Change is all the rage.

Unsubstantiated rumors are good enough for me!

2009-11-03T22:06:36Z

An ~80-year-old pin oak tree fell on two students yesterday. Just gave up living and toppled right over; really bizarre. Apparently the entire trunk had rotted through, even though the apical buds were continuing to sprout new growth. The students are fine, only a few minor scrapes & bruises, which is why I feel okay about laughing my ass off at the idea of an old tree just, you know, falling over. Boom. Tree, meet ground. To me it creates a very funny mental image. You can watch a 1-min video with footage from the scene. Poor old tree. 'Tis a shame; it sure was pretty.

I had an exam in my Evolution of Vertebrate Life class today. That in itself is not noteworthy, but this was: seeing the answer sheet accidentally flashed up on the projector. The professor is a young guy who is extremely knowledgeable but also extremely awkward, which makes a very entertaining combination. In the middle of us taking our exams, when all you could hear was the scratching of #2s on Scantrons (ugh, I loathe), he inadvertently placed the answer sheet under the ceiling camera that projects onto the enormous screen at the front of the room. Unfortunately he realized his mistake right away, and the paper was promptly removed after no more than a second. Some guy quipped, "Hey can you put that back up?" And poor Corey, so embarrassed, grinned sheepishly and shuffled his papers around a bit. And replaced the incriminating answer sheet with a blank answer sheet, just to tease us. I'm optimistic about my performance on this exam; hopefully my optimism is well-placed? For the last exam I got an 85, which should have been higher had I read the book. This time I studied the book and my notes, so maybe that will give me a few extra points. Then again, maybe not. It was a difficult exam.

Instead of re-telling my (admittedly tame) Halloween adventures, I think I'll just copy & paste what I sent to my nana (in return for her generous monthly $50 check, I send her a prompt newsy email that always begins with my sincerest thanks).
Halloween night was beautiful! Couldn't have been more perfect weather--clear skies, bright moon, temps in the 60s. And I had a great time. A friend talked me and several others into joining her in a group costume of the "horcruxes" from the Harry Potter books. I'm still not very familiar with the idea, but it's something to do with Lord Voldemort splitting his evil soul into seven parts...and we dressed up as the seven parts...I don't know, it's described in the books I guess (I haven't gotten past the fifth book yet). I was a snake called Nagini, and I wore some old green sheets that I decorated with colorful sequins and bright paint, and the others in our group were a locket, a diary, a goblet, etc.--we made quite a sight, I'm sure. We spent all of Saturday afternoon creating our costumes (which, if I do say myself, were mighty impressive works of art), and then ventured out to Franklin Street for the rest of the night. Saw some very creative costumes--"E.T.", Twister board, Lady Gaga, a bunch of grapes, characters from "Oregon Trail," and more. Altogether an excellent Halloween :).

What I didn't include was that we spent the latter part of the night at a bar, where we enthusiastically entered our whole group into a costume contest. Spoiler: we didn't win. (Actually, we left before the winners were announced, so until I hear we officially did not win, I can't say for sure that we didn't!)

Eli finally got to see my UU church, when he came with me Sunday morning. It was a family service so the kids spent half the time in the service, then joined me & Mike for post-Halloween discussions (we demanded important details like who went as what, with whom, to where, and how much loot everyone got). But Eli stayed in the service so he didn't get to meet the kids. Next time!

I'm eating a fair trade organic orange dark chocolate bar both because I am a wannabe hipster and also I have excellent taste. Mmm!

One for the witches

2009-10-31T16:29:53Z

You could become very dangerous, and I, I would really like it. This could become very serious, and it would be a laugh and a kiss. Like on the street where the kids yelled, "What hte hell are you supposed to be?!" at my sister. And my sister, she just smiled, as she replied, "Supposed to be? I never gave it any thought. Never game a damn what I'm 'supposed to be.' But if you're asking what I am, I'm a walking talking question mark--I'm a walking, fuckin' time bomb!" Then my sister, she smiled, and she turned and she walked away. And those kids, they just stood there and st-st-st-st-stammered. And now, you and I, we're gonna live up to my sister's good example. You know? We know! You know? We know! We know! We know! You could become very serious, but I don't think that you'd like it. 'Cause all this, it is pretty dangerous. So hey, let's just laugh, and let's kiss, in spite of all this...You know? We know!

Take off your sunglasses

2009-10-28T19:11:34Z

Oh geez I forgot to update for a few days and now I'm starting to forget what's happened. Oh geeeeeez.

Well. I went to the State Fair with Eli and his co-counselor Grizz on Saturday. It was not such a good day at first--I got there before them and ended up wandering around the fairgrounds, in the rain, alone, for close to two hours, until they finally showed up. I was wet, hungry, tired, lonely, and just plain mad. But when they finally arrived all good was restored and it ended up being a swell evening. We rode the ferris wheel, went to a "freak show" exhibit featuring mediocre taxidermy and sad-looking goats, did the bumper cars, and went to another "freaky animal" exhibit with the most bizarre creatures I've ever encountered: six-legged sheep, mini-bull, cow with an extra set of hind legs growing out of its side, etc. At first I was super depressed by it all, since the animals seemed so sad and were living in their own filth. There were signs everywhere saying that the animals had regular check-ups with vets and were constantly supplied with food/water/bedding, which I didn't see great evidence for, but, I tried to enjoy myself anyway. The mini-bull made it all worth while. They had those things where you could put a quarter in to get a handful of feed, and this little bull would shove his snout up against the bars and lay his fat tongue out expecting the food. It's hard to describe so you can picture it but just know it was fucking hilarious. I almost peed myself. He'd just flop his fat little tongue out and stare up with hungry sad eyes and it was impossible to resist sprinkling the pellets all over his tongue. He totally earned it. Speaking of feeding, I had planned to go all out and get some fried Oreos, but while standing in line I got scared and knew I couldn't handle it so I went with funnel cake instead, at least it's familiar. But I couldn't even finish the whole thing; Eli helped. I did try some of Grizz's fried Oreo later and knew I had made the right choice. That shit was awful. Also we got frozen bananas and enjoyed pointing out the obvious phallic resemblance at every chance we got. After the fair we went to a haunted house which was pretty dumb but fun I guess. They put it in a Circuit City and tried to cover up the huge Circuit City sign in front of the store with some banner I couldn't even read. Anyway we got candy afterwards so I guess it was worth the $10.

