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My First Kick! (I don't know why, but this automatically showed up in my title box, so I decided to use it)

Well, I suppose my long-contemplated return to blogging has been spurred on by my somewhat distant partner in crime and co-dictator. I kept putting it off, despite periodic thoughts of updating, for various reasons. You know, feelings of guilt for blogging when more productive (and dare I say "immanently important") things abound for me to do; lack of motivation for picking up a project which in previous instances has literally demanded hours of my attention and devotion in attempting to create the *perfect post.* But mostly, it's that I really didn't know what to write about.

Frankly, describing the everyday details of my life does not seem that extraordinary or entertaining.

But then I remembered: Hey, I'm going to be giving birth in a few months. What could possibly be more extraordinary (and entertaining) than sharing with friends and family the metaphysical wonder of bringing another life into the world, and all the fabulously ridiculous things that go along with it? And besides which, do I not still possess the creativity, wit, and somewhat sardonic outlook on life that enabled me to comment upon class, papers, and staying up all night to a small but loyal fan base?

And maybe more importantly, doesn't Google still have funny images for me to insert into my posts so they can be entertaining even when the subject matter is boring?

So on that note, be advised that this blog is returning to it's place in glory for all to see. I will be following up shortly with a real update, that hopefully will not violate my previous limit lengths.

We've got a lot of catching up to do.

The Intarweb: Newer, Faster, Funnier (NatalieDee Edition)

In celebration of the newfound Wireless Internet Connection recently installed at the President's House (as of 3:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time), this Blog is Up and Running! I for one am incredibly excited to have access to a non-dial-up connection, and plan to fully exploit the opportunity provided by the Ave Maria Foundation. Woohoo.

For those of you who, for various reasons, do not share in my rejoicing, there is yet another cause for celebration: Brigid is home! I fully intend to take advantage of that fact by spending as much time with her as possible, and coercing her into keeping me sane during the next month or so. And maybe we can even get a job together!

And so the countdown begins. As of May 16, there is officially one month until wedding time, although it has been brought to my attention that this summer is inordinately preoccupied with weddings of various parties. Congratulations also to Bernadette Roth, who is getting married on June 16th as well. As our preparations begin, there will be wedding showers to attend, receptions to plan, flowers to order, gowns to be altered, hair to be styled.... yes, the list goes on and on. Hopefully none of it will be the cause of any mental breakdowns or hallucinations (though it may be the cause of much consternation and conflict- especially with my Bridal Shop), and we shall, for the most part anyway, remain unscathed.

The school year is over (SCORE), and the summer begins- is everybody else as stoked as I am?

*all cartoons courtesy of www.nataliedee.com. Not for the faint of heart.

Toys R Us Kid: Educational: With Pictures!

Ok, well, since blogger is being a little retarded right now, not with pictures. But hopefully with some cool links. And my profile picture is new! Check that out! ^^^^

Well, it's Tuesday, which means with my newly altered schedule that today is my class day. It's nice to take care of all your school obligations on one day, but on the flip side, it's kind of obnoxious to be in class for an indefinite period of time, have a 2 1/2 hour break where you have to stay on campus, and then come back to school for a 3-or-more hour long class. Oh, and the vending machine is broken. I've decided that I'm going to start using my break period to do the reading for my class that I haven't done previously because I was too busy doing my other work for the class. Funny how that works out.

The best part of the day, though: it's WARM outside. The snow is almost completely melted up at school, as is the lake, and I can freely wear flipflops without fearing for the lives of my writtle toes.

In other news, I've applied for a youth ministry position at Old St. Pat's, and I should be hearing back from them by the end of this week, so say some prayers. Otherwise, Justin and I just might move to Hollywood to pursue our careers and ultimately become a couple of those crazy California-types. You know what I mean.

