i'll paint the stars

Wow, okay, so hey guys. It's been a while, hasn't it? But since I actually just renewed my account, it was a pretty good reminder that hey, I should maybe use it.

At least part of the reason for my lapse, at least, is that I have been busy. I have three sort-of part-time jobs now, so with all three of those going on I keep pretty busy. I'm still working about 30 hours a week at Starbucks and also taking content writing packages as I can, and I am also employed giving star tours a couple of nights a week at a little B&B up south of Tucson that has a small private observatory attached. It's actually a pretty sweet deal: $25/hr for 2-3-hour tours of the night sky where all I have to do is tell the telescope where to go and it finds the object I want to show. Then all I have to do is talk about random cool astronomy things and point at things with my fancy green laser pointer and people are impressed. 8D The work isn't necessarily steady, but I did have four groups last week and two this week so it is at least not too sparse. Plus, it's something useful I can definitely put on my resume! Apparently I have gotten very good reviews, as well? (Ahaha, all this means is I've convinced people that I know what I'm talking about. I must be much better than previously thought at acting. XD)

Really, though, all of that has been keeping me pretty well occupied, especially since my hours are early in the morning at Starbucks so I have to go to bed at 8 or 9 most nights (sacrilege, I know!). They've been letting me bar more, though, which makes the time go a zillion times faster as long as we're busy, so I like that. The sensor in the Drive Thru has been broken the past two days, which means that it doesn't ding when a car pulls up and someone has to be there to watch the camera at all times, which seems to have made everyone working in that corner a little punch-drunk (and it's entertaining to watch). I am off tomorrow (yay!) and I actually have four days off next week so I am looking forward to doing random things like getting the car oil changed (okay, well, not looking forward to that but it does need to get done) and hopefully getting a trim because my hair grows fast and also possibly looking at a couple of little houses to rent up in Tucson. I've been to the U of A twice now to visit NOAO and while they can't offer me a job, they've been helpful in giving me avenues to pursue and I have been sending out some query emails. Plus, I got a good idea of where is good (and bad) to move in Tucson, so now I can really start looking for places now that I know which parts I want to try for (or avoid).

Um um um... there are a couple of other random things I've been up to but I started writing up at least one separate entry for those so in the hopes that will encourage me to POST MORE, I will leave it at that. Plus, it looks like I have five new icon slots or something crazy like that, so... I will have to get around to filling those! o/

BUT I have a star tour tonight and a bunch of other stuff to do in the meantime, so I will be going for now!

You know, I have to say that for all Florida is just a little bit... crappy sometimes, there are some real perks. Like the fact that I can sit ouside in the shade right now with my coffee and be perfectly comfortable. :D The Starbucks I usually frequent looked pretty full (and there was no parking) so I decided to try the one further north, as I'd never been there... and it's a pretty nice one. It's tucked back off the road just a little bit, so I can sit outside without cars going by me every five seconds. The only downside is it's a bit breezy, but it's not constant so it's not so bad.

Friday was pretty busy, with two tests to proctor, a quick meeting with Vicki, and the first Public Night we were open for in quite some time (spring tends to be cloudy in Florida). But I did get a pretty good picture of the moon through the telescope with my iPhone! And at least it's finally getting warmer at night, 50-60 or so, which is nice, though it means that the mosquitoes were out in some force. Thankfully, I don't think I got too many bites. And now Saturn is up, so I may try to grab an iPhone picture of that at some point too, in the next few weeks or so. XD Or I suppose one of these days I could go there some random night and see about getting pictures with my actual camera, and see how that goes...

And then yesterday a whole slew of us (ten!) went to Medieval Times down in Orlando, which was lots of fun. And lots of food! I swear, they give you half a chicken apiece! In any case, there were paper crowns, much food, and good times had by all. And we managed to take advantage of the buy one get one free deal, so it was only $35 per person~

Now, if I could only figure out why my X-ray fluxes are still being a bit wonky... I really think I'm almost there (hm, didn't I say that a post or two ago, too? >>) but I'm going to do some emailing this week and see about getting this stuff done. And at least I have no tests at all to print or proctor, so I finally have some time to get all this done! Though Friday I'm going to Megacon and Saturday I'll be in the Baltimore/D.C. area for Lee's wedding, so here's hoping I can get some decent amount of work done during the week!