Sunday morning I met gumby at West Point on the Eno and we spent four hours just wandering through the woods, stopping whenever we wanted to look more closely at something (which was often). Since he's an experienced naturalist he was able to tell me about all the different mushrooms and the various edible roots. I ate some putty root and even tried a poisonous mushroom, which is okay if you don't swallow it but spit it out instead. It was very peppery. He also showed me how to make cordage out of willow branches, and his collection of kill-site feathers that, if you know how to read them, can tell you a lot about what killed the bird (owl/hawk/fox/etc.) and how the bird was attacked (feathers plucked or ripped, chewed on, nipped, etc.). I'm excited to go on more walks with him so I can continue to expand my knowledge of what goes on all around us, all the time. Pictures from the walk.

Monday I returned to the animal hospital for the first time since June. Since Piedmont Wildlife Center's clinic closed, a new clinic has opened up in the same site, Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital. Basically the same thing, but under new management and entirely separate from PWC. It's very quiet there now--many fewer animals, which is normal around this time of year anyway, but we're also waiting to get back some of the animals that were taken by home rehabbers during the transition. Susan showed me how to give ointment to a cardinal with a bad eye infection, and how to give ICE shots to a recently amputated turtle. Dr M was so happy to see me, which is actually her normal demeanor (very bubbly and excitable) but it felt good to be so warmly welcomed. She kept saying, "Ohhh we need you! Are you coming back?! Please, please come back! We need you!" It made me smile. I'll definitely be back.

Yesterday I registered for classes, my last time doing so at UNC. For my one remaining requirement, a Visual & Performing Arts class, I'm taking "Film Issues," which is a weekly 3-hour class that I'm hoping will consist of watching good movies and talking about them over cookies and hot chocolate. I'm also taking, just for fun, "Ethnography of Africa" (taught by a professor I had last semester and liked), "Major American Authors" (so I'll be forced to read all the classics I've never gotten around to reading), and "Intro to Language" (a linguistics course because I am crazy about that stuff). Except for the Monday night film class (6-9pm), my Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays are completely free. Woooo more work hours!

Tonight I'm making sweet potato fries with balsamic fig vinegar. Mmmmm so delish.

Do you have to let it linger?

2009-10-24T19:23:43Z

An example of something I heard once, would really like to hear again, but will never be able to: acoustic version of Modest Mouse's "Float On" around a Unirondack campfire, summer 2008. Before I'd ever heard the actual song. So brilliant.

Possible names for possible children, inspired by CAKE songs that make otherwise odd names sound somehow okay: Jolene, Daria, Ruby.

A - Act your age: Sometimes yes and mostly no.
B - Boy who's just a friend: The same one I desperately wish wasn't.
C - Chore you hate: Anything involving lots of dust. Or hair.
D - Dad's name: David.
E - Essential item: Watch. I must know the time!
F - Favorite actress: I don't know of anything else she's been in...but Jessica Walters is perfection as Lucille on AD.
G - Gold or silver: Um. Silver?
H - Hometown: Berwyn, PA.
I - Instruments you can play: The iPod.
J - Job title: "Part-Time Sales Associate." "Middle School Youth Group Advisor/Manse Manager." "Babysitter." "Whore." Etc.
K - Kids: I want two. Or one and a set of twins. Or anything I can find adopted.
L - Living arrangements: Apartment with Samamamamam. And her ratties Avery and Decatur.
M - Mom's name: Kacey.
N - Number of people you've punched: Sadly, none.
O - Overnight hospital stays: One.
P - Phobia: Water. Hair. Not being able to have kids.
Q - Quote you like: Well there are an awful lot that I love, so just off the top of my head: "Steve Holt!" - Steve Holt.
R - Religious affiliation: Unitarian Universalist.
S - Siblings: Adrien & Emily. And now a brother-in-law Henri.
T - Time you wake up: Either 7 or 7.30am, depending on whether I'm going to the gym that day.
U - Unique habit: Making lists for everything.
V - Vegetable you refuse to eat: I honestly can't think of one...I'd try anything.
W - Worst habit: Sooooooo awkward.
X - X-rays you've had: My back for scoliosis, multiple times.
Y - Yummy food you make: Banana bread with walnuts, Mrs McGillicutty's salad, pasta salad, fruit tart.
Z - Zodiac Sign - Taurus. Roar!

Name Four Bad Habits You Have:
1. I try too hard to impress people.
2. I want to be in control all the time.
3. I'm very, very easily embarrassed.
4. I'm a pushover.

Name Four Scents You Love:
1. October (/fall).
2. Boy.
3. My grandmother's house at Carolina Beach.
4. Anything good baking.

Name Four Things You Are Thinking About Now:
1. How uncool the weather is being on designated Fair Day.
2. How much unhealthy food I'm going to be eating.
3. Halloween is coming up? Yikes.
4. Day off from MSYG tomorrow :).

Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink:
1. Waterwaterwaterwater
2. Coffee
3. A little OJ in the mornings
4. Whatever beer is in the fridge?

First Grade Teacher's Name?
1. Mrs. Taylor (and her favorite color was periwinkle)

Last Words You Said:
"Bye"

Last Song You Sang?
"Hem Of Your Garment" by CAKE

Last Person You Hugged?
Kristin D at Food Lion gave me a big hug because I hadn't seen her in a while.

Last Thing You Laughed At?
The termite joke in my Facebook status. Ahahahaaaaaaa.

Last Time You Said 'I Love You' And Meant It?
No clue.

Last Time You Cried?
Not sure, but I felt like crying after the awful dream I had last night.

What's In Your CD Player?
Tegan & Sara's So Jealous is still in my car stereo. Still. Since, like, two months ago. And will probably remain there for at least another couple weeks.

What Color Socks Are You Wearing?
White with brown stripes.

What's Under Your Bed?
Nothing. My bed is a mattress on the floor.

What Time Did You Wake Up Today?
8am.

Current Taste?
Orbit peppermint gum.

Current Hair?
Recently washed and brushed, shiny, wavy, the only thing I have going for me.

Current Clothes?
Dark jeans, purple/pink button down shirt.

Current Annoyance?
Co-worker isn't calling me back so I don't know if I'm taking her to the fair or not...guess I'll give her another 15mins.

Current Longing?
Ferris wheeeeeeeeel.

Current Desktop Picture?
This one.

Current Worry?
Internship paper...still...

