cubic zirconium in the rough

i am a savage beast that cannot be stopped.

I ripped out part of a cow's ear today and I aided in cutting out the horns on a little cow (but a little boy cow... bull? too many cow words). but I only watched as they steer-ized a bull, if you know what I mean (and if you don't, don't ask).

I don't know if I earned my farmer demerits back, but I finally faced the boy goat and won. He's such a mean boy goat. When I have a goat farm there will be NO BOY GOATS. we'll bring in a super sexy boy goat two weeks out of the year to um... get the job done... and then the females and cute kid ones can roam free of oppression.

my farm will not have cows, or crops that you need a tractor for (but it can have a sit-down lawn mower). We will have bell peppers, we will not have bees. There may be chickens but... on some sort of probationary deal, because they are annoying. no pigs. and tomatoes and pumpkins are OK, too. and almonds! I don't know how they're grown, but I can figure it out. so... vegetable and goat farm anyone? you can visit any time.

mother revolution

omg the people i work with are so smart. though i technically know the big words (like 'passivating oxide' or something like that) I still can't use them in conversation, or make them in a coherent sentence. but some day, friends, some day.

and... i'm becoming more and more attracted to the materials science minor. I read through econ course descriptions and i was like, "hmm... ok... could take that" and I read through materials science and i was like, "oooh yes... hmmm good choice for elective... yes please!" and, if you think your opinion matters on this issue, let me know. I love changing majors/minors and anything else i can. it's the spice of life, you know.

the greater good

my mom (and greg's) flight has been delayed due to weather, so she had me do some flight status checking on her flights and those of other kids meeting them (all for this jazz band trip to europe). I had a lot of info and only 160 characters. 'eta' and 'etd' are ok with me, but when I had to put in an 'idk' in there... I just felt rotten. should have called really.


helpful knowledge: 1. morals: 0

shuffling children

I'm an econ minor right now- I have 4 more econ classes to take, and I have one free class (woot!) until graduation (2 years)

but what if i do materials science minor? For one thing, I'll have 2 (possibly 3!! whoaaa) free classes. and i like econ but... man this summer I'm just feeling so sciency/nerdy! but I have to decide soon, before I take another class with the econ kids (ahhh frat boys and 'cool' asians... and asian frat boys)


today my advisor and I talked about funding- mainly, how much it sucks to have to apply for funding (he did most of the talking, my funding comes from bank o' dad and mom, f.d.i.c.)- trey does it seriously suck that much? I had read a few of his proposals and told him they were worded very... roughly... and the grammar could be changed. a lot. not to be mean but... seriously, did anyone proofread them? When I am doling out my funding moneys, I want to be gently and gramatically (with dashes of data) coaxed into funding, not have to wade through awkward sentences and technical terms to the final proposal. just a thought. have opinions, will proofread.

a tisket a tasket

this is where it comes from:

dad: it's getting late you should go to bed... oh wait, tomorrow's sunday
me: no, I have a friend and we're going to church tomorrow
dad: what church is it?
me: i forget... not presbyterian but, like, close
dad: ... presbyNEARian!
both: AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!


and that's where it comes from.

won't get fooled again

this is why I shouldn't be allowed on YouTube. or allowed to watch csi: miami....

p.s. only funny if you watch the show

p.p.s. i want a prairie dog!

p.p.p.s. and now off to the farmer's market! yay!

don't confess

YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST- MASHED POTATOES AND CORN. my awesome cousin kevin taught me that tonight. i thought it was one of those midwestern things that is cool only here, and gross everywhere else (see also: cutoffs, the shirt kind not short shorts). but it is DELICIOUS. and i'm not talking, eat them close to each other in sequence. i mean eat them TOGETHER. a melange of heavenly delight.

at last

well... I thought about that last post. and then I found THIS:




bring on the floral arrangements!

the boomin music scene

a friend of mine at sc posted pictures of her brother's wedding on facebook, and she was outrageously good-looking as a bridesmaid, but as I looked through them all I could think was, I never want to get married.

is that wierd? I was also in a bad mood because I've somehow broken the underwire on my favorite bra. which i just washed!! *shakes fist at no one in particular*


post-script: I would be ok with being married. but getting married... agh. too much pressure. I want to spend my life with someone, I don't need caterers to confirm it.

fell down the stairs

I got up early this morning, put on an n.r.a. sweatshirt, and went outside. Maddie and I walked down to the mailbox, I went out to the cow field and was near that tree (for those of you who know... there's only one tree... and it's sad looking) when the goats saw me and started running toward me. The male in the front, the kids scattered, and the mom with her enormous teets (it's out of control) lopsidedly running in the back. So of course I bolted toward the stile- in those farmer clog shoes, so I probably ran like a freak (or like my youngest brother Thomas- bahahahahaha, his knees are *everywhere*). But I narrowly escaped them as I climbed up the stile.

