I got a Digital Camera!!

Ya! I finally got a digital camera after months of begging! I have a Canon Power Shot A610 w/ 5.0 megapixel. The zoom is amazing! I think that is my favorite xmas gift. Of course I am loving my other gifts, Season 1 of Stargate Atlantis, a warmer cardigan for work(I am soo cold in my office right now, so not funny), a big memory card for my new camera, Now Thats What I Call Music 20 (various aritsts, really good mix) , and a pin to wear that looks like a pointseita leaf. T/m I gotta go venture to the stores to exchange my cardigan for a larger one, need more shoulder room, and I gotta find a nice camera bag- not to big, just big enough to hold the camera, spare batteries, charger(which I gotta get too), and other little things (so I can use it as a purse too). Merry Christmas y'all!

Update: I bought a small camera case at Best Buy- very nice and the price wasn't too bad. Good news- I don't have to buy a charger as the chargere my parents have for their camera works with mine. Got the right size cardigan. Also got some cute pants from NY & CO- on sale. Also found a really cute shirt that was a dusty red and said Tome Coca-Cola Bien Fría (translation Drink coca-cola good cold) but didn't get it b/c mom said we would get it on our way back out. So I hid it, went to NY & CO, and then we went back to JCPenney- it wasn't there! So mom cost me a really cute (cheap too) shirt!

Early Christmas Presents

So last night after working my 10:30 to 7 pm shift, I met some of my friends at Breakaway Café on Natural Bridge Rd. I got to see my friend Liz and her adorable son, Andrew for the first time in almost a month. Little Andrew is thisclose to walking! He is only 9 months old! Hey, I was 9 months when I started walking too! Anyways, all of the gifts I gave were hits. I also love every gift I recieved as well. From froggiegirl, I recieved a Sexy Little Bear(mini teddybear) from Victoria Secret, and four mini lipsticks on a key chain. All of this was in a clever and I'm sure it will prove to be useful in the future, red bag with a outlined heart in rhinestones. From Gimlet, I got one of my fave lotions, Vanilla Bean Noel, from Bath and Body Works, he also got me Cucumber Melon body wash (a nuetral scent that even guys like! go figure). Missy got me the DVD Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants- a movie I absloutely adore!! Missy- Thank you!! I really wanted this movie. My friend Liz got me this incredible book about my all time favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals-Few and Chosen Defining Cardinal Greatness Across the Eras. I am already on chapter 5 of this book, and it is quickly becoming one of my fave books!! Andrew, the adorable 9 month son of Liz, (who suprisingly can already shop) got me a blue scarf that are oh so fashionable today. Its a fuzzy scarf, not the traditional sort, a gift that was totally unexpected which makes it that much better. So far "Santa" has been good to me. Hopefully, my family will like their gifts as much as my friends enjoyed theirs. So to all my friends who read this blog I have one thing to say: THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!

Vigil

Daddy got Vigil!!!! For those who don't know the world of Boyscouting, vigil is the top honor for the Order of the Arrow. I am soo proud of him. He was sooo excited to get it, it is a very big honor, and then doubly suprised to see me and my little brother at the ceremony! This is a big honor for him, but his Silver Beaver that he won last year is still the highest honor ever.

Santa's Coming

Santa is coming to town. Have you been naughty or nice? I like to think I've been a bit of both! ;) Our christmas tree is finally up... did that Sunday night. I have finished all of my shopping and have wrapped all of my presents I am giving. I've been pretty good this year, so I don't think I will be getting coal. If Santa really likes me he will give me Cardinal tickets for the 2006 season, and a digital camera. We'll see. As usual my room is off-limits to both of my parents (normally mom goes in my closet to borrow shoes or a shirt of mine) as I am hiding presents for both of them. Always happens. Its hard to believe that Christmas is only days away. I have Friday and the following Monday off of work. Yahoo!

I'm Done w/ Finals!!

'Nough said!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Yea I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again....Its moving time for my team, we are moving back to our orginal building, this time on the second floor, on Friday. So the end of day on Friday everything must be packed up and ready to move. Oh joy!

