Summer Time

You know the drill.

Old blog: http://mhsp06.blogspot.com

New blog: same blog time. same blog place.

"Everyone told me to pass on Speed because it was a 'bus movie.'" (Sandra Bullock)

"Happy Endings" - All-American Rejects

Half Marathon

Friday afternoon, right after the pchem final, Alicia and I headed out to Nashville. We got our race packet at the Convention Center, met up with Jenn Mann, and headed to Hendersonville to stay with Jenny. After a wonderful Olive Garden dinner, we came back to Jenny's and were in bed by 10:30.

The early bedtime was because we had to get up at 5 am to get ready for the race. We left her house by 5:45 and got to Centennial Park around 6:15. Up until the race we had to wait in line for the restrooms, so when 7am rolled around, we were barely in line to get started.

All week I had been trying to eat well, stay completely hydrated, and I really think it paid off. Usually I have something go wrong when I run (knees, hips, or some random cramp), but Saturday morning I felt great. I signed up to run it in 2 hours, and I ended up finishing it in 1:50:16. This was about 8:23 min/mile, not too bad considering we didn't really train for this thing. Of course Alicia showed everyone up finishing in 1:37:22 (7:24 min/mile) and getting 10th in her age group. I probably could have had a better time, but because I started at the 2 hour pace, I had to pass hundreds and hundreds of people, which took time. I'll know better next time. I finished in the top 5% in both my division (73 of 1352) and among all the females (381 of 9209) who participated!

the fearsome foursome
Jenny finished in 1:56:47 and Jennfier in 2:08:37.

my summer running partner

my school running partner

After showers at Jenny's, we headed way across town to take naps at Mary Ann's (Jenny had a bridal shower at her house, so we decided to get out of her hair). We slept for over two hours, and it was wonderful (thanks Mary Ann!). We got dressed and headed back downtown for the free concert put on by the Country Music Marathon.

ready to rock

The headliner was Phil Vassar, who I wasn't too terribly excited about seeing, but who passes up a "free" concert (even though we paid $ to register for the race). Opening for Phil were the last three Nashville Star contestants and Cowboy Troy. Each of them only played 10 minutes each, and after a set change Phil came on around 8:45. Turns out, he has written some big hits for other people (including Tim McGraw and Jo Dee Messina). His concert was awesome, and I was very glad we stuck around for the show. We got back to Chattanooga around 1:30 last night.

"Do I look like a man?" (Alicia, after I asked her to carry a case of water... right in front of our transvestite cashier)

"I'll Take That as a Yes" - Phil Vassar

Knock Out

Thursday, I needed a break from finals, so I went with Andy (friend from racquetball) to hike around the Blue Hole. I would have gone with my usual hiking partner, but she's decided that some Viriginia boy is more important... :) Anyway, it was so cold (in the 50's when I woke up) but it was so gorgeous outside. I can't wait to come back in August, when the water's warm.

Andy, the great navigator

a fun log to climb down

he had to one-up me

so gorgeous

Go Sox!

hesitation before making the plunge in the freezing water

cannon ball

after hearing Andy scream like a girl after getting in,
I had to really think about whether I wanted to do this or not

I can't be out done

Well, unofficially, I have knocked out this semester's classes. Spanish and Western Humanities II were never of any concern, but pchem II and micro had me worried for a little while. That American Chemical Society Physical Chemistry final (covering thermodynamics, kinetics, and quantum theory) ended up going quite well for me. The thermodymamics part was from pchem I, and he graded the final two ways (with and without this section). My raw score was 38 out of 60, which sounds awful, but 20 of those questions were stuff from pchem I that I didn't even look at. On the grade sheet he had a column for the national percentile (how I did relative to the rest of the nerds in America), and I was at 75%! My curved final exam grade was 96 giving me a 100 average at the end of that class.

The level of effort I put forth into my micro final exam depended on how I did on the practical lab final in there. I went to Dr. Spratt's office today and learned that I made 150/150 which is the first perfect score on a micro lab final in the history of his class (and he's been around for a while, haha). I was stoked to learn that. So now, I can completely bomb the final exam, halfway do my paper, and still have an A. So in case you can't tell, I'm having a good day.

Yesterday afternoon I had lunch with Amanda, Alicia, and her new man, Jeremy. I had to check this guy out and see if I approve. Let's just say he's better than Alicia's last male-interest.

Tonight, we had a thanks-for-starting-the-team-and-coaching-us dinner for Beth at Chili's. Next year, it's all up to Laura, Alicia, and I to run things. We'll see how that goes...

