(Whoo-hoo! 1/4th of the way through these prompts after only two years!)
Um, so. My greatest fear. You know, sometimes I think about this because I've read 1984 a lot. What would my room 101 be? I mean, Winston's rat thing is pretty gnarly (as seen in GoT last season) and all, but I don't wander around constantly fearing rats. Which is a good thing, because I've actually noticed a high influx of them recently in the city. I wonder if the Bro-yotes (they wander about Wrigleyville) have moved to a new area? But yes, what would the thought police use to torture me, to break my spirit and get me to denounce all those I care for? There are always needles, which I hate, but that's half the pre-101 torture ritual, so I'd have to confront those long before I was relegated to my existential doom. So what's left?
Sometimes I think the answer is "love" or "commitment." Have fun with that, Big Brother. I think I have a horrendous fear, not of loving other people so much, but of letting them love me. Which I understand is insane and illogical, as I have a metric fuck-tonne of friends who I objectively know love me (no homo?) But also I'm afraid of being loved; it's great and awesome responsibility, to have people who are willing to open up to you. I joke about dying alone since relationships are (obviously) not my thing, but really I won't; nor do I ever really have to worry about being lonely. I'm grateful for that.
I feel like I'm losing track here. I don't care about this topic that much. I dwell on this stuff enough as it is. -shrug-
Okay that's all today. I'm sad it's not being sunny long enough for me to go to the beach. Goodbye.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Bonus Drunk Post!
Hey guys! And by 'guys' I mean 'no one' because that's who reads this!
I'm drunk right now, because my friend and I went to BYOB dinner and then BYOB comedy show and basically I had a bottle of wine and a beer. And since I've lost 15 to 20 pounds since April (yay, minor victories!), that's... that's plenty to get me drunk. I'm making chik'n nuggets right now (yay, minor victories!) and so whilst I drunkenly consume soy-based pseudo-meats, I want to share a series of truths about myself.
1) I've been using the same password for certain things since I was 10. I tell people I don't even remember what it means, which is why it's perfect. But the truth is, I remember exactly what it means- it's a weird and not entirely intuitive reference to the person I had a crush on at age ten. But the numbers are truly random. Which is why it makes sort of a great password. Still.
2) I love walking home alone at night. I don't even care how dangerous it probably is since I live in the 'hood, at least as far as the north side is concerned.
3) Apparently I'm super into guys with beards. When did this happen? When did I become an old woman?
4) Number of times I've burnt my left arm today: twice. Once earlier when I was taking stuff out of the autoclave; the second was literally two minutes ago, between points 3 and 4, when I burnt myself on the toaster oven making my chik'n nuggets.
5) I miss writing. A lot. You'd think that'd be enough motivation to work on the poster presentation I have to give in nine days, but it's not.
6) I'm also really attracted to funny people.
7) I don't think I'm attractive, so my comprehensive list of people I find attractive (Hi, Cracked's Daniel O'Brien!) is sort of useless because I'd never have the confidence to go through with it.
8) Wine makes me brutally honest, which could be a bad thing when my boss hosts a gathering next weekend, which will involve free food and wine.
9) But really it won't be a bad thing because I sort of adore my boss and all the people I work with, except for the new post-doc, who I'm not entirely convinced on yet. Not as a scientist, anyway. As a person, she's fine.
10) It is sort of depressing I don't have a significant other to bring with me to said soiree, even though despite the fact I'm pretty weird and messed up, I don't think I'm that much more weird and messed up than a lot of people I know in functional relationships.
11) I like the number eleven.
I'm drunk right now, because my friend and I went to BYOB dinner and then BYOB comedy show and basically I had a bottle of wine and a beer. And since I've lost 15 to 20 pounds since April (yay, minor victories!), that's... that's plenty to get me drunk. I'm making chik'n nuggets right now (yay, minor victories!) and so whilst I drunkenly consume soy-based pseudo-meats, I want to share a series of truths about myself.
1) I've been using the same password for certain things since I was 10. I tell people I don't even remember what it means, which is why it's perfect. But the truth is, I remember exactly what it means- it's a weird and not entirely intuitive reference to the person I had a crush on at age ten. But the numbers are truly random. Which is why it makes sort of a great password. Still.
