tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87863250474259248322024-02-20T10:56:09.365-08:00I Wish I Were A Glow-WormAlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-34178323006757503282009-11-18T19:23:00.000-08:002009-11-18T19:37:03.066-08:00Tangents: Most certainly NOT the trigonometric kindIn my favorite class on Monday we were talking about the role that strict form (rhyme schemes, syllable count, etc.) plays in poetry. It was fascinating- as always- and additionally quite entertaining! In addition to being his scholarly, brilliant, charming self, my professor is hilarious. He went off on how American football can be likened to form in poetry. Each down is like a stanza, and the rather complex rules reflect strict form, yet underneath the regulation there is an undercurrent of passion and violence bubbling up from beneath. He went on about how the tension between control/rules and competition/violence in football reveals American culture, and how this can be likened to the tension in poetry. He expressed himself much more poetically, and his tangent delighted me far more than any trigonometric functions. Yay poetry!Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-83252567129117206032009-11-17T16:04:00.000-08:002009-11-17T16:05:25.110-08:00Great Article on YawningThis is an article I found through scitechdaily.com Fascinating!<br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/steve-jones/6583820/Yawning-is-part-of-what-makes-us-human.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/steve-jones/6583820/Yawning-is-part-of-what-makes-us-human.html</a>Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-75348549397822685382009-11-03T20:00:00.001-08:002009-11-03T20:04:16.858-08:00I Think I'm Gonna Do It!I was told by a very wise man who happens to know the young gentleman I'm interested in that sometimes, especially in this case, men need some serious encouragement. So I'm going to give it to him. Nothing aggressive or intimidating of course! Just... a casual smack over the head that I'd like to get to know him better. And if he's not interested or he gets scared and runs away? "Next!"Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-30397585714902867722009-10-31T23:05:00.000-07:002009-10-31T23:58:24.006-07:00The Pain Caused by HatredI have noticed a destructive "my team/their team" mentality that seems to surround every difficult issue. It polarizes people, drawing them to such ends of an extreme that they no longer see those on the other side as even human. They criticize and punish and abuse and hate and destroy each other. Whether it's a political party, religious affiliation, or opinion on any myriad of subjects, we as human beings tend to do this. <br /><br />Why? On one issue in particular I feel trapped in the middle. I look to the extreme ends of both and see violence and hatred. Why?! Why won't they listen to each other and acknowledge the concerns and struggles and pains and humanity of their fellow human beings? I KNOW that many issues are incredibly difficult, but we're never going to solve ANYTHING if we keep letting the extremes dominate the whole. We get so caught up in our own paradigms that we completely forget (and disregard) the realities of humanity and love and suffering that surrounds everyone else, especially those to whom we have a hard time relating. Stop the finger pointing! <br /><br />You might wonder what has spurred this sudden outburst, and my answer is that these thoughts have ricocheted around my head for a while, particularly concerning a certain issue, but I think absolutely applicable to many. <br /><br />This issue is gay marriage, and a recent facebook update reminded me of it. I LOVE my gay friends and I LOVE my church, and both people for gay marriage and against gay marriage are fighting for what they believe to be right, but the accusations and hatred proliferated by some people -though certainly not all or even most- from both sides deeply sadden me. I already went through the anger stage and it's over. Now when I hear someone say something hurtful I just want to sit down and cry because we as humans are destroying each other with our hate and I don't know what I can possibly do to fix it.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-2209983500030958752009-10-21T13:02:00.000-07:002009-10-21T13:24:03.265-07:00A Report on IronyOn Tuesday in lab around 10:45 I yelped at the sound of yet another Erlenmeyer flask shattering.<br />"Damn that!" said Eric. Grumbling, "Those idiots studying fluffy subjects like humanities have no idea what it's like to actually work or think." Dumping the crystal weapons into a container marked 'glass only,' he continued, "All they do is write papers about their thoughts and feelings where there's no right answer. What kind of an education is that?"