Well, it's mostly done. We ripped out almost all of the plaster & lath in the kitchen (and found out we had a dropped ceiling. We ripped out all the plaster & lath in the 2nd floor, front room (and exposed the brick chimney of the front stack, which is in really good shape, considering its age).
We ripped out almost all of the plaster & lath in the 2nd floor, middle room. And we hauled it out, bucket by bucket, down 30-something steps & into the dumpster. My back, arms, shoulders and legs are all making their presence more noticeable today. But it's done!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I can't wait to get back to the lab. This stuff is kind of fun, but i wouldn't want to do it for a living.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Taken out by a virus
Well, I've contracted a lovely late spring (or is it only mid-Spring) cold. I always forget just how miserable a runny nose, runny eyes, and dry cough can be. But I slept most of the weekend (before all the fun mucous-making started), and spent Tuesday through Thursday laid up most of the time too. Which makes me feel guilty that I'm taking next week as vacation - I feel I should make up for the days I missed this week.
But, with the dumpster coming, I know there won't be time or energy left for work next week.
But, with the dumpster coming, I know there won't be time or energy left for work next week.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Thesis Update
So.... I emerged unscathed from my thesis progress meeting. I even got a couple of comments along the lines of, "Great meeting, Ericka" and other such niceties. I guess I have turned into one of those people that complains all the time about how poorly they're doing, but really they're doing fine. At least I honestly believe I'm doing a crappy job though! (Hmmm.... although that doesn't say much for the pride I take in my work I guess. Maybe I'm just too critical?)
And, the even better news is that one of my projects just got a whole lot easier! I was facing a big analysis problem - trying to get software to do something that it wasn't originally designed to do - and my committee basically told me to use a much easier method, that I was making things too hard on myself. So, that project should be done by this summer - woohoo!
In house news - I've obtained a dumpster permit (so that we can have one parked on the street, as we have no driveway), and will be calling to schedule a dumpster in a little while. Last Thursday, after my meeting was done, I planted my two new daylillies - Pardon Me Daylillies, from Gurney, they're bright magenta with orange-ish insides), and transplanted a bunch of the earlier seedlings (tomatoes, and some flowers whose names are eluding me right now), and moved them upstairs to get on a natural light schedule. Tonight I'll probably start some more seeds in the basement, and once it gets warmer we can start preparing the vegetable/flower beds for outdoor planting. The cats are great, the little black&white one now curls up beside me just about any time I sit down (very cute, but also annoying, she always lays in a way that I know must be uncomfortable for her), and the calico has resumed her post in the window, looking at the birds on the feeder (which D refilled for her enjoyment). I got a birdbath for Easter as well, so I'm hoping maybe one of the cats will figure out that it's fun to stalk/catch birds. But I'm not expecting great things - the cats are wonderfully fuzzy, but not too bright. As I guess most cats are.
Otherwise, not much happening. We had a very lazy weekend - although I did roast some garlic & make cajun tuna on saturday. Sunday, D spent organizing his giant piles of paper in preparation to do his taxes, which will probably not get done by the deadline (I think this is the way he's most like my dad, and I can't get him to accept the fact that there is no way that his ATM receipts for the last 5 years are going to yield anything that is legally deductible; he's convinced that he's going to find something that will mean he won't have to pay anything. I think it's more important to actually file them, but what do I know? I've only filed taxes & not ended up owing them tons of money in fees and interest for the last 15 years. Oh, and I always do my taxes both ways, and realize every year that it's easier & better financially for me to take the standard deduction). I guess the only part of this that really irks me is the belief that somehow he shouldn't have to pay taxes. And the griping about it. In true hyperbolic fashion, he goes on and on about how he would have been better off not to have worked, because the government takes so much. Not in his current job, but one of the self-employed contracts he did last year. I have to point out to him that they only take 25%, and that that still leaves him with a refund coming, plus he got the money for doing the work in the first place!!!! Sometimes I really hate the libertarian crap that comes spouting out of him, and would like to strangle the idiot friends of his that spouted it in the first place. (I place this in the same category as the "My parents didn't pay for me to go to college" crap - just a lot of self-pity by somebody that isn't actually any worse off that 95% of the people in this country, but wants to feel wronged somehow) But I digress.....
