Maybe because I like to fancy myself a 'scientist' and at the same time I'm intrigued by religion, I've become rather fascinated by scientology. Most likely its just because the people involved with the organization seem to be batshit crazy and its hypnotizing--just like watching a train wreck... not that i would ever really want to watch a train wreck but you get the point.

To begin with, I love the idea that they seem to "trick" people into their religion with a "stress test".



Apparently, an "auditor" asks all sorts of questions while the volunteer is monitored by an "E-meter" which is suppose to monitor 'harmful energy' or 'charge' brought about by particular questions. Then in the end they tell you how scientology or dianetics can help resolve your problems with stress. I don't believe it is during this first screening that the following questions get asked (if it is, how freaking crazy do you have to take anything this organization says seriously). After reading through them I'm even more captivated by the cult religion, and am quite curious how I would handle the questions. So below, a few of the questions followed by my answer:

Have you ever enslaved a population?
I made my popples and care bears dance for me when I was 5, does that count?

Have you ever killed the wrong person?
Well, I think anyone employed in the vast arena of contract killing is bound to make a mistake at least once, its really not a big deal.

Have you ever been a professional critic?
I do see a lot of movies...

Have you ever tried to give sanity a bad name?
No, but I do give love a bad name. You play your part, I play my game.

Have you ever made a planet, or nation, radioactive?
I wish... then I could be a supervillian and go after clark kent and have my own series on the CW.

Have you ever been a pimp?
I didn't get a cut of the action, so I think that's a no.

Have you ever eaten a human body?
Tastes of chicken.

Have you ever disfigured a beautiful thing?
This question reeks of a 'your mom' joke.

Have you ever failed to rescue your leader?
I'm totally getting the sci-fi vibe now...

Is anybody looking for you?
I'm not hard to find. Damn this internet thing. Damn that al gore.

Did you come to Earth for evil purposes?
Like I'm going to tell you that.

Have you ever philosophized when you should have acted instead?
They don't give you a dr. in philosophy for nothing.

Have you ever gone crazy?
Don't mind if I do.

Have you ever made love to a dead body?
You're pretty sick chubbs.

Have you ever engaged in piracy?
Yes, but it was to benefit the planet. More pirates less global warming...

sorry, wrong religion.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and support. My dad is at home now, working with a physical therapist, and well on his way to a full recovery. I cannot overemphasize how big of a difference it made getting him home and away from all the crazies at the hospital.
Oddly, this weekend I saw a commericial for heart stents (used during my dad's angioplasty) featuring a song from one of favorite bands, guster--it was kind of surreal. Also, in the odd category, I caught one episode of gilmore girls last week just after arriving back home in OK and it happened to be the episode where Lorilei's dad has a heart attack at christmas dinner. It's always weird when multiple facets of your life (tv is apparently a major one for me) seem to overlap.

OK, no one ever said they were. My dad had a heart attack on Friday, I flew home on saturday and have been at the hospital every day since. They moved him from the ICU to the heart telemetry section on Monday, which normally would be a good thing, but I think the area doubles as a psych ward.
I know at least the woman in the room across the hall seems legitimately crazy. Hours upon hours of moaning, sobbing, and unintelligable yelling for help. I overheard the Dr say today they didn't want to sedate her b/c she won't move and they're worried about bed sores. Ok, fine, but bring her somewhere else b/c the hysteria is not helping anyone else. I guess I should just be impressed that she can keep this going for multiple days in a row, that's some endurance.

The man that shares my dad's room is about 90 and tries to do things on his own, which he absolutely cannot do, because the nurse takes at least a half hour to arrive after paging her for help. When he does this, I have no idea what to do.
My dad is actually starting to see things (like cats in the room and people outside the window) and is convinced one of the nurses is trying to poison him. He ripped out is IV this morning, this is following him pulling out his feeding tube monday when he was still in the ICU. The room is tiny, the area of the hospital busy and crowded, and it takes about a half hour to get a nurse to the room for anything. He's suppose to go home tomorrow, I hope he's ready- I just can't stand to see him in this room any longer.