"I am the greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round!" (Muhammad Ali)

"Mustang Sally" - ZZ Top

Waiting

I have my post from this past weekend written up and ready to publish, but I am waiting on half marathon pictures from Jenny. To keep you on the edge of your seat, here's the main topics of my next post: hiking (pictures), half marathon (pictures), and end of the semester grades.

"How much of human life is lost in waiting." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" - Jack Johnson

Eight Days

In eight days, I will be done with this semester! Since I made it through today alive (more on that later), I have a fairly decent week, considering it's finals. Here's what's going on in my classes for the rest of the semester.

- Micro lab: done
- Pchem lab: done
- Western Humanities II: done; I get to use my highest test grade twice instead of taking a final (would have been on Monday)
- Spanish II: final Thursday; I can make a 55 on the final and still have an A
- Pchem: ACS final on Friday; it will be a super hard test, but because I made a 104 on my last exam, I can make like a 70 on the final and keep my A
- Micro: paper due and final on Tuesday

Last week was crazy, and I just kept telling myself I'd be ok once I got through Monday. Well, it's Monday evening, and I'm very relieved. I had my last Western Humanities II test today (made a 105), and I also had a huge pchem lab project / oral presentation. I certainly hope I did ok on my project, but I know it wasn't my best work. I'm just glad it's over. I'll find out tomorrw how I did.

Henry came down Friday, and we went to the chemistry banquet that evening. The banquet went well; I was recognized for my research, that scholarship I was awarded, and being a member of Gamma Sigma Epsilon. Later that evening, we went downtown to watch Scary Movie 4. I enjoy movies that make fun of other movies, so it was entertaining. We came back and watched The Big Green with Alicia to get pumped for Saturday's game.

Saturday we had our last club soccer game of the semester against Georgia Tech. I casually mentioned to Dr. Santiago about the game while we were at the banquet, and he actually showed up! He used to play when he was younger, so I'm pretty sure he had a good time watching.

As far as the game is concerned, they got up on us 2-0 by halftime. In the second half, there was a corner kick at our goal, I had to come back and guard my defender (it sounds backwards, but it makes sense, I promise). Since I thrive on fast breaks past the defenders (as a forward), Jenny (our other forward) suggested that I stay back around midfield while she covered my girl. They took a shot, and Beth (goalie) quickly came up with it. She punted it to me, and I headed it over my defender. This set me up with a fast break right towards the goalie. I usually choke in these situations, but not this time, and we got our first goal. Laura scored our second goal, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Henry got some great pictures during the game...

...two seconds later... GOOOOOAL

Alicia's praying mantis shot

Laura's on the ground here, but she's the one who scored this goal...
It was awesome!!

the 2006 club soccer ladies

Saturday evening, Henry and I went to Macaroni Grille and then saw Inside Man, which wasn't half bad. We came back and watched While You Were Sleeping. I recorded it a long time ago, and neither of us had seen it before. I love Sandra Bullock, so of couse I liked the movie.

Sunday, I made Henry get up and run with me. I won't go into details, but know that I ran six miles. We had lunch at McAlister's, and then he had to get back to Mississippi for a hockey game. The rest of my Sunday was spent working on my project and studying.

Tonight, because I don't have anything this week until my Spanish final on Thursday, I went to see Firewall with Laura at the $2.50 theater. We're both cheap, so it was the perfect event. It's easy to tell when my semester is winding down: I watch a lot of movies.

Saturday is the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville. Alicia and I will be heading up Friday afternoon to stay with Jenny (on the club soccer team; also running the race). Jennifer Mann is running as well, so she'll be staying with us Friday night. To prepare for the big race, Alicia, Jenny, Joel, and I will be running 9-10 miles in tomorrow morning. So basically by 11 am Saturday I will have run 30 miles this week, haha.

"I want you... not to be unhappy..." (Jack, While You Were Sleeping)

"To Make Her Love Me" - Rascal Flatts

United We Stand

Today was a pretty good day. Nothing overly exciting happened until tonight at our intramural soccer match. The physical therapy girls had to forfeit the first game, because they didn't have enough players. We still scrimmaged them to get warmed up for the championship game against The Green Team. Before the game, we overheard these girls already talking about how they were going to get T-shirts and their picture on the website. So basically, they were already counting on creaming us. Well, things went a little differently than they had planned. Our passes were good, we were hustling, and we were finally talking to each other like we should have been all along. Laura took a long shot from outside, and I was on the front post. I tapped her ball just enough to mislead the goalie and get our first goal. They scored before the half to tie things up, but it shouldn't have been a goal. We were mad at their attitude all game, so we were determined to pull this thing out. About midway through the second half, Alicia was headed to the goal towards a defender and then dumped it off to me right in front of the goal. I shoot. We score. The game ended 2-1; Team United out on top.

what's up...

