always hit.

What kind of mattress do you have on your bed? soft? firm? water?
Firm. I cannot stand mushy mattresses. My mom's is all mushy and I complain every time I'm in there. <.g> I like my mattress to be like a rock, thank you very much. LOL

Posted by rina at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Found two items of news that I find awesome.

1. Everyone should watch Becker on Monday...they're doing an episode about a guy with ALS (Lou Gehrig's) going to see Becker, who helps get him an AAC device. It's on CBS, I'm not sure what time, though. I've never seen the show, but I'm interested in seeing how they handle it. The EP's father has ALS and is at the point where he's unable to speak, so I'm pretty sure it will be done well.

2. The Air Angels, in conjunction with the W.S. Fire Department will be using the south end McClure athletic field tomorrow. This is where I went to school, where Josh would be attending if he wasn't homeschooled, and is about 3 blocks away from my house. We're gonna take Josh. <.g>

Fun, huh? Dad left about half an hour ago, so I have about 2 hours or so. I wonder what I'm forgetting to do or pack. LOL

Posted by rina at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so excited!! I got my first quiz back in 376 today....and I got an A!!!! Only one wrong. I was so proud of myself. Then, I checked my grade on Monday's midterm...you know, the one I didn't study for until the day of? I got an A, baby! I think these are my first As in my major. LOL I'm thrilled.

I've been making CDs like a mad woman. LOL I'm on the third one now...I'm gonna miss my MP3s, man. <.g> The first one is just a fun mix...it has a lot of Britney, STP, Smashing Pumpkins, some nsync solo work, Joe Scruggs, Shaggy...it's pretty eclectic. LOL Next was Pop music, which has BSB, and nsync and Britney and Ricky Martin and stuff like that. Now this last one is my Happy mix...nsync, disco and oldies are making a high showing. LOL But now that I have all these songs on disc, I really should force myself to delete even just some of them!

Dad's coming between 4 and 5, and I have to finish this CD and pack up laundry. Given that he's bringing me stuff to pack it *into, however, this is mostly waiting until he's here. LOL So I should have time to do everything.

Posted by rina at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For Krissy, I shall update in the middle of the night so she has something to read. LOL Of course, I don't really have anything to say, but when has that stopped me?

In nsync news, I saw that Justin shaved his head again. What, does one of them have to be bald at any given time? LOL Not that I mind...he was bald when I first became a fan and I think it's a hell of a lot better than the fro. But I was kinda getting attached to the curls. <.g> Oh, well.

Only one more class until spring break! Wheee! Tomorrow I have to pack, as dad is coming to get me around 4 or 5. It shouldn't be an overly big deal, though. All I'm really bringing home, outside of music and books and schoolwork, is laundry so I can bring back springier clothes so we get a resurgence of wintery weather. LOL

Dude, why on EARTH am I awake still? LOL I'm so tired, but I want to be doing something. So I added to my sidebar...with that first Chris quote, I'm gonna be getting a LOT of interesting hits. LOL But I so adore that entire story, very much so that line, and the whole thing makes me giggle. So there it is.

I'm taping Buffy at 6am tomorrow....today. It's the last finale, where she dies..I meant to tape it today when it aired, but I totally forgot until my writing professor was comparing this one story to SMG and Buffy. I was like, "Fuck!" <.g> Oh, well. It was kinda cool to see all of last season...last time it all aired, it only went just past Fool For Love, I think. So it's all fun.

Okay, I think it's time to go to sleep now. LOL Kate's playing Sims with JC and Justin and keeps telling me all the cute stuff they do, which is fun and funny, but I'm dropping and have class at 10. Ick. <.g> But I'm getting my quiz back, and I have high hopes for a decent grade, which is exciting.

