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Monday, December 24th, 2007
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4:46 pm
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Today I read a note in rolling stone. It was snoop dogg calling johnny cash's boy named sue 'gangsta'. it was sort of the most brilliant thing ever.
Also, I'm really enjoying having a few days off for the holidays. Fitri and joe are in town, and fun is being had by all.
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| Friday, November 16th, 2007
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4:43 pm
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| Sunday, October 21st, 2007
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8:37 am
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Well well. I'm sitting in the thirsty mind in south hadley massachusetts waiting to meet up with Stan, my old advisor. I came out here for Amanda's wedding out in Acton and kind of figured what the hell. After this I am on my way to Yale to party with Jakob, my friend from Friday Harbor. Then back to California and back to work.
Its been such a trip being back in mass, I'll tell you that.
On the general update route- I passed my qualifying exams and am officially a second year student. I also switched advisors so no more Geerat Vermeij. I'm working with Artyom Kopp, who runs a fly evo-devo lab. Its fun, I've started on a few initial projects that look promising so far and the lab is a good atmosphere. It was a very good choice to move labs- I wasn't going to get anywhere working with Geerat.
Personal life still a total mess, but what do you expect?
I'm looking forward to Halloween. Can't decide what to be, but I'll come up with something the night before that will probably involve something brightly colored, as per usual.
Oh, and I survived the plane flight thanks to LOTS of darvoset, which I would heartily recommend to anyone with a fear of flying.
current mood:  mellow
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| Sunday, September 2nd, 2007
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10:28 pm
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Settling more into my time in Davis...
there was a pig roast had
too many sensitive egos to handle
new friends made: crazy lawyers, crazy artists all fitting nicely into their respective stereotypes
Lots has been learned about quantitative genetics, not so much about population genetics
I've learned that brunch is an evil, evil time sucking trap
My father figured out facebook, weird.
I've also rediscovered g street, the long lost bar, largely due to the fact that I can't show up anywhere else without a scene (hello crazy exes)
Wow for the crazy.
current music: Stevie Wonder, Golden Lady
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| Monday, August 27th, 2007
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4:40 pm
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Seeing Stevie Wonder last night was so. great. I'm not sure what to even say about it, I'm still fairly in awe that the whole experience actually happened. Driving home, I just kept thinking that I couldn't believe I had just seen Stevie. He played for three hours, all his great songs. He sounds as good or better as he does on his albums live. Just great.
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| Sunday, August 12th, 2007
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10:50 pm
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You might not know this about me. I'm afraid of bathrooms. Just public ones with vents in the ceiling. When I was five I watched a scary movie where a monster climbed out of the vents in the bathrooms of a school and killed bullies. When I was little I used to stare at the vents while I peed and then bolt out of the bathroom as fast as I could. I'm much better now, obviously.
But tonight I was all alone in my scary building on the sixth floor. Or maybe I wasnt alone. I went into the bathroom early in the night and everything was normal. Around 9:30 I went in and a stall door was locked but there weren't any feet. Prompting me to think 1) there is somebody in the building who actually locked the door and crawled under it. The building is locked at night, only scientists work here, who does that, right? 2) there is somebody in there and they have their feet pulled up, who does that? Anyway, my largely forgotten fear of bathrooms came flooding back and I couldn't even use the bathroom. I had to go home. And the whole time I was tense and convinced that the elevator doors where going to open up on a serial killer or something. It was so random.
I know, I know, who is afraid of bathrooms right?
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| Friday, August 10th, 2007
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3:34 pm
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it makes me nervous when I use an herbal product and under the ingredients they capitalize both the genera and the species names. You'd think they figure that one out, since they should know about this stuff....
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| Monday, August 6th, 2007
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10:02 am - whew
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Well, I'm back in Davis and it has just been nuts.
There were trips to half moon bay made....bands seen (Isabella in sac, they were awesome)...uncomfortable realizations reached....diplomatic meetings held.....and all in all everything has been pretty batshit crazy.
The town is pretty empty, most of the grad kids are at their field sites. And right now everybody is down at the ecological society conference in San Jose. Which I think I will crash on wednesday. Because crashing parties is lame, but crashing conferences is badass.
Basically I have a ton of work to do that is/isn't getting done, I'm trying to change mentors, and half of me wants to drop out of graduate school and become marginally employed someplace where it is warm all year round. Scratch that, 75%. But I think my resolve is still good for a while.
Existential breakdowns aside, its nice to be back at my house with my own space and my own time.
