150 to 131...

just wanted to make sure that score went down in blog history. we had an epic game of taboo at julia and kara's end-of-the-year party and i am happy to say that the original and honorary members of Team Bowfin were able to pull off the victory in the end. 7 was the lucky number as none of us were able to top it, but AJ, gwen, vidya, and myself were all able to hit it over the course of the evening. along with this very entertaining competition were random incidences like 'hooker' being the most popular guess for EVERY question, along with double D singing the coca-cola jingle and attempting to do so with kermit the frog's 'rainbow connection' and/or 'hi-ho, kermit the frog here'. there was something about fake indians vs. real indians, but i'm not really certain where that debate ended up. probably something about genetics and culture. oh yeah, i was happy to steal parul's saved brownie (gwen made them, and was guarding them for me since i got there pretty late). yeah, that was pretty sweet.

on a separate note, the elusive nalgene was FINALLY returned (as promised and with bonus prizes), my gosh things have come a long way since september!

anyway, it was a great time, and although i did have my camera, i got lazy and left it to julia, ly, and AJ to take the pics...and i intend on getting the shots from them at some point in the future. the graduation celebration week is almost at an end, but not quite yet...and there are several events left to go! for now, good night & good luck <:><

music:

"Send Me on My Way" - Rusted Root

"I Missed the Bus" - Kris Kross (that one's a tribute to those of us old enough to remember when that track was popular...i'm pretty sure that's just me and double D as discussed at J & K's).

jerry's a funny guy...

...this is clearly obvious, but there were some parts of jerry's new material that i made it a point to remember in order to reference later (yes, i do sometimes think of blog material far in advance, other times it's just random or i make it up).

here are a few mental notes i took from when we saw Jerry Seinfeld live last friday, i obviously can't deliver them in nearly as funny manner as he could, but hopefully you'll get the points:

- he had an extensive bit on modern communication which we all found hilarious. there was a decent amount on cell phones, and how even if you are with a big group of people, somehow the person who calls you on the cell ends up being more important than those who are in person around you. (saying this to someone with you in person) "if you really want to get my undivided attention, go across the street and call me."

another part of this bit was about email. he said email is basically the lowest form of modern communication, "basically, i don't want to see your face, i don't want to hear your voice; i'm just going to type you this message and click send."
although i found this quite humorous, i would also have to "sort disagree with you there" (like bill lumbergh)...i find email to be quite efficient, and since i spend most of my non-teaching/sleeping day in front of a computer, i find it to be the fastest way to communicate with someone. sure it's somewhat impersonal, but i either like the relative impersonality of email OR the other extreme, just talking to someone in person. so all of you who get any of the 50 important or nonsensical emails i send out each day, don't feel offended!!!

- jerry commented on the fact that our brains heckle us throughout the course of our lives. your brain often tells you something completely inappropriate, which you obviously aren't going to do, but it's there nevertheless. "like when someone asks you to pass the scissors, sometimes your brain will tell you 'i could just kill this person right here, they'd never see it coming...'" i found this bit a little sadistically funny, but still funny.

- before getting into a bit on his family and relationships, jerry explained that he was 51 years old, and got married at age 45. he said "i was married at 45, that's basically 25 years of pretending to be fascinated with what people say on dates, and that's a heck of a lot of work!" that comment basically speaks for itself. oh well, at least in my case, although i can have a pretty short attention span, i'm also often somewhat easily (and genuinely) fascinated...and i can also pretend quite well too!

- he also hates the weather channel, weather forecasts, etc. i couldn't agree more; but if you do need to check the weather, go to accuweather.com...it's MUCH better than weather.com or even NOAA most of the time; weather.com sucks. big time.

that's all for tonight folks. this week presents a combination of moderation and recovery, coupled with continued celebration as many friends will be graduating at the end of the week. kind of sad actually, but it's good to get together with everyone before they leave as well (we had the final official biofish lab reunion get-together this evening; i can't believe these people were my students three years ago, and it's sad to see these friends go)! i finished up what will be my last final for a looooong time...now it's just a matter of proctoring the final for parasitology, and hopefully getting other work during the daytime. sucks that the red wings and tribe both lost today, but there are still many games ahead! good night <:><

music:

"Unwritten" - Natasha Bedingfield
"Hit or Miss" - New Found Glory

pics:

some more pics from the weekend's celebration...

from the dominick's party -

(L-R) kara, me, detrow, andrea, brenda, julia

damon, me, carrie, rakhi

seema, me, beth

and the graffiti party -

aaron, heidi, rachel, jane, andy, damon

damon, me, jeremy, detrow (i've known jeremy & detrow since 7th grade!)

epic survival

Friday - Jerry Seinfeld Live at The Fox Theater in Detroit
Saturday - Parul & Solomon's Birthday Celebration (Dominick's and a house party)
Sunday - Birthday lunch at Tower Inn, Birthday dinner at The Chop House (best swordfish. period.), dessert a La Dolce Vita...

although it may have been questionable at several points over this past weekend, i actually did survive what has been quite the epic adventure (yes, even saturday night's party for those of you who were there...but that's a story for another time...especially since i'm still sort of recovering).

i'll talk about some of this stuff in an upcoming entry, but for now i need to get to sleep; this week's schedule is already filling up fast, AND i have a ton of work to get done (and no longer have the birthday excuse to postpone it).

i would like to say thanks to EVERYONE who was able to get together this weekend and celebrate with me; as most of you know, i'm a big fan of birthdays not just because of some pseudo-narcissistic mentality, but primarily because it's a good excuse to get the people i enjoy spending time with (friends, family, fishes, etc) together all at once.

so again, thanks to everyone who came up for seinfeld, put up with my insanity in driving & wandering detroit in the rain, came out to dinner, came to dominick's, bussed our table at dominick's, took pictures, came to the party, helped us win a lot of flip-cup, partook of the last vanilla coke in existence, wrote on my shirt, told me to use my inside voice, took more pictures, gave me a banana at the party, gave me sweet fish & spider-man stickers, finished off the keg, forced/held me up for the keg stand, realized i stopped making sense and needed help, called, called from out of state, called hoping to catch me in an incapacitated state, left me clever facebook wall messages, and generally made this the best birthday celebration i can remember -- of course, i'm still a little foggy on what all i can remember after last night... <:><

music:

Kajre Re - Bunty Aur Babli soundtrack
Eyes - Rogue Wave

pics:
there are plenty more pics from the weekend to come, but here are a couple group shots as preview to the craziness -

the david sibs...when all three are together, you can be sure things will get crazy. was especially glad rachel could make the trip up from mansburg (the place where dreams remain dreams) for the weekend events.

group shot at dominick's, which has traditionally been my venue of choice (L-R) dave, andrea, brenda, julia, erin, kara, me, parul, janine

another group shot from dom's (F-B) christy, james, daniel, sidney, damon, andy, carrie, rakhi, me, detrow, rachel, janine, beth

the obligatory panchero's intermission...

the birthday kids, me & parul

yes, the party was absolute insanity...also pictured here is the last vanilla coke in the universe; i'd been saving it :)

dinner (on the actual bday) at The Chop House...lobster bisque, (THE best) blackened swordfish, tiramisu, and some close friends...definitely good times.

mind's awake, body's asleep...