Posted by rina at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Heee! I did it! You can now own a Rina Stewart-original. LOL I drew the little puppy prints and they came out cute! A little wiggly and stuff, but I'm not the best drawer with a pen, forget the mouse pen. LOL GSF t-shirts. And no one would ever guess they were slash or even nsync. Unless they were slash fans, anyway. Or knew favorite colors and could make educated guesses. LOL But I really like how this one came out. : )

Posted by rina at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This has been a fairly productive morning, despite not going to class. LOL I made my mom a CD (which I absolutely LOVE. We have very similar tastes in music. LOL Of the 17 songs on there, I had 9 already downloaded, and of the remaining 8, I saved 4 of them because I love them so much <.g>), finished putting together my MI test (e-mail me if you want to participate...once I get it scanned in this weekend, I can e-mail it to people. It's not scary, it helps me out, and you'll learn something about yourself. <.g> If you want, I can even make little graphics for websites to proclaim your intelligence. LOL), gave the test to Kate so I can honestly say I've started the project, vacuumed and cleaned my room up, wrote my case history for 386, and made a to-do list for tomorrow so I'm ready to leave at 5 when Daddy comes. See, lots done! : )

My grandfather is starting chemo/radiation today. When he was diagnosed, he stated emphatically that he didn't want c/r or extraordinary measures taken to prolong his life. Then he got the j-tube and stuff. And now this. And I'm very glad that he's fighting with everything he has. I can't wait to see him over break. As long as I'm teaching him and Grammy how to use the internet, I might as well introduce them to some nsync stuff. <.giggle> No slash, of course, which rules out 98% of the sites I hit, so I think I'll just teach them how to download MP3s and stuff. LOL

Now if you're observant, you saw that I have a little link called "selling" up in the top left corner of my page, and have for several weeks. I made little nsync t-shirt designs awhile back (read the disclaimer on the page, please <.g>), and I had a really really cute idea for a GSF shirt yesterday. So now I'm off to try and teach myself how to draw puppy paw prints. <.giggle> Wish me luck.

Posted by rina at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because I love all of you! (Well, most of you. <.g>)

Everyone needs to click here. It's good, I promise.

Posted by rina at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From Sunrise Pitas. : )

Sweet. <.g>

Posted by rina at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've gotten almost nothing done this morning. LOL I typed up my research project questions, got them all organized, and that's about it. Ooops! I did come up with some spring break plans, though. Nothing grand, but I'll have fun. LOL There had been a brief possibility that Kate, Aarti and I could drive to Texas for an nsync concert, stay with my Jennie-girl and drag her to the concert with us, but that went poof when we didn't have a way to drive to Texas. <.g> Ah, well. So I've still never gone any place for break, but there's always next year. So instead, I shall visit the kindergarten, get my grandparents online, hang out with mom and Josh reading Bunnicula and eating tuna subs from the deli, and go see Sleeping Beauty at the IMAX theater. And maybe ET. <.g> Plus studying for Kuehn's exam, writing a story, and getting people to take my research questions. So it'll be a busy week. : ) I can't believe it's so soon, though!

Today, though, I really need to read stories for class today. Of course, I wasn't there on Thursday so I don't have the new crop of stories, but we're so behind I bet we don't get to those until next class, anyway. LOL So I better stop reading nsync stories and read these. <.g>

Posted by rina at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think the test went very well. I sped right through it, got a little tangled in the matching section (it's hard when there's 28 things...I much prefer little sections than one big one), but it ultimately went well. There was only 6 questions I was unsure of, 4 in the matching alone, out of about 90. So I'm happy.

