Life in lessons....

Damn it is almost the final day of the year! I have to figure out if I am going to go out with Jeanie tonight to pick up our tickets for New Years or if I'll just ask her (or Melissa) to do it for me as I am feeling a bit under the weather this morning...I hope that this is not the start of a real illness!
The kitties have decided that that no longer just want their two rooms, they want the whole house! I woke up this morning to find Tabbitha out of her area and started to worry a bit. She is getting to be an old lady and does not see that well anymore. I looked every where upstairs to find her and could not, and of course The doggie was following me every where...So I just said to her "Where's Tabbitha? Do you know where Tabbitha is? And down the stairs she went. At first I thought that it was just that the doggie wanted me to feed her, but then she started to whimper and was going up and down the stairs, so I followed her down. Doggie got to the bottom of the stairs before me and all I could see was her whole back end shaking and movin'. Right in front of doggie when I dot down stairs was Tabbitha and Burt! They were hanging out under the X-mas tree. Now the question is, did the doggie really understand what I was asking her or was she just excited as she thought that it was food time and that the Kitties might decide to play with her?

Well the cells look okay - but I guess that we'll have to wait and see how they recover from their week of being alone. The plans are on for New Year's Eve and it should be lots of fun - after all Melissa and Jeanie are involved so even if things do not go according to plan it will be fun! Kate will be back at home sometime today (hopefully!) and I am looking forward to chatting and catching up with her. I talked to her for a little bit last night, but it was more of a just checking in kind of thing...I have to decide if I want to work this Wednesday (we are closed, but as we all know, there is always work to be done in a lab). My father will be in town next Monday and wants me to take off so that I can spend time with him. I can either take a vacation day or just work on Wednesday...I'll have to see how I feel. That Monday night will be Abby's birthday party so that should be fun and the next night - It is another return of James Bond (as Rana calls him) - he and I will be going out again - as friends only...It has been about two years of on again/off again...I think that I really need to break this off...But we know that I have done that before but he keeps on popping back in to my life...The problem? He is so sweet and nice and I do adore many things about him - but over all it is just not there for me...Maybe this time we can just keep it on a "just friends" level...
(And as you know the whole story about him, go ahead and laugh at me Kate...)

So Burt has gotten over his fear of being in a new place. I awoke this morning to the sounds of Burt hissing at the dog and the dog whimpering. Burt does not seem to understand that the dog is more afraid of him than the other way around. The poor doggie just wants to play...So the doggie is stuck down stairs as Burt wants to play up stairs...Let's just hope that Burt does not go too far away from his room today while I am work...Work, much to be done today!!! I have to remember at to call at some point for the tickets for New Year's Eve...

Ahh..The joys of traveling over the holidays! But at least I am back in the city and all is well. There are to be some wonderful shoes sales, now the question of the hour - how much to spend...I really need a new pair of black heels as two pairs of main have now died (or at least are on their way to dying).
I have two cats and one dog for the time being - the cats are not crazy about one another but tend to just hiss and then ignore one another. The Dog on the other hand seems to be a sore spot for Burt. But at least the doggie cannot get to him...But you know Burt - he does not trust the doggie...I think it is actually a fear on Burt's part that the doggie will eat his food and steal his bed....
It is back to work for me in the morning - I am looking forward to checking in on my cells and experiments...But in the mean time - I am off to walk the doggie!

So I am here in PA just running around trying to get soemthings done. It is rainy and icky out, but at least it is not freezing cold...I am thinking about baking cookies...
A bit of drama last night - some kids were playing around the house - ringing door bells etc, so my mother called the local police, as she just moved in and was not sure what was going on. Now I should mention at this point something about the town that the rents now live in: Nothing happens here! Proof of this - the police station closes for lunch and is only open 6:00am to 9:00 pm. (And in case your are wondering, if anything happens while the local police are not on duity, the township police take over).
It ends up the the family that lived here before were not the nicest people and that the kids around here use to do this to her all of the time. So the officer said not to worry and to just try to let the kids know that the other lady is now gone. But on another note - the officer was very cute and did not have a ring on and did not bring up a girlfriend, wife, etc...he and we talking on the front porch for about a half hour until a call came in and he had to go quickly... hummm...I am thinking about dropping off some holiday cookies at the station as a thank you...

