| You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree |
 Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone. |
12.23.2006
Do you guys agree with the quiz results?
12.20.2006
Belated Thank You(s)
Thanks to my wonderful friends and family who supported my family and me during our recent loss, esp. J, Jr, and Pandy Bear for coming to my Granny Pat's service and celebration.
Thanks to P for the wonderful Christmas gift! I love sharing it with you and Jr - a fabulous tradition.
Thanks to J for inviting me to the cookie exchange and employing a (friendly) "pregnant woman's guilt trip" to get me to go ;) (Use it while you can!)
Thanks to all of you who came to the gingerbread house-making party! It was super fun, and I'd post pictures if I had some (I will get them later from Sister, and I'll blot out your faces so no one will know your identities!). Special thanks to Sister for bringing all that junk, and thanks to Pandy Bear for cooking an amazing fried foods feast (veggie style).
Thanks and merry christmas!
12.18.2006
Yummers
Tonight: Mashed potatoes (with skins)
Sauteed mushrooms and brussel sprouts in screwdriver sauce (butter, vodka (thanks for leaving it, P - I owe ya!), OJ)
Baked tofu in peanut satay sauce
First Day
I love orientation! Just listening to "blah blah blah" and fill out paperwork - and I get paid for it! I'm excited because I also found out that I get to listen to my iPod while I'm working. Yippee!
12.13.2006
Rabbit 'rhea
Rabbit 'rhea is the term Pandy Bear and I use to describe the messiness that comes out of Stuart when he has a tummy ache. It is nasty, nasty stuff.
Say it with me: Rabbit 'rhea. It's runny and brown/green. It is rank. It gets all over his legs and belly.
This is a prolem - I don't know if any of you have tried giving a rabbit a bath before, but imagine giving a squirmy cat a bath, then imagine that cat having hind legs ten times as powerful. Now imagine that the cat is also a rodeo bull and can twist and contort in all manner of ways (I guess cats can pretty much do this already, but the bull is more impressive because it does it very violently). That's Stuart when he doesn't want to be held.
Remember how psycho Fiver would get when something bad was going to happen in Watership Down? That's Stuart when I put him in the water. (Image from movie Watership Down - yeah, it's actually the rabbit Holly, but you get the idea).
It goes like this: I fill the sink with room temperature water about halfway. I place an unfolded towel on the toilet lid next to the sink. I gingerly pick up Stuart, careful not to get his rabbit 'rhea all over my hands and shirt. As he squirms, I lower him into the sink. It goes pretty quickly because Stu runs his legs the whole time - this effectively creates enough motion in the water that most of the shit washes off of him without me having to touch is nether-regions. After about 30 - 45 seconds of this, I lift him up and place him on the towel. My left hand stays on his body as I use my right hand to quickly fold the towel around him. Then I take the knife and with one swift motion disembowel him - no more rabbit 'rhea! Just kidding, I don't do that last step.
Stu stops squirming once he's wrapped in the towel. Like a baby in swaddling clothes.
He ate a good dinner last night, so I think he's feeling better.
12.07.2006
12.06.2006
School is almost over
Well, tomorrow is my last official day of school for this semester. I have two tests for two different classes from one prof, and it is the last day in the lab for a big forensic case project due by Monday. I am still working on my thesis project, but have hit a major snag. I'll probably spend some time working that out next week. Next semester I'm only signed up for one class that meets, but I may end up dropping that for work. We'll see. My honors class doesn't require class meetings, but I will meet with my advisor every week or two.
Oh, that reminds me, I sort of decided what I'll be doing next year. I got really stressed out and didn't want to go into a Ph D program straight out of undergrad, so I decided I wouldn't apply for any of those programs for next fall. That left the option of working, interning, and/or applying for masters programs in March for the fall. Then I thought I might as well apply to A&M - their deadline isn't until Jan 1 - but Granny Pat got sick, and I've put it off again.
There's still time left, but I don't really know how I feel. I think the biggest issue is that I want to have options, and at this point there are still several options. I hit a low point with school about a month, month and a half ago. I was totally stressed out and didn't feel like I have what it takes to make studying a full-time job. I was all ready to go back to the real world and return to school only to learn tangible skills. But then I read some paper, and I remembered how cool this stuff is to me. I like learning about it!
