FYI

How to annoy Jo:

- Tell me all about your mundane problems then act all insecure about them and expect me to care
- Say you don't like cats
- Ignore my attempts to talk to you
- Ignore my attempts to tell you why I'm in a bad mood
- Give me stupid one-word answers
- Don't answer my repeated calls
- Call Indiana a fly-over state (I know it is, just don't say it in front of me)
- Say that Italians didn't invent pizza

Quote of the Day

me: what is he studying exactly?meteorology still??? Weatherology?

11:32 an analysis of the movie Twister?

 Elaine: haha... i think it's technically earth/atmospheric science

  basically Twisterology

 me: hahaha

11:33 "and in this scene we see Bill Paxton's character going through a transition from dichotomy of the two women in his life to a state of infatuation for Helen Hunt"

11:34 "in the background an F5 tornado rages from the ionochromostratosphere into the warm front collision path of a dual-toned shelf cloud"

11:37 Elaine: hahahahaha

  this should be how all meteorology papers are published  -conversation between Elaine and myself about meteorology journal papers

Biscuits To Die For

I found a photocopied recipe while cleaning up some stuff in my bookshelf today: "Just like Red Lobster's cheese garlic biscuits". I am going to a party/bonfire tonight so thought I may make them. I'm not sure where the recipe came from- I probably copied it from a newspaper clipping recipe my mom had.

The recipe is very easy and good, but I think it can be improved. Here is my (BETTER) version:

- 2 cups biscuit baking mix
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better, you can grate your own or buy it shredded)
- 1 or 2 TB melted margarine/butter
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Stir baking mix, milk and cheese until combined. Then beat vigorously with wooden spoon for about 30 seconds.
- Drop dough onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake ~10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, stir together melted butter and garlic powder. Brush over biscuits as soon as they are done.
- ENJOY cheesy garlic deliciousness!

This recipe only makes about 9/10 biscuits (the original recipe quotes it as 10-12 which is definitely not true). Double or triple for lots of biscuit love. :)

Various Updates

Ok, I'm going to preface this whole thing with the fact that I AM SEEING RUSH TOMORROW, EVERYONE. I've seen them twice before and am just as giddy this time too. Not only are they my favorite all time band ever, they are absolutely amazing live performers. I'm going with a few of my coworkers (I know I'm working at the right place). I'll stop while I'm ahead and just say that I'm immensely excited to go.

So, where have I been? I would say busy, but also unmotivated. Work is going great and I'm really happy in Baltimore. I've just been assigned to an instrument team for the spectrographs on Hubble, COS+STIS. I'm looking forward to starting my work with that. Besides work though, I have been lots of obnoxious adult things like setting up health insurance, car insurance, car repairs, furniture shopping, and RETIREMENT planning! I've made some really fun and diverse friends at work too- there is one of every kind of person at a company of 500+ employees! It makes for a great selection of friends :)

Last Saturday a few friends and I went on a winery trail on the eastern shore of MD. PS- that means eastern shore of the bay, not the ocean! We went to 4 different wineries, and 1 was alright, 2 were downright bad, and 1 was excellent. Maryland does not have a good reputation with wines- maybe it's the climate or soil, but let's just say they're not known for the wines (beer though, yes!). The real winner of the trip was a visit to the Sandbar, a bar on the shore of bay, in a borderline trashy but definitely redneck part of the state. A woman at the last winery we visited suggested we visit there. We got to sit on the edge of the water drinking mojitos and listening to a so-so cover band. On the way home we got drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge while a beautiful lightning storm lit up the distance. Not a bad day.

Sunday some people and I went to the MD State Fair. I've never even been to the IN state fair, so I'm not sure how it compares. It was fun though- we got fried food and rode some rides so I'm calling it a success. Mostly we went to show a new postdoc from England what America is all about- fried snickers and livestock.

Thursday I went laser tagging with people from work and, let me say- IT. WAS. SO. FUN. I've been laser tagging before and this was on a whole different level. Maybe because I'm not 8 years old anymore, or my aim has improved, or that I now take sniping more seriously. Regardless, it was the most fun I've had in a while. 

Last night a group of people celebrated said English woman's birthday by taking her out on town. It was a ton of fun! Tomorrow I go to Bristow, VA (just outside DC) for the Rush concert!!!

Poem(s) of the Day

The Oft-Repeated Dream 

She had no saying dark enough  
For the dark pine that kept 
Forever trying the window latch 
Of the room where they slept. 

The tireless but ineffectual hands  
That with every futile pass 
Made the great tree seem as a little bird 
Before the mystery of glass! 

It never had been inside the room,  
And only one of the two 
Was afraid in an oft-repeated dream 
Of what the tree might do. 
- Robert Frost, 1921


I'm nobody! Who are you?

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
- Emily Dickinson