Current Hate?
Yarr

Favorite Physical Feature Of The Opposite Sex?
Stomachhhhhhhmmmmm

Last CD You Bought?
The Magnetic Fields, The Wayward Bus

Favorite Place To Be?
My bed.

Least Favorite Place?
Dentist's? Boring answer. I'm tired.

If You Could Play An Instrument?
Really wish I had kept up with guitar. Also it would be nice to play something funky and odd like the ukulele or banjo or didgeridoo.

Favorite Color?
New spring leaf shade of green.

Do You Believe In An Afterlife?
Nah.

How Tall Are You?
Short. 5'3" or thereabouts.

Current Favorite Word/Saying?
"Boy howdy!"

Favorite Season?
Spring, definitely.

One Person From Your Past You Wish You Could Go Back And Talk To:
Nelson Mandela.

Favorite Day?
Saturdays are usually pretty bangin'.

Where Would You Like To Go?
Anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

What Is Your Career Going To Be Like?
Overworked & underpaid. Hopefully working with wildlife, kids, or ideally a combination of both.

How Many Kids Do You Want?
I'm not sure I could handle more than two.

Favorite Car?
If I could afford it, something remotely environmentally neutral.

A Random Lyric:
"You know what, Stuart? I like you! You're not like the other people, here in the trailer park..."

Those were very emotionally draining. I need to go recuperate. By eating fried Oreos and riding the Tilt-A-Whirl at the State Fair.

Was dreading the ride back to Little Italy

2009-10-22T19:16:00Z

Things To Complain About:
-iTunes somehow deleted all my KEXP podcasts from my iPod
-people who pronounce "issue" as "iss-you"
-Roy Zimmerman's idea of "Florida and the Deep South" for his Fall Tour is...Florida, and only Florida
-the members of my ART 255 group are lazy ignorant bitches whose sole contribution to the team effort is to help us all receive a grade of "Unacceptable" on our bibliography (for which I supplied 3/4 of the articles, no really, you're welcome)
-still not being done with my internship paper
-sore throat
-no more leftover Indian food
-the closing shift at FL
-Hulu will start charging viewing fees in 2010

Things I Am Pretty OK With:
-gorging myself on delicious Indian food and Barefoot wine and YoPo
-on that note--building up enough stamina to burn more calories than ever before during my workouts at the gym
-going on a hike with gumby on Sunday
-(and taking a break from MSYG for the first Sunday in...a long time)
-State Fair on Saturday!!!
-coupon for $2 off a pumpkin spice latte (it's the little things)
-making considerably more money playing with a 4-year-old than I do pretending to laugh at my customers' jokes at Food Lion (and it's in cash)
-Emily sent a long (and happy-sounding) email update about her adventures in South Korea
-Roseanne marathons on Oxygen

Plus...Carolina men's basketball season is swiftly approaching... :)

That's all yours, that's the guide, that's the map

2009-10-21T17:00:03Z

I finally found somewhere to host my internship video. So here it is, in its 12 minutes of glory. Be forewarned, it has a lot of adorable children doing adorable things! And some sappy campy songs. The quality in this embed is pretty awful--I guess somehow the Flash conversion makes it gross and pixel-y--but you can still get a good idea of what it looks like on DVD (much better). Enjoy!

This ship went down in sight of land...

2009-10-18T18:12:24Z

Things are going well. This is not the kind of thing I can accurately express on LJ, but something about being a new stranger every year, and taking a year to get to know that stranger as a friend, someone whose presence is comfortable, until May 1 comes again and I have to start all over. It's not so unpleasant, but frustrating, and getting old. When do I become me, etc, etc. I'll spare you. The point is that I'm okay! Even with the swiftly advancing cold air, and the darkness coming earlier every day, and tired red eyes, you know, I can see something past it so it doesn't frighten me so much this year.

Friday afternoon Eli arrived, but his coming was on such short notice that I'd already made plans for that night so he ended up going contra dancing alone. I went to a friend's house for dinner. She worked at the wildlife rehab clinic where I volunteered, and I hadn't seen her since it closed in June, so Friday night I drove out to Raleigh and met her and her girlfriend, who cooked us a delicious meal of pasta with mushrooms and marinated tofu. And I met their new puppy Bean, who is abso-frickin'-lutely adorable, and their older dog Chestnut, also a sweetie. And we had homemade pumpkin pie, too. So it was a really nice evening with good conversation and good food and PUPPIES. Godddd they were fun. I want a puppy.

Saturday Eli and I got brunch at Carolina Coffee Shop and went to see Where The Wild Things Are. I loved it! And I'm so happy that I loved it, because I was preparing to be disappointed since I am generally pretty picky about book adaptations. But seriously, it went above and beyond my highest expectations and was just fantastic. So creative, and well executed, and beautiful, and very very good. Even the child actor was flawless. So I certainly recommend the film, to everyone! Then I worked an eight-hour shift at Food Lion, which was just as thrilling as it sounds. I even got to stay a half hour after closing because Francis had to finish up some stupid work where he couldn't legally be alone in the store. Lucky me.

This morning was middle school youth group as usual...It's a strange dynamic this year, because most of the kids I've worked with for the past three years have moved up to high school, so we have a lot of new faces and it's hard to get used to. Not that I don't enjoy it, I'll just need some time to develop the same bonds with these kids that I have with the older group. Oh, and speaking of kids, I took up a new babysitting job. Every Wednesday night (and some Tuesdays) I spend 2.5 hours with a four-year-old girl who is fun, talkative, bright, and playful. So it's a very easy evening and I get $20 for coloring with crayons and telling stories to a cute kid. Pretty sweet!

Next Saturday Eli and I are going to the State Fair. So excited!!! I've never been before and everyone always tells me how fun it is, so I can't wait. I hate crowds full of fat sweaty people and long lines and crappy food, but every once in a while on a special occasion it's okay. I'll be having too much fun to notice.

I can't decide how I feel about my body lately. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I'm quite pleased--I'm starting to get a little definition in my tummy area, and I'm trying to tone up my arms some. But other times I look and I'm disgusted--so much excess that doesn't belong anywhere. I wish I could just be happy with it, but realistically speaking, that day will probably never come. Oh well.

Balloon Boy's name is Falcon. Ahahahaha. Sucker.