Well, so Spring Break just flew by. I suppose it could have had something to do with the fact that I slept in for much of the week - I was really trying to get up at a reasonable hour, and I managed to do it wonderfully on Monday, but somehow the rest of the week was just... no. I even slept until 3:30pm on Thursday, and I haven't done that in a while. I guess that either means I'm horribly lazy, or I really needed it (or something somewhere in between...).

Of course, most of my plans for a relaxing week were thwarted by CIAO, as often seems to happen. But I think I have finally, finally solved this X-ray flux issue - I'm really hoping so, though clearly I've said I know how to get X-ray fluxes before and been horribly wrong. So we'll see. I'm hoping to get that done (or mostly done) this weekend and see what falls out by Monday, when I really should be moving on to other things, ideally.

It looks like Starbucks has brought out the new design, which I really do like - it's very clean and simple, very nice. And at least down here, they're giving out free petites with every drink, and they are delicious. Also, the last time I reloaded my gold card, I randomly got a $5 bonus? I have no clue why, but hey - not complaining. They know where all my money goes. But I really like sitting here to work - there are big windows, and nice, low-level background music, and it's well-lit and cheery. My apartment, despite having a big sliding-glass door, faces south so even though there's decent natural light, it's not ideal. Plus, I tend to have cats walking all over my keyboard more often than not. I love them, but I can't always get work done when they OMGneedattentionnow!

As for the rest of this week, in between CIAO-ing I actually saw two movies: I Am Number Four and Battle: Los Angeles. ( Thoughts below, cut for potential spoilers! )

And of course, I can't not mention the world-stage craziness going on: I don't actually know anyone currently in Japan, but of course that doesn't matter. I think they were as prepared for something like this as anyone can be, and if there is any way I can help, I'm going to do it - the only thing I can probably really do is donate money to the relief efforts, but I figure every little bit helps, right?

So, the final decision has been reached (and is really not all that surprising, I imagine): I went with the i7 processor. I got up at a very reasonable hour this morning (8!) to drop off the other computer with FedEx, which conveniently happened to be right next to Starbucks, where I managed to squeak in under the expiration date (today) for my free oatmeal, which I had for breakfast. I even sat there and did some coding, go me!

Of course, the world also seemed to forget about me today: I was supposed to meet with Vicki, but I think she left early. And I was going to give the Apple representative who's been working with me a call, so I could cancel the AppleCare I had on the laptop I'm returning, but he seemed to be out of the office. Which is okay, because I've got records showing I dropped the package off at FedEx today so I should be safe as far as that's concerned, so the plan is to give him a call tomorrow.

Aaaand I think I have heard back from just about every postdoc I applied to, including the one that was looking hopeful - note the key use of the word was, because as of right now it looks like whatever I'm doing after I graduate, it will not be a postdoc. :x So I'm going to start seriously looking at other things this week; NASA has a general job website, and conveniently apparently there's a national listing for museum-related jobs, so hey, that's useful? Of course, I have no idea what a resume should look like, because all I have is a CV, but I suppose that's something I can find online or something... I'm sure UF has some kind of employment office that could also help, but not this week - this week is Spring Break. Which means campus is gloriously deserted - I even drove in today, and managed to park on the ground floor of the parking garage! I don't usually drive in, even during breaks, but I'm sick of waiting for the reduced-schedule bus and the walk from the parking garage is about the same length as the walk from the bus stop, so I really do get there faster.

And totally unrelated, but man, do I ever love this song~ Funny thing is, I was looking for it on Youtube the other day (just to listen to it) and that's how I found out there was a movie about Bobby Darin... which piqued my curiosity and so I ended up watching Beyond the Sea this evening. Very good, actually - I liked it quite a bit. Kind of a musical feel without being cheesy or overdone, and also some very interesting storytelling with the younger version of himself... yeah. Good stuff~

All right; so clearly, despite promises to the contrary, I have still been terrible about updating. So here I am, yet again trying to remedy that, with an update!

