It's DONE!!

The Official Dr. Danny Hat is complete.

For those of you who don't know, Dr. Danny is one of our beloved Gross Anatomy profs. He is super funny, very kind, and occasionally helpful in class. If you want to find him during off-hours, your best bet would be the roulette tables at the Marriott. He taught me a lot in the last two semesters: how to anesthetize a giraffe (place a bag over their head so they calm down...um, yeah, that's called suffocation), what happens to rabbits when you scare them (his mom used to pay him coins to scare the rabbits...he just never understood why some would fall to the ground and not move), how to strategically play at slots (see previous post regarding gambling here), and how to properly pronounce my name ("Askia"). Oh, and some thoracic limb thrown in for kicks.

Unfortunately for us here at Ross, Dr. Danny will be moving to Toronto at the end of this semester. Something about being back with his family. Whatev. WE'RE his family.

So I hear about this moving thing, and I figure: what is a guy who has lived on a Caribbean island for seven years going to do when he gets to frigid Toronto in DECEMBER?

And thus, with the help of dad (thanks for sending the yarn, you ROCK), my lab partners (color choice turned out FANTASTIC), and Dr. Moffatt (thanks for letting me bounce ideas off of you, we SO need a Stitch-N-Bitch!!) we will be able to present to Dr. Danny a gift that will not only be practical, but also Bitchin Cute.

I love it more than I ever imagined. In fact, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to take it off to give it to him. So he'll probably just have to take me with him to Toronto. I could use a change of scenery.

The scarf is coming along, about 1/2 way or so, and may or may not get done before he leaves. I do have to sorta kinda lay down a few itty bitty boundaries about priorities and whatnot. That whole study thing. But since I've been really really really good and don't do anything else BUT study I figure knitting can be my wind down time at night. Now i just have to figure out how to make myself stop to sleep...

Yay Hat!! :)

I'm a thief.

I totally stole this from my friend Jen's MySpace page, but it was just so appropriate I felt the need to post it. I guess being around all of these people who have NO clue what it's like to grow up in Florida, I feel kind of proud that all of these apply to me... (except one: where the heck is Mt. Dora and why should I know that?).

Enjoy! :)

A Floridian
*Socks are only for bowling.
*You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.
*A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store,but everything to do with shade.
*Your winter coat is made of denim.
*You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.
*You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.
*Anything under 70 degrees is chilly.
*You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.
*You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.
*Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.
*You know that any hurricane under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.
*You dread love bug season.
*You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances. You know them as Andrew,Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne.
*You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.
*You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.
*'Down South' means Key West
*Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before. (more than once!)
*You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.
*You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.
*A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.
*You have a bumper sticker: 'This car climbed Mount Dora ', and you know where and what Mt Dora is.
*You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and summer.
*You've hosted a hurricane party.
*You can pronounce Okeechobee and Kissimmee ...
*You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat than have a boat yourself.
*You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years.
*You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba . '

Finals are in Full Swing.

For those of you out there who care (i.e. aren't my classmates), the following is my dreaded Final Exam Week(s) Schedule:

Tues Dec. 2..........Parasitology Lab

Fri Dec. 5.............Anatomy Lab

Mon Dec. 8..........Anatomy Lecture

Tue Dec. 9...........Parasitology Lecture

Wed Dec. 10........Physiology Lecture

Thur Dec. 11........Immunology Lecture


Around 5pm on December 11 I will be completely done with this semester. I will also be pretty well aware as to how I did this semester, and thus will know to pack light or heavy. It will also be an indication of how many beers I will consume that night. Ah, who am I kidding...the number will be the same either way.

I fly home Saturday, December 13th for those of you at home who are waiting. Not sure of my flight schedule, but for headache's sake let's just say I won't be available for autographs or photo opps until late Sunday. Maybe even Monday. Unless you bribe me with food. We'll see how things pan out.

Happy Anniversary! .....and Congrats Mom!

Since I let her down by not giving a Shout Out a few days ago....I'll make it up with this:

Happy 38th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

...oh, and also....

Happy American Citizenship Mom!!

Congrats!!

For those of you who don't know, my mother has lived in the US for the last......we'll just say 'X' number of years.....as a Legal Alien (although dad and I occasionally threatened to throw her back). As of Monday, mom was sworn in and is an Alien NO LONGER! Unfortunately I was not present as witness to said swearing in, however I am assured it was a legit and official process and I am no longer a child of a foreigner. Well, sort of...

Good job, mom! You finally worked through that procrastination thing and got 'er done!

Thanksgiving on The Rock

Last night we Island Orphans got together for a potluck Non-Traditional/Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. Amber hosted, Vanessa did most of the cooking, and the rest of us ate. The last few days have become progressively colder (and by colder I mean an occasional chilly breeze and potential for jeans at night), which added to the festiveness of the occasion as it actually felt sort of like Fall. Minus the leaves changing, snow on the ground, Macy's Day parade, and snuggly knitted accessories.

Enjoy the pics, and I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day!

IGA only had Golden Delishious, but I found Granny Smith at Ram's. Went with a mix. That's a lot of cutting/peeling when you don't have an apple corer or peeler.

Apples cut, peeled, and spiced. Awaiting yummy sugary syrup.

Yummy sugary syrup. The kitchen ants were going bonkers!

This is how we roll. St. Kitts Rolling Pin = bottle of Brinley Gold Mango Rum.

Starting to come together...boy that's a lot of apples...should've cut them smaller, but whatev.

Crazy mound of pie!

Apples baked down quite a bit, foil prevents overbrowning of the edges (should've put some at the top, too!).

Looks pretty good...

Baker with her contribution.

She didn't even have to use her hand to draw the turkey.

Jane and Vanessa setting up the buffet.

Anna 'double-fisting' it. Hee hee...

Check out that spread!



Ron, Cora, and Kate with a little Vanessa and Jane in the background.

Amber's new dog Jasmine. She was an absolute Doll all night. Even with the retarded pink undies.

Just had to show one more pic of the food...mmmm....

Ron promptly crashed out post-meal. It's sort of his "thing".

Dessert Anyone?