Magical Thinking...

For quite sometime now, people have amusingly enough called me a witch because they say I have certain magical "powers".

Interestingly enough, people have once again starting calling me a witch in my current laboratory without any prior knowledge or contact with people who previously called me a witch.

The reason for this is because apparently instruments and anything electrical seems to malfunction in my presence. Although I certainly don't believe that I am the cause behind all this, I am no doubt always the common variable when the malfunction/failure occurs. Although it is true that "correlation implies causation", this is certainly not a case of "cause and effect".

The most noteworthy example that is recounted in my lab for me being a witch is when three electronical devices hooked up to different sources of power simutaneously failed in my presence.

At one point, one of my labmates said to me that the instruments just go "ga-ga" when I walk by. This is when he was attempting to weigh something out on a balance and the readings started going down instead of up as he continuously kept adding more matter.

I have even been told by one of my labmates to "stay away" when doing a critical experiment. Of course, each time anything malfunctions in my presence, it is only added to the list of "evidence" that I am indeed a witch with magical powers.

Now, an interesting thing happened to me earlier this week. I was driving to the lab thinking how much I did not want to go to lab meeting that morning. I was wishing that there was somehow I could get out of lab meeting. As I was thinking this, my car broke down on the freeway.

Just in case, maybe I should not think these things anymore. After all, from now on, I am going to be careful what I wish for...

A bit of sunshine

Staying in the lab until 3 am last night running scans: Kinda sucks.

Dragging body out of bed a few hours later to make it to lab meeting: Sucks.

Having car break down on freeway on the way to lab meeting: Really sucks.

Having to pay a thousand dollar car repair bill: Totally sucks.

Having cute tow truck guy ask me what I am wearing because I smell so nice: Priceless!

Friday Cat Blogging

Check out this blog link! It has great pics and quotes.

I will admit, I am being shameless here for Friday Cat Blogging, but this has been a rather exhausting week coupled with the fact that my dermatological discomfort is just now starting to subside. Unfortunately I was lulled into a false sense of security during my last photography expeditions thinking that my mosquitoe allergy had gotten better/gone away due to the fact I was doing all these photography expeditions much further away from the home front and probably getting bitten by mosquitoes that I don't normally get bitten by. However, during the last expedition, it was close to home and I was bitten by the more familar mosquitoes and thus experienced the more familiar allergic reactions. Now couple this with some burns experienced in the laboratory and I had the ingredients for sheer misery and discomfort.

I already knew this:

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

I am first generation Hungarian being the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. However, growing up, it was the running joke in our household, that I really was Italian. Perhaps an Italian baby switched at birth? The reason for this being that I had a great fondness for Italian food, pasta, and anything tomato-ey. In fact, it would seem to my family that I simply just could not get enough of these foods. I never seemed to grow tired of them.

Although it is true, I don't look Italian, but everyone felt that inside, I was no doubt Italian! How amusing that this little quiz would show this result!

A Fuzzy

Gosh, it feels great to have been chosen for the link of the day by Dr. John. I have to confess, that it is great to know that enough people care about my various musings (or shall I say mewsings?) to regularly read my blog, comment from time to time, list it on your blogrolls, and now to have it as a "link of the day".

When I started my blog, it was to chronicle my journey through graduate school and provide a much needed creative outlet to my research and studies. My hope was that at least a few people would find it worthwhile to read from time to time.

Instead, it has put me in touch with so many people and their thoughts with whom I would not have had the opportunity to interact with otherwise. I have to say, that my blog has exceeded my expectations.

Really, my gratitude goes out to you, all my readers.

Thank you!

Friday Cat Blogging

Here is another chimera for your viewing pleasure: A Cabbit!!!

I have to admit that this particular chimera is my favorite due to the fact that as a child, I used to have rabbits as pets, and now I have cats as pets. So, the two have now been combined through clever feats of graphic design engineering!

I know, this only counts as 50% for Friday Cat Blogging, but truthfully, I think I need to take a little break from my photography because right now, the "dermatological discomfort" is getting rather unbearable!!! All the stinging and biting insects/arachnids have caused my skin to react to its limit threshold. Really, any more, and I think someone is going to call the CDC in on me. So, even cat pictures need to take a break because it is darn hard to focus a camera when my skin is itching and swelling like crazy! Of course, it does not help matters that I seem to have allergies (to various degrees) to almost everything that bites and stings me!

So, once I stop looking like I have some wretched and exotic skin disease, I will start taking and posting pictures again.

In the meantime, I am sooooo glad that antihistamines exist!

Sometimes the sun comes out.

I have to confess that for quite sometime I have been feeling like I have a perpetual rain cloud over my head. So many things from experiments not working, weird data, not being able to reproduce my own data, and other sundry things in my life. Overall, feeling like nothing is working in my life and that I will never get my Ph.D.

Yesterday I received a very nice and unsolicited compliment regarding my teaching abilities. I was told that I have a real gift for teaching. Considering that I am seriously contemplating going into teaching after my degree, this compliment meant a great deal to me.

Also, it would seem that this catalytic reduction I have been working on in the lab is finally starting to work. Finally.

So, it would seem that sometimes the sun does indeed come back out.

Right now, I am going to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.

Friday Cat Blogging

I have to confess that this week has just been one of those weeks. I have been emotionally and physically drained.

I think this shows exactly how I am feeling.

Enjoy!

Friday Cat Blogging

Last Saturday I attended a fundraiser for my favorite animal rescue organization: Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation. For many reasons, they are my favorite.

One of the members of the organization brought with her these three day old kittens. Yes, THREE day old. It was the first time in my life I got to see kittens so very young. So young in fact that their umbilical cords are still attached. She brought them with her to the organization event because she could not leave them at home since they needed to be fed every two hours.

The story is that apparently someone just dumped these kittens in a blender box and put them on a tree lawn to bake in the heat and die. Fortunately for them, someone was kind enough to rescue them. Sadly, there were five in the litter. One passed away prior to the four that came to the fundraiser and pictured in the photo above. Sadly, three more have passed away since the fundraiser. Now there is only one left from the litter. I think that all the heat that they suffered initially was too much for their poor little bodies.

I am very angered beyond words that someone would do this to these creatures that are so capable of love, affection, and the desire to live like anything and anyone else in the world. They too, deserve the chance to live.

I must say that this is a post reflecting my somber mood. But I make no apologies considering my feelings on the matter and what someone has tried to do to these poor living and feeling creatures.

Hmmmmm...

You Are a Red Flower

A red flower tends to represent power, seduction, and desire. At times, you are loving like a red tulip. And at other times, you're very enthusiastic, like a bouvardia. And more than you wish, your passion is a bit overwhelming, like a red rose.

What Color Flower Are You?

No comment from me on this one!!!