Last night I went to a college party, which was weird. Tony was in town looking for apartments, and he has a friend who goes to Georgetown, so we tagged along to a party there. It was the sort of party I never went to when I was in college: beer pong, keg, attractive and stylish students, nice weather in March... (Well, I think I went to parties that had the first two, but that's not really my style, so.) Of course I didn't know anyone except Tony and his friends, and I wasn't partaking of the keg, so I was kind of missing the point of the party, but it was fun anyway. Chatting and people-watching is pretty agreeable.

Apparently, current fashion is in an 80s revival. On girls, I saw a lot of tube tops and short flouncy skirts. On guys, pastel shorts with fabric belts, and alligator polos with the collars turned up! I was amazed; it was practically like a Vogue spread. I have to say, though, I don't think this is a good fashion trend. I suppose I could wear tube tops since I'm still young and go to the gym pretty often - it's not that much different from a tank top, and I do wear strapless dresses, but the frilly miniskirts will not happen. I'd be living in fear of a sudden breeze. And the male fashion, well, I wanted to point and laugh. Boys, do not wear yellow or pink shorts.

I guess now I know how the people who remembered the 70s felt when that style came back!

# : 1:49 PM : :

This is fascinating. It's pictures and commentary about a motorcycle ride through the dead villages surrounding Chernobyl.

Hardly any people are there now. But the animals don't know to stay away, and they seem to be thriving there without any people. One of my favorite parts of the commentary:

Zoologists also brought two American Bisons, but idea to breed them didn't work out and bison male run away. I don't know, if he run from radiation or from his bride, but last time bison has been seen in Belorusia, he heading west and may be he just decided to return to America.

About the radiation:

If I keep walking all the way to reactor, then at the end of a journey I will glow in a dark. May be this is why they call it a magic wood. this sort of a magic when one walk in in a biker leather and coming out like a knight in a shinning armour.

Her description of the ghost town:

from the first look ghosttown seems like a normal town, someone put their washing hungs on a balcony, some windows open, other clothed, here is taxi stop, there is grocery store... then, you read this slogan on building- "party of Lenin lead us to the triumph of a communism"- that helps to realise that clothes hung on balcony for 18 years and that town is empty..

The pictures are eerie.

# : 10:20 AM : :

So I did another practice MCAT today, and my score was slightly lower in each section. That's not the way it's supposed to work! I know how to fix it though: study, study, study.

That's about all I did today; though I'd considered going in to work, hitting the gym, seeing a movie, and/or cooking dinner, I did none of the above. It was studying, reading, and ice cream for dinner. Which I guess isn't that bad, come to think of it.

# : 9:56 PM : :

I tweaked the CSS after Josh complained last night that the menu bar didn't work properly at 1024x768. Now, I don't know what a programmer is doing running at that resolution, but it is true that having the links bold didn't scale well. When they turned bold they'd wrap, then your mouse wouldn't be over them anymore, and they'd come back, and it would start over. So it looked like the menu was having a seizure. I tended to set the width of the menu bar so it worked at my preferred browser size, but obviously that's not a Good Thing. It doesn't look as cool now, but it won't be twitchy. (It's my fault for adding longer links after Emily made such a cool design!)

I was trying to think of what to write about today, but I don't have anything in mind except complaints and a pontification about the pedagogy of science labs. I don't feel like writing the latter at the moment, so on with the complaints.

Last night, I left work on time and was STILL late to lab. First, traffic was bad, and then when I got there, the thing that spits out your ticket and lets you into the parking lot was broken. The attendant kept opening it and fixing the ticket roll, then having the car in front of me try again. It never worked. You would think, after half a dozen tries, she'd hand the guy a ticket and push her override button to open the gate, but no. Eventually I U-turned and drove around to the other entrance (adding several more minutes) so I don't know what happened. I guess maybe she didn't have an override button, but these things always do, so they can let in ambulances and stuff.