( To save your flists from far too much text... )

In completely unrelated news, I finally saw the season finale of Tower Prep a few days ago, and I am really, really hoping it gets renewed. Not only did it end on a cliffhanger, but I was really starting to enjoy it, even more than Unnatural History. I wasn't sure where the show would go if they achieved their "goal" in the first season (being intentionally vague so maybe more of you will watch it!), but now I see that there is plenty of story to explore, and I want to know where it'll go! Come on, Cartoon Network, YOU CAN RENEW THIS SHOW. I think it did well in ratings, and was received pretty well among the critics? Go go, Morgan & Wong!

And finally, Nathan and I discovered that the new restaurant in town, Ghengis Grill, IS JUST LIKE FIRE & ICE. I am soooo stoked, it was delicious and I want my family to come visit me now so I can take them there before I move. We also watched The Emperor's New Grove, which was, as always, awesomely entertaining. So yay for that~

All righty, I think that's just about where things stand at the moment, and I'd say I'll try to update more again, but that's either a lie or it isn't, and we'll see which it is in the coming days, I suppose~

Starbucks still has their Christmas cups. This makes me happy. <3

Well, let's see. Obviously I am back and alive and functioning. I think. (Well, okay, I know I'm alive. We're still working on functioning. You know the saying, "I need a vacation from my vacation? I NEED ONE.) The cruise was fun, don't get me wrong. But we had to get up early almost every day (we're talking 6-7) for either excursions or, on the day we got to Key West, to go through border patrol. So I didn't actually get much sleep except for the first day, during which we were at sea and the water was so rough that if I got out of bed I was likely to lose my breakfast. (See, normally I'm about 90% on a cruise while the boat is moving. Not 100%, but not bad. When the entire boat is rocking from side to side? I am more like 20%. :x But I suppose if you look at it from the right point of view, I got to laze around in bed all day?)

As for excursions, we saw the Mayan ruins of Tulum, which were neat, and we also went tubing through a cave system in Belize, which was awesome. Santo Tomas was really nothing exciting, but Key West had some great shopping and it was actually sunny whereas it had been cloudy and cool most of the week. The boat also had a track, so I got in two six-mile runs. Mostly I played sudoku against my Nook (and did not win a single game) and read some H.P. Lovecraft. The food was good, though, and so were the desserts (and I'm not normally a dessert person, this should say something!). New Year's was all right, but rather crowded since everyone on the entire boat pretty much tried to congregate in the atrium for the balloon drop. Overall, I think it might have been more fun if I'd had someone around who had even the remotest interest in common with me, but I did have an all right time. And got a tiny bit of writing done. And took lots of naps.

Pictures shall follow... at some point in the future. I will not promise when because I am insanely slow with such things as has been proven in the past.

I got home Saturday and promptly passed out for about fifteen hours... Sunday I think I spent the whole day back on the GLORIOUS INTERNETS, as I had not had 'net for an entire week. Computers get insanely more boring when there is no internet, as does my life (this is sad, yes, I know. But I enjoy RPing in my free time, and without internet there can be no RP). I also had dinner with Nathan (Bento's!), as it was the only day we were both in town until... a long time from now. Like, the 22nd or something. Monday I think I neglected to go into work, as I was still feeling worn out, but I went in Tuesday and got some stuff done (I think?).

We started out the new school year on Wednesday with no network on the third floor of the astronomy building - and I'll give you one guess as to which floor my office is on. The outage was originally only supposed to be until 12:30, so I just slept in until 10 and ate lunch at home and wandered in, but then it turned out the outage was until at least 2:30. And no network not only meant no internet, it meant I couldn't even log into my computer. D: But I'd brought my laptop, so I could just connect to the UF wireless and I did a little tiny bit of thesis writing before we met for Extragalactic-ph (which was mostly an open discussion on changing the date/time, and then we went over one paper, it was pretty chill). Today I again slept in a bit (mostly unintentionally) but got a decent amount of work done at least, so that's not so bad. And tomorrow I have to pretty much be at work all day because I have to get to Public Night early (7pm) because we have a special group coming at 7:30.

