Noted.

The cat has started playing lava in the living room. I didn't realize they liked that game as much as us.

If you are in DC and want something sweet to do, look no further: The Mansion on O street. I have heard that it was established as a secret club for important people to have extremely private liaisons. The mansion has 100 rooms and 32 secret doors. You are free to try to find all the secret doors and touch everything, without anyone standing over you or nattering away about the history of the place. Also it is full of art and music. I haven't done it yet but I am super excited to check it out.

Also a tour of the Supreme Court is high on my list. When we were in DC, we did a tour of the Capitol building, which was less than ideal, but we did get to experience the acoustic phenomenon where people can stand at two spots quite far apart and hear each other perfectly. If you talk to your representative (House rep., I think) you can get tickets for a tour of the Dome. They say that's a workout, because you have to climb a million stairs to the top and there is no stopping point along the way. So do it before you're old and lame. Also if you talk to your representative you can get access to the House floor and the Senate floor to watch them debate. (Not the floor really, but the galleries.)

And my favorite new blog is this. It's so easy to be satisfied!

Tuesday

It's Tuesday! But seriously.... it's tuesday.... I hurt all over for no reason. Its like the flu cramps without the rest. I ran errands. Attempted to clean the apartment. Payed bills. Won a game of DotA with Tinker. Now I am going to watch some loony toons. Margaret is away feelig important and punching congress man in the stomach. 'More Money for Higher Education or we Will Kill your First Born.' Not really she is just learning about stuff I guess. Anyone knopw a sweet synth player? We should Jam... Just so you feel like you havent wasted 2 minuets of your life reading this here is a video

a picture for annie

Here's some brain images for Annie:

1) Really zoomed out

2) Really zoomed in, right about at the median

projects emerge

So Eric has now acquired an amp and a drum pad. Combined with the Korg we have the makings of an in-house electronic dance party. When Dane comes up and takes on the role of mix-master well, there will be no stopping us.

Meantime, the infinite buttons of the silent accordion frighten me. I figured out one of the buttons and then forgot it. I took the accordion into the lab last night, figuring while I waited for gels to run and whatnot I could do a little practicing. It's gotten scary in the lab at night because there have been a couple of major thefts, by people who clearly had keys and snuck in! What if they try to get our lab next?!???!?! If I'm playing the accordion they'll know to stay away, I figure. However, last night I did not have time to practice because I kept finding things to do besides run gels.

I am so close to getting my plasmid constructed! All I want is to get it done before spring break. But I also want to get my homework done, and sleep, and go to class like an obedient student. I just remind myself that I can sleep on the plane.

Speaking of planes, I will be able to go to Elizabeth's graduation! I have a conference to attend in Alexandria the week after, and they will fly me out a week early so I can take a brief vacay in MD. Whoop! (I still have to tell my professor this plan...)

Also I have gotten several nice packages in the mail recently - a cake-baking kit, complete with black gel frosting. I am holding off on using it until there is an appropriate occasion, one where I can make lots of people look at and eat black gel frosting. I got Dad's scarf he knitted me for Christmas, complete with maroon racing stripe. And I got some delicious rummy vegan cookies from Annie. Pocky also likes them - to eat and also to bat around on the floor.

Eric won't eat the beet soup I made - he tasted it and said it tasted like dirt. That's alright, I know it's an acquired taste. He also is not motivated by the thought of red pee. (He also won't try the rum cookies, but he claims to generally not like cookies. More for me!!)

Finally, happy anniversary us! We actually made it a whole year together, most pleasantly. The future's looking good.

Hey Whale! Whatcha been doing?

Let me answer that in slide show form..

.

You should look concerned Moomin... very concerned

all business

I am in the lab now. I am digesting three different plasmids (1 hour), running them on gels (1 hour), extracting the right DNA from the gels (1 hour), checking the DNA that I extractd (30 minutes), ligating the DNA (1 hour), and transforming e. coli with the ligation (1 hour). Then tomorrow I will see if I have successfully cloned anything, and I won't have to come in this weekend.
So I have about 3 hours left. Fringaninganinga. I am bored with this shit.

Side note, curries are delicious and super easy to make. You need onions, garlic, turmeric, cumin, beans, rice, veggies. Coconut milk helps. Tomatoes are sometimes nice. And then you have delicious warm food that looks like horrible diarreah (only before you eat it)!

Katamari is a super fun game, I think I might play a lot of it this weekend.
Spring break is coming up when I go to DC to meet lots of important people. After spring break I will be free to ski all the time!!!*!*!*

I am borrowing the accordion of Pat from the band. Pocky likes to sniff it so far. There are hundreds of buttons and I am determined to learn what each of them does, so I can play polkas and mariachi songs.

Cats don't have eyelashes.