Cryptic Elliptic
Hey.
So I shook the death, went on break, and was completely lazy for a week.
It was
wonderful.
I was in Naperville. I sat around. I got my fill of
Trading Spaces.
Things I got whilst in Naperville:
- four pairs of shoes (more than I'd bought in three years).
- a wonderful
cookbook that allowed me to make brioche. Brioche! Unfortunately, it didn't tell me what to do with quince. I want to know. Can you
tell me?
- clothes! So many clothes!
- CDs: the Smiths, Death Cab for Cutie, and, um, Saves the Day. Liked the first two very well, not so much with the second.
I am now back in Chicago, desperately trying to figure out why the gods apparently do not want me to do research. I thought the grade for my first-quarter research course would be going in late. Now it appears that it's not going in at all. Furthermore, I do not yet have a due date for my B.A. This is both a blessing (at this rate, they can't require it before seventh week) and a curse (um, I don't know when it's due). Heads will be busted.
Oh, dear. It would appear that my physics TA is stalking me. Time to go.
quote of the day: "And we'll cover toxicology. Not really in-depth, just [
high-pitched voice], 'Hi, toxicology! Some drugs can kill!' [
normal voice] Or something." - from my pharmacology class.
the grad school report: It's down to Madison and Chicago, and I'm leaning towards Chicago. If only they'd promise me a free computer ...
boo!: My roommate has hives. We're not exactly sure why. Arrr.
Ugh. I have caught the death.
Fortunately, StudentCare didn't send me off with an inappropriate codeine prescription this time. (I'm allergic to codeine, so randomly acquiring it through StudentCare isn't as fun for me as it might be.)
Anyway, stay away unless you hate your lungs.
I guess I'm not so good with the content here. What did you expect? It's finals week.
Anyway, my twenty-first birthday was on the eighteenth. Unfortunately, since I had had two finals that day, I was completely wiped out and was unable to have any sort of large birthday extravaganza. However, I did purchase my first legal drink. Ed and I went to The Pub (the University of Chicago's private drinking place, aka Land of a Thousand Beers). When the attendant asked me for I.D., I gave him my ghetto-ass old-school driver's license. He was unable to find a date on it, but let me in anyway, saying, "I haven't seen one of these in
years. You must be over 21." Dammit, I would've tried to get in way earlier if I'd've known I could!
Fun in Crerar: I was holed up there Tuesday morning, studying for physics and molecular bio. Ed came by and gave me two small stuffed animals: a bear (to bite my enemies) and a cow (to stand in for a pony). When I saw my roommate, I greeted her by holding up the bear and saying, "Rarrrr!" (Shut up. It's finals week.) An older (60-ish) man at one of the tables looked over in alarm and said, "Watch out! It might bite someone!"
I apologize for the boring nature of this entry (sing it with me if you know the words: IT'S FINALS WEEK.). Two final things:
Who I'm inspired by right now:
Gale Gand, the pastry chef at Tru who hosts "Sweet Dreams" on the Food Network. Check out the recipes - how can you
not want to cook something called "Blackberry Financier"? Especially when it requires
beurre noisette. Mmmmm.
The best reason I've heard so far for going into industry over academia: "Yes, but we [academics] live in an ivory tower. [Industry types] live in a tower made of money." -- visiting professor in my cancer bio class.
So after spending an embarrassing amount of time being the ultimate HTML moron of the world, I *think* I've figured this out. Expect lots of futzing, as despite the pleasing functionality of the current design, it's kinda boring.
Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a fourth-year ... it's really hard to think about going to physics when one has been accepted to grad school. Accepted, people! It's exciting! People are offering me computers and other fun toys for free! I wonder if my excitement about this stems solely from the academic inferiority complex Chicago seems to have given me. So what am I doing instead of thinking about my classes?
1. Adding things to my Amazon wishlist. Mmmm, TiVo.
2. Panicking about the gnats in the growth room.
3. Checking
Television Without Pity obsessively - and reading the Sorority Life messageboards! I'm so ashamed!
4. Hunting for apartments, despite the fact that I don't know where I'll be living next year. Mmm, apartments with free cable.
5. Making pros and cons lists for all the grad schools. The free laptop, incidentally, is a mega-pro. I feel kind of shallow.
6. Contemplating what it's going to be like to actually make money. I'm currently on a grant from the Susan's Parents Institute, which involves a fair amount of worrying about spending money on things that aren't rent, so I find this "oh, we give the grad students generous stipends because they shouldn't need to worry their pretty little heads about money" attitude that all of my schools seem to have especially charming.
7. Making fun of other people's weblogs with the boy.
8. Longing for more books that I don't have time to read.
9. Developing terribly evil plans that involve the Shedd Aquarium.
10. Developing even more evil plans that involve my birthday! My twenty-first birthday! The day on which all of my finals are scheduled! BOO! Um, I'll get around that. Anyone up for drinkage on the evening of the 18th?
Papers and exams and grad school oh my ... so what do I do? I start a Blog. Brilliant!
