Halloween....

Today is Halloween. I will not observe Halloween on Saturday because of this whole "you can't have it on Sunday because it is a pagan holiday" christian right winged bullshit. Yesterday on an errands escapade with my wacky professor friend, I learned that Halloween is, in actuality, a christian holiday. First off, let's disect the word. Hallow= Holy. Secondly, Halloween is actually "All Hallow's Eve." In the great tradition of the church, an eve was assigned to All Saint's Day and was supposed to represent the night in which all of the ghouls and goblins came out and partied before all of the church celebrated and rejoiced for the saints. So all of this "let's not let our kids celebrate Halloween and dress up in their costumes for school because it's a pagan holiday" is, again, bullshit. If little Tommy wants to go to social studies as a Power Ranger so be it!

Halloween is huge in Athens. It is actually one of the best nights of the year here. It is a night of utter debatuary in a land of misfit adults that refuse to grow up. The Halloween costumes here are insanley creative, border line offensive, and more often than not, hysterical. In the time honored tradition of dressing up, I will costume myself into a Roadie for Journey this Hallows Eve. The outfit comes complete with fake chest hair, a wife beater tank top, a bushy moustache, tigh rolled jeans, and a satin Journey tour jacket given to me by an ex-boyfriend as a joke. While the boyfriend didn't last long (a blessing in disguise, actually) the jacket remains and tonight I think he may regret having let that baby go.

Lazy Days, Lazy Nights

Since my trip home was thwarted by an unforseen mechanical malfunction of my car, I have decided to go ahead and use up the time I had already taken off of work to do absolutely nothing. My days have consisited of a little People's Court, a little, reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a little exercise, a little walking of the dog, and a whole lot of worrying about the $2000 I am going to have to spend to replace the engine of my car. Thank goodness for paid vacations. I think I might be a bit more motivated tonight with a lot of reality TV and a lot more vegging out. I am looking forward to it. Let me know if you want to join in. The boy and the dog may make room for you on the loveseat but I doubt it.

We Have Clearance, Clarance....Roger, Roger.....Over, Under

On a spur of the moment decision, I decided to fly to Denver. See the boy's Dad flies for Delta so I can fly pretty cheap on his buddy passes. So I decided to cruise home and hang with the fam for a few days. So the boy and I woke up at 4:00 AM on Tuesday morning to beat Atlanta rushhour and get me to the airport in time to catch the first flight out of town. En route to the airport my car decided to start knocking very very loudly. Turns out...it had no oil. This is VERY bad for an engine. In my defense, I would like to stress that I know a good bit about cars. My dad restores cars and made me learn the ends and outs of an engine before I was aloud to start driving. I routinly check the oil and provide my little Toyota with the scheduled maintanance required to keep it purring. This time around I did not check the oil between oil changes...this is the result. How all of the oil was gone....I don't know. Did I have any warning before the engine locked up?....Nope! Do I think the people the boy took the car to have the oil changed while I was in Peru fucked up and didn't put enough oil in my car?....Yep! Is my trip home cancelled?...You betcha. The results are in from the mechanic and the engine is totally shot. We are talking upwards of $2500 to replace the engine and pay the mechanic for labor. Unfortunately, that is more than my little 1997 Corolla is worth. Looks like I will be riding my bike a lot more in the coming days. Can anyone give me a ride to Target? Thanks.

Listening to: Yes

Blame it on the...Blame it on the....Blame it on the.....Rain

 

Not As Dumb As Ya Look

I consider myself to be a recent graduate school graduate (one year in December). I was by no means the worst grad student but I wasn't the best either. I became very indignant about grad school not taking over my life. I feared a whole life commitment to academia and ending up being one of those female national geographic scientist who spends their whole life trekking the desert looking for specimen of some random plant species that lives in a remote crevass of a rock in the middle of Nevada. She does this alone. She is isolated and alone. While I am cool with being alone and I love being outdoors, I do enjoy having a boyfriend, two cats, and a dog. I like having a home to return to every night and I like being able to wash my hair every day. The point being, I never wanted to get too engrossed in academia and forget the important/simple things in life. The result was a graduate career that I am very proud of but no desire to publish, go to conferences, etc. Not SUPER GRAD STUDENT. I basically did grad school for a personal accomplishment. Yesterday, I met a girl for coffee who works in a spatial analysis/GIS lab on campus. They are working on a project and using my lil' ol' thesis as the basis for their methodology! I am sort of excited and very proud of myself. I don't gloat very often so please let me have my moment.......

Listening to: Archers of Loaf

Nothin' Says Lovin Like Somethin from the Jail Cell Oven

Who cares!

