Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving guys! I hope everybody had a good one! Mine was fun, although very different from last year's T-Day.

I went to NY to stay with Dave and Sara again. Last year I only saw Sara on Thanksgiving Day, and I did lots of touristy stuff everyday. This year Sara was off Thursday, Saturday, Wed. night and Fri. daytime, so I saw her lots. Wed. we went out to dinner at Uptown, a local bar, and then went to another bar off of Amsterdam (I think?) because at around 11:30 or midnight, you can see the unfinished floats for the Macey's Parade going by. Tons of fun. We were gonna go to the parade, but it was raining all morning long, so we decided to sleep instead. Sara's two brothers came and brought their significant others (Maria and Mark), and we just talked and ate all day, and played spoons (but with napkin rolls for some reason) and Taboo. On Friday we saw Casino Royale, which is awesome, really, if you haven't seen it yet, make plans to do so. Saturday I came back to RI and watched a couple movies before passing out.

And today I'm back in the lab trying to do an experiment. I'm going to leave in a couple of hours, but only because I have to do laundry, go food shopping, and watch V for Vendetta before I have to return it. I go home in 3 weeks which is awesome, but these 3 weeks are going to be hell. I still have to teach for the next 2 weeks, do God knows how many more experiments and do a presentation, paper and final for my marine fish class. Oh, and possibly analyze some of my data and do more revisions to my proposal, who knows? So...it's gonna be stressful for me, as I'm sure it will be for all my fellow grad/law school friends. I won't hold my breath for posts from others, unless it's your way of venting so your head doesn't explode.

Faulkner's Nosferatu

Have you guys heard about this? Apparently, 7 years ago William Faulkner's daughter found a screenplay he wrote for a vampire movie that was never produced. Some Hollywood director is interested in it, and plans to have the setting in the South with digital special effects. Isn't that odd? I thought my literary friends would appreciate that the man who wrote Absalom! Absalom and The Sound and the Fury also wrote a vampire movie. Here's the link for more info: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/cl-et-scriptland15nov15,1,3340370.story

Trial and Error

So it's been kind of a frustrating week. As I already posted, I was supposed to get some bloodwork done Monday, and it didn't happen. I arranged to do it on Wednesday at 11:00, but more problems cropped up. Some student was talking to Dr. Ahmed, so we didn't even start til around 11:30. I had to clean some bottles and put my samples in a supercharged microwave to digest any bacteria and other organic material in the blood. Then I was supposed to do an elemental analysis on the ICP -MS. Here's where things go wrong. Not only does the pressure valve pop in the microwave (translation = I can't use those samples), but the ICP-MS isn't working properly and needs to be serviced. By now it's practically 1:00 P.M. and I teach at 2:00 so, once again, my bloodwork has been put off til Monday at 11:00. Hopefully it will actually get done then.

On top of that, I started what I thought would be my last experiment yesterday morning, bright and early, got to the lab at 7:00, knowing it takes at least 18 hours to do this due to slow equilibration time, plus I had to add in more data points, which makes it even longer. To give you an idea of how long it takes, I'm waiting for the last data point now, and it's 11:30ish. Anyways, before Brad (my advisor) left yesterday, he said I should try doing the experiment again and altering the pH. I mention that I"m already using my last frozen sample, and he said I couldn't trust the others. Let me explain. Most of my samples were put in a fridge for a couple days before moved to a freezer. On the last day of collections, I put 4 samples directly in the freezer. During the summer, Brad said I should just do experiments on those, and that I couldn't trust the results of the others because of the fridge factor. But now I should do more experiments? Lloyd pointed out that I could just do more experiments, use everything I have, and then just write in that the results may be a little off due to the freezing factor. Which makes sense of course, especially considering the scant amount of data I have. But really, had I but known, I could have done like 10 more of these experiments during the summer when I had no other obligations, as opposed to now, when I"m trying to research and write a paper/presentation. I mean, I can read and write while the experiment is going on, but it's just frustrating because I hadn't counted on doing so many more experiments in the last weeks of the semester.

