Wednesday, December 31, 2003

bah for moving targets.

since i got my new digital camera for christmas, i've been very excited about its portability and convenience. i kept thinking of all the times i'd seen things and thought "i have to take a picture of that!", only i didn't have my bulky 35mm on me at the time, and the photo op was lost. well, in the past 24 hours, i have seen 2 such photo ops that were shot down because the desired targets kept moving. pooh.

target #1: a man at the bowling alley last night was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the following saying: "the flogging will continue until morale improves." i thought that this would be a perfect t shirt for my friend ray, and i really really wanted to take picture and email it to him. but the big jerk kept moving, and the one picture i did manage to take left the back of the t shirt undecipherable. bastard.

target #2: this morning, mike and i were driving behind a pickup truck with 3 girls and a goat in it. yes, three girls and a goat. not in the truck bed; i'm talking about inside the cab, all nice and cozy. a goat. i thought at first that perhaps it was a dog, but no. it was most definately a goat. where were they taking the goat? i don't know. but it would have made a great picture if the damn goat didn't lay down (and therefore put itself completely out of view) as soon as we got up next to the truck. bastard goat.

tonight we are driving down to stamford to see deanna, georges, and anjeli. i hope all of you have a very happy new year's eve, whatever you end up doing. and please, DON"T DRINK AND DRIVE!!

Happy New Year!
love krista

Friday, December 26, 2003

what a happy happy christmas :)

everyone seemed to really like the gifts that i made/got for them, which was fantastic. my little brother was especially psyched about his one-of-a-kind custom pie shirt (long story), and the fleece scarves went over pretty well, too. *and*, i got lots of really great gifts, including some things i didn't even ask for (like an incredibly nice digital camera and a stainless steel crock pot) or think that i would ever get (like the *entire* Trials of Life video series hosted by sir david attenborough--my dad rocks ebay!). it was wonderful, happy end to a very trying year, and i don't think we could have asked for anything better.

and on a completely unrelated note: lobster barbie.

Monday, December 15, 2003

i am done done done done done with my undergrad work! after five and a half years, i have finally finished the requirements for *both* of my bachelor's degrees! (happy dance, happy dance). and it's almost christmas. and we've had two good snows, which i love driving around in. and we got a new bed on saturday--a queen size, brand new, grown-up bed! things are good right now. i'm a happy camper. lisa and abbie are coming over tomorrow to make cookies, and hopefully on wednesday we'll be getting a christmas tree (a REAL christmas tree. hear that, landlady? a REAL tree). so there.

alrighty...i have lots of crafty presents to work on :)

Thursday, December 04, 2003

twinkle, twinkle little pit...

maybe i'm missing out on something here. maybe i'm old fashioned to think that shaving and washing my armpits is good enough. maybe i'm just not "hip". whatever the reason, i can't for the life of me imagine why someone would want to buy deoderant that sparkles. above and beyond that, i can't even imagine why someone might think that creating such a product might be a good, lucrative idea. is there something fetching about sparkly pits? please, if you or someone you know uses sparkly deoderant, tell me what is going through your mind. i'm intrigued.

Monday, December 01, 2003

i used to have a donkey that i loved a lot...

my brother introduced me to weebl and bob a few months ago. this adulterated version of "jenny from the block" made me chuckle, so i thought i'd share. apparently, mtv has somehow bought into this whole thing, so check it out before it's eaten by the corporate monster ;)

Monday, November 10, 2003

goodbye, miss mouse...


i lost my pippa mouse today. with the help of dodi's blood, she did make it through surgery. however, opening her up revealed that not only was her stomach overwhelmed by a hard, lime-sized tumor, but there were also between 50 and 100 smaller tumors scattered throughout her body. while coming out of anesthesia, she went into shock. she stopped breathing while i was kissing her head and talking to her. she died in my arms at around 5pm.

pippa was abandoned in a muck bucket with three other kittens at the first veterinary practice that i worked at, about 4 and a half years ago. she was only 7 weeks old. one of the other kittens looked almost exactly like her, but i chose pippa because of her fat, round face and "chipmunk cheeks". she lived everywhere i lived--in my dorm room, in my series of apartments. she comforted me when i was sad. she was a little (okay, sometimes a lot) cranky with strangers, but she was a squishy lump of love to me. i absolutely cannot believe that when i go to bed tonight, she won't be there to jump up and snuggle with me.

thank you so much to everyone who's been there during pippa's sickness with kind thoughts and words. to all of you who pippa ever growled at, i am sure she did it with love. well, maybe not love, but i'm sure there was a hint of fondness... :)

goodbye, miss mouse. momma loves you.


Saturday, November 08, 2003

a quick pippa update...i've decided to let my boss go in and take a stomach biopsy from pippa on monday. i've had a long talk with dodi, and he has agreed to spend the day at the hospital as well in case the Dr thinks that a blood transfusion will lessen miss mouse's anesthetic risk (since she's so anemic). i figure with the biopsy results, i can at least decide if chemotherapy is a viable option or not. please keep pippa mouse in your thoughts on monday, and cross your fingers for a realistically chemo-treatable prognosis. she's only 4 years old, and while I don't want to prolong her suffering, I don't want to "give up" if there's anything I can do to fix her. (i know "give up" isn't the best word choice; i know that my job situation affords me the opportunity to explore different avenues that otherwise i literally might not be able to afford. just wanted to clarify that i don't think someone else in the same situation would be "giving up" if they chose to euthenize w/o further exploration...).

Thursday, November 06, 2003

i feel like i've hit a ten on the crappy-week-o-meter.

i've been sick all week, which isn't necessarily the worst possible thing, except that i hate being sick. but who doesn't? work on monday was about as horrible and stressful as it possibly could have been. i'd go into detail, but it would take far, far too long. that's all just crappy-week filler, anyway. the main thing that has me down right now is that last night, i found out that pippa has stomach cancer. most of you probably know that she's been sick for about 3 and a half months now, losing weight, refusing to eat, etc etc. i brought her in to work over the weekend so that someone could force feed her while mike and i were in the city, and since she was there, we did some more bloodwork and x-rays, and an ultrasound. she's severely anemic (normal kitty red blood cells should be at ~ 35%; pippa's are 17%). the new x-rays show a considerable increase in the size of her stomach wall, and the ultarsound shows it to be dense and inoperable. i have few to no options. i was a total and complete wreck last night. that cat has been everywhere i've been for the past 4 and a half years...she lived in the dorms with me, she's apartment hopped with me. she's my baby. i don't care if that sounds dumb. as up and down as the past three years have been, she's been through it all with me. and now she's sick and there's nothing i can do. i want to just crawl under my blankets and not come out.

meh.

