As the clock hit midnight, governmental officials of Illinois failed to produce a functioning budget. The Governor keeps changing his tune every five minutes. Our legislators in the General Assembly are too busy playing games to even know what is actually really going on to the people in this state. And while they are busy in their pissing matches and playing chess with one another, the people of Illinois suffer. This state is suffering from a major lack of leadership and we are now drifting in a sea of uncertainty and broken promises once again.

Because of our “leaders” ineptness, many, many people are being laid off. Programs that should not be cut are closing, programs that help people who cannot help themselves. Programs that help battered women seek shelter and protection from abusive husbands. Programs that help mentally ill who can’t help themselves. Programs that help special ed children get special training and education because our lackluster education system in this state can’t even handle properly educating normal children, let alone those with special needs. Yet we keep pouring money into useless programs and pet projects of legislators. But of course human services is always the first to get cut because “helping the people who need the most help isn’t the government’s job” or whathaveyou. Hey idiots, people who get help and finally can stand on their own will help the economy when they finally get the money. People who are homeless or not helped aren’t going to help the economy or businesses at all. Can’t you people get that through your hard heads??? It really isn’t that difficult of logic to follow.

Although I’m not a huge proponent of raising taxes all the time, in this case it’s warranted. No matter how much we cut, this budget most likely cannot be balanced. This state is operating in the red and it will continue to do so if more measures are not taken. Raising the tax is about the only way we can MAYBE get ahead of the debt. I know Republicans hate the t word unless its cuts for businesses (and my words of wisdom to you TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS DOES NOT WORK SO QUIT WASTING ENERGY ON IT!) but its got to be done. Sorry guys. However, that is not a blank check to spend us dry again. Some programs should be cut. Useless, non-functioning programs! But as I’ve said before, people should actually see in person what they are cutting, not just reading a name of a program on a piece of paper that just has lists of names and numbers. Putting the human element back into the equation so they know exactly how they are affecting the people of this state is what really needs to be done. But I know that request is falling on deaf ears.

There is enough blame to go around when it comes to the mess we’re in. Our previous Governor, the One That Shall Not Be Named because he’s still public enemy number one here did not help this situation at all. In fact he pretty much started it. The one we have now is in over his head. Our Speaker, President of the Senate, and legislators are too busy playing power games and partisan politics so they don’t work together. With our “leaders” ineffectiveness glaring us all in the face, what is to be done? We are just bystanders, watching as the circus continues. Watching as every action (or inaction) affects us. Guess that does not make us bystanders as much as victims.

And to our leaders, I only have three questions: Exactly how many people need to suffer before our system is fixed? Who is actually going to stand up and be the leader that we need so you people will get off your collective asses and do your jobs? Or are your games more important than those people who you are SUPPOSED to be representing?

***I will preface this entry now by saying I’m really, REALLY tired and that I just got home. Please keep that in mind as my editing may be worse than usual***

This weekend I went to Chicago. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. I know that I can go up there almost any time I want and I do go quite a bit, but the difference this time was that I was going to a Crosstown Classic game - Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field. I had bought these tickets months ago and was impatiently awaiting this weekend.

Friday night I went to Springfield to pick up Jim. We had decided that instead of me driving over there Saturday morning that I’d pick up him to bring him back to Decatur so we could leave from there directly. So after I got to Springfield, we went for a quick dinner before picking up his stuff and heading back to the Dirty D. I dropped him off at his parents house and went home. I was trying to get to bed early, but it didn’t quite work out as planned.

Saturday morning, I picked Jim up and we were on our way. We got up to Chicago about 1 or so. We went directly to the hotel to check in at the Hampton Inn in Schiller Park. We tend to stay out by the airport because the hotel shuttles will take us to the Blue Line at O’Hare so we can ride downtown. After dropping out bags off at the hotel, we went to Schaumburg to meet up with Scott for lunch. We went to Woodfield Mall which is like the 2nd or 3rd biggest mall in the country. We were there for a good while for lunch and talking, playing catch-up. When we exited the mall, we realized that it had gotten hotter and more humid….95 without the heat index. More than anything, I hate to be hot so I had no intention of going downtown for anything. We went back to the hotel. Jim went downtown to visit some friends. Scott and I stayed at the hotel for a little bit. He watched the Cubs White Sox game while I went down to the hotel pool to go swimming. I really miss being able to do that (swimming) so I was almost as excited about that as the game. I got back to the room changed and all. Scott and I drove around for awhile in the suburbs. We had dinner at some place called the California Pizza Kitchen (I think). I’d heard of the place but it had never sounded that appealing to me, so I had never been there. The food was good though. Our dessert was from the Cheesecake Factory, yet another first for me. We took it back to the hotel and ate it there. Scott left right after that. I took a shower and got ready for bed, although I wasn’t really tired yet. Jim got back and we were watching some horrible Spanish pelicula on Univision. I know enough Spanish to at least get the gist of what is going on.

