rocket science

On giving the appearance of having computer know-how

2011-09-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

xkcd has mapped my thought process exactly. You too can now be a computer wizard!

Things you should know

2011-09-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

It's true, I have been terrible about getting the word about, but OMG I am engaged! It's kind of hard to wrap my mind around, especially when I'm living alone in this new place and everything about life is so new right now, but one of these days I'm going to have to get better about saying fiancé instead of boyfriend. Maybe when we get our engagement rings.

So, holy toledo! There is a lot of planning to do! I haven't really done much of anything, but my sisters are excitedly sending me links of pretty wedding dodads and invitation artwork or finding friends of theirs who want to make my wedding cake and only charge me for materials. I signed up for That right away. Hell yeah, man. She can make whatever she wants for that price.

Wedding gown browsing has been a little trickier. Of course anything I really love costs 3-4x what I want to spend. I'm ok with looking a little more casual than the norm dress-wise, especially if it means I have more $$$ to spend on accessories and what not I will actually wear again, but, my god, anything calling itself a wedding dress costs way more than it needs to you. Case in point: there was a dress on Etsy that came in a variety of colors (red, black, white, etc), and the white one cost Hundreds of Dollars More than the red or black one even though the material was the same! That's what I call highway robbery! I want it to be obvious in pictures that I'm the one getting married, but other than that I don't need to be super fancy. Here are some outfits I've liked so far...

Gauchos heyo

2011-09-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

I'm just starting to get settled in here in Goleta, the town cuddling up to UCSB, where I start classes tomorrow.

Thank god for our inaugural EEMB (my department) retreat for first years and anyone else who feels like coming. It was so(ooo) nice to get to meet my girls (there is one guy out of the eight of us) before orientation day. Seeing familiar faces in our lab safety training on Monday really gave me the warm and fuzzies. So far I love everyone in my cohort and all the other grad students (at least the ones who come to socials with booze!). Even the faculty are great, especially my advisor. Santa Barbara is no Bay Area, but it feels like the right place to be.

Eg. I have been wanting to learn to knit so that I can make socks, but I don't want any more scarves, and I don't want to spend months making what turns into a lumpy sweater. And what do they have but a beginners knitting class specifically for socks and slippers! It is a sign. I think I might be the first one registered.

The apt. is still mostly empty with cardboard boxes strewn about, but I have a desk, a bed, internet, a couple of bookcases, and two posters up, so it works.

They told us at orientation that we have the highest voter registration rates of any school in the US. Berkeley is second and our rate is twice theirs! I was pleased about that.

California-bound

2011-08-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Suddenly it is my last night in Hawaii.

Hawaii. Where to start.

The first five weeks here, I helped out with the experiments my advisor and her post doc in Hawaii are working on. We're looking at grasses that invaded burned and unburned parts of the dry woodland in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It looks like after 20 or so years, the grasses might finally be declining (because annual grasses don't hold as much nitrogen as the woody shrubs and trees they replaced), so part of our research involves trying to figure out the best strategy for restoring this part of the park. It probably isn't possible to get rid of the grasses, but we're hoping that as they decline, we might be able to reintroduce some of the native trees and shrubs.

For my birthday (on which I turned the big 3-0), everyone in the lab helped me start fieldwork on my own project, in which I am trying to figure out what sorts of plants some of our native and invasive nitrogen-fixing (meaning they can get nitrogen from the air, unlike most other plants which need to get it from the soil) trees promote and what sort of habitats they tend to inhabit. Sounds simple enough, but it involved a lot of twigs in my nose, woody wet willies, dirt in my eyes as I crawled under stands of four types of trees to see what-all was going on down there and cuts all over my hands and up my forearms as I thrashed through thorny invasive lantana (a plant more than happy to get all up in your grill).

I've been working seven days a week, up to ten hours a day, to get it all done before I head back, and, as of right now, all I have left to do is ship my samples to California before catching a plane back to the Bay myself.

It's still hard to believe I'm here as a part of my real life. Everything here is so different -- the landscape, my social circle, my diet, my weekend activities, everything.

This is a typical weekday: Wake up at 5:30am. Make lunch. Make/eat breakfast. Drive through a gorgeous forest full of ohia trees, ferns, and ginger to get to the lab in the national park by 7am. We load our packs for the day and drive about 10 miles out to our field site in the dry woodland. Park and hike 15-60 minutes to our starting spot. Draw a transect line or a 5x10m plot and count and measure everything growing along or in it. Hike back. Drive back to the lab by 3pm. Unload. If I've been working on my own project: set out the day's soils to airdry in paper bags, weigh yesterday's litter, grind litter and leaf samples and pack them into coin envelopes. Head home to shower around 5pm, eat dinner. Try to read a research paper or catch up on emails/find an apartment/sort out which classes to register for/&c. Fall asleep at 9:30pm.

This is a typical weekend: Saturday sleep in till 6! Eat breakfast, catch up on email. Drive (~30 miles) down to the Hilo Farmers Market to get lunch and produce for the week. Maybe swing by Richardson's beach park for a little snorkeling. Go to KTA for the rest of my groceries. Go home, eat dinner, watch So You Think You Can Dance, fall asleep. Sunday sleep in till 6 again! Drive/walk (depending where I'm living) to the Volcano Farmers Market for bananas, eggs, bread, other produce. Drive (~70 miles) to the Kahuku Unit of the park for a hike -OR- drive down Chain of Craters Road to see the petroglyphs -OR- go back to the lab to work. Shower. Eat. Sleep.

I think I am doing ok at this being a grad student thing, but I am still terrified of Even More Change. Eg. moving to an apartment I've never seen in Goleta, starting classes, moving away from everyone I know for an Indeterminate Amount of Time. At the very least Matt will be coming down in January. I take comfort in that. And people say you can't technically fail out of grad school before it starts. I am excited to live so close to the ocean -- just a short walk from a butterfly preserve and ocean bluffs. I am curious to meet what will be my new grad school friends. But I guess a little piece of me isn't totally convinced that what I'm about to do will necessarily be better than what I'd been doing (the unsustainability of my lifestyle notwithstanding). Life is pretty good in the Bay. I hope Santa Barbara and the Goleta scene will rise to the occasion.

Ok, this is what I am worried about: becoming boring, turning into a stress monster, disappointing my advisor (and making her regret taking a chance on me). But seriously, I don't want to turn one-dimensional just because I am becoming an expert in something. Also, I am sad that I don't know when Matt and I will live in the same place for an extended period of time again, but I know that at least will happen.

Fear of trains

2011-08-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

I sent my twin apartment scouts on a little adventure this past Sunday, and we have emerged victorious! I'm no longer going to be homeless in Santa Barbara!

As of September 6th, I shall be the proud inhabitant of what I hope will be a darling 1 bedroom apartment in Goleta in a complex with a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, and LAUNDRY! The kitchen is miniscule, but it has a dishwasher -- by which I don't just mean a sink and two hands. The only troublesome thing is that train tracks are visible from the apartment, as in 50 feet away, but I think it will be just fine. Trains are better than freeway, drunk undergrads, and airport noise. I can't wait to plunk my stuff down in there and throw a party!

SO GLAD to have that settled.

Anniversary

2011-07-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today marks 365 days of bliss with the best gentleman a gal could ask for. Every day for the past long while has made this the longest relationship I've ever been a part of, but today seems a particularly good landmark and vanguard of what I hope will be many more anniversaries. It feels so regal and adult of me to be able to celebrate the completion of a full trip around the sun in the presence of such a stellar human being, when before I could only measure my time with someone by counting orbits of the moon around our small earth on five fingers. It's as if the stars are aligned, and I can feel the hand of the universe warmly nudging me along. I have so much to be thankful for.

Hawaii-ho

2011-07-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

More words later. For now, some pictures!

This is where I work!
It can also look like this.
Sometimes we can see the ocean.
Flowers of the native tree Ohi'a lehua Metrosideros polymorpha, one of the species we work with.
This is Kilauea crater, the volcano I live on. It's still active, and you can see it glow red at night.
Mauna Ulu, the growing mountain.
Looking into Mauna Ulu crater.
View from Whittington Beach Park.
Kilauea Iki.
Wet forest.

2011-06-27T22:29:00.001-07:00

According to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, a baby named Gauge Danger Smith was born in Hawaii today. Danger really *is* his middle name.

Parisian dreams

2011-06-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

82-18

2011-06-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

I will admit that I have been on a not-terribly-subtle campaign to help Matt decide that he does in fact want to move to Santa Barbara conmigo in the spring, and it may be working! All of this missing him while he is in Europe is paying off!

Orchid rescue: success

2011-06-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Were you aware of it? vol. 38: It's not a weasel, it's a martin

2011-06-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Man with dead weasel accused of Hoquiam assault

HOQUIAM, Wash. (AP) — Police say a man was carrying a dead weasel when he burst into a Hoquiam apartment and assaulted a man.

