![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Since hearing back in the negative from the job I'd, admittedly, had my hopes up over, I've been a bit under the already record-lows weather. Fortunately, I have a sweater's worth of yarn from Iceland, and am knitting that up- it has both obvious progress, and an implied price tag, making me feel like I'm doing something with value.
But I cannot just sit in the quiet and knit. Especially not when I'm still in the great fields of stockinette. So I've been watching Death in Paradise, a BBC mystery which succumbs to the worst of all mystery tropes. 11 minutes from the end of every episode, there will be an aha moment, followed by sitting all that week's guest characters down while he explains whodunit. Sheesh. BUT! It's set in a fictional island in the Caribbean, three of five major characters are black, the music is excellent, and it has Danny John-Jules. Colonialism is rampant but at least acknowledged. There's an extremely forced love interest that at least seems to be going nowhere. In one episode, the (British) DI knows it must be murder instead of suicide because the deceased left a very nice pot of tea only partially drunk.
Not excellent, but perfect for not paying a lot of attention to.
And I'm almost done with the stockinette.
the hedge abides.
But I cannot just sit in the quiet and knit. Especially not when I'm still in the great fields of stockinette. So I've been watching Death in Paradise, a BBC mystery which succumbs to the worst of all mystery tropes. 11 minutes from the end of every episode, there will be an aha moment, followed by sitting all that week's guest characters down while he explains whodunit. Sheesh. BUT! It's set in a fictional island in the Caribbean, three of five major characters are black, the music is excellent, and it has Danny John-Jules. Colonialism is rampant but at least acknowledged. There's an extremely forced love interest that at least seems to be going nowhere. In one episode, the (British) DI knows it must be murder instead of suicide because the deceased left a very nice pot of tea only partially drunk.
Not excellent, but perfect for not paying a lot of attention to.
And I'm almost done with the stockinette.
the hedge abides.
The other day, E came home and told me he had a present for me. I was really confused about the coffee table book of nature photos from the Great Smoky Mountains, until he pointed out it was intended as a laptop lap desk. I'd just installed Steam on my computer and had discovered that it (unsurprisingly) made the poor thing run extremely hot. So in addition to containing some beautiful pictures of the Appalachians, the book-present keeps the laptop up off the comforter.
the hedge abides.
the hedge abides.
I miss you
Dec. 27th, 2013 06:16 pmIn the way of all things stunningly obvious, life is both amazing and hard. Amazing for cats who greet you at the door and for living above-ground again and sunsets and being able to buy shiny things and eat out just because I worked a little more than usual, and for getting to see my bosom friends again soon. But hard because I still feel like I'm being told that I don't get to grieve for Shervie because someone else is, and for getting rotated away from a good psych resident to a haphazard one, and for our constant and worsening underfunding of the sciences.
In that last vein, at least, you can listen to me rant on the Geeks Without God podcast (http://geekswithoutgod.com/) in a few weeks. We're set to record early next month, so check back in mid January, maybe?
I'll try not to make too many jokes about how they're clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel if they're interviewing me. Instead, I choose to be horribly offended that they interviewed that pompous asshole,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
433, before me. What a bunch of jerks.
You should listen to their podcast anyway.
the hedge abides.
In that last vein, at least, you can listen to me rant on the Geeks Without God podcast (http://geekswithoutgod.com/) in a few weeks. We're set to record early next month, so check back in mid January, maybe?
I'll try not to make too many jokes about how they're clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel if they're interviewing me. Instead, I choose to be horribly offended that they interviewed that pompous asshole,
433, before me. What a bunch of jerks. You should listen to their podcast anyway.
the hedge abides.
30 years to the day after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in orbit, the Space Shuttle Columbia first flew, on April 12, 1981. I was born 180 days later. I am entirely a child of the shuttle era, and it feels a little ominous and disorientating for this era to be ending.
