On Martin Luther King Jr. Day I picked up Jack from doggy daycare, and they told me that he had a little bump on his paw that had broken open. They said they had cauterized it stop the bleeding. Not wanting to freak out, I decided that I would give it a little time to "go away" before I took him into the vet. Especially since last time I took him in for a bump on his cheek it went away in about 3 days and cost me about $30 to have her tell me it was fine.

Well, it's been almost 3 weeks since then and poor Jack isn't any better. The growth is about the same size, just more inflamed. I took him out yesterday evening and it broke open and started bleeding. Then this morning it happened again. He didn't even want to walk anymore after 1/2 a block. This is from a puppy that LOVES his 7 mile hikes! To make matters worse he has a second growth on his back paw that is coming in as well that appears to be the exact same thing.

I washed up the blood this morning and put a little antibiotic on the sore. He's going to the vet today. Poor guy. He isn't licking it, so I think that means it either doesn't bother him when he's not outside or that it hurts too much to lick.

Over the course of the past couple weeks I've been able to see quite a few different movies. And I'm not going to give full reviews to them, there are plenty of websites for that. But I just wanted to mention them in case people were looking for recommendations. =)

Milk
This is the story of Harvey Milk's life. Which starts with him recording a tape of how he got to where he is and that should only be played if he is assassinated. The real thrust of the movie is how he went from a "nobody" to the first publicly gay elected official, then leading to the fight against Prop 6 in California. Which, if passed, Prop 6 would allow for the searching out of homosexuals in the school system of California and lead to their being fired from their jobs. Watching the fight as it is bore out in the movie, is very reminiscent to the struggle in California this year against Prop 8. However, rather than having a Harvey Milk to show people who homosexuals are and that they aren't bad people, the church put so much money into convincing people that if homosexuals married then marriage would be degraded. However, it is hilarious (sad) to watch Milk as the arguments in the church haven't changed from then until now... and yet I doubt that many people these days would support a witch hunt to remove homosexuals from their jobs. This is in the course of 30 years, so I hope that in the next 30 years we'll be watching a movie about the legalization of gay marriage and the struggles that it has had on the way to making civil rights available for all -- not just those who person to bang a person of the opposite gender.

Yes Man
Okay, right off the bat, this movie is obviously not supposed to be a serious piece in any light. It is meant to be fun, make you laugh, make you think, and remind you to enjoy life. And I think that it succeeds. It is down right hilarious at times, and exceptionally comical in how ridiculous the scenarios and the characters of these people are. But the point is well made: Don't forget to live your life. I think it is nearly impossible to watch this movie and not leave thinking about ways that you can do little things to make your life better. You don't need to see it on the big screen, but I think it is a great movie to watch. It is definitely worth getting for $10 at Target in 9 months. ;)

Slumdog Millionare
This movie is fantastic. No really. Just fantastic. It tells the story of a street kid in India (poor as shit, mind you) who goes onto their version of "Who Wants to be a Millionare." He ends up getting very far in the game, so far that the producers don't believe that he can know as much as he does. So the movie is going through each question of the game and showing how in the events of his very crazy, very fucked up life living on the streets he learned the answers. Even more, how if they had asked only slightly different ones how he would have been out in the first question. His story is phenomenal, as we see a heart felt coming of age story, a love story, and a quest for survival in a completely new way that is just exceptionally told. I highly, highly recommend this movie, and 93% promise that you will enjoy it. =)

The past week has been very eventful for me! I got to go to the clinic and get my shots, which I didn't really like. But while I was there I got to meet a lot of other dogs AND I got free chew treats which I LOVE.

I'm really starting to settle into my new home. My owner likes to sleep, so when she goes to bed I am a real good boy and don't wake her up until 6-7am to go potty. She comes back and checks on me twice during the day so that I can do my poops and my peeps. So far, I only had one accident and that was when she was on the computer and I had to go real bad... so I went in the kitchen. I didn't know you couldn't go in the house! I thought you just couldn't go in the crate. =(

I have met so many awesome dogs since moving to my new home. There is a dog across the parking lot, Hank, who let me chase him around yesterday. And today I met Hoos who lives a few apartments down. We chased each other in the grass for a good half hour at lunch today! Every day I get to go on these really long walks around the park. There are so many dogs and people to meet. Sometimes I get really sad though when the dogs or the people ignore me. I whimper a little because I want their attention. But a few seconds later I stop whimpering.

Today I discovered that if I run through the grass when it is wet with my tongue hanging out I'll get water in my mouth! It is awesome! I can drink AND run at the same time. I can't wait to see what I learn tomorrow!