The victim asked, "Why are you carrying a weasel?" Police said the attacker said, "It's not a weasel, it's a martin," then punched him in the nose and fled.

The attacker was apparently looking for his girlfriend and had gone to her former boyfriend's apartment Monday night where the victim was a guest.

KXRO reports he left carcass behind.

Police later found the suspect arguing with his girlfriend at another location and arrested the 33-year-old Hoquiam man after a fight.

He said he had found the martin dead near Hoquiam, but police don't know why he carried it with him.

A martin is a member of the weasel family.

**Courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

I feel this merits a theatrical reenactment.

Another look at it

2011-05-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

This one from the New York Times.

The End of the Jihadist Dream
By Ali H. Soufan

TO the Qaeda members I interrogated at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere in the aftermath of 9/11, Osama bin Laden was never just the founder and leader of the group, but also an idea. He embodied the belief that their version of Islam was correct, that terrorism was the right weapon, and that they would ultimately be victorious. Bin Laden’s death did not kill that idea, but did deal it a mortal blow.

The immediate reaction of Al Qaeda members to Bin Laden’s death will be to celebrate his martyrdom. The group’s ideology champions death for the cause: Songs are composed, videos made and training camps named in honor of dead fighters. Bin Laden’s deputies will try to energize people by turning him into a Che Guevara-like figure for Al Qaeda — a more effective propaganda tool dead than alive.

But it won’t take long for Al Qaeda to begin wishing that Bin Laden wasn’t dead. He not only was the embodiment of Al Qaeda’s ideology, but also was central to the group’s fund-raising and recruiting successes. Without him, Al Qaeda will find itself short on cash — and members.

Bin Laden’s fund-raising (especially through his connections to fellow wealthy Saudis) and his personal story (his decision to give up a life of luxury and ease to fight in a holy war) had brought him to prominence during the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and later secured his position as Al Qaeda’s leader.

He further cultivated that image by trying to model his ascetic life on that of the Prophet Muhammad — by dressing similarly and encouraging his followers to ascribe divine powers to him. Bin Laden regularly hinted at this when discussing Al Qaeda’s strikes against America and his ability to withstand Washington’s wrath.

Not only has Al Qaeda lost its best recruiter and fund-raiser, but no one in the organization can come close to filling that void. Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, who will probably try to take over, is a divisive figure. His personality and leadership style alienate many, he lacks Bin Laden’s charisma and connections and his Egyptian nationality is a major mark against him.

Indeed, one of the earliest things I discovered from interrogating Qaeda members in Afghanistan and Yemen as well as Guantánamo was the group’s internal divisions; the most severe is the rivalry between the Egyptians and members hailing from the Arabian Peninsula. (Even soccer games pit Egyptians against Persian Gulf Arabs.) While Egyptians typically travel to the Gulf to work for Arabs there, in Al Qaeda, Egyptians have traditionally held most of the senior positions.

It was only the knowledge that they were ultimately following Bin Laden — a Saudi of Yemeni origin, and therefore one of their own — that kept non-Egyptian members in line. Now, unless a non-Egyptian takes over, the group is likely to splinter into subgroups. Someone like Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American who is a leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is a likely rival to Mr. Zawahri.

Bin Laden was adept at convincing smaller, regional terrorist groups that allying with Al Qaeda and focusing on America were the best ways to topple corrupt regimes at home. But many of his supporters grew increasingly distressed by Al Qaeda’s attacks in the last few years — which have killed mostly Muslims — and came to realize that Bin Laden had no long-term political program aside from nihilism and death.

The Arab Spring, during which ordinary people in countries like Tunisia and Egypt overthrew their governments, proved that contrary to Al Qaeda’s narrative, hated rulers could be toppled peacefully without attacking America. Indeed, protesters in many cases saw Washington supporting their efforts, further undermining Al Qaeda’s claims.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. Most of Al Qaeda’s leadership council members are still at large, and they command their own followers. They will try to carry out operations to prove Al Qaeda’s continuing relevance. And with Al Qaeda on the decline, regional groups that had aligned themselves with the network may return to operating independently, making them harder to monitor and hence deadlier.

Investigations, intelligence and military successes are only half the battle. The other half is in the arena of ideas, and countering the rhetoric and methods that extremists use to recruit. We can keep killing and arresting terrorists, but if new ones are recruited, our war will never end.

Our greatest tool, we must remember, is America itself. We have suffered a great deal at the hands of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and we will never forget those killed in attacks like the 1998 bombings on United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 2000 attack on the Navy destroyer Cole, 9/11 and the service members killed since then in the war against Al Qaeda.

Many terrorists whom I interrogated told me they expected America to ultimately fold. What they didn’t understand is that as powerful as the Bin Laden idea was to them, America’s values and liberties are even greater to us. Effectively conveying this will bury the Bin Laden idea with him.

Ali H. Soufan, an F.B.I. special agent from 1997 to 2005, interrogated Qaeda detainees at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere.

On the death of Osama bin Laden

2011-05-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

My sister found this article that does a good job summing up my reaction to last night's news.

Chris Hedges, speaking at a Truthdig fundraising event in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, made these remarks about Osama bin Laden’s death.

I know that because of this announcement, that reportedly Osama bin Laden was killed, Bob [Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer] wanted me to say a few words about it … about al-Qaida. I spent a year of my life covering al-Qaida for The New York Times. It was the work in which I, and other investigative reporters, won the Pulitzer Prize. And I spent seven years of my life in the Middle East. I was the Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times. I’m an Arabic speaker. And when someone came over and told ... me the news, my stomach sank. I’m not in any way naive about what al-Qaida is. It’s an organization that terrifies me. I know it intimately.

But I’m also intimately familiar with the collective humiliation that we have imposed on the Muslim world. The expansion of military occupation that took place throughout, in particular the Arab world, following 9/11—and that this presence of American imperial bases, dotted, not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Doha—is one that has done more to engender hatred and acts of terror than anything ever orchestrated by Osama bin Laden.

And the killing of bin Laden, who has absolutely no operational role in al-Qaida—that’s clear—he’s kind of a spiritual mentor, a kind of guide … he functions in many of the ways that Hitler functioned for the Nazi Party. We were just talking with Warren [Beatty] about [Ian] Kershaw’s great biography of Hitler, which I read a few months ago, where you hold up a particular ideological ideal and strive for it. That was bin Laden’s role. But all actual acts of terror, which he may have signed off on, he no way planned.

I think that one of the most interesting aspects of the whole rise of al-Qaida is that when Saddam Hussein … I covered the first Gulf War, went into Kuwait with the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, was in Basra during the Shiite uprising until I was captured and taken prisoner by the Iraqi Republican Guard. I like to say I was embedded with the Iraqi Republican Guard. Within that initial assault and occupation of Kuwait, bin Laden appealed to the Saudi government to come back and help organize the defense of his country. And he was turned down. And American troops came in and implanted themselves on Muslim soil.

When I was in New York, as some of you were, on 9/11, I was in Times Square when the second plane hit. I walked into The New York Times, I stuffed notebooks in my pocket and walked down the West Side Highway and was at Ground Zero four hours later. I was there when Building 7 collapsed. And I watched as a nation drank deep from that very dark elixir of American nationalism … the flip side of nationalism is always racism, it’s about self-exaltation and the denigration of the other.

And it’s about forgetting that terrorism is a tactic. You can’t make war on terror. Terrorism has been with us since Sallust wrote about it in the Jugurthine wars. And the only way to successfully fight terrorist groups is to isolate [them], isolate those groups, within their own societies. And I was in the immediate days after 9/11 assigned to go out to Jersey City and the places where the hijackers had lived and begin to piece together their lives. I was then very soon transferred to Paris, where I covered all of al-Qaida’s operations in the Middle East and Europe.

So I was in the Middle East in the days after 9/11. And we had garnered the empathy of not only most of the world, but the Muslim world who were appalled at what had been done in the name of their religion. And we had major religious figures like Sheikh Tantawi, the head of al-Azhar—who died recently—who after the attacks of 9/11 not only denounced them as a crime against humanity, which they were, but denounced Osama bin Laden as a fraud … someone who had no right to issue fatwas or religious edicts, no religious legitimacy, no religious training. And the tragedy was that if we had the courage to be vulnerable, if we had built on that empathy, we would be far safer and more secure today than we are.

We responded exactly as these terrorist organizations wanted us to respond. They wanted us to speak the language of violence. What were the explosions that hit the World Trade Center, huge explosions and death above a city skyline? It was straight out of Hollywood. When Robert McNamara in 1965 began the massive bombing campaign of North Vietnam, he did it because he said he wanted to “send a message” to the North Vietnamese—a message that left hundreds of thousands of civilians dead.

These groups learned to speak the language we taught them. And our response was to speak in kind. The language of violence, the language of occupation—the occupation of the Middle East, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—has been the best recruiting tool al-Qaida has been handed. If it is correct that Osama bin Laden is dead, then it will spiral upwards with acts of suicidal vengeance. And I expect most probably on American soil. The tragedy of the Middle East is one where we proved incapable of communicating in any other language than the brute and brutal force of empire.

