Saturday, September 29, 2007

My Thursdays have a Meaning Again pt. 2

Now, I think "obsessed" is kind of a strong word. Do I have a Grey's Anatomy poster? Yes. Do I schedule my classes around Grey's Anatomy? Yes. Do I sign my name "Mrs. Meagan O'Malley"? No... I draw the line somewhere. Maybe I'm not obsessed, per se... but let's just say I'm a pretty big fan of the McSexiest show on television.

So, last season left us at Burke and Christina's wedding. Meredith really wants them to get married just to prove that love can survive the twisted world they live in. Her relationship with Derek is on the rocks and she thinks Christina and Burke's marriage will prove that they can make it, too. But, Burke leaves Christina at the altar realizing that he was pushing her too far (and that he's a homophobic jerk) and she was only doing this to please him.

With no wedding, Meredith thinks it's a symbol that her and Derek can never be. Meanwhile, it's Derek who feels like he's been left my Meredith over and over again. He tells her he loves her and that if it should end, she should be the one to end it.

But, George probably has it the worst time of it. Callie wants to have his baby, Izzie confesses his love for him, and he failed his intern exam and initially decides to leave Seattle Grace. He proceeds to try for a baby with Callie, leaves Izzie hanging, and at the beginning of the fourth season, repeats his internship year.

Bailey is pissed that the Callie was promoted to Chief Resident, instead of her.

Derek is offered the position of Chief of Surgery, but turns it down because the best person for the job already has it.

Adel is in the hospital because she's PREGNANT with Richard's baby, but loses it. Despite that, the couple seems to reconciliate a little.

Addison, upset that she can't have a baby, starts questioning her life and what it means and all of that. She eventually decides to leave and start her own show.

Ok, fast-forward seventeen days and it's the beginning of season four.

Almost all of our favorite interns are now residents and have interns of their own. George, who is repeating his intern year and pissed about it, is assigned to Meredith.

Christina and her interns are working with the severed arm of a pregnant woman that Meredith and her interns are working on. Alex and his interns are working with a patient that was in a car crash with minor injuries. But, he gets so hungry he starts eating medical supplies and needs surgery.

Shepard is working with a guy who has a smashed skull and pretty much can't move unless he wants to die.

Poor Izzie can't find anything to do until a little boy pulls her out to his dad's car where there is a hurt deer. The boy begs her to help the deer while his dad tries to tell him that the deer will die and then they will eat it. Izzie, convinced by the child's plight proceeds to perform surgery on the deer while her interns look on with distain.

But, she saves the deer and says to the interns "I can't believe I got the duds."

One of the other interns is Lexi Grey, Meredith's half-sister. George knows who she is and tries to warn Meredith, but isn't successful. Derek is caught between the two women at one point and realizes is that Lexi is the woman he was flirting with at the end of season three in the bar.

Lexi, whose mother just died of hiccups, is desperate for a relationship with Meredith who is less than interested.

Derek has the unfortunate job of telling Christina that Burke isn't coming back.

Meredith breaks it off with Derek, but then proceeds to have "break-up sex" with him, suggesting that this relationship is likely not over.

But, here's the kicker... the doorbell rings at Meredith, Izzie, and Alex's house. Izzie answers and it's George standing on the step and he says, "I love you, too."

And that's the end!

I love this show! Seriously!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

My Thursdays have a Meaning Again

Oh, I remember why I love Thursdays now!!! It's because it's the best night of television!!!

First, of course was Ugly Betty!! (I think Grey's needs it's own blog)

Now, you may remember the end of last season. If you don't let's catch you up. Daniel was hopped up on whatever drug he turned to since his brother returned from the dead as sister and his magazine started spinning out of control. Being the brotherly (or sisterly) person he/she is, Alexis rushed him to the hospital in the sabotaged car of their father, Bradford who Alexis tried to have killed.

Meanwhile, Betty's adorable nephew was called up from his understudy position to play Tony in his school production of West Side Story. His father, Santos, who had recently come back into his life and proposed to his mother, Hilda stopped to buy him a gift for after the show and got SHOT when the store he was in was held up.

And, just as the whole Betty/Henry romance is starting to take off, Henry's evil girlfriend, Charlie shows up claiming she's pregnant with Henry's baby! But, later Betty goes to the orthodontist and stumbles upon the fact that Charlie has been seeing her ortho and is convinced that the baby is his, not Henry's! Her original plan was to chase down Henry and catch him before he took off, but Santo's death prevents her from getting there and Henry leaves as Betty is left to comfort her sister!

Back at Mode Amanda and Christina are trapped in Fey Summers' love dungeon and find out that Fey is actually Amanda's real mother!

Ok... fast forward to three weeks later, which is when this new season begins.