<br /><br />Today is Wednesday. I wish I could tell you what time this happened, but I don't remember. Couple hours ago maybe. After lecture Hannah swiveled on her chair to face Rachel. "I love intellectually stimulating discussions like this, don't you?" <br />"Yeah" said Rachel, "because we're finally in higher level classes that have weeded out the narrowminded scientists."<br /><br />Must I choose?Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-16958955115623662642009-10-14T17:41:00.000-07:002009-10-14T17:50:31.963-07:00Dear Sushi,Dear Sushi,<br /><br />So I don't want to beat around the bush or anything, but I thought before getting to the point I'd apologize for the whole wasabi/guacamole mix-up when I first tried you. It wasn't your fault, but I still cried. It scarred me. Thank you for giving me some space. The other night (as you know) was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. Your taste lit my soul on fire rather than my tastebuds. I just wanted to say... well... I'd like to continue our relationship because... this is tougher than I thought... because... I love you.<br /><br />Yours, AlyAlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-1016796745533654132009-09-29T16:11:00.000-07:002009-09-29T16:19:32.129-07:00Oh 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): <br /><br />"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."<br />-Percy Bysshe ShelleyAlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-4669776474155559882009-09-27T13:01:00.000-07:002009-09-27T13:08:52.764-07:00Body PoetryFor 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.<br /><br />Consider the earlobe.<br />Poor, useless creature<br />clinging helplessly to substance and life<br />screaming in silent agony as a piercing needle<br />burns through its intestines<br />and soul.<br /><br />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.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-7214456983374213292009-09-22T16:21:00.000-07:002009-09-22T16:35:12.561-07:00Lab BlondeToday 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!Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-61855083218807197002009-09-20T20:56:00.000-07:002009-09-20T21:13:17.345-07:00Found! 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...Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-6798984502952380752009-09-19T11:30:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:38:29.703-07:00UgghI 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...)Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-35619011678279155862009-09-10T15:22:00.000-07:002009-09-10T15:43:49.372-07:00*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...<br /><br /><br /><br />76.0, 75.2, 68.1, 66.4, <strong>105.5</strong>, 83.2, 70.0<br /><br /><br />If a data point measured falls outside of reasonable<br /><br />deviation from the mean, exclude said observation from calculations<br /><br /><div align="center">(The kid off I-80 & 13th clutching</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">"Anything Hellps" on Budweiser cardboard.)</div><br />You made an error.<br /><br />Added too much acid. Titrated beyond the endpoint.<br /><br />Discard.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-55759417564923359142009-09-07T13:27:00.000-07:002009-09-07T13:32:55.888-07:00I'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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />I wonder if synthesizing terrifying chemicals that remove any stain anywhere would count as 'cleaning'...Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-89063539346843148332009-09-03T09:59:00.000-07:002009-09-03T10:04:23.195-07:00LostMy 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.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-34440829780513309612009-09-01T16:52:00.000-07:002009-09-01T16:53:49.724-07:00Root CanalRoot Canal.<br />Three hours. Two movies. One seriously sore mouth.<br />Ouch.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-47583639605174851642009-08-31T13:14:00.000-07:002009-08-31T13:20:17.525-07:00The MileToday we ran a timed mile in my tri training class. Last semester my time was... rather embarrassingly... a little over 16 minutes. This time I did it in 14 minutes (flat!) and I jogged the whole way! I may still be super duper slow, but I cut my time down by 2 minutes WITHOUT an ipod to distract me. Maybe by the end of the semester I'll be able to cut my time down by 2 MORE minutes. Then the next semester, 2 more! Then by the time I do my triathlon, I can be doing a consistent 10 minute mile... maybe.