And empire finally, as Thucydides understood, is a disease. As Thucydides wrote, the tyranny that the Athenian empire imposed on others it finally imposed on itself. The disease of empire, according to Thucydides, would finally kill Athenian democracy. And the disease of empire, the disease of nationalism … these of course are mirrored in the anarchic violence of these groups, but one that locks us in a kind of frightening death spiral. So while I certainly fear al-Qaida, I know its intentions. I know how it works. I spent months of my life reconstructing every step Mohamed Atta took. While I don’t in any way minimize their danger, I despair. I despair that we as a country, as Nietzsche understood, have become the monster that we are attempting to fight.

Thank you.

Bad Project

2011-04-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be a f*cking ecologist

2011-04-16T02:47:00.001-07:00

I'm heading to UCSB in the fall to work with the best ever advisor on a PhD in Ecology!!!!! They're even giving me a year of money to start!! I'm overwhelmed with excitement and terror! But a good kind of terror..

Dunno yet if I need to start in Sept or June, so I can't entirely make plans, but I just know I will know soon. And It Feels So Good. I can at least start visualizing my life.

It's almost 3am, so I should get to sleep, but HALLELUJAH!

2011-03-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Still waitin'.

2011-03-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Quick visit to Sonoma State yesterday. I hadn't been to MS only programs before, and I could definitely sense the absence of intensity. Beautiful country, though. Had some good chats with the grad students there, but then of course they'll be gone by the time I'd start. They seem to like me. I wish someone would just send me an offer.

More of the same

2011-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Monday Jan. 31st 2011
I do like crazy hats, square scarves, and scarves in general.
Friday Jan. 28th 2011
Yes to wide brim fedoras on women!
Monday Jan. 24th 1011
The possibilities of the hybrid sweater coat. Is it still technically just a cardigan?

Catching up on the Sartorialist

2011-03-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Monday Feb. 21st 2011
This I think I could do.

Sunday Feb. 20th 2011
The ribbons are beyond what I could pull off, but I like the romantic disheveled look of it. I want to say the colors are too bright, but my own rain coat is even brighter than hers.

Thursday Feb. 17th 2011
Ooo.

Roots, Progress

2011-03-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Bows and arrows, oh my

2011-03-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

The Sartorialist Tuesday March 8, 2011. See Hermes Fall 2011.

I could see myself carrying a quiver of arrows...

Red scare, pt.3

2011-03-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

One more tidbit.

When Duf Sundheim mentioned that 50% of the income tax collected in California comes from 144,000 individuals, someone hooted and shouted, '...and it's not enough!"

Yes, Mr. Sundheim allowed, globalization has caused a problematic redistribution of wealth. Taxes can be used to compensate for that to some degree. No argument there. But when you're making obscene amounts of money, you don't make that much money every year. So, when half your tax base has wildly variable income, your state budget becomes wildly variable -- especially to predict.

He didn't suggest we shift more of the tax burden to the incomes of the rest of us; he pointed out that thanks to prop 13 our property taxes are pretty out of whack (and I have to say, I agree with him there). Property, unlike income, is pretty stable and has the benefit of being unable to move out of Cayman Islands when it strikes it rich. I don't want to kick little old ladies out of their homes, but the situation is dire. Without more money for education, we're screwing over generations of future Californians. Not to mention the rest of our social services.

Thank you, Johnny Cash Radio

2011-03-08T18:44:00.001-08:00

New music shopping list:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Ink Spots
Marty Robbins
Norman Greenbaum (Spirit in the Sky)
Ray Charles (I've Got a Woman)
Bruce Springsteen
The Animals (House of the Rising Sun)

Don't think twice, it's alright

2011-03-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

Heard this on a Fresh Air interview of Suze Rotalo, Bob Dylan's girlfriend of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) fame and fell in love with it.

It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An’ it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
I’m on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin’ anyway
So don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal
I can’t hear you anymore
I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wond’rin’ all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I’m told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don’t think twice, it’s all right

I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word, babe
So I’ll just say fare thee well
I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right

Red scare, pt. 2

2011-03-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

Duf Sundheim was speaking in PoliSci 179 this Wednesday, a class my sister is taking and I am crashing! (Webcast here). Basically he's a big wig in the California Republican Party and presided over it for a few years. He was also a key player in the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and masterminded the election of Schwarzi in his stead. Even more exciting for the crowd of Berkeley undergrads, he is an alumnus of Stanford.

...And yet I found him one of the most reasonable speakers I've heard in that class so far. (I missed a few -- I hear last week's Charles Wiley was awesome). Sundheim talked mostly about education and what's wrong with it in California. I have to admit, I agree that the thought of 80¢ on the dollar spent on education is being paid into pensions for teachers (or professors) who aren't even teaching any more. He mainly stressed the need to conceptualize education in terms of the individual, rather than the institution. I'm not totally clear on what that means, but the idea of focusing more attention on how to get kids what they need out of education, rather than thinking in terms of test scores and The School, seems ok to me. Maybe this is all part of some republican plot for smaller government.

One kid whose parents were teachers mentioned that try as they might, they just couldn't get through to some kids. Is it because they're not good enough at their jobs? Is it the lack of support for education at home? Is it...??? Mr. Sundheim agreed that 80% of the opportunity for education is tied up in a kid's home life. I find the number generous, but the concept not entirely unreasonable. Sure, it makes a big difference if your parents and the people in your life generally value education. I'm more uneasy, though, with the conclusion he draws -- that if a kid doesn't feel inclined to go to college, we should respect that -- craft education around what they actually want to do with their lives. I know we have technical high schools and all that, and I recognize that there are trades and unskilled labor that needs to be done, and we need people able to do them, but the idea of shunting someone that young out of the track to higher education scares me. Am I just biased because that's the way of life I know best? Would classes more immediately useful to employment actually keep them more engaged in school?

I don't know.

Red scare, pt. 1

2011-03-03T15:32:00.001-08:00

What was otherwise a pleasant trip to Seattle last week was tainted by a chapter in the Microeconomics textbook I've been reading for this online class which discussed the impact of government intervention in the free market. Let's be clear -- I despise this textbook. I find its conversational tone insulting and its presentation of the material one-sided, but I still feel like it's important to know about this stuff, and I do find it interesting.

So we talked about per-unit taxes, price ceilings and price floors. All the examples in the book are of course very pro-market and pro-globalization, but their discussion of minimum wage really gets me. Looking at minimum wage from a supply and demand point of view, we have this (very simplified) example:

The red line shows the supply of labor available for a given wage; the blue line shows the demand for employees within the same wage range. The grey point is the market price for wages -- the point at which the demand for employees matches the supply of labor -- in this example, $5/hour with 5 people employed. The black line marks the price floor for wages at $6/hour set via government legislation -- in this example, slightly higher than the market price for wages. At $6/hour, the supply of jobs (or demand for employees) drops to 4 jobs because employers can't afford five employees at the new rate. However, for $6/hour, 6 people are now willing to work and are interested in employment. This 'creates' a scarcity of jobs -- the gap between the demand for and supply of jobs, also known as the unemployment rate, marked in green.

The book claims that the potential effects of setting a minimum wage include the following:

an increase in unemployment because firms can't afford to hire as many workers at the higher rate

worse working conditions and cuts to career-building programs because firms take money from workplace niceities to afford rising labor costs

buoying the incomes of middle class teenagers who are not relying on their paychecks for subsistence anyway and therefore are not the primary targets of the increase in minimum wage.

I think the teenager point is total bull crap, and honestly what business that pays their workers minimum wage is actually bankrolling career-building workshops for their employees? The bit about work conditions can be regulated for separately. Even if it causes the cost of goods to go up, I think paying something closer to the true price for things is more sustainable in the long run. I can see concern about the drop in employment (in my example) from 5 jobs to 4 jobs, but saying minimum wage is responsible for the gap between the 6 people looking for work and the 4 jobs available seems unfair.

I guess what I want is an economic defense of minimum wage. I want something that can speak to the points that these no-regulation economists will bring up in relation to this and other issues of intervention without just getting all hot in the collar about it. I get hot in the collar already!

March resolutions

2011-03-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

I have been noticing that blog posts have been shall we say few and far between. And I want to change that, so I am setting a new resolution as of this March to try to post a little something to at least one blog each day. May not always be here, but I want to get back in the habit. N'ahm sayin'?

Also,*nerd alert!* the gentleman friend's parents gifted me a snazzy new pedometer, which has inspired me to scientifically track precisely how much exercise I'm getting every day, which is in turn inspiring me to exercise more. Knowledge is power! ... Although I admit much of that extra exercise involves jogging in place while brushing my teeth. Still, I shall work off these extra winter layers by summer!

Not exactly rocket science

2011-03-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Oooo. I just found the best blog.

