nov. 7: i:scintilla party at cowboy monkey. I think it's been far too long since I dressed in black, painted on eyeliner (literally -- I use a paintbrush and black eyeshadow that I wet down) and danced for hours. I'm really looking forward to it, regardless of who may be there or if it's gonna be awkward. don't care. wanna dance.

if you're curious, here's their youtube.

Today's weather: 58 with intermintant showers. Ooh, and when it's not showering, it's overcast and grey. It's like nature is going out of her way to show me the error of my ways; yesterday I didn't leave the house and it was a beautiful, sunny day. Today I had to leave (big weed identification test today) and it's the sort of day that begs to be spent inside with a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. ::sign:: Ooh well. I just have to get through this exam and a lecture, then I get to go home.

rhett's passed out, I'm slightly tipsy (hellllloooooooo 100 proof rootbeer schnapps) and there is but one thought on my mind: I wish I had curry right now. : (

happy birthday to me.
this week has sucked balls.
more later.

(if I weren't so tired I'd try to make it a haiku)

I bought a pair of 10g rainbow dichro from ebay, pretty happy with the results considering the size and price.

( pictures )

pulled an all-nighter last night and now I'm exhausted but can't sleep ..... so I bring you ( the serendipitous colorfront )

just got back from my human reproduction test. it went ... okay. it really depends on how harshly he grades things -- I focused waaaaaay too much on understanding specific things and he wanted more generic things ... which sounds easier, but to me it's not. I'd rather have an organ to diagram or a feedback loop to describe than random vocabulary word definitions (esp. since he doesn't give you the word and ask for the definition, he gives you the definition and asks for the word. which makes it much harder, at least for me). I think I got at least a B, maybe an A. and considering I totally forgot about the male reproductive system (rather, I didn't think it was going to be on this exam) and learned everything I know about it in the hour before the test, I'm okay with that.
I'm very crunchy right now -- I don't normally pop a lot of joints but everything's been popping in the last few hours -- back, neck, fingers, ankles (those are normal for me). I think it's because I sat in essentially the same position for almost 10 hours (started studying at my desk around 11 PM, didn't leave it until around 9 AM for my shower). I want to go take a nap since I'm tired and it's perfect napping weather -- perfect temp, slight breeze through the open window, quiet neighborhood since all the kids are in school, the students are in class and the parents are at work. and for the first time in weeks there doesn't seem to be any heavy construction going on! but I've got another class at 1:00 and I'm afraid that if I go to sleep I won't wake up by then. and then hektor and mimi are going in for their annuals -- they'll enjoy that (noooooooo). which means I won't get home until 5:30 ... but then, ooh then I will sleep. sweet, delicious sleep.
I'm off to find food. my tummy demands tribute!

apparently I just sent out a huge amount of spam. again. so if you got a weird email from me, I'm really sorry. I just deleted all my contacts from my email inbox and I'm taking the computer in for a diagnostic/virus scan as well as talking to the people at the computer center about how to stop the spamming.
I hate people (who make spam).

there are so many things I keep meaning to update with.
here's just a smattering:
+ I keep having weird dreams (okay, I guess dreams are odd by definition). I usually don't remember my dreams, but I've been remembering them recently and honestly, I don't like it. I'm used to waking up and being slightly grumpy about having to get out of bed, now I wake up and I'm missing someone, or confused, or upset about something that didn't really happen. last night I had a dream about masha visiting, and someone (don't know who) kept saying that everything would be alright now that she's back ... even though I knew she had come to town for just a few days. I also dreamed that kinner had rescued a baby that she didn't want to give back to the parents and we had to get across town to her parents (who had moved here from montana?) but we had to be careful or else the parents of the baby would find us and take it back.
+ I was born and raised in urbana, and I really didn't think there was anything here that could scare or upset me. I was wrong. as happyfrogg suggested and disconnector confirmed, that's the giant wasp I saw take a cicada out and eat its face. the fuckers are huge and loud and disturbing as all hell, esp. because they make nests in the ground. you know, where you can't see them and can step on them. ::shudder::
+ I was depressed and reading my weed science book and made the mistake of putting a box of oreos next to me. after eating about two per page, I realized that I'd eaten ~2/3 of the box. rhett's response? "I would berate you but I don't think you'd understand my point unless I made it in oinks." remind me why I love this man? ; P
+ today I'm seeing jen (friend from a stretched jewelry forum) for lunch, then I'm going to a top soil seminar in the afternoon (it's only an hour, will help with a presentation I'm doing later in the year and the title is: "TOP SOIL: what is it, and who cares?" which amuses me), then I'm going over to rhett's cousin's place to help them sew surcoats for a fighting event on saturday and then I go to work at 7:30. I'm hoping to get the second bedroom (the study) cleaned up a bit before lunch, I think that should be doable.