If you don't know where I went, I am here today!

So I found out tonight that Burt (the Cat) knows how to growl. Yes - my cat makes a noise that I thought dog usually do. I had to take Burt over to Phil's place so that he could check it out and meet Phil and Bill's (yes, their names rhyme) pets. They have a brown/black lab and a older cat. Burt went wild...The dog (Dusty) just wanted to play, well needless to say Burt was not having it and as far as the other cat went - Burt just wanted to go home. Oh well...At least I know that while staying there while Burt may make some odd noises, it is not like he'll end up killing the other pets...Now I just have to figure out when I'll leave to go home to PA.
There will not really be anything published on either blog on Tuesday as I am Guest Hosting Brian's "Tales of the City" - I am very excited about this...

Busy day here already. I could not fall asleep last night as something was bother me.
I had forgotten to do something...But what I was not sure.
Finally at about 1:30 I remembered.
All of the hoods in the lab were getting certified this morning!
(for those of you that do not know, this requires someone [me in this case as the hoods are one of my lab responsibilities] to clean them out and make sure that there is nothing toxic in them that could effect the people that certify them).
I was in here by 8:00 am - the first one in...I am now off to get the rental (so that I can at some point this week!!!) drive home for the holidays...

Jules - I'll get to it before I blast off for the holiday.
Once again, I am sorry that you got caught up in the middle of things!

A busy day cleaning and getting ready for going away next week. Last night was the WDAV party - and always it was a good time. Tonight I am headed down to the South to hang out with Jeanie...Another person I always have a good time with!

The Lab party was very nice! Everyone left well fed and with nice new presents! I got a bottle of Tequila and 2 picture frames from Santa! I am looking forward to putting them up on the walls when I get my act together and put my pictures in frames and in albums!
I am off to my place to catch a few Zzz's before the party tonight. (How bad am I for leaving work a bit early just to take a nap?)
I am going to the party with Becky, which will be nice as I have not seen here since I don't even know when!
I am sure that Dave will have the broadcast of tonight's show up on his site in a few days...

So, It is the end of the work week and there is a lot of work to be done both here in the lab and at home.
I have to finish my sequencing project and go take care of my tissue cultures before the crazed little buggers die...
At home at have to clean up the place, do laundry and finish Christmas shopping...
Tonight I am going to a party at Dave and Patrick's place...I still need to make the dip for tonight...
I am looking forward to sleeping in on Staurday - god help the person that calls and wakes me up - and that goes for the fluff ball of love that sleeps on my bed - I just cannot take his early morning love feasts in my hair anymore. I have thought about closing the door to my room to keep him out, but I fear that is screaming will make the neighbors call the police for cat abuse...he can really yeow when he wants to...And he can do it for hours too!
Okay - off to the sequences - we are having a lab party at 2:00 pm so my work needs to be finished by then!

The lecture was not as great I would have hoped, but then again he is from Bush's committee on Ethics...(Yes, Kate, I know that was a very cheap shot!)....I ended up making a list of the things that I need to get done before Tuesday when I go home to PA...Which made me decide that I am going to pack up my things and head over the river into Virginia - yes even farther south then I would like to be, but oh well...At least I can hit up one Mall and get everything that I'll need to finish up my shopping for right now.
It is then back up North (we'll as far north as one can get on the Metro) and to the food store...


Okay another random point about the spell check here- BlogSpot has Verizon in its spell check...Just more proof that Verizon is the devil...

I finally have a sequence that works.
Not all over them worked, but most of them did at least.
I am going to a lecture on the Ethics of Using Stem Cells in research in a bit.
I love going to talks on ethics.
It does not matter if I agree with them - there is always that point at the end when you can go in for the kill...
I think that it is kind of like my love of ice hockey.
I am not a violent person by nature, but it is one of those things - seeing people in animal like situations - watching vomit and blood bounce on ice...
Let the games begin!
In other news, I may be guest blogging for Brian the 646 Guy over the holidays...
I figure that keeping up with 3 blogs should keep me busy over the holiday...
on an off note - one would think that the spell check feature on BlogSpot would know the work "blog"...

