After having a 30 minute (predictably) frustrating phone conversation with Mediacom (the unholy bastards!) I took out some frustration on my new dumpster dive find: a fabulous solid wood dresser in need of total refinishing. Which, by the way someone had not single, but double veneered.

Men have been hung for less.

Dividing my time between:
1) Work--I'm almost done genotyping (30,000+ data points, lol)! It's almost time to run mapmaker...
2) Gardening--I'll post pictures when it starts to look good. Let me just say that just looking at my opal basil makes me happy. Sigh.
3) Finding time to practice. Taking a break from the pretentious seriousness of Chausson's symbolist serres chaudes (how fitting, I know), the disturbing Wolf ala the Spanisches Liederbuch, and focusing on the Charles Ives. Old Charlie and Poulenc are probably my two favorite composers. I just get what they wrote--I often imagine myself taking walks by the Houstatonic with Ives or lunching with Francis at Maxim's.
4) Having a social life. I feel surrounded by friends more now than ever. What is it with summer?
5) Finding time for some strenuous exercise. Lane and I have been going mountain biking occasionally, and I am forcing myself to go the gym tomorrow. To continue with my Norman Rockwell fixation, here's a representation of my body image (Lord knows how many times I perused our coffee table book and wound up crying over this one).

Learn something new every day

So I just spent the last two hours trying to figure out how to add a column of text to a column of numerical values (so I can print out some plate arrays).

Turns out that Excel has an operation called "concatenate", which comes from a Latin word meaning "to link together in a series or chain". Who know, right?

Yes, I'm proud. I feel as if I've defeated Microsoft.

1) Is there another Shakespeare waiting to be discovered? Some Emily Dickinson-style bard with a hence-to unrecognized bureau drawer full of genius?

2) I now find Eluard decadently introspective, brooding, and pretentious. The emperor has no clothes.

3) I'm having a hard time striking a balance between taking myself too seriously and sinking into flippant silliness. The age old Mahler vs. Poulenc?

Free booze is a dangerous thing.

The jury is finished

And now I can concentrate on:
1) Making a Greek salad with the works: artichoke hearts, feta, red onions, kalamati olives, and salad greens so I can enjoy lunch tomorrow while I:
2) Study all day (seriously all day) for the evolution final, after I have:
3) Done some annual planting in the north garden after I have:
4) Gone for a bike ride in the morning, and in the evening:
5) Fall asleep by myself curled up with a rather large bottle of amaretto (whom I am cheating on with midori) while:
6) Listening to "Mira o Norma", the fabulous Serafin recording with Callas from 1952ish

In other news I am feeling overwhelming Protestant guilt about leaving the science to enjoy the world (NYC and FL). Suggestions?

Who would have known that this week would be so busy? Jesus! Probably my jury is the most stressful part of the schedule because it also reflects on my teacher.

Been reading, writing, and such all day since Sunday night. No end in sight.

I did find time to make it out to the 'last' "Monday night"--a group of friends that take their Monday night debauchery seriously. Nostalgic? Perhaps.

Everyone was dressed up in some sembalence of a costume, Nick was 'white trash' (surprise?), Rebecca was 'from the future', Natalie was classy Natalie. After trying on a tux and then a lesbian outfit, I decided to go as someone who got lost on the way to the beach (I'm in desperate need of some sun) and happened to be holding a mug full of peach schnapps and ice. Wow, I know.

Oh shit here we go!

(last week before I leave for NYC and then FL to visit Alan/rents-sises respectively)

And nature sympathized.

The last week was busy. The next week will be even more busy.

Here's a list of what's a-goin' on:
1) 2 projects due for molecular lab (a grant proposal and 15 min oral presentation--I'll do the talking not my GOTBY Asian lab partner)
2) Memorize some Wolf for my jury--it's going to be a total joke, but who cares.
3) Vocal lit final
4) Evolution test #3 and final
5) 2 evolution homeworks (one is: "find a fossil")
6) Poster presentation on Monday (stand in front of 9-month old data)
7)10 hours of tutoring.

Now that I've made a list, it doesn't seem so bad.

Some highlights of this last week:
1)Going to a "politically subversive burlesque" show that benefited the Center. It basically consisted of chubby lesbians dancing around with electrical tape on their nipples. Pretty routine Wednesday night.
2)Going to the Vu for comedy night and running into the smart sorority girl I tutor and her mother who was SCHWASTED. Mother's weekend. Classic.
3) Going to the batting cages with my BF and catching bugs. Yep.
4) At long last watching Shortbus.
5) Getting this picture (yes, I am wearing a SS shirt) from when Dennis and Mike and I hung out over spring break. Mike is one of my most favoritest people I've met at Mizzou and I'll miss him--although he is going to UCSF and if I go to UC-Berkeley or Stanford I might see him often.

Other than that...
I'm going through a Paul Eluard kick?

The commedia is over!

While walking to work today I was accosted by a wastafarian (or a trustafarian as Alan says) handing out “subversive” literature. He said with a wink, “We need a drastic change.”

The pamphlet basically consisted of an advertisement for some sketchy cult “12 acres” (or something to that effect)—promoting some commune lifestyle and showing pictures of people who were wearing happy drug-smiles.

Needless to say I didn’t quite get the gist of it, but it was one of those vague “let’s all live in harmony” things.

I want to set the record straight: I have nothing against cults. If I did, I would have a problem with the majority of the Bible belt. What I take issue with are communes. Maybe it is my (not so carefully) camouflaged misanthrope attitude, but I don’t trust anyone who can live in close proximity with other stinky hippies. Thoreau-ing is okay with me, but communes…ugh.

