Nana's Birthday Weekend

So this weekend we are celebrating my grandmother’s 95^th birthday! What a celebration! Dinner is going to be over at my uncle’s house and she knows that but what she doesn’t know is that we have invited some of her friends from church and her prayer group. It will be so nice to see the look on her face when she walks in to see her whole family as well as her friends all around her to celebrate. I will be making a two tiered yellow cake with strawberries and whipped cream in the middle of all of the layers. Yum! I can’t wait to decorate this awesome cake. Pictures will follow.

Tux's babies

So, today my cat has finally had her litter of kittens. This little kitty has looked like a furry football for the past few weeks and she now has finally graced us with her offspring. So far there are five kittens but we expect a few more to be born tonight. One is a white calico tabby, two are all black and one is a tuxedo color like its mommy. I can’t wait to see these little ones grow up!

Ugh. People These Days

Last Saturday I worked a wedding. Being a wedding photographer, I have seen many interesting events but nothing involving pink eye, until now. The flower girl for this wedding, although absolutely adorable, had a nasty case of pink eye. In addition to that, her parents, who were both in the wedding party, did not deem it necessary to watch their daughter while we were taking wedding photos in Love Park. Much to my dismay, I tried to keep the little girl close to me but failed and finally the second photographer gave up and carried the little girl around on her hip. Additionally, what was even more astounding, is the fact that not one person in the wedding party knew what I was talking about when I referenced the cover of

Abbey Road

. It was ridiculous!

Trapster

So I recently found this amazing application for my Blackberry. It is called Trapster and shows all of the known speed traps as well as the different places where cops like to hide in order to pull people over. In addition, the application shows where all of the red light cameras are located and such. This application is amazing for anyone who enjoys driving a little faster than they should.

Dr. Monge is in the Smitsonian!

Completely unknown to me, my former teacher, and friend, Dr. Janet Monge made her way into the Smithsonian magazine. For a while there have been investigations going on in Malvern about a possible, and now proven, grave site of about fifty Irish Immigrants who were working on the railroad. Two brothers in Malvern had accounts from their grandfather about what might have been a mass murder and since their curiosity was peaked, they decided to investigate. Now, this investigation has turned into major news in the area since they have uncovered a mass grave of about fifty individuals who may have died during a cholera outbreak in the area. Dr. Monge was called in to the investigation since one of her specialties is comingled remains. The most fascinating part though, is that using her expertise, Dr. Monge has determined that two of the men may have been MURDERED by looking at the damages to their skulls! It is just too cool to think that this woman was my teacher.

Kids today...

So, I have come to see that the more time I spend with strangers, the more I am amazed at how little some people know about social etiquette. Very rarely does one see a man give his seat to a woman, even a pregnant woman or one with small kids, on public transit. It seems that chivalry is dead in the city. What brings about this thought, though, is the awkward situation that happened in Anatomy today. One would assume that a person in their late teens to early twenties would know how to say “excuse me” in order to get by or to get into a seat that may be down the row from the aisle, but it seems that some do not know to do this. A kid in my Anatomy class actually stood in the aisle looking at me shifting from one foot to the other but not saying anything. Wouldn’t it be common sense to just ask to get into the row? Apparently not. It was actually necessary for him to be addressed and asked if he needed to get by to sit down. It is puzzling that someone this age lacks the social skills that I assume are learned by now.

New Starbucks in the Works

So I have been desperately missing the coffee spot in Whitecar since they closed this year, due to the new Starbucks being put in on campus. Finally, after asking around a little, Miss. Gloria told me that the Starbucks is scheduled to be open by November 6th! Not only that, but that she will be working there and that we will be able to use declining balance to pay for the coffee! What an ectiting idea. It will be so much better than the coffee that is currently brewed on campus. I now can't wait for November 6th.

First Week of School

The first week of school has been a flurry of new classes, people, and events. So many new things at “USci”, which the school is now apparently called, are happening. Apparently we are now going to have Starbucks coffee on campus with the new bookstore. Is it even going to be worth it if we can’t use our declining balance to pay? Classes have been going as they usually do.


Friday was First Friday in Olde City. A few friends and I got all dressed up to go out to dinner and happened upon this lovely event. All of the galleries were open to the public and many people lined the sidewalks selling their own pieces. There were even some jewelry makers selling things at a discounted price. Needless to say, after eating a full dinner, walking around Olde City was a bit of a chore but it was enjoyable. We actually ate at Cuba Libre. The food was fantastic and the place had a wonderful ambiance. We truly felt like we had just sat down to dinner in old Cuba. I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant for excellent Cuban cuisine.

Saturday the Red Bull Flugtag came to the Camden Waterfront. It was a beautiful day, although it was burning hot in the sun. I got a whole lot of sunburn and even did some flipping backwards on the fence that was set up but I guess it was a good time. The wind was so strong that the event was postponed for a bit but finally they started sending people over the edge. There were many valiant efforts at flying but very few of the crafts that we stayed to see got very far. Eventually, it just got way too hot out to stay much longer so we decided to head back to Philly. Needless to say, I have never been so happy to get out of such a crowd since there were estimated to be 50,000 people at the event. All in all though, it was an enjoyable weekend.