Finals

It is finals week. I have taken one and have two to go. First up was my Marketing final. I go in, stressed of course, and instead of giving us the final the professor starts teaching! What the?!! And he wanted us to do an evaluation! Department policy says that the eval must be done and turned in before finals week. Also on the day of the final, you just get the final, and thats it. You don't teach. This teacher was horrible! So naturally I gave him the lowest rating possible. I have a calculus study group this afternoon at 2:30. I have had two sessions with a tutor over this where we have worked on the final review. The final review, if completed and handed in, is worth 7 extra points. So of course I will turn it in. I need all the bonus points I can get. So I will study with them. Then go home to study for my thrid final- Financial Management. I will study and create my cheet sheet. An index card. Not much, but still its worth a lot to me. I think I will take this final t/m evening, instead of Thursday morning at 7:45 AM!! So calc final at 12:15 to 3:15 and then home to study some more and then back up to campus to take my Finacial Management Final at 7:45 PM. Yes this sounds like a better plan of action. I think I can I think I can I think I can. Gotta keep saying that while I take my calc final. Wish me luck, I need it!

Cardinals

Mark Grudzielanek was not offered arbitration and subsequently he is no longer a Cardinal. Matt Morris was offered arbitration and he is also leaving. We traded Ray King to Colorado for second-baseman Aaron Miles and outfielder Larry Bigbie. The Cardinals are apparently close in closing the deal for signing a two-year deal for left-handed reliever Ricardo Rincon. Rincon will turn 36 early in the 2006 season, has a 4.34 ERA for 2005. He has spent the past three plus seasons with the Oakland A's. So if he signs that will be another american leaguer to switch to the "good" side-meaning national league. My opinion is that the American League is not real baseball. One guy gets paid to hit the ball, thats it, he is the desginated hitter, and the pitcher just throws the ball, doesn't go to bat or anything. National League on the other spectrum requires their pitchers to be able to swing the bat. Designated hitters? Yeah right. Last year, when the Cardinals signed Mark Mulder, he was quoted as saying he was excited to actually get to bat. He's done pretty well adjusting to real baseball. Back to my orignal posting... Anthony Reyes is expected to be pushed up to the starting line-up. But is he ready? He was good the one time he came and started a game for the red birds. Then everybody was like "oh he's awesome, he is so next year's starter". Um, hello we have only seen this guy in action once! That is not enough to prove he is ready for the big leagues full time. I am still skeptical, but hey if he can do it then thats great. More money saved. Reggie Sanders and Julian Tavarez were also declined arbitration. Tavarez has a nasty temper that he needs to get under control. He went and broke his hand after a bad outing in the world series!! Hello how dumb can you be?! Sanders is good, I would love to see him as a Cardinal again, but I wish him the best of luck with his new team. Same with Grudzielanek. I just found out that the Cardinals Winter Warm up is on the same weekend that Dad is going fishing and I am attending a regional conference for my fraternity. I soo wanted to go too! Oh well maybe next year. I am thinking of starting a countdown to Spring Training... I can't wait until baseball season starts again!! Go here for more details on Rincon, and here for Winter meetings summary.

New Birds on the Bat

The Cardinals have added two new players to their bench. Catcher Gary Bennet and infielder Deivi Cruz, both from the Nationals. Bennet will back up catcher Yadier Molina, and Cruz will replace Abraham Nuñuz, who signed with the Phillies. A contract was indeed offered to pitcher A.J. Burnett, however there was larger offer from Toronoto, which he has accepted- 55 million for five years. Big mistake on his part, as the Blue Jays aren't even on the radar. They are in the same division as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Red Sox have finished 1,2 in the last two seasons. His loss. However, not to fear the Cardinals always have plans that the public doesn't even know that turn out to be goldmines; case in hand the signing of Pitcher Mark Mulder, David Ecstien, and Mark Grudzielanek. Speaking of the talened second baseman, General Manager Walt Jocketty is pesimistic on Mark Grudzielanek's return to the 2006 lineup. Grudzielanek was an excellent additon to the team, and blended nicely with the organization. He and shortstop David Ecstien made up for the loss of Edgar Renteria and Tony Womack. Hopefully, Grudzielanek, a free agent, will re-sign with the cardinals. If Grudzielanek signs with the Birds on the Bat, then our infield is set. For more on trading deals and the like, go here That's all for now folks. Stay tuned for more Cardinals updates. I can't wait until Spring Training!!
Goal for this year: Go to Winter Warm-up!

