Thursday, May 27, 2010

I’m alive… sort of

Been feeling very hermit-ish this week. The headache to end all others isn’t helping either (I calculated my aspirin intake just now and was shocked and horrified… ). I think the flu is beginning to attack.

Not much to say except that i think I might just go home ad have some soup, and not think about productivity and stuff until tomorrow…

Anyway as I feel somewhat over-medicated and sleepy, I'm going to stop there and attempt to get some work done.

Have a great Thursday!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Real World

So I’m not very interesting at the moment. I’m pulling ridiculous hours in the lab and not making much progress – I got some bad news and had a major setback yesterday which means that time = essence and so on…

If you want adventure, you hold totally check out Leia’s blog where she’s writing about her recent trip to Malawi and the various catastrophes along the way.

In other news, I’ve decided that although the end of the PhD doesn’t really feel like it’s anywhere near, I have to start planning for it anyway, and I started applying for a job today! not that I’m in a rush, ,it’s just that the job of my dreams just became available.

I have never been more scared in my life! On one hand it’s the perfect job for me – involving the things I’m good at, like fieldwork, logistics, dealing with scientists and normal humans and generally just sorting stuff out. I’m perfect for it! On the other hand it’s the real world! I’m not sure what’s scarier – that they might not want me, or that they might hire me…

Anyone with tips on applying for jobs please let me know, I’ve never really done it before… I think I might even need to rewrite my CV as last time I used it I was about 18 and working at a pet-shop!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Whatever you do

Do NOT click this link. I’m on question 92 and have lost the will to live.

The nameless one is back from her adventures overseas, so it should be an interesting weekend of catch-ups, pool and possibly even sokkie-dancing (yes, I missed her that much). Joey’s also using me as a model for a makeup artist’s portfolio which should be… interesting! And maybe even a little bit fun!

Have a great weekend! 

why

Monday, May 10, 2010

Welcome back princess!

Leia is home from Malawi! It’s been been very calm and quiet in the lab without the other crazy one, and she’s seeming very cool and intrepid after all her adventures!

And we have a new coffee machine!

Coincidentally I spent last weekend house-sitting for her parents, which was an interesting experience. The dogs are awesome, but the house was so clean I spent most of the time terrified of making anything dirty. White bed-linen is not for the faint-hearted! It was nice to have some calm and quiet and time to just be alone with myself and think things through.

It’s also quite odd that over the last few days Plus-1 and I saw 3 movies: 1 zombie (I’ve imposed a 1-zombie-movie-a-week law), 1 horror (but where’s Kyle?) and one live-action anime. The non-anime-anime was super-cool, and now I need a scabbard for my sword so I can practice the uber-cool kicking it out over my head and catching it by the handle move. I may die.

Anyway it’s totally normal that I’m excited to have Leia back, considering that she proposed…

DSC01712 Romantic, no?

So welcome back Leia, and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of stories of your adventures to giggle over soon!

megs not posing Leia, looking adventurous. Or intrepid. There should be a word for that, like intrepiventurous!

Thursday, May 06, 2010

I must warn you…

 

I was at work at the vet yesterday training the new receptionist, who is also a long-time friend of mine and is currently studying in my department.

So I showed her the computer system and everything she needed to know, and we both pulled out laptops and got some work done which degenerated into a discussion on anthropomorphism and the semantics of calling facilitation what it is or not and equally nerdy yet fascinating stuff.

And after a few hours my bosses’ three year-old arrived and climbed onto my lap and I ended up sitting on the floor with her while we squeaked the dog-toys at each other and giggled.

It bothers me that I can swing from academic the babysitter so quickly, and even more that hanging out with a toddler can be the high point of my day sometimes!

ME! Me! Mememememememe

I stole this from Tamara because I’ve been super-busy and haven’t posted forever. Stuff I’ve done is underlined (because I’m cool like that). It feels kind of… American biased…

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bunjee jumped (I’ve abseiled and rock-climbed… isn’t that enough?)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I paid a kid’s school fees when I was in high school, does that count?)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own veggies (not on mega veggie-garden scale, but I have grown a few things and when I was a kid I had a mega-crop of calendulas that we used to make a super-awesome ointment that I used on everything for years).
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on an overnight train (I’ve slept ona  regular train?)
21. Had a pillowfight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not sick
24. Made a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Ran a marathon (I walked one once. Watch this space for the running).
27. Went skinny dipping
28. Rode in a gondola in Venice
29. Witnessed total eclipse
30. Seen a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (only in softball, we don’t really do baseball here)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace/ home of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish country
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (does living here count?)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Taken a ride in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (I had a cartoonist draw a picture of me once. I’m counting it)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theater (Leia an I spent the whole movie on the swings and ignoring the adventures of Jackie Chan. It was fun!)
54. Been in a movie (been on TV…?)
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Started a business (I was totally a fudge-tycoon for about 2 months until it got to be too time-consuming).
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Worked at a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout cookies
61. Gone whale watching
62. Gotten flowers for no reason
63. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited Nazi concentration camp
66. Bounced a check
67. Flown in a helicopter
68. Saved a childhood toy
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
70. Eaten caviar (did not like it AT ALL).
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured the Everglades
74. Been fired from a job
75. Seen the changing of the guards in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
78. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
79. Published a book (I wrote a poem as a kid that was published in a book a few years later, if that counts?).
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Visited Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the paper
84. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (which is why i fish without bait nowadays).
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone’s life (a bit overdramatic, but once I pulled a little kid out of a swimming pool when she wandered too deep and sank. Her parents were very exuberant in their thanks although it was more of a 'pick up and dump somewhere shallower moment than a heroic rescue).
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club
92. Got a tattoo
93. Had a baby
94. Seen the Alamo in person
95. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
96. Been involved in a law suit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee
99. Swam in the Black Sea

What about some cool South Africans ones? Have you ever:

  • Been to the desert
  • Avoided a sudden-stop taxi and a pothole at the same time
  • visited Pofadder
  • been hiking with someone who thinks that everything that moves is a green mamba
  • had a chat about life in general with the check-out lady at the local supermarket
  • locked your keys in your car and been unable to retrieve them for fear of the helicopters, SWAT teams and secret agents arriving thanks to Tracker and all 25 different alarm systems in place.
  • Been on a game-drive
  • Been on a night-drive

Anything else you can think of?