Condos

So the boyfriend and I are going to buy a condo in Houston together! YIPPIE! But it means money. I'm scared of spending large amounts of money. Well..... sometimes :) Ikea can be an exception. But I think I'm more worried about buying the wrong thing. We have a budget, the dog (who is 98.5 pounds now!), and a need for me to be close to the free shuttle. YAY free! What if I don't find the perfect place? Is it still worth it to buy over rent? Sure I'll be there 4 years, but I could be there longer if I do my residency in Houston. And why is it all my friends seem to hate Houston? I want them to love it so they'll come visit me! I was always wary of Houston since it is new to me, but the more time I've been down there I do feel like I like it! Much more park stuff than Dallas, and I don't know, you can live in Houston Houston, but you don't really live in Dallas Dallas. Plus I want the boyfriend to like it too. I'm uprooting him totally and throwing him down to a city where he doesn't know anyone but my aunt and uncle. (but he likes them a lot so it is cool). I feel like there is a LOT riding on me finding the right condo. But there are also rules and restrictions! 51% owner occupancy, 3% down, FHA approved, must allow dogs (important!) but must also be large enough for 2 people and the dog, and still in budget! Houston is expensive if you didn't know! GAH!

Ok calming down a bit. It also stresses me because it doesn't look like the boyfriend and I can get down to look at condos at a time when my dad can come as well. I don't know much about anything about buying condos or houses, except for what I want. That's why I wanted my dad to be able to come down and go through it all with me. But now its just me and the boyfriend, and we all know (he even says it!) I'm the "responsible one" OH THE PRESSURE!!!! I'm sure whatever ends up happening it will be the right thing. It is just so hard to wait.

If anyone that reads this (oh I was so star struck that Scalpel commented on my little blog! *blush* Thank you!) and has sage wisdom about buying things like condos, or Houston, it would be much appreciated. Or if you don't have sage wisdom and just want to say this is all crazy, you can do that too :)

Photos

This first picture is from the Japan Festival in Houston. It was mucho fun.

My roommate and I went to Brenham to this 50's diner. This is a sign that was in the restroom.

This is my boyfriend's dog. She is SO cute. And big. I love her a lot. I almost miss her more than the boyfriend. :) She is almost 100 pounds, and still growing. She is very skinny still (grrrr to her old owners) and it got cold (in April, very strange) so we went to get her fleece so I could make her a blanket and this is what the boyfriend picked. I need to buy her more pink things.....

Just to give you an idea of how big Bella is, here is is laying on the floor next to the boyfriend. He is normal sized :) (6 foot, 6'1", you know). She has a very cute pink collar that she isn't wearing in this picture. It is VERY cute. So cute you might explode. I measured her and I think she was 31" at the shoulder (which is the proper place to measure them I learned!)

Ok that is all the cuteness/funniness that I could squeeze out. I have a terrible bout of senioritis right now. It is AWFUL. Especially since I have a biochemistry test Tuesday.
I just thought I would put up a couple pics :) Pictures are always fun

TALK TO ME!!! PLEASE!!

Ok so I know some people are at least looking at this stuff, if not actually reading it, but just leave a comment and say hello! Tell me it sucks, tell me you like it, tell me you agree/disagree with my feelings. Tell me ANYTHING!! I JUST NEED A SIGN OF LIFE OUT THERE!!! Ok silly time over

Ok not really, silly time is never truly over for me. But on what else is going on in my life. I know the Virginia Tech massacre is hot news right now, but I feel like there is nothing really constructive that I can say. It is absolutely terrible, and the best I can offer is my love and support to that community. My only real contribution, is that even before this, I've really thought that kids lately have almost zero appropriate/successful coping mechanisms. I don't know why it is, but they just don't. It is very sad. I really feel like we almost need classes for children to learn what is appropriate and what is not when they deal with feelings like sadness, anger, etc. It isn't instinctual knowing how to deal with these feelings, and there are so many parents that don't even know how to deal with their own feelings (mmmhmmm I watched Dr. Phil yesterday......).