I also got my application and resume off for Camp Chatterbox. I still can't believe I'm going to intern there. I will be the only undergrad *ever. It's for professionals only. The application said to send in the fee (yes, not only do I not get paid for this experience, I have to pay them LOL) when I was accepted, so I called my mom. This just seems SO presumtuous to me, but I sent in my check with the application, because Joan was clear that she was holding the position open for me. Quite scary. I'm pretty nervous about this whole experience. It's such a cool thing, but I can't help feeling that I'm getting in over my head here. Okay, yes, I have 10 years of experience with DynaVox, which is pretty much how long high tech AAC has been around for the masses, but I have *very limited experience with other devices. Pretty much only what I've seen and tried out for brief minutes at conferences. Although I'm really kinda interested in learning about Unity...it's this totally scary looking system of picture categories. And different picture combinations mean different things. Like, a picture of Shakespeare means books. And a picture of a rainbow are the colors. But you can use, like, religion+shakespeare+john hancock+lightning bolt and it'll say the name of a specific Bible story or something. So it's really complex. <.g> Here's a picture of the device with unity up: Pathfinder. (Just to be fair, and since I do so much work for DynaVox and just spent all this time linking to PRC, this is the device my brother uses: DynaMyte. He doesn't use pictures, though, he uses a touch screen keyboard setup with Gateway to type his communication.) This really turned into a whole AAC post, didn't it. LOL Ooops. Well, now you know a little bit about what I do. <.g>

Ick, not feeling so great. I think it's my period, I'm just feeling off. A little sick, a little dizzy, a little tired, a little achey, a little scratchy, a little everything not good. <.g> So maybe I'll just relax tonight. I don't have anything more due this week, so I can get a headstart on things tomorrow morning and be fine.

Posted by rina at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This is such a cool story! It's slash by Jae, and it's called Onetwothree. The set up is really neat, giving the story from three perspectives, then when you get into the action part, you get all three at once. Best use of columns and tables I've ever seen in a story. <.g> Seriously, really cool idea, set up, frame work, and story. A little confusing at times, but it's supposed to be all jumbled up like that. Love it!

Posted by rina at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I completely finished my review sheet! Only took 2 hours, with time to check my mail and visit various websites. <.g> I'm feeling pretty good about it. I know this stuff. It makes sense to me. I'm a geek who likes to score MLUs. I relate everything to Josh, and therefore remember everything. Let's hope this test agrees with me. <.g>

I was listening to The Winter Album for awhile...JC singing lead on Drive Myself Crazy is growing on me, but they made the best decision to go with Chris. <.g> But now I have in Joshua Redman, which I finally got back from mom and Josh. Happy jazz! Wheeee!

Kate showed me a Yahoo article that captioned a Justin/Brit pic as Britney with then-boyfriend Justin. Apparently a tabloid reported yesterday that they split. We'll see, I guess. Concert goers reported that the boys have their own buses on this tour (sadness! I loved the slashy aspect of sharing. <.pout>), and Brit was traveling with Justin, at least after the first concert. So who knows. (Not sure WHY I felt the need to comment on this, but I did. I don't particularly like Justin or Britney, but I still somehow think it would be sad if they broke up. Maybe I'm just a sap that way. LOL)

I forgot to mention what I bought at the candy store over the weekend....a giant pixie stick!! <.giggle> This thing is huge. Like a foot long. LOL Should do nicely to keep me awake during Kuehn's class!

Posted by rina at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay. I have a midterm on Language Disorders in Children at 3pm today. I have not yet begun to study. This could ultimately present a problem. <.g> Maybe not. I mean, it was all common sense when she gave us the information, and I knew a bunch anyway. Looking over the review sheet, I definitely knew half, and was pretty sure on about 60-70%. And it's all multiple choice and true false and matching, to boot. So I don't think it will be an impossible test. But it's still all I'm doing this morning. LOL I'll start to worry about everything else tomorrow. Today is studying. And doing my Chatterbox application. ::nods:: This is doable. So I better start doing it.

Posted by rina at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Brendan:

Which My Little Pony Are You?

What Snack Food are YOU? Click here to find out!

<.giggle> Fun stuff!

Posted by rina at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From Krissy:

Which Drew Are You?

Very cute, very pink, and very feminine. That's you.
Find your inner rubber ducky.

From Kate:

(next two were tongue and eyes <.g> Who on earth THOUGHT of this quiz?! LOL)

celeb compatibility:
JC:
physical: 6% (oops)
emotional: 99%
intellectual: 41%
total: 44% (Ah, well, guess he's just meant for Kate <.g>)

Joey:
physical: 100% (wow!! LOL)
emotional: 90%
intellectual: 32%
total: 74% (Not too bad here. I can live with the intellectual thing, if the sex is that good. <.g>)

Justin:
physical: 46%
emotional: 22%
intellectual: 99%
total: 56% (if only he and Joey were the same person, we could have a damn good relationship, I guess!)