I think maybe I want to skip grad school and just read this blog all day.

...Or not.

Were you aware of it? vol. 37: Turkish man crashes own funeral

2011-03-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

KONYA – Doğan News Agency (DHA) 'Everyone was shocked when they saw me,' says 72-year-old Durmuş Çıplak (pictured). 'Then I learned they had thought I lost my life in an accident. But I am still alive, thanks be to God.' AA photo

'Everyone was shocked when they saw me,' says 72-year-old Durmuş Çıplak (pictured). 'Then I learned they had thought I lost my life in an accident. But I am still alive, thanks be to God.' AA photo

A man returning from a fishing trip in the Central Anatolian province of Konya was surprised to encounter a group of mourners gathering in front of his house for a funeral – his own.

“Everyone was shocked when they saw me,” 72-year-old Durmuş Çıplak told Doğan news agency, or DHA. “Then I learned they had thought I lost my life in an accident. But I am still alive, thanks be to God.”

It was thought that Durmuş Çıplak had died after a cargo truck hit a septuagenarian riding a bike by the side of the road at 10 a.m. on Monday. The person, who was not carrying any identification, was badly wounded and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

People in the surrounding area told police, who were trying to determine the man’s identity, that the dead bicyclist was Durmuş Çıplak.

Ahmet Çıplak, the man’s son, was then called to the morgue to identify the victim. The son identified the body as his father and began carrying the body home for the funeral ceremony when his neighbor called to say his father had just returned from a fishing trip.

The son then returned the unidentified body to the hospital, just as his father came upon the bereaved mourners gathered in front of his house.

The deceased cyclist was eventually identified as 70-year-old retiree Süleyman Bozer. Durmuş Çıplak attended the funeral.

**Courtesy of Hürriyet Daily News

California love

2011-02-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

How is it that time goes by so quickly?? I am just back from Seattle, where it was cold, as in freezing, as in snow. But it was still great place. I miss the coffee shops and the greenery, but I've got to say there's nothing like coming home to California. Hearts.

Still no word about grad school, but I have had good chats with people at just about every school I've applied to at this point. I don't want to jinx my hopes by getting them too far up before official letters come, but no news means no rejections yet, and I'm happy at least about that. Normally I'd be basking in blissful ignorance, but I'm dying to make plans for summer at least.

Otherwise, lots of reading has been done. Lots of tooling about the greenhouse and lab -- for pay! Not as much botanical gardening, but I'm hoping to get back on that bandwagon.

I am trying to re-learn math what with this future math professor I'm dating and all. I tried pitching him the idea of helping me brush up on the math I'm reading about in this ecology textbook, but don't remember from 10+ years ago (or never learned at all), and he seems to think it will even be fun for him. Maybe I'll finally get to have that dating-your-instructor experience...

Seriously, where do all the hours go?!?! I want to have more art and relaxation time. And somehow also more productivity time. If peeps want to get to get some arts and crafts on this month, I am down. Sadly I have hardly been musical at all in ages, but I still have the best intentions.

February is for FREEDOM

2011-02-02T14:56:00.001-08:00

I don't think I can muster the enthusiasm to start any more grad school applications.... which means I'm done!

I am slowly starting to realize how mono-minded my little world had become in the past few months, but February is the month to change all that!

February is the blissful month of ignorance in which I put off worrying about where or whether I got into grad schools because I can't know yet. February is when I can pick up my old art projects again. In February, I shall read books! I have plunged whole-heartedly into self-assigned homework so that I might not feel a fool when I'm back in school. I am plugging through the Primer on Ecological Statistics and a thick textbook on Ecology with a gorgeous cover. I'm learning about Microeconomics and I'm signed up for a botanical field trip to the Sonoran Desert. Seemingly unbeknownst to my sister, I am attending her political science lecture in which we are treated to a best-of series of previous guest lecturers. A holiday is in order, possibly to Hawaii, with Matt in the imminent future. I am going to see friends. I am going to do yoga! There is talk of Europe in the summer -- perhaps a jaunt in Portugal? Spain? France? Ireland? The Scottish Highlands? My slim pocketbook is the limit!

The past few months have felt a dim haze compared to the promise of this spring. Curiously, becoming all but caught up in the ebb and flow of the grad student co-op has left me still feeling the odd outsider even now that I've my own official key and am paying for the bit of their food that I eat. The clean, thoughtless distinctions obvious primarily to those on the receiving end remind me of being a contractor at Google. Still, I feel I serve a purpose, and, in my true fashion, I have managed to be up 7.5 workshift hours in just the third week of the semester.

In any case, February. Things are on the up and up.

Were you aware of it? vol. 36: Mama Pterodactyls

2011-01-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

Age old rule of attraction: Male pterodactyls used giant head crests to woo the ladies, rare fossil find reveals

When it comes to trying to impress the opposite sex, men are often unable to resist showing off.

A 160 million-year-old fossil dubbed 'Mrs T' has revealed that dinosaurs were just the same.

Male pterodactyls used their spectacular giant head crests to woo the ladies, scientists believe.

While female reptiles had no decorative markings on their heads, the males sported impressive plumes of feathers, sometimes five times the size of their skull, which they used to show off to prospective mates.

It had previously proved impossible to say whether the remains of the reptiles, which lived alongside dinosaurs between 220 and 65 million years ago, were male or female, and 'sexing' them has foxed experts for more than 100 years.

The evidence comes from Mrs T, the nickname given to a female pterosaur preserved together with the egg she was about to lay.

Pterosaurs - favourites of Hollywood filmmakers - were flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, some of which grew as large as light aircraft.

Mrs T was a 160million-year-old Darwinopterus pterosaur whose skeletal remains were uncovered in Liaoning Province, north-east China.

Because she was found with her egg, scientists know that she must have been female.

The pterosaur had relatively large hips to accommodate the passage of eggs, but no head crest.

Other Darwinopterus specimens, now known to be male, have smaller hips and well-developed crests. Scientists believe these were probably used to ward off rivals or attract mates.

Dr David Unwin, from the University of Leicester, whose team describe the find in the journal Science, said: 'Pterosaurs, flying reptiles, also known as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, the age of dinosaurs, 220 to 65million years ago.

'Many pterosaurs have head crests. In the most spectacular cases these can reach five times the height of the skull.

'Scientists have long suspected that these crests were used for some kind of display or signalling and may have been confined to males, while females were crestless.

'But, in the absence of any direct evidence for gender this idea remained speculative and crested and crestless forms were often separated into completely different species.

'The fossil we have discovered, an individual of Darwinopterus, is preserved together with an egg showing that it must be female. This type of discovery, in which gender can be determined with certainty, is extremely rare in the fossil record, and the first to be reported for pterosaurs.'

Future pterosaur fossil finds in which the skull or hips are preserved can now help scientists to 'sex' the creatures.

Dr Unwin added: 'Gender is one of the most fundamental of biological attributes, but extremely difficult to pinpoint with any certainty in the fossil record.

'Being able to sex pterosaurs is a major step forward. Finally, we have a good explanation for pterosaur head crests, a problem that has puzzled scientists for more than 100 years.

'Now, we can exploit our knowledge of pterosaur gender to research entirely new areas such as population structure and behaviour. We can also play matchmaker for pterosaurs bringing back together long separated males and females in the single species to which they both belong.'

Mrs T is thought to have been laid to rest in the Jurassic mud that preserved her bones by a tragic accident.

She was killed suddenly in a traumatic event that broke her left forearm - perhaps a storm, or one of the volcanic eruptions that were common in northern China at this time.

Unlike those of modern birds, her egg was small with a soft shell.

This was not surprising, since a small, soft egg would require less investment in terms of materials and energy, said Dr Unwin.

Such economy would have offered active pterosaurs an evolutionary advantage and may have been an important factor in the evolution of giant species, like the 32.8ft (10m) wingspan Quetzalcoatlus.

**Courtesy of the Daily Mail.
See also: The original paper published tomorrow in Science.

Suddenly, it is 2011

2011-01-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

It was pointed out to me yesterday that I have been absent from the world of excitement for a very long time, or I should clarify that to say -- the world of exciting things beyond grad school applications and the lots of dotting of i's and crossing of t's that comes with it. I will have you know that I did take a little holiday to be present at family functions, and I did have just the best ever jaunt up to Canada where I met the gentleman friend's parents (who are the epitome of darling and lovely) and some extended family (also fabulous people). I was further introduced to the winter highlights of Toronto, Detroit, and that southernmost Canadian city that is at least larger than the other cities slightly further south that for some reason don't count when one is determining which Canadian city is southernmost, Windsor.

In any case, the end is near! In a mere slightly more than two weeks, I shall return to humanity, and, hopefully, to posting more than once per month! Details to follow!

(Pictured above: Point Pelee, which actually is the southernmost point in Canada, although, in truth, this shot isn't the southern most point of it.)

How is it already December???

