Random Catching up

Okay, I'm finally going to do the meme thing, although I don't think I know anyone else with a blog, except for family members. D'oh!

First, the promised post from a couple of days ago. I did actually make a kale soup, and although the broth came out okay (very garlicky & spicy), the potatoes & kale were both pretty bland. I'm getting worse at this. This is a recipe I came up with a long time ago, and it's always been good, but my potatoes were a little old, & the kale selection at giant eagle was less than fantastic. Yeah, that's it, I'll blame the grocery store :)

So, meme wise, my sister (fieryboots.blogspot.com) tagged me for this, a long time ago. The only thing that makes me feel better about not having done this yet, is that the people she tagged haven't done it either! woohoo! pointless sense of competition gratified!

So here goes. If I remember right, I'm supposed to post the rules, which I will have to go back to later.

But here's the six things about me, that very few if any people know:

1) Although I'm in graduate school for a PhD in Neuroscience, I don't think I will ever do science again after I'm finished here. I'm actually fairly disgusted by it now - mostly because I realize that most of it is crap. Only after 20 other people have found & published the same results can you assume that something might actually be true, & even then, 2/3 of the time it will be refuted. (American scientists especially are prone to jump on the bandwagon of an idea, whether it has any merit or not, mostly due to the way they obtain funding, which rewards people for doing the same thing, and punishes creativity). And if I hear one more person describe a technique or topic in neuroscience as "sexy", I will seriously have a hard time not punching them in the face. It's like the corporate speak buzzwords - "face to face download" "outside the box", etc, etc that I hear people with real jobs complain about. In all seriousness, I think I want to become an accountant; if I can just get over the embarassment of having a useless Ivy league education, and having the actual valuable training come from a community college.

2) Related to my career aspirations: I'm pretty sure that I'm fairly far along on the obsessive compulsive scale. I find rolling change to be very calming. Something about making identical piles of change, counting rhythmically, & bestowing order on my change pile (plus the money that I get to deposit) is really soothing to me. I also constantly make lists of numbers. Usually this is my monthly budget, but it's more about making the list, since I know that my budget works. I also enjoy making financial projections for my retirement account/savings account/whatever. And reading the tax law. Oh, and when I was a kid, I would arrange the dollar bills in my wallet in order of serial number.

3) I'm a sucker for any mystery show. British ones on PBS are really good (although I'm not so crazy about Inspector Linley, I like Foyle's war better), but give me a Law & Order marathon any day.

4) I cannot watch the President on TV, or hear his voice, without getting a spike in blood pressure & feeling nauseous & angry within 30 seconds. The man disgusts me, with his smarmy show of just how stupid and incompetent he is. But what can you expect from the son of a woman who commented on the Hurricane Katrina evacuees, "Well, a lot of these people were economically disadvantaged to begin with, so this is probably an improvement for them."

Okay, so #4 is probably not all that unique to me (I hope). But I do know some people that can watch him.

5) I buy myself flowers every couple of weeks. And in the summer, I cut my own from the back yard & always have at least one bouquet in my living area. I love my house, but it is definitely a masculine (i.e. messy & not aesthetically pleasing, due to the explosion of many "projects" over all the living space) type of environment. I'm not very girly, but it makes me happy to see flowers on my desk or the kitchen table. And I can't wait around for anybody else to buy them for me. Besides, the lady that runs the flower shop is a hoot, she has signs posted around that clearly express that she will not give up smoking in her own store, & she has a gigantic mastiff that sits in the corner & looks at you, but never raises his head or anything. I now buy flowers for many people for their birthdays, and get my Christmas wreath from her too.

6) I am extremely proud of the fact that I haven't owned a car in a very long time. I like public transportation, and walking, and am happy that I don't have to deal with car payments or insurance or maintenance. I can rent a car if I need one, and D & I both use the subaru (although I mainly use it for hauling groceries). I guess this makes me kind of old-fashioned; especially in combination with the fact that I love the giant radiators in my house, & like growing most of our produce in the summer. And will probably try my hand at canning again this year (D's mom has agreed to help me with the pressure-canning, as she has done this alot, and I'm scared of the pressure cooker/canner).

Okay, that's my six. I'll come back & edit so I can post the rules, and tag others, if I can find anyone. Hope you're all doing well.