Wednesday, September 27, 2006
this will be fun...
I'm a sick girlie today.
Well, I was sick yesterday, too, but I wisely stayed home and slept a good portion of the day in an effort to keep the cold from entrenching itself further. It hit me fast and hard Monday afternoon.
Today I decided to come into work (which may not have been the smartest move I've ever made), but I can't interact with one of my bosses very much because his wife hasn't been too well lately and he can't risk getting sick, then getting her sicker.
So we've decided to conduct business via email for the time being - at least until I'm not very contagious. I have no idea how long that'll be. But I think tomorrow I need to bring in some latex gloves.
Thank heavens I carry hand sanitizer with me - a product of the last time I was pretty sick, after coming home from DC.
It'll be an interesting few days, no doubt about that...
Well, I was sick yesterday, too, but I wisely stayed home and slept a good portion of the day in an effort to keep the cold from entrenching itself further. It hit me fast and hard Monday afternoon.
Today I decided to come into work (which may not have been the smartest move I've ever made), but I can't interact with one of my bosses very much because his wife hasn't been too well lately and he can't risk getting sick, then getting her sicker.
So we've decided to conduct business via email for the time being - at least until I'm not very contagious. I have no idea how long that'll be. But I think tomorrow I need to bring in some latex gloves.
Thank heavens I carry hand sanitizer with me - a product of the last time I was pretty sick, after coming home from DC.
It'll be an interesting few days, no doubt about that...
Monday, September 25, 2006
uh oh...
Another terrific weekend spent with HSTeacher. More talking, more bonding, more intimacy, more hot monkey sex.
(I've had some terrific lovers in my day, but HSTeacher is blowing them out of the water. So to speak...)
Hell, while I still didn't sleep all that well, as I have trouble sleeping on waterbeds, I still slept better in his arms than I have with most of the other men I've been with, including The Ex. And since I can rarely sleep while being cuddled, that's saying something.
When I'm with him, I don't want to stop touching him, even if it's just playing with his hair. I may be trying to convince myself, "Yes, he's really here. And he's here with me." Whenever I'm not with him and I think of him, I get the warm and fuzzies. If I'm not careful, something serious just might develop here.
Ya know, I think I'm tired of being careful...
(I've had some terrific lovers in my day, but HSTeacher is blowing them out of the water. So to speak...)
Hell, while I still didn't sleep all that well, as I have trouble sleeping on waterbeds, I still slept better in his arms than I have with most of the other men I've been with, including The Ex. And since I can rarely sleep while being cuddled, that's saying something.
When I'm with him, I don't want to stop touching him, even if it's just playing with his hair. I may be trying to convince myself, "Yes, he's really here. And he's here with me." Whenever I'm not with him and I think of him, I get the warm and fuzzies. If I'm not careful, something serious just might develop here.
Ya know, I think I'm tired of being careful...
Friday, September 22, 2006
nerds rule...
I've got two bosses here at the wonderous JPL (cue angels singing): BigBoss and Slightly-Not-So-Big-Boss (SNSBBoss). I've been helping SNSBBoss with compiling PowerPoint presentations from others for reviews this week. I noticed one of the presentations had a graphic on a corner of each of the pages - a graphic of a secondary, yet very important, character from a huge film franchise from the last five years.
(I can't go into further detail 'cause stuff is confidential 'round these parts.)
My brows furrowed, wondering why such an image would appear on a presentation. Then I noticed the acronym being used for the project - the same as the character's name. I broke out in an amused grin just as SNSBBoss walked into the reception area.
"Read something amusing?" he asked. I crooked my finger to bade him look at my monitor screen, then pointed out the image and acronym. He smiled slightly, as is his way, and responded, "Well, they say half the reason for a successful mission is a clever acronym. I don't know if this qualifes..."
I shook my head and smiled. "G-d, I love nerds."
"Well, you came to the right place for it." And into his office he strode.
(I can't go into further detail 'cause stuff is confidential 'round these parts.)
My brows furrowed, wondering why such an image would appear on a presentation. Then I noticed the acronym being used for the project - the same as the character's name. I broke out in an amused grin just as SNSBBoss walked into the reception area.
"Read something amusing?" he asked. I crooked my finger to bade him look at my monitor screen, then pointed out the image and acronym. He smiled slightly, as is his way, and responded, "Well, they say half the reason for a successful mission is a clever acronym. I don't know if this qualifes..."
I shook my head and smiled. "G-d, I love nerds."
"Well, you came to the right place for it." And into his office he strode.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
avast ye!