Then I got back a bunch of papers in lab, and my scores were mostly fine, but I was ticked off about a quiz question. It asked for a sketch of the NMR for a certain compound, showing splitting and the relative positions of the peaks. So I drew the correct squiggle. But I lost 10 of the 20 points because I (1) didn't show the Y axis and (2) didn't label the positions of the peaks on the X axis. Personally I think the Y axis is assumed, especially if you don't care at all about the scale in that direction (as you don't in this case). And call me crazy, but when it asked for "relative" position, I thought that meant show them relative to each other (one of the concepts involves knowing which one is farther to the left), not label their exact position on the X axis. So I lost 1/4 of the points for skipping details, and a further 1/4 for apparently misinterpreting "relative". The fact that I had a complete grasp of the concept only counts for half, I guess.

On the up side, I'm off tomorrow! I am planning a little shopping (I saw a cute dress at Target) and a lot of studying.

# : 2:10 PM : :

I added a bunch of links to the sidebar; some are blogs I found today and some are ones I read whenever I remember, so having them linked will help me remember. Also I found a funny article:

Some Cold Employees May Never Find Relief

A-HA! I knew it!

(Someday, I swear, I'm going to start posting articles that surprise me instead of ones that confirm what I've always suspected.)

# : 11:07 AM : :

A while back there was a flurry of reporting on the supposed finding that women can ovulate multiple times per month. (One such article is here.) I thought it was strange, but hey, a lot of things about the reproductive things are strange.

Today I ran across this blog entry from someone who actually read the study and, when it didn't actually include the findings that were being cited, emailed one of the authors to find out what happened. As it turns out,

The primary finding of our study was that women exhibit waves of follicular development during the menstrual cycle. Only the final wave of the cycle was ovulatory. All preceding waves were anovulatory. Unfortunately, there were a few reporters that could not differentiate between follicular development and ovulation. They took it upon themselves to state that women ovulated more than once a month which was not what we found. As one reporter often feeds off of another, there were a significant number of media reports that focused on multiple ovulations.

Reason #238940 not to believe health reports in the media, eh? Sometime I am going to have to start fulfilling my resolution to follow up on interesting media reports by actually reading the research.

# : 10:33 AM : :

I was having a tough time deciding what to do about the couch - insist on free delivery? Just get a full refund? Buy a different couch? None of these sounded perfect. So I called the store on Thursday, they offered a full refund, and I took it. Then I asked to speak to the manager, and I complained about the poor service. Apparently, they have a policy (due to insurance/liability) of not doing stairs past the second floor, and the salesperson is supposed to tell you this when you order delivery. So it was kind of a misunderstanding.

Then, on Friday morning, I opened up the pantry to grab a pop tart to take to work. And there was a big nut sitting on top of my box of Earl Grey. What the heck? I had a container of such nuts (one of those disposable tupperwares) on the top shelf, but it was still there, and closed, as far as I could tell. So I took it down to inspect it, and immediately saw the problem: there was a mouse-sized hole in the lid, and a neat little pile of plastic shavings next to it.

We had seen a mouse in the kitchen last weekend, but we were hoping he was alone. He was so fat that we could almost convince ourselves he must be an escaped pet!

Well, it turns out that the reason he's fat is because he's been eating our food! In addition to those nuts, he got into a bag of slivered almonds, two bars of chocolate (I think he tried the bittersweet then moved on to the 70% dark - that bastard), and a bag of raisins. He also tried red beans and rice, but he's apparently not a Cajun mouse because the hole was only rice-sized - it must have been too spicy for him.

I put away everything chewable into big plastic tubs, which I balanced on top of the bar stools for a little extra protection. And I bought traps, but I haven't been able to bring myself to use them. I like mice! I think they're cute! The mental image of that mouse finding my good chocolate and thinking "wow, life is grand" is so darling that I can't quite stomach killing it, even though I know I will have to. I guess I can bait the trap with chocolate so his last moments are happy, at least.

Anyway, this is the latest of many reasons why this apartment building stinks. I'm going to have to move when my lease is up, because I'm sick of dealing with all these maintenance issues. So it's just as well I didn't get the sofa - one less thing to move in July. When my class is over I'll start looking for a new place.

