Saved! February 29, 2008

I realized this morning that there’s no way I could possibly attend the aforementioned job talk this afternoon because I’ll be accompanying the Spousal Unit to a work-related dinner. As much as I usually dread these sorts of events, it beats the hell out listening to a stats lecture on a Friday afternoon. At least there will be food at the banquet, and I get to snicker at all the drunk rich alums and their trophy spouses. Good times!

This morning my lab partner and I re-arranged the lab to spruce things up in anticipation of next week’s NCATE (some accrediting body) visit. I now have a pretty swank wooden desk with drawers, which beats the heck out of the table I was using as a desk. Things are looking pretty nice. Now if only it weren’t around 85 degrees in here all the time.

Only 15 more minutes until I can leave and no longer live in fear that Creep will darken my door…at least until Monday. Sigh.

My “WTF?!” moment of the week February 27, 2008

kk_bama

, you’ll appreciate this.

I was waiting on a friend yesterday afternoon (for coffee) and I decided to use the free time I had to make my color and cut appointments. (I’ve been going to one place for hair cuts and another to get it colored…I know.) I called up my color place, and was told that the guy I’ve been going to for 5 years up and moved to Yuma, AZ. Yeah. Yuma. And last time I went to him, he made no mention of the fact he was planning to do this, and it hasn’t been that long (though you’d never know it by looking at my roots…I digress).

So now I’m just going to go to one place for everything. I know it sounds way easier, but dude, where else am I going to be able to get full color and highlights for $45?! That’s about what I pay for a friggin’ haircut. Sigh.

Seriously, Yuma? I’d love to know the story behind that move. I’m guessing it involves either getting with a chick or getting far, far away from one.

But of course!! February 26, 2008

I just received the following e-mail (certain portions redacted to protect anonymity):

_________ is a candidate for the Assistant Professor position in
Educational Research. He will present his talk, “A Monte Carlo Study on
the Robustness of Four Multidimensional IRT Scale Linking Methods” in
___________ of Friday, Feb. 29th at 4:00 pm. Please join
us.

Um, sure. That’s exactly what I want to do at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon. What were they thinking?!

This is all kinds of crazy February 25, 2008

Censorship is alive and well in Alabama.

And here’s the video, if you have a few minutes to watch. It’s pretty interesting.

It bears repeating: I can’t wait to get the hell out of here.

Lost February 22, 2008

Future Kate is pretty and all, but there’s something kind of off about her. I think I like Island Kate better, as far as the appearance factor goes.

Ben sure knows how to get into someone’s head, doesn’t he? Locke pretends he’s some kind of bad-ass, but in the end, he’s just as vulnerable to Ben’s gris-gris as the rest of them. I also think that his remark, “These are the last two eggs” will be somehow significant in a future episode.

I did NOT expect that ending, although in retrospect, the scenes w/ Kate and Claire were kind of weird. Claire got kind of flirty with Sawyer, which left me all “WTF?!” and Kate seemed excessively (and I would argue artificially) awkward about watching Aaron. I usually don’t like Kate stories, but I think this particular one could get interesting.

Next week looks to be an incredible episode, and it’s a Desmond one, which I always like.

Well hells bells! February 21, 2008

I think I’m on to something, and that something is very good (good=will help me finish my degree and get me a halfway decent job, maybe even a really kick-ass one).

More on Monday about this. For now, a girl can dream.

Oh, and IRB? Haven’t heard a damn thing. C’est la vie.

I’m not even going to bother with a welcome post. February 19, 2008

The IRB (Institutional Review Board…a group of people who nitpick your proposed research studies that involve people to make sure you aren’t exploiting or causing harm to mind or body) hates me. That’s the only explanation I have for why it’s been THREE months since I submitted my proposal and I have yet to gain approval so that I can crank this mutha’ up. Am I poking hapless undergrads with cattle prods? Am I verbally abusing them, drawing blood? No, no, and no. I’m administering an online questionnaire that will take maybe 20 minutes of their time asking them questions about social beliefs.

Their explanation? My research subjects are students who are taking an undergrad class on educational psychology and research, and they have to participate in a few studies in order to get their research credits for the class. IRB has an issue with a statement I make in the consent document that basically states that if our reliability checks determine that they didn’t attend to the questions, that they won’t get class credit for participating in the study. They say it amounts to coercion. Right.

I understand the purpose of the IRB, and I respect their mission in principle, but for the sake of all things holy, why in the hell is it taking them this long to approve me? At this point, I won’t be able to collect data this year, putting me even further behind, considering I’d intended to submit something to APA (American Psychological Association), AERA (American Educational Research Association), AME (Association for Moral Education) and maybe APS (American Psychological Society) for next academic year. If they don’t get their asses in gear, I don’t see any of that happening, and I could possibly graduate with no publications or respectable conference presentations.

My life can be so weird sometimes. February 19, 2008

So, a friend of mine is an artist. Deborah works in all mediums, and is incredibly talented. As a side thing, she belongs to a local painting group for people who just dabble or are (like her) professionals. She called me a while ago to ask me if I’d be an artist’s model for her group, because attendance had been dropping off, and she figured that people would enjoy painting live portraits.  When she emphasized it wouldn’t be nude modeling (not that I’m a prude, but  it would be weird to hang out after she’d seen me nekkid…she’s older than my mom!), I said I would do it.

On Thursday, yours truly will be striking a pose for complete strangers to paint.  I just hope I can keep a straight face for the better part of 3 hours.

February 15, 2008

So, Valentine’s Day ended up being pretty awesome for us. We went out to an early dinner at the Thai place, then to a wine tasting at a local store, and then home to watch Lost. As usual, the Lost episode didn’t disappoint. We also played some Wii bowling (our current obsession) and I broke my previous record with a score of 201!

Scott brought me some pretty flowers, which I totally didn’t expect. He also got Lost Season 3 and a bottle of my fave perfume (Burberry Brit, which I’ve been wearing for over 3 years now). When I gave him his gift (socks, a mix CD, and the Jazzfest tickets) he nearly teared up. It was sweet, and we’re excitedly making plans for our trip to NOLA the last weekend of April!

What did you all do?

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST! February 14, 2008

OK, so, first of all, why does Sayid seem to be so attached to Naomi’s body? Like, I get he’s overall a nice guy, but he really seems…reverent(?) about Naomi. Hmmm….

WTF w/ the foreign currency and gazillion passports in Ben’s secret office?!?!?! Homeboy is up to something.

Sayid looked fucking hot when he picked up Fraulein Whoever for their little opera date. HAWT.

SFJAWHWEO Ij a;fhwe;orfu jdsj @ Ben treating Sayid’s wound. WHAT IN THE HELL IS HE UP TO?!??!?! OMG?!!!

“Good.” DUH DUH DUH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

(Oh, and happy Valentine’s, y’all.)