dona pacem

kie: ithaca, the living room, only a blanket away from burning my genitals with the laptop.
kiel: that feeling you get when you've spent the whole day in the house.
kio: a movie on fox (the only choice): britannic it's not that great. in fact, it kind of sucks. but it's still on. yup.

it's been quite a while since i updated, and i've been through alternating periods of busy and not very busy at all.

october-february executive summary

october: homework abounds, sarah comes to ithaca for halloween. we make jack-o-lanterns and eat pumpkin seeds.

november: i apply for nsf fellowship (neglecting fluids in the process) and bomb the subsequent fluids exam. i get tapped to work in the delisa lab. my uncle lenny (grandmother's brother) suffers a stroke thanksgiving morning and passes the following day. he served in the pacific in world war ii. i play taps at the funeral on a borrowed bugle.

december: classes wrap up, finals ensue. i spend a good long time watching spongebob and poker on tv in the week before christmas. christmas dinner is at our house, but we buy the turkey on christmas eve. naturally, it is a solid block of ice. luckily, dad comes up with a clever way to thaw it out.



i go with brian and barrett and erik to montreal for new year's. fun but frenchy french. meanwhile alex breaks his ankle going for a layup.

january: larry eich, 21, my fourth cousin (whom i didn't really know) dies in a car accident when a drag racer crosses the median. i attend the funeral and contemplate mortality. home days conclude with me heading back to ithaca to start work in the lab. sarah comes to visit for my birthday and we watch 4 harry potter movies in a weekend. everything in lab is a little different, but mostly the same as before. classes start and i'm back in the swing of things.

februrary: my grandmother (the other one) falls and breaks her hip. a few days later she is in for surgery to remove her gall bladder (?). it's a very risky surgery. she makes it through surgery but succumbs in recovery. family comes together to say goodbye. i am ok. i sing at the mass. lots of driving in the past few weeks. today i stayed in bed pretty much the whole day (hung over). also, i updated my weblog.

this summary may not sound like the greatest few months on record, but i'm actually doing quite well. also, i didn't post this looking for sympathy messages. i considered (briefly) not mentioning the funerals but, i mean, they happened.

i wanted this to be an uber long entry with a part a: life update and part b: other thing but it's getting late. i promise a light-hearted, energetic entry in the near future.