You don't have to go to college

2009-10-14T21:05:21Z

There was a Roseanne marathon on the Oxygen channel today, and I watched it for a good three hours while I read my Cell Biology textbook and did ab exercises. Oh, and drank a heavenly mixture of coffee and hot chocolate with a side of peanut butter toast and a perfectly ripe banana. While wearing a really cozy sea-green sweater I salvaged from Emily's Goodwill pile. So basically, this afternoon rocked. Even though the weather is shitty (from 75 to 50F in one day is not my idea of a smooth transition) and it's raining the freezing kind of sleety rain, I am decidedly happy. Oh and Sam and I can now take hot showers again because Mel is here replacing the stupid part of the water heater that is apparently not doing its job correctly. Cold showers in 50-degree rainy weather? No thanks, ever. Well, maybe after a good workout, then it's actually kind of nice, as I discovered this morning.

Sooooooooooo. Mood swings. Yeah. At least this one is an upswing!

I don't know what my future intentions are with this photo (write something on the face?) but I wanted to improve my Photoshopping skillz. Only failed a little bit; I wanted the face to be more evenly-toned with the neck, but whatever. Still interesting.

If you were the very last person on Earth, I might hang out with you, probably!

2009-10-11T21:22:11Z

Back from Shelter Neck! Definitely one of the better ones, if not the best. No serious drama, or extended unpleasantness, or up-all-nighters, etc. And sufficient sleep (3-8am) both nights. We went canoeing, made Shrinky Dinks (mine is a psychedelic frog licking a good-looking lollipop), had a campfire and s'mores, put on a great service with the middle schoolers complete with a play about a Russian farmer and an old decrepit horse, played Capture the Flag, lots of Mafia, and so on. John the Quaker led a superb game of Back-Handed Compliments (which Agatha unintentionally won with a comment about my jacket--priceless). Mike taught me how to play chess. The billy goat at the canoeing place stuck his tongue out at us, several times. Nick said "I'll tell ya I'll tell ya" much to our happy delight. The spaghetti was delicious. So was coffee mixed with hot chocolate. Murray the Catfish joined the party. I tried to get the kids to solve the Candadian paddlers riddle, but with not much success. Mike drew a beautiful stork/emu for the opening worship on Friday night which became our spirit guide for the weekend. Our theme was Big Things & Small Things. I miss the middle schoolers that have become high schoolers--it's so strange to see them as the "older kids." I joined a band called Silent Treatment, which was originally known as Scream Therapy Sucks Because They Didn't Let Us Join Their Band, and then for a while it was Talking Cure, then we found our niche: our demo tape is full of tracks featuring the sound of us flipping pages of books and breathing heavily. Clean up was easy! The ride back with Mike & Agatha was full of pleasant adult conversation, and then we listened to some classic pop songs. Rocked the suburbs. I came home and slept a lot.

Let's dig a tunnel to the centre of the Moon!

2009-10-09T21:07:27Z

Dude we (the US) crashed a rocket into the moon this morning! Whaaaat that's so cool. I got up early to watch it live on NASA's website. They're going to analyze the resulting humongous dust cloud for evidence of water. If they find life on the moon I'm totally going to be the first one to be friends with it. I hope it likes banana bread because that's about all I can handle as a peace offering. With WALNUTS!

Also: President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to unite the world in peace & good times or something. That's cool I guess, right? I'm all for showing my respect for a wonderful guy who is pretty awesome in almost all respects, but, really. Where do I sign up to get a globally prestigious prize for sayin' I'm gonna do things but haven't quite gotten around to them yet? I would like to know so I can start shining my green gold.

This is I guess kind of an LJ response to amsterdam's Taylor Swift thing?

2009-10-01T23:48:26Z

I don't understand why I like Tegan & Sara. Their lyrics are crap, a lot of their songs sound the same, and female artists in general just don't appeal to me so much. But for some bizarre reason, every time I put their CD in my car stereo it stays there for like two weeks. And I pull it down from my visor case way too often. I don't get it. Their music is just so catchy! But this is based only on So Jealous, so I might change my mind if I hear more. I know they have other music, and a new album out soon, but I'm too lazy to check it out (or I'm afraid I'll hate it?).

Anyway, in other music news...as my dumb Facebook reports, I've unofficially pledged my heart, soul, & allegiance to DJ Earworm. Boy can do no wrong. I'd marry him, but apparently he's gay. Whatever. Shouldn't stop me.

In other other music news...KEXP's Song of the Day podcast still rocks majorly. It's all I've been listening to lately. Besides gym songs. You should check it out!

I'm just going to make this a music post.

Sublime's "Doin' Time" = perfection. There's not one single thing I can say bad about it, except that it's too short. And it makes me miss summer because 40 Oz. to Freedom, So Jealous, The Cranberries and the Violent Femmes were like the only things I listened to all three months of summer. Damn. ((Evil--I've come to tell you that she's e-vill--most definitely--evilorneryscandalousandevil--most definitely...))

Um so...This music post isn't to brag about all the totally awesome music I listen to, since T&S and DJ Earworm and even Sublime aren't exactly Hall-of-Famers (well, I'd argue for Earworm, but okay). It's just because I like talking about music. Yeah, I do. Boy howdy.

Oh! And. The GaYe tour was canceled. Heh. Snort.

Non-music news in a strictly-music post: UNC wants to put a 24-hour Wendy's in the Student Union. Gross. And shameful. Better solution: Everybody comes to Rick's.

Before you lock my love away...

2009-09-26T17:18:11Z

Please let me testify.

God I love slow Saturdays. I just had four exams this past week, so now there's a bit of a lull before we start up again, and I have today off from work for some reason, which means today is full of lazy do-nothing-ness. And yet, I've already been to the gym and gotten a good start on my internship paper. Can't seem to stop myself, I guess.

Also, I killed a cockroach :(. It was in my room, near/practically on my bed, and I just couldn't handle that. So I smashed it, and flushed it down the toilet. Now I'm staring at a disembodied leg and marveling at the perfect science of it (it's got all these cool barbs and shit) and I feel kind of bad. Apparently this species (American cockroach) is one of the fastest running insects--moving at a speed "comparable to a human running at 205 mph" (thanks, Wikipedia). That's fucking brilliant. And I squashed it :(. Oh well...Knowing it won't be crawling over my face while I sleep makes me feel much better.

