be somebody, do something

Such a thug. 

He cracks me up.

how could you ever possibly resist a face like this???

I just downloaded a new cd - Kaleidoscope Machine, by Katie Costello. Excellent. She's from Hermosa Beach, CA, and she's only 17. Her songs convey a much older soul, and her voice is richly layered beyond her years. One song in particular, "Congratulations", struck me - here's a snippet of lyrics: 

why does there exist a need, to be somebody, do something,

whose origins are from the box we all know too well

what i need  is to be okay

being nobody, knowing it'd be alright, alright

what made us think that being happy 

came from a piece of paper that said congratulations?

I was up in NJ for the holiday, and the highlight of my trip was definitely seeing my sweet, sweet nephew. He is almost 20 months old, and - although I am highly biased - one of the cutest kids ever. He loves music, and "dances" whenever he hears it. His dancing consists of swaying back and forth and bending his knees so he bounces up and down....it is so adorable. Sometimes he gets his hands into it and goes all out. He absolutely loves to dance - even to my mother's cell phone ring! (Although in all honesty, her ring is "Sweet Child O'Mine", which has been a favorite of Trey's since he was a baby!). We were watching the movie Hairspray one night, and he absolutely LOVED it. He was enthralled, dancing along with it. He is such a good kid - you can take him to any restaurant and he'll behave. He is getting mischievious - he likes to pull hair and sometimes he hits, but then when you go to reprimand him, he'll open his mouth (his sign for giving you "kisses") and rest his head on you. So he definitely knows his cuteness factor is skyhigh. I miss him already so much. 

This is the last week of classes, so things are getting crazy with work, and I am finishing up my Columbia application to their Sociomedical Sciences program. I really like their program, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Why would I get in now, after being rejected 2 years ago? *sigh*. I miss NY. I do love it here in Chapel Hill, and it does feel like home, but I also really miss Manhattan. I miss beers at Dorrians, Pinkberry runs, even the crowdedness of the city sidewalks. I miss good cupcakes. And good falafel. Anyway, at this point, I will be happy if I get into ANY program. I can't even think about what happens if I don't get in. I can't believe, though, that this is the end of the semester. It has absolutely flown by. Next semester I will be taking: my Master's Paper (like a dissertation, we have to register for it), Reproductive Health Policy, Pediatric Pharmacotherapy, and Neurotrauma in Sports. I'm really looking forward to my classes, the big dork that I am!