soundtrak: nightmares on wax: date with destiny 

the past two days have been... blah! i'm mentally tired. actually, i'm just tired. i feel like sleeping for days.
so basically, the big thing that i didn't want to jinx was my graduate interviews at georgetown. yes, i had more than one, which stressed me out more that i realized. the first one about a couple of weeks ago was ok and went well. they referred me to other professors to whom interview with yesterday. i just want to say thanks to all my peeps that did send up a prayer for me. the interviews yesterday went really, really well. now that 'that's' all done, i have to wait to hear back from them. that's always the worst part.

instead of going back to work today, i watched a movie. i asked T (he was at work and had to hangup before he got fired...eek) if i should see catwoman or i, robot. so i bought a ticket for i, robot. of course i had my reservations; will smith movies always seem to be a hit or miss (they're a hit or they completely miss the mark). i was rather impressed though by the end. the commercials just show the surface (i.e. 'action violence'), but the movie was so much more than that.

anyways, i have to go. cook. you see, this is what i get for not going to work. work at home. more later.

peace.

soundtrak: coldplay: clocks

people at work talk about me.

they call me a workaholic. i won't stop for anything, not even food.  if there's work to be done, i'll be getting it done. but it seems that nobody really understands why i work so hard.
i know that i have been given a second chance. i'm not smart like everybody else. i didn't go to harvard or mit and i didn't get straight As (my gpa sucks y'all). unfortunately i can't be slacking. i have to go above and beyond the people around me. i have to prove to everybody that yes, i can do this. my grades don't matter. what people say about me don't matter. i can't tell you the countless people that have told me to switch my major or 'try something else'; even my own mother.
but those people don't keep me going. my passion keeps me going. and unfortunately, i can't put that on a piece of paper so that anybody can see. i have to show you. i can't expect any more from anyone else; i expect every case to be the worst case scenario. but it's okay.

i don't feel mad or upset when they talk about me because i know they're praising my work. and that's all right with me.

talking about work, my experiments from last week went well (i did analysis today), so i'm starting to put my poster together. will be out of the lab for most of this week. anyways, i have to go and read some scientific papers (wow, i haven't done that in awhile). man, it's resturant week in DC and i have no time or money. sike-a-boo.

rest in peace myesha.  a brillant mind lost. a young girl who will never become a woman.

peace.

soundtrak: nina simone: don't let me be misunderstood

philly last weekend was just what i needed; to get away from my overbooked schedule. friday, i took the metro to union station and caught the 7.10 boston train. of course, being my first time on a train, i almost get left at delaware, but end up losing my seat instead and standing between cars for the 30+ min left to get to the philadelphia station.
it was already dark by the time the train stopped and i got off. struggling, i walked up to main hall and i heard someone scream my name.  SM was much thinner from when i last saw her, but alot can happen in four years. SM's partner, may, also came along to the station to pick me up. SM only mentioned her in passing, saying that she had met someone new. leaving the station, we went to chinatown to eat. the absolute joy of my whole trip was the fact that SM is vegetarian too, so she took me to all these great places to eat, including the chinese place we went to that night. everything was vegetarian. it was like vegetarian heaven. i ended up getting the general tao's 'chicken', which was very good. we caught up a bit and SM told me the story of how she met may and how alot of her friends weren't too happy about the pairing. but she's very happy with may and i'm happy that they're both happy. after dinner, we had coffee/hot chocolate at cosi's. i got a chance to talk to may and find out more about her. she's from the city (SM's originally from nj) and a recent grad school graduate. i'm very impressed. getting tired, we decided to call it a night and we went to SM's house (she has a house!) in west philly. i got to sleep in the studio.

the next day, we just went walking around. first, we went to fabric row, where we looked for curtains for SM, but i ended up getting headwrap material for myself.



after that, we mostly just walked around, may pointing out places to me.



i never really got the chance to look around when i was working here four summers ago, mostly because our roommates enjoyed drinking and partying more.


(jeweler's row)

we ended up sitting at home, playing cranium (that's the game right there... must bring it to the masses in maryland) and watching a movie on hellen keller on cbs. we are all admitted homebodies.
sunday, may had to go with her mother, so i said my goodbyes to her. SM and i decided that we would go to the A.N.S. to see the exhibit on chocolate before going back to the station. staying inside seems to be a good idea because of the heavy rains that started that morning. we ended up getting wet, but we enjoyed ourselves at the chocolate exhibit. at the end, the had a chocolate shop selling chocolate from all around the world. my head was spinning and my cavities were aching as we poured over all the choices. we ended up spending $40 each on chocolate. i have yet to touch any of it.
knowing that we wouldn't have time to do anything else, we just roamed around the city and i took random pictures (you know how i do..)


(near A.N.S.)


