L'aventure américaine

My heart skips a beat just reading the sentence above, but now, as I'm 26 years old, I think that it's finally time to go to a.... New Year's Party. You see, nearly every year, I stay at home with my parents and whomever else may be around that year and we drink margaritas and watch "When Harry Met Sally." Sometimes we play games. Sometimes we go on a walk. Last year I barely made it to New Year's because I was so tired! But the drinks and the movie are a constant stand-by and I'm guaranteed to have a good time. It's also my dad's birthday on the 1st, so it saves me a hungover drive home. The times when I've missed this? I've been in Italy with my brother (despite several cooking disasters, I had a good time) and a year in Telluride (in which I ran into my ex, got into a dismal funk and went to bed at 11:45pm). I choose to think that I'm not so much lame to stay at home with my parents every New Year's, but more, secure eno...

Happy Christmas. Happy Post-Christmas. Oops. I was supposed to wake Mom up from a nap about 10 minutes ago. But I've been puttering. Which is exactly what I'm supposed to do the day after Christmas. I think today (for rational people, not those crazies who buy a billion Santa's on sale) is a day for reading and picking up the wrapping paper explosions and watching movies and eating leftovers. I'm happy to tell you that I have done all of the above today. So... Happy day of Putterance.

This month was supposed to be relaxing, but of course, I've managed to fill it with everything. I can't believe that Christmas is only a couple of days away. I've been a little emotional lately. My brother is going back to Italy to rejoin his wife and Italian family and when I see him next, he and Elisabetta will have a little boy. While this idea thrills me and fills me with a joyousness, I still can't believe that my brother is going to be a dad. My brother still thinks that the word 'poop' is funny. My brother is going to be a dad. Really though, I can't imagine many couples who would be better parents than Elisabetta and Charles. And I can't imagine families that will be as enamored with this new baby as the Fauri's and the Jochim's will. However, babies change everything and it makes me a little nostalgic for, what... Perhaps the last time that Charles and I lived together as kids. (Except not really... That was junior high... No...

I get to eat turkey, stuffing and gravy for breakfast if I want to. Ha.

Happy Thanksgiving! I think that this is the first time that I've brought in Thanksgiving in style, being awake for the first 8 hours of it. I'm not even sure that I've done that with New Year's (usually I crash around 3am... if not before). Having done it, for the first 4 hours of Thanksgiving, I can't say that it's all that thrilling. However, I can assure you that late night cable television is not that bad. Here at the hospital, channels are full of movies (not great movies, but movies) and cop shows. I went with movies for awhile, but I'm now opting for the cop shows, since they allow me to count the hours a little better. I'm also hoping that they'll keep me more involved around five and six am when I start to crash. So... I've been feeling a little guilty lately because I haven't kept in contact with people as well as I had thought I would since a little Art came into my life. I'm also going to blame this on school, work,...

Sunday's are tricky. Football is on all day, which usually calls for some beer. However, I often have some overdue studying to do too, which calls for no beer. It's a compromise this evening. I studied with the Colts game on, gave studying my entire attention during the first half of the Titans/Jaguars game, but in order to face the rest of my OB notes, I'm combining studying with the 2nd half of the game and a glass of wine. Obviously, since I'm typing this, it's all going swimmingly.

So, this is something that has bothered me for quite some time and I'm glad that someone addressed it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good, large latte from Starbucks, but I can never call them "venti's". Because venti means twenty. And although the large hot drinks may be 20 ounces, the large cold drinks are not. And so we have have Americans, nay, people WORLDWIDE thinking that venti means big because Starbucks told us so and instead, it means 20! And tall is not small! It's bothered me, in the way that stupid little things do, since Starbucks became successful. And you will never hear me say: I'd like a grande cup of coffee or a tall chai or a venti americano... because it's small, medium or large all the way for me, baby. So, watch this clip from "Role Models." The rest of the interview is funny, but doesn't address the little things that bother me quite so well!

