Meta Title

Changed the name of my blog to something a little more creative! (I hope)

Rata's a beautiful tree from New Zealand with red flowers.

I also sort of like it because it's a play on words with "Rät", which is German for advice or counsel. And it's close to the word "rant" too, which is much lot closer to what this blog actually is.

Cooking Food!

I'm really glad that both Kat and Willa (and Andrea, and Julie I think, come to that) don't have meal plans this year either. Hopefully we can cook some! Jamelle I think has one, but he's going to be cooking a little soon too. Excitement.

That being said I think I have the easiest class schedule ever known to man. Biochemistry would be my only reasonably difficult class. Then I have Botany, Bio Lab, Religion 101, and Independent Research. Only 12 real credits. I'm lazy.

Today I ate:

Toast w/ Cashew butter and strawberry and rhubarb jam
Smoothie: Strawberries, milk, honey, strawberry yogurt, vanilla
Burrito and a salad
chocolate pudding

All of which I made myself. The chocolate pudding definitely needed more cornstarch in it though - it was way too runny. But still really tasty.

Also sat through "Pulp Fiction" with Jamelle, Willa, Andrea, and Julie. It was ok. I felt a little left out because they (esp. Jamelle) were all referencing Chappelle show or random other things I hadn't seen, but I guess that isn't unusual. Just made me wish I was back in California, again. There people actually listened to me when I had something to say.

Had a good conversation afterwards about art which became much more broadly philosophical as the evening went on. A tipsy girl who came in and joined the conversation said that we should really all be high to be having the kind of talk that we were. I, for one, agreed.

Those of the Male Persuasion

Alas, I don't think he actually likes me at all... well, the more fool me then, I suppose... although I realize that realistically it wouldn't have worked out. Being distance from the beginning and all that. Still, that wouldn't have prevented me from trying though!

The problem is I don't think I can tell the 'just a nice/considerate guy' guy apart from the 'complimenting and doing things for you because he actually likes you' guy. I was hoping I could actually distinguish between the two, but it seems to be next to impossible.

I also think I'm incredibly dense when it comes to the latter type of guy, because I hardly ever notice that someone's being nice to me because they like me until waaaaay too late. Took me about a week to con on to the last one, but now I'm second-guessing that as well (see above). Although Michael Mayfield did inform me that if a guy is being nice to you, he probably likes you. Guys seem a lot more straightforward like that. Good for them. Still, I can doubt and second-guess on this end more than enough to make up for any directness on the other person's part.

Proving Smart People Wrong

There's nothing I like more than proving someone very intelligent to be wrong, at least in my own estimation of what is "right" and "wrong". Which is pure opinion, of course.

So: Someone said "Biology is based on Chemistry. Chemistry is based on Physics. Physics is based on Math. So everything can be explained in terms of math - so math is the most interesting thing."

Any guesses who might have said that? :-P

Rebuttal: Saying that Biology, that life, all comes down to Chemistry is true but boring, equivalent to saying that all soccer is physics. True, life is and Biology concerns itself with what boils down to the chemistry between carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms (98% of the atoms in people). However, it is the emergent properties of these atoms, such as DNA, AIDS, and terriers, which are interesting, not the constituent parts. Once you can use physics to describe amino acids and chemistry to describe the human brain and 'free will', well, then I still won't concede that physics is better; rather, that will be the day which all the many and varied scientific disciplines will be one and the same. Until then, Bio will still be the most fascinating.


Whew, that only took... what, three years? See what an amazing fiend I am at debate?

The Great Outdoors

Kickass day yesterday! Spent most of it outside - went to Barton Springs in the evening and had our longest swim ever there, from maybe 4:45 to 8:30. The water was very murky green, and the visibility was only about 6 feet in front of you or so, but it was still insanely fun. I dived to the bottom as much as I felt brave enough to, and saw lots and lots of fish, (20+ at last count) muddy brown ones and pearly white and maroon ones and so forth. Orange-spotted narkled gudgeons and such :-P. It was glorious just to float in the water and look up at the pecan trees and the bright blue sky. If you kept moving you could stay in the water a really long time, too.

Jessie and I decided that it was so nice outside that we should sleep outside, too. This was also amazing. We set up some blankets and sleeping bags in the backyard, and apart from the M's warnings about the skunk which apparently lives under our deck, we were all set. Although in retrospect, I think I spent way too much time looking at the stars (10-11, 2-3) and reading (and looking out for the skunk). I'm tired now, but nothing a good deal of coffee can't take care of. Woken up this morning by a bunch of dragonflies flitting around overhead :-). What a way to wake up! I don't think I've ever slept under the sky before, without a tent or anything.

Booklist

Wonder why I've been so discontent lately. I couldn't tell you.

I hear that women like to talk about how they're feeling. Men like to talk about issues. I'll try and do both here, although I'm already noticing a penchant for talking about, you know, the feelings, more than the issues and the solutions to them (if there are any).

Books I've read lately:

The Princess Bride
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Howl's Moving Castle
Student's Vegetarian Cookbook (mmmmmm food!)
Scientific American (magazine, but close enough)
The God of Small Things
The Human Stain (sadly, didn't finish)
Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business

Yup, not nearly as much as I'd like though.

Scattered Thoughts

Here's hoping that this blog won't be as empty as the last! Although that seems relatively unlikely to me. Although perhaps not having a sketchy ex as the only regular reader of the blog will persuade me that I actually have something of substance to add to the internets.

Uninformed Opinions: I've changed my mind completely on organic food. And vegetarian food. Although I was cognizant at the time that I didn't really mean what I was spouting to Jamelle, that organic food was a waste of space and not very efficient, I now hold the complete opposite opinion.

General Complaints: I don't want to finish this paper (for my nanotech job over the summer). Hence the procrastination and blogging of this incohate mess. I'm terrible at finishing anything if I don't have a strict deadline for doing so, and this paper is a perfect example of that. True, I have to get it in to my PI well before the September 14th deadline, so he can proofread it. Also, I have to go back to school in less than a week, and that involves tiny details such as packing, last minute visits with all number of friends and family, the purchasing of fifteen different items I never knew I needed (and the forgetting of another few vital buys I should have made), etc (a wonderful English teacher told me to never use the word etc; instead, just add the few extra things being left out/forgotten to the list. Sound advice, but it's much too difficult to sit here and remember the other things I need to do. They'll come to me. Quite late, the night before I need to leave. I'm quite certain of this, actually.) Getting to the point, this week would be an excellent time to finish this paper - today, in fact, would be best, as no one is home and there are as yet no demands on my time (the M in fact thinks I am working on said paper - optimistic of her.) But try convincing my body of that. It'd rather read trashy magazines and kids books and bang out something which, in a former life, may have resembled piano music.

I'd much rather still be in California, with a bunch of science people who, apart from being a bit self conscious and critical, and thus somewhat dull, were actually LIKE me and actually seemed to, well, enjoy my company (LIKE me :-P). Which was great. CJ and Nikhil were awesome, and Syad and Derek were cool in their own slightly standoffish ways. I've never made friends so quickly. *sigh* Santa Barbara was gorgeous, and had the best weather I've ever experienced, outside of in New Zealand. In fact, it reminded me of New Zealand in a number of ways, which is perhaps why I liked it so much.