A more lyrical post

Due to the fact that I have very little to post about, I am going to post the lyrics to a song that I am in love with at the moment (honestly, I think I could listen to it on a continuous repeat for an hour). So here it is, "Sleeps with Butterflies" by Tori Amos (from her album The Beekeeper)

"Sleeps With Butterflies"

Airplanes
Take you away again
Are you flying
Above where we live
Then I look up a glare in my eyes
Are you having regrets about last night
I'm not but I like rivers that rush in
So then I dove in
Is there trouble ahead
For you the acrobat
I won't push you unless you have a net

You say the word
You know I will find you
Or if you need some time
I don't mind
I don't hold on
To the tail of your kite
I'm not like the girls that you've known
But I believe I'm worth coming home to
Kiss away night
This girl only sleeps with butterflies
With butterflies
So go on and fly then boy

Balloons
Look good from on the ground
I fear with pins and needles around
We may fall then stumble
Upon a carousel
It could take us anywhere

I'm not like the girls that you've known
But I believe I'm worth coming home to
Kiss away night
This girl only sleeps with butterflies
With butterflies
With butterflies
So go on and fly boy

"I just had a test last semester, and now I have to take another test! It's not fair! How often in real life are you tested?" -Luanne Platter

Merry Christmas all

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We are having a delayed Christmas in our family (since the most important thing is for all of us to be together.) I will be spending the day working on my homemade Christmas presents and watching movies. Required viewing will include "Shop Around the Corner" which I think is the best Jimmy Stewart movie. If you ever have a chance to see it you should. I was lucky to receive it on DVD for last Christmas (which is good because it won't be on TCM today). I hope everyone has a happy holiday and gets to spend lots of time with friends and family.

BOBBY: Better honk, Dad. It won't feel like Christmas Day if we miss the Little Drummer Boy.
HANK: I'm doing the best I can, and -- wait a minute, you're being sarcastic. You have no interest at all in seeing that little boy play his heart out, do you?
BOBBY: Nope. (I would like to note that my mother dislikes that song.)

Back from a long absence

I have been home at the farm for nearly a week now (hence the lack of blog posts). My sister Bridget arrived the day after me, with Orrin and Silas. I had a really good time playing with Silas (he really enjoyed being pushed on this little toy cart, I think he likes the wind blowing in his face.) And then Rachel, Trey and little Ellis arrived two days ago. So for a while there were two babies here at the farm (we were knee deep in babies). But the Bridget, Orrin, and Silas, have since left for Michigan to visit Orrin's side of the family. But they will be back to celebrate our belated Christmas when Lucy and Josh will be here from Colorado. And what have I been doing with my free time? Mostly baking cookies and spending time with my sisters. And working on Christmas presents ( I realized now that I was insane when I decided to make something ). I'm going to try to read some over my vacation. I wasn't able to read very much over the semester (Cell Bio and grading pretty much ate up a majority of my free time). But next semester should be nice. I am taking my thesis credits and then one class independent study which means I can try to finish all the work for the class faster than normal (which is my plan, I would like to finish the class within a month and a half of the semester. ) My progress with my reading project has been dismal (I have only read one book (Russia)) but hopefully I can read two of the books I took home with me and write short little reviews on them (which I haven't done for the one book I have read yet). I promise to do better!

"I'm skeptical that you could yet intrigued that you may"- Dale Gribble

Sometimes I say "Okay" instead of "Fine"

I haven't posted anything in almost a week due to my marathon Cell Bio study session over the weekend. I had my test on Monday night and it went okay. And now for the rest of the week, I will be busy counting cells on blood slides and grading exams. I am also going to finish my Christmas shopping. The only people I need to shop for are my brothers-in-law. After almost 20 years of on having to find gifts for one man (my father), suddenly I have 5 males to worry about. On Friday, I will be leaving for home for 3 weeks and get to see all my sisters at the same time since March. And now I am going back to rest my overtaxed mind for a little longer.

"You see, Bobby, your daddy's gene'ation's givin' away everything we fought for! Pannyma Canal. Mexican legs. You people would give back Gandhi's diapers if you had 'em!" - Cotton Hill

Bonus Quote:
"But I told you where the leg was!"- Cotton Hill

Quality in a square

While I was in Germany, Rachel had a delicious candy bar from Ritter Sport. It was a butter cookie (like a Leibnetz) covered in chocolate (think of a Kit-Kat but about 1000 times better). I was sure that I could never find this in America so I bought two before I left for America. And then yesterday, when I was making a dent into my Christmas shopping at Target I was trying to find the fastest checkout lane and lo and behold there was the exact Ritter Sport candy bar that I enjoyed in Europe. Oh how I love Target! Andritter sport (whose tagline is Quality in a square). I also need to mention that I received a package from Lucy today that totally made my day (she sent me Godiva hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows). Now I will turn my attention back to "Charade" on TCM (with a super frightening James Coburn, and a slightly less scary George Kennedy (who doesn't really scare me, I've seen him in Naked Gun to many times).

"With all respect and honor, I would not be saddened if both you and your father went to hell." - Junichro

Bonus quote
" I cannot leave work in middle of the day. I am assistant manager. One of only thirty." - Junichro

What happens when John Adams joins the CIA?

By John Adams I mean of course William Daniels who played John Adams in "1776". And played a CIA agent on the episode of "The Closer" that aired last night. The whole episode just made me want to watch "ALIAS" right after (but I resisted and went to bed instead). I've been spending most of my time lately doing cell count on blood smear slides. To do it is about as interesting as it sounds. But I have gotten better and faster at ID the different cells types. My favorite is the neutrophils because it is easy to determine. Less easy is monocytes and leukocytes because the monocytes can look like the leukocytes but stain lighter (hence the difficulty). And starting tonight, I will begin my marathon studying for my last cell bio test on Monday night. I did alright on that third exam (Ask my any question about vesicle fusion in cells, I only missed 1 point on that section!) so I don't have to be super stressed out. I think at this point I have to do really poorly and everyone else has to do really well for me to get a C (exactly where I like to be). I am also trying to stay on top of my Christmas shopping as well. I am a little over 50% done so that's good.


HANK: I need a gnome. Not just any gnome, a Winklebottom.
SALES MANAGER: A Winklebottom? Why not just ask me to move a rainbow?
HANK: I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or just weird.

Bonus Quote:
PEGGY: Excuse me, do you know of a plant that can withstand over-watering, inadequate fertilization, and perhaps some over-zealous pruning?
TEENAGE CLERK: Yeah, they're called weeds.

Spending some quality time with JT

Tonight on PBS there is an episode of Great Performaces featuring the great James Taylor. He was honored this year at the MusiCARES person of the year. Unfortunately, James Taylor didn't play for the entire hour and half because it was a tribute concert. But there were some people that I like ( Bonnie Raitt and Sting to name a few). And India.Arie had the awesomest bag ever which had a picture of a very young (circa "Sweet Baby James") James Taylor on it. It seems so weird to see James Taylor (and other singers that my mom loved like Emmylou Harris, Judy Collins and Paul Simon) looking old because when I was first introduced to them, they were still young (from seeing album covers). I always think "JT when did you get so old and lose all your hair!?" (For the record, I think the same thing when I see Paul Simon too. Less so for Judy Collins and Emmylou Harris, I mostly think about how pretty their silver hair looks.) My friend Fiona from the Academy used to refer to another employee as JT and I of course always thought she meant James Taylor. So I hate when people refer to Justin Timberlake as JT. Even after James Taylor dies, Justin Timberlake will never be JT.

"My Sloppy Joe is all Sloppy and no Joe."- Bobby Hill

Don't Make Me Live in a House of Wee

So right now, my PBS station is running Britcom One Season wonders and tonight it was "The Savages" which is about a married couple with two young children. The little boy, Luke, keeps wetting the bed. And eventually the house begins to smell like pee (hence the title). The show was so funny (and features the fab Geoffrey Palmer from "As Time Goes By"). And now for a short overview of my trip to Heidelberg. After I arrived at the Frankfurt Airport, Trey found me and then we drove to their house (after a quick stop at a local orchard for some cider). And I got to meet my adorable nephew Ellis for the first time. I swear I have never seen such a smiley baby (nor one that was able to pinch the smallest amount of skin!). Then on Monday, I walked around Bammental with Rachel and Bridget (and their babies). On Tuesday, we visited Heidelberg castle and walked around Heidelberg. The castle tour was really good (and interesting, more about the people that had lived there than anything else.) And then of course on Thursday, the three of us (with some help from Silas) made the fantastic Thanksgiving dinner ( I made the pie filling and mashed the potatoes). And on Friday, we went (sans Trey) to the Christmas Market in Frankfurt. It was amazing all the stuff that was for sale there, all sorts of hats, toys and assorted knickknacks. And of course we the traditional gluehwein. After returning from the Christmas market, we celebrated Bridget's birthday by playing a game and watching some Pee-Wee Herman. I had a wonderful time in Germany and I can't wait to see all my sisters at Christmas.

