Jan vs. Wild

Danish Christmas

2011-12-28T07:17:00.004-05:00

Before...

After...

And last but not least, the Christmas cookies that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs...

(yes, I made these)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PS: I got the almond!!!

I am your density...

2011-12-22T05:21:00.002-05:00

(name that movie)

So, I keep logging into Google Reader and at the top of the screen there is a notification that says

"Density Control
New Density settings increase the amount of information on the Reader screen.
We recently enhanced support for different screen sizes by bringing more information onto the page if we detect..."

Every time I see it, I think it says "destiny control" and I'm like "woah, talk about cool new features!"

Hey, McFly!

Thoughts on success...

2011-10-07T04:57:00.002-04:00

...possibly derived from my recent failures to accomplish any of the things I'm trying to achieve.

Do you think success is just doing something right the first time? No! "Success" is when you try, and you fail, and you pick yourself back up and you try again. You try and you fail and you try and you fail and you keep on trying, and each time you fail a little less, and you achieve a little more, until one day you succeed completely. Success is not a singular event, and failure is not the opposite of success--success is a process and failure is a step on that path.

Maybe this will inspire me to get my rear in gear and get some things done over the weekend!

cul-de-sac

2011-10-03T07:37:00.002-04:00

today I realized that the idea of living in a huge stucco house with a 3-car garage on a cul-de-sac in suburbia, next to a row of identical houses, is highly repulsive to me... maybe that's why I have had a hard time settling down and getting married :P

If I had a million dollars...

2011-09-22T06:42:00.006-04:00

The other day I was talking to a friend about all the things we would do if we were suddenly billionaires (I think we were watching a movie about someone that won the lottery or something... I don't remember). After talking about the places we would travel, the stuff we would buy (for other people) and the charitable organizations we would donate money to, I said "you know, I would probably still be doing exactly what I'm doing in my life right now. Except I would have a nicer bike." That's right folks, if I had nearly infinite amounts of money at my disposal, I would still choose to be a *grad student*. What's wrong with me?

But, I would have a nice bike, so it would all be worthwhile. :P

In all seriousness, though, how many people are lucky enough to be doing exactly what they want to do in life? I mean, I'm getting PAID to live in Denmark and do astronomy. I should be paying someone for the privilege of being able to do this! This is awesome.

seriously, sometimes I wonder why I have any friends

2011-09-19T05:11:00.003-04:00

From a chat conversation earlier today:

me: why are you friends with all these Mormons?!

C:Because they friended meeee

I HAD to friend them back

or else I'd feel God's wraith

wrath

me: hahahahaha

God has a wraith?

does he use it for a hitman?

C: stupid

I corrected it

me: wraiths are scary...

C: it was a typo

stop teasing

me: I don't ever want to meet God's wraith

C: wrath!!!!!

me: did you ever watch Stargate?

the one with the wraiths?!

FREAKS ME OUT!

My life is awesome

2011-09-03T07:46:00.003-04:00

I've been walking to work because I don't have a bike yet and it cost about $3.00 each way to take the train + bus combination that gets me there and I'm poor. The walk is great, and less than 30 mins (not really significantly longer than it takes on public transit, really), and every day I feel like I'm discovering amazing things. Too bad I usually don't have my camera with me or I would have some great pictures to share.

I have some awesome secret projects that I'm starting and hopefully I will actually finish one or two of them so I can reveal them. :)

I wish I had brought my art supplies--all I have is one small sketch book and a pen--because I have a bit more downtime here than I am used to and I could be making art. I will perhaps get them when I visit Boston in Nov.

Denmark is pretty cool.

My life :P

2011-08-30T15:18:00.001-04:00

hahaha.

-Garfield minus Garfield

Today I was...

2011-08-24T11:26:00.000-04:00

...chatting with a French-Vietnamese grad student that I met at Potsdam... I started putting on lip gloss while listening to him talk about photography and he stopped, seeming flustered, and then apologized: "sorry, I just don't see a lot of astronomers do that!" me: "um, that's because not many of them are girls..." :)

i Danmark

2011-08-20T13:23:00.002-04:00

Here is a mostly boring update of what I have been doing since I got here:

I arrived in Denmark on Wednesday morning at around 11:30--an hour earlier that scheduled. Awesome. I hung out until Jokke came to pick me up (in a car!) and then we took my stuff to Troels' house because I couldn't move into my new place until that night. We hung out for a while and then decided to go to the Taco Shop for lunch (met up with Chris there). So I ate Danish Mexican food for my first meal back in Denmark. Yum. Afterward I fell asleep during a movie and eventually my new roommate was home and we took my stuff over.

My new place is nice. My room is huge, I have my own bathroom (such as it is), and there is a pizza place on the corner across from me. That will definitely come in handy, I'm sure. I love pizza. My roommate is super clean and awesome enough to let me use all her kitchen stuff, so I will actually be able to cook! yay!

Speaking of cooking, I finally broke down and went grocery shopping today (Sat) because I decided to stop mooching off my friends. I am leaving tomorrow for a conference in Germany so I didn't want to buy too much food and then leave it for a week. But yesterday I found out that there is a boil order on the water in Copenhagen (due to some contamination because of all the rain and flooding lately) so I wanted to pick up some bottled water. Thankfully the store I went to actually had some. I grabbed a few other things too, and I spoke Danish the entire time I was in the store (mostly because I didn't have to say much other than "excuse me, yes, no, thanks, etc"). :)

The grocery store is a 7-minute walk from my house, and will be very convenient on a bike, whenever I actually get one. There is also an S-train station 5 minutes away from me, and of course Troels' place is about 5 minutes away too (where I am right now, coincidentally). Yay.

I went to Niels Bohr Institute yesterday to check in and get keys and everything. It was pretty cool. I saw some old friends and met some new people. I'm excited to start working there.

I was going to go to the police bike auction this morning at 8:30 am but then I decided to sleep in instead because I was really tired. So I'm still in the process of bike shopping and I will probably try to borrow one from someone for a little bit until I get my own.

That's pretty much it. I fly out to Germany tomorrow. Hopefully I can make it all the way to Potsdam and to the conference and not get lost or anything. Wish me luck!

the nature of God

2011-08-08T13:35:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday at church we had an interesting lesson on the atonement, and, as usually happens, the whole justice vs. mercy thing was discussed. You know the drill. Mercy cannot rob justice; justice needs to be satisfied, so in order to have both justice and mercy a third party is needed. The thing that bothers me about these lessons is that almost inevitably SOMEONE will say "there are some laws that even God cannot break, and the law of justice is one of them." I hate this. While I understand what they are getting at, I feel like they are approaching it wrong. Saying "God is also subject to the law of justice and he can't break it" very much implies that there is someone else that is more in charge than he is, and that he has to obey their rules. In reality (and this is now The Gospel According to JM), the reason God cannot "break the law of justice" is because of the nature of who he is. God, as a perfect being, is perfectly just (and perfectly a lot of other things too, but justice is what we're talking about right now). Thus, he is preventing himself from being unjust because justice is a fundamental attribute of his personality. God can't break the law of justice because he IS just. It's not that he wishes he could, but can't because there is some greater law that he is subject to. He can no more be unjust than I can change the fact that I'm human. That's just how it is.

hmm... I promise in my head this makes sense. Anyway, maybe that's what everybody actually means when they talk about this and it just took me a while to get it.

Well, back to work I suppose.

hair and feathers

2011-07-17T20:52:00.004-04:00

The other day I got a groupon email with the subject Up to 67% Off Hair or Feather Extensions in Scottsdale. I don't live anywhere near Scottsdale so I'm not sure why they started sending me those deals, but after I read it I started thinking what it would be like if there were two different intelligent species on earth--one that had hair and one that had feathers. Obviously this particular salon caters to both races but there would probably be other places that specialized in one or the other. Would the schools be segregated or integrated? What size/weight would the feather-bearing species be? Could they use the same chairs/staircases/doors/etc as we did or would there have to be separate ones? Would we both work together in the same environment? What if hair fell in love with feathers? Would they be allowed to marry?

PS: I have no idea what "feather extensions" actually are, but I assume it's a type of hair extension (maybe one that's more "feathery"...?).

Beauty (or, "my face is not Photoshopped")

2011-07-14T17:20:00.006-04:00

It's only 5:20 pm but I feel like I just can't possibly work anymore. Which is also sad considering how little I really got done today, in the scheme of things. I decided maybe if I write some rambly post on my blog it will be a nice break and then I will feel like working again. We'll see.

During the summer I have a lot more I want to write about (note that this does not necessarily translate into ACTUALLY writing) because I commute by bike and spend a lot of time thinking about things and coming up with good ideas (when I ride the T I generally tend to read, or sleep, or listen to my ipod instead of thinking). Unfortunately, more often than not when I arrive at work/home/the movie theater I forget those ideas before writing them down or writing about them.

This morning as I was rushing around trying to get ready and get out the door at a decent hour, I was thinking about makeup. More specifically, I was thinking about justification for not applying any because I didn't want to take the time to do so. Then I got annoyed at myself for feeling like I had to justify that decision at all. Five or six years ago I was reading a coffee table book at Borders which was (from what I can remember) about women in different cultures. It was mostly pictures--as coffee table books tend to be--documenting different types of dress, hairstyles, activities, cultural traditions, etc. There were some token descriptions (the ones that most people don't read) and I remember one talking about women of the Western World and how they wear makeup constantly. It said something to the effect of that the tradition of wearing makeup has become so ingrained in the culture that most women feel naked if they leave the house without it. That bothered me enough that I made the decision right then that I would go at least one day a week without wearing makeup, just so I wouldn't start to feel that way. I was never huge on makeup anyway, so this wasn't much of a sacrifice.

This idea of women feeling like they have to wear makeup bothers me on a few levels. One, it's really kind of weird when you think about it. The book 1984 described wearing makeup as "painting [one's] face" and I think that does a good job of illustrating the ridiculousness of it. Why do we feel like we need to go around with painted faces all the time? This might be part of it:

And this:

(after photoshop / before photoshop)

I could (and maybe should) rant about how women are trying to hold themselves to an unrealistic standard based on the media's portrayal of "attractive" women, but I feel like that would just be tiring both to write and read. I will instead share a story about young, 17-year-old, freshman-in-college JM:

My first year of college I became good friends with a girl in my dorm. Because I was from California and going to college in Utah, going home for the weekend wasn't really ever an option for me. Most of my friends, however, were from Utah and would often go home over weekends, leaving me there all alone. Sometimes they would invite me along, as this friend did one time. She had an older brother that was tall and blond and (I thought at the time) rather cute, and single. When staying with her for the weekend I met him, and we flirted a bit (in retrospect I was probably super awkward since at the time I didn't have a lot of dating/flirting experience) and hit it off. We held hands a couple of times that weekend (the brother and I), and then I went back to school again. I later asked my friend what her brother thought of me and she responded "he said that you could probably wear a little bit more makeup...". Needless to say, I was kind of crushed. I thought that he had liked me--and maybe he had, who knows--but he was clearly dissatisfied with my appearance and (in my mind at least) didn't think I was attractive. I felt like it was such a shallow thing to say. I thought I was pretty cute (hey, at least I never had self-image issues, I guess) just the way I was.