I entered the lottery for launch viewing tickets to the last launch of Discovery, currently slated for early November. I'd considered encouraging friends to also apply but decided that would be disingenuous. Today, they sent me a "regrets" e-mail, and I'm angry with myself for not at least reminding my dad to apply (although he probably did).
There are two more shuttle launches, Discovery in November and Endeavour in late February. I tried to see Discovery fly STS-115, back in 2005 with433, but it was scrubbed and we couldn't afford to go back to FL a second time, not all the way from MN and NY.
It's a ridiculous expense, especially given the uncertainty of launch times, but I'm pretty sure I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't see one of these launches. The tickets through NASA are hardly the only way. So if anyone wants to come camp on the beach with me in the middle of winter, let me know.
the hedge abides.
I entered the lottery for launch viewing tickets to the last launch of Discovery, currently slated for early November. I'd considered encouraging friends to also apply but decided that would be disingenuous. Today, they sent me a "regrets" e-mail, and I'm angry with myself for not at least reminding my dad to apply (although he probably did).
There are two more shuttle launches, Discovery in November and Endeavour in late February. I tried to see Discovery fly STS-115, back in 2005 with
433, but it was scrubbed and we couldn't afford to go back to FL a second time, not all the way from MN and NY.It's a ridiculous expense, especially given the uncertainty of launch times, but I'm pretty sure I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't see one of these launches. The tickets through NASA are hardly the only way. So if anyone wants to come camp on the beach with me in the middle of winter, let me know.
the hedge abides.
I am so scared all the time now, and I hate it.
I tried to go out on Friday and not be a shut-in. I really did. But I took one step away from the back door and promptly fell, barely catching myself from going face-first down the steps to the alley. On the plus side, my bruises make it look like I'm in roller derby. Of course, I've also proven to myself that trying out for anything that even slightly emulates Friday's city of ice is a poor decision.
Seriously, folks, freezing rain is one of the top three reasons I abandoned the East Coast.
But the ensuing thaw (WTF?!) made Saturday and Sunday more sociable. Laundry at Mom&Dad's and Naomi and Jesse's game night on Saturday, including a game of We Didn't Playtest This, Either (fun), and Guesstures (charades in a box. again, wtf?). I finished the first season of Star Trek: TNG, which had that episode with the brainstem-inhabiting alien bug species that scared me almost as much as the Wrath of Khan earwig when I was a kid. Now it just looks awesomely gory in a Dead Alive or The Fly kind of way. The earwig is still scary, though.
Speaking of The Fly, I saw Moon on Thursday (which also made use of some well-placed gore). That was excellent. Lots of little touches. Vax's criticism that it was pretty predictable is legitimate if you've seen a lot of science fiction, but I still found it worthwhile. I mean, Miller's Crossing is hardly startling if you've seen a lot of noir, but it's still an excellent movie.
Sunday, I did something horrible to my back (how? sleeping, natch), and then Adjuvant kicked my ass at Magic using decks she'd built. This means that any time she tries to tell you that I always win, she's lying.
Not that she wasn't lying anyway, but still...
the hedge abides.
Seriously, folks, freezing rain is one of the top three reasons I abandoned the East Coast.
But the ensuing thaw (WTF?!) made Saturday and Sunday more sociable. Laundry at Mom&Dad's and Naomi and Jesse's game night on Saturday, including a game of We Didn't Playtest This, Either (fun), and Guesstures (charades in a box. again, wtf?). I finished the first season of Star Trek: TNG, which had that episode with the brainstem-inhabiting alien bug species that scared me almost as much as the Wrath of Khan earwig when I was a kid. Now it just looks awesomely gory in a Dead Alive or The Fly kind of way. The earwig is still scary, though.
Speaking of The Fly, I saw Moon on Thursday (which also made use of some well-placed gore). That was excellent. Lots of little touches. Vax's criticism that it was pretty predictable is legitimate if you've seen a lot of science fiction, but I still found it worthwhile. I mean, Miller's Crossing is hardly startling if you've seen a lot of noir, but it's still an excellent movie.