I think that I will be here for a bit. I an thinking that I may want to go get some dinner before it gets too late. I do not want to be getting home at 11:00 pm tonight and have to cook then. And I do not want to be REALLY hungry in a a few hours and all of the places to around here to be closed. I finally got a sequencing gel to work, thankfully! At $15.00 per gel, if it had not worked the second time - I was going to ask someone else to make the gel today as I was just wasting money, which no one (including myself) likes to do.

I'll be back in a bit!

So I just check out my stats to see who has been checking out my blog. I noticed that some one in Iraq has been looking at my blog. They got it in a bit of a round about way.
On Yahoo! Search Results if you type in "Smallpox Virus" you get my blog!
I was the first thing to be listed on it...And now, the person that found my blog (by accident I am guessing) has bookmarked my blog...Welcome and Enjoy!

I think that it may be a long day (night) here in the lab...The sequencing gel is not behaving as I expected....I may have to redo them before loading them...that's about 3 hours of work all over!

In other news, Orlando Bloom has joined our lab .

I kid you not.

Noriko is in love with him - and this morning I walked into a life sized cut out of him working at a lab bench...

The biggest complaint from her is that he is hard and flat...I had to leave the lab when she started to talk about it...

So someone has given me a greatest idea for next year's holiday gifts -
DNA profiles! It would be such a unique and special gift, don't you think?
I am very excited...Now I just have to figure out how to get the samples from those far away and the perfect frames for the final product.
I am actually going to prepare to do some profiles now, but of my cell lines, not of people - this was the motivation that I needed to keep on trying to get the best sequences ever!

For the first time in my life, a pair of my shoes has an offer of going out for a drink. Yes that is right, not me, but my shoes. (The shoes in question are the wonderful shoes that I bought just for Kate's wedding, in case you were wondering). I was talking about the shoes yesterday to a co-worker and after hearing about them; she said that she would like to take them out for a drink.
I am allowed to join them, but it is to be a bonding experience for her and shoes...I am not sure how to take that...The coworker did assure me that she likes me (in a platonic sense) but she said that she has never met a pair of shoes that have been talked about so highly before, so she needs to take them out for a drink...I wonder what they'll order? I am sure that it will be a top shelf liquor whatever they chose...After all I cannot imagine that something that I would own would like beer…
And just in case anyone (ahem, Dave) thinks to point it out, I do not own the cat - he owns everything, including me, so his preference of drinking beer is not a reflection on me...

Now, I love my friends. But sometimes, they take me my surprise...They can be a well...how shall we say this...odd in the things that they ask of me...Most people talk about how their friends always require attention and support...Well, I came in this morning to the following e-mail:

Subject: parts needed!

Due to the lack of industry in this hub of mediocrity for the western world.
I requesting your guidance in locating non-galvanized and paint free scrap
metal. Preferable would be the 2x4ft 1/4 in sheet. But all I-beams and
other forms of structural support will be treated with equal respect.

Cheers
KD

And then there was this reply in my inbox:

KD,

The police just found my Hyundai which was stolen out of your driveway.
You may have more scrap metal comin' to you than any one girl should be blessed with.
You lucky gal.

Sarah


I think that maybe a group of us should get together and send KD out to Detroit with a U-haul for X-mas...maybe that would be the perfect gift for her...

I just saw Santa!!!
He is driving around the city in a golf cart!!!

My first pair of “grown up shoes”.
I remember seeing them in the store.
They were perfect – the softest black brushed leather kitten heels, size 7.0.
I still have them and even wear them on occasion.
After all, kitten heels are always in fashion, regardless of what some may say.
They are low, so almost everyone can wear them.
Sadly, I wear a 7.5 now.
But I cannot part with those shoes.
It was better getting those shoes than many of the other thing that you get to do as a female coming to age.
I remember my Father flipping out about them.
He was upset at first place because I had gotten a pair of heels.
(It was not as bad as when my Aunt Susan got my ear pierce at the age of 6 though, that was a really bad seen – I thought my father was going to cry over them – and I was so excited to show him what a grown up I was becoming).
And then he flipped out even more when he found out that my mother had encouraged me to get them, especially when he saw the price.
(Sadly, if he saw the price of some of the other shoes that I have now, he would probably have a heart attack).
So my mother is the cause of my shoe obsession.
So what brings this up this morning you may ask?

