march 18, 2009

being a graduate student isn't as glamorous as it sounds. i am sure some of you imagine me sitting at my desk or in the lab coming up with and carrying out amazing experiments that will change the world as we know it.

not the case. today is a prime example:

for the past few days i have noticed that our rotary pump smelled funky and was leaking a bit. i decided to change the oil and investigate the leak. i spent the last two hours dealing with the stinkiest pump oil ever created. think of rotten eggs mixed with the stench of death. it was gross. i still have no idea where the leak is coming from, but the pump and it's oil are now clean and back in use.

march 11, 2009

remember back in september when i wrote about that dude i met at a party? the one with the conveniently not mentioned girlfriend? we've seen each other a few times since then at other parties. i've even met his girlfriend (she's annoying). each time, we have a very similar interaction in which he flirts a little and buys me a beer or something, and i go home annoyed.

i went bowling with the prospective students at last weekend's open house. i was putting away my stuff when i heard someone say "hey april!" it was the dude. he was bowling with a couple of people in the lane next to ours. we chatted a bit while we were bowling, but for the most part kept to our respective groups. i am happy to say that i didn't get the least bit annoyed. i must have moved on...what's that about?

march 9, 2009

it's snowing this morning, after a beautiful weekend of 60 degree weather. i don't think i'll get used to this manic climate.

i had a fantastic weekend. our department had an open house for prospective graduate students, and i got to meet a lot of new people and eat a lot of free food on saturday.

speaking of new people, i had a date on sunday. this was our fourth. i'm terribly smitten, and he brought flowers, to boot!

march 3, 2009

I love this song.

Many Shades of Black by The Racontuers


Go ahead, go ahead,
And smash it on the floor
Take whatever's left
And take it with you out the door...

See if I cry,
see if I shed a single sorry tear
I can't say that it's been that great
No, in fact it's been a wasted-free year

Everybody sees
And everyone agrees
That you and I are wrong
And it's been that way too long

Take it as it comes
and be thankful when it's done
There's so many ways to act
and there's many shades of black
There's so many shades of black
There's so many shades of black

Let it out (let it all out) let it all out
Say what's on your mind
You can kick and scream
and shout and say things
That are so unkind.

Yeah,
See if I care
And see if I stand firm or if I fall
Cause in the back of my mind,
and on the tip of my tongue
is the answer to it all...

And everybody sees
And everyone agrees
That you and I are wrong
And it's been that way too long

Take it as it comes
and be thankful when it's done
There's so many ways to act
and there's many shades of black,
There's so many shades of black,
Yeah, there's many shades of black

Yeah...
Everybody sees
And everyone agrees
That you and I are wrong
And it's been that way too long

So take it as it comes
and be thankful when it's done
There's so many ways to act
and you cannot take it back
no you cannot take it back
there's so many shades of black,
There's so many shades of black,
Yeah, there's many shades of black
there's so many shades of black
there's so many shades of black
Yeah, there's many shades of black
there's so many shades of black
Yeah, there's many shades of black
there's so many shades of black

march 2, 2009

i've gotten into a groove of not having lots of work to do in the evenings since i'm not taking/teaching classes this semester. it's super nice.

as i write this, i have the cutest little kitty (bean) sitting next to me wondering why she doesn't have a spot in my lap. i think she's more than a tad jealous.

call me!

january 24, 2009

What do a bunch of graduate students who have spent the day on the mountain and all their money on lift tickets, ski gear, hotel rooms and beer do for fun on a Saturday night? Jenga! This is a video clip of my turn. We were sure it was going to fall (I think you can hear ashleigh say, "it's gonna go right now" at some point). The game continued for about an hour after this. We were masters for a night. PS - I had no idea she was taking a video.

january 19, 2009

that's a lot of snow. do i sound like a broken record?

january 12, 2009

mother nature is pummeling this area

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Now playing: The Flaming Lips - In The Morning Of The Magicians
via FoxyTunes with snow. this is not exactly what i signed up for.

january 7, 2009

The New Year - Death Cab for Cutie

so this is the new year.
and i don't feel any different.
the clanking of crystal
explosions off in the distance (in the distance).

so this is the new year
and I have no resolutions
for self assigned penance
for problems with easy solutions

so everybody put your best suit or dress on
let's make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
as thirty dialogues bleed into one

i wish the world was flat like the old days
then i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or speedtrains, or freeways
there'd be no distance that can hold us back.

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Now playing: Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year
via FoxyTunes