So, in short, this week has been kind of surreal, a lot of feelings, a lot of guilt right now, especially because I just *had* to get out of there for a couple of hours this afternoon. I think I'm actually starting to go a little mental myself. I'm worried about my dad, but also about my mom, who is not eating and stressed with work (in retail) this time of year, and will become a full-time caretaker as well once my dad's home. I'm really not sure what to do and how to best be of help. What's sad, is more than anything I just want to get away. It's times like these that I really hate being an only child and wish my parents still lived closer to other family.

I don't have any tattoos, but every once in awhile I kind of think that I want one--kind of. A few reasons why I'll never get one though:

(1) am deathly afraid of needles
(2) hate even the slightest pain (this is really related to the needle thing)
(3) can't think of anything I'd want on my skin for the rest of my life

The few things I've considered are generally science/math related... a thunderstorm symbol on my foot? maxwell's equations? yeah, i don't really know about that. Obviously, I'm not the first person in science to think of getting a tattoo...

would it be considered cheating if you had this tattoo for freshman physics:



how about pi on your arm?



these all come from a flickr set of science tattoos.

Computer science, chemistry, and biology are all represented.

not so much with the meteorology... any suggestions?

(Note--if I could think of anything meteorology related that would look as good as this, I might actually convince myself to get a tattoo)

EW.com posted the Ultimate male hotties of (1) the 70's/80's and (2) 90's through today.

Such pretty pictures... I voted Robert Redford (honorable mention Harrison Ford) and Christian Bale (no other, just Christian Bale)...

Each picture comes with a description of the ultimate 'hottie moment' and while I agree Mr. Bale looked great as the newest batman... it is far from his ultimate moment. That belongs to his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Though, sick and twisted, he was at the same time hilarious and wow, what a body... in a 80's power suit or with a chainsaw, doesn't matter...



meridith grey is not dark and twisty... that is dark and twisty

I've been in a bit of a funk for the last month and a half--it's that slightly depressed feeling that tends to impede getting things done.

I've decided I'm going to be done with this phd thing by May whether or not I'm really "done." This adds a whole new level of drama--stress about actually getting my dissertation completed and stress about finding a job for when I'm finished. Apparently, now is the time for applying, interviewing, etc for jobs for next year--it all seems a bit premature to me... post-doc? professor? It's hard to decide anything right now. I really don't want to end up in some random city all by myself---Los Alamos? I'm sure to become the crazy cat lady in that place. No, really, I'm not that chick yet... I seem to be working on it with the random cats that always show up on my doorstep (a new calico one last week), but I refuse to be her yet...

In other news, what an ACE the red sox have with Josh Beckett... everything about Beckett in that game was impressive... complete game shut-out, only 108 total pitches, 8 strike-outs and 0 walks.. Lackey on the other hand looked dead in the dug-out after pitching the 5th... Dice-K pitches on Friday for the Sox, hopefully the line-up will continue to produce b/c I don't think the Angels are going to remain scoreless through the series.
Is it weird to anyone else that these games are on TBS? The announcers are surprisingly not annoying--maybe that's just b/c I don't have to listen to McCarver and Buck (THANK GOD). The studio crew, however, and on the field reporting could use some definite help. Everyone in the studio seemed totally uncomfortable and going to Jose Mota on the field at any time last night was pointless... Alyssa Milano is at Fenway; please go to her instead. At least she knows how to speak in front of a camera and sleeping with 3 or 4 baseball stars should have allowed her to pick up some baseball knowledge along the way.

I'm home, I'm alive and have all the necessary limbs, fingers, and toes. I'm finally starting to get over this jet-lag thing that's been haunting me for the last couple days since I've been back. I still have absolutely no clue what day it is though...

I'll update with stories and pictures soon. Flickr tonight, hopefully/journal tomorrow, maybe. If you have facebook, I've already added some pictures to my profile there in case you're curious...

I'm freaking out about everything today. This started with a jolt out of sleep at about 7:20 am wide awake with worry.