There's a New Sheriff in Town

That's right. There is a new sheriff in town. I just reorganized our medicine/ towel hall closet, and woe to the person who messes it up first. Let's just say they will ultimately regret it. Next target: The hall Coat Closet. Maybe not today, but definitely soon. I am a major organization freak, I am downright mean about it. When I organize something, like the pantry for example, if I don't see an expiration date and I don't know when it was purchased- I toss it. So when I organize something it looks really good.
Christmas shopping: Still haven't started, but I now have definite ideas for my dad, brother, froggiegirl, and gimlet. Mom's gift is still in the air, Liz- I'm still working on it, same with Missy. Me-I need to write a list out for "Santa" aka my parents so they have an idea what I want. For Gimlet and Froggiegirl- I would love a gift certificate to any of the following locations- NY and Co, Best Buy, Bath and Body works. I will do my shopping soon, I promise, other wise I'll go nuts. But first I need to focus on finishing the fall semester... Almost there just a little further...One week of classes left!!!!! Then 3 finals, and I am done!! Until Jan. 17th that is, but then it will be only two more semesters until I graduate!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! Whoohooo!

Random Rants

Okay, I haven't bloged in a loong time. So here goes.
Scouting for Food- Wonderful day, largest one day canned food drive that orininated from Gravois Trails (my district) we got lucky with the weather. Even though the truck was parked in the wrong spot, it still worked out. I did a little bit of everything; took bags out of trucks, dumped the cans on the table, directed cars where to park so we could unload them, boxed the canned good, found dry goods and boxed them, told scouts what to do. I love this service project.
St. Louis Cardinals- Cal Eldred and Larry Walker are retiring, they had great careers and will be missed. John Mabry signed a one year contract with the Cubs-bad move on his part in my opinion...he is so talented and the Cubs suck. Abraham Nuñez our hero for the fall, signed a three year deal with the Phillies- It sucks we lost him, but we wish him good luck. It appears we are in the hunt for the contract of free agent A.J. Burnett- the hard throwing former Marlin. Johnny Damon, is another free agent the cards might look towards, I think this would be a bad idea, I don't think he would fit very well in the Cardinals Organization. However, things are still up in the air and can change. The winter meetings are coming up, and if you will remember, Mark Mulder wasn't signed until after the meetings. So a lot of things can happen between now and opening day folks. Congratulations to short stop David Eckstien, who was recently married.

Life in General- Thinks have been really crazy with the semester drawing to a close, and all of my projects are suddenly due now. At least one of them is done, my other project will be finished on Monday, and then I can focus on my final project which will be done Wed. Then I can focus all of my energy towards final exams. My schedule for next semester is locked, so now if I can just finish this one everything will be good.

Santana

Carlos Santana, my favorite artist, just released a new cd: Santana all that i am. I am loving it!! Latin/Salsa is my favorite type of music. Santana's new cd does not fail to deliever. You can tell its a song by Santana when you hear his legendary skill on the guitar. Santana is the best guitaritst in the world. Any guitar, best guitarist hands down. He doesn't smash his guitar either like some knuckle-heads think is soo cool to do. Yes, Jimmy Hendrix was good. Santana, however, is awesome! So far my fave songs are track 3 I'm Feeling you featuring Michelle Branch(she was also on his cd Shaman) and the Wreckers. I also am really loving I am Sombody featuring will.I.am (Black Eyed Peas) track 6. Track 7, Con Santana, is also really good. I first starting listening to Santana back in high school, when Smooth featuring Rob Thomas hit the radio. I absolutly love this song! Then Maria Maria produced by Wyclef Jean came out. Migra and Corazon Espinado featuring Mana are also favorites. So naturally when Shamen hit the stores, I went out and bought it. My favorites on this Cd are You are my kind featuring Seal, Aye Aye Aye, and Hoy Es Adios featuring Alejandro Lerner. I was really excited when I found out that Santana was realeasing another cd! Cry Baby Cry featuring Sean Paul and Joss Stone is another great song. I highly recommend this cd! My father is also a big Santana fan, he has an older Santana: The Best of Santana. Great songs include Black Majic Woman, Jingo, Evil Ways (my marching band played this once, soo cool) and Oye Como Va (my cell phone ring at the moment). This Cd Santana all that i am is definately one of his best. Unlike some artist who produce two or three really good albums and then have some not so good ones, you can expect Santana to deliever hit after hit. This Cd does not dissapoint. So if you love Latin/Salsa music, then Santana is for you.
Carlos Santana Rocks!!!!!!
Update: Earlier I wrote that Santana didn't play electric guitar- my bad. I have now fixed that.