"Wait a minute. I don't recall a change in plans being in the original plan."- Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote:
"Plan 51-Tango! In the event of a hostile takeover of the gun club, resulting in a Dale-threatening situation, I flee to Costa Rica. Why do we even have the drills if you're not gonna pay attention?" - Dale Gribble

We'll Start on this crappola tomorrow

So I am back home again in Iowa City. I spent a lot of time today in airports, but all in all the day wasn't too bad. I promise that on Sunday, I will do a whole write up for my blog (between working on my presentation, my occupational health assignment, and my cell bio write-up and grocery shopping). But for now, I will be going to bed. Good Night!

"Dangit, Bobby, people will see that oil stain and think I'm a drunk."- Hank Hill

Bonus Quote:
"Well, I'm happy for me, but I am sad for you. But don't worry, honey, I will keep this between you, me, Bobby, and the family therapist we will undoubtedly need to see."- Peggy Hill

An American in Heidelberg.

I haven't posted in a while so there will be talk of my test and my trip to Frankfurt. First my test on Thursday night went alright. Not a well as the first one, but I wasn't in the depths of despair after like with the second one. There has been an increase in attempted sexual assaults in Iowa City recently so of course I was super concerned that I would be attack on Thursday (my week has not been the best disaster-wise so I just assumed the worst). But I arrived at the bus-stop with out incident. Then one Friday, I attend a lecture by Andrew Fire who just won the Nobel. I didn't get to actually see him though, because so many people attended, there were two rooms of overflow (and the lecture was broadcast to those two rooms). His lecture was really interesting and he seemed like a really nice guy. After the lecture, I started to do some hard-core packing and cleaning for my week long absence. All I will say about my suitcase is that it was heavy and only 25% clothing. My flight on Saturday wasn't until about 6, so I was able to sleep in a little and watch some of the Purdue-Indiana game (Purdue Won!!) before I drove to Davenport to drop off my car at Sarah's and then have her drive to the airport. I got to visit with her for about an hour which is always fun before I went to the Quad Cities airport. My flight from the Quad city airport to Chicago was fine, we were about 10 minutes early (which was good because I had about 10 minutes to catch my connection) but then we had to wait for a gate. So I was freaked out about catching my connection but I got on at the final boarding call. The flight to Frankfurt wasn't too bad, but I wasn't able to sleep very much because the woman in front of me had to recline her seat and then move around (so she was constantly hitting my knee with her seat). But my luggage wasn't lost and I found Trey without a problem so it was okay. I will be updating through the week about my adventures in Heidelberg.

"Between the drugging and the lying, someone in this family has got to show a little got-dang integrity."- Hank Hill

Fun Fact

I know I haven't posted in almost a week, but what can I say, I'm lazy! I went home to the farm for the weekend to get ready for my trip across the pond(in less than a week yikes!) But before I go, I have a cell biology test to study for, as well as a ton of papers to read, and work on my presentation about neurological diseases in farmers. So I have been pretty busy. But the weekend at home was very nice (even the drive home was like driving through a monsoon). I was able to watch a Purdue game with other Purdue fans (for the first time of the season) and I am happy to say that Purdue won (over Illinois) and is now bowl eligible. And mom sent back part of a hero and potato soup with me so I am enjoying the soup right now. Now I am reading in my cell bio book about filaments, and this is where I am getting a fun fact for this post. If you ingest a death cap mushroom, a remedy is do ingest a large amount of raw meat (the actin filaments from the meat bind to the toxin instead of your own actin filaments) . Enjoy!

"It's a "Fun Run," Dad. I ran until it stopped being fun. Happened quick."- Bobby Hill

Expect some delays

okay, I know I promised a review of the Russia book, and I swear I am working on it! Tonight, instead of working on the review, I watched Paula Poundstone on Bravo. And she was hilarious (as I expected). I thought I would share one little gem from her routine. She said that she wished she had a degenerative disease because she already feels achy and tired, but if she had a degenerative disease everything she did would be courageous. "I would role out of bed at noon, and everyone would say she insisted on getting up. She just gives and gives until she has nothing left." Hopefully that will tide you off until my Russian review.

"Your dad's days of hating me are coming to a close. Who can hate a kid who can Charleston?" -Bobby Hill

And just because I love this quote, I can't resist:

"I'm glad I'm not the lama. The Chane Train stops for the ladies." - Chane Wasonasong

Killer Shrews, Killer Shrews, K-I-double L- E-R Shrews

So, this weekend I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 featuring Killer Shrews (hence the title) as well as "Swamp Diamonds" and "Manos: The Hands of Fate". But believe it or not, that was not the highlight of my weekend, (but it was pretty good.) No, the highlight of the weekend was the fact that Purdue was able to actually hold on to a two point lead and beat Michigan State this weekend, hooray! Iowa, on the other hand, continued it's downward slide by losing to Northwestern. Which I don't really feel bad about because one of the student sports writers said that Purdue was one of the worst teams in the Big Ten (well at least Purdue beat Northwestern, jerk!) And I had a fancy Sunday dinner with a friend. I made some fab panna cotta on Saturday so I had her over for some fettuccini alfredo with chicken, broccoli, and foil bread as well as panna cotta with raspberries. Since I am cooking for one, I don't get really excited to make a fancy-ish dinner so it was nice to stretch my culinary muscle once in a while. And of course I enjoyed watching MST3K over the weekend, it reminded me of my sisters (especially "Swamp Diamonds").

"Marriage is about trust, and she betrayed him. It was like a knife in his heart when she stuck that fork in his back." -Peggy Hill
Bonus Quotes:
"Leanne's first husband is working on an offshore oil rig in the gulf, and he swears he's coming ashore until I fax him her death certificate. " - Hank Hill

"Bobby, red alert! Get over to Dale's house and lock the door." - Hank Hill

Please allow me a few minutes on my soapbox.

As part of my TA duties for my class (Environmental Health), I am update the slides and notes for the web-based course. I am starting on the slides about the ecosystem and the notes mention the importance of maintaining biodiversity because some plants and animals could have therapeutic value to human. And I can't help but think, why can't we maintain biodiversity so the ecosystem doesn't get all wonky? Why is the only reason to protect something is because it might be helpful to human one day? Can't we just protect species so our children's children actually know what the natural habitat for a lemur is (as opposed to a zoo enclosure)? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that protection of the environment for human-centric reason sort of got us in the mess we are in now. But then again maybe the ends justify the needs, and it should not matter the exact reason for maintaining biodiversity as long as it is being maintained.

Reading Around the World update: I have about 25 more pages for Russia, I should have my first review for this project by Monday!

"I've seen some things that I have never seen before. Like the sunrise, morning dew, and snails on the sidewalk. I never want to see those things again." - Bobby Hill

Hugh Laurie= Brit Genuis

I saw Hugh Laurie on Saturday Night Live and I can't keep this quote to myself :
"There will be British humor tonight. It will feature very elborate puns that will take days to figure out with most likely very little pay off. "

"Six a.m. and already the boy ain't right."- Hank Hill

It's The Gator- Mater

So yesterday, I watched the Pee Wee Herman live show on DVD. I haven't watched that since our house burned down in 2001. I underestimated how much of that show that I remembered. Meaning I spent almost the entire 58 minutes laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I been having kind of a crappy week, so watching some Pee Wee was just what I needed. I had to sort some slides and stain them this week. And of course at the semester is more than half over, I'm getting anxious to make some real progress on my thesis work. So I have been apprehensive about everything from when am I going to be finishing my thesis to what am I going to do after I graduate (if I graduate). All that worrying has affected my ability to go to sleep (because that it when I think about it). So hopefully I will calm down soon, so I can sleep. To make myself feel better, I have been getting Mystery Science Theater movies through Netflix. I watched "Hercules versus the moon men" that featured a never ending sandstorm scene. But Joel, Tom, and Crow made a some jokes about an L. Ron Hubbard book including: "How much money are we going to get out of Tom Cruise pg 54."

