Mike and I officially tied the knot on august 21st! it was an amazing wedding filled with great friends and family.  It was a day to remember and now im married to my best friend.  Im looking forward to our life together as we are starting this new chapter in our lives.  He is starting school in a few weeks, im at the half way point of my program.  I feel so blessed to have married a wonderful guy, who is my better half and is the love of my life!

IM GETTING MARRIED SOON!!!!!!!!

:) Mrs. Caldara in like 10 days can't wait

9/11/01
Its been 8 years since that fateful day that changed my life along with countless others and our country forever.  I remember being in AP Euro with Mr. Pearly, taking notes on some ancient european history lesson.  Mr. Glad walks in and talks quietly to pearly.  Mr. Pearly stops us and tells us that a two planes have hit the world trade towers in NYC and turns on the TV.  We watched until class ended.  I remember the only class and place i went that day without the TV on was chemistry.  Mrs. Derose had family in NYC and she couldn't watch, she chose to teach instead...but i doubt any of us really paid attention.  I came home from school that day and my father had called worried about my mom and i, being from the islands he had know idea how far away from the city we actually were. 

That weekend my mom, her friend Terry and I went to cape cod, it was a beautiful sept weekend on the cape blue skys, yet it was eerie.  The sky was too still, too quiet.  Every time a plane flew by it was a military plane.  An eerie, calm...

I remember going to the city with caroline and her mom...our cells wouldn't work since the towers had been a key point in transmittion of the cell signals.  I remember going down to ground zero... the sights, the sounds, the smells burned forever in my memory.  The fence around the rubble with flowers, prayers and missing person signs.  Thousands of them, crammed in the fence, people still looking for their mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, friends, relatives...hoping beyond hope that they may still be alive.  The smell of dust and burning materials and flesh still flooded the site, even though it had been weeks since the tragedy. 

I remember christmas in stanford, so many of my cousins classmates lost fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles.  Christmas mass was full of tears and extremely somber.  The mood had shifted from the normal happy christmas mass to something that was somber and heavy. 

so for those who still check LJ, you may wonder y i bothered to write this... i did because on the west coast its just another day.  9/11 here doesn't mean the same as it does back home.  It was a shock to me last year wihen i was at orientation and not partaking in a moment of silence through out the day.  It felt so wrong, but it doesn't carry the same weight, heaviness and meaning here.  I rushed home last year to watch the memorial services and say a few prayers for the people affected by it.  To some people 9/11 will just be another day... but to me it will never be

so i am sitting at work waiting for matt to finish freezing his protien and i was just letting my mind wander...

so i randomly remembered the short silent film i made with a Bill Pryz my freshman year for his film project.  It was this love story gone wrong... neways so i was the main girl and Jake one of his friends was "my lover" anyways we had some great times filming this movie, but side note we did this proposal scene in boston on a bridge and we were in the middle of filiming it and had to do it a few times because 1) a car honked so loud all three of us were rolling in laughter and we couldn't keep a straight face, the other time was cus there was a runner running on the bridge and saw jake down on one knee to me with a "ring" i think we used my class ring or something... idk and he like stopped and totally ruined the shot then when he continued running realized that we were filming for a class n got all embarrassed.  that was a funny day oh the memories... i had so much fun filming the silent movie... we did an arguement for part of it and jake and i were yelling random ass funny shit to eachother it was hysterical and we had to shoot that a few times because we cracked up.  it seems so long ago... ~sigh~ good times...

aight im signing off for now...

appearntly ppl r still studying the coxsackie virus....glad to know that my hometown pops up in a JACS paper periodically

filing this out cuz... i can't work on my take home midterm nemore and i procrastinating going to bed...tho i should but keeping my mind busy...

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids?! 'Have you ever kissed someone? Missed someone? Told someone you loved them? Drank alcohol?' 38 questions for the people who are a little older...

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
well considering i only pay the credit card and rent... im not sure... i don't really hate either...nor do i like it... im indifferent

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
um...oh north end in march

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?
i want to be with my boyfriend, cus im stressed and i need him now

4. How many colleges did you attend?
two and im on my 3rd. but BC was the best

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
cus its comfy....

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
um....

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
i have to get up...

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
um... no idea

9. Do you miss being a child?
Sometimes

10. What errand/chore do you despise?
laundry cus i have to drag it down 3 flights of stairs and haul it 2 apt complexes over.  UCI def needs to rethink the placement of the laundrymats

11. Get up early or sleep in?
sleep in... except 8am classes fuck over sleeping schedules

12. Have you found real love yet?
yup :)

13. Favorite lunch meat?
turkey

14. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
i haven't been to a wal-mart in god knows how long

15. Beach or lake?
ocean beach... he he he the perk of living 10min away from the pacific ocean!

16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
no, and everyone should have the right to get married. (i like ur answer caroline so i kept it)

17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
bleh (agreed caroline!)

18.What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
no idea... ive never thought about it... but someone cool and intellegent

19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
no

20. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
um yes??? in EH&S training we had to put out a small fire it was kinda fun

21. Ring tone?
its always on vibrate, but the rare occasions when its not... its journey don't stop believeing

22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
no clue

23. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
live here now... so id love to see SD and go to the SD Zoo, id love to go to wine country, um catalina island, santa barbra, joshua tree,... idk i want/ hope i can take advantage of living out here now theres so many places to go and explore.  Id love to go back to SF and spend time there.

23. Do you go to church? sometimes

24. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
career

25. How old are you? 22... tho almost 23... AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

26. Do you have a go to person? well... i did but not this week

27. Are you where you want to be in life?
yes and no... idk just trying to get through 2 years of hell and long distance

28. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?
winnie the pooh, the little mermaid, strawberry shortcake, scooby doo, teenage mutant ninja turtles, the old school disney stuff, anamaniacs

29. What about you do you think has changed the most?
Opinions and beliefs and my ability and interest in expressing them.

