Wow......it's been quite some time since I've posted anything on this thing. What's new? Well, mostly I've just been insanely busy with classes. I've taken on a lot this semester, and even had to drop some things in the beginning simply because I had too much on my plate. Here's an explanation....Looking through a course catalogue for me is equivalent to regressing back to my childhood and making a visit to the candy store of my dreams. Yes. I am a nerd -- plain and simple. I actually LOVE classes (mostly because I absolutely NEVER want to stop learning).

Health-wise.....well....it's been a bit tricky. While there are some things I am not willing to openly discuss, I WILL say that one of the problems has been my left knee. I cannot believe this! Here's the long story in the shorter version (well, I can't make any promises....After all, I AM the most longwinded person I know!). I've injured my knee several times over and over throughout my life thus far. Sixth grade.....bent it back like a flamingo.... And in case that didn't exactly strike you as a painful thought, might I remind you that that means my knee bent BACKWARDS.... hahaha....yes -- the wrong way. It was loads of fun. It has only given me a little bit of pain off and on in the years since. However, I injured it last summer by jamming it into the corner of a table (geesh...me and my darn spatial issues--so fitting, is it not???). I had some x-rays done and had the puncture wound examined. The doctor said that I was fine and dandy. She spoke too soon. 6 months later, she left me a voicemal stating that she'd been REviewing my x-rays once again, and had spotted a place in my femur where I'd probably had a minor fracture and it had healed itself over time. That made sense to me since I'd been having more pain again around that same time. I went in to get it checked again, and she couldn't have cared less. I was her last patient that day and she wanted to get me in and out of her office as soon as possible. I told her about the recent pain, and all she did was check my leg's reflexes, shrugged her shoulders, and told me to take Motrin. I told her an x-ray might not be a bad idea, but she said no. Cut to today, and now I have aches and sharp stabbing pains from my hip to my ankle. I'm sorry if any of you are HAPPY Kaiser Permanente patients.....BUT I'M NOT. I'm stubborn and don't usually like to fully admit when I've been weakened, and considering that's one reason (besides being busy) I don't usually make my health a priority (bad habit -- I know), that tells ya' something!

Now, to get to the more serious and more important stuff. War is on, folks. I've got friends who believe in both sides....some believe this war is justified and an overall good thing, while others are 100% against it. I'll be honest. I suppose I am somewhere caught in the middle ----- SORT OF. Although I'm not completely on either side, I'd say that I am much more against this war than I am for it. Here's something that will be hard for me to say, but here it goes...... Most of you know me as considerably passive, which usually means that I don't like to risk anyone becoming upset with anything I've said or done, however, I'm going to take that chance for once. I hate this war. I see why Saddam and his leadership need to be done away with, but I really don't think this was the answer. Not right now. Allow me to assure you that I am not one of those people who simply flash around a peace sign and say that "war is bad." No. I am knowledgeable. I think that everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and I am always here with an open mind if you care to chat about all of this, but based on what I've researched independently as well as what I have been taught, I really wish we could have done a number of things differently as far as diplomacy goes. The fact is, it's too late to "do things differently;" therefore, now we must go all the way. It just hurts my heart to see what is going on. I am not just a dreaming idealist. I am an educated young woman and it hurts me to watch all that is unraveling before our eyes on the television screen. I worry that decisions being made by our leadership will soon cause us to spread ourselves too thin. Everyone is concerned about Iraq, but what about the North/South Korea issues, the Palestinian and Israeli situation....I could go ON AND ON AND ON.... Most Americans don't care to broaden their minds to see what is really going on in the world. It's time for us to wake up. All of my dreams of going into the Peace Corps or starting my own humanitarian type organization one day are stronger than ever. For now, however, the best thing I can do and the best thing YOU can do is to keep learning about the situation. KNOW what's going on. Understand it. At least then we can, as a nation, regain some type of dignity and fish ourselves out of the worsening reputation we've got spreading even farther around the globe. Boy is this a mess. Yuck.

There ya' go. I may have taken some of you by surprise with my honesty, but I've got a lot more where that came from..... I'll probably be back for more sometime soon. Take care, all. Never take a day in your life for granted. Never.

~Brie~