"Bill!! Bill, you have to be the stupidest man on the planet to think this is a good idea! Have you seen what you're wearing?! That outfit makes you look like a sequined train wreck! Look at you!! You're part of a twelve-headed Jackass! This chorus is the feces that is produced when shame eats too much stupidity! You people make me envy the deaf and the blind!" - Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote: "Normally I'd tell you to go to my blog, but even that's being censored by Hank." - Dale Gribble

Susanaphone

Over the summer, I watched an musical with Judy Holliday called "Bells are Ringing". In the movie, Judy Holliday's character works at a telephone answering service called Susanaphone. And I admit there are times that I want to answer the phone by saying "Susanaphone". There is also this song I love by a British group with a line "I tried to call on your answerphone" which again makes me want to use Susanaphone. Anyway if you have a chance to see "Bells are Ringing" I highly recommend it. Even though Dean Martin is in it, Judy Holliday is so cute. And my mom told me that my grandma Diane really liked that movie so that of course made me much more receptive to it.

"Boyce Hubert, minister. Although I've lost my faith. 'Course, I did find a pretty great parking space on my way in. But the Lord works in such mysterious ways, who the hell knows?" - Boyce Hubert

Bonus Quote: "I'm not sure if there's a God, or a heaven, but one thing I can tell you, your daddy's going to Hell." - Boyce Hubert (to Hank about Cotton Hill).

A Slice of Fried Gold

Daylight savings time, I curse you! For twenty+ years, I never had to deal with the bi-annual changing of every clock in your possession. But now that I am living in Iowa, I do have to change my clocks. The first year was not so bad I was totally on top of changing my clocks. But this year, I totally forgot. And it wasn't until I consulted the clock on my laptop and then the clock on the wall (at about 11am, after I had already been up for about 4 hours) that I remembered it was time for the clock switching. The worse part is that Indiana has finally fell under the spell of daylight savings times, which means I have no idea what the time difference is between me in Iowa and everyone else I might want to call. That is the total disadvantage of being a moron (about daylight saving time which I all I will admit to being a moron about). In other news, this blog has reached a (semi)-milestone, this post is the 60th post of the blog. So thank you all for willingly reading my semi-coherent rantings about everything under the sun. And for enjoying my King of the Hill quotes that end the posts. There is something totally gratifying in knowing people will make a little time in their day to see how you are doing (or thinking).

CLERK: Okay, the tag says they need food and water and dirt and sun and love.
BOBBY: Can I substitute extra love for sun? I kind of have to hide these in my bedroom closet.
CLERK: No way, man. That'd be going against the tag. Unless... okay, I know someone who can help you, but the problem is that he's at another store, and you're like, at this store.
BOBBY: I have a bike.
CLERK: Oh, that changes everything.

Bonus Quote:
"...So I finally got up the nerve to ask Nancy for a raise in my allowance. It did not go well."- Dale Gribble

(In case you were wondering, the title came from the strange but extremely funny movie "Shaun of the Dead")

Check your barn doors

So I got the famous Halloween package from my mom today. Let me tell you, it was the best package that I have ever gotten. She sent all sorts of gummy goodies, lotion, ponytail holders and headband (truly a women after my own heart, I can never have too many hair things) and some really cute socks (which I one thing I love about my mom, I can always count on getting cute socks from her around the holidays). Also in the package is our family's fall staple, candy corn mixed with dried roasted peanut (the perfect mix of salty and sweet). But the highlight of the whole package, my own DVD copy of "Prairie Home Companion" movie (which is the origin of the title). It was just as lovely as I remembered when I saw it over the summer with my mom. It was still funny and bittersweet at the same time. And the music was so wonderful and fab. So now, I don't need to wait a week to get my Garrison Fix.

"Did you mean for the words to come out like that, or did they just come out randomly?"- Hank Hill

Bonus Quotes:
"I didn't think that I was possible to feel both ignored and violated."- Hank Hill

"I am your worst nightmare. I have a three line phone and nothing but time on my hands" - Dale Gribble

Inside the Mind of a Bibliophile

So, I will be flying from the Midwest to Germany over Thanksgiving vacation. And the first thing that I think about in terms of packing is not what clothes am I going to pack? No, it's what books should I take? How much time would I have to read while I'm there. Should I pack thick books or several thin books? How bad is my addiction? Really bad. I have a book in my bookbag for readding on the bus and one in my purse. I'm reading this memoir about another bibliophile and I am able to give a name to a common practice : doublebooking. This means reading several books at the same time. Currently I am quadruplebooking. "The Life of Pi" is my purse-book, my bus book is "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", I have a book to read while I am brushing my teeth (in the bathroom) which is "So Many Books, So Little Time" and then a "pop" novel to read for about 15mins before bed (to relax my mind). The key when you are double or triplebooking, is to make sure that the books are different enough to not run together (thus I advise against doublebooking with "David Copperfield" and "Great Expectations"). But doublebooking might be why I am giving myself plenty of time to finish my "Reading Around the World" project.

DALE: Yeah, man, I tell you what, man, dang ol' detector, man, government take away freedom of smoke, talkin' 'bout yo, man.
HANK: Yeah, man, I tell you what, man, dang ol' boy ain't right, man, talkin' 'bout kick your ass, man.
BOOMHAUER: For God's sake, Hank, act like an adult. And keep it down, guys, will you? I am trying to get through an article on vintage Camaros, and I've been on the same dang page for twenty minutes.
BILL: Dang ol' pretty pretty pizza, man, I tell you what.

Bonus Quote:
"B-A- Bay, B-E Be, B-I- Bicky Bi B-O Bo, Bicky Bi Bo!"- Dale Gribble

Xanax Salad Sprinkles

Every Sunday, when 1pm rolls around, I listen to prairie Home Companion. And sadly, it is becoming the highlight of the week. For almost two hours straight, I listen to Garrison Keillor and company while I do some reading or wash dishes. And giggle... a lot. I don't think words can really express how much I love Prairie Home Companion. There is something that is so appealing to me about the homespun silliness (and charm) of the show. From the episode of Guy Noir to the fake commercials (like the one from this week advertising Xanax Salad Sprinkles as a pick-me-up for these dark fall days) to the music (sometimes the music parodies as well), there is always something that makes me feel better. Paul Simon turned 65 this week, so they had a music parody of "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" about going into a retirement home that was so funny I couldn't stop laughing (it included a line about buying a flannel shirt (instead of cambric) in plaid because it hides the dirt). But I think that why I always feel better after listening to Prairie Home Companion is that it reminds me of my mom and being home on the farm. So after a stressful week of school, for two hours a week, I just get to think about home and nothing else. And that is magic of Garrison Keillor.


HANK: Bobby, how would you like to help me out around the shop for a few days? I can't pay you, but you can have all the snacks you want. We've got fruit pies, pretzels, all kinds of Newtons...
BOBBY: You had me at "fruit pies."

Bonus Quote:
"Uncle Hank, you're in denial"- Luanna Platter

Breaking my heart

So both "my" college teams lost today. Purdue lost to Wisconsin and Iowa lost to Michigan. And to make matters worse, Notre Dame came behind to beat UCLA. The only brightspot for the whole college football Saturday was the fact that Penn State won. So hopefully fans will leave Joe Pa alone. Seriously though, you do not even think about firing Joe Pa, you let him retire. I think it should be a rule, once you have coached at one college for more than forty years, your job should be secure until you either retire or die. I had a pretty rough Thursday as well thanks to an almost impossible test in Cell Bio. When I started I was really worried because no one else looking like they were freaking out, but slowly lots of people started asking questions to the TAs so I took that as a sign that everyone was equally confused as I was. And then the next day in class the (new) lecturer said "I heard you guys had a rough night last night with the exam", understatement of the century to say the least. But that leads me to the conclusion that everyone did about as bad as I assume that I did. C'est la vie...

BOBBY: Do you really think the Cowboys would move to Arlen?
HANK: I sure do, son. Just imagine what it'll be like. We'll go get autographs, and Troy Aikman will toss the ball around with you. I wish I had Dandy Don Meredith or Roger Staubach throwing me passes when I was your age. Even Craig Morton would have been okay. I love you, Bobby.
BOBBY: What?!
HANK: Uh... nothing. Hey, look, a bird!

And just because I can't resist this quote (and the likelihood that I will every write an appropriate posting is probably zero)
DALE: Hank, a hunting trip's not just about getting drunk or shooting deer. It's about getting out in the woods, away from the government, where your paper money is useless unless you run out of leaves. Where a man can let down his guard and share his biggest fear.
HANK: Dale, you with your guard down is my biggest fear.

