Yes, I realize he's just a piece of fiction, but he's a damn well written piece of fiction. And the fourth book came out yesterday, so I had to get it. And The Bourne Identity. I love bookstores. I should just work for a bookstore and get loads of books. Of course, I'd never make any money cause it would all go to books. Sigh. I almost wish you could read more than one book at a time. I don't mean read one book for a while and then read another then go back to the first, I mean two streams of novels would go into your head at the same time. But notice I said almost. Then you wouldn't get to enjoy them so much, and you'd have less to read later. Books will never go out of style. They're the original portable

today was a load of work for nothing. The bacteria still haven't taken up the DNA in the right way or something like that. All that work so we can take a picture to see that nothing's like the way it should be. Arrgh. Which means I have to pick more colonies. Another day of fun for Jenn.

Lammster and Kitt... thanks for your commenting sprees

I really really want: Carol Berg's Transformation and Revelation, Dave Matthews Band's Busted Stuff (which is a studio version of The Lilywhite Sessions, go fig), Goo Goo Dolls' Gutterflower. And I really really really x1000 want the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (theatrical and collector's editions), the dvd player to play it, and the Art of the Lord of the Rings coffee table book. Donations cheerfully accepted.

Posted by Jen at 9:49 PM | Permalink |

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something new

1. Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton?

2. Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello?

3. Marx Brothers or Three Stooges?

4. David Letterman or Jay Leno?

5. "Saturday Night Live" or "Mad TV"?

6. Adam Sandler ("Mr. Deeds") or Mike Myers ("Austin Powers")?

7. Jerry Seinfeld or Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond")?

8. George Carlin or Bill Cosby?

9. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" or "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"?

10. Gone but not forgotten...John Belushi or Chris Farley?

Posted by Jen at 12:50 AM | Permalink |

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Are you buying both the August and November DVD (or VHS) releases of the

etc.) good marketing or corporate greed?

I will probably end up buying both the editions, if just the August VHS anyway. I'll probably try to bum a August DVD viewing off a cousin or friend just so I can see the 10 minute preview. I am definitely buying the collector's edition, cause I want the National Geographic dvd and the Argonath bookends. And of course, the 30 or so minutes of extra footage. Oh yeah, my name will be in the credits of the Nov. editions... so I'll just have to get those. I like the different editions, although I'll admit it does seem a little excessive. However, in this case I'm glad. There was so much more that needed to be told...

Posted by Jen at 1:17 AM | Permalink |

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please buy something from my affiliates at left... I'd like to go to UPenn in the fall, and I realize that this won't help too much, but at least it's something... it's worth a try.

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there's a new layout at Aspire II if you'd like to check it out. Also uses layers, hopefully everything is in its correct spot. I miss ethernet. If you want to pay $10 more each month you can get dsl for more than one comp. Then you'd only be paying $60 a month, sigh.

I really want to go to UPenn. but it's so much money. I need to win the lottery. Or get a new job. erm.

Posted by Jen at 9:24 PM | Permalink |

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so I found out I probably won't have a job during the year, because money's so tight at the lab. Seriously, the account that pays me has no money so she'd have to switch me over to another account for the last month of the summer. Ah well. Three months of this and I have plenty to buy a new computer. I just have to get some kind of job so I can get a monthly check so I can get rid of the large mountain of student loan debt. Ugh.

Talked to PI, obviously, and was rather proud that I didn't sound too dumb. I even sort of know what I'm talking about. If only I could understand totally. I still get the feeling that I am so far down the knowledge ladder that everyone else is ten storeys above me. Can we say insecure much?

and it's rather amusing how I keep having to remember things about my ex because my friends are asking.

Posted by Jen at 2:21 PM | Permalink |

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so I think I made three rather large mistakes at work today. But hopefully nothing terrible will come from that. And the thing that we were doing didn't work, so I have to pick more colonies, probably. I do hope it works soon, cause as much as I love picking colonies, it isn't exactly as exciting as this job could be. Yun Shin is nice, she doesn't quite ridicule me for forgetting *all* of my high-school as well as college chemistry and biology, and she actually explains it to me if I don't know what solution 2 is for.

I still haven't told my parents that I'm going to the John Mayer concert next weekend. Or the DMB concert on my birthday. erm.

Nuts. It just turned midnight so I won't get two posts on this day. Ah well.

egad, I have to do a mini prep all by myself tomorrow. yck. yrch!

Posted by Jen at 11:56 PM | Permalink

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it's so weird, people are talking about budget problems. I never thought that I would be somewhere with that going on. But I guess it makes sense, I mean, you've got to stay on budget, and the things here are so astronomically expensive! Machines cost thousands of dollars.