Have I mentioned how in love I am with Smithsonian magazine? It's like crack, I can't get enough it. I swear, if I had one practical wish (not like, "10 million dollars please!" or "Prince Charming, please!") it would be to have a full three weeks to just read whatever I could get my hands on. Do nothing but read, and drink coffee, and fall asleep in the sun. I'd read an awful lot of non-fiction, because I tend to get terribly bored with fiction, but of course I'd even it out with some good novels. I'd read quality stuff, not crappy beach books, and I might even use a highlighter for stuff I really liked. I'd probably start the morning out with a deep, intricately-woven novel (like my absolute favorite, The House of the Spirits, or anything by GGMárquez), and then launch into some textbook-like stuff (honestly, and I know this is beyond dorky, I really love reading my cell biology textbook), and then some essays (I have a fascinating-looking collection by Camille Paglia that Eli recommended), and then take a good chunk of the afternoon/evening for biographies, articles, and general non-fiction (Tim Flannery, Dick Feynman, Richard Dawkins, Michael Pollan, Aldo Leopold, etc.--I eat that stuff up). And of course I'd end the night with a good novel, because that's the best thing to get into sleep-mode with. And somewhere along the way I'd spend some time with some comics and cartoons (Calvin & Hobbes, Achewood). Damn. Now I want this, really badly. How can I make this happen.

"Sometimes, however, this quality-control mechanism can be detrimental to the organism."

2009-09-24T02:32:38Z

I just learned what causes cystic fibrosis. Basically the endoplasmic reticulum (which happens to be one of my all-time favorite phrases, not just out of scientific phrases) operates a no-nonsense company that is just a little too strict in its protocol. A mutation (call it something in the water) causes certain ER workers to make oh-so-slightly deformed proteins that don't fold properly. But this by itself doesn't cause the disease. See, the deformed protein could actually function correctly if it could just make it out the door of the ER factory, but the top ER guys have a motto of "Nothing Less Than The Best" so they don't let the protein leave. Instead they kill it--in a completely professional manner, of course--and they extend this kill-the-bad-ones protocol to all the other poor slightly deformed proteins. So these proteins never get to do their proper job out at the plasma membrane (where all the "perfect" proteins get to go, alive!) and the person who is host to all this madness therefore develops the CF disease because the mean old ER CEOs put business before equality, or something. They just don't give the weird-looking proteins a chance. Damn, that sucks. :(.

Does this look like a factory you'd want to work in? I hope not, because it's a killing machine.

I USED TO RESPECT YOU, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM!

Hipster Central

2009-09-16T23:20:22Z

When I walked through downtown Carrboro with Eli and his friend Aaron, we witnessed lots of hipsters out & about--on bikes, on skateboards, on laptops, hovering over coffee, flicking cigarettes, putting up posters advertising shitty music, rifling through messenger bags, removing their dark-rimmed glasses, etc. Aaron was shocked & appalled. "You didn't warn me this was Hipster Central!" he gasped to Eli. "I assumed everything south of the Mason-Dixon line was religious and conservative." Clearly this guy does not get out much. Eli and I informed him that there are plenty of places like Carrboro (D.C. being an obvious example) in the southeast that vote blue and eat locally. This seemed to be news to him, and bad news; I was bewildered by his ignorance and his apparent disgust. I mean, really? Yes, it can be unpleasant to be constantly surrounded by pretentious English majors & local music connoisseurs, who buy organic fair trade coffee by the pound and smoke clove cigarettes. But that's not the whole picture of Carrboro. In fact, I love the same things they do, just in a way that isn't so blatantly self-righteous. I love the emphasis on local food (nearly all the restaurants here get at least a quarter of their ingredients from local farms), especially the bi-weekly farmers market on the town commons, and the readily-available organic & fair trade coffee, and I even like some of the local music (but I absolutely love the fact that local music is supported and respected by most everyone). I love that Carrboro has a 28% non-white population (based on 2000 census). And I can walk everywhere. There are lots of bikepaths. Everything written in English is repeated in Spanish. The houses are small and cute. There are kids, teenagers, tons of undergrad and graduate students, middle-aged & retired folks. People are called sir & ma'am in a casual way. The food is delicious. The weather is nearly perfect. Free comedy shows, free buses, bars with huge selections & great atmospheres, first openly gay mayor in NC, the Really Really Free Market, used book stores, music festivals, literary festivals, contra-dancing...So what if it's crawling with hipsters? I love it anyway, even more.

Watch this 3-minute video.

A message for you, Rudy

2009-09-15T20:50:46Z

"Hey, don't you work at Food Lion?" -- guy taking out the trash at Student Stores today when I got a mango tea between classes. Ahh, I love that my customers recognize me (they also wave or honk when they see me walking through Carrboro). I totally make a difference.

Another FL-related story (since that's all I have to offer, apparently) is from my shift last night. A middle-aged woman approached my register holding out her MasterCard to me, and mumbling something about...something. I don't even know. I asked her what I could do for her, and she couldn't give me a coherent answer, except to finally say--after more gentle prodding--that she wanted six bottles of beer. I said, "Sure, go pick some out." I made sure she knew in which aisle beer was located and told her to get something good. She looked confused, then doubtful about my advice, and then she wandered off. A few minutes later she reappeared, beer-less, but holding out two twenties to me. I asked her, again, how I could help. She mumbled something about wanting six bottles of beer. I repeated my earlier suggestion, to head to the beer aisle and pick something out. She kept trying to hand me the $40. Finally she revealed that the reason she couldn't just go pick out some beer was because too many people were "watching" her and she was getting "very anxious." At this point I just felt really bad, and wanted to help but had to stay at the register, so I had Jeremy go along with her to aid in her beer selection. He found her looking at the tissue box display, and when he offered his assistance she threw up her hands and scuttled away, so he left her alone. Eventually she returned to my register with a case of Magic Hat, $15.61 with tax, mumbled something about her daughter wanting the beer, giggled a bit, and paid with a twenty. I gave her her change and the receipt, and bid her goodnight and take care now. But she didn't want to leave because she was still very confused about what had just occurred. She tried to give me her credit card again, in order to pay for the Magic Hat, and I explained that she had already paid for her beer and it was hers now. "So...so that's it?" "Yep, you're all done." "...Oh." Man, I felt so bad. Clearly she was not alright but there was nothing I could do about it. Comprehensive healthcare? I don't know.

