Boston -- lots of people and little time to write

I look forward to the days when I'm not so emotional.  Who knows when that will be.  Sigh...

Between Dad's progress, school, and now work I feel like I get no rest.  I'm basically not sleeping, and yet I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be.

Today (well, now yesterday) Dad went home after three awful months -- months I hope I never have to repeat.  I am astute enough to realize that at some point I probably will have to relive them, either with my own family or another, but I hope it's a while yet.  Dad still has a long way to go, and was never long on patience, but in the midst of his confusion and pain I hope he realizes what he needs to do.  My recollection of him is that he was always good at prioritizing important tasks -- I hope that's still in him somewhere.

Today my Hebrew Bible teacher tearfully announced that her husband has bladder cancer and is having surgery pretty immediately.  I wanted to hug all 80, bony pounds of her so badly.  I cried on the shuttle all the way to work.  Her lecture today was emotional, and afterward I wanted to tell her about what was going on in my life, and that God was still a god of miracles and love and comfort.  I may still send her a note -- I don't know if that's creepy and weird.

Tonight I went out with some friends and had a wonderful time.  I'm fairly certain that my worries of finding friends were misguided, nevertheless they were real at the time.  I hope I get to introduce them to people at home at some point -- I'm not one who likes to live with separate but equal friend groups.  I think MLK Jr. would be okay with that, but I have yet to get into his papers to research it.

I really need to sleep, after all, tomorrow (well, today really) is another day, and I have to be at work at 8:30am.  Yay...

To all of you who I don't get to talk to frequently, which is most of you, know that I love and miss you.  I hope your lives are as blessed as mine has been of late!

Giggling Gems #11: I sense a theme

This is from 7th grade.  The first year my best friend attended public school with me.

*Sam*
Hi!  How are you doing.  I'm Really board.  I'm in Mr. Rossetter's room!  That should tell you something.  (Mr. Rossetter was a very nice man but his classroom management skills were somewhat lacking.  His class was on the 2nd floor of the building and he kept his excess text books on a shelf by the windows in the back of the room.  He also liked to sit the worst behaved kid in class in the back because he said he knew the bad kids always sat in the back so he remembered to keep and eye on anyone in the back, yet it always surprised him when someone would return the books that were dropped out the window.)   I would have written on a whole piece of paper, but I only had a half a piece.  (It's the bottom half of a piece, in case you were wondering.)  We are reading the story of Scrooge.  The movie's almost the same.  It's boring.  I have Ec. next.  Mr. Ross is soooo boreing.

*?:)#,
Maggie
Y?

I had Mrs. Rossetter in 11th grade for English.  She was great.  She had a glass eye and liked to stand on her head.

Giggling Gems #10: My really good buddy

Catch the first one with the explanation of what the heck this is here.

10-2-97
*Maggie*

Waz ↑ with U?  I'm glad we have one other class together besides stupid band.  Taddington Square is really boring, don't you think?  (Middle school band music is boring.)  Maybe sometime you can come to one of my volleyball games and then spend the night afterwards.  Maybe this next Friday.  I don't know.  I'll ask my dad.  Sit by me on the bus going to the high school.  Well, write me back something sometime.  I'll see you Monday at Life Science if you don't have Mr. Ingalls.

Your friend,

Samantha

P.S. Your my

really good

buddy!

Apparently I wasn't such a good buddy back.  :'(  Sadness follows...

*Maggie*
Thanks for coming to our volleyball game yesterday.  And also for sitting over with me behind the 8th grade bench.  Your my really good buddy.  I'm glad I get to come over to your hay-ride on Halloween.  It will be pretty awesome.  (They were.)  I hope Coach Clines doesn't make us run a lot in practice after school!!  Please don't laugh at any-more of Bo Cowell's stupid jokes about the volleyball teams.  (I laugh at almost anything, including when I'm uncomfortable.  I can also a little inconsiderate...  Don't know which one this was, but I feel bad about it now.)  I don't know how you can stand him.  He is so rude!  Don't you get mad when he says you are an elephant instead of a girl.  That makes me mad, because he's making fun of one of my friends.  (Actually, when people make that much fun of you you kind of get used to it.  But even though I don't remember this, it feels good now to know that someone had my back.)  I won't laugh at him anymore if you don't.  It really hurts my feelings when he cracks stupid jokes like that about the team!  I'm glad you're my buddy!!!  (I'm grateful you were my buddy.  I don't think I realized the loyalty involved at the time.)

Have fun the rest of the day!

Your buddy,

Samantha :)

I'm pretty sure I earned that stern talking to.

Giggling Gems #9: End of the School Year Edition

I think this came from a spiral notebook that we had to bring to the last day of 8th grade.  This was torn out of it, so apparently at some point in the past I chose to keep this and ditch the rest (except one from my infamous friend 'Samantha').

Maggie Moo,
Have a great summer & don't go
CRAZY!!
Stay the same!  What Don't every loose your funniness or I'll have to hurt you.   (That seems a bit harsh.)  Don't do anything Dumb (I'm a real good one 2 talk) so have fun & smile & Don't forget me!
*heart* Amy
P.S. Call me 859-5555

*drawing of a happy face* *drawing of a flower* *drawing of a sun with a cloud*

Ramen is once again a staple in my diet

Oh college food...how I haven't missed you...

Since I just paid my housing/insurance bill I am officially back on the ramen diet.  The school does a pretty good job of making sure we're fed at least once a day -- dates of free meals and where to find them on campus are posted next to the student lounge area in the theology building -- but for those other meals...

So here's my latest ramen creation.  It isn't terrible.

Main Ingredients:
1 package ramen
shredded cabbage
canned meat (your choice, I've been using salmon since that's what CVS had on sale)

Optional Ingredients:
V8
lemon or lime juice
Greek yogurt

I make the ramen without the spice packet because, let's be honest, who needs that much sodium and fake chicken flavor.  Also, fake chicken flavor is, in my opinion, the laziest fake flavor -- if everything tastes like chicken how hard is it to make imitation chicken flavor.  I digress.

Once you've made the ramen throw in your shredded cabbage and canned meat.  I also add lemon or lime juice for flavor.  Last week I had some V8 and the water was all the way down the hall so I used it instead of water.  Today I added Greek yogurt to make it creamy.  Neither were bad.

So that's what I've been up to.  If anyone has any other ideas to dress up ramen please send them my way...who knows what I'll do if I get really desperate...Craisins?