Although Friday harbor ended up being a blast, and I miss it.
current mood:  groggy
current music: ouch...air supply actually
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| Friday, July 6th, 2007
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6:45 pm
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I am tired. Incredibly, bone wrenchingly tired. Too many late nights out combined with long days drawing embryos and the last vestiges of my sanity are seriously threatened. Tonight I am going to stay in and read Breakfast of Champions.
The fourth of july was insane. I went to a house party, followed by a run to Herbs (the local pub), followed by more house party and movie watching. I'm not sure when I went to bed, but I woke up in a four person floor bed and was two hours late for lab. Apparently we also got kicked out of the bar in a very specific 'sarah take your friends and get the fuck out of here' manner, but nobody has any idea why. Last night one of our lab mates was having his goodbye party due to early departure. I hitched a ride home with some random townies whose car had to get jumped half way back, and who actually seemed more irritated with my presence than gracious. And a drunken lab mate ran away from the group and rowed a boat home alone so drunk she doesn't remember it. We couldn't find her, she didn't answer her phone, and drunken boating is quite dangerous. I finally found her on the dock trying to get the boat up alone. The shenanigans are getting a bit old. But I'm only here for another week, so if I get keep all of my limbs intact until then everything will be fine.
I am learning a lot about embryology. And I have some very cute if slightly existential photographs of larvae taken through my microscope. My favorite at the moment is Nereis, a very cute polycheate with rather charismatic larvae.
current mood:  blank
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| Sunday, June 24th, 2007
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11:08 am
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I'm on an island off the coast off washington, hung over and about to go try and track down some orcas. Embryology is amusing, we draw graphite portraits of embryos all day. But its a little like summer camp. Meals at certain times, class at certain times, we march around. I saw a Minke whale and some porpoises.
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| Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
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6:28 pm
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Thinks that are awesome:
The shelf life of garlic. It NEVER GOES BAD
My Gigantic Sunglasses
Eating lunch in the arboretum with a big bag of cherries
Reticulation
Things that are not awesome:
The lack of thermoregulation in my living space
Doing laundary
Bananas-they go bad in like five minutes..that must be why they are so affordable...
My advisor. At the moment.
current music: Solomon Burke- don't give up on me
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| Saturday, May 19th, 2007
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6:51 pm
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Mannn....what a crazy few weeks. I don't even know which way is up anymore.
And the studying thing is really bringing me down. When you have to study for so long, you spend every moment that you aren't studying wondering if it is this, particular, moment that will result in you failing the exam.
Oh, and my advisor is not playing nice at the moment, which is great.
I just have my fingers in too many pots right now, and its bringing me down. I think a grand escape from Davis is in order. A vanish-in-the-middle-of-the-night sort of escape. It would take my housemates until rent is due to even notice I was gone. The benefit of being the girl in the attic. I would list some possible locations, but then you might be able to track me down.
Also, breaking out the couch bed is really just the start of living in squalor. I had to nip that one in the bud and put the couch back together. it was sort of sad.
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| Saturday, May 12th, 2007
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3:19 pm
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In the last few weeks I have learned several things.
1) Under no circumstances should you allow your belongings to remain at your ex's house for any length of time
2)I always thought men were a little oblivious. I am apparently more so.
3) That metaphor about cooks in the kitchen applies to way more things than I thought it did.
4)Studying for an exam for a month sucks ass.
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| Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
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1:16 pm
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I am really amused by Slate's coverage of Ecclesiastes:
In any case, Koheleth is a thoughtful, weary fellow, trying to come to grips with the fact that wealth, power, and wisdom don't seem to matter—we all end up making a meal for the worms. The book mixes the contemplative, self-help style of Proverbs with a shrugging, but not cheerless, fatalism. It's Proverbs as written by a Russian.
Newest development: Have grown an obsession with New edition, particularly Bobbi Brown's scrunchi faced singing. It makes my daily self flagellation over an increasingly bloodied population genetics textbook somewhat more upbeat. Candy girl is a personal favorite.
Also: Kidney infections, which seem like they should be a variant on bladder infections, are startling painful. Two trips to the emergency room and copious amounts of pain killers and antibiotics have fixed me up, and I don't think I have ever been so careful in my treatment for fear of relapse.