What has really zapped me has been the job search. If I really believed in mistakes, I would say that quitting my job before having any real prospects was a mistake. But there's no use crying over it at this point, so I'm not calling it a mistake. I will admit that it has been difficult. Being unemployed with bills to pay and debt does not a sound sleeper make. It takes a lot of brain power to apply to several jobs a week, and that left little brain power for reading papers and thinking of grad school applications. Grad school should, WILL, be different. I will only go if I am paid! It's a job, I'd be learning to teach, working for other profs, writing grants to earn the school money. I will only go if I am paid.
I might have a job! I had an interview that went really well, so I'm feeling better about myself. I have a few back-up plans. And if those don't work out, I'll bite the bullet and head into retail or food service knowing that it's only temporary. Everything's only temporary! Buddha says "All is transitory" - don't sweat it, dude.
12.03.2006
Sweet Granny Pat
At 7:31 AM on November 30, 2006 Patsy Ruth Howard passed away. My parents, my sister, and I were with her since about 3 AM, and my dad had been their since the evening before. My sweet, sweet grandma had a very peaceful goodbye.
I want to share a few details about her life. She was born in 1918, and would have been 88 on December 21. She had two sisters and two or three brothers. She a very beautiful young woman, and popular in high school in Sweetwater, Texas. She attended college! She went to North Texas when it was a girl's college in the 30s.
She was married twice. She had one daughter with her first husband, who was ordered to pay her $30 a month in alimony when they divorced. Thirteen (or so) years later, my dad was born, then a few years later my uncle. Their father was my grandfather who was a Lt. Col. (I think) in the Air Force and flew bombers in WWII. Her marriage to my grandpa took her to Japan, Alaska, Colorado, and San Antonio, where my dad and uncle went to high school.
After they divorced, my grandma lived it up as a single woman, owning her own (very successful) women's clothing consignment shop in San Antonio, travelling to London, Paris, the Netherlands, and several trips to Vegas and Alcapulco. She enjoyed Broadway and gambling, fashion and parties. I remember her apartment in San Antonio had a fabulous pool with palm trees and a volleyball net.
Grandma had lots of girlfriends, and evidentally several male suitors, only one of which I remember. My sister and I enjoyed the fruits of her creative labors throughout our childhood and adolescence: she sewed us skirts, scrunchies, and cute midriff-baring tops Mom never would have bought us; she taught us how to sew pillows; and she taught us how to paint Bob Ross-style oil landscapes and china teacups. So many hours devoted to artistic endeavors with Grandma.
Pat was an accomplished painter and sewer, but she also excelled at gardening. Her little duplex in Gracy Farms had the most beautiful irises, lilies, and hawthorne in the whole neighborhood. And of course she cooked. S and I have fond memories of her dinners, which our family shared with her several nights a week for years. She made awesome chocolate-chip cookie cake. Foods she loved: any baked good with lemon (esp. cookies and pound cake), fuzzy navel and margarita wine coolers, fried catfish, and carrot jello.
She was a cat lady! No apologies for it - we went with her to several cat shows at Palmer Auditorium in the 80s. The cat she had the longest while I was growing up was named Tuxi, short for tuxedo. A real schizo cat. Even to a few days before her death, the cat in the nursing home continued to pay grandma visits because she knew she'd get love there.
Grandma was so loving, but she had quite a mischievious side. She loved to give her sons a hard time, lovingly, and it always made us laugh (trust me, those boys deserve it! they can be quite the stinkers). She loved watching America's Funniest Videos. I know she got into lots of trouble with her Aunt Willie and my great Aunt Cha, her sister in-law. They would play cards and drink, and my Aunt Cha had a reputation for being quite a hell-raiser.
Let's see, Grandma also loved Wheel of Fortune, Greg Kinnear, and Michael J Fox. She hated Willie Nelson for some reason (I think it was his hair), but loved some of his songs (Don't Fence Me In). She would often hum old jazz standards and big band tunes. One time for Valentine's Day, she made S and I these little ceramic music boxes that played Let Me Call You Sweetheart, another one of her favorites.
