January Random Thread: Happy New Year! –Part 1
So, how was New Year’s Eve? And what are your big plans for 2014?
Date: December 31, 2013
Categories: At the Top of the Blog, Fan Page / MuseBlog business, Random craziness
Comments RSS TrackBack 302 comments
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Catwings
in December 31st, 2013 @ 23:25Happy 2014, everyone!
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Groundhog
in January 1st, 2014 @ 02:22Well, I did stay up past midnight, although since I’m seven hours ahead of the east coast, no ball drop for me. There were a lot of people setting off fireworks though.
And my big plans for 2013 are to get myself a TARDIS so that I can go back to 2013 and do more things.
Okay, okay, I know you meant to type 2014. My big plans for 2014 are to make lots of awesome animations. I have an idea for a kinetic typography piece using Styx’s “Fooling Yourself.” I want to make it somewhat carnival-themed, since the instrumental parts of that song have always reminded me of carnival/merry-go-round music.
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Choklit Orange
in January 1st, 2014 @ 02:31HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I just came in from watching the fireworks. They’re illegal here, but people somehow manage to set up really spectacular displays from their backyards, and it’s so fun to be in the middle of all the noise. I stood alone in a parking lot at midnight, and the city lit up around me.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 1st, 2014 @ 03:12Happy new year! Ten past midnight here. Playing Mario kart with family.
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Paul Baker (Administrator)
in January 1st, 2014 @ 06:51Happy New Year!
The turn of 2014 promised to be rather subded, as I was stuck indoors with a coldish fluish bug. But then one of my favourite people popped up on the Internet, and we had a delightful chat about life, pumpkins, ghosts, and candles. Then she patiently listened to me giving a bang-by-bang description of all the fireworks I could see from the window of my spare bedroom, which overlooks suburban Kingswinford. Following which, I intended to go to bed. But then ANOTHER of my favourite people popped up….
I didn’t get up very early this morning.
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Dodecahedron
in January 1st, 2014 @ 10:34Happy new year everyone! I rung in the new year with my favorite internet friends ♥
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KaiYves
in January 1st, 2014 @ 11:05Happy New Year! My family had friends over for a nice dinner, then watched the ball drop and exchanged hugs and kisses.
I carry “write more and improve my writing” over from year to year as a resolution because there’s always room to improve. I also want to take more photos and finally learn to juggle.
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Midnight Fiddler
in January 1st, 2014 @ 13:37Happy New Year!
One of my resolutions is to keep up with MB better, because I miss you all.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 11:57We miss you, too, Fern, but we know that you are out there and that your orbit will always swing back this way in the fullness of time.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 12:02By the way, the banner image for this month’s thread came from NASA, which describes it thus:
Sunrise Over the South Pacific Ocean
The sun is about to come up over the South Pacific Ocean in this colorful scene photographed by one of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station between 4 and 5 a.m. local time, May 5, 2013.
The space station was at a point above Earth located at 27.4 degrees south latitude and 110.1 degrees west longitude, a few hundred miles east of Easter Island.
Image Credit: NASA
Sunrises aren’t very special on board the space station, which orbits Earth every 90 minutes and so sees 15 or 16 of them a day. Still, it’s a pretty picture and seemed like a good way to start the year.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:16SPACE SUNRISE SPACE SUNRISE YES!
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Agent Lightning
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 14:07Ah, but the new Random Thread brings nostalgia… remember the Year of New Years? That was my first year on the blog. *wipes tear from eye* Speaking of which, my blogiversary is probably soon. Wow.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 14:56We promise not to run this year’s “Happy New Year” threads past January.
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 18:09That was one of my favorite themes.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:06So. 2014. Sadly marks the end of my wonderful marvelous *really long* visit home. I got to be home for almost 8 weeks, meaning I was home for Thanksgiving for the first time since I started college, and also Christmas and New Years Eve (and for us that’s the celebration part of the holiday, not New Years Day, even though it’s the “official” holiday–we stay up to midnight (no big deal now, when that’s well before my bedtime) playing games/watching movies/etc and eating munchie food and drinking soda and non alcoholic apple cider and just generally having fun until midnight and then watch the tape delayed ball going down in Time Square).
I spent the first 4 weeks up here doing externships I needed for graduation, and then the last almost 3 weeks were just vacation, no externships or school or anything. And now I have to leave Alaska in just a few more days. I have 3 weeks more time off from school, but I’m headed to Florida for a 3 week externship once I leave here. I’m going to be externing at an animal shelter and learning how to spay and neuter animals. I’m pretty excited.
Wish the weather in the lower 48 would stop having so many snow storms, because it really does not sound like good conditions to try to be driving from my school down to Florida in…..
And my dad takes every opportunity possible to make little digs at me about how I obviously am not a good driver/can’t drive/will have issues/whatever, because of the car accident I was in back in October, because “you’re the only person in this house who has almost totalled their car”. Repairs were about $8,000 (covered by insurance), but within about $1000 of the mark that they would have decided I had to have it totaled instead of repaired. So that’s getting really old. Thanks, dad, I know I was in an accident and that my car was pretty badly damaged. You really don’t ahve to keep reminding me. I think the fact that it was almsot a month before I stopped being terrified of driving reminded me of that fact just fine. grrrr.
but i digress.
anyway, 2014. going to florida learning to spay/neuter. Finishing my third year of vet school and starting my fourth (with no break between, no summer this year, we ahve to stay at school, do more clnic rotations at the vet hospital). And that’s about it, really.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 17:26One might think that he’d be delighted that you emerged from the accident undamaged, but parents are inscrutable.
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Piggy
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 17:42My sister’s been in two accidents (one was her fault, the other wasn’t). My mom nicknamed her “Crash”. After my speeding ticket, I became “Flash”. We make a pretty awful team.
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POSOC and Choklit Orange
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:27I’ve kicked off the new year by getting stranded in an airport. This is less than optimal. (All the snow is very exciting, though; I don’t see it often.)
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Choklit Orange
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:30Whoops! My phone kept the username I last used on it. This just me, though it’d be nice if POSOC was here.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:28Writing fanfic for a movie in which several characters are known only by their last names and don’t even have first names given in the credits is hard…
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Bibliophile
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 21:21I think it’s okay to make up first names for the purpose of a fanfic, if that would make it easier. I’ve seen it done before, and I don’t remember seeing any complaints in the reviews.
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KaiYves
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 08:22I’m still going to call them “Dr. Haynes” and “Mr. Beltzer” when they get mentioned after the first time to make it clear they’re the people from the movie, but since the story is in the form of a magazine article, they have to be called by their full names the first time they’re talked about.
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bookgirl_me
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 16:43A belated Happy New Year! I celebrated at home with my dad and *romantic interest/cuddle buddy* (who shall be referred to as Blue from now on) which was really nice and relaxed.
Otherwise, I’m studying like crazy, but it’s actually pretty fun because Blue is taking the same exams and we’re both interested in the subject matter.
Jade, last thread- What about Frozen? There’s romance involved, but I think it might surprise you (and Elsa, the deuteragonist, doesn’t have a romantic interest at all).
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Bibliophile
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 22:14Re: nonromantic movies: Have you seen ParaNorman? There’s some unrequited stuff, but I wouldn’t consider any of it a “major subplot.” Um… This is actually way harder than it should be, although I don’t watch a lot of movies, especially non-Disney ones… It’s been years since I’ve seen The Land Before Time, but I don’t remember any romance, and there weren’t any related tropes on the TV Tropes page, nor were romantic plotlines listed on the Wikipedia page, and I know it’s widely considered to be good. And I think I’m giving up, at least for now.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 19:01So for Christmas one of the presents I got was a three pack fo Star Trek socks. It was supposed to have engineering red, science blue, and command gold, all with their respective delta emblems on them. First thing I noticed when I opened them, was the science blue socks were sporting the engineering logo, not the science logo. But the other two pairs were correct.
Mom had ordered them from thinkgeek’s website, and I sent them an email the day after Christmas telling them about the problem, wanting to know my options for getting it sorted (hoping that I would not have to return the incorrect ones). I didnt’ have the order number because mom was at work, and I didnt’ tell thinkgeek who the original purchaser was, just that I’d received them as a Christmas present. I included pictures of the misprinted socks, because I”m totally all about providing more information than is probably strictly necessary.
On New Year’s Eve, I got an email back from thinkgeek. They apologized for their delayed response, and let me know they’d gone ahead and opened a new order for me with the [hopefully not misprinted] socks. My yahoo email is associated with a thinkgeek account of my own, so I checked under it, to see if they’d just opened the new order under my account, even though I was not the original purchaser, since I ahdn’t told them who the original purchaser was.
They hadn’t. Just for funzies, I had mom look under her account. They’d placed the new order under her name. Which is kind of creepy because how did thinkgeek know that my Christmas present came from her and that she’s the one who placed the original order? Becauase I didn’t tell them that. And yeah, we have hte same last name, and probably the same billing address on file, but two completely separate thinkgeek accounts. And I”m the one who emailed, and I never mentioned her name, email, or that she’s the one who placed the order for the mispritned socks I received.
I just was mildly creeped out by thinkgeek’s ability to know to place the replacement order under mom’s account, just based on me being the receiver of the gift. :/ It’s weird.
Also my cat seems to disapprove of me being on my computer, because he likes to walk between me and it, and start kneading my belly/arm with his paws, and then lay down across my arm and halfway across my chest, in what can only be an attempt to prevent me from typing on my laptop. He’s a silly boy. Gonna miss him when I go back to school. He’s slept in my bed far more nights than he normally has previously, when I’ve been home this break.
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Lizzie
in January 2nd, 2014 @ 20:12Is it possible that your mom was also the only person who had placed an order with that?
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Luna the Lovely
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 04:59I’d be a little surprised, but yes, it’s definitely possible.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 14:28A while ago, I commented on how, in the form of “Breach” and “Argo”, two of the historical events featured in the Spy University series had become movies and wondered what would be next. Well, it may not be a movie, but ABC apparently has a new series called “The Assets” about Aldrich Ames, answering the question…
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Agent Lightning
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 16:12To Lizzie, from the old thread– Your quartet sounds amazing! You’re so talented, oh my gosh, that was awesome.
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Agent Lightning
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 16:39SFTDP: I have four auditions (plus finals week) in the next three weeks. This’ll be fun.
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Paul Baker (Administrator)
in January 3rd, 2014 @ 17:52Agent Lightning, and other fiddle fans – Apologies. I stupidly posted the LizzieBand link just hours before comments closed on the December thead. Too many mince pies, I think.
Anyway, to make up for it, here are links to all the movements of the Haydn.First Movement
http://youtu.be/soqsINS-ycE
Second Movement
http://youtu.be/n-5TXF6sDjo
Third Movement
http://youtu.be/-MnvpQs82CY
Fourth Movement
http://youtu.be/tOaJCP5ZKYwEnjoy!
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Lizzie
in January 5th, 2014 @ 15:48Plus, you get to guess which one is me!
(hint: I’m the one named Elizabeth)
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 4th, 2014 @ 19:00And now I have characters referencing “Volcano Cowboys” in my Twister/Marvel fic…
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Kittymine, OSW
in January 4th, 2014 @ 20:30The following is a Harry Potter joke that I heard this weekend, made up by a good friend of mine:
Voldemort and the Death Eaters are having a bowling match against the Order of the Phoenix. They are up to the final frame and it is Wormtail’s turn to bowl. On his first shot he only knocks down one pin; in order to win, he needs to knock down the other nine. At this critical moment, Voldemort comes over to Wormtail.
“Wormtail?”
“Yes, my lord?”
“Kill the spare.”
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Maths Lover ♥
in January 5th, 2014 @ 04:472014! Most excellent. Party on, dudes.
I haven’t posted much this year, have I? Better fix that. I’ve been having an awesome relaxing holiday in Wellington! (The people I called my parents, when there were two of them, were technically my grandparents, and my biological mother had my two younger half-siblings by her first married and now lives with her current, second, husband. And two cats and seven hens. Apparently Kiwis are big on cats, which I wholeheartedly approve of. What, no, I didn’t meet their friends then run over to talk to the cute cat, of course not!) My dad stayed in Australia, because financial constraints.
Anyway, I needed it (and knew that long before). By the second week, I needed a math fix.
She married a well-off husband so for Christmas I got 2 pairs of shoes, a book, a purse, perfume, and so on, and other relatives gave me stuff.
Sometimes normal people are useful.My 13-year-old brother is nice, he’s a goober and I laughed hysterically a little too often at him, but couldn’t bring myself to stop. My 12-year-old sister is great. Her mature side makes me jealous but otherwise she’s fun. They’re both pretty smart, yay.
I acclimatised far too well to the cool. Probably it’s just my life here, but the brown plains of this region of Australia are so bleak. It’s like I finally turned half-Kiwi.
On New Year’s Eve we watched Monsters University (the absolute perfect movie for me at that time!) with the neighbour kids, while the adults drank and talked, then my sort-of-stepdad did fireworks, which are illegal in Australia. The cascades they set on the road looked like cute rainbow bugs. I was happy to leave the darkness of 2013 behind. I’m not doing New Year’s resolutions because my ambition is far stronger.
