Our department's Spring Symposium is tomorrow, where all the students present their research.  We spent all semester planning it and I can't wait until it is over.  It's amazing how much planning something like that takes!  I'm just glad I had a couple thugs working for me to handle the dirty business of making people turn in their abstracts and ( Read more... )

I have been hanging out with the homeless guys more often lately. They have some pretty interesting stories and are always eager to share them. Today as I was on my way to grab a coffee I ended up sitting and talking with Rebel for over an hour. If you can believe his story, he actually has $1.6 million but has chosen to live on the streets of ( Read more... )

Spring break is almost over and I have returned to Illinois.  I spent much of the past week in New Mexico, hiking the Gila Wilderness.  The adventure began with 7 guys making a 25 hour drive through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.  Once we got to Gila we met up with another friend from California and started our backpacking ( Read more... )

I don't know why it took me this long to realize it, but UIUC may have the worst university downtowns I have ever seen. It is primarily bars and restaurants, with a few banks and tattoo parlors scattered about. There are no hippie shops. No trinkets. No ethnic stores. No music store. There is not even a book store unless you count the place ( Read more... )

I live in a crappy apartment, yet it is relatively expensive. I have come to realize that it is not just the downtown location that drives up the price. The hallways are full of trash, the hand rails on the stairs have been ripped out of the wall, and the glass security door into the building is now missing. And this is not the work of one group ( Read more... )

I just traded in my California Drivers License for an Illinois License. Somehow I feel like it was a demotion ( Read more... )

I got my hands on We Are Scientists' first major label CD, so it is time for a review. I must warn you, I know much less about music than most of my friends, and definitely lack the critical eye of some (mofo, voxter...). But here we go ( Read more... )

Toward the end of 2004 I was inspired to begin studying Spanish. I started using the Pimsleur Language lessons, and was working on it almost every day. I got through lesson 22, and then grandma died. Life was put on hold, and Spanish was set aside ( Read more... )

7:30am I hopped on the bus to go and collect sewage samples. 9:30pm my lab work is finally done for today. I did take a half hour lunch break in there, but otherwise non-stop all day long. Very few of you could imagine how many latex gloves I went through today. Time for bed.

I'm back in Fairfield, and everything feels normal. I have not bothered contacting friends yet, so I spent most of today lounging around the house reading newspapers, talking with my mom and sis, and watching tv. Made it out for lunch at Favelas and had a terrifying trip to the mall. That place is crazy and useless at this point. Everything I ( Read more... )