An Open Apology To Gaston Leroux

Sorry Gaston, but I have to nix you from of my reading list. I am almost eighty pages into "Phantom of the Opera" and I just can't get into it. I think that I am just not a gothic girl. I love Northanger Abbey which just makes fun of gothic novels. But I tried, I really tried. Instead I am going to read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn for Russia. And Gaston, you have been replaced on the list. For France, I am going to read "Wind, Sand, & Stars" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (who wrote "The Little Prince"). This book it about his solo flights during and before World War II. (He disappeared during a flight). And I have been wanting to read this book for a while now.
In other interesting news, I was cutting through the basement of the hospital were the photos of all the former med students are posted and a picture caught my eye. It was for Dr. Katz. That's right, Dr. Katz exists. He probably does not have a completely idiot son named Ben (who has a little stuffed bull) but I can hope!

"It's hot and the tray is heavy. My boss calls me Tommy and watches TV in a hot dog suit and I think he might be a moron."-Bobby Hill

Weekend in review

This weekend, I went back to the farm for the first time in more than a month to attend a wedding on a friend from college. This is the first wedding that I have attending in nearly five years that did not require me getting up early to either get ready to be in the wedding or to help with preparations for the wedding. It was a nice but bizarre feeling. Let it be noted that I did attend the rehearsal dinner and helped the bride get dressed (I was the assistant to the maid of honor, my sister). This weekend also featured helping Lucy get dressed in the car, while driving, on the way to the church because she was positive that she would be the last person there, so she had to at least arrived dressed. The wedding was beautiful and Courtney (the bride) looking radiant. Also there were big football happenings this weekend. Purdue beat Northwestern (giving them a 5-2 record) and more shockingly, Indiana beat Iowa. Leading to complete distress by members of the Iowa faithful. Most disappointing, there was a huge brawl during the third quarter of the Miami game this weekend (which featured hitting people with helmets and cleat-stomping). Gee, I wonder if there is too much aggression in sports (or men in general)? Speaking of excess aggression, this weekend was the annual rite of passage known as clamping the calves. Dad's friend Brad (and his 7-year old son Spencer) were there to help us. Brad suggested just using rubber bands, but I will let Lucy provide her objections to that suggestions. And the last project that Lucy and I worked on (before I return to the daily grind at school) was honey separation. We only did about 1/4 of the hives before I had to leave. All I know is that I don't know what the hell Dad is planning on doing with all that honey (and extra wax!). I think Lucy and I need to make plans to make several batches of soap over Christmas. Whooo!


"Minh, it's finally happening! Bobby Hillbilly is marrying hillbilly cousin! You owe me five dollars!" - Kahn Souphanousinphone
Bonus quote:
HANK: You're going to have to marry Luanne.
BOBBY: But I'm only twelve years old!
HANK: Well, just think, you can be married for eighty years.
BOBBY: Dad, you can't make me marry Luanne!
HANK: Yes I can, Bobby -- you're only twelve years old.

Kindred Spirits

Last week, my friend Sarah came to visit me and we had lunch and went to the bookstore together. We had a blast walking around looking at books and talking. And I was reminded why we were such good friends. We both have never read "Catcher in the Rye" for the same reason, specifically most people who read that book do it because they think other people will think they are both cool and rebellious. (And of course I shared Rachel's excellent quote "Anyone who reads that book and uses it as a type of philosophy is an idiot). And she and I decided that we don't usually enjoy books that are considered "must-read" or some of the books in the "literature canon". I really don't like to be told to read a novel for reasons x ,y , z . I like to decided why I should read the book and what is important. But that is just me. I also have a problem with people using literature as a way to exclude people. I read "The Jane Austen Book Club" which everyone was raving about, and I hated it. Maybe I didn't get it but I just hated it for the specific reason it that the women seemed to unnecessarily bitchy. It is four women (who have read Austen) who begin a bookclub and invite a man (who has never read any Austen) and then make fun of him throughout the book and completely ignore the fact that he is voluntarily reading Austen (which is not common for men in general fictional or not). Maybe I'm idealistic, but literature to me can act as an equalizer.

"My Joseph better not be sterile -- I need my seed to live on. Certain plans of mine require additional Gribbles." -Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote:
"Have you forgotten who you are? You are Hank freakin' Hill! The man who won the Texas Propane Association's Blue Flame of Valor award! The man who drove raccoon after raccoon out of our attic, armed only with a broom-handle and a pillowcase! And the man whose sperm struggled through that tiny urethra God cursed you with to create our wonderful son!" -Peggy Hill

A Bold New Plan

One of my goals in life is to visit every country in the world (or at least every continent). This may never happen, so I have decided to embark on a related and possibly easier plan. I am going to read a book from every country in the world. So what do I hope to get out of this experience? I do want to broaden my literature horizon, I usually like to read British authors or historical novels. I hope by reading more authors, I can appreciate new perspectives. I plan on posting updates of my progress on this blog. So stay tuned for more. . .

"Bobby, why don't you go look in the Adventure section? Anything about a boy with gumption should be fine." -Hank Hill (advising Bobby at the book store)

Bonus quote:
"(reading): "The elf-lord Flyfandel knelt upon the bed of dandelions. 'Young wanderer,' quoth he, 'I have woven you a magic breastplate'"-- Ugh! Bobby, television!" - Hank Hill

Scream Real Loud

Time to break out the giant underpants because I finally was able to watch an episode of PeeWee's Playhouse on Cartoon Network. The show started airing in July, but I was never able to catch it until last night. I needed a study break and suddenly there was PeeWee. I haven't watched an episode of PeeWee's playhouse and I forgot how fantastic the show was. I love the use of claymation for the "special effects" like Pee-Wee in space. I think it made it much more interesting that CGI graphics. And I can't ignore the use a claymation for Penny and the Dinosaurs. I love the Penny cartoons. I still thought the show was hilarious, even as an adult. I think that is a mark of a good kid's show, that adult can watch it and enjoy it (which I don't think is true with some kid's shows today, I want to deafen myself every time I see a little bit of Dora the Explorer.) And PeeWee's Playhouse had a really good cast, I mean Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, and S. Epatha Merkerson were all on that show. I highly recommend watching PeeWee's playhouse or PeeWee's Big Adventure.

"They're not jokes, Bill, they're painful lessons. I thank my father every day for all the tricks he played on me. He taught me the most wonderful lesson a child can learn: Never trust nobody. That's how I know Bob Dole's faking that dead arm." - Dale Gribble

Bonus Quotes:
JOSEPH: Dad, can me and Bobby bring life preservers?
DALE: If you want to be sissies.
JOSEPH (to Bobby): He said yes!

BILL: Who wants a dollar? Say me.
BOBBY: Me!!

Nobel Prize

Today, the Nobel committee announced the winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine: Andy Fire and Craig Mello. They did work on RNA interference in C. elegans. My Cell Bio. Professor mention these two researchers in class and that she thought that they would win the Nobel prize at one point. In our discussion class we talked about them winning the prize as well (which is when one of classmates said that Fire and Mello sounds like some 70s folk group). The discussion leader said that he was surprised the Fire and Mello won this year because they published their findings in 1998 and that is a short time for Nobel recognition. We talked about the people who have won multiple times (Marie Curie specifically) and then he couldn't remember the name of the other multiple winner : Linus Pauling (Linus Pauling was heavily involved in determining the structure of DNA). On of the other students thought he was thinking about Rosalind Franklin and then the student remarked that someone stole the work of her desk as we were leaving. And of course I said, "I hate Watson, he is such a jerk." To which the professor said that Watson once spoke at Iowa, and he thought he was a jerk as well. But it got me thinking about the Nobel. It would be really cool to personally know someone who won, but at the same time I think that the Nobel committee might be full of crap. Only 11 women have won the Nobel despite nominal work (i.e. Lise Mietner). And it has been awarded for "debatable" advancements (like when it was given to Antonio Egas Moniz for developing the lobotomy). But on the upside there is an Ig Nobel awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research for work that cannot or should not be reproduced. Maybe that's what he was going for with the lobotomy.

"It's upset the balance in the alley. There used to be one cool married guy and one cool single guy. Now it's just me and three losers."- Dale Gribble

Late night wonderings

So as I am flipping through the channels after the Purdue and Iowa losses, I wonder who let Steven Segal make so many movies. Really? Who let that happen?

"My God, the pain is unbearable"- Hank Hill

Bonus Quote:
"You leave yourself open, you're going to get popped. Pop! Pop!"- Bobby Hill

Chaos! At The Stadium

okay so I borrowed the title from the band Panic! At The Disco, but it is a pretty accurate description of what is going on in Iowa City. For those who don't know, Iowa will be playing Ohio State (who is ranked number 1 in the nation) so of course it is complete chaos on campus. To add to this ESPN's College GameDay is filming on campus. And it's a night game which means students have all day to get drunk and rowdy. This is the second time I have been on campus for a filming of College GameDay. It was at Purdue two years ago for the Wisconsin game. As a result, I wasn't surprised to get an amount identical e-mail from the dean of students reminding students that they represent the university and so they should drink and act responsibly on Saturday. Already there is a news van from Ohio parked across from the stadium. The game that I will be watching most attentively though will be the Purdue/Norte Dame game. Not only because I love Purdue, but I really hate Norte Dame. Hopefully Purdue can pull off the upset!

