The Peace of the Wild Things

Forgetting All of Today tbh

keeperofthekeys — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:44:53 GMT

Instead of doing actual work tonight, like I needed to, I have decided what my office at work really, really needs is a TOS-style Captain's Chair so I can be awesome.

Worth it.

View Poll: Captain's Chair

A post of Irish Things

keeperofthekeys — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:42:44 GMT

Traditional set dance, done the same way wherever you go:

Sadly I am not in it--it's been a bit too long since I've put my shoes on and it would not be pretty. Also, I am lacking the hardwood floors.

And my favorite set dance, an 8-hand called "Trip to the Cottage".

Finally, have some icons, free for taking:

OMG GUISE

keeperofthekeys — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:47:38 GMT

Writer's Block: Connecting the dots

keeperofthekeys — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:56:08 GMT

Uh. No.

Favorite Charities

keeperofthekeys — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:52:21 GMT

I got my very first paycheck from my new program, yay! It's a reasonable amount bigger than my old paychecks. I figure that since I spent the last 2.5 years living on my old paychecks, I can go another month. So here's the deal: I'm donating the extra this month to various charities. If you have a charity you're particularly fond of, please rec in the comments and I will check it out.

At current, I will be donating to St. Baldrick's, which funds research on childhood cancers. The bf is currently involved with this charity, and his page can be found here.

I would very much like to add more to the list. My thanks in advance :)

My first poll with new poll-making abilities =D

keeperofthekeys — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:59:06 GMT

We just got done watching Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and I have to say, I fucking love Star Trek. Like, I don't even know. The historical perspective on historical events that are so obvious in the plots makes me fangirl like no other. And I'm not even a history buff! I'm pretty bad at it, honestly.

So, f-list:

View Poll: #1662520

????

keeperofthekeys — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:40:55 GMT

Wut. I just saw this on my brother's fb. And. Wut.

Cycle de Kitty

keeperofthekeys — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:07:31 GMT

1. Sit on my lap and purr.
2. Nuzzle.
3. Put a paw on my face.
4. Bite me.
5. Meow angrily and run away.

Repeat every 5-10 minutes.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

Late-night impulse bordeom buying

keeperofthekeys — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:59:08 GMT

I just bought a pair of cheap headphones because they were purple. To be fair, I do need my own pair since mine were stolen so I can return my friend's. $5

I also bought a cheap candle warmer after swearing them off when one of my glass jar candles broke and waxed my carpet permanently. But all my fall scents had been on the warmer, so their wicks are long gone, and I'm not wasting $50 in amazing fall candle scents. Anyway, I would just end up buying more candles because I am an obsessive-compulsive collector and I want those scents now. $8

Add that to the Xbox headset I bought yesterday. Halo: Reach is a bitch to play online in campaign mode without one, seriously. Plus the one I got had cool green accents. $16

And I spent all day looking at the more expensive but nicer apartment complex I want to move into but can't until I make more money and stop spending my current income on frivolous things like headsets, headphones, candle warmers, and gods know what else; I definitely compiled a list of ridiculous items today including a bread slicer and an extra mp3 player. FU FREE AMAZON PRIME.

DIDN'T WANT TO POST PREMATURELY

keeperofthekeys — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:18:42 GMT

NO E-MAILS FROM THE DIVISION TODAY SO I'M PRETTY MUCH GOING INTO MY WEEKEND FEELING LIKE THIS:

Monster Ball

keeperofthekeys — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 04:37:07 GMT

The concert was fantastic! I just have to ask...

Who gets into a fight at a Lady Gaga concert?!?

A girl lost at least one tooth, some guy got his face busted up, and the police had to come. It distracted me from hearing one of her new songs, because I was wondering if I'd have to bolt/get security/help someone.

Lab Fail Part 39849343

keeperofthekeys — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:51:43 GMT

I went into lab today.

Cells are dead, again. No explanation.

I started my reaction and it turned fucking purple. Not only did it turn fucking purple, this googey purple shit crashed out of solution and my stir bar got gunked up in it. I added more solvent and it more or less started stirring again.

Then I left. FML.

Contemplating New Adventures

keeperofthekeys — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:54:38 GMT

I've been thinking pretty seriously about going to DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia in September. I was looking over the guest list and it just looks amazing. Cast members from B5, BSG, Buffy, Firefly, and tons from Star Trek. I'm not usually one to get all fangirly over celebrities, so I'm not sure what the deal is. I've never been to a con of any sort, so I think part of me just wants to see that side of fandom. Usually I'm the most eccentric one in the room when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy geekiness, which is sad given that I really don't delve that far into fandom. I'm hoping I can convince Angus to go, as I probably wouldn't go otherwise, but he currently wants to go to a Jimmy Buffet concert. Bleh!

