Saturday, February 26, 2005

Two birthdays in Ms V's family today!

Happy Birthday Hub and Greni!!!

:)


Hub making a funny face:



Precious little Grenidine:



Picture of the birthday pair together:



:)
Ms. V

Friday, February 25, 2005

"I don't mind change, I just don't like to be there when it happens."

(The title was taken from an episode of "Monk.")

I had to live in the mundane today and run errands. I canceled my plans to swim with sharks because we needed groceries and cat food. :sigh: Maybe next Friday...

I did the unthinkable: I bought (prepare yourself) INSTANT COFFEE. Please. Stop cringing. With enough coffeemate it can taste a little bit less like poison. A little bit.

You see, Hub works from home. It's great because he makes coffee every morning. It's not great because he makes decaf. Since he nurses his pot o' decaf all day long, I had to choose between buying another coffee maker for my own brew, or just getting a jar of instant joe. I chose the instant. I hate shopping and can't really see the point in owning two coffee machines. Since I'm only going to drink this crap on mornings that I don't go to Dunkin' Donuts (my usual hot-spot), it won't be so bad. I hope.

In other news, we have 2 family birthdays to celebrate tomorrow: Hub's and Grenidines. Rest assured, they will get a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" post along with pictures. Check back if you want to see a photo of the most adorable cat in the world. Hub's not too bad looking, either.

xo,
Ms. V

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Just can't think of a good title tonight...

Well, the physics exam was sheer hell. On the bright side, he grades on a curve so all I have to do is cross my fingers that everyone else in the class did worse than I did.

I'm working on the world's longest lab report now. I still have to write a conclusion and discussion, as well as make my graphs and sketches. Thank goodness I don't have to travel to Johnson for the day tomorrow. That gives me a few hours to work on it then. Nothing like putting stuff off. I'm the modern-day Scarlett O'Hara: "I'll worry about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day."

Hub's birthday is Saturday and I'm not even close to being done his blanket. I guess he'll get his gift late. Then again, he lives with me. How much more could a guy want, anyway? Afterall, I'm the one who brings him snacks while he kills bad guys.

In all seriousness now (where's the fun in that?), we're going out for brunch at his favorite restaurant - the Brazilian place downtown. It's basically a "festival o' meat" so we don't go very often. There's only so much grilled pineapple a girl can eat. I think this time I'll just hold out for the all-you-can-eat dessert tray.

Monday, February 21, 2005

I can't believe I forgot!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Teba.... happy birthday to you!

Her highness Teba is 7 years old today. :)


Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

That means my ma' ain't comin' over.

Translation for normal-speaking people: That means my mother can't make it over today, which also means that I am now obligated to study for the physics exam tonight. Yippee. It also means that I need to get on the god-awful treadmill.

What is it about that machine that, in thinking about using it, I absolutely hate it, but when I actually get on there, I really like it and want to get back on as soon as I get off? Is this some sort of odd exercise paradox, or have I gotten so used to thinking about how much I hate working out that it's simply habit, and I just can't seem to break out of that thought process? Note to self: retrain your thinking, tell yourself you love the treadmill and see if that helps.

Really, I'd much rather be snowshoeing though. It's more fun, it's a better work out, and I have a great new pair of Tubbs that I'm dying to strap on. Too bad we don't have enough room in our back yard for a good work out. Too bad the weather is so shitty that my little geo prism and I wouldn't survive the drive to Catamount to use their trails.

Off to the treadmill I go! I'll kill two birds with one stone and study my physics notes while I'm on there. Then I can spend the rest of the afternoon eating truffles to make up for the healthy stuff I just did for my body and mind.

I'm also working on a blanket for the hub. His b-day is this weekend and he picked out the most hideous yarn I've ever seen. BUT, I love him and he wanted it, so it's on my size 17 circular needles, waiting to be formed into the ugliest blanket known to man. It will probably sit on the back of our couch, replacing the beautifully crocheted one we got for a wedding shower gift.

Ms. V

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Further proof that I'm a night person...

Well, at 1: 20am - just before going to bed - it suddenly occurred to me that we live on the planet Earth, where acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s^2. Geeze. I ran downstairs, re-wrote the second problem and my answer matched the professor's. Go figure.

Then I did the first problem over because I realized that I took an extra step that was completely unnecessary. Got that one right, too. I guess I think more clearly in the middle of the night. The 'V' in "Ms. V" will now stand for "Vampira." I like that.

Now I have to do 30 minutes of aerobics (no time for a 1hour jaunt on the treadmill so I'm subsituting), then finish those problems. I also checked my syllabus. The exam is not on this chapter. The chapters that I'll be tested on are a snap so I'm no longer worried. :)

Yay for Ms. V!

Friday, February 18, 2005

The extent to which I hate physics is truly astounding.