Today I was up pretty early. While Jim was in the shower I went down to get breakfast and bring it back to the room. I didn’t really have much (not a big breakfast food fan). We loaded my car and caught the shuttle to the Blue Line. The el was super busy today. Not only was the Crosstown Classic going on, so is the Taste of Chicago, and the Gay Pride Parade/Fest….all downtown. Jackson St stop was a madhouse with everyone transferring. We had left the O’Hare stop at 10:35. We didn’t get to the ballpark till just after noon. As we got closer I could tell Jim was getting nervous. He had never been US Cellular Field before and it’s not in the greatest of neighborhoods when you get a few blocks away from the park. I kept trying to assure him he’d survive. I for one like the ballpark (more than Wrigley) because it’s very fan friendly for all ages.

Our seats were at the 500 level. I had never sat this high before at any baseball game. I usually refuse such seats because I won’t pay for seats when I can watch it on TV w/ a better view. This was the one exception because I wanted to experience a Crosstown Classic game. I picked a game at the Cell because Jim had never been. But the height played with my vertigo a little bit so once I sat down, I did not really leave my seat. We were in the shade which I was glad. What I was really happy about though was that it was 76 degrees, a far cry from the 95 degree humid weather of the day before. It was a gorgeous day! That thought eased the pain a little when the Cubs lost to the Sox, 6-0. I’d preferred that the Cubs at had least shown up to play. But it was a crazy game. We almost witnessed a brawl between teams. Zambrano (Cubs pitcher) had already hit one player accidently earlier in the game. He hit another, which this time the player wasn’t going to shake it off that easily. It didn’t help that Zambrano started to also approach him. Before I knew it several plays from both teams had exited the dugout in anticipation of a fight between the teams. The umpires waved them all back into their respective dugouts save the managers. Seeing a brawl definitely would have changed my baseball experience.

I did however witness a fight in the stands, not that far from where we were sitting. This sort of shit PISSES ME OFF!!! If you can’t control yourself to watch a game, DON’T GO!! I’m not sure who started it but it was between a Cubs fan and some White Sox fans. Alcohol was involved. There were some shouting and heckling. This I expect. When it gets physical, as in what happened with pushing, shoving, and throwing a bottle….that is ridiculous. I don’t care what team you are rooting for or how the game is going, there is no call for that. It’s disrespectful to the team, the field, and the fans around. Many families go to these games, a lot with small children. Today was no different. So when this fight started they called security and at least a dozen showed up within seconds. Even with them there, some Sox fans were still trying to push by them to fight the Cubs fan. People stopped paying attention to the game and started watching this little drama play out, including MANY of the people even on the lowest levels. I was very happy when they threw all the jackasses out. Idiots. It’s people like that that give baseball fans a bad name - sore winners and sore losers alike. What is sad is that I expected to see one today. It’s too bad that some adults have to act like complete assholes and make the children around them seem like the mature ones.

Anywho, after the game we caught the train back north. We had left the car at the hotel. We took the Blue Line to Rosemont and then caught a cab to the hotel to get the car. We stopped in Joliet to get Portillos (I offered to take him somewhere different, but that is what Jim wanted) before heading home. I had to go to Springfield first to drop Jim off. Then I had an hour drive back to Decatur. How I kept my eyes open I don’t know because I haven’t gotten a good nights sleep in days now. Hopefully I’ll get a good one today!

My last post I said I hoped that UIS Commencement 2009 and graduation festivities would be awesome. They were pretty good. Commencement itself seemed to last forever. My parents got to my apartment around noon as did Jim. I had to be at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center an hour before the ceremony so they dropped me off at the door. I wasn’t sure if anyone that I knew was graduating with me being that the Communications department as a small graduate program (well, smaller than what I’m used to). There were only 9 of us I think that were walking, all of them I knew. So I was happy about that. After figuring out how the funky graduate hood went on and us chatting for about an hour, we marched in. Over 600 were participating in Commencement this year. May not sound like many compared to some of the huge high schools near Chicago, but the names being called was longer than the speeches (and we had 5-6 speakers I think). Most of us sitting there actually paid attention though because they were good speeches. My department was one of the last to walk across the stage so during the calling of names we were back to talking and cracking jokes. When we finally got up there, I was pleasantly surprised that they actually said my name correctly - a first for a college graduation for me. After the ceremony was over, it was the required picture time and family/friends time. My parents went home after the ceremony as did my sister-in-law, niece, nephew, and grandmother. My evening though was just about to start.