I'm freaking out about traveling to China and Japan in 2.5 weeks:
--the flights (possibly missing them / being on them for so long--12 hrs+), airport security, customs, missing luggage...
--communicating in languages i've never even really heard at all in countries that aren't nearly as english friendly as other areas i've been to like france.
--drinking the water--even the bottled variety
--my conference presentation
--packing everything. conference attire (professional) as well as casual stuff for getting around and dealing with the extreme heat/humidity. And then having to carry it all from place to place as I go from beijing to shanghai to tokyo to kyoto and back to tokyo.
--dealing with the heat, pollution, and smoke filled areas of beijing/shanghai.
--my finances and how much this whole trip is going to cost me. I figure there are very few opportunities one ever gets to travel to Asia, so I want to do the things I want to do, debt be damned. I don't necessarily need to stay at 5* hotels but i don't want to stay somewhere that i could be worried about bed bugs or a lack of any decent a/c. i have to see the great wall but i don't want to go on one of those tours that bring you to other tourist traps and take the whole day. i've been obsessing with travel books and websites (lonely planet / tripadvisor) comparing every hotel in shanghai / tokyo -- reading reviews, comparing prices. This morning was spent calling all my credit cards to find out if they had any fees for foreign transactions (they all do except discover which is not really accepted anywhere over there -- carrying enough cash for the trip is not going to happen).

I'm really, really freaking out about finances right now.
--paying all sorts of fees to the university. Fees at OU are as high as resident tuition and not covered by graduate student stipends.
--not having a roommate and covering the bills/house stuff by myself right now... I'm meeting with a couple of people over the next week about moving in around August 1st and living with someone i don't really know is its own little tub of anxiety as well.
--did i mention i'm going to asia?


The littlest thing overwhelms me today. A figure not looking like I thought it would, the bread has mold on it, my hot water heater leaking and the plumber is not returning my phone calls, i'm 29 yrs old and still in school-why is my life not progressing???
My voice is shaky--a simple quick phone call this morning had a friend asking if i was ok? I need to stop worrying about everything so i can actually accomplish something. Geez, I'm even worried that I'm worried this much.

Mother nature decided to give me a little birthday present this week. I'll call him Fred. Fred surprised me in my bathtub the other morning, as Fred, a wolf spider, is roughly the size of 3 quarters put together and i was still half-asleep:



For some strange reason I didn't want to kill Fred... well truthfully i did kind of want to kill him but what if i missed and he attacked? So i trapped him in a cup for a couple an hour or so while i was at the gym then decided to release him to wild after I got back. I slid an envelope under the cup with Fred hopping around wildly hitting the side of the cup pretty hard (he seemed pretty pissed), walked outside and threw cup, envelope and fred as far away from me as i could. I believe the cup is still in that part of the yard outside--I really don't want to go check, I think Fred may have gathered some friends by now all waiting patiently to take me out.

---

Some people share their birthday with really cool celebs, not me, I have Gary Busey. I believe Gary Busey may be certifiably insane. There are plenty of clips on you tube to verify this, but instead i'll embed a short clip of Ewan McGregor describing his run-in with him (mostly because just watching Ewan read the phone book would make me happy):

.

In case you were wondering (which i'm sure you're not), today is also "National Ducks and wetlands day." So be kind to your web-footed friends.

Also, if you are tired of dealing with all the ugos and fatsos in your online dating search Darwin Dating may be for you. Oh but not if you have red hair... red hair is apparently not hot.

I need an opinion.. though perhaps more of what i need is justification--help ease the conscience and what-not.

First, let me just state that it is a physical impossibility for me to spend less than $40 at target, especially now that we have a super target. Even more problematic is going there after I've had an afternoon workout and haven't yet ate dinner--damn you ben and jerry and you too tollhouse.

I went in to simply get cat food and maybe a loaf of bread. That was all. That was the plan. But I've been wanting a couple of cd's for a while (which i figured to be too 'indie' for target to really have) and I walked right by women's clothes on the way over there and a cute sundress was begging to be tried on.... anyway you get the point.