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

fangoriously...gelatinous...and, uh...linebacker...

i keep having the urge to say these three words. blame it on strong bad. and while you're there, you can also check out trogdor.

Monday, October 20, 2003

hope they're handing out depends...

can you spot the error in this email sent out to UConn students and staff? abbie's mom did :)

This years Homecoming Parade will take place this Thursday, October 23, 2003 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

Glenbrook Road will be closed beginning at 5:00pm for the parade to form up. The Busway from Gully Hall to Glenbrook will be closed from 6:00pm to 7:00pm and there will be no parking on Stadium Road from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

The parade route will turn right off Glenbrook onto the Busway to Gulley Hall; right on Fairfield Way, left on Hillside Road and right on Stadium Road. The parade will end at the Memorial Stadium.

The entire University Community is invited to view the parade.

We apologize for any incontinence the parade may cause individuals entering or leaving the campus at this time.

"Go Huskies"
M. Kevin Fahey, Associate Director, Campus Activities
University of Connecticut

Monday, October 13, 2003

Thursday, October 09, 2003

so disappointing...

last fall, dunkin donuts introduced the seasonal and quite yummy pumpkin spice doughnut (or, "donut" if you prefer). lisa and i were both interning at the same conservation center at the time, and would frequently hit up the d&d (no, we did not play dungeons and dragons) for pumpkin spice donuts and hot chocolate on the way back to campus. so needless to say, we were very excited for the return of the pumpkin spice donut this fall. well, maybe not *very* excited, but excited enough to set up a special "hot chocolate and pumpkin spice donut" date. so why is this all so disappointing? because this year, some wiseguy thought it would be a good idea to put frosting and sprinkles on the already perfect pumpkin spice donut. egad! what were they thinking? *sigh*. they tried to make up for it with a non-frosted (and also quite tasty) apple cider donut...and it almost worked, but not quite. :P . dumb ol' dunking donuts, popping my little pumpkin spice bubble. gar.

Thursday, October 02, 2003

Windup Hopping Lederhosen

"Somewhere, there's a tiny Bavarian man hopping around with no pants!! These little tiny lederhosen, or "leather pants" in English, will brighten even the grumpiest person's day. Just wind them up, let them go and then shout, "Oh! Meine Lederhosen! Dey haf escaped!" This is one of those products you have to buy just to prove it exists."

i love archie mcphee :)

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

no, it's not "platy-ma-pus", you idiot...

i don't know how many of you have happened to stumble upon the excercise in futility that is jessica simpson's thought process on Mtv's Newlyweds, but lord almighty is it hysterical to watch. hysterical in a sad, disbelieving way, but hysterical all the same. in case you've missed it, check this out. feeling better about yourself already, aren't you? that's what jessica's here for. kind of like me and bowling--just there to boost everyone else's ego.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

my sister got engaged! my sister got engaged!

erika called me up last night to tell me that rich proposed! ever the planner, my sister has the wedding date (march 20th 2005) picked out, and has asked me to be one of her maids of honor (there will be 2 of us). i'm so excited! i've never been in a wedding party before. what fun :).

it's pouring again today...at least we had a beautiful weekend. went to the Big E yesterday with mike, jim, courtney, and lisa, and we met up with deanna and georges while we were there. ate like pigs, saw the world's largest rodent...what more could you ask for? we even all got goofy hats at the carnival (thanks jim!). best overheard comment of the day? "what's a rodent?". i kid you not. thank goodness for stupid people, or we'd have no one to laugh at :)

Monday, September 22, 2003

today is national talk like a pirate day. armed with that information, i expect you all to speak appropriately. landlubbers.

Monday, September 15, 2003

a brief update before i start my calc homework...

far far (my grandfather) is fairing relatively well in icu. he'll have to go to a nursing home to recuperate from the surgery. healthwise, he's decent...will to live wise, we're not so sure. only time will tell, i guess.

pippa is still at the hospital. todd (my boss) thinks it may be pancreatitis, in which case we're pretty much in hurry-up-and-wait mode, continuing supportive care. if her current meds don't have her eating normally by wednesday, we'll start a course of cortisone and see if that helps. *sigh*.

and that's all for now...

Sunday, September 14, 2003

went down to stamford for georges' surprise party last night...so many september babies! ray and todd on the 3rd, me on the 8th, cat on the 9th, georges on the 13th...and i know i have a few to remember coming up later in the month.

i have to call home later on today to get an update on my grandfather...he broke his hip earlier in the week and had surgery; now he's apparently in the icu with some sort of infection. it seems he's not putting up much of a fight, from what i understand...all of the information i have was gleaned off a message my dad left on my answering maching last night, so i don't really know much. i'm bracing myself for...well, for anything, i guess. i'm glad i got to see him last weekend.

hpefully i can bring pippa mouse home from the hospital tomorrow. i admitted her on thursday morning...she's been not eating well/vomiting/losing weight for about a month now, and after trying every possible alternative at home, i finally just brought her in and left her there. we'd already done bloodwork and x-rays and found very little, but more blood tests have shown that she's losing protein, and not from her kidneys (the place protein loss frequently occurs). so she's on twice daily meds right now, and hopefully will be feeling better by monday. if not, we may need to open her up for intestinal biopsies. this is my baby kitten...i'm trying to hope for the best.

it's gloomy out...maybe i'll go back to sleep for a little while...

