L'aventure américaine

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'...