I just stumbled upon the concept of a "Smash Cake" and it enraged me so much I had to rant about it somewhere. Would it be out of line to threaten my in-laws that if anyone even thinks about doing (getting? making?) a smash cake for Don that I'll make Nik disown them? It probably is. I probably wouldn't be so irritated if I hadn't discovered this concept from a facebook friend I haven't seen since high school who posted about a custom smash cake for a photo shoot more than a month before the baby's birthday. Let that fuckin sink in. A photo shoot for a <11 month old to commemorate her first birthday.
Would half the people who have babies right now even have babies if they couldn't post about them all over Facebook? I kind of doubt it. I sincerely wonder how it's going to be for kids in ~10 years from now when they're all becoming horrible tweens who will surely be able to pull up posts about someone shitting themselves in hilarious fashion, not to mention the plethora of baby photos. It won't matter that the cool kids all suffered the same exposure; they'll still use said posts to harrass the "losers." Imagine that, how shitty middle school was before social media, but now everyone can pass around some humiliating image you surely never would have allowed to be public had you any autonomy at the time. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.
Meanwhile the only baby I would even remotely care to see pop up on my feed once in a while has parents with a strict No-Facebook policy. I'm glad about it, but... yea. Figures.
Anyway, I'm happy I accepted friend requests from former students. They're out running around on silly adventures and going to parties instead of posting baby pictures and deluding themselves into thinking that baby is special to anyone outside their immediate family.
The only silver lining to this election is that someone besides Hillary Clinton has the opportunity to become the first female POTUS.
Most people are upset about women's and minority rights being at risk. That's a legitimate fear, but even if the worst of those fears comes to fruition... we can fix it. People fought for rights they never had and we can fight to regain them if they're lost.
My fear is the environment. The entire planet. Allowing people to tear apart the very earth without any care for longterm consequences or maintaining fragile ecosystems or respecting the right of nonhuman animals to share our world... that can't be reversed with a signature in 5 years. Freezing federal hiring... Do you know who the lead archaeologist at Colonial National Historical Park, the person in charge of maintaining the priceless historical artifacts of the birthplace of the United States, is?
No one. He quit and because of federal hiring freezes, he hasn't been replaced. And now he won't be.
If you don't care about Earth, what about space? Because NASA employees are stretched tight as a drum right now and struggling to complete projects.
And that's just what I've personally experienced. People bitch and moan about government beaurocrats leeching off tax dollars, but there's actually a massive workforce out there trying to serve this country.
I dunno. I'm just so glad I don't have a child who would inherit this absolute shitshow.
Ughhh today was terrible. And I've been dreading it since Saturday morning. One of my students died. How the fuck am I supposed to address that kind of tragedy and then start talking about fucking serial dilutions? "Heyy it sucks how your friend died an untimely death 2 days ago but these bacteria colonies ain't gonna count themselves!" Jesus, the last thing I wanted to do was break that silence today. Jenny offered to address it but I declined; it had to be me.
Everything actually went decently well though. I almost cried, then everyone stared at me like they hated me while I went over the protocol, but eventually they all seemed to be thoroughly distracted by their work and the mood lightened up. But as Dan put it, I am definitely earning that $6000.
I also earned a cocktail. I do not give a single fuck that it's Monday.
Wildwood IV (Chubby Unicorns II) was probably the least wild but the best one yet. By some dirty Jer-z miracle, I completely avoided hangovers, maintained an enjoyable level of buzz during daylight hours, and beasted all over the place.
The only disappointing thing was that the beer garden stopped allowing people to fill any kind of container. But to be fair, that probably helped moderate my drinking.
I got pretty fucking crispy too... starting on the ferry. I would have murdered someone for sleeves on Sunday morning.
Wildwood still feels like a paralell universe. Coming back to the real world is difficult. It's Wednesday and I'm still a little dazed.
We're closing out week 2 of Nik's trip to AZ. Summer league in Richmond started, so I've been keeping busy heading out there twice a week and working out with Caylin too.
I bought more clearance plants today. They were in perfect condition; just a little past their bloom season... except they still have buds that are going to open. Craziness. I got 3. Speaking of, one of those columbines I got for a buck ($1!!!) has 2 flowers! Damn, I feel like I cheated.