it's actually the opposite when i have been in class (community ecology) for the latter half of this semester, but that's not what we're talking about here. the entry title is sarah's description of the red bull 'curse'...and i find it to be relatively true. but let's not paint RB in such a negative light...sure you can smell this beverage within miliseconds of the can being opened, but it's an acquired taste (some say the same about a certain hops-infused beverage type...i'm yet to see the appeal), and the drink serves an important purpose: liquid sleep. well, that may be somewhat misleading, because it doesn't put you to sleep, but it does allow you to go without sleep for an extended period of time, and then you crash...usually pretty hard. at least it's not nearly as hard on my stomach as coffee, which i like to test my tolerance with every couple weeks...fun.

either way, i have detrow to thank for my initial red bull addiction; he introduced me to the beverage at rick's all-american cafe on halloween back in 2001. good times, if you haven't been, you must go on halloween, but that's definitely another story.

red bull has definitely gotten me through iterations of my thesis, days out in the field, and of course epic-length road-trips where damon just couldn't stay awake...or at least function enough to drive. with it's help i've gained the status of "driving machine" amongst the tankmates and some other friends...don't mess with me when i'm under the influence of the stuff; you thought i was loud and talked a lot before...

and now onto the bullets...its almost 4am and i need to get to bed:

- this could very well be the last entry for a couple days...i know this is a tragic loss in the entertainment department for a lot of you devoted time-wasters, but i'm guessing you'll find SOMETHING that works as a temporary substitute (perhaps even real work...but that wouldn't be the proper equivalent use of time). tomorrow begins the weekend-long schedule of events which will probably involve moderate casualties, some interesting pictures, and hopefully a couple funny stories...or maybe just several trips to panchero's...stay tuned.

- tomorrow is FINALLY time to go see Jerry Seinfeld!!! 10 of us will be heading out to the fox theater in detroit for what should be a very entertaining evening. this will be the first event since tank IV where all the david siblings will be in attendance, and that's always trouble in and of itself. i've been looking forward to this outing since early march and seriously can't wait! maybe i can get jerry to come to my party.

- tonight i just learned what an 'error' is in baseball. i must say that i find the concept surprisingly humorous...the fact that if you screw up bad enough, not only does the other team benefit, but they basically embarrass you up on the scoreboard with an 'x'. error. crazy baseball people. oh, and what's the deal with pine-tar?

- i've always wanted to be superhuman to some extent, and no, extensive knowledge of fishes doesn't cut it...although i do want to see the new aquaman movie when it comes out. well anyway, it's been developed over the past couple months that my superpower is the ability to keep track of exactly how many beverages those around me consume, without my own consumption affecting me...AND the relative ability to convince/coerce/guilt people into increasing this number over the course of an evening. that definitely doesn't make me a superhero, but then again i've always liked the bad guys more...my supervillain alter-ego? "the drink nazi." sure it sounds reminiscent of that seinfeld character, but then again "the beverage counter", "the drink-like-a-fish-inator", and "floyd" just didn't work out as well. i'm working on my costume a la peter parker, but rest assured i'm not nearly as good at sewing; however, you can be sure there will be a cape involved. always cooler with a cape. always.

- it's official, "lafonda" will be present for the return of team bowfin and the first flip-cup 'away game' since julia & kara's party back in september. sure i was solo (hahaha get it) in a competition at an HMP party in march, but this will be the full team...i'm excited.

- even reruns show that "The Office" is by far one of the funniest shows currently on television.

- james and i watched 'hostel' tonight on dvd. it's not quite as disturbing as it was in theaters, but rest assured that it's still disturbing. the hostels we stayed in in australia were nothing like this, but there are still a lot of crazy people at these places. thank goodness for private rooms...well, there were a few geckos, but exotic fauna are cool.

- i think the fishes are wary that a social event is fast approaching as they were freaking out earlier today. i explained to them that it would not be taking place at the tank (which should make for an interesting outcome) and they seem to be ok with it. we'll see, i may have to have another chat with them tomorrow.

that's all for tonight folks, the white wizard is going to bed. good night <:><

music:

"Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba
"Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" - The Eels (Road Trip soundtrack)

random pics:

ralphie used to get along with smaller tankmates...but eventually started to eat them.

shot of the original team bowfin flip-cup team

another shot from the competition at julia & kara's september party...my gosh that was ages ago!!!

why start now???

today was a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but in terms of productivity it was a COMPLETE waste! oh well, it was 70+ degrees and sunny, and the true waste would have been to spend it all inside (at least that is how i justified it this time around). that, and it was parul's bday, so a bunch of us got together for the much-anticipated madras masala lunch buffet (i've been to it before, but julia had been really looking forward to it since she had not). after that kara and mike had to take off, but parul/gwen/julia/me forged on and went to a 'chocolate lounge' (yes, these seriously exist...guess i've just been out of the loop) on main street. it was pretty new, and VERY nice...what more do you need than a huge diversity of exotic chocolate and extremely comfortable couches??? AJ, you seriously missed out on this one, but i'm sure we'll plan a return trip soon.

well apparently we did need more, since after an extended stay at the chocolate place we decided it would be a good idea to hang out outside and play a game. luckily i brought up taboo from home this past weekend, so we were set to hang out on the deck of the tank in the very sunny afternoon. let me tell you, two-person team taboo is quite challenging, and gwen and parul definitely schooled julia and i for the most part. oh well, i am going to write it off to the sun and the wasps (which are back, in case you didn't know) that were constantly bothering me...and pretty much only me. as usual. anyway, before we knew it, it was 8pm and the group dispersed. in the end, i got nothing done that i had written down on my list of things to accomplish today (yeah, i actually had to make a list this time) but that will all be put off to tomorrow...at least i hope, because after that the friday events are set into motion and there is no stopping until sunday! either way, it was a good continuation of what has been an ongoing birthday celebration for more than one person (it's also gwen's bday this saturday).

some other quick notes, before i get into the real time-waster cop-out of a blog entry that this was originally supposed to be:

- CONGRATS to DAMON on passing his oral prelims! we'll discuss his somewhat unorthodox preparation methods for these major exams at another time, but needless to say, it all worked out. nice job. can't wait until this fall for mine...scratch that, i definitely can wait.

- james/damon/myself do a good job of playing wandering fools. we were trying to make it to the SNRE picnic before going out and meeting other people yesterday evening, but were unable to remember which entrance to the arb we were supposed to take... the result? the three of us, in somewhat casual/dress attire ended up wandering around in the arb on a lord of the rings-esque adventure looking for the rest of the SNRE folks and the picnic. yeah, it was a good 3 miles or so of roaming through the woods and out to the river before we ended up having to climb some sort of miniature mountain to make it to the last 20 min of the picnic...at least we got the food, and that's what's most important.

- ok i will admit it, i am beginning to think that Team Bowfin may have peaked in it's competitive abilities sometime last year. so far our only major area of true skill is flip-cup.
after somewhat randomly joining up with an SPH gathering at ABC, a group of us decided to move on to The Arena...one of the cheapest places in A2, but also one of the smokiest, and some of the staff there is obnoxious beyond belief. anyway, we ended up participating in the trivia competition for the better part of the night. yeah, we sucked. we got a lot of the answers, but it was never quite good enough. i won't even start to get into the arguments we all had about STDs...mix up too many graduate students (or more specifically, public health folks, epidemiology people, a parasitology person, a pharmacist, and a drunk fish person who had just taken prelims,) and you get a bunch of people who are too smart for their own good. although we were collectively quite good at guessing the song/singer/music questions, along with the movies.
anyway, hopefully the team holds up when flip-cup arrives on saturday. if you are part of the U community and read this blog then you should have received notice of what is going on. if not, let me know. provided you do know what's going on, you sure as heck better have responded to the evite...that's practically more important than the party!!! well, obviously not, but whatever. parul and i have started using administrative powers to enter replies for people (jeremy, brenda, rachel, and andrea, you're next!)

ok that's it for now, i'm sure there's some more relatively entertaining/meaningless stuff i could write about, but i'm tired. sarah had originally made this entry quite easy for me with another survey to fill out, but i just had to get into a long exposition about the day that was. anyway, here is the latest...it's unique compared to what i have seen before, so i definitely had to participate.

intro from sarah's blog:

"i know these surveys can be considered cop outs in regards to making entries...but this one was a little more unique, AND i feel extra lazy. i'm sure that solo will also like this, since he likes to minimize work in his blog too."