Lance:
physical: 96%
emotional: 43%
intellectual: 41%
total: 60% (Hey, not too bad, right? The sex is great, and everything else is average. Average is not bad. <.g>)

Chris:
physical: 96%
emotional: 78%
intellectual: 92%
total: 89% (ding ding ding, we have a winner! Think I can get him to shave the horns and maybe regrow the braids?)

Which Angelina Are You?

From Carrie:



Congratulations, you are a Natural Disaster! Lucky you, your murderous wrath takes on many spectacular and eerily beautiful forms. Tsunamis, forest fires, floods, tornadoes, avalanches, hurricanes, the list goes on and one. You kill countless thousands every year and leave millions more in homeless, penniless misery. When humans fight their bloody wars on your soil, you retaliate with all the fury Mother Nature has been storing up for milennia. Bravo, and keep up the good work.


Take the High Yield Killing Method Test Now!!

From Meegan:

So which letter of the alphabet matches YOUR personality, huh?

Okay, I think that's all of them. <.giggle> I know, I know, that was a lot. But they're so much fun!!

Posted by rina at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm back from Wisconsin! We really had an awesome time. Mucho fun. <.g> This is the part where I describe what we did (fog, blizzards and swimming are the tip of the iceberg), so read at your own risk. LOL

We drove up Friday morning, making a pit stop at an A&W just past the WI border. Yes, bad Catholics that we are, we all had hotdogs to go with our rootbeer. So then we're driving, and driving, and the overcast skies start lowering and lowering until the fog pretty much killed all potential for seeing, well, anything. LOL At one point, dad and I were surprised to see cars turning, because we couldn't see the bend in the road 10 feet ahead of us. Quite the adventure, let me tell you! So we get to the hotel an hour early, and they let us check in. We are quite literally in the farthest room on the first floor from the pool. We have to walk about a block through a maze of hallways and grand ballrooms to get there. Well, Josh is still recovering from last summer's surgery, plus his other knee is not so great, and so he can only walk 600 feet. This was farther. So we got to switch into a different room, two doors down from the pool. We stuck Josh onto one of those luggage carts and pulled him to the room. LOL The room was smaller than the first one, but the location was so perfect.

So, we took Josh swimming, and then back to the room. He watched videos, then Cadet Kelly (I was NOT impressed...Hilary Duff did a good job, but the writing was beneath what I've come to expect from Disney), and then mom and I got Harry Potter off the pay per view!!! We were really excited, and were up until midnight watching it. We were both exhausted, but somehow managed to stay up. (Okay, I think I slept through the entire climax scene with the Stone, but I was up in time to se R&H huddling on the balcony, and isn't that what counts? <.g>)

During the night, there was this HUGE storm. I mean, really really huge. I was facing away from the window, had my sleep mask on, and I could still see the lightening as clear as if I was standing right at the window. Poor mom was freaking out. Ick. So we got up a few hours later, on not much sleep, and headed down to the pool. While we were there, the snow started. The winds were whipping around, making the snow actually go horizontal. Eeek! LOL it slowed down after awhile, though, and we left at 11 to rent a wheelchair. (God bless the WI tourist board, BTW, for having such a wonderful service at such a low cost...only $10 a day!!) We got to the downtown area around 12 to hit a few stores. We ended up at 2. When we left at 11, the temp was 42. When we got out of the car at 12, it was 22. Windchill was below 0. We felt it. LOL We hit the candy store, then drove to the candle store, and by the time we got to the restuarant for lunch, we could barely move against the wind. We got back to the hotel around 2, went swimming, and watched the snow fly horizontally again. <.g>

At 5, we headed to the conference room for the RTS stuff. This was the low point of the weekend. It was just so stupid and boring and unorganized. They stuck all the kids in front of the TV and played Disney videos. Yes, hello, let's take our kids who thrive on structure and just stick them in front of a TV all night. Wonderful. And it's just so hard to see parents who do so little for their children. One girl there is 18 and has NO way of communication other than a holler for her mother. I don't understand that. Josh isn't the oldest of the kids, but he's gone so far past everyone else. It's been a lot of hard work and fighting and struggling, but it's so worth it. It's sad to see that not everyone fights so hard and are so surprised to see a kid who spells out his communication and lets people know what he wants. It's great to see so many kids with RTS around, but there's no one who can offer advice or ideas there...they have none.