Which brings me to the title of my post. You know how science is all a bunch of trial and error? I seem to be really good at the error part.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day everybody!

Why, you may ask, am I celebrating Veteran's Day today instead of Saturday (the actual day) or Friday (the observed holiday)? Well, apparently little Rhody has to be different from the rest of the country. Rhode Island observes Veteran's Day today. (This is also the only state in the nation that still celebrates VJ Day, now referred to as VE day). Now, this isn't a huge deal, the office is closed today and the library on the other campus is as well. What is annoying is the fact that I was supposed to meet with a guy who could help me do some blood work this morning, and it was only after I called the lab 3 times that I realized that they must have taken today off. At this rate, my research will never be finished!

On a completely different note, I heard a neat vet's story on the radio on Saturday, so I thought I'd share it. There was a vet who had been a professional pianist, but he was injured in the war (I forget which one he fought in) and lost his right hand. Obviously this was devastating for a pianist. But he didn't give up. Instead, he commissioned composers to write music for the left hand only, and he would perform with orchestras, always playing with just his left hand at the piano. I thought that was a pretty amazing story, a good pick me up, and can't we all use one?

Oh, and for my reading friends out there. Thornton Wilder (he wrote Our Town) can also write novels. I just finished The Eighth Day and it was really good, showing different times and points of views. I definately recommend it.

Election News

So the Democrats now have control of both the House and Senate. I don't really want to talk about it, mostly because I live in the bluest state in New England, so I"m sure to hear all about numerous times. Although, surprisingly I haven't actually heard anybody talk about the election results, but it seems like everyone's pretty busy, so maybe I'm just in the library when those conversations are going on...... Anyways, apparently my family is pretty upset, especially my Dad and Mike, they're really worried everything is going to fall apart in Iraq. I know, I know, a lot of people, Republicans and Democrats, want us to get out of Iraq. However, I think it's a good idea to listen to both sides, especially since Dad and Mike have both fought in wars (Vietnam and Iraq) and both have been to the Middle East (my dad was there in the early 90s as a civilian). They give me an insight that I don't get from the press. But maybe that's just me.

So for me, the only Republican in Rhode Island, the results are disappointing. I only hope that Hillary Clinton doesn't become president in 2008. I shudder to think about it. Seriously, if Hillary Clinton is elected, I will feel as angry and betrayed as the Democrats when Bush was reelected. And that's saying something.

Wedding Pics!

Here are some pics from Dave and Sara's wedding:

Dave and Sara right after the wedding (this one's my favorite)

Sara in her wedding dress (doesn't she look gorgeous?)





Dave and Mike (the best man)

Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars

Just thought I'd comment on GG and VM since I don't regularly talk to the girls who watch those shows with me.

Gilmore Girls: I seem to be constantly slightly dissapointed with this show. I really don't want Christopher and Lorelai together at all. Here's why: 1) I think Luke is the love of her life, even if they do need to take a break from each other, 2) You should never make your child's father the rebound guy and 3) Christopher seems bland and perfect. He doesn't freak out, he's just serenly confident in absolutely everything. This makes him boring. Is that what happens when you inherit lots of money? I don't know if it's the writing or what, but his character doesn't seem strong enough to be such a lead role at this point.

I also thought it was pretty selfish and petty of Lorelai to complain that her parents came to Parents Weekend, and for her to have lunch at the exact same restaurant, to one up her parents (I assume?). It just seemed stupid. It's the kind of function Lorelai would never go to (unless Chris convinced her), plus her parents didn't even really meet Rory until she was in high school, so they've got some catching up to do. Besides, they revel in the rich life of Yale (remember the Yale football game ep?). Weak. However, I did love Luke's interactions with April (she calls him Dad now!) and his disastrous date with a vegan (yikes). Any GG fans disagree with me and want to see Lorelai and Christopher together? B/c the previews for next week ("The Proposal") look horrible. I realize she's ready to get married, but Lorelai needs to stop and think before accepting that proposal. Although, the episode might just end with the proposal, and make us wait another week for the answer.....

