Summer Summary

I played 8 Sundays at the Penfield United Methodist Church.

I've started teaching piano lessons. I have two students.

Leah and Dan got engaged and married, though they still want to have a blessing and reception in December. I made a bazillion save-the-date cards for them.

I've officially joined Lisa Opanashuk and Kerry O'Banion's labs, working on the methamphetamine project.

Evan and I celebrated our six month anniversary. Go us!

Schola has started rehearsing, though Compline doesn't start until October.

I should write

I really should write something. But what?

Leah graduated from UNH cum laude last weekend. I need to send her a card or something.

Evan is sick with a cold. Poor Evan. So I'm taking all kinds of preemptive meds. Maybe he's feeling better today.

Mom is back to working full-time as a minister to cover for her friend's sabbatical at the congregational church. She had a cold last weekend, too. Her birthday is next weekend.

Jonny has been drafted into playing drums for Choate's musical, which is No No Nannette or something. Poor Mr. Tines really wants to do the racy stuff, but I think he keeps getting into trouble. Two Gentlemen of Verona and Chicago, then The Sound of Music and The King and I... another racy one, then a tame classic. Tines is going to transfer to some arts school in the South, I think.

My rotation is almost finished. I just have through the 31st. Then I have two weeks to write a report, but I don't think I have anything to report. I tried cloning a bunch of stuff, and much of it seems to have worked, but I have no data. No numbers. No graphs. No figures. I could include scans of gels, but that's really it. I pity the person who will have to read what I write.

I'm going to play church most of the Sundays in summer, which is cool by me. And Michael says I can practice at his church, the Presbyterian one across the street.

Back to maxipreps.

Done

I just handed in the last exam of the year. Whew. I don't always feel it, but this time I do: the weight lifted from my shoulders, ya know. The relief. The easy, careless joy of impending summer vacation. Yes, I still need to work in lab. But it will be easier now that I'm not balancing it against classes and such.

Lution

Put the gel into solution.
Make it the right dilution.
Rapid revolution
for good resolution.
And finish it all with elution.

blargh

Tonight: first year graduate student party
Tomorrow: superbad with jonny
Sunday: easter. sing? Evan's Mom's birthday
March 28: rotation report due
March 30: substitute
April 4: systems/integrative neuroscience exam
April 5: Dad's birthday
April 11: seminar presentation
April 17: neuroinflammation literature review due
April 22: neuroinflammation presentation
April 28: systems/integrative neuroscience exam and jonny's birthday

Drabble

I have a story to tell you. It is the epitome of an epic, replete with mystery, adventure, tragedy, and romance. My story will inspire poets to tearful song and cynics to serene meditation. My story will rock your mind out of its comfortable niche and into the elevated realm of nirvana. There you will dwell in the monumental harmony of all existence, a deity assured of the completeness and rightness of things, in a constant state of euphoric epiphany, and you will begin your own story.

Once upon a time, ...

It’s a shame I’ve run out of words.

311

Heh, today is 3/11. I like 311. I should listen to some. As should you. If my brother were in town, we would party.

Deep

A friend of mine commented the other night (in the context of giving me driving directions): "We are approaching -- what we are headed toward." When I corrected his grammar, he remarked: "Yeah, I'm not very good at this English-- whatever."

Shame

Shame on me for not writing in so long!

I'm:
- burned out, because I had a takehome exam due on Tuesday and another exam on Wednesday, plus regular reading for classes, and now I have the beginning of That Cold.
- psyched, because my first swap is beginning.
- annoyed, because the light in my dining room keeps flickering.
- relieved, because the week is almost over, and next week is spring break, though it likely won't be much of a vacation, since I'll be in lab all the time, finishing my rotation and making up for all the time I didn't spend in there this week.

I've found a way to make a catastrophically stuffed nose clear up within one minute: 60 jumping jacks. Granted, the relief doesn't last long, but gosh, it's nice to breathe.

!

he likes me

blushing

Ahh, I like having someone to like, especially when that someone presumably likes me back. Katie said she called him when she couldn't find me and got worried, and that he got worried in turn. Granted, I'm sorry to make him worry, but I'm flattered that he cares enough to be concerned. Katie said he even offered to come over to my place, to see if I had just fallen asleep.

