Poopy Fate!

Life is good at this point. Puppy is large and happy. The kitchen is full of tasty food. I still manage to find myself bored.

Classes started this past week. I am taking 2 real classes (themo and structure) and 2 fake ones (seminar and research). Unfortunately I have not found an advisor yet, so there is little to do between classes. The book I have been reading to fall asleep is scary and has been giving me some pretty disturbing nightmares, thanks psyfe! I have decided to only read it during the day.

Things are going well on the tasty front. I made my first stew a few days ago with huge success. Browned some chuck. add onions stock and garlic. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Add any veggie you like (potatoes, carrots, and the like) and cook for another half hour. When the beef flakes apart when you push on it add your favorite thickening agent.  I did a similar thing to make the meat for some enchiladas, added some chili powder and oregano instead of garlic and didn't add any other veggies besides onion.  I sometimes think I would be happy just being a housewife.

Can't wait for winter, there will be paper whites abound.

The professor I was going to work for at Umich is transferring to UCSB in a year...

Looks like I need to find a new advisor.

The puppy has arrived. Pictures

Leo at 7 weeks old. We pick him up on the 22nd.

Here are house pictures in our semi-moved in state.

Here are some more pictures of the house, the stuff inside belongs to the previous tenants.

Alan and I have almost finished settling into our new place in Ann Arbor. It is a really nice little house. Three (small) bedrooms, kitchen, living/dining room, and a backyard. The previous owners were a little on the hippie side and painted the rooms in odd, but not unattractive ways. We moved up with 2 beds, a desk and a dresser. After craig's list hunting we found a very nice living room set for cheap. There will be pictures up at some point.

Next saturday we leave for a cape cod vacation for a week. From Cape Cod we head to california, my home, for some family and puppy time. There will be puppy pictures posted at some point too.

The new house is quickly becoming a home. *joy*

Alan's Birthday was today. I proposed and he said "absolutely". *glee*

Also, our new puppy is the one in the middle. His name is Leo.

Here are my plan's for the summer.
May 17 - commencement
A bit after commencement Alan and I will move up to Ann Arbor
June 13 - fly to cape cod for vacation
June 21 - fly from cape cod to California (home)
June 22 - Pick up Bernese Mountain Dog puppy
July 18 - Birthday
Some time after Birthday - Fly back to Ann Arbor with puppy

Booth happened. It turned out pretty good, people seem to like our game. I am not expecting to win, placing would be nice though.

The house hunt may be on again. The place we were looking at decided to change the stated rent from 1250 to 1375, a bit out of our price range. We will see if we can talk them down, but it may mean that we need to look for another place.

If you can watch these for more than a minute without cracking up, you are stronger than I.
( The eyes, they burn so )

I had a great time over spring break.

It started off with a visit to UMich. The campus, the facilities, the people, and the professors were all really awesome. I accepted their offer. The following day I emailed the professor i wanted to work with telling them so. I got an email back the following day saying:
I would be pleased to have you in my research group.  I cannot yet provide any details regarding a specific project, but we will figure it out by the time you arrive.
I am really excited since she only had one spot open and her work is really interesting. At this point I may be working on a new high temperature alloy used in turbine blades. I have heard nothing but rave reviews of her as a professor, advisor, and academic.

The second part of the break was spent in Vegas/Death Valley. Vegas was about as I remembered it, a little too overwhelming to be very pleasant. But, we got to seem some awesome fountain shows and Cirque Du Soleil's "O". Death valley was much more fun than I thought it would be. There were many fun hikes taken through weird geologic formations.

Busy week coming up. I need to make up a solidification processing exam I missed because of the UMich visit. Materials for Energy Systems wants an outline and reference list for the term paper. I am presenting my paper for African studies next Tuesday.

But....at this point do I really care too much? The answer seems to be no. I will continue to do my work but will not put nearly as much effort into it. I am just going to spend time marveling that the next 4-5 years are going to be a blast.

I visited UMich this weekend and had a blast. The professors are doing really interesting work, the facilities are awesome, and the current grads are awesome.

I accepted their offer of admission.

Summer planning can now begin...oh boy! Puppy!

Just got an acceptance email from UMich! They are funding me!

At this point they are tied for my first choice with MIT. Really happy!

*fall down*

In the absence of grad school updates, here is a music video! It is very cute.

Via Dan Savage, a new definition for our good friend Rick Warren's church.
Saddlebacking

Done with grad school applications!

Now just the nervous waiting.

This book should be bought for the cluster:

“Snark” is a new book by David Denby on the history of snark.

What is snark? You recognize it when you see it — a tone of teasing, snide, undermining abuse, nasty and knowing, that is spreading like pinkeye through the media and threatening to take over how Americans converse with each other and what they can count on as true. Snark attempts to steal someone’s mojo, erase her cool, annihilate her effectiveness. In this sharp and witty polemic, New Yorker critic and bestselling author David Denby takes on the snarkers, naming the nine principles of snark — the standard techniques its practitioners use to poison their arrows. Snarkers like to think they are deploying wit, but mostly they are exposing the seethe and snarl of an unhappy country, releasing bad feeling but little laughter.

David is a staff writer and film critic at The New Yorker.

--Laughing Squid

I have been writing a lot over the last week, and will write a lot more over the weekend. Some distractions would be very welcome. So, I want to try the meme ghanners is doing. Maybe by writing answers to those questions I will be able to get in a better mood for my paper.

Ask me a few questions and I will answer them here.

If you guys are looking for a tiny Christmas tree for your room/dorm/apartment/house, Lowe's is selling rosemary bushes cut into trees. They are cute and smell good. They are also tasty. Sooo tasty...

They also conveniently sell strands of light bulbs that are only 8 feet long. Perfect for lil' tree decorating.

I bought one last year, but it died pretty quickly. That may have something to do with me hacking off half of the branches... or re-potting it in a vigorous manner. I hear that they actually do want to be re-potted eventually. The plants themselves are pretty large, probably a bit too large for that size pot.

My next two weeks. Again, mostly a list for myself.

( Joy )