Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Feedback Loop

When I'm trying to understand something, I need to take time to process it, or else I get really frustrated. This makes me feel stupid. It makes it harder for me to focus on understanding. Which makes me feel frustrated. Which makes it harder to focus. Which is frustrating. Which effects my ability to focus. I'm sure you understand that I get frustrated at that point.

*deep breath*

So I really appreciate your help, I really do. You're super nice and I hope we can be friends. The thing is, when you stand over me, waiting for me to finish the problem, to see if I understand it, I feel pressured, I feel dumb. You can imagine that can be frustrating. I can do this right the first or second time, but first I really just need some space, in my brain, to organize my thoughts. I know that you understand and you have a great ability to help. I appreciate your help, but at some point I just need 10 free minutes to figure it out on my own. Because when I have to have someone help me with something, it makes me feel stupid. You don't mean to make me feel stupid but I feel that way anyway.

And that's frustrating. I hope you understand.

(This is why I've always found group work to be difficult...)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Pie

Carl Sagan
"In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

I really need to learn to make apple pie, so I can use this quote.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

You may have noticed.

a) I've posted less often lately. This is because I'm actually doing schoolwork. Get your jaw off the ground, its not that surprising. Ok, so I've been doing some other stuff online too. Also, that first r in surprise? Gets me every time. Makes no sense.

b) I've updated my blogger layout. Let me know what you think about green on grey and grey on green. I already know that the header isn't lining up right in IE. This is annoying to me. Solution: get with the Firefox. I promise you'll love it because it doesn't take a whole two hours to open a page and doesn't update every day. It's not as daunting as ...well at all. Promise.

c) I'm now a member of Flickr.com and there's a link on my blogger. I have no idea why I didn't do that before. It rocks.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Jasmine

I bought a box of Green Tea with Jasmine today. I didn't think I've ever actually smelled Jasmine before, and you know how much I like trying new foods. So dinner tonight was lentil soup, warm French bread, and Green Tea with Jasmine. The soup: rustic and perfect for dipping the bread. The tea: not the best taste ever, but warm and with an intensely familiar floral scent. It took me a few sips to place it: the flowering bush outside my window last spring! A quick search revealed:

The name "Jasmine" basically refers to some of the many varieties of shrubs (above), vines (like sambac, pink and confederate) and small trees (like Lakeview). They are all blessed with fragrant white flowers many people and insects enjoy. True jasmines are related to the olive, privet and osmanthus.

Many plants called jasmine are not jasmine but closely resemble the classic flower appearance and fragrance. In the list at the bottom you will see some of the many plant types (Latin names) said to be a jasmine.

I would post pictures, but I'm all soothed and sleepy from dinner. Night-night.

PS: The search term "jasmine bush" will provide many floral pictures. Also, pictures of Jasmine's bush, which may or may not be the kind of thing you're looking for. In this case, Not, but to each their own.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Snooze

You guys remember when I went on a crusade to find the perfect alarm clock? Well I am now on a crusade to find an alarm clock that has no Snooze feature. Any suggestions? (besides getting a life and doing my homework instead of distracting myself with this non-issue)

The old one works fine, except I'm tired (and tired) of snoozing for hours before getting up. I was laying in bed this morning, pondering this problem I have had since I was 8, and decided the problem was the snooze button. Tempting me with its 9 minutes of coziness. Bastard.

Oh, and my iPod has stopped working. It has this screen that says "OK to disconnect" with a big checkmark. Its never done that before, so I unplugged it from the alarm clock and expected the message to go away. Nope. I tried turning it off, holding down the button for a minute. Nothing. Still displaying that stupid message. I might try plugging it into my computer later today.

CRAP! I just remembered that I was supposed to turn in my homework by 2pm yesterday and FUCK I FORGOT! Also I don't think I picked up tomorrow's assignment. What the hell...thats a great start. Damn! aRGGGHHH!

***update***
Assignment turned in, but the professor wasn't there so I don't know if it will get graded. My fault.
I already got tomorrow's assignment, don't know why I didn't remember that.
Bought a retro-style alarm clock that has no snooze button. Its not the bell kind, and I don't know if it will be loud enough to wake me. We'll see.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Maybe Too Harsh?

