Thursday, February 19, 2009

Quick update

1. The Saab saga continues! The bracket that holds the alternator in place had cracked, and a replacement was not to be found in the junkyard, so John had to special order it. Hopefully we'll get our car back today or tomorrow!

2. We spent last weekend in Santa Cruz with Nina, Sibley, Nate, Jess and other cool people. It was pretty dry on Saturday, so we got to take a nice walk on the beach and climb up to the treehouse. But Sunday was very wet and windy - too stormy to go through with the bonfire as planned. Plan B, B for Boardgames, was an excellent alternative. Settlers of Catan, Mafia, Munchkin, good stuff. And plenty of good food and wine to boot!

3. I had a biology midterm on Wednesday, so spent most of Monday and Tuesday cramming for it. I think it went well.

4. As soon as I got out of my midterm, I gave my long-neglected bike some much-deserved love. I cleaned and oiled the chain, and I polished up the gears. I tried using dental floss, but it wasn't strong enough, so I ended up using a bamboo skewer to pick away all the layers of crud. (I really wish I had a set of dental tools!) It rides like a dream now.

5. I finally used up the last of our 14-pound turkey - the one that Scott bought right after Thanksgiving for $5 and the remains of which have been lingering in our freezer. I made a beautiful turkey wild rice hotdish with it.

6. Scott and I are going climbing tonight, and will probably have a date night tomorrow night, but the weekend will be full of writing for him and midterm studying for me. Pretty crazy how quickly the quarter is going by.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I got to ride in a tow truck today!

The Saab saga continues... I was on my way to visit my hospice patient this morning - driving instead of biking, since I had my violin along and was planning to play for her. I noticed the radio acting funny - it got very quiet and then turned off by itself. Then my turn signal stopped blinking. And then the whole car started sounding weak. I decided I'd head back home and save my visit for another day, but at the very next intersection, while I was waiting in the left turn lane, the old panzer died. A very good samaritan let me borrow his phone to call Scott (I'd forgotten mine, of course), and he helped me push it to a curb. Scott called a tow truck to take the Saab to our trusty mechanic John. John looked a little nervous when he saw it come in - he had just installed a new clutch, so he was relieved when I told him the clutch was fine and it was probably the alternator.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Napping!

I had a lovely, relaxing weekend. Watched Battlestar Galactica on Saturday night with friends. Dim sum in Sacramento on Sunday, and dinner and games at Brian & Marion's house on Sunday night. Played some pickup on Saturday morning, took a nice afternoon nap on Sunday. But I'm tired today! I went home at 1pm and took a solid nap, despite the jackhammers working right outside my window! Glad I live close enough so that I can go home between classes and nap.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

25 Things About Me

(This is a Facebook chain letter.)

1. I really like being 27 years old, because it’s three cubed. Being 29 will be nice too, since it’s the first of a pair of twin primes. I’m not so psyched about turning 28. This year Scott will turn 32, which is very cool – it’s two to the 5th, so when you write it in binary it’s 10,000. I can’t wait til I turn 10,000!
2. I’ve wanted to be a doctor most of my life but didn’t pursue it until I turned 27 that I realized: if I don’t at least try to go to medical school, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
3. I can clap with one hand.
4. There are three pink things I like. First, pink painted fingernails (mine, in particular). Second, my hot pink shoes from Payless with big pink flowers on the toes. Third, beets, and the way they turn everything they come into contact with magenta… including my pee.
5. I have a terrible memory for faces. I’m pretty good with names.
6. I’m proud of these three things. First, the blue quilt with yellow stars I sewed for myself in high school. Second, the marathon I ran in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Third, the fact that I can do an honest-to-goodness pull-up (2 or 3 in a row on a good day!).
7. One of the most important things I learned at Wellesley is how many ways there are to be a woman.
8. The best part of my day is dinner with Scott. Nearly every night, we cook dinner together, from scratch, and sit down at the dining room table to eat together. We light a candle and pour wine. Scott made time for this ritual all year last year, when he was horrifically busy studying for prelims, and all this winter, when my weird schedule means that most nights I get home from lab or practice after 9pm.
9. I like to pick music that goes with whatever we’re having for dinner. For instance, Bach cantatas go with a frittata.
10. The second best part of my day is my morning ritual – drinking espresso (with frothed milk!) out of Turkish tea glasses with Scott.
11. I’ll wear my grandmother’s wedding dress when I get married next fall! My mom and aunt also wore it, so I’ll be its fourth bride.
12. The thing I miss most about Duluth, besides my family, is Lake Superior.
13. I don’t own a Bundt pan, even though they were invented in Minnesota, and I’m a fan of all things Minnesotan.
14. The thing I miss most about Rome is the pizza. Pizza is my favorite food, and I feel like an 8-year-old when I say that, but it’s completely true.
15. I miss my friends from DC so much, I can’t remember what else I miss!
16. The thing I love most about Davis, besides the people, is the produce.
17. When I go to the gym, I feel great disdain for the people on the treadmills and elliptical trainers and moderate disdain for those on the weight machines. I believe that CrossFit workouts are the absolute best and try not to be too evangelical about it.
18. I’ve dreamt I was dead several times, and I’ve dreamt about our dead pets.
19. I wish I didn’t drool so much when I sleep.
20. I like going to the dentist, because I get such rave reviews of my oral hygiene. I floss at least six days a week. And it doesn’t hurt having overactive salivary glands.
21. I’ve only ever dated ultimate Frisbee players.
22. Someday I’ll layout.
23. Scott is turning me into a lover of board games. Right now Race for the Galaxy is our favorite. But I’m still not so sure about Settlers of Catan.
24. We don’t own a TV, and I don’t miss it, but Scott and I do watch Battlestar Galactica every week at a friend’s house.
25. I keep a ten-year journal. I’m five years into it, so on any given day, I can tell you exactly what I was doing on that day in any year going back to 2004.