I hate physics. I hate it with an absolute, burning passion. Do you know what I hate more than physics? The fact that I have to also take physics II. I can't wait. I'm sure the torture of physics II will make the torture of physics I seem like it was a day at the playground. Yippee.

Honestly, I don't know why I hate it because I *love* math. In fact, I love math so much that I sometimes do problems for fun. Yes, I really am that much of a geek. Now, physics is basically math with fancy names, like "Newtons." Sure, Newton was a cool guy and all, but is it really necessary for physics people to be obsessed with him? C'mon now. In either case, physics should not be detested by someone who loves math. All we do in physics is learn 18 new formulas that will all give us the same conclusion, then plug some numbers into our favorite one. Not bad. I can handle that. That part of physics I actually kind of enjoy.

What I DON'T enjoy, however, is the fact that I started my first 2 homework problems tonight, did them absolutely, 100% right, but still got different answers than those given to us by the instructor. I've rechecked my formulas. I've rechecked my math. I get the same answers and they make sense. I have no idea what kind of "herbal remedy" he was smoking when he came up with his answers but they are different than mine. His must be wrong because I'm always right. I guess he didn't get that memo. I'll have to remember to leave a copy of it in his school mailbox on Monday.

Oh yeah, I have to take an exam that evening, too. I'm sure I'll get 100% after he gets his memo. He won't even have to waste his time grading it. I'll be making his life easier. How nice of me. :)

xo,
Ms. V

A little note about exhaustion...

When it hits, it hits hard. Exhausted is how I've felt almost every day this week. I'll be caring and sharing and give you a rundown:

Monday: Exam in cells and genetics. It went well, but I'm still waiting for my grade. Then I drove the 45 minutes back home to go to calculus. Remember calculus boy? He outdid himself on Monday. He had questions from the previous chapter that we finished weeks ago. He had so many that we spent the full 2 hour class working on them. No new material. How obnoxious. On the bright side, we also didn't get assigned any homework because of it. If I didn't find him so damn annoying, I would have thanked him.

Tuesday: A fun filled day of homework which later included going to work and waiting for security to come open my friend's office (it took them 15 minutes, she's 9months pregnant and I'm usually cranky).

Wednesday: A day that started off at 45 degrees F. I wore my zip-up Johnson State hoodie and was perfectly comfortable. Fifteen minutes into my lab, it started to snow like wild. I had no jacket and only 1 hour to get home before having to go to my physics lab. Physics lab was 100% hellish. It was the longest freakin' lab I've ever had to do in my life. Would you like to know what we did? We wrote down numbers for 2 1/2 hours straight, then we had a problem with our air track. Our glider kept sticking. Finally, through gritted teeth, I said "We'll try once more, and if the BLEEPING thing sticks again, we're making up this final value!" The boys knew I was serious. By the time I got home, I wanted to curl into the fetal position and wimper. I had just spent over 2 hours writing down 67,483 numbers. Now I have to average them by groups of 3. Kill me. Please.

Thursday: Work. 2 hours of billing, then on to the LDA stuff. It was a busy night on the floor, but a slow night for us.... Until 11pm when I was planning on going home but they sent a women back into our OR for a double set up (tries to deliver vaginally and if she can't, it's an immediate c-section). Thank goodness the babies were cute. I was already so overtired and cranky by the time they were born that I would have just been more TO'd if they were ugly newborns.

I got hom 3 hours late, which means I got up 3 hours late, which means I lose a 1-hour date with the treadmill and 2 hours of precious homework time. Hub is working on the basement tomorrow and then helping a friend with his, so I can catch up then.

Vacation from one college this week. No commute! Rejoice!

Ms. V

Saturday, February 12, 2005

There's a little blue monkey hanging from my lamp...

Stolen from my sister (I changed the answers to my own).

10 bands you've been listening to lately:
1. Paul Simon (I know he's not a band, but...)
2. 101.3 - radio station
3. 106.7 - radio station
4. Dick Dale
5. Dave Matthews band
6. dave matthews (solo)
7. Sublime
8. 95.5 - radio station
9. 104.7 - radio station
10. Mixed artist CD I made for running

9things you look forward to:
1. snowshoeing
2. the end of the semester
3. my next paycheck
4. getting in shape for the 5K
5. COMPLETING the 5k
6. Returning to Las Vegas
7. Going to Montreal
8. Paying off student loans
9. Tubing at Titus Mtn.