So that sucked. But hey, the room was right near the bar! LOL I had about 2 apricot stone sours, and a tequila sunrise. I liked. <.g> Then we went back to the room and rented Ocean's Eleven, which mom and I just loved.

We got an early start this morning, leaving around 9, and stopped at the A&W again. (I forgot to mention...I had my very first cheese curds this weekend. LOL They were so yummy!) Then we drove to Border's, avoiding the extremely terrifying and elevated highway in Milwaukee that still gives me nightmares. I had the radio on most of the drive, listening to top 20 songs of the week, so I got to hear Girlfriend, which was fun. <.g> At Border's, I got Making the Tour (half-off), and The Winter Album, which is fun. JC singing lead on I Drive Myself Crazy is just so odd to me, and there was another song I didn't know, either. So that was cool.

So, did I get any work done this weekend? Not so much. LOL I did one day book entry (I wrote a 3 page little story, taking Rupert Holmes' idea of Sam Dane, Private Eye as a 1940's detective story updating of Hamlet and writing a scene, based on the prompt of a disater scene in a restaurant <.g>), and started my application for Camp Chatterbox. (Must mail that tomorrow.) I barely looked at my notes for my exam tomorrow, and don't foresee myself doing that tonight. Oh, but I had an idea for my last story for class...combining elements from hotel stays that I've experienced and turning it into an XFilesian mystery. <.g> The elements would be: lights flickering, ghost woman in hallway carrying a baby, disappearing into fog, rose colored room, doors opening and closing themselves, a voice crying "Help me!", and a parking lot full of cars but no one seen in the hotel itself. LOL It would be a young woman going to her friend's wedding at a hotel, and all these bizarre things keep happening. <.g> I think it could be fun.

So, this was my weekend. It was a lot of fun...we laughed a lot, we played alot, and we froze a lot. <.g> I read all my blogs before I started this post, and i see many many quizlets to be taken. Expect results shortly. <.g>

Posted by rina at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Great. Aletia FINALLY fixed their server problem just as I'm getting ready to head out the door for home! My family and I are going to the Wisconsin Dells this weekend for the annual Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome family reunion. (My brother has RTS.) It should prove to be a great deal of fun, even with the projected blizzard there. <.g>

Man, I'm gonna miss my Rat Sushi fix this weekend. <.g> I've grown so accustomed to pretty boy pictures every day. LOL Ah, well. Alicia, have a blast at the concert, and I can't wait to hear details!

Have a lovely weekend, my dears, and I shall see you on Sunday night. : )

Posted by rina at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been doing a lot today, but I got almost nothing done. LOL That's how it feels, anyway! I went to class, called my grandfather for his birthday, went to another class, got a milkshake with Kate and Aarti, packed for my weekend at the Dells, organized what I have to do tomorrow, made copies for next week's project for me and Jill, watched West Wing, and made a CD. So I guess when I say I got nothing done, I mean I got nothing school-related done. <.g> Oh, well. Tomorrow I have to do at least 10 questions on my review sheet for 386, and straighten up my room so I don't get all claustrophobic when I come back on Sunday. LOL Over the weekend, I'm going to do at least two day book entries, review some 386, start my case study, and yes Kate, I'm bringing both Lance stories with. <.g> Let's hope neither of my parents need to go into my bag to borrow anything. LOL I figure that I always get stuck in the corner during meeting times anyway, plus mom and dad meet with the other adults after Josh goes to bed. Babysitting is prime getting me-stuff done time. <.g>

Oh, big news!! I'm not alone on s-d anymore!! Kate has gotten her journal moved over here. Thanks for all your help, Lady K. : ) It turned out marvelously.