The last party at our house Grandma came to was August 6 of this year. We have some video footage that S and I watched earlier today. She ate four or five pieces of dessert and stayed until about 10 PM, really late for her. She kept telling my Dad she wanted to stay a little longer. I'm so glad she did! We had fun that day.
Grandma Pat was amazing. Always so willing to teach us about art or make us something, and she always wanted to participate in whatever we were doing - she went to the zoo, Sea World, restaurants, parties, vacations, the movies, and shopping with us. She even dressed up in Halloween costumes with S and me.
In these last few years, Grandma Pat participated in the Linus Connection. This is a really neat group. They make quilts for kids in homeless shelters, battered women's shelters, hospitals, crisis centers and in foster care. Grandma made quilts for family and friends for years, and continued making them for Linus Connection up until a few months ago. I am very excited today because my mom gave me Grandma's sewing machine. It's such a wonderful gift, so much a part of who she was and a symbol of so many of the gifts she gave to me and my sister throughout her life. I made my first (and only) quilt as a gift to Pandy Bear for Christmas of 2004. I plan on continuing Grandma Pat's giving by making quilts for Linus Connection myself. I can't think of a more meaningful way for me to remember her and honor her kindness and generosity.
11.26.2006
My Dear Friend
My sister just told me that the nurse where my Granny Pat lives said my grandma probably won't make next weekend.
My dad had the idea to have people - family members, friends, caretakers - sign a quilt that my grandma made and has had on her bed for the last week or so. I've signed, Dad and his brother have signed it, several of my mom's family signed it over Thanksgiving, and many nurses have signed it. My grandma will be cremated, and this quilt will be her shroud.
The most beautiful message was from her friend Willie, an adorable old woman with beautiful white hair and a beautiful smile. She reminds me very much of my grandma earlier this year. Her message reads: My dear friend. I love you. Willie.
11.20.2006
NaNoWriMo
Yes, November is National Novel Writing Month. I have been trying to write a novel since November 1. I have a little over 900 words.
Ooops! Guess I'm not doing so well. I did all of that in an hour or so on the 1st or 2nd. Since then, I haven't even opened the Word document with the stuff in it. I keep forgetting. I'm too busy filling out job apps (still searching!) and avoiding my thesis.
I kind of liked what I was writing, but I'm not sure if I am going about it the right way. Okay, obviously writing would be a good start, touche, but I mean my method. I am trained in screenwriting. With that, you pretty much plan out as much as possible ahead of time - your characters, major plot points, beats, etc. I understand that is helpful for novel writing as well, but the people over at nanowrimo.org advise not overthinking this novel. after all, trying to write a novel (50,000 words by there count) in a month is daunting enough. they say, just write, get down as much as possible, and then we can worry about the details.
so what do you guys think? should I give up for now? or do you think I can squeeze out 25,000 words or so over thanksgiving break? cause even if I got that far by the end of november, I just might try and finish.
I never finished my screenplays. ooops! ;)
11.05.2006
What's been happening
Yes, it has been a while. But I just told someone about my blog, and now I feel oblogated to put up a new post. Ha, ha! That was a pretty nice joke.
I have been very busy. Grad school apps are due in a little over a month, I think I've narrowed it down to four or five schools. My research project is moving right along. Still searching for a job; I am now very poor. Thanks to my loving sister and parents, I have been able to pay rent and bills this month. I've sold three things on eBay and made a little over $50. Last float night, Pandy Bear and I got into a huge fight that lasted hours, so we had floats at about 12:30 AM instead of 8 PM (having a float that late doesn't make for restful sleep, but I'm sure that is common sense). I just finished my first non-school book since the semester started - The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists. My life is chugging along, domestic and pedestrian, just the way I like it.
Saturday night movies has gone very well. This is what we've watched since The Hunger:
Krull
High School Musical
Cat's Eye
Monkey Shines
Suspiria
Halloween.
We weren't able to keep it up every Saturday. Since I last posted, I also went to a wedding, a funeral, and I have made several trips to see my grandma(s) because they've had surgery or been sick.