"An all Texas Superbowl? Thy will be done."-Hank Hill

Missing My NPR station

So if you haven't gathered from previous posts, I love A Prairie Home Companion on NPR. A home, it was aired on Sunday afternoon after CarTalk which made Sunday afternoons awesome (as you can imagine). There are two NPR stations that I can get, one out of University of Iowa (WUSI) and one out of University of Northern Iowa (KUNI). So today I looked at the programming schedules to figure out when A Prairie Home Companion was going to be on. I looked first at WUSI and I was dismayed to discover there is no Prarie Home Companion. But thank goodness KUNI has it on (but not after CarTalk). But the KUNI station actully looks pretty interesting because they blues, folk music, and celtic music on Sunday morning. So I will miss the CarTalk/ Prarie Home Companion block, but I think it will be okay. And even more exciting (to me anyway) Frontline will be back on PBS on October 10th. Hooray!

"Now Bobby, you may not understand British humor at first because it's much more sophisicated than American humor"- Peggy Hill
"That man is wearing a dress"- Bobby Hill
(Please note that Monty Python did not corner the men in drag market, Kids in the Hall did it too)

Literary One Hit Wonders

As a person who likes to read there are two major things that always intrigue me: the unfinished novels and an author writing on novel. For the unfinished book, it is usually the result of the death of the author (i.e. Jane Austen and Sandition, Charles Dickens and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Elizabeth Gaskell and Wives and Daughters). But much more intriguing I think is the one novel authors. In some cases, death is the limiting factor and the novel has been published posthumously. A classic example of the one novel author is Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights. Although one wonders if a less than satisfactory manuscript existed at one time and had been destroyed long ago. A more modern example is Harper Lee and To Kill A Mockingbird. I guess if you were going to write only one novel, Harper Lee would be a good example to follow. But she never published another novel (although she still could, she is only 80). It just makes me think that maybe the labor to write one great novel is too much for some authors.

"Today we'll be discussing A Tale of Two Cities, a terrific book by that most Dickensian of authors, Charles Dickens." - Peggy Hill

From members of the Arlen Book Club:
OX: Can't we at least agree that Mary Elizabeth's baby was her own lighthouse?
TRAVIS: Who ever heard of an illegitimate lighthouse? Dangit, Ox, you're confusin' realism with symbolism again.
OX: I'm about to symbolize my gun to your head.

Science on call

I had my first test of the year last night in Principle of Molecular and Cellar Biology. It actully wasn't to bad (despite my worry). It was an essay test, and I was able to write something for each question. (And being the nerd I am, I was actully excited to have a question about the repair mechanism for thymidine diamer. ) And also this week, I helped write the first exam for the class that I am TAing (I'm making it a verb). So this past week was a little busy, but I was able to relax after my test and enjoy one of my favorite activities: reading Discover magazine. And I learned this fun little fact. A study conducted by University of California Santa Barbra found that countries with higher levels of Toxoplasmosis were more neurotic. So I guess "crazy cat person" may actully be an apporiate description of someone.

"My dad making me learn 500 words for the SAT. He's such an autocrat" Connie Souphanousinphone
Bonus Quote: "What's an S A T ?"-Bobby Hill

A love song for Tommy Rall

So a few days ago, Kiss Me, Kate was on TCM, so of course I watched it. Kiss Me, Kate features the fantastic Tommy Rall . I will never understand why Tommy Rall never got a popular as other dancers of that era (like Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire). Tommy Rall is so much more interesting to watch both as a dancer and as an actor. Alas, he will always remaining a supporting character in all the movies (like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Merry Andrew and of course Kiss Me, Kate). Oh poor Tommy Rall...

"Does it come with a hat?"- Bobby Hill
Bonus Quote: "He named his toe 'Madam' and she speaks with a French accent"- Connie Souphanousinphone

Smoker's Row

So, the campus at school is apparently smoke-free, according to the signs posted on the entrance to the hospital. But from what I can see, only the inside of the hospital is smoke-free. The campus isn't smoke-free, there are just areas that a person is not so smoke in. This of course led to areas that become the place to smoke. Are all the smokers pushed into walled in area to smoke? No... they are allowed to smoke in areas near buildings that do not have an adjacent entrance. So this means that everytime I walk to class from the hospital (which is about everyday), I get to walk past at least two areas populated by smokers. So I'm trying to figure when to breathe to reduce my smoke inhalation (I'll let you know how that goes). Or maybe I can start looking to tunnels that connect the buildings so I don't have to go outside at all. Wish me luck!

"Look at them little twig arms. I could smoke one of those arms."-Hank Hill

Bonus quotes:
BOBBY: Why does my potato have skin on it? I hate skin!
PEGGY: I will not sit here and listen to you criticize my work! What, do you think the potatoes just fly into the bowl and mash themselves?
LUANNE: I know y'all don't mean none of those harsh words. It's just the nicotine withdrawal.
HANK: Why is she still talking?

"Mom, it's your son. Nine months inside remember? Those were good times too."-Bobby Hill

5 years and one day

Yesterday was the five year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Virginia. So, I watched a repeat Frontline about religion in the aftermath of the attacks. It was very interesting because they looked at people whose faith was strengthened or weakened by the attacks and the role religion in the attacks. There was an interesting quote for Vladamir Putin (the president of the Russian Federation) when he was on NPR talking about Osama bin Ladin. The interviewer asked if he thought the word "evil" was applicable to bin Ladin. He said that evil is not enough, and there were words he couldn't use on the radio to describe him (bin Ladin). Putin said "We are like dust to him." Which I thought was quite an interesting illustration of the feelings of animosty towards the "west" . And then I watched the documentary about the building of the memorial at the location of the twin towers. I personal like the design that was chosen (you can see it by clicking here but apparently there was a big uproar about the design (which isn't really suprising).

Then today, I decided to beat my head against a stone wall by trying to do my Molecular Bio homework (which is on the verge of being impossible.) I have already done everything I know how to do, and now I'm stuck. I'm trying to get unstuck, but I'm just getting annoyed. So I think I am going to stop for a little bit. The professor showed us how to use this really complicated website, but she only had 30 mins. and there is a about 3 things she didn't explain how to do. But I still have until Friday, and I am mostly done with it. On the brightside, I did pretty well at the discussion section for that class on Monday.

"I assume you, that is just a ridge of extra fat." -Hank Hill

"Your mother is a Spanish dictionary"- Peggy Hill

hello worst day possible

So I drove the five hours home this weekend for the Labor Day vacation. I got to see Bridget and Orrin and Silas (after another 2.h hours in the car!) so that was really nice. I haven't seen them since March so it was nice to see them again. And then I got to spend quality time with my mom and dad for the rest of the weekend. And then I left to return to school on Tuesday. The drive was uneventfull until about 4o miles from my apartment. I stopped to go to the bathroom and when I got back in the car, it would start, but not move. That's right, my car had broken down 4o miles from my final destination. After about 30 phone calls to dad, I called a mechanic who was equally confused by the almost instant breakdown of the car. My car was finally towed to his shop and then after about 1 and a half hours of waiting, he determined that there was something wrong with the transmission. So I was going nowhere fast. My friend recused me from the shop and I finally got to my apartment (after about 3 hours of waiting and about 8 hours after leaving home). So my car is at the shop until mom and dad decide what to do with it. Maybe it will go to SUV heaven.

"I wish is could take credit for this. Oh, I did but the newspaper."-Peggy Hill

"This isn't my fault. Mom did buy the newspaper. Eww, and I'm as mad at her as you are!"-Bobby Hill

"To the 'Flowers of Time!"-Bobby Hill.