More when I get done, I hope.

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It's a funny thing to think how strange things go when you're faking it. I just read in March's issue of glamour that the best, most successful people out there are often the ones who fake it best. Well, I have to say that I suck at faking it. I just feel like I don't know anything here, and that everyone else is so high above me I'd never catch up, not even if I suddenly became a genius overnight. Which I won't.

Gaah. All this when I know Drug Emporium would love to take me back. Maybe I'm just not cut out for research. Wouldn't that suck? Cause working with stem cells does sort of imply that I would be doing research. Sigh. How did I get through college? With a lot of help from my friends and a whole lot of prayer. Shoot, I bet I don't remember half of what I learned, and only the last half has any sort of chance of being remembered. Why is it that I can keep my story organized in my head and make up new parts all the time but I can't figure out how to make the proper cell count and I can't remember from the beginning of a presentation to the end that the reason that we'd like to use this new system is that it takes about two weeks to implement instead of the six months it takes to breed the mice with the proper construct? Gaah.

this is actually from a couple of days ago when I was learning how to do radioactive labelling, and needless to say, I was a little bit weirded out. Just thought I'd share.

Posted by Jen at 6:25 PM | Permalink

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1.) LIVING ARRANGEMENT: Now that I'm out of college... yes, I did move back home. Just the 'rents, me and one parakeet.

2.) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW: at this exact moment, Dennis L. McKiernan's Once Upon a Winter's Night, also going through a romance phase, cause as you all know there is none in my reality

2b.)WHAT CD IS IN YOUR CD PLAYER: a cd that I made with relatively current music like hero, somewhere out there, The Remedy, Where are you going, etc... and John Mayer (gotta get ready for his concert

3.) WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD: an animation of the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas being demolished and rebuilt. (Yep, that was a freebie)

4.) FAVORITE BOARD GAME: If you can call it a board game, Volcano Island or whatever it's called cause you get to set up the little "volcanoes" so they roll all over the board. Kind of like Mousetrap. That's a good one too

5.) FAVORITE MAGAZINE: Glamour

6.) FAVORITE SMELLS: bread, chicken & dumplings, apple pie

7.) LEAST FAVORITE SMELLS: coffee

8.) FAVORITE SOUNDS: The Hallelujah Chorus. Water.Thunder. My mom & I harmonizing.

9.) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: not knowing the answer to a question posed by your boss, or realizing that you made a huge mistake (occasionally in front of your boss)

10.) FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP: do I have time for the snooze button? or you've got to be joking.

11.) FAVORITE COLOR: forest green. silver.

12.) HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE: at home: 1, cause that's how long it takes to show up on caller id; at work: as many as possible. I hate to answer the phone there cause a) they're usually speaking Korean and you have to try to understand and b) it's never for me.

13.) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME: boy: Brandon, Jonathan, Lucas; girl: Ariel, Lauren

14.) WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE: making a dream come true.

15.) FAVORITE FOODS: Pasta, pizza, pineapples... strawberry tarts, apple cream cheese puffs.

16.) CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA: usually vanilla.

17.) DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST: hell yeah! but I'm trying to avoid my first speeding ticket.

18.) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL: unfortunately, yes.

19.) STORMS- COOL OR SCARY: used to be scared, but love 'em now.

20.) WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR: not one of my own yet, but I usually drive a Saturn.

21.) IF YOU COULD MEET SOMEONE DEAD OR ALIVE WHO

WOULD IT BE: One of my actor crushes. Just once! I'd take anything

22.) FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK: strawberry margaritas

23.) WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo

24.) DO YOU EAT STEMS OF BROCCOLI: didn't used to, now I do

25.) IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT

WOULD IT BE: a web designer for a biomedical engineering company with my own design company on the side and a part-time job as a broadway actress/dancer

26.) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR: Probably just a little redder.

27.) HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE: Yes.

28.) FAVORITE MOVIES: Lord of the Rings. Braveheart. Titanic. Legends of the Fall. Harry Potter. Most Disney movies.

29.) DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS: occasionally. Thank God for instant messenger, it taught me how to type

30.) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED: good lord, I have no idea. Some shoes, random papers, and a helluva lot of dust bunnies. It really needs to be cleaned.

31.) WHATS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER: 27. anything else with 7's.

32.) FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: basketball.

33.) THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU: I stole it off Punzie's blog... she's an Orli freak just like me

..:Have You Ever:..

1.Jumped off a bridge: No.

2.Gone bungee-jumping: no

3.Jumped off a cliff: no

4.Laugh so hard you cried: yes

5.Have you ever tripped over a Port-O-Potty: excuse me??

6.Have you ever went to the bathroom in the woods: of course, what else are you supposed to do when camping? Hug a tree, baby!

7.Got eaten by a turtle: oh, of course, he swallowed a computer too, that's how I'm typing this...

8.Jumped in a lake naked: No.

9.Sniffed a flower and got high: umm, no

10.Jumped out a window: climbed out the second story window onto the roof of my grandparents house...

. ..:Favorites:..

13.Drink: milk

14.Animal: Parakeet: Sapphire, but I want a cat. A cougar would be nice.

15.Sports: Track & Field

16.TV shows: Roswell (sniff). Buffy. Angel. CSI. Alias

17.Flower: stephenotis. Calla lillies.

18.Season: spring (b/c of track) and summer

19.Color: Green!

20.Person: I'm supposed to choose??

21.Radio station: 101.1 the River.

22.Animated character: Belle. She's exactly like me.

24.Ice cream: Pevely's Chocolate Chip cookie dough, and strawberry, always.

26.Memory of the past week: nearly freaking out over a possible radioactive spill at the lab.

28.Perfume/Cologne: Bath & Body Works Happiness. Whatever my mom uses.

29.Song: Right now? Where are you going, by DMB.

30.Band/Group: NSync. I don't care if you laugh.

31.Singer: John Mayer. Ricky Martin. Enrique Iglesias.

32.Book: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Wayfarer Redemption, The Forever King, Rhapsody... I could go on and on and on...

33.Word: sweet!

34.Phrase: yeah, baby! or amin irma na edhel

36.Time of day: whenever I'm reading or on the internet or doing something creative.

37.Favorite Subject: fiction

38.Favorite Teacher: no teachers anymore!

39.Favorite Grade: well, I know I had a damn good time in third grade...

41.State: Missouri, of course.

42.Computer game: Snood or Solitare

43.Video Game: I...don't...have...a...video...game...system... never have.

44.Computer Brand: Apple, baby! Macs all the way.

45.Airline: erm. Southwest, just cause they're cheaper... but AA is good too.

46.Shampoo: Pantene.

47.CD: just about any soundtrack.

..:Which Do You Prefer:..

49.Love/Lust: Love.

50.Phone/AOL: phone

51.TV/Music: music

52.Brunette/Blonde: brunette

53.Cat/Dog: cat

54.Mud/Jello wrestling: jello

55.MTV/VH1: MTV Hits

56.X-mas/B-day: Birthday. Not quite so stressful. Although it sure doesn't have a chance at snowing on my birthday.

57.Tape/CD: cd.

58.Night/Day: night.

59.TV or radio: radio, cause I can't work with the tv on

60.Computer or phone: computer

61.Outside or inside: outside

62.Sandals or sneakers: sneakers. it's tough to run in sandals

63.Tank tops or tee shirts: tees, just cause it gets too cold in the ac with a tank, and we couldn't wear them in high school...

64.Shorts or pants: shorts

65.Sweat pants or jeans: jeans

. ..:Yes Or No:..

67.Do you believe in love at first sight: yes

68.Have you ever been in love: yes

Posted by Jen at 4:56 PM | Permalink |

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today was totally new. Since JJ went back to China for three weeks, it's nigh on impossible to continue the experiments that we were doing, and they were going wrong anyway, so now I'm working with Yun Shin. I learned alot today, not just (supposedly) how to set up a colony hybridization experiment (hey, I was (watching Yun Shin) working with radioactive labels!) and how to pick a bacterial colony.... and how to make agar plates. I also found out that my boss (hereafter referred to as my PI, or primary investigator) is four months pregnant. So possibly that accounts for her moodiness. Also found out that she's married to someone who works in the same building. They seem very disparate, so I hope they're happy. Also found out for sure that she's Korean, not Chinese. Which is fine. I just don't think I could handle the food.

Because I love her, visit my mom's site: Betty Shew: PaperArt.

PI's husband said that they were in France during her early days of pregnancy and all she wanted was Korean food. Apparently it's difficult to find Korean food in Paris. Wouldn't know.

but yeah. Lab has been hectic. I don't know how I feel about it. Changwon (a med student who just took his med school exams, I think) said that maybe I should think about a rotation among the labs when the summer's over; I guess that would be a good idea. He also said that my PI was the primary stem cell person, though. And my ID and parking pass expire at the end of July, so I guess that I have to talk to her about it.

Anybody know how to do Chinese calligraphy? Korean as well. I'm looking for accurate renditions of the characters so my mom can do some artwork with them. I don't expect museum quality calligraphy scrolls, but something sort of big so we can work with them.

gah, I miss ethernet.

I got site of the month from World of the Strange for my Roswell site, so I have to finish updating it... yay.

Posted by Jen at 10:55 PM | Permalink |

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You occasionally hear the charge that FOTR is, in essence, "an action movie" dressed up in Middle Earth garb, and lost the epic scope of the books. There is also the opposite charge: that there isn't enough action in the film, that people got a bit restless in parts. *Any* truth to either?

Well, I don't think FotR is strictly an action movie; rather it's just trying to tell a story, which is, for the most part, action-filled. I think it did a pretty good job of keeping the "epicness" of the book, while explaining it to new fans. However, there are parts where you wish it would get a move on... although I noticed that more in the second and third books, not necessarily in the first movie.

I just wanted to see more Legolas, so of course, any scene that he's not in is too long.

I'm not really that shallow. I just appreciate a good portrayal of Elves.

Posted by Jen at 3:51 PM | Permalink

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I wrote this back in high school when I was still trying to get over my ex. Which, truthfully, will be never, cause I think of him everyday. Lest someone get the wrong idea, though, I am over him. Just not the idea of him.

I miss my forever knight
how I long to be the queen of your night
without you,
I am a princess in exile,
stranded without her subject.
bereft of power
a banishéd Juliet
away from her Romeo
What gold of jewels can compare to you
they are not you
your eyes, or lips
or caressing hand
what's the use of dreams if there is no one to share them with?
How can I forget this love...?

That's what you get for cleaning your room. You find angst-filled poems and nigh-on romance novels in the writings of youth.

And whoever the hell thinks it's funny to cast negative karma votes, stop being a coward and say why you don't like it. It's stupid to hide in anonymity.

Posted by Jen at 12:50 AM | Permalink |

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which is odd. cause I don't think I've made any enemies recently. But I'm getting negative karma votes! sigh. tut tut. what did I ever do to you?

alas, I am at work on a saturday. again. oh well. this is not exactly your 9-to-5 job, although it never was. I'm waiting for the media to block the FC receptors on the day 6 embroid bodies. Yeah, I don't really know what that means either. waiting sucks, although I am able to communicate with you fine people, I suppose. Please God let me be doing this right.

don't you just love getting weird emails from ex-boyfriends? it's so sad that I haven't had a boyfriend since sophomore year of high school. I wonder when Billy gets back to StL, and whether her's still with Amy. I can't believe I knew him at the beginning of the year when he was gf-less and I didn't have the courage to do anything about it. I'm such a wallflower. Wasn't the word I was going to say originally, but it will suit.

Pray for Kitt. She's going through some tough times.

Posted by Jen at 2:38 PM | Permalink

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A language instructor was explaining to her class that in French, nouns unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine.

"House," in French, is feminine-"la maison."

"Pencil," in French, is masculine-"le crayon."

One puzzled student asked, "What gender is computer?"

The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French dictionary.

So for fun she split the class into two groups appropriately enough, by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.

Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer"), because

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

Of course we did.

and I'm really pissed off right now that I can't get this mp3 off a zip disk cause for some reason the comp that I copied it off of screwed up the disk so it can't be read on either comp at home. Stupid disk.

and I'm almost dreading going into work. I don't want to quit, cause I know I can do this, but KC is very much a perfectionist. And she's driven home how much I can't do basic math. I realize the irony of a graduated biomedical engineer who has trouble with algebra, but such is my life. And I hate it. It seems that every day now I've been criticized and it's tough to deal with. I guess I have a thin skin. And I think I've said too much...

I laugh, I cry. amin irma na edhel.

Posted by Jen at 10:46 PM | Permalink |

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Do you have a favorite race among the denizens of middle earth? If so,

sufficiently? If you are a writer, which do you prefer to write (if any)?

This one is almost too easy. If you know anything about me you know that I am in love with the elven race, that I want to be an elf, or at least have the pointy ears. I want to spend my days in the forest, walking silently but moving like the wind, I want the power of the elements, and I want to be immortal. Well, not really, but you the idea. And I have to say that I'm not all that fond of the dwarves, although Gimli turned out to be a pretty ineresting fellow...and if you've ever felt need to wander over to moonstone you'd realize I have a penchant for pointy ears. And believe it or not, there will be an elf coming sometime soon. For the etoilines are elenohtars, not elves, if I may mix my languages there. (car'etol and quenyan, I think ) Eventually it will all get written down. Sigh. So yes. I love elves.

and I'm an engineer. I realize life loves to be ironic.

Posted by Jen at 10:37 PM | Permalink |

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