That was a really sad story, so I hope you appreciate it.

I do wear makeup now, more than I did as a freshman in college, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if that experience is part of the reason why.

Anyway, I'm tired of writing about this now, so I'll just summarize:

-lots of girls wear makeup
-I think they are trying to conform to some societal ideal of beauty that's basically unattainable
-people should love each other for who they are, not what they look like
-i wear makeup, but not all the time
(-i also don't date very much--connection? :P)

Okay, that's not really a summary I guess. I will just wrap this up with a plea for people to stop placing so much emphasis on appearance. I know it's hard, it really is. But think about it: everyone gets old and unattractive (except possibly Harrison Ford who is still incredibly good looking), so why not choose the people you date based on something more interesting and less fleeing than good looks? (also, how did this turn into a dating post? argh.)

In my opinion, beauty is in the imperfections anyway.

It's not you, blog, it's me...

2011-07-08T23:05:00.002-04:00

Today in conversation with a friend I accidentally let it slip that I have a blog. He asked me where and I basically responded with "no way am I telling you" but due to the fact that the conversation had involved me explaining the most common google search that leads to my blog, that was pretty much a losing battle. Oops. Later I started to wonder why I had responded negatively in the first place, and I realized that it's probably because I think my blog is pretty lame. I regularly go for stretches of months without posting anything, interjected by an "OMG I had cornflakes for breakfast! Best day evar!!!!!!!!!" post, or (even worse) an "I'm sorry I haven't been posting on here like I should have been, but from now on I'm going to post EVERY DAY!!!" post. Most of my other posts are random rants about things that annoy me, commentary on ways my social skills could use improvement, or things that I like or find amusing that no one else probably does. Not exactly a Blog of the Year candidate. Not that I started this blog for the fame, I suppose.

Actually, I started this particular blog right after I moved to Denmark (the first time). I named it "Jan vs. Wild" after the TV show "Man vs. Wild" that I used to enjoy, and because I felt a lot like that trying to navigate and adjust to life in a foreign country where I didn't speak the language. It reminded me of when I was camping on the bank of the John Day river in Oregon, "helping" my aunt who was working on her masters thesis in geology by studying slackwater flood deposits. She commented to me at one point during our stay that when she came out there she had planned all the work that she would get done and how efficiently she would use her time and everything. But when it came down to it and we were out in the middle of nowhere camping for weeks on end, her first priority had become survival, and any work she got done on top of that was a bonus. I felt similarly for the first couple months in Denmark. It was all about survival. Obviously it got easier as I got used to the culture and the Danes' little quirks, and made friends and such. But the blog name survived.

I also realized I have taken down a lot of the more personal posts from my first little while in Denmark, so it's pretty "safe" for other people to read at this point. Except it's still kind of lame.

Anyway, I felt bad and didn't want my blog to think I didn't love it. We've been though some hard times together. Maybe we have drifted apart a little these past few years, but it's mostly my fault. I should write more. (I probably still won't, but maybe.)

I watched the last Space Shuttle launch (ever) today and I really want to write something about it, but I don't feel like I have my thoughts together enough to say what I want to say. Maybe tomorrow (read, I'll see you in 6 months when you can find out what I had for breakfast).

I love you, blog.

I read it on the Internet so it MUST be true!

2011-06-16T16:51:00.000-04:00

"Most people believe the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Actually, in North America, the sun rises in the southwest and sets toward the northeast."

Uhh... really?

JM's world

2011-06-15T09:43:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I think I spend a lot of time living in my own little world. I realized this today when I was chatting with a friend online. Once when I was bored (probably on my bike, because what else do you have to do while biking besides come up with weird ideas) I invented some new chat acronyms. What makes these special (other than the fact that no one knows about them but me) is that they are similar to the commonly-used acronyms, so if you type one people will just think you were trying to write one of those, but mis-typed. For instance, LLOL = "literally laughing out loud". It basically means what LOL was supposed to mean except no one uses it to mean that you are actually laughing out loud anymore, they use it to mean "what you said was kind of funny", or, more commonly, "what I just said was sarcastic/joking" (my most hated usage) as in "man i'm tired of work why don't we just run away and live on an island lol". Another one I invented is TYL which resembles TTYL (talk to you later) and is also said at the end of conversations. However, this is used when someone says "I have to go" and you respond with "TYL" which means "take your leave." That's the one I used today which inspired me to write this blog post. (Isn't it great that I don't write for over 2 months and then when I do I write something as pointless as this?)

For some reason it makes me happy to throw these "secret acronyms" into a chat conversation even though the other party doesn't even know what they mean. I'm not sure why that is, but it probably means I'm socially awkward or something.

niche-less

2011-03-28T13:14:00.003-04:00

When you don't fit in with the regular girls and you don't fit in with the girls who don't fit in with the regular girls, where does that leave you?

Adult content

2011-03-22T13:52:00.006-04:00

Calvin: The TV listings say this movie has “adult situations.” What are adult situations?
Hobbes: Probably things like going to work, paying bills and taxes, taking responsibilities...
Calvin: Wow, they don’t kid around when they say “for mature audiences.”
Hobbes: I’ve never understood how those movies make any money.

Today I filed my taxes and then cleaned my room without being told. I realized that there are a few things that really signify that one has reached that "adult" stage of life. I made a mental list of a few of them.

1. Filing taxes (I hate this)

2. Eating vegetables voluntarily (I don't remember when I really started eating (and enjoying) all those things I thought were "gross" as a kid. When I go to the grocery store these days I buy almost exclusively "healthy food", and no one is even making me do it, or telling me I can't buy candy and ice cream! Not at all how I thought things would go when I was a little kid, daydreaming about the freedom I would someday have as a grown-up...)

3. Having a "change jar" (When I was little and I would go into my aunts'/uncles'/parents' bedrooms they would always have a jar or cup or something full of pennies, dimes, nickles, quarters, and maybe a few odd dollar bills. I would always look at it in amazement that they had SO MUCH money kicking around that it would just accumulate in a cup on the dresser. I wondered why they didn't spend it, and I was blown away by the fact that they seemed to not even realize the great riches that were right in front of them. One of my aunts used to give me pennies all the time because she said she hated them, and I couldn't understand why anyone would hate money. As I was cleaning my room just now I noticed my Star Trek glass nearly full to the brim with spare change, and I stopped for a second and realized I had somehow passed that "grow-up" milestone in life without even noticing.)

4. Choosing an aisle seat in the airplane (When I was little I always wanted a window seat and I didn't understand why people coveted the aisle so much. Why would they want to sit there when they could be LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW!!! I thought adults were complete morons for this. These days when I fly I try to get an aisle every time. (Maybe I am now a complete moron?) I wonder if that's because I've lost some of my childhood sense of excitement and discovery... I hope not. (Note when I was flying to La Serena from Santiago I did request a window because I wanted to see the mountains as we flew over them... then I ended up being on the wrong side of the plane so I saw the ocean instead.))

hmm... I guess I only thought of 4. I know there are more, but maybe I have yet to achieve some of them. We will see.

Yes I am socially inept

2010-12-13T00:22:00.003-05:00

Conversation I overheard in the women's room today:

Girl1: [cleaning some lint off her black dress] I always seem to pick up white on myself when I wear black, and black when I wear white!

Response I started to give: Actually it's probably just that the lint and stuff is various shades of gray, so it appears white on a black background, and black on a white background... {this apparently is socially the wrong thing to say. I didn't actually say it because...}

Socially capable girl next to me: I guess the answer is to wear grey!

[both giggle and share some type of bond based on a mutual social understanding that I lack]

The end.

You would not believe your eyes If ten million Shutterflys...

2010-12-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

...lit up the world as I fell asleep... (title inspired by the song Fireflies by Owl City)

Well guys, I guess I'm a real blogger now! Shutterfly offered me 50 free cards if I wrote a post about how awesome they are! And they are awesome! (...and I'm not just saying that because of the 50 free cards.) Think of how. many. thousands. of digital photos you have sitting on your hardrive. And backed up on your external harddrive. And maybe if you're really efficient, burned to CDs and put in a safe place. And yet, how many times do you actually LOOK at those photos? If you're anything like me, about once every 6 months or so when you decide to change your Facebook profile picture. But thanks to Shutterfly, that can change! You can take all those binary 1s and 0s that make up a file that is that awesome picture of you in front of the Eiffel Tower from that trip to Paris you took 3 years ago, and PRINT it! Then you might actually see it once in a while.

Not only can you simply print photos, you can make them into desk calendars, or Christmas cards, or my personal favorite: a Photobook! I spent a few weeks this fall putting together a photobook* for my brother about our trip to Europe we took a few years ago, and I have to say it was probably one of the greatest things I have ever done with my digital photos. My copy sits on the coffee table in my livingroom and when guests come over they pick it up and look at it, and ask about the pictures. Sometimes I will just idly leaf through it and bask in all the memories from all the places we went: London, Loch Ness, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Brussels, Copenhagen... but, I digress. The point I was making is that photobooks are AWESOME! Make one. They might seem a bit pricey, but I promise they are well worth it to give your pictures a little bit of center-stage time.

This year, for probably the first time in my life, I plan on sending out Christmas cards. And I'm going to use Shutterfly cards to make a personalized card with a picture of me, or maybe one of the awesome things I've done or places I've gone this year. I'm not really one for Christmas -news- brag letters, but I think a photo card is a cool way to show off a bit of my personality and adventures without being too obnoxious about it. Shutterfly has some awesome looking templates where you can use multiple photos and the final card looks nice and professional. I think I will probably use the Many Memories Tree card which I would like to point out is 20% off right now.

I will probably put pictures of myself on it instead of the cute little blond girl...

Anyway, look at me, being a real blogger that gets free stuff for writing blog posts!!! (This may very well be the first AND last time this happens, so I'm going to enjoy it!) Best day ever.

*Disclaimer: the photobook that I made was not through Shutterfly but some other website I don't remember now. I used them because they were having a really good sale. Shutterfly has very competitive prices, and next time I make a photobook I will definitely consider them. Unfortunately I can't comment on the quality of their photobooks as I have never made one before, but if/when I do, I'll let you know.

I'm back!

2010-09-22T11:31:00.002-04:00

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! JM wrote a blog post. Yaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!

So, I'm not one of those bloggers that is always counting comments or looking at traffic or begging people to "vote" for them for some pointless blog award or something. I like having a blog, but I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes abandon it for stretches of 6 months. I'm not concerned with "losing followers" and so far no one has complained about my lack of posts for... what, the whole summer? (Probably because I have no followers...) But now that it's fall and school is back in session, I might start posting again. I've been busy! I could probably think of a lot to write about. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

I love the Ocean

2010-05-08T11:53:00.000-04:00

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.

