Sunday, September 30, 2007

fishy!

I've decided that Aristarchus is totally an appropriate name. he's super curious, and no less inquisitive than the (sadly) late Herodatus. (curse you, malfunctioning vacation feeders! at least he gets to sleep with the bamboofish.)

granted, goldfish are supposed to have the proverbial 3 second memory, which could explain why he investigates every nook and cranny all the time, but even herodatus and ovid would dart away and hide behind a plant when I'd put my face close to the tank to get a better look at them. (the advantages to being ridiculously myopic- built in macro lens.)

Aristarchus swims right up and mugs for me. probably has something to do with nonbinocular vision- he looks at me with his left eye, then his right, then sometimes he'll wash rinse repeat, other times he'll flounce away and go try to eat the plant. it's plastic. that doesn't seem to matter.

he got a spinach treat today, but he only ate half of it. maybe next time I'll cut it smaller.

duty (hah)- I mean knitting- calls.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

fun fact:

the current temperature here in emeryland/oakville is 14 degrees Celsius.

in Alta, it's 11 degrees Celsius.

that's Alta, Norway.

...?

not that I'm complaining, but the fishy might be none too happy.

Friday, September 28, 2007

to combat the current mood:

meet Aristarchus.


yes, I know it's a bit of a ridiculous name for such a little fish. but he's a black moor, which is a variety of the telescope-eyed fancy goldfish, and aristarchus was the first greek astronomer to develop the theory of heliocentrism, so it makes sense. and besides that, maybe he'll give me good physics karma based on his namesake, what?


shut up. he's pretty.

sigh...snif...

friends, relatives, and relatives of friends:

stay healthy.

no more cancer. no more chemo. no more dying.

someone invent a make-everything-better ray.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

under attack. no. seriously.

it's tempting to wonder where Murphy (as in murphy's law) gets his bodyguards, and how expensive they would be to bribe...

...but then I've been rereading a series of books by Walter Jon Williams sold under the anthology title of Ten Points for Style which involves lots of thievery and bribery and all sorts of fun stuff.

give praise to Triple-A for the power of the happy little membership card! The Boy and I avoided a 120 dollar fee for rescuing our keys from the ignition as we waited outside the Target with a full cart of goodies.

look! plant!
(the plant isn't included in the goodies from le target boutique, incidentally, I'm just excited that I finally have green in my apartment again. and it's actually three plants, not one, and I confused the poor home depot woman to no end:
PHDW: finding everything you need?
Me: (balancing pot and three little plants and coffee mug) yep! actually, no- what's the smallest bag of potting soil that you sell?
PHDW: that one- (pointing to a small bag, but small bag of potting soil + small apartment = large bag of taking-up-space-soil)
Me: oh. Do you sell it by the pound or anything out of the garden center?
PHDW: er, no. But the small bag isn't really very- I mean, it will get used up very quickly, even in a small garden.
Me: MmM,* I've got a really small apartment, and all I want to do is plant these three (gesture with coffee cup at plants) in this pot (jiggle pot with elbow) so I was hoping there might be some other way. that's ok.
PHDW: oh. (strange look at choice of plants and pot.) you could try a greenhouse.
Me: where would-
PHDW: there's (insert name here, I've forgotten), they're nice-
Me: I just moved here, I've no idea where anything is, really.
PHDW: oh. (frowns.) well, it's over there (points) up by berkeley. or just drive up San Pablo, they're scattered all along it.
Me: thanks!
PHDW: you're welcome. hope you enjoy oakland! (disappears rapidly into plumbing section.)

*that's MmM, the norwegian tritonal utterance used for 'yes, I'm listening' 'oh, really?' 'hell yes,' 'what?' and more.

also, after this, one of the guys in the home depot shirt-but-not-apron (which I think means they're sort of the minions of the ones with the aprons and the big smiles and the wish to help you do whatever you needed to do that brought you to the home depot in the first place) saw me wandering the garden center (looking for mint and basil and another pot, thinking that I could get them and then get the bag and not feel bad because then I could make fresh tea and pesto and use up the bag of soil at the same time, but alas, no cookie) and said:
"Down the aisle by the trees there's a bag of soil that got ripped and isn't sellable, you could plant them and then check out in the garden center to pay for the plants and pot."
at which point he went back to watering the hanging plants.