~Jack Murphy
8 weeks, 1 day old

The past fews days since I left my home have been really crazy! I have gotten to meet lots of new dogs and new humans. Some of the dogs just lick me because I am a puppy, some of them just want to play -- but I think I'm too small for playing with grown up dogs right now. I took a long car ride down from Indianapolis (where I was born) to Bloomington. I had to poop really bad during the car ride, but I managed to hold myself and didn't go until we got to my owner's apartment! She seemed very happy about that.

My first night in the apartment was terrible. I missed my mommy, and my brothers and sisters, I also didn't like that my owner put me in a crate and then left once I fell asleep! I would cry and cry for her after that, and she wouldn't come to take me outside until I would stop! She was very mean. Couldn't she see that I wanted to be with her!? I was just fooling her anyway, I didn't have to pee -- I just wanted a little attention. I think she was getting a little frustrated that I kept waking her up. But I was getting a little frustrated that she wanted to sleep instead of play with me!

The next morning she opened up the whole bathroom to me and put my crate so that it blocked the door. That way I could go lay in my den when I needed a rest, but could go run around in the bathroom when I wanted to play! She also had these people perform music just for me in the living room. I liked hearing the music, it made me not miss her so much while she was gone. I was a good boy and didn't cry when she left or when she came back both times during the day to let me outside and run around with me.

Did I tell you about running? I LOVE RUNNING! My owner and I will run and run around the grass and parking lot at the apartment complex. When I am done I am SO EXHAUSTED! I just come right inside, drink a little water, and fall asleep.

We went shopping last night at Petco -- it was so fun to see all the other dogs and have all of the people at the store pet me. I hope I get to hang out with more dogs real soon, because I like it! I also got to pick out the toys that I liked. My owner would put them down in front of me, and if I liked it and wanted to play with it more then she bought it for me! How awesome is that? Now I know that I like all the toys that I have! Most of them have ropes on them because I'm a puppy and I really like to chew and wrestle things, and rope toys are really fun to fight!

Last night I was a good little puppy. I didn't whine or bark all night, and my owner got to sleep for 6 whole hours in a row! Then she took me outside and I peed and pooped outside. She gave me treats for doing that, so she must be really proud of me! I should do that again.

I'm hoping today will be just as fun as yesterday!

-Jack Murphy
7 weeks, 3 days old

Jack Murphy is my new puppy! Isn't he adorable?

The internet is aplenty with sites that list every single word that each nominee has spoken and whether these words are true are not. I just wanted to list some of them for you, the general reading audience, so that YOU can make up your mind which is worse: Someone who flat out lies and misrepresents or someone who optimistically calculates.

Fact Check on John McCain:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.html
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h4Os_NvbBurz0R8IejrDDj-4sRlAD930AQV01

Fact Check on Barack Obama:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html

Fact Check on Sarah Palin (dear lord are these long and exhaustive):

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/09/palin_v_reality.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/politics/animal/main4414049.shtml

Fact Check on Joe Biden:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/082508dnpolfactcheck.bd13fa0.html

I did Google searches for "XXX fact checker" -- where XXX is the name of the politician. While there are a couple of sites for both Joe Biden and Barack Obama, typically stating small errors they have made. MOST of the sites are fact checking sites to get the truth about them from what the GOP has said ABOUT them.

Call me an optimist, but I think Obama is doing an EXCELLENT job of keeping his word on a clean campaign, and keep the facts real(er).

The "straight" talker is talking just about as straight as a bare-backing drag queen in San Fran. Perhaps I'm swayed by my own political leanings here, but McCain/Palin/GOP are going to ridiculous lengths of lying and truth stretching to make themselves appear "honest." A lie so deep that I think they are actually beginning to BELIEVE their own distorted version of reality.

Last year I decided that I wanted a garden. Because I knew that I would be moving, it felt impractical to start one in San Diego. Thus, once it was clear that the last frost had passed here in San Diego I started buying little plants to start a vegetable garden on my back porch.

I got myself a lot of squash and bell peppers -- because those are my favorite vegetables to buy in the store, I also heard they were really easy to grow. I also purchased a few different chili peppers, since they aren't that easy to come by in the grocery stores here.

Here is a picture of my garden after planting everything. You can see that Chai and Tofu really love the garden and being outside. Because I'm on the 3rd floor, I don't worry about them being out there when I'm home. They really enjoy laying out in the sun with the plants.

( Pictures of my Garden )

It has been 6 weeks since I planted my garden and the plants have gotten so HUGE! I had to replant just about all of the squash, because they were starting to get choked out by the plants being to close to each other. I have also started getting my first vegetables!


( My plants now: )

I had been trying to purify my protein for about 4 months (to no avail) when my boss tells me "Faith, we have XAS time in 3 weeks. Get a sample by then."

