Hopeful

So, a little over a month ago, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was difficult for me to deal with, especially because I heard it over the phone and this is the first time in my life I've been more than a quick car ride away from my parents. I'd informed a few friends, but mostly kept it on the DL. Not really sure why, but I guess I just couldn't handle posting about it - thinking about it seemed tough enough. The first several weeks were filled with phone calls, mostly comprised of me talking to mom about how she felt and telling her about my life to let her mentally escape for a few minutes, and grilling my dad about details on tests, treatments, prognoses, doctors, etc. She has a moderately aggressive form of cancer, and the first several days when we knew she had cancer but didn't know anything else were very, very frustrating.

Spoke to my dad today, and the good news is that it looks like the cancer hasn't spread, and the therapy seems to be working. So the prognosis is good, and the chances are high that the therapy will destroy the cancerous cells before they spread. Writing about the details of my life and daily goings-on at school seemed rather irrelevant during this time period, but it was a way for me to mentally escape as well.

The fact that I'm going to California for my internship turned out to be rather fortuitous. Even if I end up having to travel, I'll at least have the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with mom before heading off to who-knows-where. I'm looking forward to seeing her now more than ever, and I hope that by the end of summer, she'll be up-and-about enough to come visit me in Chicago before school starts up again. I've raved about Chicago in the summertime to her and my dad, and since I don't know where I'll end up after school, this would be a great chance for us to experience it together.

I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt...

I went to the Annual Retail Group Fashion Show a few nights ago, which is sponsored by multiple clothing retailers that recruit at the GSB. It was held in a trendy nightclub in West Loop, and a runway was set up in front of the dance floor. The models - professors and administrators. Although most students get along really well with professors and chat with them about plenty of random topics on campus, its definitely weird to see them outside of campus, at a nightclub, shakin' their thangs on the runway in haute couture.

Huckle Cat and I could barely keep upright after watching some of the profs strut their stuff. A former prof of mine - who is really thin and always wears these geeky/trendy thick black glasses - came out in Calvin Klein, but flashed a bit of stomach and the waistband of his underwear. As he'd always been quite covered up in class, the flash of flesh was quite unexpected! Another prof came out in a suit, shirt unbuttoned enough to expose the rather hairy chest, while sporting shades and a martini. All of the women were going wild at this display...TOO funny. The performance was made all the more entertaining by the MC, a current 1st year that has been doing improv/stand-up comedy for years and peppered the entire show with witty remarks.

Speaking of seeing professors outside of their natural habitat, I'll be joining a couple of profs tomorrow for a charity brunch with several fellow 1st years. As part of a CWiB charity auction held last quarter, several of us CWiB members got together to offer up a Sunday brunch for the auction. A couple of profs teamed up and won the bid, so we'll be preparing brunch for them at one of their houses. Oh, and one of them is the hairy-chested martini drinker! ;P

Practice makes perfect. Or at least good enough.

I was lame and didn't go out tonight to help Shmoo celebrate his birthday. Sorry Shmoo-Tip, Happy Burfday!

Had another practice session today for an upcoming dance performance in the GSB Follies today. I'm exhausted and so ready to crash. The only thing keeping me up is a paper due tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. Okay, 8:30 am, but its still too early.

My existence next week has been hijacked by Follies, big blocks of pink (the chosen color for the "Extracurricular" activities in iCal) nearly every day next week. Though I still have a lot of practicing to do, I'm glad that its coming up soon. The intense time commitment to one activity is driving me bonkers. I am, after all, an MBA student with a ridiculously short attention span and a need to diversify (translation, commitment-phobe) everything in my life.

Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yes, short attention span...

Right, back to my paper.