2) I love walking home alone at night. I don't even care how dangerous it probably is since I live in the 'hood, at least as far as the north side is concerned.
3) Apparently I'm super into guys with beards. When did this happen? When did I become an old woman?
4) Number of times I've burnt my left arm today: twice. Once earlier when I was taking stuff out of the autoclave; the second was literally two minutes ago, between points 3 and 4, when I burnt myself on the toaster oven making my chik'n nuggets.
5) I miss writing. A lot. You'd think that'd be enough motivation to work on the poster presentation I have to give in nine days, but it's not.
6) I'm also really attracted to funny people.
7) I don't think I'm attractive, so my comprehensive list of people I find attractive (Hi, Cracked's Daniel O'Brien!) is sort of useless because I'd never have the confidence to go through with it.
8) Wine makes me brutally honest, which could be a bad thing when my boss hosts a gathering next weekend, which will involve free food and wine.
9) But really it won't be a bad thing because I sort of adore my boss and all the people I work with, except for the new post-doc, who I'm not entirely convinced on yet. Not as a scientist, anyway. As a person, she's fine.
10) It is sort of depressing I don't have a significant other to bring with me to said soiree, even though despite the fact I'm pretty weird and messed up, I don't think I'm that much more weird and messed up than a lot of people I know in functional relationships.
11) I like the number eleven.
Monday, March 18, 2013
19. If Only I'd Knew
Write about something you now know that you wish you knew earlier in life. How could this knowledge have helped you?
Eh, this. I swear this comes up all the time on Reddit. There's an AskReddit every few weeks where people prompt, "I'm X years old, older redditors, what would you tell yourself at that age if you could?"
The thing about getting perspective is, you have to earn it. It's easy for adults to tell you things about what lies ahead, but you only get that perspective by living it out yourself. Sure, I could TELL my 15-year-old self not to worry about what people think so much or whatever, but when you're that age, you're so caught up in it, and you don't have the later perspective to understand how trivial things are. And I'm sure the problems I have now (even though, honestly, I can't complain about much) will seem banal in another ten years. Sure, it's great to get advice from an older perspective, and eventually you realise that maybe your parents weren't completely full of crap, but the only way to grow and learn as a person is to make mistakes and suffer through them. It's definitely not pleasant, but trial and error seems to be the best way to actually learn a lesson.
Let's be honest, I'm writing in here right now because I'm fucking exhausted after a weekend filled with drinking, and I feel obligated to stay in lab for at least another hour and a half. I was genuinely trying to study/read papers, but my eyes are all droopy and I just can't do it. My boss isn't even here this week, so it probably doesn't matter if I bail (also I'm a useless rotation student) but I just feel so guilty. Everyone else has work to do and I'm just staring out at the incredibly depressing sky. It's that 2:30 feeling that 5-hour energy is always talking about.
My St. Patrick's day weekend was, as usual, escapade-y. Three of my friends and I went to check out the river around 12:30, 1 pm, which was its special St. Patrick's Day green as opposed to its normal murky green. (Also I saw it today because I took the bus and it still has a slightly less depressing green hue to it.) As the great Tommy Lee Jones once said, "If they can dye it green on St. Patrick's Day, why can't they dye it blue the other 364 days?"
The weather was pretty craptastic, as opposed to last year (sunshinnnne I miss you) so we didn't stay long at the river. I mean, that and the fact we were all still sober. Since Molly demanded consumption of beer with food dye in it (because nothing says appetising like drinking alcohol that looks like it's gone mouldy, which is apparently the particular shade of green beer lends itself to) we headed to good ol' Friar Tuck's, which is at this point in my life here sort of my go-to for, "Well, we need to go out and everywhere else is really expensive." I swear, I randomly end up there a lot. Unlike Saturday, it is very rarely a conscious decision. And I've definitely been there for every St. Patrick's Day since I've moved here, which is three. Three St. Patty's. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Anyway, we headed there and indeed were filled with green beer. Brian of course had to watch the Big 10 semis, as the Bucks were playing, so we wound up consuming about four pitchers and several jello shots (which, to their credit, actually tasted like alcohol) before the Buckeyes finally beat Michigan State, much to the chagrin of my friend who was actually at United Centre. At that point, we were hungry, so we went to Binny's to buy alcohol and then took wine to Stella's, where all of us consumed just all of the food.