I went over to the barn, where they followed me of course expecting food. Instead, I saw BOTH kitties (!!!!). I told the head male goat that no, i was not going to feed them, I fed them last night. But I took pity on the little cute goats who always get pushed out of the way. One little white one squirmed his way to the front, and as he put his little hooves up on the fence (and I was about 3 seconds away from giving in and getting them feed), the douchebag male goat butted him away to the back.

patriarchal societies: w.t.f.?!

the trees of the field

i tried to pick/gather eggs underneath the guineas, so I gently nudged at one with my foot. then it started pecking at me and i ran away. 50 farmer demerits... and i think charles may be dead.... 10,000,000 farmer demerits

stuck in the middle

dear hallmark,

#1: the fact that you have a channel is scary, and the fact that my grandma tivo's 'matlock' and 'murder she wrote' from it is even worse. but you can't separate a woman and her andy griffith, so I'll let that go. for the time being. but...

#2: WTF WITH THE CARDS. PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE TO BE BROUGHT TOGETHER BY SORROW OR BY ANNIVERSARY/BIRTHDAY-INDUCED GUILT!! I just want some "i miss you but i'm not super sad" or a "i'm thinking of you and emotionally *stable*" cards to send thomas while he's at camp!!! omg!! they have every kind of 'loss of a pet', 'loss of a job as a plumber' and 'birthday- to little brother's slutty girlfriend who you don't want to send a car to but should anyhow to cover your animosity' card, but nothing I want! I am very close to drawing a dinosaur on a piece of paper, writing "sistersaurus says it's time to rock and roll!" and sending it to north carolina. for reals, card people. get with it. cards aren't just for depressed or guilty people.

the good that won't come out

h'okay so.

charles and jeff continue to live, and I continue to bring them milk and only call them "kitteeeee". today, charles got in the goat side (probably running away from me) and I thought he was going to get trampled- it was horrible! So I opened the gate thingy and went in with the goats (i know, i know, i now fear NOTHING) but that just made him retreat to the hole in the side of the barn, and made one of the smaller goats wriggle though out of their pen, to where the kitties cage and food is (hence where he can get OUT out... bad). So i ordered him back in, and pushed the cat cage, which they never use, against the fence next to the goat part, so hopefully he can't get out again.

I hope that made sense. maddoxes- you know what i'm talking about?

but I do have a question: how can I tell which are guinea eggs? I usually look for 3 characteristics
a. that darker color
b. they're smaller
c. they're pointy-er

but... what about medium sized grey pointy ones? I don't think I'm picking ('gathering', thank you lise) guinea eggs, but I'm afraid I'm leaving regular eggs in the tree house ('gypsy wagon', thank you bridget). any help? I even searched wikipedia, which couldn't help me (gasp!).

wild like children

well, jeff and charles are SAFE. and if not safe, at least ALIVE and out of the hole! yay! I'll bring them more milk later, let them know that I'm nice and safe and not going to hurt them (though they're still afraid of me.. oh well can't win 'em all.)

you really ought to check out my pictures here. that has the info, and all the sweet pics. and don't worry, you don't have to be on facebook to see them (but if the link gives you trouble let me know and i'll fix it)

dog eat dog

I am a horrible farmer. Let me count the ways:

I picked the eggs (i don't even know the right verbs...) but couldn't get one of the fat (read: SCARY) guineas to move, so I didn't get any of the eggs under her (and I could even see them!) then, when I was scrubbing them off so they can dry and I'll put them in a carton, I dropped on and it cracked in the sink, and washed down the drain. at least there's a disposal... le sigh

I went out to the cats- jeff and charles are HORRIBLE cat names, I didn't even use them. how can cute little kitties be boy phD students? They're actually just 'skinny' and 'scaredy'. I walked toward one and it (jeff, skinny) fell down a hole thing in the corner/wall of the barn. I could barely see it and couldn't reach it. But a bit later, as I tossed some cat food in a little line out the hole, I saw both of them. I hope they can get out!

I have killed one unborn chicken, and possibly two adorable kittens. And above that I have no idea where the goats are! But maybe they're out... grazing...? they graze, correct?

I had better KICK ASS at the lab tomorrow (don't know exactly how yet) or else I think I'll be a failure at Indiana and the responsibilities therein.

scout = jean-louise

I AM A WOMAN OF THE LAND! Actually I'm just housesitting fo my aunt and uncle, who live on a farm (!!). So I am house-dog-goats-chicken-plants-cute kitties sitting.