Clean Up on Aisle 3

I am a bit confused on the whole flu shot scare. Isn't the flu shot a relatively new inoculation that really isn't necessary unless you are two or eighty? Then why are people all of the sudden spazing out over not being able to get one. I have never had a flu shot and rarely ever get the flu. I have found Vitamin C, a decent diet, not having any snot nosed kids, and a little bit of exercise keeps me in tip-top health. Can someone explain this to me. Get a backbone people and suck it up. You don't need that damn flu shot anyway. Wusses! Right, I get it. It is a more virulent strain and mutating viruses can be nasty little buggers but this is not the first time the flu has mutated and we have all managed to get through it. Now the bird flu....that's something to be concerned over. Not that people are very likely to contract it but when they do...we are talking epidemic. Now all of you passing out from exhaustion or waiting in drive thru flu shot lines....GO HOME. I can't even get my Hepatitis A booster for my work in the Philippines because you healthy, strapping, youngsters are clogging up the health department. By the way, I am going to the Philippines in December!

Float Like a Butterfly Sting Like a Bee....

I learned several things this weekend that I would like to share.

1) I have a mild allergy to yellow jacket stings. I have the gigantic red, swollen, mass on my forarm to prove it. I have also felt like I have had the flu and been dizzy since the red mass appeared. Cross your fingers for no delayed allergic reactions like my throat swelling shut. Subset lesson: when stuff like this happens and you don't have health insurance it can be very nerve racking.

2) Having my dog in the car while the group I am following gets lost for over two hours when she knows she is going hiking SUCKS!!! Nothing worse than an ansty dog and an impatient driver behind the wheel of a car. Sidenote: don't go hiking to a new place without knowing exactly how to get there.

3) Burrittos are the perfect food but the boys "all-burrittos-all-the-time" meal plan is killing me.

4) Sometimes it's good to watch mindless TV and read all day long.


Listening to: Aeroegramme

Jon Stewart vs. CNN...it's about time

The Good Book

I've sort have always thought of myself as political. Now I am beginning to rethink that. I am more reactionary than well educated on the ins and outs of the political climate. I will say that I know a good bit about environmental issues but other than that I think the breadth of my political knowledge is limited. I see the importance of this election and that has really forced me to rethink my reactionary ways and put a good bit of effort into reducing my ignorance on "bunker busters", "global tests", and "no child left behind." I do consider myself the typical female voter though. All I really want is a straight answer on specific issues that I hold near and dear and that is what guides my vote. What I want to know is if "W" is going to try and overturn Roe vs. Wade or appoint supreme court justices that will facilitate the overturning of this legislation. Will John Kerry figure out a way for me to be able to afford health insurance? What is going to happen with student loan interest rates? Is my dad going to be able to afford his diabetes medicine that IBM won't cover after 35 years of upper management service to that huge corporate machine? I am the prototypical voter. My initial reaction is to be self absorbed and egocentric when it comes to who is going to become president. I am one of the 20 somethings that can't find a decent job and doesn't have health insurance which can be an overwhelming thing to not think about 24 hours a day. SO I ask "W" and JK...what can you do for me?

I will tell you this...in this political onslaught we are all involved in today I feel very oppressed by religious sentiment and overtones. I am glad these political figure heads are comfortable with their faith but most importantly I am glad that JK had made it clear that he checks his alter boy robe at the oval office door when it comes to his political beliefs. In a time where there are debates as to whether or not the ten commandments should be posted in government buildings, kids should pray in school, islamics traveling abroad are being profiled as they enter our country and when they are leaving it, and I work for a man whose biggest concern seems to be whether or not I am a christian it feels reassuring that a devout Roman Catholic man promises me that there still is a separation of church and state.

What am I listening to right this very minute: Bonnie "Prince" Billy's I See A Darkness which has to be one of the greatest albums EVER made!

Mt. St. Helens has a new lava dome. How awesome is that? Now will it erupt? All of this is such a tease. Let's see some mountain building in action already! 

Hey! How was your weekend? Mine was....

relatively uneventful. The boy and I watched the debate on Friday after a brief but fruitful stint at happy hour. I have been complaining about the canidates not addressing the environment and Friday they decided to dedicate a whole two sentences to it. All I know is W is an environmental nazi and I found him to be uneducated on the Clear Skies Act and how it is a HUGE step back from the Clean Air Act. I can't believe he tried to defend his vote against the Kyoto protocol and I found him to be a complete and total liar when it came to reassuring the American public that the environment is in good shape. It is not and if he has anything to do with it it will be completely destroyed and demolished by the end of his term. Next thing you know he is going to drive a six lane interstate to connect Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National park. The man is a clown and an idiot. I reached a height of anger during his brief diatribe on the environment that I threw my shoe at the television. The boy wasn't too stoked about that one but that last vodka tonic and a monkey for a leader pushed me to the edge.

Saturday, the boy and I made the great escape from football fan/tailgating hell to Atlanta where we attended the wedding of two of the boy's friends. It was a total old school punk rock/ MJ Q's reunion which should come as no surprise. Never have there been so many ghostly white (myself included) people outdoors at one time. Everyone cleaned up quite nicely and it was very pleasant. The best parts: open bar and an all vegan buffet. Hell Yea! Punk rock weddings rule.