I found the Etienne Aigner shoes in their box this morning while I was getting ready for work. I was looking for my high-heeled Mary Janes. I had to stop for a few minutes and just look at them and get out the special wire brush for them. I cleaned them and placed them on my feet. I instantly remembered how I felt when my mother had told me that I could try them on all of those years ago. I remember walking up to the sales lady and asking to see them. She brought them out a short time later and I put my little peds on, and then the shoes. They just slipped on my feet. My mother looked at the sales lady and they smiled at one another. My mother said the most wonderful words “We’ll take them!” They are not the type of shoes that even I (shocking as it is to all) would wear to the lab. It is not the cost of the shoes; it is the fact that they are so precious to me. (And if anyone was is wondering, they were $65.00 back in 1990. I know this, as the receipt was still in the box – something my mother always does with shoes). In many ways they were the real first outward sign to the world that I was taking control of growing up. Our bodies mature on their own, we have no real control over that – things like your first bra and what not, are not really done on your own personal schedule. So this morning, I could not help but to get up and walk to the kitchen to get myself another cup of coffee. I just sat at my dinning room table thinking of all the places that those shoes have taken me. Eventually I had to get up and finish getting ready for work. But I am very happy that I got time with my first pair of “grown up shoes”.

So I came in this morning to find out that while my set up was good, my samples were fine - the gel was not good so my data had problems.
Oh well...I just finished setting up another one - hopefully this one will be much better! I'll be here for awhile in any case - just checking it out.

I am off to do some tissue culture and then home...Very excited...I may be able to get to bed by the early hour of midnight!

so my mother asked me to e-mail her about vaccines and virues...I think that I may have gone a bit over board...

Here is some info for you about viruses. I would say that the following website from Web MD has some very useful information. http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/5/4068_101.htm?z=3074_00000_0007_00_01

But, I do not want to pass off your questions (which is totally unacceptable for anyone in the medical profession), so here is probably more information than you ever wanted.
There are two types of infections that most people get. They are either infected with a virus (flu or cold are just two types) or they are infected with a bacterial infection.

There are many different types of viruses. There are adeno, retro, roto, etc. All viruses are non-living and dependent upon a living organism for “life” or in other words, replication. (FYI: Scientist like to make classifications). So we start off with a shape and basic characteristics and go from there. Here is an example of how we would go about IDing a virus:

1. The shape of the virus.
(The first picture if a Bacteriophage (a virus that attacks bacteria!), the second (a) and third (b) are different shapes of viruses that are group liked that as they use either DNA (a) or RNA (b) for replication, see the 5th point.

Sorry - pictures do not come up on this site!

2. The way the virus gains entry into the body -air borne, contact, mucus membrane passed, etc
3. The type of cells that it infects: immune system cells (T-cells in the case of HIV/AIDS) or epithelial cells (in the case of HPV)
4. How the virus gains entry into the cells that it is infecting.
5. The method that is uses to replicate (reproduce new viruses) – does it use, DNA, RNA, mRNA, etc…
6. How do the new viruses get out of the host cell? Does it lyse (kill) the host cells when the new viruses are released? In this the host cell gets filled up with so many new little viruses, that it just explodes (ruptures, busts open the cell, you get the idea), and the cell is killed.

Sorry - pictures do not come up on this site!


The other method used by viruses is to modify the cell wall, making a gateway that the viruses will be shipped out of. There is a nice video clip here to explain how that happens using herpes as an example: http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~faculty/wagner/release.html

Okay so the actual point of all of this:
How come when a person gets vaccinated against the flu, does that person then get infected with a viral infection?
Simple answer: Because the vaccine the person received is specific to only that (or VERY similar) viruses.
How the Flu vaccine works:
The viruses used for the flu are inactivated (killed, although it is a miss leading name) virus that is either injected (or now a days can be given as a nasal spray) and your immune systems responds so the next time it sees it (usually alive ready to infect) your immune system is then ready to kill it. So when people say that they got sick from the flu vaccine – it is not actually true. They got sick usually as the immune system was getting over loaded and was too busy to properly deal with all the different things that were being introduced to it.