The stars are brighter there.
Looks like I can’t afford to move
nextthis year. But I’m not that upset, it’s not even like real defeat. As long as my dad can stave off old age and retirement, I can do my undergrad degree by commuting to one of the best universities in Australia, which is competitive with the rest of the world. I’m still free off high school, though I do miss it/ feel sad because my bitterness made me miss out on being sad to leave. Competition, ALL the nerdy clubs, guys, girls, maybe arranging a [my town] [extrabloggian forum] meetup.*rants about stuff*
I may as well mention here that I have no idea what’s true about my family except that it’s screwed up. But there’s unequivocably good news – my (older) stepsister is an immunologist at Cambridge, married an astrophysicist, and they’re doing cool stuff, and have decided not to interrupt that by having kids.
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Choklit Orange
in January 5th, 2014 @ 15:00The saga continues, as my flight out of Michigan was cancelled, as was the connection back home. In the meantime, while awaiting a rescheduled flight, I have gotten to know the Detroit airport better than I ever thought possible.
On the upside, the snow is beautiful, and I got to see my cousins! Watching planes land in this weather is very cool. They produce a massively dramatic spray of snow on either side.
I hope you’re all well! My new year’s resolution, I have decided, is to learn to belly dance. Also probably something about university.
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 5th, 2014 @ 21:10Wow you are really close to me right now. And the amount of snow is ridiculous. We actually haven’t had this much snow in years. I just finished helping shovel the driveway tonight. It was snowblowered this morning. And it’s still snowing, so I know tomorrow we’ll have to shovel it again.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the snow though. It’s good for those of us who are embittered by yearly travails against winter precipitation to see other people enjoying it, because snow really is cool. Well, cold. Hope your flight reschedules soon, and that you have a safe flight!
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 5th, 2014 @ 15:29School is canceled on Monday! Confirmed that UChicago only cancels school when the students’ lives would be in danger by walking to class.
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Jadestone
in January 5th, 2014 @ 21:03heyo
back in collegeland. january here is winter term, aka students do 1 project all month, instead of normal classes. I’m working in the bio lab I worked in over the summer (here at school), but all my housemates are doing their projects at home. House is weird and empty
in other news it is gonna get really cold here apparently. We get advisories from the college but nothing’s cancelled, kinda hard to do when not much of campus his here and everyone’s doing different sorts of projects. Boss isn’t gonna come in till wednesday though cause he doesn’t wanna risk the roads.
otherwise. 3 weeks almost since breakup : / I’m doing better I guess. I think. Some days are worse than others. Lonely around here though since I don’t have someone to hang out with in absence of roommates now
but have figured out a couple other people I know will be on campus and can hopefully hang out with so I’m not just sitting alone in my house all the time like this weekend. Also I’m in a co-op for meals so I’ll be forced out at least once a day for dinner as well.Anyway. Back to watching my… 8th episode of Elementary today.
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Selenium and Randomosity
in January 6th, 2014 @ 18:06Hi everyone! This is Randomosity101, and I’ve finally gotten to meet Selenium! We went to Pier 39 in San Francisco, and then sat and chatted in Ghiradelli Square. She’s completely flammy, but doesn’t give herself nearly enough credit. The whole day was a lot of fun, even though I made her wait half an hour when I missed a train.
Hello! Selenium here now. R101 is an awesome person and you should all meet her. We had a great day looking round Pier 39 and doing touristy stuff. I’ve actually got to dash to the airport now to fly back to England, but I’ll hopefully be posting more frequently from now on once I’m back at school.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 6th, 2014 @ 18:54Woo, awesome! Wish I could be there!
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Selenium the Quafflebird
in January 6th, 2014 @ 19:50Both of us expressed the same desire to meet you in real life, Kai!
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Randomosity101
in January 7th, 2014 @ 00:17As Sel said, we wished you could’ve been there too! (Along with several other MBers – if only that was easier to have happen.)
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Ducky
in January 7th, 2014 @ 00:30You lucky people. Too bad my teleportation device isn’t coming along very well…
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KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 08:50Have you gotten the flux capacitor to work?
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Randomosity101
in January 8th, 2014 @ 00:31Isn’t that for time travel?
I, for one, WILL Kokon with you at some point, Sir Ducky!
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KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 08:58It can be modified very easily…
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Randomosity101
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:18I suppose it probably can. But doesn’t it require plutonium to run? If so, a Time Vortex Extrapolator might be the easier and (relatively) safer way to go…
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KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 14:47Mmm, both are fully valid methods, the Brownian is simply the one I’m most comfortable with, particularly for non-temporal teleportation, which has a somewhat lower power requirement.
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Randomosity101
in January 8th, 2014 @ 14:57Well, I suppose I am a bit prejudiced. As you feel more comfortable with that method, I feel more comfortable with something that uses vortex energy rather than a radioactive power source. But both are, as you said, fully valid.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 6th, 2014 @ 18:55So as of today I have been getting National Geographic for ten years.
Wow.
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Agent Lightning
in January 7th, 2014 @ 12:42Wow, this whole weather thing is intense. Stay warm, all you northerly MBers…
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Luna the Lovely
in January 7th, 2014 @ 14:08Y’all are having crazy weather down in the lower 48. I’m probably the most northerly muser at the moment and its positive 30 (aka warm) here in my portion of alaska. (Bitterly cold in other areas of the state, though)
Not looking forward to returning to my college state in a couple days where they’ve been having unusually cold weather–subzero, which while normal for me on alaska is far from the norm at school
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Lizzie
in January 7th, 2014 @ 14:12I’m so cold.
So very cold.
Everything is cold.
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oxlin
in January 7th, 2014 @ 14:15It is so cold I went outside and blew bubbles, which froze. Whee!
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Jadestone
in January 8th, 2014 @ 01:56Some of my friends tried that, I’m sad I left my bubbles at home this year (or they’re just unfindable in my desk… also a possibility).
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oxlin
in January 8th, 2014 @ 11:13I don’t have proper bubble solution either. I used dishsoap and water and then a pipecleaner for a bubble wand.
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Lizzie
in January 7th, 2014 @ 14:54too cold for squid, squid doesn’t swim in ice
pies good frozen though
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KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:09How cold is too cold for squid, don’t colossal squid live in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica?
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Lizzie
in January 7th, 2014 @ 17:20Sea temperatures are apparently between 28 and 50 F (-2 to 10 C). It is approximately between 25 and 50 degrees colder than that here, depending if you’re going on actual temperature or wind chill.
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KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 08:57That IS too cold!
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Catwings
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:094°F today, for the high so far.
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Fortune Cell (Julia)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 14:36With windchill, it’s -32C (-26F) today. I had a flight from Sint Maarten canceled on Sunday, so flew out yesterday on a delayed flight to Charlotte, then Atlanta, then another (very) delayed flight back to Toronto. Left my hotel around 9:10 am, and got home around 3:30, so about 19 hours of travel (1 hour time difference). I was the only one in my family whose flight got cancelled, at least, so they all got home with relative ease. I was lucky though – a bunch of people at YYZ didn’t even get their baggage due to the snow, my flight was the last one loaded. All the public buildings are staying open so that the homeless don’t die.
Intense is the word.
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Catwings
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:07Unfortunately, it’s too late for me. Our little pellet stove ran out of food today – the one day that Dad forgot to get more pellet’s for it – and I’m sitting here in the ugliest sweater, waiting for him to get back
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KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:35Ugh, sorry. Stay warm!
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Piggy
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:12We’re already done with the cold here. I think the windchill got to maybe 35 or 40 below on Sunday night? Somewhere around there. The lowest actual temperature I saw was 11 below. They cancelled school yesterday but everyone went back today. It would’ve been fun if it had lasted a bit longer, but oh well.
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ebeth
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:18warmth has been pretty doable, but i’m currently without running water. the water main near my apartment broke and the street started flooding and then freezing. we went and took a look at it last night before buying ridiculous amounts of bottled/jugged(?) water. it’s been quite an event!
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KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:08It’s cold here for New York, but probably as warm as it was for most of February last year in Boston.
When people ask me what I’m looking for in a grad school, warm winters is my first criterion.
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:30It’s 3°F right now where I am, but -18°F with wind chill. Looking at other peoples’ numbers, that’s not actually as cold as other places. Public school’s been canceled the past couple days, and the roads are awful, because we got a lot of snow right before the cold snap, but so far everything in the house is fine. Besides, it hasn’t gotten cold enough for the olives stored outside in our turned off refrigerator to freeze yet. Either way I’m going to be in GA in five days if everything goes as planned. Warm(er) weather here I come.
I kind of want to do the trick with boiling water and making it explode outside.
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 7th, 2014 @ 17:20And schools are canceled in my area for the third day in a row. My siblings are excited, but after a certain amount of snow days they will have to start making them up in the summer.
And I did the boiling water trick. It formed lovely clouds of ice crystals when tossed outside. If it is this cold tomorrow I might try making bubble mix.
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Catwings
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:17Writing a horror story. Need a name for the main character, girl. She’s about seventeen, long black hair and dark brown eyes.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:43How about Persephone? (It rhymes with “Stephanie.”)
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KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 15:58Helen?
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30.3
Fortune Cell (Julia)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:19Ethnic background, social class, and region will have more of an affect on the realism of a name than eye and hair colour. As for her age, you could look at the popular girls names from 1996.
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30.4
Lizzie
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:23Maria? Natalia?
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30.5
Catwings
in January 7th, 2014 @ 18:09Her last name is Marks. If that helps with the name-picking.
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30.5.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 18:57Persephone! “Marks” could be short for Markopoulos, a Greek name.
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30.5.1.1
Catwings
in January 7th, 2014 @ 19:04Woah, a GAPA… with double-posts?
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30.5.1.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 19:46My iPhone didn’t show the first one. It’s gone now.
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30.5.1.1.2
Maths Lover ♥
in January 8th, 2014 @ 03:57*gasps*
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31
KaiYves
in January 7th, 2014 @ 16:11Through the World Wildlife Fund’s symbolic adoption program, I am now, two and a half years after first imagining it, the proud owner of a plush Komodo Dragon named Doug who can guard me while I sleep with his claws and venom bite!
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31.1
Cat's Meow
in January 7th, 2014 @ 19:42That’s wonderful! It’s great to have a Komodo Dragon on your side.
I love World Wildlife Fund’s symbolic adoption program. My family’s most important member, a WWF polar bear named Leland, turned five last month.
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31.2
Jadestone
in January 8th, 2014 @ 01:55YOU CAN ADOPT A KOMODO DRAGON??? AND YOU GET AN ADORABLE PLUSH VERSION TO HUG???!!??!??
I should have discovered this BEFORE my birthday…
well. next year.
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31.2.1
KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 08:50Yes, and an impressive array of other animals, too. But Komodos have fascinated me since childhood.
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31.2.2
Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in January 8th, 2014 @ 10:22Some zoos have similar programs.
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32
Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 23:14I’m finally getting into writing after reading the author interviews at the back of my cousin’s copy of Good Omens. Neil Gaiman says that Terry Pratchett wrote 400 words a day when he still had a day job, so that’s what I’m doing. That is, writing at least 400 words a day; I can write as much as I want above the limit.
I’m really amazed at how terrible I am at it, but I feel that the more I practice, the better I’ll get, without the need to go and research how to get better. Like, I still read novels, so in my own writing I’ll think that I need more description here, or less choppy sentences there, and it’ll just get better over time.
…And the first thing I write is a crappy pokemon fanfic, but I suppose I’m allowed to be crappy because it’s a fanfic. Once I’m done with it (maybe by the end of the school year?) my writing will have improved enough for me to tackle my more serious ideas.
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32.1
oxlin
in January 7th, 2014 @ 23:16Fanfic can have plenty of serious ideas! It just hands you a set of characters or a setting and you get to put your ideas there, instead of forming the characters and setting yourself.
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32.1.1
Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 7th, 2014 @ 23:23Yeah, I am trying to make it more serious, but it’s pretty much just going to be a tool to help my writing get better. Because I can play through pokemon again while writing! Two awesome things at the same time!
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32.1.1.1
KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 08:53If you enjoy writing it, and working on it helps you improve, then there’s nothing wrong with it– it’s much better to improve your writing with something you ENJOY writing than with some boring essay prompt from class.
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32.1.2
Maths Lover ♥
in January 8th, 2014 @ 03:56On the one hand, I love Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
On the other hand, I have been known to impulsively search for a pairing that floated up from the dark depths of my brain, and the internet usually delivers.
I think I actually ship Smith/Neo now. And I have no regrets.
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33
Cat's Meow
in January 8th, 2014 @ 01:21So, what is going on in my life these days?
I’ve finished my first semester of college in sunny California, and it was very successful. School doesn’t completely feel like home yet, but my roommate and I get along great (even though I usually go to bed 3 hours earlier than she does) and I’m meeting and developing friendships with lots of other interesting people. Also, I’m now living 50 miles away from my boyfriend instead of 1000, and that is awesome. Things are better than ever in our relationship.