The headline of "Le Monde" reads: 'L'espoir d'une nouvelle ère dans les relations internationales.' The New York Times reads "The election unleashes hope worldwide." BBC: "World leaders hail triumph." And the Indianapolis Star: "Obama makes history." No matter where you are in the world today, this news is prevalent and the sentiments are the same. It's historical and inspirational and change is coming. Yes we could. It's been a surreal day today and I hadn't let myself fully realize how wonderful this is this morning. Only after a two hour nap and having a little time to read today's papers am I letting this sink in. Savoring. Basking. Yes we did. Last night, the past few days, the past few months, the past two years have been exhausting, draining and amazing. I started working with the campaign in February and dedicated much of my time to voter registration and encouraging my classmates to vote and try...

I'm preparing for my next three days with the campaign and alternate between optimism and a sick fear in the pit of my stomach. Yeesh. It's been awhile since I've posted a Jon Stewart clip, but this one was great . If you don't have the 7 minutes to watch it, skip to the last minute to see the McCain story from Obama's infomercial. It's hilarious.

Can you imagine waking up in the hospital? You wake up and everyone knows your name, they know your family members' names, they know what your job is. They insist that it is 4 months after what you know it to be. There are signs around saying who and where you are, but you have no idea why you're there. I can't even imagine how frightening this would be. I have a huge respect for my patient, who I'm spending the day with, who wakes up about every 10 minutes and has no idea what's happening (i.e. he has no short-term memory). He rarely gets angry and has only been mad at me once (when he is angry, it's more at the situation than at a person). I hope that if anything like this ever happens to me, I have the grace to be a relatively sweet, confused person as opposed to a mean, disgruntled one.

This video was sent around during the primaries here in Indiana and elsewhere and I think many Obama supporters saw it. However, I believe that we might need a refresher in hope. We've stopped using "Hope" because somehow, this slogan has become trite in this election, but isn't it more true than ever? Isn't hope the reason that we always vote? I don't know when hope became a slogan for the naive, but it is this hope that allows me to maintain faith in this country that, despite faltering, holds so much potential. Yes We Can.

A few weekends ago we had a typical Greene County weekend. Except that it wasn't so typical anywhere, except maybe 1920. Mackenzie, Ivan, Art Boy and I all headed down to my parent's and divided the sexes. Mackenzie, Mom and I stayed inside all day making pies (eight, I think). The boys headed out, harvesting apples for the pies, went spelunking in the cave, went swimming in the pond and drank beer, chopped wood, and played basketball. We reunited for a Jochim chicken and fruits of my parents' garden. Of course, we ended the meal with some incredibly fresh, incredibly delicious apple pie. Obviously, we enjoyed it.

So, I had a slight meltdown this week and I have to laugh at how dramatic I am. And what a baby I am. Especially on little sleep. My friend, Tony, just finished his Marines camp (SEARS training or something like that), in which he doesn't get to eat or sleep for several days in a row. He told me that he went 60 hours with no sleep and had something like a 1/2 apple to eat. He said he was amazed at what his body could do and how he bonded with his fellow Marines. I, however, with plenty to eat and averaging about five hours of sleep a night, started crying when I got an "Out of Office" reply from the woman who makes our schedule, which meant that I would have to work a full 12 hour shift instead of an 8 hour shift. I guess this finally proves it... I'm not cut out for the Marines. Damn. I have been working quite a bit and while my job is so much more enjoyable than my last job was (I got the woman who yelled, 'F*** you' to me one day to really like me t...

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." -Helen Keller This quote is posted on the powerpoint slide in the OB seminar that I am currently in. I think that I could have learned a lot from the presentations that we're receiving (acupuncture, stress relief, community support, aromatherapy), but I find that with my internet access that my friend, Lee, is providing, I'm much more productive by not paying attention. Learning new things versus catching up on my life? Catch up always wins, doesn't it? Life has been full, but good, of late. I find that I'm tired the majority of the time, although I hate being the "I'm tired" type. I have started a new SNE position, which is a glorified tech position in the hospital. I'm also still campaigning, although more behind the scenes than actually harassing people right now, and nursing school takes up a good chunk of my life. Friends and the new Art Boy have f...

