Survey stolen from Snu!

TEN WHATS:

1. What was the first thing you thought about when you woke up?

I start driving lessons today - nervous!

2. What did you do last night?

Talked to Michael on the phone and played online Scrabble...I'm such a nerd :)

3. What is the most important part of your life right now?

Planning, beginning to plan, and - as always - maintaining close contact with everybody I care about!

4. What would you rather be doing right now?

Feeling really productive and/or hanging out with Michael!!

5. What did you last cry over?

Grrrrr - beginning of July, being unfairly penalized for what I didn't think/know was wrong...

6. What always makes you feel better when you're upset?

I'll agree with Sunali - getting hugs from people I love. Sure made me feel better that time, even though I didn't expect a certain wonderful MRB to drive all the way from Ohio and visit me that night! :))) Also, making up my mind that it is just not worth it to be sad because what is done is done - and moving the heck on with my awesome life!

7. What are your plans tomorrow?

I have no idea during the day! Perhaps job training, perhaps swimming, perhaps getting together with people....perhaps all of the above? But Michael will be here at night for sure - yay!

8. What's the most important thing you look for in a significant other?

I'll agree with Sunali - a good heart.

9. What are you worried about?

Driving and making the best plans for my life

10. What are you looking forward to most in this week?

Seeing Michael, perhaps beginning job training, and moving into the bigger room in the apt. on Saturday!

NINE HAVE-YOU-EVERS:

1. Have you ever liked someone with a girlfriend/boyfriend?

Sure, haven't we all?! :-P But I've always come to the conclusion pretty quickly that it's better to keep looking and not waste time on someone who may or may not eventually break up with their significant other and who at that time may or may not at whatever point decide you are the better choice for them!

2. Have you ever had your heart broken?

Meh - I don't buy the terminology. Have I been sad over guy-related issues, sure. But has anything ever "broken" me or caused me to have "baggage" in any way?! Heck no.

3. Have you ever played a sport on a team?

Hahaha - not unless you count gym class, when I had to. I am soooooo not an athlete!

4.Have you ever been out of the country?

Yep! New Zealand when I was ten, Cancun, Mexico when I was thirteen, Paris when I was sixteen, and Barcelona when I was twenty. Oh, and Canada a bunch of times, but everyone's been there. Should I count Puerto Rico, which happened just before I turned twenty-one?

5. Have you ever back stabbed a friend?

I agree with Sunali - If I have, I didn't do it knowingly...

6. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend?

I can remember a time or two - what's important with those is just to get yourself over it when that happens :)

7. Have you ever had the cops called on you?

No. Haha. I'm ridiculously straight-edge.

8. Have you ever dated someone younger then you?

Briefly - no harm done, but no intention to do THAT again!

9. Have you ever read an entire book in one day?

I'll agree with Sunali - so many. I was a bookworm growing up. But I don't really make that much time to read anymore, simply because there's always something else to do! (and that something else is often, but not always, of the more-interesting-than-reading sort!)

EIGHT WHOS:

1. Who was the last person you saw?

Cristina, yesterday at B-Dubs!

2. Who was the last person you hugged?

Cristina, saying bye as she went off to St. Mary's and I ventured over to the gym for my second workout of the day...lol

3. Who was the last person you called?

Michael :-D

4. Who was the last person to call you?

Michael :-D

5. Who was your first crush?

Hahaha....a kid in my class when I was in first grade

6. Who was the last person to text you?

Michael

7.Who is the last person you texted?

Michael

8. Who did you last yell at?

I agree with Snu - I don't even know. I don't yell at people.

SEVEN WHENS:

1. When was your last shower?

Last night after the gym!

2. When did you last see your mom?

Yesterday

3. When was your last hug?

Yesterday

4. When did you last dress up?

Ummmm....last wore a skirt and cute top last weekend, last wore a full-out dress on....my birthday was probably the last time?

5. When was the last time you cried?

Beginning of July

6. When did you last go to the movie theater?

Tuesday to see Harry Potter...I hardly ever go to the movies, though!