Reasons to be happy:

2009-09-13T19:53:36Z

1. Contra dancing!
2. B is in contact with me, & the tone is brief but pleasant
3. Giving blood--as I did on Friday, when nurse said I have "nice veins"
4. Violent Femmes' "Gimme the Car" (& the rest of Add It Up (1981-1993))
5. Getting a significant chunk of school work done while at Weaver St from 10am-3pm on a Sunday morning off from MSYG
6. Working non-closing shifts at FL; also, K leaving
7. $3000+ in the bank
8. Enjoying all my readings, for once,
9. and particularly, A Sand County Almanac
10. Blue Moon summer ale

That'll do!

Hands four!

2009-09-12T18:34:47Z

Yesterday Eli came with his co-counselor friend Aaron. We spent the afternoon perusing Nice Price Books and Chapel Hill Comics (I got an Achewood book :) ), then got dinner at Mint. Towards the end of our meal a sitar player started his set, which was nice to hear. Although, that instrument always makes me feel uncomfortable, for some reason; something about the twangy, jittery sound of it makes me uneasy. After a brief stop back at my apartment to change clothes, we went to Carrboro Century Center for...contra dancing! I'd been contra dancing before, but only a handful of times that all took place several years ago. So, basically, it was my first time all over again. It was truly Aaron's first time, but Eli's been going pretty regularly for a while now. The dancing was fantastic, as I expected. I never forgot how much fun I'd had years ago at other dances, because it's the kind of thing that sticks with you. Just a really wonderful way to break a sweat and make some friends. I saw a few people I knew: my Animal Communications professor, a co-counselor from Piedmont Wildlife Center camp, a guy from the UU college group, and a former classmate. I'm sure if I continue to go I'll run into even more acquaintances. And I do plan to return. Only bad news is my watch band broke. I don't know why I was even wearing it, I guess simply out of habit. But it fell apart and will cost almost $30 to get a new one from Fossil. Bummer. Also, I got a heel blister, ick.

Another painful result of a long night of dancing (7.30-11pm) was a pinched nerve in my foot. We came back to the apt after the dance, sat down with a few beers, and suddenly my left toes began to spasm and then went numb. And the pain radiated through my heel and up my ankle, very very sharp and uncomfortable. This has happened once or twice before, and it always scares me a bit. This time the muscles in my third and fourth toes became so constricted that I literally could not move them; my toes were stuck in an overlapping position for several minutes. After a while it went away and I could move my foot freely again, but my toes are still a bit sore.

Eli & I are going contra dancing again on Oct 3, and that night will feature jazz music with trumpets and saxophones. Am I excited? Oh yeah. :D !!

P.S. I changed my desktop to feature a lovely sea turtle design I made in the sand of Emerald Isle beach one year ago. See!

Gimme more! Pretty please!

2009-09-10T02:33:22Z

(I just want to brag about the fact that I'm doing really well right now. I'm going to the gym consistently, focusing on & completing homework assignments, paying attention for at least 80% of each class period, eating almost enough vegetables and plenty of fruit, spending less money, drinking less beer, returning emails & most phone calls, going to bed at a decent hour, keeping my room neat & organized, reading a good book, watching slightly less TV, updating LJ more often, and so on. I'm not sure how long this will last--hopefully I haven't just jinxed it--but for now I'm quite proud of myself.)

ALSO. Good news from my advising appointment: assuming I pass all the courses I'm enrolled in this semester, next semester I technically only need to take one course from my Approaches and another 3hr course to complete the necessary hours required for graduation. At the end of this semester I'll be completely done with my major, minor, and gen ed requirements (minus that one Approach)!! Hoofuckingray for me. But instead of underloading like I could, by only taking two classes next semester, I'm going to take advantage of the situation and register for some of the classes I've always wanted to take but have never had room for--linguistics, psychology, etc. So excited :).

Our chickens are now angry!

2009-09-08T22:42:52Z

That's what the sign now reads at the Burger King across the street. I...don't get it.

A brief update -- to distract me from doing actual work :).

Last week Eli had a couple days off and stayed with me. Wednesday we checked out Glenn's Tattoos on Rosemary St to see if he should get his tat there, and decided that he should shop around a little more to compare prices. Then we went to the Ackland Art Museum, which is on campus but somehow I've never gotten around to seeing it until now. (I've kept meaning to, just never have.) Really fascinating stuff there. I need to remind myself more often that I have a perfectly wonderful, free museum in my neighborhood and I should totally take advantage of it. Then we got Indian feast for dinner, mmm, then headed out to the Timberlyne to see Inglourious Basterds. I looooved it, so spunky and entertaining. Eli had already seen it but humored me by seeing it again and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Then we came back and chilled for a while, considered finding a place to set off the fireworks he had stashed in his car (?), but ended up going to bed instead. On Thursday he met me on campus at noon and we became part of the Pit Preacher's captive audience. We were regaled with wild tales about whores, homosekshals, and President Obama. I've seen him perform many times but for Eli it was all new so he was fascinated and stayed put--throwing sassy comments at Gary--while I ran around campus on various errands. Then we went to my 2pm class, Evolution of Vertebrates, which I think he liked (it's probably my favorite class this semester). This Friday he'll be back, hopefully getting his tattoo, then we're going contra dancing with some friends. It's my first Friday off from work in a while, so I'm happy to be spending it dancing :).

This weekend my dad kindly insisted on taking me out to dinner, so Sunday night we went to India Palace (I seriously can't get bored of Indian food) and we stuffed ourselves silly. Talked about all kind of stuff, especially his trip to Indiana with Rick to do a story on a 26-year-old Afghan guy who has just started his freshman year at college there. Really cool story, can't wait to read it on LATimes.com (hint hint, check it out).

I also babysat Jax this past weekend, while my parents were both out of town (mom at the beach and dad in Indiana). All went well except that Jax is still leaving 5-7 turds on the living room carpet every night. Poor baby. We just quietly clean it up for him and don't let him get upset about it, though it's obvious he's a bit ashamed.

My Labor Day holiday was spent doing as much homework as possible in the morning (which ended up being not much, since I decided to be lazy) and then a 7-hour shift at Food Lion. Boss Lady K is being transferred. I suppose this is good news, since she's a raging bitch, but her presence there is also rather entertaining. I never know what to expect, and it keeps my shifts interesting. I can honestly say I will miss her. But only a little.

I re-discovered a song that I absolutely love: "8 Full Hours Of Sleep" by Against Me!. Almost enough to find a place for it in my 11-song justsomuch playlist, even. That's quite an honor.

So, I should get back to work.

Words!