Tax time means the economic stimulus checks will be mailed soon! I hate the idea of these - W bribed everyone on the way in, and on the way out - but am not going to turn down the check. Neither will I be stimulating the economy with it. Just paying off bills, but it will still be nice to do that. I did however, just pick up a compound miter saw off of ebay for a reasonable amount of money. (The features I wanted, but about 1/2 price of a new Dewalt 12" single-bevel compound miter saw). I can't wait until it gets here! And we can cut trim for our bathroom! I have become the most boring person in the world - I'm taking a week's vacation to gut the 2nd floor of the house, and am excited about a new-ish saw. But I can't help it, i've been waiting a long time to do this stuff!
All right, I should get back to something productive. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, & I get to talk to you soon!
Ericka
And, the even better news is that one of my projects just got a whole lot easier! I was facing a big analysis problem - trying to get software to do something that it wasn't originally designed to do - and my committee basically told me to use a much easier method, that I was making things too hard on myself. So, that project should be done by this summer - woohoo!
In house news - I've obtained a dumpster permit (so that we can have one parked on the street, as we have no driveway), and will be calling to schedule a dumpster in a little while. Last Thursday, after my meeting was done, I planted my two new daylillies - Pardon Me Daylillies, from Gurney, they're bright magenta with orange-ish insides), and transplanted a bunch of the earlier seedlings (tomatoes, and some flowers whose names are eluding me right now), and moved them upstairs to get on a natural light schedule. Tonight I'll probably start some more seeds in the basement, and once it gets warmer we can start preparing the vegetable/flower beds for outdoor planting. The cats are great, the little black&white one now curls up beside me just about any time I sit down (very cute, but also annoying, she always lays in a way that I know must be uncomfortable for her), and the calico has resumed her post in the window, looking at the birds on the feeder (which D refilled for her enjoyment). I got a birdbath for Easter as well, so I'm hoping maybe one of the cats will figure out that it's fun to stalk/catch birds. But I'm not expecting great things - the cats are wonderfully fuzzy, but not too bright. As I guess most cats are.
Otherwise, not much happening. We had a very lazy weekend - although I did roast some garlic & make cajun tuna on saturday. Sunday, D spent organizing his giant piles of paper in preparation to do his taxes, which will probably not get done by the deadline (I think this is the way he's most like my dad, and I can't get him to accept the fact that there is no way that his ATM receipts for the last 5 years are going to yield anything that is legally deductible; he's convinced that he's going to find something that will mean he won't have to pay anything. I think it's more important to actually file them, but what do I know? I've only filed taxes & not ended up owing them tons of money in fees and interest for the last 15 years. Oh, and I always do my taxes both ways, and realize every year that it's easier & better financially for me to take the standard deduction). I guess the only part of this that really irks me is the belief that somehow he shouldn't have to pay taxes. And the griping about it. In true hyperbolic fashion, he goes on and on about how he would have been better off not to have worked, because the government takes so much. Not in his current job, but one of the self-employed contracts he did last year. I have to point out to him that they only take 25%, and that that still leaves him with a refund coming, plus he got the money for doing the work in the first place!!!! Sometimes I really hate the libertarian crap that comes spouting out of him, and would like to strangle the idiot friends of his that spouted it in the first place. (I place this in the same category as the "My parents didn't pay for me to go to college" crap - just a lot of self-pity by somebody that isn't actually any worse off that 95% of the people in this country, but wants to feel wronged somehow) But I digress.....
Tax time means the economic stimulus checks will be mailed soon! I hate the idea of these - W bribed everyone on the way in, and on the way out - but am not going to turn down the check. Neither will I be stimulating the economy with it. Just paying off bills, but it will still be nice to do that. I did however, just pick up a compound miter saw off of ebay for a reasonable amount of money. (The features I wanted, but about 1/2 price of a new Dewalt 12" single-bevel compound miter saw). I can't wait until it gets here! And we can cut trim for our bathroom! I have become the most boring person in the world - I'm taking a week's vacation to gut the 2nd floor of the house, and am excited about a new-ish saw. But I can't help it, i've been waiting a long time to do this stuff!
All right, I should get back to something productive. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, & I get to talk to you soon!
Ericka
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
How is it April already????
Well, apparently it has been several weeks since I've posted. So I'm trying to remedy that. Unfortunately, not much has been happening except school related stuff. I finished my written progress report last Friday & sent it off - I'm not happy with the way it turned out, but I worked on it for ~ 2 weeks, so I'm not sure how much more I could expect. Hopefully, I won't be yelled at too badly come Thursday (when my progress meeting is). So today, I'm working from home, trying to get my presentation done, & to fill in some of the things that I didn't discuss in the written report.