2010-12-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

I suppose I really have been living in my little grad school application cave, but today I have made a brief escape into the real world in celebration of submitting my first application in the wee hours of the morning. There are at least seven more schools I want to apply to, possibly more, but things will be easier now that this first one is done, right?

I still have no idea how this whole application process will go. I can't tell if labs want me or not, but I'm feeling better and better about what I want to do. Getting a handle for things and all that. Enjoying the process, even.

Really, though, I owe a giant, giant thank you to my gentleman friend who has been all kinds of supportive even as I spout my sleep deprived crazy talk. To top it all off, he even woke up before dawn to drive down to Santa Cruz with me for my first lab visit.

And to everyone who read my essay! Muchas gracias! Mille fois merci!

Out with the relatively new, in with ???

2010-11-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Disappointed with the state of the CA ballot propositions this time around. Yeah we got Jerry Brown and kept Barbara Boxer and may even have snuck in Kamala Harris, but we've seriously eff'ed our legislature's ability to do anything but steal from education. We couldn't even cough up a piddly $18 per year/vehicle to save our state parks in perpetuity. The Giants' winning the World Series doesn't make up for our having rejected all sources of state income even if we did give Democrats the ability to pass a budget with a simple majority. Their hands were tied before and now my fellow voters have tied them tighter. All of this distrust and disgust with the concept of sharing and cooperation is... well, it's a huge bummer. We say we want to save education (which will bring us jobs down the line) but why must we kill anything that would actually help fund schools? Do we not care? Do we not understand the implications of the way we vote? Are corporate interests really just spoon-feeding us big business propaganda? Are things actually going to be better this way? I don't know. I just want us to take an interest and do something about it. Ok, and I want to fund education. That's really what I want. In the end, everything comes down to that.

...And now I need to get back to grad school apps.

At long last

2010-11-02T16:44:00.001-07:00

Omg. Sierra Beauty apples -- still the best thing ever. Swoon.

I swear they show up at Berkeley Bowl later in the season every year. I guess we did have a pretty cold summer.

In any case, Mmmmiam!

70%

2010-10-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

That graph of what a PhD is reminded me of why I've dodged graduate school for so long -- because I like the idea of keeping my sphere of knowledge relatively regularly shaped, without that awkward growth protruding from it. I would rather know a lot about everything than everything about one tiny fraction of the whole of knowledge. Or, that's how I've been feeling for the past 29 years or so. Recently, though I've succumbed to this craving to be an expert in something. Just last week I looked up from the table in Doe Library where I was working to watch mindlessly as someone on the other side of the stacks was rolling the book cases back and forth to find just the right volume, and I was reminded of the library in terms of its being a physical manifestation of the internet, which I had at my fingertips. I thought about my small book case at home and the amount of space it might take to house every book I've ever read and compared that mental shape to the vast expanse of Doe and its endless supply of books and my goal of learning 70% of everything felt an even more herculean task than ever. Even compared to absorbing the contents of 70% of just the volumes in Doe library, applying to graduate school and even pumping out a PhD seemed like simple things one can accomplish in due time. It has been a comforting thought.

Not overly brief recap.

2010-10-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

I can't say I've been living under a rock the past few weeks. It's more like I've been spread out in an even film over a wide area, kind of like an electron cloud.

I finally went to Yoshi's.

I took in my banjo teacher's band's bluegrass / Irish trad show at the Starry Plough.

I dressed up in a lengha, carried a lei and threw flower petals to help marry my cousin to his wife.

There have been fully two Shakespeare plays at that glorious outdoor theatre in Orinda. Both Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing.

The Tallest Man on Earth was brilliant. Brilliant and fantastically Swedish.

I counted birds at in a salt marsh.

I toured a water treatment plant.

There was a greywater forum at the East Bay Municipal Utilities District. (Speaking of greywater, I have been made to understand how to install certain simple greywater plumbings).

There was the making of membrillo.

Aida in AT&T Park.

The Big Lebowski in that wonderful bastion of hipsterdom, Dolores Park.

There has been regular salsa dancing.

There have been and will continue to be house warming parties.

Multiple trips to Botanical Gardens and various collections of trees are causing me to expound on the identifying characteristics of our arborescent brethren.

I am having another go at a little garden upstairs, this time with three boxes and a couple more big pots.

Mostly though when I think about how great things are right now (including even the thought of grad school applications, amazingly) I am just taken aback by the magical appearance of Matt on that street corner as arranged by our friend Sarah. I am secretly and terrifyingly living almost precisely the life I would have wanted or that I thought about before I decided it was best not to think about such things.

Firebird

2010-10-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

The phoenix in its embodiment of reinvention, reincarnation, recycling, re-creation, invincibility, wisdom and strength of will is my ultimate power animal. Even more than a lion, though I can't cast aspersions at lions. I'm not much of one to roar, but to fly around with a tail of flames, I could get into that.

A quick trip into space

2010-10-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Wrinkled roses

2010-10-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

There was a line in the Tale of Genji somewhere about a particular flower in someone's fall or summer garden. The flowers, they thought, were nice, but those members of the medieval Japanese court really looked forward to the faded blooms and their particular shade of yellow, the way they hung just so on the stems crisp and delicate. I am thinking of that this morning with the odd-dozen wrinking pink roses hovering just above my computer screen faded in spots and seemingly a darker, more intense magenta in others, aging gracefully, perhaps more beautiful now, long after someone else might have tossed them away.

Were you aware of it? vol. 35: G is for Goldilocks

2010-10-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Professor Steven S. Vogt of the Lick Observatory at UC Santa Cruz is apparently 100% sure that life does or will exist on the planet he discovered late last month, affectionately known to the scientific community as Gliese 581 g.

Gliese 581 g (the planet) lies in the so-called 'habitable zone' of its parent star, the red dwarf Gliese 581, meaning that it's close enough for there to be liquid water -- not boiling, not frozen -- making it just right for life. The planet has a rocky atmosphere and enough gravity to hold onto its atmosphere.

But don't pack your bags yet, as far as science can tell, our little Goldilocks of a planet (or maybe it should be a Mama Bear of a planet??) appears to be tidally locked to its parent star, meaning that the same side of the planet always faces its sun. The border zones where it's eternally sunrise or sunset might be nice, though.

Gliese 581 (the star itself) is located 20 light years from Earth in the constellation Libra.

On All Things Considered.
On Talk of the Nation Science Friday.

Were you aware of it? vol. 34: Explosive Double Feature

2010-10-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

"About 75 bystanders, most of them residents who had found the whale to be an object of curiosity before they tired of its smell, were moved back a quarter of a mile away. The sand dunes there were covered with spectators and land-lubber newsmen shortly to become land-blubber newsmen, for the blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds."

I admit I derive a childlike glee from the mental image of serious-minded city council men being smacked in the face by fast-moving slabs of rotting whale flesh despite their confidence that 20 cases of dynamite would disintegrate it mid-air. Similarly amusing is the though of filing an insurance claim for a car totaled by the impact of a rotting whale meat-eor.

"Barbara, I've never seen a uh haha a bomb scare quite like this. I mean it's literally a fully clothed bomb expert and a bomb robot with a stuffed animal."

Jezebel puts it best:
Police Save Kids From Stuffed Pony-Terrorist

Party tricks

2010-09-20T21:53:00.001-07:00

I want to memorize a poem. Maybe three poems.

Smelling the roses

2010-09-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

These beauties have been brightening up my apartment since Saturday. Definitely a steal at $3.49.

Birretes y calabazas

2010-09-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

I need a vacation. Not even one in which I do things or go anywhere. One in which nothing is supposed to happen. A vacation in which I am not called upon to plan or organize or be in any way responsible for any kind of accomplishment or logistic. One day on which I could wake up to sunlight instead of an alarm without feeling the crush of all the things I am meant to be doing for my own academic and professional good.

Falling asleep on the bus on the way home from class today I felt the slightest hint of wistfulness for my days of employment, during which I could come home and not be working.

I am looking forward to the Friday evening on which I dare to skip my Salsa dancing class in the name of sanity, or the week mid-October when I'll be through with my water class, at least. Or when my Spanish class will slow to half its current frantic pace. Only to be replaced by the endurance test that is applying to graduate school.

It's all so good, and yet there is just too much of it.

Literary afternoon

2010-09-12T18:32:00.001-07:00

Walking the block of Webster just north of Mosswood park often reminds me of the lazy southern streets of Carson McCullers' Member of the Wedding, especially when I hear the occasional twang of a stray banjo string, like I did today. I always liked her.

The tallest and smallest

2010-09-12T15:11:00.001-07:00

It would seem that the Tallest Man on Earth is playing at the Fillmore tomorrow night, and I believe I will try to see him. Would that the stars might align to make it possible.

I am listening to Shallow Grave again in preparation and am struck by how strongly I react to those songs even now. As I sing along to The Gardner, I can feel the muscles in my face tighten and release through the series of memories that have come since the first time I heard this record in a dark room in Escondido, its windows papered and taped to keep the light out. It's as if each of the cells in the bit of stuff beneath my skin are retracing all the stretching and contracting they have done from then until now, like a three minute dance.