Now... I'm not sure in what crazy world he though I would be able to get pure protein in 3 weeks when I couldn't get it in 4 months. I toiled away -- sometimes doing 5 protein columns a day. Finally, with THREE MINUTES to spare, I have purified protein, concentrated, and sent off FedEX overnight express to our collaborators -- who will hopefully run it sometime this weekend.

I also have Mass Spec evidence, as well as SDS-Page evidence that this is my protein. I'm pleased as punch and I know that Giedroc will be ecstatic with the news.

...Now, I just have to make more protein...

I had my family reunion two weeks ago. It was so nice to see everyone. My cousins are growing up right before my eyes and I just think that this is fantastic. They are turning into amazing people. My cousin Andrew just graduated high school, as did Elaine and McRae. Melinda is turning into a beautiful and amazing teenager. Benjamin is still a little fiesty and definintely inherited his parents stubbornness and temper. =) My uncles, with the exception of Ben who is going through a divorce, all seem to be doing really well. Which I couldn't be happier for. It was fantastic to see my grandma. She is getting older, and this makes me very sad. She is what I have left of my mom and has been a mother to me since my mom passed away, so it is sad to see her getting older. That said, she still has many good years in her and I love her so much. =)

Photos of my family reunion can be found here

This past weekend me and three girls here in the Chemistry department took a mini vacation to St Louis to watch the Cardinals vs the Phillies. It was just beautiful while we were there and everyone had a fantastic time. I realized though that I'm getting old since I was hung over for not just one, but two days. In fact, I still am not quite feeling normal, but the run today did help matters a lot.

Photos of my trip to St Louis can be fouond here

Today Brooke sent out an email letting the people on his friend's list know that he will be going back to Hawaii soon. I emailed him back asking him how long he was going to be there. Of course, he didn't know -- which isn't surprising since this is how Brooke is.

He included this in this email:

"I think about you often. Really. I know your in another world and life but I would still run away with
you. If you ever get the need, I will always be up too be your travel partner. Got the passport now and I
want to use it. I lived up at Mt. Baker for a couple of months and may go back in the winter. Love, Brooke."

Hard to believe that it has been since February 2006 since I've seen him. It really is a different world we live in now. Granted, even when I knew him he was in a different world. I do think about him a bit, but usually when I start to think that this job is my life. I think of him, and remember that my happiness is somewhere in the middle between ambition and adventure -- and should be a balance between the two. Even though I'd like to imagine that some day I will see him again, I know that I wasn't the person that he met in December 2005. I was seeking something to bring out the life in me, and he fit that. He remembers the girl who drank Bass and Rockstar. And that much hasn't changed, but somehow everything has. It is nice to remember him. And truly, I do think of him often as well.

Apparently Mr. Baseball knows Davey. This is just hilarious. Here is the source.

May 23, 2005

Dear Davey:

I have had a difficult time, over the past few years, achieving closure of our relationship. It is time for me to seek this. I have gone through the appropriate stages of anger, remorse, sadness. It is now time for me to close this chapter of my life. I am trying to recapture my life and gain a sense of identity back. In my professional life I have done this, but my personal life struggles. For so long I/We were “Sarah and Davey”, that it is hard to gain my own identity back. I am not worried about my career; I will soon succeed even my wildest dreams. I am just stunted by my personal life.

I am ready to release you from my life. I also on a weekly basis encounter people who want to tell me about you or have a discussion about you. I do not want to deal with this anymore. I
do have a proposal on how to handle this.

I am ready to no longer be forced to deal with your presence. As to how to deal with it, I propose the following:

1. I’ve heard you have an apartment on the West side. You need to move out of the West side of Indianapolis, this has always been my side of town, I own a house here, and do not rent like
you. I grew up here, and always want to live here. I would prefer if you were to leave Indianapolis all together, but I know this is more than I can ask.I do not want to risk running into you at any store.

2. We should officially divide our friends. Particularly Jim, Jillian, Amy, and Ed. You should write them, thanking them for the opportunity to be their friend and explain why you can no longer be in contact with them. I can provide you with addresses, if you need.

3. I will stay out of Republican politics. I promise not to get involved with any Republican politics, unless my father runs for judge, and than I reserve the right to work on his campaign.

4. I would like you to not have anything to do with all things Cathedral. I feel I should have ownership of the school since my mother works there and my brother and sisters went there. You are more tied to Wabash. This should be where you dedicate your alumni status. I will be involved in Cathedral. When the time of reunions comes up, I am willing to say that you can have the reunions ending in “0″ years and I will take the”5″ years. So you can have 10 years and I will take 25 years.

5. I will avoid Wabash contacts. The few guys from the house I still speak to on a rare basis, I will not. I will also discourage any male offspring I have from attending Wabash.

I know some of these things seem a bit harsh, but I feel they are for the best. I do not ever really wish to see you again. I know that this will of course happen beyond my control, but I think we should do our best to avoid what we can.