I have been busy. Hopefully I'll get a job soon. Money in my pocket, pay back the people I owe, and new stuff to blog about. I'm a little sleepy and I've got some studying to do. Good night.
9.27.2006
Taking a Break from Celebrity Gossip
I know you never thought you'd hear me say this, but I have decided to stop looking at celebrity gossip for a while. Since my last day at work, I've had a lot of time on my hands, and I've wasted most of it - snacking, looking at gossip, flipping through the cable channels. Yes, there is a lot of work I've done, too. But now that I am no longer suffering at work and no longer have as much to avoid/forget, the gossip is just obnoxious, mean, and leaves a yucky taste in my mouth.
So, what specifically is off limits? Pretty much anything that makes me scowl. I don't have a problem with talking about how silly an actress' dress or make-up happy to be, but the endless shots at people's looks, their choice of mate, photos of where they ate, how drunk they look, etc have just become so tedious. It's my own fault for checking these things a million times a day.
There are several blogs that are updated frequently which I will continue to look at. I'm not against all time-wasting! Cute Overload and Stuff on My Cat have never made me scowl. I do not see these as time-wasters at all: there has been many a time when looking at adorable animals, my spirits have been lifted. Those websites are most essential. There are several academic-, science-, and women-in-science-minded blogs I read that, while effective time-wasters, also serve to enrich my understanding of where I am at in my life right now, as well as intellectual curiosity. Other blogs and websites in my favorites include a fansite for a certain fabulous sci-fi tv show from the late eighties/early nineties, shopping websites, friends' and family members' blogs, fake news and real news, and a really hilarious blog dedicated to romance novels. See, more than enough to divert my attention from the tasks at hand in a happy, healthy way!
Who knows how long this "break" will last. The Chocolate Boycott lasted more than a month, and when I returned to eating chocolate, it was nicely in moderation. I don't eat it everyday anymore! No doubt I will look up some of these gossip websites again, but I don't intend to do it everyday.
Hoorah for cute puppies and kitties and bunnies!
9.25.2006
To Do by 2 PM Today!
Will I get everything done? On Friday, I made a list of things to get done by 2 PM today, here's what's left:
- Apply to jobs (6 total)
- Finish Bramblett vertebra chapter
- Read Skelton & McHenry article
- Organize thesis resources
- 5 candidate papers for their molecular-based trees
Wow, now that I listed it out, it doesn't seem like too much. On Friday I found the jobs to apply for, and over the weekend I read 3 articles for a class and looked up resources a prof gave me. Yeah, I can manage time! (Premature celebration? We shall see...)
In other Mr. F news, had J and P and A over to watch some movies. J and I watched THE HUNGER and could not believe how amazingly gorgeous Catherine Deneuve was and is. Seriously, have you seen her? She has aged so well. She's put on weight, which I think is a smart thing to do as you get older (it's natural, right?), and she obviously took very good care of her skin. Makes me want to wear long sleeves and a hat - my arms are so much darker than any other part of my body, mostly cause I wear pants pretty much all the time.
But I digress. THE HUNGER was very enjoyable, poor David Bowie! Had a little of the Dorian Gray action going on. Then we watched POLTERGEIST. Hilarious! Seriously, though, it was a little too long. The whole second ending thing? For me, I only appreciate it if the second ending is about five minutes long. An additional 20 minutes or so is too much! My mind and body are all prepared for the movie to end, then it doesn't - makes me very annoyed, not scared! But overall it was fun. The weather was all stormy and moody. And P and A brought cookies! Yummy!
9.23.2006
Disappointing TV
A-hole* and I finished watching the Arrested Development dvds last night. So sad. What a great show! The cast was talented, the writing was great - irreverant, political, and at times very subtle - it was so much fun to watch. Seriously, I pretty much now detest the 30 minute sitcom. Have for a while. Someone - anyone - list one good one that is on right now.
That's what I thought.