I was feeling hesitant to go -- lest my concert-mate catch a glimpse of what-all this is humming from my nerve endings -- but, having given in it a few hours' consideration, I would like to go. I would like finally to see this Tallest Man for my own.

Were you aware of it? vol. 33: The end of history

2010-09-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

"It's the World's Strongest, Most Expensive Beer -- Inside a Squirrel"
Our old buddies BrewDog have done it again. Not content with winning back the "strongest beer in the world" title last February with its Sink the Bismarck!, they've now upped their game with a new brew that is 55 percent alcohol by volume and carries a $765 price tag. It's called The End of History.

Oh, and did we mention that the bottles come in stuffed animals-like stuffed animals that were once alive? The 12 bottles have been made featuring seven dead stoats (a kind of weasel), four squirrels and one rabbit. James Watt, one of the two guys behind BrewDog, put it better than we ever could: "The impact of The End of History is a perfect conceptual marriage between taxidermy, art and craft brewing." Just like we've all been waiting for!

For those interested in the actual beer, it's a blond Belgian ale with touches of nettles and juniper berries -- and in order to achieve the brain-blasting alcohol content, it had to be created using extreme freezing techniques.

**courtesy of Asylum

<3 Scots

Estudiando español

2010-08-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ahora cuando me hablo en mi apartamiento, en el invernadero, o mientras de andar en bicicleta, me hablo español. Creo que es una buena señal. Quisiera hablar español como una latinaamericana un día. De verdad. Esto es el comienzo. Puedo entender y puedo escribir, pero hablar... Pienso que tengo un oído para los idiomas -- ¿es posible de decirlo en español? -- pero puedo sentir la diferencia entre aprender un idioma el la escuela secundaria y aprender un idioma cuando tiene casi treinte años. Que me gusta aprender lenguas todavía.

Même en français, je crois que je parle comme une americaine. La forme de mes phrases trahissent toujours un cerveau qui pense en anglais. Mon accent et mon intonation pas résister. Je n'ai pas assez lu pour être une vrai française -- même si des français me demandent si je suis française. Si j'avais dit plus qu'un mot ou deux, ils ne l'auraient pas dire.

Agus tá mo chuid Gaeilge an-beagán.

Caravan Palace

2010-08-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Gypsy jazz + swing. I like.

Garble

2010-08-23T18:41:00.001-07:00

It's either the last day before the onslaught, or one of the last days of the onslaught, or I suppose it could be an ordinary day mid-onslaught. In any case, I am busy. School starts tomorrow, and I'm already thinking of dropping classes. I am still working on this summer research project. I still need to apply to graduate school, and, before that, to research graduate schools to apply to. Next week will be all experiment harvest, all the time, followed by a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles for a wedding.

Have been keeping to myself with a cold this last week and some. Reading, reading and reading. Getting some things done. Feeling the dwindling of the piggy bank creeping up. Not really having enough time to think anything fully through. Still hearing good things about my performance from the lab folks, for which I am grateful.

My sister moved here yesterday, which is highly exciting. I just wish I wasn't so tired so I could revel in the excitement. It's been oddly quiet lately, partly à cause de la grippe, partly because summer is such a good time for getting away, mais tout le monde reviendra cette semaine des vaccances que je n'ai pas pu faire cette année, et c'est bien ça. En même temps, I'm feeling a hint nervous about it all -- surtout la retour du Canada de ce mec à qui Sarah m'a présenté. Pas de raison, mais le voilà. J'ai appris comment ne pas avoir besoin de rien. I really need to learn to speak better French.

I do like being busy and being productive, and I feel I've been both most of this summer, but nothing takes the place of a good mental holiday. Def missing that right now.

Oh my god.

2010-08-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Two things:
1. This three year old badass recites poetry better than most adults. Is this what it will take to get into college in the future? Thank god he's not applying to grad school this fall.
2. I really need to read more Billy Collins.

Upon having discovered that I truly am a nerd

2010-08-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am really, really enjoying reading this Primer of Ecological Statistics. There's no denying it now. Will I ever be invited to cocktail parties again? Wait, have I ever been invited to cocktail parties? Gasp.

Medium

2010-08-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

I am sometimes confused about medium. It's not because of the colored synesthesia that words remind me of painting. This week, though, I feel like I'm dancing. Ballroom dancing with a good partner. With the right words, I can feel that perfect pressure on my back, and I don't step on any toes.

Writer's block

2010-08-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Further evidence that bicycles are sexy

2010-08-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

A man in a black Volkswagon nearly hit me trying to hand this little slip of paper to me while driving yesterday. I wonder how often he tries this tactic and what his success rate is. Also, does he carry pre-written slips of paper with his phone number on them just in case? Or did he somehow manage to also tear off a bit paper and write his information out, also while driving? As Matt would correct me, there is at least one way to find out.

1906

2010-08-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Someone found these old glass negatives of the 1906 San Francisco shake down. Pretty crazy. It kind of makes me want to read history books.

Lydia the Tattooed Lady

2010-08-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of in awe of these lyrics...

My life was wrapped around the circus.
Her name was Lydia.
I met her at the world's fair in 1900,
marked down from 1940.
Courtesy of YouTube, watch Groucho Marx singing 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady

Ah, Lydia.
She was the most glorious creature
Under the su-un.
Guiess. DuBarry. Garbo.
Rolled into one.

Oooooooh
Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
And a torso even more so.

Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopidia,
Oh Lydia the Queen of Tattoo.
On her back is the Battle of Waterloo.
Beside it the wreck of the Hesperus, too.
And proudly above waves the Red, White, and Blue,
You can learn a lot from Lydia.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

When her robe is unfurled, she will show you the world,
If you step up and tell her where.
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paris,
Or Washington crossing the Delaware.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,
Oh Lydia the Tattooed Lady
When her muscles start relaxin',
Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson

Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopidia,
oh Lydia the queen of them all!
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz,
With a view of Niagara that nobody has.
And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz.
You can learn a lot from Lydia.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Come along and see Buff'lo Bill with his lasso.
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso.
Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon.
Here's Godiva but with her pajamas on.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Here is Grover Whalen unveilin' the Trilon.
Over on the West Coast we have Treaure Island.
Here's Najinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.

{whistles}La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia that encyclopidia,
Oh Lydia the champ of them all.
She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet.
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.
And now the old boy's in command of the fleet,
For he went and married Lydia.

I said Lydia
{He said Lydia}
They said Lydia
{We said Lydia}
La La!

The way everything is made that much better with a fleur de lys

2010-08-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I was terribly pleased with the quiche I made with Matthew when we had our tiny dinner party on Friday. Such a lovely evening.

Accept the mystery

2010-08-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy few weeks. Everything that could have been wrong has been right. And now, listening to discussion of the nuclear holocaust on the radio, the last connection between reality and my feet has been replaced by space. The next two weeks should be quieter, and I'm looking forward to just letting it all sink in.

Section quartet

2010-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

So good. Black Hole Sun is even better than the original. Swoon. I love me some string section.

Were you aware of it? vol. 32: Sibs

2010-08-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's still just a factor, obv, but I find the explanation of how birth order affects IQ fascinating. It really is important to expose kids to sophisticated conversation. So true for my family, in any case.

Indian wedding, heyo!

2010-07-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

My cousin is getting married to a lovely Indian gal in a few weeks, and I'm so so flattered to get to be part of the girl side of the family. It also means I get to wear a lengha! I haven't seen mine yet, but Devi and her mom helped my mom pick it out today. So excited to get to see my cousin again and finally meet Devi. Yay for celebrations of love steeped in tradition!

Salsa!

2010-07-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

I just claimed the last spot in the salsa dancing class at Laney for this fall! Unless I have a sudden change of heart, I'm going to be dancing my shoes off every Friday night this semester. This is for you, Nestor!

National Dance Day!

2010-07-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Imma learn me these moves.

I still have a fantasy of busting some synchronized moves with a little posse in a club some day. It can happen!

1920's Radio Network

2010-07-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

I discovered a new radio station at the end of the iTunes eclectic stations yesterday, and it's really hitting the spot. Big bands. Ella Fitzgerald. Cole Porter. Duke Ellington. Doris Day. The 1920's Radio Network -- good stuff.

The nature of a good thing

2010-07-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

After much debate (and much public consternation), the San Francisco Botanical Garden will begin charging a $7 admission fee to non-SF residents this coming Monday August 2nd. I'm still torn about the whole thing, but hopefully the new income will help us keep things going and maybe even make a few improvements.

All this means that this is the last free weekend for us out of town folks, so if you're free and anywhere near by, I highly recommend a stroll through the garden!

Jan & Kjeld

2010-07-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

I want to re-start my bluegrass band just so we can cover this song.

