Arugula ravioli (Trader Joe's, pieces, 8.8 oz.) were refluxed in water for 4 minutes. Ravioli were rinsed and water was removed. Ravioli were heated with olive oil (off-brand, extra virgin, ~2 tbsp.), white wine (Anselmo San Vincenzo, 2009, ~2 tbsp.) and garlic (pieces, 2 cloves) until garlic vapors were apparent. Ravioli were removed from the ( Read more... )

Yes, it's been four months, but I do still read my friendslist! I just seem to have trouble writing actual posts ( Read more... )

There have been thunderstorms on and off all day, which I took as a divine signal to take today completely off. It's frustrating how the work-all-the-time mentality gets into your head in grad school. Especially since by now, I know for a fact that after 7 pm, I'll probably get the same amount of things done if I leave at 8 as if I leave at 10. ( Read more... )

Surprise, surprise, learning a subject mostly from scratch well enough to give a 45-minute seminar on it is hard. I'm feeling okay now because my roommate (whose seminar was a couple weeks ago) told me that everybody feels this way a week in. But earlier tonight when I was making slides, I felt like I was too stupid to understand half of the ( Read more... )

Then again, for me it only really works when the weekend is productive, since otherwise I feel like I've wasted it.

On Saturday, I: deposited three checks (including one from November), got quarters for laundry, went to the library and checked out Percival's Planet (fictionalized account of the discovery of Pluto; good so far), practiced French ( Read more... )

Okay, it's been a month. Work has calmed down and is cooperating somewhat; my sister, Glen (the boyfriend)'s parents, and my parents have all come and gone; and the dreaded semester starts again! Only one class (Electron Microprobe Analysis), and I'm teaching the same class I taught last fall, so that should be a lot easier. What's stressing me ( Read more... )

I was supposed to spend this weekend in Maryland, at the Chesapeake Bay at my family reunion. I took a 2.5-hr bus ride to the airport in Milwaukee yesterday afternoon. I then waited in the airport for four hours to board my plane two hours late. After we boarded, I waited for an hour and a half for them to tell us that there was flooding on the ( Read more... )

I made 3 out of 4 things that I was trying to make!

(This may not seem very impressive. Trust me, it is.)

I feel like such a slug today! I made the mistake of taking a vacation to visit my parents from last Thursday to this Thursday, and then planning on coming into work on Friday, so of course I have zero motivation. Most of it's not my fault, though; I was signed up to use the powder XRD, but it went all malfunctional on me and the XRD maintenance ( Read more... )

I'm tired of grad school. I have to write an RP in two weeks, because the professor didn't give us specifics (and didn't tell us what topics were off-limits) until today. I have to do another stupid problem set and a take-home final for solid state, and I have to listen to lectures that make me angry because they're so poorly delivered. I have ( Read more... )