As I was thinking over said event, I realized what actually shocked me most is that there are still people in the world that are idealistic. Believe they can make a “drastic change”—whatever that may be.

Maybe I have been inculcated by too many petulant, government-hating conservatives, but people who think they can save this country from its democratic-socialist destiny make me uneasy.

Besides, it’s not my style to stand abreast history waving my arms and yelling, “Stop”.

After we are left a crumbling nanny-state I would rather raise my glass of absinthe as the curtain closes and cynically proclaim "La Commedia e finite."

My boyfriend brought me chai. Yay!

Here are things that I’ve noticed lately that would probably strike anyone (who is not a total spaz like me) as unremarkable:

1) A guy being pulled over in a parking lot on campus, discussing with the faux-po *in detail* the Mizzou basketball team, scores, etc. I’m feeling like I would have a distinct disadvantage in “straight” talking my way out of traffic violations.

2) Two Asian students (apparently from different countries, i.e., “Are you Chinese or Japanese?” “No, I’m from Laos, it’s a land-locked country in south of Asia…”) who were trying to communicate a sandwich order at the union.

Asian♀-sandwich-maker: Would you rike pickers?

Asian♂-sandwich-orderer: Pickers?

Asian♀- sandwich-maker: Yes, loast beef sandwich?

All in all, a cute exchange. They were trying so hard, I suppose some soft Copland music should be played in the background.

3)I almost slept through evolution the morning after Craiger’s B-day party (Ed=2 Bermuda triangles), so I grabbed some stuff to take notes on at his house. After taking notes about vertebrate eye homology I got curious and began flipping through the notebook to see what else was in there. I took Craig’s crazy-cult/brainwashing Mormon religion class notes from BYU.

Previous page, and I quote: “Ch10 v17, spiritual gifts come by Light of Christ”. I suppose Christ’s Light should be capitalized, in the vein of THE Holy Spirit’s Left Sandal…

Ch9 “don’t give up”

v.16: “Sprit of Christ~ conscience (D+C 88)”

“characteristics”

1) “truth shineth”

2) “light in all things”

3) “life to all things”

4) “power of God”

Oh, Jesus. The irony was not lost on me…it was a nice diversion from a class I hate so much.

It was about a million degrees in Jake Shear's pants tonight.

Fleeting moment of self-awareness today:

We accept living in relative poverty and chic-bleak surroundings because we have something that no Escalade-driving middle aged real-estate agent has: youth. It is a constant source of strength, smugness, and justification for our bohemian existence. It is our priceless and fragile commodity.

The eternal darkness and cold is wearing on me. Today I started planning my garden—it is one of the few things that can make me forget that I live in a place I hate for 1/3 of the year.

I plan on having a splendiferous garden, full of heirloom vegetables and herbs and flowers and magic! Well, maybe not magic. But I certainly plan on buying the plastic molds in the shape of president’s heads so I can grow some Nixon and Carter tomatoes. Que indígena?

I have spent the last couple of days at work (ugh) and translating and IPA-ing some Swedish texts for my Sibelius set. PS, the Swedish chef on the muppets was not an exaggeration.

Also I am highly anticipating the arrival of my Jacques LeGuerney CD, and a tape of songs called “Reality Sandwiches” (text by Ginsberg).

Tomorrow portends my doom: 2.5 hours of class, a voice lesson, 5 hours of work, 2 hours of tutoring. Although judging by the (seemingly representative) mouth-breathing, intellectual tundra girl who is incapable of fathoming analogies that sits in front of us in class; i.e, “how can you make that comparison, a mousetrap isn’t even alive”—my evolution test tomorrow morning should be a breeze.

There's a boy I know

Craiger brought me some Häagen-Das black raspberry chip after a shitty Monday.

I love him.

(I know you are going to comment: "Um, I vomited in my mouth a little." Robyn)

And yes, the title is an allusion to a Whitney song.

Insomnia inspired Harvard dictionary of music perusing motivated me to formulate a sketch for an underwater opera.

I suppose Scriabin has the choke-hold on outer space performances, and Stockhausen has a monopoly on helicopter string ensembles.

But underwater opera—that’s where it’s at baby.

Can you imagine Aida with fanned-out hair that hangs listless in the water, or Billy Budd with sea-soaked clingy overalls?

Ok I’m done. I’m just sayin’…

Dick in a box

1) Cut a hole in a box

2) Put your junk in that box

3) Make her open that box

And that's the way you do it!

(I had fun time at trops/shattered/"el rauncho" tonight!)

"Cher, our stock would plummet"

Had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas at home: I mostly played monopoly with my little sisters, and watched fox news (lol) with my parents. Got BioGen stock from my parents, a scissor sisters poster from Craiger, and a Schlitz beer Saturn-shaped light fixture thing from Al.

It will be displayed prominently and lovingly as a document to the silly shit my brother is always doing.

My break consists of getting my QTL mapping on 10+ hours a day, working out, writing some goddamn stupid personal statements for a huge scholarship—one of those “you know I deserve the money so just give it to me” things.

Have been listening to a lot of Cecelia lately. Definitely a fan, if just for sheer originality, even though her voice is not without some pedantic controversy.

Taking Zipper to the dog park in the morning to play with Robyn and Molly. Hopefully Zipper will keep it in his pants—metaphorically that is, as he doesn’t wear actual pants because he is a fucking dog.

Love.

Getting drunk at work on a Friday afternoon, riding my bike home in the snow, and listening to Freder-Deder and Schwarzkopf sing Wolf's Spanische Liederbuch is my favoritest thing *ever*.