First I apoligize to anyone who still reads my blog. But because I haven't quite mastered the ability to manage my time efficiently, I always put off posting, erroneously believing that I will do it later on in the week. Second, I promise to make more of an effort. And you know how much I hate breaking promises.

Hmm....it's been two months...so let me try to remember what I have been up to.

It has been very stressful to say the least. After having 4 or 5 hours of class a day, then trying to understand what I was being taught for another 3 or 4 hours in the library, is extremely draining, both mentally and physically. I come back home, having no energy and wanting to slip into my bed and sleep till I am good and ready to get up. Ahh...the joys of being in grad school...

Speaking of which, my 22nd birthday was probably the best so far! Not only did my friends make sure I had a great time, we celebrated for almost two weeks!

The night before my birthday, my room was lavishly decorated with balloons, streamers, and banners. At night, Meghan and Hinna surprised me with 22 cupcakes! (If you know my fondness for cupcakes, you can imagine how excited I was to have a whole plate of them!). In the morning, Hinna made breakfast, and I got to open my basket full of presents! Among the loot: White out, lots and lots of candy, long socks and a nice set of pajamas. I know it sounds like a random list, but there are cute stories behind each of them...and you'll just have to trust me when I say that I loved them all!

The Friday after my birthday, my classmates took me and my "Lebanese twin" (a girl in my class who's birthday is also on Oct. 31), out to a nice Italian restaurant near my school. The food was medicore, but the company was amazing!

Of course I saved the best for last: Inside a white evelope in my basket of presents were four tickets to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway! My first Broadway show!

We went the following week, and as always it was an adventure in itself. Meghan, Hinna, Laura and I drove into the city and tried to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We didn't have time to wait an hour to be seated, so we roamed the streets of Midtown looking for a place to eat. And tucked away between 6th and 7th Avenue, we found Utsav, a "festive Indian restaurant".
We were seated at 6:50, and barely had less than an hour to eat, pay and walk over to the show. Unfortunely, Meghan and I ordered the two things on the menu that take the longest time to cook, and waited almost 45 minutes for our food. So at 7:35, we were served hot, piping Indian food. Literally eating in 10 minutes, we waited for the check for another 10 minutes, and ran out of the restaurant, with 10 minutes to spare. As if this were not obvious enough, running 4 blocks in Manhattan, in heels, after eating Indian food and drinking lots of water, is NOT a good idea. But we made it just in time, and were ushered to our seats with time to spare.

I probably sat at the edge of my seat the entire show. It was an amazing experience and I highly recommend everyone to go see it!

The following weekend I went to see my brother at Stony Brook. I totally didn't mind spending the weekend with a bunch of 18 year old boys, because they turned out to be the funniest group of guys I've ever met. I was laughing the entire weekend (mostly at their stupidity and corny jokes), and was glad to see my "little monkey-do" adjusting to college life.

I was also able to go and see my Binghamton family! Rich and I drove up there one Friday afternoon, and had an awesome time. It was great to see everyone and talk to people I haven't been in contact with. I got to see my twin, who I miss very much. Thank you Lisa for letting me stay with you. She actually didn't steal the covers off the bed this time! And thank you to the Roselle clan for entertaining me Sunday night. It was great talking to you Grace and Joy. I miss you guys so much!

And alas, we come to Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year! Why is it my favorite?? Because there is so much good food!! And it is socially acceptable to pig out, because this is one of the days of the year where I don't care what or how much I eat! The night before Thanksgiving, I spent 4.5 hours in the kitchen making lasgna for the first time. It was so good, that I had it for breakfast the following morning. And then it was off to a family function where close to 100 people were expected to show up. To avoid the crowd and cumbersome conversations about future marriage possibilities, my cousins and I sat around the TV in the basement and watched football for a good portion of the day. We left in the afternoon to go to a church function, where I had another full plate of tasteful delights. Overall, a wonderful day.

I didn't want to come back to school after Thanksgiving break. Aside from the fact I was enjoying my four days off, I didn't want to face "3 weeks of hell", which consists of 7 tests in 21 days. I'm not even sure if it is possible to cram information for four classes into my head during this time, but I will surely try. Please keep me and my unlucky classmates unfortunate classmates in your prayers. We will need them.

There's more to share...but I'll end it for now. God bless!