Friday, September 12, 2003

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

i am deeply, deeply troubled by this. what in the world...? i don't know what disturbs me more...that they have a stuffed animal named cooter who "likes exploring small dark places", or that the one they call cozy has "three creamy udders that are fun to fondle." or maybe it's just the proclamation that "the more you fondle them, the happier they are." egads! read all of the descriptions, and don't shoot whatever you're drinking out your nose.

i got a smoothie machine for my birthday (thanks dee!), so this weekend was a blur of tasty blended alcoholic beverages. hey, i'm allowed every once in a while. and how fun is this--when i walked into the staff meeting at work yesterday, i was greeted by a rousing rendition of "happy birthday" by my coworkers, and cupcakes. yum :). so far, 23 is good. and i finally got a desk (yes! a real desk!), so i don't have to sit on the floor with my computer monitor on a rubbermaid container anymore. hooray!

okay...off to do calc homework. meh.

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

what a gloomy gloomy day :P

it's gray and rainy today, and i've subsequently felt very tired and blah since i woke up this morning. i bought the last of my books today (finally!), and managed to finagle my way out of buying a graphing calculator (thanks lisa!), so at least i'm not too terribly broke. which is nice, considering i just got paid today. i've got to set aside some money to make my taco dip for this weekend, and maybe some chili as well (if abbie's mom will be nice enough to let me borrow her crock pot again after i held it hostage for months last time). i suppose i could just go out and buy my own crock pot, but...i'm not going to if i don't have to. note to self: call abbie's mom and beg. for now, i must go change for my jukido class, and hopefully re-park my car closer to the armory so i don't have to schlub all the way back to WB Young in the dark. later gators.

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

i can't believe i haven't posted this yet! i got in to grad school starting in january!!! i'll be doing work on constructed wetlands used to process agricultural run-off and storm water. which may sound not so exciting to some of you, but is pretty much exactly what i was hoping to do. yipee! as far as i know, i also get a stipend (not exactly sure how much yet), a tuition waiver, and (praise the lord) medical benefits. so needless to say, i am very very excited. :D

also fun and exciting--i started my jukido class last night, and i am really enjoying it so far. it's 2 nights a week at the armory at UConn, and i'm getting one credit for it. other than that, i'm taking calculus (again), conservation biology, meteorology, and an independent study to start getting some background information on my grad research. busy busy busy. hopefully it won't be too stressfull of a semester. we shall see...

Friday, August 22, 2003

i'll bet the groom is sorry now...

"A North Haven bride spent part of her wedding night in a jail cell, after police said she hurled things at reception hall workers who closed the bar. " read more.

so much for being the image of poise and beauty on your wedding day...

Monday, August 18, 2003

no, i haven't died.

grad school is looking *very* promising for the spring, which is wonderful--however, i'm now in the middle of much fall registration turmoil (of course i am). for some reason (and no one knows why, apparently), People Soft (the on-line program that all registration is conducted through) will not let me register for anything. not one single thing. i called the registrar and got them to manually put me into a calculus class, since that's the only thing that i actually need to take, but i was hoping to take a full semester's worth of classes so that i'd get more financial aid. i went to UConn the other day, but no one was able to figure out what the problem was. the only thing i can think of to do is make a list of all the classes that i want, go back to the registrar's office, and make them manually put me into every class. which i think i'll be doing on wednesday morning.

it also appears that i have poison ivy on my ankle. i'm not really sure, b/c i've never actually *had* poison ivy, but that's what everyone at work told me it looked like. bah. i wasn't even anywhere near poison ivy! harumph.

Mike started his new job today as *Pharmacy Manager* (ooh la la!) at the West Harford Walgreens. his new schedule gives him every other tuesday and wednesday off, and since i also have tomorrow (tues) off, we might go to the beach. wheee! i can't believe that it's the middle/end of august and summer is almost over. *sigh* back to the books soon.

Monday, July 28, 2003

two of my very dear friends lost their home to a house fire recently, as well as all of their belongings and, worst of all, their dog and kitten. i can't even imagine how difficult things must be right now, but i am so, so thankful that the two of them are okay. it seems so unfair sometimes, the way that horrible things happen to the nicest of people. i can't even begin to understand it...

i'm still in limbo about what the fall is going to bring...it turns out that two of my letters of recommendation never got submitted to the grad school, so they haven't even processed my application yet. nice. i sent out a few politely pushy emails, so hopefully, that will get the ball rolling. and in any event, i'll be on campus this thursday to meet with morty.

what else...? hopefully i'll be going to see abbie play in her old people band on wednesday evening (i've got a mental picture of a bunch of geriatrics, including a little old man with great big ears playing the tuba, and wee little abbie smack dab in the middle), and other than that, the week ahead of me is relatively uneventful. unless i'm forgetting about something, which is entirely possible...

Friday, July 18, 2003

goodnight, you moonlight ladies...

went to see james taylor with lisa the other night...what a great concert! between him and seeing pearl jam twice this year, i am being super-concert spoiled.
it's been a nice week so far. went tubing down the farmington river with erika and danielle on sunday, then the three of us, mike, and rich bbq'd at my parent's house...tuesday after mike's bowling we went and saw todd's band play at an open mike night at mario's cafe in derby (they were very good!), and mike and i spent yesterday at the beach. i now have a lovely perma-bikini baked onto my skin. very amusing. anyway, i've got to go get ready for my yoga/pilates class, but i figured i ought to update since i've been so bad about it lately. maybe next week i'll even update my other page (hah. maybe). enjoy the weekend, all! :)

Monday, July 07, 2003


i am such a slacker lately. i haven't posted anything here in weeks, and my homepage hasn't been updated since the end of may. i don't even have a really good excuse...just doing other things. anyway, as far as what's new and honestly, rather sucky:

*i finished calculus. unfortunately, i did not pass calculus, so despite the fact that i already participated in the spring graduation ceremony, i will be going back to school in the fall to take calculus yet again. on a somewhate brighter note, this may mean that i will also be able to take the dendrology class that i never got a chance to take. but i'm really having a hard time seeing a bright side to the fact that after 10 semesters and the completion of 2 bachelor's degrees worth of requirements, i failed my very. last. required. class.