7.When were you born?

March 25, 1984 at 4:30pm

SIX WHERES:

1. Where does your best friend live?

There are several people whom I could consider "best" friends - three that come to mind immediately live in Oak Park, IL, Port Clinton, OH, and Rio Piedras, PR.

2. Where did you last go?

The gym, last night

3. Where did you last hang out?

I'm currently hanging out at Espresso Royale on State Street :)

4. Where do you go to school?

EMU

5. Where is your favorite place to be?

I don't even know. Somewhere where there's lots of stuff to do!

6. Where did you sleep last night?

My bed, in my room in the apt.

FIVE DO/DOES:

1. Do you like someone right now?

Yes. Or love. Whatever you prefer. :)

2. Do they like you too?

Yes. Or love. :)

3. Do you ever wish you were someone else?

I agree with Sunali - ew no, why?

4. Do you know the muffin man?

Of course. He's muffin, like you expect him to be.

5. Does the future scare you?

Kind of, although I try not to let it.

FOUR WHYS:

1. Why are you best friends with your best friend?

The people I could consider "best" friends are people I have great conversations with, who know they can tell me anything and to whom I can tell anything.

2. Why did you get a myspace?

I don't have one!

3. Why did your parents give you the name you have?

My mom just loved the name Heather - and Marie, my middle name, has been sparsely passed down through the family (although, as the Facebook group says, "Hey! My middle name is Marie, and so is hers, and so is hers!" - it's eeeeevery girl's middle name!!!)

4. Why are you doing this survey?

I like surveys and I wanted to update my blog

THREE IFS:

1. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Telling the future!!! Being able to alter any decisions now to make myself and everyone I care about the happiest in the long run.

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you?

No - I have no regrets :)))

3. If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring one thing, what would it be?

Whatever contraption - a boat, maybe? - could bring me OFF the desert island!!!

TWO WOULD-YOU-EVERS:

1. Would you ever be friends with someone again who you said you never would be friends with again?

Depends on the person and the circumstances. I don't think I'm currently friends with anyone I've ever vowed never to be friends with again, though.

2. Would you ever shave your head to save the person you love?

Sure, if that's what had to be done - but hopefully shaving my head would never be the one action that would save anyone, cuz I love my hair!

ONE LAST QUESTION:

Are you happy with your life right now?

Yes!

Everything Meep (or, It's Been Far Too Long Since I Updated So Prepare for a Long One)

So much has happened since my last post here, which was apparently about three weeks ago. Wow - how time flies! I'm so busy that I barely noticed we were getting into August here. This is good because I'm soon done completely with summer classes and with Clinic, and then I get a break till about September 5! The break thing thrills me to no end, but I'm like - what the cwap am I going to do with myself?! I am a huge fan of, and used to, filling my days up with this and that and going here and there and being very active because I have things to do, places to go, people to see, and all that. But the end of classes and Clinic means that my 'things to do' list is going to grow a lot shorter, and I'm not sure I'll know what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with my time! My hope is to be able to get together with a lot of people and to have a lot of different places I'm going and random fun things I've decided to do, so that I don't go absolutely nutty with boredom, haha.

I look at my life in the past few weeks and I think - shouldn't I be ready to do nothing, since I've been doing so much this past while?! But that's not the way I work and it never has been - I thrive on being active. Some of the stories of what I'm doing when I'm active are interesting and some are not - but here's a sampling for those of you who are curious:

Finishing up Clinic 1! My goodness, how the semester has flown....I had my last session with my little client on Monday and the family conference on Wednesday. Both went excellently, and the family said this is the first semester of therapy during which they saw instant and noticeable results and he's speaking more clearly automatically. That was SO COOL!!!! I'm like - I LOVE MY JOB. :) My final conference with my supervisor is Monday the 6th - I'm pretty darn sure I'm getting an A and am super-excited. My little client has made SO MUCH PROGRESS and I am SO PROUD OF HIM!!!! :-DDDDDD

