• 10:10 Not appreciating this rainy weather! #
• 12:03 Not an email you want to get from your roommate: "...the vibration of the pipe next to the hall closet had broken the ceiling around it..." #

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Monday night, our Sculpture professor showed up. I was really happy, since it was the professor that I was hoping for -- the one many of my classmates had last semester and really loved. I think it is going to be a fun class. We received a list of lots of projects, and we get to choose three to work on. We can also propose our own projects.

Last night, I had Writing Across the Curriculum. It is GREAT!! I am really excited about it. It is not what I expected at all -- I guess I thought it would deal with the kind of writing teachers need to do -- curricula, unit and lesson planning, etc. However -- even better, it is about incorporating writing into classroom subject areas, which is something I really believe in! I think it is really going to be an outstanding class. Additionally yesterday the professor distributed journals that we need to use, and they were mostly just plain solid-colored notebooks. However, randomly, there was one BARBIE journal. That's the one I picked of course! (Hee hee!)

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I just got the news that my aunt is in the hospital after having signs that a heart attack was approaching. She had numbness in her arm, and she called my mom (who is a nurse). My mom advised her to go to the hospital immediately! She is in the hospital now and doing okay, but she is being monitored, and she has heart damage. I'm not sure I understand what that means, if there was an actual heart attack or if it was somehow prevented. Please keep her in your thoughts!

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Mayranna officially moved into the apartment last Friday, and she has totally made herself at home. It is great! She's even had friends come and visit. She has just started her student teaching, and it is right in Park Slope (more convenient to get to from out apartment than from Williamsburg -- where she had been living). She set up her room really cutely as well. I think she really likes it here. A good sign of a new roommate: I was out in the living room, playing my ukulele, and she came out of her room because she wanted to SING ALONG! :)

Additionally, inspired by me and Alexandra's ukes, Maryanna has purchased herself a red Mahalo. Now we are a primary-colored trio! It has not yet arrived but it'll be exciting when it does! What a musical apartment we shall have!

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This weekend I got to see Susan's new place. It is really cute! As we approached her apartment, I knew roughly where it was, but I didn't know exactly which building it was. I figured it out quickly when I recognized all of her plants in the window! Susan's new place has these strange and awesome features, including a laundry drying rack that opens up out of this compartment in the wall in the bathroom!!

I sushi'd with Aly on Friday, and then spent the bulk of Saturday cleaning my apartment. It was quite gratifying! :) That evening is when Alexandra and I picked up Susan and the three of us went to Justin's birthday arty. It was a lot of fun!

The following day, I actually slept LATE, and then worked on some stuff. I also went YARN SHOPPING at a little store in Park Slope, where they were having a "Superbowl Sale." (A yarn sale is the anti-Superbowl, I guess!) I met Kristen (my uke teacher friend) there and we yarn shopped in this itty bitty store for about an hour. I got some yarn so that I can make the "Kittyville" hat in the Stitch 'N Bitch book. I have always wanted to make that! This will be my first more-advanced knitting project. I am excited!

After getting yarn, I immediately headed into Manhattan and met up with Stacey who was in town visiting her boyfriend. We went to JOHN'S PIZZA, which is our favorite! It was a lot of fun hanging out and catching up! :) Overall an outstanding weekend!

In a strange-and-bizarre Twilight Zone-like coincidence, last night's professor was also a No-Show to "Writing Across the Curriculum." Unlike on Monday night, when we waited for 40 minutes and just made our own judgment call -- someone from the office came up and said she didn't know where this professor could be, that she is usually very prompt and reliable. She took our names after 30 minutes of waiting.

Anyway, I went home and instead of doing something productive, I just played a game with Alexandra and vegged out. I should have done laundry immediately upon arriving home, and cleaned the bathroom. But -- I didn't! Thursday I'll do it...

By the time I'd gotten home, Susan had completely moved out! I didn't even get to say goodbye!

Tonight is Linda's class. Fortunately, I know she'll be there.

In SAD NEWS, on Monday night my Yellow Betta (yet to be named) died. It was so sudden. He's been so shy and antisocial... It is possible that he never was well. Still -- ! A sad day for bettas.

