I haven't been at home on the first day of school in 18 years. Considering I graduated in 2005, I thought August 28, 2006 would feel like every other day. After all, I wasn't enrolled last year at this time, either. I still lived in Edinboro, though, so I tricked myself into thinking that I was still a college student whose classes were cancelled ( Read more... )

I returned home last night after a 10-day vacation that hit every high, low and frustration possible in a family trip. The aspects of the vacation that I had dreaded, however, actually turned out to be the most enjoyable, while the parts that I had anticipated resulted in irritation and physical and emotional drainage. Luckily I could recouperate ( Read more... )

Besides being extremely challenging medically, I am also a hospital snob. I despise small-town hospitals -- I only go to them when I need a minor prescription or flu shot -- and am only comfortable in big-city, tersiary-care institutions. In addition, I prefer that the center be a teaching hospital, as I possess a fondness for residents dating back ( Read more... )

The sleep study did not go as expected. First of all, I stayed the entire night -- 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. -- instead of failing and being home by midnight as I had planned. Secondly, I used the BiPAP/CPAP. Finally, I did not enjoy the new machine at all ( Read more... )

I’m a medical nightmare. I have been since the moment I was born a ball of dislocated hips and shoulders, and I will continue to be until these hips and shoulders finally collapse. But until that day, it seems one of my life's purposes is to torment the medical industry. I won't list examples of past experiences right now, but know that I'm a ( Read more... )

Backstory: Yesterday, Aaron went to Chuck E. Cheese for Kai's seventh birthday. As I tried to repress my own childhood memories, his trip inspired this entry.

Top 5 Reasons Why Rachel Hates Giant Italian Mice

5. The Prizes - Ain't nothin' like a giant (larger than you) stuffed Panda to say, "Yes, you are that freakishly small."

4. Whack-A-Mole3 ( Read more... )

Today I visited NYU.edu. I hadn't been to the site in several months. Until today, I had pre-determined that Columbia was the only graduate school in NYC for me. People have advised me to "not put all of my eggs in one basket," etc., but I haven't listened. I tell them NYU was my undergrad dream; Columbia is my future. But these warnings weren't ( Read more... )

The county fair was this week. Despite being born and raised in rural western Pennsylvania, I consider myself a city girl. But for some reason when the fair's in town, I'm never more happy to be a country bumkin ( Read more... )

Everything is happening at once. Everything is happening so fast. Pretty soon it will all be over ( Read more... )

God, this weekend blows. I've been miserable both yesterday and today. Everything I've done, I've done begrudgingly, and the one thing I want to do more than anything is repeatedly impeded ( Read more... )