Yeah, well I don't care.

I stopped in at this town's PetCo over a month ago to pick up my bird's favorite food. I went to PetSmart, which I've been in love with since they opened, but they don't carry my bird's food. After finding the food, I wandered around looking for toys but decided not to get any because several of the unpackaged toys, along with the shelf of medicines and vitamins next to it, were covered in wild bird poop. It was because the store uses signs directly above the section that end up being perfect perches for the wild birds that end up living in the store. I informed them as i checked out, assuming they just didn't notice that an entire row of toys was caked with poop. I went in again a week later with my husband and it was still there. I was mad then, but he held me back from saying anything.

I actually had forgotten all about it and I wanted to get Rigel some new foot toys and stuff this week. I walked around but the first thing I saw was those toys still covered in poop, so I decided to make a point. I wandered around picking up a dozen of the nicer toys that I have wanted to get him, but hadn't due to price. I then picked up the 3 toys that were so caked they stuck together and proceeded to the checkout. I told them I was going to buy all this stuff...but then I saw this, now count up how much money you just lost. Oh, and this isn't all of it, just the worst. You might want to take care of that. Then I walked out before they could say anything, because I'm not interested in their excuses or apologies, I just wanted them to fix the problem.

Schedule Changes

I just re-checked my class schedule. I then double-checked my record of what I thought it was originally. I don't know what made me think I had Physics at 8am *yikes!* on MWF and Calculus on Tu/Th in the noontime. In reality, both are MWF and Calculus is at 9am *whew!* and Phyisics at 11am.

So whatever, no more crack for me.

My To Do List needs to get done today, no more excuses. Except...I mean...do they really? Really?

Saturday, January 12, 2008

BSG Speculation

No, I don't like spoilers. What I do like are hinty-tidbits that incite rampant speculation. Like a kid in a candy store. Sadly, Season 4 doesn't start until APRIL 4.

Amanda, stop reading here, until you've watched Season 3. Go now, shoo...

Ok. Via Shakesville (by way of Entertainment Weekly) we have the a "last supper" type photo of the cast and a list of 10 hints. I'm only interested in #10 and #7. Go check out the image first, though.

10. The Missing Figure. Someone is indeed absent from the table admits Moore: “We have not yet revealed the final [unknown] Cylon.” Does that mean the people already at the table aren’t the final Cylon? Moore laughs, “you ferreted that our pretty slyly. I didn’t really want to give that away.”

Begin Rampant Speculation (no life, thanks for asking). Ok so the order of the image is Pres. Roslin, Leader Six, Col. Tigh, Unknown, Lee Adama, Baltar, Head Six, Starbuck, Anders, Chief Tyrol, Athena, Helo, Adm. Adama. My Top 3 guesses for The Final Cylon are

1) Cally: because hint #7 tells us: His child with Cally would seem to be the second human-Cylon hybrid and hints Moore, “one should consider the knife in his hand in that context. It has been pretty key in this story that the reason cylons still need humans is because they can't have kids, and they believe the missing ingredient is love. Thus the big deal that Athena(cylon) and Helo(human) had a baby. The next step is a fully cylon baby: Nicolas Tyrol.

2) Ellen Fucking Tigh: because I hate her and wanted so bad for her to Digh-Digh-Digh that I know they would bring her back as a cylon just to piss me off. Also, the empty space is between Col Tigh and Lee Adama, and all the other characters are in some way paired in significant ways so it just makes sense.

3) Duala: I highly doubt this one, but it follows from the previous reasoning. The hints say something about Lee as Judas-like? but I'm not exactly sure what that means, and I won't presume to try.

And again, what is up with the numbering system? It has been annoying me since late Season 1. I'm assuming
1 = Cavil
2 = Leobon
3 = Xena
4 = Simon
5 = Doral
6 = Shelly/Gina/Head/etc...
7 = .......Cally? (no super-special number for the Big Unknown Final Cylon?)
8 = Athena/Valleri (she's the one who messes up a reasonable numbering system)
9 - 12 = Saul Tigh, Sam Anders, Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster

Or maybe Unknown(Cally) is #12 and the other 4 are just randomly placed.