And last but not least, I'm getting back into the habit of Word of the Day. Although I do get depressed when I realize that I already know the words from the last several days:

coterminous \koh-TUR-muh-nuhs\, adjective:
1. Having the same or coincident boundaries.
2. Having the same scope, range of meaning, duration.

effete \eh-FEET; ih-\, adjective:
1. No longer capable of producing young; infertile; barren; sterile.
2. Exhausted of energy; incapable of efficient action; worn out.
3. Marked by self-indulgence or decadence; degenerate.
4. Overrefined; effeminate.

nonplus \non-PLUHS\, transitive verb:To cause to be at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; to confound; to perplex; to bewilder.

trepidation \trep-uh-DAY-shuhn\, noun:1. [Archaic] An involuntary trembling; quaking; quivering.2. A state of dread or alarm; nervous agitation; apprehension; fright.

cogitate \KOJ-uh-tayt\, intransitive verb:1. To think deeply or intently; to ponder; to meditate.2. To think about; to ponder on; to meditate upon; to plan or plot.

That's all for now!

Another Countdown: Anxiously Awaited Thaw: Axis of Evil

Well, today is March 8th. Which means, if I am counting correctly, that there are 3 months and 8 days left until June 16th. Which, for those of you who are interested, is the day that one Justin Enfield will be marrying the party of the second part (hereafter referred to as ME) at the designated place and time, those being Christ the King Catholic Church, Ann Arbor, and 1 O'Clock in the afternoon. Those who feel the inclination ought to freely attend.

So, given the alluring sound of icicles dripping outside and the deceptively bright sunshiny days that occasionally recur, I think it's altogether understandable that I wait in eager anticipation of Spring Fever. Every once in a while, the temperature goes unbelievably high (say, around 27 degrees) and I fool myself into thinking, "Now, this has to be the big thaw." You know the one I mean. The one where everyone finally brings out their shorts and skirts and flipflops, actually manages to stay outside in the sun for more than half an hour in the hopes of getting a jump start on their summer tans. And the smell... yes, that unbelievably amazing smell of fresh air and sunshine and damp dirt. It's funny how the smell of dirt can be so invigorating, but it's not the dirt itself that is exciting; it's everything that comes along with it. Growth, life, distraction from the winter doldrums, that inescapable temptation to stare out the window rather than paying attention in your afternoon lecture. Am I the only person experiencing this right now?

And then you open your door or window in the morning and realize that it snowed again last night. And the best you can hope for that day is a really spectacular snowball fight. But hey, that's not too shabby.

The Axis of Evil is managing to branch out; not in its membership, per se, but in its actions. It has collectively decided to buckle down and entrench itself into the world of self-motivation and initiative. And probably an unhealthy amount of activity, considering how lazy it was to begin with. In fact, I know from concrete evidence that it is causing a certain co-dictator to lose a certain amount of weight; but don't worry, we will be monitoring progress closely to ensure that we don't waste away to nothingness. But Kalish, this is a far cry from being fat with power.

To close, the ever-recurring Word of the Day:
malapropism \mal-uh-PROP-iz-uhm\, noun:
The usually unintentionally humorous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound; also, an example of such misuse.

Hey, It's My Two-Month-iversary!

Yes, today I decided to celebrate the last two months (to the day) of not posting by actually updating my blog.

And the peasants rejoiced. (yay!)

So many spectacular things have happened in the last few weeks- like, finals, then Christmas break, then going back to school. Which sounds extremely boring when I say it like that, but trust me, there were several entertaining episodes within that time.

I managed to make it all the way through last semester with insomnia while avoiding failing out of college. I was pretty impressed by that, and you should be too. With that in mind, I would like to inquire about the subsequent lack of congratulatory cards, cakes, and assorted surprises. Well, I guess we were all kind of busy at that point, and with all the holiday food present, I'm not sure I could have stuffed down any congratulatory cakes anyway. So consider yourself forgiven.

Spent an extremely busy, but altogether entertaining Christmas vacation with the fam (and the McNallys). Played T-Her-A-Pie! (so, tell us...) and did the New Year's Eve thing at the Zmuda's. Went to a couple of B-Mac's basketball games at Gabriel Richard to RING IT UP, and that was awesome- there are still some games left, so contact the McNally's if you want to go! Still have to set up a date night with Justin so we can use the gift card to Macaroni Grill... which I have to say sounds extremely delicious right about now.