Meanwhile, though, I need to call tonight over and go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, as usual, I will bug my friends as I answer my lecture linkage, and it takes energy to do that. <.g>

Fun fact: According to Oxygen right now, Americans have sex an average of 124 times a year, which is more than any other country. Each person also has an average of 14.3 partners. I really need to catch up. <.g>

Posted by rina at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I survived another workshop. <.g> Nghi said that I had this deer-trapped-in-the-headlights look the entire time, but I thought they were all pretty nice. LOL Goodness, I don't want to think about what I'd look like if they were being very critical. LOL! But yeah...almost everyone loved it. My teacher really seemed to like it...last time, he said good things in class (he compared it to "Eleanor Rigby," for example) and wrote almost nothing on the story, leading me to believe he didn't really like it all that much. This time he commented the whole way through, said good things in class, and wants me to continue the story as a novel. <.g> I was excited. So the comments I got were really helpful, and only one person actively disliked it. The other part of "almost everyone" just didn't make any comments at all, so who know what they thought. <.g>

Okay, now I should be doing my 386 review questions, but I so don't feel like it. LOL I'll do it tomorrow.

Posted by rina at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Which Rock Chick Are You?

Neat! <.g>

Posted by rina at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Whoo! I came up with 40 questions for my mini-research project on multiple intelligences. I'm really excited. I should have the test ready to go in a few days, maybe next week...who wants to volunteer to be tested? The test shouldn't take long at all...maybe 20 minutes or so. It'll (hopefully - I'm no scientist here!) show what of the intelligences is your strength or strengths. BTW, just so you know, there are a few of you guys reading this who have no choice about volunteering. <.g> I think you know who you are. LOL

All of this has mostly kept my mind off the fact that we're workshopping my story in class this afternoon. AACCKK!!!! I'm so nervous. <.sigh> I mean, sure, the class is usually pretty gentle, but still. I like my story, but it wasn't quite there yet, and I wish it was. Ugh. But it'll be over soon, right? I hope so.

Posted by rina at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, I stayed ahead of schedule until noon, when it all fell apart. LOL One of my day book entries is to write a fanfic, so I started looking for one of mine to copy. LOL I came up on a scene from For All Time, but it it takes so long to write out by hand! LOL I ended up only doing about 3/4 of the scene...it was a workable stopping space. <.g> (I did the scene where Maple and Scott realize they're in 2001.) But yeah, that took until well after 12, when I was supposed to start working on 386. But I figured I'll just postpone 386 until tonight and do my second day book entry, which is constructing a life about someone who placed a personals ad. <.g> Should be interesting, I guess.

At some point, I also have to start working on my MI paper. But something tells me that I won't really get that done yet. The rough draft is due next Thursday, but it's only peer review, not handing it in. So I'm sure to do a few pages next Wednesday. LOL I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with my papers...I don't have many. I have 2, I think. This and 376. So I really shouldn't be freaking out...nothing is due until late April and May. But still I feel the need to get started, and I feel like I don't have enough time to do it all. Someone remind me to relax? <.g>

Posted by rina at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night, I set a schedule for myself today. It started with 7:20 - WAKE UP. <.g> I figured that was an important first step. But the really important thing here is that it's 9:49, and I'm actually running 11 minutes ahead of time. I'm quite pleased here. LOL

Meanwhile, I'm really missing my mail...YG is apparently still down. I got one g-w mail this morning, and one Giles mail, but that's it. Extremely annoying.

What's left on my list:
write up a reflection on my "conversation" with Kristine
write at least 2 Daybook entries
start MI paper
start 386 review sheet (It's always exciting to look at a midterm review sheet and already know more than 50% of the things, but that other 50% still needs to be learned. <.g>)
Buy stamps
Mail things

This is doable, right? <.g> I've got four hours. Ready, set, GO!

