who's that spartan in my teepee?

it's me, it's me.
r-o-w-d-i-e that's the way we spell rowdie. hey, let's get rowdie.
and roll call :)

oh dear. i got dru-uuuu---uuuuunk and did a cheer in the bar (for the record, this was at the request of all the other drunk people with us--apparently our routine at the house wasn't enough). Everyone watched. Our costumes were a HUGE hit. yay. We think we might go as this again next year, but this time with more cheers AND a perfect cheer. We did a mock-one at the bar, and got applause from drunk people!

the weekend was really good. I've carved two pumpkins so far (and not to brag, but Susan and I won the pumpkin carving contest at the party). I was very proud of my steam coming out of the cauldron. It's there, I promise.I ate chili with a spider in it (made of bread, not blood and guts!)

We had an awesome time on Saturday going out to a bar called Richbrou and dancing. Dan (Otto's best friend) and I had our usual heart to heart. I had a good weekend, but I did learn an important lesson--don't cry outside when it's cold, because you'll have dry places on your face for days--even if you have oily skin. Don't ask why I know, just take my word for it. Hot tears and cold face = dry skin. Sigh.

Last night we had people over to carve pumpkins. I felt very soccermom-ish when I insisted that we tape down trashbags under the table, but it turned out to be very much worth the effort. Someone even covered the table with 'em! Made cleaning easy.

Tonight Gobi, Hazel and I passed out candy to the trick or treaters, and I painted. I actually worked on three different paintings--we'll see how they all turn out. I'm really enjoying painting a background, putting paint tape down in a design and painting again and removing the tape. I like how it looks. Oh, and I bought a pillow.

Also, does anyone have opinions on feng shui? My mom is real into it, and has made me think about it. I'm trying to decide whether or not to move the little money tree we got into the appropriate space. I must admit I like the idea of purposefully placing things such that you are reminded of goals you have. Hmm. Okay, it's most definitely bedtime. Hopefully the two kitties (who are now getting along swimmingly, by the way) will enjoy taking over my pillow while they sleep. Perhaps I should have asked them if they like medium, firm or extra firm support...

friday

So, we went to ikea today. And I bought this and this (just the cover in natural) and this (in green) and this and this and this for my new-found sketching hobby (thanks, sterling--ps, I did do the self portrait first) and this for the kitties and this and this, amongst other things :)

plus, we went to H&M, but I only found a hat and a sweater.

PS-Otto rules.

And now it's time for sushi and more beer.

And I love Cory. Cory R*chardson. Do note the similarity :) She's Otto's best friend's girlfriend, and she rocks!

Finally, help needed: I have to write a thermodynamics paper, and I have NOOOOOOO idea what to write. None. help.

I can't get no....respirator!

'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

Oh, no, no, no.

and also, sigh.
Today I'm supposed to finally get a respirator. finally.
even though I've been working with palladium chloride (and other metals too!) since the 9th of August. Yucko. I tried to link y'all to an msds, but I didn't, and you're welcome.

***update: I still can't get no. I'm fit-tested and approved, but I have to purchase the respirator online and wait for it to get here. it's gonna be three months before it happens, I'm sure. ***

Tomorrow I'm going to Ikea in Virginia. I'm particularly excited because Ikea is celebrating its 20th birthday this weekend, which means 15% off for me!!! Ikea + spartan cheerleaders + drinking + pumpkin carving + sleeping = good weekend. Plus, on Sunday some friends are coming over to carve pumpkins--so we get to carve twice!! (clearly, though, we won't carve the same ones twice...)

Also, know what sounds scary? A conductivity study. Which is really putting little tiny needles in your arm and running a current though them. Shudder. I'm doing that this afternoon.

tuesday, tuesday.

First of all--someone else totally had a link to this on their blog, and y'all need to check it out. Isn't that amazing? And that person has quite the obsession and or large amount of free time. I wish I could spend hours and hours on a hobby I enjoy. But alas, I'll stick to thermo.