On my way back to school after my brother's birthday party, managed a little altercation with my automobile. But it's a long story, so suffice it to say that I'm alive (and still have all my appendages), my James Bond car is still intact, and Justin's brother managed to take all the attention away from my almost-accident by managing one of his own while rescuing me.

Went to David's Bridal with a couple of my sisters the other day and (FINALLY) decided on a bridesmaid dress that should work for everybody. Get stoked.

Anyway, I guess that's most of what's going on, aside from my classes, my internship, my thesis, and (hopefully) a job at some point. If you'd like more details, feel free to contact me- after all, this is what cell phones, email, blogger, and facebook are for, right? Hope you're having an amazing day/week/month/year/whatever!

A Birthday, A Surprise, and A Countdown

So, as you know, Justin's birthday was on December 2nd, and due to my laxity I failed to blog about it. Sorry, Justin- I love you, I really do.

So for his birthday we went to NFP class (probably not much of a birthday-worthy event, but at least we've graduated from it now), went to (a slightly unimpressive) Handel's Messiah at the Hill Auditorium that evening, and then went to B-Dubs for dinner (where we had to crowd in to fit everyone, but had a lovely conversation about TV locations). A bunch of people showed up for dinner, and I'm sure Justin was encouraged by that friendship. Plus, the day after his birthday was the first day of Advent- and that HAS to be good. His fam threw a small party for him too, with delicious chocolate cake. It's making me hungry thinking about it.

Now, it should also be put forward that as always, the week BEFORE finals is inevitably the most stressful one of the semester. Generally, I deal with this stress by a good deal of avoidance, but I don't really have that option this year, because I've got so many papers to do before the end of the week. But luckily, Launchcast saves my life, or maybe my sanity.
-So, in highschool I used to listen to this song "Denise," by a band I didn't know because I found it on a random mix tape of my sisters'. I didn't hear it again for years, and it bothered me that I didn't even know where to begin looking for this song... until the other night, on launchcast, and it turns out the song is by Fountains of Wayne on their album Utopia, from 1999. Problem solved.

Also, a Countdown begins this week- namely, the one that every college student is familiar with: the end of the semester. For most, we count not only the last days of classes, but also our final exam days, until that last second we can finally say "I'm DONE!" I won't lie and claim I'm not counting those days (hopefully I'm done by next Tuesday), but this semester it also includes a later date- the day a writtle bear returns to Michigan. I think my family might end up trying to kill me this year because of all the non-immediate family activity I've got on my plate, but frankly I think my co-dictator and I need as much catch-up time as we can get.

That being said, feel free to call me anytime after next Tuesday so we can all hang out!

Are You Bored Yet?

In response to Monica's question: "Update?"
I answer: "Update."

I've got too many papers to write, so what better way to get them finished than by blogging about what I do while procrastinating?

Sometimes, I look at pictures, like the one above.

Sometimes, I go on Facebook, and stalk people via "networking."

Sometimes, I play Xplorers, except you need Java 1.5 to play.

Sometimes, I find funny little sites online, and blog whatever I find.

For Justin, whose birthday is on December 2nd.

For Brigid, who keeps me company while I write my papers, even in a different state.

For our Awesome Dam-Building Friends' mascot, who got away.

So What Does It Feel Like To Be Older?

In the words of a certain Co-Dictator, it "Feels like kissing an old man's wrinkles."

Pretty apt description, I'd say.

But, in the interests of being completely thorough (Thoreau?) I've added an addendum (that seems redundant) to Brigid's honorarium. Also on November 7th:
-The October Revolution, in which the Bolsheviks stage a coup against the previous revolutionary republic of Russia, begins on Nov. 7
-The Munich Uprising in Germany, just prior to the signing of the World War I armistice on November 11, rioting breaks out.

Any other historically significant November 7th happenings?

I need sleep.

Ode To A Birthday Dictator

It has been called to my attention that one Brigid Moira McNally and I have less than a week left until our respective birthdays. Because she so clearly holds seniority over me, I have decided to devote this post entirely to recalling her spectacular verbal quips, and, probably, indecencies. Honestly, somebody should do a study on the long-term effects of Mountain Dew: Code Red.