Aside: I keep hearing this buzzing noise, like a phone or something, except I know for a fact that no one besides me in this lab has a phone. And no one is even in here right now, so it's definitely not the vortex. Shit, I'm going crazy.
Right so after eating all the food, we grabbed "dessert" sort of from Windy City Sweets, where I got chocolate-covered pretzels with chocolate chips on them. Yeah, that's right, chocolate-covered chocolate. The pretzel was only a pretense. After this, Molly and Brian departed, leaving Catie and I to finish drinking wine on our own at my house until we met up with some other people from our programme. If you do the math, this puts us at around 9pm.
By ten we headed out to Wicker Park, incidentally taking the worst bus ride ever on the 72. Seriously, everyone was too drunk and n00b to handle it. But we made it out to Big Star, which I was secretly sort of pissed about because I've been wanting to try their tacos since forever but was still way too full from our diner food. Regardless, we enjoyed $2 beers and the company of our fellow grad students. I use the term "enjoyed" a bit loosely in regards to the latter.
After that, I had the joy of taking the blue line to the red line, where I stood at Jackson for 16 minutes until it showed up. If you've never waited by yourself at the Jackson stop for the red line at 4am, I... well, I don't really recommend it. There were actually plenty of people, none of whom seemed terribly threatening, but still, not the best idea. I got off at Sheridan and grabbed some enchiladas verdes, because of course now I was hungry enough to consume Mexican.
The reason I was so determined to make it home, rather than staying with any of the lovely people who suggested it, is because I had to get up bright and early Sunday (aside: I would have had to wake up by 9, though I woke up at 7:30 because I'm a psychopath and don't sleep anymore) to head out to Lombard, which is apparently a suburb, and get fitted for this stupid bridesmaids dress. That was appropriately depressing, as the dress is not going to look great on me. Huzzah! I rewarded myself with a trip to IKEA for lunch and decor. Upon returning home, rather than sleep, I mounted some pictures and fabric in frames to hang up, set out the new rug I bought, and sewed new covers for our futon pillows, since the shitty-ass fabric I bought when we moved in was pretty much destroyed, despite the fact that we don't curl up with them all that much. But now the house looks marginally more like a home, so that's pretty nice.
So obviously today I'm still quite tired. Also I have bandaids on 30% of my fingers, partially from sewing/framing and partially because I have a bad habit of abusing my cuticles. I still have an hour and ten minutes to kill before I feel like I can escape, but this writing has every so slightly bolstered my attention span. I swear, I couldn't even read that well on the bus this morning, despite the fact that I'm reading 1Q84 and loving it.
I've had some time off from writing reviews, but next week three of my shows pick back up, so no doubt I'll be sick of writing after that. Okay, everyone who doesn't read this (so everyone in the world), god speed.
Eh, this. I swear this comes up all the time on Reddit. There's an AskReddit every few weeks where people prompt, "I'm X years old, older redditors, what would you tell yourself at that age if you could?"
The thing about getting perspective is, you have to earn it. It's easy for adults to tell you things about what lies ahead, but you only get that perspective by living it out yourself. Sure, I could TELL my 15-year-old self not to worry about what people think so much or whatever, but when you're that age, you're so caught up in it, and you don't have the later perspective to understand how trivial things are. And I'm sure the problems I have now (even though, honestly, I can't complain about much) will seem banal in another ten years. Sure, it's great to get advice from an older perspective, and eventually you realise that maybe your parents weren't completely full of crap, but the only way to grow and learn as a person is to make mistakes and suffer through them. It's definitely not pleasant, but trial and error seems to be the best way to actually learn a lesson.