On the med school update front: I just finished taking my first practice MCAT and got 12 on each science section, 14 on the verbal. That's out of 15, and 10 is apparently decent, so I am pretty happy. I am going to continue in my pre-med persona, though, and study the topics I had trouble with and keep taking practice tests.

# : 7:29 PM : :

I do not have my couch.

They were supposed to deliver it yesterday, between 1:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon. I left work at one (despite having rather a lot to do) and was sitting by the phone at home at 1:15. At 4:35, I called the store and was told the truck was running "an hour to an hour and a half" late. They claimed they'd tried to call me to tell me, but that was a lie. I told them that I had to leave at 5:30 (for lab at 6), and if the truck wasn't there by then, they'd just have to come back another time.

Well, at 5:29, the truck showed up. I decided it would be worth being a little late to lab if I had my sofa, so I raced down the stairs to meet them. There was another lady there (my new neighbor, actually), who was also getting a delivery. They did hers first, all half-dozen items of it, even though I asked if mine could be expedited since I had somewhere to be. At 6:15, they took my sofa off the truck.

It did not fit in the elevator. They flipped and turned it, and it simply would not fit. I was disappointed, but figured they would just take it up the stairs. No such luck; it was "too heavy". So they took it back to the store, and I finally left for lab. (I was an hour late; my nice instructor let me take the quiz anyway with a 10/40 point penalty, and I observed someone rather than doing the experiment myself. Hopefully this won't have too bad an effect on my grade.)

Why, I asked myself, had I paid $100 for delivery if all they were going to do was wheel the sofa around on a hand cart? I can do that all by myself! They knew I lived in an apartment building; what if it was the kind without an elevator? I wouldn't want to carry a sofa up four flights of stairs either, which is why I paid for someone to do it for me.

I was very angry, but I didn't call until lunchtime today when I'd cooled down a bit. I decided to just ask for a refund, since actually I don't really want a couch that won't fit in the elevator. (Especially since I might move again when my lease is up.) I got my refund easily, then asked to speak to a manager so I could share my complaints. He was nice and told me they have a policy (due to insurance liability) of not doing stairs above the second floor, and the salesperson was supposed to tell me that.

So, I'm out four hours of work, one hour of lab, and a yet-unknown number of points. It could be worse, I guess.

Now I need to look for a different couch.

# : 4:11 PM : :

I keep thinking of things that I want to write in my med school essays or talk about in interviews or tell to the people whom I'll be asking for recommendations. But I never seem to have any way to write them down other than possibly scraps of paper in my purse, and that is just no good. (Those who have seen the contents of my purse know this.) So this morning it occurred to me that a blog would be the perfect format. I can write snippets from anywhere, then when I am ready to actually put them together they'll all be in the same place.

So, the new blog is here (and also linked on the sidebar). There's not much content at the moment, and it won't be updated as often as this one, but if you're interested, there it is. It also doesn't have comments yet, since really it's just a note to self, but I'm going to install them shortly because I figured it's always good to get input from people. Maybe my friends will have suggestions for things I need to include! And once I start writing essays I will probably want feedback.

(That's so weird. When I was applying to college I wouldn't even let my parents see my essays and now I'm showing the works in progress to the whole internet.)

# : 8:37 AM : :

In Summer 2002 when I was in DC as an intern, and missing Cleveland, I used to listen to WCLV over the internet because hearing the Cleveland traffic reports reminded me of home. Now the guy at the next desk listens to the radio so I don't do that anymore; plus my coworkers might think I'm weird.

But now I've been seeking out books set in Cleveland. I read one a few months ago that was of the pink and foofy variety you see on the front tables at Borders; I can't remember the title and it wasn't especially worth reading anyway, but it was amusing because it was set in kind of a pseudo-Cleveland. I liked the Ohio jokes. Now I'm reading Pepper Pike by Les Roberts, which is a detective story set in Cleveland. I am enjoying it so far mostly for the setting; the plot is fine but not really the thing I usually go for. But the hero lives at Cedar-Fairmount! His bedroom window overlooks the Mad Greek! I am so very amused.