A - Age: 27 (for 3 more days, but will still look around 21)
B - Band listening to right now: Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue album
C - Crush: crush what? aluminum cans? i don't get it.
D - Dad's name: Ignatius
E - Easiest person to talk to: my close friends and my sisters
F - Favorite ice cream: Ben & Jerry's half-baked brownies & cookie dough
G - Gummy worms or gummy bears: worms, they are definitely stranger looking and more appealing...although i'd rather eat chocolate.
H - Hometown: Arlington, Washington; although Ashland, Ohio was home for the longest time...i still can't claim ohio though, and washington blows away just about every other state.
I - Instruments: piano, alto saxophone
J -Junior high: ashland junior high school (aka the penitentiary)
K - Kids: none right now...but definitely some day; i must pass on the ways of the fish, and procrastination, and the panchero's addiction...ok, so they'd best take after their mom.
L - Longest car ride ever:when i was in third grade my parents decided it would be a great idea to take a vacation from ashland, OH to seattle, WA (yah, go ahead and mapquest it...it was WAY too long) -i'm going to keep sarah's answer on this one...yeah, it was especially great when the AC broke somewhere near the columbia gorge.
M - Mom's name: esther
N - Nickname: Sol, solo, saruman, captain solo
O - One wish: tough one...for michigan to win the national title this season? a panchero's franchise of my very own? become a gar and move to Florida? ...perhaps just to be as wise as the original solomon...yeah, that would be cool. although the ability to read minds would be quite useful too.
P - Personality: very social,outgoing,laid back, and sarcastic <--- sarah's answer...i would keep the same characteristics, except laid back...which i am only in a few cases, otherwise i can be somewhat high-strung (there, i admitted it). i tend to be pretty loud, talk quite a bit, and pretty OCD and somewhat AR as well. i like to organize social activities...
Q - Quote(s): "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Mahatma Gandhi "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" ~ Dr. Seuss
R - Reason(s) to smile: my friends, family, sleep, seinfeld, ralphie swimming in the tank, teaching, parties, listening to bollywood music and not knowing what the heck they are saying.
S - Size shoe: 10
T - Time you woke up today: 10:30am
U - Unknown facts about me: hmmm...i'm a pretty open book (keeping sarah's general statement there). i'll have to come back to this one at a later date...either way, they wouldn't be 'unknown facts' if i actually wrote about them here...
V - Vegetable[s]: carrots, cucumbers,
W - Worst habit: procrastinating on everything...although sometimes its a gift and a curse at the same time. <-- kept sarah's answer once again.
X - X-rays you've had: knee, chest, mouth
Y - Your longest relationship: 3 years
Z - Zodiac Sign: Taurus, or the year of the horse

ok that's it...good night <:><

music:

"Rang Rang Mein" - Bollywood/Hollywood soundtrack
"Blow Me Away" - Breaking Benjamin

random pic:

view of the Huron river from our quest (aka aimless wandering) for the SNRE picnic in the arb

apparently this beverage tasted better straight out of the pitcher...and no, i wasn't the person who started this (parul was), and believe it or not, the beverage was WATER!!!

seinfeld says friends, not amino acids...

well once again it's 4am and time to turn in. i just finished reading some more relatively useless community ecology papers for what is sure to be a relatively asinine discussion tomorrow in class. there are some positive points, however, such as the fact that damon told us if we get up early enough, he'll make us some fried egg breakfast sandwiches. nice.

anyway, with the upcoming (and much anticipated) seinfeld event on friday, i will leave you with what is probably my favorite excerpt from one of my favorite books:

From Jerry Seinfeld's "Seinlanguage" -

"Friends are the DNA of society. They are the basic building blocks of life. If you have a couple good ones, treasure them like gold. There's nothing better. Ever look at that MCI ad they have, 'Friends and Family'? Who do they mention first?
Your friends help you carry the big weight of life. That big burden we've all got called, 'what the hell am I doing?'"

now the MCI reference is obviously dated (1993), and i tend to value my family quite highly, but you get the idea. i'd definitely say he's on to something here. good night kids <:><

music: "Deedar De" - "Dus" soundtrack (the video is impressive too)
"Plain" - 311

homeland security...

well it's been a while since i have updated, but it's also 4:15am monday morning (or for me, late sunday night). i FINALLY got done grading final practical exams and figuring out all my students' grades to this point...which is good since tomorrow they are doing evaluations! well, that actually hasn't been much of a problem in the past, and if you don't believe me i can show you my GSI 'report card' OR you can just meet a bunch of my friends and make fun of me (like many do) since most of them are former students!

anyway...
a belated Happy Easter to everyone! i was finally able to go home this weekend; it was a much-needed break from the insanity which is ann arbor (i love it up in A2/UM, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to get away/retreat for a while and get back together with the family). it was both a relaxing and eventful time; as usual i ate a lot, slept a decent amount, talked a lot with the sibs/rents, watched a movie or two, and took advantage of having my sisters around to take me shopping (since, as many of you know, i'm relatively incapable of picking out my own clothes...at least good ones, outside of college t-shirts, etc). i was also happy that jeevan didn't try to kill me upon seeing me for the first time in four months!
it was great to return home, pretty much a recharging experience and as always great to be with the whole family. here are some pics from the weekend:

i cautiously approached jeevan on his own turf. he's a little wilder when he's in the yard as opposed to inside the house.

this shot doesn't reveal the fact that he pounced on me shortly after the pic was taken...

at this point he really only listens to dad, and only associates me with entertainment

normally the birthday events amongst our family are quite predictable, but they actually caught me off guard this year. the chocolate cake was quite good...i have about 1/3 of it left, but that doesn't include what james and damon may take out of it, so let me know soon if you want a piece. who am i kidding...i'm finishing that stuff off tomorrow!

my sisters acting as normal as possible for the pic. yeah, i can't really explain it either.

it should be noted that rachel and sarah are normally NOT this tall, they were on an incline. rachel, however, does apparently dress like this all the time...

well it's already shaping up to be a crazy week, as the end of classes/this time of year always is. good luck to everyone working on papers, presentations, theses, prelims, and generally staying sane at this point in the school year. although the clock is ticking, we're on the home-stretch...and rest assured there will be plenty of socialization & celebration afterwards! <:><

music: "Jesus Walks" - Kanye West, "One Year, Six Months" - Yellowcard

random pics:

and some shots from brenda's bday dinner (last thursday) at La Shish. believe it or not, the second time around was much better. andrea and i were lucky enough to get seats on a couch, so they were quite relaxing (i seriously could have taken a nap, but that also could have had to do with the fact that i had been at dominick's since 1pm that day. leave me alone...i was grading papers for part of the time!!!)