bah. I'll try to get back to the today I ... (for all you avid readers out there) but I can't think of anything interesting that I learned today. um, CO2 concentrations can be depleted under the crop canopy? yeah, didn't think it was that interesting. : )

I'm sitting outside hoho (honor's house) watching a freaking huge hornet (? Maybe it's a wasp) tear the hell out of a cicada. Creepy.
And it took me several tries to convince the iPod that I wanted to type "hell" and not "he'll" or "hello" like it kept insisting.

I got to class today! And I get to go pick up my copy of Office for the Mac today so I can print off all the powerpoints for my human repro class that I've missed and at least be as prepared as possible.

today I ...
+ discovered that my alarm clock no longer works
+ found that, if uninterupted, I can (and will!) sleep from midnight until 1 pm

and I had two classes today in the morning. ..... fuck.

lessee. today was weed science day so, while I learned a lot about defining characteristics of various weeds, that doesn't translate well to a quick and fun list. hrm.

today I ...
+ learned that shepherds purse is so named because the seed pods of this plant look like hearts (<3) which is the same basic shape as a traditional shepherd's purse (or bag). you might wonder why shepherd's bags were heart-shaped, and that's because they were traditionally made out of ram scrotums. so every time I look at this plant, I think "ram testicles."
+ discovered that the food at espresso royal is pretty good and not as overly-priced as art mart (and they make their hot chocolate with hot milk, as opposed to the bread company where you pay $2 and watch someone open a packet, pour hot water into a cup and stir. laaaaame).

speaking of hot chocolate, quick question: does hot chocolate with cinnamon sound yummy or revolting?

here's a pic of the earrings I made yesterday:

the big white beads are vintage hand-carved ivory; they're slightly different colors but I'm hoping that it's not too noticeable in-ear. I only have 4 of them and these were the best match.

and now I'm off the play with bunnies and do some more readings. whee!

I can't believe we're already in the second week of school. I know I won't say this in the bottom of the tenth week, but so far time is flying.

today I ....
+ learned that cranberries and blueberries are related (and yes, they both help prevent urinary tract infections)
+ tasted both american and european grapes; they have very different properties even without the taste difference, so it was fun
+ made a new pair of earrings that I might end up wearing to kinnerly's wedding (still got months to go)
+ went to a workshop on writing resumes and cover letters, resumes seem much less scary to me now

I miss monty a lot. I got a sympathy card from the vet's which was really nice (though they're located here and the envelope was postmarked in springfield ... ???). I really miss having a rat around but I'm waiting for a while to adopt another, partially because I think it's good to grieve and not just cover it up, but also because right now, I'm not sure another rat could compare to monty.

I tried to go to sleep earlier this evening but ended up getting up to make food. I found a really simple pasta sauce recipe that sounds yummy (marinated artichoke hearts, tuna, black olives and olive oil tossed over hot pasta) and it's easy, so I'm hoping to make it later in the week. it's gotten really cold (for this time of year, anyways) -- it's currently 54 outside, and the lows the past few days have been in the 40s. it's supposed to get a lot warmer as the week goes on (80 on wednesday) but I'm already starting to feel the desire for soups and warm food. I hope it stays warm for a while though, autumn isn't supposed to start for another 3 weeks.

we had two bonfires last weekend, we're running out of wood. they were a lot of fun, I can't believe I didn't really use the screened porch or backyard up until this year. I did get a lot of bug bites (so many that I'm beginning to wonder if it's a rash) but again, sitting around a fire and talking with friends was worth it.

arg. I'm off to bed. hopefully I can sleep this time around.

I just got back from the vet. monty spent about an hour on the bed with me before we went, mostly just resting his chin on my fingers and getting pettins. he got a brief exam at the vet and after listening to his lungs and doing the physical, the vet told me that, at this point, monty was probably suffering and it would be better to let him go. so I spent a little more time with him and then he was put to sleep. I know it was the right choice, but I still feel guilty -- when I put him in his travel carrier this morning he didn't know he wasn't coming home. I keep looking at his cage, expecting to see him curled up in his hammock or standing up and trying to get my attention for pettins and treats. I'll bury him tonight at my parents' house. they made a little ceramic paw print at the vet's which will be ready in a week, so I'll have that (I have to admit, I started to wonder what bunny paw prints would look like -- they've got so much hair on their feet that all the ink prints I've seen have looked really odd).
I'm going to go try to distract myself with learning weed families (exciting, I know). I'm also gonna skip today's today I ... since we all know what I did today, and it'd be extra-depressing to list it again.