We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack... "Are you registered to vote?" This sentence rings through the campus center again as Students for Barack Obama has set up the table and plans on sticking around between now and November 5th. Happy Election Year, everyone! Moments of today included: "Don't ask me now. Especially while I'm eating." Stated with disdain and disgust... The returning heckler who keeps saying, "Don't vote for change" and hangs around our table. He has yet to say anything substantive about why he's voting for McCain. A concerned voter who is leaning toward Obama, but very concerned because her church insists that he is the Antichrist and has been showing newspaper articles that match up with passages in the Bible. Whichever she decides... she's now registered to vote. Two and half months left. Don't forget to register.

This week I had my new job orientation. I will be working as a Student Nurse Extern (SNE: pronounced snee) at University Hospital. It's like a glorified tech with more privileges and I'm pretty excited about it. So, this week I had job training from 8-4:30 for four days with other nursing students. These included students from the traditional program at IU, Purdue, Anderson, Ivy Tech, etc. I had become accustomed to the students in my program: my classmates whom I love. They're smart and serious students with varied interests and I had projected our diversity onto the rest of the nursing students. This week, I realized that that wasn't quite the case. Obviously, I get offended when people try to stereotype nurses, but some of the students that I met this week really represented that stereotype. It's true, they're extremely kind and sweet people who will be good, caring, empathetic nurses. But, I felt that they were missing that something extra. For exa...

You know that you're about to take a trip with a girl when... You spend a good portion of the morning preparing snacks. You worry about which book to read and debate which library is on the way out. You discuss whether or not hair dryers will be in the hotel. Off on a trip with my mom! We've got quite the Hoosier storm showing us the way, but I'm not worried. We've got plenty of snacks...

Today is my last day of my second summer session. The part of nursing school that our program warned us about it almost over... 6 hours away from finishing. I wouldn't say that nursing school is the most efficient program. I have spent the majority of this clinical session (of psychology), trying to figure out how to pay attention and foster interest versus letting my mind wander but maintaining a focused facial expression. Also keeping my contempt of time wasting under wraps. That's been a challenge. Sometimes I've succeeded, and as my classmates can attest, sometimes I haven't. But, now, as everyone else buckles down for the start to the school year, I'm getting ready for my vacation. I have one whole week (slightly more, in fact) in which I have no work to do and no studying to do. I'll do some campaign work and I'm going on a trip with my mom and my second week of vacation will be full of job training, but when I finish a day, I will get to read ...

Evenings like this make me reflect on college. Evenings before I had several tests, when I felt tense and ready for the next day to be over. I hate to wish my life away, but evenings like this make me wish for time to go faster. My tests now are certainly not as stressful as other tests have been, but I do feel the familiar tensing. Tomorrow I have two exams and a presentation, but I think that I am prepared and I'm pretty sure that the studying is over for the evening. Only "The Office" reruns await. This poem makes me appreciate even days like this. I'm lucky to be 25 in this summer in Indiana. The Life of a Day - -Tom Hennen Like people or dogs, each day is unique and has its own personality quirks which can easily be seen if you look closely. But there are so few days as compared to people, not to mention dogs, that it would be suprising if a day were not a hundred times more interesting than most people. But usually they just pass, mostly unnoticed, unles...

I know what you're thinking... What issue isn't near and dear to her heart? But, this was perhaps the first issue that I become politically aware of and certainly the first one in which I became more pro-active. This is because our friends, the Tokarski's, have been fighting the highway for too many years now, in addition to which, the project hit too close to home when IN-DOT announced that our home and land was in the 2000 foot corridor where the new I-69 is planned. Here is a current op-ed from the Indianapolis Star regarding the highway. I also included it for your convenience. Read it. Write a letter to your congressman . Pass it on. My view: Jesse Kharbanda Let's make Major Moves for 21st century Gasoline prices have been rising for the past four quarters and political instability abroad probably will increase these prices even more. In response, Indiana is taking some foresighted steps to foster smart alternative...