The SPARC award! I knew I wouldn't get this - I just knew it. But I got an email night before last - and I got the award!!!! This was followed by a letter from ASHA and a call from the ASHA head of this award - I totally just got $1500 to go to two conferences (Moebius Syndrome Conference in July 2008 and National Autism Training and Technical Asssistance Program Conference Sept 26-28, 2007 in Columbus) and to go to Iowa again! Am super-excited and so are my parents :) The award was the Students Preparing for Academic and Research Careers award for outstanding research - I applied on the basis of my Moebius research - and it gave you $1500 to do stuff that supported your research. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

The grad assistantship thing. Applied for three grad assistantships, didn't hear back from any, gave up sort of on that. Then yesterday - within like 12-24 hours of hearing about the SPARC award - I got an email from one of the assistantships, and they want to interview me! My interview is next Friday at 11am, and I am SUPER EXCITED. What this is, is full tuition paid, plus a $10,000 stipend. I MUST get this job!!!!!!! I am so determined. I'm reading interview tips and everything.

Also am finally going to be going gung-ho on the process to get my driver's license. I know - finally, right?! I have had so little luck getting that going in the past while. Even this time was tough - but it'll finally start happening on August 7. That day I'm actually going to be taking the written test to get my learner's permit for driving. Tried a bit ago, but what's going on is that I failed the idiot vision test (you have to be 20/20 to pass it and I'm not) so I had to go over and get my eye doctor to sign a form telling them that my acuity is not 20/20 but still okay to drive....and then it turns out that in order to have her sign that form I have to have had an eye appointment in the last six months, and I was about due for a year, so I made an eye appointment that day and am gonna, in one day, finish up summer classes, have an eye appointment, get my form signed that my vision is okay, take the written driver's test, and get my learner's permit.

Also, as I said in my earlier post, July 12-14 I went to the University of Iowa to check their PhD program out - loved it! PhD looking somewhat likely depending on, 1) if I get a job doing clinic work plus research for my CFY (year after I graduate) like I want to and 2) if I like said job and definitely decide I want research as a part of my career. I so want to find a CFY position in Chicago because I LOVE IT THERE!!!!

Oh, and I twisted my ankle on July 4! It was probably a stress fracture, but whatever it was, it made it impossible to go to the gym for four whole weeks! That made me sad - but there was just a little too much random pain and tenderness for me to feel comfortable doing that, and I didn't want to hurt my foot further!!!!!! I went back on Sunday though for the first time, and it was a little tougher than usual but not surprisingly so, considering that my muscles had four weeks to forget what I had been forcing them to do.

Also walked around the Art Fair a few weekends ago with Allison and then Michael - bought a really cool wooden painted cat figurine with wings and a blackjack "bug" from the Bug-Ems booth. I LOVE THE ART FAIR!!! :)

Also went to CHICAGO!!!!! I love that city. I was there from Thurs of this past week to Sunday afternoon, and just had the BEST time. Cassandra didn't get off work till 7 when I got in at 12:30, so I took the El (Red and Orange Lines) to Michigan Ave and went shopping...so much shopping there, so much to do, so exciting!!!!!! Then I took the Blue Line back to Cassandra's in Oak Park. We went out for margaritas that night, then Fri Cassandra worked and I hung out with Sunali at a really cool coffee shop called Lavazza. We hung out with Cassandra's PT friends - and then went to salsa dancing lessons! I am certainly no dancer...lol...but it was fun :) Saturday we went out for the birthday of Sonja, one of Cassandra's PT friends - we went out for Chinese, saw some really cool fireworks, and then hung out at the apartment of one of the girls' church group leaders. (We were on the rooftop deck briefly, but that closed at 10:30 so they kicked us out!) SO MUCH FUN. I so want to live there after I graduate. :))))

Times ahead are busy again - Michael's coming tonight, we're going back to Port Clinton tomorrow, then we're hanging out with Chris and Rachel, doing a bunch of stuff at Michael's office, possibly going to my cousin's 10th birthday party on Sunday, and all such things. Hope everyone has a great day!!!!