so damn curious

Someone tell me what to do
I feel like I must be a fool
For ending up right back at the start
The things that we don't comprehend
Are laughing at my mind again
I think that I think too hard
And I don't give enough credit to my heart

I'm so
Damn curious to know
And there are too
Many unanswered questions
Then we hold on to

I've put my theories to the test
You know I've tried to do my best
But maybe we weren't meant to strike gold
Sometimes things that you ignore
Are all the things I'm looking for
Will I learn to let go
Give into love and listen to my soul

I'm so
Damn curious to know
And there are too
Many unanswered questions
Then we hold on to

Portraits of your loved ones
Are more than what you see
All the elements they capture
Are more to you than me
A different dimension we've yet to define
There's a forest to cut through with thorns and vines
There is no reason to try

I'm so
Damn curious to know
And there are too
Many unanswered questions

-holly brook

one wise wager

"at the end of the day, this is simply about two things: reaching seekers and building believers. or maybe it's about loving God and loving people. or about leadership and about serving. about living for others instead of ourselves and living for things we can't see. high things. deep things. things the world thinks we are crazy to care about."

-wayne wager

fun-related events

it's that time again for a blog of recent quotes/scenes that i found particularly entertaining. usually these tid-bits involve anne and her moronic-ness, but this time, she's not the only one to make headlines.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anne-related

setting: Anne's house while making cookies. timer goes off.

me: uh, you wanna turn that thing off?! timers drive me nuts! there's always someone in lab who forgets to turn their's off and i just want to scream.

anne: i know, like when the buzzer goes off at mcdonald's, i just wanna yell, "hello?! the fries are done people! let's turn the thing off!"


i stop everything and give her a look of disbelief. moment of silence.

me: are you serious?

she was.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anatomy-related

setting: lab. student looking for the platysma muscle.

student 1: val, how much does a platypus weigh?

me: uh, ....now, what?!

student 1: well, this muscle just made me think of a platypus and we were discussing how big they were. what do you think?

me: hmm.... maybe 5-10 lbs.

student 2: ha, told you so. (looks at me.) he said they were like 200 lbs.


wikipedia weighs them in at 1.5-5.3 lbs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

setting: lab. 2 days before exam.

student: so do we need to know all this stuff?
points to an unlabeled diagram containing 95% of exam material

me: um, yeah.

student: oh. hm. that's alot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

setting: lab. student holding a female pelvis model.

student: hey val, thanks! i've been looking for the clitoris for years and i finally found it!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emmy-related

setting: random times when i'm hanging out with or talking about my pregnant sister.

me: c'mon fatty.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

me: i don't wanna share a bed with the pregnant girl.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

me: did you just finish your second cupcake?

emmy: nope, my first.

she looks at her stomach

emmy: the previous one was his.

she grabs another cupcake

emmy: this one's his too.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sarah: i saw your sister today in the mall.

me: you don't know my sister.

sarah: yeah, but there was this girl that looked just like you, she was pregnant, and she was wearing a mt.carmel sweatshirt.

me: yep, that was her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pep talking

Lauren: "Yeah, work is going well. It's just difficult, because everyday I have to give myself a little pep talk. I have to say, 'You can do this. You're capable of this. You know this stuff'"

Val: "Yeah, I have to give myself a little pep talk everyday too. It goes more like this, 'Get out of bed. Get out of bed. Get out of bed.'"

always on my mind

maybe it's just a woman thing, but i get these cravings in my head that won't go away. for example, the other day i began to notice a soreness in my throat that would have felt much better had it been in contact with a wendy's frostie. the thought of the frostie entered my mind around 9pm, and did only grew in intensity up until through the wendy's drive thru in urbana. hey, wendy's is open late, right? wrong! apparently wendy's is only open late... if they're not CLOSED!! slightly disheartened, i moped my way through the night. tomorrow, perhaps, i will find a wendy's that is open, and i will endulge in my frostie!

