This morning, I learned that we can thank President Cleveland for Labor Day. So, let me begin with that...Thank You! Labor Day typically signifies the end of the summer season, after which many schools are back in session (if not before). Even more notably, Labor Day weekend kicks off the college football season and is followed the next weekend by the NFL kickoff (which they actually hold on Thursday for some idiotic reason). College football has not traditionally been a sport I have followed in my life. Rather, it was a periodic interest depending on friends and significant others throughout my upbringing and adulthood. Over the past two years, I have gotten reacquainted with the NCAA and fully intend to enjoy all that football can bring me in a weekend...Saturday is full of college action and then, Sunday's NFL action.
Labor Day weekend started off on a good note...Happy Hour. I find it quite amusing that of a Happy Hour list of approximately 30 people or so, we end up with a party of 6. Not to be one to turn down a small, intimate affair with close friends (those of us that comprise the regular not-more-than-10 people at Happy Hour group), I enjoyed the evening immensely. Sadly, the rain, amongst other things, downplayed the fun nature of a night out, but we make the most of our time together, regardless. Plus, with long weekends, Happy Hour festivities tend to run throughout the three days! Combined with college football kickoff, this stands to be a great weekend!
Back on the Happy Hour note...Bentz Street is our newest favorite locale, with $1 drafts, local brews on tap, 1/2 price food specials and the awesome new deck. Last night, we not only were blessed with the usual aspects, but there's an entirely new menu! This is not to suggest they redid everything, as many of the favorites are still there, but things are certainly different. One of the new items worthy of note - homemade potato chips. Certainly these chips have been sliced by hand and now come with the option of flavoring with the sauces used to make their wings so freaking awesome. What's a girl to do? Well, I was lame and got plain and someone else was lame and got french fries, but another got sweet and spicy thai and someone else got the garlic. Reports were favorable.
Tonight, there shall be a girls-only Cacique visit for dinner (boys like football too much), followed presumably by an evening of Rock Band. On the new PS3 Rock Band, there are music downloading capabilities, so I have yet to join in on that immense fun. Provided we don't overdo the sangria with dinner, it should be great. With that, friends, I better get my sequences loaded, hit the liquor store and maybe the mall. By then, Aura's nap time should be complete and it'll be time for dinner!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
When the prospect of rain became a very likely reality this week, I was quite excited. It had been a while since we had a rainy day and beyond the benefit to nature, rain seemed like a good change of pace from the inevitable sunshine of this August. Much to my dismay, the rain seems to have brought out the best in people. Many people seem to have awakened to the rain and subsequently, climbed out on the wrong side of the bed when they began their day. In all honesty, the bad attitude bug has bitten me as well, but I also felt rather horribly yesterday evening and went to bed at 8pm. Not that I should be giving myself any excuses to behave like a rude, indignant person, but feeling crappy never makes one cheerful. There were just far too many instances this morning of seeming crankiness from one too many people and I decided to play it safe and find some office-based work to do for the course of my day. This idea has proved itself a good one, as my mood is much improved from the morning and I have had to interact with very few passerby.
Prior to today's unfortunate weather-related melancholy, it hadn't been a terribly awful week. Last Friday was particularly crummy, but some time away from work through the weekend allowed some personal rejuvenation and a much higher productivity than I thought possible. I had a weekend off from soccer and spent some time with my parents. Mom and I did some back-to-school shopping, which consisted only of two binders, one pack of paper, and a planner. Being that both my courses are online this semester, it seemed like a good idea to have a calendar-based organizational device (hence, the planner) in which to keep track of my assignments and whatnot that I will need to be self-motivating in order to complete on time. This could prove to be rather interesting. But, I digress...
Back to this week...Monday morning, I was refreshed and ready to start the week anew and on a good note. Shortly into the morning, I ran into a close friend who had suffered quite a nasty spill while cycling on Sunday. This quickly wiped out any optimism I had. Note to self: road bikes do not like gravel. He suffered some pretty severe road burns all down his right side, did something to his shoulder, and worst of all, had a pretty nasty bump on his head (even with a helmet). Seeing some of those scrapes and bruises, my body was in pain, too! Given the obvious nature of the injuries, I had to forgo my first instinct to offer a hug. I was pretty sure the physical pain was going to far outweigh the emotional benefit. Since I felt so strongly about wanting to make him feel better, I decided it would be a perfectly good excuse to make chocolate chip cookies. My chocolate chip cookie recipe is one of my most favorite comfort foods in the entire world and I thought he would appreciate them as well (besides, I hadn't had any complaints with other food items shared in the past month!). Additionally, I also got a few other little goodies - Aleve, gummy bears, bandaids - and with the cookies and a one-use bottle of Southern Comfort, put together quite a sweet little care package. I gave it to him Tuesday morning and give his reaction, you might think no one has ever done anything nice for him! Putting a smile on someone's face is the best feeling in the world!