Random Thoughts

Okay so I couldn't come up with a creative title. Oh well. I ordered/bought my bridesmaid dress. It was expensive- ouch! At least gas prices are coming down. Right now QT is at 2.19. Reports are indicating that it will go under two dollars!! Wow!!! Paid my credit card bill, most ever, just from getting gas- that hurt too. Tuesday was Froggiegirls B-day, so that night we all met up at Chevys and celebrated. Chicken fajita and a margarita on the rocks! Yum!! This Sunday Froggiegirl and I are going to another friends birthday party at Dave and Busters. She is turning 21! Gotta get a card for sure. We now have all of the Star Wars on DVD. We just got Star Wars The Phantom Menace on DVD today. Of course we got Star Wars Revenge of the Sith the day it came out.

Me + Computers = Trouble

As you can tell from my title, I had a disagreement w/ a computer. So I moved to a new building w/ my team. I get into work, after taking the stupid shuttle (I waited in the cold for that miserable thing!)I go and start setting up my new desk. So I move my mouse and log on. I begin to smell something funny....like something was burning. Didn't pay too much attention to it as my computer wouldn't allow me access to certain programs which I need to do my job. So I call the tech guys... and hold forever before finally giving up and doing a job for my boss. So after that and running to the cafeteria for a salad, I try tech guys again, this time I get through. After explaining stuff, they said that they would look into it. Meanwhile, I can't do anything until my computer is fully operational. So an hour passes, and I get a call from a tech person who again makes me explain the sitch on my computer, so she says she will be up in 10 or 12 min. She comes up and starts fixing it. So she fixes my computer, and then goes on to fix my phone (I am still smelling the funny odor). She smells it, so she tells me to call the tech guys- she thinks my computer is going to blow up. Oh fabulous. So I call tech, explain the new problem, and they tell me to turn off my computer and they will send someone up to investigate/ fix my problem. Guy comes up, determines I need a new monitor. So he goes away, and then returns w/ new monitor. Still smell something burning. So he takes my tower downstairs to clean it and see if that is a problem too. 12 or 15 min later, I get my tower back. So I only had my computer fully operational for the last 20 or so minutes of work. Fun day!

Bring on the Rain

Okay, so I've been complaining to my friend, Gimlet, that he needs a new post. Meanwhile, I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks!! Okay, so I have no right to tell him to do a new post until I do so myself. The Cardinals season is over, they lost in game 6 5-1, after their miraculous game on Monday night 5-4. The Astros (morons) were 1 strike away from winning the pennet, and Eckstien gets a hit, then Lidge walks Edmonds, and then Pujols comes up on a 1-0 count and hits a monster homerun. Had the dome on the stadium not been closed it woulda gone out of the park. As it was it almost hit that blasted train- now that woulda been funny. I can't complain though, the Cards had a great season, better than most teams, who didn't even make it to the playoffs. So I am as always, a Cards fan- regardless of what happens. Now everybody has to cheer on the White Sox, I so do not want to see those dumb 'stros win the World Championship!! That would be horrible. Well back to my topic title, it is raining here. No thats not entirley accurate, its pouring and lightening and thundering. Great! Except the stupid satalite signal gets lost every time a storm like this hits, yes everytime. No matter what my parents say, it does go out whenever we have a storm. Oh well, nothing I can do about it. There is so much that happened recently, but dinner is on its way, so I will have to post everything else another time. Quick run down on things. Homecoming was fun, though I think I had more fun last year, not exactly sure why though. Le sigh. I am moving to a new building for work. We'll see how that goes. I've had numerous tests, some have gone as expected, others, eh whatever. As long as I pass and graduate in May I will be happy. Okay, dinner will be here momentarily, and I should clean off the table so we can eat.
Go Cards! I have been a Cards fan for over 23 years, and I will continue to support the best baseball team in the world!!

APO and other stuff

Last night my fraternity had its pledge ceremony. We brought in 18 pledges!!! My pledge class was only 5 people. I am soooo excited!!! Its kinda daunting though, we have never had a class this big. Hopefully, all of them will activate. I have a new little, Mitra (Metra). My previous littles, Michelle and Rob, went on to become presidents. Anybody noticing that my littles go on to greatness? I'm kidding, well maybe not.... Rob and I were grinning big silly grins after the ceremony. We have a new thing for the meetings; a gripe box. I decided to write one. So after the meeting ended I wrote on my paper "Rob is a dork. J/K" I gave it to Rob and he laughed. I thought it was an entertaining way of gripping.
The Cardinals won their first playoff game vs. San Diego Padres yesterday 8-5. I was sitting in my International Business class w/ one ear plug in, listening to the game. I actively participated in class, and the prof. never had a clue. This is the second time I have done this. Last time we were in the playoffs, I listened while I was in Spanish class, again Prof. never had an inkling that I was listening to the game. I was in my car when Reggie Sanders hit the grand slam. Thank goodness, I ended up screaming for that, I woulda been in so much trouble in class- I don't think I woulda been able to keep quiet through that one. The ninth inning got a little scary, but we pulled though. Next up Game 2 at 3 pm. If you have an extra ticket and want to share it w/ your fav. Cards fan- look me up!! I am sooo jealous of my friend, Kerri, who gets to attend t/m's game! Let's Go Cards!!!