In other news, I'm still stupidly excited about medical school/Houston. I've been looking at getting a condo. It would just be cheaper than rent there. Houston is expensive if anyone isn't aware. There are several I like so me and my dad are just going down there to check them all out after graduation. EEEKKK Graduation! I've got to get those announcements sent out. The semester is almost over. Everything has really flown by for me. I have loved going to A&M. I've made amazing friends, learned lots about myself, and have just had the most incredible time that I can't even put into words. I know there is a lot of hubbub about picking the right undergrad to get into medical school, but seriously, people need to go to a place they will get a good education, but that they will also enjoy. People told me a lot to have fun because you have your whole life to work, and it sound silly but it is true. But then again I never really listened much to what people told me. You just always have to live through it. But if everyone says it, perhaps it at least has an ounce of truth :)

Currently watching: Passions! I love my NBC soaps!

I'm in love with a med school.....

Ok so read the title like the song. It is funny I swear. I just got back to good ol' CS from Houston and I AM IN LOVE WITH UT HOUSTON!!!! I hope that isn't creepy. I had an absolutely amazing time meeting all of my new classmates and meeting the current M1s. I also now have a clue about how the heck to get around Houston. It is very confusing. Very. Maybe I'm just slow. I left after my class Friday and went down to meet my M1 buddy (my big sis if you will) for a mini tour of the med school and lunch. I also got to meet a bunch of her friends which was very fun. Friday night I met a couple of girls in Rice Village for drinks which was very fun. Saturday my M1 buddy and I had breakfast, I went to see my aunt, and then I went back to the big social thingie that was the real part of Welcome Weekend. There was a ton of BBQ, and two kegs of beer! BEER! And Dr. Kellaway was there! It was CRAZY! And it was no cheap beer either, they sprung for the good stuff. It was very nice. After chatting like crazy with about a million different people, I went with a friend I already knew, two people I kind of know, and two new people to this boba tea place that my M1 buddy showed me. SUPER GOOD! I didn't think I would like it as much as I do. Boba tea will certainly make me poor. After tea, we met a couple other people for dinner at El Meson in Rice Village. Very good but greasy. Then we met up with the rest of the Welcome Weekend crew at this bar place. It was also fun. I felt like an old lady though because at 11pm I was beat. Lame-o. But I still had a really good time. Oh and did I mention it was FREEZING!! 60 degrees, in April, in HOUSTON! Ridonk-a-donk!

Today, I went with my aunt to the Japan festival in Hermann park. Also very fun. Having that huge park in the middle of Houston really reminded me of the parks in London (I LOVE London) and I think that whole museum district really solidified that I am going to enjoy being in Houston.

So WHOOP for UT Houston and WHOOP for medical school and WHOOP for brand new friends. I am pumped for medical school this fall.

Currently craving: Jasmine green tea with tapioca from that teahouse! YUM

Memories....

So I woke up this morning, checked the online news like I usually do, and I was completely upset to find that the one and only Kurt Vonnegut has passed away. I am really sad about this. Kurt Vonnegut was very cool. I even did my author project in high school over him. It was a good project. I got an A on it. Yeah he was quite liberal, but the way he wrote, what he wrote about, it was just amazing. Plus it was funny. This guy dealt with really really crappy things in a funny way. You didn't have to agree with what he was saying to appreciate it, and it really made you look at your own point of view on the issues he addressed. Also did I mention, he was funny? I appreciated that. Let's look at some quotes from dear Mr. Vonnegut...(some from books, some he said... you know...)

"We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap. "

"This is a tale of a meeting of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast."

"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. "

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

I really don't read much, but his passing makes me want to go out and just grab one of the books and enjoy it the same way I did when I first started reading him in high school. It would get my head out of the med school world a little bit too :) Sure the last three books I read are all medically related... what of it? I really wish I was better at writing and that I could say more eloquently how I appreciate Kurt Vonnegut and his books, but I would only butcher it. Just go read some of the news articles about him. They put it better than I ever could.

In happier news, I go to Houston tomorrow! YAY! I am having pains of middle school though. Will they like me? Will I like them? Will I have anyone to sit by at lunch? What if I can't find my class? Oh c'mon everyone worries about that. Don't they? It is funny because I am staying with a friend already in school there, and I have about 3 people I know that are starting. Plus I'm still praying for the ones that are waitlisted that I want to come desperately to UTH. I sure hope I get used to the idea of living in Houston. It is such a big city! Luckily the friend I am staying with is adventurous and knows a lot about Houston and is going to show me around. I think it will be fun. Minus the traffic. Well I have biochem homework to attend to. I can't wait to write about Welcome Weekend. WHOOP! I am excited. :)