My Spring Schedule

I am on my third trimester of pregnancy. In order to feel productive and insure that I get the best possible prenatal care for Herbie, I decided to take courses again...

So far, Herbie has had excellent prenatal care at the office of Dr. Sara Stevenson. Dr. Sara Stevenson is an excellent OB/GYN, unfortunately, she has moved to Indiana. I really hope the medical staff and doctors at UNLV are at least as compassionate.

Here is my class schedule:

Entomology w/Lab
Ecology
Calculus- Retaking in order to prepare for Calculus based Physics.
An Upper Division Biology Colloquim

As an Integrative Organismal Biology major, it surprises me how little Calculus and Physics I am required to learn. I feel like I wasted a year taking Algebra based physics and struggling with the physics because I was so overwhelmed with the way we had to solve the problems using Algebra. If I had a strong background in Calculus, I would be able to solve physics problems using the math that was originally used to interpret physics concepts. Therefore, even though it is not part of my program, I am choosing to retake Calculus I and II in order to understand physics properly. I am really happy my good friend Jan has encouraged me to make this decision as I am beginning to see why.

How exciting!

After this, I should have 24 more credits to go!

I plan to continue my education in Biology and work on my Masters.
Hopefully I can find employment in California or the East coast where I plan to raise Herbie.

Recession Woes

foreclosures, bank failures and layoffs. It has been a sad time for a lot of people this year.

This is the first time in my life where I feel very little control over what is going on in my family and the people around me. I am worried about my whole family, as I seem to be the only one employed at the moment. That is a scary thought considering I have been a student/adventurist most of my young adulthood and have never really concerned myself with the stability of employment. My mom has moved in two of her friends who are now homeless due to layoffs at the Bellagio Casino.

My younger sister is suffering from the hardship of looking for any type of work. This is a time where there are too many overqualified people who are out of work, and it looks very dry for a 20 year old who lacks any credentials or experience. She recently picked up a part time job at Subway. The labor and hours given to her are unbearable. They had been scheduling her to come to work for only 2 hours a day at 8/hr. At that rate, it was hardly worth going in to work at all. When I recently encouraged her to demand that she get scheduled for at least 4 hours, hoping that she would get more hours... it backfired negatively and caused her to be scheduled less.

Last year I abandoned school for the most part and felt really guilty about it. Although, now that the country is in a recession, I don't feel so bad because I feel like I am returning from a one year vacation and have the drive to work hard. I am glad I got my travels out of the way, met lot's of friends, and had fun. This year it's time to get back on track, a very good friend (Jan Hettich) decided to give me a scholarship to return to school. (I lost my scholarship due to dropping a full load of classes mid semester) As I don't feel I am deserving of this help, I plan to own up to the expectations and work hard to succeed.

I am very fortunate to be able to work for PSAV. It will offer a lot of flexibility during the upcoming semester while I start my new life.

I am happy to have the support of Richard Grijalva. His patience and love has kept me strong and even though financial times have been rough, he has kept me sane and smiling.

My mother, from cooking and cleaning and helping me out, she has been awesome, I am very grateful to have her.

Christmas has been sad in Nevada. As the economy is worsening, depression is looming. I can feel the pain of my co-workers who have recently been layed off, my neighbors who can't afford power and my sister who can't make her bills. It just doesn't look so bright.

Celebration of Life

Life is fragile

Live with dignity

Love yourself

11.26.76 - 11.26.08

Jeremy Stow

I wish you could still be here.
I wish that one day I could see you again, happy.
I miss the love that you gave me.
No one has ever made me feel so safe.
You will forever be in my heart.
My love, Jeremy Stow.

Our Story
Jeremy and I met when I was a sophomore at UNLV. Jeremy had a
wild spirit. From the moment we fell in love, there was hardly a dull moment.
I loved Jeremy with all my heart and soul.
Jeremy graduated from UNLV and started a business in Mobile Alabama. As I stayed in Las Vegas, I prayed for his happiness.
He spent the last years of his life building his company and working on his dreams and goals, as I ventured across the country on a different path.


I want to give my condolences to
Mike and Cherry Stow,
Jason Stow, his brother,
and his beautiful children.


Donald McKenna

I have never seen someone with so much strength!
If I could only see you one last time,
and give you a hug and see you smile.
You will forever be in my heart.
My truest friend, Donald McKenna

Our Story

I had been a friend of Donald McKenna since I moved into my first own apartment at UNLV.
During the last 5 struggling years of his life, he concealed his pain behind a friendly smile.

A bite from a brown reclus spider 5 years before I met him, crippled his ability to work.

He had been my close friend and confidant.
The memories I have of Don were always pleasant.
He was a New Jersey Native, who had many stories of the good old days.
I enjoyed our coffee time conversations we had about life and love.
He was a strong man.
He lived with dignity, and never let anyone take that away from him!
He had a very big heart.

I really miss him and wish I could give him a big hug.
Donald knew a lot about me, and never judged me,
he trusted that my actions in life were dignified and I value his respect.