"Cheesy Bread... when did you guys develop that????"
...
"Word of the Day: Cantankerous. As in, 'Brigid, I wish you weren't so cantankerous when you wake up in the morning.'"
...
"Jimmy!!! Where ARE you?!?!?!"
...
"I'm only teasing, but I can see you're not responding, so nevermind."
...
"I'm a twelve year old fat girl!!!"
...
"I can't be sneaky about anything- I'm like a buffalo!"
...
"You're getting fat with power."
...
"I'm going to draw a diagram of the Strategic Defense Initiative.."
"...But that looks like a UFO..."
...
"Ooh, hold on! I have to depress my emergency break!"
...
"FANTASTIC!"
...
"You bring out the Down's Syndrome child in everyone."
...
"What if your leg got stuck between the seat and the toilet paper dispenser?"
...
"Thinking about desserts makes me uncomfortable."
...
"Not enough people are running so you are STUCK WITH ME! Muahahahah..ha."
...
"Adolf, you're so linear!"
...
"Communication is essential to all relationships- don't plug your ears, and don't contracept."
...
"Sometimes I wonder how people can look at my face and not throw up."
...

Yeah, that was pretty hilarious.
So, here's to almost 21 years of proving our worth to the world, by any means necessary:
Happy Birthday!

Hopefully Awesome

In the words of somebody awesome, it's been a while since some awesomeness...

So here's a little update as to what's going on:
-It's still residual midterms time around here, which means all of my professors have suddenly realized they've been making our lives too easy, and assigned gargantuan amounts of reading and writing homework. Thus my conspicuous absence in the digital realm. I'm still trying to play catch-up, and my school does not grant us the luxury of all-school reading days during exam time. *sigh*

-It's getting extremely close to election time (and also my birthday) so the pressure is on with Catholics in the Public Square. We're in heavy need of some volunteers to help spread the word about the contradictions between Governor Granholm's actions and the teachings of the Catholic Church, so I've been given the responsibility of making the phone calls for Macomb County. Top that all off with the fact that my Macomb County leader's e-mail doesn't work, and that he somehow holds me personally responsible for our incommunication, it becomes a fairly stressful time for this writtle intern.

-We've made some great strides with regard to our wedding plans. Justin was nice enough to get in touch with the powers that be at Christ the King, so we've confirmed that Fr. Ed and Fr. Pat will be concelebrating at the wedding. We've also put a plot together to have our reception in a tent, and gamble on our nice June weather. We still have to confirm our permission with the families whose yards we will be borrowing for the event, but it should come together nicely.

-Natural Family Planning is harder than I thought. The main problem is that I have no regular sleep schedule (as you all know well) and it gets to be very difficult when you're supposed to be taking your waking temperature at the same time every day. I'm left there asking what I'm supposed to do when I don't even get to sleep by 7 am every day. Woops.

-To Emily: I've found that the best way to deal with certain unnamed professors was to simply give them no excuse to dislike you in any way. Don't be discouraged at the extra work this may cause; it will actually build your case against them for treating you unfairly. In the meantime, before any grades get sent out or whatever, I would also try and contact whoever is superior to this professor, to give them a heads up that you suspect some kind of favoritism in the classroom. It may be that the professor has a precedent for this, and other students have complained as well. And if not, if the pattern continues, your testimony will aid future students. Also, writing biting humorous commentary about them can't hurt.

-To Havilah: I'm so glad you're back in the country! This means I have a much better chance of getting together with you sometime! And don't worry, you're definitely coming to the wedding. Even if we have to force you. I believe I have your e-mail address, so I can send my addy along to you whenever I remember it- I've been staying up in White Lake, MI during the school year, and I'm still used to my Ann Arbor address. Keep in touch in the meantime!

-To Anyone Who's Interested: Orchard Lake is having a costume halloween party/dance, for FREE! Feel free to come up and visit with me, at least- it could be tons of fun! And relieve me of boredom!