My shoppng list: 1. Iams 2. bread

What I actually left with:
1. Iams
2. Hamburger buns
3. Bagels
4. Juice
5. other food stuff that struck me as yummy as i walked by starving (none of those fruits/veggies that i should be getting)
6. The Decemberists cd
7. Silversun Pickups cd (on sale!)
8. Pair of super cute bermuda shorts
9. Sundress

To be honest, I wasn't paying too much attention during checkout... though another employee and my checker-outer got in an argument about breaks and how long they should be vs how long they were working. Point to this story (yes, I do have one): my total seemed a bit lower than i was expecting, but I didn't spend that much time adding up all my items so no biggie... At a stoplight on the way home, I decided to go over my receipt in greater detail. I was never charged for that sundress. Now, should i have gone back to tell random 17 year old at the customer service counter (who would more than likely would have laughed at me) that I was not charged for it? or Just kept driving (as I did)? Is this something that I should let bother me? or Do I just chalk it up to the extra benefit of always shopping at target and this is their way (without knowing it) of giving that love back?

In the new National Weather Center, my office is right near the library. One of my favorite things about this is the message board posted at the library entrance. Every week has a different bad pun/joke on it--just the kind of humor that I need to start my day. However, this week's is so bad I just had to share it:

"A new Miami baseball team will be called the humidity, so fans can say: "It's not the heat, it's the humidity."

other previous postings:

"What's the difference between weather and climate? You can't weather a tree, but you can climate."

"What's the meteorological term for two rainy and cold days followed by a warm and sunny one? A Monday."

"Two meteorologists each broke an arm and a leg in an accident; they called home from the hospital about the four casts."

In other news, my feet are destroyed, absolutely killing me in fact. Last night was the masquerade ball... ballroom dancing for four hours in cheap high heels... I shouldn't have known what i was getting myself into. Nonetheless, the night was great fun, though possibly not for all my dance partners that dealt with me stepping on their toes. I think I set the record for the # of "I'm sorry's" one should possibly say in a four hr period. In order to keep up with those that were much better than me, I quite often found myself making up new steps as I went along, especially during swing and waltz. (BTW, if you're intrigued by ballroom dancing and think a movie that mixes dirty dancing/moulin rouge would be interesting check out 'strictly ballroom' pure, enjoyable cheese).

Tonight is the start of Red Sox/Yankees, but game 1 is only on NESN and tomorrow's local fox feed will definitely be Cubs/Cards (is it too early to pity the cubs?). But since I do currently have access to mlb.tv my plan for tonight is to make good use of my new laptop, relax my feet on a pillow, and enjoy a slice of pizza and a beer (without worries of any of the above being thrown at me). The yankees have their only 'healthy' pitcher going tonight but Ortiz and Manny finally appear to be getting hot. Mr. April, A-Fraud, can't keep this going much longer can he? I mean once jeter starts having those sleepovers again he'll lose his motivation, right?

update: just notified game is on espn... same plan sub tv for laptop.

I am facing a serious bout with writers block right now. I am not sure how this is even possible--I have so much to put down on paper (or screen). A freakin' whole dissertation to be exact. The research is mostly done, just the "synthesis" of said research, not so much there. Each time I write a sentence I erase it before I even get to the "." -- I know, I know just put something down and leave it, it will be so much easier to revise it later... but I can't. I think I'm going crazy. Legitimately, Britney Spears shave my head crazy.

My new excuse is that i just can't think in my office--my ultra-heavy, immobile dual 2.7 GHz apple G5 is just to stationary... I need mobility!! I need to be somewhere with windows! With people! (or cats). My solution:



yes. I purchased a laptop with all that extra money I have kicking around as a graduate student. But, I do get that extra special educational discount... and I put it on my discover card, so I get cash back... really, the damn thing is paying for itself if you think about it.

In a totally bit of randomness, I thought I would share this lovely propaganda (?) from App. State in North Carolina (Love you Krust!)... Because nothing will convince me to go to a university like hearing it's "HOT, HOT, HOT” well unless it's accompanied by jazz saxophone...