In SQUID-RELATED news, my first Squid of the Month (from cleodee's shop) came today. Susan got me Squid of the Month for Christmas (it's the gift that keeps on giving!)! It is an Elvis-movie-watching squid, and it is amazing!!!

So last night I attended a meeting regarding an exhibition we're going to have in March -- a MA Art Ed students' show. Should be a good time! :) We have a good group of people planning and helping out. Not sure what I will submit, but I'm thinking of showing "Our Lady" again, since it would be exposed to an entirely new group of people. I can submit up to three works, so it might be fun to show my playing card as well. Must think about it! The show is only a week long, but I am excited for it.

After the meeting, I went to go to sculpture studio. When I got there, all of my classmates were sitting outside in the hall. We waited and waited and waited for 40 minutes, but he or she did not show up! Finally, we left a note and all signed our names and left it on the door. Too bad, I was looking forward to seeing what the class would be like. I was glad I went to the meeting beforehand, so I didn't go out to Brooklyn College for nothing!

Afterwards, since I got out "early," I shopped at Rite Aid, and purchased some Valentine's Day type things. Every year I put kiddie-style Valentines in my colleagues' mailboxes with some candies. This year, I got some VERY SPECIAL Valentines (shout-out to cleodee!), and I got some conversation hearts to go with 'em. I also got a small heart-shaped box of candies for Marguerite, from A. Augustus Healy. Now, A. Augustus just needs to make a card. :)

Also got cards for my parents, and a special card and candies for my Uncle Bob who is STILL having a rough time with his shoulder after a surgery he had last year. It sounds like he will be getting surgery again. I thought he deserved a little treat!!

Additionally, I got some new cleaning supplies because I want to do a BIG CLEAN before Maryanna's arrival on Friday. Today, Susan is actually moving out -- hopefully everything goes smoothly. I will be in class so I won't be around to see her off! :(

So, as of February 1, Susanbean is setting out to live in a one-bedroom apartment, and we are getting a new roommate, Maryanna. Maryanna is in my program at Brooklyn College (although she is one year ahead of me), and she is very nice and a super talented artist. She is taking over the SusanMasterSuite (the largest room in our apartment).

Susan is not even moving that far away, and the best part is, I know I will see her more, and just generally make plans to see her more (something I never really did when she was my roomie).

Anyhow -- I know that sounds like a big surprise, but I didn't really want to be posting about things or talking about it much until everything was finalized! So, yes! Finally finalized!

Susan and I are now beginning that daunting task of figuring out what belongs to whom. I am buying the couch and custom shelf we had built for the living room from Susan. Yesterday we did a Cutting Board Swap! Tonight I shall perhaps tackle the bathroom.

My dad has been building me a table for my apartment... I am really excited to be replacing the old one! Now I just have to figure out the TV set, VCR, and DVD player. Maybe Alexandra will want to buy those, since the couch and shelf are a big expense to me... I shall have to talk to her about that...

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In other news, here is a funny quote:

"I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks." -- Steve Martin.

It has been quite fun conceptualizing the living room with Susan and our new roommate, Alexandra. this weekend we BOUGHT FURNITURE!

Alexandra needed to get a bed and mattress. She had success finding what she needed! Also we have been couch-less since Jess moved out, so we got a new and beautiful couch (the color is called "broccoli" and it is made of microfiber -- touted as THE FABRIC OF THE FUTURE). We also got many book shelves. We're being cautious to each individually "own" (and pay for) separate things, even if they're communal. For example, the broccoli sofa is Susan's. One of the book shelves is mine. I will be providing table and chairs too (pending).

I am looking forward to seeing the room with all the new things in it before we make any other aesthetic decisions.

I am also looking forward to having someplace to sit!!

Susan and I hauled her Lazyboy style chair into the living room to be an additional seating device. It was funny because we sort of mooshed it throught the hallway. :)

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Our new family member is HERE! I got word that my cousin Max and his wife Kim went to the hospital yesterday night. This morning, I heard Kim was getting a C-Section (unplanned). Just now I heard that Sara Laine Galland was born at 10:13 AM (7 lbs). All are doing well!!! Yeah! This baby is going to be super stylin'. (I provided uber hip outfits at the baby shower!)

