Frangipani

Where is everyone getting their frangipani flowers? I have seen several people with them behind their ears, but I have yet to see a frangipani tree. It's a mystery.

Also, there is something weird with the weather here. It is pouring rain to my right, but directly in front of me, there is not a single drop. Also, there have been times where I'm outside and its starts to sprinkle and I don't see a cloud in the sky. And then, when I'm convinced it is going to rain and the sky clouds up with darkness--nothing. And my dashboard says that it is supposed to be sunny and 89 degrees forever--so where is this rain coming from? It's still going on! And only to the right! Oop, now it stopped.

I have another meeting today with the guy I am TAing for--hopefully I won't act as stupidly as I did yesterday. Also, I think we got off on the wrong foot because he told me he is pissed because I have the same color hair he used to have and now he has only grey hair. I think I will suggest that I dye mine grey so that he can feel better...


This is a fragipani by the way.

Procrastination in Waikiki

First an update. I'm in Honolulu about to start a graduate program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I got here Monday and I have three exams next week which I am frantically trying to cram for so I don't fail out before the program even begins.

I just met the professor I am going to be a teaching assistant for today. I'm excited but nervous too. I stupidly misidentified his stuffed platyhelmenthes as a nematode (ridiculous!) right off the bat and probably left a bad impression on him. Also, he asked what I am going to be doing with Les--my advisor...and I floundered. I'm not really sure. I've been spending the summer preparing to come to Hawaii but haven't really thought about what I'll be doing beyond attending a PhD program. So, now here I am and I am totally confused. I know Les does work with deep sea octocorals, but that's not really my interest. Sure, I love the deep sea, but I'd rather work on cephalopods. And now I'm not sure if I wrote in my application that I wanted to study deep sea corals, because that would help me get in, and now I've backed myself into a corner I can't get out of!?!? I guess we'll see...I think the first year is mostly classes anyway and not too much research. I met a guy today who takes a helicopter once or twice a month to one of the other islands and counts tree snails and does genetics on them. That sounds fun--well maybe the helicopter part.

Hawaii is crazy. Honolulu is a much bigger city than I imagined. Or actually, it's not really that big, it's just spread out and there is terrible traffic so it takes about three times as long as it should to get anywhere by bus. I live in the most touristy part of the city, which has its pros and cons. I'm close to the beach (pro) but there are lots of tourists (con). Also, in the past three days, I've had several people ask me if I'm Scandinavian, and even more people comment on my height. I am the tallest (and whitest) woman in Honolulu--maybe even all of Hawaii! It's getting old. People keep asking me how tall I am (and yes, I say six feet even though I am five eleven and three quarters). But, that is nothing unusual. WOW! I was about to write that I haven't seen any other redheads here and then TWO walked by the window of the Starbucks I'm in! Pretty incredible. Well, that is comforting--I'm not the only redhead.

So, even though Hawaii is part of the US, there is a culture shock element here. Billions of tan (or burned), naked (almost), tourists. And lots of wind!! It is so windy here I keep thinking my window is going to break. My hair is always in my face, and no studying is possible outside. Speaking of studying, I have fifty pages left in my goal to get to today, so I better get cracking.

No Longer Unemployed

I went from being extremely unpopular, to much too popular. I got a job at a doctor's office and as a baker to pay some bills. I thought a 60hr week would be hard, but I could do it. Then, I was selected for Jury duty and now am working a 90 hr week!! I'm going a bit crazy...

Unemployed and in DC

I moved back to DC about a month ago and since then have been trying to figure out what to do with myself. Clearly, it has not been blogging. Anyway, some news--I got into the University of Hawaii at Manoa and am going to be studying with Les Watling (a very prominent deep sea coral researcher). I'm very excited (although a little terrified too).
The other day my dad was talking about whether the opposite of "disgruntled" is "gruntled." Then I was talking to someone who said why would you want extra "viganza?" And yesterday I was wondering about extraordinary--why is being very ordinary a good thing? Words are confusing. This is what I do with my free time...I go to the gym and think about the English language.
I need a job. I need money and I need to regain my sanity. Even with doing nothing, I feel like the days pass too quickly and I can't get anything done. Somehow when I have a job, I never feel like that.
I've been doing some artwork though. I think I will post it.

Happy Valentines Day

From Pharyngula--a highly appropriate Valentine

Cuttlefish Waiting for the Ferry

Last night I dreamt that giant cuttlefish and people were in Woods Hole waiting at the Steamship Authority for the Ferry to Martha's Vineyard. There was some sort of festival going on over there. Anyway, some guys decided to beat up the cuttlefish really badly and they had to be taken away on stretchers in an ambulance. They were bruised all over and it was really sad to see them that way...

New Project

Using the results from my last project with the cuttlefish, we have come up with a new project that will build on those results. I am currently working with various substrates to evoke a uniform response. Given that they are natural substrates, I get to spend a lot of my time on the beach collecting good samples :) That is definitely one of my new favorite parts of the day. Even though it has been a bit stormy up here recently, I've come to realize that is the weather I like the most in Woods Hole. The turbulent sky and sea, seeming to fight against each other, the wind blowing my hair...I'll miss that. I'll miss being so close to the water.
I had a strange dream last night that I haven't quite been able to wake up from. I was drinking beer (in my dream) with my friends and I opened my journal which happened to be in front of me. I opened to a drawing of a couple (one of whom was me, I assume) sitting on a bridge. Sometimes I draw comics of what happens in my life, and this was in cominc book form. Slowly, something began glowing behind and underneath the bridge, until I realized it was a volcano. The glow intensified and became blinding (at this point, I wasn't looking at the comic anymore, I was inside it). The walls of the volcano began to fall away and lava was pouring everywhere. The person I was with and I began to run...but it was futile, we were consumed completely by giant technicolor waves of lava. Then, I was an observer again--looking at the drawing in the journal. A little more happened after this point, but it's a bit fuzzy, and less interesting.