soundtrak: stereolab: brakhage

the sunday morning list:

- on tuesday, Y and i went to the washington auto show. originally, it was supposed to be T and i, but he really needs to work on the calling-people-back-in-a-timely-manner thing. even though i said that i would go by myself if i had to, i couldn't. i called Y up and lured him with the 1/2 off ticket price (because technically, i'm a government employee). we were willing to let go of the awkwardness of hanging out on-on-one to go see some cars. actually, i didn't think that Y would get 1/2 off his ticket, but i think the cashier though we were 'together and gave us two tickets for $10. hmm. anyways, i was originally going to take the train, but Y not only agreed to drive, but to pick me up from work as well. i told him to go to work early so that would get down to the city before rush hour, but does that fool ever listen to me? i was finished with my experiment prep by 3, but he didn't finish until 4.30. with traffic and security (they search your car serious now... no willy nilly), by the time we left it was 5pm, right smack dab in the middle of rush hour. i tried not to complain on the hour plus ride down.
anyways, the cars. nothing really spectacular jumped out at me (i guess because it was the first day; no concepts were unveiled yet... but that didn't stop people from lifting the covers and looking... so ghetto). i haven't been in a couple of years, so the customized cars on display (and not for sale) were a new thing for me. it was all about the luxury cars for Y and i though: volvo, aston martin, SAAB (yes, i got my picture taken in the convertible), and audi. were were sitting in the 2006 audi quatro, arguing about the joys (for me) and confusion (for Y) of the six gear box, when we realized the model had a tape deck on the dash... like a cassette tape deck. that was just wild. i think i must of signed up for five different car raffles; i have to at least win one. so apparently, cliton por.tis was supposed to be there on tuesday, but we didn't see him anywhere around. i would post pictures, but i left my camera at home and i'm not trying to post Y's personal one.
- i must announce: the hex is broken. the theory has been proven false! it feels good to win a bet. so the boy finally emailed the biochem crew today and told us the exciting news: him and his girl are engaged. to remind you, i was, according to D, next in line to be married. ha! D, your cycle has been broken! somebody owes me a steak dinner... and i don't even eat steak!
- mr. unattainable strikes again. i thought this dude graduated, so imagine my surprise when i walk into cell and there he is. he kind of gave me this look like: you again. i know he's been here longer than me, so i don't quite understand why he didn't take cell the last cycle. eh. whatever.
- new radio.blog. i went on a downloading binge the other day. stereolab is very good. i like mingle too. i didn't realize that 'fake plastic trees' was originally a radiohead song (which i can't find anywhere), but i like this version just fine.
- talking about purchase binges... man, amazon prime is so addictive. i can get whatever i want in two days with no s&h payment. i've gotten 10 packages in the past 2-3 weeks. i know my parents think i must be high or something. dvds and books... yes, even more books. it's insane.
- my birthday is this upcoming wednesday and i have nothing planned. i have exams the week right after and during the week has become too cluttered to even attempt to organize anything it's kinda sad and i'm kinda depressed about it. c'est la vie, i guess.
- for comment or discussion or whatever: so there isn't a day that goes by where i don't get stopped by someone asking, "are you african?" it always seems like such a hassle to explain, that yes, i am, but i was born here. if i say i'm kenyan, they remark on my ridiculously obvious american accent, yet, if i say i'm american (which i rarely say), they say that i can't be... i look too african. and i'm sure alot of first generation offspring go through this constantly. i was having a discussion with one of my friends; she said that i shouldn't say that i'm kenyan, when since i was born here, i'm clearly american. but i argued with her that kenya is my ethnicity, my culture and i claim it. 'america' doesn't exist in my household. 'america' is not apart of me, but i reap the benefits of being an american citizen (i don't have to think twice about applying for government grants). what do you think? what have been your experiences?

ok. it might still be morning, but sista still needs to sleep.

peace.

soundtrak: weezer: island in the sun

is this what grad school does to you: make you feel outdated. i was sitting class this morning and looked around me. everybody seemed so young. younger than me. i feel like i'm too old to be in school, immersed in a culture that i don't fully understand anymore. yet in the real world, i don't quite fit either. and this is what they warn you about.