My classes were really cool. I took Introductory Genetics, since I might want to be a biology major, and my other favorite class was my freshman seminar on the European Enlightenment. We read lots of cool works by Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and less-well-known people, and I got to write my final paper on how novels are* evil and seductive and shouldn’t be read by young people. Yup, really. That was some of my best work ever, I think. My chemistry professor was also really awesome, since he frequently brought us donuts, would start class off with Youtube videos of Hispanic singers or Britain’s Got Talent, and offered us bonus points if we would smile as he individually took our picture during the final. (I actually think those points bumped my grade up.) In non-academic news, I tried club rugby for a few weeks until I hurt my shoulder, and I’m playing a musical instrument for the first time ever as I take piano lessons.
Break has been going really well, too. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin’s fiance were here from all across the country for Christmas. It’s also just wonderful to see my nuclear family again; I missed them a lot. I read a book about taking things apart and tinkering, so I got my dad to take my brother and I to a recycling yard, and we got an old 1992 printer to take apart on our dining room table. It’s so much fun, and we set up a laptop with a time-lapse camera, so we’ll be able to watch the whole process back once we’re done. My mechanical engineer father says it was the proudest moment of his life.
I’m also spending this break updating my resume and applying for local internships for the summer. I also have a really cool opportunity because both my dad and my former high school superintendent suggested me to the local Chamber of Commerce as a member of the student panel at their upcoming event about STEM education. Basically, I get to talk in front of and network with 175-200 local players who are interested in STEM education. It’s the perfect opportunity for self-advertising, and I’ll have a good time talking about the subject anyways, so I’m excited.
Another thing I’m doing over break is trying two massive online courses! (Yes, like I’m not already busy enough with real school…but they’ll only overlap with the semester by a few weeks, so hopefully I can finish them.) One is through Harvard and is about the letters of the apostle Paul. I read “Zealot” recently, and I’ve been separately realizing that religion is something I know very little about, so I’d like to fix that. The other is about decision making theory and skills, which relates to one of my New Years resolutions about being bold with decision-making. Both are just getting underway, and I’m really excited to see where they go.
Ahhh, it feels good to be an active poster again.
*were thought to be in eighteenth-century France. Reading is good for you, kids!
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33.1
KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 08:54Sounds like you’re having a great time!
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33.2
Agent Lightning
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:07Holy heck, that sounds awesome! It’s good to hear from you again!
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34
Luna the Lovely
in January 8th, 2014 @ 03:56Quick question: So I have a bottle of perfume that I wanted to bring back to school with me. I have concerns about putting it in carry on, even though it is under the 3 oz/100 mL rule, partly because the bottle itself doesn’t say the volume (although the box does) and partly because it is a glass bottle, and I could see where they could decide that’s not okay.
But I’m hesitant about putting it in checked luggage, because of the cold weather, and I’m worried about it freezing? I mean, I know perfume contains alcohol, and therefore would have a lower freezing point than water, but….I’ve never owned perfume before. *Can* it freeze? Would the underbelly of a plane, especially with the cold as beep weather everywhere south of me is having, be cold enough for it to freeze? Even if it doesn’t freeze, would the cold temps be harmful to it?
Help.
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34.1
Fortune Cell (Julia)
in January 8th, 2014 @ 09:57I’m nearly positive it wouldn’t freeze in checked luggage due to the alcohol content. That being said, if it’s in the 1qt bag and looks the right size, they’re not going to confiscate it. I fly very regularly, and have never ever seen a TSA agent actually check the volume size of my carry-on liquids. Glass bottles are fine. You could always pour it into a different container that does label the volume, and the pour it back in when you get home. Cold in general is not bad for perfume – you can actually keep it in the fridge to extend its lifetime (which, depending on quality, will be about 1-3 years otherwise). Really, I don’t think you have to worry either way.
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34.1.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:05Thanks, Julia!
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35
Cat's Meow
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:02Excerpts from my school’s style guide:
Commas
In a series of three or more items, do not use a comma before the final conjunction (and/or or). Example: He has classes in chemistry, psychology and music.Quotation marks
Commas, periods, and other punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks are placed inside quotation marks.Is that a serial comma I see in the very line after telling us not to use serial commas when writing about the College?
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35.1
Lizzie
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:21My parents, God and Ayn Rand approve.
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35.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:29This GAPA likes serial commas. I’d find it difficult to work at a magazine whose style sheet banned them.
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36
ebeth
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:05following cat’s meow’s footsteps here to post an update on my life because i miss you guys and there’s only so much i can spreadsheet at once
i graduated last year with two identical-looking bachelor’s degrees – i ended up doing more work than i needed to for the double major (i didn’t talk to my adviser as much as i should have), and it turned out i actually had enough credits to get separate degrees in history and english. so that’s kind of fun.
right now i’m working on my masters in library and information science. i was super lucky and got an assistantship, so instead of paying tuition i work 20 hours a week helping the faculty here, and they give me a stipend for rent/food/etc. i’m also working in a public library. i got a fancy downtown apartment (with 12-foot ceilings! and a cat!). finch and i are still a thing and living together along with another friend of ours (the cat is hers).
i can’t remember if i was still active on the blog when this happened/talked about this at all but i was diagnosed with hashimoto’s (an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid) and celiac’s (that whole gluten-free thing you’ve all been hearing about). so now i avoid gluten and take daily meds and i am feeling so much better these days. if you remember me talking about how tired i was all the time, turns out i wasn’t supposed to be!
in more recent news, this office is coooold. good thing i broke out the box of ridiculously warm things. i’ve also been knitting a lot recently, so that’s helpful
anyway, that’s your ebeth update
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36.1
ebeth
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:07oh and a doctor who complete watch-through update: yeaaah, i’m still on tom baker. i’ve been really busy, and i’ve already seen most of his episodes and it’s hard to get myself to rewatch when i’ve got so much else going on. i’m slowly moving forward though! i’ll get there someday.
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36.1.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:50Tom Baker is the best. Definitely my favorite of te classic who doctors. I finished watching all of doctor who a year ago Christmas–it took about three years, with lots of long pauses.
I’m now working my way through Star Trek, which will probably take longer, becaus although there are fewer eps, there’s more running time total….plus, business.
Good to see you around, ebeth!
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36.2
Cat's Meow
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:17Sounds like life is going well for you! The assistantship is very cool. What kinds of things do you study in library and information science?
Also, I’m glad that some successful diagnoses have improved how you’re feeling! My roommate and her mom both have celiac, so I’ve become a lot more aware of how common gluten is.
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36.2.1
ebeth
in January 8th, 2014 @ 18:12what kinds of things don’t i study oh man
so far i’ve mostly just done core classes, so exploring different types of libraries and the types of things they do, basic overview of different organizational systems, things like that. lots of cool tours and guest speakers! apparently i live in kind of a hub for libraries so i’ve gotten to see some really neat stuff.
i also did a workshop last semester on database-driven websites and really enjoyed it so i’m going to be taking database systems this semester with the same prof. right now i’m on the academic library track but i’ve been trying to take a variety of classes. i’m probably most excited for intro to digital preservation, and i think i’m going to try to work in archives once i graduate.
the best part about library school is librarians are big on continuing education and a lot of people come to it from different backgrounds so no matter what you’re studying, you’re going to get all kinds of different perspectives on it from in and out of the field.
also oxlin, i know your post is below me but hopefully you see this (i’m not good at nested comments or trains of thought) but library science and museum studies are very similar! the other graduate assistant in my program is on a museum studies track and she’s going to end up with the same degree and do a lot of the same types of things, just in a museum setting. it’s all pretty flexible and i get the sense a lot of libraries and museums are trying to work more closely together. if you can’t tell already i am pretty enthusiastic about this degree/career/life track/whatever and i think you would love it.
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36.2.1.1
Cat's Meow
in January 8th, 2014 @ 21:12Wow, awesome!
My amazing library story from this semester was when the professor of my freshman seminar held class in Special Collections with first editions of Rousseau and Voltaire and a giant volume of Diderot’s encyclopedia and so much other cool stuff laid out on the table in front of us the entire time. Then the librarians there emphasized that everybody, including first-years, should come back and use materials from Special Collections whenever we want, because they think there’s value in holding the real, hundreds-of-years-old thing. I have to agree.
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36.2.1.2
oxlin
in January 9th, 2014 @ 10:27Tell me more about the museum studies track! What classes are in it? I’m not sure how it would apply to museum work.
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36.2.1.2.1
ebeth
in January 9th, 2014 @ 16:20i’m not entirely sure, i know a lot of the archive classes are popular for museum studies students but i haven’t paid too much attention to museum class offerings. i’ll send you the program site though, and i’m sure the advisor would be willing to talk to you about it (and i’m sure the same applies for other schools, librarians always seem happy to answer questions)
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36.2.1.2.1.1
oxlin
in January 9th, 2014 @ 18:17Thank you! I might want to go to your school now. I think I’ll apply this fall! I’d been looking for this sort of thing and I’m really glad to have found it!
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oxlin
in January 8th, 2014 @ 12:49Because others are doing it and because, while I post here, I don’t necessarily update you all tons, an update.
I graduated in May 2012 with a BA in anthropology and a minor in museum studies. I moved back with my parents for that year, and spent the time working at a local bakery. (People get really grumpy about cakes.) I began to volunteer at a local museum, a kind of small one about physics (especially electricity). Some local friends introduced me to puzzles and puzzle hunts. I began doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in my spare time. I continued to write poems and stories.
This past August, I moved to an apartment with friends. It isn’t in my hometown, but in a town about 4 hours away from my parents house and 1 hour away from my college. I got a job at a company that does rather neat stuff, though often my job involves typing things into spreadsheets. I really enjoy my coworkers, though! They’re all nerds and curious people.
I’ve gotten interested in math again and I’ve started learning more through online courses (multivariable calculus through MIT’s open courseware and intro to algebraic topology through the University of New South Wales posted to youtube). I’m interested in continuing to learn about math, either officially or unofficially (well, the latter is cheaper). I’m still doing puzzles but since I’m working more I haven’t been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, though I’d definitely start up again!
In the future, I’d like to go to grad school but I’m still trying to figure out what for. I’d like to continue teaching people, especially about math. I’d like to go into math writing or creating programs for museums or universities to either show people the math inherent in the museum collections or to teach the public about what research the university is doing. I’m not sure if I want to get a degree in museum studies or science communications or perhaps library science.
So that’s an oxlin update!
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37.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 8th, 2014 @ 15:08So when you use “cake” as an expletive, you know what you’re talking about. (How’s your pie-making, by the way?)
But seriously, congratulations! That first step out of the nest is a big one.
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37.2
Maths Lover ♥
in January 9th, 2014 @ 17:38Out of curiosity, did you live on campus or in a flat for most of your degree?
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37.2.1
oxlin
in January 9th, 2014 @ 18:16I went to a small liberal arts college, so most everyone lived on campus. For the last two years, though, I lived in a special interest house on campus. Unlike most special interest houses, it was housed in a dorm but it did mean living with lots of my friends!
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38
oxlin
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:16By the way, you should all go to youtube and search for “vi hart toothpaste” and see the weird wonderfulness that ensues.
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39
KaiYves
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:26I finally have my hands on a copy of “Seven Miles Down”, Jacques Piccard’s book about the bathyscaphe Trieste, and I’m enjoying it so far, except for some parts where it’s really weird to see Famous Oceanographers Not Knowing Plate Tectonics Is A Thing in a book that’s otherwise very much on the forefront of what was known. It just always really weirds me out how recently that became an accepted theory– I mean, 1961 isn’t that long ago at all…
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40
Selenium the Quafflebird
in January 8th, 2014 @ 13:47So I didn’t get into Oxford. It doesn’t really make a difference since I’m going to music college (oh my, I am! yay!) , and the only damage done is to my ego, so I’m not traumatised. Surprised, yes, but not too sad.
The only thing I’m angry about is, around 14 from my school got into Oxford, and there are quite a few who, in my opinion, don’t deserve it. I’m not being bitter, I just honestly wouldn’t have expected them to get in. And two of my friends who I thought were sure to get in, they have so much passion for their subjects (English and History) but were also rejected, and they were very upset.
It’s been a weird day.
Oh, but I passed a violin exam I took back in October! I get to put the letters ‘DipABRSM’ after my name now.
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40.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 8th, 2014 @ 14:11So, are you going to change your blogname to “Selenium the DipABRSM”?
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40.1.1
Selenium the Quafflebird, DipABRSM
in January 8th, 2014 @ 14:58Now that would just be pretentious.
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41
FantasyFan?!?!
in January 8th, 2014 @ 15:26I’m trying to tell myself that I’m not bored and that there are a lot of things that I can do, and that I in fact need to do.
A quick to do list, in no particular order of importance:
Finish knitting that blanket that I’ve been working on for the past 5 years
Clean my room
Pack and get ready to leave for college
Mend that pile of clothes in the corner
Apply for more work-study positions
Look for internships
And start applying to them
Sort through my Costa Rica photos and organize them
Read the library book I checked out before I leave
Laundry???
Clean desk and sort through various papers. I am a junior in college; I don’t need the college advertising pamphlets I received as a junior in high school.