*as of yesterday morning, oscar has shuffled off this mortal coil. for those of you who do not know, oscar was the eastern painted turtle who i had gotten as an itty bitty hatchling a little over three years ago (he was exactly the size of a quarter, i swear to god!). he had been having some eating issues, not really wanting to eat anything that i offered him, but he seemed to have resolved them and had been eating like a champ for the last 2 weeks. saturday night, he was alive and puttering around in his aquarium. sunday morning, he was not. i don't know what happened. :( very very sad.

Tuesday, June 24, 2003



these very cute switch plates are from metro retro. they've got tons more, and although i have not yet ordered any, i am coveting them as we speak...

i've had my lovely, beautiful, fantastic jeep for just shy of a month, and i already have a headlight out. wha?? i don't even do that much driving at night. i mean, even if i drove around all night long every night theat i've had the car, you'd think that i *still* wouldn't have a head light out. so bah. i don't know what's up with that. but i'll probably be fixing that today, as well as studying for my calculus final (it's almost over! it's almost over!). wish me luck...

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

dirrrrty bunnies



these are actual fabrics that you can buy at nestmagazine.com. i don't know why you would want to, since they cost $87.00 per yard, but just think of the possibilities as far as conversation pieces are concerned...living room curtains, a bed spread (well, i suppose that might be appropriate), a lovely blouse. "why that's a lovely fornicating bunny blouse you have there!" "why thank you! i made it myself!" it's almost worth the obscene cost. almost.

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

i am trying to lose weight. nothing drastic, just a few pounds...but still. it makes it awfully hard when companies are making yummy ice cream goodness like new york strawberry cheesecake. and it helps even less that said ice cream is currently sitting in my freezer, calling my name. it's taunting me. it *wants* me to have a big butt.

all is well here. i know i've been a major slacker in the updating department, but i'm going to blame it on calculus for now. i've only got 6 more classes left (hooray!!), and i can't wait. work has been good lately, but tough, since one of the doctors left and several people got laid off. i'm thinking about taking the tech test and becoming certified if i don't get in to grad school for the fall...we shall see. i any event, i have to go study for the calc exam i have on thursday. i hope everyone's enjoying the lovely day that CT is having...

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

cats that hate you.

my personal favorite: "Anubis hates you because he is a god, and you are not. He is displeased with the mere mortals that surround him, he will shit on their beds."

or perhaps it's this:"As I sit here, imprisoned by my monkey-faced turd of a human, I silently relish the thought of every night, I creep up, sit on his face, and fart ever so smugly into his gaping mouth."



my jeep is the most beeyooteeful vehicle in the world. except for the big blob of bird poo on the hood. stupid bird. garrr...

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

i'm getting my jeep tomorrow! i'm getting my jeep tomorrow! they agreed to accept half of the original agreed downpayment, and didn't stiff us on the deposit. hooray!

okay, off to do more calculus homework before i have to go to work :P

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

very strange...i made a pile of changes to my template, and although the template code shows up as edited, none of the changes are appearing on the page. in other words, this page is currently creating itself off of coding that no longer exists. sometimes blogger is infuriating. gah. i fully expect there to be more issues in the days ahead, since they are currently in the process of moving all of their blogs over to the new editing format. which is cool and all, but still...its a little sad when you know the system is going to bomb out on you before anything really even happens.

monetary stress of the week: my jeep has been delivered to the dealer, which is all well and good except for the fact that we told them 4 weeks ago that we wouldn't have the money for the down payment until june 12th. we were told "oh, that's fine, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the car to be manufactured and shipped anyway." well, it didn't take 6 to 8 weeks, it took four. and now they're saying that we only have 5 days after being notified of delivery to pick up the car, or we forfeit our $500 deposit (note: june 12th is more than 5 days away). so...not really sure what's going on at the moment. send me happy thoughts.

nice thing of the week: even though i didn't have time today to get a temporary parking permit for my parents' car (which i drove to school today) and there was already a parking cop sitting in the lot when i parked the car, i somehow managed to *not* get a parking ticket. hallelujah.

Monday, May 26, 2003

Thursday, May 22, 2003

long time, no post, i know. to catch up: last saturday was graduation. two days later, i started my calculus class (even though i participated in the ceremony, i'm not *technically* done until i finish calc). calc meets MTWTh 9-11 am for six weeks. that makes one wek down, and only 5 more to go (oh, you bet i'm counting). i had my first exam this morning, and i think i did pretty well.

**I GOT A C IN PHYSICS**

that deserved its own line, i think. this is the first time i have ever been positively thrilled with a C. i was really, really frightened that i might not pass that class.

and in household news: last friday, mike and i noticed that our cabinets were falling off the wall in the kitchen. i guess that's what happens when they aren't screwed into studs. sheesh. so anyway, when i got back from calc class monday morning, they had come , emptied the wrong cabinet and taken it off the wall. no note, no phone message, just dishes and glasses all over the counter and a missing cabinet. mind you, the set that was visibly loosened from the wall was still intact. then today (thursday), two of the building employees show up with my cabinets to reattach them. where did they take them for four days? i don't know. what did they do with them? i don't know. they weren't broken. so anyway, they're downstairs now re-attaching that set of cabinets to the wall, and they said that today, they're going to take the set that's falling off the wall and come back tomorrow to reattach it. i don't understand why they keep taking the cabinets (which are not broken, merely badly attached to the wall), but whatever. as long as they stay on the wall this time, i really don't care. now, i must go make sure that none of the cats are getting underfoot in the kitchen...they're nosey little buggers...

Monday, May 12, 2003

happy dance! happy dance! i am *done* with school work for this semester!! i had planned on spending the next two days finishing my GPS project, but i showed my prof what i had so far today, and he said that it was good, and anything else that needed to be done we could discuss when i meet with him on wednesday to turn the project in. so I AM DONE! now, if only i could shake this nasty cold i've had for the past week...it seems to have graduated to a full-blown sinus infection. gah. at least i finished my project today, so now i'll have time tomorrow to go the the walk-in and score some antibiotics. i don't want to be a big ol' snot head for graduation :P

oh, and check this out. especially the IM "screen shots." very amusing.