It is my sincere hope that you understand, and do take the time to respond. This is my last request of you.

With fondness,

Sarah

May 31, 2005

Dear Sarah,

Thanks for your letter. We broke up 3 years ago. Knowing that and taking into consideration you believe me to be a cold, career focused, ego-maniac, what on earth makes you think I would take
the time to think about you or agree to your proposal? But since I clearly have taken the time to respond, please take a moment to review some comments and counterproposals I have crafted.

1. First, I will have to resist the burning urge to move RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO YOU. After that deep desire subsides, I will vacate the Westside and return to my roots: The Snooty Northside, as you used to call it. However, since I was born on the Northside and I have Northside in my veins you must abdicate all ties to the North. This includes: Living on the Northside, living on the Northeastside, walking down North Street, being a fan of the Dallas Stars (formerly the Minnesota North Stars), wearing North Face apparel or telling your children that Santa lives at the North Pole.

1 (B). I was born in Indianapolis before you were so I should really get to determine who stays and who goes. In my benevolence I will let you exist here only within the St. Michael’s Parish boundary (MLK Dr. to High School Rd. and 56th Street to 10th St.) We will call this the SarahZone. This should be acceptable for you as your family lives across the street and there is a gas station, grocery, convenience store, your place of employment and a fire station. Exceptions can be made with my expressed written consent. You will be required to display a large tag in your windshield giving you permission to travel beyond the SarahZone.

2. I haven’t talked to your friends since we broke up. I think they got the message. However since we apparently are still in fourth grade, please have your friends meet me by the playground at recess so that I can tell them they have big fat heads and they aren’t my friends anymore.

Do you agree? _______Yes ________No________Maybe

2 (B). One of the few times you let us do something fun, we visited some of my family friends on Geist. It was about eight years ago. We enjoyed their boat and home for several hours during a pre-500 party. Please jot them a note saying you are going to forget that ever happened. Please also offer to reimburse them for the boat gas, pool chlorine, air conditioning Freon, Dr. Pepper and anything else you consumed while you were there. I don’t have their address anymore, you can look it up.

3. Please let me know when your father runs for anything. I’m going to run against him.

3 (B). Thanks for staying out of Republican politics. Your heavyweight presence in the party will be sorely missed. I am very involved in ice hockey. I play recreationally and coach a youth team in the winter. I would prefer it if you could stop being involved in all things related
to ice and ice hockey. You can use those instant first aid coldpaks to cool your drinks from
now on. Also, my parents have been very involved with the Indianapolis 500 Festival for nearly 20 years. The month of May is really a big month for us. While I am not able to honor your request of moving out of Indianapolis, I would ask that you just leave town during May.
With 250,000 fans going to the race and 35,000 runners in the Mini-Marathon, I don’t want to run the risk of bumping into you. I know your birthday is in May, but man, I just don’t care.

4. Christ, I don’t have the energy for this one.

5. If any of my friends from Wabash actually still talk to you, they are fucking fired as friends.

5 (B). I’m not going to tell my kids anything about you. But speaking of kids, it would be okay
with me if my son was a crack addict, just as long as he got your kids hooked on it and became their dealer.

In closing, I will never make decisions about my life or my family based on whether I might run into you at the store. I am now convinced that if we ever do bump into each other, you will spontaneously combust. I wish you the best of luck find a spouse. Seriously. It won’t
be easy to find a person who is willing to spend the rest of his life raising children and making decisions based on your crazy-ass proposal to an ex-boyfriend and your inability to act like a rational human being.

All my best,

Davey

Today I took the first steps to getting out of my apartment.

First, I started by looking at another apartment in the area. It was the other apartment complex I was considering when I moved out here. I took a tour and liked the apartment complex a lot. The apartment was definitely smaller than the one that I'm in now, but it was SO much nicer. Also, it complex has a lot of amenities that the complex I'm at now doesn't have: a pool, exercise facilities, free stamps/copies/faxes, washer and drier, ect.

I then placed an ad online for someone to either take over my lease or sublet my apartment. I had one person email me saying they were interested. Seeing as how hard it was to get into the apartment, I know that it will be a struggle with the apartment complex to get out of my lease. They were jerks going in and thus I assume they will be jerks on the way out.

So I have gotten one response from a girl on CL, she seems interested in moving in over the summer, which would work out for me.

I'm nervous about the whole thing, but I hate, Hate, HATE my apartment. The new complex was so upfront about everything -- it was absolutely refreshing.

As hockey and basketball come to an end, I felt I should document my 'wins'.