So for those keeping tabs, United played every team sport available at UTC. Of these, we were intramural champions of softball, football, and soccer; and we came up short in basketball and volleyball. While we didn't get our intramural sweep like we had hoped, winning 3 of 5 team sports isn't half bad.

The Green Team was comprised of girls who played at the colligate level at UTC. This is why we were not favored to win, even though it was obvious that was a poor assumption. Keeping with the underdog theme, Alicia and I watched Little Giants tonight. Sometime this week we also plan to watch The Big Green and Mighty Ducks. This semester is definately all about the childhood movies.

I finally got a grade for my English paper I turned in a few weeks ago. I got an A, and she has said if we would rather use our first paper grade twice instead of doing a second paper, then we can. So, I will most definately not be writing another paper for that class. I'll take my A and focus on the other reports, papers, and exams I have to worry about.

"There goes my shot at the Pros. Now I have to be a senator." (Hanon, Little Giants)

"Beautiful Disaster" - Kelly Clarkson

Keep Cool, My Babies

I know... it's been a week... chill out.

Five points if you know where my title comes from.

I was going to post Thursday, because it was just a great day. I didn't have time, and I didn't have access to the internet long enough to post while I was at home.

But before I go into how great Thursday was, I should update you on intramural soccer. We played against the rest of the club team Monday. We won, but it wasn't entirely fair because not all of the club girls showed up. Wednesday we were scheduled to play "The Green Team" which is comprised of ex-UTC's team girls (those who quit or are graduating seniors). For some reason, they didn't show, so we just played some of the CSC guys again. The tournament starts tomorrow, and we play the physical therapy girls.

back: Kaitlin, Alicia, Beth, Leanne
front: me, Laura
(this is our entire team; we have one sub)

Thursday I took my last micro exam until the final. I felt pretty good about it (which usually means I choked), but I'm just glad it's over (1). In micro lab, after a month of running tests, researching online, and worrying crazily about it, I finally guessed my two unknown bacterial cultures. You should know that the penatly is 20 points off of your grade each time you guess incorrectly. That's scary enough, but to know of several people who were wrong only added to my anxiety. I was certain I knew what they were. There were no other options. I turned in my guesses: Citrobacter freundii and Micrococcus luteus... I was right! Not only did I get them right, but I did it in only seven tests, which means I get 5 bonus points (2). I was supposed to go into the research lab Thursday and do a protein assay, which would have made it very difficult to study for my Spanish test at 4:30. We had a miscommunication, though, and Dr. Santiago had already left for the weekend. So I got the afternoon off (3). Sa-weet! In addition, I went home that night, and I got to listen to my new music (4). A four hour drive doesn't seem so bad on a gorgeous day with hours of great music.

My elation ended when I got home, however. It was good to see the family, but when I got to my room, it was a wreck. Apparently, my brother and cousins thought it would be appropriate to just crash in my room. This included leaving trash, dirty dishes, and random junk out. I was furious. Every time I come home, I have to clean my room, because people think it's ok to invade my space. I spent the better part of Friday cleaning it up, getting it exactly how I want it when I come back after finals. Hopefully, I've found a way to stop this invasion: a lock. It's really sad that I have to lock my door when I go to school, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

I did a little bit of homework over the weekend. I managed to run both days I was home, which prevented me from being completely lazy. Last night, I ate Mexcian with Jennifer, Erin, Chuck, Ben, and Fitz. It was good to get out of the house and at least be moderately social.

Dad's doing alright, I guess. He's not in pain, but every time I go home, something else doesn't work like it used to. It's hard to get used to things always getting worse, but it's the nature of the beast, I guess. Brian's taking him to Nashville on Tuesday to get his high-tech wheelchair. That should make things easier on him.

I got back this afternoon in record time. Traffic was great, it was wonderful outside, and again, my music kept me entertained. Alicia and I ran a little over 5 miles today, and man was it hot! We have less than two weeks to get used to this heat or else we're SOL.

This week isn't too bad. I have a pchem lab report due tomorrow, a micro lab final Thursday, and a pchem exam Friday. Included with the pchem exam is three chapters of homework I have yet to start... oops!

Somehow, the month of May, which I usually spend relaxing (no school or work), has been transformed into a very busy four week period. Here's what my schedule looks like until the end of May. I guess I'm taking that whole idle hands quote to the extreme, haha.