Let's be honest, I'm writing in here right now because I'm fucking exhausted after a weekend filled with drinking, and I feel obligated to stay in lab for at least another hour and a half. I was genuinely trying to study/read papers, but my eyes are all droopy and I just can't do it. My boss isn't even here this week, so it probably doesn't matter if I bail (also I'm a useless rotation student) but I just feel so guilty. Everyone else has work to do and I'm just staring out at the incredibly depressing sky. It's that 2:30 feeling that 5-hour energy is always talking about.
My St. Patrick's day weekend was, as usual, escapade-y. Three of my friends and I went to check out the river around 12:30, 1 pm, which was its special St. Patrick's Day green as opposed to its normal murky green. (Also I saw it today because I took the bus and it still has a slightly less depressing green hue to it.) As the great Tommy Lee Jones once said, "If they can dye it green on St. Patrick's Day, why can't they dye it blue the other 364 days?"
 |
| Not Pictured: GFP |
The weather was pretty craptastic, as opposed to last year (sunshinnnne I miss you) so we didn't stay long at the river. I mean, that and the fact we were all still sober. Since Molly demanded consumption of beer with food dye in it (because nothing says appetising like drinking alcohol that looks like it's gone mouldy, which is apparently the particular shade of green beer lends itself to) we headed to good ol' Friar Tuck's, which is at this point in my life here sort of my go-to for, "Well, we need to go out and everywhere else is really expensive." I swear, I randomly end up there a lot. Unlike Saturday, it is very rarely a conscious decision. And I've definitely been there for every St. Patrick's Day since I've moved here, which is three. Three St. Patty's. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Anyway, we headed there and indeed were filled with green beer. Brian of course had to watch the Big 10 semis, as the Bucks were playing, so we wound up consuming about four pitchers and several jello shots (which, to their credit, actually tasted like alcohol) before the Buckeyes finally beat Michigan State, much to the chagrin of my friend who was actually at United Centre. At that point, we were hungry, so we went to Binny's to buy alcohol and then took wine to Stella's, where all of us consumed just all of the food.
 |
| Waiter, I think this has expired. |
Right so after eating all the food, we grabbed "dessert" sort of from Windy City Sweets, where I got chocolate-covered pretzels with chocolate chips on them. Yeah, that's right, chocolate-covered chocolate. The pretzel was only a pretense. After this, Molly and Brian departed, leaving Catie and I to finish drinking wine on our own at my house until we met up with some other people from our programme. If you do the math, this puts us at around 9pm.
By ten we headed out to Wicker Park, incidentally taking the worst bus ride ever on the 72. Seriously, everyone was too drunk and n00b to handle it. But we made it out to Big Star, which I was secretly sort of pissed about because I've been wanting to try their tacos since forever but was still way too full from our diner food. Regardless, we enjoyed $2 beers and the company of our fellow grad students. I use the term "enjoyed" a bit loosely in regards to the latter.
After that, I had the joy of taking the blue line to the red line, where I stood at Jackson for 16 minutes until it showed up. If you've never waited by yourself at the Jackson stop for the red line at 4am, I... well, I don't really recommend it. There were actually plenty of people, none of whom seemed terribly threatening, but still, not the best idea. I got off at Sheridan and grabbed some enchiladas verdes, because of course now I was hungry enough to consume Mexican.
 |
| I made this with my hands |
So obviously today I'm still quite tired. Also I have bandaids on 30% of my fingers, partially from sewing/framing and partially because I have a bad habit of abusing my cuticles. I still have an hour and ten minutes to kill before I feel like I can escape, but this writing has every so slightly bolstered my attention span. I swear, I couldn't even read that well on the bus this morning, despite the fact that I'm reading 1Q84 and loving it.
I've had some time off from writing reviews, but next week three of my shows pick back up, so no doubt I'll be sick of writing after that. Okay, everyone who doesn't read this (so everyone in the world), god speed.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
No I lied
I'm still bored and just drunk enough that I can't focus on my book. AND I totally forgot about these MySpace surveys that used to be all the rage. So I'm doing one, to capture the nostalgia and also figure out what the fuck is wrong with all teenagers, using my own personality as a reference point.
