I blame Marion...

Well, as most of you are aware, I had a little party last weekend on the occasion of my visiting home.

It started out as a civilized affair...













But then Marion was so kind as to bring a pitcher of her famous Sangria to the revelry...

Which, of course, led to me fighting Bridget.
And hey, if you're patient you can even see a video of this act!

The Manolo, he is the six figured blogger

Remember all those months ago when I told you all about The Manolo, back before he hit the big-time in Shoe Blogging? Well, my Intern* has discovered that this shoe blogging is far more lucrative than I could ever have imagined.

*My eyes having been opened by The Manolo's resounding success, I've decided that perhaps I should try to go legit myself. Even if this goal is unrealistic (and vaguely unappealing as well ... I seem to enjoy mediocrity) I have decided to take the first step to following in the Manolo's shoes (ha ha), by getting an Intern. He has lots of free time, and no sense of decency, so I'm sure he'll fit in well here.

Someone has more free time than me...

Which ought to be worrisome, really, because he's my father and is supposed to have a real job. None the less, he shares these little gems with me, and I though I ought to pass them along to all of you... Hey, you can also guess which one is aimed at my environmentalist girlfriend?!?!

English is as she spoke - This is what happens when you try to translate Portugese to English using only your knowledge of French...
"Infamous as the world's most ludicrously inept foreign phrasebook, the misbegotten work of Jose da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino was revived in a new edition by the Collins Library in March 2002."

These people are your REAL family - Oh, and be sure to check the "news" section, which reports that:
"Blessed daughter Lauren Schmitt witnessed a vision of Master Ferrari's face in rainbow generated clouds in N. Central Iowa." Thank goodness.

And finally, a renewable energy breakthrough I can really get behind.

First day of school!! First day of school!!

Okay, I lied, yesterday was my first day of school. Just wanted to keep you all updated, and to explain my pathetic lack of posts lately. I have now successfuly:

1. Obtained a student visa, at the border, with very sketchy materials. Bonus being that it is very shiny and makes my passport look full.
2. Found a tiny pink box* of an apartment to live in, just off campus near Chinatown.
3. Gone to classes, including German (ack!!), and I have distinguished myself as the "Hermoine" of my Greek sculpture class ... only less intelligent ... and more annoying. Despite this, people seem to still like me :)

I will post more of my usual pointless musings as soon as I figure out this whole "life" thing, until then, please bear with these little updates.

*insert lesbian joke here

Family Update

Due to the recent influx of emails asking about my family in New Orleans, I thought I ought to post about it so that people won't have to worry too much...

Everyone in my mom's family living in Orleans Parish and Metairie got out of the city in time. They are mostly staying in Houston now, with more family. They were all pretty lucky, in that they all have places to stay, and my uncles both have branches of their jobs in Houston, so they are able to continue working.

It seems like the city is going to be a disaster-area for a long time, so I know that all my family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers in the months ahead...