Nobody but me cares, I know.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Strange

I paid my bill for the Spring term today and swung by the bookstore to get the lab manual. The only 'book' I have to buy for the term. Sold Out. Frick!

Here's an annoying notice i got today: i have to clean my bedroom closet and my washroom and move my dryer out from the wall so they can clean all the lint traps...and they'll come tomorrow to do it. Good thing I don't have a life.

I had a hankering for (Wait, hankering is a real word, like spell check is okay with that, but not with spellcheck? I never would have guessed.) ice cream tonight. Scratch that, I had a hankering (really? wow.) for raw oysters, but it passed so I went with ice cream instead. We ate last nights leftovers and went to the local coffee shop, which also has ice cream. I ordered the brownie fudge sundae, Hubby (spell check strikes again) got a banana split, and we both got a small coffee. After ordering, we realized that we should have just shared the banana split, because it was huge, even without the banana. Oh did I mention? They forgot the banana. On the banana split. Anyway, I decided to get a lid and save the rest of my sundae for later, and we split the split, once I got the banana. The guy offered to cut up the banana for me, but I thought it might be weird to carry a peeled and halved banana across the restaurant. So, at the table, I peeled it and sliced it with a spoon myself. It was totally not weird at all.

For Amanda

And all other hot and bothered BSG fans:

Ron Moore's Strike Blog: Jamie Bamber Offers Towels
...for me to...mmmmm....

Why Lids?

Why put a loose lid on a container when microwaving? Because pieces of chicken, in a rice and broccoli mixture, when microwaved, have a tendency to kerplode. This is inconvenient.

Bird Comics


Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Google Reader Widget

I added a new widget to my sidebar. Now you can see blog posts that I have read and flagged as interesting. Because I have no real life, you may recall. Now, thanks to Google Reader and Blogger, you can know just how weird my internet readings (and the inside of my skull) really are.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Becky and Brynn "Want it that way"

I was never exactly sure what that meant.

Here are two videos taken the last night I was in MO and we went bowling. Fun Fact: Becky has had zero alcohol at this point, this is how she has always been :D







I also have several videos of Becky's adorable daughter, which I will post when I get her permission.

To Do (with a Little Hint)

I am bored. All the time. I have no social life. Practically Ever. It sucks and its mostly because I'm afraid of putting myself out there, and because certain individuals are annoyed by my shyness and low self-esteem and then embarrassed by me when I get comfortable around people. Anyway, here's a list of things coming up that I'm going to try. I hope you will join me. Also, any better ideas are welcome.

Closure at the Oasis

January 11, 2008 (Thursday)
Located at 1421 W. Beauregard FMI call 212-8036

The Flinchers at the Oasis
January 12, 2008 (Friday)
Located at 1421 W. Beauregard FMI call 212-8036

"Off the Wall & in Your Glass" Art & Wine Reception Thursday
January 17, 2008 (Thursday)
Featuring local artist at D'Vine Wine - 113 E. Concho
5:00-7:00 PM
FMI call 325-482-WINE or visit www.devinewineusa.com

Cactus Music Series - Andreas Oberg
January 18, 2008 (Friday)
At the Cactus Hotel - 36 E. Twohig - 8:00 PM
(Doors open at 7 PM)
Guitarist Andreas Oberg burst onto the vibrant jazz scene in his native country, Sweden, when he was just 18, earning the right to play with many renowned jazz artists and to study at the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm. To learn more about Andreas visit www.andreas-oberg.com - (then click on music) FMI or to order tickets by phone call 325-653-6793

Tom Green County Fair
January 18, 2008 - January 19, 2008 (Friday-Saturday)
At the Fairgrounds by the Coliseum FMI call 325-653-7785

Circus Gatti
January 18, 2008 - January 20, 2008 (Friday-Sunday) (I have no idea what this is)
At the coliseum FMI call 325-658-6464

San Angelo Chamber Music Series - The Devienne Trio, Flute, Bassoon, Piano
January 20, 2008 (Sunday)
2:00 PM at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts - 1 Love St. - Tickets $7 - $12 - FMI call 325-653-3333

"Four-Five & Fun Fridays"
January 24, 2008 (Thursday)
D'Vine Wine of Texas - San Angelo 113 E. Concho (325) 482-9463 - Monthly charity events. Portion of the door cover and % of sales goes to charitable organization. Guests receive 4 tastings and door prizes.

