My Long Absence

So last week I was in Florida, visiting my grandparents. And the week before that I was swamped with midterms and assignments. Craziness. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I had an excellent time in South Pasadena, FL. I left Friday, March 18, and I just got back last night. Good food, relaxation, good books, and a couple of Coronas with lime.... Spring Break from heaven; Tina style. My good books, of course, consisted of Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours. Since I've had so much work in my regular classes thus far, I hadn't had time to do the reading for our workshop. Needless to say, after hours of free time this week, my reading is completed. How excellent. I highly recommend both novels to anyone interested in the writing of Virginia Woolf.

Despite the warm weather down south, I was one of two people who would go in the unheated pool the entire week. Only a man who was originally from Cape Cod (and myself) would swim in it. The water was about 60 degrees, but it was excellent. Lay in the sun, get toasty, dive in the pool and cool off, and lay back down. That was the routine. Of course, I have terrible luck with weather, so there were only three nice days for swimming. Thursday, after I had had enough with waiting for the weather to improve, I spent the day at the beach and in the pool despite the intimidating cloud cover.

Interestingly, my friend Candice was also in the same area that I was this week. Her grandparents are a bit younger, and they live about 10 minutes from my grandparents! On one day (Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday.. I can't remember) my grandmother and I visited with Candice and her family. We spent the afternoon in the pool and in the sun. It felt so awesome to be meeting up with a friend while down there. Colleen and Kelly were also in Florida, but they were too far away, in Fort Lauderdale, to visit them. Hopefully everyone had an excellent time!

Our new kitty

This is Merlin, our new kitten. Well, Lindsay and Oz's kitten, but I love him already!! He took a nap when I was petting his belly. We put Lindz's Nokia cell phone next to him so you all can see how little he is. :) So cute, I can't even handle it!

The 21st Birthday Celebration

What a weekend. Such a great time. My Mom came Thursday, as promised, with my Aunt Sue (who lives in Woonsocket, RI). She brought a surprise with her... my little brother, Tim (not-so-little...six feet tall and 18 years old). I was so pumped! We went out to Applebees for dinner and drinks. Mom, Aunt Sue, me, Tim, Nik, and Colleen. Lindsay came after she got out of work at the Newport P.D. where she is an intern. Also, Nik's sister (Carolyn) came with her fiance, Lou. We had a great time. Those Applebees cocktails are huge! Daaaamn. ^_^

We came back here to the apartment and opened presents... Yay for presents! *wink* And Friday we went to Foxwoods for the day. I won some and lost some. Overall, came out ahead since my Mom made sure I didn't lose any money. Nik, on the other hand... Dammit, Nik! He won $200 on a 50 cent slot machine. We didn't know how much he had won at first, since the payoffs were unclear. Some guy walked over and heard us wondering if we would be needing more cups for the half dollars the machine was pouring out. He told Nik that if he was correct, Nik had just won 400 credits... aka 200 smackers. I thought Nik would cry. He was so excited. We went over and played the tables for awhile as well... Nik played "Acey Ducey" and turned $40 into $80 (with my help... I'm the one in charge of making sure he walks away before his luck turns bad...) Overall, we had a great time.

Last night Nik and I went out alone to a local bar here in Newport. It's called the Rhino Bar and Grille. We went in, sat down, and perused the menu. We noticed a drink called the 70 oz. Rum Punch. It said that it was fit for 7 people. $22. Sounded good to us. I watched the bartender pull out what looked like a giant margharita glass. She filled it with ice, and she then proceeded to pour an incredible amount of liquor into 2 shakers three times in a row (6 shakers altogether)before it was filled to the brim. We drank it with two straws in about 35 minutes. It was sweeeeet! We had intended to go bar-hopping, but after this concoction, we were only up for another small drink at Salas' along with a game of pool before heading home. I highly recommend this one, since if we had each been paying for ourselves, we would have only spent $12.50 apiece... and we were totally gone. What a crazy night! ^_^

Kitty Kitty!!

I know you are all dying to know what happened on my birthday weekend. (Not too much occurred, other than what I already reported for plans.) However, before I can report on this, as promised, I must contain myself awhile in order to inform my public of the eminent arrival of a new edition. (No, not that kind, Mom.) An edition much like that which appears in the picture provided. That's right, a new kitty!!

Before you all send your letters of appreciation to Nik, this was not his doing. My roommate, Lindsay, is getting a kitten with her boyfriend, Oz. Since our apartment is the only place he's allowed as of now, we get to keep him here in Newport for the rest of the year! He's only just now big enough to be leaving his Momma, so he's still tiny. Lindsay called me tonight to let me know when she was coming home (tomorrow morning), and she had me listen to his little mews over the phone... oh... my... god. What cute little squeaks! *Turning into a pile of mush* He's apparently a light tan... of course you all can count on pictures very soon....

Alcohol On Campus... But Not For Students

A random thought as I sit here contemplating my newfound alcoholic freedom......

Salve Regina University is a dry campus. No alcohol is allowed on campus at any time. Even if the residents of an on-campus apartment are all of age to drink, alcohol is not permitted. My question is this: When the campus priest goes out to buy the wine for Eucharist (since we are, indeed, a Catholic university), where does he store the wine? Does he store it on campus? If so, is he not in fact breaking one of Salve's favorite rules? Further... I am aware of the Catholic belief that the wine is not really wine... however, according to this tradition the wine only becomes the Holy blood of Christ when the priest blesses it during mass. Does he bless it in his car before driving down Narragansett Avenue? Does he bless it before coming onto campus at all? Hmmmm. Interesting, isn't it?

Don't get me wrong. I agree with having daily mass here. I agree with having the Eucharist with wine, and not fruit juice. I also agree that if this is to be the case, perhaps wine should be allowed in the dorms of those students who are of age. It simply seems hypocritical of our university to take a holier-than-thou stance on the alcohol issue by banning it completely for students (while serving it on campus to dignitaries in the Young Building for international dinner meetings). It's all or nothing. Don't be drinking expensive wine in the ground floor dining room of a student dormitory and turning around to write someone up for having alcohol in their apartments across the street. To quote Chaucer, "And it was from the Gospel he had caught/Those words, and he would add this figure too,/That if gold rust, what then will iron do?"

Food for thought....

I'll Cry If I Want To, But I Don't Wanna

It's almost midnight and I'm excited about the Big Day. Nik is taking me out to a local Irish pub for some drinks at midnight. Therefore I will not be around at that time to post. So excited! And then I get to go to classes tomorrow as well as four hours of work in the Writing Center before I go out for more drinks with Mom and Aunt Sue.

My Mom called tonight and she has a bit of a head cold. I told her that by the time she leaves this weekend, we'll have killed all those nasty bacteria... She agreed. ^_^ Gonna be a great weekend. I'll post with any lovely pictures we take, as well as a summary of goings-on. Hopefully no stomach pyrotechnics. *wink*