Sunday, I did something horrible to my back (how? sleeping, natch), and then Adjuvant kicked my ass at Magic using decks she'd built. This means that any time she tries to tell you that I always win, she's lying.
Not that she wasn't lying anyway, but still...
the hedge abides.
ain't nobody
Jan. 18th, 2010 11:00 pmWaiting for the bus home from work.
I have a new job; I actually started before the new year. I missed the interview because Metro Transit is scared of snow (?!), but got the job anyway. I'm now working part time in my old lab in Neuroscience, keeping the lab going while we wait for word on the new-new-new-grant for which I *just* finished the last bit of data analysis, and part time in a Pediatrics lab studying perinatal iron deficiency.
I had really been looking forward to unemployment, in a weird way, as a kind of closure to the past year and a half of getting dragged through the mud by the NSF and not knowing more than a month in advance if I'd still be employed. And as a fucking vacation. I finally just took some time off, since the Neurosci experiments take a lot of waiting and most of the new lab was on vacation anyway. Watched some Star Trek. Hung out.
Turns out it was good timing, because the next week I found out that my uncle has rectal cancer. I don't know how to express to most people how close my family is, and it doesn't feel like people understand how much he means to me, because really, how many people are close to their uncles? But this is the guy I spend weeks in the wilderness with. He is one of the people who has most shaped who I am and who I want to be, and cancer is going to interfere with his life in pretty much the worst way possible, and I'm scared of how sad it is going to make him and how passive he is, which is usually a benefit in dealing with my family but probably not when dealing with cancer.
The logic follows, then, that my family is the opposite of cancer.
Why does this not make me feel better?
the hedge abides.
I have a new job; I actually started before the new year. I missed the interview because Metro Transit is scared of snow (?!), but got the job anyway. I'm now working part time in my old lab in Neuroscience, keeping the lab going while we wait for word on the new-new-new-grant for which I *just* finished the last bit of data analysis, and part time in a Pediatrics lab studying perinatal iron deficiency.
I had really been looking forward to unemployment, in a weird way, as a kind of closure to the past year and a half of getting dragged through the mud by the NSF and not knowing more than a month in advance if I'd still be employed. And as a fucking vacation. I finally just took some time off, since the Neurosci experiments take a lot of waiting and most of the new lab was on vacation anyway. Watched some Star Trek. Hung out.
Turns out it was good timing, because the next week I found out that my uncle has rectal cancer. I don't know how to express to most people how close my family is, and it doesn't feel like people understand how much he means to me, because really, how many people are close to their uncles? But this is the guy I spend weeks in the wilderness with. He is one of the people who has most shaped who I am and who I want to be, and cancer is going to interfere with his life in pretty much the worst way possible, and I'm scared of how sad it is going to make him and how passive he is, which is usually a benefit in dealing with my family but probably not when dealing with cancer.
The logic follows, then, that my family is the opposite of cancer.
Why does this not make me feel better?
the hedge abides.
In my dream last night, I was going to go on tour with Pretty Boy Thorson.
In less bizarre (unfortunately) news, we didn't get our grant and I will be out of a job in three weeks.
Humbug!
the hedge abides.
In less bizarre (unfortunately) news, we didn't get our grant and I will be out of a job in three weeks.
Humbug!
the hedge abides.
Rage blackout.
Sep. 11th, 2009 04:25 pmPeople's fascination with sites like latfh.com and peopleofwalmart.com disgust me. The delight that otherwise sane people take from looking down on others is repulsive, whether those others are lower-class walmart shoppers, some of whom are crazy, some of whom are exhibitionist, some of whom are genderqueer, some of whom are just as fannish as we are only about camo instead of BSG; or are middle-class youth who have sculptural facial hair or big glasses or wear twelve different bright colors at once.
What? Men with breast implants are only OK if they pass as a professional woman?
What? Only skinny people get to wear bikinis?