Well, friends, it is now Saturday and I wrote this blog two days ago. Chances are if I continue blogging about the week, it'll just depress you even further and it may never be finished. With that, I am going to go ahead and post this and start something new while I wait for my tubes to dry down. Yes, I'm at work on a Saturday. Go ahead, call me lame.
Prior to today's unfortunate weather-related melancholy, it hadn't been a terribly awful week. Last Friday was particularly crummy, but some time away from work through the weekend allowed some personal rejuvenation and a much higher productivity than I thought possible. I had a weekend off from soccer and spent some time with my parents. Mom and I did some back-to-school shopping, which consisted only of two binders, one pack of paper, and a planner. Being that both my courses are online this semester, it seemed like a good idea to have a calendar-based organizational device (hence, the planner) in which to keep track of my assignments and whatnot that I will need to be self-motivating in order to complete on time. This could prove to be rather interesting. But, I digress...
Back to this week...Monday morning, I was refreshed and ready to start the week anew and on a good note. Shortly into the morning, I ran into a close friend who had suffered quite a nasty spill while cycling on Sunday. This quickly wiped out any optimism I had. Note to self: road bikes do not like gravel. He suffered some pretty severe road burns all down his right side, did something to his shoulder, and worst of all, had a pretty nasty bump on his head (even with a helmet). Seeing some of those scrapes and bruises, my body was in pain, too! Given the obvious nature of the injuries, I had to forgo my first instinct to offer a hug. I was pretty sure the physical pain was going to far outweigh the emotional benefit. Since I felt so strongly about wanting to make him feel better, I decided it would be a perfectly good excuse to make chocolate chip cookies. My chocolate chip cookie recipe is one of my most favorite comfort foods in the entire world and I thought he would appreciate them as well (besides, I hadn't had any complaints with other food items shared in the past month!). Additionally, I also got a few other little goodies - Aleve, gummy bears, bandaids - and with the cookies and a one-use bottle of Southern Comfort, put together quite a sweet little care package. I gave it to him Tuesday morning and give his reaction, you might think no one has ever done anything nice for him! Putting a smile on someone's face is the best feeling in the world!
Well, friends, it is now Saturday and I wrote this blog two days ago. Chances are if I continue blogging about the week, it'll just depress you even further and it may never be finished. With that, I am going to go ahead and post this and start something new while I wait for my tubes to dry down. Yes, I'm at work on a Saturday. Go ahead, call me lame.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Randomness
This post has no official subject, as it will most certainly encompass many topics. My guilt has started to wear on me for my lack of blogging, especially after Mary sent me a very nice card and spoke of how she enjoys keeping in touch through our blogging. Considering I have much downtime at work these days, since the poster and data are both done (well, data is mostly done), I could theoretically give blogging more time. Alas, I have not. Shame on me.
Leah and I went to see Tropic Thunder last evening after we spent some time at the pool (with Kathy). I hadn't heard much about this movie, save a few tv trailers, until Tuesday, when at Aura's birthday lunch, her husband, Jeff, comments how there have been great protestation about this movie due to the satirical portrayal of mentally challenged individuals. Apparently, people were...*gasp*...offended! First off, this movie has been touted as a comedy, and don't most comedic features poke fun at some sector of the general population? Secondly, if you're offended, don't see it! Mind you, this movie not only makes fun of "retards", it makes fun of just about anything of which you could think is able to be satirized. With that, however, it is only offensive if you let it be offensive! Even more disturbing is the thought that this movie could quite possibly be more graphic and crude than even Borat. I thought Borat was interesting, not quite the greatest comedy ever (as I had been told), but not awful either. Tropic Thunder was so awfully hilarious, I would have probably paid full price to see it. But, beware, there was a shark in the trailer and there's lots of (fake) bodily mutilation.
The Olympics have been awesome. A self-proclaimed Olympic fanatic, I have been glued every night, except for Tuesday...more on that later. I am sad, though, that last night marked the end of swimming. Of the summer sports, I most enjoy swimming. Gymnastics and track are cool, so is diving and equestrian and beach volleyball, but swimming is far and beyond my favorite. Let us not forget, that Michael Phelps made this Olympic games something to remember. I watched every race (save Tuesday) and bit my nails and screamed along with the world at the 4x100 relay and the 100 fly, just when you thought he might not get all 8 golds. It is something to think that someday, we can tell our children that we witnessed history in such grand fashion.