Hm... well, in not-exactly-news, I still don't feel like it's been Christmas yet, since I didn't really have one this year. So I am definitely looking forward to going home next week and having a late Christmas with my sister, dad, and grandmother (and my friends!). As a result of no Christmas (yet), I have no 2011 calendars and while I know I should get at least one for Christmas, I typically use anywhere between 2-4 calendars every year in various places. So I went to Borders and took advantage of their calendars being half off to find the perfect calendar - pictures of Pacific War battlegrounds and artifacts in present day. The photographs are awesome, and it even has the dates of major landings and battles every month! Seriously, perfect. It was on the first shelf I looked at, I just plucked it off and thought, I'll be getting this one, please~. I did look at the other calendars, but nothing else really caught my eye (they were down to the dregs) so I figure I'll just wait until next week to get my other one(s).

And thaaaat's... just about it, really, for now. I have a couple of resolutions kind of maybe in mind, and they all involve either writing more (or differently) and trying to improve my failing work ethic. Nothing has happened this week, but I figure I deserve a buffer week or something, at least.

I HAVE JUST FINISHED APPLYING FOR JOBS, YAY. (Look at me being so good, some of the applications weren't even due until the end of January!)

Of course, now I need to actually finish this thesis thing. >> I believe I will be doing some of that tomorrow. Today was some much-needed Christmas shopping and some also much-needed cleaning, and I absolutely have to do at least a load or two of laundry tonight.

Also, I am randomly entertained that a lot of the Christmas music I have has apparently found its way onto the Starbucks rotation. I mean, stuff like Christmas with the Rat Pack and the Loreena McKennitt Christmas/winter albums. Well, that's pretty cool~ And hey, now there's some Tori Amos. Awesome. XD

So last night I was roped into a last-minute game of Arkham Horror, which is fantastic. Part of me wonders if my absolute lack of excitement over games in general for most of my life is simply the product of me never knowing there were cool games like the ones Nathan and Scott have introduced me to. I mean, okay. This game? Has a 25-page instruction manual and the turns are divided into five or six separate rounds just so you can keep everything straight. And then each game is different, as you fight a chosen-at-random Cthulhu-mythos elder god, desperately running around Arkham trying to close gates as monsters pour out and getting yourself sucked into alternate dimensions so you can come out the other side and seal up the gate before the Big Bad Elder God awakens. It took us about five and a half hours, but we did it! I even killed a couple of monsters, despite my character being kind of lame? Well, okay, she was a psychologist, so she had plenty of sanity and lore. Just no speed. :x

And I think that's really it for this week. I am done generating/proctoring/grading exams, as grades are due Monday, yay! Now I'd just like to know if I get paid next semester... I will be asking Anthony that shortly. Sokka has a vet appointment for Monday so he cam (maybe?) get a cortisone shot or something, so I can take him off the meds while I'm away. And then I'm meeting with Vicki, as she conveniently moved our meeting from Thursday (last week) to Monday (next week) so I can get some greater semblance of work done. Scott's leaving tomorrow, though I believe Nathan is still around a few more days, as we're still having our regularly scheduled Angel/SAAB night next week - maybe I should dig up the Christmas episode, even if we'd be watching it out of order. XD And then I really do just plan on getting lots of work and running done next week in preparation for our trip on Christmas!

Okay, I think I've been here long enough, time to pack up and get home to clean, now that I've got the rest of those jobs applied for. Whew~

OH WAIT BUT ALSO. Did I mention Tron Legacy was AWESOME? Because it was~ I might have splurged and bought myself one of the discs from Target, thanks to noctaval's mention of where to buy one. It was on sale! :D;

So, my space heater died today in a fury of sparks and fire. Okay, there was a small amount of sparking and fire, but it was still there! Thankfully it just fizzled out so I didn't have to go running into the hallway for a fire extinguisher or anything. Because that would've been not cool.

