Did You Watch? - Grey's Anatomy

I'll admit that I've had a love/hate relationship with Grey's Anatomy this season. I've watched each episode faithfully, but I had given up on my hopes for the series... until now.

Earlier this season, Christina Yang (Sandra Oh) was injured when she slipped and fell on some ice... and then an icicle plunged into her abdomen. When I watched this, I thought it was a dream sequence. It was ridiculous in every sense of the word. What are the chances? There wasn't even anything to cause the icicle to fall! The icicle never melted in the ER!

Anyway, I watched the next few episodes somewhat reluctantly and eventually got past the icicle that never melted (Ugh!). When comparing that idiotic episode to the one that aired tonight, it seems as though the scripts were from two different shows.

Tonight, Grey's Anatomy reminded me why I started watching the show years ago. The acting by Sandra Oh, Kevin McKidd, and even Katherine Heigl was spectacular! All of the writing was fantastic and heartfelt, but the scenes with Oh and McKidd won me over. The dynamics between the cast have changed so much from the childish he said/she said of seasons past, and the writers seem to be getting to the emotional heart of the characters. I feel like the newcomer, Kevin McKidd, has brought a new direction to the show, and I hope he receives the praise he deserves for his performance.

I just can't say enough about the show. Grey's is back in my eyes, and I can't wait for more.

(But please, please, please. No more icicle-like accidents, writers! That's lame!)

Looking Ahead

It has been quite a long week, but one of the highlights for me was being advised. I stupidly waited until the last minute to be advised, but I left the meeting feeling refreshed, confident, and optimistic about the Fall semester.

I made the tough decisions about which classes to take, and I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Looks like I'll be done with my core classes after the Fall semester (Yay!) and all that will be left will be Political Science, Computer Science, and Blount courses.

Fall 2009 holds a lot of promise. I'm moving off-campus after two very good years in the Blount dorm, I'll be returning to the band for my 3rd season, and I'm going to have another semester of FREE FRIDAYS! (Somehow it worked out that the classes I wanted all had Tuesday / Thursday schedules!)

I think I should find time to go see my advisor more often. I always seem to feel so much more optimistic about my education and my choices after seeing the bigger picture! It is so easy for me to worry about big projects and difficult exams and forget my goals!

Hopefully you had a good meeting with your advisor and are as optimistic as I am. If not, don't worry! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Spring Broken

It's official. I had one of the worst Spring Breaks ever. On Thursday, thirty minutes before I got into my car to go home to Ozark, I was in pain and knew it was going to be a bad day. Sure enough, Friday morning I was in the ER for 8 hours. Sunday night I was taken back to the hospital and scheduled for surgery. On Monday I had my gallbladder removed, and Tuesday afternoon I was finally released.

Trust me, it isn't ideal to spend the only 10 days of freedom from college in a hospital room and recovering from surgery. I didn't go to the beach. I didn't shop, sleep until noon, camp out, or take a road trip. Plans to visit my sister on the gulf coast were quickly tossed out, and I was only able to hang out with friends once.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I don't have to make up any tests or find notes for the classes I might have missed if it hadn't been Spring Break. The irony of the timing of my illness isn't lost on me though. Ten minutes after my last class of the week, I was hurting. I was checked into the ER on Friday the 13th, and admitted to the hospital on the Ides of March (Beware!).

I hope you enjoyed your Spring Break far more than I did. I've decided to plan a few big weekends to make up for my pathetic break... I'll let you know how that goes.

Places to Go...

Here is another last-minute Spring Break getaway idea!

A long time ago my parents took us all to Savannah, Georgia. Savannah is beautiful and there is SO much to see! I think people who want to avoid the beaches would love Savannah. In Savannah you can find lots to do. You can take a haunted tour, sit on Forrest Gump's bench, or visit nearby Fort Pulaski if you want to see an authentic Civil War fort! Oh, and Paula Deen fans, don't forget that her restaurant, Lady and Sons, is in Savannah, too!

No, Savannah isn't like Destin or PCB, but sometimes being different is good!