Argh! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day, and I'd be remiss if'n I overlerked it. 'Specially since me boyfriend be working fer the Pirates and be a Pirate himsel' (not the baseball team, ye scurvy curs).
Get ye to yer work places and talk like pirates all day!
(Thanks be to Karl Elvis fer the reminder. Arrrgghhh!)
Get ye to yer work places and talk like pirates all day!
(Thanks be to Karl Elvis fer the reminder. Arrrgghhh!)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
noooooooo!!!!!!!!!
Pluto is Now Just a Number: 134340
KHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *takes deep breath* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!!
(I just don't have Shatner's breathing control.)
KHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *takes deep breath* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!!
(I just don't have Shatner's breathing control.)
Labels: Pluto
because sometimes...
...you just have to tape bacon to a cat.
*************************
In other news, my Nano loves Simon and Garfunkel.
I've got over 200 songs on the thing, but when placed on shuffle, it seems to pick out
Essential Simon & Garfunkel more than any other. Granted, it's a two CD set, but the higher ratio of Simon and Garfunkel to, say, 
Up Up Up Up Up Up by Ani DiFranco is still a bit odd.
It's a good thing I love Simon and Garfunkel too...
In other news, my Nano loves Simon and Garfunkel.
I've got over 200 songs on the thing, but when placed on shuffle, it seems to pick out
It's a good thing I love Simon and Garfunkel too...
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
more words from the not-so-wise...
Let's say that a good political friend is organizing a blow-out election protection forum. Let's also say that you've agreed to do something you've never done and organize tabling for said event.
Should you concentrate on the unwieldy task of telling people who can put what tables where? Or, when there appears to be a vacuum in the ranks of responsibility, should you also take on the role of volunteer coordinator, something else you've never done before and something that promises to be even more fraught with danger?
Guess which path your intrepid heroine has chosen.
At least we seem to have a surplus of volunteers jumping out of the wordwork for this...
Should you concentrate on the unwieldy task of telling people who can put what tables where? Or, when there appears to be a vacuum in the ranks of responsibility, should you also take on the role of volunteer coordinator, something else you've never done before and something that promises to be even more fraught with danger?
Guess which path your intrepid heroine has chosen.
At least we seem to have a surplus of volunteers jumping out of the wordwork for this...
word from the not-so-wise...
Precinct walking in the high heat of the Moreno Valley when one is drop-dead tired, fighting off a headache and has just sat through a two and half hour coordinating committee meeting? Probably not the smartest thing to do.
Not that I know anyone who has...
Not that I know anyone who has...
Monday, September 11, 2006
five years...
Red/White/Blue=the country I love - the United States of America;Black=mourning for all who have died in the events of 9/11/01 and have died in the ensuing conflicts.
Within a week after the horrible events of 9/11, I made myself a ribbon that I wore for several weeks afterwards and on every anniversary since, using a red/white/blue ribbon and a black ribbon. When I wasn't wearing it the ribbon resided on a Christmas wall hanging that I left up in my hallway year-round: an angel with wooden block letters spelling "PEACE" vertically underneath.
Unfortunately, the move has me still somewhat scattered in regards to my possessions - there are still a few things I haven't unpacked, so I'm never sure as to which objects are in a box at home and which have been relegated to the storage unit.
Such is the case with the angel and the ribbon. I'm positive that it's at home, but I haven't had time to do a serious search. So instead I offer the above graphic in its stead.
I lost no one in the Twin Towers, in the Pentagon or in Flight 93. I've lost no loved ones in Afghanistan or Iraq. New York City is not my hometown - I've never even been to NYC, though I have many friends who claim it as home.
And yet I still feel a sense of loss. Much like many Americans, I suspect I always will. Both for those lost on that horrific day and for those who have lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I feel loss for the moral fiber of the United States, thanks to an administration who has done more to politicize this tragedy and polarize Americans, as well as media outlets, elected officials and ordinary people who have allowed the hijacking of the American Spirit by Bush and his Cabal.
The moral fiber of the United States has never been pure as the driven snow. But until 2002 it had been strong. Let's not allow the Bush Administration continue to use the deaths of thousands of Americans as an election year cudgel.
Let's truly honor the victims and their families.
Three years ago.
Friday, September 08, 2006
never gonna get over the wonder...
Hi. Big city girl here.
Well, technically I'm more of a suburban girl, as all of the naval housing I grew up in was pretty suburban, as were the suburbs I've lived in since my father retired from the Navy in '81. Thing of it is, I've never lived in any area that was remotely countrified. Even the Pensacola and El Centro Naval Bases, situated as they were across a bay and in the middle of the high desert (respectively), separated from the cities after which they were named by miles of road and bridge, were very suburban in their make-up.