Wednesday, May 07, 2003

i am officially *ahem* a Team Leader.

i went into work today to find a little pin with the words "Team Leader", as well as a $25 gift certificate to the Willimantic Pub and Brewery in my mailbox. apparently, at monday's staff meeting (i wasn't there b/c i had a class) i was chosen as the evening technician team leader for the month based on how hard i've been working lately, most specifically this past saturday, which was busy as all heck. so that was pretty neat :)

other than that, worked on my GPS project today, and now i'm going to go study for my physics final. what fun. i have that exam saturday afternoon, then lab animal on sunday morning. my GPS project is due wednesday, i take me GRE's on thursday, i graduate on saturday, and i start my calculus class on monday. busy week, eh?

Monday, May 05, 2003

i got a 70 on my physics exam!!!!! do you know what this means, people? it means that i passed! i passed a physics exam! whoo hoo!!

Friday, May 02, 2003

Wednesday, April 30, 2003

*evil, evil grin*



muahahahahaha! my cats are in sooooo much trouble >:D
!!!!!!!!!!

today makes two whole years that mike and i have been together. since we both have to work tonight, we decided to celebrate yesterday. so...mike got home around 5:00 last night and presented me with a card that he had made that included a set of directions to an unknown destination. the next page of the card: a bunch of pearl jam stickers (stickers! whee!), and...tickets to the pearl jam concert at the pepsi center in albany, which was at 7:30 last night!! talk about keeping a secret until the last minute! we got there in time to catch the opening act, too, which was sparta. i cannot even tell you how amazing the concert was...it was incredible. i can't wait to see them again in july...the show had so much energy, they played a fantastic set....!!!!! yay! i have the best boyfriend ever :D

also neat: this was the same show that my friends chris and jody had tickets to, and i'd been pestering them all week, telling them they had to tell me all about the concert and what songs they played, etc...and we actually ended up running into them outside after the concert. we didn't get home until nearly 2 am, but i managed to make it to my 8 am physics class only 5 minutes late, and i'm on my second wind now...we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Tuesday, April 29, 2003

i just thought that you might all like to prepare yourself for the important upcoming holiday this friday. i expect all of you to be in full compliance. no excuses now, you hear? really, it's your civic duty.

Friday, April 25, 2003


ooooh.... :D

we went and signed all the papers for the jeep yesterday...that's the color that i chose, above ("intense blue pearl coat"). looks like the ETA is going to be early/mid june. *yay*!

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

this week is screwy. it's wednesday, but it feels like...i don't know. not wednesday. my internal clock is completely off kilter. ah well. it's been a good week so far...on monday i managed to get a few extra points on my physics exam from my professor, and i had lunch w/ mike's uncle elan and cousin adam, who were up from puerto rico checking out colleges for adam. today i think i kicked some butt on my lab animal exam, and now i have to go write a physics lab report...which is okay, since it will be my *last physics lab report ever*. hooray :D and, i caught up with an old friend of mine from high school that i hadn't talked to since graduation...oh, 5 years ago? pretty exciting. mike and i were supposed to go tomorrow to sign the paperwork for my car, but that's getting pushed off until next week. that's okay--~2 months, and it's jeep time once again!
plug: if you need a photographer for anything, call my friend brooke. any of you who know me know that i am *not* a photogenic person, but she managed to get some shots of me that (gasp!) even have my eyes open. check out the turtle and snake shot on her web page--those are my babies (oscar and athena)!

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

sometomes, blogger, you are wholeheartedly irritating. why, for example, is my right menu being attached to the bottom of my blog? my tables are ended correctly. and regardless, that's not *my* coding, anyway. it's *your* coding, blogger. so why can't you read it and make it do what it says it should be doing? why is half of one of my posts missing? *sigh*. actually, i think i know what the problem is, and i think i may know how to fix it...

*puttering around*

[edited to say: "i fixed it! *yay*!]



mike got tickets to see pearl jam!!!!! we're going to see them at the tweeter center in boston on july 3rd. i cannot even tell you how excited i am about it! AND, we faxed in the order for my jeep to my uncle last week, and we're going down to sign paperwork on thursday. so in about two months, i will have a car. and not just a car. a jeep. a jeep wrangler. *happy dance happy dance happy dance.* i will not marr the happiness of this entry by telling you about how i did not do so well on my physics exam last week. suffice it to say i got my best grade yet. let's leave it at that.

Friday, April 18, 2003

update: after much trekking about campus, the "1-credit" issue has been solved. degree audit wasn't counting 4 pathobiology credits that are required for my animal science degree, so really, i have 3 more credits than i need (not one less). so all is well.

also: for the first time *ever*, i was able to answer ever single question on my physics exam this morning!! although it is highly unlikely that i could have answered all of them correctly, at least i was able to draw some sort of intelligent (i hope) conclusion to each problem. so, *yay* for me. let's just hope that i passed this one...

Monday, April 14, 2003

i just got a letter in the mail--i am ONE animal science credit short of graduation requirements!!!!!!! how did i (not to mention my 2 advisors) never catch this before??!!?? God help me, could this semester *BE* any more stressful???

argghhhHHHH!
lovely lisa bought me this kick ass shirt the other day from the co-op. oooh, it makes me want my jeep!

had a lovely weekend--work went by super fast on saturday morning, and by the time i got home, the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. saturday night = party at lisa's with yummy drinks and lots of new people to meet. sunday, abbie and i gps'd the morning away, then munched on pasta salad; sunday night, we went down to mike's parents' for pizza and ice cream for his mom's birthday. in bed and snoozing by 11 pm. gotta love that. today abbie and i went for a short but enjoyable run, tonight i'm going grocery shopping for lots of good food, and tomorrow is supposed to be 80 degrees. whoo hoo. it's lookin' like a good week so far :)

Tuesday, April 08, 2003

from today's Onion:

VOLUME 31 ISSUE 16 — 29 APRIL 1997
Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts
WASHINGTON, DC—In a move designed to make the United States seem more "bad-assed and scary in a quasi-heavy-metal manner," Congress passed a bill Monday changing the nation's name to the Ãœnited Stätes of Ämerica. "Much like Mötley Crüe and Motörhead, the Ãœnited Stätes is not to be messed with," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). An upcoming redesign of the Ämerican flag will feature the new name in burnished silver wrought in a jagged, gothic font and bolted to a black background. A new national anthem is also in the works, to be written by composer Glenn Danzig and tentatively titled "Howl Of The She-Demon."