Find my wallet. It’s gotta be somewhere in here.As you can see, many of these things overlap. Some are more important than others. I don’t want to do any of them, but right now I’m working on knitting, which is easily one of the least time sensitive things on the list. *sigh* Procrastination is a drug, but right now it’s a terribly dull one, because I don’t have anything I want to do instead of work.
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41.1
oxlin
in January 8th, 2014 @ 15:30Is your wallet perhaps under the couch cushions? That’s where my brother’s always is.
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41.1.1
FantasyFan?!?!
in January 8th, 2014 @ 16:19The problem is that it really shouldn’t have left my room unless someone else took it out of here. The other problem is that there are many nooks and crannies in my room. And many of them are full of stuff. Time to start cleaning…
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41.1.1.1
Cat's Meow
in January 8th, 2014 @ 17:27On the plus side, finding your wallet is excellent motivation.
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41.1.1.2
FantasyFan?!?!
in January 8th, 2014 @ 17:51Found it. In the process, discovered a perfectly fine pair of pants in the mending a pile, a ponytail holder, and an eyeglass container that I knit a long time that was the wrong size for glasses but which I now realize is exactly the right size for a cellphone. And that’s the stuff I didn’t expect to find. I knew about the set of mugs and the scarves and the towels and the pile of shoes and the apple cider vinegar and the Target gift card.
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41.2
ebeth
in January 8th, 2014 @ 17:58finish the blanket! i knitted a blanket, took forever but i use it all the time. it’s insanely comfortable. this is clearly your top priority.
but also do the applications, the early those get in the better chance you have of getting the job/internship.
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Piggy
in January 8th, 2014 @ 17:55I’d just like to share that this morning I had the least unpleasant blood-drawing experience of my life. The nurse looked hardly older than myself but she did a superb job, much better than quite a few people who’ve drawn blood from me before. Her distraction technique was to ask me actual, important questions about what tests I needed done, when I was coming back, how we could combine and arrange things to let me come in as few times as possible. I found this to be miles more effective than the standard, “Oh, dear, try counting backwards from thirty!” or, “Now what did you eat for breakfast yesterday?” or, “You could try singing a song,” or, “Okay, this is going to pinch a little.” Yeah, “pinch”, right.
Anyhow. My last week of winter break is quickly sliding away from me. I’m not entirely looking forward to going back to class and to work, but I do miss the solitude of my dorm room. And the breakfast buffet.
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43
Ducky
in January 8th, 2014 @ 19:31I got my driver’s license yesterday!
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43.1
Randomosity101
in January 8th, 2014 @ 21:26Congratulations! *celebratory pie*
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43.2
Potato Chip
in January 8th, 2014 @ 21:33Congrats!
I failed my test a couple days ago… D:
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43.2.1
Ducky
in January 8th, 2014 @ 23:53Heh, I failed twice…. But the second time was because it was the first snow of the year and it was the first time I’d had to drive in snow in months, so I was totally freaked out and that messed me up horribly.
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43.2.1.1
Potato Chip
in January 9th, 2014 @ 10:43Yeah, it was raining during mine and I backed up into a snow bank on my 3 point turn. Which apparently is an automatic failure? Ooooops.
Life advice for anyone still in high school, or otherwise living at home: Learn how to drive if you have the opportunity! Don’t put it off like me, ’cause if you move out for college, it can be really hard to practice. Even if you have a friend old enough to be a supervised driver, it’s a big hassle with the insurance if you get into an accident, no matter whose fault it is – more so than it would be for a parent/guardian. My original logic was “well, I’m not going to have a car for many years, so it can wait”, but there are actually a bunch of situations when it would be good to have a license — sharing the load on road trips with friends, renting a car to run an errand (my school has a service that is pretty cheap if you use it infrequently), taking over the wheel when someone is too tired to drive… it is a Useful Life Skill.
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43.2.1.1.1
oxlin
in January 9th, 2014 @ 10:46I got my license just under the “going to college” wire. I took the test in July before I left for college, failed, took it again the week before I left for college in August and passed. Once to work for a camp at my school I had to get trained to drive school vans. If I hadn’t had a license, I wouldn’t have been able to complete that training.
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43.2.1.1.2
Maths Lover ♥
in January 9th, 2014 @ 17:31YES. I could have got my Ls when I turned 16 in April of Year 11, but instead put it off until last January. I have not got to 120 hours of practice yet and the academic year starts in February, so if the moving-away plan had worked, I’d have been in that situation. I’m not going to have my own car either, but you’re probably so right that it’s Useful.
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43.2.1.1.2.1
Potato Chip
in January 9th, 2014 @ 21:57120 hours?! That’s so much! I think in New York state they recommend 50? (And I probably don’t have 50…) I’m glad you got your license though!
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43.2.1.1.2.2
Lizzie
in January 10th, 2014 @ 07:29I got my license over winter break of my …sophomore? year of college. I’d never driven before then, I went and had four one-hour driving lessons and practiced maybe another four or five hours on my own, and then took and passed the test.
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43.2.1.1.3
Cat's Meow
in January 9th, 2014 @ 22:54Not that it’s a competition, but my examiner told me to pretend the snow bank blocking the curb was the curb while parallel parking.
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43.2.1.1.3.1
Piggy
in January 10th, 2014 @ 09:38I managed to run over a curb about 30 seconds into the test and I still passed. I was pulling out of the testing center parking lot and another student returning from a test turned (quite quickly and poorly) in front of me, so I swerved a bit to avoid hitting him. The instructor didn’t say anything so I just kept driving. He was a nice guy.
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43.2.1.1.3.2
Luna the Lovely
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:55Re: parallel parking
I just parallel parked for the first time in my Honda fit, and probably for the first time since getting my license 7 years ago
It’s a lot easier to parallel park than the minivan I drove when I got my license, lol
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43.2.1.2
KaiYves
in January 10th, 2014 @ 08:44I have failed twice, I may try again this summer.
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43.3
Tesseract
in January 8th, 2014 @ 22:08Congratulations! I got my updated license today (without the little under-18 bar). It wasn’t necessary but I was tired of having the picture in which I still look 16. (And I was a young-looking 16. I’m still a young-looking 19.)
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43.4
Choklit Orange
in January 9th, 2014 @ 09:02Congratulations, that’s awesome! I’m taking my test in a week.
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43.4.1
Ducky
in January 9th, 2014 @ 12:37Good luck!
If you want advice: use really big and obvious movements when looking in your mirrors and blind spots; I usually just flick my eyes to look in my mirrors but that’s not obvious enough for the examiner to tell that you’re looking.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 9th, 2014 @ 06:374 hour layover in the early morning where half the restaurants are closed or only serving breakfast and you’re craving real, non breakfast food? Not so fun. And I have yet to find anywhere that serves edible pizza in MSP. I much prefer going through Seattle, they have a little place that does delicious pizza, even in the early morning. Hungry.
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KaiYves
in January 9th, 2014 @ 16:40I just read Eva Ibbotson’s last novel, “The Abominables”. I really loved all of her earlier children’s fantasy, especially “Which Witch” and “Dial-a-Ghost”, and this one was a really great last fun adventure in her style. It’s a little darker (yes, this is said remembering that Which Witch had a witch summoning plague-bearing rats that ate each other and somebody getting pushed into a bottomless pit and Dial-a-Ghost featured a plot to scare a nine-year-old to death), given the fact that opposing animal cruelty is a big part of the plot, but still whimsical and heartwarming, and it features a Crowning Moment of Awesome for a group of Antarctic research scientists.
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Fortune Cell/Julia
in January 9th, 2014 @ 19:23Hah! I was just trying to remember her name a day or two ago, thanks! I really liked her as a kid.
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oxlin
in January 9th, 2014 @ 18:12Attn. Northern North American Musebloggers: Tonight there is supposed to be an aurora visible! It might be visible in your area if you live in the Northern U.S. Likewise also if you live in Canada. I’m going to try to see it tonight!
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Luna the Lovely
in January 9th, 2014 @ 20:02I am just so ugh. I mean, 17 hours of travel from leaving home to getting to my apartment was bleh enough, even with it going 100% smoothly.
Called to get a cab to pick up my car. The phone rang and rang and rang, then finally, answering machine: “Due to the treacherous weather, we’re closed. We hope to be open again Monday.” Okay. Let’s get a different cab company. While waiting for them to pick me up, company #1 calls: “So and So and blah blah blah cabs, i have a missed call from you?” “Yeah, nevermind, got a cab with a different company. *click*”
Go get my car. My car, that according to my insurance, this autobody, as one of their preferred providers, will clean your car inside and out, vacuum, etc. Well the plastic floor mat where my feet go was pretty dirty. But with the weather, and the fact I’m about to put my dirty slushy feet on it, not too bothered.
The unopened pepsi can in the passenger cup holder? The one I did not leave there? The one that when the temps dropped below freezing exploded pepsi spray all over the inside of the passenger window, the fabric on the door, the floor mat, and left the cup holder half full of pepsi? Yeah. That, not so cool. Not so cool at all. Go inside, they go clean my car for me, but obviously that kind of takes ten+ minutes, and it’s already a long day, and I’m getting progressively closer to an emotional breakdown, and came close to almost crying when I was telling the lady about the pepsi can in my car (and trying to remember what a cup holder is called. A cup…..thing?)
And my heat doens’t seem to work right, now. Oscillating between cold, sgtarts to be hot, goes bck to cold, considers being hot and maybe even gets hot, and it’s always been *fantastic* at heating fast. And the A/C has been even more amazing. Not warm enough to tell with the A/C if it now sucks, too.
And then I go by school to check my mail. I’ve got overdue deficiency slips that were put in my box while I was gone, saying I forgot to put information into a couple of medical records. Information that I either a) did not know I was suppose to put in for one, and b) didn’t have the results to put in before my rotation was over, for the other. Best part? The school can dock you a letter grade for overdue deficiencies. The notice it was overdue is dated 12/19. So yeah. That’s…..pretty overdue. So have to try to deal with that first thing tomorrow. And to pack for my externship. And to stress about driving my car that I just got back from massive repairs, without studs, on potentially icy roads. For a 2 to 2 1/2 day drive. yeah.
I very nearly had an emotional breakdown when I got my deficiency slips, manged to postpone the tears until I got back to my apt, but…..yeah.
still have to go shop, and pack, and find dinner. ugh. ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. this is just ugh. i hate today.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 9th, 2014 @ 20:10and the driver of the shuttle/bus thingy who dropped me at my apartment with my computer bag, 20-30 pound rolly carry on bag, and two large suitcases (one 35 pounds, the other 45), told me “good job getting those bags up the stairs [to your apartment]. Yeah. Yeah. Good day to you to, jerk. I mean, it’s not like I necessarily expected help (although the last 3 or so times I’ve used this service, the drivers have all helped me when I had that many bags, last time the driver even took 2 of my three bags). But if you’re not going to offer help, which is fine, then don’t make some jerky comment about how difficult it’s going to be for me to haul it up several flights of stairs, thanks.
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Fortune Cell/Julia
in January 9th, 2014 @ 20:50Major sympathy, long-travel-time bro. Seriously, as soon as I got to my boyfriend when he was picking me up from the airport, I started crying. Not “I missed you so much” tears (I mean, I did miss him). “I AM SO TIRED AND IT IS SO COLD” tears. Travel is just exhausting. There is a good chance you will talk to someone sympathetic who will not dock you the letter grade, since it was deposited over a break and you can blame the doctor or whomever. In general, most people who work at a school are going to be more helpful than you’d expect. I go to a huge school and that’s always been the case for me, at least. Just take things one at a time. Safe drive!
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Luna the Lovely
in January 9th, 2014 @ 22:28I hope so, but I’m not terribly optimistic, as the deficiency notice says that students who are on a free block, like I was, are subject to the same requirements. But hopefully they decide it’s too much effort to go back into the system and change by grade at this point with the university, than it is to use it as a teaching lesson. We shall see. I just hope I don’t dissolve into tears when I go in to talk to someone tomorrow about it.
thanks!
I am feeling less stressed now.
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oxlin
in January 10th, 2014 @ 09:23Guess what I wore last night? Some google glass glasses! Turns out my friend had gotten a pair, so I asked to try them on. It is slightly bizzare to have a little screen floating in the upper right hand corner of your vision. You can tap the side to scroll through the icons, or press a button on the top to take a picture. The screen will turn off if you’re not using it.
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KaiYves
in January 10th, 2014 @ 12:30Do you feel like a “Totally Spies” character?
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 10th, 2014 @ 10:57So I changed my email, but it’s still me. Just, uh, letting everyone know.
In other news, I have lab today and it’s gonna be really tiring. And I don’t know whether I need a hair tie and I don’t have one with me. I think I’m going to try to steal a rubber band from the library.
My pokemon fanfic is 6,000 words long, and I just reached the second town. I forgot to write last night, but I trained my team (a litwick and a golduck) up to level 10, so I at least did something.
In the lounge someone read out loud first a Shrek/Joseph Stalin slash and then the first fifteen chapters of My Immortal. There were about eight people gathered around in rapt attention.