I went to dinner with Jim and Nicole….after I went home to change that is….to Chili’s. I opened my cards and presents there. Because so many people we knew were graduating most people had family or out of towns friends in Springfield for dinner. Afterward was a different matter. That night I went out with a bunch of people to go celebrate. Our establishments of choice were DH Browns and Celtic Mist (surprise surprise right?). Several drinks and shots later, most of us were in no shape to drive home. Nicole had volunteered to be the DD that night thank goodness. 2-3 am drunken people at Perkins sounded like a good idea to us…maybe not to our waitress. But if she had a problem with us, she didn’t let it on. We also behaved ourselves too. For as much as I drank that night, I didn’t pay too badly the next morning.

Because of the swine flu phobia, we were not shaking hands at the ceremony…we were to fist bump the President instead. This didn’t help me any as two days later I was starting to feel pretty bad. I ended up with a bad cold for two weeks. Low grade fever, sore throat, laryngitis, etc. Right in the middle of moving. I was feeling a little better by the end.

Anyway, that was post graduation events. Pictures of graduation are on my facebook page and on the UIS website w/ slide show and all.

In about 10 days, I’ll once again be walking across the stage in a graduation ceremony. Although I already received my Master of Arts degree in Communication in December from the University of Illinois (@ Springfield), I was not going to be allowed (by friends or family) to skip the graduation ceremony. For the longest time I haven’t been all that excited about it because 1) I have already really graduated, 2) I normally do not like such ceremonies, and 3) I’ve been through 1 high school and 2 college commencements. Although this is going to be my fourth one (and eventually there will be a 5th because I do want to get my PhD at some point), I think this one will hopefully rank up there. Now, I’m starting to get anxious and a little excited!

My high school graduation was fun…but I was scheduled to have back surgery 2-3 days after it, so I was more nervous about the outcome of that than actually enjoying the graduation, parties, etc. During my second bachelor commencement in 2004, I had influenza. The doctors at the university medical center had wanted me to go to the hospital for possible admittance, but since my insurance was expiring the day of graduation, I told them I couldn’t afford it and refused to go. I was not even going to go to the ceremony, but my parents had driven to Macomb for it. So with a temperature of 102 I went to commencement feeling horrible. Hence I don’t remember much about it other than wanting so badly to just go home. I couldn’t breathe and could barely stand. The only saving grace was that it was a fall commencement, which they tend to be significantly shorter than the spring ones.

2003 was an entirely different situation. This was my first degree at WIU, and I knew a couple of weeks ahead of time that no matter what, I was graduating. And I had already found out that I had been accepted into the second bachelor program, so I had absolutely no worries in the world. That made my last couple of weeks a lot more relaxed…and fun. I did study for finals a little….I think, but I was rewarding my studying habits for about 2 weeks straight in the evenings with visiting The Pace, Two Dogs, The Café, and of course The Top. For those of you not familiar with Macomb, they are fun-filled drinking establishments with different atmospheres. Each of my friends liked a different one for a different reason…therefore it seemed logical at the time that we go to all of them. I’d have to say in that two month time span, I did some significant damage to my liver. Right after the graduation, there was a tornado, but most of us had no idea what was going on outside. I was graduating with a lot of friends that year. It was fun for us since most of us were celebrating our achievements together.

Barring some unforeseen circumstances, I’m thinking 2009 will hopefully be a good time. I’ve got stress in my life (a lot of stress in some cases), but I’m wanting to forget them, if even for a day. But I can finally say, I’m looking forward to graduation again. With friends and family coming to town to come see me walk across the stage, how can I not have a good day!

This month has been a long one. Finding a job in the current economic crisis is not easy. I thought maybe with my education it would help, having just gotten my M.A. But people are wanting the uneducated people right now it seems because they are not usually paid as much, leaving those with more education scrambling to find things or make do with jobs in which they are over-qualified (and underpaid) for for the time being. It’s highly annoying, but there isn’t much that can be done at this point but to still keep on looking. At the end of May, if I do not find anything in the meantime, I’ll be temporarily moving back to Decatur. This was my last choice but I was not going to renew a lease for a year when I had no intention of staying in the area in the first place. I was hoping to move directly from Springfield to my new job. Doesn’t seem to be a possibility now. Although I don’t hate my hometown as much as I used to, I still do not want to get stuck there. I was not happy there growing up because I felt I was missing out on so much, and I have no intention of staying where I’m unhappy.