Speaking of... I bought lab supplies and they charged me almost exactly 10% of the list price. I'm pretty sure someone moved a decimal place. I have my fingers crossed that if that was a mistake, they won't find out. We've save 400 fucking dollars. My eyes damn near popped out my head when I saw the invoice. Said invoice was even lower because she ordered only 1 case of needles, not 2. Win some, lose some.
I finally began playing with my sewing machine today. I've basically been terrified to touch it and I'm afraid my siser-in-law probably thinks I don't like it. But no no, I was psyched to receive that gift. I just have no idea how to use it. Luckily I'm smart enough to have practiced before trying a real project, because my practice sachet is a total piece of shit. I need to figure it out before there's a baby shower so I can make something myself. *squeeeeee!!!* I still have absolutely no interest in having my own babies, but I'm really really excited about someone else's bun in the oven.
It turns out house finches will visit hummingingbird feeders. I was super fucking surprised when I learned that this morning.
This incessant rain and cold weather is seriously wearing on me. I got home today and the pond is all murky again. I don't know how to prevent the soil run-off... if I put down mulch or leaves or something, my seeds will never grow. But if we keep getting enough rain to wash everything away, my seeds won't even be there. They're probably all in the pond already anyway. My yard is bumming me out almost as much as the weather. I accept at a conscious level that there would be no instant gratification, but I think subconsciously I did expect all the work we've put in to pay off somehow already. Rather it mostly looks like a mudpit. I wrote out when my seedlings might have emerged on my planner to have something to look forward to.
I have a whole bunch of other things I could whine about but I'll leave it on a positive note. I discovered Lowe's clearance plants this weekend and went nuts. $7 columbine plants for $1! Half off ferns! $10 for a $27 clump of switchgrass! They had $5 switchgrass too but it looked like a little too much of a gamble. The columbines probably won't bloom this year, but they're perennial. I'm probably gonna go back and buy a bunch more super cheapies just to fill in my barren landscaping for the time being. My hydrangeas are only 2" tall so they need a little help for the next 2 or 3 years...
I thought I'd pop in to prove I hadn't forgotten the ol' LJ. 2015 kept me busy: job-hopping, getting married, buying a house, buying a new(ish) car. My career is stagnant at best, but my personal life is going swimmingly. I suppose I didn't get my MS as mush as my MRS, functionally. We rang in the new year with Rachel and Todd around the firepit - low key has been our speed these days. We still need to host a proper house-warming party though. Since Brian moved I think we were expected to take the party reins and we've failed rather spectacularly on that front so far.
Anyway, if I'm lucky, 2016 will be a much less interesting year than 2015 was.
I had a Monster energy drink and I'm twitchy. They energize me in the least productive way possible. But I love the buzz.
Nickels and I are in the process of buying a house now! I can't wait to get out of Newport News. And I'm going to grow a butterfly garden. And register it as a Monarch Waystation!
I'm kind of into butterflies now. Although skippers can go fuck themselves.
So our wedding was pretty much the best. Inviting a bunch of pregnant women was an excellent cost-saving measure since our bar was by consumption. Inviting so many frisbee players, maybe not so much. But the reception was basically a frisbee party, so who can complain?
Ok, my B12 buzz is wearing off. In conclusion, I didn't know love until I met Nik <3
My bunnyrabbit is freaking exhausting. But then he tears through the house binkying or flops over next to me for some cuddles and it's all worth it.
I got 53 days til go-time. Wedding planning requires navigating quite the labyrinth of bullshit. Half the advice online is really about winning "Most Pinterest-Worthy Wedding!" rather than anything that will actually make it special or memorable. And of course everything is about spending as much money as possible. All the costs are outrageously bloated to begin with, and then you're pressured into spending twice again what you actually need to for superfluous goods and services. Somehow that's not even the most predatory aspect! I believe that award goes to the multitude of websites advertising outstanding varieties of beautiful gowns for unbeatable prices, but providing absolute garbage. And it's all in China so you have no recourse or hope of getting a refund. I haven't been scammed by them, but I have wasted time browsing bridesmaid dresses on such sites until realizing it looked too good to be true and investigating.
Not to say I haven't enjoyed planning at all though. And I simply can't wait for the big day. Our venue is utterly perfect and we're going to have so many people we care about gathered together. I haven't seen Zi in more than 5 years! It's going to be wonderful.
Oh and I found Nik passed out on the floor last week and had to call 911. I've definitely had some practice in the whole "in sickness and in health" bit.