(university hospital)


(market street)


(penns landing)


(various)


(chinatown)

we ended up at the station, waiting for the 4.00 train back to DC. the train ride back was not what i was expecting. not only was the train late, it was standing room only (and i ended up standing the rest of the way back). then to make everything worse, the car that i had chosen to board was leaking rainwater. the conductor insisted that the car wasn't leaking and we would probably get seats after stopping at baltimore. yeah right. despite all of that, when the train finally rolled into union station, the conductor announced, 'thank you for riding amtrak and continuing to exericise patience with the seating avaliability.... because patience is the beauty of joy...'  most of the train laughed tired laughs. walking through the station, the strap on my travel bag decided to break and i had to lug the damn thing through the station to get to the metro. i don't know why i always pack more clothes that i'll ever need.
but all in all, i had a great time. unfortunately, SM and i are too busy to make it an extended stay. maybe next time.

i look forward to this week. experiments from last week went well, so i'll be analyzing all of my data this week. nic is in DC for a conference this week, so hopefully i'll get to meet up with her and give her some really good news. now: i need to get some sleep.

peace.

soundtrak: mankind liberation front: safe from the sun?

this week is just bad. so i don't have good news... yet.  i haven't uploaded pictures from this weekend; hopefully will blog about Philly this weekend (since i should be free... it's a miracle, i know). to keep you all entertained, something that entertained me today:

T (1:23 PM): hello?
chiIQ (1:23 PM): damn pharmie reps and their dammed free samples... damn, damn, DAMN!! (can you tell that i'm not in a good mood today?)
T (1:25 PM): Well, I got home late on Sund, Monday I slept all night, and yesterday I went to the gym and by the time I showered it was 12:30
chiIQ (1:31 PM): ok
chiIQ (1:32 PM): are you telling me this to say that you were too busy?
T (1:32 PM): what r u doing
T (1:32 PM): yes. or sorts
chiIQ (1:32 PM): i'm working
T (1:32 PM): maybe if I could call in the day time...but NOOOOOO!!!
chiIQ (1:32 PM): what do you think i'm doing?
T (1:32 PM): your precious daytime minutes
chiIQ (1:33 PM): because my phone is off during the day... because i'm working... at work. you know, that's what you're supposed to do when you're at work.
chiIQ (1:33 PM): you can call me at work; 301xxxxxxx
T (1:33 PM): there is a gap between the time u get of an 9:00 pm
T (1:33 PM): gotcha!
chiIQ (1:35 PM): ok. you know, you can call me at 8. i'm at church, but i won't be doing anything... VBS %$#@!
T (1:36 PM): so your nights start at 8?
chiIQ (1:36 PM): yeah
T (1:36 PM): how many daytime minutes do you have?
chiIQ (1:36 PM): 300
T (1:36 PM): do you ever even get close to going over
chiIQ (1:36 PM): anyways, i gotta get back to work. running experiments you know... i'll talk to you later... when you call
chiIQ (1:36 PM): yes i do
chiIQ (1:37 PM): because people always call me during the day.. i hate it
T (1:37 PM): up your minutes :-) only 79.99 a month
chiIQ (1:38 PM): T, i'm going back to work. i'm talking you later... when you call.


peace.

soundtrak: bebel giberto: samba da bencao
 
i should be packing for tomorrow cos i know i'm not going to have time to do it tomorrow.  but not yet.  i wrote this list during seminar today.
 
the 'other' list:
 
- T is now a complete punk. he never showed saturday night, despite my begging (and i never going to beg ever again). he called during the movie, but i refused to answer the call. he left a message saying that he would call back. he hasn't yet and i don't plan on calling him either. at least for awhile. the temptation is great.
- MT got me back yesterday. Mic commented, during lunch yesterday, if there was something going on between him and i. i don't know; i'm not good with these kind of things. there is definitely an energy or pull between us. sometimes that happens when you meet people. it's immediate, instant and strong.
- i'm not a big jewelry wearer. mostly because when growing up, my religion frowned upon it (not that we couldn't or anything... but you must remember i have african parents... suggestions become rules to be followed strictly and blindly). i used to wear a ring while at umbc, but that was before i realized it was a muslim ring and everyone thought that i was muslim. i also used to wear my high school ring, but i quickly lost the notion. i have no umbc ring. but now i am considering buying a ring to wear. on my wedding ring finger. why? i don't know... because i can? keep the greasy men away...
- i'm really starting to realize that i put my foot in my mouth alot. *sigh* i wonder if can be helped.
- i realize that i need to start writing the story that i said i would complete by the end of the year (which hopefully will lead to the beginning of my novel.. ambitious, no?).  i have this extremely general idea. now to see if i'll have the attention span to actually get at it.
 
later:
 
- about a month ago, Mic was excited that her friend was coming down to work at nih with us. in the same institute, in the same section, on the same floor. they both graduated from the same school and he was coming to  finish up his summer obligation before heading off to medical school in baltimore (mini-shoutout to my bmore hommies). his name is dre. he's a cool guy. extremely smart. funny too.  hopefully there will be more to write about him.
- tomorrow is Mic's last day. she has truly been a Godsend to me. i'm not going to miss her because i know we'll keep in touch.
 
