a productive day

Another early day and for a change I woke up without the alarm promptly at 7.15. And then snoozed for another 10 minutes when I heard my phone vibrating. My parents called in the morning but before my brother got on the phone to talk to me, the call got disconnected. damn.. I got to work around 8.20 and got started on research. The day was pretty productive because we made 2 glasses and got density results using the other pyc. The reason the micropyc is not popular is due to the fact that its manual and not automatic like the ultrapyc. One thing good about the micropyc is that the time involved in the measurement is shorter by half. With Doc gone, everyone was relaxed. It was evident when half the researchers turned in late. I got out of work earlier than usual because I didn't have anything else to do at work. I got back. I was contemplating not running because it was absurdly humid outside. I also decided to carry my cd player on the run which turned out to be a bad decision because cd players skip like hell. So, I ran only for about 10 minutes and walked the rest of the way. I might buy a flash memory mp3 player for the exercising. I ate out with marty at Genghis Grill for dinner. It had been over 4 months since I've been there. I love that food! and their chocolate cake is soooo rich, yuMMMy! I just wish I had loaded the bowl up more. But it was good because I normally overeat there and this time I had the right amount I think.
         We then watched Day After Tomorrow and movie hopped to Chronicles of Riddick. They were 2 good action movies. I enjoyed both the movies. I wonder how plausible most of the science in Day after was but it was entertaining for sure. We thought Riddick was going to be horrible but were pleasantly surprised to see that it was fun. I will try to search online to see how much of the science in Day after is bunk. But the movie was really funny at times because it made several political snipes at the US administration which ranged from environmental non-policies to illegal immigration regarding Mexico to third world nations. I don't think many americans would appreciate the political direction of the movie but people who live in developing nations can relate to the movie. I still think the US not signing the Kyoto Protocol which deals with emissions of greenhouse gases is extremely negative. It clearly shows how much power the industries have behind the scenes in the policy making. This is particularly bad because US is the largest producer of greenhouse gases. The movie was sensationalist in nature but global warming will happen pretty soon at the rate we are going. There was a hint of the possible future which seems dark for mankind unless we do something about it.

[Listening to: Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park - Meteora (3:33)]

fatigue!

My alarm didn't go off in the morning. A direct consequence of my fiddling around with it before falling asleep. I forgot to change PM to AM when I was done playing with it. But luckily, I slept early last night for a change and was awake by 8. It took my eyes 40 minutes to open up fully which was rather strange. It felt like there was a layer of something over my cornea which was preventing me from focussing. I felt much better after the shower though. I headed to work at 8.30 because Doc wanted to meet with us at 9. The meeting was another hour yet again with my day dreaming through some of it. I got reprimanded for not being there when Greg was putting the solution into the drying oven, that was funny because it sounded like Doc wanted me to babysit him through the whole process even the transportation of the solution to its day long resting place. I also asked Doc why he split $4200 42 ways because me and Ben will be there for a total of 27 days, which means the $4200 should be divided 27 ways. Anyway, he told me that the grant was made for 3 students going for 2 weeks each. I am good with the amount he is giving me although more is always good. ahh..the greediness comes out in the open.. I wanted to make more glass today but people were using the glove box and the pycs. So we just made more solutions today for precipitates. Today's weather was rather dreary and it was pouring most of the time. I got my Japan visa app stuff mailed today. I attended a talk giving an introduction to spectroscopy which was 80% a physics lecture which was hilarious because the speaker was a chemistry proffesor at coe and 20% of demonstration involving a blowtorch and UV tubelights. I left work at 4.30 because I was going shopping for a bit at 7. I had to exercise those 2 damn donuts i ate in the morning. I don't know why I had 2 because I normally have just 1. Ten minutes into the run I felt like stopping, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of burning off the calories. I ran the same circuit in the humid weather. I also did weights for 35 minutes. My muscles are sore and tight everywhere. I tried the stretches that Marty showed me. I think they did help a bit. But I still do the owws while sitting and standing and climbing stairs. Marty gave me a ride to target and bestbuy to shop. I bought microwave safe dinnerware. I wanted to buy Corelle but target doesn't carry corelle unfortunately. So instead of buying $30 dinnerware, I bought a $10 set. I followed the stereotype of students and went cheap. And god damn, rechargeable batteries are expensive. I bought 8 batteries for $27. I bought a compactflash reader at bestbuy and looked for an universal adapter to use in Japan. I have to find out what kind of plug i need before I can buy it. After getting back, I watched music videos on yahoo and I really seem to like Lostprophets. I might have to buy their cds.