Alexis and Daniel are both in the hospital after their car wreck during the season finale. Daniel is a little broken but Alexis is in a coma. Daniel doesn't want to see her because he feels guilty about the whole thing seeing as she was trying to rush him to the hospital because he was so high.

But, after getting the courage to visit her, she wakes up! With amnesia and doesn't even remember getting a sex change!

Hilda seems very excited about her wedding as she sits on her bed talking to Santos who comes out of the bathroom with bandages around him but otherwise unharmed.

Betty's father is still abroad working out his immigration problems.

Amanda confronts her parents about actually being Fey's daughter and Mark is convinced that Bradford is her father which would mean that Willamena's evil plot to take over Mode could hit a legal snag.

Daniel and Betty go on a quest to start fresh. Betty buries all sorts of Henry memorabilia and Daniel goes cold turkey and buries his drugs.

Justin is caught milling around Mode, but is an instant favorite around the office and actually lands an internship.

Hilda is showing Santos her wedding dress and insisting that he read her his vows. He reads them while Betty holds her mock funeral for her relationship-that-wasn't with Henry.

Later that evening, Betty comes upstairs to see if Hilda wants to help her make dinner. Santos is suddenly gone and Hilda is left alone crying on her bed. He did, in fact, die in the season finale.

Then, in the final seconds of the episode, a bus pulls up in Times Square and the adorable nerd Henry steps out.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Quotes to write by

After last week's mini-major-meltdown, I decided to decorate my wall with some inspirational quotes to write by. It sounds a little cheesy but most of them are coming from an amazing book I'm reading for one of my classes. It's called "On Writing Well" and everyone should read it.

Here are some of the quotes going on my wall:

"The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components."

"Good writing doesn't come naturally, though most people seem to think it does."

"A clear sentence is no accident."

"If you find that writing is hard, it's because it IS hard."

"Writing is learned by imitation."

"Remember that words are the only tools you have."

"Once you have your unities decided, there's no material you can't work into your frame."

"Good writing is good writing, whatever form it takes and whatever we call it."

I like these quotes. I think they're both realistic and inspirational which is a really good combination.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Renovations... big deal!

So you, incoming freshman class of 2008, are the lucky ones. Why is that, you ask? Well, it's because your class will be the first to enjoy the completely renovated quad residence halls.

Last year all the freshmen were living in older buildings. They weren't complete crap they were just a little old. And maybe a little outdated. Then, renovation began with Crawford and Stalnaker which caused major upset for the residents. They had construction noise constantly and there were workers in and out of the buildings and the basement kids almost needed to be relocated.

Now half of the freshmen are living in renovated halls. Crawford and Stalnaker are complete so all of those residents get to enjoy brand-new dorms.

But you guys... you will ALL be living in the "lap of luxury" as the newspaper would say. Everybody will have carpeting and air conditioning. Everybody will get to enjoy the brand new furniture in the room and in the lobby. Everybody will have their own little mailbox and key so they can access their mail whenever you like. Everybody living in Crawford and Carpenter will be able to zip across their bridges and everything.

BUT!

Call me crazy, but I don't WANT Carpenter (or Herriot, but mostly Carpenter) to be renovated. Sure the other halls are nice, but I didn't even recognize them. I felt like I was in a hotel. I don't want to live in a hotel. I want to live in Carpenter Hall.

I think part of the problem is that I became really attached to Carpenter my freshman year. I went through such a huge transition and that's where it happened. And I think that's where my attachment stems from.

And they're going to make Carpenter look just like Stalnaker and Crawford which is nice, but it's going to be completely unrecognizable. It's not going to look like home anymore.

I like it the way it is. Air conditioning will be great and changing the bathrooms is going to be AMAZING, but I really don't want to be walking into Carpenter and not even know it!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Pink Eye is the new Leprosy

This week I was pretty sick and it was no secret from anyone. I was coughing and sneezing and leaving a trail of tissues behind everywhere I went. But everyone was fine around me. They came over, they sat and chatted with me, we went out to dinner together and we did all sorts of things.

But Thursday brought on a nasty case of pink eye and never in your life did you see someone avoided like I was.

At first, my girls didn't really notice. They would be walking with me and suddenly they would stop and say something like "Your eye is really red. Do you have allergies?" and I'd say "Nope, it's pink eye." They'd stop dead in their tracks and with a horrified look on their face say to me "Meagan! That's really contagious!!!!"

First of all... DUH! Of course it is! I'm not stupid. I think anyone who's made it through kindergarten without understanding that pink eye is contagious was probably home-schooled.

Second of all... is there really the need to step back from me with so much disgust on your face? I mean, really. My pink eye is not going to jump from me to you when we make eye contact, calm down!

I was very careful about my pink eye. I've been using hand sanitizer and washing my hands constantly and I throw away all my tissues.