I'll have pictures when I: take them, upload them to the compy, upload them to blogger. I think all the people who read this blog are in my fam and know what it looks like, but I'm doing it anyhow. You never know when you're going to get homesick.

So anyhow, about those cute kitties. They started out as 9, now there are only 2 left. And I saw one of the dead ones. BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE! (the alive ones) how can I resist? I fed them, I brought them some milk. One of them (white, grey, black, caramel colored) let me pet it, it's tiny small. The other is orange and afraid of me. I think I will name them Jeff and Charles, after my grad students. The skinny one will be Jeff (haha this is funny only to me because I know them). charles is my actual grad student, but jeff works in the same lab and i know his undergrad student, too. and he explained sciency stuff to me today- so I will count them both as my grad students. and now as my cute kittens.

Is that sort of creepy? Do I care? There's a quotation attributed some times to Marilyn Monroe- ever notice how 'what the hell' is always the right decision? I sincerely doubt she had the presence of mind to say something so witty, but i agree with it completely. And these cats may die, but they'll have very nice names for now! I'll upload pictures, I promise.

I somewhat fear the goats (HORNS!) and the guineas, which are like these nasty ugly chicken things. but some scientists think chicken are related to DINOSAURS. I just don't want that to be true. the only thing majestic about chickens or roosters are the false stereotypes some people hold about them.

the essential adam ant

have i mentioned my faculty person (mentor? not sure what the right word is) is a pirate?



And there's some footage of person in labcoat mixing stuff. that might be my grad student, or this other one jeff. not sure.

p.s. i think this cnn guy is sort of a dick. just get to the story, you know?

how does it feel

this may be obvious to anyone, but i just realized it. As I was biking home from gma's, I passed a nerd couple near the student union. They were cute, and I'm not entirely sure what made me think of this- it might be her big glasses that made her nose look the same as my mom's when her glasses fall too far down (or maybe this girl's glasses also fell down). but i thought, my parents met here.

I've never gotten the whole story, but I've pieced it together from what my mom and dad tell me when I prod them. how they met and she declined a ride home from him; how she liked him for like 2 years while they dated other people (wtf, true love?!); how they separately moved out to delaware (it was delaware, right?). here, where I'm walking and biking. they probably went out to lunch in the union, or on the 'levee', or on chauncey hill.

it's so wierd and beautiful at the same time. i don't know what to make of it, or what I think of it. if i don't have to think anything, then I'll just leave it. my parents met here: hail purdue.

call the police

flights in and out of chicago canceled... after a night at an indy hotel and 3 on and off hours of sleep, i managed to get into boston and take the T to laura's graduation. read a book the whole time. hung out with the fam (mostly her dad's side, which is not blood-related to me, but they're pretty cool). and i'd just like to share this with you. susan = my mom's older sister.

susan: what was that presentation you did for 4-H?
mom: I did a *lot* of presentations
susan: no no, I mean the one you did so well...
mom: 'hot dogs around the world?'


I mean... what else do i need to add? I come from a family of hot dogs on one side and a history of kidney stones on the other. I am hemmed in by DISASTER.

girl sighting!

red shirt and khakis
through the door new hope bursts forth
small asian female

i love lamp

i love lab! for reals, i do. but i have some observations.

first, I am the only girl. and I may be the only girl for MILES - truly - as our lab is a ways off campus, and i haven't seen any other girls yet. YET. I'm holding out for some. But this also means I'm more... shall we say... conversational that my labmates. About 8 or so people work in our room in the lab, I talk to three of them. There are these other people that I don't even know, which I think is awkward. The room isn't even that big, maybe the same size as a triple dorm room. I'll introduce myself tomorrow, see how it goes.

secondly, no one seems to like my ideas. While waiting for an alloy to heat up (and then we have to keep it at 200 C for half an hour anyhow... lots of waiting...) I said we should start a book club. sort of joking, but mostly serious. and they laughed. I later said we should have a bake sale to get a new centrifuge. We would have to sell brownies/cookies on the thousands scale, true - but they didn't even bother to laugh at that. My ideas are valid! And bake sales are glorious! No one understands me! whine whine emo teenage girl whine!

oh well. it's very exciting. fox news came by today to film us. And by 'us' i mean interview the prof overseeing this, and film the grad students in lab coats (which we never wear by the way... but we do wear gloves) making some things react. They also got a shot of me transcribing stuff into my lab notebook (my glorious lab notebook! i love it and want to sleep with it under my pillow... that's creepy but who cares). but as I'm not wearing a lab coat.... or gloves... I probably won't be in the broadcast. so watch fox news thursday or monday night. And let me know if i'm in it, I won't be able to watch.