VM was good at advancing little plot lines, but was not at all what I expected from the previews. The previews stated that LoVe would have problems, and that they would explain them. Instead, we didn't see any possible problems for LoVe until the last minute of the episode. Also the TA seems extremely petty and odd. I'm a TA, and I don't obsess about the freshman that I teach, or how they impress the professors I work with. That guys crazy. I love Wallace even more now. Way to show character! He admits he cheated, decides to take the zero and continue on with the class/major/dream, and even sits out a semester of basketball so he can concentrate on studying. Go Wallace! Although seriously, there must be some actual tutors at this school who could help him out, right?

On an entirely different note, one of the spiny dogfish had babies! There are 3 little baby sharks swimming around the tank in the Wilga lab. They're so cute!

Further Frustrations

Just when I've got everything organized, things go wrong!

So, last week I met with Dr. Ahmed, who said I could come in and do an elemental analysis on my blood samples on Monday, i.e. today. I just realized that sentence probably doesn't make sense to anybody but me. In layman's terms, I was gonna do blood experiments on a machine that Dr. Ahmed runs, and then some in the lab. After that, I was gonna set things up so I could do another absorbance experiment tomorrow. So, basically I was gonna finish up all my thesis experiments today.

I got in a little early and started getting things ready. Calibrating equipment, thawing out my blood, organizing my methods, etc. However, when I called Dr. Ahmed to see what time we could do the experiments, he said he had to do stuff with students today. Could I come Wednesday afternoon? Nope, that's when I have a physical therapy appt, it's the one time during this week that I have something scheduled in the afternoon. So now I have to wait until next Monday.

This isn't a huge deal, but today would have been so much more convenient. Because tomorrow is Election Day, there are no labs this week, so I could have stuck around doing experiments without worrying about if I would be done by 2, plus we usually have a lab meeting on Mondays at 10. Doing experiments today and tomorrow would have been perfect because I would have no other obligations, and there would be fewer people around tomorrow, since we technically have the day off. Instead things are put off by another week. Sigh. Guess I'll just spend the day looking for more metabolism papers and cleaning up my proposal.

Forward Progress

Things have gone well this weekend. Friday afternoon I decided that I deserved a reward, so I went out and bought Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! I was just gonna ask for it for Christmas, but I saw it in Wal Mart and got all excited. I'd only seen it once, and it is my favorite book......In other news, I actually found an alterations place that would do my dress! And, the woman said I could pick it up next Saturday, which seems crazy fast to me, I was expecting a few weeks, which is why I was scrambling to get it done before I go home in December. I also had a chance to go to the mall and get some new boots. The soles on my old ones fell off in the spring so I've been wearing sneakers. But they're not too comfortable, because the cushioning in the heels is completely gone and they both have holes in the top, so when it rains, my feet get soaked. You're probably wondering why I didn't just buy new shoes earlier. I know, it seems so simple. But once you factor in that I must drive 30 minutes to even find a store, that my car is slowly but surely dying (so I try to avoid these 30-45 minute trips) and that I've spent the last 2 weekends driving around trying to get bridesmaid stuff done, it makes a little more sense. Plus, I tried to go shopping earlier, but all I could find was fashionable boots, not boots I could pull on and wear everyday.

I also booked my train tickets to NYC for Thanksgiving and got some cute little candles and some raspberry white chocolate bark for Sara (her birthday is right after Thanksgiving, like the 26th).

So. Holiday bookings are taken care of. Bridesmaid stuff is taken care of. Now I just have to worry about my proposal, blood experiments and fish paper. Speaking of which, it is now time to go read up on hypoxia...

