To the lurkers among us:

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Dear Lurker,

You! Yes, you! The family member, friend or stumble-upon reader who visits this blog page every once in a while. I know you're there. I know you exist. You come ever so often to lurk around (ever so subtly), read what's going on in my life and then leave without a comment or a hello.

Well, I'll like to extend a hearty hello to you. Thanks for visiting! Leave a comment some time. (I actually enjoy reading and responding to them). And won't you come on back and visit real soon! (I know you will, 'cause you're nosey like that -- haha. just kidding ... or maybe you won't because this post has scared you off...)

I guess I'm really trying to say that I acknowledge you, dearest lurkers, and I get it.
(I lurk sometimes too.)

Thanks for visiting now. ツ

The Scenic Route

I absolutely love when my GPS takes me through the back roads (during the daytime, only). Connecticut is such a treasure. Unlike Philadelphia where there are houses and buildings filling up every open space, there is a lot of land in this little New England state.

Take my current graduate house for example, and the street that it's on: There are tons of trees and big yards. It's kind of reminiscent of Jamaica, but not quite.

So far, my GPS has taken me through two gem routes. The first is in a little town called Naugatuck. After church one day, I decided to take a drive to Walmart. I was tired of the one in town because that's where all the college kids shop and there's never really anything there. So my little GPS took me to this one. The scenery by the store was absolutely breath-taking. The store sits on top of a winding hill that looks down on rest of the town. It was beautiful. Also, the drive back home was great. I felt like I was in another world almost. The trees hung over the roadways like a super long archway.

The second  route is actually located on the same street as my university. Once again, I was trying to get to another Walmart in Wallingford, CT when it was discovered.  (haha. what is it with me and Walmart?) The scenery begins once you pass the campus (understatement, b/c the campus is just as beautiful AND there is a national park/hiking trail right across the street from school). There is a heavily forested 2 mile drive that's beautiful during Autumn. There are a few houses scattered about, but they are hardly noticeable among the trees.



Sometimes, I want to pull the car over, whip out my camera and snap some photos. But there's usually no shoulders to do that. I have discovered a few cutouts large enough to fit a car, so when I feel adventurous one day, I'll go and do just that. ツ

Fall Semester

The fall semester is well underway, as it is now the fourth week of classes. I am enrolled in Pathophysiology, Histology lab and a Cellular and Molecular (protein based) lab. My classes are going well so far. As usual, there is that one class that just doesn't stand up to the rest... Histology. The class I wanted oh so badly, is now just a ball of regret every time Tuesday evenings roll around. I just find myself saying "If I weren't in this class, I could've gone to the Women's Bible Study at church this Fall". ha! I even considered switching courses the first week, but I could find another class that I was actually interested in taking, therefore I am deemed stuck with it.

Granted, histology should be an interesting class. I was actually super excited about it during the summer because I was learning a lot of histological techniques in the lab, but this class is nothing like what I experienced at FCCC. Also, it's a dry lab. (Trust me... no fun can come out of observing previously prepared slides under a microscope ALL SEMESTER LONG.) Also, the professor is a little dry. She seems pretty young. No, I'm not stating that age is directly correlated to experience, but she could use a little umph in her teaching. She is well versed in the subject and knows her stuff, but her powerpoint presentations consists of photos of slides, and her lecture is just her reading definitions and descriptions of different cell and tissue types from her little binder. I often find myself going nuts with all the thoughts of:
1) how bored I am and
2) how frustrating it is to take notes when the 3 types of connective tissue proper and their descriptions are being read explained to me at lightenting speed.

(Ok, I'm breathing now. I promise.) I just wish it were more enjoyable.

Other than that, things are looking up. I'm almost 3/4 of the way done with my Masters. That is a feat on its own.

It Takes An Army

"Breast cancer is not a man or woman's disease-- it's a family disease"

As an Army of Women (AOW) supporting blogger, I hoped to spread the word about this wonderful organization. Although this blog does not have hundreds of subscribers and tons of sponsors, my blog statistics show that I do get a wide range of visitors residing in various cities and countries around the world. I take that information as a great medium for sharing about AOW.

One of the primary goals of Army of Women is to gain 1 million volunteers to sign up with their organization. As a volunteer, you will be asked to participate in various research studies that all share the common goal of finding a cure for breast cancer. These research studies are not all geared towards those diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, in order to find a cure, researchers also have to find a cause to prevent further occurrences and to decrease the burden of cancer on hard-hit ethnicities, age groups, and just our mothers, daughters, aunts, co-workers, best friends and husbands in general. {Yes, men ARE affected too}.

