Who?  Ame..Aimeeeeeee...Aim Ah Lay???

Hello, happy people!  It's me, Aimee!  Okay, okay, for all of you non-Frenchies,
you pronounce my name as if it was the English "Amy Lee."  If I hear it pronounced in en francais, I know I am in BIG trouble!  My parents have a rather amusing sense of humor when it comes to naming children...oh well...what are ya gonna do?

Well, we got that taken care of!  Phew!  Now on to the *FUN STUFF*

I am a senior biology major/ chemistry minor at St. Lawrence University.  Let's see what interesting tidbits of information of my psyche we can glean from that one simple sentence, shall we???

1.  I am a bio major, with a minor in chem.  Therefore, I am either:
a. incredibly smart (from the presented data, it's OBVIOUS that odorant intensity is
    directly proportional to the water solubility...)
b. incredibly stupid (who wants to spend most of her waking hours with a pile of dirty petri
    dishes???)
c. rather interested in medical research.

Ding!  Time's up.  Well, actually, they are all right, but the correct answer is: c.  As you can tell from my format, I am hoping to go to grad school next fall (I think I have the GREs on the brain!)...Boston University, specifically.  More about that later.

2.  I am a senior at St. Lawrence University, so therefore I am:
a. someone who likes lots of snow in the winter
b. someone who is rather fond of cows (mooooooooo)
c. someone who likes to drink.  Heavily.
d. someone who likes an academic challenge, but also likes to kick back on the weekend
    and calculate the velocity of a shot of vodka traveling down his/her throat.

Okay, people, pencils down!  The correct answer is: d (partial credit for c, as this may become more and more true as the semester, and my honors project, progresses).

Well, this has been a pretty good introduction to Life Through Aimee's Eyes.  Ready for the real bio?

I'm originally from Westbrook, Maine, a great little city about an hour's drive from Boston.  Okay, okay, so maybe it takes most people closer to an hour and a half.  What can I say?  I like to go FAST in my little Blue Bomber!  :)

Anyways...I love Westbrook, I love my friends and family there, but after I graduated high school in 1996, I decided a change of scenery was in order...so...I packed up my belongings (nobody is ever going to accuse me of 'packing light'), and drove eight hours to...absolutely nowhere.

No, sorry...that is mean.  Canton, New York IS somewhere...somewhere very, very far away from any and all civilization.  There are more cows than people in the county, so that might account for the rather particular odor that seems to hover around the area.  Oh well.  You get used to it soon enough..that, and the fact the nearest city is a 90 minute drive from here (Ottawa, Ontario, if you must know...a great place, but it is so ENGLISH!).

The school itself more than makes up for the area...SLU is a tough school to get into in the first place, and once you're here, you have to work your butt off to stay here.  No 0.25 GPA allowed, eh, Andy?  Anyways, I am always up for a challenge...and I got what I asked for in the bio department!!!  It's great, though...I've taken classes on immunobiology, genetics, microbiology, molecular and cell biology, and...drum roll please...ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY.

Okay, I'm sure you have no idea why I am so proud of the fact that I am the lone "long term survivor" of this class...well, you see, physio has a reputation of being a "kick ass, kill you AND your GPA" kind of class, and moi, as a lowly junior, took the class, and not only survied with GPA well intact, but I ACED IT.  Ha!  I also get the undeniable pleasure of reliving the 12 hour labs and endless nights pouring over a nearly incomprehensible text book again as the TA this year.  Yay.

Hi, back on Planet Earth here.  Where was I?  Oh, yeah, physio.  I've also taken other cool courses, covering everything from African history, Shakespeare, Quantum Mechanics, the Separatist movement in Quebec, to glow-in-the-dark Christmas trees in Denmark.  Random?  You bet!  But I love it!!!

Okay, enough for the academics.  Classes are great, but as one of my friends loves to say "YOU CAN'T LET YOUR CLASSES GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR EDUCATION."

What a quote, huh???  I love it.  It's my Mantra.  Seriously!!!  You have no idea how much you can learn about living life by experiencing college life up close and personal.  For instance:

Beer before liquor, never sicker.  Liquor before beer, in the clear.

Don't flush the toilet while someone is in the shower.  They will wait around until you are in the shower and then flush until you feel like a boiled chicken.

DO NOT take naps on the quad.

Caffeine is your friend.

Do not piss off your neighbor who likes rap music and owns a very loud stereo.  Trust me, vibrating walls at 3:00 am are not cool!

Do not attempt to convert said neighbor to "light and easy sounds," either.  Celine Dion gets very annoying very quickly!!!

Do not sleep with authority figures.  That's all I am going to say.

Security is NOT stupid.  If they see a pack of freshmen walking on campus on a Friday night with very heavy backpacks, they know that you are not toting around books.

Raman noodles CAN, in fact, keep a person alive for an entire semester.

Make friends with your school's rich alumni.

Always accept dinner invitations from the university president.  His food beats the Mystery Meat and Surprise Souffle any day.

It's pronounced "quiche," not "quickie."  Those lunch ladies will not be amused at all.

If your roommate tells you knock before entering your room, do so.  And give them time to get dressed again.

Easy money: good.  federal agents on campus: bad.

Do not wear two inch platform flip flops to walk home from the bar after your 21st birthday.

For that matter, do not wear low cut tank tops in the bar unless you are sure that really hot frat boy who is in your math class is going to be there with all of his sexy little friends.

Be nice to the computer geeks.  They will rule the world sooner or later, and you may as well start sucking up now.

Duct tape can hold anything together, from your chem text book to your dorm room.

Watch your laundry, especially during rush.  Two words: panty raid.

Caffeine is your friend.

Milk crates make great furniture.

A&F cataloges provide great entertainment as well as some "inspiring" room decorations.

If a guy asks to see the glow in the dark sticker stars you and your roommate plastered all over your ceiling, don't.  He's not Gaileo.  He's just a typical, hormone driven frat boy.

Beware football players.  I didn't keep any of my ex's around for so long due to their witty conversational skills.

Stock up on underwear before classes start: if you plan it right, you won't have to do laundry until you go home for Thanksgiving break.

Vodka that comes in glass bottles is for shots.  Vodka that comes in plastic bottles is for mixing.  DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO, unless you actually want your friends to find you passed out in the lobby of the Comfort Suites Hotel.

It's "Chi O," NOT "Heigh Ho."

Verbal slams on any of the other sororites is, like, perfectly fine.

You realize who your friends are very quickly.  They are the ones who look at the same pictures over and over again, listen to the same stories of your friends back home, and still act excited to see you.

What an experience, huh???

Well, everyone, that's about it for now...I have a biochem exam to study for, and as enjoyable as this whole web page thing maybe, it's not going to help me understand hydrolysis and chromatography.

Later!!!

:)