in my opinion:

• strawberry is the best kind of fruit roll-up
• rock music can be conducive to the spirit
• my family is the best
• an apology with an explanation is not an apology, and forgiveness with conditions is not forgiveness
• winter is just a bit too long
• making the bed is overrated
• service is the best way to overcome your own problems
• the gmat is hard, but not unconquerable
• cookies almost always trump cake, and ice cream beats them all
• it is better to love and lose than to never love
• yoga is magic
• midwinter travel is what every person needs
• brunettes have more fun
• costco and home depot are fun places to hang out
• new shoes will do the trick
• earrings: the bigger the better
• printing pictures is a lost art
• not all lemons can be made into lemonade, and that's ok
• prioritization is more important than pride
• it's okay to be a midnight cowboy
• being too sensitive is a curse
• following your heart is not a bad idea
• wishing to be a part of the action is not enough
• saving money is a skill
• a last minute road trip can be the best kind of trip
• men are attractive
• having low standards for movies equals less disappointment
• taco stands beat out most nice restaurants
• caring about people is as hard as it is easy
• kids and old people are equally valuable to society, and i miss them
• having direction in life is a blessing

midnight confession

i adore my family.

and i have proof

in familial news today, my brother is a mean dad. see?

big baby

the night commenced just like any other night; fine dining at the cheesecake factory, followed by a trip to the garden to watch some of our friends play ball, and concluding with drinks at the local 7-11. no wait, a normal night consists of a long T and bus ride home followed by a bowl of cold cereal eaten over the kitchen sink. this was a CELTICS NIGHT!!!

here's nat on her first real venture out of the house since "taking flight" as she likes to put it. dinner was great, but i don't think they could have put us at a more awkward table if had they tried.

being crippled ain't so bad (says the girl who gets all the benefit of someone else's suffering)! thanks to nat, we got to sit in the upper ring--ooh, aah. never mind crutching for .8 miles to get there, the free nachos more than made up for it!

i was going to try to make you all believe that you were seeing me on the jumbo tron in this one, but turns out i'm not asian.
look! there i am! on the jumbo tron!
post game-- it cleared out pretty quick after the C's um...cough, cough...lost, and nat and i began our journey to the sev for post game refreshment. we met some cackling witches on the way, and were nearly offered a ride home in the company limo with some corporate boozers.

people like you when you have a broken leg. i wish i had a broken leg. just kidding universe! just kidding!

computer speak

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blaaaaaahhhhhhhhggggggg

i can't think of anything good to blog about.

today i was told that i look like a high school student with my hair in a ponytail. i guess that's a...compliment...?

a girl at lunch said she liked my earrings. then she offered to buy them from me. she asked how much i wanted for them. whaaa?

i'm feeling nostalgic today from looking at pictures from the last three years. it's funny how quickly life can change. my life is pretty different today than it was when i first moved to boston a year and a half ago.

said pictures made me crave summer nights, my nephews and niece, and 4-wheeling in the country. too bad it's the dead of winter, i'm at least 2000 miles away, and i don't own any quads.

i wasn't crying over the pictures. my co-worker claims he heard sniffling. i wasn't crying. it was allergies.

i'm going to vermont this weekend. i like cheese.

vitamin water is good.

ok, i'm done now.

new name mcnamerson

for the past few nights i've started to again feel the luxury of having my nights free. the gmat is over, it didn't go as well as i'd have liked, but at least it's done and my after-work hours are no longer spent agonizing over why i can't remember how to find sin and cosine, or how to appropriately apply the pythagorean theorem. indeed, little parts of my soul are beginning to reappear.

to further boost the enjoyment of my evenings, mother nature decided to be kind and grant us some 60 degree days. accordingly, i've bypassed the first two stops on my redline commute home and have opted for walking all the way to charles mgh for the past few nights. it's not terribly far and it affords me a walk through the boston common and then down historic charles street- which is quickly becoming my favorite spot in boston. this thoroughfare spans only a few blocks but contains some of the most interesting shops, restaurants, and markets i've ever seen and perfectly embodies the quaintness of boston. every time i walk down the cobblestone street i can't help but feel like i've entered a different world. it's the perfect post-work mini vacation. anyway, check is out if you get a chance.

not much else going on in my world these days. 2008 has gotten off to a bit of a rough start with some health problems and subsequent useless medical advice, but i figure that means there's no where to go but up at this point. how could that not be the case when i'm going to ireland in a month?!?!

and now, since this post was so boring, i'll finish it with a random mix of pictures from 2007 that didn't get blogged, but should have.

next time, trust your instinct

last night i thought i was going to die. literally. i laid (lied, lay?) in bed with a distinct feeling that it would be my last night on earth. i thought about my friends and family, and actually felt really bad that someone would have to clean my room. at one point i was pretty sure i saw a light.

until my not-so-near death experience i had spent most of the weekend in bed with a raging headache and shooting pains down both my legs. nothing, save sleep, brought any kind of relief. today, after much coaxing from roommates and friends i finally decided to go to the doctor. i've never been to a doctor in boston, so i set out on the first task of finding one. luckily, harvard pilgrim health care has a handy dandy website in which you can locate doctors near you. the site even tells you if they are currently accepting patients or not. neat, right? wrong. after i had been rejected by the 7th doctor i called i started to get quite frustrated. the pounding in my head got worse, my vision became blurred. then i realized it was time to eat.

back from lunch and one last attempt. i finally, FINALLY got someone who was willing to take patients. however, the earliest appointment i could get with this doctor was in march. great. oh, but wait! they can put me in with dr. mcdoctor later on today. hooray!

at 3:30 i sojourned down to the medical plaza for my first ever experience of being a responsible and healthy adult in boston. the following is an almost minute by minute or word for word account of my adventure. note, there is no exaggeration:

3:35 fill out paperwork, pay co-pay, venture upstairs to the waiting room
3:55 receptionist: "who are you waiting for?" me: "dr. mcdoctor."
4:20 nurse: "julie hullllllet" me: "me." we go back to tiny and dingy exam room.
4:22 nurse: "hang up your coat and purse and sit on the exam table. i'll take your blood pressure and temperature. ok done. here's a gown- if we can have you remover your pants." nurse types away on computer for 35 seconds then exits without another comment.
4:55 nurse re-enters room. "doctor mcdoctor will be with you in a few minutes"
4:58 doctor: "hi, i'm blah blah blah. what can i do for you today?"
me: "well, i have had a headache for about 6 days and severe leg pains for about 2."
dr: "ok, what is the main reason for you coming in today?"
me: "um, i've had a headache for about 6 days and severe leg pains for about 2."
dr: "ok, well, which is worse?"
me: "i...don't know...they're both pretty bad."
dr: "well, choose one, we've only got 20 minutes."
...
...
...
(did he just say that?)
...
...
...
me: "uh, i guess my legs."

the doctor proceeds to rub my legs and asks, "does that hurt?" to which i reply, "no, it feels better when you rub them. that's the problem..."
dr: cutting me off "well, i don't know what to tell you. have you taken any pain meds?"
me: "yes-but nothing has worked."
dr: "ok, i want you to try to take 800mg of ibuprofen. if the pain gets worse, come back in a few days."
me: "no way in hell."*

5:05 the doctor is out the door.
5:06 i'm out the door.

and that, kids, is why i don't ever visit the doctor.

*of course i didn't actually say that, but i wish i had.