The summer she was fifteen, Melanie discovered she was made of flesh and blood.

2010-07-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Finally reading fiction again! I took the stairs into the depths of Doe library on Friday and was overwhelmed by possibility. It's like seeing the internet all written out in books. I escaped with two slim volumes, the first of which I've nearly half finished. I hope graduate school might afford me the occasional weekend to slip into fictional bliss.

Further adventures in hideous clothing

2010-07-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is essentially pleated shorts that come up to your armpits and are held in place by a string around your neck, and yet I am so into it. Plus I bet it has pockets.

Freeeeeeeeeedom

2010-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

It turns out watching Lost and Glee instead of studying for the GRE was a good strategy. I haven't really looked into what kind of scores I need to wow grad programs, but I did a lot better this time around than my recollection of how I did the previous two times, so I think I'm calling it done.

Even with work on Monday, it finally feels like summer vacation!!!

Woo hoo!

Top o' the pops

2010-07-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

I am feeling an insatiable appetite for pop culture lately. I am watching Lost. I am following sports. I am even considering listening to Harry Potter as an audiobook. Perhaps most importantly, I think I am going dancing Sunday night.

To warm up, I am watching this. Also because I thought I saw my celebrity crush in it.

Top ten World Cup hotties

2010-07-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

These are the top ten hotties who actually played in the 2010 World Cup (and had decent photos available on the internet) alphabetically by country...

Medhi Lacen, midfielder, Algeria
Sergio Aguero, forward, Argentina
Nikita Rukavytsa, forward, Australia
Kakà, midfielder, Brazil
Alexandros Tzorvas, goalkeeper, Greece
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, defender, Holland
Roque Santa Cruz, forward, Paraguay (center)
Cristiano Ronaldo, forward, Portugal
Milos Ninkovic, midfielder, Serbia
Diego Lugano, defender, Uruguay

Honorable Mention:
Alexis Sánchez, forward, Chile
Jermain Defoe, forward, England
Kevin-Prince Boateng, midfielder, Ghana
Arne Friedrich, defender, Germany
Thomas Müller, forward, Germany
Wesley Sneijder, midfielder, Holland

Notably Absent:
Anyone from Spain -- especially David Villa and his 'beard'. Though I might be willing to make an exception for Jesús Navas.

Sigh. What will I do for the next four years?

Science

2010-07-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

This is what I am doing this summer:

This started out as a little ziplock of dirt.

I picked out and washed off the roots, cleared the root cells in potassium hydroxide, stained the fungi with blue ink, mounted them on a little slide and voilà -- science!

The blue squiggly stuff is where arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi has colonized the root cell. This pic is from a California native, purple needle grass (Nasella pulchra).

The rest of this summer, or at least most of July will be spent tallying up just how much of the root has been colonized by these bad boys. And also some kind of greenhouse experiment.

Playing house

2010-07-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

First night at home since last Wednesday. It turns out living in a proper house on the back side of the Berkeley/Oakland hills with a round fluffy cat and what look like giant turkeys, blue jays, squirrels, deer and maybe pheasants? quail? I don't remember what I saw, but crazy magical wild life running through the backyard of my pretend house. I am LOVING it. My temporary house (courtesy of the prof who runs the ecology lab, for whom I am house/cat/car-sitting) also boasts TWO ovens, one of which can do convection, a fancy pants top of the line stove in an island in the middle of the giant sunny kitchen. Sigh. I should try to house sit more often.

And now also taking care of tomatoes and kittens while the newlyweds are off honeymooning. It's kind of like trying on lives, this coming home to different homes, sometimes multiple homes per day.

And I kind of like these different lives, in which the cupboards contain different colors of Fiesta-ware, depending on which key I used to get in the door. As time consuming as it is moving constantly from place to place, it has been a much needed change of pace.

I even sunbathed yesterday. Sunbathing. Me. It turns out the trick to not becoming bored to death after five minutes is working on GRE math problems while you sprawl out on your towel on your very own patch of grass. Under a dim incandescent bulb, I'm almost starting to look tan-ish.

...Which is also thanks to a lovely lovely lovely fourth spent in Danville with the most gracious Daniels. Sarah and I took in the parade, took a dip in the pool, dined at her grandparents (who are the most fabulous, fabulous, fabulous and adorable couple ever -- I want to invite them to all my tea parties from now on. I'll put her opa on tea sandwich making duty, lest he put me to shame), and practically watched fireworks from the comfort of a deliciously comfortable jacuzzi. Indeed, any day with fireworks is a good day.

Best

2010-07-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

<3 Iceland
I want this to be my mayor.

Were you aware of it? vol. 31: Poisoning pigeons in the park

2010-07-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

Tom Lehrer has been all over NPR (what with the release of his new DVD of live footage from a 1967 concert in Oslo), and I've got to say I'm a fan. I've been singing Poisoning Pigeons in the Park and dancing to the Vatican Rag all morning.

R + C

2010-06-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Most gorgeous wedding ever this weekend. It makes me so happy that the two of you exist and found each other.

Would that all of life were that beautiful and life and love affirming.

I love you guys.

Gettin my groove on

2010-06-23T20:20:00.001-07:00

I am so going to learn all these dance moves. Dance is exactly what I need in my life.

2010-06-22T22:09:00.001-07:00

I have become a total jock. I'm watching four soccer matches a day now. All I need is to rustle up some fellow futbol enthusiasts to kick a ball around in the park.

Now I need to get some beauty rest before England v. Slovenia v. USA v. Algeria tomorrow! It kind of is true that we do have that ref from Mali who robbed us of our goal against Slovenia last week to thank for Americans starting to care a tiny bit about the World Cup. Even though I still think our team look like beauty queens with those ugly sash-like stripes across their chests -- seriously, can we write Miss USA on the stripe?? -- I am secretly rooting for the yanks to make it past the first round. Then, once I re-fill out my no-money betting pool, I will pick a new foe to trounce our boys.

The last two weeks in recap:
"That was ridiculous" referring to Portugal's 7-0 punishment of North Korea. Now that's what I call solidifying your goal differential. See also: Ronaldo's confused juggling turned goal. Def a highlight.
Richie Tenenbaum-core falling apart of the French team, though I was proud of them for pulling off a goal a man down in their last game. Way to end it on a high note, guys.
England have yet to show their stuff. Do they actually have any? The jury is out.
Ref robs the USA of a totally earned 3-2 victory over Slovenia. So not cool!
New Zealand hangs in there scoring an equalizer vs. Slovakia in the last thirty seconds of stoppage time. And even score first on Italy. Take that!
Spain look like fools in front of Switzerland, but manage to shape up vs. Honduras. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to win this, Spain.
Switzerland allows a goal, ending their record threatening streak. Only time will tell if their keeper can handle the devastation.
I totally called Group B: Argentina and South Korea advance!
Italy: nothing spectacular. Poor showing for the current world champs.
Brazil: so far topping their group, as expected.
The bafana bafana can't recover from their red card v. Uruguay and make South Africa the first host country not to make it past the Group stage. :(
The Nigerians can't live up to the name Supereagles, but then Supereagles is a pretty badass name...

Instead of studying flashcards

2010-06-22T22:00:00.001-07:00

I pretty-fied my tree blog!

2010-06-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

So tired these days. I'm kind of missing the summer vacation I didn't have and won't get this summer thanks to starting work straight after finals and overlapping the end of work with the next semester. I just keep telling myself Next month will be easier, though I've been saying that since March...

For serious though, I am taking a crazy vacation next summer. If I have to turn thirty, I'm doing it up proper.

Front page of ESPN.com

2010-06-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tell me there's a footballer named Pysche in the World Cup.

Also, since when was I so familiar with ESPN.com?

2010-06-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

All around lovely soccer and croquet-filled day today. My croquet game has improved from atrocious to passable in just one day!

Also, I discovered a handful of flowers at my doorstep when I went up to water the plants on the roof this morning. Maybe Olivia left them when she was here last night? Curioso. Thank you whoever you are! Twas a pleasant surprise.

After a successful shopping trip yesterday, I am the proud owner (finally) of three new pairs of socks, sea green tights, a snazzy red and leopard print strapless bra for the bridesmaid dress on super sale at Macy's. ow!

Other than that, I feel like I've just been running around and around working in the greenhouse, cooking, and watching soccer. I half crave a quiet evening to just practice for the GRE and research grad schools, but I suspect that whatever it is I'm doing now is more fun.

Pretty

2010-06-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

World Cup!!

2010-06-11T19:29:00.001-07:00

I love this time of year. Or, this time of the decade? World Cup! Soccer on tv! I caught the second half of both of today's games. Thankfully I have a soccer-friendly work place. This is how you know you're working with the right people. I think I'm even joining one of these betting pool things, which I have never done before, but there is no money prize -- just a barbecue for everyone at the end (paid for by the buy in) and the satisfaction of knowing you scored the best -- which vastly improves the fun to stress quotient.