--Isak Dinesen

Don't drink the water

2010-05-02T13:33:00.002-04:00

I don't have time to write a long post, but you can read this: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5geDUvZfc7dzGJd8oa6hV7msLnuEwD9FEDQR80

MA issued a boil-water order for drinking water in 30 communities, which include 2 million people in 700,000 households. Crazy. In a nutshell, a pipe that supplied water broke. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority was is drawing "emergency" water from various reservoirs for bathing, flushing and fire protection. But that water isn't treated for drinking, so the state issued the boil-water order. One of the places they are getting water from is the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. It's right by my house and I walk down there all the time and sometimes go running around it. Sometimes I see turtles swimming in the water. Aww, turtle water! :P

Good thing I have tons of emergency water in my "water storage" (tons of 2-liter bottles filled with water and a couple drops of bleach that we store in the back bottom shelves in the pantry). I never thought I'd actually have to use it. Crazy. But I'm glad we have it so I don't have to worry about boiling all my water, drinking turtle water, or the fact that most of the grocery stores are sold out of bottled water.

Countdown

2010-05-01T09:29:00.003-04:00

Many of my friends are engaged and counting down to their wedding. I on the other hand have a much more mundane life and am counting down to something less exciting (but more stressful): comps. Yay. 10 more days until the biggest exam of my life. I hope I pass.

Last night I fell asleep studying and had dreams about the IMF (interplanetary magnetic field). Actually they were more like nightmares. It was peachy.

Well, I need to get back to studying. After I finish comps I have a goal to once again post somewhat regularly on here, for your reading enjoyment.

Update

2010-04-23T11:48:00.002-04:00

Well, it has been over 2 months since my last post. I'm way too busy to write on a blog, I guess. However, I anticipate things slowing down a bit soon. (As soon as I finish my comprehensive exams which I have spent all my free time studying for, because if I fail I get kicked out of my graduate program and I don't get a second chance or anything, and I'm not exaggerating about this despite what some of my "friends" may think...)

The only big news I can think of off the top of my head is that I got awarded a National Science Foundation fellowship, which was awesome and totally unexpected. So assuming I pass comps, I'm home free for the next 3 years because I will be funded by the NSF. No more TAing and no more stressing about if my advisor has the funding to pay me. Yay!!! :)

Now, back to studying. I'll post an update after comps. Maybe from Europe or somewhere.

"I'm bored..."

2010-03-07T17:27:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been getting really annoyed when I hear people whine and complain that they are "bored." Seriously? You're bored? Are you 5 years old?

I don't even remember what it feels like to be bored. When sleep is a luxury--and one that you don't often get to enjoy--boredom isn't really an issue, I guess.

JM uncut :D

2009-12-05T19:36:00.001-05:00

I'm famous!!!!

http://uncuts.blogspot.com/2009/11/troels-og-pede-uncut-we-made-ruling.html

I finally made the blog. whoo hoo.

My super awesome life!

2009-10-19T13:19:00.003-04:00

I'm alive!! I realize I haven't really posted since summer. What can I say, I've been busy living my awesome life. :P I just wanted to let all my loyal friends and readers know that I'm still around, and maybe I'll start posting again, if I have time. In the next few weeks I will be:

1. Helping my roommates host a big Halloween party at our house. It will be big. It will be awesome. Come.

2. Heading out to the Perkins telescope in Arizona to do some observing. It will be a crazy whirlwind of a trip, where, during the 4 days we are there, we have precious few hours scheduled for sleeping. The first night we can sleep, but the other 2 we will be observing all night at the telescope. During the day we could sleep, but we have chosen instead to explore the Grand Canyon and other interesting sites in the area.

3. Going to Las Campanas Observatory in Chile (that's right, CHILE) for more observing. This trip is going to be awesome, but once again, very sleep-deprived. Ah, the life of an Astronomer. I am super excited that I get to see the Southern sky for the first time in my life! I've never been below the equator (for all my traveling) and thus there are constellations that I've never seen. Seeing the Southern Constellations has always been one of my dreams. I'm excited. :)

4. Doing tons of homework, teaching, programming, and hopefully some research and studying.

Well, that's what I've got planned for the near future. Hopefully at some point I'll get around to writing about everything I've missed posting about the past couple months.

:)

I miss Denmark

2009-09-05T12:09:00.001-04:00

A lot.

:(

Electromagnetism! whoo-hoo!!!!

2009-08-15T05:23:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning I saw this:

[alt text: H.C. Ørsted's Birthday]

so yesterday afternoon I went here:

I love living in this country. :)

Carlsberg Elephant Gate

2009-07-18T17:39:00.004-04:00

I totally went here...

and it was AWESOME!!! :)

No, I didn't take that picture. Unfortunately my camera was DEAD at the time. I am planning on going back again and taking many pictures, however. I have wanted to go see the Elephant Gate for quite some time now but I never went because for some reason I thought it was really far away. And I guess it sort of was, when I lived on Amager. But now that I'm in Frederiksberg it's mere minutes away on a bike. And it's awesome. I was probably a bit too excited about being there. :) Well, you know me...

Things I'm currently obsessed with

2009-07-13T15:35:00.006-04:00

1. Day/Night World Map. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html
I reload this thing every time I want to "check and see if it's dark outside." Because, you know, it's sooooo difficult to get up and go look out the window. Note that during this time of year, Denmark never passes into the actual night. We only go into the 3rd level of twilight. If you were not aware, the three levels of twilight are:
1. Civil Twilight
2. Nautical Twilight
3. Astronomical Twilight
I learned this from my favorite aunt when we were living in a campground in Oregon one summer, studying those slackwater flood deposits on the river bank. It was awesome.

2. Pizza with egg. I'm pretty much always obsessed with this.

3. Bike lanes. LOVE them. The bike lanes in this utopia they call the country of Denmark are so wide you could drive a car on them. And they're all for bikes!! 3 bikes could ride abreast on a bike lane easily. They are so amazing. Raised above street level, but lower than sidewalk level. People don't walk on them, nor do they park cars on them or mistake them for a right turning lane. In fact, in a lot of places you have a nice row of parked cars between you and the road, protecting you from traffic. It's so wonderful!!!

4. The song from one of my older posts.

5. Thai food.

Rain, Rain...

2009-07-11T16:59:00.005-04:00

follow JM everywhere she goes...

In June I spent a week and a half in Utah to attend not one, but two weddings (that's a whole 'nother blog post right there)! While there, it rained every day except one. (Luckily for my brother, the one day it didn't rain was the day of his outdoor wedding reception!) I was excited to get back to Boston where the sun would shine. Unfortunately, when I returned to Boston, the rain came with me. I spent just under two weeks in Boston before leaving for Denmark. It rained almost every day of those 2 weeks. Yay. I bragged to my friends that I was excited to move to a country where they actually had sunshine. Then, I came to Denmark. The first couple of days were nice. Those were also the days I spent trying to recover from jet lag, and sleeping almost all day. Then I checked the extended forecast to see what Copenhagen had in store for me, weather-wise. Here is what I saw:

Ummm... rain every day? Are you kidding me?

A rainy day in Frederiksberg, Denmark

A cool building in Cambridge

2009-07-11T16:50:00.000-04:00

Obviously I took these pictures a few weeks ago, before I left Boston...

I Danmark er jeg født

2009-07-07T18:02:00.005-04:00

I Danmark er jeg født. Digt af H.C. Andersen

I Danmark er jeg født, der har jeg hjemme,
der har jeg rod, derfra min verden går;
du danske sprog, du er min moders stemme,
så sødt velsignet du mit hjerte når.
Du danske, friske strand,
hvor oldtids kæmpegrave
stå mellem æblegård og humlehave.
Dig elsker jeg! - Danmark, mit fædreland!

Hvor reder sommeren vel blomstersengen
mer rigt end her ned til den åbne strand?
Hvor står fuldmånen over kløverengen
så dejligt som i bøgens fædreland?
Du danske, friske strand,
hvor Dannebrogen vajer -
Gud gav os den - Gud giv den bedste sejer! -
Dig elsker jeg! - Danmark, mit fædreland!

Engang du herre var i hele Norden,
bød over England - nu du kaldes svag;
et lille land, og dog så vidt om jorden
end høres danskens sang og mejselslag.
Du danske, friske strand,
plovjernet guldhorn finder -
Gud giv dig fremtid, som han gav dig minder!
Dig elsker jeg! - Danmark, mit fædreland!

Du land, hvor jeg blev født, hvor jeg har hjemme,
hvor jeg har rod, hvorfra min verden går,
hvor sproget er min moders bløde stemme
og som en sød musik mit hjerte når.
Du danske, friske strand
med vilde svaners rede,
I grønne øer, mit hjertes hjem hernede!
Dig elsker jeg! - Danmark, mit fædreland.

H.C. Andersen, 1850.

(crappy) English Translation ((c) JM and Chris):

In Denmark I am Born. Poem by H. C. Andersen.

I am born in Denmark, this is my home where I am rooted,
from whence my world springs forth.
Oh Danish language: You are my mothers voice.
So sweetly blessed, you reach into my heart.
Oh refreshing Danish beach, by where the ancient
giant mounds rise between appled trees and hop gardens
I love you, Denmark, my father land!

Where does summer make a bed of flowers
more richly than down towards this open beach?
Where stands the full moon above the clover meadow
as lovely as above the fatherland of the bough?
Oh refreshing Danish beach,
where Danebrog [the Danish flag] waves, -
God gave it to us - God grant victory to the greatest!
I love you! Denmark my father land.

Once you were master of the whole North
ruled England, - Now you are said to be weak,
a tiny country, but still so wide around the earth
the Danish's song and hammerblasts is heard.
Oh refreshing danish beach,
where the plow finds golden horns,
God give you future as he gave you memories!
I love you! Denmark my father land.

I am born in Denmark, this is my home where I am rooted,
from whence my world springs forth.
Oh Danish language: You are my mothers voice.
So sweetly blessed, you reach into my heart.
Oh refreshing Danish beach, with the nests of wild swans,
In green islands, my heart's home lies here!
I love you! Denmark, my father land.

I looked all over the internet for a decent English translation of this song, and when I couldn't find one, I just decided to make my own. Then I bugged Chris about some of the words I didn't know. Feel free to use this translation if you give us credit and money. kthanxbye.

not missing...

2009-07-01T12:28:00.001-04:00

Michael Jackson may have had some good songs, but as a person he was disturbing and creepy. Death doesn't change that. Okay, I said it.

Solution to the hats puzzle...

2009-06-29T21:33:00.000-04:00

So here's the solution which seriously took me all day to come up with. Because I'm pathetic. (I kept forgetting about the clock strikes, which really is the key here.)

So... after she makes the statement "I see at least one red hat", the clock strikes 14 times without anyone doing anything, and then on the 15th time, all 15 people with red hats get up and leave.

This is why:

If there was only one person with a red hat, he would know it was him immediately after she made the statement because he would look around and see all blue hats. So as soon as the clock stuck, he would leave. BUT, if there were 2 people with red hats, they would each look around and see one person with a red hat, and thus would be able to make no conclusion about the color of their own. Then, however, the clock would strike once and no one would leave because the 2 people with red hats were not able to conclude they had red hats on. However, as soon as this happened they would realize "well that guy with a red hat must be seeing another red hat, because otherwise he would have left, and since I can only see a bunch of blue hats, and him, I must have a red hat as well," so the second time the clock struck, they would both leave. If there were 3 people with red hats, they would each look around and see two others, and following the same reasoning, they would assume both of these people would leave on the second strike. When they didn't, each would conclude "well, those two others must EACH be seeing two red hats, and since I only see two, I must be the other one" so on the third clock strike they would all 3 leave. So it just continues all the way up to 15.

