Apology

     Well that book a week deal isn't going to work how I planned.  I'm still elbows deep into The Crystal World although it has yet to distinguish itself as either a modern novel or a sci-fi.  In fact it has, a good 120 pages into the 210 page book, yet to do anything but foreshadow itself directly.  While the ambiance has yet to inspire anything beyond a vague stirring of mysticism and unease the book shatters any real tension by stating the tension and literary devices.  If I was an English major I would write an essay just based on the direct quotes from the book.  'The weather foreshadows' blah blah blah, 'the light reflects' more blah blah blah.  Geez, there's nothing for the reader to do except read, no thinking necessary. 

     I'll finish up this week I hope and give a full report on the matter.  Let's hope the quality picks up quickly because it's a chore to work through.

     Went river tubing yesterday.  Unlike any other day in the last two weeks it was rainy and cool.  Of course it was.  It was chilly but tons of fun even if the route was less than a mile.  Kelly Springs has a nice swimming hole and the water was crisp and clear.  I'm glad I didn't bring my camera though, it would have been soaked.  Next time I will though.  We need pictures of that glorious day.

Revenge of the Slow Days

     Well Tad's back and summer has officially hit Florida.  You can tell because last night as I was driving to the airport to pick up my adorable husband it was drenching everything around in that strong, Florida rain we get.  Not two miles west of me it was dry as a bone.  Turns out while I was dancing to music in the cell phone lot near the International Airport back at the apartment there was a tornado watch from the fury of the storm.  Ah Florida, how I missed your fickle weather patterns.

    Why is this the 'slow days' you might well ask.  Truth is now that Tad's here waking up is set nearer to noon than dawn and it involves a lot of silly videos rather than adventuring.  Not that I am complaining at all.  I only dawdle in bed when I have a giant cuddle-Tad pillow anyways.  I made banana bread although it didn't rise quite as nicely as I had hoped.  Oh well.  I have to stop off for blueberries (on sale finally) and prepare a classic Tad dish: coffee cake.  We don't even drink coffee but it's the only thing I put blueberries in, so there it is.  Blueberries for Tad.

     At the lab we have determined the graduate students don't hear us unworthy undergrads.  We say 'don't use the new copper tubing we have plenty in the other lab' and they hear 'please, cut and fit the new copper tubing so we don't have to worry about having spent 50 bucks on it, haha!'  I'll show off my awesome powerpoint skills next time we have a group meeting again, it's absolutely awesome, bullet points and test!  Let me tell you...

     Despite the inebriation of the declaration, I am planning to read one book a week, from my list if possible.  I am currently working on a sixties sci-fi the Crystal World by J.G. Ballard.  It seems to be set in Africa and has the feel so far of a turn-of-the-century novel rather than the existential and questing sixties sci-fi feel.  I am only 35 pages in though.  We shall see.

Liquor

     I have decided to read a book every week until I have finished off at least some of the 501 list.  Isn't that awesome.  Also, I have drunk wayyyyy too much tonight.  I feel very open and refreshed.  Also numb, feeling that is, not like emotional and all.  I have read Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles which was taken from a series of short stories in 1949 and 1950 into a series of perceptions staring from 1999 to 2026.  I suppose most people don't care about the science of it all but I do.  I see the canals of Mars made their impact felt since there is a dying Martian race.  The impact of humanity of a foreign race and the impact of that race on us, that was the main focus of this book.  I love it; it has this dream-like quality built into itself that I thrive on.  I feel like I'm reading the Redwall series again in middle school and Dad and Sis are playing Donkey Kong Country just in the other room.  This is the nostalgia I feel.  I feel that nostalgia a lot though, reading to music that embodies the novel/author in my head by the music played.

     Also, Tad comes home Tuesday!  This will be the first time I will see him in  months or so.  Oh how I miss him.  Come home soon, Tad, I dream of you.

     I also noticed a lack of females in this sci-fi again!  I should start noting that so I can keep track and maybe write a paper on it some day.  I bet no one reads sci-fi like I do!!!  I miss Tad.  He'll be home soon, right? Tuesday is too far away.  That's right!  Tuesday Tad comes home.  What a good job that is.  I like Tuesdays, or should I say  Tadsdays?  I dunno.  Feeling a little odder, so might get some more hard liquor to succor this detachment and displacement.  Maybe a better analysis tomorrow, after the schnapps has worn off...