A few posts ago, I wrote about how excited I was for the new Grey's Anatomy. Blech. It turned out to be pretty lame, of course, and simply rehashed everything we already new from the first two seasons. Characters with baggage, Meredith's in a love triangle and gots to decide. There had better be some fun stuff or I'm gonna stop watching the show! Why create melodrama with someone dying every single episode? I know they're in a hospital, I know that kinda stuff happens, but I wanna see the characters do things that make them seem real, the everyday stuff. Cleaning house, buying a car, making jokes with each other. Not every moment of the show has to include one of the characters experiencing a huge crisis or epiphany. Please, don't go there! I like George and Izzie and Christina and Miranda and Preston and Addison and even Alex - I like them so much more than Meredith and McDreamy right now. Those two are just Obnoxious.
That's all on the TV front for now. Tootaloo.
*A-hole when I'm not so pleased, Pandy Bear when I am.
Research is hard (boring post)
At least it is easy for it to be overwhelming. This undergraduate thesis is the first major research project I've undertaken. In the end, I will have written 30 - 60 pages, complete with graphs and cladograms and phylogenies and tables, and a bibliography of 20 - 30 sources, primarily from scientific journals. Phew! I do have fun searching in databases for articles, but so far I haven't done a good job organizing what I find. As soon as I download it to my desktop, I forget about it. There's around twenty on my desktop, and about 30 more in various folders from various stages of the research problem. I talked to a professor the other day who had some resources to give me. I really liked his system: four or five file cabinets organized by topic, then the articles alphabetized within. It was very easy for him to find exactly what he wanted to give me.
Wow. Thrilling topic, I know. I'll start a new, more blog friendly post.
9.21.2006
Second to last Thursday of the month
Pandy Bear and I have a new tradition. This will be the second month in a row that on the third Thursday (aka the second to last Thursday of the month) we have celebrated by having a float. No reason in particular. I just read in Real Simple or some other silly magazine that having a tradition is a way to make your abode more home-y. Since I'm not religious, and since there are already enough traditions in the fall/winter, I decided that the summer was as good as time as any to start.
And tonight is great for Float Night. The season premieres of The Office and Grey's Anatomy are on tonight. Yeah, TV! Pandy wants to watch The Office, and don't get me wrong, I do to, but I really want to watch Grey's. He wins, though. He had four cavities filled today! I can watch tomorrow at 8 pm when they rerun the Grey's premiere.
Yes, so Pandy had four cavities filled today. He looked hilarious! His cheeks were so puffy, and he was walking around the apartment with him mouth slightly open. I couldn't stop laughing.
The first Float Night was soooooooo much fun. I know, tradition with food, desserty-snack food, no less, very typical, unoriginal, and unhealthy. That's why it's only once a month! No big commitment, not expensive, just me and Pandy feeling like kids. What more could you want?
And here is a picture of my mother's new puppy, a beatiful little girl named Lilly who came from the city pound. Don't you just love her one-eyedness?
UPDATE: The best news! The Office premiere is at 7:30, not 8:30. Yippee! Now I can watch both!
9.16.2006
Eggs Benedict w/o the Spinach
So I have thrown away the spinach in our fridge. We buy a brand that sells organic spinach and salad mix in those clamshell boxes, and this brand was listed as one of those being pulled from the shelves. Kinda sucks. Love me some spinach! Last night, A-hole made fun of me for throwing it out. Must I remind him I have a compromised immune system, and this strain of e. coli is not welcome in my gut?
So, while on the topic of veggies, I am excited that fall is coming. For the first time, I will attempt a fall garden (albeit a container garden on our front porch) featuring spinach, lettuces, onions, and whatever else lends itself to fall planting in Austin. This renewed gardening spirit is due to the fact that my lantana has several (10-12) small blooms on it! So wonderful! This is happening because - best news - it seems that maybe our days of 100 plus degree heat are leaving. Fabulous!
9.15.2006
Home again, home again
It's so nice to come home from work, or school, or whatever, and have no "responsible" things you have to do for the rest of the day. Today I get home, and it's Friday - I say hi to Friedrich and Stu, change, talk to my dad on the phone, grab a cookie, check the mail, catch up on news and life in cyberspace. Just easy stuff, you know. I was a bit sick yesterday so I didn't make plans for tonight. I'll just chill.
