So much fun for the holiday weekend!

Sometimes I think that I have a little too much fun. Then I realize that I am in graduate school, and fun is a luxury that will probably be few and far between for a little while. Nonetheless, I still find ways of enjoying myself. So much has happened since the last post, so I will try to fill everyone in on the "excitement".

I'll start last week, during the 25 hour period when I could not sleep. It was weird, but I am fine now. Beth agreed to join me for some midnight munchin' at Jou Jou Cafe. I was so happy because it was a 2 for 1 special for the sandwiches. I got two gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches for the price of one. They are soooooo goooooooooood. Yummy.



Following that insane week of school, a group of us were invited to Jayme's house in Da Bronx for some food and a flick. Not just any flick, it was Monty Pyton and the Search for The Holy Grail. A classic british comedy film. Very funny, and certainly not politically correct by any standards. Jayme (and the guy she married) have a really nice apartment in the Bronx. Oh, by the way, Jayme made fresh pizza AND really good chocolate chip cookies. The food was AWESOME!
A little side note is important at this point in the post. our program is very tiring and requires quite a bit of our time. Actually, it requires all of our waking time. This is why James sleeps through EVERYTHING, even class. Most of us think he is just tired, but I believe that he is really living a double life and goes somewhere every night to "work" or do something. In any case I felt it necessary to take a picture of "Sleeping Beauty" to show all of you what James looks like during class. I hope his mother isn't reading this....



On a lighter note, I was out the other day having lunch between classes at the 116th campus at this nice little diner. I was simply amazed and very confused by the number of people stopping and posing outside the diner (directly in front of me) to have their photo taken. I just could not figure it out. Rami later informed me that the diner I was at was the outside shot of the diner used in Seinfeld. I felt rather ignorant, but relieved that I was not being displayed as some kind of carnival/zoo freak for tourists. The other night, while out to dinner with my friend Ileana, I had my picture taken in front of the diner. I guess I had to be like the rest of the tourists...



Well, the next time I was able to get out and about was this past weekend, for the Turkey Holiday. It's a great time to spend with friends and family. I did both and had a great time. Here are a few pictures of friends and family:

My brother and father:



The LARGE turkey that we barely dented at dinner. I think it weighed a metric ton or something close to it!



A group shot of everyone at dinner. I had to super glue my mother to her chair to get her to sit down for 5 minutes and enjoy the marvelous meal she had spent all day preparing. It was sooooooo good!



My brother and his wonderful wife! These kids are something else. I am surprised that he does not get into trouble more often, but I am sure she holds her own! They are very cute together, and he is VERY lucky to have her.



After consuming several pounds of Turkey and subsequently sleeping it off until 11AM the next morning, it was time to return to school for more studying and a friendly social gathering in Asia (actually it was Queens). Renee, Nicole and I joined Jamie and Yaritza at Imee's place in Queens. It took so long to get there we thought we were actually going to Asia. What a crazy commute for her to make EVERY day! Yikes! Anyway, Imee is a long time vegetarian and I was expecting some great food at her place. I was not let down at all. The food was spectacular and there was a lot of it! What I did find hilarious was that she had an entire chicken cooked and had no idea how to carve it. I believe she said "Just get a knife a slice it right up the middle. Just like we do in Anatomy Lab." Well needless to say, the chicken was not touched all night. It's all good though, the rest of the food was plentiful and great tasting. Here is Imee with all of the food she and her family prepared for the guests:



Imee invited a bunch of her friends from Rutgers (her undergrad school) as well as other walks in life. Here she is with her Rutgers girls. One of them is drinking two cups at once (?!?) and the other is recovering from devouring the rest of the guacamole dip single-handed. In any case these girls were really cool and very smart. I wish them luck with the job thing. My classmates and I are not dealing with that issue right now, we are just trying to keep our heads above water.



Everyone was having a great time. Jamie and Nicole were enjoying the wine



while Yaritza and Renee were enjoying the food and the wine as well.



Imee jumped in for a Columbia DPT picture.



Imee even went as far as eating a piece of Turkey leg in celebration of the Holiday. It must have been tough for her, but I give her props for giving it a shot.



Here is a perfectly good example of why you should not drink too much wine and then pose for candid shots. Renee usually looks like this in the morning classes we have. Despite this look, she is very popular with guys who stare from a distance and don't talk to her at all. In any case, we still love her. I think there is some kind of surgical procedure that can fix this look anyway. (I hope her mother sees this, because it is funny...)



Finally we headed out on the #7 train back to Manhattan. And, just like we usually do, broke out the studying for the subway trip. It's not easy, but we need to study at any chance we get. Blah! Here Jamie is supposed to be studying, but is inspecting her new shoes. Renee and Nicole are participating in the studying, although we were all very tired.



Finally, Renee and I went downtown to scout a few places to study today and enjoy the sites and smells of NYC. Bad idea on my part. My bad. The badness is me. I am the bad. It was a zoo and packed with tourists who were just walking into each other, and us. Ugh! I did however find the best sale sign I have ever seen. I am not sure if this is a marketing skill that people learn in business school, but it might actually work.



Eventually we ended up at our usual Starbucks on 103rd and Broadway for a few hours of solid studying. Renee loves coffee, and spent most of her time getting the coffee and drinking it before absorbing obscene amounts of information from her books.



One final note. A good friend of mine from New Mexico is coming to visit over the Christmas break. This picture is a perfect example of how my friends treat me. What she does not know is that she is sleeping on the street, especially after sending me this photo. She will certainly stick out like a tourist in the Big Apple.



Well, this is a really long post, so I need to get to bed. I have a 15K road race tomorrow in the Bronx! See you next post...