There are other types of vaccines out there too.
Some vaccines are given “alive” (and are usually given on the skin as in the case of small pox).
Some are passed through non-human tissue cultures so that they can lose some of the properties that cause them to attack humans. The virus is then collected, purified and then given to people.
Some vaccines are given in their weaken state – not exactly “alive” but not totally “dead”.
And some vaccines are not even the actual virus that you are looking for immunity from – i.e.: cow pox was given via injection until it was figured out how to purify small pox and give that safely.

With bacterial infections it is very important to get the correct type of medicine and to take all of it. Bacteria come in many different types – gram positive and gram negative is the first step in identification of the bacteria. Gram staining involves taking a sample of the bacteria (such as a swab of the area that is infected) and staying it with a couple of different chemicals. After the staining is complete, the sample is then looked at under a microscope. We are also looking to see if the cell well has picked up any of the colouring - hence the name gram positive, it has picked up the colour or gram negative, it has not picked up the colour. Here is a picture of the basic structures of a bacteria (please note not all bacteria are this shape, size or do they all have flagellum, or cilia (similar looking to pilus):
Sorry - pictures do not come up on this site!

Figuring out what type of bacterial infection is very important as some medicines do not work of some types of bacterial infections. Penicillin only works on gram negative bacteria – yet many people take it when they start to feel ill, as they cannot or do not want to go to their doctor – but this state of mind is leading to more problems as bacteria (The tricky and smart little buggers, are developing resistance to many of the antibiotics that we commonly use. That could be another paper for you all, if you were interested!)
As far as bacterial vaccines – Bacteria are trickier than most viruses. There are a few out there, but that is defiantly another paper.
I hope this helps! If I missed anything, let me know!

Wonderboy lost his wallet this morning.
He has been calling all over and looking every place that he was since her remembered having it last.
But it was just returned to him - with everything intact - including a decent amount of cash!
It is nice when things like that happen!

Tea- Thanks!
You are a sweetie!

Update - due to heavy work load in the lab - I should be able to make some time to figure out the edit comments part of the haloscan directions by the end of the weekend.
Sorry - I have to pay the bills before I can think about playing!

I had to end up removing the comments section - it is not that I care about the nasty comments, it is pretty funny - but when personal information about others is being put in to the journal - it has to be removed. Sorry - but personal information about others (people other than myself) when they have not approved it - is just not acceptable and will not be tolerated by management. Thanks to whom ever gave my journal more publicity. I am sorry, I think that we are allowed to go off every once in awhile. That is what I did yesterday. I am over it, others should be too. I must say my favorite comment used the word "lover" to describe my ex...It makes it seem so...I don't know...scandalous....I adore it...

Today is a busy day, I am finally sequencing my samples - one step closer to my presentation and publication!

Friday:
Went over to KD's place after work and ran into her roomie's...Had some wine with them before they headed out...The other roomie came home and we three talked about dinner...I said that I would cook and he said that his friend was going to show up...And he did, thus I can say, that I am looking forward to getting to him better - such a sweetie!...Eventually the boys went out for some drinks, and KD and I decided to stay at home as we did have a point to this evening - at 11:00 pm we got down to the whole point of the night, waxing... I am now feeling much better...Shopping at the food store at 1:30 am with KD - lots of fun...We were amazed that we did not get kicked out as we were singing and dancing in the isles...But at least the other shoppers (and those that were working there) seem to enjoy the entertainment...
Saturday:
I am pretty much box free now! The place is all set up now (with the exception of a few boxes and the rest of the pictures that I need to hang up).
Jeanie, Matt, and Lara were over for dinner...It was yummy! Matt and Jeanie bought some wonderful wine from South Africa and we had a long talk about HIV/AIDS in different parts of Africa. After that it was off to Morgan's party - craziness as usual...After the off to Adams Morgan to meet up with Matt's friends. I said that I would be the DD - remind me not to go in to Adams Morgan with out drinking again. I met the lowest of the low at the pool hall. I used all of the lines that I could think of to get rid of him. But finally I was rescued by a cute friend of Matt's that has his Ph.D. in physics. There is nothing like talking about plasma and if Jell-O is actually the 5th little known state of matter...I love science geeks! The back to my place (5:00am) where Jeanie, Matt and I all crashed.
Sunday:
Jeanie and Matt left, Matt and I made plans to meet up at a later time that day for Church. I ended up meeting Rana and other people for brunch. After a short shopping trip around Union with everyone, Rana and went and had another drink and caught up with one another. I have missed just sitting around and chatting with her so much! She is just too funny. I met up with Matt and we went to church and then dinner. Not a bad night over all.
Not a bad weekend either...