So, my bad test from last week may be a teensy bit better. Long story short I got basically no credit on one of the problems because I started with the wrong value, and then did the problem at least partially right. And since each point is worth 5% of my test grade, I'm pleased at the notion of getting even one back because I did really, really, really badly. Really. I worked with the TA last night, and thermo is making a lot more sense to me. Plus, I have two thirds of my homework practically completed!

Today I learned WAAAAAY more than I ever wanted to about the Catholic process of annulments. WAAAAAY. But I think we're going to get one of those, too, so Justin can move on. If you don't have the whole catholic-marrying-a-protestant-without-a-priest-or-permission-not-to-have-one thing going for you, them puppies are long, difficult and trial-like, as I understand it. A lot of times when I think of Catholic policies I think of Dogma and how if Ben and Matt passed through that arch they would have caused God to be wrong, etc. I mean no offense to you Catholics out there, by the way.

Also, Fall called--it wants its season back. This is too cold for fall. You know it's cold when your cats try to burrow under the covers. I'm trying not to turn on the heater for as long as possible, but I might have to cave.

One last thing--I like these, Sterling. I think maybe you should give one every other day though. It's a lot to keep up with. That, and there's really only one person in my office that I can do any of this to. The rest wouldn't find it funny. :(

also, anybody know where I can get a cheerleading skirt?

felictatem to me!

alright, so, the incorrect Latin aside...

thanks for the birthday wishes :) It was a swell day. French toast, cleaning Mattie, cuddling with Hazel and Gobi, a nap, sushi and lots of phone calls and emails and the like. All in all, quite the way to begin being 25. Insurance discount, here I come! Well, except that they give it to you in stages, so really I might see a difference of .00001 cents. But each .00001 cent counts, right? Right?

Also, Otto gave me an easel. I tried painting on it, but easels don't like carpet. I'm going to have to get something to put on the floor so it's all one level. It worked fine on the linoleum. But anyway, it's a real true easel!!! Yay!

This is my birthday cake--aka, pumpkin bread that I made in a corningware dish. And due to the lack of candles, we used a tea light. The puppy chow and candy pumpkin garnishes are courtesy of Otto.

this is by far the most relaxing, enjoyable and pleasant birthday I've had in a many a year. also the most sober. hmmm...

thanks for being yay-fun friends, friends.

where did she go?

or is she here right now?

I've been cleaning out the study/guest room/library/craft area/etc. tonight. Well, by tonight, I mean for the last hour, and then earlier this week, and blah blah blah. But I came across something my mother had made me--a kind of collage of pictures from my life thus far (well, up to 22.5ish, anyway). It had pictures from sports and birthday parties (which some of you attended--ah, the no right on red sign and eddie's mug) and scouting and everything. Even me doing Baba Yaga's Geese all dressed up like a crazy gypsy. You Eliot-ers do remember the Storytelling Festival, right? But I digress.

In those pictures I see a version of me that was fearless and determined and motivated. She cared what people thought, because it hurt her when they were so mean, but at the same time she knew she'd make it through. And she has. And she's grown up into me. And I think maybe I'm growing back into her. Not a child, of course, but I've noticed recently that I'm markedly less afraid than I used to be. It's an odd sensation to have a rush of memories come flooding back, and to realize that rightthisminute is where all your hard work got you. Eerie even.

I'm glad she came back.
and thanks again, Renee, for telling me that she had.

Alright, enough about me. Well, not really, since this is my blog. But yeah.

Everyone give Sterling a hug. Or a pat on the back. Or a high-five or tell him a good joke or something. He's earned it.

girl scouts together

that is our song.

wowo.
Ellen Bolen and I had sushi and a peanut butter fudge torte together last night, and it was SPLENDID. We had oodles of fun. And it's crazy, because if someone told us, like, 17 years ago that when we were 24 we'd still be hanging out we would have looked at them like they were insane, or like they could tell the future, or like they were Michael J Fox coming back from it.

Sometimes reminiscing is unpleasant and painful. But other times, like this one, it's just damn fun. It's also weird to find out what you lose track of by not keeping in touch. Ellen didn't know that my father had never gotten re-married, and she also didn't know that he was deceased. Plus, the story is just rotten. Awkward. Anyhoo.