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I won a PINK NINTENDO DS LITE in Aly's Blog! It is in my posession NOW. It is really cute and cool! I got two games for it so far, Cooking Mama and Big Brain Academy. I have updated my Amazon.com wishlist to have other games I want! But! If anyone has a DS, and has recommendations of games, I'd love to hear them!!!

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I have my FIRST drawing class (after day 1 where we basically just got the syllabus) and I don't know what I should expect. I got a good head start on a drawing I'll work on in class today. I am hoping my other classmates don't bring in lots of other drawings that are "finished." I'm just bringing the one and it is certainly not finished!

Jessica has arrived!!

By tonight, I will be officially-officially moved-in to my new apartment!! (Email me if you need the new address; you know, if you wanted to send a fruit-basket or a flower-arrangement, or anything...)

All day yesterday was spent in Susan's parents' car, toting the boxed-up stuff back and forth from old-apartment to new-apartment. Today, my parents are coming with an industrial van and we are going to move the furniture.

w00t! (stress!) w00t!

, So I haven't really told you about my life in a while, so I thought I'd do that quickly.

I will be out of town for the next 10 days! Susan and I are going to St. Simons Island, GA! We will visit my fam and bask on the beach... and we will be beautifully tanned by the time we return (hopefully not sunburnt!) - just in time for our big move! I am excited!

Last Sunday, Susan and I walked 18 miles in preparation for our WALKATHON! We walked from our apartment to where our new apartment will be (we walked past ours and Andrew's new apartment -- which is a mere 2 blocks away!)... then we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, crossed it into Manhattan, then went to the Williamsburg Bridge and went back home. It took about 9 hours (which includes water/Gatorade-buying breaks, potty stops, and a lunch break), but it was very empowering! I felt all we-can-do-this!

Help me out and repost this link... I've still got some more fund-raising to do! Down with Breast Cancer!!
http://www.the3day.org/Boston06/alliegee

I never even wrote about out new apartment! On August 1, we will be moving to Prospect Heights! On July 1, we found a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment that is WALKING DISTANCE from the Museum! It is really amazing. The details of the place are stunning -- pretty tiles and light fixtures, new appliances, really nice details and beautifully painted walls... Everything is clean and fresh and bright! Jessica is going to be our third roommate. She and her cats, Frog and Toad, will be moving in late August. I am so excited for this move!

Another benefit of the move is that we are ALL going to be saving money. We have distributed the rent unevenly to reflect the differing sizes of the bedrooms. Susan has the Susan-Master-Suite, I have the Room-With-The-Nook, and Jessica has the Small-Five-Sided-Room. All of us will be paying less rent than our previous places, including Susan!

I have been trying to clean, pack, orgainze, and streamline my current apartment, so that Susan and I don't move with anything "unneccesary." We have both donated a lot of clothes to the Donation Bin! I have this desire to make my space look simple and less cluttered, and truly "adult." (It's hard when you have a Pez collection.) But, I am going to neatly pack away my Pez dispensers and other toys in favor of a more uncluttered, tasteful style. At least, that is my vision. :-) My room has a "nook" -- essentially, it is shaped like this:

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*                                     (nook)*
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The Nook is too small to have a piece of furniture in, except for maybe a chair... At the end of it is a window, so it gets light... So,I want to put something really interesting there... I continually heckle Susan with ideas: "Maybe I could hang a mobile in my Nook." "Maybe I could put my fish tank in my Nook." "Maybe Andrew could help me find some Tiny Furniture for my Nook." (Andrew's really talented with finding Tiny Furniture.)

Italian Ice Project Update:
9.) Vanilla Fudge Brownie

Either way, there are lots of things to look forward to. My Georgia trip (tonight!), the move (July 29-30, we hope!), the WALKATHON (Aug. 4-5-6)... Yeah!!!!!

I'm way-way more proud of this little girl than I can ever-ever say!

I like a boy! ♥!

I'm going to move and it is going to be cool. Apartment hunt. Tally ho!

I will miss being around the corner from the Country Club.

I have conceived of another custom-made crocheted invention. It's a caddy. For guitar-picks. A guitar-pick-caddy, if you will. Must experiment.

Banana ice pops are the shizzz.

Susan thought our fish Paul5 had died, but really he's just been swimming upside-down for months.

I am super-excited about sleeping in my-own-bed!