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-36741443461979615442009-08-30T18:52:00.001-07:002009-08-30T19:02:09.807-07:00Teenage PoetryI'm taking a poetry class this semester (from my favorite teacher EVER, so the combination is perfect) and rather than just enjoying and analyzing poetry- which I can do- we're actually WRITING poetry. This intimidated me at first, but now after I've written a few poems for the class I'm feeling better about it. I'm not quite secure enough yet to post my poems on my blog, but hopefully tomorrow's class will give me confidence. Anyway, I've dabbled in poetry before and thought it might be entertaining to go back and look at my previous work from middle-high school. I did so, and I can't decide whether I'm more horrified or amused. It's atrocious! I almost died laughing when I re-read my poem titled very reassuringly "Love of the Soul."Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-8818418882900374322009-08-29T22:59:00.000-07:002009-08-29T23:40:08.918-07:00Triathlon TrainingOn Friday (morning at 6:30 a.m. to be precise) my tri class did a few funny running exercises. Basically the point was to run on our toes and lean forward. Later that night I went on a 30 minute jog and now my calves are killing me! MURDER! We're biking on Monday, so I'm hoping the pain goes away by then. The bright side? My already well-defined calves shall soon be perfectly sculpted like a greek goddess!Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-77396348090138764912009-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:002009-08-29T14:18:04.818-07:00Excel? No.I definitely do NOT excel in "Excel." I've known next to nothing about Excel and spreadsheets and stuff and I've achieved 12 years public school + 3 years of college without any problems. Until now. With my quantitative chemical analysis class (it's scary, but not as 'run-like-the-wind-to-escape-the-horror-of-the-bloodthirsty-beast-with-laser-eyes-and-poison-claws-as-big-as-grandfather-clocks-scary as it sounds... ahem) Where was I? Oh. With my chemistry class, we have already received our first homework assignment and guess what program we use for this and throughout the rest of the course? That's right! Excel. Funeral services for my loyal TI-83 TBA. Sigh.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-84238901099321321742009-08-28T14:44:00.000-07:002009-08-28T14:52:58.306-07:00AthleticismI've never been an athlete, but I'm training to become one. Taking this into account, one can imagine my joy when in my tri training class I realized <em>I'm the best swimmer here. </em>All those body-building marathon runners can choke on my bubbles because I'm like a fish. A FISH! A really adorable fish... that swims... like fish generally do. If my class is out running and a bear decides we look tasty, I'll die, BUT if we're in the water and a shark chases us, I'll freestyle my way to the front and let it chew on somebody else. So HA!Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-19115649604274279872009-08-26T19:59:00.000-07:002009-08-26T20:19:55.630-07:00Good Quotes from Class TodayToday was a day of excellent quotes in my Poetic Form and Theory class.<br /><br />"Do I contradict myself?<br />Very well then... I contradict myself;<br />I am large... I contain multitudes."<br /> -Walt Whitman, excerpt from <em>Song of Myself</em><br /><br />"Suddenly I realize<br />That if I stepped out of my body I would break<br />Into blossom."<br /> - James Wright, excerpt from the poem <em>A Blessing</em><br /><br />"He raised up his hook into the terrible starlight<br />And slashed the wind."<br /> - James Wright, excerpt from the poem <em>Hook</em><br /><br /><br />I took a class from this professor last semester and absolutely adored him. He's one of the best teachers I've EVER had, and when I'm a teacher, I want to be like him. He's passionate and poetic, insightful and positive. He's personal, yet professional. He lets his students know enough about him that we feel like we know him, yet leaves much unsaid such that he remains a figure of tantalizing mystery. Every sentence he speaks reflects his brilliance as a teacher, an academic, a reader/analyst, a poet, and a- as my friend put it- "Grade 'A' human being." I have taken to writing down some of the things that he says that strike me as profound, insightful, amusing, and often downright funny. Here's the list from today.<br /><br />"Breakage has to occur before we become something other."<br /><br />"Reading itself is a creative act."