DONE!!!

I can't believe the day has finally arrived. I made it through finals alive (I won't say how close it was!), and I am now thoroughly enjoying summer vacation. Friday night we went to dinner with my penpal Becky, who I haven't seen since I was 8 years old. It was so much fun (and dinner was great; at Serafini in Frankfort), and I really enjoyed reconnecting with her. It's amazing how our lives have paralleled each other over the last decade and a half even though we've never crossed paths and have only stayed in touch by cards or letters a couple times a year. She lives in northern Indiana now, and I'd love to go up and visit her for a weekend this summer (since I'll have so much free time!), so I'll have to try and plan for that. Later Friday night, I went out to O'Shea's with everyone from my class, and it was a lot of fun to see everyone out and happy. I went to bed around 1:30 in the morning and slept soundly until 11 -- I can't remember the last time I got to sleep so late so guiltlessly!

Saturday I got a lot of cleaning and tidying done before going to the med school graduation. I served as a convocation marshal, leading the physician relatives and alumni in the procession. I looked great in a bright red robe, let me tell you, but the best perk was the reception afterward! Today Eric and I went to Cincinatti to see the Phillies against the Reds. It was the third game of the series, and we were hoping for a sweep, so we showed up in our matching Phillies shirts (dorky, yes, but fun!) and prayed for the rain to hold off -- or at least not be too horrendous. We were rewarded with patches of bright sunlight and a 2-1 win, courtesy of two Ryan Howard home runs. I'm not the hugest baseball fan, but I've learned a thing or two over the last five years with Eric (five years on Wednesday, actually), and I enjoy games. I'm happy we got to go to a Phillies game, because we had gotten used to going to a few games a year in Philly, and I was worried that moving to Louisville would cause a baseball dry spell for us. The Reds have a nice park, though, and I think we'll go again, maybe to see the Reds play someone we don't like so we don't have to stick out by cheering for the visiting team :P

I am so excited about this week: a few meetings here and there, all the TV I want (the rest of the Grey's Anatomy finale is going to be crazy, as are Lost and Will & Grace), sleeping as much as I want, and going SHOPPING! I have not been to a mall, Old Navy, or even a Target in so many months, and I'm looking forward to just wandering around the aisles aimlessly... Friday we're going to go see The Da Vinci Code (I just bought advance tickets online today), and Saturday afternoon I'm heading home for a week before Eric's sister's wedding Memorial Day weekend. Oh by the way, I won a dress on eBay to wear to the wedding, and I should get it this week. You can see it here.

Lest you think my entire summer is going to consist of TV and bed, let me tell you what I'm actually doing this summer. Beginning the day after Memorial Day Monday, I start my research project. I'm working with a pediatric ER physician, doing a research project on heliox (helium-oxygen gas mixtures). I think it's going to be boring, but it'll be good for me, and I can do it on my own time, so I don't have to punch a clock. Flexibility is good, and as long as I get my work done, I'll be set. I have a feeling I may have written about this before, but I'm too lazy to go check. Not that too many people read this anyway -- although I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of my classmates enjoys reading about my misadventures; now, if only people would leave comments! Actually, I don't blame anyone for not reading this blog; it's just a stream-of-consciousness account of my life. It's like I'm afraid I won't remember anything two months from now, so I have to record it in detail. On the Internet. I don't go back and proofread my entries or anything like that -- me, the career copy editor. They're probably full of run-on sentences and bad punctuation. But that's OK, because for me, the reward is getting my thoughts out of my head. They don't make any sense no matter what; at least now they're recorded for posterity's sake. Speaking of which, I have not been able to speak English since probably Thursday afternoon. Words are getting jumbled, phrases are being butchered, and I can't form coherent thoughts. Just ask Eric -- it's pretty awful. I feel the same way I did when I came back from my summer abroad in Taiwan -- I couldn't speak English OR Chinese for about a month. Just gibberish. Now I can't speak English or medicalese, just something that approximates baby talk, which works for communicating with Moxie and Mojo, but not really anyone else.

That's enough for now; I'll post pictures of various things soon, when I get around to getting them from my camera. Of note: Moxie and Mojo have discovered the bathroom sink, and now like playing and sleeping in it. Weirdos. We have the wackiest cats, I swear.