Please Note - the weekend update is still coming!

***********************************************************************************************
“Have you outstript the rest? are you the President?” W. Whitman “Song of Myself”

College - that was then and this is now. I think that it is a very safe and true statement to make. I find it funny though, that some people are unable to let go of the past. I am friends with people that I have chosen. I have had to cut people out of my life due to their unhealthy obsessions and personalities. I find it sad that they are more than willing to take others down with them. But then again – those that are weak will usually follow someone of a more dominate personality that act like they know what they are doing when they themselves are just going to hell in a hand basket.

So – I found someone from college’s journal – in October – in a forward. Now this person that I am speaking of is not a nice person. I would even go as far as to say that she has a toxic personality. She has one desire in the world - and that is to bring others down into her own misery. In a way, I cannot say that I really blame her for the way she is – she is a product, after all, of the environment that she has grown up in. She has been encouraged and coddled into believing that it is her will or nothing else.

For a while there I tried to see the best in her – and in the end I found that I was becoming someone that I did not like. Someone that could no longer see the wonderful and beautiful things that the world has to offer – I could only see the bad. I was becoming someone that wanted to cause pain to others – as this person pointed out my own imperfections on a daily basis. I ended that relationship a while ago, and I am grateful everyday.

Yesterday - I was directed to an entry yesterday, one line into really got to me but not the way that you may think. I will state maybe I am thinking too highly of myself, but from those that we still have in common, I tend to think not.
“…I have found the blog of a former friend/current nemesis.” - Person’s Website.
Okay people we are how old? Are we back in junior high? Are we still insecure about everything? I think so! Nemesis? I laughed so hard when I read this. I almost fell of my lab chair (and it is pretty high off the ground)! I find it to be further proof that some people are just so unhappy in their present life that they have no recourse but to think about things such as this. I hate to break it to you – I really enjoyed reading that entry yesterday as it just shows that while you may be older than me, you are not wiser or more mature. Okay Batman! Will you now be using your super powers to stun me? Or would you rather have an X-files type of set up? I do have to say that Mulder and Scully would have been disappointed that their informant had been holding out on them for so long.

Yes, I will admit, you have come up as a topic of discussion – it is usually because others are forced and dragged out with you and they are in need of major therapy after such said event. I hate to be the one to break it to you; many people are not friends with you because they like you. They are just people that would rather deal with you every once in awhile rather than deal with the ramifications of your so-called wrath or they are just very lonely and are looking for a leader – not a friend. If you want to surround yourself with people like this and not help them to become better people – go ahead. I hope that you are very happy. I on the other hand am too busy earning my Ph.D. (a degree that is actually worth something, as was my undergrad degree), spending time with wonderful friends, and breaking the hearts of the boys (you know - the ones that are straight and not planning on dedicating their lives to God) in the city.
I hope that you have fun and enjoy the ramifications of the life that you are leading. I also pray (as does almost every person that I have spoken to) for the children that will be subjected to your ideas. We only hope that God grants those poor children strength.

Busy day here, but very exciting weekend!
More soon!

You are a Dubliner.


