Ramblings of an Overworked Grad Student

I'm listening to the first two singles from Patrick Wolf's new album, and while they're happy, they kind of make me teary eyed. Time of My Life is the first one, and The City is the second. I think his new album (Lupercalia) is coming out in May. It's sounding a little more upbeat that some of his other work. Reminds me a lot of The Overture, which is my favourite song by him. More like his album The Magic Position than The Bachelor.

Anyway, I coupled this with reading a death!fic that was halfway decent, and I kind of want to write the fic where the characters deal with terminal illness, and the surviving character doesn't go on to find true love again.

I'm not saying it in a depressing way, or that people shouldn't fall in love again after losing a loved one. I just want to show that there's nothing wrong with being faithful to the person you've lost either.

My grandmother lost her husband in 1960, and had to raise three children on her own. She was an attractive woman, and she could have remarried to support herself, but she knew no other man could be for her what my grandfather was, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Just saying

The header is inspired by an idea I've got gestating at the moment. I'll probably post more about it when I've had the chance to think coherently. Basically, it boils down to the fact that our education system is failing our youth, I have a very scientific mind, and I'm ridiculously lucky to have the opportunity to work where I do (The Robarts Research Institute).

( Insert blurb about why any of this came up to begin with )

I kind of want to see Bob McDonald do a TED talk.

In other news, I've signed up to run the half marathon in Orlando in February, and I'm committed to raising $4,500 CAN for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. I'll post my fundraising website shortly (my high school physics teacher donated 100$, because he's awesome), but I really need some help come up with fundraising ideas.

So far, I plan on selling the rubber bracelets (like the yellow livestrong ones, only purple and for Team in Training and blood cancer research), and I'm thinking of doing a few bake sales/waffle breakfasts.

Any other ideas?

Finally ( a meme )

I watched the premiere of season six, and on the whole, I actually liked it. I hated the finale of last seasons, because I thought the whole seasons built up an epic fight, and I was left feeling extremely underwhelmed.

I've been busy commenting on my flist's responses to the season premiere, but I thought I should probably make my own comprehensive post. There are some spoilers for rumours I heard from a friend but never verified about different kinds of mythologies they might be including in this season.

( So here it is: )

I feel better now. Back to more productive things.

I've started TAing again, meaning I've got to be at the lectures by 8:30am >.> Also, they gave me the afternoon tutorial sessions, again, when I asked for morning. On the plus side, they're giving me the new edition of the textbook for no reason :)

Because of the 8:30 start, I have 2 hours to kill this morning, and I decided to go online and look for a website that would help me come up with a weekly menu plan. Just something to keep track of what I'm going to be making every day so I can buy the right stuff and thaw things as needed.

I figured, hey, why not just use the premade ones they've got all over the place.

Unfortunately, it seems like cooking for one and eating healthy are mutually exclusive to these websites. Either it's a complete lack of fresh produce, or it's telling me to buy 38 grapes for a week.

Seriously.

Is it too much to ask for a website that will let me pick the foods I'd like to eat? Hell, I'd settle for something that would just let me upload my own meal plan online so I can work on it at home and in the lab.

Maybe I should just use google calander...

On a side note, I'm getting really hungry.

I'm leaving for a weeks vacation tomorrow, and the stress levels from trying to get everything done before that leave me with two (mostly rhetorical) questions

1) Why is it that supervisors expect you to have nothing better to do than wait around to meet with them?

I check my e-mail with breakfast, before bed, and several times in between. I can adjust my schedule to meet with people pretty easily because of this, so long as you let me know a day ahead. Not the day of. And if you want to meet the day of, you should be checking your e-mail more frequently >.>

2) Why is it, that the more you want something the work, the more likely it is to screw up, but when you're ready to wash your hands of something, it miraculously works?

I have no love for science right now. >.>

On a side note, big bang still isn't finished. Expecting to have it done by Monday (a week later than planned) because lab work is stupid.

So, I'm slacking on lab work, but I've got a clean apartment and another 1,000 words for the big bang, and I can't get this thought out of my head.

In SPN, Heaven, for people, is being by themselves reliving their happiest memories.

In Satre's Huis Clos (No Exit for you non-French speakers), Hell is other people.

Just saying.