If you have not yet,

If you have not yet, read this.

So, I need to do some serious updating. But I dont' remember everything that happened to me since ... monday, but I'll try my hardest. OK, I can't, sorry.

But I do remember this weekend. Friday, I get up at 6:30, and I'd be late for school except I wasn't going, I was off to Chicago! Get my cd wallet, books, both cameras, film, hoodie, everything is ready, get it all in the car, and an hour later I realize "I forgot my jacket." Hmpf. But it ended up being ok.

Anyway, we got to Evanston (north of Chicago, location of Northwestern) at about 12:15, didn't need to be at our information session till 1:15, so we decide to stop and have lunch at Leona's (this really famous chain italian restaurant in chicagoland area). However, our food doesn't come till 1:00, so we stuff our faces as fast as we can and high tail it to NU. I walk into the Information Session right at 1:15 and they'd already started.

Well, this chick, the lady that did the information session, was obviously School of Speech/Communication grad because she was the most insane public speaker ever, simply because she WOULD NOT STOP SMILING! I didn't realize anyone could talk and smile at the same time. I've tried since in the mirror, and it doesn't work. I also end up getting really bad jaw cramps. But this chick had an ear-to-ear, lemon-slice smile and literally kept it the entire 45 minutes without breaking it. My dad later was quoted to say that he wanted to go up and hit the woman just to see if she'd stop. Anyway, that was a VERY boring Information Session. All the lady did was talk about Northwestern's six schools and what majors they offer.

After the Info Session was the tour, and it got rather boring rather fast. The girl first of all cut the tour in half because supposedly you can't get through the whole thing in the hour they provide, it's actually a three hour tour, so we didn't see the whole campus. Then, she didn't really talk about anything ... interesting. She had that ... I'm a rebel look, but played the I'm a ditz gig. I didn't quite understand her, but she kept saying "yay" a lot when people didn't have questions and when they did she had no answers.

I spent the tour taking photos for my Jerry Uelsmann mimic roll for photo class. Then I left the tour at the last stop, deciding not to walk back with the group so I could jet over to the Tech building and meet my cousin Amy. She showed me her lab, and all her graduate friends, and we went walking to the lake shore and I took a few photos. Then we went into Evanston and went everywhere from Borders, to Starbucks, to Jamba Juice (I've literally never had as good a smoothie as the "Strawberry's Wild with a Vitamin Boost" ... it literally was the best I've ever had), to shoe stores, urban outfitters, and a printmaking shop.

Finally by five, after wearing ourselves out, her friend Liz comes and picks us up and we go downtown to Chicago and shop some more! We hit J Crew, Nike Town, Virgin Records (Where I discovered the new Supergrass, the new Flaming Lips, and the new Theivery Corporation (decided to wait on actually PURCHASING these, knowing most would have them here at home to copy)), and finally met my brother and father at "Cafe Spiaggia" for dinner. There, I had some really shitty ravioli that cost 25 bucks (which is really horrible, because I love eating, I love eating good food, therefore I love eating expensive, and when a 2 dollar can of Chef Boyardee kicks the shit out of some 25 dollar ravioli from pseudo expensive restaurant in Chicago, I want to cry). Of course I didn't want to order the ravioli, but the waitress was pressuring me into giving my order (I was undecided) and I wanted pasta, and that was the dish she truly recommended (being the special of the night). Pissed me off. It didnt' taste bad, it just ... had no flavor.

Anyway, we leave Amy and Liz, and the next day go to South Bend. We get to Notre Dame, and while thankfully I had survived all day in Chicago with just the hoodie (it was 50 degrees all day), this didnt' work the next day when it dropped to 30. So getting out of the car at Notre Dame, I throw under my hoodie and on top of my two shirts, my Dad's sweater he'd worn the night before, and we go to the information session. This was a LOT better.

This lady reminded me of just any random friend's mom, and she ended up being the mother of a teenage senior (not applying Notre Dame, felt it was too close to home). She gave a very convincing session about the school, and how great campus life and the education was, and she didn't bother going into what schools and majors Notre Dame offered (I guess Notre Dame was smart enough to know that anyone applying to Notre Dame is going to know this by now (and that anyone who DOESN'T isn't smart enough and shouldn't be applying)). The session was promising ... they said SAT-II's 600+ are nice (all three of mine are), a good candidate will take 4-5 app classes (I'm taking 8, 4 just this year), they'll be in the top 10% of their class (we dont' rank, so usually they see a 3.8 and assume that's high) and have a good essay (this is the only place I can't be certain on, but my parents liked it).

Then, we had our tour, and I love the campus. Football, Rudy, basketball, dorms for everyone, great food, intermural sports, laundry service, two lakes ... a fuckin' grotto! All this, and it was snowy ugly overcast all day (oh, and I survived with my hoodie and sweater). Tim, our guide, was very cool, turns out the drinking policy at Notre Dame is this closed door/open door deal where basically they know we'll drink so they don't try and stop it, but by law if they see anyone under 21 transporting it to dorm rooms it's a violation. But as long as it stays in the room they're cool. No hard licker anymore as of recently, it has to be 11% or less, and they ask you register any parties with estimated number of guests so they can keep an eye on things. By keeping it really responsible they haven't had any major violation supposedly in nine years. That's cool. Lastly, one thing I liked, you dont' declare what school you're in till sophomore year, and you don't declare a major till practically junior (I think actually end of sophomore). That's nice.

Anyway, came home, and went to Marc's for some Bourne Identity goodness. I wanna be buff like Matt Damon in that movie.

Srk.