Not a heck of a lot of nominally wild animals in those areas, aside from maybe possums, which seem like they should be purely in the country, but make appearances in cities proper all too often.
So it's probably not surprising that I still wax rhapsodic over the appearance of those deer at JPL, much to the puzzlement of friends whom are not as suburbanfied as myself.
Today I was leaving my building at work and I saw a grouping of seven or so deer on the lawn:
I swung around to get a better picture, not realizing how loud the clacking of my heels on the cement were. At least not until I rounded a corner shielded by a bush and heard a startled rustling.
Up stood a deer, perhaps the equivalent of a pre-teen in years. The eyes were big and wide and stared at me in surprise, holding perfectly still. No doubt hoping the intruder wouldn't notice it if it didn't move. We stared at each other for long milliseconds, my own eyes wide, then I remembered the digital camera in my hand.
I smiled at it, murmurring soothingly, and managed to get a pretty good picture:
I thanked it for holding its pose so well and backed away, not wanting to bother it any further. And walked off to catch my bus.
Well, technically I'm more of a suburban girl, as all of the naval housing I grew up in was pretty suburban, as were the suburbs I've lived in since my father retired from the Navy in '81. Thing of it is, I've never lived in any area that was remotely countrified. Even the Pensacola and El Centro Naval Bases, situated as they were across a bay and in the middle of the high desert (respectively), separated from the cities after which they were named by miles of road and bridge, were very suburban in their make-up.
Not a heck of a lot of nominally wild animals in those areas, aside from maybe possums, which seem like they should be purely in the country, but make appearances in cities proper all too often.
So it's probably not surprising that I still wax rhapsodic over the appearance of those deer at JPL, much to the puzzlement of friends whom are not as suburbanfied as myself.
Today I was leaving my building at work and I saw a grouping of seven or so deer on the lawn:
I swung around to get a better picture, not realizing how loud the clacking of my heels on the cement were. At least not until I rounded a corner shielded by a bush and heard a startled rustling.
Up stood a deer, perhaps the equivalent of a pre-teen in years. The eyes were big and wide and stared at me in surprise, holding perfectly still. No doubt hoping the intruder wouldn't notice it if it didn't move. We stared at each other for long milliseconds, my own eyes wide, then I remembered the digital camera in my hand.
I smiled at it, murmurring soothingly, and managed to get a pretty good picture:
I thanked it for holding its pose so well and backed away, not wanting to bother it any further. And walked off to catch my bus.
it was forty years ago today...
...that "Man Trap" was first broadcast on NBC. I was a wee slip of a four month old, barely aware of anything that wasn't food, sleep or poop related. Therefore I had no idea that the flickering images on the screen that evening would actually factor into my life in any way, let alone be the focus of one of my three obsessions that carried me through a somewhat troubled, and painfully shy, teenhood.
Thanks, Star Trek. We're forty together. I gotta say, that's pretty cool.
Thanks, Star Trek. We're forty together. I gotta say, that's pretty cool.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
pimpin' for the man...
A couple of weeks ago, the dreamy Steven Amaya (he of the late and dearly lamented Evaporation) emailed me to let me know about his latest project - podcasting - and bade me take a listen. Unfortunately, due to my nearly superfluous home computer and a reluctance to play anything on my work computer that wasn't music, I could not do so.
Until yesterday.
The g-ds that are Apple enabled me to subscribe to his podcast on iTunes and to download all eight episodes, three of which are currently residing on my iPod. Now that I've listened to those, I'm going to remove them and download the remaining three (the first two episodes were listened to while I walked around lab during lunch, to be removed - hey, the iPod is only 1GB and I got a lot of music on there) and listen to those on my way home tonight.
And here I am today, and I sayeth to you, go and listen to The Membrane. Enjoy Steven's mellifluous voice. Marvel at how very professional the episodes sound. Laugh and cry and lift The Eyebow of Fascinating at his ruminations and those of his interviewees. And try your damnedest not to wriggle your hips and butt to the music.
I dare you. No, I double dare you to resist the music. It cannot be done.
The Membrane. It does a body good.
Until yesterday.
The g-ds that are Apple enabled me to subscribe to his podcast on iTunes and to download all eight episodes, three of which are currently residing on my iPod. Now that I've listened to those, I'm going to remove them and download the remaining three (the first two episodes were listened to while I walked around lab during lunch, to be removed - hey, the iPod is only 1GB and I got a lot of music on there) and listen to those on my way home tonight.