Mud River

On Tuesday, I went to the Farm Progress Show that was being held in Amana for class. Unfortunately, the two other girls I went with and I chose the worst day to go. It had rained most of Monday and Tuesday morning. So the grass parking lot quickly became a mud pit and the "streets" became what I affectionately call mud rivers. I don't know how it happened but even the paved/gravel roads became mud rivers as well. But besides the sloppy conditions, the show was interesting. I went to an cattle handling demo which featured some new headgates. Before the demo started I asked the guy running it what he thought about Temple Grandin's theory about giving the animal a slight squeeze to calm them down. (You can read about Temple Grandin here or read the Oliver Sacks book "An Anthropologist on Mars".) The guy basically said that he doesn't really agree with it and the effectiveness really depends on the animal, but I noticed both the set up for running the cattle and all the headgates utilize ideas and suggestions from Temple Grandin. And that all the cattle calmed down once they were in the headgate/squeeze shoot. (I highly suggest reading up on Temple Grandin because she is a very interesting person in her advocacy of both animal welfare and autism (she herself has Asperger's Syndrome) and I also suggest reading any book by Oliver Sacks). And I also got to see the World's Largest Boot. So all in all, it was a pretty exciting day.

"I can attest that he came to class complaining of debilitating back pain. He attended three classes and left. He bought no merchandise and complained about the incense."-Yogi Victor

Hank: Can you turn the lights a little brighter?
John Redcorn: No, that's as bright as they go.
Hank: Can you turn the music off?
John Redcorn: No. It's wired to the lights.
(These quotes are from an episode where Hank injures his back, and refuses to go on worker's comp.)

I cannot have you standing about in this stupid manner

Last year I read a book called “The Jane Austen Guide to Dating” which basically equaled relationships in Jane Austen books to modern relationships. Being a Janite myself, I could see how the author was able to draw these conclusions, but the more I thought about it the more I began to notice types of Austen characters existing in a modern times well as in fiction post-Austen time. In my opinion, there is a little of an Austen character in us all. I think that most women would like to think of themselves as an Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) or Elinor Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) but fear they could Mary Bennett (P and P) or Fanny Price (Mansfield Park) or possibly relish the fact that they are a Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park) or Caroline Bingley (P and P). I personally think that I am a cross between Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey) and Anne Elliot (Persuasion). I think that I share Catherine’s playful and imaginative nature but posses some of Anne’s practicality (hopefully). Plus, Catherine and Anne have the best counterparts in Henry Tilney and Captain Wentworth. There is such a range to Austen’s characters that it makes it easy to see similarities in people and Austen characters. Okay, I think that my love of Jane Austen has become very apparent in this post, but I can’t help it. I will always have a soft spot for English fiction from the turn of the nineteenth century. That was the best time for really good novels, I mean you had Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Wilke Collins, Trollope, etc.; it just doesn’t get better than that. This was the height of the writer training the reader to examine and analyze the traits of their fellow people and to assess the worth of the person based on their “interior”. This is why Mr. Darcy is a good guy and Mr. Wickham is a jerk.

" You know, the black around your eyes looks just like a mask. I'm gonna call you "Masky." No, wait, wait, I can beat that: 'Bandit.' "-Bobby Hill

Bonus Quote:
HANK: Bobby, you name a pet, you name a guitar -- you do not name a filthy animal. And you do not feed it our garbage. No wonder it was rooting around in the garage. It was looking for more of your handouts.
BOBBY: It's not a handout when you feed Ladybird, is it?
HANK: Ladybird is a member of this family. You've seen our Christmas cards.

Another Bonus Quote :
"No problems, Hank. I have played out this scenario a thousand times in my mind. In most of them, I have won." -Dale Gribble

Loud and Proud

There is a history of science geeks in my immediate family. In fact, all of the four daughters pursured degrees in science-heavy fields (chemical/biomedical engineering, materials engineering, pharmacy for my sisters). And I personally have always had a soft spot for science. I think that it has consistantly been my favorite or one of my favorite subjects since probably third grade. So I am not really suprised that my favorite class this semester (so far) is Principles in Molecular and Cell Biology. When I was reading the book, I couldn't help but think "that is so cool". Sometimes I am totally amazed by techniques people develop that actully work. So I admit it, I am a science geek.

These quote from the episode in which Bobby dabbles in Magic
"Our kind have always been persecuted by those who understand not. From the Salem witch trials of the 1600s to the locker-room beatings and swirlies of today. 'Tis all one." - Ward Rackely
Bonus Quote: "You guys are so nerdy, even I feel like giving you a wedgie."-Booby Hill
Best Catchphrase ever: "Resplendent!"-Ward Rackely

16 hours, 4 sides

Last night, I was in bed listening to music and doing some reading for class and two thoughts occured to me. First I haven't done really serious reading like this since the Academy. How did I not bore myself to death doing this? (For those of you unfamilar, the Academy was a magnet high school for gifted people for the junior and senior year. It was similar to a boarding school, but there students were not allowed to have cars.) I can't believe I was able to really entertain myself so well. But I think that I have been over-stimulating myself. When I was at the Academy, walking to the local drugstore was the highlight of the weekend. And going to diner took at least 30 mins. if not more. And second it reminded me of a trip that my mom and my sisters took one summer. My mom and Bridget and Lucy drove to North Carolina one summer to visit my sister Rachel when she was working there. For the sixteen hour trip, we had two tapes full of folk music (this is the source of the title). After we got back, I never thought that I wanted to hear any of the songs again, but now I really like at lot of the songs (and the songs were included on the CD I was listening to).

"I want to be the first chubby comic to live past 35."-Bobby Hill
Bonus quote: "My dad wouldn't use drugs. I say 'Good Day Sheriff"-Bobby Hill

I am the Rat Slayer

So on Wednesday, my lab had a rat kill. And I had the job of actually killing the rat and then taking blood (directly from the heart I might add). Now the reason I had this job is because I will be using the blood for my thesis work (I am checking the levels of some cytokines and enzymes in response to PCB exposure) so I guess since I am using the blood, I should collect the blood. And I got over any squeamishness that I might have had very quickly! I talked to my advisor on Thursday and I will be a TA for her class this semester (one of the professor for the class in on sabbatical so she needs all the help she can get!) so that will be new and interesting (and I will be continuing to work in the lab). So right now I'm feeling a lot better about the progress with my thesis so that it good. And today I am taking my mentee for lunch so that will be fun.

"I don't want to abuse the privilege, but I need you to get Dale out of the basement."-Nancy Hicks Gribble (nee Nancy Hicks)

Bonus Quote: "A raccoon, Ladybird, and Dale are all on the lose and possibly rabid."-Hank Hill

Back to School

So I am now back at school to finish my masters this year (hopefully!). I came back on Monday and then started working in the lab Tuesday. There is a rat kill today and I am in charge of getting the blood. So hopefully, I don't pass out or something. I'm not particularly squemish, but you never know. Classes don't start until next Monday and my schedule is pretty conducive to lab work. I getting anxious to start my actully thesis work (unlike helping with the rat kill, like I am doing this week!). I've never done a thesis so I have no idea what kind of timeline I should be on or when I should get things done. And I keep having the sinking feeling that every other classmate it half-way done with their work, and I haven't even started (and that I wasted the entire last year helping with other projects). Hopefully I will be in better mood about my thesis soon!!


"If they wanted to see me pee my pants in fear, they're too late."-Dale Gribble

Freaking out 101

So the next few days are going to be really stressful for me! I have my big presentation tomorrow at 2pm, so now I am just starting to get nervous. And then I have to meet with Natalie on Friday to show her the work that I have been doing this summer so I am trying to get everything finished before then. Then on Monday, I move back into my apartment and then begin work in the lab in full swing by Wednesday. (There is a rat kill scheduled on Wednesday that I will be assisting with... woo hoo.) So all these things to worry about is making me stress out and too nervous to sleep. Seriously, it seems like it takes half an hour to even find a semi-comfortable position before I can even begin to fall asleep. I'm sure that I will get through the next few days with no problems, but I always worry regardless.

If you need something funny to watch, I recommend the video for "Here it goes again" by OK Go. The band members do this weird dance routine on treadmills, but it was done all in one take, so that is impressive. If you want to see it, try going through VH1 or Yahoo Music and looking up OK Go. I think there is another video by the same band that is very similar except sans treadmills.

"I've learned how to sleep with my eyes open. God am I tired"-Dale Gribble

Music

I've been thinking about the music that I like lately mostly because my sister and brother-in-law are talking about this in regards to their new son. The more I think about, the more I realize that a lot of songs that I really love are due to the fact that they remind me of a specific moment in life. So everytime I hear this song, I'm taken right back to that moment and that emotion I felt. Like the Coldplay song "Yellow" reminds me of Lucy and I dancing around in our living room when we still didn't have carpet or wallpaper in the room. Or David Gray's "Babylon" makes me think of when the four of us were getting ready for Bridget's wedding. So I think that for me, both books and music are a way for me to remember momemts in my life.


"Because of you, I'm propless."-Bobby Hill

Bemoaning a loss

For some reason, I was thinking about two books that we used to have before our house burned down. They were handbooks for boys and girls (one for boys, one for girls). And I remember that there was some much interesting stuff in both the books, and that the activities were not based solely on traditional gender roles. I remember what the cover looked like, but I can't remember the name. Hopefully on of my sisters remember the name of the books...Help!


