Daily Update

Weight: 227

Currently Reading (fiction): River God, Wilbur Smith. This is such a good book. I think I’m probably enjoying it even more the second time around. The first time I read it was just after college, and it was also my first taste of Wilbur Smith. Now, as a “seasoned” Wilbur Smith fan, it reads even better. I plan on reading the sequel to this book, The Seventh Scroll, later on in the year.

Currently Reading (non-fiction): Nothing at the moment. With school and my new schedule, I just don’t have time right now to devote to two books like I have in the past. So for now, I’m just going to be reading one at a time. Most likely, I will alternate...read a fiction, then a non-fiction, then a fiction, etc. It kind of pisses me off, because this is going to kill my yearly reading list. I doubt I’ll be able to make 52 books this year. But oh well.

Currently Listening To: Nothing. I’m in the middle of transcribing a letter from dictation.

Rush Lyric of the Day: When the moment dies, the spark still flies, reflected in another pair of eyes.

Food Update: I’m trying to get back onto a good diet, although it’s hard with my schedule. But I’ve had oatmeal with flaxseed and green tea so far today.

School Update: I’m behind this week on studying, but I think I’ll be okay. I got my worst test grade yet last week...a 98. And the only reason I got a 98 is because there were two terms on the test that we had not gone over in class. In this class (Medical Terminology), she goes over all the words we have to know for the test, and writes the definition on the board. Last week, however, there were about 4 words on the test that she had not gone over in class. She tells us flat out that we do not need to know any words that she doesn’t write on the board. And then she turns around and puts 4 words on the test that she hadn’t gone over. When everyone missed them, and complained, she tried to claim that she had put them on the board. It was quite sad, really. But either way, I still go two of the words right, and I knew the other two, but she didn’t give me credit for defining “Embol(o)” as “clot,” even thought that’s technically what it is, and then the other word I missed was “Olig(o)” which obviously means “few” since an “Oligarchy” is a form of government by a few. But because I was pissed about all the words on the test that we hadn’t gone over in class, I put down, “I have never seen this word before,” for my answer.

Anyway, the only other notable news from school is that I did my disease presentation on Thursday in my Anatomy & Physiology class. It went really well, I thought. I think I was more nervous getting prepared for the speech than I actually was when I was giving it. Now I have to get prepared for my presentation next week in my Medical Law & Ethics class.

Halloween Update: I have class and a test tonight, so I won’t be able to do Halloween with Hailey. Melanie is taking her and Sydney to her friend Terena’s house to go trick-or-treating. Hailey is dressing up as a duck. We have no idea where she came up with that idea. We had assumed she would be a princess, since she has a princess outfit that Nana got her earlier this year. But about three weeks ago, Melanie asked her what she wanted to be, and out of nowhere she said, “A duck!” So, we bought her a duck outfit.

Today in History, October 31:

475 – Romulus Augustus, who was no more than 12 or 13 at the time, is proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He would rule only 10 months before being deposed by a Germanic chieftain. He would be the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

1517 – Martin Luther King Sr. nails his 95 feces to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, beginning the Prostate Revolution.

1892 – Arthur Conan Doyle publishes “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” the first collection of Holmes short stories.

1917 – The Battle of Beersheba takes place near Palestine, during World War I. During the battle, the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade made a successful charge against the Turkish trenches, overtaking them and capturing Beersheba. This would become the last successful cavalry charge in history.

1923 – Marble Bar, Australia records a temperature of over 100 degrees. This would be the start of a record 160 consecutive days with temperatures at 100 or greater.

1926 – Death of Harry Houdini, from complications from a ruptured appendix.

1940 – The Battle of Britain ends, with the UK successfully repelling a German attempt to invade England.

1966 – Birth of Adam Horovitz, a.k.a. Adrock, of the Beastie Boys. “October 31st, that is my date of birth...”

1984 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two of her body guards as she walks through a garden at her primary residence.