So, one of the things that Ellen and I talked about was the Girl Scout songs, and how we still knew them all. It's unreal, really. Really, really unreal. My brain can't remember thermo, but lyrics that make no sense are retained. Ha!

Talking about Scouting with Ellen made me really, really glad I stuck with it. Really. I hope that when I have kids some day they'll be scouts. Hell, even my Granddad was a Girl Scout. But it's a swell thing to be. Even more swell if you get to talk to someone who understands it too.

and now it's neat that Ellen, who used to be silver when we learned this song has now become gold. :)

make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold.

how not to take a test

respectfully submitted by Carrie R*chardson

If you're taking a grad thermo test, I recommend you do as little of the following as possible. As a matter of fact, I recommend you not take grad thermo at all! A few of the "correct" portions of this test-taking exercise have been left in for your amusement.

-Eat sushi for dinner--a treat since you're taking a test.
-Arrive at test 4 minutes early due to miserable traffic.
-begin test. Resist urge to wail after scanning through the problems.
-Start on problem one. Recalling that all the problems are based on homework, look through homework for a hint how to do it. Find a problem that looks similar, only to discover that it's rather loosely affiliated, and calling this "based on homework" is like saying the Sears Tower and a port-a-potty are the same because they both have walls. Do not cry.
-Trudge through problem one for 45 minutes, stopping to sigh. Decide to give up for now and come back later since you only have 1 hour and 45 minutes left for the other three problems.

-Go to problem two, and think, hey, this looks pretty familiar. Look for homework solution.
-Look for homework solution.
-Look for homework solution.
-Look for homework solution and remember it's where you left it, sitting on your apt floor.
-Resist urge to cry.
-Inquire if you can print something, and go to the one computer lab in the building to find there's a class in there. Return to test.
-Muddle through problem making LOTS of ridiculous guesses.

-Go to problem three. Ha! that's a good one. It's now an hour and a half into the test. Keep chugging.
-Notice funny things going on with your right eye.
-Realize that the DeltaHreaction you were supposed to find is equal to zero. Try again three times, and still get zero. Put down correct units and hope for partial credit.
-Go to computer lab again in hopes of printing something, anything. Find there's still a class there. Venture in and get ignored by the prof. Completely. Leave after five minutes.
-Notice that eye thing is getting weirder--the little zig-zag shiny lines and a small blind spot.
-Sit in denial and work on the problem some more. It's one hours and forty-five minutes in.
-Realize that denial doesn't make migraines go away. Take migraine medicine that you've never tried before and hope it helps.
-Finish third problem through guessing.
-Write something on the "bonus question" hoping for partial credit. Copy the definition of surface tension right out of the book.

-Realize you have 20 minutes yet. Write furiously for problem four. Have your calculator tell you "overload" when you try to take something to the 100th power. Resist urge to cry.
-Try part two of problem four. Same as part one, pretty much. Know you could possibly have the right equations, so leave it there.
-Notice that your medicine has not yet kicked in, and your right eye is semi-useless, at least the outer half of your vision. Close your right eye and read with your left.

-Try to "review" the wrongness of your answers--owie!--that's the migraine beginning.
-9:00 PM the TA says to the two of us taking the test on campus "you two wrapping things up?" Karen laughs. I laugh. We laugh until we cry. This is a horrible horrible test. Get re-assured by TA saying "I failed this test when I took it too, it's okay." Ask if they'll have this graded by Friday, the drop date. No, really. Be told that since I'm doing average or a teensy bit better in the class, I should get a B. Well, as long as I do okay on this test...
-Realize I should have been working in angstroms squared instead of meters squared--duh! Do unit conversion. Very hard when my right eye is still not working all the way,though it is getting better.
-Check units. You've got to at least have the right units....
-9:15 PM turn in test.
-on the way to the parking lot notice my headache is now a dull one. whew! the med worked okay. Karen and I realize that we need a beer--no icecream. No beer. So we go get icecream and then beer.

sigh.
to sum up--
I left homework solutions, the basis of the test, at home.
I got a migraine.
I laughed so hard I cried during a test.

Also, I think my trigger is stress. And maybe something in sushi :(

on a brighter note, here's what Hazel did to help me study on Monday night. Check out her tongue. Kitten after my own heart...

the lady hazel, more precisely

she has chosen to inform us of her regal nature, and is henceforth The Lady Hazel.

