7 Quick Takes Friday (#31)

Thanks to Jen for hosting!

1. TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY! I am going to be the big 2-5! It sounds kind of weird to say that I'm going to be a quarter of a century old. I'm not sure how I am going to celebrate yet, but I know that my friend is cooking me dinner and baking me a cake (and she is an excellent cook/baker), so I'm looking forward to some good food with some good friends.
2. I just finished a novena to St. Gemma Galgani this week. She is the patron saint of back pain, so I prayed that my back will heal quickly, or that I will at least have the grace to accept this cross joyfully and offer up my pain for those who need it. 
3. I had an MRI this week on my back (by the way, those tubes are much tighter than they look on TV!), and you know what I thought about while lying in there for 30 minutes amongst the whirring? I wonder if magnetic resonance imaging is similar to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic theory? I almost asked the MRI technician, but then I decided that I already looked like enough of a nerd in my scrubs and hospital socks, and I didn't want him to think that I am a total geek (which, by the way, I totally am).



You see, the nucleus has a spin, and magnetic resonance is observed...

4. Did you see my latest Reflection on the Readings? It's all about LOVE. Not ooey-gooey love, but what it means and it what we are required to do to really love someone. Check it out and let me know what you think!
5. Elizabeth and I have been talking about how great we are at procrastinating... we gave each other blogging deadlines, and lo' and behold, neither of us met it! But I hope to have a new, very long post up soon for you all to read!
6. Please keep my job search in your prayers. I have recently had a setback with a job opportunity that I thought was going to pull through, but it just wasn't the job for me right now. I am continuing to look for temporary work, but in the meantime, I have become an expert couch-sitter. Do you think I can put that on a resume?
7. Do you remember where you were ten years ago from Sunday? I was in freshman honors biology class, creating two-headed planaria, when our principal came over the loudspeaker to announce that two planes had hit the World Trade Centers, one plane had crashed into the Pentagon, and another had crashed in Pennsylvania, due to the bravery of its passengers. I remember that we were shocked, and most of us didn't believe it was real. We even joked about it a bit, until one of my lab-mates said that his aunt worked in the Pentagon. After class, we made our way to the cafeteria, where the televisions had been turned on to show the news. I have never heard the school so silent as it was at that moment, as we all just sat and watched in amazement and fear. Even though we lived in central Ohio, we all just wanted to go home and be with our families, to feel safe. May we always remember what it felt like that day, and the pride we felt as a nation in the months to follow. Let us all remember those lives that were so suddenly lost, and pray for their souls, as well as their families and friends who have had to learn to live without them. Finally, I hope we can once again stand strong as a country, with that same spirit, someday soon.