so I did. and now I have plant! yay!
(just imagine how bad it's going to be when I finally make it down to the fish store and get a fish.)

aaand....look! T4!
I know. far cry from tank top, isn't it? sadly, my goal of getting it done this summer failed utterly.

one more row, then I get to fold and pick up the edge, which is going to be depressing because it will effectively halve the length I've knitted.

knitting 350+ stitches on ittle needles is...annoyingly slow.

all my really old UFOs are like that, though. three shawls. sad.

and look!
band weaving that I'm actually mildly ashamed at posting, because it's really awkward, but I keep trying to remind myself that it's my first time since, um, almost ever. (not that it does any good in getting past the art OCD inherited from my mother, but oh well.)

two picking patterns; started the chevrons before deciding no, thanks, I'd like to keep my sanity and went on to less finicky pursuits.

yes, I'm hiding most of the ick in my hand. shutup.

and I might be getting a job offer! woo! The Boy mentioned to one of his clients that his fiancee was looking for a job in the bay area, and today they asked him for my contact information for something temporary or part time and unspecified, but still! glee!

oh, yeah. the subject heading. attack, yes...by the ants. here's what not to do, upon finding a few ants in the bedroom, idly wandering around the floor.

Oh, look, ants. grrr. back already, eh? well, I'm wise to you...and since there's no food in here...instead of squishing and sweeping and spraying blindly, I'm going to wait...yes, wait...until you form trails so that I can unleash the power of the industrial chemicals upon you! muahahaa!

don't do that, because this is what the ant scouts do:

Scout battalion one reporting to hive mother! the big pink thing has taken the bait! UNLEASH THE HORDES!

and you return to this:

ants. everywhere. ev. 'ry. where. all over the floor. crawling up the walls. along the baseboard. but still...not in any discernible entry or exit point. seriously. ugh.

and half an hour in which to deal with them before I have to go get on my bus to go to my favoritist class in the whole wide wonderful world...

...not.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

physics...

so...we've already established the depths of my hatred of physics.

there's just one problem. I love my physics lab prof. he's hilarious. here's an example (before I go back to the stupid physics stupid online stupid homework stupidity.

this is from an e-mail regarding some questions we're supposed to answer for our next lab report.


"for those of you who are still underage and, therefore, not yet acquainted to alcoholic beverages:

question 5) Stoli vodka is made of 40% vol. alcohol and the rest is water. I thought everybody knew."

giggle.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

heeheehee.

sooo....

I can see it now...

a Hollywood exec, delving further into the depths of remake-and-redo-and-revision, scans the news. Bingo! flunkies are scrambled to listen to the pitch, which goes something like this:

I got it! ok. so. bond is dead- we don`t need bond. but bourne`s taken over that genre, we don`t want to get into that, but we gotta make a spy movie so...here`s the scene- super spy politico-thriller BUT and here`s the thing- we do it in Russia with russians, call it- I don`t know what to call it, you figure that out, just get me Vin Diesel or the Rock. kay? and somebody write me up a viral ad campaign about spoofing brokeback mountain, yah?

...and then the flunkies quietly slink away, muttering about senility (hah, tried to write salinity, woops)

ANYway.

I have an idea for what to do with the other end of my scarf! yay! ...I`m going to go insane, but oh well.

yeesh. there`s two guys reshingling a roof behind my building- it`s ridiculously windy today, and I don`t envy them their perch.

I made myself giddy earlier today by finding this song by the Forsvarets Stabsmusikkorps (the Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces) called Concertino for Euphonium and Band (Bloody Euphonium).

I love it. hooray euph!

aaaand... your random act of internet for the day....if you have a slightly warped sense of humor, or are sleep deprived and are mainlining caffeine. or if you`ve ever been through a Hell Week as a techie.

clicky!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I. hate. physics.

no, really. I swear. (a lot, unfortunately- physics seems to bring that out in me.)

not a cuddly oh-I-dislike-my-homework-and-commute-to-it but an honest hatred.

carol kane as mrs white hatred.



yes. that badly.

and you can add to that list any and ALL online homework/teaching/coursework programs. Blackboard, this means you. KATIE-that-used-to-be-MOODLE too, and Luther's wife would be rolling in her grave to be associated with it. MasteringPhysics...grr.