ANYWAY, a couple of weeks ago I went to a Cubs Cards game in Chicago with Jim. We stayed the night before and just kind of enjoyed what the city had to offer. The game was good, and our seats were the best seats I’ve ever had at any game (look them up on Facebook if you want to see). I knew they were pretty good when Jim bought them, but I had no idea how good until we got to them. I think for five minutes I was in shock and could barely speak. I got a wicked sunburn, but I did not care. The next weekend (this last one) I was supposed to go to a Cubs Cards game, this time in the StL. I made it to the city, but not to the game. I wasn’t feeling overly great before we had even left Springfield. By the time I had ate lunch I was going downhill fast. It was a warm day and I didn’t think that being out in hot, humid weather for a game would be the best idea. Especially since on the Metrolink I was doing everything I could to keep from getting sick. The rest of the gang got off at Stadium to go to the game and I went on to the Amtrak station. I had not driven this time so I had to take Amtrak back to Springfield. It’s a good thing I had not tried to go into the stadium because as soon as I got into the new Union Station I was sick. I was good after that, just a little weak. I had said I wanted to ride the train since I hadn’t had the chance in awhile, but this is not exactly what I had imagined.

Jim had his MIG retirement party this month before the E-Board meeting. The dinner was fun in itself. Going to Browns was even better. We pretty much took the back half of the place over with the size and craziness of most of the group. After Browns though I went home because I was pretty tired and had not gotten much sleep in the last week or so before. It was from stress and driving all over the state (I had been going back and forth to Decatur as well because my brother was in town from Texas). I really wasn’t wanting to leave mentally, but I was worn out.

It’s been a strange couple of weeks though. A lot of things out of the ordinary have been happening. I’ll be glad to see the end of this month!

It’s been awhile since I actually posted something on here other than a survey or something of that sort. I felt it’s time for an update.

MIG 2009 has come and gone. The simulation itself went very, very well. I served as Chief of Staff for the Governors Office. It was stressful at times this year, but the simulation did make the whole year worth while. This was my last year in the organization after serving in it since 2003. And although I knew it was my time to go, it was bittersweet to leave something in which I had dedicated so much time and energy. I have the comfort in knowing that I left after helping to put together such a great simulation. I hope the organization will continue to thrive. But, it was my time to step aside and let someone else fill the spots that I had once been in. To stay and deny others the chance to experience what I’ve experienced would be selfish of me.

My life at the moment is consisting of looking for a full time job either in the Springfield area or Chicago. Job searching in itself is my full time job. Hopefully I will find something soon, despite the lackluster economic situation. I’m torn as to where I want to go - the deciding factor will be where I finally find a job that I would like. Although I’ve gotten several calls for interviews (in a relatively short amount of time, I might add) none of them have been a great fit for me. It’s not a knock at all on any company or organization that has called me, it’s just that the job I’m looking for now is hopefully going to be long-term, and I want to be happy in it. I’d love to stay in Springfield because it’s closer to my family and I’ve gotten used to living here. But I would love to go back towards (or into) Chicago because I do love that city, and I love living the city life. It was really a hard thing for me to move back to Central Illinois when I decided to go to graduate school. So now I’m torn as to what should be my next course of action - or more appropriately, my next place to live. Eventually I know I will have to make a choice; sooner than later. It doesn’t give me much time to decide I guess, so I have to go with what my heart and my instincts tell me when the moment comes. It makes me nervous about my future, but it also is exciting. Sometimes the best adventures (as the title of my blog indicates I see life as an adventure) aren’t planned; it’s just what is thrown at you and how you handle it. Never knowing what is around the next corner…it makes life more interesting to say the least. I don’t know where I’ll be six months from now, my only hope is that I don’t regret it.

I have friends in different areas of the state who are looking out for me and are trying to help me in find jobs and such. It is very hard nowadays to find such generosity in this world - and I am very lucky to have found it several times over. These people who volunteered to help me possibly start a new life (of sorts) for myself have no idea how appreciative I am for their friendship and kindness. I feel I would be lost without them. Wherever I do end up, be it here or Chicago, I’m grateful to know that I have friends who I can count on. And I hope that I can one day repay the kindnesses that they have shown me. If you have friends who you feel would be there to help you no matter what, you should feel blessed. I know I do.

