Oh Percy!

Today in lab we got to work with... hold your breath... concentrated hydrochloric acid! And we got to wear GLOVES and work in the FUME HOOD! It was pretty awesome. On another note, I think I have a celebrity crush on Percy Shelley who unfortunately is dead. Okay but seriously, listen to this (which by the way is from the book "Lofty Dogmas: Poets on Poetics" to which I give full credit and highly recommend if you're into poetic theory):

"Poetry is indeed something divine. It is at once the centre and circumference of knowledge; it is that which comprehends all science, and that to which all science must be referred. It is at the same time the root and blossom of all other systems of thought; it is that from which all spring, and that which adorns all... Its footsteps are like those of a wind over the sea, which the coming calm erases, and whose traces remain only, as on the wrinkled sand which paves it... There is an accumulation of the power of communicating and receiving intense and impassioned conceptions respecting man and nature... Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
-Percy Bysshe Shelley

Body Poetry

For my poetry class, our prompt this week was to write a poem addressed to (or about) a body part. We're workshopping our poems tomorrow and I haven't come up with anything fantastic yet. I don't think I will. But that being said, I think I'll use the poem I wrote anyway.

Consider the earlobe.
Poor, useless creature
clinging helplessly to substance and life
screaming in silent agony as a piercing needle
burns through its intestines
and soul.

I was thinking about continuing with basically a commentary on how women do these crazy things for beauty like poking holes in our bodies so we can adorn ourselves with sparkly things to feel beautiful or worthwhile, impress other women, and attract men. But I think I like it as it is. Especially considering that I like sparkly things.

Lab Blonde

Today I had my lab for quantitative analysis. We titrated... the ENTIRE time. For this one we had lab partners for making the calibration curve (oh yes, next time we get to do the titration with our own personalized unknown!) and we had a great time relative to what we were doing. Plus my lab partner is rather attractive, so that makes things a little more interesting. So anyway, at the end of the lab I was discarding the not-really-scary-chemicals-but-enough-so-that-we-use-the-official-waste-container-thingamajigs an instead of pouring one of the little cups of blue standard (no I don't know what it was except its pH was around 7) into the waste container, I accidentally poured it INTO THE 1 M HCl! It was a scarring experience. My TA said it would be fine since we have to standardize the acid anyway and my 5 ml of stuff really won't affect the concentration or reactivity or anything... and I didn't get smited. Smitten? But my lab partner saw me and gave me a high-five for my blonde moment. Then in lecture, he came and sat by me, and then this other really awesome girl in our lab came and sat by us. The greatest part? I actually stayed awake! The professor said something about the number "e", and my new friend turned to me and whispered (cause we were like in the fourth row so we had to be subtle) the first few digits of e which I found both adorable and annoying, so I kicked him- not hard I hope- and shook my head in exasperation. Anyway, I have two tests tomorrow but am I studying? No, I'm blogging! Hurrah!

Found! And some more...

I received a call tonight from the Marriott Library informing me that my wallet has been FOUND! My faith in humanity has been restored! Oh, AND I've decided that I'm crushing on a guy in my ward... which is good considering my other crush is off-limits on so many levels which reminds me... The other day I saw an old friend that I knew in high school who made me swoon. When I use to see him walk in the room I could feel my face going red, got dizzy, and almost fainted on several occasions. I was the definition of twitterpation! And I haven't felt that since then, but I've decided that I'd rather be able to carry on an intelligible conversation with someone than pass out every time I saw them. Though a little swooning can be nice on occasion. Ahh, memories...

Uggh

I have changed my mind about analytical chemistry. I HATE it. My professor opens his mouth and starts speaking in tongues, a language that I recently discovered consists of lots of math terms that make me want to punch x and sigma in their mocking little faces. Oh, and I did SIX titrations and STILL am getting more error than I should be. (We're apparently supposed to be within 1.0 x 10^-3 because our equipment should be calibrated within .1%, but I have an error of 9.0 x 10^-3) Plus, there's no partial credit for this lab. You either get it right or you don't. And if I don't? There's ten hours of labwork down the drain along with lots of distilled water. And it irks me. But good news, my mom and I went to a few garage sales this morning and I got a kitchen torch for caramelizing sugar! (For $2...)

*Sigh of absolute content*

I wrote this poem the other day and was proud of it, but hesitant to say anything... because sometimes you think that your work is brilliant and then you read it again and it's actually terrible, you know? Anyway, I brought it to workshop in my poetry class. My group loved it, which greatly pleased me; however, that's not why I was bouncing off the walls an hour after class ended. No guts, no glory right? I've got guts. I went up to my professor after class and asked him to look at it. This is a HUGE deal for me. He's 1) The best teacher I've ever had. Ever. EVER. And I kind of idolize him (for one, I'm going to be a teacher too!) 2) Brilliant, and has the most advanced vocabulary I've ever encountered. 3) Perfect. As far as I can tell. He said that he LOVED my poem and that it was EXCELLENT and the only suggestion he had was to remove one word he felt was unnecessary. He's an incredibly nice guy, but that was still really high praise coming from him. The poem? Here you are! Oh, and it's mine and you can't have it... in case you were considering plaigarism...



76.0, 75.2, 68.1, 66.4, 105.5, 83.2, 70.0


If a data point measured falls outside of reasonable

deviation from the mean, exclude said observation from calculations

(The kid off I-80 & 13th clutching

"Anything Hellps" on Budweiser cardboard.)

You made an error.

Added too much acid. Titrated beyond the endpoint.

Discard.

I'm Being Domesticated!

Or something like that. My mom is an amazing seamstress and she's decided to teach me how to sew and make my own clothes. I picked out the patterns and fabric... so we'll see if they actually turn out! So far so good, though we haven't technically started sewing yet.

OOH! Also, I made lunch today. It consisted of wild rice, onion, garlic, chicken, mushroom, rosemary, and parsley. I went a little too heavy on the rosemary, but it was still delicious!

I wonder if synthesizing terrifying chemicals that remove any stain anywhere would count as 'cleaning'...

Lost

My wallet is officially gone. I must've left it in one of my classes because when I went back to find it, it wasn't there. I figured that I lost about $100 in gift cards plus the fees it'll cost to replace my drivers license, my student i.d., and my bus pass. Luckily my ipod wasn't in there. I've called the university lost and found, but nothing's shown up yet; however, I still hope. So it's really not a HUGE deal because almost everything can be replaced, but it's still a big ol' pain in the butt.

Root Canal

Root Canal.
Three hours. Two movies. One seriously sore mouth.
Ouch.