I have placed 2nd in our lab NCAA pool. Yes, the final game is tonight, but the way the point system works and the teams that I picked, I will get second place but 1st is still in doubt. Nick will either get 1st or 3rd, Alfredo will either get 1st or 4th, Sarah will be either 3rd or 4th. I will be in 2nd no matter if Memphis or Kansas wins because I got so many of the other games correct.

As for hockey, I ended up in 3rd. I was in 1st until December. I gave up for the entire month of December because of the whole writing/grading finals, grading 60 ten-page organic papers, going to the Bahamas for a week, moving across the country thing. In my absence from paying attention to my team I fell down to 5th. I made a move during February to get to 4th, and then in March to get to 3rd. I'm very proud that I made it from over 30 points behind the leader (Fry) in January to only 7 points behind the winner (still Fry) in April. I made up a lot of lost ground and am very proud of my late season moves. I do believe that had I not completely abandoned my team for over a month I could have been in contention, but honestly the other things I was doing were more important than a 1st place finish in a fantasy league.

Now it is on to baseball. My team had a hot start for the first week, but the second week has wrecked havoc on my team. Though, I still have not fallen out of 1st/2nd place status. I'm already starting to fall ridiculously behind in RBIs, and I'm bummed that my 3rd round draft pick isn't playing well. While I won't hesitate to move some of my late round question marks, I'm taking caution with some of my higher round guys. I'm not too happy with my infielders, but hoping we can pull off some goodness soon. If only Crede would get a season ending injury I'd have a decent infield staff. =)

I would say that this is probably the most compelling reason I've found thus far to vote for Hillary:

"Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton (D–NY) has called for [NSF Graduate Research Fellowship] expansion as part of her “innovation agenda” ... Clinton has embraced the tripling of awards and a 33% boost in the stipend"

Source:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/319/5869/1477.pdf

So, as baseball seasons comes around again, I keep thinking back to the awesomeness that was my former 1st Place Fantasy Baseball team.

I look at the fact that my two star pitchers: Johan Santana and Eric Bedard are ranked 1 & 3. I got Bedard in the freakin' Round 11 last year; this year he will probably go in the first two rounds.

Also, I got a steal on Hanley Ramirez at short stop, drafting what Tim say was a "risky pick" here. I loved Hanley in the 3rd round. Now he's looking at an average draft pick of 2.6 overall -- not a bad deal.

Good lord I had a fantastic fantasy team last year. I haven't had the energy or motivation this year with hockey. Around December I essentially gave up and my team has slowly fallen from 1st to 5th over this time, and will likely end up in 6th by the time it is all done. Mostly because it is hard to stay motivated without having my friends around to talk about it with and to go watch games with. Hopefully I'll be able to do Fantasy Baseball with gusto, but my fear is that I will not, but we shall see.

So I left you after my day at the London Tower.

I woke up the next morning and had my shower (no waiting!) then proceeded to get breakfast. Because the hostel is composed of three different buildings on the same street, the breakfast is served in the one that is farthest away from my hostel (as well as farthest away from the tube station). It consisted of toast and cereal. It honestly wasn't worth the free-ness or the distance that I had to walk for it. I then stopped by the Coffee Shop below where I was staying and got myself a sack lunch (only 3.50pounds!) which consisted of a Posh Bird sandwich (turkey, brie cheese, cucumbers and cranberry sauce, YUM1), chips, fruit and a drink. It really was a great deal and one that I got again for dinner that night and lunch the next day. I then started off my day of foot exhaustion.

I started by taking the tube to Buckingham Palace. The guard only changes every other day in the winter, and I happened to go on a day that the guard didn't change. But honestly, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I got to see the Palace and the guards do their standing around thing. That was enough for me. I then walked down St. James' Park on a leisurely stroll to get me to Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square. Here is where I found myself at the National Gallery. Like most of the museums in London, it is free. I got here around 11am and was in the National Gallery until 4pm. I thought it was absolutely FANTASTIC. I'm quite a nerd and wanted to read everything about every painting. My feet started getting very tired and my calves were aching, but the thought of missing something fantastic kept me going. There were fantastic originals from Van Gogh, Money, Botticelli, Raphael, Cezanne, Caravaggio, Rembrant, Vermeer, Michelangelo, Van Dyck and my personal favorite: Paul Rubens.

I then went around the corner and visited the National Portrait Gallery. This was also enjoyable, especially because the signs on the Potraits told about the life stories of the people being portrayed. Because I only have 2 hours here I tended to focus on the portraits of the women and children, which I find more interesting, since to be a woman who had their portrait painted generally involves a more interesting story than the men (who just had to have money). They also had a FANTASTIC computer based program of their portraits connecting all the people of similar time periods by marriage and affairs. It was really neat to see the women and the men who served as sexual hubs in these times and the stories behind them. They also had a great Tudor Gallery, which I very much enjoyed.