Stupid Technology

I got some wedding pics emailed to me and I was going to post them, since none of you even knows what my new sister-in-law looks like, but the stupid page won't let me copy and paste a picture onto it. There's probably another, simpler way to do it, but I don't know what it is. Anyone want to help me out?

Pop Culture Nonsense

As I've already posted (at least, I think I have, I haven't slept enough lately...) I've been scrambling to do multiple things at the same time, namely reading more papers to clean up my proposal, start my Marine Fish paper and actually find an alteration person for the bridesmaid dress. As a result, I feel like I"m constantly busy, but I'm not accomplishing anything, since I've only gotten bits and pieces of each task completed. So I'm dedicating this post to a couple random fun things I've run across in the last week or two as a change of pace.

Books: I"m currently halfway through The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams, yeah, the guy who wrote the Hitchhiker books. It's really interesting. It's sort of a grab bag of stuff left on Adams computer after he died, and a bunch of people sifted through everything and put it together. It includes columns, talks and random thoughts he typed out. It's pretty entertaining, and there's no plot to follow. Perfect, since I don't have enough time to follow one right now anyways.

Movies: Technically this is a miniseries, but I checked it out as 6 episodes on a tape, so it was like a movie. Ever heard of Tales from the Darkside? Yeah, me neither, but last weekend I wanted to watch something creepy I hadn't seen before and it was slim pickins at the small public library. Apparently, Tales aired in the late 80s or early 90s, and every episode deals with the supernatural. They're not all evil or creepy, sometimes only good things happen. However, the episode I'm thinking of was called something like "Christmas Dreams" and proves that dreams really can come true at Christmas, whether you want them to or not. I'd love to say what happens in this ep, but I'm pretty sure most of my friends will be horrified that I liked it. Except Whitney and maybe Mike. Whit, see if you can find this episode online somewhere, it's delightfully twisted in a way only you can appreciate. Everyone else should avoid it, as it will kill any Christmas spirit you possess.

T.V.: Frankly, T.V. so far this fall has been a bit dissapointing. Gilmore Girls continues to piss me off (Lorelai and Christopher? Ugh, I was sick of their relationship when it was a one night stand, let alone whatever it is now. And what a ridiculous world GG has become when mother and daughter are both dating millionaires! Come on!), Veronica Mars has good parts in every show, but no episode has been better than Ep 1 of Season 3 (or episodes from seasons 1 and 2, but they're transitioning to college, so I'll let that go...). In addition, while I usually enjoy Lost and Grey's, they're kinda ticking me off too. Spoilers ahead! They killed off Eko! What the hell? He could be silent and dynamic, he could make 2 words have more meaning than the paragraph Charlie was spewing out of his mouth. And he's dead! They could have gotten so much more out of his character.....And Grey's? Seriously, if I had an injury that could cause my hand to shake during surgery, possibly hurting or killing people, I WOULDN'T FREAKIN OPERATE! It's this whole thing about morality and my conscience and not wanting to take the chance that my pride/stupidity/awkwardness might cause me to kill someone, no matter how many precautions I attempted to take!

On the plus side, I discovered last weekend that Supernatural repeats on Sunday nights! Yay! I love Supernatural and Grey's, but since I live with 2 girls who love Grey's and hate Supernatural, and since both shows are on at the same time, I've missed out so far this season. But no more. I'm gonna be glued to the T.V. on Sunday nights now. Whit now we can discuss VM and Supernatural! (Have you noticed that all of our favorite shows bear an alarming resemblance to Buffy? Sometimes I think we're both just compensating for the loss of that show.....And yes, I am that crazy and obsessive).

Here are some fun lines from various T.V. shows:

"You mean you and Logan are dating again?" "What, that's news? Man, the prison rumor mill blows!" -V.M.

"He Obi Wan'ed me!" and "It's mind control, that doesn't count. I'm calling a do over." -Supernatural

"No, do not make carrot cake. It is the devil's food. But you can make devil's food cake. I like that."-My Name is Earl (pretending to be God)