Note: Maybe not a totally psychologically sound
1. What color are your kitchen plates?
Orange. And made of plastic. Whoa, downgrade.
2. What book are you reading now?
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, which is amazing.
3. What's on your mouse pad?
hahaha oh, 2003, no one has mouse pads anymore!
4. Favorite board game?
We had a lot of fun playing that zombie game, though I'm partial to Puerto Rico or Settlers
5. Favorite magazines?
I no longer read magazines, and why was I frontin' that I liked CosmoGirl when I was 15? I don't even like Cosmo now.
6. Favorite smells?
cinnamon, this random purfumes thats like 395713875 years old I have, and new car smell, oh, oh, and winter air
^fun fact, I still fucking love that perfume smell for whatever reason. Also, Indian Food.
7. Least favorite smell?
curdled spinach and artichoke dip ruining my nicest pot
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
well seeing as this morning I woke up in a panic at 3:44am, I'm gonna go with, "What the actual fuck?"
9. Favorite color?
OH MAN my orange phase. I was just telling Jeff about that. These days I'm partial to green.
10. Least favorite color?
still not terribly into yellow
11. How many rings before you answer the phone?
aww, phones don't ring anymore.
12. Future child's name?
Ten years later and this question is still irrelevant.
13. What is most important in life?
making something of yourself
^I... I actually agree with myself.
14. Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate. Obviously.
15. Do you like to drive fast?
I'm more reasonable these days. But also I pretty much exclusively drive on the highway, and no one in Illinois believes in speed limits anyway.
16. Do you fall asleep with the tv on?
Fuck I don't even watch TV on the TV anymore. I'd get rid of cable if my roommate wasn't so addicted to Bravo.
17. Storms - cool or scary?
Cool, unless you have to go out in them
18. What type was your first car?
princess blue 2003 Camry
Ahh, Huebert, you've yet to let me down baby.
19. Favorite alcoholic drink?
Oh man I have so much more knowledge now than I had in 2003. This is probably just weird nostalgia and my then relatively virgin palette talking, but I still think the cosmos I had at my mom's friend's daughter's weddings when I was 18 were the best thing ever.
20. Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
On the rare occasion I eat broccoli, yeah, I guess I eat all of it
21. If you could have any job what would it be?
fuck I don't even know, but I'll have a PhD when I do it.
22. If you could have any color hair, what would it be?
Mannnnn I still want red hair. But at this point I've accepted a) I'd look awful with it because my skin isn't right and b) having rich brown hair and grey eyes isn't such a bad consolation prize
23. Favorite movie?
Pirates of the Carribean, Ocean's 11, Breakfast at Tiffany's (whoda thunk Id like it?), Gladiator, Back to the Future 1
^I respect my earlier choices, though I'm not sure if BaT, PotC or maybe even Ocean's 11 held up for me. I really like Inglorious Basterds and Love Actually.
24. Do you type with your fingers on the right key?
Yes. Thank you Mags keyboarding, which I evidently took after the original survey.
25. What's under your bed?
Suitcases, clothes I don't wear but am too lazy to sort out, probably old make up
26. What is your favorite number?
eleven, 11, once
^self-agreement. I like doubles in general
27. Favorite sport to watch?
Stilllllll hate watching sports, though I tend to find hockey oddly compelling
28. What is your single biggest fear?
failure I reckon. And needles.
29. Favorite cd?
It isn't even my place to say this anymore. Depends on the day.
30. Favorite tv shows?
shows? no, no, no....'tis only one..........Early Edition.......
^I love my old answer. And I still miss this show. But I didn't watch much TV in my younger years and now that's all I do, so the list is ridiculous
31. Ketchup or mustard?
mustard is a MAYBE, but not a must
32. Hamburgers or hot-dogs?
black bean burgers are pretty delish
33. Favorite soft drink
I don't like pop unless there's booze in it, in which case it doesn't matter so much what it is because alcohol.
34. Best place you have ever been?
Fuck. I've been places now! I like travelling in general, but I sort of feel like the appropriate and correct answer to this is "Chicago."