I may add links to this post later, but in the interest of saving my academic butt, I'll have to put it off until after my papers are done. Have a great week, everybody!

HaHa- He Said "Professorial"

Newsflash: I've officially reached the point in the semester where I have to convince myself upon waking up every day that going to class is a good idea.

I think I've finally gotten over that 3- or 4-week High at having something to do with my brain, resulting in a mind-boggling downer. Although I must admit that going to class today turned out to be a great idea, as the Moral Theology class debated the Principle of Double Effect as relating to Nyquil and M*A*S*H. Get stoked, everybody. I might be able to get my hands on seasons 1-10 sometime soon, and waste my valuable homework time watching M*A*S*H with Justin's stepdad. Weee!

Things I'm still working on:
~Getting my car taken care of. This includes the title, insurance, and registration; although happily there is a specific car in mind when I speak of this.
~Planning the wedding reception. Hopefully we'll get this taken care of in due time, but first I have to get a confirmation from our place and put down a deposit to guarantee it.
~Figure out how much money I have to spare toward getting hi-speed internet at the house. Frankly, I think I would spend as little time as possible outside of my room if that were the case.
~My internship. Getting a set schedule for this thing is ridiculous, and at this rate I'll have to continue even after the semester ends to get the proper hours in.
~My birthday. Having your 21st in the middle of the week and living at least an hour away from the people you want to spend it with is a bigger hassle than I realized. Boo.

Anyhoo, I have to run, in hopes of finding some lunch and getting some work done before the little girls go completely crazy at having me home with them. You have no idea how hard it is to study when you have 2 girls sitting right outside your door asking you every 3 minutes what you are doing and if they can show you something really pretty.

Cheers!

Addendum: Everything I Do Is On Purpose

In the interests of coming off as condescending, rather than faintly idiotic and absent-minded, I thought I should inform everyone that the blank post from before was undoubtedly, undeniably, openly and unquestionably totally my fault. My bad. I hit the "publish post" button without realizing it, and by the time I looked back at my computer I didn't even notice what had happened.

But, as it stands, having a completely empty slot in my blog seems to add an element of interesting unexpectedness to the overall layout of the page. Thus after a great deal of conferring amongst myself, I've decided to leave it.

And for those of you that are concerned, a real update is pending. I promise. But we're still workin on that whole hi-speed intarweb thingy.

-Melissa "I Am the Fortunate" VandeVoorde

Awesome: I Miss My Music: Too Unfunny For A Real Post

The creative juices are definitely not flowing at the moment... hopefully things will pick up soon, but my brain is probably fried from my latest seminar, and I'm still trying to figure out when I can get access to high-speed internet and a good hard drive.

In the meantime, this is fairly awesome.

-Melissa "Quit Obfuscating the Question" VandeVoorde

Survival of the Fittest

Darwin posited (not altogether inaccurately) that the ability to adapt would allow for a greater survival rate of a given species. This standard is especially applicable in the case of college students. We, as a not-yet-endangered species, must cultivate our abilities to cope with mass amounts of sleep deprivation, unhealthy eating habits, myopic reading and computer usage, all while braving winter weather conditions; in short, sacrificing ourselves to the elements to pursue the legend that is HIGHER EDUCATION.

That being said, there are several other changes that occur in the meantime; this blog's template is one of those changes. You like? I think I may continue with the experimentation- this might just be too much blue for me, which heretofore I would have thought impossible.

So, kids, how is school/work going? Are we surviving outside of the bubble?

A Yup of a Different Color

Yup.

So... classes just started yesterday at Orchard Lake, and I've talked to a couple people from Ave about school starting. It seems that none of our schools are, in fact, Ave. Go figure.

Of all of us though, I'd say I'm pretty lucky. Not only are my teachers orthodox, but they also don't demand a pound of flesh stapled to the top of each of the papers we turn in. I might actually be able to DO all of my homework this semester. Weird, eh?