[Listening to: Chap Stick, Chapped Lips And Things Like Chemistry - Relient K - X 2003 (disc 2) (3:10)]

This picture was taken by Pat Cook at Presidential Ball 2004. A bit too bright but good nonetheless. 

what a day!

I talked to Doll late last night after talking to sunny. It's really funny that Doll's older than me and I seem to be educating her in the ways of ahem...you know.. since I know some about it from varied credible sources..hehe.. Getting people out of their shell is loads of fun...hehe..:) She also knows about all facets of my life which no one else knows. And she talks to me about everything. It's so good to talk to someone without thinking because there is nothing to hide from her.
            Yeah..the late night caused my ears not to respond to my alarm. I think I slept through it again because I was supposed to be in at work at 8 and I woke up at 9! I got to work an hour and a half late. Doc wasnt pleased but softened when he heard that I had alarm issues. I also realized that Chris now has an independent project which means that he can't assist me anymore. I talked to Doc and got a new assistant. We had the Wednesday lunch today and we had food from Pancheros. I was expecting those large burritos but I was dissapointed to see make-your-own small burritos. However it was good food nonetheless. I dozed through the talk and was thinking about Andi..lol.. I really miss her already. They must be half way through to Yellow Stone. I made a lot of good glass today and saved nitrogen. But alas, a waste yet again because the pycnometer was acting temperamental. I kept trying for an hour to get it to work but it didnt give in. My glass had absorbed water so I couldn't save the sample. I have to do it all over again. This is beginning to get frustrating!
            But the thing that brightened my day up was when Doc told me how much of per diem he is going to give me. $100 a day for 13 days!!!! freaking hell, I can save so much of money, things don't get sweeter than that! And I also jogged for 25 minutes again and weights for 30 mins. My muscles are all tense but I feel good! I stretched but the muscles are still tight. I need to learn a few new stretches to go after my run. And I have been eating healthy too..Makes me feel happy all over:). Although evenings are still pretty boring here...

[Listening to: Ironic - Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (3:49)]

sunny!

i talked to sunny for a while tonight. It was good to talk to her and catch up. She is going to visit me June 26! I am really excited to see her because I haven't seen her for about a year. Good times ahead!

[Listening to: Anthem - Blink 182 - Enema Of The State (3:36)]

my exercising regimen has begun!

My day began really early because I have to get to research at 8 in the morning. It gives us first dibs at the equipment which means we can make more glasses. Well, it works well if everything goes according to plan. Pycnometer was erratic today because it is very pressure sensitive and apparently someone had fiddled with the pressure gauge on the helium tank. So, we got bad results which in turn caused a higher density for the glass than the literature values. But thankfully Doc was happy with the results. We would have made another glass but Jon's sample jammed the rollers up and un-jamming them took the rest of the afternoon because the panels of the glove box had to be removed. They are a pain in the ass to reassemble. I also learned to use the Raman photospectrometer which was pretty cool. I have used it before at Iowa State. Both my meals were from the groceries I bought yesterday. I had roasted honey nut peanut butter and jelly and sandwich with a meat mix. And I had burritos for dinner with baby carrots and spicy ranch. I also ran for 25 minutes straight without stopping... I was so happy! Plus I lifted weights to end the exercise. Albeit I was dead tired but it felt good to start jogging again. I talked to Kevin for a while when I was at the fitness centre. But god was it humid and hot out today! And I have been chilling all evening. Chris came by to see if could buy some wine but I told him that I didn't want to risk getting caught so close to my 21st birthday. I think we will do the wine tomorrow. I talked to Andi for a short period of time but for the first time she didnt pay attention to me on the phone. It was really annoying even though I knew she had to pack. I wish she paid attention for even 5-10 minutes. But it's ok..she was busy and I got to talk to her mom and Carlo. I need to talk to Doll when she eventually gets off the phone. I need to talk to sunny about kristin. The Kristin issue is really bothering me and I need to talk to sunny which I am trying to do now.