35. What screen saver is on your computer right now?
I don't have a screen saver, but my wallpaper is this:
36. What is your favorite animal?
God I just love dogs so fucking much. And goats. Love goats.
37. What do you want to be when you grow up?
not destitute.
38. Car you drive now?
Holy shit I couldn't drive when I filled this out. Anyway, please see #3
Note: Maybe not a totally psychologically sound
1. What color are your kitchen plates?
Orange. And made of plastic. Whoa, downgrade.
2. What book are you reading now?
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, which is amazing.
3. What's on your mouse pad?
hahaha oh, 2003, no one has mouse pads anymore!
4. Favorite board game?
We had a lot of fun playing that zombie game, though I'm partial to Puerto Rico or Settlers
5. Favorite magazines?
I no longer read magazines, and why was I frontin' that I liked CosmoGirl when I was 15? I don't even like Cosmo now.
6. Favorite smells?
cinnamon, this random purfumes thats like 395713875 years old I have, and new car smell, oh, oh, and winter air
^fun fact, I still fucking love that perfume smell for whatever reason. Also, Indian Food.
7. Least favorite smell?
curdled spinach and artichoke dip ruining my nicest pot
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
well seeing as this morning I woke up in a panic at 3:44am, I'm gonna go with, "What the actual fuck?"
9. Favorite color?
OH MAN my orange phase. I was just telling Jeff about that. These days I'm partial to green.
10. Least favorite color?
still not terribly into yellow
11. How many rings before you answer the phone?
aww, phones don't ring anymore.
12. Future child's name?
Ten years later and this question is still irrelevant.
13. What is most important in life?
making something of yourself
^I... I actually agree with myself.
14. Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate. Obviously.
15. Do you like to drive fast?
I'm more reasonable these days. But also I pretty much exclusively drive on the highway, and no one in Illinois believes in speed limits anyway.
16. Do you fall asleep with the tv on?
Fuck I don't even watch TV on the TV anymore. I'd get rid of cable if my roommate wasn't so addicted to Bravo.
17. Storms - cool or scary?
Cool, unless you have to go out in them
18. What type was your first car?
princess blue 2003 Camry
Ahh, Huebert, you've yet to let me down baby.
19. Favorite alcoholic drink?
Oh man I have so much more knowledge now than I had in 2003. This is probably just weird nostalgia and my then relatively virgin palette talking, but I still think the cosmos I had at my mom's friend's daughter's weddings when I was 18 were the best thing ever.
20. Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
On the rare occasion I eat broccoli, yeah, I guess I eat all of it
21. If you could have any job what would it be?
fuck I don't even know, but I'll have a PhD when I do it.
22. If you could have any color hair, what would it be?
Mannnnn I still want red hair. But at this point I've accepted a) I'd look awful with it because my skin isn't right and b) having rich brown hair and grey eyes isn't such a bad consolation prize
23. Favorite movie?
Pirates of the Carribean, Ocean's 11, Breakfast at Tiffany's (whoda thunk Id like it?), Gladiator, Back to the Future 1
^I respect my earlier choices, though I'm not sure if BaT, PotC or maybe even Ocean's 11 held up for me. I really like Inglorious Basterds and Love Actually.
24. Do you type with your fingers on the right key?
Yes. Thank you Mags keyboarding, which I evidently took after the original survey.
25. What's under your bed?
Suitcases, clothes I don't wear but am too lazy to sort out, probably old make up
26. What is your favorite number?
eleven, 11, once
^self-agreement. I like doubles in general
27. Favorite sport to watch?
Stilllllll hate watching sports, though I tend to find hockey oddly compelling
28. What is your single biggest fear?
failure I reckon. And needles.
29. Favorite cd?
It isn't even my place to say this anymore. Depends on the day.
30. Favorite tv shows?
shows? no, no, no....'tis only one..........Early Edition.......
^I love my old answer. And I still miss this show. But I didn't watch much TV in my younger years and now that's all I do, so the list is ridiculous
31. Ketchup or mustard?
mustard is a MAYBE, but not a must
32. Hamburgers or hot-dogs?
black bean burgers are pretty delish
33. Favorite soft drink
I don't like pop unless there's booze in it, in which case it doesn't matter so much what it is because alcohol.