8 things you like to wear:
1. contacts (well, I have to wear those...)
2. jeans
3. Long-sleeved T-shirts
4. My too-good-to-be-true LL Bean slippers
5. red dansko clogs
6. watch
7. engagement ring (sometimes I just wear my wedding band)
8. The bracelet my sister made me w/ my initials on it

7 things that annoy you:
1. The guy in my physics class who has a cell phone AND a beeper on his belt. Bleh
2. slow drivers
3. dusting
4. The guy at Border's coffee shop who's WAY too slow in giving me my coffee
5. Mornings without coffee
6. Having to work so hard to lose all this weight
7. Not fitting into my old jeans

6 things you say most days:
1. whatever
2. Who wants foody-bites?? (to the fab four)
3. I love you (to Hub)
4. schiezer
5. yada, yada, yada or blah, blah, blah (they're interchangeable)
6. I don't want to do homework!

5 things you do everyday:
1. schoolwork of some sort
2. compusively check my email
3. annoy the Hub and the fab four
4. take a shower
5. drink coffee

4 people you want to spend more time with:
1. friends not living in the area
2. family (well, some of them - :wink:)
3. A couple of the cool people I've met in my classes this semester
4. Scott Patterson (he plays Luke on Gilmore Girls)

3 movies you could watch over and over again:
1. Napolean Dynamite (Whatever I feel like! GOSH!)
2. Casablanca
3. Best in Show

2 of your favorite songs at the moment:
1. Bridge Over Trouble Water (the Paul Simon, Live in Central Park version)
2. Obvious Child (the Paul Simon, Live at Central Park version)

1 person you could spend the rest of your life with:
1. there are a few people here.... but I guess I have to say "me" because that's the only one I'm absolutely stuck with, no matter what.

Friday, February 11, 2005

I'm fully prepared for people to hate me after they read this. :evil grin:

There once was this INCREDIBLY rich man (Bill Gates type of rich) who had a young son. He loved his son with every ounce of his heart and soul; this young boy was his universe.

The son, naturally, had a huge 1st birthday party - the father spared no expense. Granted, the kid was only 1 and wouldn't remember it, but the dad didn't care. That night, as they sat down to open gifts, the little boy grabbed the present from his dad. He opened it up and inside there was one ping pong ball. The kid had no clue what it was about, of course, because he was a toddler, but the ping pong ball was put in his toy box, just the same.

The following year, on his 2nd birthday, the father gave him one ping pong ball again. Still, the kid didn't know or care so it wasn't a big deal.

The third birthday rolled around. There was a little more fanfare this year because the boy was aging and knew that he loved cake and presents. They even invited some other kids from his play group. Then, as he was opening the presents, he got to his father's - only to open yet another ping pong ball. The little boy tossed it around for a bit but quickly got bored and moved on.

His 4th birthday came along and it was the largest bash yet. His pre-school friends and their parents were there. There were clowns, jugglers, a magician, pony rides, you name it. When it came time to open his father's gift though, he got - you guessed it - one ping pong ball.

This was repeated every single year, right up until his 16th birthday. The son never questioned it because he and his dad were very close and it didn't matter what he got for his birthday. He was a good kid, and even though he was rich, he was kind-hearted and cared more about family than material posessions. Still, on his 16th birthday, he was hoping for a car (what 16 year old isn't - especially those who have filthy rich fathers?). Instead, he was given just one ping pong ball. Mind you, he didn't even have a ping-pong table, but he had 16 years worth of ping pong balls.

Seventeenth birthday, one ping pong ball.

Eighteenth birthday, one ping pong ball.

Nineteenth birthday, one ping pong ball.

This is how it happened every single year, no matter what. He got nothing else from his dad except one measly little ping pong ball.

By the time he turned 21, he was a tad annoyed but he had long gotten over trying to figure out why he was only getting one ping pong ball.

This kept happening with every birthday, even as an adult. The son finally got married and was ready to start a family of his own when tragedy struck and his beloved father became terminally ill. The son kept a constant vigil at his father's bedside and when he knew the time was drawing near, he simply couldn't resist....

"Dad, I've loved you both like a father and a best friend. I've always looked up to you and wanted to be just like you. You've fed me, clothed me, put a roof over my head.... but there's just one thing I don't understand. Every single birthday gift you've ever given me has consisted solely of one ping pong ball. I just don't get it. You could have bought me anything in the world but instead you just gave me one ping pong ball. I'm not ungrateful. I appreciate all you've done, but I'm rather curious - why did you do it?"

The father replied, "Son, you're my only child. My pride and joy. I never knew a love like this existed until I had you. Being a father has been the happiest job I've ever had. I cannot keep this from you any longer. Lean in closer and I'll tell you why I only gave you one ping pong ball each year. You need to know."

The son's heart skipped a beat as the expanation he sought so desperately was about to be revealed. He leaned it to hear his father's words and just as his dear ole' dad drew his breath to begin speaking.....















He died.

Monday, February 07, 2005

Fun with Physics

Question:
A rescue plane wants to drop supplies to isolated mountain climbers on a rocky ridge, 235m below. If the plane is traveling horizontally at a speed of 69.4 m/s, how far in advance of the recipients must the goods be dropped? Suppose instead that the plane releases the supplies at a horizontal distance of 425m in advance of the climbers. At what vertical velocity should the supplies be given so they arrive at the climbers' position? With what speed do the supplies land?