By this time (6pm), my feet were very tired and the museums were closing, so I made my way back to my hostel for an hour of rest before heading out on my walking tour of Westminster by Gaslight. This walking tour was FANTASTIC and (I thought) so much better than the one of Jack the Ripper. We started out front of Big Ben at 7pm (when it was all lit up) where we learned all about the history and interesting stories of the Parliament Building. I also learned that the Queen (or King) is the only person not allowed into the House of Commons. Which makes sense, because she is not a commoner, but makes me laugh to think that there is somewhere that Government happens that the Queen is not allowed to attend. We went around Westmister Abbey and the Jewel Tower. Then down to St. John's church, which looks like it is a footstool turned upside down (it actually is quite beautiful in a non-Gothic way). From there we went to a local pub that rings the bell for Parliament, so because of this is quite popular for the local politicians. Once the bell rings they have 8 minutes to get to the Parliament Building and cast their vote. From here we walked down Cowley and Barton street where members of Lawrence of Arabia and many famous politicians have lived through-out the years. After the tour we ended up back at the House of Parliament, which was still in session (we could tell this by the green light up on Big Ben), so the majority of the group went through the airport level security to go watch the House in session. They were talking about an Amendment to some provision they had with the EU. After about an hour of watching them argue (from 9-10pm) they finally resolved to drop the issue. It seemed like such a waste of time. But watching the Parliament in session was fantastic. It was so much funnier than American government. They liked making jokes and poking fun, so it seemed very jovial.

I then went home and slept for a bit before waking up again. Instead of getting free toast I decided to walk from my apartment over through the Borough Market for breakfast. I ended up getting some delicious cheese to eat and a tea. Very European, eh? I walked from here to the short distance to the Old Globe Theatre. I was questionable about whether I wanted to go in, but once realizing that it would cost a bit, I decided against going. I did walk around the building and walk into the entry way to see what I could see from there. I decided instead to go the the Tate Modern Museum which was next door. I really, really, really enjoyed the Tate Modern. I thought the space and the exhibits were fantastic. There were pieces from artists that we all have heard of (like Pollock and Picasso) and Many, Many from more modern artists. I have to say, of all the galleries I think that this one was my favorite. I only spent 3 hours here, then headed over at 1pm across the Thames River to St. Paul's Cathedral. It is a beautiful building, and I could see quite a bit of it from the entry way (I could see most of the Nave) and from the Crypt (where the gift shop was held). I didn't really feel like paying (what I felt) was a high price for admission (especially knowing that I was planning on going to Westminster later).

I at my lunch at St. Paul's before heading over to Leicester Square, where all of the theatres and China Town are. I got my ticket for Spamalot that evening here. After a few minutes of walking around I took the tube down to Westmister so that I could go inside the Abbey (which is only open from 2pm-3:45pm everyday). The abbey was fantastically beautiful. I saw the tombs of many of the Kings (mainly the Edwards and a few Georges) as well as Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots. There are also plaques for important poets and writers including William Shakespeare as well as one commemorating Newton. As well, the ever-moving Tomb of the Unknown Soldier can be found here. Which is truly moving after you consider all of the royalty and important people who are buried here, to also have this unknown soldier there representing those who gave their lives in war to keep the Abbey standing and the kingdom strong.

After two hours in the Abbey I had had my fill. But it was only 4pm, so I still had time to go to another place before calling it a day. So I meandered down to the nearby Tate Britain Museum. This museum holds the art of famous British artists. Of all of the galleries that I went to, this was by far my least favorite. There were only 4-5 pieces that really moved me, and I was very disappointed that none of them were available for purchase as postcards at the gift shop. =\

I then headed back to my hostel for a quick rest before going to the Spamalot Theatre that evening. The show was at 8pm. It was fantastically funny. I thought that it would be more of a spin-off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but it was more a musical version of it. (Taking many of the same musical liberties with the movie that Wicked did with the book to make it work better) The songs were hilarious, but most of the lines were word for word from the movie and most of the audience was quoting along. It was funny, and I loved the movie, I was just hoping for some more referencing of the movie than straight out musical-ness of the movie. That said, I enjoyed it. I had great seats in the second row of the Dress Section and am superbly glad that I went. I even got myself a shirt and a CD. (The theatre ticket, shirt and CD are by far what I spent the most amount of money on in London).

The next morning I woke up, packed myself up and headed back to the USA. I have to say, that the length of time that I spent in London (essentially 3.5 days of touristy shit) was a perfect length of time. I had enough time to do everything that I wanted to do, see everything that I wanted to see and didn't feel like I had wasted time where there was "nothing to do." If I could go back and do it again the only thing that I would add is an extra day to go down to Bath and see Stonehenge. Other than that, I would say that if you're going to be backpacking in Europe and making a trip to London, 3-4 days is sufficient!