anyways, that's all that i have now. i'm excited about this weekend. whoot! also, next week is a very important week for me, maybe monday will be the important day. hopefully i will come with some really, really good news. 
 

peace.

soundtrak: the flaming lips: flight test

so the wedding in hershey was nice. really nice. extremely expensive, we're talking about caviar, nice. both the bride and groom are from kenya, from our tribe, so it was cool.



i wish i could have taken more pictures, but suddenly during the ceremony, my batteries cut out on me and of course, i forgot to bring extra.

during the pre-reception (yes, they had a pre-reception):



the only thing bad about the whole trip was the drive. hershey is about two hours away from us, but since we didn't stay at the actual hotel, we had to drive another two hours for the next one (where they had the after party... yes, they had an after party... this wedding was crazy). dad was trying to get al and i, even timon to drive so bad, but it wasn't going to happen.



and of course, this weekend, lo and behold, i left my camera at home, so i didn't get any pics of mic's last outing with us. we went to downtown silver spring and watched f. 9/11 at the silver theatre. yes, the movie was opinionated, but it really opened my eyes to alot of the things that went on, before, during and after.

maybe it was my mistake to try to talk to bbq right before we went out. well, i didn't want to originally, but the tension was getting to me. 'you know, i'm really upset with you,' i started. to which, he laughed.... HE LAUGHED. 'i'm not laughing,' i told him, but before i could continue, others showed up at the door. i was seething mad in the back of crispy's van driving towards downtown. is there even any point anymore? i don't know what to say to him. i'm so frustrated about the whole thing; i'm at the end of my rope.
but i was talking to JK (yes, i know... i'm amazed too) about the whole thing:

JK: well, you should let him know how you're feeling but don't interpret his actions
JK: he might just not know what to do, but he does need to know how you feel
JK: cause that's important

how right he is. JK and i are at a better place, mostly because he's been receptive to things that i have to say to him. so there's lots of understanding between us now.
now i have to go and do what i have to do.

i decided to stay late at work today. no particular reason; no experiments or anything. so MT (the new postdoc) left before i did today, to which the summer students found quite odd. i was about to leave myself, but they gave me an idea. so, MT and i have this thing... we mess with each other's stuff. i'm meticulous and i like things the way i put them. he'll deliberately come over and turn my bottle opposite or place things in the wrong place, just to drive me crazy. i always retaliate by writing something witty on his bench... i'm just too nice to him and he mocks my niceness by pinpointing all the ways i could have led him awry. so today, the summer students helped me hatch a plan. his bench is a horrible mess, so i did him a favor and cleaned it up a little. oh, and i labeled everything. and i do mean everything. *insert evil laugh here* it took me 45 minutes to get it all done, but i can't wait to see the look on his face tomorrow morning. i got him good!

today, i also called dee, whom i haven't talked to it a long while. she's doing her thing in the world of fashion; she recently had a event in downtown dc. it was nice.

i can't wait for this weekend. i'm visiting my friend SM in philly, that i met while working at GSK. even though it's a weekend, it's the closest thing to a vacation that i can get. i can't forget the camera this time.

hmm. i don't know where this entry came from. i had a totally different idea of how i would write this, but it's ok i guess. it's written.


peace.

soundtrak: fantastic plastic machine: whistle song

the 'i'm too tired to write crap' list:

- i still don't want to jinx it. today was good. but now, i must wait. but it's good. i feel good.
- mic still tried to convince me to go salsa dancing, but i was too tired to go and i don't feel like seeing bbq tonight
- too much stuff to do this weekend. gah!
- new postdoc (man, i need to give him a name) is trying to quit smoking. i think it's cute
- JM left last weekend for medical school somewhere in the midwest. godspeed. JM's (former) roommate's friend left too. i have no idea what she's doing.
- funny thing happened on the train today: people were rushing to get on the train and this one guy wedged half his body through the train doors. tried with all his might to get on that train, but alas the conductor didn't care sh*t, so he had to pull himself out (before he got dragged on the third live rail). everybody in the car chuckled as we rolled off to the next station.
- mini-shoutout to crispy: i didn't forget about you gurl...
- i need to go call T now

peace.

soundtrak: zwan: desire

the short list:

- thursday is a very important day. pray for me.
- LS is on tv, doing his motivational speaker thing; mom was yelling for me to come downstairs and see the man at work.
- mom is trying to get me to go out with LS
- and this is why LS doesn't have any of my numbers; email is just fine.
- K man is back (in the lab again) after being gone for a minute, his ego following close behind.
- bbq and i really, really need to talk before things are done and said that i will regret.
- i love T; he's my friend... but he's also a punk.
- i'm not going salsa dancing thursday.
- TMI: i have this dry patch of skin on the underside of my lip; it's driving me crazy.
- i won't write until thursday, hopefully with good news; pictures and weekend travels to follow.


peace.