<br /><br />"Read poems with a dreamy attentiveness."<br /><br />"The heart of poetry is contradiction."<br /><br />"Achilles is <strong>The Terminator</strong>." (Just plain funny!)<br /><br />"I think this is a kick-ass poem!" (The fact that he said 'kick-ass' to describe a poem makes me really happy)<br /><br />"Obviously it's a rhetorical question because you're like 'NO.'" (This was in reference to the question in the poem <em>Hook</em>, 'Did you ever feel a man hold Sixty-five cents In a hook, And place it Gently In your freezing hand?' You have to imagine the facial expression, the tone, and the hand actions on this one to get the full effect.)Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-41222734554417877572009-08-25T16:50:00.000-07:002009-08-25T17:03:16.690-07:00Hurrah for School!After an immensely enjoyable summer of escapading adventures, I finally return to a different, yet nonetheless exciting semester of school. Two days down. Four(ish) months to go. I've taken on quite a load, but they're all classes that I should love. Some observations thusfar:<br /><br />-I'm not a poet, but I want to be.<br />-A man with a voluminous vocabulary could quite easily seduce me. Be still my swooning heart!<br />-Sometimes teachers try to scare you away from their classes by making them sound like torture. I think I'll stay just to spite them.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-2961456602536881622009-07-23T08:49:00.000-07:002009-07-23T08:56:13.020-07:00It's been a while!...since I last posted! I am now in the full swing of summer adventures! First I went to Yellowstone, then I went to the Oregon Coast, then I went to California, then I went to Yellowstone, and next week I'm going to Yellowstone again. WAHOO! I'm trying to ignore my near-brokeness... Ooh and I have a blind date tomorrow! I hope it's either really good or really bad. If it's really good, awesome! If it's really bad, then I have yet another bad date story to add to my bursting collection of them. I'll have to blog about all of my bad dates. They're actually quite hilarious. The best bad date (worst?) I ever had was actually with my ex-boyfriend/the guy I thought I was going to marry but am eternally grateful now that he broke it off and still wonder exactly how I could've been so idiotic... and now that we're not speaking to each other, I can tell it!Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-29364038643804120492009-07-04T11:01:00.001-07:002009-07-04T11:25:38.765-07:00I'm ornary and emotional. And not enjoying it.Every once in a while it's nice to have a grumpy day where nothing makes you happy. I'm generally a very happy person, so having these bad days reminds me that I'm human rather than a robot. Sometimes though, I almost wish that I didn't have the capacity for emotions. Almost. This is one of those days, where I just want to turn off and not care any more. What brought on this very un-Aly-like mood? Last night I found out that my ex- boyfriend/fiancee/whatever apparently did care about me, or at least that's what he said. That he joined this frat because he was 'heartbroken' and so he could 'get over (me)' etc. etc. You would think this would make me happy to know that oh, he CAN feel and maybe I WASN'T just a 'CONVIENCE' like he told me. But no, it really upset me. I thought with a good night's sleep I'd be fine. I slept. And I'm not fine. I'm also thoroughly frustrated with myself because I'm over this and have been for a couple months, so to have this pain sneak up again and stab me in the back is just... excruciating, and I don't know how to deal with it. But I know I'll be fine and that eventually I'll snap out of it, hopefully sooner rather than later. It's just hard while I'm in the middle.Alyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786325047425924832.post-44607742332299045852009-06-28T19:19:00.000-07:002009-06-28T19:31:00.981-07:00Ununbium, welcome!On behalf of myself, I solemnly welcome ununbium into the official and discovered periodic table of the elements. Congratulations for existing, if only with a little persuasion and for a short period of time.<br /><br />How? The team of scientists fired zinc ions through a 120 meter particle accelerator to hit a lead target. The two nuclei fused and created ununbium (known as 112 for the number of protons found in its nucleus, which is 30 for zinc and 82 for lead). This was done first in 1996, but finally IUPAC confirmed that it was, indeed, created.<br /><br />For further information, go to:<br /><br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnunbiumAlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909129074296324426noreply@blogger.com0