What's your Inner European?
brought to you by Quizilla

So it is wet (snowy, sleeting, and raining) and very cold here in the Nations Capitol.
It took me 2 hours to get into work this morning, but I did run into Marc while Lara and I were getting coffee as the Red Line had a 30 minute delay. Marc is going to e-mail me about writing a letter to metro telling them it is fine that I have a Smart Trip card that is actually registered to him and not me - a very long story, but the long and the short of it is that Marc gave me the card when he went to grad school in NYC and that's why his name is on it and not mine and now Metro wants the situtation straightened out which requires both he and I to write to Metro - in other words it is just stupid stuff...But at least I made it into work in one piece and safely! Phil has decided not to risk his new car and he is still not feeling up to par. I am going to seed a bunch of cell lines today and then I'll be done. I was here last night until about 10:00 pm - yes I once again missed Scrubs and ER...Damn the single cells of the world!!!!
But at least all is well otherwise! Tonight I will leave a decient time!!!
I am looking forward to this weekend. I am not sure what all I am going to do tonight, maybe a bit of food shopping if no one wants to go out and play, as it really does need to get done. Saturday - unpacking and cleaning, Saturday night, Dinner with Jeanie and Matt before we head over to Morgan's Holiday party and Sunday Brunch with Rana and then maybe over to KD's place to finally get the waxing done.
If you are reading this and really don't know me, I hate body hair. It is SO unlady like. I creeps me out! Maybe others are fine with it and more power to them - but I hate it!!! I have broken up with someone as he had too much body hair. It was like dating a fuzzy carpet. Oh, and it was summer so we were at the pool and the hair was all around me. But it is not like I am totally shallow - there were other problems between him and I, and so the hair was just the final nail in the coffin for him. Maybe the perfect guy will be perfect except for the fact that he has too much hair and I'll learn to live with it - or give him a gift certificate for laser hair removal...I personally cannot wait to get mine done...Only a bit more time until the insurance company approves it! So exciting! Of to do real work now!

I am here at work again - awaiting the growth of bacteria...How come it seems like I am always waiting for either the bacteria or the tissue cultures to grow? Why can they not just grow how I want them to? Children grow in estimates, either they are on the low or the high end of the growth curve...It just seems like my cultures are always on the slow end...Does this mean that my children will be too? Maybe it is because I was on the lower end of the curve growing up. While I did everything (walked, talked, rolled over, etc) before most children, on the growth chart I was always on the lower end - I am still on the short end in my family - but the shortest women (on both sides) tend to have the tallest children...Who knows...Phil is here today after being sick yesterday, and I think that he should go home - he is VERY sick right now!!! Oh well...Off to check on the bacteria.

So I am planning on taking the 7:20 bus to the metro - where I can then hope on the metro and the walk home...
Home - that place really needs to get cleaned up...This weekend! Yes, in addition to the two parties that I am going to, cooking and then bringing food to and brunch with Rana (we'll see about that...) on Sunday, in addition to a bunch of others things that need my attention...There should be lots of free time for me to clean up the whole place...Right...
If you disagree, do not even bother talking to me again....

So, Lara and I am going to going the G-town law school theater group. (anyone can join - even people that graduated g-town law years ago still do it!) I have said (Lara is signing me up to do the make-up crew - as I did in high school. (Hey! I was the Make-up Chief/Director...And our plays were well reviewed by all of the paper and news outlets! - did you really think that a bunch of prep school kids' parents would have it any other way?) Lara and I talked about it this morning on the train - we both like theater and it will be a way for us to meet more people our age (around our age, etc) in D.C.

Off to feed the baby!

I do not even know what to say about this!


I have also found out that if you talk about the birth control patch on your journal and you can be found on Google, they will list you! That could be fun - open yourself up to a whole bunch of new people...

You are 20% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

I just put 9 cultures in the moving incubator for an over night incubation...Hopefully all will work out!
I guess we'll find out in the am
Headed back to the home now...
Never heard from Rana...Not that shocked some how...But that's okay as my head hurts right now and I just want to go home and go to bed...

So I am now back at work...
I am so not ready...
I had a good weekend over all, saw LOTS of family, but did not meet up with Jules.
She called me, I called her back, asked her is she wished to come over, and never heard back from her...Could my family have really scared her off...
Mag and I had a nice long chat about the need for me to have a better social life (her idea, not mine)...I told her that I have friends to hang out with etc, but then she and Helene decided to chat with me about the need to find someone for me to settle down with...Maybe it was better that Jules did not call back otherwise she may have had to deal with the lecture too!
Burt is very happy to have me back, now. At first he was all over KD when she dropped me off, but once he realized that she was gone and it was me or no one for affection, he warmed right back up...And of course he woke me up nice and early this morning...
I may be going out with Rana after work, I am awaiting her phone call...
I have 5 days worth of papers to read...
Rent to pay...
bills to pay...
yes it is back to the grind...