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!

(Taken from My Utmost for his Highest, by Oswald Chambers)

"There are times in the spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you by a way which in the meantime you do not understand, and it is only by going through the confusion that you will get at what God wants. Stand off in faith believing that what Jesus said is true, though in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you ask."

The pictures as promised:
My brother pretending to rock out on the guitar.













Buttermilk Falls - Ithaca, NY

Sept. 13
Yankees vs. Devil Rays
What an amazing view!

I'm deeply sorry for my long absence. But I'm sure hardly anyone checks this anymore, so maybe I'm apologizing to no one.

The summer was pretty interesting. Most of it was spent inside, hovering over many books trying to master the principles of physical therapy. But aside from the grueling hours of studying and taking exams, the rest of the days were spent with family and friends. I have pictures to prove it.

And now that my 2 week compendious break is over, I have resumed my fall semester. It will probably be the hardest semester of my life, and with good reason:

Neuroscience
Physiology
Exercise Science
Intro to Clinical Science

To be honest, I'm still pretty excited. I haven't lost any sleep yet, but that's probably because it's only the first week. Truth be told, I'm not anxious or worried. You know me...I love challenges!

"I am 21 years old. Which soon means that I will be 30."

Haha...I guess that's one way to look at it.

Last week, my friend was telling me about her "30 year old plan" (things she wants to do before she hits 30). This got me thinking about my own fun "30 year old plan", which I decided to make in one of my classes. (I gave up listening when my professor took a 30 minute break that was initially supposed to be 5 minutes long). The following list does not include getting married, having kids and all that jazz, because I'm currently not in the mood to discuss the parameters of my non-existent love life =).

1. Sky diving (My housemate and I are planning doing it right before graduation).
2. Go to a Yankee-Red Sox Game.
3. Go to a Yankee World Series Game.
4. Drive cross-country.
5. Take a photography class (possibly next year).
6. Become an excellent, excellent cook.
7. Learn how to dance.
8. Ride a motor bike.
9. Travel a lot! (I'm willing to go anywhere God sends me for his ministry).
10. See a Broadway Show.
11. Learn how to play the guitar, piano and drums. (Yes, I know that's a lot to ask for, but I do have nine years folks).
12. Learn sign-language.
13. Go to Urbana (conference in Chicago held every three years around New Year's).

Okay, that's all I have for now.

Movies that I've recently watched that you should watch because they are awesome:
1) Superman Returns
2) Pay It Forward

Another thing I have discovered in the past week are Sudoku puzzles. Go to soduko.org or http://www.sudoku.com/ to play. Basically you fill in the grids so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Trust me, it's a lot of fun!

So for the last three weeks, I have been studying my butt off for my exams. The more I study, the more there is to know about the subject. At least the material interests me and makes want to learn. But there have been times throughout our late study sessions where I have lost my mind. This involved spastic hysteria while trying to learn the intricate mechanisms of body movement and occasional moments of questioning whether I could make it for the next three years. But I kept reminding myself why I was here and that God was with me. And then there were the phone calls and emails from my friends that cheered me up. It made the world of a difference...

But besides studying, I have been having a great time with my new NYMC friends. We are definitely an interesting bunch of people. In the last three weeks we have:

1) Been lost a gazillion times in Westchester County.
2) Waited for buses and trains that are a) not coming for another hour; b) don't exist; or c) run in the opposite direction of our destination.
3) Been to Taco Bell/KFC more times than my stomach would have liked.

Thanks Jessica for my first chance to see a Yankee game this year! We saw them play the Marlins on June 23rd. We had pretty good seats in the upper deck in right field. I was turned to my right talking to Jess, when all of a sudden I notice the people around me getting up and screaming. I look up and a foul ball is directly in front of my face. My first instinctive was to catch it, and if I had done that, I probably wouldn't be typing with both hands right now. But my second thought was to move out of the way so it wouldn't hit me in the head. Alas, I threw myself back into my chair and watched the ball hit the empty seat next to me. And then I heard Jess calling my name, but it didn't register to me that she was yelling at me to pick up the ball. By the time I came back to reality, there were a bunch of guys around the ball and I probably lost my one and only chance of a lifetime to catch a foul ball. All because I wasn't paying attention. Sigh...

Congratulations to my brother (and Bobby and Abe) for graduating high school! You have no idea how proud I am of you! You're one of the smartest kids I know and I love you very much!

I also went to see the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks in NYC. The show was amazing, but you getting home afterwards meant fighting your way onto the packed train and holding onto something (or someone) for dear life.

But there isn't a day I don't miss my Binghamtonians. I couldn't speak to my twin for a period of two weeks and it was painful. Glenwood 211 - I miss you guys a lot. And Grace and Joy, whose constant bickering I miss dearly. Haha...love you both! My four years at Binghamton were truly a blessing and there is not a face that I don't miss or think about.

My first day of classes consisted of about 3 hours of class room and about 5 hours of lab time.
Needless to say, I am very tired. Anatomy and Physiology = my summer.

I also dealt with my first human cadavar today! If you are already squeamish, dont' worry, I won't go into any more detail. But this is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. At first, I could hear my heart pounding, because it was a new experience. But pretty soon, Harry (the name my group gave our cadavar) and I were chilling. Okay, sorry, that was a bad joke. And if you didn't get it, that's okay too.

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God." ~ Psalm 62:7. Right now, I'm going through a sticky situation with my school financial aid office. But I'm holding onto the fact that God is my rock. He is the sole reason I got into this school, so I am sure He will provide a way for me to stay.