Luna, I’m so sorry about the bags… I had a nice security guy help me carry my 50-pount suitcase from the street (since there was too much snow to roll it) but when I made it up to the lounge on the fifth floor I discovered that the tower elevator was broken so I had to carry it up four flights to the ninth floor.
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 10th, 2014 @ 11:18I do have a hair tie. Victory.
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Dodecahedron
in January 10th, 2014 @ 17:20Hi all!
After several days of worrying and watching the news about travel delays, I have migrated for a week from snowy New York to sunny Florida. Today it was 80 degrees and I am slightly sunburned. At home it’s about 30 degrees and according to my phone it snowed earlier. This is bliss.
We went to Disney World! Epcot was perfect and so was the Tomorrowland part of Magic Kingdom. We still have two more days at Disney and one at Universal, along with a day of video games with friends. Unfortunately I have giant blisters on my feet after the first day of walking around. Nothing is perfect, I guess.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 10th, 2014 @ 18:56Universal is great. Are you going to the “actual” universal studios park, or islands of adventure? I prefer the latter, but like both.
I’m going to be in Florida Monday, but sadly not the same area
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KaiYves
in January 10th, 2014 @ 19:14Awesome! EPCOT is the best, I wish I could visit again, and Tomorrowland is my favorite part of the Magic Kingdom (although I really want to see New Fantasyland, too).
I have not been to Universal and a lot of it sounds like Not My Thing, but I want to do Twister: Ride it Out and visit the Jurassic Park section because it’s the closest I will ever get to visiting Jurassic Park for real.
Ah, it’s going to be three years since I was at Walt Disney World come February, can’t we do a WDW Kokon?
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Luna the Lovely
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:15Twister scared the heck out if me when we went to universal when I was around 10. So did the King Kong ride they use to have back then (it’s now a Mummy ride). The jaws ride scared the heck out of me too. I think they’re scrapping/scrapped that one, though?
I vote for a Harry potter world (aka islands if adventure) kokon.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 10:28The Jaws one is gone now, yes.
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Dodecahedron
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:32Luna — we’re going to be at both parks of Universal, I think? I wanted to just spend an extra day at Disney but my travel friends disagreed. I last went to Universal in the early 2000s (03 or 04 maybe), and last went to Disney in 2012 (although for just a day. tomorrow), so it should be interesting!
Kai — Epcot is my favorite park, and Tomorrowland my favorite part of Magic Kingdom as well. Basically anything technology-themed. I wanted to spend more time at the IBM exhibit at Innoventions because I am a huge geek and I love what I do, but my companions were bored there. I did get a picture with the wall that listed the product I worked on last summer, at least.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 10th, 2014 @ 17:52North Rawlinson, Nebraska, Home of the World Chewing Gum Museum– that sounds like a believable little midwestern town complete with kitschy roadside attraction, right?
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Piggy
in January 10th, 2014 @ 18:53Sounds pretty good to me.
But since I’m an expert on Nebraska towns, I feel like being inappropriately nitpicky. I can think of only three Nebraska towns that contain “North”: North Loup, North Bend and North Platte. North Loup was named after the North Loup River, a tributary of the barely larger Loup River. North Bend is named for the northerly curve of the Platte River on which it’s located. North Platte is at the confluence of the North Platte River with the South Platte River, where the two join to become the plain old Platte River. (Why they preferred the north bit to the south bit, I don’t know.) As such, a town called North Rawlinson somewhat implies it’s named after a Rawlinson River, and (since we’ve also got a South Bend) there may a South Rawlinson somewhere too.
As far as roadside attractions go, that sounds spot on. If you want, it could also be the birthplace of some obscure 1940’s minor league baseball player even the most diehard fans have never heard of.
As for the real-life towns I mentioned, North Platte contains the world’s largest rail yard, which played an interesting role during World War II, where tens of thousands of volunteers provided food, entertainment and hospitality to troops passing through the town while being transported across the country by train. Also, in addition to Glenn Miller, Red Cloud was born near North Platte (the town of Red Cloud, founded in 1871, is confusingly associated not with the Lakota chief but with the author Willa Cather, who lived in the town during her childhood). As for North Bend and North Loup… I think they’ve each got a water tower. So that’s something. Actually, I’m not sure about North Loup, but North Bend definitely does.
(It may be clear how seldom I find a chance to talk about Nebraska. I apologize for nothing.)
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KaiYves
in January 10th, 2014 @ 19:15So just “Rawlinson” would be better?
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Piggy
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:21I guess that sounds a bit less suspicious to my ears–but on the other hand, I’m always supportive of the formation of new rivers, fictional or otherwise. I’d go with whatever sounds better in context.
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KaiYves
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:40I don’t want to create a whole fake river, just a little town for some storm chasers to stop in for the night.
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Piggy
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:52Fair enough. It might’ve gotten invaded by zebra mussels anyway.
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Piggy
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:30Just a thought–have the pies/squids ever been used as a voting system and, after the result came back affirmative, someone declared, “The pies have it”?
Because I really think that should’ve happened by now. This possibility has been sitting right in front of us for years.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 11th, 2014 @ 03:51
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Piggy
in January 11th, 2014 @ 09:11Oh, thank goodness. The search function didn’t seem to find that comment for me, for some reason.
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Bibliophile
in January 12th, 2014 @ 00:54Which search function were you using? I’m pretty sure the one under “Looking for Something?” and the one on the grey bar don’t include comments, so until very recently, only GAPAs could even search for things in comments. There’s an option on the Comments page, though, so now we can do it, too.
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oxlin
in January 12th, 2014 @ 01:08Yup. The comments page search box is how to search comments. The search page on, say, the page of the random thread, will search post text and titles, but not comments. I have no idea what the search box in the grey bar at the top searches.
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Bibliophile
in January 12th, 2014 @ 13:22I’ve used it a few times, and it seems to work the same way as the one under “Looking for Something?”.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 10th, 2014 @ 20:35So today is going muc happier than yesterday. Got the deficient records with school sorted. Despite the stated policy they apparently give you quite a few chances to get them fixed before they dock your grade, and usually choose to prevent you starting your next rotation until its fixed rather than docking grades
Took my car back to the shop, explained the heater problem. Sounds like dr google correctly diagnosed it as an air pocket in the coolant system. They fixed it up in about 30 minutes and it works beautifully again
Started my road trip. Raining the whole 4 hour drive. Really hard the last 40 mikes or so with terrible visibility. Could hardly see taillights.
Hotel has spool and hottub. And huge room. Utilized the pool and hottub, although the hottub was a bit too warm. 5 minutes and my chest felt constricted and difficult to breathe. So 5 minutes in the hottub than back to pool, than 4 minutes in the hottub…. It made the pool temp feel delicious (no sarcasm, it really did)
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Lizzie
in January 11th, 2014 @ 11:55-if you count wind chill, cleveland’s had a range of almost 100 degrees in the past week.
-if you have a cold you probably shouldn’t go out to a bar and drink a beer and eat a burger at 11:30pm.
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Randomosity101 and *Cskia
in January 11th, 2014 @ 17:22Hi! Randomosity101 here. I’m hanging out with Cskia and I’ve taken the opportunity to nag her into posting again. So, without further ado…
Hello! This is Cskia. *waves tentacles*
R101 isblackmailingpersuading me to talk about my life. So, errr, I’m alive. How have y’all been?Oh, come ON, Cskia! Give them more than that! I mean, you haven’t posted in how long now?
This sounds suspiciously like an interview.
So I got caught up doing college stuff (still am, but almost done…hopefully? maybe?), so I’ve been writing essays and compiling portfolios and trying (but failing) to keep up with sleep. Swalot has been busy too, but he says hi. I’ve missed you all and once things settle down, I will be posting more often!What, didn’t you know this is a radio talk show?What do you mean, it sounds like an interview? Anyway, we were being silly cephalopods in the park, but Cskia says it’s not a Kokonvention because we knew each other in real life before MB. I’m inclined to agree, more or less, but I think it’s a bit of a gray area. She also says that yogurt for parakeets is food for thought, but that it’s best not to think about it.Holy cake is this being aired
Quoting me out of context will destroy me, ahahaha -__-
So anyways, we’re sitting here sipping almond milk/Jamba Juice, listening to spazzing parakeets (on R101’s 3DS). Life is good.Of course! Don’t you listen to the Muse Academy 24 Hour Broadcast at least once in a while?Have you forgotten the MB emoticons? I think this may have sufficed:
Anyway, I AM DRINKING A CARROT SMOOTHIE SO DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT ME BLACKMAILING YOU INTO POSTING ON MUSEBLOG. I mean, heheh, what? *is braindead* And admit it, the parakeets are hilarious.Admittedly, I only remember when I get hit on the head by a bowl of petunias…
The parakeets are adorable, but they’re making fork noises right now, which might be slightly disturbing if you think about it? Also I said nothing about blackmailor at least I struck it out geezDarn that app and all its flowerpots.Parakeets are surprisingly good at imitating fork noises. I did not mean to cause that fork to make such noise in the first place, but it turned out all right (so long as I don’t think about the yogurt). *checks to make sure you actually struck that out* I stand corrected. *pays fine in choklit*Cskia just said: “This is like the script of a very unlikely play. Stage directions: ‘Enter parakeets, singing like forks.'”
And: “They look so nonchalant when they’re laughing like maniacs.”
The best part is that all of this makes perfect sense in context. Also, Cskia keeps calling herself awkward, so I keep reminding her that David Tennant refers to himself as awkward too.You’re quoting every other thing I’ve said! But maybe that’s because I speak so very little… *cue awkwardface*
WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT D:
So, this has been a considerably long post, with both of us being very much distracted–awww, cute cat!–so yeah. THE FORK IS BACK. Also, R101’s phone is attempting to hijack the conversation. Maybe we should end here?
*showers of cuddly cephalopods*I am not! You’ve said a lot more than that! And I took a picture of your awkwardface because it might be the next Tennantface! Sort of. Anyway, expect the blackmail demands revolving around release of the picture to the general public tomorrow. You’re right of course, though. The question of whether you own the copyright to your face or your mother does IS a good one…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH CUDDLY STUFF!!!!!! *hides* *vicious, man-eating nautili fly in out of nowhere, realize there are only women in the house, and leave* OK, that’s better… And now the spastic parakeets are making knife noises. Anyway, why should we end the ramble here? It was just getting goo-
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Luna the Lovely
in January 11th, 2014 @ 17:55Driving through Alabama today, passed a sign that said in giant letters: “VULCAN”. And then underneath in little letters, “Tuscumbia quarry”. But just having the word “Vulcan” on it made me grin like an idiot for the next couple miles, cuz yeah i’m weird.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 11th, 2014 @ 18:21SFTDP
So on my way back to school, after my externship, I’m going to have enough of a buffer I can make an adventure out of my drive. A lot of which will be through Alabama. Anyone know of any good places to visit in Alabama (I know what KaiYves is going to suggest, and I intend to try to hit up Huntsville).
Also if anybody knows anywhere good in western Tennessee.
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Agent Lightning
in January 11th, 2014 @ 18:40Well, I think my all-district audition went pretty well. There’s a good chance I didn’t make it, but I felt pretty good about it, and I have a history of preforming horribly at All-District auditions.
So I’m pretty happy about that.
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KaiYves
in January 12th, 2014 @ 08:37I never thought I’d have to have the fan on in January, but my dorm had the heaters on full blast when it was almost 60 degrees outside and I desperately needed some air circulation.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 12th, 2014 @ 22:41So….made it to Florida, where I’m doing my externship, and living with a retired employee for the next 3 weeks.
And I think somewhere along my trip I made a wrong turn and fell down the rabbit hole to wonderland…..or some equally crazy world.
My homestay person (who is probably in her 60s, for point of reference), is a Harrison Ford fan, apparently has a sewing roomw ith Harrison Ford wallpaper. And she use to go to conventions frequently, and I guess met Harrison Ford (who apparently is really nice, looks good in jeans, and has large hands) and the producer of Indiana Jones (Frank Marshall?).
And apparently she use to work for a fanzine, editing/typing up the stories.
And apparently the vet I’m going to be working with is a Trekkie, and made and wore some kind of steampunk cosplay to a con in Georgia?
This is all so surreal.
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Cat's Meow
in January 13th, 2014 @ 02:16I daren’t go on the Geeky TV Shows thread for fear of spoilers, but from what I’ve gathered, I’ve got to let my roommate make me watch Sherlock next semester.
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Selenium the Quafflebird
in January 13th, 2014 @ 07:09Yes. You absolutely must.
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 13th, 2014 @ 13:23I’m back in Collegeland. Classes start tomorrow. I’m supposed to be looking at textbooks right now and comparing prices but I’m not. I slept without benefit of blanket, pillow, or bedsheet last night and as I consequence woke multiple times freezing. My friend should bring the stuff I stored with her today though.
I’m taking Sustainable Development, Human Genetics, Introduction to Computer Science, Global Change, and Fencing. I also have a work-study interview on Wednesday, which is great because I didn’t think I was going to get a position, again. Still need to apply to internships. Still need to unpack. Still need to compare textbook prices, and buy bedsheets because the bed in my room is queen sized.