Just like every other person living in the general area of the central US, I went storm chasing yesterday.** Actually, it's the first time I've gone storm chasing in basically two years. Around 10:30 am I was debating it, but I was a little hesitant to go seeing i just flew back to OKC around midnight the night before and needed to do such fun tasks as laundry and sleep. M.B. and I looked at maps and made a plan to head to the Memphis, TX area... but we both had meetings that afternoon first. After our meetings and printing a few maps of the TX panhandle region from google we headed out around 4 pm CDT. About 1/2 hour into our trip storms initiated in the area we were targeting... about an 1.5 hrs into our trip M.B. gets a speeding ticket in the middle of BFE Oklahoma (near Altus to be a little more precise)... this forces us to take it a little slower. We finally made it to just outside the Memphis, TX area before 7pm. The nice thing about the TX panhandle is that even though we were roughly 40+ miles away from the tornado we actually managed decent view (and without the horrific "chaser convergence"):



though if we had been able to leave just an hour earlier we would have seen something looking more like this:



again, summing up our view---

this:

when we should have had this:

On Hwy 273 just south of McLean, TX is where we first really had to deal with about 100+ other chasers*** on the road and stopping was a real issue as well. The two times we stopped in what looked like solid areas proved to be not so solid. To actually get out of these spots we gathered up the golfball + size hail for traction under the tires. Good times. But when we were pulled over, prior to realizing we were stuck, we got great views of the RFD and a new developing tornado, unfortunately by this time it was already getting quite dark.



After dark we were depending solely on lightning to back-light the tornado... didn't luck into any pictures of that (nor did I take any pictures of the damage near the McLean/I40 area), but I believe this kind of sums up our view:



NE of McLean, on some lonely highway we finally found a road that allowed us to pullover and watch the incredible display of lightning before heading back towards Norman.




*there are so many quotes to use from twister, so many of them so very bad
**Actually wrote most of this entry on thurs 29 mar, but my computer started spazzing with the power during thunderstorms yesterday so I didn't get a chance to post
***Having so many cars on the road near a tornado, especially as it gets dark, is a serious problem. I really could see states passing laws against chasing or issuing permits. I have no idea how it could ever be enforced, but along this road I saw a number of people doing countless idiotic things as it got dark.

It's a very fine line between "normal" and crazy. I'm beginning to realize that I might fall on the crazy side of the line a bit too often. This is for multiple reasons... as in: i am still in school nearing age 30 persuing a phd for jobs that probably will not even pay over $50,000/year... but as of late my crazy thoughts have drifted towards a loss of reality (perhaps in order to avoid thoughts of stated reality above)... an example:

I **know** that Zach Braff is an actor and "J.D." is just a character on a very funny television show, but I totally believe if given a *real* chance to meet me we would be planning a wedding in less than a month (and I'm a self-confessed commitment-phobe)... umm.. yeah.... just a tad on the psycho side.
but then again at least i'm not psycho enough to do this:




(oddly, the above actually turned out to be a "prank" by some foreign news agency... likely the same group that pissed off mr. jumps on couches with that ole water in the microphone trick).

Now what puts me squarely on the crazy side of the line is not just the belief if we met it would be all champagne (wishes) and caviar (dreams)... its the logistics behind it... as in, my choice of reading a book from the Fletch series while at a busy airport simply because I KNOW he would initiate the conversation if he saw me reading it or because I actually have a way to contact hime since i'm his myspace friend (along with 50,000+ other obsessed fans)... but it puts me in closer proximity than with my other celebrity crushes who I know I have no chance with -- such as John Cusack or Jon Stewart because I am not sure that i would ever really encounter them and/or they are married w/kids so the logistics are all wacky... its like Ross taking Isabella Rossellini off his list b/c she's too international. yes, C-R-A-Z-Y. i know this.

eh. i think this has all really started b/c of my bouts with insomnia lately. I can't sleep for more than 3 hours straight and that has some funky effects on the ol' thought processing. not so good for the phd, but great for planning my future wedding to hot, comedic jewish boys who have no idea that i even exist.


one neat little tidbit that kind-of brings kind of ties my craziness together (from wikipedia):
John Cusack is called girl names by his friend and neighbour John C. McGinley, which has been adapted into the TV series Scrubs.