**From Facebook**
Tag- You're it!!! Let others know a little more about yourself by re-posting and tagging your friends. Re post note as your name "ology".

1) What is your salad dressing of choice?
French from Monicals, otherwise Ranch or Italian

2) What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Chili's

3) What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
I don't think there is any food I could eat for two weeks straight and not get sick of

4) What are your pizza toppings of choice?
spinach and onion

5) What do you like to put on your toast?
raspberry butter or apple butter

6) How many televisions are in your house?
3

7) What color cell phone do you have?
black and silver

8) Are you right-handed or left-handed?
right handed

9) Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
wisdom teeth

10) What is the last heavy item you lifted?
a whole bunch of stuff today when I was cleaning our patio area

11) Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
yes, in high school

12) If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
only if it was very soon

13) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
something that people could actually spell and pronounce correctly

14) Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
that would be a big hells to the no

15) How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
2

16) What’s your goal for the year?
get a good job either in Springfield or Chicago

17) Last person you talked to?
Jamethy

18) Last person you hugged?
my mother yesterday when I was in Decatur

19) Favorite Season?
fall - baseball and college football!

20) Favorite Holiday?
Christmas (eve to be exact)

21) Favorite day of the week?
Saturdays

22) Favorite Month?
December and September/October

23) First place you went this morning?
outside? cleaning the patio this afternoon

24) What's the last movie you saw?
I think it was Apollo 13, one of the 5 dozen times it was on last month

25) Do you smile often?
I think so

26) Do you always answer your phone?
I try to, when my phone actually decides to ring

27) It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
either a drunk friend or a friend who just left to tell me they got home okay

28) If you could change your eye color what would it be?
if there is one thing I would never change it's my eyes, I love my gray-blue eyes!!

29) What flavor drink do you get at Sonic?
I don't usually go to Sonic, so I don't have one

30) Have you ever had a pet fish?
several

31) Favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night

32) What's on your wish list for your birthday?
I won't know until I get closer to my birthday, it's like 8 months away

33) Can you do pushups?
yes

34) Can you do a chin up?
never could

35) Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
both

36) Do you have any saved texts?
once in a great while

37) Ever been in a car wreck?
yes

38) Do you have an accent?
I don't think I do, but when I lived near Chicago they said I had a slight southern accent

39) What is the last song to make you cry?
My Immortal

40) Plans tonight?
nothing really, got most of my agenda out of the way already

41) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
once in a great while

42) Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
dinner, wine, gas

43) Have you ever been given roses?
yep, in fact I got some just a few weeks ago

44) Current hate right now?
job hunting

45) Met someone who changed your life?
seveal people

46) How did you spend this past New Year?
picking up my mom from work actually

47) What song represents you?
don't really know what represents me for the moment

48) Name three people who might complete this?
no idea

49) What were you doing 12 AM last night?
playing on Facebook I'm sure

50) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
I can't believe I slept in this late!!

Christmas this year was a lot of fun. I first found out that I passed my last class so I am just awaiting word of when my Master’s degree will be awarded (it has to go through a final audit, but mine was clear according to DAR). I have to wait till May to walk in the ceremony because UIS only has one a year. But I can mark off another goal off my 101 things to do list that I posted a couple of years ago - getting a M.A. I need to actually look up that list, because I have the feeling there are several other things I have done that are listed on there.

I found this out on Christmas Eve. That night Jim and I went to dinner since we were the only ones really left in Springfield. Originally I planned on being home that day, but my brother decided to come up for the holidays once again, and his train wasn’t getting in till Christmas. So instead of driving back and forth twice between Springfield and Decatur I decided to just stay the night here. I had been hit by a wave of insomnia or something because I never went to bed that night. The exhaustion didn’t hit me until I was driving home to Decatur. I ended up taking a nap, which is something I NEVER do unless I’m sick. We had our Christmas at our house actually on Friday (this happens almost every year because my mom usually has to work on Christmas). After ours we went to my oldest brother’s house for a second one.

On the 30th, my mom, my brother, and I went to Chicago. The Field Museum had exhibits on the Aztecs and another one on extreme weather - both of which were interesting to me. So we left early that morning. I think every other person in Chicago must have had the day off because we hit traffic and the museum was packed. I’m not a big crowd person, so I wasn’t overly thrilled with the thousands of people that day. We spent most of the day there. On our way back (missing most of the rush hour traffic) we stopped in Joliet/Shorewood at Portillo’s for dinner. My brother had never been there since he had only come up to see me once when I lived in Joliet, and I had taken him to Mongolian BBQ instead. He liked it though. As we were driving back to Decatur we got caught in a snow and wind storm. It took quite a bit for me to keep the car on the road.

