I wonder if, if I don't get into Pharmacy school, I should do the Enviromental Sciences track in the Chemistry department. I'd get to take mega-awesome classes like Geology and Geochemistry and Enviromental economics, and I'd get to play with rocks, and my coursework that I'd take as pre-reqs to get into pharmacy school apply to this track as well, so I'd already be on my way. Interesting.

Glasses time again!
I love that my free UI insurance doesn't have vision coverage, yet still covers one eye exam per year with a $10 copay. I've been checking out cheapo glasses websites, and it looks like I'm going to have a brazillian pairs of glasses soon.
( Big pictures under here )
And now I want MORE!

Kevin and I went to an auction Sunday to try to snag a scooter they were selling, and the after-effect of standing around in the sun for hours is that I'm a roasty-toasty crispy critter. Note to self: get some goddamned moisturizer with sunblock in it. I think it bleached my hair a little, too.

Know what I realized/remembered? I love to swim! So, I've decided to get a bathing suit. Help me decide which one to get:

( Cut to spare your friendslist pages )

I'm trying to spend a little money with my Macy's card (need to show activity so that they'll give me my automatic 3-month limit increase), and I was looking at Art & Cook's pizza wheelie. Kevin and I have been on the hunt for a good pizza cutter lately, and we'd held one at Prairie Table and it seemed good and sturdy. However, I wanted to check to see where it was made, because we're making a concerted effort to not buy things that were made in China. Made in the USA is preferable, but not possible most of the time, so for now we're settling on anti-China.

I couldn't find anything on A&C's website that said where they were made, so I emailed their customer service "department" to ask, and received a frustrating response. First, they wanted to know where I lived, so that they could direct me to a local shop that carries their products. I replied that the local shop covers the "made in" information with their price stickers, and asked if they could just tell me. Their response was, "Sorry, we are not allowed to give this information over the phone nor [sic] via email. If you would like to request this info you should write to us at blah blah blah." WTF? Is it a liability risk to tell people the country of origin for their products?

I got an HD upconverting dvd player about a month ago from Amazon. It froze up while I was trying to update its firmware, so Amazon was really gracious and sent me a new one and gave me a postage-paid label to send the old one back. I sent it when they gave me the 10-day warning telling me they'd charge for the 2nd one if they didn't receive the broken one back soon, so I mailed it.

Today, my bank account was debited for the dvd player and I received an email telling me as much. I wrote them back a slightly bitchy reply with USPS tracking info saying when I'd mailed it. Hours later, I get another automated email saying they've magically received the package and would be refunding the amount they debited, minus shipping fees and a "restocking fee". Oh HELL NO. Another scathing email sent. No real replies, just another one letting me know they finished processing my refund for the wrong amount.

I generally get along with Amazon, but they'd better not make me have to choke a bitch.

ETA: I've got that old familiar feeling of post-nasal drip that signals the beginning of a cold, which would make twice in the span of one month. Anger bears.

PPS: I'm supposed to do a project for my spanish class (tonight is the last class meeting before the final), but I really am not feeling it. I think it's 3% of my grade, and I think I'm practically at 100% already. Well, maybe 95%. Gonna skip that shit.

These look goddamned delicious. I think I'm going to have to make some.

I want to be home lounging on the couch, reading, with the windows open so that I can listen to the rain. The yearning is strong with this one.

On my way downtown for lunch (yay, Baldy's!), I saw a boy on the bus who was honestly, actually, truly reading How to Win Friends and Influence People. I wanted to ask him if he was fer realz.

Have you ever experienced the joy that is rolling little balls of chocolate ganache around in your mouth? If not, you should try it. Peel a truffle like an egg, being careful to only eat the harder chocolate shell first. Then, once you're left with the softer, creamier guts, pop it into your mouth and let your tongue whittle it away to nothing.

Huh. I'm a direct descendant of Geoffrey Chauncer (16th great-granddaughter), and 10th cousin of Barbara Bush. Eww. Also, I'm not as related to Rebecca Nurse as I've been telling people all these years, dammit!

Genealogy is cool/infuriating.

It's overcast and halfway gloomy outside, and I'm home sick with a respiratory something-or-other. I'm trying to do a little bit of working from home, which isn't so bad and saves some of my sick time that I've amassed. Aliens is on, which I've never seen (indeed, I've seen the third and fourth in the series, but never the first two), and I love how Sigourney Weaver hasn't become typecast in Hollywood. In fact, seeing her in this is making me crave The Ice Storm, so I think I'll watch that when this is done, and do some knitting.

An afternoon with my needles and Ang Lee isn't so bad, even if my chest feels like it's filled with cotton. A perfect gloomy crafternoon.

ETA: Also, I want a gocco printer.

I went to a scooter rally in Cincinnati over the weekend, and it was really, really awesome. I promise I'll post pictures, and maybe even a story, soon.

For now, I'm lazing around the house, emailing possible sponsors for OUR rally, which'll happen August 1-3, 2008. I also spent a good portion of the morning editing and uploading photos from the weekend. I'm also making some biscuits with the most delicious-tasting dough. I hope they turn out yummy, and if they do, I'll post the recipe.

Oh, I forgot to take pictures of dinner last night! Vegetarian philly cheese steak sandwiches, and they were delish. I bought the Morningstar Farms steak strips and marinated them in some mesquite bbq sauce while I caramelized some onions and tenderized some green pepper strips. Then hoagie rolls, slice of provolone/"meat" and veggies/slice of provolone, then into the oven under the broiler until the bread was crisp. They were really great, although I can't believe that Kevin is enjoying the leftovers today (I don't like refrigerated bread).

While at the store yesterday I picked up my first bag of hazelnut coffee, and I'm really mad at myself that it's taken me this long to make this stuff at home. I've been sampling local coffeeshops' hazelnuts for the past few weeks, ever since I tried some from Panera Bread when we had it delivered to work for a faculty meeting. Java House just didn't get it right (they were all about adding syrup instead of using infused coffee beans), and I've never been impressed with Teaspoons' anything, except almond croissants. So I picked up some Folgers fancy stuff and brewed some this morning, and it was exactly what I was seeking. I'm a little jazzed/buzzed from it right now, in fact!

I'm lunching on some baby sandwiches that were brought in yesterday for a grad student luncheon, and they're all right. All of the veggie ones (cucumbers, raw mushrooms, sprouts, swiss, and mayo on a roll) are gone, so I'm forced to poach the meat ones and basically just have cheese+mayo sandwiches. The lengths a girl has to go to to have vegetarian free lunch!

Hurrah! I've finally rounded up a playlist for this month! I'll try to be responsible and make this one available for download. At some point. I'll really try.

001. Ratatat - Montanita
002. Bow Wow Wow - Fools Rush In (Kevin Shields Remix)
003. Yael Naim - New Soul
004. The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
005. Feist - I Feel It All
006. Interpol - Slow Hands
007. Okkervil River - Unless It's Kicks
008. Ratatat - Wildcat
009. Andrew Bird - Opposite Day
010. The Fratellis - Flathead
011. Okkervil River - A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene
012. Violent Femmes - Please Do Not Go
013. Joe Purdy - Can't Get it Right Today
014. Andrew Bird - Spare-Ohs
015. She and Him (featuring Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) - Sentimental Heart
016. Rogue Wave - Everyday
017. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife 1 & 2
018. Elvis Perkins - Moon Woman II
019. Antony & the Johnsons - Fistful of Love


Let me know if you want this playlist and are not on my friends list.

Ooh, I really like this. I don't know if I have that much leftover wool in my stash, though. I'll have to look and see, and figure out if I really have a place for it somewhere in my house.