And here I am today, and I sayeth to you, go and listen to The Membrane. Enjoy Steven's mellifluous voice. Marvel at how very professional the episodes sound. Laugh and cry and lift The Eyebow of Fascinating at his ruminations and those of his interviewees. And try your damnedest not to wriggle your hips and butt to the music.
I dare you. No, I double dare you to resist the music. It cannot be done.
The Membrane. It does a body good.
um, ow?
No, seriously. Ow!
I told my boss that I was going to step down to the cafeteria to grab some soup really quick, before they took away the food.
Little did I know that, when ladeling the soup into a to-go cup, my right hand deceided that I needed to literally, "grab some soup." So it moved the left, just the tiniest bit, and poured a small amount on my left thumb.
While yummy, it was pretty damned hot. An hour later and it's still pink, the nerves in my thumb still telling me, "That was fucking stupid. Time to get new glasses. Bitch."
(My left thumb is a very angry digit. You should hear what calls me when I accidently bend back my thumbnail halfway down. 'Taint fit for saints nor sailors.)
Think it'll look strange if I walk around lab sucking on my thumb?
I told my boss that I was going to step down to the cafeteria to grab some soup really quick, before they took away the food.
Little did I know that, when ladeling the soup into a to-go cup, my right hand deceided that I needed to literally, "grab some soup." So it moved the left, just the tiniest bit, and poured a small amount on my left thumb.
While yummy, it was pretty damned hot. An hour later and it's still pink, the nerves in my thumb still telling me, "That was fucking stupid. Time to get new glasses. Bitch."
(My left thumb is a very angry digit. You should hear what calls me when I accidently bend back my thumbnail halfway down. 'Taint fit for saints nor sailors.)
Think it'll look strange if I walk around lab sucking on my thumb?
i may be too late...
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
pass or fail...
This past weekend was, for those of us in the US, Labor Day Weekend. One of several weekends celebrated by taking three days off instead of two, shopping sales, eating BBQ and, for students and teachers, realizing the art of sleeping in they've cultivated for the last three months is going to come to a sharp and painful end all too soon.
(Parents, on the other hand, tend to be happy about this new development. Kids! In school! Whee! Unless, that is, the parent is a teacher. In which case, well, just ask my newly minted boyfriend about that...)
(Oh, yeah, and there's that whole, "Acknowledging the folks who have labored to make this country great," thing, which, apparently, is best celebrated by the aforementioned sales, BBQ, etc.)
Anywho, while I did not particpate in the charring of dead animal carcass over burning minerals, nor did I wrestle other women to the ground and yank clearly inferior merchandise from their greedy, yet well-maincured hands because, look! A sale! I did keep myself pretty darned busy during the weekend. Because I took a test, you see, as did HSTeacher.
Test? Why? Tell us more!
Hang on, I will. Patience, I ask of you.
Originally we weren't planning on taking a test. We were going to try to spend some time together, but he was planning on spending most of the weekend with his kids, understandably.
Until Thursday his ex called and said she was taking the kids away for the weekend.
What? An entire weekend had suddenly opened up for the two of us. So guess what we did?
Now, now, get your minds out of the gutter. Not that you're wrong, mind you...
Anyway, he picked me up from work Friday night, we had dinner, hung out in Old Town Pasadena for a little while, then headed out to the South Bay, where we had hot wild monkey sex.
Oddly enough, feeling marginally bad about the interrupted sleep of HSTeacher's neighbors wasn't all the weekend held in store for us. And this is where the test came in.
We were together for pretty close to 48 hours - the first time we'd spent that much time together. The test lie in whether we could spend time together without borining one another or wondering if throwing a live electrical wire in the shower was a viable alternative.
Guess what? We could. And we did.
It wasn't just about that sex (although - hello! Very, very nice!). We actually spent more time just hanging out, going out for breakfast and dinner, walking the dog, sleeping in, playing on his Mac and iBook, and just talking. Lots of talking.
Yep, there was a test on this holiday weekend. I'd say we both passed with flying colors. We both deserve gold stars. And I know where I'd like to put his...
*************************
BTW, the reason we spent so much time on his computers? Was because of these:
So very pretty, aren't they?
HSTeacher decided we needed new iPods, as his was dying and, well, I had never had one and he hated the thought of me carrying my bulky and heavy CD player and CDs on the bus all the time.
I wasn't sure about it, and kind thought a long time about it. We discussed it and I, well, let him buy me this gift. It had been one of my wants for a very long time, and it came in black, which I far prefer over white, so, yeah. I got me a Nano now.