Monday, April 07, 2003

i am so, so tired today...*yawn*
and don't even get me started on the snow we're supposed to be getting. garrrr. it's spring, for pete's sake! *s-p-r-i-n-g!*. yesterday, the news said that we might get 7-10 inches of snow. now, not only do i not want to drive a car that isn't mine in that, but...it's april 7th! bah. i want warm weather so i can wear flip flops and skirts and drive with my windows rolled down. oh well. soon enough, i guess...

Saturday, April 05, 2003

we're having technical difficulties...
yay! got my lab practical grade for GIS: 96%, and 98% overall lab grade. makes me much happier than physics, that's for sure...other than that, not much news for today. it was cooold today---bah. i'm so looking forward to consistently warm weather. drizzle and threats of sleet make me grumpy. i think i'll go paint my toenails in protest of the crappy weather. don't ask me for rationale, okay? just go with it.
this could, quite possibly, be the best title of a children's book *ever*: "The Day My Butt Went Psycho". those crazy canadians...

"Since his twelfth birthday, two months ago, Zack's butt had made a habit of jumping off his body and running around the streets making a nuisance of itself. Zack was sick of it. So was the local buttcatcher who had already caught and impounded it three times." buahahahaha! i think i need to buy this book...

Friday, April 04, 2003

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

">the bad news: i completely, utterly, and totally bombed my physics exam. that is all i'm going to say on the matter, so please don't ask for specifics.

the good news: my lab animal science exam went very smoothly, as did my GIS lab practical. i also have a dog to walk in the march of dimes walk-a-thon that's coming up. it's not *my* dog, per se; i had to borrow him. but he's cute and he's a dog and i'm excited.

that's all for now...

Monday, March 31, 2003

i came home today to flowers! and not just any flowers--daffodils and tulips! my favorite. my boy is wonderful.

took a lab animal science test today, fairly certain that i aced it. at least my GPA will be good in all my *other* classes this semester (obviously, physics being the bad-grade culprit). i got stuck in line for 20 minutes at the post office, but that's okay because i finally managed to send out a package that i've been meaning to send out for the past week and a half. also found a cute little bead store right around the corner from my apartment, and bought a few beads there to make what i hope will be a positively lurvely necklace. the clerk there was so helpful, too--what a great little store! and on top of everything else, i managed to get my assigned section of campus scoped out today for the emergency phones that i need to GPS. shouldn't be too bad of an assignment, especially since i have abbie, who's willing to be hoisted on top of bus-stop roofs to get accurate satellite readings for me ;)

today was a definate 10. it's about damn time, too :)

Friday, March 28, 2003

oh, that should solve everything...
one more physics exam down the tubes...

actually, in a funny way, i'm kind of happy with how i did. i don't think i completed enough of the exam to actually *pass* it, but i was able to work out answers for some of the more complicated problems, and i feel pretty good about that. i feel like it was an improvement, at least. now all i need to do is ace the next three ;)

tonight we're going to a party at jen's, which should be fun b/c we hardly ever see her. tomorrow, we're going to the chowder pot in branford with jim for an early birthday celebration, and sunday (hopefully) will be GIS day: abbie, kim, and i are going to try to take over the computer lab and get as many GIS assignments as possible done in advance. so it should be a fun weekend. i'm feeling pretty sleep deprived lately, but i hate to spend my weekends going to bed early when i have the opportunity to see people that i almost never get to see. i *live* with mike, and i hardly ever even see him. i'm looking forward to the day that that changes, when i can have a "normal" schedule...which, if i get into grad school, will be at least another two years from now.

now, i need to go figure out the questions i got wrong on my exam...wish me luck :/

[edited 4/2/03, b/c my typing style was apparently causing some rather annoying confusion.]

Thursday, March 27, 2003

so...last night was not so great. i got out of work a little later than i had hoped (not such a big deal, but i really needed to get home and crank out my physics lab report/finish the physics homework that's due tomorrow/study for my physics exam). on the way home, just moments before i reached the highway (which makes me so happy, b/c it means i'm officially "almost home"), i got pulled over by a cop. 60 in a 50: my very first speeding ticket. my very first *ticket* ticket, if you don't count parking tickets. and at UConn, i don't, b/c the cranky little ticket men are vindictive and mean. but that' s a whole different story.
so, i finally get home and start working on my physics lab, which was due by midnight last night. physics lab is the only reason i may pass physics at all. i do reasonbly well on the labs, and i feel pretty confident in my ability to explain what i'm talking about when writing them. *not* the case last night. i spent 8 pm-12:15 am fussing and worrying over that thing, and even after e-mailing it to the TA 15 minutes late, i still wasn't very happy with it. it was shorter than i'd wanted it to be, and i just didn't feel like it was very well written. i fully expected to receive a not-so-impressive grade on it, but at that point, i was happy just to hand it in.
cut to 5 minutes ago, when i checked my email...turns out the TA was feeling ambitious and already graded my report and emailed me the result: 100%. don't ask me how that happened, b/c i have absolutely no idea.
i think i shall spend the rest of my day wandering around in a daze...

Monday, March 24, 2003

*goodbye grandpa*

my grandpa, john leighton toumine, passed away on monday, march 17th. thankfully, i was able to see him before he died. he was unresponsive, but i think he was aware that we were there, and that we were talking to him. he couldn't talk or move, but you could see movement under his eyelids when someone talked to him...at any rate, the funeral was on the following wednesday. it was a very nice service--it was very obvious that my grandfather was very well loved and respected in his community, and that he had a lot of wonderful friends who'll be there to see my grandmother through this.

thank you to everyone who has wished me and my family well. your thoughts are greatly appreciated, and they mean a lot to me.