Notes about London to follow: Going to lunch with my labmates Alfredo and Sarah (Sarah is my new labmate! She joined while I was gone, I'm VERY excited about this!)

I have a few quick minutes on the computer (50pence/10 minutes or the equivalent of $1/10 minutes).

When I first arrived here in London I checked into the beautiful Sheraton Heathrow. It is quite close to the airport and thus very easy to get to. I asked the lady at reception if she knew what my itenerary was. All I knew was that there was supposed to be a meeting at the Sheraton Heathrow on the 23rd of February. I had no idea of times or locations. I didn't even get a confirmation that they knew I was coming. Needless to say, I was quite relieved that the hotel had my reservation! The lady at reception told me to check with the Conference center. I went by -- no one there. I went to my room, caught a quick 30 minute rest since I had flown the red eye and didn't get very good sleep the night before.

After a little rest I headed off for Windsow Castle! Upon arriving at Windsor I learned that I had forgotten to charge my digital camera. I got in about 3 shots before it died. (I've been scouring the city since looking someone who sells a charger, because this city is too beautiful to not have a camera. ALSO, I bought a 4GB card right before I left. I'm glad that I remembered the memory but not the battery. =/ )

Windsor was spectacular. I loved going through the rooms of the castle and seeing where the Kings and Queens lived and entertained. The artwork was absolutely delicious and some of the halls so grand that they took my breath away. I also went to a service at St. James' Cathedral. It is a very old Protestant service that was truly like nothing I had been to before. I actually thought it was Catholic initially because it was so liturgical. But the lack of Hail Mary's and Signs of the Cross pointed me in the way of truth. It also so happened that while I was in Windsor Castle the Queen was there! There is a special flag that they raise when she is in residence. When I first arrived it was the standard British flag, but after an hour I noticed that it had changed! The queen was there! Now, I didn't get to see the queen, but there is still something very magical about knowing that the queen is near and that you could POSSIBLY see her.

So, I eventually left Windsor after a full afternoon and headed back to the hotel. I went back to the Conference Center, and again, no one was there to tell me where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. I went up to bed, watched First Contact on the British Sci-Fi Channel and went to bed. Now, me being the stupid person that I am, I didn't set my alarm because I figured I was on East Coast time and would end up waking up 5 hours early. The plan was to wake up at around 7am, go see when the meeting was, get breakfast and go to the fitness center. I fall fast asleep. I awake to the sound of my alarm. Wait a minute... I didn't set an alarm... oh wait... I did, yesterday to make sure that I woke up by noon to go to Windsor Castle. I jump out of bed, throw some clothes on and run down to the Conference Center. AGAIN, no one is there. I decide to go over to the resturant to try to get breakfast to find a whole slew of people wearing Gordon Badges. FINALLY I had found my people. I introduced myself. Turns out, the Graduate Chairs session was in the morning from 10:30-noon. So they flew me out to London, for me to sleep through the meeting and then turn up for the free lunch. I was VERY embarassed. What saved the day is that the Adult Session was that afternoon. So I went to that. Afterwards we had a reception with appetizers and free drinks. Then a very nice buffet dinner. Afterwards, in typical Gordon fashion quite a few of the chairs stayed up late and got drunk on the free wine.

Thus I woke up this morning feeling a bit under the weather. So obviously, the solution was to go work out in the Fitness Center. BAD IDEA. I felt even worse afterwards: weak, sickly, gross. I slowly forced food into my stomach. I ate two slices of pears, 3 pieces of sliced pinapple, a croissant and a slice of cheese over the course of about an hour. VERY slowly as after every bite I wanted to hurl. Eventually I ate enough and let it sit long enough that I felt functional.

So I hopped on the Airport Hoppa, got to Heathrow and took the tube into London to drop my stuff off at my Hostel and start exploring the city.

First stop today: London Tower!

Let me just say, there is quite a steep fee to get into London Tower and a short que to get your tickets... BUT IT IS WORTH IT! I loved it. It also has served as a residence for Kings and Queens, but it much older and much more primative than Windsor Castle. This is where Henry VIII lived, where two of his wives (including Ann Boleyn) were beheaded. The crown jewels are here, as well as the coronation and state crowns for many of the kings and queens over the last few hundred years. Each building had its own little intrigue... whether that be exploring where a King would have lived, seeing the Towers where people were kept and tortured, the Armory where tons of weapons were held by Henry VIII, or wondering what happened to two little boys who were next in line for the throne who suddenly disappeared and whose bones were found outside the White Tower a hundred years later...

Afterwards I came back to the hostel and checked in. The place is blah. The general attraction is that it is on the same block as the tube, so it is very easy to get anywhere in the city from here. The rooms are okay, the toilets are literally shit, and we'll see about the showers tomorrow -- though the fact that there are only 2 showers for 12 beds isn't looking so hot. But, then again, I only paid £50 for 3 nights, which in the heart of London is essentially a steal.