Time to work out

Okay so I worked out on Sat, even though I wasn't feeling 100%. Actually I really wasn't even feeling 50%. I wasn't about to use that as an excuse not to work out. So I did, and my muscles were sore afterwards. Note to self: do not go overboard on new machine b/c it looks fun. I discovered that I can run; I haven't really been able to run w/o lots of pain in my knees. So I jogged a bit, did stairs machine, stretched, and swam laps. I love swimming!! I feel so at ease in the water! After swimming laps I relaxed in the hot tub, got out did some more laps including a 25 (one lap) of butterfly. Well to be honest it really wasn't all out butterfly- it was a drill, three strokes w/ right arm, three strokes w/ left arm, and then put it together for three strokes. I was drained after that- doing butterfly is a lot more work. It is so sad how out of shape I am-compared to high school that is. I used to do three hours of swimming 5 days a week, and sometimes I hit the gym on the weekends! I could do a 75 (3 laps) of butterfly before feeling drained. I could do a 500 (20 laps) in under 8 minutes! I wish UMSL had a swim team- I would be so much better shape if they did- cause I would push myself to make the team. Oh well. Well, mom is having knee surgery and will need to do some physical therapy for it on her own, so I will have a work out buddy!! Well at least on the machines, not in the water-that will be more like me swimming and her watching.

Nervous Energy

Have you ever been sitting around and you get the urge to do something like go on a walk or go work out? I have a bad case of nervous energy today. I need to go to the pool and swim some major laps. That is why t/m I will go to the Rex Plex and hit the machines, then the pool, and finally the hot tub. I can almost feel my muscles going through the motions of freestyle. That's when I know I really have to get into the water. If my stupid shoulder would quit popping, I would be great. So that's where I will be t/m after a training session for what I still haven't figured out, I said I would go and now I'm stuck going. Not that I mind- I just really want to work out. I think I will stretch tonight while watching the game. For anyone who just said "what game?" You need to be hit! The Central Division Champions, The St. Louis Cardinals are playing tonight!! Cards vs. Brewers (stupid Brew Crew are going down!) Chris Carpenter is going for win #22. Pity that Dontrelle Willis got there first. Oh well, Carpenter got to 17, and the other wins first!! Cheer on the Cardinals tonight!!!

Football!

Okay, it is that time of the year again, Football is back!! The St. Louis Rams are at it again. Their record it 1-1, but the season has just begun. The Pittsburgh Steelers(my other fave team) are 2-0!! Watching football and baseball at the same time is hard. I still do it, flipping back and forth. Shouting at the umps for a bad call (Umps are famous for not giving the right calls for the Cardinals) or trying to predict the reason why the yellow flag was thrown (I know offsides, false start, facemask, holding, and I think illeagal formation) Now that the Cards have clinched the central division title (GO CARDS!!), my dad feels we should watch the Rams instead of the Cards and if we are losing or Ray King is pitching(what the heck was he doing the other night??? He shoulda been behind Molina they so coulda thrown Dunn out! He had to go back and tag the base. Had King been where he should have been, Dunn woulda been out!)- then I agree. However, baseball is far from over and I am not willing to miss one moment. Oh yea, the Blues are back. Big deal. Postseason playoffs are rapidly approaching, and we must watch the Cards win! I love Sports!!
Lets Go Cards!!

No classes!!

For the first time in my history of attending UMSL, all of my classes have been cancelled!!! Why? Apparently some of the nasty storms we expierienced last night knocked out the power on north campus!! Whooohooo!! So I got to sleep in, I slept til 12:30, guess my body really needed the extra rest b/c I never sleep that late. Maybe they won't get the power fixed and classes will be cancelled t/m too! I seriously doubt that, but hey a girl can dream. No classes, no classes!! Lalalalala! (part taken from Lion King's hyennas w/ their "No king, No king! Lalalalala!") UMSL should cancel classes more often, I like this!