Cool, huh. Of course, in real life they would sit around talking about Michael Jackson and completely forget about the hats...

Anyway, it's just interesting because the guest didn't tell anyone anything they didn't already know, and yet as soon as she made her statement she set off a chain reaction (assuming these are all logic-minded individuals or math nerds or whatnot) so that they would all leave after the 15th clock strike.

That's all.

S

Mathematical Induction

2009-06-26T17:23:00.003-04:00

A group of men, all versed in logic, sits around a table. Fifteen of them are wearing red hats, the rest blue. Each can see the others' hats but not his own. On the table is a clock which strikes once each hour. The men are given the following instructions: 'You are not allowed to discuss the color of your hats. However, should any of you find that he is wearing a red hat, he should leave the table on the clock-strike immediately following his discovery.' Now it is assumed that no one is initially aware of the color of his own hat. Furthermore, since the men cannot see the color of their own hats, nor discuss it with their colleagues, nothing happens for a while. Then a guest arrives. She looks at the hats around the table, and says, clearly: 'At least one man here is wearing a red hat!' What happened and why?

"An induction argument can be used to show that once the guest has made her announcement all individuals with red hats will eventually leave the table. This contradicts one's feeling that nothing should continue to happen; after all, apparently the guest has not provided any new information."

--Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws, and Flimflam

After I thought and thought about this for way too long, the answer just popped into my head and it was so freaking simple I was annoyed at myself. Induction is kind of cool.

A rose by any other name (x 200)

2009-06-10T15:41:00.001-04:00

I just cut the stems on 200 roses and put them in water. Pictures to follow.

The gift of Magic

2009-06-10T12:34:00.001-04:00

I gave a friend magic for his birthday. I don't know if he appreciated it. I'll elaborate on this later.

The christening of Serenity

2009-06-07T00:11:00.005-04:00

My little brother Nathan built a kayak and I was lucky enough to be here for the christening and maiden voyage this morning.

Getting it off the car.

He decided to name the kayak Serenity. My brother is a geek. Wonder where he gets it from.

In the water for the first time.

Christening it with ginger ale (because we had no champagne bottles to break over the side) and saying the christening prayer that Nathan found online: "Please float please float please float please float..."

The maiden voyage.

It floats!!!

After Nathan established that it wasn't going to sink, the rest of us took rides. I was impressed at how well it handled.

A nice day in Boston

2009-06-06T23:28:00.005-04:00

Monday was a really beautiful day in Boston. I really wanted to be outside enjoying it rather than in the office. Being the annoying person that I am, I pelted Nate with "let's go to the park" on gtalk until he finally gave in. Actually we were debating going to Star Trek, so we met at the Common, but then I made the executive decision that we should walk around the Public Gardens and the Common instead, so we did. The weather was nice; I had a great time, and we were able to have a lot more interesting conversation than watching Star Trek would have afforded. (not that I don't love Star Trek... I still totally want to see it again.)

We saw the Make Way for Ducklings statue, and some nesting swans, among other things. I have a couple pictures.

It was fun. :)

What the world wants to make, v. 2

2009-06-02T16:51:00.007-04:00

Google search suggestions for "how to make..."
***NEW*** I'm feeling lucky search results included, with commentary...

how to make a website
The result of this search brings up a hideous yellow and blue website entitled "How to Create a Webpage" that SHOULD be called "the perfect example of how NOT to make a webpage," or maybe "If you want absolutely NO ONE to take you seriously, take your webpage-making advice from us!" After close examination, I realized this site is a fossil of the internet days gone by. The first piece of advice for making a website is "There are basically two ways to make a web page. The first way is to create the page(s) offline and then upload them to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) via FTP. The second way is to create your web page(s) online using a Telnet program by accessing your UNIX account, if you have one." It later referrs to Windows 95/98, and then to Netscape, the web browser. eh? This page is actuallly a decent resource for learning basic HTML programming, assuming the bright yellow background and flashing animated gifs don't give you siezures.

how to make money
Here we have Grizzly's "How to Make Money Online for Beginners" including the tag-line: "Don't let the stunning graphics and good looks of this blog fool ya'... if you want to know how to make money online... for free... without all the crap... do yourself a favor... get a cup of coffee and do a little reading... Griz." There are a few issues here. One, the blog lacks ANYTHING I would call "stunning graphics," or "good looks." Two... ok, honestly I didn't read it long enough to come up with a second comment. I skimmed through the part informing me that "The Crash Course is designed for beginners just starting out and you can get your feet wet for a buck - a token introductory price for a month just to keep the tire kickers and time wasters away." Then I did myself a favor... got a cup of something that was definitely not coffee, threw a buck in the trash, and went and hung out with some tire kickers and time wasters. It was definitely a better use of a buck than funding this site would have been.

how to make out
hahaha... this takes you to the WikiHow page on how to make out. I'm not linking to it because I don't want to give them any more traffic than they already have. Plus, half the advice is stupid and pointless, and you won't remember or need it once you actually manage to get someone to make out with you. (PS, if my little brother is reading this, you aren't allowed to make out until you are at least 21, hear me?!) I'll just leave you with my favorite piece of advice:
Talk. A little verbal communication will keep things interesting. It's not a good time to start a deep conversation. Just a small phrase in a soft voice will work (especially when accompanied by eye contact and a reassuring smile):

"Are you comfortable?"

"This is amazing."

"Wow."

hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

how to make a resume
This is boring. But so are resumes.

how to make french toast
Another WikiHow: "Have you ever wondered how to make French Toast? Follow these steps, and you will soon be basking in eggy-bread goodness." I had no idea that enough people wanted to know how to make french toast that it would be on the top ten list. I'm also surprised since french toast is one of the easiest breakfast recipes to make. However, apparently the WikiHow article has been visited 383,363 times, and it has an impressive list of almost 100 authors. Wow. The incompetency of the human race continues to amaze me. This is FRENCH TOAST, people!!! (or "freedom toast" as I prefer to call it) Dip bread in millky egg mixture. Cook. Eat. The end.

how to make a paper airplane
wow, who knew there were so many paper airplanes in the world...

how to make jello shots
This is boring. Who cares about jello shots. It did lead me to this cool idea, of making jello orange slices, though. :)

how to make sushi
Sadly, there's nothing to make fun of here, but don't worry because next we have...

how to make a diaper cake
One word: wtf?!
And now, a bunch more words from a messenger conversation I had with the boyfriend on this topic:
Burfelt says:
diaper cake?
JM says :
hahaha
yeah
that's what I thought
Burfelt says:
I mean seriosuly
JM says:
what kind of a nasty cake is that
Burfelt says:
I don't wanna know
JM says:
it's a cake-shaped arrangement made out of [unused] diapers, apparently
to give someone as a gift like at a baby shower
it's pretty much the stupidest thing I've ever seen
Burfelt says:
hahahahaha
JM says:
I've seen people make them out of towels, too
for wedding gifts
Burfelt says:
Thats SO stupid
Thats like the most insane thing I've ever heard
JM says:
look, if you want to give me diapers, freaking just give me diapers
if you want to give me a cake, give me a dang cake
don't make a CAKE out of DIAPERS
that's like the WORST of both worlds
you don't get a cake, and you have diaper-changing to look forward to
how is that a gift?!!?
Burfelt says:
diaper cakes
It's just plain wrong
I wanna be the fly on the wall in the meeting where that sounded like a good idea

(The link brings you to a YouTube video that will show you step-by-step how to make a diaper cake. The most impressive part of this video is how this woman manages to say the phrase "diaper cake" SO many times and keep a straight face.)

how to make your hair grow faster
well, if you figure this one out, you can sell it, and that will help you out with #2...
sadly, the result is just another boring WikiHow article.

What the world wants to make

2009-06-02T13:20:00.005-04:00

Google search suggestions for "how to make..."

how to make a website

how to make money

how to make out

how to make a resume

how to make french toast

how to make a paper airplane

how to make jello shots

how to make sushi

how to make a diaper cake

how to make your hair grow faster

Don't mess with the laptop

2009-05-24T10:17:00.002-04:00

I hate it when people use my laptop. I hate it when people ask me if they can borrow my laptop for some reason or other--to look up something or to check their email/facebook/whatever. I usually let them anyway, but it drives me crazy. It's somewhat akin to someone casually asking if they can borrow my toothbrush. A big portion of my life is on my laptop: school, research, pictures, documents, email, instant messaging programs, etc. Plus it's the primary medium of communication with my boyfriend that lives across the Atlantic. Due to the timezone difference plus the fact that we both have lives, our opportunities to interact via messenger are limited. When a person that is not me ties up my laptop for some evil design, said boyfriend will almost inevitably message me and then I'm stuck waiting for whoever to finish watching their Youtube clips or check all 7 of their email accounts, or read what all their friends are doing on Facebook before I can answer him. To say the least, it's frustrating.

I use my laptop a lot. For research, recreation, writing on my blog, editing and filing photos, reading stuff online, and occasional programming. One of the things that annoys my brother is that I almost always have on the order of 10 Firefox tabs open at a given time. I'll have one open to my email so I notice when I get a new message, and also so I can gtalk, one open to google reader, one open to drudge report or some type of news site, and various others related to what I'm doing at the time. If I'm in the process of trying to find a good deal on a flight to Copenhagen I'll probably have a few tabs open to some airline search sites. If I'm reading about obscure things on wikipedia, I'll have them open in tabs. If I'm trying to learn how to install linux, I'll have some tab open to articles about that. Well, you get the idea. When I'm done with whatever task it is that I'm looking up, reading about, or working on, I'll close the tabs. The point I'm trying to reach is that every time I let someone use my computer, they close things afterward. It's annoying, and in my opinion kind of rude. It's fine if they want to open a new window, do their thing, and then close it again, but why the heck do they feel the need to completely close out of Firefox before surrendering the computer over to me again? If Firefox was already open when I passed the computer over, doesn't it make sense to leave it open? That's what I do on the rare occasions that I borrow someone else's computer, but maybe I have a more developed sense of laptop borrowing etiquette than most people.

I know this post probably just makes me sound petty and shallow, but mostly because I'm failing to properly express just how much it bothers me when someone else is on my computer, and why. In the past, so as not to seem rude, I've always said "sure!" when asked, and handed the computer over despite my mental protest/screaming. But I've decided to change that. The laptop is mine. I bought it; I use it; it has some very personal/important things stored on it. If it were broken or damaged in some way, I would be very angry and also slightly screwed since I need it for school and to do my research. I don't walk up to Nate and casually ask if I can borrow his fume hoods and chemicals that he uses in the lab so I can mess around with them for my own personal enjoyment. I don't go up to my friend in dental school and ask if I can use his dental tools. So why do I automatically assume that if someone asks me if they can use my laptop, I am under an obligation to say yes or else I'm a horrible person? There are very few, if any, instances when it is critical for someone else to use my laptop. So, from now on, I'm going to say no. If they need it to look up directions on Google Maps, or check what time a store closes, or something fairly urgent, I will do it for them. But I'm not handing it over anymore.

