mixed metaphors

So call me a nerd, but I'm obsessing over the name of my blog. I know I JUST changed it, but it still doesn't feel right. Brian is the scientist around here. I'm more of a book person. So while I like how the title lends some cohesiveness and I DO feel like I am continually experimenting with adulthood, I also feel like I'm mixing my metaphors here and I would feel more at home on a blog called the Library or something... except that isn't a very good name for a blog. For a bar, perhaps, but not a blog. The whole reason I started this blog was to have an outlet to write creatively (almost) every day. So again, writing not science.

Am I just being crazy and neurotic? Does anyone that reads this even care what it's called? Would changing it again be more trouble than it's worth? IS THERE SOMETHING BETTER FOR ME OUT THERE?!?

adventures with kittens: flying high

Hello from 36,000 feet!

I'm sitting here on a plane, with my kitteh on my lap, my man next to me, a whiskey and cranberry in my hand (that only cost $1.29! Whauuuuuut?*) and no exams to speak of. Today is a good day.

But getting to this point has been quite the adventure. I had an exam Wednesday morning, turned my final project in that afternoon, went to a job interview, met some other TAs for a group grading party, took my computer to the Apple store** and then numbly ate Special K for dinner while staring at CSI. All this after less than four hours of sleep. So Thursday rolled around and I had one day to clean, pack, get Penny ready and do a hundred other menial things to be ready to get to this moment. Long story short, at about midnight-30 I was panicking about everything left on my (lengthy) to-do list and Brian was wishing I'd chill the hell out and Penny was wondering what in the world all those suitcases were for and why I kept trying to get her to enjoy sitting in a little teeny carrier.

To those that know me, it's needless to say that I spent most of the night making lists in my head and trying to remember not to forget stuff and worrying about how my lil girl was going to survive her first flight.

But somehow, we made it through the last-minute packing craziness (including switching everything from my suitcase into a whole new one because I clearly need all seven pairs of these shoes and, even after laying on it, there was no way that sucker was going to zip), the carrying a pet onto the T craziness (of course we got on it at the same time as 854247996 cynical Bostonians on their way to work) and the security craziness (Penny did NOT enjoy having to leave her carrier and go through the metal detector with deafening noises and chaotic smells everywhere)... and here we are.

Thanks for the free wi-fi Delta, and here we come Mississippi!!

* We definitely brought our own mini bottles of booze, put them in the plastic baggie of liquids and security waved it on through. Genius.
** Yes, I have finally joined the ranks of the tech-savvy, Mac-obsessed generation! Think my students will think I'm cool now?

Costumes of Halloweens Past, part 1

In honor of Halloween (aka the best holiday ever), and while I ponder on my costume for this year, each week in October I am planning to feature a costume of yore. Because we all like to see how incredibly awkward I was/am.

nothin' but sass

The first comes from when I was nine-ish years old. My then-best friend and I decided to be a pair of dice. So we got a couple of giant refrigerator boxes and my mom and I went about carefully measuring and tracing the dots to exactly replicate a die.*
 
And then I slowly and carefully colored in all the dots.

With a black marker.

Make that several black markers.

It took multiple hours, which I passed by watching The Sound of Music on tv. Do you guys know how long that movie is? I was coloring the entire time.

my cat is thinking, "giiiirl, you crazy"

Looking back, I often wonder why I didn't just cut out black circles and glue them on and save myself five hours, a pack of sharpies and several hand cramps. But I was young. And while I was a perfectionist already, common sense clearly hadn't quite kicked in yet.

* Because we are super neurotic.