quick update (as i'm actually getting some work done today)...

this just in: guster, band that i've driven over one-hundred miles to see in concert, will be playing less than a mile from my house on april 3rd at 8 pm. (if you have never heard of this band, first, shame on you... second, check out the you-tube clip of their newest song below). this concert is all for me, i just know it. now i just need to figure out how to get zach braff to be my date and i'm all set...

in other news: I hate the CW of OKC.. seems a texas vs texas-tech basketball game was more important than a cliffhanger episode of veronica mars. while there is the possibility that it brought in just as many viewers, I feel like they should stick to the schedule of the network--you don't see NBC interrupting some incredibly entertaining version of "Grease, You're the one that I want" or "1 vs 100" for a game of Texas A&M vs Baylor do you... damn you CW. Luckily, there's this little thing called the internet and at some point when i have time i can check it out this thing-a-ma-bob called a com-pu-ter.

Ok so I am totally ripping this from entertainment weekly but how could i not.

First, a confession: I was a huge NKOTB fan in middle school... HUGE.. there were posters (multiple ones, even on the ceiling), t-shirts (my 6th grade photo is unfortunate proof), buttons, and even dolls (i'm pretty sure i only owned a jordan knight one). So imagine my surprise when I saw this video of "Dirty Dawg" today YouTube. I didn't even know this song existed, much less that NKOTB still a group by 1994--I seriously thought 'step-by-step' was their final album (side note: i can still remember all the lyrics.. step 1... we can have lots of fun.. step 2.. its just me and you-i'll stop now but i could go on). Of course by that time my musical tastes had gotten slightly better and I was listening to pearl jam, smashing pumpkins, green day, and STP and wearing flannel shirts instead of NKOTB t-shirts in my yearly photos. ahh but back to video below.. a few things to check out: #1) NKOTB trying to get street cred w/a slightly offensive song (it was apparently banned by MuchMusic) #2) the rap interlude at the end and the total NKOTB dance moves but not done by NKOTB--they're too tough/rough for that now #3) key lyrics to note: Here's the kennelration and the Alpo too... Seriously though, who ever thought donnie would be the most successful out of that group (of course Marky Mark now has an oscar nod).

Where do you waste time online?

For me.. umm.. everywhere it seems; this week it has been taken up w/crochet blogs and listserves as i have tried to stay as far away as possible from anything sports (read: patriots) related. Really, what is less sports related than crochet? (unless you come across something like this). The crochet sites are probably not the average way people spend their time online; actually a study of US internet users found that approximately 12% of all time spent online is at myspace.com, way beyond any other domain--the next closest site is yahoo and its subsidiaries at 8.5%. Funny thing to me is there are sites i have never heard of in the top 20 like neopets.com, adultfriendfinder.com, and live.com. Of course, facebook is also on this list (not surprising considering the popularity of myspace and its similarities), but maybe since it is not quite as popular as myspace or possibly because little college children feel protected by their particular "network" that they feel fine posting pictures and descriptions of events like this. Of course, the fact that they had an event like that at all just shows how stupid they are in the first place.

It's been a long time without an update... sorry. I was planning on discussing just how damn painful it is partipate in ultimate-fitness-champ's/psycho-trainer's step class at the gym w/o doing anything for three weeks (as laying under a blanket watching scrubs reruns eating brownies does very little for your endurance), but i came across this today:



i seriously can not stop watching it... makes me laugh every damn time. possibly b/c i read this first. with such quotes as:

"Women love to try and get into the mind of the Rextasy. They love the mystery. They want to know: is this guy for real? Is he really just a fearless Love God who commands the Bears offense with maximum daring and bravado?"

and

"And I'm not lying, honey. Inside my head, you're gonna find yourself strapped to a seesaw and covered in Bananas Foster. Just a warning to you, girl. Don't come into Sexy Rexy's world unless you're willing to submit completely."