Has it really been a year?

2009-05-21T16:41:00.008-04:00

More pictures

2009-05-20T19:38:00.004-04:00

It was interesting to see the steeple lying on the ground in pieces.

I love how that desk thing is still standing.

I was sitting on this bench before the fire alarm went off.

The gym. I have many a fond memory of Munch and Mingle here.

More views of what used to be the chapel.

Update--not quite homeless anymore :)

2009-05-20T11:42:00.009-04:00

I just found out where we will be meeting on Sundays for a while. It it called the First Church in Cambridge, Congregational U.C.C. I managed to find a couple of pictures of it, and it looks like a nice building. It was built in 1871. "The exterior of the building illustrates the early Gothic revival period while the sanctuary interior is eclectic with Victorian, Byzantine, and contemporary elements. The stained glass windows by the Tiffany, Lafarge and Cummings studios provide a colorful and lively environment." Also, it's only a couple blocks away from where our church was, and the best part is that they are keeping Longfellow Park 1st and 2nd wards together (we used to meet at the same time, but with opposite schedules so one ward had sacrament meeting first while the other was having RS/Priesthood, then we had Sunday School all together, which was awesome), so I don't have to say goodbye to all my awesome friends in 2nd ward!!! I was so happy when I heard that news!

This church is so nice to let us use their building! According to Bishop Hafen (who was the one to took us skydiving on Saturday, incidentally), "They have opened their arms to us and offered their building without reservation." So kind.

My church burned down

2009-05-20T10:26:00.010-04:00

Well, the title really says it all. On Sunday, 40 minutes into a meeting that happened to be Stake Conference (i.e. there were many times more people than usual in the building), the fire alarm went off. We realized we could smell smoke, and exited the chapel as quickly as possible. As I walked out, I glanced up at the church and could see flames flickering out from under the eaves. Needless to say, this expedited my evacuation quite effectively. Before I knew it, the 300+ people that had been in the building were gathered on the lawn watching in shock as smoke started billowing out from under the roof, from the ventilation grates in the steeple, and the attic.

I heard sirens and the first of what would eventually become over 10 firetrucks arrived on the scene. At this point I thought they would just hook up the hoses, spray the roof, put out the fire, and all would be good. It was not to be. Apparently the fire was in the attic which has very limited access. Firemen went into the building to try to fight the fire, but eventually the roof started caving in and they had to evacuate again. We watched as the entire roof caught fire and flared up. The roof collapsed on the chapel and we could see through the windows the massive flames incinerating the exact area I had been sitting less than half an hour before. Smoke was everywhere. Sirens were blaring. Firefighters were running around. Passers-by were stopping to stare. Many members such as I that has just been inside the church were standing there, shocked, not knowing what to say or do. I remember at one point a member of the Quaker church which is across from ours came up to me to offer condolences. She told me "We're praying for you," and I think I mumbled a "thanks." In retrospect I wish I had spoken to her more at length, but at the time I was too much in a state of shock and disbelief to really even comprehend what she was saying to me. It was rather cold and overcast, and I was standing there in a dress, with no jacket, freezing, and shivering uncontrollably. We couldn't go home because fire trucks were blocking my roommate's car. After about an hour I ran into my friend Rob who offered me his jacket, and that helped a bit.

A couple hours later the fire was contained and on its way to being put out. Some of the firemen went into the Institute Library--which was on the opposite side of the church from the chapel and sustained the least fire damage--and started pulling out books. Who knew we had so many books. Most of them were water damaged from the fire hoses. The Quakers offered their basement for storage, and we soon formed a line across the street and grass and begin passing stacks of books, bucket-brigade style, from the sodden pile the firemen were rescuing to the basement of the Quaker church. After a couple hours of this, the last book was passed down the line, and we cheered. Who knew the institute library was so large.

One of the awesome things is that the huge painting of Christ and the rich young man that hung in the foyer was miraculously undamaged by the fire. When two firemen exited carrying it between them, a cheer erupted from everyone present.

Words cannot really express what it felt like to witness this scene. And, though a picture is worth a thousand words, the photos fail to do it justice either. I do have a short video clip I made with my camera which does a better job of reminding me of the experience.

I must have been much more worn out--both physically and emotionally--than I realized, because when I finally made it home that evening I slept for 12 hours straight.

Although I kept telling myself "It's just a building" and I am extremely grateful that everyone made it out safely, it's still a little rough feeling displaced, and having no church "home." Having attended that building since I arrived in Boston, I had grown rather fond of it. It was also, apparently, the oldest LDS chapel in New England. However, as Nate pointed out, it's comforting to know that some things never change (see Boston Globe article, esp last sentence). I guess the building burning down is still no excuse for us singles to not get married. :)

click for more aerial shots courtesy of Matt Wall

Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane...

2009-05-20T09:58:00.003-04:00

...or SKYDIVING, as I like to call it. :)

So, as most everyone that knows me probably is already aware, I went skydiving this past Saturday. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I will admit I was a bit nervous going into it. I didn't sleep much the night before. I kept thinking things along the lines of I'm jumping out of an airplane tomorrow! I wasn't sure what it would be like and the only reference I had to pseudo free-fall was The Rocket ride at Lagoon, and the Golden Tower ride at Tivoli in Copenhagen (which are essentially the same thing but I had to mention both of them just to throw in a reference to the fact that I used to live in Copenhagen, and I'm going to go back and live there this summer and I'll probably get a season pass to Tivoli so I can go all the time...). I like those rides and I like rollercoasters so I was pretty sure I would like skydiving. Skydiving is absolutely nothing like those rides. I still liked it.

I won't go into too much detail because then no one will read this, so I'll just give the highlights.
We met at the church at 6:30 am on Saturday (let me point out here that it took more willpower to get out of bed at 5:30 than it took to jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet). Little did I know that would be the last day the church would survive though, but that's another post entirely.

We caravaned to Pepperel and arrived at 8:15 where after some general disorganization and a lot of the people there expressing surprise at such a large group, we eventually all managed to pay, sign a waiver that stated we wouldn't sue for any reason including death, and watch a video telling us of all the things that could possibly go wrong and kill us. Yay. They only put 4 tandem jumpers in each load, so it ended up taking 5 loads to get though our entire group. Bishop Hafen jumped with a lot of the loads, but he wasn't with mine unfortunately.

I was in Group 3. After the first group had gone up, I heard someone calling my name, and came over to meet Russ--the person that I would be strapped to for the big jump. He was nice. He got me a jumpsuit, gave me a few brief instructions about how to hold out my arms, and then left to jump with group 2.

Finally it was time for my group, and I was lucky enough to be jumping with my roommate Katie, who is awesome. We got in the plane and as we started to reach altitute, everyone shifted around so the newbies like us could get clipped to our tandem jumpers. Russ was stinking hilarious and kept saying things like "[turns to another skydiver] now I can never remember, is it right clips to right, or right clips to left?" and "oh man, the strap broke, does anyone have any duct tape?!?" and "don't worry, you'll be fine, I only get paid if you survive, and I really need the money, I haven't gotten paid in a while!" Yeah, he was funny.

We were the last tandem jumpers to leave the plane, so we walked over to the door and Russ told me what we were going to do. I wasn't scared at all, which was surprising. At that point, jumping out of a moving plane that high above the ground seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. I did feel rather secure due to that fact that at that point I was now tightly strapped to a professional who knew what he was doing. He told me one more time how to pull the ripcord (yes, he let me pull my own ripcord) and then we were at the door, and then we were out of the plane.

Now you may think that free falling from 10,000 feet would be scary, but the fact is, it's not. Once you're out of the plane, there's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing to hold on to and nothing to grab. When you're up that high you may be afraid of falling, but once you're already falling that fear is rather moot. You can't fall off of falling. Besides that, you don't feel a falling sensation at all. The only thing you really feel is wind. It is so peaceful and relaxing to just be falling through space, looking down at the fields and trees and grass and tiny buildings below you.

When we hit about 3700 feet Russ signaled to me to pull the ripcord, so I did, and the parachute worked, and our descent slowed to a crawl, and we slowly floated back to the ground. We were in free fall for 40 seconds (which was longer than everyone else which is awesome... we were the last ones to jump but the first to land), and then gliding down for a couple minutes more. After the parachute was deployed, there was less wind (still no falling sensation) and so we could take off the goggles and chat. At that point I realized Russ had never instructed me in the fine art of landing, so he gave me a quick tutorial. I think we did okay.

Makes it all worthwhile

2009-05-20T09:56:00.004-04:00

One of the comments I got from a student on my TA evaluation form from last semester:

"Knows her ****. I'm half in the astronomy department now. Maybe she influenced that."

Awww.

Trekkies

2009-05-08T23:53:00.003-04:00

Well it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Pictures we took after our little Star Trek outing. Yes, we wore these to the movie. No, no one else was dressed up but us. Sadly. It was still fun, though.

To Boldly Go...

2009-05-08T00:07:00.003-04:00

Well, I saw the new Star Trek. It was awesome. One of the best parts is that I saw it with these two guys. And yes, I was dressed as Uhura. :)

the end of finals

2009-05-06T23:32:00.002-04:00

For weeks the the stress and tension and anticipation had been building up. All the hard work all semester long, all the late nights, stumbling home on the last train at 1 am only to get up at 7 and go back in to school to finish assignment after endless assignment.... all the hours sitting in class, scribbling notes, reading textbooks late into the night... all the studying for midterms working through old problems again and again... trying to balance teaching, grading, and some small semblance of a social life (usually the first thing to get axed) along with cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, paying bills, eating, sleeping... all of it lead up to the final exams that could make or break one's grade. Plasma waves, dispersion relationships, plane wave solutions, linearizing, collisions, MHD, cold fluid equations, Landau damping, Hydroxy radical, rigid rotors, books from the library, studying on trains, equation sheets in a ziplock bag in the shower, falling asleep with books all over my bed, last minute cramming, whining to Dipesh, gathering fresh pencils, filling my water bottle... then suddenly it was all over. Too soon. The end. Finals taken. Anticlimax. I'm left with a feeling of emptiness and lack of direction and motivation. I didn't do nearly as well on my exam as I wanted to. It's frustrating. But moreso than the frustration is this weird feeling that I have nothing urgent to do. There's nothing keeping me awake at night. Nothing I have to finish before bed, and nothing that wakes me up in the middle of the night from stress. I can sleep when I want, and, for once, I can sleep enough. I can read books for recreation. I can watch movies. I can go to the park. Or I can sit on my bed and do nothing. And think. That's what I've been doing. It feels weird.

rant

2009-05-02T10:31:00.003-04:00

Today I read an article entitled "First Lady Michelle Obama steps out in Lanvin sneakers and they're only $540!" Granted, the article was making fun of her a bit for wearing such pricey shoes... it went into detail about some designer, or clothing line, or something, called Lanvin, that I frankly couldn't care less about, and then explained "Dresses and strappy pumps cost upward of $1,500, while tops go for $400 to $1,000." Holy. Cow. That is more than I spend in clothes over a period of probably 5 years. I don't care how much money you have, spending $1,000 on a shirt is wrong. Seriously, there is a special place in hell for people that spend hundreds of dollars on extravagant, useless clothing purchases while people are dying all over the world from starvation and disease, kids aren't getting the education they deserve because they can't afford it, science programs need more funding... there are so many other, much more worthwhile places you could spend that money. There is nothing that can make that shirt worth 5000% more than a $20 shirt from Kohls. You want to buy nice clothes, fine. Old Navy or H&M not your style?, okay. You want to pay a little more than $20 for a shirt?, go ahead. But spending on the order of $1K per ARTICLE of clothing, not fine. Mrs. Obama's shoes were described as "suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps." Let me tell you what I think of those shoes after seeing the picture: hid-E-ous. I wouldn't have bought those shoes if they were on the discount rack at Marshalls for $7.99, and they fit me perfectly. They're ugly. Though, apparently they "come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all spring." I'm willing to bet you would get nice, better-looking, and higher quality shoes if you payed about $80. I have no experience with these fancy designer, trade-in-your-firstborn type of shoes, but I doubt they are all that durable. Why should they be? If you can drop $500 on a pair of shoes, you probably won't be wearing them that long before switching to a new, trendier pair. The shoes made for us regular people have to be made well, because we will quit buying them if they keep falling apart after extended use. If I part with $40 of my hard-earned cash for a new pair of shoes, I sure as heck expect them to last over a year, with the kind of wear I put into them. The shoes I'm currently wearing I've had since a couple of months before I left for Denmark back in '07. So it's probably been about 2 years. Not only that, I wore them all around Europe on my month-long backpacking trip. I'd say they were worth the $20 I payed for them on sale at the Sports Authority.