trying to figure out physics problems is bad enough. trying to figure out physics problems when any little hiccup in the internet can disconnect you and make you restart, or a glitch in refresh rates can load the page twice (and thus, if you've input the incorrect answer, dock you twice), or refuse to show you parts of problems OR the hints which we are supposed to use even when they're not helpful AT. ALL. grr.

give me paper! give me pen!(cil!) give me ANYTHING but the computer's baleful glowy screen glaring impersonally at me. give me old school or give me death.

sigh

on the other hand, I had bulgolgi and jap che and bubble tea today.

and I went to go see Parry Hotter and the Phoder of the Oenix today. mmm, Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman. I've never read the books (I lie, ok, fine, I read the first two, I try to forget), but I'll defend Snape all day for two reasons: 1) it's stupid narrative to have him be truly evil and 2) alan rickman.

And The Boy was very gracious in putting up with my physics theatrics that mostly involved muttering, growling, shouting, or pleading (or weeping) at the computer.

here's a fun "america makes my brain hurt" moment for you- so I got bubble tea today, and they gave me a little cardboard sleeve thing so I wouldn't freeze my hand off, and the sleeve has an ad for maidenform lingerie with two shirtless sultry-looking models on it, gazing out onto the world with too much eyeliner and airbrushed cleavage. which begs the question...if sex is bad horrible and corrupting and oh dear god protect the airwaves...why do I have softcore porn on my bubble tea?

that *fzzzt* sound was yet another of my brain cells short-circuiting.

I get serious knitting time on saturdays. I leave at 1120 for a 1300 class, and then get home around 1800 after class gets out at 1615. hoo. ray.

gonna leave early for Ochem tomorrow so I can get coffee (mmcoffee) and then go wander through the happy little king's englishy bookstore. I am going to booby trap my wallet to tazer me if I reach for it, however.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

a quickie

I hate labs that are engineered to fail. hate. in 30 minutes I need to go catch my bus(ses) to get to class on time (yes, I know, I leave at 1110 to get to a 1300 class. shut. up.) I have a lab report that I think is crap but I can't do anything about it because the experiment was crap and the directions as to what he wanted in the lab report were also crap. crap, crap, crap.

blarg.

however, this might entertain you. here's a picture of my data sheet, post organization. now...what does that color pattern remind you of?


DR WHO....it never really goes away...




...and neither does physics.



and in the words of bill van cleave-
minion! make me a sammich!

Friday, September 14, 2007

life imitating discworld...

so apparently writing BOIL ME AN EGG, ALBERT yesterday conjured up a whole series of discworld-aktige ting.

first, Anoia, Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers, paid me a visit. stupid spatula.
then, I had a wonderful glimpse at the wonder (hah) that is the postal system here in emery-land (or oak-ville, if you like that better)
and then... none other than Foul Ole Ron got on my bus home from physics.

no, really. I jest not. He was muttering when he got on bus, muttering for the ten minutes he was on the bus, and muttering when he got off the bus. I say muttering, but it was more like serious conversation at high decibels. muttering with projection? I kept waiting for a "buggrit. buggrem. millenium hand and shrimp." The Smell was there, too, all the way until I got off at my stop several blocks down.

AND anniken had just called me! it was a total terry pratchett day.

I just got the urge to knit something disc-y. and I need to talk to syvilla about yarn for my inaugural yay-I-moved-to-san-francisco knitting project, which is either going to be a laptop case for my shiny new laptop or a scarf or...an...or.

but eyah. on to the physics lab report! ...er...

Thursday, September 13, 2007

someone turn off murphy′s law, already...

so I got distracted when Freya called me (yay!) and walked slower than normal and missed my first bus- no big deal, since I was just headed to coffee and wifi at barnes and noble and there was another one in 15 minutes- but I get on the bus and get to the barnes and noble no trouble.

well, except for the fact that my zipper killed itself and I have to unpick the end to refeed it. oh well.

oh, and except for the fact that barnes and noble is apparantly playing opera today...not so conducive to concentrating well on the physics homework. good thing it´s not due until sunday.

halfway done with the solar scarf- yeah, that one, that I started little over a year ago...I´ve placed my halfway marker and have started on the home stretch! the long home stretch, but that´s ok. and once I figure my public transit routes out fully, I can break out the hard stuff- yes, T4. da da daaaa. maybe a goal of getting a tank top done by the end of this year will be fulfilled since it´ll be the wrong season to wear it.

although I am a california girl now, so...maybe I will wear it.

and then...it´s time...for...Tubey.

yeah, right.