...i promise, i'll have *something* more pleasant to report soon... :/

oh...i gave blood today! 8 pints makes a gallon! that's something good, at least.

Monday, March 10, 2003



these are my new obsession. i really, really, really want to have them. i can't get over how adorable they are, and how much they seem to be calling to me, wanting to be in my kitchen cabinets...do you hear them?

i chopped my hair! about 7 inches--it falls just past my shoulders. i love it...it's still long enough to pull back (barely!), but it's so fun and light and easy to manage...whee! what fun.

Friday, March 07, 2003

when it rains, it pours...

my grandpa is going into hospice care. the doctors say he doesn't have very long left...he's been battling multiple myeloma for nearly two years now...

my sister and i are going to drive down to south carolina to see him next weekend, as long as i can get off from work. i should be able to. considering the circumstances and all.

my grandfather is a jazz musician. if you can find recordings of the galvenized jazz band or albert burbank's "burgundy street blues", do so. my grandfather played with the GJB for quite some time, and played bass on the latter recording. he's an incredibly talented musician and the closest thing to a saint on this earth. and i don't know how i'm going to handle this at all...

Wednesday, March 05, 2003

oh, i am dreaming about this car...not that there's anything wrong with mike's civic, b/c there isn't. it handles very nicely, it is a billion and a half times better on gas that anything i've ever driven (not counting that crappy cavalier rental i had last fall)...but i've only ever had jeeps, and i love them, and i miss them. and just the mere thought that i may soon be able to drive one again...sends my heart all a-twitter. driving with the top down, splashing through the mud...oh, i can't wait for summer...

lisa, abbie, and i went running in the rain today. we splished and splashed through all the puddles, got thoroughly drenched, and had a great time. we ran by a peace rally at the library, and i felt very...detached. i don't know how i feel about all of that, really. i feel like rallying for peace and refusing the possiblity of war is an incredibly idealistic notion, i guess. i certainly don't *want* to go to war, and i think that bush is a little too hell-bent on it...which makes me nervous. i don't feel at all comfortable going into a war without the support of the UN, and we haven't got that right now. i don't even know what the "official" reason would be right now, anyway. someone over at Digs (i think it was yam) mentioned that she felt like she should be able to vote in the next u.s. election (as a canadian), since our president just wants to be in charge of all of the countries, anyway. and while i think that she said that (at least partially) in jest, i think she has a point. not that canadians should vote in u.s. elections, but that bush is a very "my way or the highway" kind of guy. it just all seems more personal than political, i suppose. i'm not nearly as informed on the issue as i ought to be, though, so who knows...


buahahaha! behold, my newest creation!

okay, it's not exactly *my* creation. i got the idea from the uncommon goods catalog. but i made three of my very own last night, and i am positively tickled with the results. the piture above is the shot from the catalog; mine are all wavy along the edges and of varying depths (depending on the height of the object i melted them over). but that's the general idea...

i went to the thrift shop yesterday, and with my student discount (25% discount! from the thrift shop! it's like stealing...) i purchased 3 old vinyls, in various stages of abuse and disrepair. then i brought them home, placed them on top of various oven-safe objects, and melted and re-molded them to make the spiffiest little bowls you ever did see. and you probably will be seeing them, not only b/c i'm going to post a photo asap, but because you're all going to be receiving them at some point as gifts because i am in love with them. if it is at all possible, these may even surpass in fun-ness the creation of the little magnetic chalkboards last week (chalkboard paint? magnetic paint? *someone* needs to be nominated for sainthood. any catholics in the house?).

*sigh*. i suppose i really ought to be spending my limited free time on school work, eh?

[edited on 3/6/03 to add photo]

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Monday, February 24, 2003

ahem...an actual problem from my physics book:

A person weighs a fish of mass m on a spring scale attached to the ceiling of an elevator. Show that if the elevator accelerates in either direction, the spring scale gives a reading different from the true weight of the fish.

...

first of all, *why* would there be a spring scale hanging from an elevator? and if there was, *why* would you weigh a fish on it? ("hey! look! a scale in the elevator! now i can weigh that fish i've been carrying around with me, on the off chance that i'd find a spring scale in an elevator!"). and third of all, if you absolutely *had* to weigh your stupid, stinky fish on said scale, why would you do it while the elevator was accelerating?

ugh. there is no reasoning with these people.
i just failed my first physics exam...

i go to class. i do the homework. i studied my ass off. i talked to the professor. and i still failed. there were 4 questions on the exam, and i was able to fully answer 1. that sucks. this is the hardest class i have ever taken in my life. harder than chemistry, and that's saying volumes. even when i think i get it...i just don't. and can't drop it b/c a) i need it to graduate in may, and b) even if i got permission to take it over the summer, i'd still have to deal w/ the issue that dropping it would make me no longer a full time student, and then i'd owe uconn money that i don't have. garrrrrrrr.
i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate physics.

Sunday, February 16, 2003

i have *finally* gotten around to posting some patagonia pictures, for anyone who would like to peruse...there a lot more (ummm...10 more rolls) where that came from, but weeding through and scanning them is going to take a while. maybe spring break i'll get it done...

i hope everyone had a lurvely valentines day...mike and i stayed in and ate a yummy dinner that i'd been planning all week, and (oooh...ahhhh...) carvel cake with heart shaped brownies. and i got pretty pretty roses and gummy worms, which is exactly what i wanted :) sometimes low-budget holidays are the best kind...

i have a ton of homework that i need to get done today, but i wanted to get some web updating done as well...i've been slacking. there just aren't enought hours in the day. at any rate, i really need to get my tuckus away from the computer so that i don't spend countless (more) hours at jeep.com playing with the "build a wrangler" function...