I may do some constructive things, like planting the herbage for Stuart, a little research on phylogeny and primate cladistics a la molecular data, but I will definitely do a lot of stuff because I want to, not because it has to get done.
So anyway, rejoice, the weekend is here.
What are you doing this weekend? Ms. P is going to ACL fest with her peeps, as are J&J. Evidentally, so will some local celebs and their friends (I'm sure you'll see some pictures on a certain celebrity gossip site), and of course, thousands of other people. Good for them. I decided I didn't wanna try the heat, and most importantly, I couldn't quite afford the price tag.
And I don't need live music. I can just watch old David Bowie music videos on You Tube.
9.12.2006
It's official
School is now kicking my ass.
My ability to grasp and utilize the concept known as "Time Management" will probably be the single most useful predictor of my future success.
Things are looking grim.
9.06.2006
Funny conversation with Dad
I called Dad just to chat the other night and told him I was watching the Project Runway marathon. He really likes that show. He told me all about how Allison (sp?) was 25 and designed and made her clothes, and we both agreed Jeffrey is a total jerk. I told him that earlier that day, Jr and I watched Xanadu. I loved ONJ's dresses, but especially her black/gold pantaloon/argyle-legging number at the end. He kinda moaned about the movie, like it brought back terrible memories.
Dad: Huh. There's a show you should try watching, it's kinda funny. It's on WE...
Me: WE? The Women's Entertainment channel?
Dad: Yeah. It's called Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty.
He is serious, people! My dad is turning into the old man who likes to watch women's television. He already listens to Annie Lennox (who is amazing, btw - I called her The Red-Haired Lady when I was a mere child rockin' out to Eurythmics videos on MTV). He's turning into a softy! My grandpa has Fox News on all the time (used to be CNN) if there's no game. My children will talk about how their grandpa watches Lifetime and made-for-TV movies starring Melissa Gilbert and Dana Delaney.
8.22.2006
sleep paralysis
I think everyone has had this experience: You're dreaming and wake up suddenly only to discover that you can't move. Maybe your eyes are still closed, maybe they are open, but your arms, legs, head, even fingers and toes are immobile. Within a minute, you have regained your ability to move, but it is a very uncomfortable and sometimes scary situation.
This is called sleep paralysis and has happened to most people. At dinner last night, the topic of the ghosts at the Driskill hotel came up (some guests were staying there). This led to a conversation about personal scary experiences, and someone brought up waking up and feeling paralyzed. I thought I had read before that during REM sleep (or some phase around there), the brain signals for some kind of chemical to be released that in effect (affect?) paralyzes the body, allowing for a more restorative sleep. A woman at the table said she had heard differently: at night, our souls leave our body to go travelling around, presumably to the land where they come from, maybe to run around the Driskill and scare people. When we wake up and feel paralyzed, it is because our soul (maybe "subtle body" is more accurate. she didn't say soul, but I can't remember) has yet to return to our body.
Whatever the cause, sleep paralysis is sometimes accompanied by auditory and visual hallucinations that can be quite scary. I found this on a medical definition website (http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9810):
Sleep paralysis goes by a number of names, including the "old hag" in Newfoundland (for an old witch thought to sit on the chest of the paralyzed sleeper), "kokma" in the West Indies (for a ghost baby who jumps on the sleeper's chest and attacks the throat), "kanashibari" in Japan and "gui ya" or ghost pressure in China (because a ghost is believed to sit on and assault the sleeper). Medically, sleep paralysis is sometimes called waking paralysis, predormital (before-sleep) paralysis, postdormital (after-sleep) paralysis, and REM sleep atonia.
I like that! Kokma sounds spooky - a ghost baby, holy shit! Actually, they are all pretty terrifying. There is another interesting article on answers.com and wikipedia (I think it's the same one).
8.20.2006
The Chocolate Boycott has ended!
I haven't had any yet, but I've decided that the boycott has accomplished what it needed to, namely ending indiscriminate binging on chocolate and other foods with the cocoa bean. I'm not sure how long it has been, maybe a month? I may have some next time it is offered, and I may not. How fabulous is that?