I'm missing class this morning to take monty to the vet. last night he was normal -- intermittent breathing difficulties but his usual cheery self (perky and grabby with treats). this morning he is doing very poorly and I think it's time for him to go. he's constantly wheezing, his mouth is a purply-blue color and he's refusing to take treats or even respond to my kissy-noises (our usual "it's treat time!" noise). he hasn't eaten any of his breakfast (soft dog food that he usually loves) and didn't fight me when I gave him his meds (earlier this morning, before his breathing got really bad). these are all signs to me that it's time to let him go, but I'm so worried I'm making the wrong choice. he's having a vet exam, but I'm pretty sure the vet will agree with me -- he suggested it would be time to think about this last week at monty's last exam. I wrote this a while ago when a friend had to put her rabbit to sleep, and I think it's appropriate now:

When we accept an animal into our lives, we make a contract with them. We will provide life's essentials (food, water and shelter) and we will provide companionship and care (both physical and emotional). We give them the best life we can, and we give them the best death. Part of being a responsible pet owner is knowing when it's time to let them go, and helping them go peacefully.

I believe that it's monty's time, but it's still such a hard decision. he sat with me for a while but after some head rubbings he seemed to want to go back to his hammock so he's resting in that for now. we'll be going to the vet soon, and I guess then we'll have a little funeral. rhett will the thrilled -- a tiny burial on his birthday and his girlfriend crying. ooh well. he'll deal.

( my monty )

So far I'm enjoying the DiPod version 2.0, though I don't think I'll be posting long updates from it. As impressive as the keyboard is, I think writing more than a few sentances would irritate me to the point of wanting to kill small fluffy animals. And this has been your very interesting update. : )

today I ...
+ bought my remaining books.
+ tried to get my tire patched, only to learn that it has multiple holes in it so I need to just buy a new one. ::sigh:: there goes what little money I had left .... ooh well. the plewatron 4000 is worth it.
+ met with the head of my department.
+ learned that olive oil was used as an ancient form of herbicide (apparently if you cut down a tree and pour olive oil over the roots, they won't re-sprout).

I had to buy my book for MCB 180 (human reproduction and society) and I thought I had the book I needed for intro to weed science, but it turns out a new edition came out so I needed to buy a new one (of course). I figured I'd be spending ~$200 for the two, since I didn't think I'd be able to find either used. turns out TIS had both used (even the one with a new edition ... odd) so they ended up costing me ~$130, which was a nice surprise.
tuesdays and thursdays are going to be boring days for random tidbits of knowledge. weed science (the only class I have those days) is mostly lots and lots and lots of memorization. so you'll be getting fascinating information about the classes of herbicides and life cycles of various noxious weeds. whee!
I'm off to clean bunnies (I had errands to run between classes so I took the car to school today, though I don't plan on doing much of that in the future -- driving on campus is stressful and the meters are expensive : [) and play with monty, then back to class at noon for lab ... but at least I'm done at 3:00 (I was scheduled for the 3 - 6 lab but I was able to switch to the 12 - 3, which I much prefer : ])

in an attempt to make school more interesting, I'm going to try to update everyday with a brief list of things I did or things I learned. feel free to start a betting pool of how long this will last. : \

today I ....
+ replaced my non-working key to erml with a working key, so I can now get in the building before/after hours.
+ met with my advisor.
+ made an appointment with the head of the department.
+ learned that small fruits are defined as being a fruit that is not grown on a tree. so a pineapple is a small fruit while cherries are not. yeah.
+ learned that, while there are thousands of cultivars, there is only one species of european (wine) grape whereas there are at least dozens of species of american grapes.
+ decided that my group and I are going to do a presentation on pumpkin production in illinois (illinois is the largest producer of pumpkins in the united states, and 90% of processed pumpkin product come from illinois).

new list tomorrow (though I can't promise that it will be as "interesting" as I only have weed science on tuesdays and thursdays along with lab work).

this is just so I can have a public list of what I'm looking for body-jewelry-wise. : )
( ISO )