Suffice it to say, it's now colder in my apartment. I mean, sure, I have heat, but it's not particularly efficient, given that Florida is generally not in the freezing range of temperatures. And because it has been freezing here lately, of course there are no space heaters to be had in any store in the state. Ahaha. (Sense the sarcasm? It's there.) SO I have ordered one from Walmart to be delivered to the store for free; I hope it gets here closer to the 17th than the 21st.

Well. That is all. Today was mostly made of proctoring tests, extragalactic-ph, that telecon (which went well, at least!), and running. Woo, I might just head to bed early. Or I'll say I will, and at least make some kind of effort.

Gosh, it's cold out there! I mean, it was actually just above freezing when I got up this morning. That is pretty darn cold for Florida! Not that I'm really complaining - in fact, the brunt of my complaint comes in where my office is still just as frigid as ever, when it's also frigid outside. Hot coffee should stay hot longer than ten minutes. D:

So, this is gearing up to look like a busy week. I've got... four tests to proctor, three more to print out, a telecon, a grad student meeting with the department chair, and general thesis and job application stuff to work on. Plus I want to get some sewing done for my dad's Christmas present, and I also have to do public night. And then there's Mickey's Christmas Party on Thursday, though that is something I am very much looking forward to. :D

Aaaand, for alibi2014: ( Pictures of my tree! )

Okay, time to zoom off and grab the tests for test-to-be-proctored number 1!

All right, let's see... When last we left our intrepid heroine... Um, it was a while ago. ^^; And I was supposed to be more active! But my grandmother was here all last week, and then there was the Disney Halloween Party, and Dungeons & Dragons (why yes, that's Scott and Duy just LEAVING THE REST OF US TO DIE XD), and now it's this week already. Sheesh! No wonder it's almost the end of October! o.o;

So... right. last Saturday I picked my grandmother up from the airport, and there was dinner at Downtown Disney and sleep~ Sunday we went to Epcot in the morning, and then we went to tea at the Grand Floridian, which was delicious (and filling!). Monday we went to Islands of Adventure to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and since she wasn't going on the ride but wanted to wait in line with me to see the castle, I was able to take real pictures inside the castle! Of course, my camera is at home and I am not, but I will post them at some point soon (I swear?). We headed back home in the afternoon, and then she spent the week through Thursday with me.

Friday I had to get up uber-early (actually early - six!) to help Vicki with the Starlab at one of the elementary schools, and then as soon as I got home I had to turn around and take the bus in to campus to help proctor one of Naibi's tests. Then I turned around and came home so I could head to Orlando for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party~ (And, well, dinner at Earl of Sandwich first, and I also found PERRY as you saw.) Then I got changed and headed to the Magic Kingdom; Diana and Kevin got stuck in traffic (boo) but I didn't mind wandering around for a bit on my own first. I went as Kim Possible (I think I mentioned that before?) and it was tons of fun~ Everyone was so excited to see me! (Hee, I was even "Miss Possible" or "KP" to most of the park workers, it was awesome.) It was really cool. Kevin and Diana (as the Tenth Doctor and Snow White) showed up just in time for the parade, and then we proceeded to have, of course, an awesome time for the rest of the evening. It was warm, but not muggy, and I had been worried it would be really crowded because it was a Friday night but we walked right on to every ride. It was a great time, really. And It's A Small World is open again! Everything has a fresh coat of paint, and it's all... closer to the boat, I think? A few things moved, but yeah, the most noticeable thing is that the waterway is much narrower so now you feel much more like you're a part of the whole thing. I like it. And of course, this is the only picture I took. Fail, I know.

And in not-so-surprising news, I am totally planning on going to the Christmas Party this year. Now to figure out a good date for it!

In the meantime, I believe we have plans to watch a bajillion things this weekend - like the episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures with The Doctor in them followed by Back to the Future on Saturday, as well as a Harry Potter mini-marathon on Sunday (Slytherins apparently get their own couch, ahaha!).

Whew, this is why I am never not busy!