What? It's more acceptable for an undergrad to wear a made-in-China keffiyeh with sweatpants that say "Pink" on the ass than it is for some kid from Brooklyn who wears one with brightly colored plastic glasses?
Get the fuck over your superiority complex, people.
I am especially disappointed in those of you who already belong to a subculture. Goths making fun of black kids in velour tracksuits making fun of geeks making fun of gun enthusiasts making fun of queer kids making fun of fat people? You've got to be fucking kidding me.
the hedge abides.
What? Men with breast implants are only OK if they pass as a professional woman?
What? Only skinny people get to wear bikinis?
What? It's more acceptable for an undergrad to wear a made-in-China keffiyeh with sweatpants that say "Pink" on the ass than it is for some kid from Brooklyn who wears one with brightly colored plastic glasses?
Get the fuck over your superiority complex, people.
I am especially disappointed in those of you who already belong to a subculture. Goths making fun of black kids in velour tracksuits making fun of geeks making fun of gun enthusiasts making fun of queer kids making fun of fat people? You've got to be fucking kidding me.
the hedge abides.
I am taking a moment out of One of Those Lab Days to point out that it is almost time for a new lab notebook. Yes, I realize that I have posted this two other places already, but I do get an inordinate amount of enjoyment out of it. I mean, really. You can fit a crapload of science (that's the metric unit for science... who's got a good suggestion for the imperial unit?) into one lab notebook, and I've filled almost three. Because I am awesome.
SO SATISFYING.
Trying to ignore the part where I'll be here until 10pm tonight. And back at 7:30am tomorrow. Of course, Bill has probably been here since 7:30am today, so I don't have much right to complain. Damn workaholics, making the rest of us look bad...
If I've never talked to you about my PI before, he's actually just about the coolest person in the world. I don't think he ever stops thinking. He remembers authors of papers he read 25 years ago, and supports my buying lab supplies at ax-man, and NEVER STOPS THINKING. Also, he buys me coffee.
More notebook record-keeping for a bit, then a break to go to the bookstore to get a lab notebook for brewing, then prep for this evening and collect some tissue, dinner (anyone up for dinner at stub&herb's/acadia/town hall? probably around 6:30) then a big experiment at 8, then home to my new Langer's Ball CD, which I forgot to load onto my widget. Sounds good to me.
the hedge abides.
SO SATISFYING.
Trying to ignore the part where I'll be here until 10pm tonight. And back at 7:30am tomorrow. Of course, Bill has probably been here since 7:30am today, so I don't have much right to complain. Damn workaholics, making the rest of us look bad...
If I've never talked to you about my PI before, he's actually just about the coolest person in the world. I don't think he ever stops thinking. He remembers authors of papers he read 25 years ago, and supports my buying lab supplies at ax-man, and NEVER STOPS THINKING. Also, he buys me coffee.
More notebook record-keeping for a bit, then a break to go to the bookstore to get a lab notebook for brewing, then prep for this evening and collect some tissue, dinner (anyone up for dinner at stub&herb's/acadia/town hall? probably around 6:30) then a big experiment at 8, then home to my new Langer's Ball CD, which I forgot to load onto my widget. Sounds good to me.
the hedge abides.
What do you do, dear?
Jul. 26th, 2009 11:07 pmWhen it is after midnight and you see a lady you do not know walking down the street with a six-pack, it is never appropriate to holler after her. It is especially never appropriate to follow her and call out about buying one of her beers. It is least appropriate to attempt to open the door to her apartment building if you do not catch up to her in time to, what? Tap her on the shoulder? Grab her arm? Wave your hand in front of her face? Engage her in unwanted conversation?
You and I, sir, we are not interacting. If you force an interaction, you will not like what you get. We are not even going to talk about how much you shouldn't be doing what you are doing. I am ignoring you ON PURPOSE.
Also, my beer is too good for you.
the hedge abides.
You and I, sir, we are not interacting. If you force an interaction, you will not like what you get. We are not even going to talk about how much you shouldn't be doing what you are doing. I am ignoring you ON PURPOSE.