# : 10:08 AM : :

This weekend was fun. Eric came to visit, and we worked on decorating my apartment. He put together the bookshelf I've had sitting in its box for months (it has metal legs, so screwing it together required more strength than I have) and we hit up IKEA for a lamp and some candles. I got a very standard boring lamp for the bookshelf, then I also picked up a snail lamp because it's not often that you see such a cool lamp for $5!



Who knows what I'll do with it, though.

I was looking for a sofa too (I still have the $50 seventies floral loveseat from my dorm room) but I wasn't impressed with the selection there. So we went to Value City and found this:



It is a little greener than it looks in the picture, and it is super soft and comfortable. They're supposed to come deliver it on Wednesday, and I have to figure out how to arrange my living room before then. I think I am going to have to jettison the college loveseat. Right now my roommate has a loveseat in the living room too, so we don't need mine, but maybe I will want it if she moves out, or if I do. Besides it was the first piece of furniture I bought, so I'm kind of attached to it. Too bad it won't fit in the closet.

In other news, we also went to see Eurotrip at Eric's suggestion - he'd seen it already. It was just as bad as I'd expected, but much funnier, so I enjoyed it. And we went with Tim to see Will Durst at the DC Improv - absolutely hilarious. I'll have to remember to go back there.

# : 3:17 PM : :

If anyone is ever looking for a fantastic present for the Amanda who has everything...

Griffon's Medieval Manuscripts

I had no idea that I could actually own the type of thing that I gaze at in museums. Now I think I know what my eventual decorating goal will be. (The reproductions and even several of the originals are actually in the not-just-fantasy price range, though you might not expect it reading the introduction.)

# : 3:56 PM : :

The Mars Spirit Rover blog

# : 3:16 PM : :

I had a really good weekend. It was gorgeous out, so I had the windows wide open and did tons of laundry and cleaning. Somehow messiness bothers me more during nice weather.

Kristin was in town visiting Tom, so I got to have dinner with them. We had a discussion of a controversy that I never knew was controversial: when wearing athletic socks, does the "Hanes" across the toes go on the top or bottom of your foot? Tom says top, because then people can read it. Kristin and I say bottom, because for one thing, you're not supposed to read socks, but the real reason is that if you buy socks with set-in heels (as opposed to tube socks), the "Hanes" is on the bottom. Or, in the case of the cool stripey socks I was wearing, the "l.e.i." is on the bottom, across the arch instead of the toes. You would think this settled it, but Tom thinks he's a visionary. And when I told Eric about it later, he sided with Tom even in the face of clear evidence against them. Boys!

Since it's my spring break this week, I'm working on MCAT studying instead of O Chem. I'm trying to work my way through my review book, then I'll do practice tests. My book is arranged general chem, physics, biology, organic chem. When I made it into the physics section, I felt so much better! After taking two semesters of hard physics plus physics-heavy engineering core classes, I am pretty confident of those skills. (As opposed to chemistry.) But I don't think my review book (Peterson's Gold Standard or something like that) is very good. For one thing, there are typos and grammatical errors, so I lost a bit of confidence. Also they use the wrong letters. Who ever heard of using L for torque? Though actually L looks kind of like a free-body diagram for torque, so maybe it does make sense, but still. There was also a sentence that contained the phrase "note the number of digits (significant figures)". Digits != significant figures. Please.

# : 10:54 AM : :

Today I noticed that crocuses are popping up. No flowers yet, just these insistent green spiky things. And the squirrels are running around, and apparently there are a million birds on the GMU campus. And (luckily, since it's laundry time) I can wear short sleeves. It feels so freeing. I could never live in a place where it's 70 year-round, because I love the season changes. I could do without summer, but the first gorgeous days of spring with all the green coming back, the crisp days of fall with the leaves changing, and the first snow, are all things I'd really miss. I don't think I'd appreciate 70-degree weather if it's all I got.