...BOIL ME AN EGG, ALBERT.

sorry, I just feel like Susan because my hair is going crazy on me today and because I am boiling eggs. mmm, eggs.

off to the barnes and noble for some coffee and homework time, then to physics. whoo.

and then- tomorrow- (cue suspenseful music...go) I AM GOING to put together one of the dressers. I will. yes.

aaaand I should go walk to my bus.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

your what hurts?

aah, åsta. I think of you every time I bike past my street, because on the corner is a motorcycle-shop-tattoo-parlor-sandwich-espresso-cafe thing. yes, I am in san fraaaancisco. I have yet to visit, but soon...soon.

it...

...so, yeah, I got distracted by searching for moleskines online. I think they stopped making my big happy pretty lined ones...boo.

I have no idea how the boy takes so long in the shower. seriously. I take less time, and I shave my legs and wash my crazy psycho hair.

physics tomorrow. woo.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

wooooooof.

no, that's not a sign that I've finally gotten a dog. that's an explosive outrush of air. so here's why I haven't been heard from since early august...

finished camp. international day insanity as planned. pack up skogfjorden. oh, yeah. before packing up camp, don't sleep because you're sitting up with åsta burning and writing on the dvds to give to the villagers. at all. except for a little impromptu nap.

drive down to mpls with elsebet and pia. go eat with lars and some random german, pam, james, robbie, dave, ebet, pia, and jens.

get stuck in traffic and miss plane. actually, I could have made it, but the mental midget struck again and sent me running flat out for my...seat number. 26 C, and my gate was supposed to be 10 F, which if you have ever been in the MSP airport, you'll be wincing in sympathy.

go sleep at ebet's house, wake up eeeaaaarrrrlly and go to MSP to fly to Seatac. the plane is slightly delayed, but not by much. I get to SEA, go for lunch with Gretchen and Jesse, then back to my plane to SFO.

visit the boy briefly, then fly back home on thursday afternoon. but no, murphy is not yet done with marit. oh, no. my plane is supposed to leave SFO for SEA at 1309. at 1309 they say we'll have more information for you at 1350. at 1350 they say more information at 1415. at 1415 more info at 1500. at 1500 more info at 1550. at 1550 more info at 1630. at 1630 more info at 1715. at this point I'm in line asking if there's any way this plane is ever going to leave, and failing that, what airline will you put me on so that I can actually get to seattle sometime today? ack. as I'm standing in line, we hear this: more information at 1800. I bail, get on a united flight, go out, recheck in, get sent through extra screening (yay, shiny glass boxes with airpuffs...) finally get to SEA at 0200 or something ridiculous like that. (oh, and my original flight finally left SFO at 2034. damn.) the next morning, actually later that morning, we fly out of SEA for houston, have a big layover, then to guayaquil ecuador, then sleep for another maybe four hours before getting shuttled around and stuck on the plane for santa cruz, the galapagos.

more on the galapagos and marit-as-cruise-photographer later.

on the 25th we leave the galapagos, spend a really long time in transit, and arrive in tacoma on the 26th. what day does my first class start? august 27th. oh. joy.

so I fly down to SF, go to class, go pass out in my apartment, have a few days of chill time due to the vagaries of the cost of air travel, then fly back to tacoma on wednesday.

sleep thursday.

friday IKEA run and stuck in traffic (curse you, I-5 on labour day weekend!) and dinner party with Tony and Bert (not gert, oops)

saturday bumbershoot festival with ebet and midge and pack van

sunday pack van and monday, tuesday, wednesday drive to SF.

high winds + 21 foot cargo van stuffed to gills = not fun. semis of the world, I salute you. little pinkish corollas, I salute you too, but with a different finger.

thursday 3 hours of physics and then wandering lost at berkeley at night. not. fun.

friday....more IKEA. finally have desk! and flour, and other essential foodstuffs. and joining the dark side.

yes, it's true. I now have a macbook. hauling the beast was survivable as long as it wasn't dead weight...and now it's actually dead weight. matt thinks it can be resurrected, but with a full lobotomy. notsogood.

and now it's saturday, and in 45 minutes I have to go to my physics lab. ugh.

I feel like a pinball.