In good news, I had a new publication come out. I didn't write it (and wasn't kept in the loop, even for the methods section.... grrrr!), but at least I got something else with my name on it.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/11/4405
And, having the immunogold-silver measurement of transporter incorporation into plasmamembrane published helps to validate this method for my own thesis stuff, so hopefully it will be easier to publish my own papers later.
Unfortunately, I haven't made much thesis progress in the last year. I've worked out a lot of methods, but haven't got all that much data yet. So I'm dreading this meeting, but also strangely looking forward to it. If somebody would just yell at me, tell me I'm not getting enough done, then I feel like I might actually be a little more motivated. But, only time will tell....
In house news, well, it's pretty much the same. We got a new (to us) futon this weekend, and I came up with another idea for a TV show. D keeps a running list, because he wants to produce short segments for internet or broadcast (y'know, should he even find himself owning a low-power TV station). So we have things like ghetto gourmet (cooking show featuring ramen noodles, grilled cheese, falafel, etc.), and the new one is a home show (think HGTV). This one is called "Let's move this couch!". Hopefully, you can guess the premise. Large, unwieldy couches, a couple of people, and maneuvering the couch around small spaces.
But, we'll be getting a dumpster delivered later in the month, and I'll start removing large amounts of plaster & lath. Plus, we'll be able to get rid of a bunch of trash that's been hanging out at our house for a couple of years now :)
Our plants are doing pretty well. I transplanted a bunch of tomatoes, zinnias, delphinium, and coreopsis on Sunday, and did some clean-up around the yard. I also scooped out all the ashes from our fireplace, and mixed them in with our compost and some of our vegetable beds. With any luck, I'll be able to put plants outside in a couple of weeks. I'm taking a week off at the end of April, for the dumpster, and also for my own sanity. I've been working all week, and most weekends for a long time, so it'll be nice to have a full week of not doing any school-related work.
Sadly, I won't be able to make it to Massachusetts for my nephew's birthday. It's the second year in a row that I've had to skip it, but I will be seeing him in August, so I'll have to just make do with that (and my calendar, which makes me smile every day).
Okay, well, I have to get back to doing work, so that'll be it for now. I hope you all have a good week!
In good news, I had a new publication come out. I didn't write it (and wasn't kept in the loop, even for the methods section.... grrrr!), but at least I got something else with my name on it.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/11/4405
And, having the immunogold-silver measurement of transporter incorporation into plasmamembrane published helps to validate this method for my own thesis stuff, so hopefully it will be easier to publish my own papers later.
Unfortunately, I haven't made much thesis progress in the last year. I've worked out a lot of methods, but haven't got all that much data yet. So I'm dreading this meeting, but also strangely looking forward to it. If somebody would just yell at me, tell me I'm not getting enough done, then I feel like I might actually be a little more motivated. But, only time will tell....
In house news, well, it's pretty much the same. We got a new (to us) futon this weekend, and I came up with another idea for a TV show. D keeps a running list, because he wants to produce short segments for internet or broadcast (y'know, should he even find himself owning a low-power TV station). So we have things like ghetto gourmet (cooking show featuring ramen noodles, grilled cheese, falafel, etc.), and the new one is a home show (think HGTV). This one is called "Let's move this couch!". Hopefully, you can guess the premise. Large, unwieldy couches, a couple of people, and maneuvering the couch around small spaces.
But, we'll be getting a dumpster delivered later in the month, and I'll start removing large amounts of plaster & lath. Plus, we'll be able to get rid of a bunch of trash that's been hanging out at our house for a couple of years now :)
Our plants are doing pretty well. I transplanted a bunch of tomatoes, zinnias, delphinium, and coreopsis on Sunday, and did some clean-up around the yard. I also scooped out all the ashes from our fireplace, and mixed them in with our compost and some of our vegetable beds. With any luck, I'll be able to put plants outside in a couple of weeks. I'm taking a week off at the end of April, for the dumpster, and also for my own sanity. I've been working all week, and most weekends for a long time, so it'll be nice to have a full week of not doing any school-related work.
Sadly, I won't be able to make it to Massachusetts for my nephew's birthday. It's the second year in a row that I've had to skip it, but I will be seeing him in August, so I'll have to just make do with that (and my calendar, which makes me smile every day).
Okay, well, I have to get back to doing work, so that'll be it for now. I hope you all have a good week!
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