501 books count: 48

Iron Man 2: Tony Stark is an amazing jerk, part 2

     Name changing is hard work.  It's not like you just change your Social Securtity number or license and voila, everything is there.  There's the bank, the credit cards, car information and insurance, your job, any organizations you are a part of, blah blah blah.  Some of it just takes a phone call but my license was a journey in itself.  I needed my passport (or birth certificate), my social security card, my marriage license and two forms of residential identification.  Arrrg.  Because of the annoying living situation I am in I had to drag in my roommate and wait forever, as always at the government buildings. 

     I did see Iron man 2 last night.  That was amazing.  Since two-thirds of the movie has little to do with Iron man and robot battles I believe it would not be wrong to say that we watch the Iron man movies to see Tony Stark be a mad, drunken genius of an asshole.  Robert Downey Jr. pulls it off so well too.  He builds a particle accelerator in his basement.  Yea, that thing CERN built that was 12 km long? He did that in his basement using books and the freaking Captain America shield to steady it.  After accelerating the particle beam he shot it through a crystal matrix of some sort (a not-glass prism) and his a freaking triangle with the beam to create a new element!!!  That is the reason I got into science.  To make crazy tech that should break the laws of physics.  ::sigh::  If only I could do that.  You are my hero Tony Stark.

Life is better in the turn lane (yea, I made it up)

     Smoothed out a lot of ruffled feathers today and straightened up my mental to-do lists.  Finally heard back from the professor, got lab keys and the information I actually need to do my job.  It was a bit unexpected, that.  I only expected the keys really.  Sent mom a Mom's Day card and bought an umbrella.  Rainy season here in FL started.  Also, it is going to take 5 separate forms of ID to change my driver's license.  That is so absurd.  Aarrg.  Oh well, I'm going to change it Monday since it took me five hours to determine that I do have a second form of acceptable ID that puts me at my parents house.  Yea. 

     This is for Brickney who graduate tomorrow morning: I love you guys and I'm so glad I can be there to watch you wear gigantic robes and silly hats.  Man, you don't even get to keep them, sucks to be you.  You put a lot of effort into a degree people will always be surprised to hear.  To you, my friends.  Hurrah.

Mostly ranting

     So I felt good for a while today.  I went and got a cute dress, shoes and a purse.  For the first time probably since my wedding I felt feminine and strong.  Now I'm looking at our accounts for everything and we are running on empty.  This is not good.  We've just taken out money from bonds and we still have no money.  Heck, we seem to have less money than before we took everything out.  I have the research job but that will cover barely anything.  Should I try and make more money?  But I'm doing a lot here.  Tad and I are looking into loans for summer so he can go to Hong Kong but how much do we want to take out?  Just enough to cover or enough to have some money ourselves?  That's not greedy, right? Right?  I hope not because we don't have enough for car insurance and him eating and all.  I hate looking at these things.  We were OK for a while but his school is expensive and I keep regretting that we have to use this money every. single. month. for his schooling when we could just feel comfortable about ourselves with it.
     I'd rather he get this degree though, I think he needs it.  Arg.  Hopefully he'll get the scholarship from his school and we can just take out the same amount of money and actually get some.  It's bad when you max out loans and still have to pay for tuition from your own pockets.  Just some venting.  I'm worried about going to the lab tomorrow and it failing to work out again.  Also going to get my pesky driver's license changed, I suppose.  I'm in this odd transition between names and should I go everywhere and change it or do it slowly?  I dunno.

     In summary, ignore this.  Please.

Lab Day 1

I showed up for my new research job to find that I can't get in the lab.  Chow was proctoring some exam that lasted at least 5 hrs.  I know this since I arrived at 9ish and gave up waiting around at 2.  ::sigh::  There's day 1. 

In better news, I have read A Handmaid's Tale and might talk about that soon.  I bought a cute dress to go to lunch with a friend's family in, new shoes to match.  I now own three pairs of shoes.  I'm proud of this third pair as they are trendy and cute.  Tired.  Might talk tomorrow?  Maybe soon enough.