I'm not saying everyone in the world has to buy the cheapest clothes and shop at Shopko. Some people are more into fashion and designers and all that crap than I am, and that's okay. But if you're going to pay over hundreds of dollar for one pair of shoes, can't it at least have some semblance of being worth that much?!? Seriously, those shoes are hideous. I wouldn't wear them if someone gave them to me. (unless they were really really comfortable, and then I'd wear them for working in the yard and stuff)

/rant

I love...

2009-05-01T14:07:00.004-04:00

physics, Monet, Foucault pendulums, train rides, icebergs, Star Wars, Stonehenge, Christmas, fireworks, mathematical proofs, the night sky, soccer, meteor showers, The writings of the Apostle Paul, rain, snowflakes, hiking in the moonlight, fractals, praying mantises, pizza with egg, hugs, my bike, Chris, popsicles, Denmark, gardens, soundtracks, flowers, things that sparkle, astronomy, my family, walking in the rain, swinging on swings, Love, telling jokes (especially when people actually laugh), fresh strawberries, playing with cats, cuddling, having someone to talk to, giving gifts, 90s music, birthday parties, pictures, making friends, surprises, camping, learning new things, fine structure transitions, meeting people at the airport, having laptop parties, laughing, playing games, plasmas, singing, harvesting, fall leaves, Newton's Cradles, seals, archery, musicals, speaking Spanish, holding hands, flavored lip gloss, getting email, reading books, Star Trek, roller coasters, goldfish crackers, yepzen, exploring, hawks, stalactites, Doppler shift, my roommates, effective gravitational fields due to acceleration, spring mornings, summer nights, the periodic table of the elements, the beach, cupcakes, flags, kayaking, maps, California, socks, living on the East Coast, waking up and realizing I have a couple more hours to sleep, free stuff, getting text messages, teaching Sunday School, when strangers are nice to me, racquetball, making polymers, the sound of typing, cheesecake, my church, going for a walk, watching movies, getting mail, my nalgene bottle, waterfalls, new carpet, driving a stick, swimming, Legos, free pizza and root beer on fridays

Elevators hate me

2009-04-28T22:53:00.003-04:00

Today when I got to school I pushed the up button on the elevator, which was in the basement. I watched the little arrow turn on the dial as it began to rise, reaching the first floor... then (PASSING ME!!!?!?!!) the second... then the third... clear until the 5th and top floor of the building. It paused there for a while, and then proceeded to return to the first floor where the doors opened and it FINALLY let me in.

Elevators hate me.

Don't even get me started on automatic doors.

A polymer!

2009-04-27T00:21:00.003-04:00

I don't have a lot of time to write right now, so I will just leave you a picture of me playing mad scientist in a polymer lab. :) It was a great Saturday activity.

Twitter

2009-04-22T13:13:00.002-04:00

I have twitter now, in case you haven't noticed it in my sidebar. :)

Are we precious?

2009-04-21T16:37:00.002-04:00

Since the last picture was apparently vetoed... :P

Aren't we precious

2009-04-18T19:22:00.000-04:00

The center of attention

2009-04-18T19:14:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I just need it for a little while. :)

awww... I love Danishes

2009-04-17T12:51:00.003-04:00

Saw this on xkcd. The text just needs to be switched so I'm the one saying "dearest darling danish."

On models

2009-04-16T09:19:00.005-04:00

"I take issue with a lot of things in the church... and that's why I'm still a member." --Katie

That was a quote from a talk I had last night with Katie, wherein we discussed that if we understood every doctrine taught in the church, and everything made perfect logical sense, that very fact would prove it was wrong. As mere mortal beings, with such a tenuous grasp on even the mortal things around us--physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc--how can we expect to understand and comprehend every minute detail of something infinite and eternal that stretches so far beyond this plane of existence? While that doesn't mean we should try to learn about it and understand it to the best of our ability, we shouldn't expect, in this life at least, to reach a point where we say "Okay, this is it, I've got it!" and obtain a perfect understanding.

It reminded me of a beautiful quote from C.S. Lewis:

On my view the theories are not themselves the thing you are asked to accept. Many of you no doubt have read Jeans or Eddington. What they do when they want to explain the atom, or something of that sort, is to give you a description out of which you can make a mental picture. But then they warn you that this picture is not what the scientists actually believe. What the scientists believe is a mathematical formula. The pictures are there only to help you to understand the formula. They are not really true in the way the formula is; they do not give you the real thing but only something more or less like it. They are only meant to help, and if they do not help you can drop them. The thing itself cannot be pictured, it can only be expressed mathematically. We are in the same boat here. We believe that the death of Christ is just that point in history at which something absolutely unimaginable from outside shows through into our own world. And if we cannot picture even the atoms of which our own world is built, of course we are not going to be able to picture this. Indeed, if we found that we could fully understand it, that very fact would show it was not what it professes to be-the inconceivable, the uncreated, the thing from beyond nature, striking down into nature like lightning. You may ask what good will it be to us if we do not understand it. But that is easily answered. A man can eat his dinner without understanding exactly how food nourishes him. A man can accept what Christ has done without knowing how it works: indeed, he certainly would not know how it works until he has accepted it.

I once taught a lesson using this quote. I compared it to the Bohr model of the atom (for two reasons: (1), I'm a scientist, so that's what language speaks to me, and (2) I was in Denmark at the time, and everyone there knows Niels Bohr). This model is incorrect. Scientists now know it's incorrect. Atoms aren't really like a little orange with tiny circles flying around it like bees. Bohr probably knew this even at the time. However, the model is accurate enough that we can model at atom with it, while still being simple enough that we can actually understand it, and that it's still useful to us. We can use the Bohr model to predict many things about atoms that are completely correct. We do this knowing that the model isn't completely right, but that's okay. If we had a model that was completely 100% correct, it would be so incredibly complicated that it wouldn't be of any use because we wouldn't be able to do anything with it. Calculations would take ages, even on the fastest super computers. Explaining it to students would be nigh impossible. Whereas with the Bohr model, one can make calculations without even using a calculator. It's not that scientists are content with ignorance, but rather that they know how to use things that work for them. A simplified model that allows understanding and progress is better than no model at all.

Update

2009-04-14T20:57:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything on here so I thought I'd put up some pictures of my latest adventures. We went to the Science Museum where I drug Chris to the Theater of Electricity to see the Lightning Show which was awesome, as usual.

I pretty much freaked out at Mathematica, the hall of Math. It was awesome.

There was a wall with a time line of mathematics on it and I recognized almost every name: Minkowski, Hilbert, Poincare, Cantor, Hermite, Riemann, Kronecker, Von Neumann... I was getting all excited flitting from person to person. I realized what a geek that made me, but it didn't stop me. :)

Chris found this awesome gift from Mr. and Mrs. Welch. They must really care about having a clean museum. Thanks guys!

Jurassic Park

2009-03-24T00:01:00.002-04:00

Am I really so old? Today I found myself wondering. But, let me back up a bit.

The 203 students and I had a great time in Lab today (that's the students in 203, not two hundred and three students). I gave them no instructions other than a list of available equipment, and a task to complete, and had them brainstorm a way to achieve it, and then carry it out. The task was to measure the distance to the Hyatt hotel on the other side of the river. After they all more or less figured out parallax, we went up to the roof for them to take their measurements. It was fun.

While we were waiting for the last group to come up with their procedure, a few of my students were talking about determinism. One girl was explaining how, theoretically, if you knew all the information about a system you could set it up and predict that it was going to do. And then asking "are our actions really free, or are we just being controlled by chemical reactions and physical principles, all of which can be predicted from initial conditions?" It's the old philosophical debate, really. I couldn't resist breaking in and telling them how quantum theory and the uncertainty principle leans toward disproving this theory, and how non-determinism is really the whole basis of chaos theory. I then asked "have you seen Jurassic Park?" I was rewarded with some blank stares. Then one girl said, "no... it was rated PG-13 and I wasn't 13 yet..."

Holy. cow.

To me, Jurassic Park is still a blockbuster favorite. I just assumed everyone had seen Jurassic Park. I can't believe there are people to whom that's an "old" movie. I think JP has become to this generation kind of what Jaws was to me when I was a teenager (only probably not such a legend as Jaws): a movie they have heard of and knew it was big in its day, but have never seen and don't really know much about. Crazy. Am I really so old?

Anyway, the reason I referenced Jurassic Park is because of the one scene where Ian is attempting to explain chaos theory by dripping some water on Ellie's hand. He was trying to illustrate that even with the same initial conditions, and the same system, you can end up with wildly different results. It's a crappy way to explain it, since the scale of the system in question was way too big and the initial conditions were nowhere near the same each time he tried it, (not even on the microscopic level, let alone the atomic or quantum mechanical level) but the underlying principles are true.

All in all, my students and I had a great discussion... but I still can't believe they're never seen Jurassic Park.

unrelated notes

2009-03-18T15:08:00.001-04:00

Sometimes when I'm going through a door it ends up being locked, and I slam into it because I'm anticipating it being unlocked so I don't decrease my momentum enough to stop.

On an unrelated note, I think I need twitter.

What's happening online

2009-03-17T15:23:00.003-04:00

Yes, we all hate HBO now. No more emails, please.

No, I will not join your "mafia" on Facebook.