2009-09-07T15:31:31Z

Copied verbatim from Alex: The idea is, you comment with the word "WORDS!" and I give you five that I associate with you, and then you post about them, and then it becomes some kind of memechain. Thanks to astrolatryae for the words.

Animals
Animals are pretty OK! Also, they are everywhere. Everywhere. I used to think that all animals were visible, cuddly, and had two eyes a nose and a mouth. Wrong! Now I have a poster above my bed featuring the nine primary clades of animal life, which I can't quite explain yet but still love to ponder over. There are names like Tardigrada and Xenoturbella, and it includes sections for "NOT YET CLASSIFIED" and "DISCONTINUED CLADES." I want to know and love all these names, some day, and learn about exactly what all these creatures do. I really want to know the names of the bugs living in my eyelashes, in my gut, and deep in the ice of the Antarctic. And I think it would be pretty fun to model my life after any of these animals: eat, sleep, mate, and die. No hassle, no worry! So far I think the animals I am most drawn to are the reptiles--especially turtles. Turtles, and lizards, are so freaking awesome. I wouldn't mind being a turtle expert. Turtles are very funny, and inquisitive, and dependable, and receptive to their surroundings. I can totally get behind that.

Family
My family is also pretty OK! I am one of those lucky people who gets along well with her parents and siblings, at least to the extent where we don't fight in public and we still get each other Christmas gifts. We're not the incredibly close-knit family in movie dramas or Gilmore Girls, where they can read each other's thoughts and wear each other's clothes and after the evening's well-balanced dinner they play Scrabble and share all their deepest secrets. Nah, that would really suck, I think I would hate it. Instead, I have it even better. We do know each other really well, and stick together whenever it's necessary, but we also are all quite dependent and solitary folk, so we can go our own separate ways and be okay with it. The mushy truth is that I had an ideal upbringing, with a healthy balance of love and support and go-do-it-yourself, and we never ate fast food or played too many video games or indulged in too much drugs & alcohol. And my sisters were really lucky, because they grew up amongst monkeys and lions and zebras and mealie pap. One thing I can't thank my parents for enough--especially my mom--is for hardly batting an eye when I decided we would get a dog and that it would be the skinny black Labrador retriever found abandoned in the tennis courts of Friendship Park. Thanks, ma!

Dreams
Ever since I can remember having dreams, and up until very very recently (a few weeks ago maybe), my dreams have been awful. Scary, violent, bloody, and just plain unhappy. If someone in my dream isn't actively killing, dying, or running for his/her life--which I'd say makes up a good 85% of my dreams--then he or she is at least making my dream-self feel really, really bad. I never wake up happy. It's so distressing, and you'd think it would make me never want to fall asleep but in fact I try to spend all my free time unconscious. As much as I don't usually enjoy my dreams, they sure are entertaining. I never know what new horror to expect each night. I've already died at least four times (and one of those times I continued to dream through my after-death), been raped twice, been stabbed/shot/punched, and mauled by wild animals (bears, sharks, and horses), drowned over and over, seen my family suffer, killed a little girl (accidentally!), watched young teenage boys experience brutal deaths, and, yes, been pregnant. So I can't imagine what's left. Lately, though, in the past few weeks, I either can't remember my dreams or don't recall so much unpleasantness. This is a nice change! I approve.

Dinosaurs
OH MAN DINOSAURS ARE SO COOL. Actually, though, I honestly know next to nothing about dinosaurs. I really just like saying the word. Dyyyyy noooo sawwwrrrrrs! It's pretty fun. It does fascinate me, however, to know that an entirely different kind of creature than we humans have ever experienced once ruled the fucking planet. And then they died! Suckers.

Hair
Eeuguguhhh. *Shudder* I hate hair. I hate it. I think it is seriously the grossest thing ever. I will calmly take a spider in my hands, coo over big fat rats, or giggle at the tickley-ness of a cockroach as I gently remove it from the bathroom floor and relocate it outside (I did this at church yesterday morning). But I freak the fuck out over a stray hair anywhere near me--even my own. If it's unattached to a head or body, I refuse to go near it. It's just gross! Anyway, to make this a happier discussion, I'll thank Alex for reminding me of my epic haircuts, and delve into that. That started in...2004? I think? I just spent like an entire hour looking through my LJ archives to find the entry I made the first time Annie & Ginny cut my hairs, but I was miserably unsuccessful. So yeah, one spring/summer day as the school year ended I had A&G come over to my house. When they arrived I shoved some scissors in their hands, sat down in my kitchen chair and told them to cut my hair. After exchanging some baffled looks and several repetitions of "Are you serious?", they finally got to it, and I was shorn. Same thing happened the following year, and the next. Unirondack summer of 2008, I had Beth do it, shorter than ever before. Buzzed to within an inch of being bald. By now Annie & Ginny & I live too far away from one another to continue the tradition with them in charge, navigating the scissors and giggling in delight, and I'm not sure I would give B a weapon like that and ask her to come near me with it, but today I continue the tradition on my own with the help of my mom's friend Glenda, who is a damn good hair stylist by hobby. I don't think I can ever go back to having long hair. It would feel far too strange.

Woohoo! If you ask nicely you might get your very own five words to babble on about.

Our rock stars aren't like yours

2009-09-02T00:43:28Z

I really love that Intel commercial. Especially when they do the Intel song at the end.

I want to be an extra on Law & Order: SVU, specifically 2002-2004 era.

There is so much shit I should be doing right now...that I'm not doing. Woo?

I forgot to mention that I made sure to listen to "Jolene" on the first day of classes. Somehow it became a tradition of mine to listen to it at the beginning of every semester. I can't rave about it enough; I love that song.

Also, after getting off the bus back at the apartment that day it was nice to be able to see a car that belonged to me in the parking lot.

It smells like Lou Dog inside the van.

Ahhh I just saw a commercial for Pep Boys! I didn't know they still existed. Badass.

Hunger hurts, but starving works

2009-08-31T17:00:05Z

I don't know why I can't get over him after three unsuccessful years spent pining over him. Three?! My god that is the very definition of pathetic. Forget hopeless romantic, I'm just hopeless. The moral of this story is that boys suck. With him I can't be friendly without being flirty, and I can't be flirty when he has a girlfriend and I have no chance, and altogether this means we can't be friends, based on my twisted logic. So a year of working together is going to be very, very awkward. But, so goes my life. Yay.