It was a good weekend. Last night we gathered with the nutty professor and the crazy cat lady to watch the cat lady on HGTV. She had a fifteen minute blurb on her arts and crafts work. It was awesome and I swear she is going to have her own show soon. We had a good time and one too many glasses of wine. During my peaceful merlot hazed slumber, the jackass that lives below me cranked up his stereo at 3:30 this morning. The following is a play list from his jam: Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" , Some pathetic cover of Sinead O'Conner's "Nothing Compares to You" by some marginal country singer, Skid Row's "I Remember You". This is the same neighbor who comes home very late at night during the week and has the curtosy to plug in headphones and sing The Eagles Greatest Hits at the top of his lungs. He may have topped that last night during his rock out when he decided to bounce a basketball off the wall directly below my bed.

What I am Listening to This Very Moment: Al Dimiola, Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin "Friday Night in San Francisco"

Confessions....

I giggle whenever I hear the words "nuts" or "balls" no matter what the context. I can't control it. The boy and I have been eating a bunch of peanuts lately too so you can only imagine the current climate of my house

I was very unimpressed with the VP debates. I think Edwards was a spaz and Cheney was a son-of-a-bitch. Funny thing was I liked his son-of-a-bitchness. I disliked all of the content (the man voted against Meals on Wheels and a MLK holiday for christ sakes) but just the straight shooter, no nonsense attitude!

I read Dan Brown's book Deception Point for the first three hours of work today and feel no guilt about it

Whenever I go on vacation I never wear a watch

I am obsessed with natural disasters (i.e. hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes) and will ponder them for days following

I am also obsessed with my dog and am seriously considering dressing her up for Halloween


What am I listening to this very minute: South

Erupt Dammit! 

Let it Blow! 

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

This is an amazing acomplishment. This women was on my graduate committee and she is inspriational. Not to mention she is a constant reminder of what lazy sacks of shit most of us are. I have to go run.

This is the Sound of Settling

I just finished writing my first ever professional reference for a guy who I worked with in the field last winter. Pretty cool, huh? I feel so pro now. Too bad I couldn't convey to his potential employer how bad our job sucked and how none of us killed each other under those conditions was a feat on its own. I need to stop complaining about my job but it eats up 9 hours of my day. It's hard not to focus on it.

I had a relatively uneventful weekend this past weekend. I laid pretty low. The boy and I helped some friends move into their new house and some how had a blast doing it. The nutty professor and his wacky artist girlfriend are a blast to hang out with and can even make carrying oversized furniture up a flight of stairs fun. Then I spent Sunday being domestic. All in all...good weekend.

This coming weekends plans include but are not limited to Diva's on Wheels with my future husband (if we can only get past that whole gay thing) and the wedding of two of the boy's friends from New York. We just found out where it is yesterday and never received our invitation in the mail. Should be interesting.

What I am listening to Right this Very Minute: Aloha

Let Me Get My Palm Piolet and See If I Can Fit You In...Oh Please!

I have taken an evening off of my illustrious social schedule. Friday's normally are consumed by over-zealous binge drinking, hanging out with a bunch of boys, and trying to figure out if I will make it past midnight or if I am ditching the boy downtown. Well tonight, I have turned to a large bottle of red wine and an evening in front of the boob tube. Right now, I am trying to figure out who I can talk to at TLC to get on what not to wear. My clothes have scene better days and I would love a trip to New York and $5000 of clothes. Prior to this, I was analyzing America's Top Model trying to fiogure out if fifteen year old girls realize that those people are not the norm and an eating disorder will not make you perfect. I have now moved onto rooftop gardens and how I wonder if my landloard would be pissed if I started one.

The past two weeks have , provided me with one of the most awful work environments known to woman (how women's lib is that). After the creationism vs. evolution discussion with Dr. Evil (he is no longer the ivy leaguer. he has evolved) he decided to have a meeting with me to discuss the possibility of me teaching a faith based environmental science field class. While I appreciate the offer, I was very quick to tell him that faith based science wasn't my bag and I would have to decline. Then he wanted to discuss the religous history of my entire family and then asked me if I was a christian. Now, I would like to preface this next statement with a few comments. I have never once inquired into the religous beliefs of anyone I know professionally. I have known friends for years and never asked about their religous beliefs. I find this to be a very personal and private thing that people should be respectful toward. I think this is the sort of thing that a person shares when someone feels trusting and comforted by someone else's company. This would not be the case in this situation. So, I answered Dr. Evil very honestly when I told him "No, I was not a christian." I am not going to lie to the man and I was SOOOO completely blown away by how many of constitutional rights had been violated. Needlesstosay, I hate my job more than ever. But, then again, I have a job and for that I am grateful.

Thanks for letting me vent.