[Listening to: It is You - Newsboys - (4:25)]

an ordinary day

It was tough to wake up at 9 today but the chat with Doll was interesting because I realized a lot of things about myself and my expectations. It's amazing how much I have adapted myself to function better here, my expectations keep getting modified. Day at research was ok.. We had a long meeting with Doc and we figured a game plan for the rest of the june since I will be gone in July. Hopefully we can stick to that and have a uneventful period at research where things get done systematically without bloopers. I got my fedex billing fixed because I was overcharged by about $110. I also got the cashier's cheque for the visa. And then I went grocery shopping. Jessi called me as I was almost done with shopping but she told me that there was a cheaper place to buy stuff. So I put back everything I bought at Hy-Vee and went shopping with her for a couple of hours. It was good to get out..My meals today cost $3 which is pretty amazing. I also talked to Andi for a long time and we talked about kids which was a stimulating conversation because I have never before discussed kids in that much of detail with anyone. All of us have that at the back of our mind, I think about it sometimes when I think about my future and the direction it is taking.. I still think our futures are uncertain because circumstances change our choices and our life is based on the choices we make.

[Listening to: Waldorf Worldwide - Good Charlotte - Good Charlotte (3:19)]

Technologically challenged..hehe

Making fun of the computer illiterates out there. Seems like most of
these customer situations are in India. Enjoy

http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_obvious.shtml

contact with my girl FINALLY!

After a weeklong period of no communication, I finally got to talk to her after leaving a couple of messages. She attended a lot of graduation parties today. She made me tell her about the thursday night at iowa city..hehe. I also told her about the stuff that went on during the rest of the week. One of her friends, Felix is visiting them and will be getting there tomorrow. They are going to YellowStone National Park on Wednesday. It seems like there will be a communication blackout when she leaves for the camping trip. Anyway, I hope she sends me postcards:). Going on trips with Andi's family is a lot of fun because the spring break trip was awesome! She has a fantastic 2 weeks ahead of her.

[Listening to: Fair - Ben Folds Five - Whatever And Ever Amen [UK] (5:57)]

I haven't talked to Andi for about a week since she went back home. It's been quite a while. I thought she was going to call me friday but I guess she got busy. She emailed me to tell me to call her tonight but I was out. Anyway, I think I might call her on sunday if she is around.

[Listening to: If I Could Be Like That - 3 Doors Down - (4:25)]

Harry Potter Mayhem!

I went to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tonight with Britta, Ben and Theresa. I think it was a sold out crowd because we had to wait forever to get into the theatre. They kept us out till 5 minutes before the scheduled time. And then when we got in, we had to sit through 6 previews! The movie was cool, although they did change a few details but it didnt seem that bad. It was over two hours long though. I wish Britta wasn't so grouchy and moody tonight. I always happen to be there when a girl is having a rough day, and all the anger and frustration comes out at me. Her swings compares to Komal's and I had to watch everything I said so as to not provoke her. It would have been so much better if she hadn't been so pissy. Anyway, I know girls are like that but I am still coming to terms with it. I was warned not to disturb her tomorrow. That was really odd because I wasn't going to wake her up or anything of that sort due to her lack of sleep the last few days..

[Listening to: Life For Rent - Dido - Life For Rent (3:41)]

Swing Manna

hehe..that may look like me and Andi are making out while dancing..but, that's just a swing lift..lol. It also is the best looking lift among all the photos I have. What can I say, it's perfect. 

finally no more caf food!