8.14.2006
Friedrich's results...
| Your Personality Is Like Cocaine |
 You're dynamic, brilliant, and alluring to those who don't know you. Hyper and full of energy, you're usually the last one to leave a party. Sometimes your sharp mind gets the better of you... you're a bit paranoid! |
I think Someone is rubbing off on me...
| Your Personality Is Like Marijuana |
 You're laid back and easy going, so much so that taking a shower is often too much trouble for you! Nevertheless, you're quite popular, and many people enjoy your company. You're rarely turned down. You're prone to giggle fits, paranoia, and forgetting where you are exactly. |
8.09.2006
Must get work done...
It sucks not having internet access at work. As some of you may know, I have a bit of flexibility at work - my job is such that I don't have to commit 100% of my brain power to the task. However, playing a computer game or looking at a magazine is quite different than reading an article on abnormal spindle-like microcephaly associated blah blah. This means, after I numb my brain listening to the tapes and playing diner dash or whatever at work, I have to come home, snap myself out of it and somehow focus on a very difficult (for me) subject of which I know little about. And the words are so big!
I have a meeting with my professor tomorrow. My goal was to have an idea of which direction I want to go in for this year's research/thesis: genetic study or cognitive experiment. I still don't know! I've done hardly anything. I have been very unwise with my time. Deep breath...
I have done some fruitful things. I am beginning to rewrite my proposal and I am gathering a bibliography together to turn in to the honors advisor. I have almost finished a group of related articles on ASPM. But it's so daunting. The voices of self-doubt are so loud. How will I come up with a research problem that is original, within limited budget and facilities, and something that can be answered accomplished in nine month's time?
Any ideas about how to deal with stress or manage my time? Words of encouragement?
7.30.2006
Princess Butter
Yeah, she's cute and all. But Butter is a ball of energy with little, tiny teeth that shread anything and pucture everything. I've been babysitting Sister's chihuahua this weekend. Yesterday, she let us sleep in until about 9:30 AM (on a Saturday). This morning, it was up a little after 7 AM. I am soooooooooooooooooo tired. Maybe it's worth it just to see her hump her dinosaur toy.
7.26.2006
Booger
So my parents have this dog, Booger, who is developing some very strange habits. He's always been a very sneaky dog. He ran away frequently when my dad first brought him home, steals food from hands and countertops, and chews things like Blackberry(s) and sunglasses when they are left within standing-on-hind-legs reach. We think Booger is so, let's say resourceful, because he was a skin and bones stray living next to a Louisiana lake when my dad found him on a fishing trip.
Here's a picture of Booger with his head in a chip bag:
Notice the bean bag under him. This is Booger's bean bag, and Booger sits there when dad and mom are in that room watching TV. My parents have frequently taken meals in front of the TV, but Booger is usually not allowed because he will take the food off the plate when you turn your head. Now Booger has decided that he will take his meals in the TV room, too. He will actually pick up his food bowl in his mouth, carry it from the game room, through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the TV room, plop onto his bean bag with the bowl, curl up, and eat his food. It is one of the funniest things to see. I hope to figure out how to post videos to this blog, and once I do, I assure you, Booger's dinner will be documented.
7.21.2006
French Quarter
Even though our apartment has 80% senior residents, the French Quarter can get pretty rowdy. Some of these wonderful people (not sarcasm) shout at each other across the courtyard or down the corridors. It is really very amusing.
Until it got into the mid 90s regularly, when I came home from school/work a group of ladies would be sitting in lawn chairs across the courtyard from our apartment. I don't know what they talked about, but there was almost always laughter.
A skinny, white-haired, tall man who lives on the first floor sometimes walks around in overalls carrying a radio that is blasting some kind of polka variant. And this morning, at around 8:30, there were two kids screaming and splashing in the pool. It's pretty nice here.
7.20.2006
4 incarnations later...
This is it. I'm putting my foot down. If this blog doesn't work - as in I'm too lazy to post - it's over. This time no gimmicks, no pretentions (limited, at least), and no myspace.
And now, for your viewing pleasure...
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