I can't wait for class tomorrow, when I get to sit next to him for a couple hours.

My First Drabble

What's a drabble? It's a short piece of writing of exactly 100 words. Here's my first shot at it:


My desk lamp is looking at me sideways. My chair judges my weight behind my back. My computer takes quiet note of the words as I type them.

My socks cling to my feet, hugging all the improbable curves. My pants are less intimate, hanging indifferently from my hips.

My pencils lie in wait in the drawer, ready, ever ready, and waiting.

My speakers stand guard against silence, merciless sentinels that they are.

My mouse lounges by my hand. Maybe it’s asleep. I bet if I listen carefully, I can hear snoring.

But the damn lamp keeps looking at me.

I'm not done, yet

I miss the days when I used to write. My journal entries used to be long and thoughtful, and eloquent, if I do say so myself. But then I became a Scientist. Now writing is dry, consise and to the point, space-saving, time-saving, devoid of personality and finesse.

Yet one of my good friends fawned over my writing, and used a phrase I'd not heard before: that I was nerve and bone a writer, or something to that effect. I was touched. Still am.

I do not want to lose my writing chops. My precious mad skillz. But who has the time? And what a lame excuse that is.

Fine, I can find the time. Like now. I should be reading two articles for discussion tomorrow morning, but instead I'm here. But what can I write about? Pipetting? Perpetual statistical insignificance? It seems that nothing noteworthy happens, or not much, or not enough. And what authority do I have to write about things everyone knows?

What do I know that you don't know? What can I tell you?

Conundrum

My sister has her senior recital on Sunday. But the guy I like has invited me to a movie.

Penguin Haiku

penguins really fly
they just don't want you to know
they surprise their prey

I can't take credit for this one, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Note to my future self

Assuming that I become a professor:

When writing exam questions: be clear what you mean to ask in each question. Do not penalize if students fail to read your mind.

Wish List

Here's the wishlist for the swap I'm joining and am so psyched for:


Are you a knitter or crocheter? Primarily a knitter, though I crochet, as well.

I love to make..... soft, colorful, useful things.

I really want to make...... a luxurious blanket, with environmentally friendly fiber.

My favorite yarns are..... soft and natural, especially ones I've spun myself. Or colorful. Or novelty (assuming I have an idea for how to use it.)

My wish pattern is...... Something with an interesting texture, but not so complicated I can't knit it during a movie. Something useful and beautiful. Something I can show off.

My favorite hooks or needles are..... I love Lantern Moon needles, but I also like shorter needles so I can knit in class without disturbing my neighbors. Rosewood > birch > bamboo > metal >>> plastic (yuck).

I really wish I had..... a more extensive collection of circular knitting needles. I never seem to have the right size/length.

My favorite colors are... anything that doesn't look like puke. Bright colors are fun. Earch tones are profound. Pale colors can be nice, too.

My hobbies... knitting, spinning, crocheting, cross stitch, embroidery. Occasional sketching. Music.

My kitchen theme and colors.. I just recently moved into graduate student housing apartment, so the kitchen isn't particularly inspiring. The cabinets are a dark brown. Walls are white. Floor is kind of beige tile.

My bathroom theme and colors... Same problem as above. The floor is tiled in pale blue/green/grey. Everything else is white. Blah.

My dislikes.... Scratchy yarn. Inaccurate sizing. Blocking. Waste.

My crafts..what I like.... knitting, spinning, crocheting, cross stitch, embroidery, small quilts.

My allergies... sulfa drugs and ceclor. :P

My favorite pets... cats, all the way.

My favorite scents... Vary by season. In winter, I like warm scents: cinnamon, nutmeg, pomander type stuff. Lilac is nice. Coconut. Vanilla. Orchid.

My favorite novels or magazines... Terry Pratchet is my hero. I also enjoy Stephen King and Harry Potter. Decorating and crafting magazines are fun. And I occasionally indulge in an issue of Cosmopolitan.

Other stuff about me... I'm a first-year graduate student pursuing my PhD in neuroscience. I have a BA in neuroscience and a BMus in organ performance. Originally I'm from Connecticut.

Cheshirite

Voila.

My first post here.

Go me.