the count down

OK, now there are just 12 days until i reach that fateful landmark of 40. what will the next decade bring me? i hope it brings graduation, a job and peace and good stuff for all my family and friends...graduation and a job and some peace would be OK too : )

*graduate (may??)
*a job teaching (sometime after may)
*peace--anytime

i am trying to keep my mind open to the prospect of work...i know i want to stay in the south, preferably nc, but willing to go almost anywhere...i want to teach where teaching is the main (only) focus and i will be able to take classes out in the field too...i know there are places that this could happen, i just need to begin my search and more-better focus my aim...just don't really know where to start...sigh...ok...i need to split for now (12 days!) and go to lab...hope all is well.

peace.

my birthday

two weeks until my birthday!! i will be 40 this year, damn time flies

went to nashville, tn last week to present a bit of my data...it went well thanks to the bullying done by some of my cohorts two nights before the presentation. they mean well and i took it as such, but was still a bit frustrated by the event. anyways...it turned out well and seemed to be coherent and to the point...probably tomorrow i am going to begin to translate the powerpoint into the formal written document (chapter of my dissertation & hopefully a journal article).

below is a fun picture taken in downtown nashville--taken mainly for my girlfriend and her mom and brother...i will send them a copy later. : )


all went well, but i was very happy to be home...i remember my dad saying after i graduated with my AAS that he "liked the togetherness...but wanted to try non-togetherness for a while" i had my own apartment shortly after that and that was the way it seemed to be with us, it was nice, but to be together for so long was a bit much for all of us. it was a 12+ hr drive and they wanted to go on an hour-long "behind the scenes" tour of the grand ole opery (@11:30). i ended up sitting out in the courtyard and knitting/reading...what a pia. and noone asked if there was something i wanted to do (not that i would have taken them up on it...i wanted to go home)...by the time we got to ashvill, NC they were thinking that the tour sounded good at the time, but...i just shook my head...sigh...nothing we could do to change it.

well, we made it home and everyone was alive and well (sorta'-cc was sounding sick and milking it and saying that she was "hiding" being sick for the last two days-give me a break!). we all recovered and lived to tell the tale.

two weeks til my birthday

there is nothing happening for my birthday, except that i am getting older and i plan to make myself some cookies or cupcakes to share with the masses at school in celebration of my birthday...i can't wait!! i love my birthday...i just can't believe that i will be 40...damn.

ok, enough of that...time for bed (old lady)

[two weeks until my birthday]

peace
[birthday!!] hehehehehe

check in

well, i spent some money and bought a netbook. it is an ASUS-EEE PC. it is a big change from my 17" dell! damn it is small, but the keyboard is almost as large as the other, but just a little closer...just enough that it is hard to go between them. i think i finally have them figured out now i just need to get them linked in some manner. i think it should be easy...the guy at school said it would be really hard to find the secret place where i could copy my favorites and transfer them to the new laptop, but it was WAY easy...don't know if i was just lucky or if they made it not so secret. we shall see about getting things from one laptop to the other which would make it easy to keep things updated between them.

i have been quilting...made three that were going to go to the estuarium, but only 2 will go. f will add some more things to it and then it will be good and another is ready and then another one is too big to go, but i really had a good time making it and used "big stitch" to quilt it...requires using pearle cotton and maybe 4-5 stitches per inch. compared to a "good" quilter might have 10-12 stitches per inch...that is after a lot of practice, etc. i had a good time and things went well...now i am looking for another hand project (knitting) to entertain myself on a trip to Nashville, TN in two weeks...sigh...that is likely to happen this week.

more later...peace

R.I.P. Steve

today we euthanized steve. he was our gray-eyed-Athina's boy, our ridge-back boy, super-kittie, etc. we miss him terrably at this point, but know it will get better. he was a super kitty. he will be creamated and returned to us. we are not sure what we will do with his ashes yet, but that is ok. more later, i guess...the vet was sweet.

the cricket from hell

hey...now that my feet are healing, and we got a good haul from the garden (2 full salads--lettuce, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, spinach, nasturtiums (leaves and flower))...NOW we have the cricket from hell in the ceiling of our bathroom off the middle room...the cats are scared, and it is REALLY LOUD! i wonder if we are going to be able to hear it in the other room? more later, i guess.

damn, that is annoying!

oh, picts are of the salads : ) top one is mine (has the flower) and bottom one is fonda's (has the tomatoes--yuck)

fire ants II

still suffering-bohtf (back of hand to forehead)-with a suffering-heavy sigh. it is better, but still itchy...meanies. better with the rhul "cream" really just a gel form of alcohol, i think maybe with some aloe in it or something...

anyways...today is the 4th of july...we are doing nothing but waiting for the neighbors to start with their display tonight. it is always a surprise (sort of). we are almost 100% sure they will have fireworks, we are not sure if we will be able to see them and what the cats will do about it, or how long it will last and when it will end. so, hence the surprise. maybe we should drug the cats a bit...humm something to discuss with f.

more later, i guess.

Peace

fire ants

i hate fire ants. that is the main purpose of this entry. my feet itch because of the stupid bitches...modified ovipositor...meanies...mowing in tall grass with only tevas for protection is nothing! but i have NO IDEA how to avoid them...i don't even see them, but they get me anyways...if i knew they were there, i would and do try to avoid them while i am mowing...what a pain in the ankle! but i am also glad that i am only wearing tevas...can you imagine what would happen if i had full shoes and socks on? i would be COVERED with them before i knew what was happening! it is a no-win situation...except for poison...we tried boiling water, with limited success...i have some poison, but i don't want to use it in our garden, what a p.i.a.

oh, and the farmer was using some kind of spray on the tobacco this morning...smelled yucky! so add insult to injury! man, i try to be good and this is the first morning that i have been up that early (~7am)...actually didn't sleep last night/today...now it is almost noon and time for lunch...i guess i will sleep tonight...i sure hope so.

peace...say a prayer for the damn fire ants...i hope they go away soon (without too much poison...i hate to use it)