[click to see the craziness]

"For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." (Isaac Watts)

"Mayberry" - Rascal Flatts

Shower

Today was Claire's bridal shower. We went over to her house, snacked, played some games, and got to see all the goodies she got. Her wedding is May 21 in North Carolina. Don't worry, we'll be taking a road trip to see this chick get hitched! :)

my fashion skills came out in designing
a lovely two-ply wedding gown

our dress didn't win :(
(Kaitlin's disappointment is very evident)

I don't know why Claire asked for the Arby's mascot, haha

the bride-to-be and me!

After the shower, Alicia and I ran. It was awful; I got a massive pain in my upper abs which prevented me from breathing properly. I'm guessing it's due to a combination of three things: (1) I hadn't consumed enough water, (2) the last time I ran was that race over a week ago, (3) I just got over strep last week. The first time back running is always painful, though. The half-marathon is less than three weeks away!

I will be completely done with this semester in three and a half weeks. The few weekends I have left are jam-packed. Next weekend, I'm going home for Easter, the following weekend Henry is coming to town (the chemistry banquet and our soccer tournament are also that weekend), and the last weekend I'm here is the half-marathon in Nashville. I will be quite busy these next few weeks of school.

Tonight, as a means of procrastination (which I am increasingly becoming better at), Alicia and I met Reece for dinner at Chili's. I used to dislike that restaurant, because they didn't have anything on the menu I liked. That was like five years ago, though, and now I really enjoy going.

For those who haven't aquired it yet, Rascal Flatt's new CD is awesome. I haven't stopped listening to it! Speaking of music, I'm thinking of investing in an iPod in the near future. It's a big purchase, I know, but I'm pretty sure I'd get lots of use out of it.

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." (Thomas Huxley)

"Backwards" - Rascal Flatts

Ricki Lake and Jason Biggs

This is entirely random, and it is most definately the product of late-night channel surfing. However, I ran across a website that claims to take a picture of you and compare it to celebrities. It's so you can see who you look like. They claim to have thousands of celebrities on file, but the simple fact that they can do this is not where the entertainment lies for me. Since I have known Henry, people have randomly and consistently mentioned how we looked alike. I have always kind of seen it; I mean, we do favor one another in some ways. Tonight, however, this theory has been verified.

I started to notice a trend as I was entering in various pictures of myself and of people I knew. The first one I noticed was how Ricki Lake came up for both me and Henry. Observe...

Ricki #1

Ricki #2

Oh, it doesn't end there. Along with Ricki, there was another celebrity who he and I frequently had in common: Jason Biggs.

un-freakin...

...believable

Many of you may think this is stupid (which it is), but I think it is absolutely hilarious. Henry and I have just basically heard for six years that we look alike, and now we have technological proof!

"The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes." (William Davis)

"Never Knew" - The Rocket Summer

Paris Gals

Last night, Leighann came into town. She, Abby O, and I went to Ichiban for dinner. I love Japanese steakhouses. It is kind of pricey, but the food is great, and you get tons of it! After dinner, we went to the $2.50 theater to see Match Point. I had checked out the reviews before, and apparently critics and Yahoo! viewers liked the movie a lot. Well, I wasn't a fan. The story line was far fetched, the main character was a jerk, and the ending made me mad. Oh well, it was the only reasonable choice that was playing when we got to the theater.

The plan was to go hiking this morning, but the storms prevented that from happening. I've been telling Leighann for a few years that I could get her into the aquarium for free. I know a few people that work there and have had previous offers to get in admission free, but I have just never taken anyone up on the offer. My source will remain nameless, because I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but Abby, Leighann, and I got to go into both parts of the aquarium as well as see an iMAX show free of charge. In exchange, we bought "the source" a gift card to Chili's. I'm really glad we got to go. It's all about who you know! :)

Tennessee Aquarium

my girls!

Leigh giving Abby advice on the best way to pet the sting ray

I realize the next picture is blurry, but it was because I was surprised and laughing at the same time. The sting ray Abby was timidly trying to pet decided to jump out at her. It was great!

oh Abby!

Abby trying to catch a butterfly

turtles chillin'

what's up there?

:)

not much to say here except that
we three take some interesting pictures together

Leighann was excited!

again, I don't know :)

Tonight, I went to Las Margaritas with Crystal, Matt, Megan, and Sara. It was a mini-spring break reunion, haha. I tried a new dish this evening: chicken palata. It was good and also cheaper than my usual fajitas.

Megan, Sara, me, Crystal

This weekend is being devoted to further organizing and enlarging my MP3 CD music collection. I am so sick of my current musical collection, and I need some new stuff.

"Music is the medicine of the mind." (John Logan)

"Stand" - Rascal Flatts