So cool. I'm still stunned. Huh.
(Parents, on the other hand, tend to be happy about this new development. Kids! In school! Whee! Unless, that is, the parent is a teacher. In which case, well, just ask my newly minted boyfriend about that...)
(Oh, yeah, and there's that whole, "Acknowledging the folks who have labored to make this country great," thing, which, apparently, is best celebrated by the aforementioned sales, BBQ, etc.)
Anywho, while I did not particpate in the charring of dead animal carcass over burning minerals, nor did I wrestle other women to the ground and yank clearly inferior merchandise from their greedy, yet well-maincured hands because, look! A sale! I did keep myself pretty darned busy during the weekend. Because I took a test, you see, as did HSTeacher.
Test? Why? Tell us more!
Hang on, I will. Patience, I ask of you.
Originally we weren't planning on taking a test. We were going to try to spend some time together, but he was planning on spending most of the weekend with his kids, understandably.
Until Thursday his ex called and said she was taking the kids away for the weekend.
What? An entire weekend had suddenly opened up for the two of us. So guess what we did?
Now, now, get your minds out of the gutter. Not that you're wrong, mind you...
Anyway, he picked me up from work Friday night, we had dinner, hung out in Old Town Pasadena for a little while, then headed out to the South Bay, where we had hot wild monkey sex.
Oddly enough, feeling marginally bad about the interrupted sleep of HSTeacher's neighbors wasn't all the weekend held in store for us. And this is where the test came in.
We were together for pretty close to 48 hours - the first time we'd spent that much time together. The test lie in whether we could spend time together without borining one another or wondering if throwing a live electrical wire in the shower was a viable alternative.
Guess what? We could. And we did.
It wasn't just about that sex (although - hello! Very, very nice!). We actually spent more time just hanging out, going out for breakfast and dinner, walking the dog, sleeping in, playing on his Mac and iBook, and just talking. Lots of talking.
Yep, there was a test on this holiday weekend. I'd say we both passed with flying colors. We both deserve gold stars. And I know where I'd like to put his...
BTW, the reason we spent so much time on his computers? Was because of these:
HSTeacher decided we needed new iPods, as his was dying and, well, I had never had one and he hated the thought of me carrying my bulky and heavy CD player and CDs on the bus all the time.
I wasn't sure about it, and kind thought a long time about it. We discussed it and I, well, let him buy me this gift. It had been one of my wants for a very long time, and it came in black, which I far prefer over white, so, yeah. I got me a Nano now.
So cool. I'm still stunned. Huh.
Friday, September 01, 2006
so, here's the question...
Yeah, I'm working at JPL. Yeah, my little science groupie heart is damned near bursting. BlahBlahBiddyBlah.
I'm up in Astrophysics--
Little sidetrip: first time MusicianMan called me at work to go over a flier we're working on since dinosaurs roamed the earth, I answered, as I always do, "Astrophysics, Carol speaking."
His answer: "Astro-fucking-physics. That's so cool." There's something very satisfying about people you respect thinking what you do is cool. Especially since anyone who is talented and works with music is the epitome of cool in my book.
Now whenever he calls, he replies, "Hi, Astrophysics, Metaphysics here." Trust me, if you knew his views on Metaphysics, you'd find it humorous too.
I digress.
So, I sit at my desk, or walk around the building, and am faced by all these exceedingly cool canvases of galaxies and star systems and astronomy-type images from Spitzer and the Hubble and such.
I mean, this is the sort of thing I see when I look up from my computer:
So my question is, will I ever tire of such artwork?
G-d, I hope not...
I'm up in Astrophysics--
Little sidetrip: first time MusicianMan called me at work to go over a flier we're working on since dinosaurs roamed the earth, I answered, as I always do, "Astrophysics, Carol speaking."
His answer: "Astro-fucking-physics. That's so cool." There's something very satisfying about people you respect thinking what you do is cool. Especially since anyone who is talented and works with music is the epitome of cool in my book.
Now whenever he calls, he replies, "Hi, Astrophysics, Metaphysics here." Trust me, if you knew his views on Metaphysics, you'd find it humorous too.
I digress.
So, I sit at my desk, or walk around the building, and am faced by all these exceedingly cool canvases of galaxies and star systems and astronomy-type images from Spitzer and the Hubble and such.
I mean, this is the sort of thing I see when I look up from my computer:
So my question is, will I ever tire of such artwork?
G-d, I hope not...
why do you quiz me so?!
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