group shot (L-R) holly, brenda, shinsuke, me, andrea, damon

enjoying the couch seats!

you can keep the cookie...

another short (well, it started off that way) one...i survived my big meeting, and actually got a lot of good ideas as well. summer issues are still up in the air, but we'll see how things pan out. anyway, that was a big load off my shoulders, but there is still much work to be done. then again, that's not the story i want to tell right now...

it's relatively well-publicized by me (i exercise a decent amount of liberty in telling others what i think about ann arbor restaurants) that Saigon Garden on south forest is probably my favorite chinese restaurant in the city. sure china gate isn't horrible, but i think it's been overkill since my first couple years here. damon and james used to rave about golden chef until i finally convinced them that the majority of all their dishes are composed of peanuts. yes, that annoyed me quite a bit. there are some places up near plymouth road that are good, but that's a little too far away. so yeah, Saigon Garden. everyone should check it out...for dinner. the lunch is good, but not as good as dinner.

anyway, with a decent amount of pre-planning, liza and i were able to play catch-up and head to Saigon today. this also is not the focus of the story, but the fortune cookies we got definitely are. first off, i suggest the schezwan beef (hot) and chicken fried rice. if you want to sample any, i have a TON left over in my fridge since i scheduled my meals wrong (again) today and therefore had to have a pancheros burrito only 2 hours prior to dinner (the previous meal consisted of a slice of banana bread my mom made - definitely very good, and a can of red bull...breakfast of champions). either way that chinese food can't possibly be consumed by me alone before i leave for home on friday...although maybe sarah can help me polish it off.

i digress. so at the end of the meal we get the fortune cookies. liza opened hers and said it must be the worst fortune she has ever gotten...and that it didnt even sound like a fortune. i checked it out, it was something like "don't let your doubts overshadow your ambitions" or something like that. what the heck? that isn't even very positive...its more instructional and not terribly cheerful. it was a very poor excuse for a fortune...but it doesn't end there. i opened mine, and what did it say???

"you can't go far in a rowboat without oars."

yeah, seriously, that was it. this has to be the WORST fortune i have ever received from a cookie (except for maybe the one that was just a phone number for a company where you could buy more fortune cookies, but that's beside the point). rowboat? oars? this was no fortune, this was a stupid excuse for a metaphor or pseudo-philosophical dessert snack. quite frankly i was insulted because i happen to be very good with a variety of boats, from water-skis to jet motors to regular props...i work on a freaking river!!!

anyway, since i'm apparently OCD (i don't even know if that's an excuse here) i often keep a couple fortunes from cookies in my wallet until its time to clean out the receipts. i almost discarded this one, but quickly realized that i should hang on to it since it's the most ridiculous fortune many will ever see. the meal was great, but i was seriously disappointed in the fortune. one couldn't even make the adolescent 'in bed' jokes with this fortune...damon & james would have been disappointed.
i'm also hoping that we reach the year of the horse again...as much as i wish i were a dragon or a snake, the horse gets a good rep, and of course, there are no fishes in the chinese zodiac.

anyway, i don't know how long it will be until their present box of cookies runs out, but if you want an amusingly insulting fortune, head out to Saigon sometime soon. if you want some of the food, just come by The Tank...i'll sell it to friends at a discount. sarah, you pay double after that La Shish incident with the grape leaves.

that's all for now, i'm sure i'll cover some other asinine topics in the near future, although the alternate plot for this entry had to do with the history channel, the darrow vs. bryan/ monkey trial (on evolution) of 1925, the new york times, and a newly discovered fossil fish...yeah, i'll leave that to another time since it's somewhat technical AND i'll probably go off on a rant about it.

good night <:><

music: "Welcome to Paradise" - Green Day, "So What" - Field Mob feat. Ciara

random pic: rowboat? oars? i usually operate our research "mini-boom" shocking boat which contains thousands of dollars of sensitive equipment (yes, they trust me and ladewig -pictured here) to run this high-powered death-trap every summer on the river).

i actually wouldn't mind some fieldwork on the Muskegon River right about now...

mob hit...

no time for normal-length updates right now, but i found this headline from today's NYTimes humorous and amusingly ironic:

Police Seize Top Mafioso After 43 Years
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Italian police caught up with Bernardo Provenzano near the Sicilian hilltop town of Corleone.

if the name of that hilltop town means nothing to you, please do not talk to me about movies ever again. have a nice day <:><

music: "Woke Up This Morning" - A3

"a tale of two towers" kind of day...

you read it correctly, a bit of dickens, and a bit of tolkien. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" may not literally be the case today, but it was definitely along the lines of "it was a good day, and a not-so-hot day."

believe it or not, i'm going to keep this as short as i can since i need to get to bed...pretty much because tomorrow will be a work marathon since my productivity dropped to zero around 5:30pm today - but as usual, that was generally my fault!

anyway, today was a great day in terms of weather...whenever i can consistently see the sun (through sunglasses of course, because i wouldn't want to burst into flames) it makes me happy. as "studies have shown" i think this is generally the case with most people, especially here in michigan where a nice sunny day is a rare occasion in the spring. the weather was good, the lab practical i had to give was relatively short, and people were out and about. i actually got a lot of work done (although there is plenty more to do before wednesday) but also figured it would be a good day to venture out to my good friend dominick's place (a lot of you know how fond i am of this establishment). it started with just one person being contacted via text, then my roommates shortly thereafter, then a few more friends, eventually a miniature 'call to action' text (as damon likes to call it) was sent out and i was getting consistent text replies and phone calls back in the computer lab.

as you can probably guess, a simple impromptu gathering at dominick's quickly snowballed into a relatively decent-sized get together of a diversity of friends (which is always nice). among things discussed over sangria were the mackinac bridge incident (involving a car literally being blown off the structure during a windy day), what a SIM card is in a phone (this was particularly humorous since we had several people disassembling their phones on the table...just screaming for a spill to occur and render all of us temporarily telecommunication-less), and a random assortment of sunglasses. andrea also sneaked up from behind to win a 'contest' of finishing up the beverage before leaving...guess that makes us even for the burrito 'contest' last week, so there! i'll also add that mackinac island fudge came up twice independently over the course of the evening, with rakhi and chris promising to bring me back some this summer...sweet. now if i can just get that material converted to brownies...

now i know all this randomness sounds like a lot of fun, but amidst all this was the omnipresence of unfinished work looming over all our conversations and witty/sarcastic banter. oh well. damon and i later reiterated our philosophy on such things to make everyone feel better, and we moved on.
***
ok i just typed up (and subsequently deleted) a section about 'the bad side of things' for this little allegory. but you know what? who needs negative crap right now...exactly. nobody. we all have enough garbage to worry about, why make your time-wasting experience yet another venue for negative influx? not here. take a look at the tagline for this entire blog:
"just remember, you'll never get this time back."
yeah, it refers in many ways to wasting time reading this blog, but at the same time, you can obviously apply it to everything else. take from that what you will. i have to get back and run Orthanc since Baradur seems to be acting up (they don't call me saruman for nothing).

random thought: THANK GOODNESS they are starting to show spring practices for college football on sportcenter now. they may be just quick glimpses, but i'm quickly growing more impatient (i know that's hard to believe) for the season to get here.

next time, a bit on bollywood music and how it reiterates the fact that i honestly don't care about lyrics in music so much as the music itself. i wonder if that is in any way connected with my 'skill' of selectively only hearing people but not listening to them. again, that's all another story. <:><

music: thanks to rakhi, rashmi, seema and spike lee for (whether directly or indirectly) introducing/further expanding my foray into bollywood movie music, it can somehow always make me smile.

Hum Tum soundtrack - Jatin-Lalit & Prasoon Joshi
Main Hoon Na soundtrack - Anu Malik & Javed Akhtar
Bunty Aur Babli soundtrack - Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa & Ehsaan Noorani
Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint - Inside Man soundtrack - Sapna Awasthi & Sukwinder Singh

random pic:

i can't remember if AJ took this pic or if i did, but it's in my archives. either way, be happy, there are michigan colors in the tank!

cop-out: blog survey II...

well there is definitely plenty of stuff i could write about since it's been a while since i have updated this monster, but i just don't have the time or the stamina tonight. it's been a loooong day and it's going to be a very LONG week. i was considering not even updating, but then two factors changed that:

-when i brought up the idea at the sopranos outing tonight (which i was skeptical about at the beginning of the day, but of course eventually decided to attend anyway) gwen said if i didn't she wouldn't have anything to do at work tomorrow (i MUST provide reliable material for the time-wasting faithful). that and since she made brownies (one of my few major weaknesses ever since elementary school, you people are evil) for the get-together, i felt i should probably make an effort. double D take note, those brownies will play a key part if you ever hope to win when we play Halo 2.

- the second factor being i happened to read sarah's blog, and she had posted one of those email surveys as her entry. yeah, not the most original material, but definitely understandable given she is a david sibling AND we all know that it's really not that important what we post in these things...we don't REALLY care who reads it, and if there is a way to make an entry with minimal effort we definitely will. therefore i give you the SECOND blog survey, it's a bit more extensive, but also allows for a bit of creativity in answers. i invite fellow bloggers to make similar entries (i won't name names at this time, but rest assured you will be called out at some point!), and readers can feel free to post in comments or via email if you want. i haven't seen one of these via email since undergrad, so their return (albeit in blog form) carries some nostalgic weight.

===

Name: Solomon Ravi David
Birthday: 4.23.1978 (same as billy Shakespeare…although I’m not a huge fan of iambic pentameter)
Birthplace: Arlington, Washington…a small farm town near the mountains…seriously.
Current Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the Wolverines!
Eye Color: dark brown
Hair Color: “dark dark” brown (that’s for you AJ/Hal/Sheila)
Height: it says 5'9” on my license, although I was about 3 apples tall until 9^th grade cross country…
Right Handed or Left Handed: Left (shorter-lived, but statistically smarter)
Your Heritage: Indian...but on standardized tests 'asian/pacific islander' (I liked sarah’s answer here so I kept it)
The Shoes You Wore Today: black adidas daroga’s
Your Weakness(es): naps, sleep, brownies, toothy primitive fishes, Kirsten Dunst/Amrita Rao/Rani Mukherjee
Your Fears: bees, extreme heights, too much uncertainty
Your Perfect Pizza: papa john’s perfect pan pizza (not their regular crap)
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: more (fish) publications, learn how to cook more than spaghetti/cheese eggs/toast, pretty much anything since it couldn’t get much worse than 2005!
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: way too many to think of... (again, sarah’s answer), but I tend to say ‘ha ha’ and overuse the (…) a lot. There are probably a lot for both of us since we type faster than most people we know…we have to fill that space with SOMETHING.
Thoughts First Waking Up: maybe i set my alarm wrong...and i really don't have to be up for another couple hours (sarah’s answer). Also the fact that my plan to keep the alarm across the room from my bed does not prevent me from hitting the snooze multiple times in an epic struggle (which I constantly lose).
Your Best Physical Feature: I’ve been told my eyes, and also that I have very big irises.
Your Bedtime: 3 hours after everyone else in my timezone turns in…I have “32-hour” days.
Your Most Missed Memory: tie between being back in Australia & back at the Nature Center in undergrad. Those summers when we were little and had nothing better to do than run around outside, play capture the flag, and catch creatures are also quite missed.
Pepsi or Coke: coke. definitely. I’m still bitter about the loss of vanilla.
MacDonalds or Burger King: Wendy’s.
Single or Group Dates: single is nice, although I’m quite fond of large group productions (where I can panic like a crazy person) as well.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: lipton...who the heck actually drinks nestea anymore? Lipton southern style is the best, because it’s extra sweet.
Chocolate or Vanilla: chocolate every time except in terms of coke.
Cappuccino or Coffee: cappuccino. actually for caffeine supplements i prefer red bull. (again sarah’s answer) although I do frequently enjoy a nice chai.
Do you Smoke: not a chance.
Do you Swear: I’d have to either be really genuinely mad (and that very rarely occurs) or have consumed certain beverages.
Do you Sing: I’ve been told I’m actually somewhat decent…not as good as my sister though.
Do you Shower Daily: yep, sometimes 2x even.
Have you Been in Love: probably has happened over my (almost) 28-year existence.
Do you want to go to College: "i'm out there, and i'm loving every minute of it!" – props to sarah for the Kramer quote. As for college…as andy put it, I’m sort of the van wilder of graduate school in terms of time served.
Do you want to get Married: yes, eventually…wait a minute, my gosh…my grandma insisted on my going to India this year…yikes!
Do you believe in yourself: more often than not, yes. Sometimes to a fault (like with team bowfin).
Do you get Motion Sickness: nope, although too much time spent on the teacups is never a good idea.
Do you think you are Attractive: whatever works
Are you a Health Freak: panchero’s isn’t the worst I could do, but I could use a few more vegetables on a daily basis. I have begun to run more regularly though…
Do you get along with your Parents: I didn’t give myself the nickname ‘the golden child’, my sisters and cousins did ;) and yeah, sarah may be taking a few steps forward, but she’s still miles behind.
Do you like Thunderstorms: they are interesting to watch, but I can sleep through anything, so I often times miss out.
Do you play an Instrument: alto saxophone & piano (I can figure out any movie theme)
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: I don’t remember.
In the past month have you Smoked: nope, and don’t plan on it this month either.
In the past month have you been on Drugs: if caffeine counts I’m in trouble.
In the past month have you gone on a Date: yes
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: I don’t think so, but I do need to go there sometime soon for tux measurements…I promise I’ll go when erin’s working!
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: an entire box??? Are you crazy? I’ve been in a lot of pics that could be called oreos though.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: yes, just picked up the habit this past month…it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Thanks andrea/Brenda/james/damon/and my dismissal of parasitology-instilled paranoia.
In the past month have you been on Stage: I often times like to be the center of attention, but have not done so on stage for quite some time. I did play the devil in a play once…don’t know if that was type-casting or not.
In the past month have you been Dumped: no
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: nope. Logic aside, it’s also been freaking cold outside…I don’t leave the apartment without a coat.
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: i like to steal things from my brother's apt. keychains,wristbands,hats... (sarah’s answer was hilarious, little does she know that her time is coming). And no, although we have threatened to steal quite a bit of stuff, I believe with patience some items will just come my way.
Ever been Drunk: not in a million years…hmmm, even I started laughing.
Ever been called a Tease: unfortunately this has been said before as well. I don’t necessarily understand…
Ever been Beaten up: nope
Ever Shoplifted: nope
How do you want to Die: if I could painlessly be eaten by a giant alligator gar, that would be the way to go for me…when I’m 107 years old of course. If not, I’d be happy to go in a nap of some sort.
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: professor at a prestigious university, preferably head of a biology/zoology department and holding a decent amount of administrative power. I also wouldn’t mind doing some nature movies in foreign countries. Note that I definitely don’t consider myself ‘grown up’ at this point, and that is probably a little ways off. I still look like I’m 20.
What country would you most like to Visit: i want to go visit india again (keeping sarah’s answer yet again) and Australia (again), Italy, Costa Rica, Kenya/Uganda (other countries bordering Lake Victoria).
Favourite Eye Color: it really doesn't matter, I can’t read eyes like a lot of people claim to…I think that’s a bunch of garbage. I like it when people have eyes, does that count?
Favourite Hair Color: dark brown is the new blonde for those of you keeping track.
Short or Long Hair: definitely long, but short can be a relative thing.
Height: doesn’t matter.
Weight: healthy (what exactly does this mean sarah? Well I’m keeping it too)
Best Clothing Style: whatever looks good…I’m not picky in this area.
Number of Drugs I have taken: again, about the caffeine thing…I did screw up my dosage of vicodin after I got my wisdom teeth out…that was a trip.
Number of CDs I own: fewer since I started lending them to my punk sisters, but still more than I can count. And yes, most are movie soundtracks.
Number of Piercings: none; don’t plan on it.
Number of Tattoos: although damon has tried to talk me into it, I just don’t think its going to happen. A gar would be too complicated and due to length, probably hurt a lot.
Number of things in my Past I Regret: a few...but i try to adopt the 'no worries & no regrets' attitude. (again, sarah’s answer). There’s definitely a list, but I’m ok with it.

===

hope everyone had a good weekend and has a good week, good night! <:><

music: Gori Gori - Anu Malik, Main Hoon Na soundtrack; Sleeping In - The Postal Service

random pics:

me, hal, damon at the pig roast this past fall (photo by AJ)

one of the more amusing pics from the miami road trip...somehow over the course of the night damon and i ended up with albino pythons around our necks...

the p-word...

as most of you know i really love pictures...i like drawing pictures, taking pictures, organizing pictures, etc etc. TA'ing the bio-photography class in undergrad was probably one of my favorite experiences in school. well anyway, i got some very entertaining pictures from gwen today and figured i would share them with you all. it's been a crazy week, and now i'm going to take a nap. <:><

music: SOS (Rescue Me) - Rihanna

pics: courtesy of gwen (i'm going to start putting these images on all the literature i will hand out on the diag) -

did i happen to mention...

...that i HATE community ecology, and that in general, school sucks right now? on the bright side i accomplished a lot with my data (re)-analysis today, i'm no john nash, but it's to the point where it may actually make sense (normal data is overrated, non-parametric tests rock). even though i was able to work in a couple enjoyable breaks (running out to the fish store is always entertaining, and brownies are definitely never a bad thing), i think the imposing cloud of research deadlines and analyses has loomed over everything in the past several weeks (kind of like 'the nothing' in the neverending story). after this friday's meeting i hope to have a much better perspective on things, so we'll see how that goes. until then (and maybe a little bit afterwards) i'll probably be a bit beside myself...after all, "it's too hot for a penguin to be just walkin' around..."

ok these journal articles are definitely NOT going to be read tonight...time to set the alarm for a good 2 hours earlier. to quote sarah (and even she realizes this is a horrible line, therefore i'm sharing it with you all) "peace out, eat trout" <:><

music:

"Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" - Brendan Benson
"Open Road Song" - Eve 6

random pic:

well it's not a trout, but a catfish will do. ah, the joys of field work...i miss it--

happy/sad/annoyed/etc...

i suppose i should technically replace 'sad' with 'angry/annoyed' but oh well. today was a good (but very tiring) day. i was up late last night working on research and therefore am not sure how much of my morning class i was actually conscious for. i had a direct line of sight to the prof as she was lecturing, and there are only about 20-some students in the class, so i'm sure it looked pretty good. ah well, such is life. so somewhere near the beginning of the day (probably while sleeping with my eyes open -could be closed, i don't know for certain- in class i started my list of things that made me happy vs. sad today...again, sad can be replaced with the aforementioned adjectives).

sad/angry/annoyed - james made it a point to wake me from my sleep state in lecture to point out a student a row or two ahead of me had a big coffee mug with a giant penguin on it. as you can guess this annoyed me in more than one way since not only was there the image of those hated avians in front of me, but i was also woken up from sleep state...and i HATE to leave that state! my sisters and i have something of a contest to wake each other up whenever our AIM away messages say nap, but over the years we've generally learned to leave each other alone.

happy - sticking with the animal theme, i was at pancheros (go figure) for lunch today and they had a commercial for georgia on the tv...it made me smile to see a shot of some little kid looking at the giant whale shark tank as the big fish swam by. i want to go back there. probably now.

annoyed - after running several tests on certain seasons of my field data, it looks like at least part of it is good evidence for the neutral effects model in ecology...for those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically an abstract and somewhat poorly supported theory that all things are essentially equal amongst species. well so far my data for summer 2001 support that AND the null hypothesis. did i mention that i really don't like statistics? this is why i would much rather teach than do research, although i can do the latter, i enjoy the former MUCH more, and that's why i'm here (at grad school...not necessarily in front of this blog) right now.

happy - it may seem corny, but going along with the teaching theme, i very much enjoy it when my students have that 'i actually get it' look on their faces, especially when it follows that 'i don't have a freaking clue' look. whether its understanding a complex life cycle or parasitological concept, or finally being able to ID a fish or just figuring out something that was previously completely foreign to them...it's actually pretty cool. i can only hope that that continues through to when i get a (gasp!) job and can teach the classes i want and have a bit more freedom with research (i.e. only take on students who are interested in gars...ok i'm not THAT serious about the last part). either way, today was the last teaching lab of the semester for parasitology...i don't know what next winter will bring, but for the past couple years i've been treating this particular lab as my last one to teach, i'll actually be kind of sad if this truly is my last for this class.

kind of sad - see last part of above.

envious - i got to hear from multiple parties belonging to SPH today that ALL of their classes had been canceled due to a water main breaking somewhere up in SPH-land (i.e. way the heck up the hill from SNRE and the rest of central campus). i would have LOVED for my class to be canceled...just the one...just for ONCE this semester. because of my massive amounts of work that need to be done for my meeting i may skip it on thursday, but i have a perfect record so far, and as many of you know, i like to keep things that are in perfect condition in that same state for as long as possible (that's why i leave the original stickers on computers, clear plastic on the phone screens -until they get frayed at the edges- and a lot of various and sundry items in the original packaging. yes, i'm a freak). that and even if there was a main that burst in SNRE, they would probably still hold classes...i could see it now "well the basement is flooded, but that should make things more comfortable for all those fish people down there." even sarah had most of her classes canceled yesterday. ok, i can see all of you doing that 'worlds tiniest violin' thing so i'll move on.

happy - my parents are coming up this tuesday so we can go to sarah's performance at EMU. she is part of a drama written by one of her friends (we saw a few scenes from it this past fall) who toured the country conducting interviews, etc about growing up 'desi' here in the united states. for those of you who don't know 'desi' is somewhat of a general term (sanskrit in origin, but more popularized now) referring to people of south-asian decent. anyway, what we saw of the play was really good back then, and the complete performance of 'the desi experience' should be even better. i have not seen the rents since sarah's 21st bday (for dinner...they were not out with us, haha), and am looking forward to it. i'll also be going home for Easter and that will be a nice departure since i have not been back since Christmas break. family, food, and sleep are the main themes for home, and that will be very nice.

