Burning Teflon is my anti-drug

It's been awhile since I tried to set my apartment on fire. Probably a record for me actually. I got home from yoga and decided to have a nice cup of tea before bed, so I put the tea kettle on the stove to boil, and then settled in front of the computer for a little internet stalking while I waited. Soon a burning smell started wafted around me. It took awhile for me to catch on that something was really burning in my apartment and maybe I should go into the kitchen and check it out. Finally, coming to my senses, I went to the kitchen to find that I had not turned on the burner under the tea kettle, but rather the burner over which an empty frying pan was sitting. I think I ruined my skillet, and now the stench of charred teflon has filled my apartment. I am starting to seriously doubt my ability to live alone.

Ad Nauseum

This weekend I went to Houston as usual. Most of the weekend was uneventful, but Sunday I went to the Slayer concert at Reliant Arena with Marc. It was surprisingly enjoyable, and I think Marc had a good time too. The concert was over early that night and when I went to bed I had some sharp pains in my stomach. In the morning when I got up I was all barfy-warfy. I think I might have come down with a mild case of food poisoning, so I called in sick and spent the rest of the day in bed.

This Wednesday will be one year since i started dating Marc. He's going to come to CS and take me to my favorite restaurant. It's nice to be dating someone who really cares about me, and makes an effort to make me feel appreciated and loved.

I'm listening to The Distillers self-titled album at the moment. It's their most hard-core and least polished album. A good pick for when you just want to listen to some mindless noise and get your blood pumping.

All Hands and the Cook

I'm really tired after a long day of roadtripping to Austin and Bastrop. Visiting MD Anderson in Bastrop was a lot of fun, but very hot. Standing out in the sun mixed with a stressful car ride to Austin gave me a bad headache that only progressed in intensity as the day wore on. One of the van passengers was the most annoying person I have ever met. Her voice was the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, and she had an inappropriatly loud comment for everything. We took a wrong turn as we were leaving for Austin, and an hour and a half later she was still talking about it. I thought Jenny was going to freak out and attack her before we got to Austin, and honestly if she had done it, I wouldn't have tried to hold her back. Other than that the trip was enjoyable, but I sure am glad to be home.

On Tuesday I drove to Houston to see The Walkmen play at Walter's. It was hot, super crowded, and smoky as hell in the club, but the band was awesome and we were 10 feet from the stage. I was tired, sweaty and hoarse from screaming and breathing in the smoke by the time the concert was over. In one word: perfection.

This past week has been rather stressful at work. I'm working on a staining protocol for my project that has never been done before, so it's a lot of trial and error. I also had to learn how to make some buffers on my own which required some math skills that I haven't used in awhile, but it all worked out in the end. I've also had to dust off my histology atlas because nobody in the lab is really sure what the final result is supposed to look like. Looks like I'm on my own. I am getting to help out with some interesting diagnostic work and learning some new techniques right now which is fun. Nevertheless I'm glad tomorrow is Friday and I can relax and sleep in for a couple of days.

Right now I'm listening to a Live recording of Slayer to prepare for a concert on Sunday. I probably will end up not even going, but it's good to experience some of the music that Marc enjoys. Honestly it all sounds the same to me, but I'm going to listen to the whole album a couple of times. After all, Marc did skip the last game in the basketball finals to see The Walkmen with me. It must be love.

Summer Shudder

Things are looking up. Last month sucked ass to put it nicely, but finally work is starting to pick up and I'm feeling better about myself. I've started on my research project and have already collected many tissue samples. I also found out that I've been chosen by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association to present my research findings in front of the board of directors at a fancy luncheon in a few months. The thought is scary in the least, but I suppose I should be flattered. Now I'm praying that my project turns out well.

Next month my old girlfriends are planning a river trip to the Frio. I really enjoy hanging out with the girls, and it will be a good opportunity to parade the new boy around. Guess I need to stick with the diet for a little while longer so I can look good in my swimmy suit.

I'm going to see The Walkmen at Numbers on Tuesday. I'm dragging the boy with me too, and it's a testament to his love for me that he is actually giving up watching the basketball playoffs to go with me. He's never even heard the band before, so I hope he doesn't have a completely wretched time. I'm definately going to have to bring him a chocolaty present. I've never known any boy to love chocolate as much as he does. He actually craves chocolate more than me.

I'm listening to the new AFI album Decemberunderground right now. I had been anticipating it's release for awhile, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I guess I shouldn't expect anything to be as great as Sing The Sorrow was. That was one of the few albums that truly blew my mind the first time I listened to it. This new album is not bad in the least, in fact it's quite enjoyable. I think that's where the problem may lie, it's too radio friendly. And I'm not sure I dig that they've moved away from their hard core punk roots and are experamenting with a more electronic/industrial sound. It still has it's dark moments though, so overall I give it two thumbs up.

Life is grey

I've always preferred the British spelling of grey. It seems a more sombre and appropriate spelling to me. I feel like my life sucks at the moment. I know that my life does not suck, and that I am quite blessed especially when I compare my life to that of a 25-year old sex slave in Russia for example. Nevertheless, my job is sucking all of the life out of me while not even paying enough for me to settle my bills. Sinking further and further into debt isn't enjoyable. I've been really good the past month, only spending money on monthly bills, food, and gas, and still I bounced a check and maxed out my credit card. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that life sucks. And since I've exhausted all means of income, I'll probably have to sink even lower and beg my parents for money. Furthermore, because my job requires me to sit on my ass for 8 hours a day with minimal physical exertion I've gained 5 pounds this past month. Needless to say when your clothes don't fit anymore it doesn't help to lift an already low self-esteem. At least now that I'm on a diet I'm spending less money on food.

I was thinking this weekend about how everyone has that one great love in their life. Usually it's your first love and even though you break up or move away or whatever, they are always in the back of your mind as the person you compare all others to. I found out who Marc's great love was this weekend and she's a lot prettier than me. Sigh.

I listened to the new Dixie Chick's album. It's okay, I guess I'll give it a thumbs up.

Vet students gone wild

A few of my classmates have stayed in College Station for the summer, so things are not so lonely. We've decided to form a group called "vet students gone wild" to celebrate our love for nature. An found a Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)in a parking lot so we took a drive out to the arboretum to release him back into the wild. There were lots of tasty looking ants around so he should be well off. Better off than in a parking lot at least. He was super cute, see below:

His bright breeding plumage(?) is quite striking. We're also planning on going to a birding seminar next month.

Right now I'm listening to the new Fiona Apple album: Extraordinary Machine. I give it two thumbs up.