34. Best place you have ever been?
Fuck. I've been places now! I like travelling in general, but I sort of feel like the appropriate and correct answer to this is "Chicago."
35. What screen saver is on your computer right now?
I don't have a screen saver, but my wallpaper is this:
It's funny, you see, because it just looks like a pretty flower until you realise it says "fuck off."
I love the internet.
36. What is your favorite animal?
God I just love dogs so fucking much. And goats. Love goats.
37. What do you want to be when you grow up?
not destitute.
38. Car you drive now?
Holy shit I couldn't drive when I filled this out. Anyway, please see #3
18. Before it's too late
Full prompt: Describe 5 things you want to see or do before it’s too late.
Tricia reminded me that this blog is a thing that exists, and then I drank margaritas, and it's only 21:15 so I can't go to bed, so I figured, why the fuck not? I'll go back to reading 1Q84 later, which, by the way, is fucking amazing so far. I never realised how grateful I'd be for AP Spanish instilling a love of Magical Realism in me. I actually had a very angry rant in its defense not too long ago, which I quickly realised was pointless as the person I was arguing with a) didn't care and b) doesn't even read books. Who doesn't read books? Terrible people, that's who.
1. I guess this is vague, but I want to go back to Europe. Not too particular on where. But I want to go:
a. armed with the general knowledge of the cities I acquired during my 2010 trips
b. while I'm still young enough to drink and galavant
c. not necessarily for work
Travelling abroad isn't such a rare thing in the sciences- we like to host big, serious conferences in places like Switzerland and France and also smaller, slightly less serious ones in places like the Caribbean and what have you. Seeing as I've more or less accepted the fact that I'm a city girl through and through, I'm more partial to the former vs. the latter, though I wouldn't say I'd turn down a trip to the Bahamas, particularly if the department was going to comp it. The crucial thing is really just that I want to go back while I'm still relatively young and have a sense of adventure; I don't want to save all my travelling for retirement age.
2. Road trip. I believe this came up before, but I'd love to go on a proper cross-country roadtip. This desire has been particularly strengthened by my recent devotion to Supernatural. I'm not going to do it in a 1960's era Impala (the gas mileage! honestly.) but I'd still like to see the weird, quirky things my own country has to offer. Besides, I haven't been west of Oak Park since I was maybe 10 or 11, and there are some beautiful vistas out west. Or so I hear. Teddy Roosevelt was into them, and if Teddy liked something, it must be damn fine.
3. Write a book. Seriously, I've been vaguely working on one for forever now. I don't expect it to be any good or get published or anything, but I just want to finish one bloody thing I start when it comes to writing. I can't even remember this blog for ten month periods of time, so I'm not sure how likely any of that is.
4. Become a proper doctor (as in, PhD, not those flashcard-memorising, artery-severing, ego-inflated MD fools). I mean, this is a given. But seriously I want to be a doctor. So people call me doctor. But realistically, I'm not ready for it yet, seeing as I haven't really got the "post-PhD"goal in mind.
5. The aurora borealis. Pictures of it are so pretty, but you never see it this far south. Once, many years ago (holy shit, seriously over a decade) all the lights went out, a la Revolution. Okay, more like Eastlake, OH overloaded some crucial circuit breaker or something for the entire northeastern chunk of the United States, but same concept. For one glorious day and night, we were without power. So close to 9/11, many people assumed the worst, but it was just standard inefficiency and error. That night, I went to my neighbour's house- barely able to see the road there- and we had a bonfire. The adults did whatever it was adults with kids do (I assume drink copiously and talk about mortgages) while we set tree branches on fire. And the stars. They filled the sky. I used to want to be an astronomer (before I learned that calculus is really hard, like seriously you guys, it's rough.) and so I knew a lot of constellations and what have you. That night, the sky was so full, I could barely discern the constellations I knew. I think I only really managed to pick out the Big Dipper. Only it wasn't just the Big Dipper- you could see all of Ursa Major. Hell, you could actually see the Milky Way. Sometimes on Reddit, people post pictures of things like that, and I remember that night, and I want to experience it again. It was so pretty and peaceful and calm.