Actually what I am doing is angsting over the morality of downloading my textbooks for free. This is why I have neither bought them yet nor downloaded them
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 13th, 2014 @ 13:36Wait I just realized that I can read Game of Thrones online legally via my university library. What is this sorcery. Why did I not know about this before. And most importantly….
I know what I’m going to be doing now. The moral debate has been paused and the book buying has been pushed aside in favor of pure procrastination.
But seriously, why is this the first time I realized it?
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/gradster(1)/
in January 13th, 2014 @ 15:00I have no clue why you’d be morally opposed to getting textbooks for free. Real books, sure; you can assume that at least part of the profit is making it back to an artist, and that’s worthwhile. The textbook industry is a racket, though, and an antiquated one, at that.
-A
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 13th, 2014 @ 15:22I guess it’s lingering sentiment from all the times I’ve been told downloading is Wrong. Also being unsure where to draw the line regarding rule of law versus Robin Hooding.
Also, does using your logic mean I should buy the “real books” on my textbook list?
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/gradster(1)/
in January 17th, 2014 @ 11:50Hmm. I mean, yeah? That seems sound. (Pretty sure we’re talking about the same thing… Right?)
-A
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KaiYves
in January 13th, 2014 @ 14:00I don’t know why I dreamed about Ben Franklin as a superhero last night, but it was interesting.
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Randomosity101
in January 13th, 2014 @ 15:02I’m back in Collegeland, where the professors are extremely forgiving of my missing the first day of classes due to my original flight being cancelled. (My last not-online class ended just before the plane I was on today landed.)
Also, it is unseasonably warm in this area of Collegeland for this time of year. I am therefore very confused.
P.S. Flying with a cold wasn’t as bad as I thought it could be. One ear started hurting during the landing of the second plane, but that was it.
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in January 13th, 2014 @ 18:00The one time I did that, I was deaf for the evening.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 13th, 2014 @ 19:33My head feels like it will explode from the inside out when I have a cold on airplanes. Because my sinuses and Eustachian tubes get congested, and te pressure can’t equalize, and across my nose and in my forehead feels like its under so much pressure, and it hurts so bad all I want to do is cry. Which would just increase the congestion, so….yeah
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Piggy
in January 13th, 2014 @ 15:41First day of classes–well, class–for me too. On Monday-Wednesday-Friday I only have one class, medieval Latin. I and the eight or nine other students sat waiting in the classroom for about ten minutes before the professor showed up, saying that first he didn’t know where the building was, and then once he found the building he didn’t know which room we were in. After transporting us to a different building we got to syllabary things. Apparently we’re going to be reading a history of the Hussite Revolution (in Bohemia 1419-1434) which has never been published in translation except for one edition in Czech. Apparently the professor (with small, circular, dark-rimmed spectacles, great bushy beard, slightly untucked “university stripe” shirt with red bow-tie off its kilter by nearly ninety degrees) and a friend of his have worked out a preliminary translation into English and decided to check their translation by leading a group of hapless undergrads, for which role I seem to have volunteered, through the Latin. The professor, after we had reached our second and final location, began by saying, “I have no idea why anyone ever would ever take medieval Latin, but I’m glad you’re here,” and proceeded to explain that if we came to class and he liked us, we’d get an A; if we requested a midterm or a final he could figure something out for us to do.
If you can’t tell, I’m really quite excited for this course. It seems to be right up my alley.
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ebeth
in January 13th, 2014 @ 17:47well, first day back and so far i’m just hanging around, so…
i’m actually still at the GA office – my class tonight is online but it involves an online chat – synchronously, as they say around here, which is unusual i guess. i’m not sure yet whether i’ll hang out after work every week or go home, but my desk at home is just sort of out in the living room so i thought i’d try it once each way and decide after next week. plus i had to finish up the book for tonight so it seemed easier just to hang out. my adviser/boss is also my professor for this class so we’re going to be sitting a room apart while also being in a video call so that’s fun i guess. online classes are weird
we got all kinds of Plans made – the grad assistants are sort of de facto officers in the student group so we met with the president (who’s actually a guy i went to OSU with and have worked with on extracurriculars before) and hatched schemes.
anyway class time now so we’ll see how this goes
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Errata
in January 13th, 2014 @ 19:45On a New Year’s sort of theme, I thought I might mention to you my two biggest current projects.
First, writing more. Always a goal with me. I say I want to write, and then I never write anything except during November, and that’s just depressing to me. It’s still top of the list, and I still haven’t figured out the secret.
Second, and somewhat related, art. I really wish I could draw. I can’t. I’m doing my best to fix that. So far, I’ve mostly discovered ways to ape other people’s art in a way that comes out looking decently, but doesn’t involve any talent. But, hey, I did at least one drawing that came out looking okay, though nothing like what I pictured, which wasn’t a copy of anything.
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oxlin
in January 13th, 2014 @ 20:47My secret? Try to write everyday or most days. Getting into the habit helps. It doesn’t have to be /good/ writing everyday but if you write often enough chances are you’ll like some of it and you’ll write more.
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Errata
in January 13th, 2014 @ 21:16I resolved to do that at the end of the summer, because I calculated that if I wrote a thousand words a day for the rest of the time I was at home, I would reach a million words written total by the time I left for college.
That was when I started to realize how seldom I actually wrote. Still working on this.
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 13th, 2014 @ 23:43Be like Terry Pratchett! 400 words a day!
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oxlin
in January 13th, 2014 @ 20:49I’ve gotten really into reading the MIT admissions blogs lately. I dunno how I feel about this. They’re fascinating, but sometimes I start wishing I could do college over again only this time at MIT. But yet I loved where I went to college. I miss being so closely surrounded by nerds. The other feeling I get is that I want to take more math classes, but to do another BA would be expensive and I’m not sure I want to take /that/ many more math classes anyways. For now, back to reading blogs and watching math videos on the internet.
I do, however, recommend the blogs highly to all of you. They’re a great slice of what college is like (so much that it keeps making me both nostalgic for my own and wanting to apply to theirs, heh.)
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/gradster(1)/
in January 14th, 2014 @ 12:20Which authors are you reading?
-A
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oxlin
in January 14th, 2014 @ 13:04Anna H., Elizabeth C., Lydia K. lately but I have only just started. Someone wrote a blog about going abroad with people from liberal arts schools which really made me appreciate my liberal arts school because, as she was appreciating the abroad experience, I don’t think it was as close to a liberal arts college experience as she thought. However, everytime I read about Random Hall I want to live there. However, my own special interest house at college was pretty awesome too. I guess a lot of what I’m seeing as the differences trickle down to my school being tons smaller than MIT. I’m sure a lot of the other differences would focus on MIT being a tech school and my school being a small liberal arts school, focused on everything.
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/gradster(1)/
in January 17th, 2014 @ 11:54Cool! When you say special interest, you mean something along the lines of a themed residential learning community, right?
In other news, I ask because I know & have worked with someone personally who writes for them- Chris P. He’s got some great stuff; I definitely recommend it.
-A
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Adeliae
in January 14th, 2014 @ 08:11Hey look! I’m still alive!
Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. I’ve really missed you guys.
An update of sorts – I don’t know if y’all remember me?I have been in a steady relationship for a year and well wow? She’s amazing.
I am taking an Anatomy and Physiology course and THE TEXTBOOK IS SO PRETTY THE CLASS IS SO WONDERFUL.
I am very happy with my life? Even the with the prospect of college applications? But I found some of the blogs oxlin was talking about and I got very excited.
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KaiYves
in January 14th, 2014 @ 09:22Welcome back!
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Randomosity101
in January 14th, 2014 @ 10:09Adeliae! I’m so glad to see you post again! And I’m glad things are going well for you.
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Choklit Orange
in January 14th, 2014 @ 17:27Adeliae, welcome back! It’s so nice to hear that you’re happy.
I, too, am taking an Anatomy and Physiology course- isn’t it amazing? I find myself in quiet awe almost every day at how much stuff is in the human body.
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Lizzie
in January 14th, 2014 @ 10:59can’t decide whether to audition for an early music choir tonight or not… I mean it would be fun but I don’t know if I really have time and this is so far outside my comfort zone…
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in January 14th, 2014 @ 11:53Outside the comfort zone is something I would count as a major plus. (On the other hand, time constraints are very real, so you’ll have to answer that one for yourself.)
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Lizzie
in January 14th, 2014 @ 14:30my tendency is to burn all possible candles at every end so I’m trying to avoid that a bit more this semester
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Lizzie
in January 15th, 2014 @ 10:52I got in!
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in January 15th, 2014 @ 14:10Hope you’ll have a great time!
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Cat's Meow
in January 14th, 2014 @ 12:56This company I might intern at put red “this field is required’ asterisks by their “optional self-identification fields” about gender and race. Yes, there are “Choose Not to Disclose” options, but that seems underhanded to me.
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oxlin
in January 14th, 2014 @ 12:58Mm, tea. What kinds of teas are your favorites? I currently really enjoy red teas (both rooibos and honeybush). I also like chai, green tea with mango, black tea with milk (thanks to Paul), and green tea with lemongrass.
Edit: Oh, and I like yellow teas as well! And white teas.
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Piggy
in January 14th, 2014 @ 13:07I’m a big fan of Chinese and Taiwanese oolongs, as well as Japanese green teas.
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Errata
in January 14th, 2014 @ 22:44I’ve been mostly drinking herbal teas lately, chamomile and mint and so forth. One of my Christmas presents, though, was a variety pack of Hawaiian teas, so I’m excited to try those.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 08:38I like raspberry, and apple cinnamon, and this vanilla-peach-rooibos stuff I bought on campus once.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 14th, 2014 @ 18:16My externship is going fantastic so far. It’s only day two and I’m definitely gonna learn a lot and get a lot of really great experience. Really happy I decided to go here.
Completely unrelated: did y’all here about the person who got shot and killed at a movie theatre in Tampa? I guess the guy was texting during previews (and understandably the guy behind him, a former police officer, was annoyed and asked him repeatedly to stop), and then I guess it escalated from there, got physical, and the ex police officer shot and killed the guy. For texting. In a movie theatre. I don’t understand what’s wrong with people. I mean, yeah people texting in theaters is annoying, but to shoot and kill the guy over it? What is wrong with people. I mean seriously. This is why I’m afraid to cen go knock on my upstairs neighbors door when they’re being obnoxiously loud in the middle if the night. Because I’m terrified they’ll shoot me. People have issues
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Luna the Lovely
in January 14th, 2014 @ 19:01So….am I suppose to be able to moderate the pending comments? Because I can’t quite seem to make it work. Which may be because I’m on my iPod? But I’ve got the desktop version on my iPod, so….I dunno
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 14th, 2014 @ 19:11No, you can’t moderate comments.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 14th, 2014 @ 19:17Oh, good. That makes me not feel quite so technologically challenged, lol.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 14th, 2014 @ 19:12Ugh, sitting in the hallway because some girls cleaned something horribly stinky out of their fridge and threw it in the common room garbage can, and now the common room stinks.
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Tesseract
in January 14th, 2014 @ 19:48I figure it’s about time for an update post from me (happy couple weeks after the new year!)
I’m finishing up my winter break, which has been on the whole good but definitely a mixed bag. J and I broke up in late December. I ended things because, for a lot of reasons that I don’t want to go into right now, it wasn’t feeling like a good relationship when we were apart, which was most of the time. I was still in love, though, so that was very hard. Getting easier, and we’re staying friends. We hung out today and watched Sherlock S3E02 which was really nice.
My family also went to Colorado to ski for a week, which was wonderful. We do so every two years. It was fantastic to get back on the slopes. There was a ton of really nice powder and we had a great day cross-country skiing as well. Skiing is one of the few sports that I wholeheartedly enjoy and it was just a great trip.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I don’t have a lot of time or drive to read for pleasure during the academic year, so that’s been nice. I wholeheartedly recommend The Snow Child, which was one of the most beautifully written and genuine books I’ve had the pleasure to read. I would also warn against Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookshop, which I found pretentious and irritating. I also read Tenth of December, a book of short stories that I enjoyed immensely, and I’m currently working my way through Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
I’m currently trying to decide on/narrow down some choices of classes for next semester to make shopping period (our highly utilized drop/add period) more successful. In particular, I’m trying to decide whether to take French (I didn’t this fall) or History of the English Language which is right up my alley and with a professor who’s supposed to be good. I’m also probably going to take an anthro class that was recommended to me, astronomy, and a history or mythology class.
I’ve secured an internship in NYC next summer that I’m very excited about! It’s at a literary agency. I had a publishing internship last summer and liked it a lot. My best friend from high school is probably also going to be in NYC this summer, so that should be fun.
I know I mostly lurk, but it does warm my heart to see the blog a little more active. I’ll try and post more often. <3
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 14th, 2014 @ 22:03Up to 10,000 words in The Fanfic, and still have not reached the first gym. I just arrived in Stration town, and am in the middle of writing a scene with Bianca and the PC eating dinner at the gym’s restaurant. I’m really enjoying writing!