Answer: (Well, my answer...)
Who gives a crap. If a plane can get up there, then so can a helicopter. Why not send one of those instead? The chopper could drop a ladder and pull them up. OR.... How about this: we just leave them there to starve because they were stupid enough to get stuck in the first place. I'm a biologist. I believe in survival of the fittest.

Had a crappy day in class. Calculus boy started off with more of his "I just have a general question" crap. That wasted a decent amount of time. Then, in physics, 3 different people forgot how to do some basic algebra. Bleh.

Condor has been a wild-man lately. He woke me up at 6am. I was not happy. He's begging for food right now so I have to bend to my master's will and provide sustenance.

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Full steam ahead!

Well, I finally decided to try it: knitting a hat. I've tried knitting in the round before, using douple-pointed needles for a pair of socks and it was disastrous. Well, not disastrous but too much of a bother to finish the first sock. I've used circular needles many times for large blankets but I've never actually used them to make a hat. So far, so good. Everyone cross your fingers that I survive. I already have 3 things in my "to be frogged" pile and really don't want to add to it.

Hub is also home from his business trip. He brought me English Toffee and amaretto fudge. He's also going to be working from home now which means I'll have someone to make me coffee every morning. Good golly I love this man.

Time for bed! I'm hitting the hay early tonight so I can catch up on some magazine reading.
xo,
Ms. V

Friday, February 04, 2005

:sigh: Feeling a tad guilty...

Alright, I know that calculus-boy can't help that he doesn't get it. I also know that I should be more tolerant and now I feel bad for letting him irritate me. I don't mind that he needs to ask questions, but I DO mind that he monopolizes class time, refuses to get help, and never took pre-calc which would have helped immensely. Bleh.

In either case, I guess my problem with him has more to do with the fact that he thinks we should spend the entire class on his one or two questions. It's not with the fact that he actually needs the help.

That said, I'll leave you folks with this little tidbit since it'll give you an idea of just how bad it is: in class yesterday, he thought the x-axis was the y-axis and vice versa. WHO on earth can get those two mixed up? Sure, you can technically call them whatever you want (it's done in Physics all the time, as well as in Statistics and various other courses), but that's beside the point. It took 10 minutes to explain to him that it was the other way around. Like I said: his stupidity doesn't bother me as much as the fact that he rots away precious class time with it.

:sigh: I need to take a "nice" pill, I guess.

Oh yeah! The new bookbag is Sylvia. My old one is Jim. Now I have Sylvia and Jim. I wasn't quite ready to retire Jim yet since he's perfectly good for carrying stuff that isn't too heavy, and since I have classes at 2 different colleges right now, I decided that Jim would hold my stuff for the classes at one college and Sylvia would hold my stuff for classes at the other college. This way, I don't have to constantly change books when going from one place to the other. I can just grab the other bag and go. Sometimes my brilliance amazes me.

Ms. V

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Just like banging my head against a wall...

I know that many of you will be able to sympathize with me when you read the following. There's a guy in my calculus class who, for whatever reason, likes to treat it like his own personal tutoring session with the instructor. Calculus (any math, really) is not difficult for me. In fact, it comes rather easily and I suspect that's the case for most people. This guy just doesn't get it. I understand that it can be tough to grasp if you're not analytically minded but he really needs to get a REAL tutor or go to a math lab. End of story. I got extremely tired of spending ANOTHER 25 minutes discussing limits (the easiest part of calculus!) after we spent an hour on it last week. Dude. That's just ridiculous. It's especially fun when he is so out of touch that he asks questions that have no bearing on the subject matter and have nothing to do with what we're doing or what we will do.

In either case, there's always someone in one of my classes who drives me insane for the entire semester so I guess this guy is the lucky winner. I'd offer to help him out but I don't want to seem like a know-it-all. Besides, one of the other students has already offered a few times and he won't take her up on it, so I suspect I'll get the same response.

I'm tired, cranky, and fed up with the absurd amount of school work I have. I think I'm going to go eat some chocolate now. Perhaps a box of wine will help take the edge off, too.

I've also decided to frog a poncho I've been working on since before the holidays. Yep. It's getting ripped apart and I'll start from scratch. It'll be worth it though: I think it'll come out better than it has so far.

In the good news department: Hub comes home tomorrow and he doesn't have to go back on Monday like he originally thought. YAY! I'm in a mad scramble to get all of my assignments done so I don't have to work on them this weekend. I guess I should stop blogging and start working, huh?

xo,
Ms. V

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Tuesday afternoon haiku

Writing my labs now
Really hate doing it though
Want to knit instead