Posted by rina at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Miggie. <.g>

I am Chocolate Flavoured. I am sweet and a little bit naughty. I am one of the few clinically proven aphrodisiacs. Sometimes I can seem a little hard, but show warmth and I soon melt. What Flavour Are You?

Posted by rina at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Alicia:

and get a free fic idea

<.g> What a fun quiz! LOL

Posted by rina at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Susie linked to this off Rat Sushi, and I thought I'd do the same here. Nsync kicked off their Celebrity tour this weekend, and someone posted a summary of it. Whoooo! I am more excited now than I have been all along. I woke up to a picture from a mailing list from the concert, of Lance in a t-shirt and jeans, which made me very happy. And this summary confirmed that most of the costumes are casual....whee! I like that. So, yeah, LOVING the set list...Beatles! Hey Jude is one of my all time favorites. And Motown! My Girl is, like, my song in my family, because of the May lines. So that's super cool for me. : ) Gosh, I'm just so excited now! Poor Krissy is getting the brunt of all this. LOL I'm firing off, like, 10 long IMs a minute here. She's gonna be so happy when I leave to take my shower. <.g> Gosh, I cannot WAIT to see this!! Geez, look at UATW! LOL! Pictures of that are gonna be so damn fun. And I'm encouraged that people have been taking pictures, despite the no cameras rule. <.g> There's no way I'm following that one. LOL Erin and I will BOTH have cameras, thank you very much. LOL So, very excited. My only complaint is that Lance is apparently very buff and bigger than Justin now. I liked my boy comfy and maybe a tiny bit squishy. He didn't look bad in the picture I saw, but definitely skinnier. Couldn't tell so much about his chest. I guess I'll reserve judgement until I actually see him. LOL

Okay, okay, must do work now. I have to read for 386 today, and made another CD. <.g> Maybe read a story or two. But I have to be done by 12:40. So I better go and do work. Now. Bye. <.g>

Posted by rina at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

From here:

Well, Aaron Sorkin loves me. <.g>

Posted by rina at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've done good today. <.g> David installed my drive, it works beautifully, and I already made my first CD. <.g> Of course, I did run into a few snags with some of my file formats, and in that process forgot to add a song that I really wanted to have, but it's done! And it has the Buffy musical on it. LOL Now to try and make a label and stuff for it. ::nods:: Should be fun.

Also, the honey mustard chicken came out really yummy. And there was enough of the sauce to have it work nicely as a dip, too. <.g> So I actually successfully made dinner for myself. And touched raw meat. Believe me when I say this is an accomplishment. LOL

So, yes, feeling good about today. <.g> oh!!! I didn't forget the song I wanted after all! WHOOOO! <.giggle> See below for my tracks, if you're so interested. : )

As Heard on TV
Angel Theme (Angel)
Buffy Prologue (Buffy)
I've Got a Theory (Buffy)
Under Your Spell (Buffy)
I'll Never Tell (Buffy)
Rest In Peace (Buffy)
Standing in the Way (Buffy)
Wish I Could Stay (Buffy)
Through the Fire (Buffy)
Life's A Show (Buffy)
Where Do We Go From Here? (Buffy)
Buffy Finale (Buffy)
Not That I Wouldn't (Remember WENN)
On My Own (Dawson's Creek)
Beyond the Sea (X-Files)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Remember WENN)
Silver Lining (ER)
We Can Work It Out (Xena)
I Gotta Sing (Remember WENN)
Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Buffy)
Strong and Silent (Remember WENN)
Brothers In Arms (West Wing)
I Shall Believe (General Hospital)
Ave Maria (West Wing)
Boogie Shoes (Sports Night)
Only Time (Friends)
Deutschland Uber Alles (Remember WENN)
Dancing Queen (Queer as Folk)
God Must Have Spent (Touched by An Angel)
Free Bird (Buffy)
Remember When (Remember WENN)