Additionally, I am amazed with what people and creatures get away with by virtue of being cute. I meam, I let her claw things, including me, because she's adorable while doing it. She's still getting some of her climbing balance. She jumps up but then has to dig her claws in to stay. And she and Gobi and double-teaming me when I study. She also purrs like a motorboat or an outboard motor. I say purr purr purr purr purr. Otto says putt putt putt putt putt. Same dif.

Also, I hate cat snobs. The ones who think that because you might--gasp--spend two hours away from the cat, or not feed them gourmet cat food (gobi's been doing fine with friskies, thankyouverymuch) or give them an over the counter flea treatment (which may or may not have pesticides) you are a horrible kitty mommie. These people are really nice, but they're waaaay over the top. As Otto pointed out, anyone who spends their entire weekend rescuing animals is going to be a bit over-zealous about them.

Hazel is wrapping her little paws around and leaning her head against my arm as I type. :)

Okay, time to get ready for work. I'm getting there early since I have a test this evening. Thermodynamics in the DEVIL, I tell you. the devil. and my homework solutions are awful and not detailed. Bummer and a half.

hazel

so, that's her name now. hazel.

she is not a gray tabby.
she is not what I wanted at all.
she doesn't want to be held.
she loves to roll over and play and stands on her hind legs a lot.
she was very curious about the camera. VERY.
but she is terribly adorable, and I am keeping her. the end. :)

I had a really hard time naming her. Hazel won. Other contenders were Violet, Lavendar, Petunia, Maggie, Khaki, Chloe, Skye, and I'm not sure what else. My brilliant plan was to name her Ash. Like Ash gray, since her name was Ashley. But, alas, she isn't gray like I wanted her to be. But she's fantastic and adorable and I'm going to keep her! Technically I'm on a trial basis, but if she continues to behave at all like she has been then we're golden! Gobi is a little jealous and/or dubious, but I know he'll snap out of it. They stopped hissing long ago (she's only been here for four hours) and they play a little now. It's nice.

beer biscuits

a recipe for you not-so-savvy cooks out there--or for those of you who like beer.

4 cups bisquick
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 can/bottle beer

Mix, put in greased muffin tin, cook at 350 for 20-30ish minutes until you can stick a toothpick in the muffin top and the toothpick comes out clean. It makes 12ish muffins.


They're yummy!
I made the first batch with Yuengling. This weekend Otto and I are going to try it with Guiness. I'll let you know how that goes.

Also, if you wanna change the color of your font....
on the "compose" mode you'll see font, size, bold, italic and then a T with a colorful square next to it. Select the text, click on the T, select the color and ta-da!

what I should do?

You Should Get a PhD in Science (like chemistry, math, or engineering)

You're both smart and innovative when it comes to ideas. Maybe you'll find a cure for cancer - or develop the latest underground drug.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

I didn't try to make this come out this way either, I SWEAR. I put that Art was the best subject in school, for crying out loud. hmm. Convenient, though, since just today I came up with a new grad school plan...

yet another owie.

this one's even more absurd that the washing machine. well, okay, maybe not, but pretty damn close. that little guy over there sliced up my arm pretty good. I bled. I was sitting at my computer at my desk, and while I moving my mouse the metal end there took a swipe at me.

also, I woke up at 4am to discover that my left arm was horribly, absolutely numb. totally numb. Like, oh my goodness is my arm dead numb. Pretty scary, methinks. I'm calling my doc today to say, lookie here, mister, I know you're checking this out on the 27th, and then you'll re-evaluate me on the 2osomething of November, but I need to do something now.

yeesh.

a new cat?

so, all you gobi fans out there, do you think she would be a good gobi friend? I get to meet her on Saturday! If I like her she's coming home with me... :)

the color quiz--link fixed!

this was rather accurate, really. like, so accurate I'm not gonna tell ya what it said.

