Cleaned most of the apartment today. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. It's even nicer that my roommate helped out. I had to ask her to do so (I hope I managed to do so nicely) but she did a good job. Definitely seems like she's a little unused to cleaning up after herself, but hopefully that is something we can work on. Ah, to be young and without responsibility.

It's times like these when I realize how much of a Virgo I am. I'm not normally anal about cleaning, but when I get into it, I really do. And it bugs me when things aren't in their place. Don't get me wrong, my room is as messy as a teenager's, but I know where things are. There is a pathway to my bed and by golly it's going to stay open. I like the spaces that I occupy to be, if not clean, at least inhabitable, and it makes me angry when they're not. My mother pointed out to me that having a roommate is a great preparation for being married, as the future Mr. Whoever will certainly have his quirks that I can't stand, but will have to, because it's the right thing to do. I hope that I have learned patience; I certainly have learned that if I want something a certain way, I usually have to do it myself. Which is okay.

Posted by Jen at 2:38 PM | Permalink |

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

  The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
file under: muses

How do you get from blood to pineapple in four steps?

Blood>saliva>salvia>pineapple

Let me explain. In the lab we have procedures to follow should a blood sample be spilled. The same rules apply to other potentially infectious material, such as saliva. On this sheet of procedures, 'saliva' is misspelled as 'salvia.' Salvia is a flowering shrub or bush, more commonly known as sage. There are many kinds of salvia, some that smell, some that don't. And one fo the varieties is a pineapple sage, the leaves of which smell like...take a guess.

Ah, the fun things that happen in the lab.

I tried using my WUMS UPass for the Metrolink today, but I was foiled. I biked to the station, 'cause I am too lazy (and it was too hot) to walk. Supposedly there are bike racks at the station, but I didn't have time to look, and I wouldn't be too comfortable leaving my bike there all day. In order to take your bike on the metrolink, you need to be in the front of the first car or the front or rear of the second car. I was waiting by the entrance to the second car. Unfortunately, and as is my luck, there was already a biker there, and there can be only one per space. So I moved up to the first car, but before I could get in, the doors closed. Curses!

I ended up not wanting to wait for another train (since by the time it got to the platform and then to work I could already be there, or close to it), so I biked the rest of the way. Did I mention that it was already in the 80s at 9 AM? The ride itself wasn't so bad; it was the cooling off period afterward that sucked. I have to decide if I want to try to take the train back to the nearest station and bike the rest of the way home, or bike all the way back.

It's such a short drive/bike/light-rail ride that I really shouldn't drive every day. But it is SO annoying once you get out of the heat and drip sweat. I don't like to offend people by smelling like I just worked out, so we'll see how often I manage. One day I'll have to walk the distance to the station(s) to see how long it would really take. It's probably better to walk. Sigh. Maybe rollerblades.

Posted by Jen at 1:04 PM | Permalink

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

  John Mayer: Waiting on the World to Change

file under: getmoving , working

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night. Had I known how to save a life.

It's Bastille Day, or at least it was. I had a croissant in commemoration. Joie.

Unfortunately it just means this is another Friday that I spend alone. It's odd, sometimes, to think of just how many of these I've gone through. Each one seems difficult. You'd think that after a while I'd find something to do to get me through, something that works each time. Obviously I haven't died of loneliness yet, but damn if I hate being bored.

I wish I was one of those confident people who could go out alone and still find a party. I wouldn't know the first place to look. I want to take a road trip. but the practical side of me says, Hey, what about that money you don't have? I feel infinitely old at those times.

Today on the CBS Morning Show they gave away a vacation to a woman, a mother, who had never been on a trip, never went to a fancy restaurant, who raised her kid alone after her husband died, never having the means to travel. I don't want to be that woman, unless someone is planning on sending me a on a free vaca.

I can't stand the waiting, but I don't know how to start.

Posted by Jen at 9:20 PM | Permalink

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

  One More Girl, The Wreckers
  The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum
file under: muses

ye gods, am I tired.

But happy. And I haven't crashed yet, so let's see how I get through the upcoming happy hour/farewell to a coworker who's off to (Wash U) med school. Lucky girl.

Anyway, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was all that and a barrel of monkeys. Well, one undead one, anyway. I liked it, perhaps not quite as much as the first, but well enough that I won't be sorry to see it again. The ending is one heck of a cliffhanger that NO ONE in the theater saw coming. Orlando looked fine, though his dialogue wasn't as good as it could have been. Johnny Depp was superb, again, even when he was being wacky.

It definitely suffers from middle-child syndrome, but so much less so than, say, Episode II. It has a beginning, middle, and end, but there are quite a few story threads and it can be difficult to keep track of everyone's shifting alliances. Well, it was difficult for me, but that could just be because I was doing it on very little sleep and between 12 and 2 am...

I brought my hat, but decided I didn't really want to tote it into the theater and risk having to put it on the floor. I should have done, though. There were quite a few other people dressed up. I almost did, but I wasn't thinking clearly enough before I left for the theater to get one together. We lost the softball game (drat, again, and through some errors of mine, sigh) and it was a late game, too, so I didn't have a lot of time to shower, eat and change. Oh well.

Okay, it's time to get happy. Enjoy the weekend!

Posted by Jen at 5:02 PM | Permalink |

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

  Superman Returns: Main Titles

file under: movies

Some of you out there will say I told you so, but I did end up deciding to see the midnight premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest tonight. I bought a ticket yesterday when I bought milk. Ah, the joys of having a theater right next to the grocery store. There's a possibility that my new roommie will come too, but I don't count on it. She's a little flighty.

In case you're somehow reading this on a feed and don't realize the pretty pictures surrounding the entry, I put up a new layout for Pirates. I enjoy it. It's not quite unkinked yet, unfortunately, but that's partly because I got the thing uploaded during the course of several late-night coding sessions. And as much as I know I'm a night owl, I was not thinking all that clearly...

I had a subject not show up today due to sickness, so I got to work early for no reason. At least the subject didn't get lost like the last one did. And there's a softball game tonight, so we'll see how well I do tomorrow, being horribly sleep deprived. Though that's not unusual for me

It'll be a long day...strange to think that the movie is only twelve hours away, but on the other hand, egad. Twelve hours! I think I will at least wear my hat. Perhaps my renaissance shirt, but then I'd have to wear the bodice...not sure if I could stand waiting in that thing! It's supposed to be relatively cool tonight as well. Go figure.

I'll let you know what I think tomorrow Wish me luck at softball tonight!

Posted by Jen at 12:13 PM | Permalink

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

Celebrate your independence! Or, for my friends and coworkers across the pond, enjoy your weird day off. May you have lots of fireworks, Gandalf, and barbeque to your heart's content.

*salutes* Land of the free, home of the brave!

Posted by Jen at 1:55 AM | Permalink |

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

Because I've never posted it before, and it's inspirational. Also, it's a Monday before a holiday, and I'm a bit bored here at work.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what
peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without
surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth
quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the
ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive
persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or
bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than
yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep
interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real
possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of
trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many
persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of
heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither
be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and
disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the
counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But
do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are
born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less
than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And
whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is
unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to
be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy
confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham,
drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be
cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

--- Max Ehrmann, 1927

Posted by Jen at 10:21 AM | Permalink |

vote for ATTS: ER | Wishlist: {Amazon} |

  KT Tunstall, Under the Weather

file under: muses