Because of Eric

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Last semester seems like such a long time ago. All that hard work and all I got were Bs. Although a significant improvement to the grades I got when I was working, I need better if I want my GPA high enough for grad school. I have a 2.83 GPA right now thanks to FSU’s decision to no longer forgive bad grades when retaken for better ones. How dumb of me to try working and going to school in the first place; and I kept it up for 2 full years! I wasn’t working when I first attempted a physics degree and I ended up changing majors then because it seemed too hard. It certainly hasn’t gotten any easier in the 8 years since then. I did work off and on while completing my English degree. I completed that degree in 3 years, taking 21 credits/semester. What a pleasant walk in the park that was: Orson Scott Card books assigned for homework, contemplating the meaning of life, sock puppets and dressing in drag for final projects, being a part of Dr. Sexson’s cult following. . .those were the days. But all that time, I still harbored a spark of desire for math and science. Every astronomy program that showed on the Discovery channel, every sparkling object in the crisp clear Montana night sky, every book in the Science and Nature section of Barnes and Noble, every little piece of that other world that I was no longer a part of seemed to stand out more than before. The more I tried to ignore it, the more I noticed.

As I neared the end of my English studies, I became scared. It was a lot of fun, but what was I to do with it? I really didn’t want to be a teacher, I am not much a writer either. . .even if I was, I didn’t want to spend forever working at WalMart until I finally came up with something good! I wish I was a better story teller. I like to believe I have a good imagination. I spent most of my childhood in it. But for some reason, I can never get to stories out of my head. Still, I was left with an awesome literary education. I felt very important indeed. It was like being a part of some mystery religion, something only myself and the other English graduates could experience. It was wonderful being able to notice the symbols, analogies, and metaphors in popular culture that others missed.

As if my internal conflicts were not great enough already, My parents bought me one hell of a nice telescope as a graduation gift. Hello?! Did they forget I changed majors? A telescope? Oh sure, I’m really on my way to a future now. A degree that gets me no practical job and a telescope that I have not the proper education to use. I didn’t worry about that for a while though. I…

Productivity

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I finished all my homework through Friday. Weehee! I haven’t been so productive all semester. Not only did I attempt all assigned problems for both Thermal Physics and Mathematical Physics, I also answered each one of them completely with confidence. Now that is an accomplishment.

I have two Midterms next week. One in Thermal and one in Astrophysics. I’ll worry about those over the weekend. They are next Thursday and Friday, respectively, so I can justify a little free time this Thursday and Friday.

I actually finished everything a couple of hours before posting this. It’s rare that I am able to work through an entire assignment, let alone answer each question entirely, before 1am the night before it is due. I spent the past 2 hours goofing off and enjoying the feeling of not feeling guilty for doing so. Among other idle pursuits, I read a most amusing “family spam” E-mail (Family spam is my term for the non-personalized E-mails sent to me by my forward-happy family members). I found this one particularly amusing:

Post VERY LOW on the refrigerator door (nose height).
Dear Dogs and Cats:
The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years —canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough!

Every bit of that E-mail applies to our furry kids. Only a week or two ago, my little boy helped himself…

Lip Gloss

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

You Are Cherry Kiss Lip Gloss

You’re a total girly girl who’s every guy is sweet on.

You take pleasure in the simple things in life, from cute t-shirts to stuffed animals.

Any guy needs to match your romantic idealism to win your heart, which is why few have.

No wonder Cherry is your signature flavor. It’s delicious, sugary, and fun – like you!

What Flavor Lip Gloss Are You?

I love lipgloss! Specifically Bonne Bell Lip Smakers in any assortment of red or purple colored flavors. Love love love lip gloss! So, naturally, I had to take this quiz

Potty Time in the Rain

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The two puppies haven’t gone potty since 10 this morning. Its nearly 5pm now. It has been raining all day. A full, unpleasant downpour with no breaks since I got home at 12:30. Albus is usually better about doing his business in bad weather than Odyssey, but not this time. Both puppies ran excitedly to the door on their respective potty runs, and both quickly halted at the edge of the grass when they realized they were being rained on. I stayed outside for about 10 minutes with each puppy, forcing them into the grass, but no luck. I even let odyssey stay on the somewhat sheltered sidewalk hoping that she might at least pee there. But nope. The puppies have been whimpering since I got home and each time I take them out, they run frantically to the door, halt at the edge of the grass and stand around looking pathetic until I bring them back in. I tried putting Odyssey’s puppy rain coat on, but she still wasn’t interested in going outside. There is a river of a puddle running the length of our yard area that neither puppy will cross. Albus doesn’t usually potty so near the front door, but I thought if he had to go bad enough, he might. Both puppies are thoroughly soaked and secured in their crates so that they won’t go mess elsewhere. This is terribly frustrating. If the rain could just let up for a little while, that would be great.