30. Looking back at high school, were they the best years of your life?
not at all. college was so far...

31. Are there times you still feel like a kid?
yup

32. Did you ever own troll dolls?
totally

33. Did you have a pager? No (who really has those nemore?)

34. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
ginas, church, chris's

35. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with?
maybe... idk

36.Who do you think impacted your life the most?
my mom, friends, Mike

37. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you?
mrs derose, and funny enough mrs wilburger,

38. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age..."?
yup... my students all the time... and its when i was ur age i had common sense (i really wonder about some of these kids)


50 Things nobody ever asks

1. What color is your toothbrush?
green and clear

2. Name one person who made you smile today?
no one

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
i was in the shower... 9am TA stuff

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
my take home midterm for metallobiochemistry

5. What is your favorite candy bar?
milkyways, or twix

6. Have you ever been to a strip club?
no

7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
i was singing distrubed song darkness

8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
mint chocolate chip or cookie dough, but vanillia is fun to "dress up"

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
water

10. Do you like your wallet?
um its the j.crew flip thing... so yea its perfect for school

11. What was the last thing you ate?
oatmeal for dinner


12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
yes! er well last thursday... i got a killer dress for vagas!!!

13. The last sporting event you watched?
Mavs vs the Nuggets

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
kettle corn

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
mike

16. Ever go camping?
not real camping

17. Do you take vitamins daily?
no, i should tho grad school diet = bad

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
no

19. Do you have a tan?
thank you cali for that

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
nooooooooo

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
if im at a resturant yes


22. What did your last text message say?
y should i care

23. What are you doing tomorrow?
8am class, prepping buffers and solvents for crystal trays, looking at previous trays i set up, take home midterm, a meeting with my PI... yes its a fun filled day

24. What sounds are you listening to now?
CSI Miami

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
a chair

26. What color is your watch?
what watch...

27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
the continent?

28. What is your birthstone?
emerald

29 Do you go in a fast food place or drive thru?
depends i guess

30. What is your favorite number?
um.... idk

31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
mike yesterday... i guess

32. Any plans today?
Just going to sleep now... so I can get up early.

33. How many states have you lived in?
4

34. Biggest annoyance right now?
too much to do, and being stressed

35. Last song listened to?
darkness by disturbed

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
nope

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
wish, my room is a disaster...

38. Favorite pair of shoes you like to wear all the time?
um sneakers or flipflops... it depends on if i have to teach or not

39. Are you jealous of anyone?
anyone whose done with classes

40. Is anyone jealous of you?
probably not.

41. Do you love anyone?
I love lots of people.

42. Do any of your friends have children?
I guess.. but luckily none of my very close friends who are my age.

43. What do you usually do during the day?
class, lab work, teach(weds)... depends on the day

44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
no

45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
i've neve actually kept track

46. What color is your car?
wat car

47. Do you like cats?
yea

48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
always

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
yes

50. How did you get your worst scar?
um Woz brother was fighting with me to get in the front of his car and it had just rained.  i lost all traction on my shoes n down on my knees... (i was in a skirt)

So I had finished talking to mike and he was going to bed, so i started to read a book, all of a sudden my phone vibrates and theres a text message from him so i check my computer to find that he had signed on again and had something important to tell me.  He aced his abstract math test and currently holds a A in the class.  Im just so proud of him!  He has really stepped it up this year and its paying off.  He has def been wicked stressed these past few weeks and its been awesome that its paid off.  I love him so much! I can't describe how proud i am of him.  Hes is almost done, this week is his last week of classes and then its finals week, then graduation on the 18th.  The next few weeks will be a whirlwind, but so far hes kicked ass this semester and im just so proud of him!

My old PI is moving!!! steve is moving his lab to Flordia... thats sad  :( i can't drop in at BC anymore to say hi, but i guess the good thing is that the move means his wife also got a position down there.

ok thats it

Im so excited! i get to see mike on friday! its only been 3 wks but i miss him like crazy!  I plan on making this as much as a vacation as i can for him.  He's been so STRESSED recently...hes been an on and off again ass, and he knows it cus everytime i tell him.  It sometimes frustrates me and puts me in a bad mood, especially if hes in a bad mood.  I get influenced by peoples moods very easily so there was a time like 2 wks ago i had to tell him that i couldn't talk to him because he put me in a bad mood and that he should talk to me when hes in a better mood.  I felt horrible because i knew he was stressed, but i was in such a sour mood because of him.  A few days later he had a complete meltdown because of the stress.  Ive never seen him like that before.  Hes just hit a breaking point, via all the work and lack of sleep my poor mike has just hit a wall.  I wish i was back in boston to try n make things a lil easier for him, but im not... im 3000 miles away... so this weekend i decided to do what i can to make him relax a bit.  On his previous trips here, he has tried to get me to relax cus i had been soo stressed out and hitting that wall.  Well this time, this quarter is a lil easier for me, im def not stressed, and im spending way more time in lab :) therefore my goal this weekend is to do what i can for him.  Im gonna make him cheesecake and some type of dinner sat.  Im hoping to make saturday night just about us and make him put his math HW/studying away, have a nice simple dinner, dessert, a bottle of wine and a movie.  Just time for us to cuddle n talk n relax together.  I miss him so much and im so glad i get to see him soon,  I can't wait till end of may when hes coming for like a month! it will be amazing.  It will also mean that we will have slightly over a year left of being apart. 

As much as this long distance has sucked and still does, it has been a good challenge for our relationship.  A LDR is a make or break deal, and i think this has strangly made us closer.  This has made me realize how much I love him, and care for him.