Randomly, I decided to do half of this workout yesterday. I recommend watching the "instructional videos" with the sound off, or as little as possible. I was only able to do about half of it in the time she claims she did the whole damn thing. I ache like crazy today, so it definitely worked. Going for a run today should be...fun.

I sort of managed to repot my plants yesterday. idk if they'll live or not. I was a bit short on soil, so I"m going to remedy that today.

Oh, and I started watching Dr.Who this weekend. It's, um...interesting.

Sometimes science IS colorful

keeperofthekeys — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:02:52 GMT

So, Cho comes in yesterday to see this mess on the unoccupied lab bench. It doesn't take him long to determine the set-up is mine, to which I respond "I see you recognize my work."

I got ambitious yesterday and decided to run more than 1 reaction, so I needed the bigger reaction vessel. But it turns out that teeny tiny stir bars in 10 mL RBFs don't spin when they're that far away from the magnet in the stir plate, as they would be if I clamped them normally to the ringstand.

Thus, I had to suspend them from a separatory funnel holder I clamped backwards onto the ringstand. Like so.

Which is really not something you should do, as it's not a particularly stable set-up. No disasters, though (well, at least with regards to this part of the experiment) and 24h later they hadn't fallen in.

Food Update

keeperofthekeys — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:39:56 GMT

The basil ice cream was fantastic. Instead of using 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of cream, I used 3 cups of 2% milk and 1 cup of cream. The consistency was just right for the flavor--very light.

I recommend as a summer flavor. Pairs great with most fruits; I used grilled peaches with a caramelized top (just brush with a butter/sugar mixture before placing on the grill).

Trying out optimism again

keeperofthekeys — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:47:00 GMT

I'm just back from DC. It was a really nice weekend. It was suppose to rain both yesterday and today, but it never really did. That said, it might have been nice to cuddle up inside with the rain outside. Oh well. Hopefully it will be nice this upcoming weekend, as I really want to get over to the Farmer's market, grill out, and sit by the pool =D

Last week didn't end so badly. Thursday evening I went to see Roger Tsien speak. He won the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2008 for his work on GFP (along with two other scientists). Some of his current work comes close to intersecting mine, so seeing him helped return some of that motivation I'd lost. At least someone out there is getting this stuff to work.

I'm trying to be hopeful for this week. Hopeful that I can start my reaction this week (almost a week late). Hopeful that I'll see something on the confocal. Hopeful that this week won't be the week that my project falls apart. I don't normally become happy upon hearing about someone else's scientific failures, but another group has also been unable to image the same targeting ligand we're using with the same cells we're using. So it's not just me this time. Yay. Maybe I can be the first one to get good images.

F is for Failure

keeperofthekeys — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:49:25 GMT

Today I learned that a)I cannot even image my cells endocytosing(incredibly basic) and b)at least one of my cell lines is quite autofluorescent. Purple/blue(DAPI), green(FITC), orange(Cy), red(TexasRed). I can see my cells on all of those channels. My cells are gay.

Also, I was suppose to run a reaction today. Every paper that's been published since the 70's with this compound we're using dissolves it in acetonitrile. This shit's been stirring in acetonitrile for the last couple of hours and it absolutely refuses to go into solution.

Fuck you science.

Sales

keeperofthekeys — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:17:55 GMT

Amazon has Xbox 360 Arcade on sale for $160.

So that pretty much made that decision for me.

I returned $90 or so of merchandise today. And then I purchased $110 more. Three dresses, one candle. I will be returning two of those dresses, and maybe another one I bought earlier this month. I couldn't decide at the store which I liked, but that's what friends are for.

Still, if I only buy gas and grocery food for the rest of the month, I should be fine. Especially since I have to cash a check from my grandparents, and I will be getting another $100 from my state return.

And if I'm good next month.

\o/

keeperofthekeys — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:01:37 GMT

I passed!

So the day is

keeperofthekeys — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:14:54 GMT

Wednesday, and I finally have a rough draft I'm happy with after dragging my feet on it for the last few days. I hate, hate, HATE finishing the little details of projects. I really need to learn to not put these things off. It would have been nice to have this draft a few days ago.

The bf made my day a few days ago by sending me a 1000mL beaker he custom decorated, filled with Hershey's kisses and hugs. Somehow it's been six months already. As much as I'm dreading having to be done with this thing and turn it in on Friday, it will be really nice to have him here.

Plus, the weather is looking to be great. 70's Friday and Saturday. I'm looking forward to grilling. I'm looking forward to grilling things form the Farmer's market. Mmmmm steak. I'm also looking forward to getting some fresh flowers.