Physics and Furry Friends

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Wee hee, I am so smart! I finished all of my Thermal Physics homework. I even proved that the efficiency of a Carnot engine is 1 – Tc/Th, a problem that I had previously given up on. Yay for me.
I had to move my desk upstairs because our downstairs study room has gradually morphed into Eric’s lair. It’s just not the right environment for my studies anymore. Fortunately, I am not alone up here when I study. My puppy keeps me company every evening. She hangs out under my desk the whole time, usually sleeping. I caught a picture of her just after I returned from taking her out. She went back to sleep shortly after I took the picture.

Winter keeps me company sometimes too. But if I don’t let him sit on my books, he generally wanders off until I have a lap for him. He is a real cuddle bug. If I’m sitting on the floor with my knees near my chest, he taps at my legs until I provide him a proper snuggle spot. He has given up trying to cuddle when I’m at my desk, though. Especially if Odyssey is around. He usually pouts in another room until I leave my desk. No matter where he is, he somehow knows the moment I get up from my chair. He then spends the rest of the evening following me about as I get ready for bed. Then he waits for me to take a shower and hollers at me real loud when I come out of the bathroom as if to say that I took too long. He knows that bed time is his time. The puppies go to their crates for bed, but he will always get the spot next to me on the bed.

Time for School

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Another long break between entries. I never seem to have time, I waste most of it thinking about all that I should or could be doing rather than actually doing it, and by the time I finally feel like doing something for real, there’s no time left. Even now, I really don’t have time. It’s 11pm already!
I quit work so that I could concentrate more on school. I should feel like I have all the time in the world, but take away my sporadic pockets of wasted time and there’s really none left to do anything substantial beyond the necessary. I need to figure out how to consolidate my 5 to 15 minute blocks of nothing time. But no matter, the absence of work has fulfilled most of its purpose. I’m not failing any classes. . . yet. I’m barely holding onto a B in two of them, but hold a pretty strong A in the third. A good chunk of my extra time has gone towards sleep. It’s amazing how much more sense my classes make when I’m not falling asleep in them!
This semester I am taking Thermal/Statistical physics, Mathematical Physics, and Astrophysics. The last of those was supposed to be my “fun” class. FSU just introduced a brand new astrophysics degree program for which I will be in school a semester longer for. This Astrophysics class I am in is a brand new class comprised of both undergrads and grad students interested in astrophysics. Because this is the test run of the class, its not terribly well organized. The prof tries to cover as much as he can without confusing the undergrads or boring the grads. He uses power point, puts globs of info on each slide and zooms through them a might to quickly. I just hope the remaining astrophysics courses I plan to take will be a bit better. It would be a shame to stay in this miserable state for the sake of boring pursuits.

Greek Mythology

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I am at work, but there is nothing to do. The test server is down. I’m bored and I have a tiny headache, but at least it’s almost 5. I need to go to the library after work to gather some materials for the last paper I have to write for my Greek Mythology class. Eric has to write a paper too, for the same class. He does not like this class at all. I agree that the grad-student teacher is a bit boring. . .ok, extremely boring. . . but that doesn’t make the stories that we read boring. Eric just needs a good dose of Dr. Sexson to cure the anti-classical-literature phase he recently entered on account of this class. I am so sad for him. I had a lot of fun writing the last paper for this class. No matter how boring a teacher is, I can still have fun writing papers for humanities classes. I wrote a paper on Mnemosyne and got a 97. Thank you Dr. Sexson! I could not have done it without your teachings :p

Focus

Thursday, July 19, 2007

I left work early today to have extra studying time. Needless to say, I’m not being very efficient with it. The first thing I did was take Otis for a walk. He just looked so bored and I felt sorry for him (***** **** ****). I came back and I’m not sure what exactly I did with the time. I came and went from the computer room, leaving each time to fetch a book or notebook, returning each time without it. I got coffee, Microwaved it, got distracted, had to microwave it again, abandoned it for a while, and came back to a mess of burnt coffee in the microwave. **** * **** **** *********** *** ***** ** ***** ** ************** **** ** ***** ** ***. I checked my school E-mail, updated my msn profile, all the while browsing through random pages of my text thinking that I really ought to focus. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS. . .wait, I need to focus on the text, not on typing “FOCUS” Keehee. * ***** **** **** ***** ***** ****. * **** ***. ** *** ***** ***** *****, must study There, I wrote that whole entry without mentioning Eric (not including now). *s fill in the spots where I would have made mention of him. But I’m practicing his ability to write numerous web log entries that make no mention of me. His mind is entirely booked with cnn, digg, and his opinions thereof. I have to hope for a cancellation here and there to get my own reservations in his thoughts.