So, what did I do Tuesday night that inhibited my ability to watch the Olympics? Colleen and I ventured to RFK to watch the New England Revolution take on our DC United in the semifinal of the US Open Cup. For you who are not into soccer at all, the US Open Cup is unique in that it incorporates 5 different leagues from across the country...the MLS (Major League Soccer), USL (United Soccer League) first and second division, USL Premier Development, and US Adult Soccer League. It was quite by chance that two MLS teams played in the semifinal and pretty awesome that we got to host the game. As with the AFC Championship in the NFL, this competition is established in honor of Lamar Hunt (he gets around!) and is relatively prestigious as far as soccer goes in the US. Colleen got our tickets through Barra Brava, DC United's legendary 12th man. Since none of you have never been to a United game, you can't quite comprehend how much of a presence Barra Brava is at the game. If you think about it, a stadium is structured with cement ramps, floors, etc...Barra Brava makes RFK shake. Literally. It is absolutely amazing. They have open membership that brings ticket discounts, pre-game tailgating (free cerveza and food like you couldn't even imagine) and the most fanatic game experience ever. This was my first game with the Barra Brava. Try as we might to avoid beer drenching after a goal, I still had disgustingly sticky hair at the end of the night. I managed to fake along to most of the chants, for fear of more beer drenching. Side note - the blatant disregard for the price of beer and the amount that is wasted in the air and not into the body is INSANE. The Barra Brava is self policing, thank goodness, because I am sure the referees did not appreciate gestures and comments that rhyme with duck. Some of the things that were sung were far from appropriate sportsman-like conduct, at least to me, but the agreement with DC United and Barra Brava prohibits any ejections or removal of fans from the stadium. All in all, quite cool. I'm going to attempt an image here...of Colleen and I toward the end of the game.
Let's see, what else? My newest hobby has been kitchen domesticity. Mom got me started with a Saturday spent making pasta sauce with hand-made meatballs. This is my grandmother's recipe and also, the only thing I have found that Tide-to-Go cannot remove from clothing. The following weekend, I made corn and potato chowder, which is one of my favorite cold weather comfort foods. Of course, it was really like 85 degrees out when I made it, but cravings far outweigh any sensibility. After that, on a craving whim, once again, I made Singapore Noodles that I shared with a friend. I was too cheap to splurge on ride noodles, but capellini worked just fine. It took a week to get through the whole pound, but it was worth it. And, Aura's birthday was this past Tuesday and I had promised her a homemade carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing. After grating just three carrots for this cake, I decided I could grate carrots every night and get enough of a workout to have the most toned and sculpted arms ever seen. It was purely by accident that the icing worked out like it did...I let the cake cool the recommended 15 minutes and began to frost. The cake was still too warm and broke down the sugars in the frosting to an almost glaze-like consistency. However, in breaking down the sugars, it brought more of the cream cheese flavor out and made for an absolutely scrumptious cake. Aura absolutely loved it and I got rave reviews all around. I'll try and add a picture of the cake too.
Jami and I visited Pier 1 a few weeks back and I took the opportunity to browse the sales and ended up with a dining room redecoration project. I love my dining room, although it is teeny tiny, and it was nice to add to the ambiance with new placemats and napkins and such. The new placemat color also ties into the living room, which is openly connected and gives a nice flow of color throughout the apartment. Also note my nice wine rack on the floor behind the table. I am having doubts that it will ever make it onto the wall, especially since I finally bought a new frame (the old one never had glass in it) for the picture. I am also getting quite a collection of pint glasses from various bar excursions with the Happy Hour crew...Bentz Street's Flying Dog promotion and Brewer's Alley 12th anniversary party.
Well, friends, I believe I have come to a loss for thoughts at this time. Hopefully, the pictures worked and you have something fun and entertaining to catch up on in the life of Carter. Time to hit the grocery store. All the church-going crazies should be gone. ;)
Leah and I went to see Tropic Thunder last evening after we spent some time at the pool (with Kathy). I hadn't heard much about this movie, save a few tv trailers, until Tuesday, when at Aura's birthday lunch, her husband, Jeff, comments how there have been great protestation about this movie due to the satirical portrayal of mentally challenged individuals. Apparently, people were...*gasp*...offended! First off, this movie has been touted as a comedy, and don't most comedic features poke fun at some sector of the general population? Secondly, if you're offended, don't see it! Mind you, this movie not only makes fun of "retards", it makes fun of just about anything of which you could think is able to be satirized. With that, however, it is only offensive if you let it be offensive! Even more disturbing is the thought that this movie could quite possibly be more graphic and crude than even Borat. I thought Borat was interesting, not quite the greatest comedy ever (as I had been told), but not awful either. Tropic Thunder was so awfully hilarious, I would have probably paid full price to see it. But, beware, there was a shark in the trailer and there's lots of (fake) bodily mutilation.
The Olympics have been awesome. A self-proclaimed Olympic fanatic, I have been glued every night, except for Tuesday...more on that later. I am sad, though, that last night marked the end of swimming. Of the summer sports, I most enjoy swimming. Gymnastics and track are cool, so is diving and equestrian and beach volleyball, but swimming is far and beyond my favorite. Let us not forget, that Michael Phelps made this Olympic games something to remember. I watched every race (save Tuesday) and bit my nails and screamed along with the world at the 4x100 relay and the 100 fly, just when you thought he might not get all 8 golds. It is something to think that someday, we can tell our children that we witnessed history in such grand fashion.
So, what did I do Tuesday night that inhibited my ability to watch the Olympics? Colleen and I ventured to RFK to watch the New England Revolution take on our DC United in the semifinal of the US Open Cup. For you who are not into soccer at all, the US Open Cup is unique in that it incorporates 5 different leagues from across the country...the MLS (Major League Soccer), USL (United Soccer League) first and second division, USL Premier Development, and US Adult Soccer League. It was quite by chance that two MLS teams played in the semifinal and pretty awesome that we got to host the game. As with the AFC Championship in the NFL, this competition is established in honor of Lamar Hunt (he gets around!) and is relatively prestigious as far as soccer goes in the US. Colleen got our tickets through Barra Brava, DC United's legendary 12th man. Since none of you have never been to a United game, you can't quite comprehend how much of a presence Barra Brava is at the game. If you think about it, a stadium is structured with cement ramps, floors, etc...Barra Brava makes RFK shake. Literally. It is absolutely amazing. They have open membership that brings ticket discounts, pre-game tailgating (free cerveza and food like you couldn't even imagine) and the most fanatic game experience ever. This was my first game with the Barra Brava. Try as we might to avoid beer drenching after a goal, I still had disgustingly sticky hair at the end of the night. I managed to fake along to most of the chants, for fear of more beer drenching. Side note - the blatant disregard for the price of beer and the amount that is wasted in the air and not into the body is INSANE. The Barra Brava is self policing, thank goodness, because I am sure the referees did not appreciate gestures and comments that rhyme with duck. Some of the things that were sung were far from appropriate sportsman-like conduct, at least to me, but the agreement with DC United and Barra Brava prohibits any ejections or removal of fans from the stadium. All in all, quite cool. I'm going to attempt an image here...of Colleen and I toward the end of the game.
Let's see, what else? My newest hobby has been kitchen domesticity. Mom got me started with a Saturday spent making pasta sauce with hand-made meatballs. This is my grandmother's recipe and also, the only thing I have found that Tide-to-Go cannot remove from clothing. The following weekend, I made corn and potato chowder, which is one of my favorite cold weather comfort foods. Of course, it was really like 85 degrees out when I made it, but cravings far outweigh any sensibility. After that, on a craving whim, once again, I made Singapore Noodles that I shared with a friend. I was too cheap to splurge on ride noodles, but capellini worked just fine. It took a week to get through the whole pound, but it was worth it. And, Aura's birthday was this past Tuesday and I had promised her a homemade carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing. After grating just three carrots for this cake, I decided I could grate carrots every night and get enough of a workout to have the most toned and sculpted arms ever seen. It was purely by accident that the icing worked out like it did...I let the cake cool the recommended 15 minutes and began to frost. The cake was still too warm and broke down the sugars in the frosting to an almost glaze-like consistency. However, in breaking down the sugars, it brought more of the cream cheese flavor out and made for an absolutely scrumptious cake. Aura absolutely loved it and I got rave reviews all around. I'll try and add a picture of the cake too.
Jami and I visited Pier 1 a few weeks back and I took the opportunity to browse the sales and ended up with a dining room redecoration project. I love my dining room, although it is teeny tiny, and it was nice to add to the ambiance with new placemats and napkins and such. The new placemat color also ties into the living room, which is openly connected and gives a nice flow of color throughout the apartment. Also note my nice wine rack on the floor behind the table. I am having doubts that it will ever make it onto the wall, especially since I finally bought a new frame (the old one never had glass in it) for the picture. I am also getting quite a collection of pint glasses from various bar excursions with the Happy Hour crew...Bentz Street's Flying Dog promotion and Brewer's Alley 12th anniversary party.
Well, friends, I believe I have come to a loss for thoughts at this time. Hopefully, the pictures worked and you have something fun and entertaining to catch up on in the life of Carter. Time to hit the grocery store. All the church-going crazies should be gone. ;)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Careers in Science
As each day wears on, I am finding it increasingly difficult to maintain composure about certain situations around the workplace and the utter ignorance of seemingly normal people. In the general public, there are many misconceptions about scientific careers and related industries (regulatory compliance, for instance..Leah has great stories), but I realize that an uneducated (scientific) perspective is one that can be easily misinformed or misled to believe things that are just not true. The trouble that I have these days is accepting that people who come from a somewhat similar background in the sciences can be so naive and self-serving regarding every day laboratory life. When I chose to major in chemistry, I did so knowing full well that there are risks involved with a career in science. In saying this, I want to make it clear that I use the word "risk" in the loosest possible sense.
Science is a completely fulfilling and rewarding career, from the earliest points of discovery to the end of changing life for the better. As with any job, really, there are hazards that occur in and around the laboratory that you are fully made aware of from day one. One of the first lessons in any laboratory course is how to properly protect yourself from the dangers of chemicals, fire, glassware...I could go on and on. But, you are certainly not able to execute any experiments in the lab without protecting yourself from (sometimes imminent) accidents. I can't even imagine Dr. Sauder, in those first weeks of gen chem...heck, the entire year...missing an opportunity to better equip her future scientists in practices that would be beneficial throughout their careers. Laboratory accidents and exposures are inevitable, but it is truly up to the individual to take the time to minimize these risks.
I would be lying outright if I say that I follow every procedure known to man to protect myself at my job. Much of the "what we're supposed to do" is just ridiculous and makes no practical sense. Although, in choosing to loosely interpret the rules for myself, I am fully aware that I increase my chance of chemical exposure or other laboratory accidents that could happen. Safety glasses are ugly, but when I need to wear them, I do. Lab coats are heavy and rather restraining, but when I need to wear them, I do. If for some reason, glass is flying across the lab, I get the heck out! When I chose this career, I took into account everything that goes along with it and accepted, wholeheartedly, that I might use chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects or respiratory issues. That's something I'm willing to chance in order to better the future. What many people don't realize is that there are far worse things under my sink that I use to clean my apartment (and we all know I do that far too regularly). Chemicals are a part of life!
Well, friends, I feel it is time to step off the soap box and do some science. I am about to put a gel into ethidium bromide stain. In doing so, I run a risk of exposure to a chemical that is known to insert itself in between DNA base pairs and possibly render any future DNA replication awry. Not to mention, my kids might have three arms and two heads. But, I'll put on my good lab shoes, and some gloves, and make sure that I am careful when I put that gel into the stain and chances are, there won't be any problems at all.
Science is a completely fulfilling and rewarding career, from the earliest points of discovery to the end of changing life for the better. As with any job, really, there are hazards that occur in and around the laboratory that you are fully made aware of from day one. One of the first lessons in any laboratory course is how to properly protect yourself from the dangers of chemicals, fire, glassware...I could go on and on. But, you are certainly not able to execute any experiments in the lab without protecting yourself from (sometimes imminent) accidents. I can't even imagine Dr. Sauder, in those first weeks of gen chem...heck, the entire year...missing an opportunity to better equip her future scientists in practices that would be beneficial throughout their careers. Laboratory accidents and exposures are inevitable, but it is truly up to the individual to take the time to minimize these risks.
I would be lying outright if I say that I follow every procedure known to man to protect myself at my job. Much of the "what we're supposed to do" is just ridiculous and makes no practical sense. Although, in choosing to loosely interpret the rules for myself, I am fully aware that I increase my chance of chemical exposure or other laboratory accidents that could happen. Safety glasses are ugly, but when I need to wear them, I do. Lab coats are heavy and rather restraining, but when I need to wear them, I do. If for some reason, glass is flying across the lab, I get the heck out! When I chose this career, I took into account everything that goes along with it and accepted, wholeheartedly, that I might use chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects or respiratory issues. That's something I'm willing to chance in order to better the future. What many people don't realize is that there are far worse things under my sink that I use to clean my apartment (and we all know I do that far too regularly). Chemicals are a part of life!
Well, friends, I feel it is time to step off the soap box and do some science. I am about to put a gel into ethidium bromide stain. In doing so, I run a risk of exposure to a chemical that is known to insert itself in between DNA base pairs and possibly render any future DNA replication awry. Not to mention, my kids might have three arms and two heads. But, I'll put on my good lab shoes, and some gloves, and make sure that I am careful when I put that gel into the stain and chances are, there won't be any problems at all.
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