worried - i think the lack of sleep system has been catching up with me as of late. i was wiped out all day (i always get a boost of energy for teaching, but then crash after that, especially when tired from the previous night) and am going to be going to bed soon in the hopes of getting up early and starting work then. perhaps a restructuring of my schedule will soon be in order. oh and i really hate deadlines too...i think jorge cham (creator of phd) put up some interesting quotes/stats about how deadlines and general pressure from work actually does stifle creativity. perhaps jeremy and i should revisit our previous idea to write movies...unfortunately i have bills to pay and about 40 mouths to feed (i'm figuring i may only have ralphie down the line when i have a family/kids/am 'grown-up' so that number will probably decrease).

happy - at this particular moment in time, the thought of a warm sunny day sitting with a bunch of my friends at dominick's seems just about perfect. i don't know how much of the 'warm' or the 'sunny' is coming up anytime soon, but we're definitely going to try.
it's been a crazy and eventful school year (understatement of course), and although the pressure is on from work/school/etc, i fully intend on enjoying things along the way (and probably planning them too...after all, as double D frequently says, "you're the cruise director").

good night! <:><

music: "Testify" - Rage Against the Machine

random pic:

another pic from one of my favorite places...this from the mossman river in mossman gorge, Queensland, Australia. i'm apparently doing my impersonation of a crocodile...

another shot of the river itself

i shall return...

flashbacks...

you may recall the post i made two months ago (has it REALLY been that long ago??? time moves TOO FAST) titled 'bell biv devoe' which referenced the episode(s) of scrubs that had just been on. well, as of last week iTunes now has scrubs available for download...and on my endless journey of procrastination, i figured tonight would be a good time to download both of those episodes. i must say they are two of my favorites, and if you haven't seen them i highly recommend checking them out! you can catch the summary in the aforementioned entry.

anyway aside from downloading the episodes and delaying my return to productivity for a bit longer, i also completed the trilogy of great songs found in this episode, the first two being:
"Hey Julie" - Fountains of Wayne
"Poison" - Bell-Biv Devoe

and finally (sue me, i am a sucker for corny songs gaining quality status by their presence in a good tv show/movie or just a positive nostalgic context) :

"More Than a Feeling" - Boston

this was the song the air-band was performing at the end of the episode. very entertaining all the way around. ok, with that i'm going to debate the merits of sleeping or staying up past 3:30am...oh, and i also read about 40 pages of volume 1 of my PhD comic strip compilation book. the sooner i get these out of my apartment the better...of course, i have to read them first, so i'm trapped. back to work or off to bed, good night! <:><

music: see above selections.

random pic:

this is one of my favorite pics, so i'm posting it again -

my parents have come up for one football game per season for the past three years (note, this is the ONLY time of the year when dad puts on a michigan shirt - he's a hardcore buckeye), this season they picked what was by far the best/most exciting game of the season and one of the best games in school history. michigan vs penn state...the game was determined by the final play which was in the final second. and yes, the wolverines pulled it off...

cameo entry or blog piracy?

to tell you the truth i really don't care that much. the content of an upcoming entry will surely center around the PhD comics creator lecture tonight at the Rackham graduate school at Michigan. it's hard for me to summarize how impressive this ostensibly simple lecture was, but all the grad students (which was by far the majority in attendance) were definitely entertained, and little time went by that was not filled with laughter or a feeling of sympathy and comfort in knowing that there are a TON of people going through the same things (whether its deadlines, funding, crazy advisors, comparisons to other professions, moving on with life, etc).

i have previewed this lecture in earlier entries, so i won't get much into it now, but again many thanks to nick (one of kara's best friends & physics genius - i was especially impressed since he had intelligent questions to ask about the fish tanks when he visited back in august) for introducing me to this, and since kara and i are big fans of the comic it seemed fitting that we were the ones to attend (although all of you whom i told about the talk seriously missed out!!! andrea and brenda ended up going independently, so i'm thinking my punishment will be on its way sometime in the near future for that incident).

anyway, i digress (as usual). for this entry i'm taking excerpts from kara's blog(s) since we're basically talking about the same stuff and i actually need to get some work done right now so i can't write my own material for this round. from travels (and adventures) with kara:

====

Tonight I am attending a lecture by Jorge Cham, creator of the Piled Higher and Deeper comic that Nick, Solomon, and I rave about. (I'm going with Solomon, appropriately.) I'm even going to meet Solomon at Panchero's (the OTHER burrito place) to give it another try, although I'm sure it won't change my mind about the superiority of Big Ten Burritos. (Which is being strongly encouraged by the Big Ten Conference to change its name.)

***

lessons from jorge cham

1. Definitions

• Laziness: Not wanting to do anything.
• Procrastination: Not wanting to do anything NOW.

2. Illusions

• My advisor (probably) doesn't think I'm an idiot (because...)
• My advisor doesn't think about me (at all).

Needless to say, the lecture by the creator of Piled Higher and Deeper was hilarious. The audience was 99% graduate students. Two undergrads and one faculty member made up the remaining percent. The thesis of the lecture?

PROCRASTINATION IS OKAY.

Thanks for the validation, Jorge Cham!

====

--more on that pancheros issue later, i think we reached an decent compromise today.

anyway, that's all for now since i need to get my work done. i'll be back with my own material in due time, and yes, sarah, the last 'epic' entry DOES count for more than one and therefore i'm still definitely ahead. i'll also comment that janine did a nice job responding to our 'blog entry support group' comments, and i like the bullet format too, haha.
meanwhile beth and i are trying to come up with a decent way to practically quantify work productivity. we both realize that we don't get much done, even when we have the best of intentions. therefore i proposed we have a contest in the hopes that competition may move us both to getting more work done. if anyone has good ideas on how to measure this sort of productivity, let me know, although a competition of this sort may be against my very nature (no matter how competitive i am). we'll see. and no, time spent in front of a computer is NOT a good way to measure such things...

well cameo entry or blog piracy, i don't know...but since i have a job waiting for me as captain of a pirate ship (yet to be named) that will pillage vessels waiting to enter the panama canal (min $100k cash per boat people!!!) i'm going to go with the latter. heck, that panamanian pirate idea wasn't even mine! i'm going to make a GREAT pirate! ok i'm off to make the final decisions on my crew... <:><

music: "Move Along" - The All-American Rejects

random pic: thanks to erin i now have several more pics from the SPH Mardi Gras Crawl from this past January (i think it was January). anyway, here i am pirating a photo-op...ok enough with all this pirate talk for now.

julia, janine, beth, me

scrap the plans & photographic catch-up...

***disclaimer - this one is epic. enjoy the random pics throughout.

plans. not just a great album by death cab (thanks ROMA), but what my life generally revolves around. i know most of you may think the same thing with your life and plans, but mine seriously is almost fully structured around knowing exactly what is going on, when it's going to happen, and how it's going to happen. and of course, as life so often does, plans change...and from response to that change emerges the character. i honestly think i've gotten better at this response (or at least being flexible) over the past several years, but i still have a long ways to go. that being said, without at least some semblance of a plan, things continue on that natural path to entropy. i'm sure there's a good compromise out there somewhere.

playing "kings" at game-night at The Tank. christine (on left) came up with one of the more popular rules of the game...i wasn't allowed to speak. i don't know what damon is doing, but thank goodness he cut his hair a few days later.

so two sets of events to introduce: beth's birthday party (which was definitely a lot of fun, and of course a little crazy) & the day (friday) that was lost to the random entropy (for the most part).

well i am waiting to get all the pics together from beth's bday outing, so that topic will have to wait for a little while longer. rest assured it was well attended and there was much celebration. i'll also add here that my sister has proven an excellent protege in the art of arranging and taking massive amounts of photographs during social events. heck, she's probably surpassed me on the past few mutually attended outings. nice job sarah. just a few quick things from last night without getting too far into detail and detracting from the upcoming feature entry:

- damon and i INDEPENDENTLY got our hair cut on the same day. believe it or not, we don't coordinate EVERYTHING. credit does go to double D for realizing the coincidence and making fun of us.

double D solves the golfball game after hours of intense concentration; he was pretty excited...i kicked it over shortly after this pic was taken.