It's my 4th to last shift here at IU hospital at the AOC desk and I'm certainly not mourning that fact. It's true, I'll miss the ease of my "Daily Show" updates and the hours of study time that this job provides me with, but I think that I will enjoy a weekend again much more. Having just returned from two wonderful weekends away in which I did not come into work, I was reminded again of the joys of not having to come to work on Friday at midnight. Taos was wonderful. My family is incredible and it was such a pleasure to see everyone familiar and meet many new family members as well. We rented out the San Geronimo Lodge in Taos and all 47 of us took over, leaving doors unlocked and being able to eat any snack left out in the dining room. We visited the Pueblo , which is over 1000 years old, and ate Indian fry bread. We ate well and hiked. We laughed a lot and Mom put together a phenomenal slide show. It was great. And then I flew home. That was not as great. ...

When I left Kroger today (arugula is on sale!), I saw a middle aged man leaving with two packages of Ramen noodles and a 24 pack of Bud Light. That's a downer of a grocery list.

1. Some ambition to read my psychology textbook and do some homework. (By the way, another fantastic quote from my fantastic book: "However, up to 20% of patients who are compliant with these medications experience antidepressant 'poop out'". Wowza . Have you ever read a textbook that used the words, "poop out"?) 2. Another gin and tonic. I'm sure that that would help with #1 too. 3. A cuddle buddy. Well, I hate the word 'cuddle,' but I could use a nap friend, as referenced by Talia . 4. For the aforementioned buddy (in #3), to tell me to get my ass out of bed and start studying my psychology. 5. A bizmillion dollars so that I didn't have to go to nursing school, but instead, could be a philanthropist and buy myself an honorary doctorate. I think that I would find that quite fulfilling. 6. A sweater. I'm sitting right under the air conditioning vent and I'm cold. 7. Direct sunshine on my little herb garden. I need that e...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91943477&sc=emaf I guess that this is why breast augmentation took off. The inflatable bra had too many unforeseen side effects. ... Jon Stewart had great fodder this week... sadly enough. Check out this segment and the following about James Dobson. Hilarious, yet when it's that funny, there's always a note of tragedy too. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=174783&title=be-patient-this-gets-amazing (My favorite part is the: "Attach it in an email that he will likely read" with subject line, "Love is..." and some Precious Moments characters.)

I wish that I were more excited about the next six weeks of my life. After all, it IS summer, a season that I love. The tomatoes will be ripening, I can make fresh pesto, the weather is hot, gin and tonics are back in season and the outdoors simply buzzes with activity and anticipation. ... Six weeks of an intensive psych course has the potential to cramp that summer style a bit. Despite the fact that currently this is our "mini-vacation" between summer sessions (a whopping four days) and a time for most of us under-achievers to catch up on Ethics homework, we have 10 chapters assigned to read and several worksheets due Monday. If, when I say worksheets, you're imagining worksheets similar to those in elementary school, then... you're unfortunately right on target. Last night I spent a solid amount of time doing a vocabulary list. I looked up the words in the glossary and then wrote down the definition. It reminds of me vocab lists consisting of "beaker" and...

They just make me so happy. I want to be their friend. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=174003&title=steve-carell

"Intensive outpatient programs provide services at a greater level of intensity than traditional outpatient programs." -my psych textbook I think that it's obvious that I will be learning A LOT this summer session.

It's reached that point in the shift when I'll pick up anything to keep myself awake. So, there's a "Good Housekeeping" magazine left over at my desk and two articles piqued my interest. #1 (which I didn't read) was an article on great make-ahead desserts. But, really, who wants a make-ahead dessert?! We're in the land of instant gratification and I want dessert now. I made a chocolate cheesecake for Mackenzie's birthday and it killed me that I had to let it sit and chill for so long! #2. How to deal with annoying people. Now, I need this because there is a student in my nursing class that annoys me so much that I end some of our days in a bad mood. However, this article wants me to find what I like about this person, how I would feel from their perspective, how to have an intervention with them. All of these suggestions might work if I weren't so annoyed already. All I really want to do is bitchslap the person upside the head. Oddly eno...