I can finally eat my own food whenever I please. I can start exercising and it's about time I did. Although this also means that I need to get groceries for food and all. I also slept in till noon. It felt soo good because i got more than 7 hours of sleep last night. I was also wondering what Britta was upto because I hadn't seen her since thursday evening and we finally made contact today. She came up to tell me about her adventures in the last 48 hours. She was on a sleep derived high..lol.. The Relay for Life was fun apparently.. and then we just talked for a long time.. I also seem to have a calming effect on her because she sobered down. She is hilarious when she is on a sleep deprived or caffeine high because she laughs at every thing. I am also jealous because her boss took her out to eat the last couple of days and she has been eating well while the other mortals here were stuck with cafeteria food.. It was also lonely eating by myself. The last couple of days were the first times that I actually ate by myself. While talking to Britta, she told me that I seemed like a jerk the first time we met, and she thought I was very possessive about Andi because I was paying a lot of attention to her. She realized later that I was quiet because I didn't know anyone in the group watching the movie apart from Andi. It's always interesting to hear what my friends thought of me the first time they met me...

[Listening to: Saathiya - A.R.Rahman - Saathiya (5:57)]

And another night of fun!

Some times at research when its all boys around, we have the strangest of conversations. Today was about porn. We just sat there for 20 minutes talking about it with Jesse, Marty, Jon, Chris and me there. We also talked about drugs at random. Never a dull day at physics alright. I was so lethargic today that I just wanted to get finished with work and leave. I got back to my room and lay on the bed watching tv, i realized that if I wasn't careful, I could fall asleep. I was so tempted to nap but I had to see Love Actually tonight before 8.30 and return it to Kristin. She is leaving tomorrow and I don't think I will see her before she leaves.. I could have seen Harry Potter with her and the group that was going but I told Britta that I wanted to see it with her. I also think the movie with Britta will be more fun although we might go with Jenna because she wants to see and will also give us a ride. It feels really odd that I haven't hung out with Britta for a couple of days because she was so busy. I sort of got used to us hanging out all the time. Although, I might get to see her more during the weekend before she leaves for home.
            I didn't want to nap because I was going swing dancing tonight at the Hilltop. When I got to Kiki's, I saw Kelly and was pleasantly surprised. She got her haircut and she looks very cute with the new hairdo. Both me and Rob told her she looked good in it. Kiki and Kelly were both dressed very well tonight. I also heard some talk about sticky boobs which I understood later in the night. We got there and saw that the four of us were the only ones there. It was a lot of fun with just the four of us because we got to dance with each other and try new moves. I learnt a few new moves from Kelly, she always has something new to show which is very cool! Although the moves I learnt caused a lot of contact with her boobs. That was a rather interesting experience because I tried it with Kiki and it was the same thing. A first for me was poking Kiki's fake breast or "sticky boobs". Rob, Kiki and me are in a picture where Rob and me are poking her chest. God, after that the girls started poking and feeling our chests like that one episode in Will and Grace. It was rather odd. Kelly accused me of dirty swinging, apparently I touched her butt during a move which I didn't realize. I sometimes move down too much; got to watch out for that with girls especially if I am not dating them. Kiki was also very excited when we did some of the best aerials ever because she has never gotten so much of elevation. It was a lot of fun!!
            I will be going to Scheel's with some of my physics friends to check some guns out. They want to show me how a gun feels since I have never really seen a gun in real life.. That should be a cultural experience.

[Listening to: Everybody - 12 Rods - Separation Anxieties (4:05)]

Fun at Iowa City!

I still can't believe that I went out to drink with Kevin and his friends from Knox College to Iowa City. I got to know one of his friends called Fay. This bunch of his friends were americanized, especially their mannerisms and diction. We first went to the Summit and then found out that their dance floor was closed. So, we then headed to One-eyed Jake's. That's the first time I have been there. It seems like a lot of people from Coe celebrate their 21st birthday there. We got in and started playing truth or dare while drinking. I had a few drinks including a mixed fruity tasting drink. Unfortunately, I don't remember what was in the drink. We had some pretty amazing dares including kissing some random girl. It's really funny that all the questions for the truth relate to sex, every single one like where was the kinkiest place you have done it to how many times they masturbated. I have been asked to come to Knox with Kevin in June. After a while we left and went to someone's house where they had beer and started playing games. I just wanted to come back and go to bed because I still had work that morning. I actually slept for about 45 minutes at the house and then we got back around 3.30 am. Morning was not fun because I didn't want to get out of bed. I dragged my ass out of bed and got to work by 10. It was a long day after that. I had no energy throughout the day!