Update: Looks like Mandy Moore agrees! Apparently she got married in Savannah yesterday!

Sometimes It's Nice to Get Away

Well, folks, Spring Break is on its way! Whether you are headed home, travelling for a vacation, or staying in Tuscaloosa, you can bet that a week without class is going to be good. If you are like me and have tests or papers to work on this week, don't forget that relief is near!

For today, I present one of my favorite places to spend a vacation! Bay Point Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida is the perfect place to go if you aren't fond of crowded beaches. The Marriott there is amazing, and golfers especially love Bay Point. It's probably not the typical college student retreat, but it is beautiful nonetheless!

Election Wrap-Up

Wow. Yesterday's election was electric. I didn't expect to see those fantastic numbers (14,000+ voters!). Hopefully the independents who voted won't scare off the SGA and lead to a move back towards paper ballots (I'm just sayin').

I'll admit I feel quite strongly that Kendra Key was the better candidate, but life goes on. (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, right?) I wish Kendra the best because she is going to succeed at whatever she does. Thanks to Kendra we already have a fantastic recycling program, and I hope she will work with the SGA to implement some of her other plans. Her platform truly rocked.

I feel quite relieved to have this whole election over with... no one will be stalking students with little pieces of paper (though I was sad to miss out on the awesome Kendra Key cups), chalkings will get washed away, and students will move on. That's the way it works.



By the way, is it football season yet??

Did You Watch? - The Bachelor

Beware! Bachelor spoilers!


Wow. Who would have guessed "nice-guy" Jason could mess up so royally in the eyes of his many female fans? The fan favorite from his own season on the Bachelorette, Jason had a huge following when he started his reality show journey as The Bachelor. When he was turned away by Deanna, women everywhere cried foul.

This season Jason picked the motherly, adorable Melissa to be his future wife while emphatically rejoicing in his decision. Flash forward 6 weeks to the taping of the After the Final Rose special... Uh-Oh. Jason wasn't smiling. For weeks there had been rumors and conspiracy theories about the results of this season's The Bachelor, and most of them were accurate. On Monday's special, Jason officially ended his 6-week engagement with Melissa to ask Molly, the runner-up, for a second chance! I was watching the Twitter trends about the bachelor, and the majority of the tweets bashed Jason's decision. I continue to wonder why he even proposed to Melissa rather than just picking her and forgetting the engagement for a while! He even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live after filming ended to reveal that he was engaged!

I started watching The Bachelor a few seasons ago because my sister was really into the show. It's hard for romantics not to get caught up in the magical editing. Truthfully, the show isn't magical, and it has only produced one healthy marriage. Who knows how much is real and how much is planned? The truth is that, after so many seasons, the show may have lost what little magic it held. A bachelor before Jason didn't pick a girl. He chose to remain single. The front-runner from that season, Deanna, picked a loser snowboarder and later broke off the engagement. The front-runner from that season just flip-flopped his choice and let down the wonderful Melissa.

Truth is, I won't be watching the show any more. I think I finally realized how amazingly stupid it is.

*Insert Key-Related Pun Here*

Kendra Key has my vote for SGA President!

After comparing websites and platforms for both candidates for SGA President, I made my decision. Granted, I knew enough about Kendra from last year's election to know how accomplished she is. I had seen her name on Environmental Ambassador fliers during the fall. I even have one of her plastic cups from her last campaign. (Okay, I was biased to begin with!)

Who can resist Kendra's brilliant parking ideas? I know I can't! I especially love that she wants to shorten the ticketing day by an hour! That is so helpful with night classes and late tests that start at 6! Also, her dining platform is fantastic to me. I think her approach to increasing businesses that accept dining dollars and bama cash will help more in the long run that just encouraging business to give student discounts. (Click HERE to see a video on the CW's website of this discussion.)

Kendra Key also has some intriguing ideas for technology, athletic events, and lowering costs on her website.

Check it out!


Also, don't forget that voting is happening NOW on http://www.mybama.ua.edu/! You can vote until Midnight on Wednesday!