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

:)

I'm really tired, and should be going to sleep, but instead I'm going through a large number of photos I've left in a black hole folder called "To Sort".

Feeling a little bit homesick, and thinking of my family... Love them lots! :)

Love you momma!

Niece Lilly, being herself.

This is what happens when I try and get a photo of these two...

Hahahaha

Just Daniel.

Sarah and sleepy C :)

Snaaaake

Fearless little Bella!

Little sis

heehee, I love this photo of Leah!

My grandmother

Bekah and massive Indy

Smiley C

Niece Charlie playing under the piano!

I LOVE SCIENCE!!!!!!

Ugh, guys, I just "watched" the landing of the new Mars rover, Curiosity, and I'm so stoked about science that I can't sleep. Listen, I'm an astronomer and have faith in NASa, but even in the back of my head I was worried something would go wrong with this landing. There were so many stages that had to be done perfectly and with perfect timing that even one small wrench in the plan would turn a multi-billion dollar rover into a piece of expensive trash on the red planet.

WELL IT WORKED!!!!! NASA just decelerated, parachuted, used rockets to brake, lowered the rover with nylon cords from a SKY CRANE, and then had the propulsion system sever the cords and FLY AWAY. Things went as flawlessly as could be and Curiosity landed safely on Mars and began sending back images almost instantly!!! Here is an image of the rover's shadow:

And below is a schematic of the landing sequence (which you've probably heard all about, a dozen times by now) but STILL. Look at that and tell me that you aren't excited by science, that exploring the cosmos isn't a worthy cause, and that NASA isn't doing the most incredibly inspiring job ever with its 0.1% of the US budget!!!!

STORAGE CRISIS

I promise I'll get to more substantial stuff soon (like moving and starting my new career, little things like that), but I need your help, people of the internet.

I just moved into my new apartment (pictures soon, once it looks civilized!), and it's in a great location, big rooms, hardwood floors, FIRE ESCAPE, but the one thing it is desperately lacking is storage.

There are 2 closets in the whole place, one in my bedroom that will barely fit my clothes, and another in the living room, where I'll be keeping some seasonal stuff, vacuum, etc. The problem is that I'm left with a lot of loose odds and ends that were previously kept holed up in closets. Things like folders of papers, class notes, a guitar, rocks from AZ... you get the picture.

What do I do with this stuff?! There is space to store it, but it would just be thrown in the corner for all to see. Any suggestions?

And, the biggest problem of all, I think, is the kitchen. It's a big area, but there are only a few cabinets above and below the sink. I currently have them filled up with my dishes and pots and pans. There is a large pegboard on the wall from the last tenant (maybe 3'x3') where I'll hang my mugs and maybe some pots or anything that can be put on a hook.

But there is almost ZERO counterspace! Only a couple square feet. I have a small fold-out table set up now with my microwave and coffeemaker, but I have a box full of previous pantry items and nowhere to store it now! Spices, baking things, mixer, crockpot, etc... What do I do with this stuff??!! :(

I've seen carts with wheels on them that people use for kitchen storage... anything else you can think of? I am not opposed at all to building things either (but don't know how far I'll get with a $30 toolset). My friend Steven has a cool spice rack on the wall he built, which is sort of inspiring me to take some initiative for something similar.

If you have any advice, suggestions, or commiserations please leave a comment!