Nor am I interested in any of the
* 7 friend suggestions (people I don't know)
* 5 friend requests (more people I don't know, and don't want to)
* 2 event invitations
* 23 group invitations
* 1 cuddling, hugs and kisses request (probably from someone I don't know)
* 1 bracket challenge invitation
* 1 bracketchallenge invitation
* 1 pillow fight request
* 7 kidnap! requests
* 3 guerra de pandillas invitations
* 3 mafia wars requests
* 3 mob wars invitations
* 1 adoption invitation
* 1 collect edward cullen request
* 5 relative invitations
* 1 body parts request
* 1 lds gifts request
* 1 which harry potter character are you request
* 1 best friend request
* 1 harry potter challenge request
* 1 super sushi request
* 1 request invitation
* 1 best friend contest request
* 1 john hughes characters request
* 1 cumpleaños request
* 1 if you are an animal request
* 2 (lil) blue cove requests
* 1 fødselsdag request
* 1 birthday request
* 1 eres positivo/a o pe request
* 1 spread the love request
* 1 request
* 1 abrazos request
* 1 como seras a los 40? invitation
* 1 bumper sticker request
* 1 dragon wars invitation request
* 8 (lil) green patch requests
* 1 sketch me request
* 1 funspace request
* 2 car madness invitations
* 1 coolest person invitation
* 1 friend invitation
* 1 honesty box question request
* 1 friendship day wishe request
* 1 brain game request
* 1 glad we're friends request
* 2 christmas tree requests
* 3 snowball requests
* 6 cause invitations
* 2 sea garden requests
* 1 o christmas tree request
* 1 christmas decoration request
* 1 xmas stocking request
* 2 best friend requests
* 1 birthday request
* 2 birthday requests
* 1 hug from kimberly request
* 1 addicted to arrested invitation
* 1 you're the best request
* 1 vampires invitation
* 2 optical illusions requests
* 1 emily wheelwright be request
* 1 cupcakes request
* 1 growing flower request
* 2 love secrets box invitations
* 1 What kind of hair cut should you get? request

...that I have received. (actually, I accepted the "John Hughes Characters" one... who could resist Duckie?) I wonder if the people sending me these are offOK, I'M GLAD YOU'RE "HAPPILY MARRIED" BUT SO HELP ME IF YOU KEEP THAT AS YOUR MSN SCREEN NAME AND SIGN ON REPEATEDLY SO IT KEEPS POPPING UP ON MY SCREEN EVERY TWO MINUTES...

ok, I'm done now. That's what's happening online this week. :P

Obama on Education

2009-03-10T17:07:00.003-04:00

Obama called for the promotion of educational "innovation and excellence" by renewing his campaign pledge to support charter schools. He called on states to lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools.

He also urged a longer school calendar.

"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," Obama said. "But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/obama.education/index.html)

No, they don't. There are plenty of other, far superior ways to learn besides in a "classroom." Most of what kids do in classrooms these days are busywork, waste-of-time assignments that teachers design to keep them occupied. People want longer school days and school years because working parents don't know what to do with their kids when the kids are actually at home, and not at the glorified babysitter we call "public school." They spend so little time interacting with their kids, they don't even know how anymore.

What we need is higher quality education. One can't make up with quantity what lacks in quality.

4 Years

2009-03-10T13:13:00.002-04:00

I've been back from my mission 4 years today. I suppose I should do something to celebrate. But I probably won't.

Sometimes I wonder why I even try

2009-03-09T15:53:00.000-04:00

Today is one of those days.

It's Spring Break Time!

2009-03-06T19:42:00.003-05:00

Do I have plans, you ask? :)

Titles of books I'm going to write someday.

2009-02-24T19:08:00.002-05:00

I often think of cool titles for books and decide to write them someday. The one I thought of today was One Without Laughter (or perhaps A Day Without Laughter) from the quote "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." by E. E. Cummings.

New Laptop

2009-02-22T19:35:00.002-05:00

No, I don't have a new laptop, I'm looking for one. Everyone that knows me is sick of hearing me debate the various merits of different brands and discuss the pros and cons of whatever model I'm currently considering.

So far I've learned one thing: buying a laptop is like falling in love. Say you meet someone, and almost instantly there's an attraction. Before you know it, you're dating, and everything is exactly what you wanted--even things that you didn't realize that you wanted until you had them. If that relationship ends, you come away with some pretty high expectations for meeting someone new. You don't want to have to convince yourself you like someone, to talk yourself into a relationship, to make compromises; you want it to seem as natural and instant as it did the last time--you want to just click. Anything else seems like a crappy and pale substitute.

My last (current) laptop was like that. I had been looking for a laptop for a while, and when I saw it, I bought it immediately. It seemed like an impulse purchase, but it was more like love at first sight. Now that I'm looking for a new one (my lappy has served me loyally for 3 years, but I need an upgrade) and I'm having a hard time. I've almost bought one a few times, but it just seemed empty and somehow lacking compared to the relationship I have with my current laptop. Sigh... perhaps I just need to get out more

Quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit.

If I could buy time in a bottle...

2009-02-21T22:14:00.002-05:00

On Friday I had a HUGE homework assignment due. Because of this, I stayed at school until midnight on Thursday night, then worked another 2 hours after I got home, then got up at 7 am Friday morning to finish rewriting it so it was all legible, and finished that on the train on the way to school. I probably put about 20 hours into that assignment. That may be a bit above average, but for the sake of argument let's just say that's normal:

We get one assignment a week in that class. So that's 20 hours a week. Plus my TA job is supposed to be 20 hours a week. I also have another class, so there's 20 more hours. I have a one credit discussion class thing that has a lot of homework assignments, papers, projects, etc--we'll say it averages out to 5 hours per week. Then I have seminar/journal club, which is at least 3 hours/week. The actual time I spend in the previously mentioned classes is 8 hours/week. So far this is a grand total of 76 hours a week, so far. I also have to actually study--because, at least in my book, studying and doing homework are completely separate things--for these classes, study for the comps, eat, sleep, go to church, commute, get ready in the mornings, pay taxes, exercise, do laundry, go grocery shopping...

How do I find time to do it all, you ask? What do I do to save time and be more efficient? I brush my teeth in the shower. (I don't think this actually saves any time, actually, but I can stay under the warm water 2 minutes longer, which is nice, especially when the heat in my apartment is spazzing out.) :)

Shaken

2009-02-10T09:46:00.002-05:00

My world is shaken. I read the news reports over and over, still incredulous. They are so direct and factual. And yet, so cold. "FATAL ACCIDENT ... died on impact ... A 23-year-old Murray woman was killed ..." She hated being called a "woman." She was a girl. A girly girl. No one wants to be a womanly woman. Get it right. I want to scream at them for reporting it like it's just another piece of "news" when this time it's so much more.

I scroll through her facebook page, but I can't bring myself to write a message to her that I know she will never read--even though scores of other people have done so. I pause, ironically, on one message from someone who somehow managed to escape the news. It's a friendly "hey girl! I'm doing good! How have you been? How do you like your new job?" I wonder of anyone has informed the sender yet. Her last status update, via her mobile phone, the same day of the accident, proclaims "...is leaving happy valley."

It's so strange the way a facebook page remains up, intact, and functioning. I feel almost as if it is mocking. That it's still alive when its creator is not. But that's silly. How can it know.

I browse her blog. The most recent post talks of "ch-ch-ch-changes." New town, new job, new apartment. So full of excitement and anticipation. And now...

It's a reminder that life is so fragile, so precious, and so uncertain... but what am I going to do with this reminder? I email a friend to say I love you, but manage to refrain from adding "don't die anytime soon, please."

I fail so spectacularly at putting into words the way I'm feeling. I'm not angry. I'm not mad. Maybe a little upset. Definitely sad. And shaken. And you know what, I'll bet she's feeling a little shaken right now too.

For Adriannie, with love

2009-02-09T21:53:00.010-05:00

This is a repost of a blog entry I wrote a long time ago, back when blogging was new and novel. It seems kind of cheap, like I'm pulling an Elton John (a la Candle in the Wind) and recycling an old song for you rather than writing a new one. But now I can see his perspective a little more, and some moments/emotions (shock comes to mind) just don't lend themselves well to a lot of creative energy. I was never as great of a writer as you were, anyway.

I remember our last conversation as rather lame and mundane. I was distracted by a bunch of other things while we chatted, and I don't even know if we said goodbye, or if one of us just went idle and then the other person went offline, as tends to happen in Messenger conversations. Sorry for not being more attentive.

I will miss your girlishness, obsession with shoes, and fascination with all things fashion. We were so much the opposite in so many ways that people (myself included) often wondered why we were ever friends. But it worked. You were the yin to my yang, the Jekyll to my Hyde... ok, this analogy isn't really going as well as I had envisioned. :P Honestly, sometimes you annoyed me and sometimes I annoyed you, but it was all good. We had fun together.

Thanks for your writing, your poems, your passion, your undying belief in true love, your fashion advice, your dating advice, your music, books, and movies. I'm truly regretful that we never got to go to Paris together. I heart you. :)

For the last time

I am fascinated by "lasts." They are so much more elusive than firsts. You always know when you are having a first, be it a first kiss, a first date, the first time trying a new food, visiting a new place, seeing a certain movie, meeting a new person, etc. But a last will sneak up on you, and if you aren't careful--which you usually aren't--you are likely to miss it completely.

Unlike a first, many times when you experience a last, you aren't even aware of it. For instance, if a friend or family member died suddenly, would you remember the last time you had hugged them or told them you loved them, or even the last time you really spoke with them? Perhaps you would, or perhaps not, but more than likely at the time you were not aware you were experiencing a last. There comes a day when every baby will learn to actually say, for example, "daddy" instead of "da-da." It just will happen, and when it does, who will remember the last time the baby-talk version was used? There are some friends that will be around for life, but most friends come and go. You are close for a while, and then you drift your separate ways. What was the last conversation you ever had?

If something ends, there has to be a last involved. Since very few things endure forever, that makes for a lot of lasts. (This could even be the last time you read my blog.) Sometimes I think it a shame that lasts usually don't announce themselves with such fanfare as firsts tend to do. It would certainly lend a new perspective.

"The towel story"

2009-01-31T21:08:00.004-05:00

A short but amusing anecdote we call "the towel story":

Me (to Chris): I hope you brought a towel, because I only have one...
Chris: Are you serious?
Me: Yes, I told you to bring a towel, remember!?!
Chris: Yeah I remember, but I thought you were just making some nerdy reference to Hitchhiker's Guide...

Laughter ensues.

(I guess that's what I get for being such a nerd...)

Text messaging conversation from 12:05 am this morning

2009-01-30T15:07:00.002-05:00

Me (to my brother): How many protons does Helium have?
My brother: Two you idiot.

Yes, yes... I have known this since I was like 12 years old. I just wanted to make absolutely sure. for some reason his response made me crack up.

Then I ended up accidentally calculating the mass of helium wrong anyway... stupid neutrons.

2009-01-30T06:01:00.000-05:00

2009-01-30T05:01:00.000-05:00

Look out, Boston, here we come!

2009-01-30T04:01:00.000-05:00

Let the games begin.