I have spent all afternoon reading various posts from http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/. research/writing be damned (really, with the being sick last week, then the sleet storm last weekend, and the coming supposed 6-8 in of snow this wkend, how was work going to be done anyway?). now not everything is quite as hilarious as the above... but even when the blog is ripping into my beloved new england patriots (and pats fans) I manage to find humor... an example from "awkward interview with corey dillon":

Drew: You were arrested 11 times before age 17. In that sense, won't your heart always be with the Bengals?
Dillon: No.

yet, more importantly, as much as the site rips into the pats (who wouldn't be jealous of dreamy tom brady and and 3 super bowl rings) it rips into peyton manning even more:

The only reason any of us can stand the presence of Peyton Manning in the NFL is because we love to watch him fail, the more gruesome the better ... The only thing that keeps me watching that clay-faced bitch is knowing that his career will ultimately make Dan Marino look like a born champion.

so, true. so, true.

one last thought on the pats from KSK:
"Hey, that Jabar Gaffney fellow sure is catching a lot of passes. I wonder how he got his name?"



(next entry will not be sports related, i promise).

This has been a very bad weekend, one of the worst i can remember. Its so bad I can't even pick out which part has been the worst: the vomiting for 12 straight hours, being hooked up to an IV for 3+, or the current insomnia/headache one-two punch. I really think this last one is just icing on the cake.

It seems I had a lovely case of suspected food-poisoning on Friday night--I'll spare you the details of what that plus 4 beers did to me but i didn't believe a human body could vomit quite that much before this weekend--and that includes the time i did approx 8ish shots of tequila in less than 2hrs. Needless to say, that led to a bit of dehydration (anytime i tried to drink water it didn't have the chance at staying in my system for more than 10-20 mins). As much as I hate needles (and i really, really do) by the time i was at the urgent care center an IV was sounding like a great idea, and it would have been a good one except for the fact it wasn't done quite right the first time. After less than 10 min, my hand started going numb and my bicep was in pain on my left arm. Nurse #1 had to bring in Nurse #2 who barely took any time to turn of the IV and take it out of my arm. While i was waiting on a decision on retrying the IV, #2 came in with another needle to take blood for the lab out of my right arm. After some convincing from the dr (which included the possibility of ending up in the hospital overnight if i didn't) I decided to try the IV again, this time I was promised that Nurse #2, who is much more skilled with needles, would be in charge--why is it places never seem to use the best person first to take blood or poke someone with needles? It's like having both the '99 Pedro and '06 Julian Tavarez on your roster and going with Tavarez as the starter and only after he does the inevitable and screws up by loading the bases and walking in a run that Pedro is brought in (and, yes, I have used part of my time tonight as an insomniac to read simmons' book "now i can die in peace").

So now, I lie awake not sure if it has anything to do with getting 12 hrs of sleep last night, the half gallon of dr. pepper i drank at the vista watching the pats lose to the dolphins today, or the lovely movie i watched tonight, requiem for a dream, which has done nothing but make me think about needles and how i could never ever do drugs. Have i mentioned just how not good with needles i am? Yeah, definitely not for the squeamish.

Hi my name is Kristin and its been over a month since i last made a post.
I guess this is me getting back on (or off--i never remember which way that goes) the wagon. I apparently do take requests.

Last class of the semester tonight and I'm yet to finish putting together their final exam. No lunch until that's done, which of course means that I'll be having lunch around 4 pm or so. This teaching a college course has really taken all of my time this semester and i still have no idea if i sucked. I think I got to be a better lecturer as the semester went on but maybe not--I guess I'll find out more when I get the reviews back some day. For the most part I believe they're just going to say that "this was too much material to cover, too much too memorize"--yeah whatever, its a freaking college course. I actually had a 11 yr old next to me on my flight between DFW and LGA who was answering harder questions than I typically ask on my tests. Seriously, you are in college you can (I hope) multiply 8 and 2 and subtract 16 from 22 or know the difference between a cumulus and cirrus cloud.

I've been so stressed by this class thing and being sick for the last week that I picked up crochet again (its been about 6 months since i made anything). I still can't do anything that isn't in the form of some sort of quadrilateral, but guess what that means: everyone gets scarfs for xmas and in about a month my right hand will probably fall off. Although somewhere along the way i would love to pick up the skills to make everybody one of these: