Talking the Talk

Today I had my first MSc committee meeting. My talk went well...and am I ever glad to be done official things until January. I'm in!
My parents arrived for a visit to day and it will be nice to see them for a few days. My Mum has slowed down...a lot. It's odd...seeing her puts me at ease...mostly. She's better and worse in ways than I had imagined.
I'm just going to enjoy visiting.
And sleeping.
Oh yes... Precious little of that lately.
Gnight...

The Richest Man In Babylon -Thievery Corporation

Goooood morning!
I've had this groovy little song in my head all morning.
Hope you enjoy having it in yours...a little reggae groove thing for your morning.

As for me today, now that I've survived the frozen wasteland to get to work, I'm playing real life tetris in the lab. We have a 6 foot long biosafety cabinet we want to move to the other side of the lab so our very pregnant tech can use it, but there are protruding benches and gear in the way. We've turned and spuna dn moved it all over...and now are trying some moving guys to help us see if we can fit it in. It's soooooo close to fitting. Fun fun...we shall see if we or the room wins.

$10 buck on we... :)

I am working honest

Another thing that made me laugh out loud today...thanks Natalie Dee

Star Trek as The A-Team

I just had to post this.
It cracks me up..if you're a Trek geek (or married to one *ahem*) have a giggle...

Boodiggity!

I've been sitting on this for a while, but I can finally explode and tell you all:

I am officially a graduate student! They can't get rid of me now...(just take all my $$ and time!)
My first MSc committee meeting is next week. I start my research in January. Working full time and graduate studies...ah! The stuff of legends.
I'm working on a project to improve testing and quality of testing for some aspects of breast cancer diagnosis. A real practical project in a field I love...that may help people.
I. am. so. excited.

Let the madness begin!!

But Baby it's cold inside

I sit bundled in the fuzziest of pajamas under a duvet in a house with many little space heaters going to keep it about 14 degrees. I can finally relax and get some sleep.
Why?
Well the motor has gone on my furnace, and it would seem that it went off just after we both left this morning...and seeing as I just got home around ten, it's gotten quite chilly in here. I called around and having someone come in would add about $200 to the price of things for tonight, as J managed to borrow a bunch of space heaters that we have running about the place to keep it at at least this temperature. The guy can come at 7AM tomorrow to replace the motor. Joy. It'll cost a bit less, but what can ya do? Can't live without a furnace in winter in these parts...

Moral of the story - if your furnace fan motor starts making weird intermittent squeaky noises in -35 weather, don't just go "huh that's an odd sound". Call someone about it before it cacks out all together the next day...

13 degrees is cold for inside :)

Distractions and a whole lot of polka dotted fleece

If any of you are of the praying, happy thought wishing or a magician sort, please send my mum some happy healthy thoughts today. She's still in the hospital, as they haven't been able to find a medication yet to help her poor tired heart out. They're trying something else today and hopefully by Friday we'll know if it's working...we'll see. Mom was hoping to be out of the hospital and up here by Monday, but life is what it is. Luckily her doctor is amazing and is doing all he can to figure things out. Having her in the hospital to observe while they change her medications around is perfect - she's properly cared for and they can monitor her very closely, as she is quite a bit more tired than normal.
Mum is getting quite bored. I helped Dad type up the Christmas letters and she's spent a few days addressing envelopes and all that, but now she's done that, so hopefully she has some crocheting to do. I wish I lived closer so I could swing by with some of the Danielle Steele fluff novels she likes to read...or to just hang out and visit. My Mum's not much of a visitor, but I think by now she'd like a visit or two.
It's a catch 22 really. You have a poorly functioning heart valve and a heart flutter, so you take medications for most of your life to thin your blood and help your heart beat stronger to compensate...and then eventually your heart just gets tired from all that extra work for years and years. That's essentially what stage Mum is at now. Hopefully they can find something to help her heart keep up....she may just be a low energy lady now though. It's hard to think about that, and I hope it doesn't come to that, as she's already slowed down a fair bit, but maybe that is the way it will be. We'll see. When you're 76 things don't bounce back like they used to :).
Thankfully my Dad is keeping himself well and sounds in reasonably good spirits. He's right in that there's not a lot of good worrying can do for my Mum, so I'm trying to send her happy thoughts instead as I'm too far away to visit. I think I'll have some flowers delivered today too. She'll like that. Hopefully she'll be able to come home soon and they can come and visit. Screw the renos...I just want to see them. The rest will happen when it happens.

I compensate for worrying by keeping busy...last night I cut out all the patterns I'll be sewing for my 3 little nieces for Christmas so I can sew at them as I have time. 3 different styles of bunnyhug/jackets with a matching hat. If I make 1 a week until the holidays I'll be done just on time. I have tonnes of fabric left over as the patterns had me buy a bout 1/3 more fabric than I needed (they're always that way it seems), so if anyone needs some blue, green, pink polka dot or pink swirly flannel and fleece, I'm your gal. I am thinking of finding some ridiculous hat patterns and making some of the gaudiest winter hats around...not sure what else to do with it. There's just not quite enough of any of them to make anything for me...any ideas?? Heh...anyone want a gaudy hat? :)

Billie Holiday - Speak Love (Bent Remix)

I love this song...and this chill remix of it is a beautiful chilled float of a song, with the glorious voice of the one and only Billy Holiday. Keeps me warm on this -34 morning :)

Enjoy!

Tee hee...you said titmouse

My friend Chris was talking about how he was giggling like a titmouse.
After sniggering like a 5 year old I got to wondering:
What exactly is a titmouse (other than a word to make all people under the age of 40 giggle at)?

So I looked it up...it gets wierder - it's not a rodent at all. It's a bird. Sort of like a miniature bluebird. AND...wait for it...there is even a tufted titmouse...which made me giggle even harder.

Why call a bird a mouse?
(How is a door ajar? bwaha ha ha...)

Do birds giggle? And how do they sound when they giggle?

I'm not sure, but I bet it's AWESOME...

GAH!

An open letter to Whirlpool and JennAirr:

Dear Sirs,
Let's play a game. OK? OK.
Guess what?
No, go on...guess.

The stove panels I've been waiting for for my new stove from you for months (since bloody June) just arrived...and they are damaged! Again!

AWHAH?

Do they hire idiots for your warehouse? Do you routinely beat the shipments with cannons prior to shipping out....
And, is this thing cursed?
Seriously...I'm scared to hook it up in case it blows up at this point.

So now I wait AGAIN, as they are ordered AGAIN.
It's 2 weeks until the thing is going in my kitchen - a mere 6 months after it arrived.

Hear me loud and clear.
There is no mistaking this: I WANT MY PANELS!

If you weren't going to give me the entire appliance, you should have let me know outright...what does it take to get an entire appliance in this country?

Sincerely, Geo

Fucksticks...

Beat Poet

Taco Cat
He knows where. It's. At.
Palindrome
Wandering far...from...home...

Scoodeley wa wa wah wahhh!