SSDD

07:00--Alarm clock goes off. I really didn't get enough sleep. Oh good...roommate just got into shower. Hit snooze.
07:30--Now I really have to get up.
07:35--Other roommate is in the bathroom. Maybe today is a good day to start eating breakfast.
07:45--Get into the shower. If I hurry I could catch the next bus to campus.
08:05--It's snowing! It was in the 60's yesterday! Where did I hide the zip-out fleece for my coat?
08:15--Zip-out fleece is installed. Pack workout bag, I really need to workout today. Pack pockets. Look out the window in disgust. Where's that stupid flash drive?
08:25--Ready to go...bus left 5 minutes ago. Oh well...now I can make my bed.
08:50--Leave to catch bus. I really don't want to go to school today. There's a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground, and it's still going strong! I hate snow.
09:05--Bus is late. Figures. I probably could have caught the last one.
09:12--Greeted by fellow graduate student. Did I know that it is 70 in St. George? Funny.
09:13--Glare at TGA. I have to switch furnaces today. That means I have to find the stabilization screw that I lost 6 months ago, and didn't bother to look for. Don't tell my advisor. Damn it! I forgot my workout clothes!
09:14--Hmmm....maybe this plate would come off.
09:15--It's dark in there. Where's that flashlight...Oh, this lamp will do.
09:16--Damn it! No screw. Lots of wires though. Probably should unplug TGA before I go poking around. School isn't supposed to be a religious experience.
09:17--Maybe screw would be easier to find if I remove the furnace.
09:25--Furnace removed. Still no screw. Is it possible for it to have fallen behind the furnace?
09:26--Need a screwdriver to remove back panel. Where did it get put last?
09:28--Got it! Now I just need to climb on top of the desk, go around the computer.....maybe I won't need to go to the gym today after all.
09:30--Back panel removed. No screw, isn't even possible for screw to fall there. Replace back panel.
09:32--Turn power off. Jiggle wires. Ah...Found the stupid screw. Replace the panel and start TGA back up.
09:35--Attempt to install new furnace.
09:40--Maybe furnace would be easier to install, if MS capillary isn't still attached. Now I just need two wrenches...
09:45--Capillary removed. Time to try again.
09:50--What is it hung up on now!! Oh...installed stabilization screw wrong. Try again.
09:55--Success!! Now it just needs to be calibrated...
09:56--Jared (fellow graduate student I'm supposed to train on the TGA) shows up. Good. I'll introduce him to the software by running the calibration.
10:30--One out of two calibration points obtained. Looks really good. Damn it! I forgot to switch to the new purge gas flow rates! Oh well, he isn't collecting real data today anyway. I'll redo the calibration later. Just got to let the furnace cool down so it can be opened...shouldn't be too long.
11:30--Oh yeah...this furnace cools down/heats up really slow. That's why we switched to the other one.
11:45--Next calibration point started. Jared has a lecture on glaciers to go to. He invites me...boy I wish I had time to go to a lecture I'm not interested in.
11:50--Finally have time to check e-mail. Advisor still hasn't forwarded e-mail about the chemical engineering research group who's TGA blew up on them. Send friendly reminder.
12:00--Start working on defense slides. They'll probably have to be rewritten once I get my thesis back from advisor, but it's something to do.
12:20--Check on TGA calibration. It's done...looking really good. TGA probably doesn't have to be recalibrated. Need to let the oven cool so I can see how accurate it is at room temperature. Back to slides.
13:00--Oven cooled enough to open. Cools faster this way. Back to slides.
13:15--Nice, oven cooled. Room temperature calibration looks good. Don't have to mess with the calibration. Back to slides.
13:45--Jared comes back. Must have gotten lunch. I'm hungry. Time for lunch.
14:00--Bring lunch back to the office, union is too crowded. Check e-mail. Oh, got e-mail from advisor. Forwaring to engineering student and her advisor. Add note: "I'm a slave who has too much to do. Please give me more work."
14:10--Oh yeah, I got lunch.
14:20--I haven't done the online puzzle yet. Yea...something fun to do.
14:30--That was quick. I'll do last weekends.
14:50--Yea! It was a circular one, they're harder. Go check on Jared. Everything is fine. Back to slides.
15:00--Dad bought two stuffed sheep at Wal-Mart. He sent me a pic. He looked up, online, what type of sheep they are. That's how they got their names. ...Ok...back to slides.
16:30--That Pepsi with lunch is really getting to me. Time for a potty break. I'm bored of slides...time to check the fan fic I've been following.
16:45--Nothing new. Time to go back to slides.
17:00--Two other graduate students come by. They want to look at the data that they collected yesterday. Jared is still using the TGA, they decide to come back later. Back to slides.
17:30--Crap. There was a lecture I was going to go to half an hour ago. Oh well, I was only mildly interested anyway. I'm bored of slides. Time to surf the net.
17:45--Graduate students come back. Let them into the lab. Back to slides, I'm almost half done. It's hard condensing forty pages into easy to read slides.
18:00--Jared has a question. Easily answered, thankfully. His mom is in town. Lucky dog...he gets a home cooked meal.
18:30--I'd better leave if I don't want to walk home. Last bus from campus leaves in 10 minutes.
19:00--My boyfriend calls. "Big Bang Theory" is online! Yea! I get to see it, even if the stupid VCR didn't record it. Mmmm...pizza sounds good.
19:45--Pizza was good. "Big Bang Theory" was funny. Not as funny as last week, but funny. Reminds me of why I don't lie; it's just too much work. "How I met your mother" sounds good.
20:30--"How I met your mother" was funny.
20:48--Everyone's day was average. Told sheep story. Learned that sheep like to get tangled in barbed wire fences, and buffalo like to walk through them.
20:50--I'm going to be kicked out soon. I don't want to go, that means the day is over. I have more slides to do tomorrow. Maybe if I start a tickle fight...
21:00--Only mildly successful. Maybe it would work better if I was ticklish.
21:15--Arrive home. Now I have to say goodnight. Sad. But he hasn't shaved for a few days, so bearable.
21:30--Turn on computer. Time to check out my friends' blogs. I wonder how Deetzland is doing?
22:00--Nothing new. Deetzland is thriving. 92 citizens, everyone gets their own house. I counted. No one posted to my blog either. Maybe I should do something about that. Just got to think of something to say...
22:15--Got this really dumb idea. Now I'm blogging...
23:00--Just got to spell check, then I can get ready for bed. Maybe play 15 min of video games....we all know it's never just 15 min.

This bud's for you

Dear Moral Reprobate,

While I congratulate your eagerness to leave your mark on the world, I do not think that my car is the appropriate place. Can't you find a street sign, or fire hydrant somewhere to vandalize? There is a stop sign about half a block away from where I park. Maybe you need glasses.

I understand that accidents sometimes happen. It is a sad thing that when we don't have the proverbial balls to own up to our mistakes. Couldn't you have left a note? Do I need to keep pen and paper outside of my car, as well as inside? I am assuming you do know how to read and write; after all most five-year-olds can write their name and phone number. Do you enjoy being morally egregious?

I would offer you a cold one, but you probably wouldn't want it. Considering the mood I'm in, spit would be the nicest thing I would put in it!




*whew* I really feel better now. You guys should really try this! It works.