HOWEVER, the silver lining on this shitty turd is that my female friends are pretty cool? Yep! Yesterday (after leaving the Jerk eating free pizza alone) I went to Melissa's new house and had lunch with her & her three housemates. I brought pasta salad I'd made with my mom's gift of delicious fig balsamic vinegar, Diane made an exquisite spinach quiche, Melissa made a delightful chocolate-almond-raspberry torte, and we also had her homemade rosemary bread and some fresh blueberries and Irene made us mimosas. Maura's garden looks beautiful! I'm so jealous, I want a garden really bad. We watched my camp video (which, if I haven't mentioned yet, is truly pretty awesome) and admired the various paint-by-numbers adorning the house's walls. So, basically, when boys are dumb girls can be fun. Hey, it rhymes! I should publish that shit.

BestBuy can eat my shorts

2009-08-30T21:59:32Z

I just now discovered that the Microsoft Office on my new Asus Eee (which I got only for typing up notes in Word and opening PowerPoint lectures)...is a 60-day trial. WHAT THE MOTHERFUCKING FUCK. I told the idiot saleswoman, several times, that I was looking for a netbook for exactly the aforementioned reasons. I referred specifically to Microsoft Word & PowerPoint, since I knew those were the programs I wanted to use. Not once did she bother to mention that, oh, by the way, those programs are on a 60-day trial. I even confirmed with her, though it was written on the little notecard, that it came with Microsoft Office installed. Well, it is installed. For 60 days. Awesome. Fuck my life.

P.S. This is the second time that a salesperson at BestBuy has confirmed for me that I am getting exactly what I want, only for me to find out later that the product I've purchased does not have that feature. The jackass who sold me my car stereo swore it would play mp3 files--again, the only reason I was getting a stereo, since I already have a Monster cable to play my iPod. Well it sure doesn't play mp3 CDs. I should get a free goddamn home theater for the shit I put up with at BestLie (yeah, that's the best I could come up with, whatever).

Happy birthday, MJ.

2009-08-29T20:40:06Z

Because of you The Soup wasn't on at its usual time and my whole day was ruined. Thanks!

So, elaboration on my first week of classes as a senior. Uhhh..."Not as bad as I feared"? Cell Biology is taught, for the first half of the semester, by some old dude who speaks really slowly and teaches from incredibly dull PowerPoints (black text on white background), so I'm thinking I might just teach myself from the book. Animal Communication is another course split in half; the first half's professor is another slow-talking, quiet-talking old guy, but he seems a bit more aware of / interested in what he's saying. And the class will be 90% discussion, which I usually enjoy. Vertebrate Anatomy & Evolution seems amazingly good. I'm very excited about this one. I'm having more fun in African Art & Culture than I thought I would; I'm actually getting rather into it, instead of just sleeping through it as I expected I would. Earth Systems should be quite good; the professor is intelligent and teaches well, my classmates seem cool, the material is relevant and interesting. So that's all five classes--I haven't had the Vertebrate lab or the Cell Biology recitation yet.

For reasons I can't fathom (other than the fact I'm a woman), I've been exceptionally moody lately. Last month I thought it was because of my period, since I do tend to get emotional around then (hi, welcome to my overly personal LiveJournal!), but it's lasted for weeks and weeks and won't go away. I get upset over the stupidest things--more so than usual, I mean; I've always been kind of sensitive. Big example: crying at my sister's wedding, and rehearsal dinner, and at random intervals throughout the week. That may have been the stress. Another example: I was driving down Revere Rd today, in Durham, to return my (embarrassingly overdue) books to the library, which is right across the street from the site of the old PWC hospital. I have walked/driven that route many, many times from last September until this July, and while driving down it today for the first time since working there it would make sense that I might feel a bit down, because of the memories and the tragedy of the situation. But instead, I was almost on the verge of tears. That's insane! Example #3: I used to get kind of nostalgic listening to old 90s music, songs that I fell asleep to in my Berwyn bedroom in 7th and 8th grade; I'd smile sadly and think about old friends, people I haven't spoken to in years, and all that. But now, I go crazy. Yesterday I was listening to the Goo Goo Dolls and I had to change the track because I thought I might burst into tears. What the hell?!?! I have never been this person before, and it's freaking me the fuck out. Are there drugs I can take for this? I want it to stop.

Every once in a while I like to go through one of these checklists to see where I'm at in my life.
HEALTH: Fine. Took a break from working out for a while, but now I'm back on track and feeling energized and healthy. Eating tons of fruit; could use some more veggies. Also need to watch the beer gut.
EDUCATION: Ready to be done. I love learning, love it love it. But I want to spend more time teaching myself, by doing things instead of reading about them. And school gets in the way of that.
LOVE: Awful. The guy who wants me, I can't stand, and the guy I'm crazy about is back with his old girlfriend. Fucking hell.
FAMILY: Great! Everyone seems happy where he/she is in life, and we all are getting along.
FRIENDS: Making new ones all the time, which is nice. I'm definitely loosening up.
CAREER: Um. Regarding Food Lion, it's fine I guess. Still waiting for that raise though. As a student, we'll see how this semester goes and if I have what it takes to churn out a dozen more papers, projects, presentations, etc. In terms of my future career...? Whoooo knows. I'm getting more unsure every day about what I want. Isn't it supposed to be the opposite?

I can't think of any more categories. I'll add to this if I do.

Short little tidbits

2009-08-25T21:39:45Z

-Finally finished the video of camp life for my internship credit--after countless hours of tedious work and headaches and close calls
-Survived my first day of senior year at Carolina! Will elaborate this weekend
-iPod earbuds broke on the first day back at school, which is the same day I start using them again regularly after a summer of very light use; awful timing
-Got CPR certified on Sunday, good for 2 years
-Planning to get a $250-300 netbook to take notes on in class instead of lugging my 14"-screen laptop back & forth (I'm looking at the Ausus Eee--anyone have any experience with it?)
-Also planning to sell my Canon Powershot S3IS for about the same price, to pay for the netbook
-Food Lion gave us employees spiffy new shirts that come in "blueberry" and "sage," very fashionable of course
-Mike is back in CH, and working with me at MSYG :)
-Monday was my first day back at the gym in a while and I realized the few weeks I took off from the gym have left me entirely out of shape--that workout was painful
-It's too fucking hot out
-My password is still too easy to guess

That's all for now folks, back in a jiffy

Mmm... peanut butter