Champagne & Diamonds
February 14, 2008
7:00 pm at the Cactus Hotel - The evening will iclude cocktails and a catered dinner highlighted by romantic music. And a chance to win a one-carat diamond, valued at $5,000. Tickets are $60 per person or $120.00 per couple. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Children's Advocacy Center of Tom Green County. FMI call 325-653-4673 or go to www.cactomgreen.org

http://www.sanangelo.org

Saturday, January 5, 2008

For the Birds

I haven't seen this one in a long time...sooooo cute!
Pixar For the Birds

To Do + Ranting

-Get off my couch: Clean house, exercise, prep for the semester start...etc.

-Send in my absentee Voter Registration. I've already missed the 28 day window to register for the MO Primaries, but I can at least vote in November. If I get off my butt. (see above)

-Go Watch Juno (I already did this, this is a To Do for you)

-Pay my Spring bill. I don't have to buy books, because both my classes (Cal 3 and Phys 2) use the same books as last semester. Yay!

Okay, here's my little rant. I bought a car off the Kadena Lemon Lot in 2002 or so, and by "buy" I mean "it was free." Sweet Deal. I drove it for 3 years and had the option of giving/selling it or spending $300 to de-register it and send it to the junkyard. We needed something to drive until we left the island and out-processing was busy and stressful. I chose a common route, by signing a Specific Power of Attorney to another military member so they could do the paperwork of changing ownership after we left. You have to trust the other person to do their part before the 4 month POA expired. We trusted him. We had good reason. We left the car in the airport parking lot for the guy to pick up after we left. TRUST NO-ONE!

Two years later, late 2006, I get an email saying the car was found abandoned somewhere. I dug around until I found the name of the untrustworthy jerk (which today I can't remember) and the point of contact assured me he would take care of the issue through him. I heard nothing else again for over a year so I figured it was taken care of. Yesterday I got a bill from MCCS for the towing and disposal fees. I saw it was for $170 and I figured I was mad but it was worth it to make the issue go away. Then I saw the second page for $320...and Now I'm Pissed Off. I emailed the point of contact asking for clarification, but I have little hope that he is even the right person anymore, people always come and go. If I don't hear anything in a week, I guess I'll bite the bullet and send the $490.

Also, I accidentally dated my first check of the year with 3 Jan 2007. Every year, and always with the rent. Figures. I think that its an omen, I won't have a good year until I can stop not do that. That means, naturally, that I have to stop using checks, which means I have to stop being a renter.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Mango Cobbler

Here's the recipe I used:
RecipeZaar.com: Mango Cobbler

We all know that I have never followed a recipe to the letter, so here are my substitutions:

Allrecipes.com: Substitutions
Lime juice1 teaspoon1/2 teaspoon vinegar OR 1 teaspoon white wine OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Maybe it doesn't say Italian White Wine Vinegar? Eh, Wev.

I didn't have the called-for 3 mangoes. I had 2, plus a quarter bag of frozen peaches. Microwave Defrost. Also, my mangoes, not exactly ripe. They were a little tough and a bit dry....but good enough for me.

I added a handful of Flaxseed and Soy hot cereal and an extra tablespoon of butter to the crust. I would have preferred a more crumbly crust though. Maybe next time.

I decided to leave the cobbler warming in the oven (off!) so the crust would set for sure, while I ran around town looking for an open store with vanilla ice cream. Success: Town & Country. I also picked up a coffee cocoa. It was all delish. The cobbler by itself wasn't wonderful, but good. Riper mangoes and lime juice probably would have made it wonderful.