Today I actually managed to pay attention for most of Molecular Evolution, which is an achievement. I never know whether what the professor’s saying is something that he planned out, or if it’s just a tangent, and thus am inclined to not listen to anything.
Working in the library every day is going well; it’s pretty weird to have evenings free to do what I want without worrying. Of course, that’ll change during the course of the quarter, but hopefully I’ll alleviate the night-time work significantly by working during the day as well.
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Jadestone
in January 15th, 2014 @ 03:08a list of some things I meant to do in january/winter term (that I have not started at all because just getting out of bed takes effort) in hopes this list will motivate me to start any of them:
– second mermaid tail. this was my original “winter term side project” before I went through a really rough breakup that’s sucked away most of my energy so is honestly pretty unlikely to happen anymore right now. this one will be pretty time consuming since I’d have to cut out and paint a ton of individual scales and I just don’t know if I’m up for something that’s gonna take that long. Which is a bummer since I’ve been planning it since summer and have almost all the materials but I’m just. so tired. this will probably get pushed back till summer
– new mermaid top for myself with the white shells & netting I got over the summer
– another mermaid top to sell potentially?? I found a cheap pair of shells over break but they’re the same colors as the one I already have so I don’t need them for myself
– plaster mask fitted to my face, I got plaster cloth and I wanna remake an old Green Man mask I did years ago but this time have it wearable. I have a buncha fake plants to do for the leaves, I just need to get someone to help me make it since that takes two people, so have to… interact socially again…
– finish the Smaug hoodie, I need to make a better velcro attachment for the tail and add spikes to the hood
– I committed myself to going to a convention thing later this month so I have to do my admittedly super easy costume for that which consists of making a hat, that is not so hard, that is doable I just need to work up the energy before the 25thother things: maybe learn to go to sleep before 4am again and also go for a full 24 hours without crying sometime before february
I do not expect to accomplish all or even many of these things, I am gonna aim for doing at least TWO of them. Definitely the costume one and hopefully one other idk which yet. gonna try to sleep before 5am I guess though, time to listen to audiobook and hope for sleep…
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Jadestone
in January 15th, 2014 @ 03:10also: REMEMBER TO TAKE THESE MEDS AFTER DINNER SO I DON’T HAVE TO KEEP EATING A BUNCH OF FOOD LATE AT NIGHT WHEN I’M NOT HUNGRY SO I DON”T FEEL NAUSEOUS
I feel nauseous anyway right now even though I ate but. worth a try
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Bibliophile
in January 15th, 2014 @ 03:50But… but I don’t even want to watch Supernatural! Why am I reading essays and articles about it past 3 in the morning? I’m not interested! I do this enough with the shows that I watch and mostly like!
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Bibliophile
in January 15th, 2014 @ 03:56…Like, I legitimately don’t think I would enjoy watching the show if I tried it, because it doesn’t even sound like something I’d like, so this is a total waste of time, but I’m pretty sure that even if I tried it and hated it, people write such interesting essays about it that I wouldn’t stop reading.
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Bibliophile
in January 15th, 2014 @ 04:18I mean, I’ve been reading other stuff, too, and it was mostly other stuff that kept me up, but I draw the line here because this is not even one of my interests and that is silly and I should be in bed.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 08:35I feel you.
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Agent Lightning
in January 16th, 2014 @ 13:03I have a lot of friends who like the show, but… who even has time to watch all eight seasons?
I don’t have time to watch Supernatural. I could do better stuff, like read fanfictions for things I’m already obsessed with.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 16th, 2014 @ 18:52*cough* I apparently did. Although there were fewer seasons at the time I was introduced to it. Three seasons less, I guess? Because I got introduced probably early 2011. I watched a lot of TV in undergrad
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Maths Lover ♥
in January 15th, 2014 @ 04:20Prometheus, they say, brought God’s fire down to man
And we’ve caught it, tamed, drained it, since our history began
Now we’re going back to heaven just to look him in the eye
And there’s a thunder ‘cross the land, and a fire in the skyThis is from a filk song about space travel. But on my 20th or so listen, I happened to look at my printout of the ‘New Friends’ LoK poster. Wan
Hmm… if you changed the words, perhaps accompanied my a montage like the Star Trek: Enterprise opening, it would be a great theme song for a TV series about the Avatar world turning optimistic-overpowered-sci-fi-Postmodernmagick/Magitek. (Until someone used said power for evil and/or stupidly, and a darker theme became necessary.)
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 08:13I approve of any use of “Fire in the Sky”, as it is one of my favorite songs.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 13:04Also, I am one of the five or so people who actually liked the Enterprise opening (I would watch that and sing along and then change the channel when the episode started…), and I enjoyed the first season or so of Avatar before I got busy with college prep and then college, and I realize that it really is a very fascinating constructed world.
(Back in the fall, when I was looking up which style of bending was necessary to control lava, I had a random plot bunny of an idea about a group of scholars starting an organization devoted to the use of bending in meteorology/seismology/volcanology/other-earth-sciences-relevant-to-natural-disasters to provide warning and protection, but I realized I’d have way too much canon to get caught up on before I could ever start writing it…)
So in other words, I love everything about this idea.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 08:53Robert, do you think if Henry Reed ended up in Mammoth Falls, he’d be running the Mad Scientists’ Club within a week, or would he want nothing to do with them because they cause trouble on purpose?
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 15th, 2014 @ 13:41Hm. My memory isn’t crystal-clear, but isn’t Henry more of a loner? Not in a bad way, just independent.
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KaiYves
in January 15th, 2014 @ 15:09He didn’t want to work with Midge at first, but I think that was because she was younger and didn’t know as much about science. He is independent, but he’s also not used to having intellectual equals on his own age. So it really could go either way.
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Errata
in January 15th, 2014 @ 16:10Wasn’t he complaining, early in the first book, about how there would be nobody his age except one girl? I could be misremembering, but I thought of him as willing to make friends, just not given a lot of opportunities.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 15th, 2014 @ 18:17Yes, that was Midge. He also said that he didn’t have a lot of friends his own age because he was always traveling with his family in Foreign Service assignments.
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Errata
in January 16th, 2014 @ 00:28Thanks so much for reminding me of those books, by the way. I just went and re-read the first one, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I understood a much larger fraction of it, too. All the jokes that went over my head last time make so much more sense.
Anyway, I’m going to go with the interpretation that he’s willing to make friends, but capable of entertaining himself, also.
I can’t speak to your specific senario, since I don’t think I ever read whatever series the Mad Scientists’ Club is from, but I don’t think Henry would be likely to shun people because he didn’t agree with them. More likely he would sort of disdain them but stick around anyway if they offered companionship or help with something or other. That’s more or less what his relationship with Midge is in the first book.
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KaiYves
in January 16th, 2014 @ 07:11I agree with you.
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ebeth
in January 15th, 2014 @ 10:13yeah okay now i’m playing word games and responding to years-old comments instead of doing any work D:
i should be working on a cover letter – a bunch of jobs opened up at the library where i work and i’m hoping to apply for one of the library assistant jobs. i’m not sure it would be ideal, it’s nights and weekends (i’m pretty sure the night shift conflicts with basically everything else i do by about half an hour) and it’s fewer hours (although i think it pays more) but it’s a step up on the resume and i what i would be doing would be closer to librarian stuff. i have to get everything in by friday though, and i’ve been really unmotivated because i’m not even sure i could take the job if i got it. it’s probably good to go through the application process though
i’m trying to get through grad school without taking out any more loans, but i want to take foundations of archives which isn’t offered until next fall. so i’ll have to pay for a class while going down to a part-time income, and i won’t be able to take another job because i’ll be doing an unpaid internship as the last thing for my degree. so fewer hours isn’t good, and i’d love to apply for one of the jobs with more hours because i’ll be taking fewer classes over the summer/fall but they would start during this semester and i can’t work more hours and keep taking this many classes
all because i wanted a nice downtown apartment instead of an awful crumbling campus house with spontaneous loud parties. no regrets.
this better pay off with a job after graduating though because man paying off student loans is going to be fun*
i guess this probably fit better in the college thread but it was supposed to be a nice light-hearted random thread post! the impending doom of adulthood is seeping into all my posts D:
*soul-crushing
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FantasyFan?!?!
in January 15th, 2014 @ 14:31Ordered textbooks that I needed to buy.
Had a work-study interview. Might have bombed it.
Rented every textbook I could rent.
Drooled over internships and REUs.
Caught up with friends I haven’t seen in seven months.
Bought more living supplies.
Attended the one class I have on Wednesdays.
Spent a lot of money, but less than it could have beenClearly I have done something with my day. I want to read Clash of Kings. I should probably be applying to internships and not just drooling over them. I so don’t want to. No, I do, but not now. I should do it right now, before homework becomes a thing.
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KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 15th, 2014 @ 18:18Professor Danti wants to read my fanfiction.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 15th, 2014 @ 19:51So I think the people I’m working with want to take me out to an Indian restaurant. I’m not that familiar with Indian food. I don’t like spicy (as in hot spicy, like jalapeños etc). And I’m not all that big on “weird” spices. In other words I’m kind of sort of a really picky eater. What would y’all suggest as something I might like?
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Choklit Orange
in January 15th, 2014 @ 20:41Depends on the type of Indian restaurant, but idlis and dosas are pretty bland, and you can dip them in mild chutneys (or, if you are me, in plain sugar). I suggest you go for chaat dishes, because chaat is delicious and also generally comes with yogurt, which alleviates the pain of chili powder. Samosa chaat, dahi batata puri (fried cracker-type things with potatoes, tamarind sauce, and yogurt), bhel puri (puffed rice with chutney and other stuff in it), and channa masala are all good.
If you’re worried about the spice, order a mango lassi or something else with yogurt or buttermilk in it; the milk fats counteract chili oil and stop your tongue from hurting.
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oxlin
in January 15th, 2014 @ 22:13Mattar paneer is deliciousness made out of cheese and peas in tomato sauce.
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 15th, 2014 @ 23:28I mean, I don’t really know what you count as “weird,” and I am by no means an expert, but ordering anything off the curry/main entree section (which is probably the bulk of the menu) that isn’t spicy and sounds halfway decent always works out for me.
If you do get curry/sauce stuff make sure to get some naan and rice to go with it.
Tandoori style stuff is just baked in an oven, so if you really want to play it safe get something from the tandoori section if there is one.
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Errata
in January 16th, 2014 @ 10:37Fun facts: I learned to like spicy food so I could eat Indian. I don’t notice spice much anymore. I may not be the most reliable source of information on whether something would be considered uncomfortably hot/too weirdly spiced.
How spicy stuff is probably depends on the restaurant, so asking people who have been there before is probably the best bet.
I don’t know how readily available this is, I’ve only ever had it at one restaurant, but if you see any kashmiri naan, that stuff is delicious. It’s sort of like a far superior version of a poptart.
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Ducky
in January 16th, 2014 @ 01:04So. Driving.
Driving by myself makes me feel grown-up, both in the way that little kids feel when they do “grown-up” things and also in the “oh god I am not prepared for this” way.
My fear is partially because about a month ago my friend rolled her pickup and pretty much totaled it, luckily she came out OK, her pride was hurt more than anything.
I’ve pretty much decided that I’m not driving myself anywhere if there’s ice until next winter.
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bookgirl_me
in January 16th, 2014 @ 07:30Time for an update, eh?
I have to admit, my head’s been all over the place lately. I’ve got exams in two weeks and it’s all rather terrifying and somewhat depressing, since I know that the best grade I can possibly get this semester is a B(-), and it’s very hard and ridiculously difficult. It’s always been a bitter pill for me to accept bad grades and having to desperately fight for them is wounding my pride somewhat.
But after that, I’m going away for break. I’ll be visiting the town where I grew up (before Vienna), which is a kaleidoscope of emotions- I honestly never thought I’d go back, and I was a very different person then who couldn’t imagine living the life I lead now. I really look forwards to it though- it’s fun to indulge in navel-gazing from time to time, and I’ve been thinking about what I want in life a lot lately. I suppose it’s 3rd-Semester-itis: if I pass this round of exams (that is, including the 2-3 in late February), I will be a bit more than halfway finished with my BA. It’s a scary thought in some ways (I’ll be
old20 then-gulp), but at the same time this will be the first time I really get the chance to consciously shape my life as an adult (my gap year plans mainly fell through because I wasn’t 18 yet).And I’m in a relationship, which is really unexpected and wonderful. To be honest, I never really imagined this happening for a multitude of reasons. But it’s lovely.
I don’t really have any summer plans yet- I’ll get out in June with three or four exams to go (plus a bachelor thesis to start) and I’ll definitely want some down time to relax as well. I might go Interrailing for a month this time, which would be awesome. Otherwise… well, I hear some people do this strange thing called “sleeping”. I might try that.
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oxlin
in January 16th, 2014 @ 13:46I have new glasses. Now my face looks strange.
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KaiYves
in January 16th, 2014 @ 13:50I know the feeling.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 16th, 2014 @ 18:39Conclusion: I don’t think Indian food is for me. Which isn’t surprising, I’m a pretty picky eater and not big on experimenting other the things I eat. And I think I have a direct correlation between how food looks and how I feel about even tasting it.
