Senior Year

To those in the family who are not on Facebook/still check the blog, this is for you.

My roommate Carl and I have moved into our new apartment (pictures below), and my class schedule is a little different than usual. I have only one traditional class- biochemistry- which has midterms and quizzes. I have an advanced chemistry laboratory course that occupies my afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am also beginning an independent study project that counts for a credit each quarter that I am involved in it. The ultimate goal is to complete a scientific project for myself, hopefully produce a senior thesis, graduate with honors, and put a nice capstone on my Northwestern career. This year has a different feel academically to my previous years at Northwestern. I'm excited to get things underway.

In the medical school admissions process, I am between application submission and waiting for interview offers. I currently have three interview offers (St. Louis, University of Illinois, and Case Western), the earliest of which is on Oct. 12, when I will driving down to St. Louis. This is all also very exciting. I am only looking for an opportunity to start another journey, although I am trying to not look ahead too far too soon.

Below are some of the pictures of our apartment. Please keep in mind that we are still in the process of decorating. I look forward to seeing most of the family next weekend.

Matt

some new reading material

Hello!

So, since there seems to be a demand for more posts and it looks like I haven't posted in almost a year (what?? i know, crazy) AND because I should be studying, I decided that it is about time for an update of my life.

My second year here at SLU and in St. Louis is so far, so good. As you all do or should know, I am repeating the first year curriculum in order to make up for the classes that I didn't do well in/didn't take last year. Therefore, I am in human anatomy again. It is going much better this time, judging by my grade on the first exam, and hopefully this post won't be too long and I will get back to studying for my second exam! I am understanding everything better this time around and I actually like it a lot more.
The new class has a different personality than my old class, and I haven't quite figured them out yet. I am slowly finding my place and I have made a few new friends. I am running for a class officer position in order to really feel like I belong in this class. If I get it, I will be a Community Service Coordinator, so I will seek out and inform everyone about community service opportunities around town. I am also already a co-leader of an interest group called Child Abuse Prevention where we go to elementary schools and teach children about which kinds of interactions are okay and who you can trust to tell about any uncomfortable situations. In addition to those things, I also volunteer at our student-run clinic where we take histories, vital signs, give advice, (there's a doctor to prescribe medications and do physical exams), give vaccines and do blood draws. The phlebotomy (blood work) is actually my favorite part, although I do enjoy talking to the patients as well.

As for the non-SLU part of my life, I am overall very happy. I live in a duplex house with two friends from last year (my previous roommate Bethany, our two cats, and our guy friend Chris). It is going even better than I anticipated, which is such a relief. I am still seeing Mike, and we make as much time for each other as we can, whether it's meeting at the gym for an hour or setting up a date night to make dinner or see a movie. My days are usually busy and even my downtime has to be penciled in.

Since camp slaw I have had several visitors. Right afterward, my mom and paige drove me back here, my best friend from home, Erica, came for a weekend, and my dad came for Labor Day/my birthday weekend, which were all lots of fun! I am very excited that Matt has an interview here and is going to be visiting for a couple days! It'll be exam week again, so he will get to see what med school is really like, lucky guy :) Of course we will squeeze in some time to tour the city and probably get some St. Louis BBQ or pizza thrown in there!

That's about it! I'll throw in a couple pictures just for fun, but I suppose I should get back to learning/memorizing the countless parts of the head and neck!my roommates (being silly)

mike and me

family visiting!

Love you all and hope everything is going well for you too!

Kim

What has happened to our wonderful blog?
I miss having frequent posts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSIE!!!!!!

Jessie, We hope that you have a wonderful birthday! Do something fun to celebrate!!!! With lots of love, Aunt Jeri

Happy Birthday Devin!

Happy Birthday Devin. Enjoy the Spanish-themed ballon. Hope you have a great day!

Matt

Happy Birthday Kim!

Have a great day! Enjoy the balloon. Hopefully everything is going well at school.

Matt

Happy Birthday Grandma Bobbie!!!

Happy Birthday! I am just getting this message in under the wire! I hope that you had a wonderful birthday. I enjoyed sharing part of the day together. I wish you a very happy birthday with many happy returns! With lots of love, Jeri

Israel slideshow!

Matt

NY Update

Hi!

Haven't posted in awhile so I thought I'd give you an update. Thanks to everyone by the way for their birthday wishes!

Rob and I bought a house in Ossining, NY. It's about 35 miles north of Manhattan in Westchester County. We are scheduled to close next Tuesday (6/22). We're getting really excited, but it's been a pretty chaotic process. The house is a 1600 sq ft colonial with four bedrooms and an awesome back yard. While we'll miss life in the city, we're not too far away. It will be nice to be around grass and trees again! We'll be moving in mid-July and we're really excited that Mom and Dad will be here for the big move.

Meantime, I've been continuing to do freelance PR --working from home. My project right now is the annual July 4th Nathan's hot dog eating contest (not sure if you're familar -- it's on ESPN every year). My client is actually Pepto Bismol who is sponsoring the event this year. Funny stuff.... Rob is still doing his thing at Showbiz and is oh so excited for his new commute. :)

We hope everyone is doing well and we are excited to see everyone at the end of July. I'm sure Devin has many stories to tell about her adventures in the southern hemisphere!....

Lots of Love,
Jeni and Rob

Happy Birthday Jeni!!

We miss you Jeni! We hope that you have a wonderful birthday. Wishing you all the best. Many, many more happy and healthy birthdays. With love, Aunt Jeri

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!!!

I cannot believe that you are turning 21 today! Where have the years gone? I hope that you have a great birthday! I am looking forward to celebrating with you on Sunday. This post is from your Mom who loves you very much.

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY, PAIGE!! Good luck on your permit test this afternoon!

love,

devin

Something's on my mind...

