I'm officially homeless. And it feels pretty great. Today is departure day, we'll see you all in August!

So exactly this time next week, I'll be gone. So will Justin, but not the rest of the entourage that we were expecting, it should be interesting. I'm excited, and actually feel about as prepared as I think that I will. Moving stuff sucks. After I get back, and eventually move somewhere, I don't want to move again for a really long time. Or, I want to have enough money that someone else can do it for me, or offer up a furnished place and buy new stuff. I'm kidding, I just really don't like moving stuff.

Q. What does a bee sit on?

Wow.

Any advice on how to sleep through the night?

Pizza for dinner, pizza for breakfast. It has fruit on it, so it is kind of breakfast like. Covers some food groups. We are officially within one month of the big trip and two weeks of the Mexico "slave-labor" (as Brian likes to call it) trip. I am starting the freak-out phase. Mostly because I have to start moving my stuff out of the apartment, but can't take it to my dad's, where most of my other stuff is. The spread is probably going to be about 50% of my stuff at dad's, 30% at mom's, and 20% at the Fortress. I can't wait to have it all together in one place. It will be like reuniting long lost friends. My socks haven't seen my PS2 in forever, it's going to be romantic.

In case you all were wondering, a line drive to the quad doesn't feel too great. But hey, I still got the out. But I do have a large bruise on my left leg, just above the knee. I'm talking big and purple and dark blue, I'm dreading the yellowish-green phase. But as I was leaving the gym today, a couple guys started talking to me, and one of them thought that my large, ugly bruise was a tattoo, "I thought it was weird, maybe a cloud or something, but whatever." Thus proving my theory of wearing headphones to the gym, if you do, people don't talk to you, if you don't, they do. Too bad my iPod is at the Fortress. F it, maybe I'll just wear the headphones and pretend that they're plugged into something.

Also, Ashley watered the plants in the shower. That makes me giggle, yet is quite efficient.

I also have a growing concern for the fact that when we get back from our adventure this summer, I will be homeless, unless I want to live with Mama Bear (and Hic Fiance Bear and Kids). I'll have to figure something out.

Happy Birthday to Brian!!!

Also, I have successfully made a batch of rumsicles (rum + the versatile otter pops) and they shall be consumed with frozen alcoholic delight :)

Went to see Take the Lead tonight. It makes me want to dance, and excited for the summer. I'm hoping for some hot latin dancing. Yum.

On another note, I polished my shoes tonight. It was pretty exciting.

Thanks Guillermo, pretty interesting little test. It has a really good user interface.

Also, if you scroll over the colors, it tells you what they mean.

Pirate party tomorrow. Be there or be [ ](that's supposed to be a square, but it looks more rectangular than anything else. ) Bring $$ to give to us though, it is a benefit of sorts.

No work today (jury duty), tomorrow (awesome), or Sunday (awesome-er), and two gallons of rum in my car. I'm totally psyched for this weekend.

March on.

I went to the immigration march yesterday, to support my co-workers and friends, and to be there. It was pretty great. There was no conflict, everyone was there to support each other, I was impressed. Of course I donned my peaceful white shirt. To sum up my feelings on the issue, I will give you snippits of conversations that I've had with people in the last week.

Conversation #1(with Nichole at work, discussing how the restaurant was going to handle it, and the thought that the cooks might get fired if they don't show for their shift)
Me: Do you really think that that is a good idea?
Nichole: Think about it, for every Mexican that doesn't want to work, there's one at home who does.
Me: But they DO want to work, that's the whole point.

Conversation #2 (with my mom, she was shocked to find out that I was going)
Mom: Well, some people say that they contribute to the economy, but they are making money, and sending it home to their families, and they don't even pay taxes.
Me: Whoa, whoa, whoa. They do pay taxes. They do.
Mom: How? That doesn't make sense.
Me: They get paychecks. When they are filling their paperwork out at their new jobs they don't say "I don't need to pay taxes because I'm an illegal immigrant". They pay taxes.
Mom: I..
Me: Do you want my friend Armando's number? You could talk to him about it, he was just struggling trying to figure out his tax return.
Mom: Well, not all of them do.
Me: Neither do all Americans. [Yes, I understand that the ratio of those who pay to those who don't is not equal between legal and illegal residents]

Conversation #3 (with Carl, about the jobs that they do)
Me: Think about California's[where Carl is from] agriculture. Do you think that that economy would survive without those workers?
Carl: I'm sure that they would figure something out. They'll find a way.
Me: Yeah, but not for the pay that they're offering.
Carl: Exactly, people will be getting paid a decent amount for the work.
Me: They'll be overpaid, our cultures have a very different work ethic. People will do less work and get paid more money. Don't get me wrong, I think that the workers should get paid more, but the same people who want whites picking their oranges want to pay $1.19 a pound for them, and it just isn't going to happen.

Conversation #4 + 5(me thinking to myself and getting mad)
Me: Wow, so people think that it isn't ok for immigrants to come work for $5.15 an hour, that they are keeping the minimum wage low, but those same people think that it's perfectly fine for us to send our work off to other countries, like India, and pay less than federal minimum wage for their labor. Wow. [angry face]

Me: They want to ship 12 million immigrants back home, but they don't understand that they'll just come back. Yes, we have a problem with illegal immigration. But to fix the problem, we have to assess the cause of it, and make changes there. If my teeth were yellow, yeah, I could get white strips and whitening gum and toothpaste, but they would just turn yellow again unless I cut back smoking and drinking coffee[two habits that I don't actually have]. Seriously.

I was reminded of that last thought when we were walking yesterday and a group was all holding onto a large American flag [like when we used to play parachute with the big orange tarp-like thing] and chanting:
"Aqui estamos, "We are here,
y no nos vamos, and we aren't going[anywhere]
y si nos sacan, and if they take us
nos regresamos." we'll come back."

Also, I'm a bit sunburnt. Again.

The Wedding...
A small selection of the many pictures of a beautiful day.

Off to Cali...

Josh + Jo = 4 eva!

As much as I hate it, I had to do it. Kisses, and see you kids soon!

Gotta love good hair days.

WTF?

University of Germtopia is on spring break and my respiratory system is Daytona Beach.

Back from Vegas in one piece. Although I may now have lung cancer. Wow, it's smoky there. And if you are a young girl planning on going with other young girls, you might want to avoid March Madness weekend. It's like a shark's feeding tank walking through the sports book areas of the casinos. But it was fun fun fun. Pictures to follow.

I may have one-upped you on this one G. I may have quit a job over an aversion to hangers. Haven't decided yet.

I like the dentist. That may be weird, but I do. I like going there. Good times.

Vegas or bust. I'll see you all when I get back.

So I woke up with a sore throat this morning. You might be wondering why this is significant. Well for the past two weeks, up until the last about two days, I have had "the death". "The death" seemed to be easing up, just for it's second cousin, "the really annoying follow up cold that wont be as bad, but you'll probably be just as miserable," to swoop in. But I don't work a double today! Woohoo! And I was supposed to get up at 5:30 a.m., but I didn't wake up, and got to sleep in! Double Woohoo!

If anyone wants to defy "the death's" second cousin and go to the baseball game tonight, holla' at yo' girl. Or call me, because I don't particularly take to people hollaring at me.

My sandwich this morning was wonderful. I actually ate it a few minutes ago, at 1:45ish, so it wasn't really this morning, but it feels like it, so therefore it is. Four commas in that sentence, impressive. But a Boca burger on Beyond Bread? I mean, all the alliteration, you can't go wrong!

I don't really know where I'm going with all of this, but have a lovely soy filled Monday!