What? You haven't seen Wings of Desire? No excuse!
1.29.2007
12.23.2006
Do you guys agree with the quiz results?
| 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. |
12.20.2006
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!
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