I think my favorite part is where they say "The video can be seen here."
The NY Times has an update on the numa guy I provided a video link to a few weeks ago. You know, this guy. I'm sorry if people have said cruel things to him but on the other hand he did create and upload versions with and without pictures and subtitles. It's meant to be an embarrasing funny video.

I also like that the Star Wars Kid was Quebecois. Of course he was.
- posted by meg @ 9:29 AM

 
I said choose me not use me
I just got home from the lab and as I was waiting at the bus stop some woman came up on my radar. See, she walked up from behind me and stood directly in front of me. And by directly I mean there was maybe a foot between us. I don't like my personal space being invaded. I understand in crowded situations and I don't care if I know and like you, but if we don't know each other well or are strangers, standing that close to me in a wide open area makes me uncomfortable. So I backed up and she sorta wandered forward a bit. Then the alarms rang again. She had walked toward me again, stopped, and pivoted so her back was toward me. Now, this is where it gets good. She BACKED UP without turning around and stopped about 6 inches from me. As I backed up and wondered what the crap she was up to, I noticed the snowflakes hitting her back. She was using me as a shield. I don't know whether I should be more offended at her invading my personal space or at the inference that I was wide enough to significantly block wind for another adult.
- posted by meg @ 6:55 PM

 
Nothing is good if other people like it
I wouldn't seriously go to that extreme, but it is that diesel sweeties t-shirt that I thought of today.

See, liking things because they're stylish (you like something because it's liked by others who were told that they like it) and liking something because it's not stylish both involve forming an opinion of something without actually consulting yourself. This sounds like something that is obviously a poor course of action but even the most independent-seeming people may be driven by needing to be accepted or reassured that they're awesome in some situations.

I still take other people into consideration on a regular basis, but I don't do something or act some way so that I can seem cool to others. What the hell do I care how you feel about my shirt or hat or whether you think the number of people I've slept with his too high or low? That's none of your damn business anyway. I mean, it's great to get compliments, find people you mesh with etc. And it's nice when people care about you and are concerned or happy for you. But I'm not going to return the shirt or sleep with sub-par guys to have an experience someone else approves of. (But if I could find a way to erase having slept with specific people I could make a MINT.) Your opinion/advice might be valuable to me but it's not the only vote. It's like the way I envision keeping control of my own wedding some day (ie not in the hands of my parents)---If you're not signing a form indicating your union to another on that day, you do not have any executive decision rights. But feel free to brainstorm.

What brought on this defensive rant? (It's really not meant to be a rant, observations really.) Was it all the crap I've been dealing with lately, going through my quarter-life crisis a good 18 months early? Possibly, I've had this part worked out for a while now though. Was it spending the last decade being an adult, for all intents and purposes, sometimes forcefully? That could have something to do with it. Or maybe it was seeing 4 fashion clones in pumas at Angelo's today. Yes. Yes I think it was seeing people who care only for style and not substance wearing a brand of shoe that I have adored for quite some time. A shoe I associate with alternative, independent people who are a little more ALIVE than someone who takes all their cues from Paris Hilton and Ashton Kutcher. You have tainted their good name!

I think I've figured out a way to distinguish between puma-wearers, though. Besides general appearance and demeanor to give you clues, check out the style of pumas. Is there a puma leaping across the toe? This person has purchased the most in-style shoe. Become suspicious. But wait, they were hot 6 months ago. Today's real puma diva (what do you call a man diva?) wears the tight fitting shoes with the zig-zaggy velcro strap instead of laces. Damn you for soiling puma's good name with your banality. Especially since I kinda like that style shoe. But I'm poor, so there's no chance of mistaking me for a fashionista. Not that I was really worried about that anyway. ...

I know, I know, clothes do not the man make. (cough, Yoda, cough cough). But sherpa boots do make a bottle blonde bitch yammering on her cell phone about how she was totally justified in forcing her boyfriend to go to a party Saturday night instead of studying for X number of exams because SHE NEEDED A DATE FOR A PARTY. Make. Seriously, who takes a date to a party anymore? If you arrive uncoupled are you stuck on the porch with the cousin from Milwaukee who drools a lot and has worn headgear for 7 years straight? Are you only allowed to eat the cheetos that are beer-soaked and drink zima? I'd want your life, except I'd only be able to wear pumas for another 6 months.
- posted by meg @ 4:57 PM

 
Chew chew chewse me
Ok, I know Ralph's valentine to Lisa said "Choo choo choose you" and had a picture of a train on it but this post is an update about my tooth problems so I changed it a bit.

I got a call Monday afternoon asking if I could make it in to the dentist's office the next morning at 8. I said yes, it was no problem. They asked if I was sure, I totally said yes. Yay for cancellations! Unless the dentist took one look at my x-ray and finagled (no idea how that's spelled) an appointment as soon as possible.

So, the dental school told me there was a second cavity they had to fill, that the first one in that tooth was fine. This was the filling they did twice. Turns out there wasn't a second cavity and the filling was broken and loose. It also turns out that the dental student drilled hella deep to fix a precavity tiny lesion, so that combined with the tooth being right over a nerve caused me a lot of pain and sensitivity. There was also some food stuck in the area due to the faulty craftsman ship and the looseness. And of course having a hard piece of cement jostling around didn't please my tooth or the surrounding gums.