Alpha Phi Omega

Okay, so I went to Mizzou this weekend with Hilary and Rob. I attended the first Section 35/49 Fall Leadership Conference. Kudos to the co-chairs who did a fantastic job on it. I had a lot of fun getting lost, we couldn't find the campus. Then we couldn't find St. Louis Bread Co. So we decided to get out and walk, this turned out to be a great idea, because we passed a great bar, Harpos. In additon we ran into a girl who knew where Bread Co. was. So we enjoyed breakfast, showed up late to registration, and then attended a session on how to make meetings more fun. The person in charge of it was dressed in a cow suit and had a cut out of The Rock up front. Needless to say the session was very entertaining. I also attended a bylaw session, this was very beneficial. I also attended Launch, which suprisingly was actually good and proved useful. A three hour session of sitting and listening to lecture, was not high on my list. We left Mizzou early b/c I wasn't feeling too good. Got home around 6ish. All in all, it was a very good conference. Tuesday night we turn our potentials into pledges, we are very excited about the number of people interested in pledging. I will report later with how many pledges we have.

Cardinals are Central Division Champs!!!

Oh yeah!! The Cards are Central Division Champs again!! Back to back!! I just got a new Cards t-shirt w/ that on it last night from my parents. Unfortunately the Cards lost to the stupid cubs today. Oh well, we are the champs. Lets go Cardinals!!

Cardinals

Okay so the majic number for the Cards is 11! We beat the Cubs yesterday. We had a very good road trip. The Roster has just expanded to include 7 brought up from Triple A. They include; Anthony Reyes, Adam Wainright, Randy Flores, Chris Duncan(Dave Duncan's son!), John Gall, Mike Mahoney, and Skip Schumaker. We have seen Reyes, Gall, Mahoney, Flores, and Schumaker in action. We know they are good. It will be interesting to see how Duncan and Wainright do on the major leage level. Reyes and Schumaker are the two who were called up very briefly. However, both players obviously impressed LaRussa enough to call them up when the roster can expand. Jason Marquis appears to have gotten out of his slump; he has won his last two starts. Chris Carpenter became the first 20 game winner in baseball this season, shutting down the Rocket and the Astros. Clemmens only made it through 5 innings, while Carpenter completed the game. We have two more games with the Cubs, who suprise suprise, are not in the running for the wild card. Then we play the Mets. I will be in attendance on Friday the ninth vs. the Pond Scum Mets. My mother hails from Queens, New York and rooted for the Mets, and now to irritate her we boo the mets and call them that name. Let's Go Cardinals. Beat those Cubs!!!

Update: Tyler Johnson was also called up and he pitched for an inning last night. C'mon Cards!! Majic number is now 11!

Katrina

The devestation caused by Hurricane Katrina is unreal. A category four hurricane hit a city that is below sea level- New Orleans. Which is under 20 feet of water right now. It is going to take a long time to drain that water. The citizens there have been told to evacuate the city without knowing when or if they can return to where they have called home. The citizens were warned about this hurricane and told to leave. Many did not heed this warning and as a result thousands are dead, missing, or trapped on roofs. On News Channel 5 they were showing people in Alabama who were chanting "help!" and getting mad at the other citizens of the U.S. for not helping them. There is no food or water. City officials have said they need to get out of the city within 24 hours. Places such as the Superdome that were safe havens for victims are now being evacuated. They are being transported to the Astrodome in Houston. They were taking them by the busloads yesterday, today they are supposedly going to be flown out on 737's. New Orleans is a complete disaster. The people are looting and shooting to get food, whats worse is that some of the police officers have turned in their badges and joined the looters. Yesterday the evacuation process was stopped when some idiots started shooting at the rescuers. I mean c'mon, you are screaming for help and then when help arrives you shoot at them? Oh yea that's how you get more people to come down and help you. They were told that Katrina was coming and they were not safe and that they needed to leave. But did they listen? Nope. Now some democrats and some liberals are blaming President Bush for Katrina. They are saying that it is his fault because he has done nothing to stop global warming. Look there is nothing that man could have done, no one could have stopped Katrina. It was a force of nature, and as we can't control nature, there was nothing that could have been done other than to wait until the wrath of Katrina was done. Several college students are displaced by Katrina are now looking for a place to go. The UM schools are opening their doors to those students. UMSL has a bit on their home page saying how the late fees will be waived and students will be placed in classes. The American Red Cross is taking donations to help those hurt by Katrina. Alpha Phi Omega and Pi Kappa Alpha will be collecting donations for the Red Cross on the UMSL campus soon. More info on that to come. Pray for those hurt by Katrina.

