This is my friend Angie.

[photo: Annie Harton]

That's her- there on the left. She is an all-around awesome person. She has a quiet but wicked sense of humor, a ridiculous work ethic, a penchant for befriending religious folk, a stellar social work resume, a love of Stephen Colbert, and a talent for getting into the very best grad schools. In her downtime she enjoys watching hilariously bad karaoke singers at a dive bar called Trevi's with her equally-awesome mother.

 Angie and I met in Rome, hung out by the real Trevi fountain, and continued our friendship in South Bend, Indiana at Saint Mary's College. We may or may not have cranked up the radio and belted to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance on many occasions... while driving to 7am mass. It's also possible that we celebrated the end of our college years at a dive bar called Trevi's, watching some hilariously bad karoke singers, with her awesome mother.

Together with classmates at the real Trevi.  [photo: Mary Miller]

Tonight I had a conversation with Hannah about how going to grad school right after college is not the best idea for a lot of people.

"Except Angie, of course," I said. "She's like a grad school machine."

"Definitely," Hannah agreed, "she's totally meant for academia."

"Yeah, and religious stuff."

"She is social work + academia."

"Religion-Social Work-Academia-World. That's her."

And then Hannah pops out, "You know what? She should just be the Pope."

As I burst out laughing, she continued, "No, but seriously though- if I was a cardinal I would vote for her. Absolutely. She needs to just be the Pope already."


So, Angie: if I don't get to see you in more of these graduation caps, you best be sporting your Pope hat and robes.

Angie between our lovely mothers.

You always wanted to go back to Rome anyways, right? ;)

P.S. Angie, will this do for that recommendation of yours that I'm supposed to write?

Winter Nostalgia

I've been cleaning and sorting through clothes to my Christmas playlist. In between Celine Dion's high-note-shrieks when I have to turn the volume down (I do love her, though), some great x-mas tunes come on. My all-time favorite Christmas CD is- get ready for it- Snowed In by Hanson. Yup. It is pure boy-band greatness, circa 1997, and is much better than that stupid N*SYNC Christmas CD that everyone likes. I even heard it playing at the grocery store last week.

Also some of my favorites: all the songs from the Love Actually soundtrack, especially White Christmas by Otis Redding and the little girl's version of Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas; Bing Crosby stuff; my roommate Emily's mom's piano tracks; and the Notre Dame Glee Club songs, which took me right back to South Bend, Indiana.

 

There weren't too many things I loved about the other side of the street, but I did love going to the Glee Club's annual Christmas concert. I can remember them coming into the still-dark auditorium singing Wassail. A couple times I got to hear Lux Aramunque, an Eric Whitacre song that I loved  from my high school chorus-groupie days (I didn't ever sing, but basically all of my best friends were in chorus). It was also great when the Glee Club came caroling at each of the dorms at Saint Mary's, singing all the carols with funny twists- making a tunnel for unsuspecting girls that wandered in during the singing,  And oh man, how I miss my old dorm, Holy Cross, with it's huge entryway featuring a double staircase, St. George slaying the dragon statue, and dark, dark, wood everywhere. So when one of their songs came up on my playlist, I got that nostalgic feeling for school that pops up every now and then. Those songs are what winter in South Bend sounds like to me.

So this is dedicated to all you SMC women who I know are feeling the same nostalgia... and to that awesome tree (first picture) on the island that they cut down. I took these pictures 4 years ago, when we were little freshie babies not yet knowing the winter wrath South Bend could unleash (what were we doing out in the snow in formal dresses?).

Geesh. Who knew it would be possible to actually miss being in a South Bend winter?