My brother didn’t head back to Texas till the 5th. He and I both spent the New Years with the family - we did have some wine for NYE at midnight, just after we had picked up our mother from work. But I enjoyed having him up here because I don’t get to see him very often. Plus our mother likes to have the chickadees in one place, even if it is only for a little while.

The day he left happened to be my friend Blake’s going away dinner. He just got a job with the Houston Police Department. My day was non-stop: getting my stuff together, dropping my brother off at the train station just about 3 minutes (literally) before the train got there, picking up Jim and Nicole, going to BWW for the dinner, going to Best Buy to buy something that is not out yet (annoying!!), and some other places. Basically as soon as I hit the Springfield city limits I was back on the run - a far cry from my laid back vacation-like holiday in Decatur. But quite honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This weekend I’ll be back in Chicago. There is a MIG meeting up at NEIU. This is the first TBD January meeting that we’ve actually had for as long as I have been in MIG. I don’t mind it as much though since it is in Chicago. I’m staying (with Jim and hopefully Nicole) at the Hilton on the Mag Mile while we are up there. I’m actually very excited about it. I have no idea what I’ll get up to while I am up there, but one thing is for sure…I won’t be sitting in one place very long!

A lot of people go through A LOT in their lives - some of it good and some of it not so good. For the most part, I've been extremely lucky. I have had some bad stuff happen to me, believe me. But those experiences have been outnumbered many times over by the good/great things I've experienced. And I learned from the bad experiences, so at least something positive could come from them.

We all may look at beginning this new year in a different way. For me, I'm using 2009 to move forward completely. Some things are already going that direction. I am finished with grad school and am just waiting to hear on the final word on when my degree will be awarded. I'm looking forward to a new job either in Springfield or Chicago. I am not opposed to living in either place as long as I am happy.

But beyond all that I am leaving the past behind - everyone is on a new, clean slate with me. Don't get me wrong; I've learned from what people may have done to me or others. I am not trying to forget the lessons that have been learned. Instead, I am giving people the benefit of the doubt that they can change. I know I have changed over the years (hopefully for the better) so I know that if a stubborn person like me can change, others may have too. I am just letting go. There is no one left that I am bitter towards. It's more of just giving people credit instead of thinking the worst of them.

This is not a blank check to let people do whatever. Some may just end up back on the sh*tlist. I'm not blind to the fact that chances are it might happen, but I am hoping it won't. But to start off the year, there is absolutely no one on it, past or present.

So, with that I say Happy New Year to everyone. Lets hope that this new year will be even better than the last!

1) Where did you begin 2008?
Springfield, my newest hometown

2) What was your status on Valentine's Day?
I think the correct term would be soused….

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Still working on my Masters degree

4) How did you earn your money?
Other than financial aid, I worked at SIU School of Medicine and a contracted employee through Kelly Services to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Not for me, I did have to take someone else to the ER

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
No, not really

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
Almost, but no

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
yes

Do you know anyone who passed away?
no

11) Did you know anyone who had a baby?
yes

12) Did you move anywhere?
Not really

13) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Didn’t really go to shows as much as baseball games this year

14) Are you registered to vote?
Yes, in Springfield

15) What was your favorite TV show this year?
Law & Order: SVU!!!

16) Where do you live now?
University Villa apartments next to the SIU School of Medicine's School of Nursing building

17) Describe your birthday?
Few people going to dinner with me; birthdays are not a real big celebration for me because it is always during finals week

18) What's one thing you thought would never happen but did in 2008?
Election 2008, getting my Masters degree

19) What has been your favorite moment.
See question 18

20) What's something you learned about yourself?
I stress out way too much to the point that I can make myself sick

21) Any new additions to your family?
Not that I know of, we will next year though

22.) What was your best month?
December!!

23.) What music will you remember 2008 by?
OMG I have heard so many good songs this year, I don’t even know where to start….although I loved Kennealy’s rendition of “I Kissed A Girl”

25) Made new friends?
yep

26) New best friend?
My twin, Andrea, and Michelle

27) Favorite Night out?
July 4th weekend in St. Louis for the Cubs Cards game; walking around in downtown Chicago in the pouring rain is actually close second

28) Do you think 2008 will be better or worse?
2008 wasn’t bad….but I think 2009 could be better J