I also found a girl (a sophomore) who, in addition to being in three of my classes, has also been here longer than me and we're helping each other figure things out in the strange world of college-dom. Haven't met tons of people yet, but that's the sort of thing that happens when nobody but seminarians live on campus. That, and there's only been 2 classes so far. And the second consists of me and the sophomore girl (which has been turned into an independent study). Oh well- I hold out hope that there will be more than 7 students in attendance in my Seminar later today. In another perspective, I find it rather refreshing to go through actual beaurocratic red tape in order to get something done around here. It's like I'm accredited or something.

I'm living with Justin's parents in White Lake, which has been cool so far (although I've only been there a couple of days). They said they were going to use my first month's rent toward getting a TV for the front room, so I can watch it whenever I need to veg after studying too hard. I think spending the money of me kind of defeats the purpose of me giving it to them in the first place, but I'm sure I won't complain : ). I haven't worked myself up to the challenge of organizing my multidudinous papers and handouts for reference during the school year, but I HAVE got my room in some semblance of order, and possibly more importantly, a lock on the door so I can keep myself barracaded from a certain 5-year-old and 3-year-old for studying purposes.

Keep your eyes peeled for a car for me (yes, even if you're in Texas!) so I can use my own car instead of Justin's mom's sometime soon.

-Melissa "If You Have Syphilis You Don't Need LSD" VandeVoorde

Does Anybody Want To Go To Abe's?

No really. I got this sudden craving for Abe's, probably because I just started getting hungry, but I don't want to cook anything. And the knowledge that I can't just go to bed and wait until morning is getting to me as well, since I'll be up quite late packing. Probably the fact that I'm leaving tomorrow for school and Abe's will no longer be readily accessible has something to do with it too, although I do understand that the quality of food leaves something to be desired. One does not go for the quality of food or drink, but the quality of company and amusement of the other customers who frequent it.

Anyway, I guess I'll console myself by eating some mint chocolate chip ice cream and realize again later that I need something more substantial, and end up making myself eggs and bagels or something like that.

So, this is my "farewell" message. Ironic, considering that once I get to school I will have high-speed internet access and will be blogging with more frequency. And more pictures. But the fact remains that I'm going to be living almost an hour away and won't be around to see anybody except for the occasional weekend. Maybe this cell phone thing really will come in handy.

Anyway, this will serve as a reminder for everybody to keep in touch; either call me or e-mail me- somebody you know has the number or address. :-)

-Melissa "How about some ninja assasins?" VandeVoorde

2 Days: 10 Days: I Don't Know What Day It Is

No, seriously. I don't. Nor do I intend to worry about it.

But really, you have to admit- this follow-up two days after my last post has to be a record for the inactivity we've all experienced on SuperKarateMonkeyDeathCar over the summer. Yay me.

Well, as we all know and have probably been in denial about, the crew is finally breaking up to go back to school or on to other things. Moussolini is in Texas; Milosevic is going home tomorrow for a brief sojourn, then is on to Texas; Kalashnikov leaves for Texas in 10 days; her brother leaves for Texas around that time as well.... hmmm. It seems to me that this is not so much a "breakup" as it is a "fleeing for the hills" (in a manner of speaking. I doubt there are really many hills to be spoken of in Texas, and those that ARE present are not particularly noteworthy). It's like we won at the Alamo or something.

Just kidding.

Anyway, we just had a party over at Meghan's to celebrate her departure. I probably didn't say that right. But you get what I mean. Lots of game-playing, competition, and team angst all around. Good times.

However, remembering all these early departure times has made ME a bit angsty about when I'm supposed to be leaving; this is primarily due to the fact that the school year fast approaches and I am in a continual state of not having a clue what day it is. My point is, I might have to leave tomorrow, but I wouldn't know because dates are meaningless to me throughout the summer. Something should be done to rectify this situation.

My proposition is, that I take a shower because I can't shake the dubious feeling that I carry the smell of the skunk that was recently run over on I-94, between the Jackson Rd. and Zeeb Rd. exits. No, I was NOT the one to run the skunk over. But I definitely passed in close proximity, and anyone who knows me knows that I have a ridiculously strong sense of smell, especially late at night. Yep, shower it is.

Nighty night, folks!
-Melissa "Skunks Sometimes Do Handstands" VandeVoorde