"I had a lot of time to think while I was unflushing Aunt Peggy's keys"-Luanne Platter
Bonus Quote "And now I work here. Feeding the beast that killed me." - The owner of "Just Brakedrums" after being put out of business by Mega-Lo Mart.

Almost an Old-y Jones

Today, I am official 23 years old. I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by! I have my big presentation at work next week and then the following Monday I return to school to begin my thesis work. Yikes!
On Monday night, my cousins Lindy and Andrew came over for some dinner and playing cards. The three of us (Mom, Andrew and me) taught Lindy the official card game of Indiana : Euchre. I found out that what my family refers to as the kitty (the extra four cards after the others have been dealt) is actully called the widow. Lindy and mom almost beat Andy and I, but we were able to Euchre Lindy and Mom on the last hand of the game. So really playing with my sisters (an their alledged cheating) has made me a semi-decent card player. I haven't played Euchre in a really long time now that I think about it. And Lindy decided that she wanted to ride the mechnical bull at our County fair. Lindy claims that California doesn't have mechnical bulls (I am skeptical of this but I haven't been in many western bars in California so she maybe right). So I will let you all know the details of the particular insane adventure.

"I know that walk. Somewhere, someone's ass is about to be kicked."-Dale Gribble (refering to Hank Hill)

Dance!

Last month, I bought a long, white, flowing skirt to wear to work. I took it with me to Denver and Lucy said that I look like one of the girls dancing to "Many a New Day" from Oklahoma! (which is on of the more masculine musicals, mostly because it features cowboys.) If you don't know the movie, in that scene the girls are dancing in petticoats and various undergarments. So of course, I did a few of the dance moves for Lucy. But it reminded me of the fact that sometimes when I am taking the stairs, I think "Man, these stairs would be great for a song and dance number!"

"Ladybird Hill, you are beautiful."-Hank Hill, from the doggy dancing episode.

Wondering and Wandering

After trading emails with my sister Rachel today, I realized that my birthday is in a week. I will be 23. I guess I thought that I would be established by now, or a least have a good idea of where my life is going. And I don't. I feel like I'm still waiting for my life to begin, considering that being a student isn't really considered a long-term career. And it really doesn't help that most people I know are married, or married with a dog, or married with children, or employed. And me, I'm still in school. I know that I only have one more year, but for some reason I am getting anxious for the next step in my life to begin. Maybe the novelty of school has finally worn off. Okay, I think that is enough melancholy mutterings...

"I'm trying to contain an outbreak here and you're driving the monkey to the airport"-Hank Hill

Home again home again

Well I am back in Indiana after my vacation in Denver. On Tuesday before my flight out, Lucy, Josh and I went to downtown Denver to visit Hammond's Candies and The Molly Brown House Museum. Hammond's Candies in a factory that was started in 1920 which still uses most of the original machines to make the candy. They specialize in "old fashioned" hard candy which means they make ribbon candy, lollipops, and candy canes by hand as well at art candy (which is candy with a stylized picture in the center. It was amazing to see the people haul a 60 lb block of candy and then see them make lollipops out of it. I got some ribbon candy for my mom as well as some clove sticks and a lime "barber pole" (a pretty thick candy stick) while I was there. After the candy factory, we went to the Molly Brown house which Molly Brown (the unsinkable one!) owned in around 1910-1920. There was a lot of restoration that was done on the house and they were able to restore the house and belongs pretty close to the original. Some pictures were taken of the house when the Browns were having a large party (of 800 people) so those pictures were used in the restoration process. Mostly it made me want to watch Thoroughly Modern Millie because there was a short exhibit on life in Denver during the 1920s. After a trip to the spice shop and lunch, it was to the airport and back to Indiana. I flew to Denver and back on Frontier which has a free channel called Wild Blue Yonder. As a promotion, the was a little film festival of independent shorts. I had seen a little bit of one of the three shorts on the way to Denver and so on the way back I was able to catch all three. I highly recommend seeing the three shorts which you can by clicking here . All three are good, but I think my favorite is "My Name is Yu Ming" (the other two were "The Leeward Tide" and "The Climatic Death of Dark Ninja). And you can vote for your favorite as well. So I had a really nice vacation and an excellent time with Lucy and Josh.

King the Hill Quote:
"If I find out this was you and not some laundry accident, I'm going to be really mad"-Luanne Platter

Rocky Mountain High

Yesterday, Lucy and Josh took me to the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was really breathtaking and I saw 10 animal species (okay, some were insects). I saw Eastern Chipmunks, Abert's Squirrels, Yellow-Bellied Marmots, and lots of Elk. Here are Lucy and I in front of Chasm Falls (we are on the right, under the tree)

And here is the third Elk herd that we saw (really close up)


Here is the Yellow-Belllied Marmot:
And this is a picture of the Never Summer Mountains, not far from some inactive volcanoes in the Rockies:
After we went to the Park, we took a tour of Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. The machines don't run on the weekend so we didn't see them in action, but we did see the machines and everything. There was a short video about the company and tea production. According to the video, every time the company receives ingredients for a tea blend, a small batch is made to make sure all the teas and herbs are good for mass production. We also went to the Tea shop where they had every kind of tea that the company makes. I got some really good tea called Bengal Spice that has cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla. And Lucy got this nice red square teapot (that drips a little when you pour the tea out). Today, Lucy and I are going to the Six Flags to ride some roller coasters. Lucy, in our classic family fashion, has planned out menus for my entire stay. Yesterday we had foccacia-chicken sandwiches for our picnic in the park and then we had Cornish game hens for dinner last night. Despite Lucy's worries, the game birds were both done and delicious. And tonight, we are having stroganoff.

King of the Hill Quote:"An F3 tornado will drive an egg through a barn door, two barn doors if one of them is open"-Dale Gribble
Bonus Quotes: "Tornadoes are like the end of days, the soft shall be driven through the hard and the strongest of men will become like a women of average strength."-Dale Gribble
"Mega-lo-mart has everything and a whole lot more so maybe just maybe, they'll have fruit pies."-Bobby Hill

Almost Vacation Time

I am so relieved that I finally saw the conclusion to Miss. Marple on Sunday! I saw part one last week and thus I have been thinking about it the whole week since until the very satisfactory conclusion on Sunday. Thank goodness I didn't miss it. For the past two Miss. Marple mysteries, I saw both parts back to back, but with this one I had to wait. But next week's is back to the good format, so no waiting! Somehow is a bizarre flurry of activity, I am almost done with my internship at Life Plus. I have completed the majority of the projects that were decided upon in May. So my last major project is my final presentation and paper about my experience during the summer. And apparently, my final presentation is going to draw a big crowd. We are going to broadcast it over the web so my lab group at school can set it as well as some Life Plus employees that are not in Lafayette. And I forgot to mention that the assistant Dean of Health Sciences from Purdue is coming too... So really, no pressure. But the more exciting new is that I will be visiting Lucy in Denver this week! She already has everything planned and I am so excited to see her. It will be a nice break, and as my mom says "a giggle-fest" (which will most likely be true!). And we are going to Six Flags!! Tonight Mom, Dad and I will be going to the Beefhouse tonight for a seedcorn dinner. I haven't been to the Beefhouse in probably ten years, so I am actually looking forward to it! My great aunts Carol and Beth are in town this week as well, so I will be visiting them today and tomorrow before I leave for CO.

"If all you have is my confession, you can forget it. I am simply not credible"-Dale Gribble
Bonus Quote "I would like to thank my neighbor Dale Gribble. If it wasn't for his paranoid and down right hateful nature, I wouldn't know the beating a friendship could take."-Hank Hill

A judge of all trades

On Wednesday, I went with my mom and dad to judge some 4-H projects in another county. I said that I would judge soil and water conservation (since I am very familiar with the books!), geology (ditto, I worked on these books last summer) and entomology. We got to the fairgrounds at a little before noon. So dad judges small engines, weeds, corn, and soybeans while I helped mom judge Shooting Sports (I mostly filled out her official sheet because she didn't have a Jr. Leader helping her). Then at a little before 2pm, I went over to my table to judge the 3 projects I agreed to judge. There were about 10 projects I had to judge (and I had an assistant who helped me fill out all the paper work, she was very nice and really knew what she was doing!) so it took me about 30 mins (including talking to the kids). So then I went back to Mom's table to help her finish up. And then the 4-H cooridinator for the county asked me if I would judge geneology because the judge they had never showed up. So despite the fact that I know very little about geneology, I judged it anyway (the leader for the geneology club was there, so it really wasn't to bad.) So overall, it was a pretty good day (and I got paid for it as well). And it was a nice change of pace from "processing" chickens on Monday (and Tuesday night). Mom and I are going to pick up an old Chambers stove (which is like to one on 30 minute meals with Racheal Ray on foodnetwork) that mom won on ebay. I'm not sure what she is going to do with it, but once I have a house, I call that stove!

