Ides of March

Ok Ok... sorry... i've been bad about updating this thing... my bad!Things have been really good the last month or so... busy... but good. I actually did try to post something twice BUT the dumb computers in our lab froze up and wouldnt let me post anything! I am trying to think what all is new... i got elected to VP of our fraternity (currently the two time defending #1 chapter in the country out of the 90 pharmacy schools out there...) so i really think thats a great honor that i am looking forward to taking over in about a month or so. What else...i got an IPOD SHUFFLE which has just revolutionized my running entertainment... the thing is a size of a stick of gum and weighs 0.75 ounces... that is crazy. Oh yeah... it also holds 1 gig of music or a total of 220 4-minute songs... (just depends on the lengh of the song and size of the file... i have about 40 drum corps shows which average about 11 min a pop so my song total is more like 200)... so its actually a pretty amazing little toy. You can just wrap the lanyard attachment thing around your wrist while you are running and it feels like a medium sized watch (like... a watch that only weighs 3/4 of an ounce)! Isnt that cool?

I am here in knoxville right now visiting mandy and my friends. I've stayed in josh's living room for the last two nights and i'll be heading back to nashville today. I've got a BIG race tomorrow... 13.1 miles (1/2 marathon if you prefer)... i know already that my dad is going to destroy my time... and thats not me being pessimistic, i just know he is really fast and i cant really keep up with his pace. I ran 8 miles with him with him afew days ago and he had to do two really fast miles (miles number 4 and 5) and he did them at 6:29 and 6:37 respectively. I know that might not really SOUND that fast to all you non-runners or non-serious runners out there... but i run at a decent pace of about 8 min/mile... and thats a minute and a half faster than me per mile... that means by the time someone runnng a 6:30 has finished their mile, i've still got another lap to do... or essentially, i would be getting lapped once a mile... and i think that would probably sound more normal if we switched, like.. if i was running really fast and my dad was running at just a normal/respectable pace.. but no.. the 23 year old is getting his butt kicked by the 54 year old!! I tell him all the time that he is the youngest 54 year-old i know, and its really true.... he is probably the youngest 45 year old i know too... i hope i got some of those genes.

Mandy and I are having a great month of march! We get to see eachother every weekend and some days in between... april will be tough of both of us, but after that its gonna be wonderful until we head back for the fall semesters. I am really looking forward to this summer more than i have looked forward to a summer since i did bluecoats... Mandy and I are planning on taking 3 or 4 day trips to go see our respective corps in competition, and i'm just really excited. you all know i could probably write afew pages on that aspect alone- but i'll save that for later. It will be great to just hang out and work in a pharmacy and make some fat cash and by then i'll also probably have a new(er) car and that will make me happy... i know a way to rig my (15-gig) ipod up to a CD player (digitally- not through the FM transmitter which is kinda scratchy anyways), i just have to get the right kind of CD player in there... i will then have every single MP3 that i own right at the touch of my fingers which i think will be nice- i have a buddy at church that did that and he said its just totally taken away any need for him to carry CDs with him and he loves it.

It was great to see everyone here in knoxville... apparently jesse was really busy, because she only stayed around at josh's for the first 5-10 minutes that i was there and then she left, but i remember what its like to be a senior and have that last push to get outta this place and make sure you end on a good note with tests, papers, and presentations...so no love lost. I know you were busy and we will get to talk more this summer. Josh is working at his engineering job alot and i'm sure thats fun for him to get to practice doing what he wants to do for a living, but i know he is working some tough hours and still taking some class so i can tell that he is alittle tired. He has noticeably lost weight, i havnt seen him that skinny since highschool! I know he has made some awesome health choices in the form of exercise and nutrition, and not all of them are easy changes so i commend him for the progress he has made and WILL inevidtably (did i butcher that word?) make as a result of these new choices. awesome job. i threw frisbee with scholes for 30 minutes but we didnt talk about anything important, just sports, Frisbee, and school... seems to be doing good. I didnt see Sam or Dobbs... maybe they didnt know i was in town, so i'm sure thats probably my bad, they were probably also busy finishing up the big pre-spring break rush of tests, papers, and other deadlines that i know UT teachers just LOVE to slam on you before you can relax...

Weeeell... i'm all the way over here in knoxville but somehow i've managed to bring my Medicinal Chemistry notes with me and i'm thinking i'll jump into day 3 of studying for the test we have this comming wednsday (i've been studying while mandy is in class)....getting ready to jump... ok... wait for it... here i go.... AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh......!