Okay so that's about it. My drunk is wearing off and I can't resist the call of this Murakami book any longer. Particularly because the sooner I finish it, the sooner I no longer have to lug a 1000-page tome around with me on the train. Until next time, which realistically will be like 2014.
Tricia reminded me that this blog is a thing that exists, and then I drank margaritas, and it's only 21:15 so I can't go to bed, so I figured, why the fuck not? I'll go back to reading 1Q84 later, which, by the way, is fucking amazing so far. I never realised how grateful I'd be for AP Spanish instilling a love of Magical Realism in me. I actually had a very angry rant in its defense not too long ago, which I quickly realised was pointless as the person I was arguing with a) didn't care and b) doesn't even read books. Who doesn't read books? Terrible people, that's who.
1. I guess this is vague, but I want to go back to Europe. Not too particular on where. But I want to go:
a. armed with the general knowledge of the cities I acquired during my 2010 trips
b. while I'm still young enough to drink and galavant
c. not necessarily for work
Travelling abroad isn't such a rare thing in the sciences- we like to host big, serious conferences in places like Switzerland and France and also smaller, slightly less serious ones in places like the Caribbean and what have you. Seeing as I've more or less accepted the fact that I'm a city girl through and through, I'm more partial to the former vs. the latter, though I wouldn't say I'd turn down a trip to the Bahamas, particularly if the department was going to comp it. The crucial thing is really just that I want to go back while I'm still relatively young and have a sense of adventure; I don't want to save all my travelling for retirement age.
2. Road trip. I believe this came up before, but I'd love to go on a proper cross-country roadtip. This desire has been particularly strengthened by my recent devotion to Supernatural. I'm not going to do it in a 1960's era Impala (the gas mileage! honestly.) but I'd still like to see the weird, quirky things my own country has to offer. Besides, I haven't been west of Oak Park since I was maybe 10 or 11, and there are some beautiful vistas out west. Or so I hear. Teddy Roosevelt was into them, and if Teddy liked something, it must be damn fine.
3. Write a book. Seriously, I've been vaguely working on one for forever now. I don't expect it to be any good or get published or anything, but I just want to finish one bloody thing I start when it comes to writing. I can't even remember this blog for ten month periods of time, so I'm not sure how likely any of that is.
4. Become a proper doctor (as in, PhD, not those flashcard-memorising, artery-severing, ego-inflated MD fools). I mean, this is a given. But seriously I want to be a doctor. So people call me doctor. But realistically, I'm not ready for it yet, seeing as I haven't really got the "post-PhD"goal in mind.
5. The aurora borealis. Pictures of it are so pretty, but you never see it this far south. Once, many years ago (holy shit, seriously over a decade) all the lights went out, a la Revolution. Okay, more like Eastlake, OH overloaded some crucial circuit breaker or something for the entire northeastern chunk of the United States, but same concept. For one glorious day and night, we were without power. So close to 9/11, many people assumed the worst, but it was just standard inefficiency and error. That night, I went to my neighbour's house- barely able to see the road there- and we had a bonfire. The adults did whatever it was adults with kids do (I assume drink copiously and talk about mortgages) while we set tree branches on fire. And the stars. They filled the sky. I used to want to be an astronomer (before I learned that calculus is really hard, like seriously you guys, it's rough.) and so I knew a lot of constellations and what have you. That night, the sky was so full, I could barely discern the constellations I knew. I think I only really managed to pick out the Big Dipper. Only it wasn't just the Big Dipper- you could see all of Ursa Major. Hell, you could actually see the Milky Way. Sometimes on Reddit, people post pictures of things like that, and I remember that night, and I want to experience it again. It was so pretty and peaceful and calm.
Okay so that's about it. My drunk is wearing off and I can't resist the call of this Murakami book any longer. Particularly because the sooner I finish it, the sooner I no longer have to lug a 1000-page tome around with me on the train. Until next time, which realistically will be like 2014.