I honestly believe that this blog and the blogs of other supporting bloggers can help. As of today, AOW has only reached 1/3 of their goal of reaching an "army" of 1 million volunteers. They still have quite a ways to go. They can either reach their goal by having 1/3 of the US population signing up, or a few hundred thousand US citizens and another few hundred thousand foreign citizens joining to make that quota. The combinations of volunteers signing up to make that quota are endless.

So, if you are from anywhere in the world, and you happen to read, glance over, or browse this blog post, please sign up for the Love/Avon Army of Women.

You can find out more about their organization by reading previous posts here or by visiting their site:
www.armyofwomen.org

From A Distance

"From A Distance" by Bette Midler

Hearing this song on the radio last night instantly brought back memories of my childhood. When I emigrated from Jamaica in 1995, I listened to a lot of Rock/Pop and Alternative music like Elton John, Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers, etc. on Philly's B101 station. That would explain why I hardly know any of the 90's Hip Hop/R&B songs that many of my peers are familiar with. From A Distance was one of my all time favorite songs, especially since I was being brought up in the Christian faith. It's really a beautiful song, if you listen to the lyrics closely. It speaks of heaven and the nonexistence of anything negative. Take a listen.

"From a distance we all have enough,

And no one is in need. 

And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,

No hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments

Marching in a common band.

Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace. 

They're the songs of every man.

God is watching us. God is watching us.

God is watching us from a distance..."

Who Invited Her?

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'Drama, y'all... Okay!'

(Haha, just kidding. I've been watching way too much Girlfriends, lately)

It was inevitable. Drama with the housemate. It was inevitable. 

I have no problem with her wanting to lock herself in her room the very first week. Or, with her snubbing me everytime I came home. Heck. If she wanted to fumble with her keys in the darkness at midnight because she feared that I would run into her room and steal something while she went to use the potty, then that was on her!

I think we're slowly moving past that... Hopefully. (Because I hate feeling uncomfortable in my own living environment).

I do, however, have a problem with being asked at the last minute if it was okay for her friend to spend a few nights at the house because she lives 2 hours away and it's a long commute. Honestly, I don't have a problem with it, b/c we have individual rooms and ample space in the house to not run into each other. Also, with graduate housing, all utilities except cable and internet are included and we pay for it all at once per semester. It is an inconvenience though b/c now we're sharing the fridge space, bathroom and toilet paper with a third person. I am not a happy camper. 

Luckily. I've met this "friend" before. We had lab together last semester and she actually seems like an okay person. Also, she's married, so I know that her husband will miss her and she truly will not be here for more than "one or two nights a week". 

*Sigh* 

Why do I always end up in situations like this?

The Riddle

"Here's a riddle for you

Find the answer: There's a reason for the world

You and I"

The Riddle by Five for Fighting

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This might seem really strange (at least it is to me it is), but...

... Lately, I've been coming in contact with different people where we have short conversations about where we're headed (on campus), or thank-yous (for letting them use my grocery store card), or for any other reason that is currently slipping my mind. It sounds perfectly normal, but when they're around or after they leave, I get a sense that they were there for some specific reason.

Obviously, I am completely unaware of what that is, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I get that sense.

This is probably the most random post I've ever written, but I also felt as though I should document it (for the awful lack of memory that I possess).

Have you ever encountered someone and felt like there was a deeper purpose behind it?

He's Not Perfect

I've spotted this quote twice last week, and figured it was speaking to me. Every single word scribed above is so very true.

I love my beau.

Five Pin Friday

1. Look at her jewels!

2. Traveling to Tibet

3. Girl with parrot

4.Afar girl

5. Fulani Tribe in Mali

"We are the world" is probably one of my most favorite pinboards on Pinterest. I found it after the maker of this board repinned one of my pins. I love the photographs of the different peoplefrom various countries/cultures and how it just captures their very essence. Many of the portraits feature people with striking eyes, that bear a story. Take some time to look at the pins on this board and let me know what you think.

*Click* *Beeep*

*Click* *Beeep*

That, my friends, was the sound of power being restored to our house at 10:22 this morning (98+ hours after it went out  on Sunday). I let out a little loud scream as I realized what was happening. It was pure bliss. I was happy to see that light in my closet go on again.  ツ

I bought 2 candles to use last night, too and had to face one of my greatest fears... 

*lighting a match*

Yea, I said it. I was always afraid that I will be singeing off my top layer of skin (which is most likely dead, anyway).