Posted by rina at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I did do some more baking last night. LOL I made these muffin things called Queijadas. It was so easy! Eggs, sugar, flour, butter, milk and vanilla in a blender and then baked for 45 minutes. I really like them....can't wait to make them again. LOL

Then, Aarti and I went to see 40 Days and 40 Nights with Kate, Jess, and Meghan. It was a really cute movie. Certain parts had me laughing hysterically. <.g> It was kinda graphic, I suppose...I've never seen so many naked women on the big screen before. LOL Plus, towards the end of the 40 days, Matt was sporting a full erection in many, many scenes. <.g> It was all cute, though. I'm glad I went to go see it. Aarti and I had planned to sneak into Crossroads, too, but the timing just didn't work out. <.g>

Today, my cousin is coming over to install my rewritable CD drive! I'm so excited. He said between 2 and 3, so he'll probably be here around 4. LOL I had been going to ask him to see if he could make my scanner scan, but in his last e-mail, he was like, "You just want me to install this thing, right?" leading me to believe that he wants to get in and out of here. LOL We'll see, I guess. His payment is me making him dinner (I think I'm getting the better end of the deal here <.g>), so I found a recipe for honet mustard chicken that looks easy, and is something I really want to try. LOL So that should be fun.

Well, now I've got between 3 and 5 hours until David gets here, so I have to find some things to occupy my time. LOL Maybe I'll paint my nails like I meant to last night. Or work on my stories. Or actually get schoolwork done. <.giggle> I like having this free time thing. It works for me.

Posted by rina at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The weather may be wet and soggy, but I'm moving past that. <.g> I've had a lovely day so far, for the most part. I woke up at 8:30, and read in bed for awhile. Then I watched a Sidney Portier movie on TCM, and Xena, and some of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. During the last movie, I decided to go downstairs and do some baking, so I made some peanut butter cookies from my WW2 recipe book. I think they came out okay...a little flat tasting, maybe, but not bad. I wanna make some meringue now, but on searches for recipes, I keep finding that you shouldn't bake them on a rainy day, because of the moisture. <.pout> No fair. Maybe I'll find another recipe and make something else. I don't know why I have this compulsion to be cooking or baking, but I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts. LOL

Okay, meant to post this, like, an hour ago. LOL Whoops.

Posted by rina at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Friday!

1. What's your favorite vacation spot?
I don't tend to go to exotic places. <.g> I suppose my favorite spot I've been to is the Chesapeake Bay, last summer with the Gangster Babes. I love the Wisconsin Dells, though, and my family goes every year for the RTS reunion. So I guess those places are top in my book.

2. Where do you consider to be the biggest hell-hole on earth?
I've never been to a bad place, I don't think. The closest I suppose I could come would be to say Hannibal, MO based on the fact that it's so out in nowheresland that they don't even have an ABC station (horrifying to a 12 year old watching evach ABC soap), and most of the places close by 7, but I loved the place at the time, I love it now, and I still want to go back.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
Prince Edward Island. I've been wanting to go there since I was 9 years old and saw Megan Follows in the Anne movies. I loved the descriptions in the book, but I couldn't believe they were real until the movies. When I saw it was just as lovely now, I was in love.

4. If you could go on a road-trip with anyone, who would it be and why?
Erin, definitely. Gosh, that would be so much fun! I love spending time with her, and us in a car is just hysterical. Even knowing where we're going gets us lost. <.g> We'd see a half million things we never intended to. LOL

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
I'm gonna interview Krissy and Eric, finish my Lambs story, work on my Basez story, unveil a fun little project I've been working on this week, and if I'm feeling ambitious, do a reading for 386. LOL In otherwords, I'm going to have a fun, relaxing weekend if it freaking kills me. LOL

Posted by rina at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Alicia was kinda talking about this in her blog and comments yesterday, and I found this "interview" last night on a completely unrelated search. I thought it was pretty interesting, good that they're all so open-minded, but mainly, I love Chris and Lance's comments. <.g> Could someone be gay and out in a popular boyband in America?

Also from that page is Dancing nsync. LOL

Posted by rina at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)