The good news is that it's fixed now. I think. I'm supposed to lay off it for a while to let everything heal properly since it was stressed for so long. The bad news is that it was HELLA expensive because my dental insurance does not cover restorations or offers only a token sum. This dentist was not in my network (turns out I can go outside the dental school, not sure why I was told otherwise) but that doesn't matter for a restoration anyway. I was expecting to pay for a filling, so the extra cost from that was a surprise as well. Anyway, I'm going to look for an in network dentist for cleanings unless staying with this dentist results in only a slightly larger co-pay. I liked her, she was nice and told me what was going on in my mouth, her office is close to the lab, etc. I'm going to have to talk to the dental school to see if they can help me talk to the insurance company about paying for this. Either the dental school or the insurance company should since I had to go to a real dentist to fix their mistakes. I understand that she's learning and whatnot but she was a year away from graduating when she did the filling the first two times and I'm not taking a lot of stock in the third time's the charm axiom with her.

Anyway, I expect that dealing with the dental school/insurance company will be a joy. But my mouth is fixed! I'll be able to chew normally again shortly!
- posted by meg @ 11:30 AM

 
File this under "I wish I was Meg"
I have an amazing ability to ignore commercials. I can be looking in their general direction and still miss the most annoying part or the product name. The fact that I regularly watch commercials but erase the product name from my memory of them is great. This is sometimes overcome by someone pointing out a commercial or by watching it frequently enough. And sometimes a stray commercial will sneak through my radar and I'll actually watch it. This is usually the good commercial of the month.

I wish I could transfer this ability to blocking out noises around me more regularly. Something about loud talking 2 feet from my ear for hours at a time distracts me from my work. I mean, I'm easily distracted, but I used to be able to tune out noises if I wanted to. I'm totally ADD in my old age.
- posted by meg @ 5:02 PM

 
You're killing me
You're absolutely killing me. We've been on the phone for 62 minutes. You've explained your sinus infection in detail and are now talking about the NBC Thursday night lineup and the return of Chris Noth to Law and Order. We were done after you spoke of your flooded bathroom and ladies' night.
Bye.
Love you.
Night.
65 minutes.
You're telling me about Larry the Cable Guy again. You don't remember me saying I hate him. You laughed about how long it takes us to say goodbye.
At least one of us enjoyed the last 20 minutes. (I did enjoy the first 40.)
- posted by meg @ 8:34 PM

 
bored now
Coffee please. Non decaf. I still can't believe I bought decaf. That won't ever happen again.

If I can get a spare second here I'll go buy a latte or something. But then I'll need a beer hat type contraption to drink the coffee while doing more benchwork. SO much benchwork to do this week. And computer research/powerpoint extravaganza.

Timer went off. Too bad the coffee cart won't deliver. Aren't I supposed to own an undergrad for this kind of stuff?
- posted by meg @ 2:36 PM

 
Dust off the cookbooks
After much talk about sharing recipes I've created a recipe blog. (I totally meant to participate in the recipe e-mail chain but when I finally had time and remembered about it I realized I didn't know 10 people who would participate that weren't already on the e-mail list.)

At any rate, I've explained the format on the blog itself. I'm hoping it'll be a place to share recipes, meal ideas, cooking tips and healthy options. So check it out if it sounds like something you'd be interested in.
- posted by meg @ 10:46 PM

 
I'm running with the shadows of the night
Yesterday afternoon I started listening to my mp3 player to blast out the din of the lab while I was trying to work. I don't know why, but I'm flanked by two men of a particular culture that think they need to raise the volume of their voice by a power of 10, at least, any time they're on the phone or talking in their native language. I don't know if this is related to the culture at all, but the moaning at loud volumes all day definitely is.

So it got stuck in my 80s folder and I let it stay there because 80s music can be so fantastic if you're in the right mood. I let it stay there on the bus ride home and again on the ride in this morning. It was this morning that we got to Take My Breath Away, which was my prom song. Yes, my 1997 junior prom song was from a mid 80s action flick. My high school had a high teen pregnancy rate and several teachers that were suspected/confirmed drunks or pedophiles. We don't make good decisions.

Anyway, I was listening to the song and I thought it'd be really funny if William Shatner did a cover of it. A whole album of William Shatner covering 80s music. A. Total. Eclipse. Of THE. Heart.

KHAAAAAAANNN!
- posted by meg @ 9:33 AM

 
High School All Day, Every Day
I sometimes honestly wonder how much of the world never goes beyond the looking-out-for-number-one-nailing-as-many-people-as-possible-trying-to-find/create-drama-manipulative-childish behavior of middle school and high school. No one is perfect but some people at least try to recognize when they're acting out of insecurities and try to stop it. You know, cause then you're acting like yourself and you'll be happier even if the quarterback of the football team thinks you're a dork.