Here I go! Wheeeee!

Doris and I are taking a ROAD TRIP to Montreal this weekend! I cannot wait! We are going to visit Daphne, and according to emjayne (who I am looking forward to seeing!), it is a big party weekend in Montreal! We had no idea when we planned this trip! This happens to be Doris' break, and so this will be a great time for us to hang out before she is going to be insanely busy.

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Jessica, Doris, and I visited another cupcake establishment, Babycakes. Home of the FROSTING SHOT ($1). I owe you an update on that, which will most likely occur sometime next week.

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There has been NO NEWS about my job.

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The BIG news, I suppose, is that I am going to be moving on August 1! In an odd twist-of-fate, Susan discussed the possibility of it with me on Saturday. The on Monday, we received a notice that our rent was increasing by $200. It sealed the deal! We are looking for a bigger place that is cheaper and closer to our respective works. We are also excited because we're going to look for a place with more bedrooms and get at least two more roommates. So far we are pretty sure we have Susan's friend Taylor and Taylor's friend Jenn. I've met Taylor and I like her a lot (she likes baking and art-things!). Jenn is an unknown, but I think she is probably cool because she has a trundle bed.

Next Wednesday (upon my return from Montreal), we will all have a BBQ together and discuss things related to the move. Taylor will be away fro most of the summer, and so will Jenn--so Susan and I will have the biggest responsibility in apartment-hunting, and we want to make sure we consider everyone's wants and needs!

I hope everyone will like my fish!

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So, lots of excitement!

Happy Birthday to Susanbean! She turned 22 yesterday and we did it up proud, first going to a restaurant (Sushiden), then going to the Rainbow Room for drinks (Bellinis) and dessert (crepes with cream inside and raspberries and homemade vanilla ice cream on the side). I got her some fun presents and lots of people remembered her day, so that was nice for her!

My birthday was super-great as well. Thanks, everyone, for all your nice messages and well-wishes! :-) I felt very special!! After work, I met Susan and she took me uptown where we had techno-sushi (Yes, sushi and techno music... together at last!) - we had a Sweet Potato Roll and also a Chilean Sea Bass Roll, plus one that had lobster. It was super yummy! :-) Afterwards, we went to Cafe Lalo for coffee and dessert. We chose to have chocolate fondue. It was so great! it came with allt hese fruits, fresh and dried, for dipping! Yummm!

Our apartment is AMAZING. It is really starting to look like home. Over the weekend, Susan and I went to Jersey to celebrate my birthday with my parents, and to also do some apartment shopping. We got all kinds of good things. Too many to list here, right now. (Soon, soon...) Best of all, we got some IKEA furniture that we love, and we are calling it by its Swedish name. There's the Norbo (wall-mounted drop-leaf table) and the Pimpla (wine rack) and the Vanern (medicine cabinet) and the Johan (entertainment center). We love them!

I am really sporadic in posting because I have to do so at work, which makes me feel terrible... So I just wanted to say a little HELLO, and let you know that I'll be sporadic for another week or so. (Should be getting the Internet at home on the 22nd.)

WE STILL DO NOT HAVE GAS for our stove. I am getting frustrated. We are supposed to get it the 15th. Let's see if it actually happens!!! Grr! Thank goodness we have a microwave!

Today after work I will be going to my NEW little home in Brooklyn!

At approximately 5:30 PM I will arrive in my neighborhood and meet Miss Susan at a coffeeshop by our place. We will then head over to the gas station to retrieve our keys. We will drop off whatever things we have with us. [For me, it will be a backpack, my briefcase/bag, my bag containing "work shoes," and an amaryllis plant named Susan (not to be confused with the roommate).]

Once we have done that, we will get some Chinese food and eat it picnic-style on the floor. It will be awesome. We will then change (if we haven't already) into scrubby clothes and begin cleaning things that look like they need it.

At approximately 8 PM, Ryan will be coming to help us move. ALso my parents will be driving over with a van full of stuff, including my bed, my desk, my dresser, and more. Hopefully they'll also have my four fishes, too.

Once we unload the van, we will head over to Susan's and get her large items (bed, bicycle, etc.) and bring them to our new place.

We will sleep over! Exciting! ExtremeApartmentMoving2005!