three day weekend and i didn't do anything. i did plan an outing with Y, T and crispy, but it horribly fell through. with my insane class/lab/study schedule, i know i won't be going anywhere until summer (isn't that sad?). Y, who goes into work if he has nothing else better to do (how sad is that?), wasn't appreciated the canceling of plans. sure, we both could have gone out to dinner and a movie, but we're not dating and i have grown uncomfortable hanging out, just the two of us. and frankly, two brothers is enough, i don't need another one.
as for everyone else: T and i don't synch up anymore. when he's busy, i'm free and vice versa. it's been months since we've talked for hours about nothing and i can feel our connection slipping away. i don't know what he wants from all this anymore, especially when he's not too willing to try. crispy, i don't know. what's going on? i'm frustrated because i feel you're blowing me off. i feel lonely because i feel like i have no friends anymore.

i only got four hours of sleep today. i was going to go into this nonsensical ramble about the joys of my new alarm clock, but i think i'll save it. my credit card bill though... totally out of control... i'm afraid to look at the balance. i just spent $250 on textbooks in the past 10 minutes. i want to cry.

anyways, i have other things to do. like other things.

peace.

soundtrak: ian pooley: intro

so today was the 8am class... microbial pathogenesis... who thinks these things up? i woke up around 5am and had so much time to spare, i ate breakfast sitting down at the table (rather than drinking it, running). i decided to drive to work campus... and yo, scientists are crazy... who wakes up at 4am to go do experiments? it was still dark by the time i got to dc to catch the shuttle... all with 30 minutes to spare.
anyways, even though the semester's just begun, it already feels like it's over. my first exams are in three weeks... three freaking weeks! i'm trying to figure out what they're going to test us on...

it's been awhile since i've been on cloud nine and i kind of miss it. i want that euphoric, nonsensical feeling to lift my spirits. but there's no opporunity around; you can't really fake these things, you know. it used to be so easy, but i guess now that i know that (day)dreams mean nothing, it doesn't work the way that it used to anymore. just leaves you feeling kinda .... ehh.

i'm gone.

peace.

soundtrak: bent: exercise 4

man, the first day of class sucked. my alarm clock sometimes jumps ahead in time (even though it runs from the plug, rather than batteries). it's starts off with a minute, but then if you don't watch it, it'll skip hours. when i went to sleep around 1am (yeah, and i couldn't sleep either), it was ahead by a minute. when i woke up, it was "10pm" and because it was still dark, i panicked thinking i slept the day away. but it was only 6.40 in the morning. i was still late; i spead to work, ran to the train, ran to the shuttle, went to class, ran to the shuttle, ran to the train, ran to work... i wasn't prepared for all that running; i was sweating walking into lab. anyways, i'm getting a dreammachine from amazon.com and i'm done with it.

i can't help it; i hate cell bio. but i'm gonna have to grin and bear it because i can't take it a third time... ran into the other students in my program, the second years. they were telling me how i should go to the general graduate program retreat this year. i'm kind leery about it because me and new people don't go that well together and, can you believe it, i'm antisocial.

anyways, let me go get some things done... i really have to sleep early tonight... class at 8am in the morning... everybody that i tell just laughs because it's not them. i wish i could laugh.

peace.

soundtrak: lemon jelly: stay with you

the crappy list:

- i know it's been awhile; work has really picked up in the past couple of weeks. today i did my first experiment. i really like the work that i'm doing, it's just that there's so much of it. dr. a is very supportive and this is the right environment for me to be in right now. i'm grateful.
- since i started at my new lab, i finally went back to my old lab to see who was around. ran into K (-man!) and talked to him for awhile. i can't believe he's graduating this year; looking for postdoc positions already. time does fly. soon that's gonna be me. MT ('the new postdoc') is still working at it; his bench is a mess. i really miss having him around the lab. he's a cool guy.
- i'm not really an immunologist... yet... i have biochemistry training, but i'm no biochemist... molecular biologist, i think i'll keep...
- classes start tomorrow... geez...
- i've been thinking with the new year of buying a domain for d.o.g. as well as a personal one. i'm still thinking because my funding is all up in the air. i'm waiting for that to settle and then i'll think some more.
- ended up getting an A in biostats and B+ in immuno. what is a B+? it's like a slap in the face because you weren't good enough for an A-.... i mean, he could have given me an A-...
- new radio blog; i bought a bunch of songs yesterday, i was that bored. my favorite is the intro... is that even possible?
- birthday's coming up... any suggestions?

anyways, i gotta get up early tomorrow. sleep i must. later people. i miss you guys.

peace.