Update: The American Red Cross and the National Guard are doing everything possible to get supplies to people. President Bush is working as hard as he possible can. As for being able to go down to the areas affected by Katrina, we can't-its too dangerous. The Missouri National Guard was sent to help those areas. Evacuation is not as easy as it sounds, some people are trapped in attics or standed on roofs. Rescue teams are working as fast and as hard as possible to save every life they can. Calling people names or raging at them because things are going fast enough for you isn't going to get you anywhere. Money and donations are coming in from every venue and being distributed as we speak. There are somethings in this world we can not control. All we can do is whatever is humanly possible and pray. I live in Missouri, the worst that happens to us is tornados and I hate those awful things. I have seen damage from floods, tornados, fires, heavy storms, and earthquakes. My heart goes out to all those hurt by Katrina. All we can ask is be patient, help is coming, and when they come, don't shoot at them.

Gas Prices

Okay so gas prices have been skyrocketting all over the place. Just heard a nasty rumor that comes from Headquarters at QT. They have been given the okay to raise prices to $3.09 tonight and go up to $4.00 by Sunday!!!! That would be a record high for Missouri!! I can't afford to keep driving to school at that price! I have no one to carpool with. Gas prices have got to come down. This sucks!

Take me out to the Ball Game

Okay so Friday night I got to go watch my favorite baseball team and then Sat afternoon I got to go again, b/c Froggiegirl and Gimlet owed me for watching their chinchillas (which I love doing- I get them all hyper and then leave) (which by the way I didn't do in case you're worried Gimlet). Friday night's game was unbelievable!! We came from behind in the ninth to win the game. We are down 4-0 bottom of the ninth. We start getting base hits and then catcher Yadier Monlina (recently off the DL) comes and slams a 3 run homerun, making the score 4-3. John Rodriguez comes up to bat to pinch hit for our pitcher and smacks out a single. Tony LaRussa then makes the awesome decison to have Hector Luna pinch run for J-Rod. Luna is much faster than Rodriguez. Smart move LaRussa. David Eckstein marks the first out of that inning, which is suprising as he is the hardest Cardinal to strike out, (he is amazing by the way!) Abraham Nuñez comes and smacks a single. Luna rounds second and ends up on third. The next batter, Albert Pujols, out, so Jim Edmonds steps up to the plate. Jimmy hits the game winning double. Luna easily scores, and Eckstein chugs around second and third to home plate to score the winning run. After he scores, the Cards dug out empties and swarms second base where Edmonds is. The all tackle him, congratulating him and celebrating the ninth inning rally. The crowd went nuts!! The atmosphere after the game was unreal. Then I got to go on Saturday, where we won again. Oh yea, and some stupid fan through back the ball when the Giants got a homerun. Hello we are not Cubs fans!! We are not chicago, we do not disrespect the other team like they do. I for one am embarassed by this imature behavior. There were several boos when this was done. Hopefully this was a one time, idiotic thing, and will not disgrace Busch Stadium again. St. Louis is known for being the best town for baseball fans. We love our players and show it. The crowd awarded former Cardinal catcher Mike Matheny (now playing for the Giants) w/ a standing ovation when he recieved his national championship ring. He aslo got a 40 second standing O Friday night when he came up to bat. The crowd also gave a standing O for Larry Walker who finally returned from his long time on the DL. St. Louis is unreal in the way they treat their players: for example when Larry Walker first arrived in St. Louis and played for the first time as a Cardinal, he recieved a standing O, and even when he struck out, we gave him another standing O! This one was another game we came from behind to win, though we didn't play our half of the ninth inning. I introduced Gimlet to my family's traditon of keeping score. He was very excited, and proceeded to keep score for the Giants when they came up to bat. I got to keep score for the home team. I had a great time at both games. I love Busch Stadium! I love St. Louis, and I love the Cardinals!
Let's keep it up guys and Let's Go Cards!!!

Cardinals are # 1!!!!

Its official, the Cards are ahead of the Chi Sox!! Whoohoo!! The Astros are 11 games back, which means the magic number is now 34 ( I think) Yadier Molina will be back behind the plate in a coupla days! Sanders and Walker took in some BP yesterday. Things are looking up! We beat the D'backs last night 8-2. So Taguchi was on fire last night!! Three doubles last night! I love this team!! I love this city!
Let's Go Cards!!