[Listening to: Echo - Incubus - Morning View (3:34)]

This is a picture of my family with Doll's. It also has Manu, her brother at the back with me. My brother is next to Doll. 

and on a brighter note

I talked to Doll last night. I love talking to her because it makes me calm and helps me process my thoughts about stuff. She is an old childhood friend who is now studying in the US. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have her to talk to. I use more minutes to call her than to talk to anyone else which is rather interesting. She is also the only person I can think of who I can call without having to think about it twice. I don't have to worry about if it's ok to call her. I have some methods of destressing but talking to Doll happens to work like a charm as well and it's good because it doesn't involve my drive. And I also introduced her blogging last night, she even got her own account and has started blogging. I am helping her spruce her blog up with suggestions. Meanwhile I am still fooling around with my template to get it the way I want it.

[Listening to: Lifeboat - The Elms - Big Surprise (3:52)]

what a waste!

Here comes yet another research day of misfortunes. We did everything right and quicker. All we needed to do was to pack more glass into the canister, there was space but we didn't. One freaking thing we overlooked and all day's efforts are wasted. I talked to Doc and told him about the density results, and I got the expected answer of "do it again." Atleast now, we have a sense of direction for the project. I need to get as much done as possible before I leave for Japan. So I have to redo today's glass tomorrow and make more precipitates.

[Listening to: Hold on - Good Charlotte - the young and the hopeless (4:09)]

A bout of Loopiness

Cerulean2485: sweetie, should i do this response paper or not?
Cerulean2485: i think it might take me a while even though i've read it
Cerulean2485: and i need to study for a german quiz tomorrow
Cerulean2485: maybe i should study for the quiz and then see if i want to write the paper
Cerulean2485: hello?
Cerulean2485: are you there?
Cerulean2485: JOOOOOOYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cerulean2485: ok, well i'm going to study for my quiz and then see how it's going
Cerulean2485: because if i don't study for the quiz first my brain will probably be fried
Cerulean2485: and if my brain is fried when i study tonight, i'll have to get up even earlier tomorrow to study again and then i'll be even more fried
Cerulean2485: are you off with some girl somewhere?!
Cerulean2485: i sure hope not...
Cerulean2485: i don't want to have to check up on you!
Cerulean2485: :-)
Cerulean2485: just kidding
Cerulean2485: but seriously, where are you?
Cerulean2485: it's not like i'm going to call you from the library
Cerulean2485: i mean, i don't even have a phone here
Cerulean2485: if you're not in your room how do you expect me to get a hold of you?!
Cerulean2485: ...not that i want you to live in your room all the time...
Cerulean2485: i sure hope you're not standing at your computer reading this and not even responding!
Cerulean2485: i'll be pretty mad it that's the case
Cerulean2485: maybe i should come hunt you down
Cerulean2485: ...i would if i didn't need to study
Cerulean2485: but see, you're wasting my time... i could be in my room by now but no! i'm talking to you!
Cerulean2485: actually, i'm not talking to you because you're not writing me back!
Cerulean2485: if i find out you're with some other girl cheating on me now, i'll be mad!
Cerulean2485: don't worry, i don't really think you're cheating on me
Cerulean2485: i trust you
Cerulean2485: so i hope you make contact with me soon
Cerulean2485: until then, i'll be studying
Cerulean2485: if you would just stop distracting me now i'd have half the vocab memorized already
Cerulean2485: but noooo! you're eating up all my time!
Cerulean2485: stop being so selfish
Cerulean2485: i don't have time for this
Cerulean2485: now seriously, i'm leaving
Cerulean2485: just give me a sec
Cerulean2485: don't have too much fun with your secret lover!
Cerulean2485: because you know, eventually i'll find out about it
Cerulean2485: but when i'm gone over the summer you can embellish just don't get too excited just yet
Cerulean2485: you still have to hold out a couple more weeks
Cerulean2485: then you'll be free!
Cerulean2485: ...until august
Cerulean2485: well, now i'm really going
Cerulean2485: tchuss!
Cerulean2485: thanks for the advice about the paper/quiz
Cerulean2485: it was really helpful
Cerulean2485 signed off at 9:24:58 PM (April 22 2004).