2009-01-30T03:01:00.000-05:00

0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The future

2009-01-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

From now on any caption on a picture/video of me will say "Owns home computer"

2009-01-29T03:01:00.000-05:00

2009-01-28T03:01:00.000-05:00

2009-01-27T03:01:00.000-05:00

Quote from a conversation I had today:

2009-01-26T19:07:00.001-05:00

"Is there anything I need to bring from Denmark?
For you?
Like some candy thingy?
That you are craving for
Or some weird Danish thing...that isn't me"

hahaha. Yes, I have a "weird Danish thing" coming to visit. :)

2009-01-26T03:01:00.000-05:00

Where the world wants to go

2009-01-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

Top Google search suggestions for "travel to":

india
cuba
mexico
canada
thailand
italy
china
japan
europe
australia

I've only been to like 4 of these...

2009-01-25T03:01:00.000-05:00

Why I love Billy

2009-01-24T11:22:00.003-05:00

I've not lived here very long--only about half a year--and I've known Billy almost that long. He is a pretty decent human being. Billy and I met at a camping trip soon after I moved here (back when, you know, it was still warm enough here to go camping without dying). I probably wouldn't have talked to him at all except my roommate had met him before but couldn't remember his name, so she asked me to ask him, since I didn't know him. So I obliged. Wasn't that nice of me. It was all downhill from there. haha, just kidding. Billy and I eventually ended up in an argument over who was the biggest nerd (we were both accusing each other of being more nerdy). I don't remember who "won," but if you ask him he will probably tell you that I am much more nerdy than he is. (He has considered me a tomboy ever since, and has ignored all my efforts to prove I can be girly...)

Billy is really smart. So smart, in fact, that he goes to MIT. I was immediately impressed by this fact when I found out, although I pretended not to be. I didn't even apply to MIT because I knew I wouldn't get accepted there. So that shows how much smarter he is than I am. Billy studies polymers and one time he let me come to his lab and he showed me how to make a polymer. (I like to say that "we" made it, even though I pretty much did nothing but watch.) I thought this was awesome, as I have always wanted to make a polymer ever since an internship I did as a junior. But, enough about me. Back to Billy.

Billy's interests are many and varied. For instance, he has a whole jungle of carnivorous plants in his bedroom. I once had a Venus Fly Trap for a while but it died. So I am quite impressed with his menagerie. Billy also has fish. I call some of them mine because I went with him to buy them. Billy likes to watch scifi and so do I, which is cool.

One Saturday I was at home minding my own business when Billy sent me an address and said "please meet me there at 3:30." I was kind of annoyed because he had given me no explanation, and it was freezing outside and I didn't feel like walking all over the place and I was thinking "man, it's not that easy to just meet you at some arbitrary location... some of us don't have bikes you know!" But since he said "please," I did it anyway. It turned out that the arbitrary location was the address of a person from whom he was buying a bike, which he gave me for Christmas. Then I felt guilty for being annoyed. :P

Billy is a very kind person. One thing I've noticed about him in the short time we've known each other is that he understands the concept of sacrifice. Once I was really sick and feeling miserable and I was whining to him online, and he biked all the way over to my house in the cold, just to cheer me up. I really appreciated it. He also watched Dr. Horrible with me on his big screen TV even though he hates it, which was a big sacrifice on his part. I know these are kind of lame examples, but just trust me on this.

I think it's also safe to say that Billy is popular with the ladies, since almost every time I see him there are girls flocking around him. ;) But I guess it's not hard to figure out why.

Billy quotes Dr. Horrible to me all the time, which in itself is a reason to love him. My life here is definitely better because I know him.

2009-01-24T03:01:00.000-05:00

Open letter to MBTA

2009-01-23T14:16:00.007-05:00

Dear The T,

What is wrong with you?! Why do you persist in making my life miserable by repeatedly making me late to class, dumping me off in the cold to run "express" somewhere, passing me on your merry express way while I stand there freezing, almost driving me to pass out while waiting for you for HALF AN HOUR in the freezing cold after I had just donated blood, etc etc etc. Why why WHY can't you just be ON TIME when I actually need you?

I have some advice for you: if there is a certain time of day when the trains are standing-room-only, and they have to pass waiting passengers because there is no room to pick them up, RUN MORE TRAINS during that time of day. It's really not that difficult. I'm so tired of trying to cram myself into one of the doors and shove my way in far enough that the door will close. Also, what's with the whole stopping at 12:30 am including weekends? Some of us have a night-life, you know. Or maybe we would if staying out past 12:30 wouldn't cause us to be stranded with no way to get home. Seriously.

Maybe more people would ride on you if you weren't so unreliable and frustrating. Perhaps you don't think it's worth it to invest more money into improving yourself, because you don't have that many passengers. But more people might CHOOSE the T over a car if it weren't in general such an all-around miserable experience. The lack of parking in the city is definitely on your side, my friend. Else I'm sure many more people would be driving to work every day. You're not really making yourself into a plesant alternative. I can't even take a bike on the green line for goodness sakes. why...

I'm tired of being forced to rely on you, The T. I'm tired of putting my hopes in you only to have them dashed over and over. I'm tired of being let down by you. Our relationship is rocky at best, and going downhill. You are inconsitent, unreliable, noisy, inconsiderate, and uncaring. I need more out of this relationship than you've been giving me. I now have a bike. As soon as I get my red blinkie light fixed (or buy a new one) your reign of terror in my life will have come to an end. You probably won't even miss me.

Hate,
JM

an open letter to the powers that be at BU:

2009-01-23T12:30:00.003-05:00

Dear BU,

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING THE AIR CONDITIONER IN THE CLASSROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER?!?! Hello, have you looked outside lately? Did you not realize that all that white stuff on the ground is SNOW? It pains my little tree-hugging soul to see the radiators on full blast, and then hear the AC click on. Besides the obvious environmental irresponsibility this shows, it can't be good for your budget. I had to go to my office and get a sweatshirt in the middle of class because I was freezing. If I'm going to be freezing and wearing layers to class, you might as well not heat it at all. But the whole heat+AC thing... it's not really working.

Sincerely,
JM

2009-01-23T03:01:00.000-05:00

Why I love Burfelt

2009-01-22T23:21:00.003-05:00

Tonight I shall take a few moments before going to sleep to write a dedication to Burfelt. Man, where should I even start...

Burfelt is probably the coolest person I have ever known. I say that because he is the person I feel is most like me out of everyone I have ever known. So really I just think I am really cool. hahaha. Burfelt "gets" me, which is nice. It makes communication easier. We accomplish a great deal of communication without using real words. Sometimes that makes it difficult for other people to understand us. If Burfelt and I got stranded on a desert island for 6 months, when we got rescued we would be speaking an entirely new language (with large parts of it derived from moose sounds and various references to bees). That's how bad it is. People that hang out with us probably get annoyed. We also spend large amounts of time laughing hysterically at things that only the two of us seem to find funny. I must say this is a huge improvement over my life before I knew Burfelt, when I spent large amounts of time laughing hysterically by myself... and looking like a lunatic.

It's amazing that Burfelt and I met at all, when you consider how many times we should have met and didn't for one reason or another. Seriously, they were many. Eventually the forces of nature combined, the stars aligned, and I happened to show up at his apartment with a friend of a mutual friend to watch football (soccer for all you yankees). At this point he pretty much had nothing in his apartment except a TV, an air mattress (performing the job of a couch), and a chair. Those were good times. I've heard a rumor that he's still sleeping on the air mattress, but that's completely ridiculous. Of course he would have gotten a bed by now. :P But, I digress. I wish I could say I looked into his eyes that first moment and knew that we were destined to be friends forever, but the sad truth is that I stared stupidly at him because he started talking to me in Danish and he talks fast and I didn't understand a word he was saying to me. Then he realized I was a native speaker of American, and switched to English. Then I said hi. Then I promply ignored him pretty much the rest of the evening because, hello, Yepzen was there.

Eventually Burfelt and I bonded over our mutual love for Indiana Jones and bacon, and the rest is history. We went on many excursions to the beach at 1am. Ate many pizzas. Planned many things that we never actually got around to doing (going to the deer park, visiting castles, ice skating, etc). Talked. Laughed. Watched a Trekkie documentary. Rode the Metro. I could go on, but I think I'm failing to capture the magnificance of it all.

Burfelt is a great person. If I were to make a model of a great person, I think it would resemble Burfelt in many ways. He is one of the most even-tempered people I know. I think I've only seen him mad once. And it was pretty justifiable. Burfelt is also a good friend. I don't mean he is a good friend of mine (I mean, he is, but that's not what I'm trying to say), I mean he is good at being a friend. He is kind, considerate, and he is always willing to help out a friend in need. I wish I were more like Burfelt in a lot of ways. Burfelt always assumes the best of a person and I think by so doing he encourages people to be the best they can be.

When I am with Burfelt I feel like I am a better person. And that is one of the highest compliments I can give. So, I think I'll end on that note.

2009-01-22T03:01:00.000-05:00

Why I love Yepzen

2009-01-21T23:48:00.005-05:00

This is another post in my new "Why I love..." series.

Yepzen is awesome, simply put. It seems like we've been friends forever. I still find it hard to believe that we only met a little over a year ago. Wow. Actually we first met online about a year and 7 months ago when I was looking for a place to live in good ol' Copenhagen and I thought maybe he could help me out (by moving out of his place so I could move in there). He turned out to be no help at all in the housing department, due to the fact that he decided not to move (I forgave him about this later, since I realized if he had moved, I never would have met him). :P We chatted a few subsequent times but he didn't really want to give me the time of day. Then, a few months later after I was all settled in, who should come over to my apartment accompanied by a mutual friend, but the J-dawg himself. I didn't immediately draw the connection, but I realized later that night who he was and called him a punk (for blowing me off the first time we "met"... he of course was very regretful of this, having now met me in real life and seeing how gorgeous/charismatic/funny I was). And thus was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Yepzen and I spent many a happy hour watching movies together at his apartment or mine. (And eating pizza. With egg. Yum.) Usually we just ended up talking about anything and everything, and didn't really pay much attention to the movie. Once I just said "we're just going to talk the whole time anyway, why bother putting on a movie at all?" So we didn't. And we had a great time.

We also had some good times playing pool at the CES building, and once we cooked dinner together for all the UV (YSA). That was great fun. Everyone liked our food, too. yay. :)

Yepzen is always willing to help people out, especially me, which makes him awesome in my book. :) He is the best Danish-English translator I know! He voluntarily suffered through many hours of translating for me at FHA (FHE). Sometimes the person talking would switch to English and he would just keep on "translating"--paraphrasing to me what they were saying--for a minute before realizing what he was doing. It was quite hilarious.

Yepzen is always nice to people and he is a great example to me. I admire him a lot. He also teaches seminary which I think is awesome. Yepzen has blond curly hair and the bluest blue eyes I have ever seen. (girls, he's available ;) He doesn't think he's cute, but he totally is. He is also funny. He has a great personality, and he makes me laugh.

I know that if I am ever having a bad day and I need someone to whine to, Yepzen will be there to listen to me (unless, you know, it's like 4 am his time or something... stupid time zone difference). He even bought me a webcam for Christmas so now we can do video chat, which rocks. I am going to see Yepzen in 9 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait.

There are but a handful of people in this world whom I call "best friends." Yepzen is one of them.

2009-01-21T03:01:00.000-05:00