I don't know about you guys, but there is something on my mind...

Oh yeah, happy birthday Darren!

From,

The 80's

Also Matt ;)

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa

Hope you guys have a great day! Hope Grandpa is feeling good today, gets his exercise in, and I hope the Comcast stuff gets sorted out :)

Matt

Our visit to BA

First Happy Belated Birthday to Sara as well, sounds like you had a fun birthday weekend! We had a great time visiting Devin in Beunos Aires, Argentina. She looks great, seems to be adjusting to their culture which means eating late, going out late, and sleeping little! We enjoyed her being our tour guide around the city and we also explored some places that she had not been yet. Our former exchange student from years ago, Eze also showed us around and his family took us to a tango show and also to a soccer game which was a lot of fun. His mom also took Devin and I shopping! Its the end of their summer there now, so the weather was perfect! We will miss her but know she will enjoy her next few months there! We also got to see Jamie a little bit during spring break and Kim and some of her friends coming and going through Atlanta on their way to their cruise. Look forward to being in Chicago for Passover!!!

Happy (belated) Birthday Sara!

Matt was supposed to have posted yesterday for Sara's birthday, but he had some kind of lapse. So, although I am a day short, I wanted to take a minute and post to wish Sara a very happy and healthy birthday with many happy returns!!! I hope that you did something fun on your birthday. With much love, Aunt Jeri

2nd Semester at U of I

Hello everyone,

I thought that I would just take a few moments to update everyone on what I have been doing for the past couple of months. To say the least, it certainly has been a busy semester so far.

On the academic side of things, I am taking 5 classes. I am just beginning to start some of my business core classes. Right now, I am taking Accountancy 1, Economic Statistics, and Microeconomics. These three classes are part of the the business core curriculum; so all business students must take these classes. These classes are not super interesting, but I do find them enjoyable and very applicable. I am also taking two general education classes in Social Psychology and World Religions. For all of my academic classes, midterms are finally over, so that is quite the relief.

Outside of the classroom, I working hard to get involved. Both this semester and next fall semester I will be the Vice President of Job Placement for Finance Club. Basically, I am responsible for handling the mock interviews and the resume critiques for the members of Finance Club. Working with Finance Club has been a great experience, and I hope to add to the club in my upcoming years at U of I. In addition to Finance Club, I have also started working on a project for Illinois Business Consulting. Right now, I am working on a team that is made up of 7 students ranging from PhD's & MBA's to undergraduates like myself. Our specific project involves helping a specialized gas company introduce a product into a new market. I am extremely excited to be gaining some experience working with real businesses in the community.

And now for the fun stuff! A few weeks back BJ, Matt, and Jakey all came down to Champaign for an Illini basketball game. We started the day by having lunch at Firehaus, and then we made it over to Assembly Hall for the game. Unfortunaltey, the Illini came up short as they were defeated by Minnesota (and thus explains why Minnesota is in the NCAA tournament, and not the Illini). Even so, we had a great time. After the basketball game, we took a tour around campus, seeing such landmarks as the Business Instructional Facility (BIF), Foellinger Auditorium (or just the Auditorium for the pre 1985 alumni), the Illini Union, and the ARC. To sum up, it was a great time, and I look forward to many more visitors in the future!

Well, last, but certainly not least, is the fact that tomorrow signals the start of my Spring Break. It is a much needed break, and I look forward to catching up with everyone over the next week or so!

I hope everyone is well,

Love, Daniel

Get Well Soon, Grandpa!

Matt

Adios Devin leaving Atlanta

Adios to Devin who left last night for Argentina! She arrived today in Buenos Aires, so far so good, she has met her host mom, and sounded very happy. Hopefully she will be posting her own messages and pictures for us all to see.

Update from NYC

Hi all,

Just thought I'd post a blog since it's been awhile. Was great seeing everyone in December!

So if you haven't heard, the biggest news is that I was laid off from my job...again. The budget for our account was cut significantly and they had to let people go. In all honestly, it was a blessing because I was beyond miserable. So now I'm back to being unemployed. I'm actually considering going back to school and changing gears completely. I've applied to NYU to enroll in their drama therapy program (something that has really peaked my interest). I'm also taking one class at the City College of New York to explore their Theatre Education program. I'm trying to create some options and explore new directions because the lifestyle of a PR professional just doesn't jive with our long-term goals.

Rob and I actually just got back from the Dominican Republic for a much needed 5 day rest. We had a great time. The weather was perfect, the beaches were gorgeous. The food...eh..not so great. But it's what you expect from an all-inclusive. I must admit though it was sort of bizarre lounging at a resort when we were only a few hundred miles away from utter destruction. I wondered if any of the left over food from the buffets were going to Haiti. But no-one in the resort wanted to discuss it....

The biggest news is probably that Rob has decided to follow in Uncle Mike and Uncle Shel's footsteps and has grown this hideous gotee. :) Maybe you'll all get the privelege of seeing it soon. We're considering coming back to Chicago for Passover. We'll keep you posted. Our next trip is to Raleigh, NC in March for Rob's cousin's bar-mitzvah.

Other news.... Despite my employment status, Rob and I are still actively on the house hunt. This has been a grueling process and we still are spending most of our weekends in Westchester. We are now widening our search to Jersey, but it's definitely not our top choice. Hopefully we'll find something soon. Love Saric's house! :)

As far as the Abbey vs. Ostoff controversy, I will first not try to be offended that the NY area was not included in the poll. :) All kidding aside, I think we need a change of pace so my vote would be for the Ostoff. Are there any other places that we haven't considered? Isn't the American Club in Kohler supposed to be nice? Is there anything to do there?

So that's that. My longest blog ever. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you! Love, Jeni