"Don't go there. Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward." -Hillary Clinton, 6/7/08 The Democratic primary has ended. Conclusively now. And I think that we're all exhaling a collective sigh of relief that the tension and the frustration and the divisiveness is over. I was initally a Clinton supporter and obviously switched to the Obama camp, but I held a tremendous amount of respect for this woman. I thought that she was honorable and intelligent, saavy and effective. I thought that she would make a great president. However, as the campaign continued, I thought that her tactics became more and more ruthless, she interpreted election laws as they suited her, she pandered. I thought that she was doing damage to the party and it was upsetting. She conceded yesterday. And for the first time in months, I felt that she was doing something selfless for the good of the party, for the good of the nation. Her speech, that she wrote herself with t...

The power is out in Greene County, therefore the Chicken Caper has a rain delay. Dad said that the chickens were praying all night. Power of prayer? There's a stay of execution today, but we will prevail and get 'em by the end of the week.

I have sharpened my knives, I have Put on the heavy apron Maybe you think life is chicken soup, served In blue willow-patterned bowls. I have put on my boots and opened The kitchen door and stepped out Into the sunshine. I have crossed the lawn, I have entered The hen house. -Mary Oliver Tomorrow is the 4th, or is it 5th, annual Great Chicken Caper. The day has arrived again, complete with Dad's emails and promise for the live webcam of the chicks (each time with a different, yet still clever, web address). And of course, each year we have a new Chicken Caper Virgin who still isn't quite sure what to expect and awaits the day with eagnerness and anxiety. Yup, tomorrow is the day in which we butcher 100 chickens in day. Since I have been telling people that my parents put on such a shin-dig, I've gotten one of two responses: "That's great! I'd love to go!" or "I like my chicken packaged and in a store." Both reactions leave me a little at odds......

So between work and school and everything else, my life is pretty busy and more stressful than normal lately. It would make sense that I would break out a bit more. But, this evening, I was looking in the mirror, and I swear that the right side of my face is a little swollen due to two humongous pimples. I'm lopsided because of pimples! I'd be more upset about it if I weren't so fascinated by the enormity of them. Anyway...

Na na na na. I'm in nursing school all summer. Na na na na. It really is a bummer. Na na na na. I work on the weekends and study all night. Na na na na. Oh it really isn't riiiight! In my head, that little ditty sounds very bluesy and folksy with Ray Charles singing it. I've been on edge lately, which is silly. The weather is finally beautiful and it's summer and I have wonderful friends right next door. I have a trip to Taos planned for a great family reunion and an adorable (really, I don't love the word adorable, but adorable is the only word for it. Also, "cozy" works.) new apartment. No excuse to be so angsty. However, I find that I'm irritated by the woman in front of me at CVS who takes forever to check out, only to find that she forgot to pay for something as she's leaving. Or I worry that a neighbor that watered my garden is going to overwater it (since, with this weather, we certainly don't need any more water). Or that there won'...

Oh, chocolate bread. How I love you. I love your soft texture and nearly crunchy exterior. I love your gooeyness right out of the oven. I love your intermittent chocolate chunks. I love the way that my face is covered with chocolate after I've finished a hunk of you. I love you with milk. I love you without. I love you warm. I love you cold. I love you as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or dessert. I love the way you turn a mediocre day into a great one. I love you, chocolate bread. Yes, I do.

This post is for you. I'm avoiding unpacking. Even though I have "The Amber Spyglass" to help me through (I should be listening to my lecture on the endocrine system... blah...), I still can't seem to get motivated. I loved your green pants. They remind me of this poem: The Cure -Ginger Adams Lying around all day with some strange new deep blue weekend funk, I'm not really asleep when my sister calls to say she's just hung up from talking with Aunt Bertha who is 89 and ill but managing to take care of Uncle Frank who is completely bed ridden. Aunt Bert says it's snowing there in Arkansas, on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been able to walk out to their mailbox. She's suffering from a bad case of the mulleygrubs. The cure for the mulleygrubs, she tells my sister, is to get up and bake a cake. If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress. I was having a mulleygrub day until I received your pictures. Thanks. I think that I'll go make some chocolate...

