I heart Illinois.

I'm going home this weekend! Yippee!!

And now, because I'm a dork... the state song of illinois. :)

By thy rivers gently flowing, Illinois, Illinois,

O'er thy prairies verdant growing, Illinois, Illinois,

Comes an echo on the breeze. Rustling through the leafy trees, and its mellow tones are these, Illinois, Illinois,

And its mellow tones are these, Illinois.

From a wilderness of prairies, Illinois, Illinois,

Straight thy way and never varies, Illinois, Illinois,

Till upon the inland sea,Stands thy great commerical tree, turning all the world to thee, Illinois, Illinois,

Turning all the world to thee, Illinois.

When you heard your country calling, Illinois, Illinois,

Where the shot and shell were falling, Illinois, Illinois,

When the Southern host withdrew, Pitting Gray against the Blue, There were none more brave than you, Illinois, Illinois,

There were none more brave than you, Illinois.

Not without thy wondrous story, Illinois, Illinois,

Can be writ the nation's glory, Illinois, Illinois,

On the record of thy years,Abraham Lincoln's name appears, Grant and Logan, and our tears, Illinois, Illinois,

Grant and Logan, and our tears, Illinois.

The Wedding Pool

Last week I posed this question to some friends. Based on well, nothing, other than a hunch, who's going to be the next to get married? Contenders were the single DCE girls left (of which there are quite a few, but not as many as there used to be) and here are the results:

The Contenders:
Hannah, Spode, Jamie, Kristy, Susie, Mel, Grace

Spodes Ranking
1. Jamie
2. Kristy
3. Hannah
4. Susie
5. Grace
6. Mel
7. Spode

Jamie's Ranking
1. Kristy
2. Susie
3. Grace
4. Hannah
5. Spode
6. Jamie
7. Mel

Kristy's Ranking
1. Spode
2. Kristy
3. Hannah/Susie
4. Hannah/Susie
5. Jamie/Grace
6. Jamie/Grace
7. Mel

Hannah's Ranking
1. Spode/Kristy
2. Spode/Kristy
3. Hannah
4. Susie
5.Grace/Jamie
6. Grace/Jamie
7. Mel

Let the weddings begin!! If you want to join into the wedding pool, post your bets on comments.

Winners of the wedding pool will receive an empty wallet after buying presents for all the weddings.

5 Years Ago

Wow. 5 Years have passed since 9/11. It seems unreal to me and still evokes emotion strong enough to break the writer's block.

Everyone has their 9/11 "where were you when?" story when they first heard about the plane hitting the first tower, how life changed.

I remember some of that day clearly, the rest in clips: being annoyed by all the talk on the dorm bathroom radio instead of music... talking to Juanita... going to my room and turning on my tv just in time to see the second plane hit, seeing Dan Rather cry, standing in my towel watching in disbelief and shock as the first tower fell, Rachel coming back from chapel... dragging myself away from the news to go to class, the girls on my floor driving to Lincoln to donate blood, driving to Starbucks with Lil Ang and Haarman, picking up the paper "for our children" (why would we want them to remember?), the prayer vigils, the service at chapel, crying as we sang "I AM Forever who I AM", freaking out over planes in the sky, the flags, the heros of that day, and knowing that our lives--lives of peace and freedom that we'd enjoyed for so long--had changed irrevocably.

"Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong...
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could...
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America."

President Bush