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*falls over*
Oh. My god. It has been too long, my friends. Allow me to explain:
- My great uncle died. He was the closest thing my mom had to a father, and though we knew it was coming, it still hurt. What made it even worse is that a bunch of "family" (i.e. bio-related and/or marriage-related, but jackasses I am not fond of) crawled out of the woodwork to steal, literally steal, his belongings. And I'm 99% sure one of them had a hand in his actual death. And some of them are ex-cons with past violent convictions. It's a big fucking mess. At least it's settling down now.
- The Japan trip is off. We'd kind of gotten to the point where we didn't think it was feasible for us both to go, but Jaime at least was going to bring me back a souvenir. Then the nuclear thing happened. What with Jaime being a cancer survivor and all, we got nervous about him going, especially since he gets a bunch of radiation from his check-up scans every few months. Long story short, he e-mailed, his advisor understood, and said advisor will present Jaime's paper for the conference so Jaime doesn't have to go. Whee!
- Being a TA sucks. The time. Yargh.
- Minor mental meltdown as a result of lab stresses. My advisor is the type to motivate with stress and doesn't seem to believe in positive reinforcement. Add that onto anxiety, depression, and a touch of Imposter Syndrome, and sometimes I just hit critical.
+ Second pup! We adopted Opal, a 1 year old hound mix, and she is soooo sweet and cute. Check it:
This is our Benny. Handsome, isn't he?
And this is Opal. She was very shy at first, but she's taken to all of us quite well.
See?
Of course, Benny's not one to sit by idly.
Believe it or not, as far as we know, they're completely unrelated. Crazy, no?
Check out Opal's little ear wisps. She has the softest fur ever, I swear. Benny's all sleek and shiny, while she's a plush little doll.
One slight problem, though...
I think they might be evil.
Yep. Pure evil.
BONUS - the reptile corner!
Our sweet Jacks! Lookit that little face! And I love his coloring.
This is Smikup. He lives in a canal by Jaime's lab. Hi, Smikup!
I've seen a lizard hiding in that statue twice now. I'm sure there's some metaphor to be made.
Roboraptor may have found himself a snack.
BONUS BONUS - seen in a parking garage!
Claaaaa~ssy.
- My great uncle died. He was the closest thing my mom had to a father, and though we knew it was coming, it still hurt. What made it even worse is that a bunch of "family" (i.e. bio-related and/or marriage-related, but jackasses I am not fond of) crawled out of the woodwork to steal, literally steal, his belongings. And I'm 99% sure one of them had a hand in his actual death. And some of them are ex-cons with past violent convictions. It's a big fucking mess. At least it's settling down now.
- The Japan trip is off. We'd kind of gotten to the point where we didn't think it was feasible for us both to go, but Jaime at least was going to bring me back a souvenir. Then the nuclear thing happened. What with Jaime being a cancer survivor and all, we got nervous about him going, especially since he gets a bunch of radiation from his check-up scans every few months. Long story short, he e-mailed, his advisor understood, and said advisor will present Jaime's paper for the conference so Jaime doesn't have to go. Whee!
- Being a TA sucks. The time. Yargh.
- Minor mental meltdown as a result of lab stresses. My advisor is the type to motivate with stress and doesn't seem to believe in positive reinforcement. Add that onto anxiety, depression, and a touch of Imposter Syndrome, and sometimes I just hit critical.
+ Second pup! We adopted Opal, a 1 year old hound mix, and she is soooo sweet and cute. Check it:
This is our Benny. Handsome, isn't he?
And this is Opal. She was very shy at first, but she's taken to all of us quite well.
See?
Of course, Benny's not one to sit by idly.
Believe it or not, as far as we know, they're completely unrelated. Crazy, no?
Check out Opal's little ear wisps. She has the softest fur ever, I swear. Benny's all sleek and shiny, while she's a plush little doll.
One slight problem, though...
I think they might be evil.
Yep. Pure evil.
BONUS - the reptile corner!
Our sweet Jacks! Lookit that little face! And I love his coloring.
This is Smikup. He lives in a canal by Jaime's lab. Hi, Smikup!
I've seen a lizard hiding in that statue twice now. I'm sure there's some metaphor to be made.
Roboraptor may have found himself a snack.
BONUS BONUS - seen in a parking garage!
Claaaaa~ssy.
no subject
But yea, pupples and snakes (can you believe I typo'd that as snacks? wut)! yay! Tiny snake! Can I eat him?
oh and a lizard.
And the situation in Japan is scary. Yet, I haven't heard any news of it recently (nothing later than the 22nd)...
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Yes, yay! You can try to eat him, but he's pretty crafty. I think he's got Benny trained to act as a bodyguard for him as well.
Lizard. Saw one in that statue again today. Yep.
It really is. I haven't heard anything new lately, but I think there's a lot of strategic omissions in reporting going on at the moment. What little bits I can gather seem... not good.
no subject
I completely understand why you’d forgo your Japan trip in light of radiation concerns. I feel bad for you guys though, because it would’ve been such an experience. I didn’t pick up much in the way of souvenirs from my own visit to Tokyo over Christmas break, but I have some magazines and other knick-knacks I can send your way if you’d like a taste!
Also, being a TA—OMG, I have no idea how you’re doing it! I’m taking a TA prep course this term (as a requirement for my degree) and it’s driving me crazy just putting together a syllabus and lesson plans—and I’m not even dealing with actual students! What are you TAing, btw?
I have to say that your animals are adorable! I’m glad that Jacks has made it so long—looks like he’ll make to ripe old age if he hasn’t had any problems yet. :)
That statue lizard may be the most awesome thing I have ever seen.
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Yeah, it sucks, but we have to be all adult and try to make good choices. Someday! Someday we shall go! And of course, you're not obligated to send me anything, but I do have a weakness for knick-knacks...
Thank GOD I don't have to teach. I just wouldn't have the time. I'm just grading and proctoring and running the lab (which is over now). It's hard enough trying to keep on top of the homeworks and listening to people whiiiiine about losing a point or two (it's never the failing kids that complain, always the top ones). I think I'd go crazy if I had to teach on top of that. Oh, and it's Biomedical Instrumentation, by the way. Lots of circuits and op amps and ECG/EEG stuff. Interesting, but a bit outside of my ken.
Thankin' ya kindly! I do adore the little idiots. Jacks sure does seem to have a lot of promise - remind me to upload this video of him eating sometime. He does this weird little yawn thing; it's epic.
I've seen him more than once in there! And the statue was knocked over the other day. I'm telling you, there's symbolism at work here...
no subject
Those pictures are awesome though.
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