Also, my beer is too good for you.
the hedge abides.
(no subject)
Jul. 21st, 2009 03:14 pmMy life has just been validated by an internet quiz which declares my Calvin&Hobbes alter-ego to be Spaceman Spiff. Suddenly, medical school does not seem so important!
Um. In case you were wondering, that was dripping with more sarcasm than Evil Dead was dripping with fake blood.
Yesterday evening433 and sithlet had me and Lex over to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by watching some Geeky Space Shit. I have never spent much time with Lex before, but she seems really fucking knock-down, no shit awesome. I did not know she also went to Smith, although 433 probably told me at some point and I just did not have a face to connect the information to.
Today I am one step closer to one of my summer's goals of seeing a final game at the Metrodome, about which I will brook no complaints. Nobody is making you go there if you don't like it. And I'm sure the Target field will end up being awesome, but I am just Not Interested. It still makes me to angry to think about.
Sunday's sunburn turned out worse than I had anticipated, on the side that did not seem so bad, but has since faded to a nice Minnesota tan. No hot showers for another couple days yet.
I'm really trying to work, but I really wish I was at home watching Star Trek and doing the fun part of my math homework, which involves copying it out neatly, which is far more satisfying than the smudgy pencil of the first draft. I want a vacation. A real vacation, that does not involve weddings or duty shifts. Omegacon is too far away!
the hedge abides.
Um. In case you were wondering, that was dripping with more sarcasm than Evil Dead was dripping with fake blood.
Yesterday evening
433 and sithlet had me and Lex over to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by watching some Geeky Space Shit. I have never spent much time with Lex before, but she seems really fucking knock-down, no shit awesome. I did not know she also went to Smith, although 433 probably told me at some point and I just did not have a face to connect the information to. Today I am one step closer to one of my summer's goals of seeing a final game at the Metrodome, about which I will brook no complaints. Nobody is making you go there if you don't like it. And I'm sure the Target field will end up being awesome, but I am just Not Interested. It still makes me to angry to think about.
Sunday's sunburn turned out worse than I had anticipated, on the side that did not seem so bad, but has since faded to a nice Minnesota tan. No hot showers for another couple days yet.
I'm really trying to work, but I really wish I was at home watching Star Trek and doing the fun part of my math homework, which involves copying it out neatly, which is far more satisfying than the smudgy pencil of the first draft. I want a vacation. A real vacation, that does not involve weddings or duty shifts. Omegacon is too far away!
the hedge abides.
catching sunburns and sunfish
Jul. 19th, 2009 09:13 pmFriday was for dealing with the little stuff at work that had been neglected as we tried to gather as much supporting information as possible for the newest NSF grant. The grant is out. We'll hear back no earlier than October. Please don't ask before then.
Thenmairi2 and I braved the HighlandFest for Harry Potter, which was absolutely worth seeing. Rupert Grint and Tom Felton have turned into pretty good actors. Too bad it's not "Ronald Weasley and the Half Blood Prince." But I will also admit to a significant Weasley Bias.
Mary and I stopped at Merlin's Rest for night at the pub, wherefrom I was transferred to the capable paws of Mya for an adventure in Microcinema: the second screening of Sherlock Jr with The Electric House at the Trylon microcinema at 32nd and Minnehaha. Those are two of my favorite Buster Keaton movies, there was live music (musical saw! does it get any better?), the seats were comfy, the snacks were reasonable, and I don't think I've ever been that happy to be in a sold-out movie theatre before! Keep an eye out for future screenings at http://take-up.org/.
Saturday was my daycare sister's wedding reception. Katie was my closest cohort, and we had some pretty good times growing up. Even if she is bossy. It is weird to see someone you used to see daily and haven't seen for more than a couple hours at a time in years. I think this must be what most peoples' family gatherings are like, but I am unaccustomed.