- i am NOT the president of the fish club/aquarium society, although double D and i do have club members who will jump in front of bullets for us when we run into rival groups.

- i do NOT have chlamydia of the eye!!! if you don't know the situation, then don't worry about it. as i said before, i know what i'm talking about "i worked in an ophthalmologist's office for 4 years!!!"

...that's all until i get all the pics/story together. hope you had a great birthday beth!

===

the day lost to entropy

i had grandiose plans for today...get up at a decent hour, get a lot of research work done, maybe even go for a run, and then perhaps even meet up at dominick's with some friends (sorry andrea & brenda, your apology/explanation email has been sent). well rest assured that other than getting up (at a somewhat decent hour) NONE of this stuff happened. damon asked me if i wanted to go to one of our favorite places in royal oak for lunch (since he had a meeting out there in the afternoon), well since my day ended up being relatively open at that point, i figured a decent lunch would be nice and i could come back and get my other stuff done. here's how it panned out (bullets...and yes gwen, they may be kind of long!)

the indians who played 'kings'. it should be noted that gwen got quite a bit of entertainment from bringing up double D and my euchre loss from earlier in the evening.

- we drove out to royal oak; i had nothing to do with this meeting, and was still wiped out from beth's bday outing the previous night, so i said i'd just take a nap in the car during the hour-long meeting damon had to attend. rest assured i'm really good at sleeping absolutely anywhere at anytime...and given my current mattress, probably on any surface known to humankind. so i got comfortable in the civic, turned on an episode of 'the office' on the iPod and zoned out.

the sign (which beth actually taped to the big tank...incurring a $600 fine) for 'team ralphie'. apparently it worked too (unfortunately for team bowfin). the bright spot in the mid-right is actually a reflection from ralphie's eye.

- well you guessed it. 3 episodes and a dying battery later, damon wasn't back, and i decided to just take a nap and switched to music. during this period i was randomly woken up by the parking lot security guy checking all the meters, some high school kids loitering in the lot, and an old couple who obviously could not hear each other at all (the guy just kept yelling incoherently...it may not have been english, or any other language spoken on this planet). i eventually passed out. i'll note here that i had a serious craving for salt today and the salt & vinegar chips i got before we left really hit the spot...for the time being.

- i wake up maybe a half hour later and am finally getting a little restless. i decide it's time to take a walk, so i leave the car and walk several blocks to a barnes & noble. i looked through the ridiculously overpriced music & dvd section and was just about to open up a fish book when damon called and said he's still in the meeting and that the meter may be running out, and asks me to feed it for another block of time. ...so i get to make the trek back to the car.

clown fish in an anemone at the georgia aquarium

- i get back and feed the meter...there's a 3 hour time limit and we had been there for over 2 already. i put in enough money for 2 more hours (who knows how closely they check? although given my luck with parking tickets i'm not the best person to make those calls). at this point i didnt want to walk all the way back to B&N, but realize that we're actually parked next to the public library. now, i can't remember the last time i was in ANY public library (excluding UofM's), so i figured this would be an interesting trip.

me, double D, beth, gwen at BW3 on st. pat's day...good times.

- i go in, and that uniquely pleasant (at least to me) smell of old books hits me and i make my way over to the newspaper section for something to read quickly. the current new york times was gone, so i opted for the cartoon/fisher-price version of the newspaper...USA Today. well, at least it has a lot of colors, and that was entertaining. i looked at the weather map for a while and brushed up on my national geography and counted the states i've been to...i think i came up with 37 or so. google stock is on the way back up, britney spears has a new album coming out in the fall, microsoft has a new windows OS for january (vista), and they are still coming up with new theories for the barry bonds potential steriod use case. oh, and apparently hank aaron has the all-time home-run title (babe ruth is second).

- i finished the paper and actually found a copy of 'the new yorker' magazine...i passed up time, vogue, and what looked like 'highlights' for this. i got through some relatively vague comics in the mag (reference the seinfeld about the new yorker comics) when damon called me and asked where i was. this was over three hours after he had left for the meeting. well i annoyed people by using my 'inside voice' in the back of the library periodicals section, and told him where i was and that i'd meet him at the car.

hal, me, seema at 'richards all-american cafe' for AJ's birthday

- we met up with some other friends out there and decided it was finally time to eat. keep in mind that my liver was still working hard on the residual effects of the previous night, and my stomach had already started digesting itself and other vital organs. we hit up some pub and i had blackened catfish...definitely a good call.

leafy seadragon & weedy seadragon at the TN aquarium

- after an hour or two (we had to wait for another person) we left the place and it was almost 7pm. yeah, the whole day...virtually and randomly wasted. we decided to stick with one of our other plans for this trip, visiting a big fish store in the area that specializes in relatively rare saltwater fishes. well of course we didn't buy anything, that and i got to talk to one of the employees, at which point i had to bite my tongue in response to him since he was basically a condescending idiot. a comment along the lines of "well you should convert all your small tanks to freshwater for your cichlids, and all the big ones to saltwater". i just said bluntly "we don't keep cichlids" (those of you who know me well should understand that comment, or maybe you just have to be a fish nerd) and moved on. jackass.

sarah & me out for AJ's bday...notice james doing the signature 'scratching his brain' move in the background.

- so at this point i realize the epic nature of this entry and am going to do my best to wrap things up. but then again, its not really to please anyone, and if you're still reading, its your own fault!

- we leave the fish store and drive through what was apparently FIVE storms that had passed through ann arbor. M-14 is getting a facelift...its about time! too bad michigan (state with some of the worst roads in the country, and probably the worst drivers in the country) likes to do all major construction at once, and therefore cut off all major routes to and from the city. i'm sure this will all be done by october though, so that's nice.

ironically, fishes would not survive in tank water (registered trademark)

- damon and i figured after all this a low-key evening was definitely in order, especially with high hopes for accomplishing work tomorrow. we hit up blockbuster and rented 'ball & chain' which is actually an american pseudo-bollywood story type movie, starring one of my favorites, lisa ray and funny-guy kal penn (from Van Wilder and Harold & Kumar). it's a small production and you can tell from the simplicity of camera-work and dialogue, but if you're a lisa ray fan, like people making fun of growing up in indian culture (especially regarding arranged marriages), or just relatively bored and up for something different, i definitely recommend it. did i mention lisa ray was in it? kal penn did a good job too, and although he's featured prominently, he's actually not the male lead.

- anyway, that brings us to now...and i'm going to go to SLEEP. if anything, this entry should have helped get you there. hopefully the pics distracted you from the fact that the text was essentially about NOTHING. "be the change you wish to see in the world" <:><

music: "hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me" - U2, Batman Forever soundtrack

random pics: special thanks to double D and sarah for contributing some pics from the various events shown.