Lists

There is something so satisfying about making lists. Maybe it is a little OCD, but I can make a list for just about anything: errands I need to run, books I want to read, grocery lists, recipes I want to try, etc., etc. So here is a list of all the movies I have seen since fall semester ended. It should tell you two things: How much I love movies and how I have spent a good chunk of the break.

Confetti, Sliding Doors, the Host, the Simpsons movie, Fracture, Copying Beethoven, Beauty Academy of Kabul, Bleak House, Atonement, Walk Hard, P.S. I love you, Waitress, the Heartbreak Kid (worst movie of the year!), the Treatment, the Lord of the Rings, Charlie Wilson's War.

Unfortunately the movie watching is probably going to slow down this week because I have to work 5 shifts at the restaurant this week. I am still going to try to squeeze in a few though:)

Lame Brain

So I have been in the panicked frenzied pit of Hell known as Finals Week, but really it has lasted for the past 2 weeks. My brain is jammed full of words and equations and lists and memorized details and and and...ugh, it is exhausting just thinking about it. I am at the point were I will be dutifully reading along in my notes and all of sudden the words look like a fancy form of ancient Martian script. My brain can't compute Martian! And then I get all freaked out and feel like life is over because I am going to fail all of my classes because my notes were written in Martian. Oh brother, some fresh air and relaxation are much needed at this point so I can regain some sense of sanity:)

Anyways, I allowed myself 42 minutes of fun today and watched an episode of Brothers & Sisters. One of the actors is from Wales, but has an American accent on the show. Halfway through this particular episode, his accent totally broke and I just wanted to kiss him. I adore accents from the UK and even though this was just a smidgen of one, it was brilliant. I had to rewind it four times. Maybe it was just the Martian reading I've been doing lately that made me want to kiss him, but oh that accent!

Snow Poetry

I had to write 5 poems for my creative writing class and quite frankly I actually enjoyed it. It is a whole new experience just being able to have fun with words rather than worrying about all the other crap that comes with most writing (grammar, punctuation, content..blibbidy blah). And, the best part is, my dear sis who has her MFA in creative writing and is a very, very talented poet, told me that I have some of her genes! Wahoo!
So here is my snow poem:

Snow in Eight Parts

I.

Fragile lattice of crystalline ice,
melting into the barking dog’s fur
like warm chocolate on a hot day

II.

Blankets of downy white
hush the chirping birds
and speeding cars.

III.

Dying leaves,
desperate for a drink,
lap up the frozen water vapor.

IV.

Togetherness
of hydrogen and oxygen:
is it the most perfect bond?
Is it as simple
as ionic attraction
between H’s and O’s?

V.

Meteor showers of snow
rushing past the silhouette of silver moon—
not crescent, not whole,
simply a round shape hanging in the sky.

VI.

They fall on the cold glass,
with the force of flying bugs
hurtling towards the windshield,
oblivious to their imminent end.

VII.

Enjoying their moment
in the spotlight of streetlights.
Shining, begging for
notice of their minute of beauty,
all glitter and intricacy.

VIII.

Droplets of water,
now only spots on a window,
no longer bound by their hexagonal arms.

Missing Sweden

The foggy, cold, damp snowstorm yesterday made me start missing Sweden, with its everpresent snow and all of its challenges. I miss putting on three layers of socks every morning (and sometime sleeping in them too), putting on bulky H&M sweaters, wrapping a scarf around my neck, slipping on a warm hat, bundling up in my full-length down coat, and squeezing into my boots (and all of this was just to get to the laundry room!). I forgot how invigorating it is just to survive everyday in that kind of harsh environment and how rewarding it is to enjoy a warm cup of kaffe (and maybe some Milka) after braving the bitter cold of outdoors.
I wish we had more weather-challenged days like that here....

No, no, oh no!

I was just enjoying my sugar coma induced by too much Halloween revelry, when I heard the most horrifying sound..."It's the most wonderful time of the year." Holey moses! Who came up with the idea to start the 24-hour Christmas station the day after Halloween?? That person should be locked in an insane asylum and I should be able to sue them for mental distress. It is just so wrong, so wrong.


In other news, Jess was kind enough (a better word might be patient enough) to try teaching me to knit last night. I did an okay job when she was around and was excited to try it on my own. I curled up into bed after leaving her house and started knitting, and it went so badly. I almost started crying. I want to be able to knit so badly. I think it would be an awesome hobby, but now I realize it might take a little more practice and effort than I thought. I will keep you posted on how it goes.


Happy November!

Phylogenomics, Hystricognathus, Oh My

My head is jam pack full o' crazy biology terms. I am furiously studying for a mammalogy test and writing a paper for my microbial genomics class and am finding my mind more and more clogged with verbosity by the second. I have been listening to the same songs on iTunes for the past 2 days, an endless repetition of Spoon, Modest Mouse, Feist, Eisley, and Gonzales. I know there is other music out there, but somehow the repetitions of the songs sets me into a study-furious mode.
My brain is just jammed, jammed, jammed. And all I really feel like doing is making biscuits from a 3-month old Cooking Light issue and smothering those hot flaky biscuits with salted cream butter and honey. Do you think I could write a 4-page paper, study mammalogy, and bake biscuits at the same time??

Gonzales: Solo Piano

Don't you just love when you find a CD that fits perfectly with the mood you are in? Once you find that CD it can become addicting. Last night I was just bumming around iTunes and I fell on this album Solo Piano by Gonzales. I heard 20 seconds of the first song preview and immediately bought the whole album! I must have listened to the whole album 5 times last night it was that catchy. Love it, love it.

Jane Austen: Cheesy Inspiration for the Day

"We all have a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be."

Jane Austen
~Mansfield Park

Wuthering Heights Day

Today is my first post. Obviously, eh?

Well, I was just sitting here at my computer reading through everyone else's blog and realized that DAMN! I want to start a blog too. I don't know how frequently I am going to write nor do I really care if anyone reads it or not. But how cool is that you can have your own blog!?

First things first: I am digging the weather today. It is around 40 degrees (farenheit!), dark voluminous clouds blanketing the sky, windy, drizzles, and the occasional downpour. AAHHH!!! Ever since I read "Wuthering Heights" in high school and simultaneously fell in love with Heathcliff, I have referred to these kinds of days as Wuthering Heights-days. You can just feel the blustery wind and rain beating down on Heathcliff as he walked across the English moors. Okay, that is enough insight into my love affair with Bronte and Austen characters!

Some exciting news::: Last night a beautiful grey baby was presented to me. Yes, she weighs more than a ton and instead of skin and bones she is steel (or whatever a car is made out of!). After 6 months, read that again....6 months! of car shopping my parents finally gave in and bought me a new-to-me used car. I had never even driven her as I was in San Francisco when my parents found her. I was shaking and speechless when I put the fancy new key into the ignition and made the three clicks to start the car. I kept on shaking, but the words finally found their way out as I continued to drive along. I will admit I was driving like a granny not wanting to hurt the car and not used to having such a fine piece of engineering under my hands. After driving her for 10 minutes I decided her name was Greta. Now I first of all realize that it is weird to name your car. But I also realize I should have given her a Swedish name as she is a Volvo. But unfortunately a German Greta just fits her. I also know one of B's dearest friend was named Greta, so it is a little weird, hope you don't mind B.

Anyways, I will continue enjoying my Wuthering Heights day and maybe take Greta out for a new spin. Hope everyone enjoys their day, too.