Repeat

that's the answer to the following joke my dad loved to tell--i'm sure you've heard it:
Pete and Repeat were sitting on a bridge. Pete jumped off. Who was left?

anyhoo.

oooooh stupid blogger. it deleted my last post.

a summary:
darn you sterling. why'd you have to show me this place? now I want and may actually buy like $150 worth of stuff. yeesh. thanks a lot. and then also, a non-sarcastic thanks since this is cheaper than usual....

also, I slept away 54.2% of my weekend. yes, I calculated. I think I'm getting sick. Or sick-er. In the ill sense, if you were gonna make some joke about it.

weather is no fun. especially when it prevents you from going to busch gardens. no roller coasters since I was an undergrad. that's far too long.

right, that's it in a nutshell.

sesquicentennial

yup, that's it.
this is my post, dedicated to the word sesquicentennial.

for all you edison-ites out there, remember when Sterling was on the high school morning news? What was the program called again? Yeah, I don't know either. Anyway, you know, the show where like 98% of the people on it wore abercrombie, and only abercrombie? Right. Okay, so anyway, do you remember celebrating the sesquicentennial birthday of Mr. Thomas Alva Edison? And Sterling with a piece of paper (cardboard?) that said sesquicentennial? And how he kept floating sesquicentennial across the camera and in front of people's faces and all? Right. Every time I hear sesquicentennial I think of that. Of course, how often do I hear sesquicentennial? Not that often. sesquicentennial isn't that common of a word. But that day we said sesquicentennial a whole lot. It was everywhere--sesquicentennial porridge hot, sesquicentennial porridge cold, sesquicentennial porridge in the pot nine days old (plus another 54741 days, give or take a few, to make it sesquicentennial, unless, or course, you were basing it on days, and then it's only 141.)

So, it's the 150th anniversary of posting, or something, right?

I have a confession to make. Due to my need to remain sane and my desire to not make everyone else lose it, I have decided that we didn't need to celebrate the sesquicentennial typing of the word sesquicentennial in this post. I really wanted to, but I had to refrain. Sooo, hows abouts we go for sesquicentennial/ten times, eh? (including the title) Better for everyone, methinks.

the bane of being an online grad student

is not knowing that your fall break is coming up. Am I excited? Well, now I am. But was I much anticipating the all-too-brief respite? Um, not so much. Instead I was thinking "wow, I'm three lectures behind, and my sleep pattern is still all out of whack from last week's homework escapade." And yes, grammarians and literarians (is that not a word?) alike, I'm quite certain an escapade of the homework genre can exist. So pbbbbth. anyway. bedtime. if only gobi would stop chasing around the imaginary ghosts that he apparently sees in the apartment. silly cat. reason number four million and twelve that I should get another cat--so that gobi can chase the cat instead of the imaginary ghosts. PS-if the ghosts are real I do wish they'd start, I dunno, turning on and off lights or something (but no changing the channels, at least not during desperate housewives). that way we'd know that gobi wasn't going nuts.

Also thank goodness that some brilliant, brilliant person thought of this. Because only I can cut myself on the inside of a washing machine while reaching in to get out some wet clothes. Me and the little holes on the wall of the washer had a run it, and that there hole scampered off with a chunk of my thumb knuckle. It made wearing the nitrile gloves at work rather unpleasant today, but I know that the bandaid made it much more bearable. Thanks, bandaid. Wouldn't that be a good commerical? Complete with me saying "Good gracious, Carrie, why the hell do you only get the weird owies? Why, why? Oh, and ow."

dreamy?

not so much.

Is there such a thing as a normal dream? If so, I don't seem to have them. Mine are always strange and disjointed and I just don't get it. They seem to be extremely detailed too. Part of it involved me becoming a dentist and inheriting my dentist's practice, a flood, a pregnancy, Anna drivin the car and doing a u-turn, a grave that was sinking in the mud over time and a few other odds and ends. Weird, weird, weird.

Anyway.

I'm kind of bummed because I thought there was very little office politics at my office. I think I was wrong. All signs were go about me having just as much freedom as everyone else, but apparently such is not the case. I have to "establish" first. It's particularly frustrating since I just did what they told me I could do. Sigh. I will be laying low for the next few weeks, and hopefully all this will blow over.

On a happier note, it's nice to have Otto back in town :)