http://my.barackobama.com /portlandrallyvideo

Of course, I meant to send this Wednesday morning when I was basking in the glow of Obama's insurmountable delegate lead caused by his huge victory in North Carolina and Clinton's weak victory in Indiana. But classes started and I'm moving and now I can post this knowing that, for the first time, Obama has a lead in Super Delegates. He's on the cover of Time as the winner of the Democratic Primary and briefly, all is well in national politics (or as well as it can be). We're now so focused on the next president that I think that we'd rather forget our current one. He seems pretty interested in forgetting that he's the president of the free world as well, preferring to dodge serious questions to talk about his daughter's wedding. Man... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/washington/10bush.html?ex=1211169600&en=666c8882cbb29577&ei=5070&emc=eta1 I can let myself get worried about the national election though. Working the polls was an educational ...

I'm getting up at 4:20 am tomorrow morning so that I can be at my polling precinct at 5 am. Doors open at 6 am and close at 6 pm. We're expecting record voter turn-out. It will be my first time working the polls and Dad guarantees that it will be quite an experience. That's right. Tomorrow is the Indiana (and North Carolina) Primary Election. It's been a whirlwind of a week leading up to this with events across the state. I even got to meet Mr. Obama and his wife last week when I greeted them at the airport with a group of Obama campaigners with whom I have been working. It was an incredible experience and he was just as personable as I had imagined and hoped. I think that we need to reflect on our current state of the Union, not just today, but also what it will be in November and 4 years from now. I think that we should consider who will be best able to bridge the gap that exists in this country. I think that we should elect Obama. Vote. Please vote.

Ivan has arrived! Actually, this posting is a little delayed, since Ivan actually arrived in the States on Tuesday and in Indianapolis on Wednesday. It's good to have his smiling face, his errant sarcasm, and his ability to eat an inordinate amount of food back with us. Mackenzie and I threw a surprise "Welcome Home" party for him today, which was a rousing success. Ivan had not a clue and we had quite the showing of family and friends. I'm sure that Talia will be putting up some pictures and I know that I'll be stealing them soon after. ... It's a busy time in Indy for all of us. My finals are trying to conclude; it feels like I've been testing for weeks, but I think in real-time, it has only been since last week. My last final is Wednesday and I have a whopping five days off before Summer I starts and we begin again. I'm so happy in nursing school though and I've been amazed again and again with my classmates and how well we get along. I'm a ...

I'm waiting for Mackenzie to come home and join me for a run. Except the weather seems so crazy outside that I'm hoping that we can opt out of it. Kristi, Mackenzie and I celebrated Valentine's Day in style on Friday. We had some delicious food, drank some fabulous wine and watched "Sex and the City." It was the ideal girl Valentine's Day. I do love my friends. Ivan got Mackenzie flowers, even in Russia. He's good. These are the flowers in the top picture. As the designated messenger, I had to laugh as I went to the florist at 4pm on Valentine's Day. It's rare to see so many stressed out, uncomfortable men all together. I was the only female there. I think it could top out as one of the worst places to pick up men. Midway through February, all is well here in Indy, as is evident from the pictures. As I was typing this, I heard a poem on NPR by E. Ethelbert Miller. You have to listen to the story to get to it, but it's worth it: http://www.npr.o...

So... There's a tornado warning outside and like good little weather buffs, Mackenzie and I are down in the basement, waiting it out. We folded some laundry, she's picking up, I'm trying to find way to waste time while I nurse my beer (I saved it from the storm. Thank goodness!). There has been a tornado sited just a few miles west of here and the wind is pushing it this way. Things sound very calm outside, but who knows, we could just be in the eye of the storm. Mackenzie says hello. She's busy setting up the bed and working. Ha. Here's hoping that her car doesn't have hail damage. 'Cause mine's in the garage. And I'm out.

It's fairly evident that Talia is a Packers fan, as witnessed here. We'll now have to see how crazy Mackenzie is...