My professor told the geekiest story in class this morning, right after we'd discussed nomenclature of ketones. It was cute, he put down his pen and faced the class and told the story with just a slightly less boring voice than he uses to discuss nucleophilic substitution, but you could tell it was his idea of an excited voice. My best recollection of the story:

"When I worked in X lab, we had all these plastic squeeze bottles lying around. Distilled water, hexane, acetone, soap solution, and things of that nature. People liked to use acetone to wash their glassware, because it is good at dissolving all sorts of organic compounds that would adhere to the sides of the beakers. So the acetone bottle was very popular. People from the other labs would come to our lab and borrow our acetone, and we were always running out. One day we changed the label on the acetone bottle to DMK, for dimethyl ketone, which of course is the functional name for acetone. After that, the level in the bottle didn't go down so fast."

And then he laughed! I had to laugh too, partly because I did kind of see the humor, but mostly just because his delight in this incredibly geeky "joke" was contagious. We were the only two laughing.

# : 10:26 AM : :

This made me laugh:

Edwards Drops Out, Now It's Kerry vs. Kerry

# : 2:28 PM : :

It's been April-ish here since Friday. I'm loving it. On Sunday we went to Great Falls National Park and had a barbecue. It was gorgeous! There were a bunch of dogs and little kids enjoying the weather too.

We played Frisbee for awhile and I was really surprised to find out that I wasn't really any worse than anyone else, and actually better than some. And I enjoyed it!

This is really weird because I used to always avoid Frisbee (like any other sport involving projectiles) and when forced to play, could neither catch nor throw with any accuracy. I haven't practiced, but all of a sudden I'm better!

I think this is because over the past several years, I developed a lot more confidence, both in my abilities and in myself. So I don't think I'll be terrible, and I don't especially care if I look stupid. It's funny how much easier it is without my insecurities holding me back. (I also found that I was actually a better piano player by the end of college, even with minimal practice, for the same reason.)

Also I've been working out fairly steadily, so running and jumping to get the Frisbee actually feels good. And at some point my fear of being hit by a projectile pretty much dissolved. That's the one I don't really understand - it still hurts if I get smacked by a flying object, but I don't care. Maybe I've experienced enough pain to know it's not really a big deal?

It's really neat to find out that I don't have to be bad at every flying-object sport for the rest of my life. Maybe I will try softball again sometime. I'm still sitting out soccer, though; my fear of being kicked is not going away anytime soon.

# : 9:29 AM : :

I need to stop being such a pessimist. I keep getting myself worked up over stupid stuff that turns out to be no big deal.

For example, last month, in an extremely blonde moment, I mailed two bills without stamps. One had a return address, and was back in my mailbox the next day, so no harm done. The other one apparently found its way to the dead-mail bin. So I wrote a new check, put it in an envelope addressed to the return address on the bill, and mailed it (WITH a stamp and return address).

Last night, I got my next bill from that company, and it included a scolding for having a payment past due, and a charge for both last month and this. Inspecting the bill, I found that the address on the payment envelope is not the same as the return address on the bill itself, so this would explain why they hadn't gotten my check. Well, I was mad at the company for not telling what address to mail it to, mad at myself for not calling to check, and worried that this would show up on my credit report. So I steeled myself for calling them today and having to deal with some mean person with a difficult accent, who would have zero sympathy for my plight and tell me it was too late to fix. If they even listened at all.

When I finally made the call, I got a very pleasant woman who told me that they had received my payment right after they mailed the bill, so there was no issue. Since I already mailed off a large check this morning, I will have a very small bill next month. Problem all gone!

This always happens, just like when the Post accidentally overcharged me and I was all angry but then as soon as I explained what happened they sent me a refund check. I need to have more confidence in people, so I don't waste my energy getting mad before I even have anything to be mad about.

Except for AT&T Wireless. All three times I've been mad at them, they've validated that as soon as I got to talk to a person (which, actually, was not soon at all). So I am still allowed to pre-hate them.

# : 11:56 AM : :