"What if you have it wrong and it's where old people go to make out and young people go to die?" -Bobby Hill

Oh, Greg Daniels, you make me laugh til I snort

So last night, I was working on some stuff for Natalie and watching the American version of the show "The Office" with Steve Carell. I was watching the credits and I saw that Greg Daniels works on that show. Greg Daniels also works on King of the Hill (and he used to work on the Simpsons, back when the Simpsons was still funny. I think he was around on seasons 2-4 of that show). So I'm not surprised that I like the Office since Greg Daniels works on it. I love the humor in that show because it sort of understated humor which is what I like.
I have some bad news though. I went out to the barn yesterday morning to milk. As I was doling out the feed I noticed that Mr. Strickland was not getting up. And I then I noticed that he wasn't breathing either. Alas, poor Mr. Strickland was dead. So mom and I took him to the vet school to have a necropsy so we can figure out what happened. So yesterday was kind of a bummer. But on a more positive note, mom and I gave blood yesterday as well. There is a serious blood shortage at the local blood bank so we gave blood (and got free movie tickets!).
I was reading an interesting article in Newsweek (on line) about how getting pregnant became cool due to so many celebrities becoming pregnant and showing it off. The expert that was interviewed also talked about an increase in both baby services and baby experts. In regards to more baby experts she said "I don't mind experts. I mind that women aren't willing to be a little more intuitive. That bothers me a lot." So I thought it was good that someone is an expert wants women to take her advice with a grain of salt. She also had a funny quote about more baby products: " I got a phone call from somebody that said, 'I have a really amazing entrepreneurial idea. I'm going to come up with an organic baby-food mill. I'm like, 'We all have them. It's called a Cuisinart.'

"You may have ruined my arm, but my legs are still feeble yet functional"-Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote: "It's just a little fire, and more bees than I remember." Hank Hill

"John, I'm not even speaking to you"

We celebrated the fourth in our traditional way, making too much food and watching 1776 (which is the source for the quote, said by Ben Franklin to John Addams). I got the movie on DVD from Netflix on Tuesday so mom and I could watch it for the fourth. There were a whole bunch of extra scenes and a new song (about the "cool cool conservative men" called "Hosanna" which is sung after John Addams is gone to Maryland). But the extra scenes made transitions that I always thought were weird make more sense. For our lovely dinner we had pork chops, green beans, baked beans, and mom's delicious potato salad. Mom and I made dessert which was a black raspberry roulade (also known as a "fool"). I picked the fresh berries from the fence row of one of our fields (which was less fun than it was when Rachel picked with me, at which time "We'll pick just a little longer" was equavalient to picking for another 30 minutes). Then mom helped me make the sponge cake. While that was cooling I crushed and strained the seeds from the black raspberries (like one would do when he or she was making jelly). Then I made some sweetened whipped cream (from scratch of course) and mixed the black raspberry juice/pulp with the whipped cream. The cream then gets spread on the sponge cake and then the cake gets rolled up like a jelly roll. We put it in the freezer to speed up the chilling process so by the time we ate the cake, the cream was a little like ice cream. Then the cake got topped with powdered sugar and served. It was fantastic! Hope you all had a good Fourth of July! (The US is now 230 years and One day old!) Mom and I also went in to see grandma for the fourth (and took her in some dinner). On the the way to grandma's house, we heard this hilrious comedien named Brian Regan on XM. He was talking about since he was the youngest he always sat in the worst seat in the car. So he decided to make is seem like he wanted the crappy seat. He would call "Back seat, in the middle, feet on the hump" which reminded me of my childhood, having to climb over that backseat or squished in the middle.

"Face it guys, we were putting extra stress on a structure that wasn't up to code to begin with." -Hank Hill (about Dale)

Is there a job at the end?

So reading Trey's recent blog posts has made me think about my future in terms of what job is going to make me happy? I think that I have already decided that I don't want to be in academia, mostly because I don't think that I am cutthroat enough so screw people over if the need arises. Plus, I would much prefer to science for the sake a knowledge, not for personal glory. I remember going to lecture at Purdue about the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. The lecturer basically said that Watson and Crick were able to figure out the structure because they had access to bits and pieces of discoveries from other researchers. Even though Roselind Franklin knew the helix configuration, she was not aware of the work of Chargaff about the base pairing. But the lecture made me think about how Roselind Franklin felt about her x-ray crystallography picture being taken by her research partner Wilkins to Watson and Crick. She never really received credit for her work on the determination of the structure because she was dead by the time Watson, Crick and Wilkins received the Noble Prize. After the lecture, I began reading the biography of Franklin written by Brenda Maddox called the "The Dark Lady of DNA". Based on that book, I got the impression that Franklin was doing science for the sake of science and to increase our understanding of the surrounding world. So it has made me think about why I chose to go into the field of science and what it is that I like about science. And I've realized that I do want to know how/why things exist or work. Even though there are "laws of science" in the life sciences, there always is some flexibility because we don't know ever single organism and ever single biological process. The more I learn about the world, the more I am amazed that we ended up with the world we did. There is something inherently beautiful about both the complexity and the simplicity of the world.
My mom came home from Germany on Friday. And she brought me the coolest gift an England World Cup T-shirt (with a hat!). But England lost on Saturday by penalty shoot out to Portugal. But France beat Brazil so it's okay. On Sunday, we had a huge thunderstorm at our house. Lightning struck near our house and effected some stuff, but hopefully it will be fixed today. But the rain put a damper on my plan to pick blackraspberries on Sunday, so I will have to do that tonight. There is a king of the hill marathon on today so I am looking forward to that!

"They make us say these asinine things like 'Easy there grumpy bear' and 'Relax Mr. Angryslacks"-Hank Hill

Long Live PBS

I am so glad that we get two PBS station because I always seem to realize a show I wanted to watch was on with about 15 minutes left. But the PBS station that we get on satellite is one day behind compared to the other PBS station we get. Which means I usually get to watch Frontline on Wednesday because I never can remember at 8:45 that Frontline is on at 9. But I have been watching Frontline episode from previous years. I saw one about the effect of the O.J. Simpson verdict on the law and race is this country. When discussing the trial in a law class, a student summed up the trial saying the LAPD framed a guilty man. The Frontline I saw last night was Frontline World and they had three short stories. The saddest one was about the current situation in Zimbabwe with Robert Mugabe as president. Mugabe was very important in Zimbabwe's war for Independence, and following becoming an independent state, the economy of Zimbabwe was one of the best in all of Africa. But in the 1990s the economy hit a plateau and now there is hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar (inflation rate is about 1000% and the government has started to print a 100,000 bill). And now thousands of Zimbabwians are escaping to South Africa only to be returned. An journalist from South Africa said that most nations around the world aren't sure of how to fix the problems in Zimbabwe because the country has gone from being on of the most stable countries to a country with 80% unemployment under the same ruler. (In the case of South Africa, Mugabe was an integral part in helping ending apartheid, so the government of South Africa is hesitant to use force to remove him from office). I learned yesterday that the Australian Soccer team is know as Socceroos. And that the Queen costs the each person of the UK one pound and sixty pence per year. (Which is an increase of ten pence from last year, the extra ten pence is due to Charles and Camille's increased traveling over the past year).
Tuesday, I helped Natalie with the 4-H roundup on campus. She was doing a workshop about using computers in engineering. So I learned how to use the program that she was teaching to the kids to help them. Even though she told them to follow her so they could learn how to use the program, one kid decided that he understood the program enough and so he work ahead. And then by the end when the kids were supposed to have an illustration of the effect of force on a beam, the kid had it totally wrong. And now I am helping Natalie update/revise the Soil and Water Conservation books. The ones we are working with were written by Natalie predecessor (who is apparently infamous in the case of my parents) and the books are not very good. But, since my Bachelor's degree was in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (with a focus on water quality) the subject is right up my alley. And Natalie is very good about wanting to change the books so the kids using the books can use the books as a starting point and then recommending resources for kids to use as they continue with the subject. Well, I need to get to work (on cherries and cleaning the kitchen!) My mom comes home tomorrow!!

"Who? Who in the media tricked you?"-Bobby Hill to Peggy regarding the beauty of big feet.