I was all ready to shout allez les bleus! this afternoon, but whoever said France lost pretty much all their good players wasn't kidding. Great show by South Africa, though. The bafana bafana even had a fantastic synchronized dance for their goal. I highly approve!

I am feeling bummed that I have to miss England v. USA tomorrow, but there will be lots of good soccer to take in over the next month. And the times aren't tooooo bad given that the matches are all in the RSA. Bless ESPN 3 for broadcasting over the interwebs, though! And bless Henry's for showing all the games, even the ones at 4:30am PST!

ps. Word on the street is that the USA doesn't completely suck anymore. The Colombian in our lab predicted they could even take the World Cup in a few years. Shocking, I know. I may be obligated to root for them at some point in the future. For the time being, I think I have a soft spot for Spain and South Korea. And Brazil. And maybe Germany and Denmark or the Netherlands. Too bad Germany's best guy can't play.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2010-06-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

This internship thing is going well. The people are great and even the menial labor is still fun. I got to do a little field work last week up in the Sierra Foothills near Yuba City, which was great, v. hot, though. It was cool to see a proper oak woodland.

Then this week has been all root cleaning, all the time. I'm going to have really buff hands by the time this is done, which may not be for a long, long while.

I'm officially Not moving, though. Apparently the girls I thought I was living with want a 2 bedroom place instead, and even if they find a 3 bedroom place, they don't want me in the third bedroom. Double smack down on that front. Sting!

Mostly good things, though. Lots of busy-ness. Maybe one of these days I'll have fifteen minutes to myself to have a thought about it. For the time being, full speed ahead.

Also, my sister got into med school! There will be a doctor in the family in five years!! And another triple graduation in four! I do love my family <3

Or not

2010-06-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

As is typical of each of my attempts to move, this one may well have already fallen through. Sigh. At least I'm feeling a little relieved not to be prematurely giving up my place to live without having a replacement.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-06-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

So it looks like I'm officially moving. Eep! Scary and exciting at the same time!

Any housing situation will be worse in some ways, as I assume all things are, but better in lots of ways, I'm hoping.

The plan is to move in with one of my pals from school and one of her former coworkers, who I met tonight. Things sound good. I think we all want the same kind of place. We haven't found it yet, so it's a little scary to give notice at my current place, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. Roommates, a garden, sunshine! Laundry that doesn't require coins! Paying only 1/3 the cost of internet!

Lots of new and exciting things to be discussed soon!

Were you aware of it? vol. 30: Going back for seconds

2010-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

In an age where creative marketing is king, even feces can be turned into gold!

Modern Toilet may well be the most bizarre restaurant ever created.

Supposedly inspired by manga, they started out selling piles of chocolate ice cream in containers shaped like squat toilets.

By some act of popular revolt beyond my comprehension, this wildly popular business was able to expand and now has multiple locations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China offering a full range of drinks, hot pots, spaghetti, curry, and gratins -- all served in toilet, bath tub and sink-shaped dinnerware.

Note:
the toilet-shaped soup bowl
the toilet seating
the toilet light fixture

Done!

2010-05-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Bllllrrrrrgggghhhhh sums up nicely how my brain feels right now. With a month of finals and final projects, back to back weekend field trips and 48 hours in New Haven between exams, I'm just happy I can still form sentences. Mostly.

Such a good semester though! And a great year. It's crazy to me how much I managed to squeeze into my head in the past nine months. I know most of the trees I see walking around town, depending on the street, which I love. And by love I mean LOVE. I'm proud of myself getting in with the USDA peeps and making friends with the Ecology lab to suss out what-all they do exactly. I started a vegetable garden finally for the first time ever. I can make an educated guess about why my chard leaves are turning purplish. Now I'm looking forward to what will hopefully be a somewhat laid back summer to try to sort it all out.

I'm getting cold feet about grad school again. The thought of committing to any one discipline gives me a yucky feeling, but I still really want to go. I just wish I could see something beyond the school part of it. Something beyond wanting a terminal degree as an end in itself. I just like knowing things to know them. And I want to know Everything.

I think my ideal life pursuit is to learn everything and then explain to people why this is this and that is that and what we should or could do about it and how. And ideally there would be presentations and lectures and photographs and writing and traveling and people-meeting and hand shaking and smiling and challenge involved.

I told someone today that I want to be John McPhee. Which is true. I do want to be John McPhee. I want to be John McPhee and Barbara Kingsolver and Jad Abumrad. If I do research, I want the world to be better for it. I think what I'm most best at is being excited about everything. At trying every new thing and remembering it. Or telling stories.

Sorta kinda also toying with the idea of landscape architecture, though. I might see if I can meet up with my Trees prof to chitty chat about what that means exactly and how one makes a living doing it. Hmm hmm hmm.

Today's spark of excitement

2010-05-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

A minute ago, the hallways of my building were rife with firemen toting ENORMOUS axes in their belts and firewomen with multiple fire extinguishers strapped to their backs. There were two fire trucks parked out front, and I dashed out to the fire escape just in time to see them pointing the hose up at me.

In fairness, it looks like the apartment enflammé was at the back of the building, and even so, they decided hoses were not necessary, so no actual water came out, but exciting nonetheless!

I took in the scene with a bowl of lemon pasta from the balcony at the front of the building, waiting until the hubub died down to determine who shan't be getting his or her security deposit back. Looks like one of the apt.s on the third floor has had its door pried open. And I thought I'd get a finger wagging for letting the dirty wheel of my bike kiss the newly painted wall today...

Curious seed

2010-05-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

I've gone and done it. My affinity for all things botanical has spawned yet another blog. Not only have I succumbed to the societal pressure to specialize, or at least organize, I moved it on over to Tumblr to see what all the fuss is about.

It's still something of a mess, but I'm hoping to use it as gardening journal type thing wherein I wax philosophical about the industrial food system, track horticultural and agricultural experiments, and store what bits of knowledge I pick up.

You can come visit me if you like at Curious Seed.

I also still have my tree id blog, which I'm hoping to jazz up a little once the semester is over and I can make it less a class project and more my own.

Maybe with all this blogging and web-tinkering I'll even learn a little about web design and the good ol' internet.

Movin' and shakin'

2010-05-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, I killed my camera the other week. It died a painful but instant death when I dropped it on a class field trip. Alas. But! I have seized this opportunity to finally gift myself the digital slr I've been lusting after for years. Man are those things expensive. I got a used one and even that cost a pretty penny. Super excited to try it out and get back into photography, though, so I'm focusing on that, rather than the gaping hole it put in my bank account! I still need to collect various odds n ends to get it up and running, but watch out for new pics!

In other fun, I got an fMRI this morning! I don't know about you, but I've probably wanted an MRI since the first time I saw someone floating through the magic scanning machine watching tv on the internet. The machine they used for the psych/neurology experiment I participated in wasn't as glamourous as what-all they have on tv, but very exciting nonetheless. I just wish they'd give me a picture of my brain as a participation prize.

There was a man handling the apricots at Berkeley Bowl today who started talking gibberish to me today, but the end of the semester has been turning the old grey matter to mush, so I couldn't say for sure. I'm almost done though! Insane as this week (and probably next week too) will be, there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Shutterbug

2010-05-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am Pretty Sure the guy in the apartment across the little alley way from me was taking a photo pointed my direction out of the corner of his window when I looked up and he scurried away suddenly. If you're going to take stalker photos, I hope at least they're flattering stalker photos.

Spin off

2010-05-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

I am tempted to start a new, separate gardening / agriculture / horticulture / food politics blog, but then what would i talk about here??? I am sure I could think of something. Except that this is specifically supposed to be a compendium of every possible interesting thing. Hmm hmm hmm. Would I really be giving in to the societal pressure to specialize at the expense of my campaign for a renascent generalism? I do already have about 14 posts written... Can I still be an ardent generalist by having multiple specialized blogs?

Were you aware of it? vol. 29: Snails & M

2010-05-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am really loving Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno.

Good karma

2010-04-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Working will call at the annual SF Botanical Garden sale is definitely a far more athletic assignment than cashiering -- lifting full boxes of recently watered plants above your head, scurrying back and forth. I LOVED IT! Plant sitting, running around, and chatting with people is way more fun than counting tags and calculating change.

One woman even gave me the best compliment ever. She reads my name off my name tag and says I should be a writer. Or a philosopher. Made my day.

That and a little catching up with John this morning. I'm glad you could top off your April with a bit of sun time.

And! The rest of my seeds came in the mail today! I can't wait to try out some of these ground cherries and the stevia.

Not only that! The SFSU folks got back to me today finally. I guess by 'early April' they meant 'before May.' But they accepted me! I'm two for two on internships! I'm sad to have to turn them down, but I've decided I'm still happy to be doing grassland plant ecology stuff with a shorter (and bikeable!) commute and a little more money even though marine microbiology would have been cool. If the rainforest birds guy had said he needed me to come to Africa to do a little field work it would have been tough, but this will be good.