So the place turned out to be a buffet. I got some rice type stuff that started with a b and was extremely spicy, so I didn’t care for it. And there was something that looked like spiced potato wedges, but was some sort if bread type stuff, maybe? It didn’t taste bad. Didn’t taste much at all really, but was this weird springy consistency that I didn’t like. And then there was some kind if chicken that started with a t and it didn’t have a vs flavor, but I just couldn’t get over the color. Magenta chicken is just….unappetizing to me. So while the flavor I don’t think was bad, the color made it really difficult for me to eat it. And then there was some roll type thing they served us, with a crispy almost wafer or crepe like shell, with some sort of yellow green squishy stuff inside. And the flavor of the yellow green stuff wasn’t something I cared much for, and I couldn’t handle the consistency. (There are certain foods that I can’t eat because the consistency makes me gag. Like yogurt.)
And by the time I had eaten all that, the minuscule amount if adventure I have in regards to food had been used up for the year, and I couldn’t make myself even think about trying anything else, especially since they were all things with sauce that either had an unappealing color or was KBr if those consistencies I can’t handle
Conclusion: I’m a ridiculously picky eater. Also I’m not big in trying new things. And while there is probably Indian food that I would like, I didn’t really care for anything at this place.
Except the bread stuff. Because it just tasted like bread stuff. Like a tortilla/pizza crust, with no sauce r seasoning or anything.
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89.1
Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 16th, 2014 @ 21:22Oh, dang.
It appears that at least one of the things with shells were samosas, if you want the name.
And the bread was naan. They usually don’t serve specialty naan at buffets, but to make it more than “pizza crust” it can be stuffed with various types of filling.
Conclusion: Next time, if there is a next time, hopefully you won’t get a buffet. Then you’ll get a menu with actual descriptions and be able to tell whether or not it’ll be spicy.
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89.1.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 17th, 2014 @ 00:59I think I’d be more likely to try it again with a menu, or some way of knowing what was in the food. I like to know what I’m eating.
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90
Catwings
in January 16th, 2014 @ 19:03R.I.P. Frank Marth, Eddie Murphy, and Russel Johnson.
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90.1
Catwings
in January 16th, 2014 @ 22:55Oh, I am sorry, forget the part about Eddie Murphy. The thing I heard about him dying was a joke by some scammer. Still, R.I.P. to Frank Marth and Russel Johnson.
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90.2
Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 17th, 2014 @ 01:30Also Roger Lloyd-Pack.
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90.2.1
KaiYves
in January 17th, 2014 @ 08:16And John Dobson.
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91
KaiYves
in January 17th, 2014 @ 16:49It is inordinately hard to find a bucket large enough to soak a Chia planter in on campus, but I have managed to do so.
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91.1
KaiYves
in January 20th, 2014 @ 09:21And now it fell and partly broke. This better become pretty plant when it starts to grow.
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92
ebeth
in January 17th, 2014 @ 20:14just went to an impromptu fancy dinner! i said “what’s the occasion?” and finch’s response was “it’s the one point of the semester where we both have time and aren’t freaking out about something.” can’t argue with that
so we went and he spent too much money on a scotch bar. living downtown is awesome. and scotch is delicious.
our roommate recommended the place to us. she works at a hotel which means she *knows everything.* i never realized how awesome that job is, but she is really good at it and knows all the best places to eat. plus she gets free tickets to things from super rich people who stay there, and she gets discounts on all kinds of things
anyway this place was pretty small but had a huge selection and it seemed like half the restaurant was corner booths which is the BEST kind of table (i don’t know how they managed to get so many corners into one area but they did). i had an ardbeg (islay is my new favorite thing, they all taste like a camping trip) and a dalwhinnie
(yeah i don’t know if the general mb knows about scotch or if this is even age-appropriate but i may as well educate you young folks now so you know what to get when you’re drinking age)
luna – was it biryani? biryani can range from really spicy to really mild, it’s one of my favorites. i order it medium and it usually has bits of fruit in it which dulls the heat. i think you should try indian food again when you have a menu! then you can specify how spicy (or not) you want things to be. tikka masala is another one that can have more of a fruity taste sometimes if you want to give indian food another shot (which i think you should!)
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92.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 17th, 2014 @ 20:57Yes, I believe it was
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93
Luna the Lovely
in January 18th, 2014 @ 16:48Today I got mistaken for a 15 year old. The vet I’m doing the externship with was teaching a class, and one of the people she was teaching thought I was her daughter. And that I was 15. :/
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Luna the Lovely
in January 18th, 2014 @ 17:35Ugh. So I just started feeling super nauseous 30 minutes ago and I half to do to dinner with the vet and another individual in bout 15 minutes. And I think the smell of food may make me puke
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94.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 18th, 2014 @ 19:43*have not half. Clearly I can’t type intelligently.
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94.2
KaiYves- Go MAVEN!
in January 18th, 2014 @ 20:19*gives Pepto-Bismol*
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94.2.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 18th, 2014 @ 20:53Thanks! Fortunately my stomach settled on the ride to the restaurant so while I didn’t have much if an appetite, I didn’t get sick
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Justice
in January 18th, 2014 @ 22:26Museblog keeps showing up in my regular life.
Apparently I’m kissing Beavo’s best friend/past partner.
And I’m friends with Glassboro.
Life is good.
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95.1
Agent Lightning
in January 19th, 2014 @ 20:25It’s odd how the blog has suddenly become more relevant in everyone’s lives. It’s good to hear from you!
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Luna the Lovely
in January 19th, 2014 @ 06:45The vet on my externship has “keep khan and kling on” as her phones desktop paper
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Randomosity101
in January 19th, 2014 @ 13:16My father just used The Site That Shall Not Be Named to ask about how college is going. This is the first time he’s actively tried to get in contact with me since I moved out. I’m not sure what that means or what I’m supposed to think about this…
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97.1
KaiYves
in January 19th, 2014 @ 13:51Parents are like that, they just want to know how you are. Mine call at least twice a day.
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97.1.1
Randomosity101
in January 19th, 2014 @ 16:21Well yes, but this is the first time in over a semester.
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98
KaiYves
in January 19th, 2014 @ 14:01Reading the fancy-bound edition of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” that I bought back in the summer, I don’t think I’d read the book in its original form since 8th grade. Of course it’s still good, it wouldn’t have been in print for nearly a century and a half if it wasn’t.
It’s interesting how the adaptations all sort of skimp on the opening chapters where the Thing that is sinking ships is such a mystery, they’re very reflective of debates about cryptids or UFOs one can find oneself in even today. Also, I think a lot of people imagine Aronnax as being older than he is– early on he says Conseil is 30 and he’s ten years older.
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Piggy
in January 19th, 2014 @ 18:57I finally got my first smartphone today, upgrading to an LG G2 from my trusty, dusty, fabulously named Verizon Razzle. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with a smartphone, but at least I can say I have one. It seems pretty nifty.
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Catwings
in January 19th, 2014 @ 19:36Always getting stuck on this one part in my story…. Is it a bad sign, or does it just mean I might have to redo the chapter?
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100.1
Agent Lightning
in January 19th, 2014 @ 20:17Try thinking outside the box- have the plot do something completely unexpected. It helps for when my stories begin to stagnate.
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100.2
KaiYves
in January 20th, 2014 @ 09:31I’m sort of stuck, too, it’s kind of a mystery and I know which clues the characters are supposed to find next, but I’m not really sure how much, if anything, should happen first.
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100.2.1
Catwings
in January 20th, 2014 @ 14:32I’m at the part where my character meets a woman in the forest. They don’t talk or anything, and I know how my character reacts, but I’m just not sure how to phrase it.
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Errata
in January 20th, 2014 @ 14:48If I were you, I’d just phrase it as best I could, and move on, even if you end up with something horribly stilted and awkward. Better to keep moving than to spend too long worrying about a few paragraphs.
If I really can’t think of anything, I’ve been known to just put square brackets, describe what needs to hapen there, and move on. You can come back and replace it before you let anybody read it, and you might have a better handle on how to describe it then.
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100.2.1.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 20th, 2014 @ 14:56I was about to say the same thing: just chug on through, one way or another. If you don’t like it later, you can always fix it.
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101
Agent Lightning
in January 19th, 2014 @ 20:21I tried out for an honors orchestra yesterday, on the trombone, and I made it! There were only five who tried out, and they took three, because it’s primarily a strings function really, but I was still psyched to know I made it- I’d heard good things about the other trombone players. It’ll be fun to play in a full orchestra! Also, it was my first honors band audition on trombone, because I’m primarily a tenor sax player… I’m pretty happy…
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102
Catwings
in January 20th, 2014 @ 17:47Does anyone know how to download Minecraft Mods?
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102.1
Agent Lightning
in January 21st, 2014 @ 09:26I downloaded the technic pack a while back with the help of some friends. If you google Tekkit, some sites with download links should come up. I’m not sure about other mods, but a bit of googling around should help you… Make sure all your Adobe plugins and whatnot are updated.
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Luna the Lovely
in January 20th, 2014 @ 18:09So did y’all update the software, or something? Because my iPod keeps reverting to the mobile version of the site everytime I reopen the web page, which it’s never done before. :/
Anyway, keeping busy on my externship. Although I don’t get enough me time to decompress from being social, which is a bit draining.
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103.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 20th, 2014 @ 18:14Not even everytime I reopen. Everytime it refreshes. :/
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103.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 20th, 2014 @ 18:18Hm. I’ll turn off the plug-in that creates the mobile version and see what happens.
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103.1.1.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 20th, 2014 @ 18:28Will that turn off the ability for people to view the mobile version? Because if anybody likes using the mobile version I wouldn’t want to take way their ability to do so just because its more convenient for me
But yup, that does prevent it from reverting when I reload/reopen the page
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103.1.1.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 20th, 2014 @ 20:13Maybe we’ll need a new mobile-view plug-in, or maybe I just need to learn to configure the old one differently. There are bound to be some problems with compatibility. With luck, they’ll be small ones.
Next time I’m feeling brave, maybe I’ll try updating the theme again. It might work better with the new version of the software. The last attempt was not encouraging.
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104
Agent Lightning
in January 20th, 2014 @ 19:03I’m learning ukelele!
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104.1
Hummingbird
in January 21st, 2014 @ 02:45That’s cool! But whatever you do, please please pleeeease don’t ever pronounce it as “yook-a-lay-lee” because I live in Hawaii and it’s one of the most annoying things ever.
Come to think of it, ukuleles are like adorable little guitars. Cute.
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104.1.1
Luna the Lovely
in January 21st, 2014 @ 06:47Um. How are you suppose to pronounce it, then? Because apparently I’ve been doing it wrong all my life?
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104.1.1.1
Fortune Cell/Julia
in January 21st, 2014 @ 10:25According to wikipedia, yoo-ka-lay-lee is the standard pronunciation, but the original Hawaiian is oo-koo-le-le.
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104.1.1.1.1
Hummingbird
in January 21st, 2014 @ 11:15Oh. Well, pronounce it however you like, then. Sorry, I just thought it was incorrect.
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104.1.1.1.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 21st, 2014 @ 11:49In Virginia, where I live, there’s a town called Buena Vista — pronounced “BEW-na VISS-ta.” Needless to say, that’s hard for a former Californian to hear and say.
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Lizzie
in January 20th, 2014 @ 21:56I swear, taking ibuprofen / icing makes my shoulder feel worse, not better.
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Piggy
in January 20th, 2014 @ 22:43Urgh…occasionally when it’s cold my car door won’t close, and of course that had to happen tonight after work. I drove back to the parking garage holding the door closed (on an extremely cold, windy night), used some jumper cables to tie the door to the seat to keep it from swinging open, removed everything of value from the car, and walked miserably back to my dorm. My dad says he can come out tomorrow night and we’ll try and fix it, but I can’t help but think that by tomorrow the car will be gone.
*glurbles in woe and worry*
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106.1
KaiYves
in January 21st, 2014 @ 09:21Ugh, sorry.
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oxlin
in January 21st, 2014 @ 10:29Another article on the 1 + 2 + 3… does not equal -1/12 thing: http:// mathbabe. org/2014/01/21/if-its-hocus-pocus-then-its-not-math/
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KaiYves
in January 21st, 2014 @ 10:58The ice skates I ordered were in the mail room for a week because the company I ordered from misheard my name as a very different first name when I ordered over the phone and thus, the package arrived addressed to someone who isn’t in the school records.
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108.1
Fortune Cell/Julia
in January 21st, 2014 @ 13:14At least they got to you eventually! I’m still waiting on a new bow/other archery equipment. It’s a Christmas present, but backordered (forever, it seems like!). I was originally told mid-January, but, well…
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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)
in January 21st, 2014 @ 13:16I got Skyrim yesterday… Hot diggity dang, it’s so engrossing. I can do whatever I want! And I have a horse!
But I also played for the entire afternoon/evening, which means I have a bunch of work to do today. *sadness*
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109.1
Piggy
in January 21st, 2014 @ 13:24Ooh, darn you for reminding me that I have Skyrim. And Oblivion. And Morrowind. And I was hoping to be productive this week….
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