I found out that someone in lab that I respect is pissed at me for a mistake I made during the surprise last minute warm autopsy last week. I used formalin that was too concentrated and may degrade the tissue samples because I thought this was what we used last time, I never use formalin for anything so I wouldn't have other experience, and I had maybe half an hour to pull everything together and coordinate the expedition since no one else present knew what to do. I'm not excusing my mistake, but I'm explaining it and really, it's not the end of the world. Another lab has the same formalin samples (for histology slides of tissue) and we have perfect mRNA samples (which show more quantitatively specific expression of genes we may be interested in). I explained this to her a few days ago but she's still going on about it to other people. She's probably just stressed out but I don't need this now from someone unexpected. It'll get back to the advisor and there are enough things for me to handle there that I'm going to avoid talking about to limit my chances of being dooced.

Anyway, I've been talked about behind my back before. Not just talked about by my friends when I'm not there, but behind my back. The connotation is different. There are the times that people just malign me and are cheery to my face, there are times when they interpret a situation so they are right/innocent/the victim, there are situations where concern for me is expressed, although that was never actually said to my face. I don't know if I'm better at finding out about this or if I'm the kind of person that gets talked about or if other people just cut those friends/family/acquaintances out of their lives and move on without a word. It sucks. I'm trying to be a better person, every day. I'm trying to let who I am inside show through even though that has gotten me terribly hurt in the past. I know I'm awesome, I just need to figure out how to best show that to everyone else.

This has me bummed, I really don't need this kind of crap going on, but I'm going to just pretend I was never told anything unless something else is said to me. Voting is over for this year but maybe if I keep this up I'll get some bloggie award for opening up and speaking of the travails of the intellectual woman trying to succeed in her personal and professional life. Oh, woe is me! ;)
- posted by meg @ 3:43 PM

 
Johnny Depp should play a British pop star
Here are the results of a few quizzes from Josh.

You Are Edward From "Edward Scissorhands."You are very shy and often misunderstood. Innocent, sweet, and artistic, you like to pass your days by daydreaming and expressing yourself through the arts. You are a truly unique individual. Unfortunately, you are quite lonely, and few people truly understand you."

href="http://home.mn.rr.com/couplandesque/quizzes/depp.htm">Take The Johnny Depp Quiz!







Which British Band Are You?


- posted by meg @ 6:02 PM

 
Can SOMEONE take pride in their work?
Please? It's to the point where calling your doctor or phone company or technical service and not being put on hold for hours and actually having your problem solved in a timely manner by a friendly person who doesn't try to sell you something afterward is so uplifting I get depressed when I realize how low my standards have sunk.

This particular complaint is directed towards the dental school, to whom I must go if I want to receive dental care at little to no cost to myself. It's one thing that all cleanings take 3 hours because the students are slow and have to fill out paperwork and hunt down instructors to ok their every move. I accepted that. I was displeased when the student had to redo my filling. I was suspicious when I had "another cavity" in the same tooth that she messed up filling last year. Serious hinkiness was going on between the student and instructor there. I was told it was the same tooth but a different spot from the old cavity but their whisperings suggested otherwise.

Since I'd be a fool to waste chunks of 3 hour time slots to let her fill this "new" cavity as many times as it takes to get it to stick, I decided to pay to have a pro do it. This requires that they have X-rays. Since I'm already poor and will have to pay for the filling, I don't want to pay for X-rays again, so I ordered my most recent bite wings and paid the necessary $5 fee. Two weeks later the dental school sends them to me, after 2-3 weeks of their putzing around and not returning my phone calls on how to get these records. Well, they send me a panoramic. The panoramic costs more than $5. I don't remember when I last had a pan. I definitely did not get a pan on 2-4-03, which is the date on the x-ray, since I didn't come into the dental school until April. Plus, the botched filling from 10-03 is clearly on this x-ray, 8 whole months before it existed. So it must have been either April of 04 or in November of 04, but unless I really only remember the bite wings from the November visit. I was tired, but I don't think I was that tired.

I think I'll take some time this week to take this panoramic and my cancelled check over to the dental school and pitch a fit until I get the appropriate x-rays. After I schedule an appointment with someone who has a clue.

- posted by meg @ 1:36 PM

 
The Eternal Question
Bush or Chimp indeed. If someone figures out the game, let me know, cause matching bush to bush or bush to chimp isn't giving me a positive score.

- posted by meg @ 8:37 PM

 
Sweet Skills
A lengthy conversation led me to this site. If I were to design a t-shirt from the movie it would be of a guy eating a steak in that 50s style line drawing with "Eating all your steak" scrawled across a corner. In ringer tee style, of course.

- posted by meg @ 11:30 AM

 
Pop Quiz
A coworker from a mid Atlantic state brought up clam chowder while we were eating lunch today. She said that everyone knows New England Clam Chowder but the only people she's met who know of Manhattan Clam Chowder are from/have lived in the (much) greater Manhattan area. I'm from New England so I knew what she was talking about, our other coworker from Ohio did not. So in a very small sample size that theory holds.

My question to you is, do you know what Manhattan Clam Chowder is and where were you when you heard of it?

- posted by meg @ 1:31 PM