After checking in and putting my stuff away I made my way over to Tower Hill to experience the Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. I was very excited about this, but I guess I didn't really know what to expect. The tour guide did a very nice job of showing up around, directing us to interesting parts of the city and retelling the story of Jack the Ripper, the 5 women he is alledged to have murder, and then telling different theories for who could have done it and what the evidence is for each theory. It truly would have been better if SOME bits still remained, the only cazy thing was seeing the place where one of the girls was found and seeing the place where these prostitutes lived. It was still an enjoyable time and the talks were very interesting. I think tomorrow night I am going to do the Westminster Abbey walk or the London Pubs walk depending on if I'm in the mood for some history and beauty or just a good time. =)

Well, I suppose I'm off to bed now. I hope you all are doing well where you all. So far, London is treating me well and I'm very glad that I've come.

It is a rare event for me to find a celebrity that is worthy of my affections. I have been listening to this singer since the release of his newest album in 2006: 9

I recently purchased one of his older albums: B Sides. Again, I found myself enamored.

The crush? Damien Rice.

Each song I hear is just perfection. Of course I do have favorites, but I have yet to hear one that I don't like. Which is very unusual for me. I look forward to getting my next paycheck so that I can buy another album. I can't hardly listen to any other music because I just find his songs so perfect in just about every way.

Here, have a listen for yourself:



( Pictures of his hotness )

So, if you find that you like the song on YouTube, please do yourself a huge favor and buy any of his albums. O and 9 are his most recent ones and probably his most popular, but I think that all of his songs are fantastic. =D

It can generally be agreed that Americans are lazy and selfish and don't like to change.

However, we do like to complain about how our lives/body/bank accounts are not what we would like them to be. In the olden days, I hear that people used to pull themselves up from the bootstraps and make their lives a better place for themselves and the ones they loved.

I don't believe that this is the America we live in today. People don't want to work for change, we want change to be given to us. And even then we want it to be the exact change that we asked for, any less just isn't going to cut it.

With this is mind, I have decided that I want to try to revolutionize the way that people approach diet and exercise. I am hoping to start this with a few willing volunteers (maybe one or two) and try the new Faith (and hopefully, Drew -- though I haven't gotten a chance to discuss this with him) Lazy Man Diet and Exercise Program.

The simple premise is this:

All too often people start new resolutions and activities with the promise of losing weight/looking great to find 1 or 2 months later that they are burned out. The new program was just too radical for their life style. Too intense, too quickly. I think that such a drastic change is bound to fail.

Thus, the idea of the Faith Lazy Man Program is built on two fundamental ideas:
1) It takes a month to make a habit
2) Small incremental changes are more likely to stick than huge ones all at once

The Faith Lazy Man Program, I do not believe, will be a program that will instantly make you thinner or lose weight instantly. Instead, it is designed to not make an instant change, but to over the course of potentially a year or two make you a healthier, fitter, sexier person.

So here is how it works, each month you find a small thing that you wish to change. I must emphasize that it should be SMALL. Making large changes will burn you out and make it more likely that you will fail. And I don't want you to fail.

Here are some examples of small things that you might change you first month:
*Take stairs all the time instead of elevators for flights of less than 3 floors
*Make sure to eat a piece of fruit every day
*Start lifting weights during commercials while you are watching tv
*When you are at your desk, do some leg excercises

So that is all the change you make the first month. Then the next month you add something new. Something else small. Perhaps you start walking 10 minutes 2-3 days a week. Nothing major, just getting out there. Then the next month you decide that you want to add parking on the top level of your parking structure so that you can walk up and down the stairs every day.

The idea though is to pick something small and then do just that for a month. It takes a month to form a habit and so after that you have ingrained that in your being and you're ready to add the next step. Thus, each month you are adding something new until after a year you've completely transformed your life.

I want to work on developing this idea more and using myself as a guinea pig for this experiment. In all reality I would like to also have people who are at a lower level of physical fitness than I also do it, but I figure I should make sure that it works for me first.

What is the end of this experiment? I don't know. My hope is that by making small changes over long periods to time that I can effect a large change in myself as a whole without feeling that I am ever burdening myself or feeling like it is going to "burn me out."

So, I'm watching Rock of Love and this blonde girl on there is SO FAMILIAR.

As I'm watching through the episode I realize she's one of the beauties from Beauty and the Geek! They had a BatG marathon this weekend and I watched her win the competition!



Turns out, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Of course, because size does matter, he's doing quite a bit better with the number of delegates he's got," Romney said.


Delegates? Is that what you fellows are calling us ladies these days?