Update: Magic Number is 31!! Yadier Molina is behind the plate now. He was activated last night!! We are still ahead of the Chi Sox. The Astros are 12 games behind, and the Cubs are 17 games behind, the Brewers just pased them and are 16 and a half games behind!

Nike

Thank you Nike!! Apparently Nike has jumped on the band wagon for showing "real" people in their ads! I love this! Finally they are showing that you can be beautiful and at the same time not rail thin. All I have to say is that is about darn time! One of their features is the "less-than dainty shoulders of a swimmer". I was a an active swimmer until I got into college. My shoulders were definitely not these dainty little shoulders you see on models. Especially my senior year, I really bulked up in my shoulders. I happen to like my big shoulders. Swimmers are muscular, I am really proud of all of the muscles I have thanks to swimming. So here is a big shout out to all of the female athletes who are not "dainty" and are proud of it!

St. Louis Cardinals

Okay so it majorly sucks that we lost to the Cubs!! I mean this team sucks big time! And we lost 3 games to them. Well, these past games should serve as a wake up call, just b/c the Cubs are 17 games behind doesn't mean you can play at 50% b/c they will capatalize on the mistakes. The Cards are still leading the NL, and the magic number now is 35 b/c the Astros lost. Right now we need our players to get healthy/ or stay healthy. Hopefully Molina, Sanders, and Walker will be activated real soon, and then we will start to really kick butt.
Let's Go Cardinals!!!

Update: The Cubs are 17 and a half games out. The Astros are ten games behind. Get this we are tied w/ the Chi Sox!!!! Our record is 74-44, theirs is 74-42!! All right!! C'mon red birds, lets win tonight, and hope the Chi Sox lose and then, we will be ahead of them- therefore having the best record in all of baseball!!!! Whoohooo!!!!!!!!!

New York and Company

Okay I am just taking a moment to express how much I love this store. My friend Melissa got my friend Froggiegirl addicted to this store, and froggiegirl in turn got me addicted to this store. This store is "classier" as my mom says than Forever 21 (which only in a blue moon do I find something appropriate to wear to work there) . This store is awesome! I have purchased 2 pairs of jeans and 3 pairs of pants for work there. This store is great for casual and dressy clothes, which is perfect for me as I buy clothes that serve for both play and work. If I can't wear it to work (unless its a character/logo shirt or jeans) I usually don't get it. Considering I only have at least 2 semesters of college left and am working in a place that requires Business Casual, its smart.

Thunderstorms

Okay, so St. Louis County got hit big time by some nasty thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon. Lucky for me I was in the mall w/ froggiegirl when it hit. Actually we were looking at clothes when Gimlet called froggiegirl and said a nasty storm was headed our way. So she asks "Does that mean you would like us to move your car to the garage", which of course he does. At that point we have no clue how bad this is going to be. So we are on the second level of the garage and it is getting really dark outside. The clouds were moving pretty quick. Suddenly the parking lights go out, the wind starts blowing hard and the pouring rain starts coming in sideways. So froggiegirl and I get half soaked trying to get back into the mall. The fire alarms were going off, and then I get a call from troll boy telling me not to go anywhere (as if I would- I hate driving in these conditions), he says its so dark where he is he can't see the highway. Spooky. So we go shopping, leave about 5ish. Get to froggiegirl's neighborhood and it looks like a tornado went through it. Not to mention the trip on the way there. Manchester was a mess (I know I know whats unuasual about that?) From Laclede Station Rd to just East of Highway 141 the lights were not working and of course there were no cops to help direct traffic. They might get wet! Oh the horror!! Then I had to drive home from Froggiegirl's house to aviod wave 2, which I did. The drive there was fun, almost all of the lights on 141 were out and all of Fenton was dark. Not to mention the lightning storm. The clouds, shelf clouds I believe, were awesome! I have never seen such clouds. Unfortunately I did not get pics. We lost power sometime during the storm and didn't get it back until midnight. So not fun. Sunday we cleaned the branches out of the backyard. According to our rain gauge we got over 4 and a half inches that day. According to the radar, we are in for these storms all week. Oh kill joy.

Update: I have been corrected. The road was Barrett Station. My bad. Apparently power is still out in some parts of Manchester. And I am not surprised, why? Apparently some Parkway schools are also without power. Sorry kiddies, you'll still start school on time. Hahaha!