klondike

oh i forgot, true story from yesterday.

so charles and i went out to lunch, and I had to go to the bathroom. They were onesies, and I knocked on the ladies door, but heard nothing, and it was locked. So I waited there for a while, but she (that elusive 'she'...) never came out. So I did what any self-respecting and has-to-go-now girl does, and went into the gentlemen's bathroom. This doesn't bother me at all, I mean they're onesies so who will walk in on me and, horrors, have to share a bathroom with the opposite sex.

but when I came out there was this little girl (probably 9) and her mom and dad were staring at me. I smiled, and went back to my sandwich by the window. later when they left, they kept stealing glances at me from outside as they walked away. I hope they just think i'm a freak, and not a dude in disguise (THOUGH IN REALITY I AM NEITHER!)

stunner of a summer

I had my first day of work today. it was intense- I pretty much dropped right in, and remained confused for most of the day. My faculty mentor = awesome, but I spent most of the day with my grad student mentor, charles (but in non-meeting settings i can call him 'chuck'... see we're already super tight). and i know he's married, but i love him. the same way i love my dentist and the nice people at the bike shop. he explained briefly what people were talking about, he took me out to lunch, he walked to like 18 different buildings with me (or rather the same 3 buildings like 6 times... in the rain... bad day to wear white shirt, lindy), we spent a while looking at a small scale map of campus and surrounding areas. and he stayed with me while we sorted out all my i.d. and username and being-able-to-access-stuff sorted out. (my ID, by the way, says "VISITING SCHOLAR/RESEARCHER" how awesome is that!)

so while we didn't do sciency/technical stuff, it was still fruitful. and while it remains overcast, I'm not wearing anymore white shirts (i did have an undershirt, though, it's all good). yay research!

linux unleashed

friends, here is the not so good part: there is no professional baseball team in Indiana. There's semi-professional (minor league? I know it has a name) in Indianapolis. But I'm not driving an hour for semi-professional. do they only wear semi-baseball pants? I'm skeptical to say the least.

But what I would do is drive ~2 hours to get to Chicago to watch a cubs game. And eat deep dish pizza. and maybe do a little shopping. ride that ferris wheel at the navy pier (last time I did that I almost froze- I must redeem myself!) and then go see another baseball game. THAT I would do.

order of the day/soon: make some friends who are willing to go to chicago with me and do the above activities. i may enlist my cousins for that. we'll see.

seed funding

and now i will tell you about the wonderful things that happened today.

i took out the bike my mom got me- her old schwin suburban. The tires were flat, the gears changed spontaneously (and I'm still a little unclear on how to shift them...), and the speedometer/odometer was broken. It went... but slowly and with much effort. so- to the bike shop!

There are two bike shops near me, and one of them was completely useless on the phone. So I went to the other one where the people are VERY nice and helpful. and i love them (probably on the same level I love my dentist... and no that's not a joke I am actually fond of my dentist b/c he's awesome). The guy was really smart and looked at it, saw the gear problem and explained it all to me, looked at the tires, looked at the speed/odometer. And here's how it went own: $50 for labor/tune-up, $20 for tires, $20 for basket. This is about the same price if I got a new (well, probably used, but new to me) bike and put a $20 basket on it. Considering everyone and their grandmother was impressed by my old school bike, and captain planet taught me to reuse, I'm fixing up this old one.

but there was nothing to be done about the speed/odometer. This made me sad. one of the helpy clerk guys told me, "you can check at yard sales, they usually have one you can take off a statonary bike". I said, "OK" but I mean... there aren't yard sales Atherton (or if there are we call them 'estate sales' but I think that's only when someone dies... I really don't know, don't take any of this as fact)- I am unaccustomed to the yard saling industry, which is technically part of the black market since it's not reported. this made me want to go to yard sales more!

I left the bike- i'm thinking of naming him 'Chauncey'- with the nice men at the shop and drove to the grocery store. And what did I see on the way but a YARD SALE and when I drove up what did they have but a CRAPPY STATIONARY BIKE!! Truly, incredible. So I made sure it worked, asked for a philips screw driver, took it off, paid the nice lady $5 and returned triumphant to the bike shop. they were all very impressed. I left it with my in-repair bike and floated/skipped back to the car to go to the grocery store for reals.

I also found out today that my faculty mentor for my research has an EYE PATCH. that is AWESOME and AMAZING. and I want to call him cap'n. I will have to resist.


And tomorrow- I am going strawberry picking! They may not use reusable grocery bags, but Indiana is still cool so far.