Did I mention that the cherry blossoms are in bloom here? Damn I love cherry blossoms.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here, have a picture of my ghillies and my not-so-perfect stance:

HAPPY PI DAY!

keeperofthekeys — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:31:12 GMT

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Etsy Shopping Trip for Motivation

keeperofthekeys — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:40:54 GMT

The cherry blossoms are in bloom here, which makes me exceptionally happy. So I decided to do some shopping on Etsy and will buy something from the list if I have a completed rough draft by the end of the weekend, including 9 pages complete tomorrow.

A

B

C

D

E

F

There were more, but sometimes you just have to stop. Especially with Etsy.

Votes?

Tumult

keeperofthekeys — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:34:58 GMT

Yesterday my proposal was a flaming piling of rubble and I was ready to give up and admit defeat. But after a desperate move involving e-mailing a fellow student, I seem to have resolved my conundrum. I actually think I have all of the major components of my project proposal assembled. I have about 4 pages written now, so I have a lot to write. I think having a preliminary draft completed by Sunday night is a realistic goal, which has me happy.

I'm really reaching my burnout point with this. And to be frank, loading myself up on stimulants during the day is starting to be more harmful than helpful. I really wish I could leave early tomorrow because the environment is a significant contributor to my lack of focus. Alas, I think we have lab meeting.

So I took tonight off. I discovered that Netflix carries Transgeneration not only as a DVD to ship, but available to play instantly. I'm so glad I left Blockbuster behind; they didn't even carry the series on DVD. It's a great show, too short imo, and I recommend it.

But it got me thinking. Now, this show was filmed a few years ago, it may not be representative, and I haven't done my google-fu. But hormone therapies, especially testosterone, are primarily injection-based. What a pain in the ass. Literally. MTFs can get hormones in pill form (thanks, BC) but I imagine it's not as convenient for FTMs who need testosterone. As someone who works in drug delivery, I don't think it would be that difficult to design a smoother drug delivery system. Like a patch that's weekly or monthly. Slow-release implants would be ideal, to have one put in once every three months, for example, thought that technology is still on the development side.

Maybe I'll start a small company when I graduate if someone hasn't beaten me to it (which I hope they have).

This ain't no place

keeperofthekeys — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:25:49 GMT

It's been another weekend of not accomplishing much. I did manage to take out the trash and clean my humidifier. And I'm currently hard boiling some eggs =D.

The ~~writer's~~science block continues to get to me. I have less than 2 weeks to go to finish this. I read, I write, I delete, I question myself excessively. Do I really need a PhD? Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?

Also, neither Avatar nor The Blind Side better win Best Picture tonight. And I don't care who wins Best Original Song, but "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart is quite good.

Spring

keeperofthekeys — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:32:37 GMT

Something strange happened over Wednesday/Thursday and I feel back on track. I wasn't able to run any experiments this week, but that's okay. My HepG2 cells did surprise me today, as apparently they've decided to grow in a monolayer now. That was the exciting/wtf point of my week. I'm not sure if that's incredibly sad or incredibly nerdy.

I'm starting to put together all the pieces of my qualifying exam. Sometimes it's beautiful, and the science excites me. Other times I find holes and I'm not sure what to do with them. Part of me is betting on the faculty not knowing enough immunology to question me too deeply on it. My own personal jury is still out on whether or not this project would actually work.

We're finally getting some nice weather this weekend--60's by Sunday. I'm not one to complain about the cold, but the streak of 30's was getting old. And making my finances sad, as these NC apartments just aren't built to handle that constant cold. I wish I were done with all of this grad school bullshit so I could enjoy it. Maybe go walk on Franklin and buy some Girl Scout cookies.

Today I put on my dance shoes for the first time since November or December, I don't remember. It felt good. I'm thinking about going back once my qualifying exam is done. I've also been trying to decide what I want to do with my time once it's free and I'm not taking school home with me anymore. I kind of want to paint my table with a giant Japanese-style cherry tree. I have no training in painting anything and I never got much past 8th grade art, but that will not keep me from my cherry tree obsession. It's a crappy table anyway, so I don't mind ruining it.

Added to my list are also reading. And writing. I miss being good at writing. I see the way it comes out now, and it just makes me sad. I would love to get back to Photoshop and icon making. I've thought about trying to get back into gaming. It would be nice to see my boyfriend more than once a month.

I have a lot to do in the next 2 weeks. A lot to learn. Here's to hoping I can do it well.

EDIT: NPR has a free iTunes music sampler on their website for those who are always looking for new music.