the next morning, i felt as though i had been hit by a mac truck. i refuse to call this illness a "cold" due to it's severity, but all medical symptoms point to that diagnosis. i mentally prepared myself to get out of bed at the ungodly time of 10 am, only thinking about how lovely it will be when i get my frostie. oh, so soothing.

that afternoon, i took my little sister shopping, the whole while thinking about the cool refreshing chocolate goodness massaging its way down my throat. i casually mentioned the idea to my sis, at which point we traveled to the wendy's on prospect. my jaws were juicing for this long anticipated dessert. we pull into the drive thru, and see the display has been taken out of the drive thru sign. that, mixed with the lack of vehicles in the parking lot, was a clear indication of their similar closing.

i sat there, in disbelief, waiting for the little speaker to ask me if it could take my order. i just sat there, hoping, pleading, wishing. finally, my little sis said, "um, i think they're closed". i knew. how could i not know. all signs pointed to closed, but my heart could not make the connection. if this wendy's is closed, and the wendy's in urbana is closed.... are we out of wendy's? has phil truly been taking over wendy's $10 at a time?

i have tried everything: sprite, water, ice cream sandwiches, oreos and milk, chocolate chip cookies, tea..... everything! nothing can satisfy this craving for a wendy's frostie. damn you dave thomas.

Graduate School(tm): The Game

Hey kids, check out the cool new game that's sweeping the nation! Be the first on your block to own a copy of Graduate School(tm).

With Graduate School(tm): The Game you can experience all the fun and realism of grad school in the comfort of your own home. Every nuance of the real graduate experience is reproduced in this game.
Check out these great features of Graduate School(tm): The Game:

Choose Your Own Character

You have your choice of a wide variety of characters:

• Jill: the emotionally unstable ABD
• Fred: the naive first-year
• Harold: the overwhelmed and under-funded RA
• Laura: the disgruntled TA
• Jaques: the exploited international student
• Backstabbing Caroline: the political opportunist
• And many, many more!

Confront a Wide Array of Interesting Opponents

Throughout your quests in strange and exotic lands you will encounter people who apparently receive great joy at your misfortune, in fact they are a major cause of this misfortune:

• Administress: the evil secretary with her dreaded red tape
• Prof. Rewrite: if he gets on your committee you're doomed
• Metoo: A fellow grad student who becomes a dead weight on all your projects
• Ronny: The smelly undergrad RA
  
• Partytime Pamela: Invites you to time wasting parties every other night
• Prof. Touchy-Feely: A sexual harrassment case waiting to happen
• Rod Starr: Super Grad Student, makes you look bad by graduating in 12 days
• Susan Stickyfingers: Your kleptomaniac officemate
• Along with dozens of others!

Real Life Challenges

Pick a Setback Card and see what fun adventures await you:

• Join a Committee: Research slows down 1/2
• Videogame attack: Lose 12 turns playing Snood
• One More Analysis: Repeat all previous analyses
• Dissertation Scooped: Go back to "new candidate" status
• Get Drunk at a Conference: Spin the Faculty Insult Wheel for your penalty
• Advisor Retires/Moves/Changes Interests: Start over
• Car Towed: Sell your stereo to get it out of hock, lose motivation
• To name just a few!

Different Ways to Finish!

Most games are boring. They have a "winner" and a bunch of "losers." The goal of "raduate School(tm): The Game is different. There are no winners in grad school, only survivors and failures. Your goal is to be a survivor, that means different things to different people. There are a wide range of ways to survive:

• Go to law school: Successfully escape
• Marry rich: Don't worry anymore
• Family: Change your priorities
• Capitalize on one of your ideas and make millions: Ah, engineering...
• Graduate: ???

Graduate School(tm): The Game -- Look for it in stores near you!

laundry has never been so entertaining

normally i'm not into promoting other blogs over mine.... you know, the whole consumer society mentality... however, i must recommend a visit to this site. i think that God made an error in stoichiometric calculations when adding "humor" into this man. props to him for increasing depends sales 20% this quarter.