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Monday, February 10, 2003

who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? on friday, i taught my 1990 jeep cherokee how to roll over and play dead...

i was driving to school in the snow, and started fishtailing at the top of a hill. i took my feet off the pedals to let the car straighten out, but it didn't straighten out at all...it went head first into a telephone pole, then rolled onto the passenger side, then the roof, and then finally stopped with the driver's side down on the pavement. the triangle window on the driver door busted out, the windshield was cracked up, the rear window popped out, the muffler tore half off, the transmission heaved up the shifter right out of the console...not to mention the fact at i left the grill and headlights up the bushes by the telephone pole and cruched the remainder of the front end right up to the wheel wells. it was compeltely, painfully, irrevocably totaled. i gave the title over the body shop and paid them $50 to junk it for me after i crawled in and kicked out the doors so mike could retrieve my speakers. what a mess. thanfully, i (as always) had my seatbelt on, and wasn't hurt too badly. a lump on the head, some bruises, and a whole lot of muscle pain...but i literally walked out of that car. granted, it was along the drivers side windows and out the gapig hole in the rear hatch where the window used to be, but i walked out.

so for now, i'm driving mike's civic, and his parents graciously loaned him their second car.

MORAL: wear your seatbelts. you know who you are.

Monday, February 03, 2003

well, the girl from friday was in class today, so i guess she must be fine...that's good news.

i just finished my GIS lab, and i wish i could be happy about it, but i know that i have another one assigned tomorrow, and i also know that i have to go home and do my physics homework and my physics lab for tomorrow. i thought that the homework problems were due on wednesday, but unfortunately, they were due today (surprise!). so i'm not looking forward to a fun-filled night with my least favorite book, but...it's only for a few more months (blah). then i have calc over the summer to look forward to, and (hopefully) grad school in the fall. a little part of me is asking why i want to put myself through two more years of school, but i know that's just my hate of physics and math talking. so that's that.

my dad pointed out to me that people are getting antsy about my getting patagonia photos up on my website, so i'll have to that soon, too. i only have 3 of 13 rolls developed right now, and i don't know when i'm going to have the time to scan photos, but oh well. i'll fit it in somewhere...

i'm going to go be worthless for the next 20 minutes before my natural resources seminar...

Friday, January 31, 2003

that was really, really scary...

i just got let out of my lab animal science lab early b/c one of the girls in my class started seizuring uncontrollably. i called 911, but it took me 3 dispatchers before i got through to the UConn emergency line (i guess if you call 911 from a cell phone, you get routed to state police, then somewhere else, then finally wherever you need to be). at any rate, it was the most helpless feeling in the world, to see that girl on the floor like that and to just have to wait while the phone rang and people put me on hold. three cheers to my professor, Dr Milvae, who had the physically and emotionally draining job of holding the poor girl down so that she didn't hurt herself too badly. once the ambulance came, we were all in zombie mode, so there wasn't much point in continuing on with class. my hands are still shaking...

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

well, i found out the other day that i got nominated for the new england outdoor writer's scholarship. i have to get dressed up tomorrow for my interview regarding it. that would be a nice monetary bonus toward grad school...cross your fingers for me.

work was pretty blah today...slooow early on, then crazy for the last 2 hours. i'd go into detail, b/c it was rather interesting, but i've learned that my work stories tend to gross people out sometimes. suffice it to say that i've never seen a dog pee from anywhere other than where it's supposed to until tonight...very, very strange.

tomorrow i get to sleep in with mike...i can't wait. i really, really feel like i need it...

Friday, January 24, 2003

well, the semester is back in full swing...only this time, it's my last one. ack! i mean, technically, i'm hoping to get into grad school for the fall, so i won't *really* be done...but on may 17th, 2003, i will be the proud owner of a bachelors in natural resources management and engineering, and a bachelors in animal science. i've worked my butt off for the past 5 years, and i'm finally going to have something to really show for it.
classes this semsester: GIS (geographic information systems), lab animal science, physics, natural resources seminar, and animal science seminar. i get to do real live surgery for lab animal--administering anesthesia, the whole shebang. so that should be neat. bummed about GIS, though...i really wanted to learn how to use the total station (those tripod looking things you always see surveyors using), but since only 6 people are allowed, they don't teach it during class time. they teach it on saturday mornings. and guess who works every single saturday morning? you betcha. me. so it's hand-held GPS units for me, baby.
i got my unmotivated arse in gear and actually went to the gym after work tonight. i cannot even tell you the difference my inhaler makes. i feel like a marathon runner. well, maybe not...but relatively speaking... at any rate, it's a vast improvement from pre-inhaler krista trying to run. and it was incredible in patagonia, being able to go hiking and not be the breathless wheezer in the back. it probably should have dawned on me a little earlier, eh?

oh, and here's a bit of happiness: i made deans list again last semester! hoo-hah! :D

...needing to do my physics homework now...

Tuesday, January 21, 2003

safely back from patagonia, despite the fact that our saturday night santiago-atlanta flight was cancelled b/c there was a hole in the plane...

patagonia was unbelievable...better than i ever could have imagined. once i get my pictures developed i'll do a better write up of the trip--right now, there's just so much that i could say that i don't even know where to begin (except for saying CONGRATULATIONS, again, to chris and jody, who got engaged while we were down there...). this is such a slacker entry, but i have so much to do today...

Wednesday, January 01, 2003

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

every time i edit my html, this program decides to change it. and not what i've edited. if i go in and say, change the picture in the right menu (which is currently eddie vedder), the code erases the labels for the blog menu (this) and the right menu divisions, making it look how it looked a few days ago. every single time. so every single time, i have to go in and redefine the divisions, reset the alignments, and retype the source for the graphic in the right menu. this is a huge pain in the ass. i can't even tell you. it never used to this, and i don't understand why it's all of a sudden doing it now. garrrr.....

at any rate--i leave for patagonia TOMORROW!!! so this is probably my last entry until i get back. hasta luego!
everytime i edit my html, this program decides to change it. and not what i've edited. if i go in and say, change the picture in the right menu (which is currently eddie vedder), the code erased the labels for the blog menu (this) and the right menu divisions, making it look how it looked a few days ago. every single time. so every single time, i have to go in and redefine the divisions, reset the alignments, and retype the source for the graphic in the right menu. this is a huge pain in the ass. i can't even tell you. it never used to this, and i don't understand why it's all of a sudden doing it now. garrrr.....

at any rate--i leave for patagonia TOMORROW!!! so this is probably my last entry until i get back. hasta luego!