It's starting to clear up a bit today which is good because I was about to move away and live in a colony with all the other pink eye sufferers.

And just for future reference... leprosy is far less contagious than pink eye, but the scare it generates is pretty similar.

Friday, September 14, 2007

It don't come easy, it's a game of give and take

I'm not really talking about love. Although, I agree that this easily applies to love. What I'm really talking about here is school.

Last week I was feeling super overwhelmed. I just had a lot going on, I guess. And there's no one to blame but myself. I can pick and chose my extra curriculars. Anyway, everything was just piling up on me and I found myself sitting in one of my journalism classes (I think it was specifically my magazine writing class) and suddenly I started having all of these thoughts like "Why did I pick this major?" and "I can't do this, I'm not any good."

But then, I was really angry with myself for thinking those things. I mean, really. I got pretty angry at me. How dare I expect that the skills to be a magazine writer would just come to me over night? How could I think that I could just be born with the ability? I was upset because I was actually challenged. And that sucked.

That's how you learn, isn't it? By being challenged?

It was the first time I really questioned my major and I didn't like that feeling. I started blaming society and cursing it for making eighteen year olds pick out their whole life path. Heck! My biggest concern is how to register to vote right now and I'm expected to decide on what I want to do for the next forty years? That doesn't even seem right!

But then, I remembered, that I'm not bound to this forever. I didn't sign some contract saying that I'm going to study and practice magazine journalism for the rest of my life did I? Heck, I could get bored of that and move on. I've always had the idea that I want to teach in the back of my mind, but I'm not studying education.

What really bothered me, though, like I said, was that when things got just a tiny bit difficult for me I reconsidered my path. That's just so stupid! That's why I'm here! To learn the skills necessary! Just because and assignment or two doesn't come easy doesn't mean I'm not good.

I'm not going to quit something just because it's hard... I'm going to quit something when it's not worth the effort.

To quote my band director: "I never said it was easy, I only said it would be worth it." And I believe every word. I still love journalism. I love designing and writing and photography so that tells me I'm on the right track.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

The bridge to my future!!!

Carpenter hall has a bridge that leads from the hall to the main part of campus. Using the bridge students can get to Spikes, Hubbell and pretty much everywhere else pretty easily. I love the bridge. In fact, Carpenter Hall even has something painted on the lobby wall. It says "Carpenter: the bridge to your future."

I arrived here about a month ago and guess what was missing??? The bridge to my future was! Instead of a bridge there were a whole bunch of white posts holding up, well... nothing at all. If Carpenter is the bridge to my future, and there is no bridge... what does that say about my future??

At first I was shocked simply because it looked so funny without it. Then, the real inconvenience of the situation set in. Instead of using the bridge, we must now leave through the door on the street side of the building and walk around it and another building to get to the central part of campus. It probably adds a good two or three minutes to my walk!

It doesn't really SOUND like that big of a deal, but when it's summertime, it is. You don't want to spend any unnecessary time outside.

Not to mention the fact that all of my friends currently live in GK which is just a hop, skip and a jump WITH the bridge, WITHOUT it however... it's kind of a stretch.

Although, my bridgeless days may soon be over. Construction started this week and the progress is amazing!!! It's a good 2/3rds of the way done. Well, I can't really say that because I really don't know the intricacies of bridge construction. What I do know is that the length of the bridge is about 2/3rds of distance between the hall and the sidewalk where it's supposed to end.

The bridge will be back soon, I'm sure of it!!!!!!!!!! And with it my future!! Well, at least a much more convenient way to get around campus!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Stevo remembered a year later


Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of Steve Irwin's death. For whatever reason, I totally loved that guy and I'd like to post a little something I wrote upon hearing of his death... it's called "mourning and Australian love".


Yes, I woke up this morning and crawled out of my metal loft only to check my e mail and alas, the disturbing news was presented ... The Crocodile Hunter has died.

Cue the immediate disbelief.

Without a second to lose I hopped on to google, but the rumors were confirmed by every major news source in the country. Mr. Crikey had croaked. Ironically while filming a documentary called "Ocean's Deadliest," Steve Irwin was stabbed in the chest by the poisonous barb of a stingray. The barb punctured the bloke's thrill-seeing heart and the paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Cue the slow acceptance and the waterfall of tears.

Not Steve-o!! He's indestructible. He's immortal. He's impervious to eighteen kinds of venom. I adore the khaki-clad superhero in all of his Australian zaniness. His adventures brought him within an inch of death whether it was the poisonous fangs of a cobra or the unrelenting jaw of a crocodile. Unfortunately, this adventure brought him too close.

To me, Steve Irwin was Australia, just as he was Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. And I don't think that this unique and devastating loss merits black at all. In true Croc Hunter style, I'm wearing khaki.

Peace, Steve-o ... go wrestle the great crocs in the sky ...
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