The paleo workshop that I helped organize was last week. All in all it went quite well-people showed up. The organization was a bit lax and one of my classmates shouldered more responsibility than was perhaps wise, but its over. The first man to talk was so out there studying fossil evidence of the evolution of plant insect interactions-his personal obsession with it was enough to make it great. Gary talked, and as per usual was incredibly erudite. It makes me feel cool to be associated with somebody so cool.
current mood:  busy
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| Saturday, April 7th, 2007
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5:23 pm
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Oomph. I went to an international agriculture development fundraiser party last night for great fun. IAD people can party with the best of them. The kegs were all donated from Sudwerks and other places, and it is spring now in Davis so the night was warm.
Rocky and I went to Baja for my spring break. I put some pictures up on facebook, and everybody should look at them. We got a campsite right on the beach, and davis's spring break is different from most other colleges so there wasn't anybody else there really. Birria, fish tacos, cheap beer. It was warm and lovely. The 13 hour drive back was really quite rough, but we took a different way from usual and went through the mountains in socal on the way back and it was actually really beautiful. On the way down we spent a night in L.A. and partied with Rocky's old friends. They are all huge with handlebar mustaches and harleys.
On the whining front, I go to the gym pretty regularly and try and eat well, but I seem to still be gaining weight. Its because I sit in front of a computer all day. I miss it when my job was to be outside all day long on a beautiful hill by the ocean.
My first year qualifying exam is in almost exactly two months, and I'm terrified. I don't know anything, and its going to be so hard. I have had to learn quantitative genetics so many times, and I still don't understand it. I am starting to get a handle on population genetics and some of the other stuff, but I don't know. I have to leave two days after the exam to go to Friday harbor, which i'm really excited about but its going to break the bank. With my surgery, I'm so stressed about money right now.
But no matter how much I worry, it isn't really going to change any of it. I'm going to a BBQ in woodland tonight with Alex playing grillmaster, so the food should be great.
current mood: tired
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| Thursday, March 15th, 2007
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4:21 pm
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Downloaded some Khachapuri recipes...I can't get Georgian cheese around here but it looks like you can approximate.
Who wants a taste of heaven? yes....
current mood: content
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| Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
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8:48 pm
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a) Dragonette's new song, I get around, rocks. b) so does Amy Winehouse's new album.
c)Went out drinking pretty heavily the last two nights and had a ton of fun. One night randomly with the Dylan across the street at Ben's parents house. The next night lighting up the town with my cohort. And as I sit here drinking chocolate milk and wondering about my worth as a person two observations come to mind with regard to the drinking.
1.Emotional hangovers suck way more than physical ones.
2.Why, once I've reached the drunk point, do I pretty much only remember flashes of the bad moments?
Whatever. I don't go out so much anymore for those exact reasons. I think I need some more chocolate milk. I'm about to watch Casino Royale. I hope its good.
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| Thursday, March 8th, 2007
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9:27 pm
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so...had an awesome birthday. classmate made me cake, which basically made me the happiest little troll ever. it was chocolate with chips on the outside. mmmm. Some people I didn't expect to show up did, like some fourth years and stuff. I drank a lot of whiskey, danced around, and generally had a great night.
Rocky came and went, again. Visit wasn't as nice as the last one, but I was a lot more stressed. Its the end of the quarter and I have a million and one things to do. blah. Speaking of which: huge presentation on monday that I am not doing a very good job of preparing for. booo. procasinating kind of sucks.
finger surgery done and done. down to a small bandage. still don't have full range of movement and I have to do physical therapy, but I can type again so its ok.
I got accepted to the Friday Harbor Labs this summer, so hopefully I will get some funding and I will be able to go...
p.s...is $80 way too much to spend on a bathing suit? hmm...it is from a nicey place...
current mood: mellow
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| Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
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3:27 pm
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Anybody who remembers me at 13 ranting about sysco being the glue of the world should now know that I was totally right. if they check out this webpage, that is. http://www.slate.com/id/2160284/
i'm feeling rather smug.
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| Saturday, February 17th, 2007
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10:34 pm - plaster and rum
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surgery is done and done. pictures on facebook and myspace for gore oriented parties. now im a one handed typer and 'surgery girl' until the cast comes off.
birthday tomorrow, having a get together with like...pop bio. which is awesome. im so glad to have people to do anything with at all, but i do wish there was going to be more of an old davis contingent. i miss the old folks. should be fun. except for that whole 24 thing. i feel old.
ahhhh. grad school is hard.
blah. having a cast is such a pain in the ass. i just want to rip it off.
current mood:  drunk
current music: law and order
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mindslipper's journal