It was cool and cloudy and I meant to do some grooming of my car, some rustbusting and washing and waxing, but Mya didn't have to go to Ely after all, so we got a head start on Jesse Stone mysteries. Enough of a head start that we got to watch The Italian Job after, but not such a head start that Brixton didn't fall asleep. I should really be watching more heist movies.
Brixton dropped me off at Mary and Dan's, where I holed up in the attic for a day of fishing. I caught a sunburn and some sunfish, discovered that my shoulder is not in as good of shape as it could be, and just now caught a case of deja vu. Which probably just means that I've had to remember and retype bits of this entry too many times, trying to catch all the places where my pissy keyboard has refused to type the "i" that I told it to type. How does all this cat hair get in here, anyway?
Probably the same way my issue of Monica's "Abandon Everything, Save Yourself" propaganda got crumpled. And the same way there are tiny bits of cardboard on my kitchen floor. And holes in my couch. Ruiners.
the hedge abides.
Then
mairi2 and I braved the HighlandFest for Harry Potter, which was absolutely worth seeing. Rupert Grint and Tom Felton have turned into pretty good actors. Too bad it's not "Ronald Weasley and the Half Blood Prince." But I will also admit to a significant Weasley Bias.Mary and I stopped at Merlin's Rest for night at the pub, wherefrom I was transferred to the capable paws of Mya for an adventure in Microcinema: the second screening of Sherlock Jr with The Electric House at the Trylon microcinema at 32nd and Minnehaha. Those are two of my favorite Buster Keaton movies, there was live music (musical saw! does it get any better?), the seats were comfy, the snacks were reasonable, and I don't think I've ever been that happy to be in a sold-out movie theatre before! Keep an eye out for future screenings at http://take-up.org/.
Saturday was my daycare sister's wedding reception. Katie was my closest cohort, and we had some pretty good times growing up. Even if she is bossy. It is weird to see someone you used to see daily and haven't seen for more than a couple hours at a time in years. I think this must be what most peoples' family gatherings are like, but I am unaccustomed.
It was cool and cloudy and I meant to do some grooming of my car, some rustbusting and washing and waxing, but Mya didn't have to go to Ely after all, so we got a head start on Jesse Stone mysteries. Enough of a head start that we got to watch The Italian Job after, but not such a head start that Brixton didn't fall asleep. I should really be watching more heist movies.
Brixton dropped me off at Mary and Dan's, where I holed up in the attic for a day of fishing. I caught a sunburn and some sunfish, discovered that my shoulder is not in as good of shape as it could be, and just now caught a case of deja vu. Which probably just means that I've had to remember and retype bits of this entry too many times, trying to catch all the places where my pissy keyboard has refused to type the "i" that I told it to type. How does all this cat hair get in here, anyway?
Probably the same way my issue of Monica's "Abandon Everything, Save Yourself" propaganda got crumpled. And the same way there are tiny bits of cardboard on my kitchen floor. And holes in my couch. Ruiners.
the hedge abides.
(no subject)
Jun. 29th, 2009 05:02 pmMy sewing machine is making a funny noise when I use zig-zag stitch. Wrong answer, Singer! Also, apartment covered in glitter.
And I just remembered that this is the end of the second quarter, so not only do I still need to do my swipes, but I also have to do a quarterly report. Stupid isotopes.
Finally remembered to call Qwest (thanks,eldogo, for mentioning bills). Realized that I don't know the number for my DSL. But I do have my checkbook and it's in the memo line of my bill checks! I win!
I'm disgusted by how happy that little bill-triumph makes me.
the hedge abides.
And I just remembered that this is the end of the second quarter, so not only do I still need to do my swipes, but I also have to do a quarterly report. Stupid isotopes.
Finally remembered to call Qwest (thanks,
eldogo, for mentioning bills). Realized that I don't know the number for my DSL. But I do have my checkbook and it's in the memo line of my bill checks! I win!I'm disgusted by how happy that little bill-triumph makes me.
the hedge abides.
